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...

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Waking Up

Duster wasn't surprised by reality breaking. In fact, he was expecting something along those lines to happen; it was only a matter of time. He didn't think that crystals would be involved, nor a small while creature standing on his stomach demanding Duster to get up.

"Lucas?" Ignoring the Moogle for now, he gently wrapped his hands around Tamekichi and sat up to take a better look around the temple. If this was supposed to be the new world, where was everyone he recognized? What was this unfamiliar building? Why was there a giant crystal floating before him?

"H-hey! Put me down, kupo! I gotta tell you some stuff! Reaaaal important stuff!" It wriggled in Duster's hands hard enough for him to drop him onto his lap.

"Sorry," he mumbled, then noticed his clothes. Pants the same shade as the bright red ones he normally wore, but baggier and without pockets. He had a green vest and cap to go along with it, all three embroidered with the same golden design. "Did someone change my clothes while I was asleep, or did I forget doing that?" Anything else but another bout of amnesia, especially after an earthquake like that.

The Moogle shook his head. "I dunno, but I am here to explain just what's happening, kupo. So just hold on and--hey! Where're you going?!"

Duster had turned away from the Moogle to find the nearest person that wasn't busy. "Excuse me," the scruffy man spoke with a gloomy expression. "...You don't remember how I got here, do you?"

Music Store

Bard: a Job that allows one to assist their fellow party members in battle with music. That sounded like the perfect thing to do while not kicking the enemy to submission. Ignoring his penniless state, Duster and Tamekichi headed to the Aures Ixen music shop in search of the perfect battle instrument. Besides, the walk home was long and cold; Duster was given no coat upon his arrival, and this store was the best place to warm up before continuing on their journey. The shopkeeper greeted the two with a cheery "Welcome!", to which Duster responded with a silent nod before he took to investigating the displays. Fiddles, lutes, drums...aha!

The double bass! His eyes light up as he rushes over to the giant instrument and strokes the wooden body. "This is beautiful."

"And expensive," Tamekichi adds from the floor. "And impossible to carry around on the battlefield."

Duster retracts his hand. "...I forgot about that part." He spun on his right leg and rushed to another aisle. Maybe an ocarina would be better.

House A-03

At his Moogle's insistence, Duster finally arrived at his small house in the 14th District. The neighborhood was more crowded than the old Tazmily, but there was more space and less technology than New Pork City, and by those standards, this place was perfect. He pushed the door open as quietly as he could - some thief skills are difficult to unlearn - and poked his head in.

"Hello? ...I'm your new housemate?" He shook the snow off his boots. Uneven footsteps moved across the wooden floor towards the stairs. Rather than wait for someone to arrive, Duster walked up the steps as quietly as he could.

That someone would mistake him for a common burglar didn't cross his mind.

Aliens?

What cute chocobos. What a relaxing, snowy location to take a nice walk--

Oh my pork they're going to experiment on the poor thing.

Duster jumps onto his feet, almost as if he's afraid the UFO will attack. "Quick, after it!" It's too late once he says that, of course, and he's left staring at the small patch of sky where the flying Chocobo kidnapper took off.

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.

Edited 2016-01-07 22:35 (UTC)

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."

1. I'M WAKING UP (I FEEL IT IN MY BONES)

Jaeha's expression was flat as he listened to the Moogle's explanation. His arms were folded, and it was clear that any interest he might have had fled the coop long ago. He'd already committed himself to being one girl's hero, now he was expected to do it again? Yona, at least, hadn't tried to force him into it. This place had. He hid his resentment behind a lazy smile as the tiny creature finished her explanation.

"Any questions, kupo?" Kulana smiled beatifically.

"Nothing comes to mind," he smiled, tucking his hands into his pockets and bending slightly at the waist as if to better study her.

Kulana's face lit up as she clasped her paws together. "Then you'll help?!"

"Sorry," he tossed his head with an arrogant smile and bent at the knees. "Not interested." He prepared to spring away with his majestic dragon's leg strength, which allowed him to bound away with the greatest of ease. Or at least, that's what he thought he was going to do. Instead? He hopped. A long, awkward silence stretched between Jaeha and the Moogle as both stared at each other with hollow smiles.

Kulana frowned first. "What were you trying to do?"

"Nothing significant," he lied, scratching at his ear as he looked away.

"...Were you trying to fly away just now?"

"I wonder." Both "Hero" and Moogle stared at one another for a long moment. Then Jaeha sprinted down the street.

Startled, Kulana frantically waved her arms at him. "K-kupo! You can't run away from this!!"

And yet, that seemed to be exactly what he was doing. Welp, so long, Jaeha.

* * * * *

2. Best Roommate (C-03)

Jaeha lived in house C-03 for approximately six minutes. He walked up the steps, unlocked the door, and went inside to collect the stipend that was supposedly being held in his name. Then he left. It was the shortest prompt ever.

* * * * *

3. City Exploration (Sort Of)

Airships, or ocean ships? Jaeha couldn't decide. On the one hand, seagoing vessels were what he was accustomed to using for travel, and it seemed there was always a ship for hire. He knew his way around the deck, and could easily exchange work for a place aboard as one of the crew.

On the other hand, he'd never been on an airship before, and Jaeha was absolutely not afraid of heights. Passage was also completely free, so that was a bonus. On the downside, travel was a bit more limited. The only vessel due to depart today was the ship heading to Esdham. He'd asked what kind of city it was, interested in the possibility...until the deckhand informed him that it was more of a military fort than a city. Not really Jaeha's ideal place to be.

So, either he could wait around town for the next ship heading to Balicea, wait even longer for the ship heading out to Mysidia, or take off now and sail the seas.

Perched on one of the wooden dock pillars, a sack of personal belongings slung over his shoulder, he was inclined to take the ocean route. The smell of the ocean, at least, was familiar to him, and breathing in the salted air eased some of the tension coiled in his gut. Outwardly, he seemed carefree and relaxed, wearing a lazy smile, absently threading his fingers through the ends of his long green ponytail as he watched the deckhands load their cargo. Inwardly, he was annoyed and a little on the anxious side. There were people waiting for his return, and there was no way to reach them any longer.

Jaeha exhaled lightly, dropping his hand to rest upon his knee. Well, one thing was clear: he wasn't going to stick around in the city responsible for his abduction. He needed to leave, and sooner was better than later. The ocean it is.

[OOC: Brackets are okay if you'd rather not do prose. He can also be found at the market prior to heading over to the docks if you'd rather run into him there.]

Edited 2016-01-08 06:36 (UTC)

1. Awakening

[Rialynn blinks hard. Twice. It doesn't help to chase away the sight of flying white teddy bears. Her rapier is still belted to her hip, and the lute slung over her shoulder by a leather strap clunks in a few discordant notes as she pushes herself unsteadily onto her feet. She dusts off the seat of her leather breeches, wide hazel eyes flicking back and forth. There are all sorts of people in varying states of wakefulness, some wearing resplendent colorful robes, some decked out in expensive-looking armor. The teddy bears are talking to them.]

[Where in the world is she...?]

[Slowly she turns, and then stares up at the giant orange crystal. And that would be what now?]

Uh...Sabien?

[Rialynn looks around for her friend, but there's no sign of the fierce femme fatale. No sign of her horse, either. All she has is the clothing on her back, her instrument, her backpack of adventuring gear, and her weapon. She shies away a little from a waking and somewhat formidable-looking hero, unsure which way she should go. Should she wait for a teddy bear to come explain things to her, like the others?]

[She retreats right into someone else's back. Spinning around, Rialynn's hands jump up in a hasty display of apology.]

Sorry! Sorry.

2. A New Home (A-06) - Used to be Yuri's room if you need an excuse to be here

Carefully, Rialynn eased her lute onto the bed, then shrugged her pack off of her shoulders. Kunia shuffled in on Rialynn's heels, her sweet little smile somewhat apologetic.

"We tried to have it cleaned before you got here, but there wasn't really much time. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Rialynn replied with a soft chuckle, righting the upset lampshade, then smoothing away a thin layer of dust from the corner of the window sill. Odd...there were fingerprints and scuff marks in the middle of the sill. Did the previous person come and go via the window on a regular basis? She rubbed her fingers together, puzzled, then wedged open the window a few inches. It was too cold to open the window all the way, but a little fresh air would freshen up the room. "I can take care of the rest. Seems like you guys are overworked as it is."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't say that." Kunia fluttered into the closet and came back with a little cloth-wrapped bundle in her paws. "But I made you a housewarming present!"

Rialynn turned from the dresser, having just confirmed that the drawers were empty (save for a dead spider in the back). "You what? Really?" She smiled, honestly touched. She'd never met a Moogle before today, but if they were all as kind as Kunia, she had a feeling that they would become fast favorites of hers. "That's really thoughtful. What is it?"

"Cookies!" Kunia announced proudly, pressing the bundle into Rialynn's hands. "And they're shaped like flowers and chocobo heads!"

She had no idea what a chocobo was, but the little bite-sized shortbread cookies did look cute. Impressed, she ate one.

That was a mistake.

Shooting pains lanced through the underside of her tongue, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she sagged onto the mattress with a strangled sound, the cookies spilling out of her numb fingers.

"Ku-kupo! Rialynn! Oh my, are you okay?" Alarmed, Kunia gave her cheek a few light pats, trying to rouse the young bard.

Her lashes fluttered before her head rolled to the side, a deathly groan rattling in her throat. "Mother...?"

"Oh my," Kunia whispered.

3. Blitzball Tournament

It was pretty much guaranteed that Rialynn would find someone to latch onto early in the day. Excited by the prospect of getting to meet so many new Heroes, and eager to hear their tales and adventures, she wasn't at all afraid to make the acquaintance of someone new. Man or woman, young or old, it didn't matter. She was a friendly soul, and suggested they go to the Blitzball game that night after she had a chance to settle into her new home.

She arrived at the designated meeting spot, already gaping in awe at the massive coliseum with the enormous floating sphere of water. She'd been to a few jousting and fencing tournaments, both as a spectator and a performer between matches, but the seating arrangements were nothing like this. A few of the players were already swimming in the sphere, hurling a ball back and forth, or practicing surprisingly graceful acrobatics.

It was incredible. How did they hold their breath for that long? How did they manage to move like that? Rialynn stood on her toes trying to get a better look. Her new friend was sure to arrive shortly, and they could claim their seats then, but for now, she couldn't take her eyes off of the players. This was almost worthy of a new song, even if it wasn't really a display of heroics. She'd have to cobble something together later.

Watching as intently as she was, it wasn't long before she spaced out and became oblivious to everything else around her.

"...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.

Rialynn, too, was enjoying the walk, and getting to know her fellow musician a little better. As eager as she was to test out her new ocarina and swap songs, she was honestly more interested in his stories. It seemed like he'd had some fairly interesting adventures of his own.

And then that happened.

While Duster jumped, Rialynn froze, her jaw dropping. What was that thing? It looked like a giant metal hat that someone had flung like a frisbee, but it moved far more freely. And it just sucked up a giant yellow bird? What? Why?!

Her companion sprang into action, and it took her a few seconds to kick her startled brain into gear. She ran not because she intended to stop the UFO, but because she didn't want to see him fight it alone. "After it?! Are you crazy?!" She looked reluctantly back at the spinning flashing hat machine. "What if we actually manage to catch it?" A highly doubtful outcome, but even so? She didn't think her rapier was going to do either of them any good.

Duster turns abruptly to Rialynn, his calm features replaced with worry for the Chocobo. "We can't let whoever took it turn it into a chimera, or whatever they plan to do to it!" He had seen what the Pig Army had done to the wildlife of the Nowhere Islands, and the mysterious flying machine may as well be taking the wildlife of Crystallis to an experimentation facility. That cannot happen.

"I fought robots and plenty of soldiers back home. We can fight whoever stole the Chocobo once we find them." If they can find them, he told himself, which was near impossible at this point. He slumped his shoulders.

"...We should warn the others," he told the grass below him. "They might come back for more."

Poor, defenseless chocobo.

The 'person' he grabs the attention of stops a moment, trying to recognize the voice of the person speaking. Realizing that she totally doesn't, the girl turns around, brushing her hair out of her face.

'I probably need a haircut soon' she thinks before looking the lanky man up and down. "No, can't say I know. You don't seem familiar. But... I can probably explain thing. You're new here, right? NO idea where you are, just woke up, little fluffy thing kinda shouting at you about this and that and Heroes?"

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."

Another person Duster doesn't recognize, but he's more distracted by her hair. He knows one human with pink hair, but Kumatora was a special exception: she was a powerful psychic, after all. The small girl might be one as well.

Her voice draws his attention back to her face. "Oh. Right. I think that's the case for everyone here." He turns at the other Heroes, who all look equally confused while talking to their own fluffy white creatures.

Tamekichi, meanwhile, gapes at Allenby, slightly miffed at her description of Moogles.

"I must be missing a lot of my memories because this...is definitely not how my world looked like a while ago."

"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."

"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?

Aya mulls that over for a moment, and then shakes her head. "Nope, can't say that rings any bells."

She'd never spent much time, if any, outside of her comforts within the U.S. -- she never really had the chance. And to be fair, most people aren't familiar with the FBI branch that Aya's a part of, either.

Much of what Jack tells her probably should be nonsense. But when you've fought a tyrannosaurus rex reanimated by mutated mitochondrial cells, among the large laundry list of other things Aya Brea has dealt with, anything seems possible at this point. Once he fills her in on the current events of this world, however, her interests are piqued.

"So we've been brought to this place because the people here can't take care of their own problems?" That seems legit. "Great."

Still, she's composed enough to the point where she's kept her sarcastic head over her shoulders, so that's something.

Jack laughs slightly at the sarcastic response. "On the face of it, that's it. But it's just a mess!" He holds his arms out to the sides. "One group of people think we're the cause of all this, some people think we're destined to stop it all, but nobody knows for sure what's going on to give us some straight answers."

Jack lets his arms fall back down. "And what's worse is that maybe this has happened before. Some kind of cycle. We've found one guy. Who maybe. Maybe. Has some answers. I know we're planning an expedition to see him this month. We've got a headquarters, for lack of a better term, in the middle of town. You can run into a lot of other Heroes there. I recommend talking to Lady Ashe, Lady Zelda, or the Marshal, Sparks Nevada. They're as close as we've got to leadership among our ranks."

"So, I guess, sorry I can't be more helpful with the big picture?" Jack's mouth quirks into that not-pleased smile again. "But the little stuff? What is this city, the people, and how come I can suddenly shoot a bow and arrow when I've never picked one up in my life? That, I can help with."

"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.

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.

"And no one can figure out a straight answer for one or the other. That figures. I hope the crowd blaming us for this mess we've been unwillingly dragged into haven't tried taking matters into their own hands."

It seems just like Aya's luck to be blamed for something she had no control over. If she could help it, she would still be back at home with her little ~~clone~~ sister and none of this would be an issue.

She shrugs. "I believe you've been helpful enough, thanks. I'm interested in this guy who 'maybe' has some straight answers about whatever's going on here." No matter how slim the chances may be. "And while I'm at it, I'll look into tracking one of those people down for more info. I'd like a better idea as to what I'm dealing with here."

Luckily she won't be having to search very far, considering one of them happens to be her housemate. Not that she knows that yet, though.

"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.

She had no idea what a chimera or a robot was, but she at least caught the gist of it: they were bad news. If Duster was truly confident that they could handle this hovering monstrosity as a team, then she'd put her faith in him.

But as fast as she ran, it didn't seem like they were going to match its flying speed. It was already disappearing.

When it was gone, she stopped to lean on her knees and catch her breath. "Y-yeah...good idea...there's gotta be a...sheriff around...right...?" Or some sort of law enforcement individual.

"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.

Edited (No reason, everything was absolutely perfect why would you think I'm editing this for a reason.) 2016-01-10 20:05 (UTC)

[He had heard the words - 'you can't run away from this', hadn't intended to spend much attention to this argument that apparently was happening. Well, that was until he caught the face and the hair of the person who was just passing by.

He didn't have his dragon sense here to confirm it, but they spend more than enough time with each other by now that there was no way he would mistake this person. Of course, a part of him thinks it might be wishful thinking, especially because things got a bit lonelier at home again, but no... that couldn't just be only his mind playing tricks on him.

So he did what came first to his mind - chasing said person. Which was all too familiar in a weird way, and felt so long ago, too.]

JAEHA!! IS THAT YOU, JAEHA?!!

[He knows that voice. But this can't be right, can it? Jaeha looks back over his shoulder to verify what his ears tell him, and sure enough, his eyes confirm it. And yet, he can't feel the White Dragon's presence at all. An impostor, perhaps? He masks his surprise with a quirked smile.]

Well now, look who it is~

[But he hasn't stopped running. He'll slow a little for Kija to catch up and run beside him, but he doesn't really plan on stopping until he's outside of the city gates.]

[It could be the real deal, though. If the powers of his dragon leg have been sealed, then his other dragon ability must be cut off as well. He'll have to watch Kija carefully to make sure his mannerisms and reactions match the young man he remembers.]

[Jaeha shouldn't have the power of the dragon leg, yet he was still fast, too fast, and he didn't stop running from him, which was typical so it was another confirmation that he was indeed the man he thought he was.

Once he caught up with Jaeha, he was tempted to reach out to him, but he refrained from doing so, considering actions like those were things Jaeha wasn't too comfortable with. Still, all of this begged one question-]

Why do you not stop running so we can talk properly?!

Why? I should think the answer is fairly obvious.

[Who in their right mind wouldn't try to run away from a city that forcefully abducted a dozen people, if not more, and tried to force them into servitude by sweet-talking them into being 'heroes'? The entire situation stank like fishrot.]

We can speak outside of the city walls.

[With that same annoying self-assured smirk he always wore, Jaeha increased his speed again, urging Kija to do the same.]

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Intro Log || This Keeps Happening

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II

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I.

ALIENS!

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'Waking Up'

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Oh, I love that T-Rex fight.

'The City'

III. 14th District

it feels like a good milestone for aya. "this could be weird, but i fought a t-rex once, so..."

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