melodiesoflife | Intro Log || This Keeps Happening

Intro Log || This Keeps Happening

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of January. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in Aqures Ixen and are informed by their assigned Moogles of what the situation and what their destinies are. This a log for them to react to the situation, meet each other and be welcomed by the former batches of Heroes of Light.
Warning: Snow. Also some leftover decorations from Christmas.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within an instant, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you knew it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, your world vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Even you feel different: all the powers you might once have had, are now gone. It is silent, cold and it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you.

At this moment, when it looks as though nothing but a never-ending void awaits you, a red Crystal forms before you. In this void, its warmth compels you to grab it. Upon doing so, you can hear a soft, soothing voice speaking:

"Wake up."

Soon, the void itself vanishes and is replaced by distant noises of engines. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call one more time, but is soon replaced with a much less graceful "Wake up Kupo." Hand clutched on your Crystal, the call of the Moogle may finally wake you up. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Fire, in the third district of a city called Aqures Ixen. At this point, you may realize the engine noise actually originates from an Airship flying low over the city and headed to dock beneath the castle. As if it wasn't strange enough, your clothes have changed as well. They are now a reflection of the Jobs you are wielding. Last but not least, you are surrounded by Moogles, small and fluffy creatures who are more than happy to tell you about everything you want to know, about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light, about what awaits you.

Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

The only people around you are like you-- There are quite a few of them, all clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. If somehow you do not realize it, the Moogle who woke you up will be more than happy to inform you there are others like you around. In fact, there are other Heroes who have arrived in the course of the past year and they will come soon! Like you, they have Jobs and a Crystal.

If asked, the Moogles will mention that the Heroes of Light - that is to say you - are fighting against time to save Crystallis from the Calamity that is about to awaken to devour the entire world. Sounds terrible? Welcome to Crystallis.

The Other Heroes
— Shortly Thereafter —
Thanks to the efficiency of Mognet, it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around: those who arrived in this world within the past year. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you that there were other Heroes of Light in this city. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers when they told you about how they managed to push back the Empire and defeat gigantic beasts in the past. And more importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have all the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a tragic disappointment. Still, for the most part they know more than you on the situation and may be more than happy to fill you in, especially if your Moogle didn't tell you much.

The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
With Christmas being barely over, there are still Christmas Decoration in the streets, and while the reconstruction are nearly over, there are still traces of the attack the Empire led against the city six months ago. A few buildings are being worked on.

And besides the decorations and reconstructions, there are a lot of things to do in the city for newcomers. A few groups of Triple Triad players are playing before Mognet Office in the ninth district, and a Blitzball Match is set to start at 20:00 in the stadium! Characters are also free to visit the city-- Mognet Office just behind the Triple Triad games is filled with Moogles, most of them discussing about the election for the future director of Mognet. They can also visit Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline.

Or maybe you could visit your new house in the 11th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with.

The Laboratory
— Anytime —
A location where a lot of Heroes of Light seem to be gathering is Palitutu's Laboratory. It is a place where employed characters can research into various topics. However, most importantly, characters can see a file with their name...

Should your character decide to go there and peek at their file, there are two possibilities. Either the file is corrupted and they cannot access it: too bad for them, but at least their life will remain a mystery. Or should you decide the file isn't corrupted, they will find a summary of their lives up to their canon point, as if written by a third-person omniscient narrator. On the column left to the text, to the top there is a portrait of them, and beneath it there is a 3D model of them. Said portrait and model can be switched to any year of their life. At the bottom there is a percentage, indicating 0%. On the right column, there are various links, most of which are grayed out. The clickable links lead to their Homeworld History and their future post-canon point history (corrupted file for unfinished canons).

At least, they can lock this file away if they don't want anyone to see it.

The Hospital
— Anytime —
Characters who have already been in Crystallis before do not wake up by the Crystal of Fire like everyone else. Instead, they will wake up in the Hospital of Aqures Ixen, in a room where there are over a hundred of other Heroes of Light like them-- Maybe even some familiar faces... Except they're all in Crystal Stasis.

A couple Moogles and a few nurses will be waiting by the room, and they will welcome all characters waking up. Upon exiting the room, they will also meet a lot of guards, and they all have for order to shoot anyone that comes out of this room without a Moogle. Hopefully you won't try running out without waiting for your Moogle. As for why the guards are so on edge, it might be a good idea to ask the other Heroes of Light about what happened a couple months ago.

Close Encounters of the Third(?) Kind
— 15:00 —
Characters venturing by between the city's outskirts and the Chocobo Farm at this specific time will be able to see a most peculiar sight: a flying saucer seemingly abducting a Chocobo before flying away and disappearing into the sky without leaving any traces of its presence. If your character do see it, hopefully there will be someone with them. Otherwise, nobody will believe their story.

Was it an UFO or just a hallucination? Previous sightings of such a thing have happened. It might be a good idea to investigate this sometimes...

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Yuna’s smile widened and a light laugh left her lips.

“If you want.” Her fingers laced behind her back as she stood, her head tilting to the side slightly. “Are you used to dancing with others?” She’d have to learn his steps if she was going to dance with him though.

Who needed manners when you had gleaming pointed daggers and the ability to turn invisible at any moment? Besides that fact that Yuffie was perpetually in a bad mood when she was supposed to be ’working’. More likely than not Mooshoo wasn’t far behind her and she didn’t really want to talk to the grumpy moogle.

In reality killing Rufus would do nothing because he would turn to crystal and then come back a week later. She could just hurt him a little bit but then they’d both be stuck in this world with an even more complicated grudge than before and looking over her shoulder constantly was tiring. Logically, her actions made no sense but it was really hard to stop herself.

Which begs the question: ‘Did Yuffie do anything that was unnecessary?’ The answer to that was yes she did unnecessary stuff all the time. “Tsk.” Yuffie made the strange sound through her teeth before expertly slipping the dagger back into her hip sheath. “Just because you’ll lose.” Her words dripped with venom. She really hated Rufus and ShinRa and what they did to Wutai.

“Some hero.” Yuffie very much doubted the selection process of new heroes. “Looking for another city to destroy?”

It’s very obvious that she wasn’t happy.

For some reason Terra hadn’t thought it would be so easy. Her head tilted slightly to the side, her bright blue eyes blinking curiously at the stranger, all hints of displeasure instantly gone from her features. “You don’t have to apologize to me.” Her voice was softer as if the wind could easily just carry it away.

“But maybe I can help?” She hadn’t had her memories when she first woke up in Crystallis so she didn’t really understand how shocking it could be. “I’m Terra.” She couldn’t shake his hand or anything because her arms were still filled with flowers.

Terra wasn’t expecting his question and for a moment she was silent. She remembered giving him a flower but a lot of their conversations felt distant and fuzzy. She didn’t like forgetting things but it had been months ago. She hadn’t realized how swiftly time had passed.

“I thought you were in Stasis.” She spoke softly her surprise still evident. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

It wasn’t as if she knew what happened to those in Stasis and while she knew his name she hadn’t known him really well. They had talked about flying and his accounts where unlike her own.

Yuffie waved a hand in the air to get Dusters attention. “Okay, I can understand worrying about your friends. They might not be here and if not they probably don’t know that you’re gone.” She had been able to figure out that much with the number of people from Gaia here. Sometimes she just felt like a clone of herself.

“Today is… January something?” What was the calendar like here? “Anyway.” Yuffie waved her hand again as if the day didn’t matter.

“You aren’t on your world anymore. This is a different one and I think the fire crystal dresses newbies.” It was a little creepy but it was better than the other thoughts that Yuffie had had about the matter.

Zelda laughed softly before picking up a flute and holding it to her lips. She can’t play one but she was able to hold it and get an even tone to sound from the high pitched instrument.

“I don’t think I can teach you about playing this one but I can make the sound. I know the shop owner can play a lot of the instruments he sells.” Zelda placed the flute down and then moved to Dusters other side. “I think something like this might be good though.” She picked up the ocarina and smiled. “Try and play this.”

It didn’t involve such intricate lip play.

[Zelda’s fingers move in front of her lips as the moogle tackles her new charge. A small part of Zelda really wants to laugh though she knows that it isn’t the time for that. She crouches down and lightly places a hand on Jaeha’s shoulder.]

Are you alright?

[She might be able to heal him but considering his quick decision to leave she doesn’t know if he’ll accept the help or not. She doesn’t want to force it one him.]

"All the time," he acknowledged, stepping to the side so that she could join him on the makeshift stage.

"Back home I was part of a dance group, Team Baron, before we all merged into a singular Beat Rider dance team."

Yuna heard the familiar voice before she even saw who it belonged too. She had felt awkward going to meet the new heroes but that didn't stop her and now she was at a loss. Seeing Tidus made her pause as if he was a piece of a dream that had faded. As far as she knew he was gone.

How many years had it been? He wouldn't even recognize her.

"Tidus?" Her voice sounded so strange to her and then she tried to remember the last time she called his name. "Is it really you?"

It wasn't a dream, it wasn't Shuyin.

Pain gripped at Yuna's heart and she felt herself take a step away from him. There was another Yuna here, more likely this wasn't the Tidus she knew.

The newest Hero's dance moves were like none that Ramza had ever seen before. But it was obvious he was performing for pay, and from the job abilities, Ramza could gather he was a Hero. Dancer was not a normal job class for citizens of Aqures Ixen.

Ramza dropped a few gil coins into the hat and gave the Hero a nod. He'd arrived with his gil, but most Heroes had very little when they were brought here. No reason not to show a little kindness.

"Sure, yeah. I volunteer when I can, honestly. They already give us a place to live, 'n it's kinda our fault the Empire attacked in the first place."

He shrugged halfheartedly. It was the least he could do to make it up to the city and its citizens.

"They've backed off for a few months now, but it's only a matter of time til the Empire tries somethin' else. I ain't sure they're gonna come after this city again, but there's others around the globe we're allied with. And they had gone after one of those even before gettin' as far as Aqures Ixen."

That might be, but at least Zack wasn't even using the skills of the job he was offered, only the music accompanying his motions. He danced freely, earning his coin as he came to a close.

In between a set, he nodded at Ramza. "Hello."

"I hadn't heard that, but there's a lot that I need to catch up on," said Zack with a shake of his head.

He nodded, making a face. "Huh, I'm guessing this is a fairy fortified city then?"

...Cloud?

There was no mistaking that awful hairstyle, even though the soldier looked younger and... chubbier? It was a strange sight, not to mention the fact he seemed less serious from what he remembered of him. Although, didn't Reno tell him that people arrived from different time lines? Perhaps this was one of those scenarios, it would explain all these changes.

Although, Cloud still recognized him despite the fact that he wasn't wearing his usual clothes and that he was much older than how he would appear in Cloud's time. Perhaps he was just that recognizable, but Rufus was still a little suspicious. Maybe he was wrong about Cloud being from an earlier time as well.

Time to know for sure.

"Cloud Strife." No point in hiding the fact that he didn't know him. "Isn't this a pleasant surprise." Rufus definitely sounded charming, but he came off as more amused than anything.

As disappointed as Aya is to hear that, there's also some comfort in knowing that she isn't the only one feeling very out of place here. Though she does squint at Rialynn's latter comment. "Is... the world not round, where you're from?"

Either that or this girl happens to be from the Dark Ages or something. Nothing would surprise her at this point. Sigh.

Indeed the moogle wanted to speak with Aya. "Please don't ignore me, kupo!" it squeaked in a shy voice.

Aya blinks. "Huh, they really do talk."

"Now that's just rude."

"Sorry?"

Aya took a moment to squint at the weapon Yuna brandishes. "Huh. Doesn't look like any model I've seen before. Come to think of it..." She whips out one of the handguns from her belt holster. "Neither do these... That's odd."

Having to recognize a gun from its make and brand was also part of her job as well, given that she had to be pretty versatile when on the field. That, and they happened to have become a hobby of hers over time. She wasn't one of the best marksmen in her team for nothing.

"You make it sound like I might have to make plenty use of it." Aya isn't complaining; she just isn't surprised.

The moogles, of course... Aya nearly forgot. It doesn't help that the one that's taken to following her around is so shy that she only ever seems to talk when spoken to.

"Heroes of light, Fire Crystal, the Queen..." Aya parrots, more like she's reciting some bar joke. She just shakes her head. "I feel like I'm inside some kinda of storybook."

And if this was a dream, it was a very vivid one. No, she knew that this wasn't a dream... She could make out the written words in front of stores and buildings. In dreams she would be jumping around events, but ever since she woke up things had been going in a very linear order. Like it was real.

"Cid. Is that someone else I should be talking to?"

Something Jack had said comes back to her; people who he recommended speaking with that were close in leadership.

That's when she realizes her manners. "Sorry, I just keep thinking..." Never mind. "Anyway, I'm Aya Brea. Thanks for indulging me with all the info."

"I see." She's been hearing a lot about these attacks, not just from the people she has asked thus far but from snatches of conversations she's caught on the street. "Any chances that they might come back? I'd like to be able to make myself useful if something like that ever happens again."

Always straight to the point. If there's no way back home in the immediate future, she may as well make the most of her time here, and Aya has never been fond of idle hands. It also helps that this guy looks like he knows a bit about where to start.

"So I've heard."

Despite this, Aya is still asking around for information, trying to get her bearings and understand her current situation as much as possible. After all, she doesn't know how long she is going to be here.

She takes a moment to look over the dark-haired man, before she speaks again: "Any thoughts on whether or not it might happen again? Another attack like this, I mean."

Edited 2016-01-12 07:16 (UTC)

Ah, so she was coming to reason. Surprising, but not unwelcoming. Still, there was a slightly smug air around him that didn't dissipate, even with all the insults that she threw at him. Actually, he just seemed even more amused by them.

"Now, why would I do that?" Rufus was well aware of the destruction of Wutai and his company's hand in it. It technically wasn't his fault, but he didn't exactly feel bad for what happened to her country either. He didn't have the time to feel bad for what his company did to other people in the past. "It would be rather counterproductive to destroy a city here." Rufus really didn't intend to do anything like that. There wasn't really a point for one thing.

"Aren't we all working for the same goal now? Destroying the Calamity and saving the world?"

Duster barely knew anyone else here, but that was nothing new to him. He had Rialynn to help rally support, and Heroes were supposed to band together to protect the world, right? The least he could do was to stand by her as she gathered the others.

Duster followed right after her, limping like he always did but never falling behind. "It's not the same thing, but there were flying machines over the Nowhere Islands, and scientists kidnapped lots of animals to turn them into chimeras." It must have sounded ridiculous to Rialynn, but the idea of combining two animals together was a far-fetched idea to Duster before he knew the truth.

"We weren't able to do much back home, but if we act fast enough, we can stop them before they hurt too many animals."

Duster's mouth relaxed into a slight frown, with his eyes half-open, he drew his hand out to grab Sparks' to give him a soft shake. Yesterday...no, today was the fifth, he was unconscious for five days. Either way, too much had happened in Duster's life, and he didn't have the energy to be more upbeat than usual.

His gaze went to Sparks' hat. "How long ago was day one?"

If Duster had woken up after a normal day, he would have laughed at that statement. Unfortunately, watching your world break apart and finding your friends missing when you wake up tends to put a damper on your sense of humor.

"Twice, if we're not counting this one," he shrugs. His normally expressionless face tightens as Allenby mentions being transported to another world.

"...But what happened to my world? My friends? Did they just capture me?"

A million thoughts runs through Duster's head. What were they going to do to the bird? Why is a machine like that here? Are they being invaded? Just his luck to come from one world where scientists had turned more animals into chimeras and into one where they're starting to experiment on them.

He turns at the newcomer when he feels the Chocobo's footsteps. Ah, so that's how you rode them. He watched Cloud, hoping that he'd be able to help, only for him to bring bad news.

"They were taking animals before?!"

Of course they might not have known if he was here: there was a likely chance they were dead if this wasn't the new world the Dark Dragon created. He swallowed that retort and let Yuffie talk. A different world. This whole day was one big event after another.

If today even was the same day. "It was New Year's Even the last time I remember." Enough time to transport him and dress him up. Yes, Yuffie, that was kind of creepy. "But why these clothes?"

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Page 8 of 34

Intro Log || This Keeps Happening

The City

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Re: The City

I. Waking Up: Awkward

The City

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Re: The City

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