A Researcher's Inquiry III

A Researcher's Inquiry III
Date of Scene:	04 June 2013
Location:	Wutai - City
Synopsis:	After failing to secure Angantyr's willing cooperation, Rhia decides to go higher. Plans are revealed and plots are set in motion.
Cast of Characters:	Garland, Rhiannon Zellen
Tinyplot:	A Researcher's Inquiry

---

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Wutai.

Rhiannon hadn't come back to this particular location in a long time. Having essentially abandoned her family on the never ending quest for knowledge, it stood to reason that the country held nothing of value to her. Allegedly anyway. But not this day. There was business to be done. And so the scientist had arrived. Deeming that actually entering the city would invite needless trouble, she chose to wait further outside the city, calmly and patiently awaiting...someone or something.

It had been a couple days since that little fiasco in Targ Woods with Angantyr, Ramza, and Maira. While they were not the group's initial objective, Rhia and the Turks that had been assigned to accompany her happened upon them while working. Needless to say, interesting things happened. Reno and Cissnei must have had a grand old time explaining to Tseng why they blew up a state of the art chopper.

In any case, that was all behind them and Rhia herself came away with some...interesting data. Nevermind the fact that she thoroughly creeped every single one of them out in the process of doing so. But those are minor details of course! And with her inner monologue complete, the scientist roused herself back to reality, taking a moment to casually survey the city outskirts again.

"....."

Well, they do say that patience is a virtue. And thus, she would keep waiting. Waiting until the appointed time.

Garland has posed:
Patience is a virtue. Waiting until the proper time, the proper sequence of events, the proper moments, can be madness-inducing. Some people break down, anticipation and desire overwhelming their rational thoughts, jeapordizing all their plans for something as paltry as immediate gratification.

Meanwhile, others have the rarified self-control and self-discipline to know better. They wait for days, weeks, months, ensuring that nothing is out of place. They wait to act until exactly the precise moment, and strike while the iron is, metaphorically hot.

Then...there are those like Garland.

The Ironclad Nightmare's patience spans millenia. His self-control and self-discipline are wrapped around a fury without compare; he cannot afford even tiny cracks in his control, lest his anger rage out of control and destabilize centuries of meticulous ticking and plotting with bursts of all-too-satisfying violence. Once, long ago, he had been like that - lashing out at the world for its sins, he had justified himself by the world's unfairness, by the world's apathy.

Garland - or the thing that wears his name - no longer required such justifications to do evil.

Space cracks; time bends; light turns to darkness, causality shattering as Garland steps through the portal in time and space created by his passing, one terrible iron foot silently landing upon the ground. He does not announce his presence; either the one who beckoned him will be aware of it, or they aren't worth his time. It's rare enough that Garland takes a personal interest in such summons and supplications, after all.

The portal shuts behind him; Garland folds his arms behind his back, his billowing cape coming to a rest as he surveys the area. One of his drop-off points. A tiny spike of excitement fills his black heart at the thoughts of what he would do to the pitiful drow once he got his claws on her, of the tortures of the soul he would inflict upon her - of the scarring he would give to her as she had dared scar him.

None steal from Garland without consequences.

Still, he composes himself. He must be patient.

Patience, after all, is his greatest virtue.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
The moment space began to bend, Rhia's eyes flickered. "Oho..." Right on time. Or perhaps not. There was never a set time allotted. But still, figuratively speaking, the timing was perfect. And the figure whom stepped through that portal, they certainly lived up the the rumors. Black armor, billowing cape, a fearsome helmet.

He looked the part of a dread knight, but...Rhia could feel something much more to him than that. Just being in the same area almost seemed to be eating away at her spiritually. Any lesser men would have fled for their lives the moment they laid eyes upon the one known as Garland. But not this one. Instead, she merely smiled and stepped forward, moving into the entity's line of sight. "Hello there! You must be Garland." And so the scientist greeted the Ironclad Nightmare as if he weren't a force of nature whose presence alone caused grown men to buckle in fear.

"Now, I am sure that you must be quite a busy man, but I simply must have your attention for the moment." Stopping once she was only about two steps away, Rhia stared up at Garland, speaking in a calm, but cheerful tone; that which she used for almost everyone. "You see, I happen to be doing some research, and you-" She started, nodding towards him. "-Are quite adept in that which I am researching."

A pause to let it all sink in. And then she continued. "As I understand, you are quite a master of the dark arts, and perhaps more. I can see the results of your teachings in that man known as...ah, what was his name again...?" The oriental woman paused, bringing a finger to her cheek in thought. "Oh, yes; Angantyr Vespar was his name." How can someone almost forget the name of someone who literally split them in half? Ridiculous.

Garland has posed:
The fact that she wasn't fleeing was impressive. Garland doesn't say anything at first; he simply waits, listening, like the distant and angry god that he is. Supplications from dark cultists of Chaos were nothing new him; he was exceptionally good at pretending to care about mortals.

"You *must*?" Garland's voice rumbles, crashing through the field as he takes a step forward. He doesn't say anything more, merely allowing the ominous phrase to hang there in the air and join the rest of his dark, foreboding miasma. Rhiannon continues to talk; Garland continues to wait.

"And what do you *want* from me?" Garland demands once Rhiannon is through. Sure, *her* time was more valuable than his was - *he* had infinity, *she* was mortal and ticking away - but Garland never needed to let other people know that. "And more importantly, what can you *offer* me?"

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Yes. I must." Folding her arms into her sleeves, Rhia assumed a rather passive stance, remaining unfliching even as his voice finally came to the surface. "What I want is simple. Yet, it is also complicated." She then went on to say, continuing to smile as she raised a finger to accencuate her point. "What I want simply is information. Information on a subject that I have little doubt that you are the most experienced in."

Folding her arms back again, the scientist paused for a moment, considering which direction to take this. "You are familiar with the 'Keyblade', yes?" Rhia asked, staring up at Garland still and tilting her head slightly in curiosity. "A weapon of pure light that banishes the darkness wherever it may be...a weapon wielded only by those whose hearts are devoid of darkness...A fascinating thing, really."

Trailing off that, she shook her head, apparently keeping herself from going on some manner of scientific tangent. "...But if there exists a weapon of absolute light such as that, then surely the opposite must also hold true, yes?" Oh. Now it was making sense. What she wanted then, must be... "I want to test this theory. I want to forge a Keyblade of Darkness."

...For science.

Finished with her initial explanation, Rhia's eyes returned to Garland's...helmet. Yes. "Does this sound like something what would interest you?"

Garland has posed:
Garland's silence is telling. He's a very expressive ancient entity of absolute darkness; an inclination of his head just so, standing in just the right spot, says more than anything he could possibly vocalize. For example, right this instant, the inclination of Garland's head says that he's not impressed even a little bit with her arrogance. Demanding the attention of the Champion of Chaos does not please him; however, the fact that she dared to do so at all...interests him. It's that dichotomy again - the usual supplicants were the sort to scrape and beg and whine, and while there was a dark and sadistic joy from such grovelling, they were rarely supplicants of real worth. They were disposable minions, lacking in any real ambition. 'Please give me wealth; please make me handsome; please help me gain vengeance against my enemies; please grant me what belongs to my neighbor.'

This rare, exalted sort of arrogance in a supplicant was...intriuging, if nothing else. Displeasing...but intriuging enough to be forgiven.

"I know of the keyblade," Garland replies calmly as Rhiannon speaks. His hands slide out from under his cape, moving to his side as he walks forward, looming in front of the scientist calmly.

"And what makes you believe that you deserve such a weapon?"

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Me? Oh please!" Rhia brought a hand to her mouth, unable to keep herself from laughing lightly. "Ehehehe, you think I want to wield such a weapon? Nonsense!" Laughing a bit longer, despite the increased proximity. "I have absolutely no desire to wield a keyblade in either of it's theorized forms."

And that was the truth. Even through her arrogance, it was easy enough to tell that such a weapon would have been worthless in her hands. "...I want to forge a Keyblade of Darkness not for the attainment of a fearsome weapon, but for the knowledge that would be acquired from such an endeavor. The process by which such armaments are created would no doubt be a valuable asset."

A shake of the head and she went on. "If you desire to hang it on your wall, I really would not mind. All I desire is knowledge. Knowledge of all matters." Nevermind the sacrifices one might make, either of themselves or others to attain knowledge. Through all this talking however, Rhia has remained still and calm, but now that she was speaking of her plans, she began to pace back and forth.

Garland has posed:
Garland inclines his head a touch. He says nothing; he simply begins to pace back and forth, his usual silent predatory pace as he considers every angle.

"I see."

"You want nothing more than to be involved in such a project. Nothing but knowledge. Wisdom. Learning."

Garland's shoulders lower a bit. "There are things that human beings are not meant to know. Are you prepared to learn such darkness? Do you truly understand the journey you are about to embark upon - the nightmares you will face, the shadows that will dance in your mind, and the madness that will eat away at your soul? If you value yourself, turn back now. The mercy of Garland is infinite."

Garland straightens. "However...if you wish to carry on..."

He holds out his arm to the side, a low, dark chuckle welling up from his armor.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia pauses her pacing at the question, turning to face Garland once more. "I happen to hear that statement rather often." She started. "I never did abide by it. If the information exists, then it can be learned. Ergo, rather than there being things that 'human beings are not meant to know' ...I would say that 'most human beings are too weak to know the truths of the world'"

And apparently she placed herself into the latter category. After all of that, she does not budge. "I am well prepared to learn of the darkness. Of this journey I have already embarked on. Nightmares? ...Let them come. If my soul is eaten away from all of this, then all that means is that I was too weak to withstand the truth. And I have no plans to let the truth overcome my quest for knowledge."

And that seemed to be that. Her decision was made long before she had even come here. Smiling still, Rhia watched patiently as Garland raised an arm, chuckling darkly.

Garland has posed:
Yes, that was what he expected. Many of those who sought knowledge at all costs...well, were willing to pay all costs. They walked into the darkness, arms wide open, ready to embrace whatever they came across for the sake of understanding.

"Believe it or not, it is your peril. However...if you are so willing to commit yourself to the path, then we shall see what I can offer you."

Garland closes his hand into a fist. When he opens it again, there's a tiny ball of...nothingness. It doesn't spark or crackle, there's no black lightning...it just is, a tiny little ball of black nothingness. He removes his hand, and the tiny black ball hangs there in the middle of the air.

"Shadow. Take it; forge it into a weapon. Turn it into something powerful. Once you have mastered forging this much...you will have more. And then..."

Garland waves his hand again.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Then my peril it will be." Rhia hardly seemed to fear death. For better or for worse. Watching Garland's movements, the scientist removed a notebook from her coat, quickly jotting things down with a pen as the darkness was turned into solid matter, simply hanging in the air. Her eyes widened in wonder. Not at the amount given, that was negligible, but the greater implications of such abilities.

"I see." She noted, tucking her notebook away and then producing a pair of tweezers and a sample container. "I will indeed make good use of this." Going on to say, Rhia took the solidified shadow and place it into the container, tucking it all back into a pocket in her coat. "You have my thanks. I will begin the experiments immediately. And when I have results, I will let you know immediately." A nod was given then.

This wasn't being sanctioned by Shinra, was it? No. Not at all. The thought of the board of directors freaking out caused an amused smile to appear on Rhia's face and she had to shake her head slightly to dispel the thought. "In any case, I believe that our business here is concluded. Till next time, yes?"

Garland has posed:
"I look forward to the results of your research," Garland agrees as space and time tear themselves asunder. He casts his cape aside and enters the portal.

Indeed...he looked forward to those results quite fiercely. This would suit his purpose.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
With her objective complete, Rhia stood there for a couple moments longer, and then stared back into the direction of the city. ...There was no reason to head into the city proper.

Shaking her head, she turned and began to walk off, her destination being the Shinra helicopter that had been grounded nearby. Probably Montag or some other poor soldier made to give her a ride and then wait. Alas.

"Step one is complete. Now for step two..."

This would be...very educational.