Intro Log || This Keeps Happening

[melodiesmods]

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...

Comments

[chondriosome]

I. Awake:

That's the word that she hears calling out to her. This feels just about what a hangover should feel like, but Aya doesn't drink, and she certainly wasn't drunk the night before. And that is why it's strange that she can't... remember the night before, period. If there was a night at all.

One thing is for sure. She sure as hell was not surrounded by strange fluffy creatures with red balls on tethered over their heads. "I must be dreaming," she mutters to herself.

"You're not dreaming, silly. You just woke up, kupo!"

"Rrright." Aya's eyes narrow at the creature as she slowly rises to her feet, only to notice something else strange about her situation. "What...? That's weird."

No, weird doesn't even begin to cover any of what's going on right now. She doesn't even remember wearing these (Gunner) clothes the night before, either.

"Is this some kinda sick joke?"

II. The City:

All things considered, Christmas is not Aya's favorite time of year. So the decorations are met with some disgust as she wanders the streets, taking in the sights while still expecting to wake up any second now. After all, what kind of alternate reality celebrated Christmas?

Card games, sports, and bars never interested her so much, and her goal was focused elsewhere besides any of that: Getting home to her sister took number one priority over messing around with the recreational activities this place had to offer.

But the state of the city didn't go beyond her attention as well. Upon noticing the state of the buildings under construction, she glances around to one of the nearest locals.

"Um, excuse me. What happened here?" Do you know? sounds like the wrong thing to ask, as the scale of the destruction seemed a little hard for anyone to miss.

III. 14th District:

Otherwise, one can catch her in the midst of her exploration of the neighborhood. While still convinced that there must have been some sort of crazy mistake, the moogle who introduced herself as Iva had explained that 'B-05' would be the location of her home.

Which couldn't be right. How was that possible?

"How is any of this possible," she reminded herself, her shoulders slumped.

II

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

At the moment, Jack Harkness sticks out like a sore thumb, not dressed in any of his Job gear, but his Captain's coat from Earth. He's here, at the Crystal, every time they have new arrivals, and leaves each time disappointed as if the right person never showed up. He was beating a retreat when he gets stopped by one of the new arrivals.

"What happened?" The corner of Jack's mouth quirks up sympathetically. "Short version is the city's been attacked a few times. We won, and doesn't look like it's going to happen again."

"You want the long version, I'd recommend sitting down." Jack offers his hand over. "Captain Jack Harkness. And, welcome, if nobody's said it yet."

[chondriosome]

Indeed his attire is one of the first things she notices about the man, even before he speaks with her. It's something that Aya files away in the back of her mind for the time being, as clothing isn't her focus at the moment.

"Attacked...?" Her eyes widen slightly at the 'short version' of the story. "I think I can handle the long version standing."

Aya isn't exactly what you'd call faint of heart, and she's too antsy at the moment to sit still for very long.

When he takes out his hand, she's hesitant at first, before she reaches forward for a brief, cordial shake. "Special Agent Aya Brea, from the FBI. And thanks... Guess it's pretty obvious that I'm not from around here."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"Oh!" There is a total shift in Jack's demeanor as soon as Aya states her credentials. "Good to meet you, Special Agent." She can handle it, she's no civilian. She's in the trade, so to speak.

"Before you get your hopes up, I should mention that my rank was with a special investigative unit of the British military. Torchwood." Jack holds up a hand. "I doubt that you would have heard of us. We didn't step outside of the United Kingdom's borders that often."

"But we're not on Earth anymore. Probably already figured that out, but let's make it official. And we don't know how to get back. But there's a big enough problem happening here, and those of us who've been brought for other worlds seem to be the best people to solve it." Jack shrugs. "I will admit that going home hasn't been our top priority."

Again, she can take it, so Jack is blunt. "There's a global catastrophe that's slowly destroying this planet. It's growing, spreading from a central point. We are one of the farthest points away from it. We got attacked by an empire to the south, out of desperation. Because their cities are about to be over run now."

I.

[rialynn]

"...I'm a bard..." came a small snippet of conversation as a young woman took slow, absent-minded steps across the street toward Aya.

"Actually you're not, you're a Freelancer right now," piped the little Moogle walking beside her, head tilted almost all the way back despite her companion's 5'3" height. Everyone looked gigantic to a Moogle.

The Freelancer-Bard was puzzled, her thin brows beetling together. "Is that what bards are called in this world?"

"Ha ha, no, silly! It's your job, your job! If you had the Bard job, your clothing would be a lot more flashy, and your music would have magical effects on the battlefield!"

"...I don't really get it..." The human stopped short when she realized she was nearly on a collision course with Aya. Her boots scuffled over the cobbled stones as she blinked in surprise. "Whoa, hello! Sorry! ...Hey, are you all right?" To her, Aya looked rather ill.

"Rialynn," the Moogle tugged at the girl's trouser leg, "that's one of the new Heroes, like you!"

Her eyes widened to a comical size. "Really?!" She looked at Aya with sudden profound respect and admiration. "That's great! I mean...well, welcome! I guess?" She stuck out a gloved hand in any case.

[chondriosome]

"Heroes?" Aya arches a brow, not really linking the difference between hero and Hero.

Of course, back home she had been considered a hero for her actions in New York, even if she never saw it the same way... But intuition tells her that that's not what this creature is referring to, considering the plural.

With some color finally fading back into Aya's complexion, she nods. "I should probably say the same to you, though you look about as lost in all of this as I am."

It'd probably help if she paid more attention to the moogle that's currently trying to summon her attention at her feet, tugging on the hem of her clothes.

Seriously, what are these things?

[rialynn]

"Oh, I'm absolutely lost," Rialynn reassured her, dropping her hand back to her side. "Kunia gave me some basic information. I can't believe this world is actually round."

Kunia coughed politely into her paw. She would inform Rialynn that her world was most likely round as well, but as she didn't know for sure, it might have been impolite to make such an assumption.

Noticing the other Moogle's frustrated attempts to catch Aya's attention, Rialynn cleared her throat a little and gave a subtle tip of her head toward the smell creature. It seemed like someone wanted to talk to Aya pretty badly.

'The City'

[2hell_weride]

"Kind of a lot actually." the bandanna-wearing Blacksmith replies. But that voice makes him hesitate a moment, but then... as he turns to face the inquisitor, his jaw drops.

"H-holy fuck! DEVON!?" This is the second time he's seen someone he 'knew'. But in his hurry and excitement, he ignores any possibility of the whole 'alternate universe' theory and throws his arms around her in a hurried hug.

Either way, he suspects a rather strong punch to be coming soon, be it Devon or no.

[chondriosome]

"I figured as--" Aya starts, until the next thing she knows she's being drawn into an unexpected embrace. "Huh?"

While it's not a punch the kid gets for jumping the gun, she's quick to defuse the misconception by taking his shoulders and pushing him away, getting a look at his face.

Well, he doesn't look like anyone she knows, that's for sure. She figures this is probably going to be more awkward for him than for her real soon. "I'm pretty sure you're getting me mixed up with someone else. I just got here."

Far as Aya is concerned, she doesn't expect to find anyone here that she knows.

[2hell_weride]

After being shoved off and spoken to, it's probably a good idea to better look at her. She doesn't look at... rough, or aged. But the face is totally the same. Backing up and blushing, he tries to think of the first of a series of questions to ask that she would be inclined to answer and not just tell him to fuck off.

"So, your name isn't Devon Kwan? Then who are you...?" and for that matter, "And from when? You have the exact same face as someone I know..."

III. 14th District

[shinrasfinest]

It was still bitterly cold in Aqures Ixen. The sort of chilly weather that shouldn't have very many straying too far away from their hearths, which undoubtedly would be raging all day and then well into the night. Perhaps that would draw many Heroes to the main plaza before the Temple of the Crystal of Fire to meet the scheduled new arrivals before they might freeze on the streets. Even the thickest Job clothing wasn't renowned for being the most heat-retentive.

But there were books to return to one of the libraries within the university campus and Spencer had been keen to remind Sephiroth that he'd kept them for quite long enough already. Of course both Moogle and Hero knew well enough that today was the day that there would be new arrivals, so whether it had been Spencer's real intention for Sephiroth to go out and be useful wasn't too hard to guess.

Naturally, the route from B-09 to the 8th District brought the tall man with the overlong silver hair walking right down Aya's street as she slumped. Sephiroth wore a thick winter coat, in navy with a high collar and then a scarf wrapped around; obscuring most of the lower part of his face while his silver hair cascaded down around and behind him to a length that would fall on normal clothing to the back of knees. A quick once over with pale green, slitted-pupil eyes and a deep frown -as if it might keep him warm- ascertained that he didn't recognize Aya at all. Were the newcomers already coming out so far as the 14th District already?

"It's no use keep asking yourself that particular query."

Before he knew it, he came to a stop just a few feet from where Aya were standing. Shrugging a paper bag closer into his chest where his arms were wrapped around it.

[chondriosome]

There's something about the man that catches Aya's attention before he even addresses her; it could be because he looks nothing like anyone she would've ran into back home. And, for a moment, he spent a brief time trying to figure out something as well, before he speaks.

"Believe me, if it's one thing I've figured out by now it's that." She scoffs, before glancing at the district around them. "This wouldn't happen to be the fourteenth district, by any chance? I'm trying to figure out where my 'home' is supposed to be."

Home being said with some level of scorn. Aya doesn't like to think of this as a long-term thing. As far as she is concerned, fixing whatever problem with this place should be simple enough, and then everyone can go back to where they're supposed to be.

Right...?

[shinrasfinest]

Sephiroth seemed to stand up a little straighter as he quickly caught onto the tone of Aya's voice as she referred to her 'home' in Aqures Ixen. Really, he just brought his head up out of his scarf a little so that he might be able to talk to her more clearly. His deep frown had receded in the meantime, though now a delicate silver eyebrow was cocked upwards; the outer-curve of which was mostly hidden by the front parts to his hairstyle which fell on either side of his face.

"If you'd rather not refer to it as such, residence is just as fitting." He had a problem referring to his first residence as a home as well, but that had been a long time -and no less than two moves- ago. Where he was living now; home had worked it's way into casual vocabulary without even so much as a footnote.

A few blinks of heavily-lashed eyes later and Sephiroth looked pointedly around Aya, specifically at her shoulder height. If she didn't know where her residence was, there should be a moogle somewhere that would know-

"Your moogle?"

II. The City:

[navigatortotheking]

Umiko had a few tools around her hip when she was asked about the broken building in front of her. She had been surveying the progress so that she could update the maps she had made for the city. She had completely forgotten that the new heroes would wake up today and that she was probably suppose to be there.

This job was become troublesome.

"You're new then." She spoke calmly putting the stringed silver ball she had away as she turned to face Aya. "A few months back there was a war. I wasn't in the city then... honestly I was avoiding it but the Empire doesn't want to seem to stop here so it's a little hard to avoid."

At least that's the reasoning she came too.

[chondriosome]

A war, huh? So good to know that some things don't change no matter what world you're in.

"Am I that obvious?" About being new, that is. She then brings her hand to her chin for a moment and cants her head. "I see. Do you happen to have any idea what the conflict was about?"

Even though the girl just said that she wasn't around, there had to have been some word making its way across the grapevine. In fact, Aya's been hearing some chatter going about on the streets, but she was reluctant to approach most of the locals. She feels very out of place here, and it's probably because she is. This isn't her home; it's not where she belongs. And while she isn't in a huge hurry to get back (Eve and Kyle can handle themselves while Aya is away), she isn't eager to stay here, either.

I. Awake:

[whereishe]

Yuna walked over and shook her head slightly. "I'm afraid not." Her words were calm though there was a hint of unpleasantness just beneath her tone. It was hard for her to explain things to those who've newly awaken but she's determined to keep smiling.

"A lot of heroes are still trying to find a way home." Except that it was far more complicated than just that. Her head tilted to the side slightly as she glanced over the woman's firearms.

"Do you like guns?" Yuna did and she felt like it was a safe topic while Aya adjusted to the fact that this situation was real.

[chondriosome]

There was that word again, heroes. One would think someone would've come up with a better name for those that arrive. At least, Aya believes so.

She's about to respond when the woman remarks on her firearms. As annoying as it is that she's in clothes that aren't her own, there's some comfort to be found that she still has weapons. Aya doesn't sleep well without a handgun next to her bed.

"Well, yeah. Guns are part of my job."

Job from back home, that is. Though, suppose it's become apart of whatever job she has here now, too.

II. The City:

[bloodynine]

"A war. We won, I guess. We're still alive after all."

A rather raggedly-dressed man, probably in his mid 30s, answers Aya. He looks about as scarred and battered as a person can be, and he's got a bottle of liquor peeking out of one pocket. He isn't reeking of booze though, not yet.

[chondriosome]

"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."

II

[red_planet_blues]

The person Aya happens to stop and ask is a passing cop, who had just been chatting with some of the construction workers on this site. It's easy to figure from that question that Aya is either from very far out of town or a new Hero. Either way, it's not easy news to deliver.

"Oh, uh. Well, we've had some problems with the Empire. They've attacked us 'n our allied cities. Ain't been easy, but we've managed to drive 'em off so far. Things've been going pretty well on the clean up efforts, but we still gotta ways to go."

[chondriosome]

"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.

II

[neverfirstclass]

The young blonde stopped from where he was carrying a crate full of decorations. Cloud had been helping the armor shop take down some of their decorations in exchange for some gil off of some equipment when Aya walked up to him.

"Huh?" He looked around at the nearby buildings, shifting the crate in his arms. Even with the bulk of the leather jacket he was wearing to keep out the chill it was clear the teen had a bit of a belly to him. Too many holiday cookies perhaps?

"Oh...Yeah, Aqures Ixen wound up under attack a couple times last year." He avoided eye contact with her after saying that, like he blamed himself for it.

[chondriosome]

By then Aya's been hearing a lot of chatter about these attacks, and this war that had supposedly taken place here. It isn't very consoling, having arrived in the wake of all that.

So far, though, the accounts have been similar. Right now Aya is just trying to gather as much information from the locals as she can, learn more about her situation in this place, as well as the place itself.

"I heard that it was a war. What was it about?" She has some ideas, but she'd like to see how much the anecdotes align.

I.

[jackienaught]

Jack had been skulking about, in her Pirate job looking for anyone famliar in the throng of new bodies waking up at the Crystal of Fire, or whatever the hell Royale called it. The moogle had been sent off in the other direction, to keep an eye out for strange looking armor with a red and white stripe on it or people in white, grey and black uniforms. Deep down she knew it was a long shot, but it was worth keeping her newsy little partner out of the way.

Of all the people she saw, a woman with platinum blonde hair caught her attention and despite herself, Jack went to investigate. Sure enough the woman was speaking to a moogle, probably the one assigned to babysit, and Jack interjected.

"It's no joke, Blondie. You're gonna want to listen to the furball, though. They know the score around here."

[chondriosome]

Well, Aya was at least trying to speak with her moogle, considering that the creature clearly hasn't proven to be much of a sociable type. Which was strange, as the other creatures didn't seem nearly as off-putting or afraid of her as the one calling herself Iva was. Either way, it left Aya having to do much of the investigative work on her own.

She glances over at 'Blondie', as if it isn't the first time anyone's ever addressed her as such. A brow raises briefly, more at herself and how swift she reacted than anything that this tattooed Pirate had just said.

"I'm working on it, but she isn't making a whole lot of sense." At least, none of it makes sense to Aya. What the moogle keeps saying sounds more like a crazy story from a book. Then again, the creature itself looks like something from a page of some children's novel.

It's cute, though.