melodiesoflife | Event || In Your Worst Memory

Event || In Your Worst Memory

Characters: All Heroes of Light. Only those who signed-up can start a memory.
Where: Interdimensional Rift
When: May 27th - May 30th
Summary: The Heroes of Light relive some of their worst memories, with a twist. All characters participating in this will be physically missing from Crystallis for the duration of the event.
Warning: It depends on the memory.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Everything around you freezes, nearly as if time itself stopped, as if the world was frozen in time. And before you have a chance to understand what is happening, you can hear a voice right behind you.

"Kali Shashidhwaja."

Should you turn around, you may see a child who seems to be the only one aside from you unaffected by what is happening. And as she stares right at you, it makes no doubt these strange words are aimed at you. But before you can reply to her, 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 know it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, Crystallis vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see.

And once again you feel different: all the powers from your Jobs are fading. Not only that, but you might find that your Crystal is gone and your clothes back to what they were before you woke up in Crystallis. It is silent, cold and before long it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you... And yet, slowly the world reforms around you. The darkness fades away and a new world appears, yet at the same time this is not a world.

This is a memory. The question is, is it yours or that of someone else?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Princess Ashe is sequestered in her rooms at the top of the Royal Palace of Rabanastre's highest tower, mourning the very recent death of her husband the Lord Rasler Heios Nabradia. The 17-year old princess is distraught, clutching her wedding band to her chest, heavy sobs rending through her upper body; she couldn't do this in public, oh no, not where she could be seen. But here, in her room at the top of the tower, she is safe. Soon, her father will return with the peace treaty signed and the war will be over - Dalmasca may have lost, but there will at least be no more death, no more suffering.

This particular evening she is roused from her light slumber, having exhausted herself with her grief, by her door opening very suddenly and slamming shut behind the figure of a soldier; one of her family's trusted knights. "Ser Aeryn? W-what are you-?"

"Highness, with me, please! We must hurry! The messengers to the city have been intercepted - 'tis your father, he has been betrayed! Captain Basch, he-!"

The door slams open again. In one smooth motion, a dark, heavily-armored figure in the doorway spins the young knight around and guts him. The young man gurgles quietly as his body is thrown aside. He lands on a small desk, dragging the princess' embroideries onto the floor with him, covering the light, pastel fabrics with blood and innards. Ashe slides back on her bed, one hand covering her mouth in horror.

"Lady Ashe," the armored figure starts, voice smooth and pleasant to the ear, "you'll be coming with me. Yes?"

She has only moments to react - but against an Archadian Judge Magister, what is she to do?

Ramza tries to go to Ashelia, offer her whatever comfort he could...but the queen has no reaction to his presence.

He is not alone, though, and at least the other Heroes in the room can see him. He approaches to speak with them, to try to figure out what was going on -and to not intrude more than he has to on this private moment of Ashelia's- when the knock comes.

It is apparent that Ashelia is not safe here, and that the armored man at the door is no friend to her.

"We have to help her," he growls as Ashelia backs away from the Judge.

Sparks waves a hand in front of Ashelia's face, getting no reaction from her at all. He frowns in thought.

"I agree, but it's kinda hard when yer invisible. Reckon we ought to at least keep on their heels for now, at least."

Cloud looks frantically between Ashelia and the others that seem to be stuck as observers within this...dream...vision? Something else?

Still, the young adventurer isn't about to let all of this go without trying something. He can't sense any of his Job abilities so he tries for something more basic. Bracing himself he rushes the judge, lowering his shoulder and tries to push the larger man out of the way.

It's obvious that this is a younger Ashelia than he knows from Crystallis, but it makes her grief no easier to witness. Sephiroth looked down and away from the 17-year old princess as she exhausted herself with her tears. He'd seen her before when the body of her husband had shown up crystallized; he wasn't sure of the purpose now to present him --or them, since there were others here-- with an original rendition of it.

Until the door first slammed open and Sephiroth's head shot back up to watch the scene unfold. Internally he winced as the table was knocked into and the fabric ripped to the floor, stained forever now. The air for him, tasted of betrayal.

Sephiroth had started forwards as soon as the Judge Magister had implored her to come with him but Cloud has already rushed the man. With a quick glance to Sparks, Sephiroth steps around the scene some- looking for something else, to possibly cause distraction in case Cloud's attempt fails. Sharp, gleaming mako eyes restored to their full color on account of his returned ability dart around other items nearby.

The Judge grunts as Cloud rams him, stumbling backwards. His arms wheel as he attempts to keep his balance - and he manages, if barely. He draws his humongous greatsword, clearly ornate even in the dimness of the room illuminated only by indirect moonlight. Despite its length and girth, he brandishes it with one hand as he looks around for the man he clearly felt run into him. "Who goes there? Show yourself!"

He points the sword at the cowering princess, who has drawn the covers up and over her as if to shield herself from his verbal assault. "You! A sorceress, eh? The blood of the Dynast-King truly does course through your veins...cease this resistance and I'll not cease its flow!"

"Y-you're a Judge," comes a shaking voice from behind the covers. "W-why are you here? The treaty...."

The only response is harsh laughter as the gigantic man advances on the princess' bed.

Seeing Cloud hinder the Judge, even momentarily, spurs Ramza on to action. They can help Ashelia. And the faster they do it, the better.

The Ivalicean maneuvers himself to her bedside, a human shield between the princess and the Judge, for whatever good it will do.

"Find your courage, Ashelia," he hisses, turning over his shoulder to look at her. "You are no cowering milksop!" He reaches for the blanket she clutches so desperately and gives it a tug. If he can free it from her grasps, he will try to throw it over the Judge's helmet.

"Huh. Can't see or hear us, but can feel us? I can work with that."

Sparks read Sephiroth's cue, and grabbed anything nearby that he could pelt the judge with. Anything would do - decorations, books, whatever the room had. Anything to get the Judge's attention off of Ashelia. If Ramza managed to get the blanket over his head, hopefully that would be enough confusion to let Cloud bum rush him again.

CLoud had just worked on instinct. He couldn't let a friend come to harm, even if he was throwing himself in harm's way. He'd been told before that it was a foolish way to live ~~or die~~ but it didn't matter. It was the right thing to do.

Sparks' observation comes before he can process what the Judge says and it only emboldens the young man. He runs in low this time and grabs hold of the Judge's ankle just as the blanket comes over him. "Sephiroth! Help me!" He shouts and tugs on the armored man's foot while leaning into his leg. If plowing into him would knock him off balance...

He hadn't expected Cloud to be able to even move the man so as the Judge stumbles, Sephiroth's distraction tactic immediately flips into something much more realistic.

Given anything Sparks might throw at him, or Ramza's attempt to get the blanket off the Princess and over his head might well cause the armored man more of a pause; at Cloud's exclamation Sephiroth first opens a quick stance, then twists and delivers a sharp kick to the side of the man- opposite to where Cloud was attempting to trip him up. It felt powerful again to once more have the 'boost' that came along with being Mako-infused.

There wasn't the room currently, for Masamune that was curled along the backside of his left arm - all the way up and passed his head.

Ashe yelps as the blanket is ripped from her hands and thrown over the advancing Judge Magister. "What trickery-!" the Judge exclaims as he throws one hand up. His other hand is busy lashing out with the sword. Ashe gasps and, though the sword is still inches from where she was sitting, dives off the bed, covering her head with her arms. Ramza may want to move as well, unless he fancies being bisected.

The Judge's swipe with the sword doesn't stop the blanket from covering him, and its extended reach doesn't help with disengaging himself from the heavy fabric. Sparks' distraction does its job, the Judge wheeling around to face his unseen assailant - but trips, Cloud's grip on his ankle strong and sure. When the young man leans into his leg, the momentum of his turn, coupled with Sephiroth's kick, causes the Judge's knee to snap as he crumples under the combined assault. He hits the floor hard, gasping for air as the wind is knocked out of him...and then is silent, unconscious for the time being.

Ashe yelps again as she sees the man twist in ways that shouldn't be possible without some kind of precipitating force - she wasn't doing this. "W-what..." she mumbles, her voice trembling.

She gasps again as she realizes that she dove right next to the prone body of her would-be saviour, Ser Aeryn. She crawls backward, one hand over her mouth as she suppresses a sob, the sight of the widening pool of blood too much for her. "Oh gods...Oh, Father above, help me..." She closes her eyes, quietly muttering a prayer.

After a moment or two she rises to her feet shakily, grasping at a cupboard for support. Her head snaps around to look at the door when she hears a faint scream echo in from the stairwell. Her lip quivers - she clearly recognizes that voice. "I have to...I have to get out...I have to find out what happened...oh Father, please be safe..."

Spurred on by her own voice, she begins to move. She roots through a cupboard and withdraws a sheathed dagger. She reaches unceremoniously under her slip to strap it to her upper left thigh, then moving back to Ser Aeryn's corpse. Murmuring another prayer, she takes his sword from his stiffening grip, having to work momentarily at his fingers to free it for her own use.

She swallows down more tears, wiping at her eyes with her free hand as she makes her way back to her bedroom door. She takes one last look at her room; she clearly realizes that this is the last she'll see of it in a very long time, perhaps forever. However, she is spurred into action by a soft moan from the Judge. He stirs!

Ashe steps out into the stairwell, her bare feet completely silent on the cold marble. The palace is truly a marvel - it seems to have been built for people larger than even the Judge.

However, big as it is, it doesn't take Ashe long to run into more trouble. A group of men, revealed by orange light of their torches on the wall, advance up the steep, curving steps of the tower. The princess rushes down to the closest landing and reaches for the ornate knob, attempting to turn it - but it won't budge. "No!" she murmurs, pulling on it with all her might.

The men will be within sight in just a moment or two. Are they friend, or foe? Can the princess afford to wait and find out?

Ramza does his best to dodge the blade that hurtles past him. He throws himself aside to avoid the sword.

Nodding at the others for a job well done, Ramza follows Ashelia out into the hall. The cries they hear bode ill for what is to come.

When Ashelia turns toward the door, Ramza heads the other way, toward the folk drawing toward them. If they be enemies, he wants to deal with them before they reach the princess.

Ashelia's Memory: A Desperate Escape

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Group 2

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