melodiesoflife | Event || Beginning Of The End

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought, mulling over what the Sage said.

"I don't think this is something simple as 'oh, I don't want to kill'." She said, looking up. "I have the feeling this is going to be far more than that - how we feel about our friends, our foes, this world, our homes, how we see ourselves and what we have."

Twilight let out a soft sigh. "I don't think a lot of us will take this up..."

The Sage's reply is internally infuriating: Ib would have passed that challenge with ease. Fine. Fine fine. If this is what it takes?

"We've already found two of the Black Crystals. We're working on the others. So, how can we activate them without," Kaji nods towards Jade, "being taken over like in the visions? So far it seems the only people who can handle them safely are the moogles." He glances around, trying to find Moglin, in case the Primal Moogle has any answers on this, either.

"Are we guaranteed to lose one job, or is it that we will have only one? There is a difference, if we only go to face our Shadow with a single job equipped."

Ramza would go either way, but it would be better to be prepared. He had been inside of Dycedarg's mind when his brother had succumbed to the power of the Black Crystal in the world of the past. The subconscious struggle between man and Calamity had been hidden from him, but he knew the cost of failure, at least.

"If we can use the Black Crystals more than once, so that all that would face their Shadows, I wish to do so. I owe it to the civilians that lost their lives during the murders to defeat that part of myself."

Edited 2016-10-06 16:05 (UTC)

Rukia thought about this quietly. She knew she'd been able to use the black crystal without ill effects, but it had been for a different purpose -- merging with the Tree of Life, rather than drawing on its power. She was certain that was why she hadn't been physically mutated into something else, because she had been the one begging to be accepted by the Calamity rather than the other way around.

Initially she hadn't intended to say anything. However, standing near Jade allowed her to notice the very faint signs of his tension. She thought she could guess why, given what he'd told her about his own use of the black crystal. Her gaze traveled across the room, studying the faces of the other Heroes. The ones who had been manipulated by Narasimha seemed more prone to displaying their horror and unease. Who could blame them?

But was that really correct, that their Shadow selves secretly desired to cut loose and kill the people they cared about? Rukia had severe doubts.

She folded her arms, her brow furrowed in thought. "Most of us aren't repressing any homicidal urges," she mused with a small frown. "I find it difficult to believe that every single Hero in the hospital the previous year desired only to slaughter innocent people. Note that they didn't attack each other, only those with sentience. It may be the inherent nature of the Calamity to destroy and absorb in its misguided efforts to become whole that makes us dangerous when that side of ourselves is tapped. Were it not for the Calamity's influence, using the Black Crystal wouldn't lead to such disastrous results. However, this adds a dangerous element to our unrestrained selves. We will need the will to not only accept our Shadows, but to resist the urges of the Calamity itself as well."

Rukia regarded the Sage pensively. "Will knowledge alone of what we must do be enough for us to face this part of ourselves without immediately succumbing and becoming mutated? Or is there something more required?"

Ira's shoulders tense as the Sage explains what could happen. This talk of dying and being taken over by the Calamity Self... it was both familiar and not, though he couldn't really place a finger on why. Was it one of those potential futures he'd glimpsed, before he-?

That didn't matter now. What mattered now was that they worked together, and accepted what they rejected. For most of them might not be supressing homicidal urges, but he certainly was, among other things. Yet now that the Sage mentioned it, and the need to accept it...

Would he be able to? To accept what he's been running from for years?

"The light of awakening always was painful," he muttered under his breath, letting out a sigh as he turned to look at Twilight. "I will. My memory might be full of lies, but... I made a promise. One I can't keep if I don't face 'It'. And if I succeed, maybe there'll be hope for everyone else."

Why, he won't say just yet, but those that know him likely know why he's so sure about that.

Cloud had already recently faced himself, though perhaps not quite in the same way. It was an encounter that was still on his mind but lifted a great deal of the weight sitting on his shoulder. But he'd be lying if he said that all of his doubts were gone. And then there was the matter of those who had been exposed to the powers of the black crystal.

"I don't think it's as simple as 'homocidal urges'. Last October the Black Crystal was used to make me into a puppet. Same thing with the murders. And then the previous October when Tifa..." He shook his head, "It's the things that we want to deny that we'd do if push came to shove. It doesn't have to be murder. Betrayal can be enough. Or maybe it's smaller things like the fears we're sitting on."

He looked up and nodded at Ramza, thankful for him bringing up the question on his mind. "All I know is that if I don't do this I'll wonder about it forever."

Sparks folded his arms, frowning in thought over what the Sage had told them. Something came to mind.

"Okay, so, ya lose a Job in the process of tryin' to fight it. But ya don't have to fight it one-on-one, do ya? There's a lot of us here."

Albel had remained quiet as he listened, brow furrowed. It was hard not to immediately be angry... and it wasn't toward Deadpool. He actually had no problem with the masked man's threat of violence. Deadpool was frequently a lot of talk, but he was a strong warrior. If violence was what it took to ensure things progressed... Well, far be it from Albel to interfere when he might have done the same thing. But what the Sage was saying made sense. He remembered his single-minded pursuit of Kalki's plan, propelling Terra forward to godhood...

And now Terra was gone. Unless she came back, it would appear they had already changed the future once.

However, when the Sage described the "Shadows" and what was necessary to combat them, Albel was perhaps the only Hero to smile. "So -- we are to face what we repress, humanized with its own job. Makes sense. Our perfect foe would be ourselves."

At the time of the first vision, he had to admit, he would have been unprepared. But now... He rested a hand on the hilt of the Crimson Scourge. The blade resonated its own opinion on the situation within his skull. This was no different than what he had done in Airyglyph. He had succeeded then, and he would succeed again.

[She's a little disappointed. If someone's going to do her the honor of engaging in a proper bar brawl, she'd prefer if they didn't try to sucker punch her from behind. Yuri's interference is therefore welcomed, and Rukia shoots him a grin and a thumb's up.]

I'll get Flynn.

[Being much smaller, she can better squeeze her way through the crowd to reach Flynn before he cuts open someone's artery. Yuri's got his hands full protecting Selphie in any case.]

Oi, Flynn! We're not fighting our shadow selves just yet!

[She shouts out to him as she moves forward. But someone is punching someone else in front of her. Rukia moves to the left, but so do the brawlers. To the right, the brawlers move too. Grunting in annoyance, Rukia goes to chop the tall redhead on the back of the neck.]

Move.

[...Wait, is that Sparks? Rukia pulls up short, stunned into silence for a moment. Er...she really doesn't want to make this a yearly tradition. The marshal does not need to be knocked unconscious every September.]

[It is indeed Sparks! Who, right now, can't help but grin as he and a few brawlers just tear into each other. He's dealing twice as many hits as he's taking, though. Not really a fair fight between a Hero and normal townsfolks. But it's nice to see Sparks enjoying himself for the first time in quite awhile, even if it is in this way.

When Yuri asks who's next, a bar patron is suddenly tossed unceremoniously down in front of him from Spark's direction. An opponent delivery right on schedule!]

[ All Sheena wanted had been one drink. One teeny, tiny dish of sake--or whatever came close to it. The meeting with the Sage had set her thoughts and emotions into a whirl and she needed it.

And that's what's on her mind as she approaches the building, the sound of the commotion inside making its way outside, growing louder the closer she gets. She pauses, unsure, since sometimes parties sound like brawls and brawls sound like parties.

Hoping it's a party, she enters--only to be knocked right back outside by a body being slammed into her. Yep. Definitely a brawl. Getting to her feet, she goes back inside--this time ducking as a stein heads towards her, allowing it to hit the man behind her, knocking him senseless.

As one of his buddies comes up to her, she scans the room. ]

What the hell is going on here?!

[Just... what the hell happened? Part of Selphie wants to partake in the antics going on around her but another part of her really doesn't want to get involved.

There's Yuri throwing people into walls on her behalf. That was a thing. Flynn being drunk was also a thing. Rukia in all her half-pint glory was kicking ass and taking names and then there's a cop partaking in their antics.

And that's where Selphie got confused. She considered getting out from underneath the table to try and leave but knew that things were more than a little out of hand. She ducked a flying beer bottle in the nick of time as she tucked herself back under the relative safety of the table.]

I'm just going to stay here until everybody's done...

Edited 2016-10-08 04:58 (UTC)

Sheena was quiet for several moments, her brows furrowed deep in thought. Finally, she looked up and addressed the Sage directly.

"Do we have to have Jobs equipped when we face ourselves? If that's what we're going to be doing, how about we go all the way and face them as we truly are? With our original skills and not anything given to us by the Crystals?"

[... and Flynn's body count was up to five so far, all incapacitated but not dead. Maybe. His knuckles are kinda bloody though. By now he's gotten rid of the broken bottle. Some of these guys' helmets were really strong~~, maybe made out of Mythril~~. In any case, his sleeves were torn from his movements and his knuckles had some wear to them already.]

Damn. You. All. To. Hell!

[... and he may be trying to kick down an overturned table that one of the bullies was using as a shield.]

Lailah was silent for most of the exchange, but she pricked up her ears to listen to Sheena. It was a very good question - if they wanted people experienced with combat, why take their unique combat abilities away? Unless there was a specific reason for it... it still felt like the problems of this land should be solved by the people of this land.

That or perhaps she was just becoming jaded.

"I have to say, Miss Fujibayashi's inquiry is something I'm interested in as well." Lailah commented, almost silently.

"Kalki already answered this one," Jack looks between Sheena and Lailah. "Why do you think we can equip two jobs when nobody else can?" A shrug. "Our Calamity selves. So when we separate them out?" Jack snaps his fingers. "Only one job. Banking on the idea that when we re-integrate them, accept them, we'll regain that ability, but now that part is no longer in conflict."

"Because is the goal to defeat the shadows or to accept them? Combat might have nothing to do with it." A cautious glance at Sparks. If there's anybody who Jack thinks they need to pass this test, it's him.

Shadows, huh? Hisui already defeated one back home of himself, so this hardly seems like news. Aside from that, the way jobs work in this world made him think they had something more important than just being a convenient way to get more powerful. And that one chick who died and left her job for everyone else...? Could that be an ultimate goal? But why destroy the world in the process? "If combat isn't the main goal, then I can say with confidence that many of us are screwed," Hisui muttered under his breath.

Tsubomi thought about this for a bit. This was certainly like the Final Test she and the other Cures went throug to gain the Super Silhouette forms. This one would be no different. But, things changed...

"I think this is going to be a tall hill to climb..."

He heard about the Black Crystals and the visions that others had but he never experienced them himself. At least the ones the were talking about. He found Lailah had also found her way here along with Hisui in which he gives a small smile at eye contact. They were all trying to fight for the same purpose right?

The whole Calamity self thing is definitely a bit shocking to hear about but the world was unique and advance in its own way, along with the Calamity. There had to be ways to fight it. This might be the solution they were looking for, however the dangers that follow it weren't exactly preferable but they had to do what they can.

Listening to Rukia speak made Mikleo a bit unnerved on terms of the "homicidal urges," that happened not too long ago. He felt a uneasy talking about the topic all together. He can't possibly believe that he entirely wants to do things like hurt people.

"If it is the matter of accepting them, then it will be much more difficult than simply fighting them. Even if the question has been answered before, there's nothing wrong with revisiting them."

Edited 2016-10-09 17:54 (UTC)

"Most people have a side of themselves they don't show others, for one reason or another. It's a lot to take in, so it's no wonder that we may be circling back to questions we may have already asked," Flynn added. "What it may come down to is how we want people to see us, or rather how much we fear others not accepting parts of ourselves we keep hidden." It was easy enough for Flynn to imagine what that could be like, given that people usually saw him as a shimmering knight. "After being here for a while, I think we've all seen parts of ourselves and others we wouldn't normally come across. This seems like a logical next level in those experience."

Albel shook his head at Jack. "That may be so -- but it doesn't exactly address what Sheena said. Or Ramza. What if we only have one job? Or none?"

He wasn't even sure that they could have no job while they were here. Everyone had arrived with one simply assigned to them; even "no job" was Freelancer.

"Would the Shadow take that job? Fight for it? Not that fighting is guaranteed to occur..." Albel shrugged and shook his head again. There seemed to be so much focus on combat. And while combat was his strength, it was for that reason it would not be truly a challenge for him.

"Not everyone represses 'homicidal rages.' Not every Hero was possessed to murder their neighbor. This... fight... it will be an individual challenge, unique to each of us." Albel looked to Sheena with a subtle nod to his sword. She was there. It was the only way he could think of this.

"Perhaps the Shadow will always possess the job, the powers, the abilities -- that's the challenge. So, if we are still to succeed, then we must be a bit more creative than that."

Right, don’t let him knock you out there. He’s drunk but he’s a fighter.

[ Yuri replied back to her as he passed her to get somewhere else. Flynn was in her direction more than he was in Yuri’s. Yuri was busy tossing drunk people to the side as he made his way down the bar. Before he made it any further there was a body being flung at him and all he did was dodge it as he crashed in the unconscious drunk. Thanks Sparks! He totally needed that delivery!

Eventually, he dodges enough people to catch up with Rukia only to be stopped when he heard Sheena enter the room after being knocked down and then shoving another hapless drunk into the ground. ]

Watch out behind you!

[ He shouted before another guy was thrust out of his way ay and lands right on top of the table that Selphie is hiding under and breaks it on her. ]

... ]

…Sorry Sunshine!!

[ Yuri makes a break past the piled bodies just in time to see a few more thugs run right at Rukia with tables and chairs as she was making her way to Flynn. ]

[Rukia is working her way closer to Flynn. While her size gives her an advantage in being able to slip between fighters more easily, she also doesn't have a great deal of leverage, as neither her ninja nor red mage job have any particular stat boosts to make her mighty.]

[She resorts to kicking shins and jabbing people harshly in the ribs. Eventually she does get to enjoy her first bar fight punch, and though her knuckles sting, she has to admit that it's actually kind of fun to]

[WHAM. That sure is a chair leg hitting her across the face. Rukia staggers, dizzied, and touches a hand to her nose. It's bleeding...?]

[Why that foolish...! Scowling up at her attacker, who seems almost as surprised as Rukia and far less sober, starts to lower the chair. Does he intend to apologize? Push her over? The world will never know because she jump kicks him in the face, using her ninja agility to make a springboard out of him and launch herself directly at Flynn.]

OI! Drop the bottle already!

[- and an NPC slams into Rukia, who then slams into Flynn (who had fortunately lost the broken bottle at this point) and they ended up on the bar floor. It was wet and sticky from patron's muddy footprints and spilled booze, so they slid until Flynn's feet managed to stop them at the wall on the other side of the bar. Many patrons may or may not have been bowled over in the process. It didn't matter.]

Get. Off!

[If this were an anime, a gigantic exclamation point accompanied by a red anger spot would appear in a speech bubble above his head. Then he realized who it was. Ouch, that was a sobering thought. That and his shirt was now covered in nose blood.]

Hey. You all right?

[Now may have been a good time to leave.]

Edited 2016-10-10 05:20 (UTC)

[Yuri may have heard a very startled half-squeak, half colourful string of curses an eighteen-year-old probably shouldn't know coming out of the mouth of their youngest housemate present as her hiding place was exposed to the melee going on around her. A sharp, withering look may have been cast in Yuri's direction in response before there was a drunk man in her lap. The withering look was cast in full glory upon the drunk before Selphie hauled the man to his feet and clocked him squarely in the jaw.]

You owe me, Yuri!

[She forcefully shoved the drunk over the broken table as she joined the fray and successfully kicked two drunks cleanly in the balls before fighting her way over to check on Rukia and Flynn. Most of the brawlers were caught off guard by the little girl throwing punches that she shouldn't have been able to throw given her stature.]

You all definitely owe me!

Event || Beginning Of The End

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OH LOOK IT'S A RUKIA SANDWICH

AND A TICKED OFF SELPHIE... you're welcome by the way. :P