Event || Revelations

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the Heroes of Light and their Moogles.
Where: Order's Sanctuary, The Interdimensional Rift and their Homeworlds.
When: August 03rd - August 30th

Summary: Following the battle against Palitutu, all the Heroes of Light were transported into the Interdimensional Rift. They were told by Palitutu they would have to find her to prove they can break the cycle-- But before they could reach their destination, a malevolent entity from the Rift stripped them from their immortality...

And now, they woke up in a decaying and dying world, most specifically in a place called Order's Sanctuary. From there they are ready to jump... Into their homeworlds! Feel free to use this post for the Mingle at Order's Sanctuary and should your homeworld be the stage for the Heroes of Lights' next adventures, feel free to make a thread for it and as many sub-thread as necessary! Please refer to the OOC Post for questions and plotting.

Warning: Whatever you come up with.

Comments

[loudestseed]

[It was good timing that a knock came to Squall's door after he and Selphie had their talk.

After the fire cavern with Yuna, Zell wanted to tell Squall about the strange behavior. Of course the first place he looked was Squall's office, but he wasn't there and Quistis was pretty busy with something. Then he looked for him at a couple other places in Garden before finally heading to Squall's room.

It was a little awkward bothering him there, but Zell was kind of worried about that cadet and what it could mean.]

[shear_trigger]

I know, Selphie. We both wont.

[The knock shakes him from his thoughts and he glances at the door. He wasn't sure he could handle any more company right now after dealing with a crying Selphie. If it was Quistis or Xu he'd turn them away.

He answers the door himself. Seeing Zell, his eyes widen slightly in surprise. It was strange to see him, especially after seeing his crystallized form only a few weeks earlier.]

Zell.

[boomchucka]

I'm holding you to that. But listen, do you have --

[Selphie's about to ask for a tissue when the knocking interrupts her. The voice that she hears next has her wide-eyed and staring at Squall, bewildered and genuinely confused. She scrambles to her feet and furiously scrubs at her eyes before staring in disbelief at Zell.

He's in Crystal Stasis in the hospital in Aqures Ixen, isn't he? The perky brunette suddenly finds herself with some choice words to say to the powers that be on Crystallis whenever they're allowed to go back to that world. Just what sort of cruel joke was this?

In the meantime, Selphie's on edge as she flashes Zell a guarded smile. She waves lightly at the blonde.]

Yo!

[loudestseed]

[Zell was a little surprised to see Selphie there too, but he was more surprised by their greeting... something seemed strange... no, something strange was definitely going on, right? He wasn't just paranoid? Maybe he was... he shook his head at his thoughts.]

Uh, yo...

[It was a little weird saying his usual greeting after Selphie said it first, but he noticed the looks they both gave him. He also noticed that Selphie's eyes were a little red, but he respectfully didn't say anything about it. She looked... better? Maybe? Hopefully? She must have chosen to go to Squall about whatever it was, so he probably took care of it already. Or something.

But he was here for a reason! He looked to Squall again.]

Sorry for botherin' you here, but I wanted to talk to you about something! ... Can I come in?

[He glanced down the hall. He didn't want some kid overhearing him and freaking out or anything.]

[shear_trigger]

...?

[Squall is puzzled by what Zell could want and lets him in. He moves back over to his gunblade to continues to pack it up.

...Just in case.]

What is it?

If you need to, feel free to skip Selphie for a few tags

[boomchucka]

[Selphie is edging towards the chair at the table as she really doesn't know how to explain things without confusing Zell. She ends up looking a little lost in thought as she seats herself across from Squall.

She's curious about what is on Zell's mind.]

I don't know, she may know the person he's mentioning... >.>

[loudestseed]

[A little relieved Squall let him in, he stepped in and closed the door behind him. While he was looking for Squall, he tried to think of how to say what he wanted to say, but he still didn't know how it'd come across. Still, when Squall asked what it was, he instantly started talking.]

There was this cadet earlier, I just took her through the fire cavern. Her name was Yuna, she wore this white dress... thing... with a red sash.

[Maybe they'd seen her around because he really couldn't remember seeing her around at all.]

Anyway, she, ah...

[He paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He'd probably make it sound stupid, but what if it was something big?! He couldn't just ignore it!]

She said some strange things. First I thought she was confused, and yeah, I know it's super rare for it to still be there after a fight, but I didn't know what else it could be! So I used an Esuna and it didn't do anything!

[Which is probably the most worrisome part.]

So I thought she was nervous or somethin' and just took her through the cavern anyway. But man, the things she said... I've seen nervous and no one says the stuff she said. Oh yeah, and she didn't even know where this place was. Even if she had a GF junctioned for a while, there ain't any way the GF could take away the memories as you're livin' them!

[He stopped there for the moment, looking at Squall. He didn't know if maybe it was a new spell or something? But he felt at least Squall should be aware of it.]

[shear_trigger]

[Squall pressed his lips into a thin line as Zell explained and shot Selphie a quick glance.

Yuna was here. So they weren't the only ones going through rifts and apparently world hopping was a thing.

Squall responds with a small sigh as he clacks his gunblade case closed.]

What exactly did she say? Something about Cosmos or Order's Sanctuary?

[Squall was being specific. None of those things would mean anything to Zell but they did to him. How was he supposed to explain what was going on to Zell? And even so...what if this world really was fake or a copy?]

[boomchucka]

[Yuna... Yuna...? Has Selphie ever met someone named Yuna? The perky brunette couldn't recall but the mentioning of weird stuff being said had her attention regardless.

Just what was going on?]

What else did she talk about?

[Selphie shot a questioning glance back at Squall, wondering how much she should share about Crystallis with Zell. She'd defer to Squall in these cases but she had more info on Crystallis so there was no way to be certain.

Something was definitely up but Selphie couldn't quite figure out what it was.]

Is she still here?

[loudestseed]

No.

[Zell answered Squall first, confusion on his expression. Did that mean Squall heard other people say weird things too?

He looked at Selphie again when she asked her questions and nodded, replying to both of them.]

I think so. We got back from the fire cavern alright.

But uh, she said somethin' about portals and "machina"... and, I think it was
"losin' track of 'Palitutu"?

[shear_trigger]

[Unfortunately for both parties in the room, Squall did know Yuna. One of the people that insisted they knew him from their time with Cosmos.

And Zell's note about Yuna saying she lost track of Palitutu makes him frown. So entire issue wasn't resolved. And if they all lost track of Palitutu that was bad news.

He didn't want to indulge Zell with too much information about Crystallis because that would only be confusing. If they made it out of this issue and this was the real Balamb Garden then he would explain later.]

Selphie, if we've lost track of Palitutu we have to make sure we're safe here. You know more about Palitutu than me, what should we know? Then we better go back...

[He glances at Zell and then looks away, opening his gunblade case back up.] We better go back and check other worlds. But ours is priority. We check here first.

[He takes his blade out again, grateful for the weight of it in his hand.]

[boomchucka]

[Selphie's hands tighten around the Chukon-bu on each other of her nunchaku as she looked from Zell to Squall with a serious look on her face. Her answers are more for Squall than Zell but she knows that her friend would find out eventually regardless of the situation.]

Palitutu is the one who started all of this. She wants to know what we're capable of and she wants to play a big old game of cat'n'mouse. If we find here, we might be able to stop all of this.

Yuna sounds like she might know than I do though... but we've gotta make sure that our home is okay before world hopping, I agree.

[Selphie stands up and looks at her two friends.]

We didn't give up when facing Ultimecia. We can't give up here.

[Her hands are white-knuckled and shaking a little bit.]

Right? No quitting now.

[loudestseed]

[It took a moment of disbelief before Zell finally grasped what they were talking about.]

Woah, woah! Hold on a second! You mean you guys know what she's talkin' about?! And what's this about OTHER WORLDS?! Seriously, am I the ONLY one who doesn't know what's going on?!!!

What the hell happened today?! Everyone was fine this morning!

[shear_trigger]

Zell. Calm down.

[He didn't need him going overboard and he didn't have the patience to deal with it.]

We'll explain once we secure the Garden. For now I need you to help us look for Palitutu and keep your mouth shut about this to anyone else.

[He made his way for the door.]

We stick together, got it?

[boomchucka]

[Selphie nodded about securing their home and would take things from there.]

Yeah, let's go!

[Her face then takes on a sheepish look again.]

Can we... stop by the Cafeteria first? I'm starving!

[loudestseed]

Tch, fine.

[Zell's reply to Squall was the last thing he said. Not even Selphie question of hitting the cafeteria first affected him. He crossed his arms and frowned. He really wanted to know what was going on, but he knew better than to insist when Squall was in that no-nonsense-leader mode.

Of course he'd help Squall and Selphie with tracking down this Palitutu, whoever that was. He didn't even know what they looked liked, but he'd help if a battle started.

He didn't even want to think that all this was some other form of a new spell, maybe a hallucinatory one. Because that would mean someone could cast it on not just cadets but high level SeeD like Squall and Selphie. Nope, definitely didn't want to think about that as an option! Maybe he should have talked to Dr. Kadowaki first... but he trusted Squall! He believed him! Whatever it was going on... somehow he'd missed it all.

That only made him frown deeper. Some SeeD he was.]

[shear_trigger]

[Squall turns around solely for the reason of giving Selphie a are you kidding me right now? glare. With zero verbal response he leaves the room fully expecting them to follow.

Squall was tired, irritated, angry and exasperated all at once. There was no time for a lunch break right now. Secure the Garden was the only thing he wanted to deal with.

Once in the hall he finally comments,] Once we make sure the Garden is safe you can do whatever you want. I don't care.

[He wouldn't be joining for lunch, Squall had zero appetite when things were on his mind. He starts making his way for the training areas first.]

omg, once they secure Garden, Selphie is casting Sleep on Squall, end of story. omg go to bed.

[boomchucka]

[Selphie knew from that look that she'd asked the wrong question at the wrong time. She grins sheepishly and waves her hands in front of her face.

He was right but Hyne, someone needs to sleep soon or they're going to blow up Garden rather than save it.]

What if we split up to check the Garden? Or... put out an announcement about a drill for securing the Garden?

[She reached for Squall's wrist and wrapped her hand around it tightly. There's no sheep in her next question but it's the best idea she's got about checking the dorms.]

Can you put an announcement out about a surprise dorm inspection? That might be the only way we can confirm that Palitutu isn't in the dorms.

[Selphie frowned at that notion of the Tatertot Tarutaru being inside the dorm and nobody being any wiser for it.]

[loudestseed]

[Zell was up for anything, shifting anxiously from foot to foot when he wasn't following Squall. He didn't know what he could say as he still didn't know what was going on. But it made him eager to get this over with so he could find out what happened.

He may also be eager to make up for not noticing whatever it was that happened that even a cadet had noticed.]

[shear_trigger]

[Squall didn't like the idea of them splitting up when Palitutu was concerned. If that tarutaru could bring them all here and hundreds of heroes were unable to do anything about about it what would one person be able to do on their own?

Selphie's idea for a surprise room inspection is good though. A way to check all the rooms out without everyone breaking into panic.]

That's a good idea. Zell, call Quistis and tell her to arrange it. Don't tell her any details just tell her I said so. Get her to lock the front gates and no more cadet exams until we've checked everything.

A FEW HOURS LATER...

[boomchucka]

[Between the three of them, Balamb Garden has been successfully secured! Selphie saw the look of utter disdain on some of the Cadet's faces at the surprise room inspection but some of them, along with a few SeeD, have been issued notice to clean up their acts. One should not have a pile of empty pizza boxes growing four different colours of mold. Selphie can appreciate a good chemistry experiment but that was just plain wrong.

Eventually, they find themselves outside of Squall's dorm room and Selphie has had enough of his surly disposition. She isn't sure if it's going to work but she smiles innocently at Squall while nudging Zell behind their Commander. They have yet to discuss everything that's going on in Crystallis and while Selphie isn't sure what to say to Zell about it, she's still going to try.

She may or may not have a scheme in mind for their grumpy leader but who can say for sure?]

There we go! Mission Complete!

[loudestseed]

[Zell immediately did as Squall asked, but the rest of the checking was thankfully uneventful. Apart from some rather disgusting rooms for the super-neat Zell. In another circumstance, he probably would have repeated the cleanliness guidelines to them. But they were kind of busy looking for this Palitutu person and with the way Squall was acting, this Palitutu was obviously a serious threat.

Once the search was done and they were back in Squall's room, Zell was beyond anxious to hear what had happened. Frowning, he shook his head at Selphie. He didn't know what her nudge was about, but he waited long enough.

Feeling like some unobservant fool, he asked the question that had been nagging him this whole time.]

Alright, so what the hell happened?!

[shear_trigger]

[Squall opens the door to his room to let them file back inside. It was easier to talk here than it was anywhere else for the time being.

The check had turned up nothing. On one hand this eased Squall's mind that the Garden was safe but on the other he was slightly frustrated they couldn't find anything. He hated to admit it but there were already people in Aqures Ixen that he didn't want to see get hurt. And Palitutu not showing up here meant that they were elsewhere.

Which also meant they couldn't stay here much longer.

He moves over to his gunblade case that he left on the table. He knew he owed Zell an explanation but what was about to come out of his mouth would probably be pretty unbelievable for him.]

...A little over a month ago I was pulled into another world called Crystallis. For you, nothing would have changed. For me, I was stuck there. There's a calamity coming and we're trying to stop it. Selphie's been there for a lot longer than me, so she understands more than I do right now. It looks like we've been temporarily sent home, but I have a feeling that won't last. Unless we can find and stop Palitutu.

[He glances at Selphie for more explanation. He was getting tired of talking already.]

[boomchucka]

[Selphie can take a hint and continues on with the explanation.]

Palitutu is the one who started this whole mess from what I've heard and we're trying to come up with solutions to make this all stop for good. The thing is, Crystallis is using the energy from our world and a whole bunch of other worlds to surround it with Crystal. It's my second time being in that world and while it only felt like I was gone for a few days, I was in what's called Crystal Stasis for a year.

If we don't stop the Calamity from stopping there, it won't be long before it tries to destroy our world and all of those other ones.

[She leaves out the fact that Zell is in Aqures Ixen in Crystal Stasis as they were speaking. She gives Squall a tired look that doesn't match the exhaustion that the Commander must be feeling.]

It's up to us and a bunch of others like us. We've been dubbed the Heroes of Light so I guess we're kinda like superheroes now?

[loudestseed]

[Zell listened to both of their explanations. First he had to almost literally bite back his questions. He believed Squall, he just didn't know how it was possible! But they'd been through time compression. Zell could admit that he still didn't understand a lot of that kind of stuff.]

Tch, man, I dunno how you've been there when I saw you guys everyday!

[But he could understand that threats to his world must be stopped. It was part of the reason he chose to learn to fight and attend Garden. No matter what that threat was, he wanted to help protect the people he knew and loved.

Eventually he nodded his understanding.]

Alright, so first we gotta find that 'Palitutu'?

[He looked to Squall, expression clearly asking 'what now?' Squall and Selphie still knew more about Palitutu than he did. They might know where to start the rest of their search.]