#LINKED - Legacydriven

[sakurarisen]

Who are you?

Send ‘who are you’ to meet one of my other muses!

Small hands lifted the stuffed chocobo from the floor, quick to pull it to an equally as small chest for a tight hug. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to grab it - no stack of books was worth leaving his toy behind like that! “Sorry- I didn’t mean t’ forget Choco-” Or to get so wrapped up in his books he’d forgotten to head home before the sun set, but... At the very least, Gongaga wasn’t that big of a town. The worst thing that could cause him trouble was getting distracted on the way back!

Soft, almost glowing mako blue eyed peeked up at the librarian over the top of his toy’s head. “Don’t tell mom I was here s’ late? She’ll get mad-” Not that she’d be any too pleased he’d been reading about Shinra, but that was something he could hide on his own, books tucked safely into his stack between others on animals and Gongaga’s history. Still, she worried enough; why would he ever make things harder on her? “Choco says pleaaaaaase-”

...Definitely wasn’t him making the plush bird’s wings wiggle. Nope. Totally a real chocobo making a pleading gesture-

~~

Shayan Fair, Sera’s son, from @legacydriven! <3 He’s a four year old born in Midgar who she smuggles out and away to Gongaga after realizing he inherited some of Zack’s ( @honorisen ) SOLDIER augmentations, wanting to protect him from becoming a possible target of Shinra’s attention because of that and his connection to the then-missing Zack. He’s a gentle and sweet, adventurous boy, loving chocobos and his family and exploring, but knows something isn’t right within his family and doesn’t understand why his father can’t be there if he supposedly loves them as much as Sera claims.

It’s a hard lesson he struggles to come to terms with, putting him on a warpath against Shinra even despite getting Zack back in his Remake verse. He definitely doesn’t do well with stress, that’s for sure, but who says he can’t take it out with running around the jungle with his plush chocobo and dreaming of seeing the world and owning his own pet ‘boco?

[sakurarisen]

[Yuga; Zack; Shinra Infantry sucks-]

❰❰ sakurarisen ❱❱

The familiar creak of her bow being drawn cut through the ever-present sounds of the jungle in reply. Stand down - Did he really think she was so stupid as to believe they’d be safe if she did that? There was nothing in Gongaga for them. No reason to have laid a hand on Yuga and Shayan. No ‘official business’ that should have brought them there, especially when the reactor had exploded years prior. They hadn’t cared then, leaving them village to fend for itself and deal with the aftermath on their own; why would they care now?

No, there was something else at play here, and Sera lowered her bow slightly, aiming her readied arrow towards the captain’s thighs with a slight narrowing of her eyes. “And I’ll tell you this one more time: I won’t let you set foot in this town. Maybe this time you’ll get that through your ears and into your heads. I know your skulls are thick, but I’ve never seen infantry with heads as thick as you lot.” Nor had she ever seen her hands so steady when she called on her materia’s magic, ice slowly spreading along the arrow from her fingers to the tip. One step… All she needed was one step, and she’d not hold back. He was already too close to her family for comfort, and she’d not stand for it if he kept pushing his luck.

But it was her boys she’d briefly turn her focus to next, keeping the captain and his men locked in her sights despite the softening of her tone and lower volume. “Shayan… If they come any closer, I want you to take your brother and run for town.”

“M-Mooooom-!”

“No buts. You’ll be safe - I promise you that much… But I need to you to get home, and lock the doors. If you see your father there, tell him to stay put and hide, both of you. Am I clear?”

“We can’t-”

“Am I clear?”

Small hands tightened their grip for but a moment, and she could easily take his whine as agreement. He didn’t want to and she knew it, but this was no place for either of them - Not when she didn’t trust Shinra to not target them, or use the boys against her. They had to get out, before they made a move towards harming them.

“The choice is yours now. Either you leave of your own free will, or I slide you back to Midgar as ice cubes for Shinra to defrost. Which sounds like a more pleasant experience to you?”

Yuga had found himself quietly standing behind the other two; his gaze snapping first to Shayan, then Sera, then to the men with their guns and haughty attitude trying to bully the three of them aside. They’d just gone out for a walk through the forest – something like this was the last thing the small boy had expected to happen!. But they couldn’t just run either…could they?

Another blink and Yuga had noticed the red, square shaped insignia on the cadets’ uniform. He recognized that symbol. Bold, powerful, unmistakable; even Yuga could quickly put two and two together that these men were from Midgar – from Shinra – and their ‘we’re just here to look’ excuses couldn’t be trusted as far as Sera’s bow could throw them.

They were definitely here because of them, weren’t they?

“ We’ve gotta go back, Shai. We didn’t bring anything with us that can help us out this time, so we’ve gotta go back. ” Yuga would agree, despite his wanting to standing tall and be stubborn, too. They just…didn’t have anything here that could help Sera push a whole army unit back-

So reaching up, Yuga would grab onto the back of Shayan’s shirt with a swift tug. “ C’mon! The longer we wait, the more time they’re gonna have to memorize who we are. The club house near the river should at least be safe enough, so…let’s go! ”

As proud as she was of Yuga and his level head, she couldn’t help but flinch; he was a good boy, brave, bold, and convincing enough she could feel Shayan’s tight grip on her skirt thankfully loosen enough she swore she’d hear footsteps any second now... But all the same, Yuga was far from a quiet boy, and a glance between the men before her confirmed at least two of them were looking about for the mentioned river already as it was. Smart he may be, but they’d have to work on his volume when it came to serious moments like this- “Keep each other safe, you hear me? No distractions. Get there and lock the door. I won’t let them follow after you.”

“But...”

She didn’t need to look down at him to recognize the conflict in his voice, or to know there was hesitation in the bright, mako-tinged blue gaze quickly glancing between both her and his brother. Shayan had never been comfortable leaving her, or any member of their family really, alone for any kind of task if he could help in some form, but... Yuga had a point, too. There was nothing but rocks and fallen branches and maybe a frog he could fling in their direction, and they’d probably get taken out long before he could take more than a step towards anything of the sort. They couldn’t help, and the recognition of that killed him, especially when he knew one of the outcomes regardless was-

“I promise. Everything’ll be all right, and once these guys go away, Dad and I’ll find you.” Dad - She didn’t dare speak Zack’s name in front of Shinra troops, though it seemed she wouldn’t need to, small hands releasing her skirt a moment later. Knowing they’d both come for the boys was likely the comforting thought he needed, Sera figured, shifting herself further in front of them. If they were going to run, she’d make herself their shield - No questions asked. “Be fast. I’ll be behind you in a few minutes.”

“....Love you, Mom-”

“I love you too - Both of you. Now go.”

The sound of fleeing footsteps and Shayan grabbing his brother’s wrist was all she needed to re-level her bow on the captain’s thighs, the blizzard materia set into the weapon’s frozen wing design glowing as the air around her dropped in temperature. Glittering ice crystals quickly formed, clinging to the grass and branches; all she needed was one step. One move against her she could call threatening to unleash a casting of blizzard and her own frozen arrow, eyes narrowing on the unit as a whole. If they wanted the boys and Gongaga, they went through her - And she came with enough ice to freeze them all three times over before they even got there!

“Time’s up. What’s your answer? Leave, or be turned into glorified ice sculptures? Because I can confirm you wouldn’t make very nice ones. Don’t think Shinra would appreciate the delivery of frozen infantry.”

[sakurarisen]

[Zack; Infantry Jerks]

❰ ◈;; sakurarisen ❱

@honorisen​ from HERE

The staredown was nervewracking, Sera decided. She didn’t dare look away; they were only infantry, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. A company that could do what they had to Zack, to make an entire army like Shinra had… She didn’t doubt even their infantry was trouble, especially in numbers like she’d found herself against. Three, four… Possibly five - She refused to turn her head and look for more. Once small slip was all it’d take.

“You think you’ve got the upper hand?“

“Not at all.” An honest reply to what she’d quickly dubbed a stupid question - she was but one woman, armed with only a bow and two boys barely into their childhood. The upper hand was far from her grasp, and she wasn’t going to lull herself into a false sense of security. “But I think I know this area better than all of you combined - And how to keep you out.”

“You think?”

“I think. Unlike you, I know how to use my brain.”

Sass - It was her best weapon when she was up in arms like she was, and her only cover for just how terrified she truly was. This wasn’t where she belonged; this was Zack’s territory, and no matter how much she wanted to call herself capable of protecting their family too, she was, truthfully, ready to hand the role of guardian right back to him. What happened if they moved? If they came at her all at once? What if they had materia training, and an ounce of brains in their heads? What if-

It was instinct that let her arrow fly at the first sign of a step forward, icy tip striking and lodging into the ground between he infantry and herself. The spread of ice across the jungle’s ground wouldn’t do much to deter them for long, but at the very least it’d put a temporary stop to their advances, creating a slippery, frozen barrier between both parties as Sera reached for another arrow in the quiver on her back. “Try me. This town isn’t for you - And if you come near my sons again, the next arrow won’t miss.”

“ …Yeah, that’a girl! Hold ‘em off, just like that. ”

Zack’s voice was barely a whisper above the underbrush and jungle noises, but he was still intently focused on Sera and her infantry attackers, watching the situation like a hawk from the bushes. The battalion was cocky and holding their ground, but Zack could’ve sworn he’d seen one of the outer cadet’s take a cautious step back as the ice from Sera’s bow shot spread through the grass. She was being a little spitfire and that gave Zack so much confidence, too!

But the captain of the infantry unit would step up regardless; his gun plunged defiantly in front of him like Sera was nothing about another target needing to be pushed out of the way – and to him, that’s all she was, too. Another obstacle needing to be cleared per their assignment, so he’d take a bold step to trek over Sera’s ice barrier  

“ Ma’am, we’re here on official business, so we’re only going to ask you this once. Stand down and let us through or we’ll detain both you and your children. No more warnings! ”

Zack tensed at the shout; the grip on his Buster Sword all but tightening as he tried to keep himself from barging out of the woods right then to bowl over the patrol unit himself. A former SOLDIER like him could’ve easily dispatched these guys! 

‘Not until her cue’ he’d find himself musing – because once Zack blew his cover, he’d have no choice but to dispatch the captain and his unit. A decision Zack’s wouldn’t be happy to make.

The familiar creak of her bow being drawn cut through the ever-present sounds of the jungle in reply. Stand down - Did he really think she was so stupid as to believe they’d be safe if she did that? There was nothing in Gongaga for them. No reason to have laid a hand on Yuga and Shayan. No ‘official business’ that should have brought them there, especially when the reactor had exploded years prior. They hadn’t cared then, leaving them village to fend for itself and deal with the aftermath on their own; why would they care now?

No, there was something else at play here, and Sera lowered her bow slightly, aiming her readied arrow towards the captain’s thighs with a slight narrowing of her eyes. “And I’ll tell you this one more time: I won’t let you set foot in this town. Maybe this time you’ll get that through your ears and into your heads. I know your skulls are thick, but I’ve never seen infantry with heads as thick as you lot.” Nor had she ever seen her hands so steady when she called on her materia’s magic, ice slowly spreading along the arrow from her fingers to the tip. One step... All she needed was one step, and she’d not hold back. He was already too close to her family for comfort, and she’d not stand for it if he kept pushing his luck.

But it was her boys she’d briefly turn her focus to next, keeping the captain and his men locked in her sights despite the softening of her tone and lower volume. “Shayan... If they come any closer, I want you to take your brother and run for town.”

“M-Mooooom-!”

“No buts. You’ll be safe - I promise you that much... But I need to you to get home, and lock the doors. If you see your father there, tell him to stay put and hide, both of you. Am I clear?”

“We can’t-”

“Am I clear?”

Small hands tightened their grip for but a moment, and she could easily take his whine as agreement. He didn’t want to and she knew it, but this was no place for either of them - Not when she didn’t trust Shinra to not target them, or use the boys against her. They had to get out, before they made a move towards harming them.

“The choice is yours now. Either you leave of your own free will, or I slide you back to Midgar as ice cubes for Shinra to defrost. Which sounds like a more pleasant experience to you?”