Clarity - Sylas

Clarity – ground the other after a freak out – Sylas

The last set of bombings had been particularly harrowing. That they were no closer to finding the perpetrators of the heinous crime did nothing to ease the minds of those who had to deal with it. Today, it had been Sephiroth and his trainee, Sylas.

This time, the bomb had been rigged to an ancient stream train that had been making its last trip across the city before being retired. That the engine had been a relic of happier times mattered not to the criminals, all they wanted was to cause trouble and make their message known. Sephiroth wasn’t stupid enough to think that they had no idea what would happen when the engine exploded, it was intentional. Whether they’d planned for it to blow at the intersection where a large crowd had gathered was another thought entirely.

The blast had caused a secondary explosion within the boiler, which had sent the internal tubing tearing away quick enough to spear whatever they hit. They had hit the surrounding area and torn it to pieces. Shops, houses, men, women, children. The casualty list was still growing. The bridge the train had been travelling over had collapsed, which had turned the chaos into a calamity.

By the time SOLDIER had got there, the scene was carnage. Most of the bodies had been covered, but not all. It reminded Sephiroth of a warzone. The damage was extensive. Looking around it turned his stomach in the same way that some of the battles he had been on did. He knew he wouldn’t be harmed now, the damage was already done, but the sight of the dismembered bodies made him wary. Sylas had turned an alarming shade of white tinged with green, however he did not throw up.

They had ensured pictures had been taken, evidence gathered and the scene secured before heading back to their barracks to digest what had happened. Neither of them had spoken on the way back, keeping their thoughts to themselves. It was not an easy scene to digest and Sephiroth knew there would be fall out for both of them at some point. The human mind couldn’t deal with such sights without some backlash somewhere. He had seen it enough times during the war to know that it manifested in many different ways. There was no way to predict how, and the Company were not the best at understanding the mental needs of their employees so they were left to get on with it.

There were psych evaluations, but they didn’t deal with problems too well, just found them.

For Sephiroth, it manifested in withdrawing. He felt the need to be away from the human race and work through his anger with his sword… or a particularly good book. Angeal needed to talk, Genesis ran it out of his system. Sylas – well, he didn’t know yet.

It happened while Sephiroth was finishing up some paperwork. Sylas burst into the office, breathing hard. His hair was dishevelled and he looked around, frantic. He threw himself into one of the chairs and fidgeted for a while. Sephiroth gave him a moment, to see if he had the words to describe what he was going through. When he didn’t speak, Sephiroth asked, “What happened?”

Sylas drew in a breath and stilled. “It…” He paused. “There was a woman with a tube through her head.”

“There was.”

“Her blood splattered the wall and I can’t stop seeing that pattern. I close my eyes and it’s there. The bright red just splattered there.” Sylas was a talker then. Sephiroth nodded, urging the young SOLDIER to go on. He swallowed and waved a hand. “There were others but she stands out. She was close to the blast and her hair was burned. It was one of the smaller pieces and the hole in her head. It was so vivid and brutal. How can I not see it? The splatter and how that brass stuck out of her temple.” He shuddered.

“It was not a pretty sight,” Sephiroth said pushing white hair from his face.

“How can they do it? Those people who set the bomb? All those people are dead and for what?” A couple of tears slid down his cheeks; Sephiroth slid a box of tissue towards him, which he took, and used. “It’s not right!”


“No, it’s not right,” Sephiroth agreed. “Which is why we are here, why we have to ensure that these people are caught and cannot do anything like it again.”

“It was so red…”

Sephiroth got up from the desk and headed over to where his young friend was sat. He gave his shoulder a squeeze and nodded. “We’ll get them.”

Sylas swallowed. “We have to.”

Sephiroth knew he was not a talker – that he was not one who was good at discussing feelings, or reassuring those who were having difficulties with theirs. He patted his shoulder again and tried to smile. “We’ll work on it together.” His voice sounded flat but he meant what he said. Sylas nodded, and that was enough – they’d catch these murderers in the end.