Intro Log || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of October. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in Aqures Ixen and are informed by their assigned Moogles of what the situation and what their destinies are. This a log for them to react to the situation, meet each other and be welcomed by the former batches of Heroes of Light. New Heroes of Light will not have their Crystal.
Warning: N/A

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within an instant, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you knew it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, your world vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Even you feel different: all the powers you might once have had, are now gone. It is silent, cold and it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you.

At this moment, when it looks as though nothing but a never-ending void awaits you, a red Crystal forms before you. In this void, its warmth compels you to grab it. Upon doing so, you can hear a soft, soothing voice speaking:


"Wake up."

Soon, the void itself vanishes and is replaced by distant noises of engines. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call one more time, but is soon replaced with a much less graceful "Wake up Kupo," the call of the Moogle finally waking you up. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Fire, in the third district of a city called Aqures Ixen. At this point, you may realize the engine noise actually originates from an Airship flying low over the city and headed to the castle. As if it wasn't strange enough, your clothes have changed as well. They are now a reflection of the Jobs you are wielding. Last but not least, you are surrounded by Moogles, small and fluffy creatures who are more than happy to tell you about everything you want to know, about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light, about what awaits you.

Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

The only people around you are like you-- There are quite a few of them, all clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. If somehow you do not realize it, the Moogle who woke you up will be more than happy to inform you there are others like you around. In fact, there are other Heroes who arrived these past months too and they will come soon! Like you, they had Jobs and a Crystal-- Wait, you don't have a Crystal...? That's weird.

Your Moogle will be puzzled by this fact, as all Heroes of Light are supposed to have a crystal with them. Well, maybe you are not a Hero of Light after all?


The Other Heroes
— Shortly Thereafter —
Thanks to the efficiency of Mognet, it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around: those who arrived in this world one or two months ago. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you that there were other Heroes of Light in this city. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers worthy of being revered as heroes. And more importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have all the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a minor disappointment. Still, for the most part they know more than you on the situation and may be more than happy to fill you in, especially if your Moogle didn't tell you much.


The Night of the Thirteen Moogles
— Anytime —
Something that may be obvious, is that the city has a spooky feel to it. There are various decorations, it clearly looks like a work in progress but it seems the idea is to make the city looks as scary as possible. Characters familiar with Halloween may recognize the decoration as being strikingly similar. The Moogles will be more than pleased to explain these are all preparations for the upcoming Night of the Thirteen Moogles on the 31st, and they will explain the legends to characters if they ask.

Hopefully all this talk of curse and King Moggle Mog is nothing more than legend.


The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
There are a lot of things left to do in the city, especially with everyone excited for the upcoming celebration. Starting from 18:00, a series of BLitzball games will take place at the stadium located in the tenth district, opposing amateur teams in a friendly competition. At the same time, a small group of Triple Triad players are playing before Mognet Office in the ninth district, and they are more than happy to teach the rule to anyone passing by. Characters are free to enter and play games of Triple Triad, and if they do so they will be given very basic cards and explained the rules. This may be the start of a promising career!

Characters are also free to visit the city-- Be it Mognet Office just behind the Triple Triad games is filled with very busy Moogles, or the Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline, knowing the next airship departing from Aqures Ixen will do so on the 9th. Still, characters can board an exposition Airship should they like and visit it.

Or maybe you could visit your new house in the 11th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with.

Comments

[jiyunotaika]

Other Heroes

With the story of the legend under his belt Zack focused on the others standing around. Mostly he's looking for a certain spiky-haired blond because if Cloud's not here then there's a real possibility that ShinRa got their hands on him. The kid couldn't even walk on his own, or take on entire battalions of troops. So he certainly was looking around for the unconscious kid but Zack isn't looking in the right areas, he wouldn't find Cloud slumped somewhere on the ground.

In his quest for his friend, he can't ignore anyone else hanging around with a Moogle hanging around. So After he'll scratch the back of his head awkwardly. He knew what he looked like, big guy large sword, scar on his cheek. Zack will approach with a smile. "Hey, you okay? This is all pretty weird, right?"

Of course if he does see familiar old faces in the crowd, chances are good that they'll find Zack just staring at them. Because really, he didn't expect to any of them here.

Aqures Ixen

Right now Zack is entirely too happy to have the currency of this world lining his pockets. It meant that he can find a good restaurant and buy his fill of food. Being on the run for nine and a half months meant getting food when ever he could, sometimes he'd go without to stretch out their supplies between towns.

While everything around here is very interesting, all he cared about was following his nose and sitting down to order practically everything on the menu. He made quick work of half of the food but then started slowing down. When someone moved into his personal space, Zack motioned to the seat across from his. "Dig in. Turns out I can't eat all of this by myself."

[wear_tear_rust]

It had been a long day and Angeal was tired from a full day of work in his yard to prepare it for winter and chopping wood for the same reason. He wasn't in the mood to cook his own meal this time and had ordered his usual plate of roast beef and steamed vegetables. He had moved toward one of the tables and since Zack had changed his hair, he didn't recognize him immediately. The change in appearance also included the change in garb. He rounded the corner of the table and noticed who it was that he sat across from. His eyes widened then with his mouth open slightly to speak but no words would come for at least a few breaths.

Angeal was happy to see his friend and star pupil that had made First around the time of the attack on the Shin-Ra building. Old memories and emotions, as old as a few months, had come rushing back as he slowly sat down.

He was just glad to see Zack again even though he had no idea where he got the scars yet he had a feeling he might. The sight of the Buster Sword matching his own made him smile internally. To have not one but two of the swords in this place was something but he frowned a bit to witness the wear and tear.

"Zack." His tone changed to a more chastising one with a countenance of disapproval.

[jiyunotaika]

It was the one voice he knew better than anyone's. The one that reached him through the four year long mako haze that he had spent as Hojo's experiment. Quite honestly it was the one he had hoped to hear the most when on the run. Which is why the single syllable has his choking on his drink. He has to cough to be able to breath again. When he's done almost dying, Zack looked up -- not to see Lazard in his decayed state or some other kind of Angeal copy.

That was the real thing sitting across from him and giving him a look he knew too well. Usually one that followed up by one of Angeal's lectures but Zack could hardly care because that was the real Angeal and he'd take anything at this point.

His eyes go to the sword given to him by the very man sitting at his table, it was resting well within reach. Before ShinRa decided to turn them into experiments he had always used the blunt side, to prevent wear and tear. Then it sat for years not being used at all. Unfortunately when he picked it back up Zack had definitely not been able to avoid it.

When he turned back to Angeal, there was no real apology in his face or eyes. "I found something that was a little more important."

[wear_tear_rust]

Angeal had no idea the circumstances that lead up to his own death other than that Zack was the one to deliver him from suffering, yet he still caused more through Zack's pain. It was hard to face, yet here was Zack before him and now wasn't the time for those thoughts.

He canted his head to the side and wondered what it was that Zack had found and his curiosity was more clear than his need to lecture. He figured that there was no need for it. Zack had changed and what appears to be for the better.

"I'm listening." He leaned forward slightly to give his undivided attention.

Money and Food! Yuffie's here!

[thegreatninja]

The sound of money tugged at Yuffie's ear, pulling her towards the delicious smells of food. She saw the pointy hair but dismissed it until she was able to get a closer look. Her short stature made it hard for her to see and soon she was lost in the horde of people. Their movements overwhelmed her and set her tripping backwards towards Zack.

She turned at the sound of his voice and stared with her mouth hanging openly. "ZACK!"

[jiyunotaika]

In comparison to Yuffie he still rather dwarfed her in size so when she stumbled into him, Zack didn't so much as tilt in his chair. Automatically his hands go up to stop the girl from falling but all of that is lost when he looked up at her face and saw the little girl he met back in Wutai. That would have been years ago now but she hadn't changed that much.

"Yuffie? What are you doing here?"

[thegreatninja]

"ME! What are you doing here?" She turned to face him but her eyes immediately went to the food laid out in front of him. She was sure she had to say something important but the smell of food clouded her senses.

Yuffie quickly sat next to him and reached for his food. "I was already here." She mumbled in between bites, not really bothered that she was eating Zack's food.

[nodreamsorhonor]

"You can't? I do think that the Planet had just turned to ice upon hearing those words."

It was a gentle tease, a mere ghost of the amount of rancor Genesis could - and often did - deliver towards the younger man. But this was not the Planet, he was not a fragment of himself rotting at the core, and the young man was a little hard to be mad at while he was enjoying his food. Genesis took a seat, set his tea cup down on the table and smiled at Zack. He looked different, the degradation gone, his eyes a more vivid green than actual blue, and he had swapped out his uniform of long red coat over black for something close to a workout outfit.

Genesis also was developing freckles.

[jiyunotaika]

"What can I say, dumbapples fill a guy up."

He didn't actually get to have an entire apple, nothing but a single bite of it actually before he got distracted by the letter from Aerith. It will still serve a purpose to say that though since Zack has already run into Angeal who has no idea of the events after his death. Maybe it would give him a hint from when Genesis was from since he doesn't look like he's degrading anymore.

Zack motioned to the plates and bowls laid out in front of him. "You going to help me out?"

[nodreamsorhonor]

"Alas, there are none here."

He looked at the spread before Zack and then reaches over for one of the curiously purple carrots. He wasn't that hungry; unlike a lot of SOLDIERs, Genesis never had a huge appetite unless he was burning through mako at a higher rate than normal. He already had his daily meal about two hours ago though he still would be polite and nibble here and there on whatever looked appealing.

"Did you enjoy the doctor's care?" They may have all the time in the world, but Genesis was not patient. He already had one person here that refused to speak to him; he wanted to know where he stood with Zack before he stepped into another sinkhole.

Other Heroes

[dragonflame]

Bloom had currently been sitting down, her moogle friend sleeping next to her, it's little head resting on her side. She didn't want to move because she knew that would wake the other up so when someone wondered over she might as well at least be polite. That was the least she could do after all.

"You mean the whole being in a different world mean? It can be since I didn't know such a world existed."

She paused after she spoke, she had to assume he wasn't a native here either, especially after that question. This meant that she could at least try and get along with them. "So you must be like me? Someone who was brought here and given the title Hero of Light."

[jiyunotaika]

Her spot on the floor had basically ensured that Zack saw her since his eyes were searching for a slumped blond male. Crouching down in front of her, his huge sword somehow managed to not get in his way. There was a slight smile at the Moogle sleeping on her.

"Neither did I. Here I thought my world was the only one."

It might be hard to tell if he's joking or not considering his light tone. Zack nodded. "That's me. I'm Zack Fair, new Hero of Light," he said rather proudly.

[dragonflame]

She assumed that meant he didn't know of the existence of other worlds and that where he was from there was only one. That she could understand, before she knew the truth, her truth she had only thought Earth was the only place and that her dreams of fairies and such were just fiction.

How wrong she had been all those years ago.

"Nice to meet you Zack, I'm Bloom a new Hero of Light as well. But I guess it means you know about as much as I know about this whole place."

[woman_of_strife]

There's a sudden pause to her step when she catches the familiar head of black spikes, causing the young woman to drop the bun she'd been eating as it crumbled and broke apart on impact. Eyes go wide, tearing at the corners as she sees the man she had presumed dead. Cloud had told her after his memories had been restored, during their time under the Highwind had given them plenty of time to talk about their past and their possible future. Cloud had said that he'd seen Zack perish, and it had been that fact that allowed Cloud to take up his sword.

She's unsure what to say, uncertain if Zack himself had seen her in the few feet they stood from one another. There's no doubt in her mind that the man she is seeing is Zack, given that her time with him had been quite figuratively burned into her memory. With a soft voice at first, she tries to call out to him, speaking in a manner that might suggest she only now has learned to speak.

"Za.. Zack?"

Her volume grows, taking a few steps towards him to close the distance for him to hear her better.

"Zack? Zack Fair?"

[jiyunotaika]

If there was one person who could startle Zack thoroughly, it was Tifa. Mostly since the last time he saw her was in Nibelheim's reactor core with her back turned towards him while saying she hated ShinRa. He'd known Cloud had seen her after that, checked to make sure she was alive but he didn't know what had happened to her in the four years that followed. So her voice has him standing fast enough to knock his chair over.

He almost expected her to walk away. Not stand there and come closer.

"Tifa? Is that you?"

The girl he knew, their guide looked older. Of course she did. It's been four years since Sephiroth burned down her and Cloud's village and he hardly expected her to stay the same. Right up until he'd gotten Aerith's letter he hadn't known how much time had passed while they were Hojo's experiments. But somehow reading it and seeing it felt like two different things.

Zack gave her a small, unsure smile. He didn't know if she was still upset with ShinRa, or more importantly -- if she included him in that too anymore. "It's been a while."

[woman_of_strife]

There's no real warning when the hug takes hold of the lost friend. She'd only known him for a few short days, but that time had been some of the most significant hours of her life, considering the aftermath of his visit. Arms cling tightly to him, almost threatening to choke the air from his lungs as her face buries into his chest. Tifa gets caught up in the well of loss and the assumption that the man had been dead, taking a few moments before she lifts her eyes up to look at him once more.

With her orbs going wide, hands release from around him and clutch at his clothing, shaking him as if she were holding him for ransom.

"What's the last thing that happened before you got here?!"

Senpaaaaai~

[neverfirstclass]

Cloud wasn't missing, he was just a little late. His Moogle Mako had urged him to go welcome the newcomers, but he wasn't particularly interested in it, still recovering just a little from his recent adventures. He wasn't badly injured, but he was still very sore from being kicked by a magitek armor.

In any case, he wound up going to welcome the new heroes mostly just to get his Moogle to leave him alone. Their usual arguing came to a halt though when Cloud approached the group of newcomers. He stopped short, gaping for a moment and eyes wide. "Zack?"

The look of shock turns to a happy grin, "Zack! You're here!" The blonde looks hale and hearty, as much as he did right before the Nibelheim mission.

Chocobooooooooo~

[jiyunotaika]

Sorry to say but he was 100% missing. Zack was even starting to consider putting up lost chocobo flyers. Okay, maybe not but it felt strange to not have his friend there even if he was unconscious. Cloud was someone to talk to on their trek across the Planet, his constant companion and Zack's responsibility to look after ever since they met and bonded. To think that maybe he'd left his spiky-haired friend in ShinRa's clutches was not something that sat well with him so he was worried and wouldn't be appeased until he saw Cloud again.

His search of the ground proved near-fruitless since he didn't find his friend slumped somewhere waiting for him. Except someone is calling his name and caused him to look up. There, walking and talking like he had been before Sephiroth was the familiar Infantryman. "Cloud?"

Really he should be happy that the blond was mobile again but it was also very confusing. Zack moved through the crowd until he could throw an arm around the other male. Definitely not the kid he pulled out of the mako tank or hauled around for months. A grin broke out across his face. "Of course I'm here! Couldn't leave you here alone, could I?"

He'll worry about the differences later. Just enjoy being able to talk and get a real response back from Cloud right now.

Doncha mean ChocoBRO?

[neverfirstclass]

With the crowd milling around between them, Cloud completely missed any concern or worry that might have been on Zack's face. All he caught was the grin, and he returned it in kind. His best friend was here! Things had to be on the upswing now!

For the first time since he arrived, Cloud let his guard down. He had been talking to other people and telling them about Gaia, but as soon as Zack would give him a moment he'd run down the list of things that had been going on since his arrival. A two month adventure involving a Chocobo Eater, plant monsters and even a battle in a Magitek factory.

"What about everyone back home? Are they okay? I'm sorry about causing trouble when I vanished." As far as Cloud knew, it was only a few weeks after Modeoheim.

[rhapsoidein]

"Don't mind if I do, kupo!" Monty replied and began scarfing down the food. Genesis, now also known as Genny to avoid confusion with the other Genesis, turned around just in time see Monty eat someone else's food. She frowned and grabbed her own bag of food she was taking home and reach over to pluck her Moogle by the wing.

"Did I not tell you that we will be home soon for lunch? You said you could wait."

"But this guy said I could, kupo!"

Genesis finally looked over at the gentleman who let her moogle eat so much and she nearly dropped Monty as her eyes widened.

"Zack?"

He was here now too? A cold feeling settled in her stomach and, for once, hoped this Zack was from that other Gaia and not her own.

[jiyunotaika]

He can't help but smile as a moogle started eating vigorously, it was nice to see someone else with a healthy appetite. Then someone came along to intervene. All Zack can do it stare.

Because if Genesis was female, he imagined she would look a lot like this woman. It was at this point that his head remembered Yuffie's words 'girl Gen' rung in his head.

Clearly from the shocked and silence from Zack she can easily see that this isn't the one from her world. That Zack probably need to stare at her face and then down before returning his gaze to her face.

"Genesis?"

[rhapsoidein]

She had already let go of Monty, still rather in shock. So they were all here now. And the fact that he looked down briefly answered the question of which Gaia he was from. She almost breathed a sigh of relief and, instead, ignored Monty going back to the food as she shrugged and nodded.

"Do I need to quote LOVELESS to prove it as well?" Not that she had to previously but it made her smirk a little at the thought.

[shinrasfinest]

Granted it could only have been a matter of time before Zack would show up in the complication that was Sephiroth's coma-dream, that he still sternly had to remind himself about from time to time.

But that didn't make it any less jarring to see -but really was that-

Sephiroth couldn't tell that it was Zack Fair from the back of his head alone, but really there was no mistaking the profile of the newly promoted 1st Class SOLDIER -it was the scratch to the back of his head that did it- and he approached his comrade cautiously, alert to what signals the appearance of the man in his dream would be presenting to him. Zack, along with Angeal after all, had been one of the last people Sephiroth had seen before he'd ended up before the Crystal of Fire much like Zack was now.

"You're late."

[jiyunotaika]

At this point no one has warned him about Sephiroth being here. That's not until later. So when he heard the way too familiar voice, he spun around rather quickly.

That isn't the same Sephiroth he saw last at Nibelheim's reactor, that crazy 'talking to space alien mom' Sephiroth. The surprise is clearly evident on his face. Last he knew, Cloud had defeated the other 1st and stopped him from making off with Jenova's head. Oh gods, Zack is not going to be the one to talk about that.

"Yeah well, no one told me we were scheduled to have a mission on another world. Someone should look into that." Yes, go with that to cover the surprise from earlier. "It would be better than suddenly springing it on me like this."

[shinrasfinest]

The obvious surprise on Zack's face didn't seem to phase Sephiroth all that much, but then most things never did seem to touch the seasoned 'General' of SOLDIER. Quite the contrary though, his mind immediately began to tick over all the reasons and implications for Zack being surprised to see him. Curiosity followed like a well-worn set of boots as Sephiroth inspected the fellow 1st with his usual scrutinizing gaze, though it was significantly less gleaming green than Zack might remember - even if he did retain his natural slitted pupils. A touch of fading sunburn, mostly pink than red now, was visible on the end of his nose as well if Zack looked closely enough.

"Hmph." Really, what other noise could Zack have expected? Sephiroth personally didn't buy into the other-world theory, but it seemed to be the popular one even in the books regarding the legend of the Heroes of Light. A single light nod followed, bangs bouncing some either side of his face.

"One thing is true, we're not working for the Company here."