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

[mindofathief]

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.

[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.

[droopy_eyes]

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.]

[rialynn]

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.

[firstaid]

Waking up

Dreams about not having her powers were certainly terrifying – they defined who she was. At least, that’s what helped her have a purpose even if she had learned that just being herself was enough. However, when she awoke to a new place, crystal in her hand, that certainly created an uneasy feeling within her. She was cautious as much as she was curious, trying to at least keep a level head on her shoulders considering even her vast knowledge couldn’t tell her the exact location or even speculate. Especially with the sounds of machinery that were foreign to her ears, at least mostly considering the blastia powered devices were no more.

But what is also strange was her normal attire was changed as well, a white robe took its place. Did… did she die? If so, then death wasn’t as painful as she had thought, but it was still rather disconcerting. However, it’s when she heard the high pitched voice of the creature next to her that she came back to her senses.

“Oh, excuse me, could you tell me what’s going on?”

Almost as if the creature expected, she replied courteously, however, also seemed to keep her distance.

“That’s what I’m here to tell you, kupo. The people here should also be able to aid you—“ The moogle is cut off by Estelle trying to reach toward her and pet it, but it ends up flying back.

“Excuse me, but I am not your personal pet. I would ask that you refrain from attempting to pet me, kupo," she retorted, her expression distraught as she flew back to keep some sort of distance between the two while being able to be near Estelle.

“B-but you look so soft,” Estelle replied with a pout on her face.

And that’s how a certain someone arrived and didn’t seem as concerned as she should be.

The City

While she might not be familiar with what festivities happened, she was in awe of the decorations that were put up around the city. With how many questions she had, her moogle was able to answer them with ease, satiating the princess’ curiosity. The two of them can be seen around the city basically having their own question and answer session, pointing out everything that stuck out to her such as the decorations, or what looked like reconstruction. Even the people playing what looks like a sort of game as Luce, Estelle’s moogle, explained blitzball to her.

But even so, her curiosity meant that she wasn’t entirely paying attention as she looked around.

“Watch out, kupo!”

And whoops, she accidentally bumped into someone.

“I’m so sorry, I’m new here and I was just taking in the sights and not paying any attention!” She was quick to answer with a bow of apology.

House B-06

It was nice to at least have a place to stay. While camping was something she got used to, a princess was still used to a room and a bed. Though while she was standing outside her house, she about knocked until Luce informed her there was no need as she cautiously opened the door.

“Please pardon my intrusion.”

Even if it was her house, it still felt like she was a stranger, and yes, these people would be strangers to her. She could only hope that they would, in the end, get along. Then again, she was one who could hole herself up in her room and read if need be. She was able to do that for 18 years, she can do it still.

[stupid_erika_shenanigans]

Waking Up

Erika had gotten up off the ground with Coffret laying next to her in a daze. She sat up, rubbing her head. "Geez, what was that all about?" she groused as she picked up the dizzy Coffret. "What was all of that huh?"

"Like I have any idea," moaned Coffret, looking a little green in the face from the sudden arrival.

"Kupo, you two are pretty new here huh," said the moogle next to them. "Don't worry, I'll give you a grand tour of the area!"

"AH! It talked!" Exclaimed Erika, pointing at the moogle as Coffret took flight to look at him.

"Hey, what are you trying to pull? Erika's MY partner!"

"It's just how this place works, kupo. We need more partners!" Exclaimed Kuplo Kopp.

"Yeah well... Erika doesn't need another partner, she has me!" Protested Coffret.

"Hold on you two, stop getting so upset at one another. There's a more important thing to discuss." said Erika as the pair looked at her curiously. "What happened to my CLOTHING?!"

"Oh..." the pair chorused.


The City
"This place is a lot more damaged than I expected," said Erika, carrying Coffret and walking around with Kuplo Kopp floating behind her. "I wonder if they have clothing stores?"

"They should, because this is a city where people live in kupo," said Kuplo Kopp.

"Yeah well I coulda told you that," grumbled Coffret from Erika's arms.


Close Encounters
GASP.

That UFO was taking those giant birds!

"THIS WILL NOT STAND!" Exclaimed Erika, posing as she had been told to go get herself a chocobo for her job. "Coffret!"

"HAI DESU PRECURE SEED GO!"

...

"I SAID PRECURE SEED GOOOOO!"

.......

"Well this sucks. Which means there's only one thing to do!"

Erika took a hold of Kuplo Kopp in one hand and Coffret in the other. And reared back.

"ERIKA DOUBLE BOMBER!"

And she hurled the pair bodily at the UFO.

[dancingbaronet]

Waking Up

When reality breaks in Rider World, someone was usually responsible for it. This is why Zack wasn't too surprised that the world had changed, or he had woken up with a crystal in his hands.

Getting up, he looked around and examined his surroundings. A city, some kind of temple and a weird floating thing?

"You're awake? Ah, you're awake!" Exclaimed the moogle and Zack blinked.

"... Asami?"

The Moogle tilted her furry head to the side in confusion. "Sorry, I'm Moogla. Not Asami. Welcome to our world kupo!"


The City

The lack of Hellheim fruits told him as such that this wasn't Hellheim World, or any other worlds that Riders might know. In fact, even if he did wake up with his belt and lockseeds, a quick test had proven that they were harmless trinkets right now.

With no funds in his possession and no way to access his bank, Zack found a corner of the street and began to dance. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight--!"

Fortunately one of his powers was the Dancer, and he began dancing to music that was played from nowhere. His moves were slick, professional, and he was incredibly good. Too good. The Dancer job gave rudimentary powers, but this... this was a professional dancer. Soon, people were throwing gil into the hat.


The Laboratory

"I see... so it's like that."

Zack leaned back in his chair after reading his file and a few others he could still access. He had been told some of the Heroes had locked their files, but at the same time, it was still jarring to find out someone knew everything about him. Even your last name. People called him Zack anyhow.

Though... "Custom Jobs... Not that I'm not appreciative to fight, I'll get something more familiar later..."

[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.

[waterstrikes]

I. Waking Up

It could have been worse. Tidus jolted up, and after he realized that none of the Moogles looked really dangerous, and as weird as this was, it didn’t look like a dream, he started to relax. Actually, he rolled his eyes like he was annoyed.

The Moogles explained everything, making it pretty easy to understand for someone who wasn’t familiar with this world. Normally, Tidus might have interrupted with his own questions, but instead when they finished, he placed his hands behind his head, glancing up at the Crystal. Pretty.

“Maybe you should start asking people whether they want to be your Warriors of Light or whatever before bringing them here against their will?”

“But your return was prophesized, kupo! And the world of Crystallis desperately needs you.” one of the Moogles spoke up. Tidus glanced at him. The Moogle had been floating closer to him than any of the others and it was starting to bother him a little.

“Yeah. Okay.” Tidus scoffed and rolled his eyes, beginning to walk away. He scrubbed at his eyes. His head swam and this was all hard to process. Him? Some kind of hero? Sure, he tried to do the right thing, but this was…

He actually wanted to scream.

At least in Spira, he had kind of sort of had a choice as to where he went. Or the illusion of one. He had to get back there. He still had to confront someone, and he had to make sure Yuna didn’t sacrifice herself at all.

“Where are you going, kupo?” The moogle asked, still floating after him. He was persistent. Tidus didn’t stop walking, but he did answer him. “I don’t know. Why are you following me?”

“I’ve been assigned to you! My name is Mogtide, kupo.”

That wasn’t the weirdest thing about today. Tidus nodded, and decided to look for any of these other Heroes of Light.

II. The City

Tidus wasn’t sure where he was heading to in the city. The logical answer would have been where he was assigned to live, but he still found the whole situation too surreal to not wander around and stare at everything. He was glad to at least not to be surrounded by Moogles anymore. There were still Moogles, but not as many. That wasn’t the worst way to wake up, but there had been too many in a small vicinity. And cute or not, he wasn’t sure if he trusted them.

At least his memories were intact. As far as he knew, anyway.

“Mogtide?”

“What is it, kupo?”

Tidus stopped walking. “Is it true that Blitzball is a thing here?”

“That’s right! A match is about to start pretty soon. If you run, you might even manage to find a seat, kupo! Have you heard of Blitzball before? Did you want to go see it?”

“No, I mean, it’s fine. Not right now.” But did that mean Crystallis had a connection to his world deeper than simply summoning him here to what? Save the world? There was no way. He might have been Yuna’s guardian, but that hadn’t seem to matter to Chaos.

But if they were connected somehow, maybe...

Tidus broke into a run, ignoring (or just oblivious to) Mogtide’s sounds of protests as he floated after him. He had just been summoned here, so maybe there had been others too that he had somehow missed. The Warriors of Cosmos, one of the other guardians, or even...

He had to find out. He had to look everywhere and ask everyone, and he wouldn’t give up until he was certain.