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

[ruinedempire]

A. Awakening

This was probably the 5th time in two years that Rufus came close to dying.

Or at least it felt that way. When reality started to shift and twist, his surroundings destroyed with no warning... he thought that was truly the end for him. But no, he was alive. Alive in some strange world where a Moogle told him everything that was going on. Heroes of Light, the Calamity, destiny.

It was marginally better than being dead, but he wasn't exactly thrilled with his current situation either. Rufus had zero interest in the problems of another world, although the whole crisis with the Calamity was something that he couldn't just brush aside either.

Truly exasperating.

He took stock of his current change in clothes before he looked around, trying to see if he could recognize anyone in this crowd. Best case scenario, it wasn't going to be someone that wanted to kill him right away. Always the highest expectations he carried

Or that was what he was trying to do, until the Moogle moved right in front of his face, blocking his view. "Are you looking for someone? Maybe I can help, kupo!"

Rufus looked at him with a slightly peeved expression before waving it off. "No, leave." Dejected, the Moogle did as he was told and flew off. So much for being gracious and polite.

B. Around town

After getting his bearings straight, Rufus figured that exploring the city firsthand was something that needed to be done. If he wanted to survive, he should know where the important locations were at and what they looked like. He didn't exactly have any resources here, no tangible advantage that he could use over others.

Rufus has never been in a situation like this before. But he had no time to fear others or whine about what he didn't have. It was just another challenge that he would take on. Perhaps it would be interesting in its own way...

"It seems that this city has had its fair share of attacks recently." Rufus commented to anyone nearby. It wasn't hard to miss the fact that some buildings were still being rebuilt.

B. Around town

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie didn't really like to waste time explaining shit to new people or dealing with the fact that they know very little about what's going on in this world. She'll swing by and see who's magically appeared hoping Cid or anyone else with half a brain might show up but that wasn't expected anymore.

Once she got bored she took to the rooftops and wandered around town. It was better than sticking around and listening to the repeated explanations. She had her hair tied back, the long strands of black now falling to her shoulder blades. It was winter but Yuffie still wore shorts as well as her usual ninja gear. Clearly weather was no match for her.

It was really hard to recognize Rufus in his new job clothing which was perhaps why Yuffie looked right past him. She jumped down from her perch atop a bakery and then swiped a pastry as she blended in with the crowd.

Her shoulder roughly hit Rufus's as she walked by though she made no effort to apologize. She did however turn, the pastry clenched within her jaw as she looked up at the man. There was a second of confusion, then surprise flicking across her features before she flicked a dagger into her palm. She couldn't say anything because she was eating but her intent was obvious, even on the crowded street.

[ruinedempire]

Rufus didn't take notice of Yuffie, not right away. He wasn't exactly looking at her direction, as he was examining one of the buildings that was being reconstructed. There was a lot to learn about this place, even with the moogle's information. However, he was easily brought out of his focus when he felt someone harshly bump into him.

And that person didn't even stop to apologize.

Irritation crossed his face for a moment as he turned to look at the person that clearly had zero manners. Sure, he was a ruthless corporate executive that did anything to rebuild his company, but at least he had manners. Made all the difference here.

But his earlier expression was soon replaced by genuine surprise, not expecting to see the young Wutai girl here. Her hair was longer than what he recalled, but Rufus knew that he wasn't mistaken. Although subtle, he unconsciously tensed when he saw the dagger flip into her hand and he barely stopped himself from pulling the gun from his belt.

"I find that wholly unnecessary, Yuffie Kisaragi." If he pulled out his gun here, she would definitely attack... although there was a chance that should would attack anyway. Rufus wouldn't win in a fight against her, he was well-aware of his limits. It was a gamble he was taking here and he would just have to get ready for any signs of attack.

Although, this was the 6th time that he was being threatened in a span of two years. The thought slightly amused him despite himself. But if she was here, did that mean that there were other AVALANCHE members in this city? It would be quite bothersome, but he had to take one situation at a time.

[thegreatninja]

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.

[ruinedempire]

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?"

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie has had a lot of time to grow up in Crystallis, not that Rufus will really notice because her first action was to kick him hard in the shin. She had to get it out of her system, more so considering she’ll be forced to see his stupid face around.

“Aren’t you cheery.” Her tone continued to remain dark. “I really doubt that your goal is to save this world. You’re just going to find another way to drain it.”

She wasn’t about to mention the crystals power and how the large crystals were fueled by the souls of the death and how he might be able to harness that power much like materia. Nope, she wasn’t mentioning anything about that because he was a jerk. She thought about Reno for a second and pouted. They were finally getting along and she figured Rufus’s presence would fuck that up.

“What are you really planning?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “No matter where you go you’re still an ass who only thinks about himself and his stupid company.” There are clearly more important things to life.

A. Awakening

[greenmagick]

"That wasn't very nice."

Terra hadn't planned to spend a lot of time entertaining the new heroes. She had flowers to get back to her shop but she couldn't say nothing when someone was treating their moogle so poorly. Bright green ringlets framed her delicate cheeks. Terra didn't do a good job of looking threatening.

"They are here to help us." Her bright blue eyes locked on Rufus as she spoke. Her own moogle, Tempest had disappeared after his moogle to comfort to poor thing.

[ruinedempire]

Not even one hour of this city and he was already being scolded by another person. What a way to start his day. Rufus cared very little about being nice or making sure that he didn't hurt the moogle's feelings. However, he didn't exactly want to make enemies of people right off the bat. Rufus figured that some people could be that sensitive about treating moogles right.

"I apologize, that was rather rude of me." He sounded completely sincere, even if he didn't mean any of it. Rufus was used to doing that, he was raised to. "It's been a trying day-- although I do realize that's only an excuse for admittedly appalling behavior."

[greenmagick]

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.

[ruinedempire]

"Rufus."

Well, if she was offering her help, Rufus wasn't going to just ignore the opportunity. Perhaps she could give more insight about his current situation that the moogle failed to explain. It was entirely possible.

"I'm assuming that the moogle was truthful in all his words." He began, figuring that was a basic place to start at. "We're heroes of light, brought here to fight off the Calamity. Could you tell me more about this monster? Have you fought against it at all?"

A. Awakening

[shepherd_prince]

Chrom moved through the sparse collection of new Heroes, veterans, and Moogles. He was one of three from his world that had woken up here, as far as he knew, so chances were high that one of his fellow Shepherds might be among those collected around the glowing crystal of Fire.

Thankfully, Chrom encountered Rufus before being made aware that his sister had joined Crystallis, otherwise he would be a gross emotional mess.

Kulevi, the Moogle with the dyed blue tuft of fur on her head sitting on his armored shoulder, turned to watch the sad looking Moogle flutter away. "Huh. Well that was rude," she grunted.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Chrom offered.

"Who, the blonde human guy? I mean the Moogle. He just gave up! How are you Heroes supposed to do anything if we don't tell you what's going on?" Kulevi flapped her tiny wings, taking to the air. "You go show that guy the ropes, I'm going to give his companion some words."

Hopefully those words didn't include a bucket of cold water, like Chrom had been treated to on the day of his awakening. But if that's what she wanted to do, he knew better than to insist otherwise.

"Greetings," he offered to Rufus as he approached with a friendly nod. Would that he'd lost more of the Santa Claus weight before this day arrived, but one thing at a time. "I'm Chrom, hailing from the halidom of Ylisse. This world is called Crystallis, and the city is Aqures Ixen. I'm sure you have questions. Feel free to ask, and I'll tell you what I know."

[ruinedempire]

Rufus turned to Chrom, quickly taking in his appearance and overall demeanor. He seemed sincere and potentially knowledgeable, so this wasn't an opportunity that he should pass up. He pleasantly smiled at the other man, trying to show that he was grateful about his offer. At least he wasn't being threatened right off the bat, which was something all too plausible with his status back home.

The small blessings, right?

He never heard of Ylisse, so Chrom must be from another world. Intriguing, but Rufus didn't have that much interest in other worlds. "I suppose I should start off with a relatively simple one. Everything the moogle told me, I'm assuming it's true? The Calamity, being Heroes of Light."

[shepherd_prince]

"Yes, as far as we're aware," Chrom affirmed with a single nod. "There is indeed a prophesy foretelling of our arrival. There's even a temple on another continent that apparently bears the likenesses of some of us in its stained glass windows." He hadn't been to see it personally, but his companion Robin had, and she'd told him about it.

His gaze shifted to the south as he frowned. "The Calamity lies to the south. It has lain dormant for some time, but we were warned that it would begin to move again shortly. We're still looking for a means to put a stop to it."

It felt a little cruel to plunge a newcomer directly into the messy crisis they faced, but it was better to be well informed than coddled and ignorant of the dangers at hand. "The sage in the temple, who issued the warning of the Calamity's movement, will invite us to return this month. He may answer more of our questions and inform us what is to be done. I'm not sure how much we can trust what he says, but right now, it's all we've got."

B - Around Town

[neverfirstclass]

A familiar, if not quite right sight awaited Rufus as he walked around town. The bell jingled from inside an armor shop as a door opened and a blonde teen walked out.

"Thanks a lot! I'll be by later to pick it up!" The teen was wearing the pants of a SOLDIER uniform clothes but the leather jacket he was wearing to keep out the cold hid the telltale turtleneck. It also failed to completely hide the belly that the blonde had developed thanks to his adventures as Santa Cloud.

And then of course there was the telltale sword slung over his back. The one he inherited.

He stopped short as he saw Rufus, memories filtering through his mind and trying to shuffle into his place. The few memories he had left of his future self put a name and emotions to the face even as the details had begun to slip away. Even so, the young trooper still recognized the company President's son.

"R-Rufus..." He managed to stop himself from saluting but he still stiffened up.

[ruinedempire]

...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.

[neverfirstclass]

"I uh...yeah, I guess." There was a short list of people that Cloud was hoping to see from Gaia. Rufus wasn't on it. Not out of any antagonism or anger. He just hadn't even given the young president any thought at all.

"Uh, welcome to Crystallis. Have you run into anyone else from Gaia yet? Has anyone filled you in?" He was sure Reno would be happy to know Rufus was here. But then there was Sephiroth. Would Rufus act before learning this wasn't quite the same person from back home?

[ruinedempire]

"A couple of individuals, actually. One of your friends-- your future friend, I believe, gave me a particularly warm welcome." Except that was the opposite of the truth. Yuffie kicked him and she was altogether an unpleasant person that he had to interact with. But Rufus didn't plan on talking about that incident with Cloud all that much. There would be no point.

He wasn't quite used to talking with Cloud all that much, but even this felt a lot different from the time they spoke in the Healin' Lodge.

"I've been informed of several things." Some were things that he really didn't want to know, but that was for another day. "Which included the concept of people being here from different times. Care to explain when you're from?"

B

[scriptrix]

[As Rufus makes his way past the library, Levy overhears his remark as she's headed off to her other job at the laboratory. Frowning, she stops to talk, offering a somber nod.]

...Yes, there was a big one around the end of July. It was actually in much worse shape than this for a while. It's only recently that most of the city has started to look like it used to.

[ruinedempire]

Care to explain what happened?

[He looked at the young lady, honestly curious about the cause of all this damage. It could provide an idea of what he was really up against as well. Better be prepared than running into a situation blindfolded.]

[scriptrix]

On the continent to the south, there's a place called the Heran Empire. They've been at war with... well, almost everywhere else, for a while.

[Levy sighs, shaking her head.]

The whole story is pretty complicated. This world operates in cycles. Each time, something called the Calamity awakens to consume the world, and the Heroes of Light are summoned to fight it. They've never succeeded once.

The leader of the Heran Empire is Emperor Garland, a man with memories of all of the previous cycles who wants to continue the cycle. Not much is known about him, but he's using the Empire's resources to fight against the Heroes.

[ruinedempire]

We're at war with the Heran Empire as well then. [Of course there was an outside influence that was making the fight against the Calamity even more difficult. Wasn't that how it always worked?]

A man that intends to keep on repeating history. How foolish.

A - Awakening

[provenworth]

There are not enough words in the Gaian language to fully express her powerful, deep-down disgust with the cold. And there were never enough layers to keep the bitter chill from reaching her bones. But Elena had to make do with what she had - a skill long perfected from past experiences - without looking like a five-year-old overly padded up with coats by an overly anxious mother.

She had been out on an information expedition when she came across the area where the newest set of Heroes had appeared. The group got an initial look over with the intent to continue, however a familiar blonde hairstyle and voice caused her to stop and narrow her vision to its owner.

Rufus. Yet another face she hadn't seen in years. One she still had mixed feelings about.

But there was no ignoring her duties as a Turk and she was quick to cut through the crowd towards the President.

"Rufus! Sir!" Hands go to remove her hat with one hand, letting longer blonde hair fall to her shoulders, and the other unwrapping her scarf. She she reaches him, both items are offered to him without a word. "Elena present and reporting for duty."

[ruinedempire]

Elena.

Rufus turned at her call, facing the young Turk with his full attention. He heard from Reno that she was here and he was honestly glad to see her. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was something Rufus was sincere about. Hopefully there weren't going to be any more weird complications to deal with, but Rufus doubted that things could get any more bizarre.

Reno telling him about their... relationship was a bit hard to swallow.

"Elena." Her hair was longer, but she otherwise looked fine. Good. He took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, but he declined the hat she was offering. "Reno debriefed me earlier. But report on your own status and condition." He heard that she was staying with Sephiroth... and the whole hero of light business as well.

[provenworth]

Rufus was not the only one to complete a quick once-over, her focus going to areas in which he had been stricken by Geostigma. The lack thereof narrowing the time periods that he could have potentially been taken from.

Not that it meant that he'd remember anything from the City. Which was mostly a good thing. She didn't want to dig up those old memories unnecessarily.

Returning the hat to her head, she gave a quick nod. It was no surprise to her that Reno had already contacted Rufus - the man moved like a cat and somehow was always a step ahead of her. Nevertheless, she would provide the requested information.

"I arrived a little over a month ago with limited information about the city and role as an alleged 'Hero'. I'm guessing that Reno told you that this isn't my first time in a world besides Gaia. Based on my calculations, I have been absent from Gaia for roughly 4 years before awakening here."

Though now that seemed irrelevant, considering that her world shattered around her upon coming here.

"My class appears to be a Gunner with a Red Mage as my secondary. I live in building B-09 with a woman named Terra and a pre-Nibiehlehim incident Sephiroth. Physically I have no major injuries to speak of, just some after-effects of previous altercations and illness. Otherwise, I am fit for duty."

She's kept her answers simple and straight to the point. Void of any unnecessary facts or details. Professional. And so she stops, giving the man a second to absorb the information she's provided. But only for a moment. She's seen him too many times come into her life in a way she would never want to see him come back in.

"You appear to be 'stigma free, sir."

Its both a statement and a question, though the latter is hinted subtly.

[ruinedempire]

Four years away from their world. That wasn't an insignificant amount of time and Rufus briefly wondered where Elena was at before arriving in this city. He planned on asking her more about those details at a later point, but he was fine with moving onto the situation they needed to address right now.

Even though he heard about Sephiroth from a couple different sources at this point, Rufus still found it odd to hear him be talked about so casually. Well, he was more of his hero self in this place, so it made sense. But it didn't erase the fact that the general almost destroyed Gaia a couple of times now.

Regardless, he nodded as she finished her report, mostly satisfied by what she said.

"The healing rain cured me just not too long ago. A month at most. Before you left Gaia, was I still afflicted with the disease?"