melodiesoflife | Meeting up: Christmastown?

[Five years ago at this point seemingly and even then Mary recalls the last meeting with their allies before their departure as if it was yesterday. Certainly it was nearly that long ago by her own recollection. She'd spoken out in anger and Prajapati was one of those she'd leveled her ire in the direction of.

If nothing else, she owed the woman an apology. There was also the matter of the painting that had been seen in Pandaemonium, and while she didn't know either version of the woman well, the fact that she was seemingly living a dual life was something that clicked with her. There were mysteries that she'd failed to notice and now wondered if it was too little too late.]

I should have pursued the remnants of the Empire more diligently. We could have done more to help perhaps.

[Her words are softly muttered to herself, but then she looks up at the signs that Duster points out.]

I guess a few people decided they wanted to continue the work we started. Some little hope for them to hold onto.

[This in turn gave her hope that the Assassins were still functioning. She'd have to find a way to contact Aerilon.]

[Duster grips his new jacket tightly around himself. Here they are, five years late, with others picking up the work they abandoned. Not entirely of their own fault, but he can't help but feel that if they only knew what was to come after the fight with Garland, if only they have prepared another way, all this could have been avoided.

The spirit of Christmas does little to cheer him up.]

It's almost like coming back to Tazmily after disappearing for three years...

[ They would find Prajapati by the main building in the center of the village-- Santa Claus's workshop. Or so it had been anyway. With all that had happened, the building was now used as an improvised headquarter to plan the village's expansion and ensure its continued safety.

Prajapati was speaking to a few Moogles who had doubtlessly informed her of the Heroes of Light's return. They pointed at Duster and Mary as they approached, and thus she turned to them. ]

Greetings, my friends. It is good to see you alive and well.

[Duster stops in his tracks. While none of the residents had displayed hostility towards their late return - it wasn't like he had disappeared under the accusation of a crime he didn't commit - he can't be certain that Pajapati would show the same hospitality.

He debates whether to approach her and decides it will happen anyway.]

Hello. [He walks up to the building.] Sorry for being so late.

[Mary nods offering Prajapati a nod, but her eyes go to the moogles, looking among them for a familiar face. But the hood she's looking for isn't there.]

And you as well. I apologize for our absence, and myself for not doing more that we might have prevented this entirely. And I'm sorry for accusing you all of the same last we met.

[Her anger at their native allies, her inability to take down Kalki fast enough. But from what she's been told she's not sure...no she knows she couldn't have cut down Ramza to save everyone else. It's not something she'd have been able to do.]

No one could have predicted this turn of event. There is naught to apologize for.

[ It didn't seem she bear them any ill-will and she attempted smiling-- Before going back to being serious near immediately. ]

Are you aware of the situation or do you need a debriefing?

[Duster glances at Mary before speaking up.] When I fell off the cliff during the fighting with Garland, I heard a voice apologizing and asking us to defeat Kalki. It was the same voice that told us to wake up for the first time.

[It was a woman he had never spoken to, but someone he felt he could trust.]

I couldn't ask anyone in town, but we've been gone for years, and I can't remember any of it.

[Mary nods along with Duster as he tells his version of the tale. The others she wound up in this grim future with had not been thrown from the fight like she had so she wasn't able to properly compare notes.]

Aye, I heard much the same. My group was able to learn a little about an Archfiend, but anything you can tell us will be of help. There might be something you know that the others we spoke to missed or were unaware of.

[ She looked down and pondered on what the voice could be, but replied to their question. ]

As you may know, five years have passed. The world was devastated following the Apocalypse and this village is one of the few safe places left. Whilst we do not know for certainty where she is, everything points to Kalki being in Aqures Tosf. It would appear she is protected by an energy field while she waits for her plan's completion.

[ A pause. ]

To make matters worse, four individuals of great power have appeared and taken over the Temples. We call them Archfiends, based on folklore from Mysidia. They've made our life much more complicated and due to their interference, we haven't had the possibility to even try making a coherent plan to face Kalki. The closest one if the Archfiend of Wind, who took over Trano Golsaucia and its Temple.

...How bad is it? [They had woken up alone, only to find themselves greeted by monsters, dead workers and...and unusual boss within the mines. It's difficult to tell the state of the rest of the world.] But...now that we're here, we can do something about it. The Archfiends and Kalki, that is.

[Mary frowns, tapping her sleeve with a finger thoughtfully as she stands their cross armed. There's something that's been bothering her since she first heard about the Archfiends.]

Is there any clue to the identity of these Fiends? We met an engineer at one of the camps out in the snows, and he mentioned something about a giant robot. [And the words were 'giant robot'. Not WEAPON or Magitek Armor. And near as she knew 'giant robot' was only bandied about in reference to a particular Advanced Job.]

Is there a chance they might be former allies of ours?

[Stopping these Archfiends and cutting of Kalki's support was very much on her mind, but knowing their enemy is key as well.]

[ She looked at Kidd and motioned to a nearby Moogle who flied away to go and grab some things. ]

I wouldn't jump to conclusions, but given what precedents we know of, it is a distinct possibility. [A pause.] Is that true? That Sir Ramza fell to Kalki's grasp?

[ She needed to know-- After all it could be related.

The Moogle came back before long with a Mog Network device for each of them. It also had in a bag any of their belongings they had left in Prajapati or Aqures Ixen's care prior to the time skip.

Using the device to communicate with the PuPu will unlock the bonus dungeon! The bonus dungeon is a place accessible to every players and characters. It is non-canon and nonsensical, albeit information revealed in it might be very canon. If you wish to explore the bonus dungeon, please contact a moderator. ]

I-- [Duster help back and looked at Mary. He had been told what happened by the others, but he wasn't there to see exactly how it transpired. For a moment, he thinks to defer to the other Hero...who also was tossed into the void.

There is no reason not to answer.] Yeah. Kalki took control of his body.

[He accepts the device from the Moogle quietly and fiddles around with the settings. It looks a lot like those brick-shaped communication devices he saw some of the Pigmasks use, only this doesn't have numbers on it.] How does it work?

[Mary was prone to more suspicion of her fellow Heroes than others, but here and now she still couldn't do the same with Ramza. The boy was too honest and too forthright, and if he truly had betrayed them then it would have been something he'd have done with all his conviction that it was the right thing to do.

Which still left the possibility open that Kalki had gotten to him somehow.

But she did not believe that it was something he would have done without trying to win over some of his allies first.]

Aye. It looks bad but I'd not believe anything that comes from his lips while he's under her influence. But we'll drag the truth of this out into the light if we can, and him and any other Heroes with it.

[She has her suspicions of who the local Archfiend is, and if it is indeed Ales then she has a responsibility as an Assassin, and as the one who recruited him. But she also has a responsibility as and to the other Heroes to give him a chance to explain himself.

She accepts the device with a nod, and listens as Duster asks about the operation.]

[ She closed her eyes and looked down for a second after hearing the news, before looking up at Duster to answer his question. ]

This is a communication device that doesn't require the use of Moogles. According to our engineers, using your Crystals should allow it to work with similar devices possessed by other Heroes of Light. You can all get your own here, it might be of use to you if you ever have to split up.

Hah, amazing.

[Mary smiles as she looks it over. Saori and other Heroes have mentioned phones and such, but the technological leap is still alien enough to be remarkable to her. Imagine what the Brotherhood could do with such things.]

This will be a great help. Thank you very much. But will we have to worry about Kalki listening in?

Huh. [He holds it out at arm's length as if expecting something to happen. Seeing nothing, he pulls out his blue crystal and holds it near the device.]

If we invented it, she might not have any of her own.

Edited 2017-05-24 02:37 (UTC)

It is a definite possibility.

[ Pondering and a pause. ]

For you to plan without any risk of hr eavesdropping, you'll have to meet up. We have built a few makeshift airships, theoretically you could use them to gather all of your friends together. However, they are not as sturdy as the Enterprise was. So long as the Archfiend of Wind remains, using them will be too risky as they wouldn't wisthand even a minor assault.

Perhaps, but she's proven herself to be resourceful. Not to mention those times when she was able to intercept mognet correspondence.

[She has no cause to suspect anything, but being aware of the possibility is the thing. She then offers Prajapati a nod of both thanks and agreement.]

For all we know she doesn't know we're alive. We cannot risk giving up an advantage too quickly. We'll do all we can to bring this to an end. And to prevent any more losses than we've had.

[It's a promise she can't hope to keep, but she's going to try anyway.]

If it can get us together, just once, it'll be enough. [The problem is where. They can't communicate with each other, which means they can't coordinate their reunion. Which means flying around without a goal isn't going to fix anything.]

Are there any other cities that can hand this out?

Meeting up: Christmastown?

Re: Prajapati Meeting Group

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