sandinmyboots | 4.5; ringrolled; the camera is magic and spies on him; he used to spell his name with a C

warning for blood, discussion of violence and emotional instability of the lead

"Cefca, you were screaming," comes the voice, and the camera pans over Cefca, eyes downcast, his whole body shaking. His room is small and spartan, furnished only with bed and bookshelf and a few badly-drawn pictures taped up around a calendar. He breathes slowly, once, twice, tucks a strand of oily blonde hair behind his ear, and turns to the door.

"Dr. del Norte Marquez," he replies at last, forcing a smile, "it's nothing. Read a bad book."

The doctor steps in, pulling down his coat's hood. del Norte Marquez is old for his age, a balding red-head, but his body language suggests concern. "You've been in isolation for study of your magic for a week now. Are you sure it's not bothering you too much?"

"Until we find out why it's been acting wrong, no, it's fine. Celes visits me every few days and you're here like clockwork for lunch; that's more than enough."

"Are you sure?" del Norte asks.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"If it's--"

"I'M SURE!" Cefca snarls, face twisting obscene. del Norte startles; Cefca's face turns ashen, and he turns away. "I'm sure. I'm sure I'm sure. We both know why I'm in here."

Silence falls.

After a long moment, del Norte looks away, to a discarded mirror. "Have you been playing with magic? There's something in the mirror."

"Like what?"

"It looks like a ring."

And in a flash of gold and green, Cefca shoves del Norte away and grabs the mirror. The camera pans around, showing a flash of Samara's video before returning to Cefca's stricken face.

"Ce--"

"Get out, Cid," Cefca says. "Get OUT!"

And del Norte leaves, giving Cefca wide-eyed looks. Cefca stares into the mirror, twitching, before hurling it into the ground with a scream of rage. It shatters; Cefca looks down at it, at shards, before looking around and about.

"I've seen it, curse girl. 's a low trick, that. Are you coming to get me now? Ahahahahaha...."

[[young!Kefka just got ringrolled.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What for? I can't spend my money willy-nilly like that!

Money's for spending, isn't it? What else would you do with it? And over here, there's no laws that save someone from the poorhouse if something eats their riches! Having a country would keep you safe and fed!

But if you spend your money, you'll end up in the poorhouse too - and it'll be your own fault. I've seen more than enough folks gambling their money away down in Dawson, and I have no interest in ending up like them.

But unlike gambling, most countries are a sound investment. Or maybe you could just buy a very good factory and it'd be like owning a country, because everyone would need what you were selling!

Besides, gambling's for people who don't have hope in their own power. Fighting is much better entertainment!

I don't see much point in fighting either. I mean, if anyone's looking for a fight, it's one thing...

Oh, but it's so fun! The rhythm of battle, blood beating in your ears, and then once you're winning and the sc--

[wait wait WAIT this is why he's on medical leave in the first place]

[soldiers are not supposed to practically get off on the thought of bloodshed. even if that's making his magic stronger. no no no stop those thoughts at once.]

[stop that at once, self, don't fall into that]

...they're not for everyone. And it's pretty stupid to start fights that wouldn't start otherwise, right? Ahahaha...ha...

... You'd better watch yourself. I don't know about any of this magic stuff, but something funny's definitely been going on with you.

Don't I know it.

[Brb, locking the post, then playing with his pillow because he feels like he can't keep his hands still.]

Magic gets under people's skin, sometimes. It's like...don't tell anyone this, it's supposed to be confidential, but I need to tell someone.

You know those bugs that make people maddened enough that they don't stop fighting until they drop? It's a little like that, but you're not maddened by it, you just...I get so twitchy these days, and I wasn't this irritable before. I get angry at things I wouldn't have even noticed a year ago. And I get hungry and eating a dinner big enough for three isn't enough, and...

[He clenches his fists.]

I think I'm starting to stop caring that it's all going wrong.

[The future Scrooge would have been able to give advice (as pointless as it would ultimately be) based on his own experience. Money wasn't exactly magic, but it seemed darned close enough just from hearing this.

He can try to help anyway, though.] It sounds like you'd better drop this stuff, buddy.

I can't. Once you've got magic, you've got it. Taking it out would kill me. And...we're lost enough magitek knights, either by circumstances or by magic driving them to it. I can't go too.

Besides, I signed up for this thing for life. I don't have anyone at home to go back to. Better me than someone else, right?

[Although his justifications are feeling increasingly hollow to him. The magic, even as it makes him ill, feels increasingly good when he uses it, and the effort it takes to worry about things gets less and less as he learns more and more.]

If I had room for regrets, then I shouldn't have signed up for this...

So what you're saying is, you've got nothing to lose...

[Scrooge can't help but wonder... if all he had left was money, would he feel this way too?]

Nothing but myself.

And even that's negotiable. Dr. del Norte Marquez says that it looks like it's changing the way my body works, brain to stomach to muscles to all of it, but...I want it to be all in my head. If it's all in my head, I can change it back, right? I can think it right.

And if it does kill me, then they can see how to prevent it...it's only like this in the older knights, mostly, and...everyone who got the magic infusion and was over 20 has died, by now. I'm the oldest of everyone who's left. I was the first, the test subject, and I've outlived almost half the people who came after me. The next oldest knight like me is 8, Scrooge, and I've known her since she was 3 and she acts like she's as old as I am, sometimes and I don't want to see her die.

... You think it'll be worth it in the end?

If it's not, then I'll make it!

[His face twists into a snarl, then untwists into regret. He buries his face in his hands.]

...I shouldn't even be thinking such things, it's treason.

Aaach. Makes me wish I could get one of those worldhoppy things just for a second...

You can get them by handwaving...why did I say that, I meant by asking. Asking. I...

[He laughs, twitching, and buries his face in the pillow.]

Scrooge, be careful.

Edited 2011-01-30 17:29 (UTC)

You think you can hang in there for one more day, pal?

I think so, yeah. I'm working on fighting a ghost and entertaining some of the kids, so I, I think I'll be able to pull through. I...

I hope so. Scrooge, I don't want to be going cr...

...thanks for listening.

4.5; ringrolled; the camera is magic and spies on him; he used to spell his name with a C

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>locked -- should we have them meet up?

>locked -- I'm not sure. Scrooge would be busy. ;_;

>locked -- aha ;;