melodiesoflife | Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

Reno didn't bother with niceties.

"Let's go!" he called, pulling himself in.

Worried though he was about the screams, Jade instead walked to the edge of the roof and and stared off to the west, where the castle rose above the rest of the city. What was that other noise?

Zelda had been watching the fight, waiting to heal those that might have gotten hurt. As the figure vanished she stepped forward. Her fingers moved to her lips and she whistled for the large loftwing to appear. As if it had been practiced the bird lands at the edge of the tower, it's large wings sending gusts of wind over the area.

"I'm going to go."

She was worried about those cries and she only hoped that it might not be too late.

Ashelia sank down, closer to where the Heroes were on the roof. "Keep on your guard, everyone. This lull will not last." Her voice was tinged with bitterness - she could have done more, stopped whatever ritual the moogles had 'repurposed' Cloud for. If only I had more power...

She looked over at Sparks and Reno, and glanced at Zelda on her loftwing. "I'll be along if I'm not needed here. Proceed with caution - I'll not lose more Heroes to these creatures. Understood?"

The sound of the screaming voices rang loudly in Minato's ears, and he freezes in place. What everyone did, it wasn't enough...?

He breathes again, into the unsettling silence, brought back into reality, but the conversations of the other Heroes around him were blurred into white noise. The foreboding of things that are probably only going to get worse hangs over their shoulders... This wasn't over, and they weren't just talk. Minato began to think more on their words: Cursed? Awakened?

An earthquake, the moonlight, and a sense of emptiness. This all seemed familiar, somehow...

Minato stays put where he was, and stares ahead of him, unsure what to do. As if--merely waiting for what comes next.

By the time they reached the Hospital, the Heroes of Light would find the place to be quite desolate. All the lights were out and most of the small team taking care of the patients instead of celebrating like everyone else could be found dead. Their blood was painting walls and furniture, their bodies scattered around as if an immense force had grasped them before murdering them brutally. A few had survived by hiding and the patients who were hiding too or who were still sleeping seemed to be safe for the most part. And should they go to the room where the characters in Crystal Stasis were kept, they would find nothing. No one in crystal stasis, no one in the room at all save for the corpses of two nurses.

But the Heroes of Light probably did not even need to go that far to realize what had happened. As they roamed the corridors, odds were they'd fall on familiar figures: the Heroes of Light who should have been in Crystal Stasis. Needless to say, they looked different. Their movements were slow and broken, their steps uncoordinated as if they were drunk or not really in control of their bodies. It seemed as though they could fall over any seconds, yet it never happened. Some of them kept their head down; some lolled it from side to side. And while their clothes were perfectly normal, as they looked up it revealed the truth of their nature: their skin was pale blue and their eyes a bright violet, nearly glowing red as they looked emptily before them. Dark shadows surrounded their eyes and faint, blue veins could be seen on their skins. Finally, they weren't emitting any sounds and their expression was nearly perfectly neutral, eerily serious.

And while all they did was walk at a slow pace, they were extremely dangerous. They were the ones who killed all these people in the Hospital, and if they managed to get close enough to more people, they'd either rip them apart with their bare hands or use powerful magic made of a dark purple aura to grievously wound those before them or destroy what blocked their path—And sometimes instantly kill. Those who used specific weapons or spells back when they were in their homeworlds will sometimes use them in this sad state—Except all of their effects will be dangerous enough to instantly kill. Trying to reason with them is pointless as they won't emit a single noise nor react upon seeing familiar faces. Attacking them isn't recommended as well as they don't feel pain and can repeatedly use their otherworldly powers to wear down anything that dare oppose them. They can be defeated, but this will take a lot of time and those fighting will most likely be wounded or worse, die.

Of course, while at the start they're only in the Hospital, after ten minutes or so they'll be roaming the city… If Moggle Mog XIV isn't stopped, it will be a disaster not only for this place, but for the world.

[ Threads posted here will not be modded, as such encounters against Cursed Heroes will all be player-driven. All of the characters listed in the Hospital are free game for this. Characters who are in Crystal Stasis because of a Hiatus are also eligible, but you need the player's permission to use them. Cursed Heroes are drawn to people from their homeworlds or with people they friended in Crystallis. Therefore once they've left the Hospital, they may go after your character even if they didn't go there. You can reply to this thread to play out Cursed Heroes encounter in the city as well.]

BOSS BATTLE: King Moogle Mog XIV
Data: The wicked king from the legends of old. He has been resurrected through the fusion of eleven Moogles and a Hero of Light, using countless spirits as catalysts to make him more powerful and dangerous than ever. The fusion is not complete yet, and as such the king's mind isn't fully restored. In his current state, he seems to be drawn to the four great Crystals and ready to destroy or kill all that stands in his path. Because his revival was made without the expertise of Mograma or the blessing of Kalki, his body seems to be composed entirely of a mixture of solid yet supple sugar, water and gelatin, more commonly known as marshmallow.

The revived king swung his staff at a tower of the Castle, smashing it as the bricks and stones fell to the ground. He didn't seem to have any interest in the castle however, and soon his focus shifted. And so, the giant turned his attention toward the Crystal of Fire. He was still quite far, but slowly Moggle Mog XIV made his way toward the Third Districts. Each of his steps shook the ground and to add to the confusion, there were countless people in the streets. For the most part, they were either screaming and running away, or looking at the gigantic creature with stunned eyes, as if they couldn't believe it.

[Given the Moogle is a giant, you are free to make multiple threads and smaller groups for this boss battle. Indeed, he can be attacked from different positions at the same time and each group will have an effect on its eventual defeat (that is, if you win). For each thread, you can only post one reply/attack until the next move of Moggle Mog XIV.]

Everything remained still for a while, yet the thunderstorm didn't calm down. Besides the sound of thunder cracking, there was nothing to be heard or seen. That is until a voice erupted from the Castle of Aqures Ixen, or rather from behind it. The voice was enormous and deep, as if a giant was speaking. Yet it didn't speak words, only something they all were familiar with—Something people generally thought of as adorable, yet they probably had never heard it in such a manner before.

"Kupooooooooooo!" And so something emerged from the shadows of the Castle—A white and gigantic creature who was looming over the city of Aqures Ixen, a Moogle. The imposing figure was at least over a hundred feet tall and was wearing a resplendent golden and red crown, while it was wielding a massive and dangerous staff. The staff was made of gold and crystal, and its tip represented a Moogle sitting over a Chocobo. While it was unlikely anyone had seen him before, there was no doubt as to its identity: he was the wicked King Moggle Mog XIV spoken of in the legends, the one who had allied with the Calamity from the Skies and cursed the Heroes of Light.

Why he was so massive was a mystery, but as its wings flapped and it landed, the ground shook once again—More violently than ever before. If the evil king was left to do as he pleased, it made no doubt he would destroy the city and kill all who dared to cross its path…

> For fighting King Moggle Mog XIV, please go to this thread.
> For what's happening at the Hospital, please go to this thread.
> For reacting to this while on the Observatory's roof, just keep replying to this thread.

Ales called his puppet over during the silence, waiting for Cloud and the Moogles to attack again. He would be ready for them. He'd-

His train of thought was interrupted by the shaking ground, and his eyes turned to the giant Moogle emerging from the castle. If he wasn't from the Glade of Dreams, he'd swear this whole thing to be stupid, but the threat of a giant stomping all over Aqures Ixen needed to be dealt with.

Holding his hands together, he thought. If he could run to the airship port fast enough, he could attack it from the air. However, if there wasn't enough time, he could always assist with his Proton Pack. But his puppet wouldn't be of much use.

He turned to the rest of the group. "Anyone willing to escort me to an airship?"

An airship...of course! Ashelia flew down to Ales, landing on the roof gingerly. She gave the giant marshmallow moogle only a cursory glance, even as the air shook from the tower's destruction. "I'll carry you - we'll save time."

She looked around at the other Heroes, her gaze lingering for a moment on Minato. Too inexperienced...

"We've got to split up, distract it, keep it stationary." She chewed on her lip for a moment, squinting at the marshmallow monstrosity. "We could use a few more on the airship. Ales will make sure it's ready for take-off - if you aim to accompany us, we'll wait no more than ten minutes once the engines start. Yes?"

The Queen stooped over to pick up the Teensie before levitating once more. "I expect to see all of you at the end of this, alive and well. Are we clear?" She looked especially at Ven and Minato, seemingly the youngest of the group.

[Tazendra had immediately returned to the hospital. While fighting a giant moogle ghost would normally be relevant to her interested, she had to tend to what might harm her friends in Crystal Stasis.]

[Of course, she hadn't reckoned with the trouble being those in Crystal Stasis reanimated and sent to fight whatever got in their way. And those that were known to Tazendra -- that is to say, Loki and Aerich (or their bodies, at least) -- honing in on her. The skin and eye color didn't even look out of place on Loki, Tazendra having seen the form he normally concealed, and Aerich's face was usually close to neutral.]

[Under ordinary circumstances, Tazendra would be delighted to fight a god and a master Lyorn warrior. When they were friends, she discovered it was possible to feel quite ill at the thought of a fight. On the other hand, she had once promised Loki to oppose him should he ever become a danger to others again. And it's not like her pride would permit her to run.]

Ah, my friends, it is a shame I am no clever necromancer. But I have made a vow and I must keep it.

[Her sword was already out. She would have to deal with Loki first, both for honor and because of their fighting styles: Lyorn fought defensively, waiting for the perfect, fight-ending blow. If whatever possessed Aerich fought with his skill, she had to both fight defensively and cope with Loki.]

[It was a shame this fight was against the bodies of friends: otherwise, it would be glorious.]

Edited 2015-10-29 16:21 (UTC)

[This situation was looking really bleak. After fighting their way through these incredibly tough zombie-like versions of their friends and allies, an injured and exhausted Sparks manages to gather up some of the people who had gone to the hospital. Their moment of respite won't last long, so they need to plan fast.]

Look, this-- Just cuttin' our way through 'em ain't good. And they're startin' to get out of the building. At the very least, we need to keep 'em inside somehow. And evacuate this neighborhood.

Edited 2015-10-29 16:22 (UTC)

She was meant to be a leader, Ales thought to himself. He called for his puppet - also small, but slightly heavier than him - to latch onto his pack. Ashe would be carrying more weight than expected, but he trusted the queen to be strong. Teensies typically were annoyed by larger species' attempts to carry them around, but he didn't mind being held this time. It wasn't as if he was being treated as useless.

He added another proposition: "If you change your mind, I might let you hop on board when I return. No promises, though, and you'll have to find a way to jump on board from a building." Stopping an airship mid-air was near impossible, but the more people that could man the canons, the better.

"Let's go," he said to Ashe.

What was that?!

Rukia's head snapped around in the direction of the fifth district. Even from hear, those screams...! She glanced toward the observatory as her expression darkened. Something had gone wrong. Clenching her fists, she took several steps forward, prepared to run.

"We should--!"

Just as she was starting to doubt her initial suspicions about the Crystal being attacked, the ground beneath her boots shook violently. Rukia froze. A cold feeling dribbled down her spine as she looked down at her feet. The ground shook again. And there, rising up above the castle spires, was the biggest Moogle she'd ever seen. It was terrifying.

And so cute, damn!

It seemed like it intended to head their way, and she was suddenly very glad this little group had remained to defend the Crystal of Fire. Shaking off her trepidation, Rukia pointed her PKE meter at the distant giant Moogle, and it practically vibrated in her hand. "Our proton packs should affect it!" she declared to the others. Ordinarily they wouldn't be able to hit it from this far away, but there was a clear path, given the Moogle's massive height. "If you're a Ghostbuster, blast it!"

She unholstered her particle thrower, flipped the switch, and quintupled the power stream.

Jade watched the gigantic Moogle rise from behind the castle for a moment before turning back to the others. His face was grim, but nevertheless quite calm. Given their luck so far, he really should have expected something like this.

"I'll see if I can slow it down for you from ground level." He nodded to Ashelia and Ales as they prepared to leave, then glanced at the rest. "Anyone who wishes to join me, feel free to follow."

Without wasting any more time, Jade strode out of the observatory.

Edited 2015-10-29 16:41 (UTC)

[Watching the giant trudge toward the city, D felt dread. He couldn't stop Cloud or the Moogles even with his Necromancer Job. But the city needed protection more.

With the silence known to his Job, D slipped out of the observatory and headed toward where the Moogle headed...

The Crystal of Fire.]

Edited 2015-10-29 16:44 (UTC)

[Yuna turns and begins running down the stairs. It isn't the fastest way but she's going to go and help her friends. She'll leave King Mog to the others.]

Well, this went just about as wrong as it possibly could have. Jack rushes outside with the other heroes who had been ready to defend the Observatory, only to learn that wasn't the target at all.

Jack's method of helping might be...unorthodox, the dress, wig, and heels might not look like he's ready for battle, but he can help his group better than they might expect. As he starts to dance, magic flows out of his movements to buff up everyone grouped up with him.

It's the initial dance of the Performer class, Love Power: Allows allies to attack twice in a row...So long as Jack can keep it up.

"Might as well-" he began, beginning to follow Rukia. After all he hadn't planned to go above himself unless he absolutely had to. At least until a sudden straggler approached Rukia.

"Some idiot bent on world destruction sent a letter and they're gathering on the top of the observatory to confront them." he stated dryly, despite not being the one addressed. "Starting to think this world isn't happy unless there's one of those types running around making a mess of things."

Under the shadow of the towering Moogle, Jade dodged around panicking waves of people on his way towards the giant. Whenever he spotted someone standing there like an idiot, he'd stop long enough to shake them out of their stupor and command them to escape. This was going to be difficult enough without civilians getting in the way.

The question was... would magic work? The Moogle had been dead, but now that it had been brought back -- was it more alive than dead? The only way Jade could find out was by trying. If nothing else, he could draw its attention away from Ales's airship.

He came to a halt on a side street perpendicular to the one the Moogle was marching down and paused to catch his breath. The size of that thing... Well, this wasn't the time to be intimidated. Rounding the corner, staying close enough that he could quickly back away for cover, Jade proceeded to cast Ultima.

[Johnny finally arrived to the fight, just in time to see the giant moogle smashing the castle.

It's marshmallow. Of course it's marshmallow.

Frantically, he ran to find as many Heroes as he can, his proton ready to go the moment he collected a few more Ghostbusters.]

I know ya think we're not supposed to, but we gotta hit it with crossed streams! It's gonna be bad, but this is how it's gotta go down. Trust me!

Huh? Oh... Did you make these? How much?

[ Never hurt to be supportive of the businesses of people you knew. Minato was feeling a bit antsy about the number of ghosts around, regretting his decision to swap out the Ghostbuster job a few days prior. Food could help get his mind off it maybe--but now, it made him remember that he missed the smells and sights of Flence. Aw fiddlesticks. ]

Jade had come to the Observatory along with the others, of course. It was against his nature to stay home while excitement took place -- and in any case, he had been stuck playing the healer for months now. Might as well stick with it for a while longer.

He was unsurprised to find Zelda already there. This place was practically her house by now.

"It's almost time. Are you ready?" Jade was, as expected, unnecessarily cheerful.

[Hearing Johnny, D nodded and held up his hand. He felt somewhat fatigued from using his magic last time, but not enough to deter him. Releasing his Proton beams at the Moogle, D shouted to Jonny.]

Agree. Ready for the crossbeams.

Gonna need to head off those who did manage to get out, too.

[By some stroke of luck, Ira had managed to evade being cut down just yet. He did have the speed of the dragoon to work in his favor, but having run here after finding 'Lin and weaving through the undead-like versions of other heroes had left him almost missing the days he were nothing but wire and film.]

If we have any with earth spells, we can always block the doors with raised ground - or freeze the doors and windows shut, but that'll only hold them so long.

[Barricades never last, after all.]

Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

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The Cursed Heroes

The Resurrected King

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Open

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By the Fire Crystal...

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Starting at the Observatory

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In the streets - open

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Re: open

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