Event || Beginning Of The End

[melodiesnpcs]

Characters: Moglin, The Sage and you.
Where: Mysidia
When: September 27th
Summary: Moglin from Mysidia informed the Heroes of Light that the Sage wants to meet with them once more, nearly a year after their first meeting. It appears he has some important things to tell them-- Will this meeting be positive or will the Heroes' dislike for cryptic and nonsensical speeches prevail?
Warning: N/A

Comments

Mingling

[melodiesnpcs]

[ Please use this thread for mingle before or after the meeting. ]

Before the Meeting

[gorgeous_sin]

What a happy coincidence. Lust received her invitation just a few hours before boarding the ship that would have carried her back to Aqures Ixen, so she elected to keep her room at the inn for just a while longer. Why not? There were interesting studies being conducted in the Mysidian lab, and now that she'd maximized her Alchemist job, she would have a better chance of conducting a little research of her own.

She made no effort to conceal her identity or her presence, easily spotted when she moved through the city by her pale skin and thick waves of long black hair. She was one of the few 'humes' as well.

Unfortunately, her inquiries after the Philosopher's Stone resulted in the same information she'd run into prior, It seemed like her best hope lay in the White Mage's crystal, or Palitutu's awakening. Neither were available to her at the moment, so she would have to wait. How fortunate that patience happened to be one of her few virtues.

In the morning she could be found at the Magitek Research facility, speaking warmly to the researchers working there and browsing through their files for hints of anything important. In the evening she retired to the Adventurer's End, where she sat by herself with her legs crossed, a drink at her elbow, content to merely watch the different patrons intermingling with one another.

After the Meeting

[got_talent]

There was just one thing Lita really wanted to check out before they went home: The Arcade. It was something she'd begun to miss pretty fast the longer she got used to this place, so when her Moogle mentioned that Mysidia had a video game center, she perked up pretty fast about paying a visit to the Sage.

After making good on her promise to help clean up the Hall of Prayers, she thought it was high time she relaxed a little. ...Especially since she was too young to go drinking at Adventurers End.

"Wow, what a great selection! Where should I start?" Obviously they wouldn't have a Sailor V console, buuuuut... She walked through the aisles, peeking over people's shoulders to get a good look at her selections and figure out which games were the most popular. She had a feeling she was going to blow a lot of her remaining stipend funds here.

Finally she settled down at a two-player machine that boasted of two scantily-clad medieval warriors in a side-scrolling beat-em-up. Lita picked Brunhilda for her character, pushed the coins into the slot, and hit the 'Game Start' button.

She was pretty easy to find. Just look for the girl ranting over 'Why does the food fade so fast? Give me a break!' and 'WHAT? I wasn't even near the lava!' and 'I can't dodge someone that just charges in off-screen, this thing is rigged!' Lita might need a second player to get through that third level.

After the Meeting - Bar Fight (not to be mistaken for Barf Fight)

[damn_juicebox]

[There's a lot about the meeting for Rukia to mull over. Rather than do it in private, however, she'd rather spend the time discussing things with her friends over a drink and a meal at the Adventurer's End. Rukia's not much of a drinker, given her small size, but she'll indulge with a small cup of wine to go with her beef and mushroom cream stew.]

[But once the serious discussions have finished, they can talk about other things. The new jobs they're working on, Cid's odd quests, making plans to explore outside of the city... It's comforting to hear their voices, and before long Rukia is relaxed and smiling, resting her chin upon the back of her wrist.]

[However, as the night goes on, a particularly loud conversation becomes more and more difficult to ignore. The other Heroes might catch snippets of it if they're half-paying attention. 'Why couldn't the big-nosed guy have his head go missing, he was creepy as hell looming over everyone like that.' 'About time someone got rid of that eyesore of a woman's head.' 'No way, she was the hottest one.']

[Little by little, Rukia's expression sours until finally she stands up, pushing her chair back with her legs.]

Excuse me a moment.

[She's not smiling in the slightest as she turns away, heading toward the table of gossipers. Ooooooo someone is going to get it.]

this can only end really really really badly XD

[dammit_flynn]

[ Yuri was used to hearing those sort of skeevy comments from people on a daily basis. At least they weren't slandering or stealing from the weak. He'd definitely start a riot otherwise. Tonight was suppose to be a typical night where he casually drank wit his best friend with the company of Rukia and Selphie. Selphie got juice of course. Yuri didn't trust the young adult with anything more than sugar in her system.

Rukia however, he couldn't stop. As little and petite as she looked, the young woman was well over centuries old. That made him feel extremely young. ]

Yo Flynn, you're not dead yet are ya? I told you to start building up your tolerance!

[ He eventually catches Rukia getting up as she excuses herself. He sets his mug down and reaches to grab her but no avail. ]

Oi Shorty where are you going?

They're getting arrested, aren't they?

[boomchucka]

[ When the cup of juice had been placed in front of Selphie alongside a heaping plate of spaghetti, she scowled briefly before shrugging her shoulders. Juice didn't go with her meal of choice so she'd asked for a cup of milk instead. She was still a growing girl after all. A lot of information had been revealed during the meeting with the sage and she was still processing a lot of it. She chewed thoughtfully on her meal, oddly quiet but perfectly fine.

Until Rukia rose from their table and started off in the direction of the very loud conversation that she was trying to ignore. It seemed as though the group that wouldn't shut up was bragging about the destruction of the Pyramid. While it was getting harder to ignore, Selphie was a bit hesitant to act unless provoked. The perky brunette shot a curious glance at her friends as she took another bite of her dinner.

In response to Yuri's question though, Selphie used her fork to point toward the rowdy group and glowered in their direction. ]

[dammit_yuri]

[And Flynn walks ahead of Rukia and firmly plants a fistful of knuckles into one of the perpetrators' face.]

Haven't you heard of any manners?!

[He cracks his knuckles as he spits to the side. Yeah, he might be a little drunk.]

[boomchucka]

[Selphie was about to eat another forkful of her dinner she saw Flynn march right over to the table of their very loud dinner guests and clock one of them. It was pretty clear to Selphie that someone's had a bit too much to drink and should probably be taken to the inn to sober up.

With that in mind, Selphie puts her fork down and looks at Yuri before pointing to Flynn and Rukia.]

You get Buttercup and I'll get Shorty.

1/2 god fucking damn it flynn what the shit!?!!

[dammit_flynn]

[ Yuri took a glance at Rukia and stepped up to follow after her only to watch Flynn sluggishly get past him and Rukia to squarely send some poor perpetrator into the wall. He seriously is now staring at the scene that just happened. ]

OKAY DUDE I LIED GUYS

[dammit_flynn]

okay I swears I'm done

[dammit_flynn]

Oh for crying out loud-- fine, just don't let it get too out of hand.

[ He stops halfway to round over towards Flynn. How many mugs did the bastard drink anyway?! Of course, he can't say those guys aren't asking for it. They were being obnoxious like those guild leaders. Clearly, Yuri had grown up a lot more than he originally thought he did. ]

Oi Flynn! What were you thinking?! This isn't like you.

[ He went straight over to pull the blond back. ]

Talk about taking my job...

[ He muttered under his breath. He seriously was going to take this outside but clearly this wasn't a thing anymore. He can't really blame Flynn since he would be outrageous enough to start a fight if he didn't hold back. ]

[damn_juicebox]

[It seems all of them are completely flabbergasted. Rukia in particular had been ready to give the table of ill-reputes a severe scolding for speaking so disrespectfully of people who had willingly sacrificed their lives and their worlds on the belief that the Calamity could be reasoned with. It was because of them that they had half a chance this day of saving Crystallis. They probably would have objected, told her to butt out, maybe made a disparaging remark about her height, and then she'd stomp on someone's head.]

[Flynn saw fit to skip past all of that and just deck the guy. Out of everyone at their table, he was the one she'd thought would have the coolest head. She's wrong, and will learn to never make such assumptions ever again.]

Wha...?

[The people at the table are staring as well. The man to Flynn's left is the first who manages to close his jaw, and he jumps out of his chair to push up his sleeve.]

'Hey, chump, what do you--'

[Rukia shoves his chair roughly against the back of his legs to force him to sit hard again, and his teeth click as he's hit by surprise. But she's only one person, and the people at the table are many as they regain their composure. Someone in the back of the bar suddenly hollers 'BAR FIGHT!!!']

[Almost immediately, chairs and steins begin flying through the air from every single person.]

[red_planet_blues]

[Sparks had been sitting off by himself, attempting to keep away from a lot of the Heroes. Trying to mind his own business. It was working just fine until that battle cry for a bar fight and the whole place erupted into chaos. For a moment, he watched it all take off, quietly trying to finish his drink when a mug sailing across the room knocked it out of his hand and sent it shattering.

Well that wasn't going to do. He stood up and scanned the crowd, brow furrowed. Anyone who knows Sparks might assume that the high-ranking police officer might try to break this up and start hauling folks off. Instead, he jumps right into the fray by grabbing one of the nearby fighters, spinning him around, and clocking him on the jaw.

Dang, that felt good. Time to blow off some steam, the old-fashioned way.]

[boomchucka]

[There was at least one person in the original party that really didn't want to get into anymore trouble and that person happened to be the youngest of their motley crew. Selphie had wanted to eat dinner and talk with her friends and with that plan up in smoke, she could at least enjoy the rest of her dinner. Selphie picked up her plate and fork and had opted for sitting under the table, out of harms way.

She'd only managed a few bites when someone decided to be brave. Drunk, stupid and brave.]

Well hey there, you must be lonely under there by yourself...

[And there went the drunk, of whom Selphie could smell the booze, putting a hand on her leg and winking a little too suggestively for comfort. At first, Selphie blushed a bright shade of pink at the offer before she's shoving the rest of her very hot meal in the perpetrators face and sealing her refusal with a hearty kick.]

Say that again, I dare you!

[Selphie loomed over the drunkard, hands on her hips and sending her best death glare at the idiot as he tumbled backwards into a nearby pillar.]

[dammit_yuri]

[Flynn was pissed. He had never really let loose in his life, and now seemed as good of a time as any. Why did he always have to be the logical one, the sane one, the sober one, the moral compass, while everyone else did whatever they damn well pleased? Wanting to tell off those exactly what he thought of their callous behavior and words, letting his fists do the talking, the hell with the rules... his fist throbbed a bit, but he felt alive. And the alcohol did a pretty good job in conjunction with the adrenaline of masking whatever pain was caused by the blow.]

That the best you got?!

[Flynn was subject to a few blows in the interim, but he didn't let that stop him as blood dribbled down from his nostril. Getting lost in the moment, he grabbed a nearby bottle of beer, smashed the edge against the table, and brandished his weapon.]

Come on. Make my day.

The Meeting

[melodiesnpcs]

As she had sent them the letter, Moglin was there to welcome the Heroes of Light who had answered to her call. She wasted no time and led them to the Pyramid. However there was something... Different, to say the least. The outside was unchanged, but the inside was another story altogether. The statue depicting Nebilim no longer had a head, the one depicting Igor was fractured and the one depicting Ib was on the ground as it it had fallen. As for the one depicting Kalki's former self, it was gone altogether.

The stained glasses decorating the place were fractured and broken as well. All the Heroes of Light depicted on them were gone, the glasses now broken where they once had been. Only those who had sided with the Calamity in the past era were still on the visible on the stained glasses, namely Sephiroth and Dycedarg.

Moglin didn't comment on this however and headed directly for the stairs leading to the room where the Sage rested.

"I know a lot of you are angry at the Sage, Kupo, but..." A pause. "He's really doing what he thinks is best - Like you do. So please don't be too harsh, Kupo."

[im_pancake]

Twilight can't help but gawk at the ruined area. This had to be the cult's doing. They must have struck while they were chasing Palitutu. However, the Moogle's response caused the pony to respond.

"If the Sage wanted to help us, the cryptic stuff needs to stop." Twilight pointed out. "We're at a point where that sort of this doesn't work anymore and so many of us are quite tired of it."

[jadethenecromancer]

Jade's gaze lingered on the headless Nebilim statue before he took in the rest of the room. Judging by which parts of the stained glass were shattered, it was indeed not difficult to guess who the culprit was.

"I'd keep our anger in check for now, however justified it may be. We don't want to devolve into arguing right away." Because in all honesty, the Heroes did tend to do that.

[partofthecycle]

"A lot of people have been doing what they think is best," Aang said. "So let's home we can finally talk this out and agree on what we need to do so we stop fighting one another."

He hadn't been to see the Sage before, so maybe that could allow him to be neutral on the matter.

[not_most_days]

Mary took note of the shattered statues. A move by the Cult perhaps? Given those that were left and those that were destroyed it seemed a likely assumption. She noticed Jade's gaze flitting around and gave him a nod once she caught his eye. Her attention then turned back to the moogle.

"There are a good many things that people do because they think it's for the best. That doesn't mean they aren't wrong or immoral. After all, there are people in my world and many others I'm sure who believe that owning other people is "what is best". All he did in showing us that vision last we spoke was throw any trust we were willing to offer him to the winds."

[neverfirstclass]

Cloud frowned at Kidd's comment. Her words were a bit sharp for his taste, even considering all he'd seen and experienced in that vision. Still, she wasn't completely wrong either. "It's like what Aang said. A lot of us have being doing our best, trying to help out everyone we can. Instead we just keep getting people telling us that 'we don't know anything' and 'we're being fools'. Palitutu and Artemicion did it, so did the Sage. Others too. People keep pushing us around and telling us we're wrong, but then also tell us we won't understand or won't do what needs to be done."

Cloud looked around at everyone gathered and then back to Moglin, "If the Sage wants something from us, then it's HIS turn to prove his worth. We've put in our time."

[unalive_them]

"10,000 Gil says that the Sage had a hissy fit and destroyed everything in here!" Deadpool called out, carrying around his ingenious planned box as he looked around the place. "I mean, seriously, the outside is nice and neat and the inside isn't? If this place was visited by that Cult thing we all should be worried about, wouldn't we have been brought in almost immediate--" he's cut off as he starts laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, this is the Sage we're talking about here. If there was an immediate danger to him and us, he'd wait until it was on top of our backs to let us know!"

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"We have come this far because we are willing to give him a chance," Jack is a bit more diplomatic. "If he's going to help I realize that it can't be just on our terms. We are willing to listen to whatever he has to say."

Jack casts a gaze over the ruined statues, the destruction that's reached this far. He can't help but linger over the spot where Kalki...or was it Dr. Sumati? used to stand. "What has happened here? Are you actually still safe here? I know you'll be reluctant to leave anyway. But we can offer some protection."

[gorgeous_sin]

"Don't be foolish. He'd have to leave his room to cause destruction this deliberate." Lust trailed her fingers lightly over the wall, bits of colored glass crunching beneath her high heels as she took her time crossing the chamber. She was far more interested in the destruction all around them than the remarks of the others, but rest assured, she was listening.

"I'd say this is the work of someone who clearly doesn't like us very much~" Her money was on the cultists as well, but it didn't matter at the moment. Rather than speculate, it was best to just ask the man directly. The homunculus started up the stairs, the tails of her scholar's coat swishing with each step.

[sesenta]

Akane kept quiet for the most part. She'd never been to Mysidia before, and she'd arrived long after the Sage played any sort of valuable role in the lives of the Heroes. Judging by the reactions of the others, the Hall of Prayers probably wasn't supposed to look like this. Was it the result of an Eidolon gone wild, perhaps?

She approached the stairs, setting a foot on one of the steps as she tilted her head back. This was going to be a long, long climb, wasn't it?

No time like the present! She was curious to know what the Sage had to say, especially since it seemed like he possessed powers that were very similar to her Esper abilities back home.

Taking a deep breath, she started the climb, one hand braced against the wall and the other hoisting the hem of her mage's robes up to her knees. The last thing she wanted to do was greet the Sage with a bunch of bruises on her face after tripping and rolling down the stairs.