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

[bloodypast]

Ophelia looked between the two for a moment, before hesitantly fluttering closer to the older version of the familiar Hero of Light she knew. Paws in her red scarf so she hopefully wouldn't screw up anything by touch. Was this why Vincent hadn't wanted to come? She knew her own Hero had already experienced enough trouble in his life--and blamed himself.

Maybe the moogle should've stayed behind too--but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Which is why she was now studying the older version of Cloud. Fluttering around him close enough to look at him better, but not invade his space too much. At least she hoped so, before she headed back over and moved to settle on Reno's shoulder if he'd let her.

[liveandforgive]

The semblance of a Shinra uniform that the younger blond man wore was something that Cloud could never miss. In this time, Shinra was but a shadow of its former self. There was no ground force to speak of, SOLDIER was but a fleeting thought, left to carry on through the man standing before the group. But that uniform...he'd seen himself in the mirror before, hoping that one of these days he'd trade the gun for a sword, to become the hero that he'd set out to be. Not just for himself, for his own strength and purpose, but to be someone that she could count on.

"Embrace your dreams. And whatever happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER."

The man that the young Cloud Strife was looking at however, did not reach that goal. What stood before him was the culmination of all the broken pieces being picked back up. When it was all put back together, and he opened his eyes after realizing everything he worked towards wasn't how he planned,

"Alright, well, you never made SOLDIER. But it's what's in here that counts."

Another door opened. A door opened that lead Cloud down a path that he admittedly, wouldn't wish upon anybody else. If it wasn't for his friends, his newfound family, there might not have been the same acerbic man standing before them today. And yet...he could tell that there was something different about this one. He was looking into a mirror, and yet his path couldn't be any more different...

He said nothing, even as he struggled to find the words to tell him what happened and what they were doing here. He knew how to listen when he needed to, and right now he didn't have any words for this man. His eyes spoke volumes enough for him, patience overriding confusion as he wanted to understand before jumping to conclusions. The look in Cloud's eyes told his younger self that it was okay. Suspicious as he was, something in his heart told him that as surreal as this was...

"I'm you."

As Reno came into view, resting his hand on the shoulder of the young man as he explained something that would have made anyone else call for the loony bin, the nod from the Turk was the second piece of confirmation. The rumours were true... Whatever they were doing here, that must have meant that the man in a black coat...was he here too? Instead of dread however, instead of fear of his memories coming back to haunt him yet again, all he felt was a sense of wonder. If this Cloud before him had changed...what about him? What of Reno? Or who he assumed had to be Vincent? Two years had passed for this one... If they were similar enough, that must have meant that he was turning 18 soon... So this is what it might have been like if he'd lived beyond that basement for five years.

The look of visible surprise slowly faded away however. If they told this to anyone else, they might have called him crazy. But truly, for everything that Cloud experienced since his time in Midgar and understanding the planet and understanding himself... He didn't have to accept this. If this was a fleeting moment, he'd let it be just that. If they were different, let it be different. His reality was his alone. But he was here, before his younger self. Just what changed from the time he'd been drawn away to another 'world' of sorts?

"Never thought I'd actually find you guys," he finally answered, his bright gaze curiously watching Ophelia as she fluttered around him. Since the rumours of this strange group spread as he was out working, he couldn't help but scratch that itch. It was just as he'd thought before. This was no reunion, but he couldn't explain what drew him out here until now. It was true, after all. Calmly approaching the group, but keeping a few steps distance between them, his gaze shifted amongst them before settling back on 'himself'. "I heard rumours, but..." It was still a little surreal.

[neverfirstclass]

Cloud glanced at Reno. He wasn't sure whether or not he was happy the redhead, his friend, was here or not. This was a moment he wanted to have alone, or with himself as it were, but at the same time it was a bit comforting to know that someone else would be able to later confirm it would happen. He turned back to the older Cloud, listening to him, trying to figure out how he wanted to respond. It was funny how in this moment all of his words were fleeing him. All those careful plans and scripts falling to the wayside as the moment finally became real.

"It's not just us. We have a few more in our group. S-" he paused momentarially and the s sound rolled into another word. "Some others not from Gaia too. We've been trying to track down someone. Someone that wants to kill us for what we're trying to do back in Crystallis. But that's not why I came here."

He stepped away from Reno, closing the distance between himself and the Other Cloud. "I've thought about this a lot. What I'd do if I met you. Some of us...some of the other Heroes have gone into Crystal Stasis, and when they emerge they're sometimes older or have new memories. To be honest, I've been terrified every day of waking up and being closer to who you are now."

He sighed and shook his head. "You're me. But I'm not you. I know what happens, what should have happened to me. I know what he did. But I didn't live through it, and the him that's traveling with us hasn't either. And maybe I'm foolish, but I'm hoping I can help keep it that way." He veered off and turned towards the town in the distance. He took a long slow breath, taking in that familiar mountain air.

"There have been a few people from this world who wound up in Crystallis. Yuffie, Barret, Zack, Angeal, Genesis, Lucrecia, Cait Sith. Some I knew. More of them knew me. There are even people from other worlds entirely who already knew my name and my face when we met..." He glanced over his shoulder, "Or maybe they knew yours. Tifa was there too, and I can't...I can't help but feel like when she saw me, she wished I was you instead. She even told me to forget about the promise."

Hauling back, he kicked a rock as hard as he could, watching it roll down the hill through the grass and scrub before vanishing off a small drop. "No matter what I do, I keep finding myself back under your shadow. There are people who assured me I could be who I wanted, and to just try to be myself, but it's hard when you know that there's another you that you're being compared to even just a little. I guess I've even come to hate you, just a bit."

[shinra_dog]

Reno let Cloud go and pocketed his hands, keeping a wary eye on... well, both of them. Not that he really expected much to happen at this point. The world hadn't collapsed yet. And Cloud -- both of them -- was generally open-minded. Even when there was no way he would rejoin Shinra, Cloud still showed up when Reno called. So if anyone was going to listen to this to the end, withholding immediate judgment, it would be Cloud.

And even after he undoubtedly heard all the horrible things about Shinra, young Cloud still kept Reno around. Maybe Cloud had always been like that. It gave Reno confidence that, if anyone could support Sephiroth, he was in good hands with Cloud.

Hearing about the shadow, the weight of others' expectations and memories, the "hate" that Cloud felt toward his future self made Reno look away. He'd been guilty of that, too. Not that Cloud remembered all of it (thankfully)... There had been memories he'd had of a Cloud on Atia that no one else had, and no one else would ever have -- and it wasn't fair to subject the blonde youth to them. He frowned, watching the stone bump and roll and finally disappear.