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[supersoldier]

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[supersoldier]

[They had been deployed shortly after the disaster struck, after fire had rained from the sky and left the city in a panic. Despite the quick mobilization, and the army's overall preparedness for the worst-case scenario, the sight of Libertas burning, so much of it already lost, jars even Sephiroth. He is not so military-hardened—nor so stoic—that the sights and sounds of people crying out (or the desperate dying in the streets, or families frantically searching for loved ones in collapsed rubble) cannot make his stomach sink like a stone. He knows war crimes when he sees them; he knows there is a line between a military victory, and senseless civilian deaths. It's been well crossed, at this point.

He is kept busy. Orders come down the pipeline to aid as many as they can, to free up those who might be stuck and suffocating under firey debris, and Sephiroth follows them without hesitation. Many soldiers in his regiment work franctically, almost panicked — these are their homes and families and friends, and they have reason to lend their aid to the point of exhaustion. He helps them, too, when he can.

Sephiroth’s barely had time to rest when Ciri’s message comes through, shining in his vision. A bright, shimmering contrast to the sight laid before him — an old museum, reduced to nothing but stone and detritus, only a fragment of what this city has lost.]

Libertas. My regiment was one of many deployed.

It’s terrible, Ciri.

[wiedzminka]

[ So he has gone, after all. She's not sure whether to be relieved or worried -- he can help, he has eyes on what's happening and can give them information, and it's unlikely that Libertas will be hit again, but something about Sephiroth being in the proximity of what had just happened, so soon, makes her feel uneasy. ]

How much of the city?

[ Remains? Is gone? She's not sure which to ask. ]

[supersoldier]

[Is gone. That's far easier to answer.]

Most of it is ruins. Some of it's been spared, but it's not much. It looks like the mountains took some damage to spare anything that's still standing.

[wiedzminka]

That crazy fucking bitch!

[ It's not what she was hoping for, but it's also-- not the worst she expected. It could have been completely decimated. Sounds like it nearly had been. And for what?

Ciri is no stranger to war. Perhaps that's why it hits so close to home. ]

The mountains? Did they miss?

[supersoldier]

[And neither is Sephiroth, born and bred for war as he was. Yet he has never experienced it from this perspective. Shinra was always the one with the upper hand, always the one with the resources, the company that could never be felled no matter how many rallied against it.

It makes him uneasy, surrounded by so much ruin, wondering if this is how the other side felt, too -- desperate and scared and struggling to pick up the pieces in the wake of a loss.]

At just the right angle, I think they acted like a barrier. The city might have been completely destroyed without them.

[wiedzminka]

Some luck in that, then.

I'm told they plan to open portals to let through more relief efforts soon.

I'll be there.

[supersoldier]

[Is it strange, to feel a sort of wayward comfort, knowing she’ll be here to help, too?]

Good. We’ll need as much help as possible.

When you arrive, let me know. I’ll meet with you, show you which parts of the city need the most focus at any given time.

[Most of it, really. But the residential areas will need the most aid, he’s sure.]

[wiedzminka]

I will.

And Sephiroth -- be careful. I want you in one piece when I see you again.

[supersoldier]

I will be. I promise.

[A small delay.]

You do the same. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here on out.

[With everything. The state of the world is inexorably changed, and it is hard to think that any of it is for the better.]

[wiedzminka]

[ No one ever knows, she thinks -- but she doesn't say it because she understands what Sephiroth means. The sentiment behind it.

She knows because she feels it too, that desire to protect him. At least, to keep him safe. To make sure he is safe.

But no one ever knows. ]

At least we can talk like this. If anything happens.

Keep me updated. I'll be there soon.

[supersoldier]

[He sends an acknowledgment, which does't fully convey the comfort of reading, At least we can talk like this. If anything happens. At least that connection is there -- always.

He waits for her. There's plenty of work to get done once she arrives.]