Subject: ToM: Vixen and Ferna at the festival Date: Fri, 21 Aug 98 19:33:49 (PDT) From: "Red Dragon" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" (oog: Vixen>> It's alive! it's alive! *grin* gah, so I put off posting. :-) Well, here's a nice long post to make up for it. Well, it's long for me, anyway, :-/ ) Time: July 9th, 10 AM Place: Rasten's house, sector 4 plate "What time is it?" Rasten asked suddenly. Vixen glanced at a clock behind him. "It's 10:15. Shouldn't you-" "Oh SHIT!!! I shoulda been at my booth an hour ago!!" He yelled as he jumped out his chair and ran down the hall. The sounds of his retreating feet were soon followed by the murmur of him starting the truck they rented, and the tires squealing as Rasten tore off down the street. Ferna and Vixen exchanged a look for a few seconds after the noise was gone. "So.... you ready to go out?" said Ferna. ~*~*~*~ Time: around 11 am place: sector 4 costume party The masquerade was an amazing sight, with hundreds, maybe thousands of people donning brightly coloured costumes, and the local stores were docorated as well. The whole effect made Ferna want to cover her eyes. She would of bought a pair of sunglasses except they wouldn't of fit on her 'mask'. "Isn't this amazing?" Ferna said to Vixen, feinging awe and amusement. She actually didn't care about seeing a bunch of people dress up in costumes and dance around like idiots. She only came for Vixen, thought that thought confused her. Shaking her head, Ferna examined Vixen, who was lloking around with wide eyes. "Yeah.." she murmured. Ferna bet the reason she was so wide-eyed was because she was looking for Azeral. Vixen gasped at a passing man in a bright purple monster costume. Maybe it wasn't _all_ that.. After the man turned into a store, her thoughts seemed to return to Azeral. Vixen figited in the wheelchair Rasten had rented to she could enjoy the festival better. "You're wrecking your dress." Ferna told her. Vixen's dress, in a beautiful blue fabric that complimented her red-orange fur, wasn't too twisted, but Vixen straightned it anyway. Sullenly, she picked at the lace around the neckline. It looked as if she had given up finding her love here. "Did you want to go somewhere else?" Ferna asked. "I have to meet Rasten for lunch anyway; did you want to go to sector 1?" Vixen looked up, a new hope shining in her hazel eyes. "Yes" she said smiling. "I heard there's a music concert going on there too, maybe..." Abruptly she noticed her tail in her hands, which she was absently stoking again. "What.. about, erm, us?" she whispered. "there's no costume party in sector 1." Ferna concidered that for a moment. "We can say we came from the sector 4 party, and we just didn't feel like taking our costumes off." she shrugged. "I'm sure alot of other people are doing it too." "Okay.." said Vixen, looking better. As they headed for the train station, many people commented on how real their costumes were, either to their face or otherwise. Walking past a group of young people, Ferna caught a whisper of "Doesn't that costume look just like that ex- wanted freak? What was its name? Fooma?"No one mentioned anything about Vixen other than how real the costume looked and 'was the baby coming soon?' This was, of course, because the fox anthropomorphic looked little what she did when she was wanted by Shinra. A little boy in a cat costume darted in front of the chair, causing Ferna to stop and almost throw Vixen out of it. "Are you okay?" Ferna asked, both to the boy and Vixen. Vixne nodded, while the boy seemed to almost ignore her as he paused to pick up a long brown feather that had fallen. A strange assesory, Ferna thought, for a cat costume. Suddenly the boy seem to notice them. "Hi, I'm Jimmy!" the boy said brightly. "those are really neat costumes..!" Vixen looked like she was going to say something, but Jimmy continued. "I met someone else with a really neat costume yesterday. He gave me this." He proudly held up the long brown feather. "He was a uh, a birdy monster or something. He said-" Jimmy was cut off as a puffing woman ran up and caught him by the collar of his costume. "You know better than to run off like that." she scolded. "and talking to strangers-" she studied Ferna and Vixen "-wierd strangers, you're.." her voice trailed off as she dragged Jimmy away. The first thing Ferna noticed was the feather that was left behind. She studied it, it was not from a costume. it was real. And if the boy was telling the truth- "Do you think?" Vixen asked, but Ferna didn't say anything. She wouldn't hope. She had hoped for 2 months, looking for her brother, and nothing. Then again, she supposed Vixen had been looking for Azeral the same amount of time so... Silently, Ferna pocketed the feather in her backpack and wheeled Vixen into the station. ~*~*~*~ The first thing noticeable when they got off the train was music coming from somewhere off to their left. A band, and a woman singing. Ferna didn't think too much of it. Rasten was in the booths area, which was somewhere in the other direction. Vixen however, seemed to to be affected diffrently. "That sounds like...!" She said, letting the name end in a mumbled whisper that Ferna didn't catch. "Can we go there?" she asked. Ferna looked at her. She wanted to go look for Rasten in the booths but.. "Sure." Ferna aggreed. They got a few stares and questions as they headed for the stage, but most seemed to accept their reason for wearing their 'costumes'. The stage area was exremely crowded. Currently up on stage, a long blonde haired woman was singing, very nicely, Ferna supposed, ans she seemed to have the affections of the crowd. "Korrine.." Vixen whispered. "Huh? You know her?" Ferna asked. Vixen nodded, "yeah, I.." she fell quiet as she listed to Korrine sing for a moment. "I.. wonder if she knows where Azeral is..." Ferna stayed with Vixen, only half listening to the songs. She thought one or two was dedicated to Vixen, but she wasn't sure. Around noon Korrine announced the last song, to the crowd's dissipiontment. The song was soon over, and Vixen sat forward in her chair. "I want to see her." she said. Ferna studied the crowd. "I'm not sure if that would be easy." Korrine had announced she would give autographs, and half the people there pushed forward toget the girl's -she couldn't be more than 16 - signiture. "I'll stay here and wait." Said Vixen. "You.. go meet Rasten." Rasten! She has almost forgot! Ferna nodded agreement and left Vixen. She hoped she would be okay. -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Forge's Day Off (2) Date: Sat, 22 Aug 98 08:32:18 (PDT) From: "Anastasius Dumar" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" {OOG: Coarse language ahead. Just like the rest.} July 9th Early Afternoon Midgar: Sector 1 The noise was probably what got to him most. Merchants, shouting their wares, loud music, and the constant drone of thousands of people bustling around, all with too much to do with too little time grated on his nerves. It had first overwhelmed him, smelling every scent bore aloft in the air, hearing every shout and every cry, though his concious had retreated somewhat, into the peacefulness of his mind, and now, a drone, like the hum of bees and a smell that could only be described as too many people in too small an area were the only things that reached his senses. A slight, dry wind touched his skin, though it did not rustle his clothes or tousle his hair. It was sterile, like the soil and the rocks and even perhaps the people living in Midgar, and offered no comfort to him. His steel cane in one hand, the other resting comfortably in the pocket of his ripped, tattered technician's coat, he made his way slowly down the avenue, closed to traffic due to the tremendous crowds that flooded it. He kept his hand in his pocket only because it was the current location of his fifty-some gil and a small remote that looked as though it might open some kind of futuristic garage. He didn't trust himself enough to feel the brush of a pickpocket, or keep away from many of the ploys that they used to draw people into their traps. Keeping his hand on his money kept him from loosing himself the in the bustle, the hurry of the people, and kept his mind where it should be; on himself, not the fat woman with too much makeup on who gave him a murderous look with her beady little eyes when he accidently bumped into her or the green and banana-yellow haired teenager with the enormous set of of headphones on who walked past him, advertising the hard, heavy music he was listening too. His single good eye drifting from neon to banner to stand, he felt his stomach gurgle, and for a moment a picture of him crouched in some filthy stall with a roll of dirty paper at his left and a bad case of the runs filtered through his mind. The slight cramping that followed reassured him, and he recalled that he had not bothered to eat anything that morning, telling himself he would buy something here, as there would likely be a hotdog stand or some such thing. Divine intervention, he decided as the aroma of sausage and onion drifted from the mishmash of sensory indulgance that surrounded him and reached his nose. The vision of his single eye panning rapidly around him in hundred-and-eighty degree arcs, he sought the source of the smell, his stomach rumbling more insistantly now. A small, brightly metallic stand that seemed to somehow be removed from the traffic yet still part of it caught his attention, and he could see, at a distance of what he made to be a hundred feet, bags of potato chips and the brightly coloured tubes of condiments: yellow for mustard, red for ketchup and so forth. Veering off to his right, he moved as quickly as he could, and yet in the thick crowd, it seemed as though he was moving in slow motion, like the molasses he put on his toast in the morning coming out of the jar. Step by twist he made his way to the single stand, shining dully from the faint sun that pierced the thick, rolling grey haze above and the buzzing of neon lights and joined what he assumed to be the line; a large mass of people that were not moving. He fished the fifty gil piece he had in his pocket out, and onto it more tightly than he would have when making a transaction with a customer. He ended up tapping the heel of his cane on the steel beneath his feet, the constant steccato clicks drawing a few irritated glances from those around him, though in the desire not to loose their tentative place in line, they were quickly withdrawn. After shouldering one couple aside, Ulysses stepped to the front, a small feeling of triumph lingering in his gut. He felt the urge to tell the rest of the people waiting to back up and give him some space, but he resisted, deciding that it could only get him tossed to the back. Speaking quickly, he made his request to the small, wrinkled man waiting behind the stand, mouth set in a sour kind of grimace. "Two hotdogs-" "Five gil." "-and a stick of that spicy-ass jerky." "Eight gil." "What? The fuck you talking about? Damn man, that jerky had better be made in fucking Wutai for three fucking gil!" Ulysses felt his voice rise, both in decibles and pitch, but the price was a slap in the face. The shriveled little man's bushy, thick white eyebrows raised slightly, his forehead all but disappearing into a mass of wrinkles. His skin looked as though it might tear open as his thin, pale lips parted to speak. "I just work here. Don't bitch at me about pricing. You want the jerky or not?" Grunting, Ulysses set the fifty gil piece down on the stand, ignoring images of shattering the man like some life-sized china doll. "Fifty gil? You trying to make my job easier, buddy?" the bushy, snowy eyebrows moved again, this time in a downwards fasion that found them nearly touching each other as he voiced the sarcastic remark. When Ulysses didn't give an answer, the short, frail man in his "Kiss The Chef" apron muttered a string of something that Ulysses couldn't quite hear as the man bent over, shuffling around, and straitened holding two hotdogs and forty two gil in his hand. "Take a piece of 'that spicy-ass jerky' from the stand, and don't try and rip me off, or I'll all be on your ass so fast..." The rest of the words died away as Ulysses squirted a line of ketchup on each of the hotdogs, followed by a thinner, more brief line of yellow. He grabbed a vaccum-sealed package of jerky from the side of the stand after half of his first hotdog had disappeared into his mouth. Pocketting the jerky and his change, the two hotdogs resting precariously in one boney hand, Ulysses walked slowly down the street, finishing the last of the first hotdog with his second bite. Tossing the napkin that held the hotdog onto the filthy street, he leaned against a building, and had just finished cramming the last piece of the remaining hotdog into his mouth when a loud, authoritive voice emerged from the crowd. "Ulysses La'Tor!" His single eyed gaze leaped quickly to the source of the voice, and for a moment he feared it was either some kind of law enforcement who had somehow found a lead to his weapons manufacturing trade, or worse, a dissatisfied customer who was looking for someone to blame for a botched plan. The voice came again, and this time Ulysses reconized the man, who was beaconing over his shoulder to someone in the crowd that Ulysses was unable to see. He chewed quickly, almost choking himself on the warm bun and the pasty, jellow-like wiener. Wiping his mouth of crums, he looked up, and raised a hand in salute to the young man who was rappidly approaching him, clad in a fine business suit, a young woman and two small children in tow. When he felt that the young man had come close enough to hear him without having to strain his ears, he spoke, loudly, but far from a shout. "Gideon Makenzie. Haven't seen you for a long while, man." Smiling broadly, the young man nodded, and wrapped an arm around the young woman, who looked to be perhaps roughly the same age as him. "Ulysses, I want you to meet my wife Adria and my two children, Abraham-" he gestured to the freckled boy, the youngest of the pair, "-and Chloe." Again, his hand drifted over the head of the young girl, perhaps no more than five years of age. "Mommy, that man is ugly!" commented the girl, Chloe, in a stage-whisper. "Chloe! Don't be so rude!" Adria whispered harshly in reply, giving her daughter a slight nudge. The young woman's hair was slightly messy, and her clothes were wrinkled and spotted slightly with what looked to be stains left from food, but a glow lit up her pretty face, wiping away most of the exhaustion that could be found there. Ulysses shrugged before speaking. "Don't scorn the girl for telling the truth, Mrs. Makenzie. I am ugly." he placed emphasis on the 'am' and smiled slightly at the little girl, who smiled back, a large gap in her mouth where her two top front teeth should have been. "I am afraid I have not heard much about you and your children, Mrs. Makenzie-" "-Adria." "-Adria, then, as I fear that your husband is all business." He allowed a pleasant smile to come to his face, dispelling any suspicions that he might perhaps be hiding something behind his words. "Isn't he?" she agreed, a broad, pretty smile on her freckled face complimented by a slight giggle. "So... what brings you to the fair in Sector 1, friend? I would have thought you would be visiting the Diamond Saucer." It was Gideon's turn to speak, and he did so, perhaps cutting short the line of polite questions his wife was about to ask. Ulysses noted silently that Gideon's wife was either polite or smart enough not to ask what he did for a living, something that he considered to be common small talk. "I would have been thinking the same about you. Hmm... the flyer said 'something 'bout that, suppose maybe I'll catch a train over there some time. But me? I'm just taking a day off, getting away from the ratrace. You?" Gideon shrugged, and smiled slightly. "Chloe wanted to watch the SOLDIER performances, something we've been informed of all week, so we decided to come and see what they were about. Oh... I must say, I was particularily impressed with the quality of your last order. I transfered the agreed amount to your personal acount." Ulysses nodded briskly, his white hair bobbing limply as he did so. "I thank you. You'll have to come down to my office some time, maybe have a few drinks. Your aides are quite... sterile." Gideon smiled and nodded before speaking. "Indeed. Perhaps I shall make a personal call, it has been a long while." Ulysses looked off the left, breaking contact with the four, and then looked back. "But... I won't keep you talking to an aging black man when there's so much to do. I'll see you around Gideon. Adria." He nodded again, receiving the return pleasantries before wandering off, placing his free hand to his chest. There was a burning there, and he coughed several times. "Damn. Damned hotdogs gonna be coming back up to visit for the rest of the day." Coughing again and wishing he had Rolaids, Ulysses looked over his shoulder to search for Gideon, but the young man had already disappeared into the crowd with his family. Covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned, Ulysses opened the package of the jerky, and stepped into the crowd. The SOLDIER performances would probably be starting soon, and it seemed like a decent way to spend the afternoon. There was supposed to be a tech fair over in Sector 4 that he would have liked to visit, but it seemed too far, and he wasn't going to pay for another train ticket. Following the responses of a long list of strangers as how to get to the exhibition grounds, Ulysses paid the five gil for his ticket before wandering absently around the main area of the show, swords ringing and controlled, chourused shouts floating through the air, to look for a decent place to sit. Scanning the thick crowd for a seat, he wiped his nose. The jerky was pretty damned spicy. ^ Anastasius Dumar. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: What one must go through to open a door.... Date: Sun, 23 Aug 98 00:25:16 (PDT) From: Da Ly Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: Once again, language warning and ,K?] *** Time: 1:55 P.M., July 9th Place: Sector 3 slums, steel refinery Kytira was thrown back painfully into several crates because of the lightning bolt from Argoulor's mako pistol. "Oww--!!" She immediately clamped a hand tightly over her mouth in attempt to silence her cry. It wasn't the landing that hurt, it was the shock from his weapon. It wasn't fatal, but it hurt like hell and she was in too much pain to think of anything else. She slowly and painfully raised her head just in time to see Argoulor give an exaggerated bow before rushing through a doorway, closing it behind him. A 'click' sounded, signifying this was a door that operated with an electronic lock. "Awww.... shit!" Kytira carefully used the crate for support as she stood up and put her gun back in its holster. Zeng turned around to the source of the female voice, "Kytira, you okay?" "Oww... not really, but I'll live," she muttered, slowly limping out from the shadows, clutching her left shoulder. "Shi---oww..." she shook her head, half in disbelief, half in disgust, "He shot me!!" She walked towards the sealed door, rubbing her shoulder. Kytira took a deep breath, raising her gaze from the floor, she glanced at Zeng, then at the sealed door in front of her. Finally, she exploded. "Crap!!!! Crap, crap, crap!!!" Bringing her right hand up, she made a fist and slammed it hard against the thick steel door, ignoring the pain that it resulted in. "Damn!! This is all my fault! I don't get it! How the hell did he see me?!! ARGHHHH!!!!" Zeng stayed silent as she continued her screaming. He could feel that Argoulor hadn't left the building and was most likely in the closed off room. The question was, 'how were they supposed to open the door?' Angry, Kytira unsheathed her pearl blade and struck the steel door several times, cursing each time the sword made contact. "Stupid shitty door!!! .... Grrrr...." Knowing that her weapon would not do much for opening the door, she put her sword back where it belonged, stepped back and closed her eyes, concentrating hard on one specific magic materia in her armlet. Stretching both her arms out, she held her hands open towards the sealed door and opened her eyes. "PEARL!!" A green glow rose from her feet and traveled up her body. A white mist danced around Kytira's hands as a white spinning orb shot out. It exploded in a white flare on the door followed by a blinding flash. Kytira and Zeng shielded their eyes until the light died down. When took her hand off her eyes to look at the door, not much had changed. Just a tiny dent and she had managed to scratch a bit of the dull paint off. Even though she knew pearl was more effective on living matter, but in this case, she used it as a way to let out some stress she had been harboring for weeks. "Arghhhhh!!! PEARL!!!" Zeng watched her berserk show in slight amusement when another noise distracted him. He turned away when the bright flash came then brought his gaze upward to spot the source of the sudden racket, an air duct. It wasn't too high up, he could probably reach it with a couple of crates, but he wouldn't be able to fit into such a small opening. As the flash died down, he turned to Kytira, who was still shielding her eyes, and looked at her from head to toe, then casually remarked, "You're quite slender..." "PE--what???! Kytira halted her pearl attack on the door. Her face turned red, holding more rage than before as her right eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Zeng, we're on a job! Now is not the time to flirt!! What I need a way to get past this damn door, not a pick-up line!!" "I was referring to your ability to fit through that air duct," he replied, pointing at the air duct right above her. Kytira's gaze shifted from the vent, to Zeng, then to the floor. "Umm.... yeah," she said in a small, timid voice. "I-I knew that... I was j-just-- oh forget it." She sighed and took a deep breath, calming herself before she looked at the air duct. Shaking her head she said, "It's too high. I can't reach that." Zeng crouched down in front of her. "Here, get on my shoulders." She hesitated. "But.... uhhh.... oh, fine." She finally gave in and got climbed up onto his shoulders. Zeng stood back up and raised his arms for Kytira to hold onto in case she lost her balance as she stood up on his shoulders. "Oww... oww..." Kytira glanced down at Zeng and made a face. "Will you stop it? I'm not heavy!" He shook his head carefully, making sure it didn't throw Kytira's balance off. "No, your boots have heels--Oww!" "Oh... Next time I'll wear flats or combat boots," she replied in a semi-apologetic tone. Kytira lifted the vent up and pushed it aside. Carefully, she pulled herself in, the edge of the air duct scraping her bare stomach and causing her face to twist in pain. Inside the dark, small and gloomy air duct, she dusted off her clothes and examined her now scratched up stomach. "Yuck... I knew cropped tops aren't good for these--" "Kytira!" She poked her head out of the duct, "Yeah?" "Just keep an eye on him. If you can, try to open the door," he called. His voice changed to a more serious tone. "And don't do anything stupid until I get there." Kytira scowled, taking his words as mockery instead of a warning he had intended it to be. "I know that! Don't worry about me... Hmph! And what makes you think I'd do something stupid???" she retorted before her head disappeared. On her knees and elbows, Kytira crawled through the air duct. It wasn't as long and small as she expected it to be either. "'Don't do anything stupid...'" she mimicked in a comical voice. "Who the hell does he think he is??" She gasped and froze at the sound and sight of a rat, running down towards her, now, past her. She shut her eyes tightly and held her breath, giving off a shudder before she continued crawling through the duct. 'Ew, ew, ew, ew!' she thought as she crawled on. Dust, dirt and all other breeds of filth coated the inside of the duct, making Kytira's dark clothes dirty and forcing her to take as little breath as she could to avoid sneezing. "Light...." Kytira finally approached another vent and peered in it. Just below, she could see a platform. Taking a deep breath, she whispered to herself, "Now or never...." She kicked the vent off and jumped onto the platform. She landed with an "Ooof!" Quickly and nervously, she got back on her feet, whipped out her gun and scanned the room. A sigh of relief escaped her as she dusted her clothes and hair off. Lucky for her, there was no one in sight. She laughed softly. 'Zeng said to keep an eye on him,' she thought. 'And he's not even here...' Boiling vats with steam rising from its 'mouths' where everywhere on a floor lower than the platform. The temperature in here was hotter compared to the duct and the previous room. This room was also rather humid due to the rising steam. She walked over to the rail and studied the area. The platform she was currently on had stairs leading down to the floor with the boiling vats. It also had a long catwalk leading to the stairs for a higher level catwalk. But the opened back door across the catwalk and near the stairs, from which a bit of light poured in, was what she was more concerned about. She moved onto the catwalk and headed towards the door. Metal chains and thick ropes were everywhere. On the sides of the walls, hanging from the ceiling, or in coils, scattered all over the platform and on the catwalk she was closest to. The coils made the everyday task of walking a challenge to Kytira. It was even more of a challenge considering she was wearing heeled boots. Stepping onto one coil, her ankle rolled and she fell forward. Before she could make contact with the floor, she grabbed onto the rail and cried out in shock. "Shit!" She pulled herself up, shook her head and kicked one of the many rope coils off the catwalk and into a boiling vat below. She paused for a moment to watch the rope coil disappear in the steam and the liquid metal. She shuddered, shook her head and continued on towards the back door. She didn't even want to think of what it would feel like to fall into a vat full of boiling liquid metal. At the door, she examined the metal handle. Scratch marks and dents were all over it as well as on the door. 'He must have left....' Kytira thought as she reluctantly closed the door. She suddenly stiffened. By impulse, she whirled around and squeezed off four shots. When she finished her attack, she gasped at the sight of the victim lying on the floor. It was the rat she had previously met in the air duct. Letting another sigh of relief escape her, she lowered her gun. "Marcus was right. I am high-strung," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Kytira ran down the metal catwalk towards the platform but screeched herself to a halt a quarter of the way. Something was wrong and she could feel it. Someone was here. She whirled around... no one. She looked around again. No one was there. She blinked in confusion. She had a feeling that a pair of eyes was watching her. To make sure, Kytira turned a full 360, but still nothing in sight. Nothing had changed. She blinked several times more before slightly relaxing. 'Not only am I high-strung, I'm starting to be paranoid...' she thought, slightly amused. 'Now... how am I supposed to open that door..?' She sighed and headed towards the door that blocked off Zeng's access to the room she was in... *** Da Ly -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: A Child Leads the Path Date: Sun, 23 Aug 98 10:38:38 (PDT) From: Dizzy XIII Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: Finally! I'm posting!! Yay!!!] * * * * * * * * * * * * * Time: July 9th 2000, late morning Place: ShinRa HQ High up in the sky could you see a big bird flying. No, it wasn't a bird, it was a human gryphon. Still, he was free as one. Flying among the clouds, breathing the fresh air around him, the gryphon felt happy. Happier than he ever have felt. Suddenly, a beautiful song filled his mind. "Good morning!" "Whaah... oh... good morning. Was it really necessary to wake me up?" Griff complained. "I had an awesome dream! ...Wait a sec, I still hear the angelic voice, only more silent. What is it?" "It's from the concert in sector 1." replied the half-vampire. "If I remember correctly, it is two girls singing, named Korrine and Natalie." "Can I go there and listen?" "Today, and two more days, you don't have any work, so you can enjoy the festival as you like. I, on the other side, only have today off, _if_ nothing happen. That means that you will have to make it on your own for two days. If something happen, PHS me, I'll be in sector four until eleven-twelve." With that, Vladimir left. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Time: July 9th 2000, 10:30 Place: Sector 4 costume party No one saw a bat that came flying and ended his journey in a dark street-corner. He quickly transformed into his human form and went out in the crowd. He walked around for half an hour to see if he could find anything interesting. He didn't. Not very many people commented on his "costume". More people would probably have done that if he hadn't taken that victim the night before. Otherwise, he would have been very pale, but now, he melted in perfectly, even outside the party area. He gave it a thought. The female he had attacked was probably fine by now. Or in a day. Not many vampires has the ability to that, they're just too thirsty, unable to stop before the victim's heart stops beating. Vladimir isn't like that. The thirst for blood still exists, and few things tastes better, but he doesn't feel it very much. Suddenly a kid races through the crowd, bumping into Vladimir. The child shakes his head and starts running again. Vladimir looks after him with a thoughtful expression on his face. {I've seen that little kid before. Where was it?} His thoughts are interrupted by a woman coming from the same direction as the child did. "Sorry 'bout my son, he's just very excited. Jimmy! Stop!" {Of course! That's the kid Griff saw yesterday.} Vladimir found out when he saw a brown feather on the kids cat-costume. He lifted his sight towards the running mother and saw her child. But he also saw what Jimmy almost bumped into. {I thought she would be here. But who's with her?} He walked a bit closer so he could scan her. {She is as real as Ferna, must be Vixen.} Jimmy had apparently dropped the feather as Ferna examined it. "Do you think?" Vladimir heard Vixen ask. To that she made no reply, and began to take Vixen to the train-station. "Wonder were they're going? I'm sure Griff would like to meet 'em. Better tag her." Vladimir walked towards them and began walking right behind them. They didn't say anything, so he secretly placed his small tag on her and left. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Time: July 9th 2000, before noon Place: Sector 1, on a roof nearby the scene Griff sat quietly on the edge of a roof, listening to the singers beautiful voices. He didn't notice Vladimir coming back. "Hello!" Griff jumped slightly at that before answering. "Don't scare me like that! It isn't fun!" "It isn't? Too bad for you." replied Vladimir sarcastically. "No! Did you find anything interesting over there?" "Could say that... You know that boy you gave a feather to?" "How could you know about that?" "Remember I said: I'll know if you even think of leaving? Anyway, you couldn't guess who picked up the feather when he dropped it..." "Who?" he asked curiously. "Ferna" was the simple reply. "And you just left her? The woman we have been looking for all these weeks??" "First, I'm off duty. Second, I didn't. If the tag I placed on her is working, she's somewhere around here. Take a look. You might see her. I assume you want to wait until the concert is over, and then it's lunch-time. Do you want to see her before or after lunch?" "I'll think of that. I tell you when the singers takes lunch." * * * * * * * * * * * * * == /Dizzy XIII _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free a yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Reunion Date: Sun, 23 Aug 98 12:51:44 (PDT) From: Chapman Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day: 7/9/2000 Time: Late-Afternoon Place: Sector 1 Plate Azeral sat down on the bench and let out an irritated sigh. " Mabye she's not in Sector 1. You have to remeber Azeral, She could be anywhere in Midgar. " Turi said. Azeral loked up at Turi, glareing. Then he leaned back. " Yeah, " He said agreeingly, " Probably. " Korrine forced a smile. " Cheer up Azeral, We'll find her. " She said cheerfully. Unfortunatly, It didn't have the effect it wanted. Azeral simply stared into space, a sad look in his steel gray eyes. Turi exchanged looks from Korrine to Azeral, then said, " Tell ya what. I'm gonna go get a few things to nimble on. I'm tired from all of this looking. " Turi explained. He shrugged. " I don't know what to say man. " Turi said. Azeral shooed him away. " You don't have to go say anything. " He said. Azeral looked up at Turi, " You and Korrine can go on ahead, Let me..just have a minute. " Azeral said. As Azeral started to stare off into space, Turi gave Korrine a look, and she nodded. She gave Azeral a smile, then went with Turi toward the snack-stands. * * * * * When Turi handed the man the gil Korrine had given him, He gave Korrine a frown. " You think he'll be ok? " He asked. Korrine's eyes narrowed in Azeral direction. " I don't know. The big guys looks weird being sad. " She said. Her remark made her chuckle a bit, then she went serious again. Turi, being Azeral's best and only friend for the past two months, could only hope that his friend would find Vixen. Azeral missed her, and Turi knew how much. Turi found himself daydreaming about exactly what had happened with the two over the past 2 moths, and not being with the one you truly loved. Turi felt a pang of sadness in him. He had felt something similar. When Korrine waved a hand infront of his face, Turi blinked. He looked over at Korrine, who was smiling. " You still here? " She asked. Turi nodded and signed. " Just thinking.... What's he's feeling. Wondering what the sadness of being without the one you love for so long, to learn she's alive, But feel like you'll never find her. " Turi said. When Korrine's faced paled, Turi regreted saying that. " Korrine..I... I didn't mean to- " " It's alright Turi. I know you didn't mean anything. " Korrine said, She look over at Azeral sadly. She remebered how she had cried on Turi's shoulder when all of the pain, when all of the sadness, of being sperated from Ty, had gotten to her. But Turi was there for her. She remeber how she had felt when Turi had held her. She had felt safe. She just wanted him to hold her there all day. When she blinked she realized Turi had sat down on a bench. He had eaten his little snack, and was staring into space. " What's wrong? " She asked him. Turi looked up at her. He wondered, how he look into face and not mess up in his dialogue. He shrugged. " Can't say.. Well, I can, but... " Turi shook his head. " Nevermind. " He said. Korrine slightly smiled when she discovered Turi was blushing a bit. She patted him on the shoulder. " It's ok. You can tell me. " She said. Turi opened his mouth to say something, but thought for a minute. Bfore he could say anything, a man tapped Korrine on the shoulder. " Excuse me, Ms.Fox? A man has been demanding for the past 15 minutes for your autograph. We told him you weren't signing anymore, Bu he..couldn't take know for an answer. " The man said. Korrine reconized him as one of the secruity guys. She smiled. " I guess I can sign one more, where is he? " She asked. " Right here. " a voice said from behind her. An average looking man stepped infront of the man. " My name's Rasten. Vixen's told me she knew you. " He said, smiling. At the mention of her name, Korrine's eyes lit up. " Vixen? She's here? " She asked. Rasten looked a bit confused. " Yeah... is that bad? " He asked, running a hand through his hair. Korrine nodded quickly. " No it's not, It's wonderful! But uh.. She is a..fox..like women isn't she? " She asked, uncertain. When Radten gave a confused nod, Korrine nearly leaped into the air. She wiped around to Turi. " We have to tell Azeral! " Korrine exclaimed. Now it was Rasten's eyes that grew large. " Azeral, He's alive!? " He asked. When Korrine nodded happily. Rasten smiled. " I think Vixen will be happy to hear that. " He said. Turi, not standing next to Korrine nodded in agreement. " As would Azeral. " He said. Korrine signaled the two men. " Come on, Let's go tell Azeral. " She said. Turi grabbed her by the arm. She stopped and looked back at Turi, confused. Turi winked at her. " Let's make it a suprise. " He said. When Korrine arched an eyebrow. He motioned Rasten and Korrine to come closer. " Alright...Here's what we'll do....... " * * * * * * " What could over here that is so damned special? " Azeral growled. Korrine and Turi were tugging him by the arms. " Come on. You'll see. " * * * * * * " It's a suprise, honest. " Rasten said. Vixen crossed her arms across her chest, then signed. " I hope it's good one. " she said, pouting. Rasten smiled. " Trust me, you'll love it. " Rasten said. When Rasten saw the three of them, He looked down at Vixen. " Wait here, don't move. " He said. He walked past her shoulder. She eyes him as he went out of her sighted, then she signed again. " If this is someway of cheering me up Rasten, it isn't working so far. " She said. * * * * * * Korrine pointed. " Suprise. " She said, smiling. At first Azeral scanned the crowd. When he saw her, blood left his face. He blinked once, twice. He couldn't believe it. He look back at Korrine and Turi. Both were smiling. " Go on, you've deserved all the time you want alone. " Korrine said. Azeral looked back at Vixen. He couldn't believe it. He wanted to cry out with joy, he wanted to just leap in the air and scream " YES " as loud as he could. Azeral felt an untold happiness fill him. He slowly walked toward her, his eyes taking in every detail of her as he grew closer. She had a bit more fur, which didn't bother Azeral at all. When he saw her sign inirritation, Azeral quietly took large steps. Soon he was stand behind her. * * * * * * * Vixen was annoyed. Whatever Rasten was doing she had had enough of it. She nearly leaped out of her seat when she felt a man put his hands on her shoulders. She growled. When she stood up, she froze. She smelt him. She reconized that scent. When she turned around, She found herself staring into gray eyes. Her breath nearly left her. She couldn't believe it. She was staring into the eyes of the man she had missed, loved, and longed for for so long. A weak smile came to her face as tears of untold joy trickled down her face. " Azeral.. I.. I thought I'd never.. " She swallowed the lump in her throat. Azeral raised her chin up with his left hand. When she gazed into her eyes, she like nothing else mattered. She had lost herself in them. Azeral smiled. " I know..love. I thought the same. But we're together again. " He said. Vixen leaned forward, and kissed him, a long, lingering kiss. She felt his arms wrapped around her, and his hands traced up her back. When she had pulled away, Azeral said, " I love you..Sarah. " She smiled at him. " I love you too. " * * * * * Turi smiling, nodding, as he watched the two hold each other. Turi envyed them. he wondered if sometime in his future, he would ever be able to hold the one he loved, like that. He signed. As Korrine watched them, it made her think of Ty. Where was he? What was he doing right now? She didn't know. she just didn't know. She looked over at Turi. He was staring into space. " What'ca thinking about so hard? " She asked. Turi's eyes narrowed to her. < If only I could tell her... > Turi thought. He shook his head. He turned and looked over at her. he found himself blushing when he had realized he had gazed at her too long. Gazed at the vision of loviness that was, Korrine Fox. He blinked and shook his head. " Korrine, It's nothing... I.- " He stopped. He saw someone, over her shoulder. It sent a shiver down his spine. The man was a dark-looking figure, black hat, cloak, and apparently a black mask. He was staring right at Turi. He started to come toward him. " Turi... " Korrine said. When she looked up at him, and saw how his eyes were. She became concerned. " Turi, What is it? " She asked. She turned around, and saw the figure heading toward them. --------------------------- [OOG: Alright, The figure you see is Ramzi, just so everyone knows. Jenny, if you plan to continue the post, think of Ramzi as a wise, old guy seeking the Amulet Turi has. ] " You still -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: An Experience From the Past. Date: Sun, 23 Aug 98 16:55:50 (PDT) From: Un Bel Di Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" (OOG- Well, I'm kinda-sorta proud of this piece. ^_^ I originally sent this to Arcana-san with Panthera's p-sheet.. I didn't know you didn't have to write another story for your second character. Anyway, I ended up liking it - heaven forbid! - so I decided to send it to you guys. Although I didn't like the end... I'm bad at that sort of thing. ^_^ Hope ya'll like it...) --------- With one last furious stroke of his brush, Panthera's last creation was finished. He narrowed an eye at the painting- it was composed of dark, angry colors, building up in some turbulent wind - just the way he felt at the moment. He stepped back and stared at the canvas a few moments longer, arms crossed. "Hn." There was no way he could sell this one - it had too much raw emotion for most of the Midgar citizens to appreciate. Carefully, he lifted the painting from the easel and set it against the stained plaster wall. He duly washed his hands of the paints he had used, dark, smoldering eyes fixed on one particular portrait on one of the cleaner walls. He straightened and faced it, almost defiantly, drying his hands with a dirty towel. He had no clue how this man's portrait came to mind - he had never met this person, but, of course, had heard of him. Fiery marks of a pale green surrounded the subject's face, perfectly matching the color of his demonic eyes. Panthera shuddered involuntarily. Sure, it was natural to be afraid of the "great" Sephiroth, but this fear struck a cord in his very soul. It disturbed him. He wished he could figure the problem out, but something told him merely thinking about it wouldn't solve anything. He had to do *something* - something which, of course, he had no clue. He snorted and let his eyes wander to another portrait. Upon noticing this one, however, sadness struck him instead of fear. It was a painting of his sister - how he remembered her when they were both securely happy at home. She was studying, eyes the color of his own fixed on a science book. Strands of pale blond and red hair fell into her face; a hand was propped to push them away. Her other slim hand held a pencil; she was chewing the eraser absent-mindedly with her teeth - unsharpened, unlike how they were when he last saw her. Often he had found her in this state- but whenever he had come to see her, she would always stop what she was doing to fix her attention on him. He would do the same for her. She is the most important thing in his life - was, he reminded himself. It had only been three weeks since her death. Half his soul gone in mere moments. A whispered, "Good night, brother," and his beloved sister was dead. He shuddered and attempted to suppress the memory. Dark green eyes wide and unseeing, pale hair spread about her head in a bloody halo - the man's sneer of disappointment and his own snarl of rage. He closed his eyes. The man had died too quickly - one deft movement and his neck was broken. Panthera wanted to make him suffer, but that opportunity was taken from him by his own blind fury. He managed to escape, screeching like a banshee as he killed more that attempted to get in his way. Gods, he didn't know people had that much blood in them. Although his mind was numbed at the time, now he could remember all their frightened screams with bloody clarity. Someone clearing his throat interrupted his reverie. Panthera whirled, angry and startled, at the man in the doorway. He leaned casually against the door frame, hands in pockets. A fake smile was plastered on his lips. Panthera bared his teeth. "What do you want?" "I'm here to ask you to do a portrait," the man replied, undaunted by the youth's antagonism. "I've heard about your skill." "A portrait? Of you? Ha!" "Not of me, of my boss' son." The man was sloppily dressed - a perfectly nice suit, however. No stains, just wrinkles. As if he had just crawled out of bed. Wild, red hair was drawn into a ponytail in the back, several strands falling into his face. A pair of sunglasses were atop his head, keeping some locks at bay. Panthera glared at him, finally taking note of the man's silent companion. He was tall, bald, and wore a similar suit to the one speaking to him. His wasn't as carelessly put together, however. A pair of sunglasses hid his eyes from the world. "Well, who is your boss?" The man rolled his eyes and gave him an exasperated look. "Haven't you ever heard of the Turks, kid?" Panthera paled. "Guess so!" Reno grinned to his partner. Rufus frowned as he glanced at his watch. As if on cue, the artist his father hired warily entered the room, easel and canvas tucked under one arm, a bag of paints and brushes in the other. He cast the boy a look filled with disdain. "You're late. Hurry and set up; I want this to take as short as possible." Anger reddened the boy's face, but was quickly tightly controlled. Rufus smirked. Lucky for him; people who lost their temper with the president's son tended to lose their lives as well. The boy had finished preparing himself; he held a palette in one hand, a brush in the other. He frowned at the white-suited blond before him, green eyes narrowed in thought. "Stand up. Lean against that desk slightly, would you? What's... oh!" Much irritated by the youth's commanding voice, Rufus took great pleasure at the shock shown in his eyes as he noticed Dark Nation, his pet panther. He raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly. "Should he be in the portrait as well?" After a few moments of silence from the boy, he nodded, no longer afraid. Dark Nation simply stared at the youth lazily, moving to curl up by Rufus' feet. He gave a loud yawn, stretched his claws, fixed his attention on the young man again. Panthera offered a half-smile to the panther before setting off to work. Some time later, the artist finished the painting and moved the easel so as the young vice-president could see how it turned out. Rufus nodded, impressed. "That'll do. Thank you for your time." He rewarded the boy with another smirk, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. "Tseng will work out the expenses. Goodbye." Panthera smothered his wish to throttle the haughty man before him and forced a smile, a half-feral expression curling one side of his lips. "Good evening, mister ShinRa." With that, he gathered his things, and turned to leave. Tseng was waiting for him when he stepped out of the office. Their conversation was short and uninspiring; finally, the Turk offered him the gil and Panthera exited the building. He counted the money thoroughly that evening, eyes burning almost feverishly. "I've almost got enough.. a few more years, sister, and you'll truly be avenged." ------------ (There we go! Comments and/or criticism is always appreciated!) - Un Bel Di - == ---------------------------------------- "For they are creatures of dark air, Unsubstantial tossing forms . . . In mid-whirl of mental storms." -Robert Graves; Mermaid, Dragon, Fiend- ---------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free a yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Honor Guard - Part 1 Date: Mon, 24 Aug 98 11:07:52 (PDT) From: Jason Brown Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" {OOG: Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but it's kind of hard when you're on vacation. Hope you enjoy this post!} Date: July 9, 1998 Time: 7:45am Place: ShinRa HQ, Briefing Room 2328 The room was dimly lit, people’s voices filled the room as Erik stood at the entrance of Briefing Room 2328. His mind eased as the voices slowly died away as everyone looked in his direction, revealing his rank among the members of SOLDIER. Walking forward, Erik closed the door behind, letting no sound from this room get outside. His podium was not covered with a sealed envelope, but instead a digital display, courtesy of the new president, Rufus ShinRa. He wasn’t very fond of the new president, but his life was to serve ShinRa until his death. Pressing a red button, the display flicked on, revealing their plans for the day. These detailed plans for his unit of SOLDIER wasn’t much, a routine security detail that was made for the ShinRa army. He grimaced at the orders as something didn’t quite meet his expectations. ‘Typical of the execs,’ Erik thought to himself, scanning through the orders before he would discuss them with his team, ‘Giving highly trained SOLDIER a guard dog duty.’ Looking up to his team, he found the room filled with at least a dozen members of SOLDIER, each wearing the exact same uniform. Their eyes glowed brightly from the darkness which surrounded them, looking like ghost eyes staring out from a horrifying nightmare. Scanning around the room, Erik noticed Claire sitting near the front of the group, looking at him with those Mako blue eyes, replacing what used to be hazel eyes. He missed those eyes, the ones he could find through a millions different pairs in the middle of the night. But this wasn’t the time or place to think of her as he looked around, finding Michael and Sanchez behind Claire, waiting patiently for his orders. Clearing his throat, Erik looked around the room once more as he started briefing, switching on the main display behind him. "We are going to be patrolling the rear section of the stage area in Sector One. There are going to be thousands of people packed within this small area, so be on guard." He paused to catch his breath, then looked over to the right of the room and pointed at one of the. "Calvin, you take Kevin and Ricardo and take care of the south-western quadrant here," Erik said, pointing to the corresponding quadrant. Three voiced acknowledged their orders simultaneously with, "Sir, yes sir!" "Good. Michael, since you’ve just been promoted to Second-class, I’m going to give you your first command," he announced to the man sitting behind his girlfriend. "Yeah!" Michael stood up with his arms in the air, like he just won a championship of some sort. Erik grinned at his excited response, then continued with his orders, "Cover the south-eastern quadrant with Anthony and Simon. Keep your cool, or I’ll give someone else command." "Yes, sir!" Michael said with a resounding reply, nearly grinning his teeth so wide that his cheeks would ripe apart. With a press of a single key, Erik selected the north-eastern section of the stage area and gave his orders for that quadrant. "The north-eastern quadrant is where the entrance and exits to the stage area are located, so, it’s going to be a smaller search area than the others. Claire, you’ll take Billy and Peter." "Yes, sir," Billy and Peter replied, looking at him with the same expression they had before. Claire looked at him with slight surprise, like this was an unexpected result. Erik didn’t like the idea of them being separated, as they’ve always been on missions together. He knew the higher-ups did this to keep their minds on the job, not knowing that Erik would think of Claire more when she isn’t there. "Finally, Joe and Sanchez will be placed under my command as we cover the north-western quadrant of the stage. If there is nothing else," Erik almost finished before he was interrupted but someone at the door. "Delay that order," a man said as he stood in front of another shorter person. The figure vaguely resembled someone familiar to Erik, but he couldn’t recognize it until he switched on the lights. His heart raced as he slowly recognized who was standing at the door, looking at him patiently. "Attention! The General is in the room!" Erik announced to the others members of SOLDIER, who stood straight up and gave their salutes to General Cantorek. Standing at attention as well, he stared in a straight line like he was trained to. "At ease," the general said, walking into the room. General Cantorek was taller than everyone in the room, but he wasn’t as built as the team of SOLDIER were. There was an essence of intelligence in the way he spoke and the way he looked, which surely was the reason why he replaced Heidegger as Minister of Defense. He basically wore the same uniform as Heidegger, with the full green military uniform and medals adorned left, right, and center. The man behind him was shorter than the general, but in comparison to the general, Erik himself could be considered short even with his 5’11" status. With bright green eyes and a white complexion, the young man wore SOLDIER armor and bore the insignia of a Third-class SOLDIER. He had no weapon, which shocked Erik slightly as nearly all members of SOLDIER used some sort of weapon. Also, there wasn’t much age in the man, but Erik could see that there was something about him that ShinRa wanted to keep. "First-class Lauborough," General Cantorek said to Erik, "I orders from the president himself wanting you to do something for him." "Sir, whatever the president wishes will be accommodated for, sir," Erik replied quickly, bowing his head down slightly in acknowledgement to the general’s request. "Excellent. I need you to fit in this new rookie, Janus Lean, into your own personal team," Erik’s superior told him, turning his body to let the rookie behind him step forward. "He is a special project for SOLDIER, and we need him to get some experience in the field. Also, I need you to take Janus here and four of your best and most trusted members to meet with me in Briefing Room 2338 once you have finished here. I have special orders from President ShinRa himself for those special six. Understood?" "Sir, yes sir!" Erik responded, raising his hand in a salute. The general then whispered a few words to the rookie named Janus, then left the room, closing the door behind him. Relaxing, he walked up to the rookie and extended his hand in a friendly gesture. "Janus?" "Yes, sir?" the man named Janus replied. He forgot the initial sir in front of a response when talking to a superior officer, but Erik was never strict with this rule. Janus’ response, though, was neutral and cold, a response Erik would expect from a seasoned professional. "My name is Erik Lauborough, but everyone calls me Rooks. It’s a pleasure to meet you," Erik greeted him, shaking his hand as Janus stood paralyzed at the front of the room. "Take a seat in the front and I’ll change describe to you the guard detail arrangements." Waiting for the rookie to take his seat, Erik went back behind the podium and flicked the lights off. Janus looked at him with a expressionless face, waiting for his orders to be told to him. Switching back to the north-eastern quadrant, Erik changed the previous plans. "Okay, Joe, you’ll now join Claire’s team in patrolling this quadrant. Janus, you’ll be with Sanchez and I patrolling the north-western quadrant. Sanchez, introduce yourself to Janus, then introduce him to the other members of the team. Then, Calvin, Janus, Claire, Andrew, and Michael; in fifteen minutes I want you to follow me out of this room and into the meeting with General Cantorek, is that clear?" "Yes sir!" was the resounding response. "Good, then you’re dismissed," Erik said, taking a seat behind the podium. He switched the lights back on and waited as Sanchez introduced himself to Janus, then to the others. Feeling a little lazy, he just sat back and listened to the voices of his team-mates talking and conversing. Closing his eyes, he let his body relax and let his body pause for a moment before he heard someone walked up beside him. "Erik, what’s happening?" Claire’s voice resounded in his ear as he kept his eyes closed. There was always a softness in her voice, making his mind pause for a moment just to let the moment be absorbed. "I don’t know. All I do is follow orders," Erik simply replied, fully knowing that he wasn’t capable of answering her question. A hand touched his shoulder as he sat silent after his response. "But we’ve never been apart on any mission, even with the ascension of the new president," Claire protested, kneeling down to look into his eyes. She knew Erik hated it when she did that, as his mind seemed to wander from a clear conscious to one filled with pure bliss. Erik paused for a moment to respond, aware that he felt exactly the same, but he pulled himself back into the position of team commander and told her his opinion. "I think the higher-ups believe that it is in our better interest and the interest of those we are protecting to not be concerned with a loved one when our full attention is needed elsewhere." Claire protested louder as his answer didn’t seem to go well with her. "But it’s never happened before, even during a combat situation!" The whole room paused for a moment as they looked at the two talking at the front of the room. Erik could barely get another word out before Sanchez walked up to him and changed the topic. "Sir, I think you should meet this Janus character," Sanchez said with an amused tone. "And why is that, Sanchez?" Claire replied harshly, like he said something that offended her. Erik touched the hand on his shoulder and replied, "Yes, why is that?" He wanted to know what this rookie was like, and why ShinRa was so keen on putting him on a mission with little old Rooks. "Sir, Janus isn’t really a type of character you can get near without a thick wool jacket," Sanchez replied, leaning on the hand which was on the table. "I can barely get a reaction from him with one of my jokes. All he does is look at you, then turns away once again." "Even the to turtle joke?" Erik exclaimed in total amazement. "I was laughing for nearly four days before I could over that joke." Sanchez covered him really well, having changing the topic so that the argument couldn’t persist any further. "Even to the turtle joke." Nodding, Erik stood up and headed to talk to Janus until Claire stopped him by holding his arm as he passed her. "So you’re just going to walk away from this conversation?" she bluntly put it, giving him some attitude. "Claire, do you still love me?" His question shocked her as he said it in front of his team. "Yes, Erik, I still do love you." "Then you shouldn’t worry," comforted the team leader. "We’ll be in constant radio contact, and I’ll rush over if there is any sign of trouble. Will that be enough to calm you down?" He wanted her to learn to be independent from him, to be able to work without having him around all the time. Sure, Erik wasn’t used to the idea either, but things change have to change, and if the change is for the better, then it should be done. "I guess," Claire shrugged, looking at him as if nothing was solved. Turning her back to him, she slowly walked back to the other members of the team before Erik stopped her. Spinning her around to face him, he planted a kiss on her lips in front of everybody. The others cheered on as the couple stood in the front of the room, kissing for a short moment before Erik let her go. Claire looked at him with a surprised look on her face, her lips still holding the same shape as they did when Erik kissed her. Erik thought that she would hit him for some reason, as he expression was one he never seen her use before. But before he could say another word to her, she gave him a bright smile and her face turned to a shade of red. Shaking his head, Erik smiled back at her and started to walk towards Janus, who stood at the end of the room, staring out of the window. ‘There wasn’t much to see’, Erik thought, looking through the window himself. It was black as the midnight skies he remembered from the time he was in Rocket Town. The darkness which gripped this city was more than Erik ever realized, stuck under the giant plates from above, blocking all source of sunlight. After he thought about it for a moment, it struck him that Midgar was quite a gloomy place to be just by looking at it. "Do you feel it too?" Janus asked him out of the blue, not even moving an inch when he said so. "Feel what?" Erik asked him in return, watching Janus’ facial expression as he waited for his answer. Janus’ expression didn’t change at all, still staring out into Midgar’s darkness. His bright green eyes flickered as he blinked, which was about the only thing that changed on the young man’s face. "Nothing." His response was a surprise to Erik, shocking him a bit, then watched as the young man moved his eyes from left to right, overlooking the city that lay below them. Building sprawled all over the landscape which the people here called their home. In their sights was one of the six remaining Mako reactors, Reactor 3, pumping out gases from the refining of Mako. "The planet is dying," Janus quietly mumbled, bowing his head down as he said the comment. "What are you talking about?" Erik answered with another question, thinking that he’ll get another simple response. To his amazement, he was wrong. "The planet is keep alive with the Lifestream, or in other words, Mako. Taking Mako from the planet is, in essence, slowly killing it, like slowly draining the blood of an animal or a human being," the young man replied, turning his head and looking at Erik for the first time in the conversation. "The Mako injections in our blood come from the planet, as do our bodies and souls." "This is what AVALANCHE is fighting for, isn’t it?" Erik questioned Janus, rethinking his conception of the new SOLDIER. "Yes." "And do you believe in that?" He wanted to know more about this Janus character, and that maybe he was a secret AVALANCHE agent working from the inside. But his answer was more than confusing to Erik. "To believe doesn’t mean you’ll fight to stop it," Janus said, still looking at Erik with his bleak expression. There wasn’t much emotion when he stated his point of view. "ShinRa made me what I am, and why would I go against that?" The question Janus asked was opened-ended, and Erik didn’t want to push this discussion in to a conflict of ethics. "Just curious of what you thought, that’s all." Erik turned around and started to walk to the other side of the room, to talk to the other members of the team. But before he got half way there, Janus said something else. "I know you’re out there, and I’m going to find you," Janus said to no one in particular. Hearing Janus’ knuckles crack, Erik turned around and looked at the young man. His face had changed from one of neutrality to one of pure anger. This surprised Erik as he thought Janus had no feelings at all in him, watching as his body tensed into a state before a fight. "Who are you talking about?" Erik wanted to know what Janus who was talking about, as it might help lead into a better understanding of this strange young man that is part of his own team. Janus spun around with a stunned look on his face, like Erik wasn’t suppose to hear what he just said. Looking at his commander for a while longer, Janus shook his head a little, then looked down on his watch and said, "Ten minutes have passed, we should get going." Janus started to walk to door, obviously not interested in talking about what he said. Erik wanted to push the topic a little more, but decided against it as it seemed to anger Janus pretty much. Turning back to the other team members, he announced that it was time for those selected few to come with him. Claire, Andrew, Michael, and Calvin followed him out of the room as Janus waited outside for them. Nodding to Janus, Erik lead the group to Briefing Room 2338, where General Cantorek will brief them on their mission. Time: 8:15am Place: ShinRa HQ, Briefing Room 2338 The six of them sat in the briefing room, like the one they were in a few moments ago. Erik sat between the rookie, Janus, and his second in command, Claire. The other three sat behind them, waiting quietly for General Cantorek to walk in the room and brief them on their extra assignment. Erik didn’t know what was going on, but he soon would find out as the door slide open and the general walked in with orders under his arm. Before any of them could stand up and salute him, General Cantorek put them at ease and handed out small message boards to each of them. Now standing behind the podium, he placed his copy of the orders on the podium and tapped it a few times. These orders must have been important as they were separate from the main system as the data-board was connecting to the system. "I have orders from President ShinRa himself to set up a small detachment of SOLDIER bodyguards for him at his speech for the inauguration of the Diamond Saucer," the general started, switching off the lights. The display flickered and blue print of the area where the president’s speech was going to take place. "The Head of SOLDIER, Tyr Signus, is in Junon right now overseeing the training of the new SOLDIER recruits. He will not be able to attend this special moment, so he suggested you, Erik Lauborough, to take control of this mission." General Cantorek looked at Erik with stern eyes, making sure that this man was the right man for the job. "If you aren’t up for the job, you better tell me now." "Sir, I will the job to the best of my ability, sir!" Erik proclaimed his ability to do the job. He never knew he held such honor in the eyes of his superior, Tyr Signus, but one must always expect the unexpected. "And do the job well, or my trust in Tyr’s decisions will have been mistaken," the general said to him, then began to address the whole team again. "Soldiers from the ShinRa army will be patrolling the general area around and in front of the stage area." The general pointed at the waypoints which the ShinRa army will be patrolling with a laser pointer. "The six of you will be standing beside the president. If there is anything that you think would risk the life of the president, relay it through me, then I’ll advice you on the situation. Is that clear?" "Sir, yes sir!" the six of them replied in a loud, united voice. General Cantorek paused for a moment to catch his breath, then continued with the briefing, "You will meet at Landing Pad 3C in order to be transported with the president to the stage site, then be transported back with him after his speech. Be on guard and protect the president’s life at all cost. Any questions?" No one asked one. "Good, then you are all dismissed," the general took the step down from the podium and started to walk to the door. "Sir, I have a question," Claire asked from beside Erik, looking directly at the general as he turned around to look at her. "Well, ask away." "Why did you let First-class Lauborough to chose the other four members of the team?" she asked the general like Erik was just her commanding officer. "Wouldn’t it be better if the president had the best protecting him?" The general looked at her a little more closely, then at Erik, then back to her before he asked her a question. "Second-class Claire Norton, right?" "Sir, yes sir." "A wise man once told me, ‘A person can be given a job to complete with the best qualified people, but that person will not be able to the job to complete the job to the fullest if that person could not trust the others with his life.’ Does that make sense to you?" General Cantorek bluntly told her like a philosopher. It made total sense to Erik, and he assumed it made sense to all the others as he nodded in agreement. "Sir, yes sir," Claire responded once again, nodding her head in agreement as she was taught a small piece of information. With that, the general smiled at them, and walked out of the room with the plans under his arm. The door slide behind the general as someone let out a sigh from behind. "Well, that was unexpected," Calvin said from behind Erik, standing up from his chair and started to walk about the room. Calvin was one of the best SOLDIER Erik has ever worked with, but he was sometimes a little too relaxed about the situation. "And now I have to worry about the president’s life in my hands!" "I thought my life being in my hands was already too much of a risk!" Michael joked, getting a laugh from everyone in the room other than Janus, who sat silent in his seat staring at the blank display at the front of the room. Andrew didn’t make a comment about the situation, but laughed along with the team. He was just transferred from another team in Junon two months ago, after a fatal training accident left half of his team dead and two others injured. Janus was the only one Erik couldn’t really trust, since he hasn’t even been on a mission before. Fresh out of boot camp and already with a mission that deals with the life of the president. Erik didn’t know whether this young man was really that good or that SOLDIER HQ was going nuts. The fact that Janus didn’t carry a weapon frightened Erik into believing that SOLDIER HQ was going insane, but it didn’t matter what he thought, orders were orders, and he was to carry them out no matter what. "All right team," Erik called out as he walked to the front of the room, looking at the others. "We have to be at the Festival before 9:00am, so get your butts to you designated team and get them prepped for the long day at hand. Janus, follow me, and let’s get this show on the road." Erik waited for Janus to stand up and walk beside him before he started to head out of the room. There was a long day ahead of them, and all Erik could think about was getting a bite to eat at the festival. -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: A materia, and a meeting. Date: Mon, 24 Aug 98 20:55:34 (PDT) From: "Adam Lim" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day- July 9th, 2000 Time- Just after noon. Place- Sector 1, near Chello's Materia shop. Adam got up from his seat on the bench and looked around slightly. "I'm going over there to see what the fuss is all about for the materia, will you be alright here?" He looked down at Natalie as she nodded slowly, while wiping some tears. "Are you sure?" She motioned with her hand for him to go, so he shrugged and walked away. Nearby, there were a few people oohing, and ahhing over some small materia crystals sitting in a display case at the shop that read "Chello's Materia Mixtures" [OOG: I'm just guessing what the name is]. They walked away after a while, and Adam leaned against a nearby lightpost. The air was musty and dirty as usual, and Adam was beginning to get used to it. His black, hodded cloak was easily spotted, but he didn't mind, it was the way he always dressed. Adam peered over at the woman who ran the shop. She had brown hair, that looked like it had been another colour before, but he wasn't sure. She looked to be pretty strong and solid, but Adam didn't really care. He glanced back over at the spot where he was sitting to see if Natalie was alright, she was fine. When his attention went back to the materia, he noticed a man was conversing with the seller. He decided to listen, "It's a discount for you Matrim, you're a friend." "Cool, thanks, Chello, I guess I'll be on my way, see ya later." "Yeah, see ya." The young man confidently walked away with materia in hand. {I might as well buy one before they're all sold out} Adam though to himself. "What exactly makes these so special?" He asked the woman he now knew as Chello. She turned around, "Oh, they're combinations of two materia, with combined effects," she said proudly. Adam raised a brow and nodded, acknowledging that he understood. "Did you make them yourself?" He asked. "Mm, hmm," Chello replied nodding with even more pride. The crystals looked odd, and had a little tag with their name on them. Adam scanned each one, reading the lables. Finally he pointed to the one named Ice/Wind. "I'll take this on please," he asked politely. "That'll be 1500 Gil." He handed her the few coins he had, and she gave him change in return. "Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the fesstival." Chello sang. Adam bowed slightly and replied, "I'll try." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Meanwhile back at the bench, Natalie was sitting alone, and looking worried. Just then, a young man came up to her and asked, "Hi there, weren't you singing with Korrine Fox? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice that you were upset, are you okay?" She looked up at him and shrugged sadly, "I'm okay, I just got some bad news that's all." "YOU? You just made a smash hit and now you're sad?" He was confused. "No, it's not that, I just got some bad news from my friend." The young man's face lost it's expression, "Oh, I see. What kind of news?" "Ahem!" Adam was back, and now he stood behind the young man which he recognized to be the same one from the shop that got a discount. 'Who the hell are you!?' was the way Adam's face read as he stared down this man. "Oh, hello, I was just talking to..." The man was searching to see Adam's eyes, as his head was covered by his hood. "Y-your friend, she IS your friend right? Well, she was just sad and so..." Adam put up his hand, he had heard enough. "It's okay. I understand what you mean." The man didn't really know where to go from here, should he leave, or should he stay and talk. Adam sat down and put his arm around Natalie, and looked up at the man. Seeing that they were closer friends than he thought, the man decided to leave. "Hey, why don't you sit and eat? Are you hungry?" Natalie asked him. "Well, sort of, I kind of need to go, but what the heck." The man said. "My name's Adam, and her name is Natalie," this was often the setup line to get the name out of the other person. "I'm Matrim, good to meet you." "I'll go get the food, what do you like Matrim?" Natalie replied. "Oh, anything's fine," Matrim called. So Natalie left to go get some food, while Matrim spoke with Adam about why Natalie was upset earlier. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "And so now you're looking for AVALANCHE?" Matrim asked. "That's right. I want to know if they can help me fight whatever it is that will attack today, so far nothing much has happened." Adam sighed. Matrim now became interested with the mention of AVALANCHE. "Well if it's against Shinra, I'll help you out as much as possible. I'm against them no matter what!" "You'll help us? That's great thanks alot Matrim, now, all we have to do is find them." Natalie became filled with happiness when she heard those words. Adam, in his expressionless voice spoke, "Finding AVALANCHE. Hmph, if the Shinra don't know where they are or if they're still around, how are we. Finding them in Midgar, is like finding a materia crystal in a pile of Gyshal Greens." (OOG: Hoped you liked it, Foomy. I did what I could while I was still home. C+C, you know the deal. Later yall.) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: The Chase is On Date: Mon, 24 Aug 98 23:45:44 (PDT) From: William Evans Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" July 9, 2000 Sector 4 11:00 PM The Midgar Festival was afun time for all, but what was a fun time was different for each person. Some like to sing and dance. Some like to sit at home quietly and read books. Some like to make a bog scene of themselves and others like to sit back in the crowd and watch what is going on. Flinggorian had his own ideas of fun. They were freedom and theft. He liked freedom because it was just more convenient to do whatever you wanted, and he liked thievery, because every now and then it was good for a challenge to arise. Flinggorian scanned the crowd and saw a multitude of people, young and old, dressed up in various costumes having a good time. There were colorful costumes and dull ones. There were imaginative costumes and just plain bizzarre ones, but each costume had a person behind it with his own idea of what was a good time. The man clad in a magician's outfit strode down the road taking in the sight's. He liked big crowds with unsuspecting people just waiting to be robbed, but even he needed a break from his everyday line of work. He wasn't watching where he was going and he bumped into a woman in an angel costume. Flinggorian gave a develish grin as he spoke in a charming voice, "I'm sorry. It's such a busy day you can't help but bump into people. Would you like to see a little trick from an amateur magician?" The woman smiled back at him and blushed a bit. "Sure. What have you got to show me?" Flinggorian waved his hands around a bit, then he moved his one hand close to the woman's ear. In an instant, he produced a coin from his hand and gave a big grin. "So, what do you think?" "I think that my grandfather did that trick all the time." "Well, here's another one." Carefully, trying to remember the only other trick that his aunt showed him, he flicked his wrist. Success! Flinggorian had made it look like a bouquet of flowers appeared in his hand. "Can your grandfather do that?" "No, I guess you do have some tricks up your sleeve." "More than you might think. Here, a pretty lady like you deserves some flowers." With a distinct grace and elegance in his actions, Flinggorian bowed and handed the woman the bouquet, smiling all the while. He recieved a chuckle and another smile as the woman took out a piece of paper and wrote something down. She handed him the paper and said, "My names Kimberly. I have to be going now, but here's my number. Call me sometime you charming devil." Then, Kimberly walked away, occasionally turning around to smile at Flinggorian. he thought to himself as he went trotting down the road. Boy this place had a nice lively atmosphere. Before long, the busy streets started to get to him and Flinggorian turned into a nearby magic store. The place was dimly lit and mysterious. He supposed that these kind of people liked to keep a mysterious atmosphere, which was definately what this was. "Are you looking for something?" a tall, slender man behind the counter asked. "Umm, no. Just browsing." Flinggorian looked around a bit. There were tricks and devices ranging from the very simple, to the utterly complex. It was like a childs wonderland with the amazing and astounding feats that could occur if you just set your mind to it. Then, while gazing around, awestruck, he noticed several shiny black balls on the counter. "What are those?" he asked as he pointed to the items. "Tjose are smoke bombs. They may look small, but they can create enough smoke to make it hard to see. It's very good for making impressive appearances and exits." "Uh huh." Flinggorian muttered, thinking ofhow he could get some of them without having to pay. Then an idea hit him. "And what are those over on the shelf?" he asked, pointing to a spot behind the clerk. The clerk took an instant to look behind him tofind out what needed to be identified. In those few seconds, Flinggorian took a handful of smoke bombs and stuck them down his sleeve. Then he shouted to the clerk, "I'm sorry, but I don't need anything anymore. I've taken all I want." He then tipped his hat, picked up one of the smoke bombs he hadn't stolen and threw it down creating a big puff of black smoke. While the smoke was settling, the clerk realized what was going on. He gritted his teeth with anger and pulled out a staff he kept below the counter. It was already equipped with a Lightning materia, so the shop keeper ran out the door yelling, "That's it. Nobody steals from me. I don't care if it was only a few somke bombs. You're gonna fry." After running for about a minut, Flingggorian turned back to see if the man from the magic shop was chasing him. The question answered itself as a bolt of lightning cam out of nowhere and nearly hit him. It was a good thing that the nearby people in the crowd absorbed most of the energy. "Oh shit!" he yelled as he began running down the street pushing people out of the way. The clerk was a pretty fast guy. He kept persuing yeling threats such as "You're gonna fry tuxedo boy!" and "When I catch you, I'm gonna zap you're brains out." It was a good thing the magic store clerk was a bad shot, or else Flinggorian would have been toast three blocks back. The chase continued as the crazed clerk followed the man in the magician costume down the street. A wake of pain and anger was left behind as the denizens of the festival were being pushed over and zapped with electricity. The MSF had caught on to the disturbance of peace at the festival and had already begun to block off the roads and get people out of the way. Sensing no escape, Flinggorian stopped running. "Here you want your damn smoke bombs. Take one!" he shouted. He flicked his wrist and threw down one of the bombs he had stored in his sleeve filling the area with a black cloud. The temporary cover made it easy for him to slip into one of the alleys and get as far away from there as possible. After the smoke cleared, MSF agents were ready with guns pointed at the clerk. He was charged with disturbing the peace and assault. The crazed storekeeper was cuffed and put in a car to be taken away. A few of the MSF stuck around to control the situation. One of them spoke up, "Alright. There was another man with this guy. Someone with a tuxedo, cape, and eyepatch. I want you to find him. Check the Technology Fair and any other nearby areas. He may cause more problems later on, and I want this to be a happy festival for eveyone. Hear me?" The officer stamped his foot and gazed around at his fellow officers. "I want this guy found." -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Fatal Choices Date: Tue, 25 Aug 98 17:17:58 (PDT) From: Chapman Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: Seeing that I didn't get a repsonce from jeeny, I guess I'll do it again :) Day: July 9th Time: Late-Afternoon Place: Sector 1 Plate, Near the Concert stage Korrine felt as if ice had frozen in her feet in fear. She was paralyzed. She couldn't move at all. She could only watch this mysterious figure approach them. She followed the gaze in his eyes. They followed directly to Turi. As the man approach, she saw that his hazel eyes had no menace in them, but only intent. She wondered, Who was this man? When he came to Korrine, only inches away from her, His head slowly turned. He glaced at her, then back at Turi. " You sir, What is your name? " The sound of his voice nearly made Korrine jump. While it had a deep pitch to it, the tone was straight forward. Robotic like. Turi stood his ground. Turi let out a breath then met the man's gaze. " That depends, Who are you? " Turi asked. The man's shoulder's sagged a bit. Korrine let out a sigh of relief. It seems this man doesn't mean harm. If he did, He probably would have done something. The man's eye's blinked. " I am known as Ramzi. I have come to take Neo from you. " he said. His words turned Turi's face pale. Korrine was confused. She stepped in front of the man, and turned, to Turi, a look of question. " Turi? What's he talking about? " Korrine asked. Turi's eye's met Korrine's. They had a curious look in them. " Korrine... this doesn't concern you. " He said. He looked back at Ramzi. " Exactly, How do you plan do this? " Turi asked. " Turi! What do you mean it doesn't concern me! It does because...... " Korrine stopped herself. She took a deep breath and hung her head low. " Turi.... would you..explain this to me, later? " She asked, raiseing her head up?=. Turi's eyes moved to Korrine's aqua eyes. For a moment he had almost forgotten what Ramzi had just said to him. Ramzi had promised salvation. Turi walked over to Korrine and placed a hand on her shoulder, His good hand. He looked into her eyes. " Korrine. I will. But Please.. May I talk to this man for a minute? " He asked. Korrine stared at him. She ddin't know. Who was this man? What was this ' Neo ' he had mentioned. She didn't understand, and she knew she probably wouldn't. Korrine looked at, then sighed in agreement. She walked past Turi, toward Azeral and Vixen. While they were in an embrace, they were talking, Both of them smiling. * * * * As Korrine made her way over there, Turi watched her. She wouldn't understand. He turned to Ramzi, who stood silently. " You say you can get rid of Neo, How? " < Yes, Good question. How? > Neo retorted. Ramzi's eyes fixed on the Amulet. " You embodied yourself with the Neo Materia. By placing the Amulet on your fore-head, you accepted the bond between spirt and body. He can only be removed the same way he was placed on. " Turi arched an eyebrow. How he was placed on? " What do you mean? " Turi said. He leaned back a little, crossing his arms over his chest. " I can remove the Amulet, by how, I can not tell you. However, I would strongly advise you discuss it with Korrine first. " Ramzi said. Turi turned back to Korrine, who was sitting with Azeral and Vixen. Turi gave a small smile. Then a question hit him. " Why would I have to discuss it? And what's this all about. How the hell do you know about Neo? " Turi bellowed. Ramzi didn't budge. " I know of many things you don't. How, Why, and What are questions I can give you answers for. What I can tell you is that I can remove the Amulet from your fore-head. It's from that Materia, in that Amulet, inwhich neo resides. However, It's a very difficult process, one I haven't done in a long time. The effect's could be either good or bad. " Ramzi said. Now Ramzi was the one to cross his arm's over his chest. Turi gave him a puzzleing look. " I think I can assume what the good is... But what's the bad? " Turi asked. Ramzi's stare was like a razor. " I can you now, If I fail, You and Korrine aren't safe. " He said. Turi took a step. Horror filled him. < This...This..isn't...FAIR. > Turi thought. Turi felt as if he were trapped. At long last, an answer to his call, His call to be saved form Neo, saved from the greif of his past, was answered. This man, Ramiz, claimed to know how to rid him of Neo. However, Korrine's safety hung in the balance. It wasn't fair. Turi had long sought to find his salavation, and now he had found it. But it could cost him. It could cost him the one thing that has meant more than life to him, the one person, and the only person, every to truly make him feel loved, make him feeled cared about. What could he do? " No Turi, It isn't fair. But it's your choice. I would advise you discuss it with Korr- " No. " Ramzi arched a eyebrow. " What? " Turi gave him a mournful look. " Never. Never would I ever put her life in danger. My life had been nothing but a sea of sadness, a sea of pity. A sea, that gives me no pity. My life for so long has been nothing a wreched blackness, cast onto me for my damnation of my crimes of the past. And now, you tell me things I thought nobody in this world could tell me. Now you tell me I have a chance to start over, to get rid a of big aspect of that past. But you ask me, to risk her life, To risk the life, of the one person, the one living thing, Who can look at me, and not see a monster. You ask me to chance her life for my own misury. Well, Let me tell you something you son of a bitch. " Turi stabbed a finger at Ramzi. " I would rather burn in the darkest pit's of the blackest, cruelest, and most planet forsaken hell, than risk her life. " Turi glared at Ramzi. Ramzi's eyes became something else, which Turi never expected to see. Pity. " Then you shall..... For in the future, you shall. " He replied. While his tone had a hint of sadness to them, the words didn't change what he felt. Turi felt something surge through him, something he hadn't felt in 2 months. The rage. The call. Turi felt the heat boil inide him, he heard to unholy wispers and sounds of what he was about to do. He was about to transform. Transfrom into one of the abmination's that plague his soul. " Turi? Are you two finished? " He heard a voice ask. Turi's eyes snapped opened. Korrine was standing there, a questioning look on her face. When she saw his eyes, She knew. She turned to Ramzi. " What did you say to him!? " She growled. Ramzi eyes or experssion hadn't changed. He still looked emotionless. " The truth my dear. However... I would ask both of you a favor. " He said. Korrine looked back at Turi. Turi's burned with hate. Korrine looked back at Ramzi. " You two are in for some rough times. Turi, whether you like me or not, I would like to help you. " Ramzi said. Korrine, still confused about what was going. " Alright. But first you two have to explain to me what is going on. " Korrine said. Ramzi gave a nodd, and turned toward Azeral and Vixen. " I believe a congratulations are in order for the reunited couple. " he said. As Ramzi began to head toward them, Korrine gave Turi a confused look. She was both astonished, but bewildered by this ' Ramzi ' She didn't know him, But she felt as if he knew more than he was telling them. How did he know of Turi? What was Neo, and how did he know about Azeral and Vixen? Korrine noticed Turi. He was standing, trebling with rage. His teeth gritted and his eyes afalem, he growled at her. " How could you let him go!? " He snarled. Korrine cringed a bit at the ferocity and angry tone in his voice. Korrine stepped toward him. " Turi, I don't know what he said to you, But what ever it was, let it go. Please. " she said. Korrine was afraid that Turi would turn into one of those..things again. Her words, and the pleading look in her eyes diced Turi's anger, and hit home. Turi slowly relaxed as the rage left him. He smiled at Korrine. " Thank you. " He said. Korrine gave him an odd look. " For what? " she asked. Turi walked up to her and hugged her. " For stopping me from doing something stupid. " he said. Korrine, a bit confused by the sudden event, could only hug back. When Turi broke away, His face turned stern. He looked in Ramzi's direction. " Now lets go see who mystery man is shall we? " He said. Korrine nodded, and the both of them walked toward the three. --------------------------------- [OOG: Alright, Jenny, I beleive it's your call now ] -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: AVALANCHE Ready! Date: Tue, 25 Aug 98 20:25:21 (PDT) From: kkwan a globalserve.net Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Rio Returns ~~~~~~~~~~~~ {OOG: I'm writing this post in Saturn Knight's stead because he is cramped on time. I have to modify a few things from the original plot, though, sorry, Saturn Knight. And finally, an apology goes out for writing someone else's plot.] Time: Morning, 5:00 A.M. Place: Sector Two Station `````` Rio coughed once to accentuate the point he had just made to Nanaki. "Yes, it is a rather depressing place compared to the wild outdoors," Nanaki replied to Rio's comment about the smoke choking him to death. "I would much prefer the company of the fresh breeze rather than the deadly pollution of the city." "So would I, Nanaki-san," Rio replied. "But I have made a promise to my friends, and I will live up to that promise." He looked down at his hands, and immediately remembered Bugenhagen's gift, the Shinra Mako Reactor Plans. Yuffie had left them just outside of the Midgar gates, with the promise that she would see him again. Rio now had the number for the Davelos mansion, but whether or not he would call remained to be seen. There was something about the Marauders he did not like, based on Adam's comments to him, but Yuffie wanted to remain with them, and he respected her decision. Rio chuckled to himself. She was probably going to try to sucker materia from them anyway. But he now knew that wasn't her only care in the world, as she often showed to strangers. He smiled to himself at the memory. Yuffie cared for her friends. And her boyfriends. "We're going to board the train, Rio," Nanaki said, motioning toward the open door. "It's strange how no one has recognized us." "I don't think anyone cares, Nanaki-san," Rio replied. "AVALANCHE is probably old news now." He then kept his thoughts to himself as he thought about the revival he was going to be a part of. The Planet still dies, he thought. He wondered if Barret had seen Bugenhagen's holographic model and then thought of saving the world. He wondered if the other members knew that they were in as deadly of a crisis as Bugenhagen stated. Rio had a lot of thoughts running through his head as he rode on the train. The train doesn't go anywhere except where the rails take it, Rio thought absently, repeating something that Barret would have said. His job would be to derail that train, to make a change in the slowly-dying universe. Time: 5:20 A.M. Place: Sector Five Church [OOG: Zach made a boo-boo! This is the Sector Five Church, where Aeris stayed in. There's a huge hole in the back wall where a train ran through it, and a hole in the roof.] `````` Rio realised that he was probably the last one to arrive when he saw a few cars outside of the Church. It had started to rain on his way over, lightly at first, but then the downpour became horrid. By the time he got to the Church, Nanaki looked like a shaggy dog and he himself probably didn't look any better. The tracks of mud on the floor were seen. On one of the church benches [OOG: What's the proper name for those Chuch Benches anyway?] there say a man, head bowed, who was wearing a leather jacket. Rio couldn't recognize the man. The man didn't look up as Rio passed. He looked back at Nanaki, who shook his head and body side to side, trying his best to dry out his wet fur. The flowers were receiving well-deserved water as the downpour drizzled into the main hall, soaking the radiant petals and vivid leaves. As soon as he got inside the back room, he shouted a loud and cheerful greeting. "Hey guys, guess who's back?" he called, arms outstretched as if he actually expected someone to hug him in his soaked gear. No one moved to hug him, but they all waved their arms happily in the air and motioned him over to where they group was huddled over. Cloud was in the centre, and was tracing a crude map that looked like a spoked wheel. Midgar, he reasoned. Outside, the rain was splashing around, threatening to leap inside the hole that used to be the back wall. The members of AVALANCHE had parked themselves a suitable distance from the open hole, but the cool wind and the drizzle of moisture could still be felt from his position. Rio did a quick head count and discovered that he was the last to arrive, even at this early morning hour. He listened in on Cloud's plan to start with recruiting members. Tifa readily agreed with the idea, and Rio found himself listening to the blonde-haired ex-SOLDIER as well. He had a knack for leadership, it appeared. Cloud was talented in a fight, loud, and easy to understand. "Guys," Rio started after Cloud stopped, "I have something to show you." Rio reached into his backpack and withdrew the scroll of the Reactor blueprints, careful not to wreck them. He unrolled them from around the wooden board he kept them in, and slid them toward Jessie. "After we're done our work at the Festival, we should look at these." The rest of the members awed at Rio's success. "They're Reactor blueprints. It seems that Bugenhagen managed to get a hold of these, and he passed them on to me when he learned I was trying to save the Planet. The situation is more serious than it appears." Rio tried his best to explain what Bugenhagen explained to him weeks earlier, by using his fist as the Earth and his other hand as the Spirit Energy. "What I want to do is learn how to disable reactors without killing hundreds of people," Rio concluded. Tifa concurred with that idea. Trev also nodded his head with more vigour than Rio would have originally thought. Jessie nodded. "I'll try my best," she said. "Wedge, Trev, you'll have to help me too. If we can, we might try to blow up the reactor with that 'vertical blast bomb'. If we can isolate and infiltrate the Reactor core..." "Hey," someone said. The whole group turned toward the door to see Seth standing in the doorway. Tifa's glare froze on him as she stabbed icicles of death into his face. Seth shrugged innocently. "So, who's going to lead this little rabble?" he asked, quite casually. The rest of the members stopped, and began blinking at one another in question. The cold man tried his best to keep back a mocking chuckle, but his lips still curled into a sneer. "Haven't thought of it, hey?" There was silence. All the eyes of the room darted from one person to another, as if they were silently evaluating who would be leadership material. "Tifa," Amos finally said, "I want you to lead AVALANCHE." Tifa looked surprised. "Me?" she asked, pointing her hand to her chest. "Why?" "You know what you're doing," Amos replied. "You have a grip on life." "But... but..." "I agree," Jairen replied. "For all practical reasons, mind you." Tifa giggled at that one and gave Jairen a friendly bap on the cheek. It was almost unanimous. Tifa's name was being shouted left and right. It would have been almost foolish for her to resist it now. Tifa sighed deeply, motioning for silence in the room. "Okay, I'll do it." Cheers erupted, echoing off of the high ceiling. "BUT! On one condition. That Cloud here be my advisor. And that all of you... help me out." Cloud shrugged, but he grinned, indicating he was perfectly fine with the idea. The cheers came up again. The group expressed their approval for the decision. They all started to talk at once, excited about their next course of action, which would be to recruit new members and to make people aware of the truth. A voice cut the air like a knife. "Recruiting, are you?" The voices eventually died down as Tifa motioned for silence. "Name your price, Seth," she said, sighing in defeat. "Whenever you decide to destroy something," he started off, unwilling to sit around to recruit, "call me. You have but to pay me a mere one thousand gil in advance. The rest'll depend on the risk of the mission. Expect me to ask an additional two, three thousand gil." He winked, then casually reached into his holster and tossed a dagger in his hand as if it were a toy. "You have my card." The man slipped way from the door. Tifa reached into her pocket, looking over the card that Seth gave her. "What a man," she murmured. "He's so... damn, he pisses me off but..." "But he sort of knows what he's doing?" Trev finished. Tifa shrugged. "I guess. He knows how to fight, so his help can be useful... but only when we start an offensive attack. I'm not going to pay for him to recruit." Eventually, the groups were made up as to who would go where, with who, during the Festival. They all agreed to meet back at the Church after each day, at midnight. "The groups," Cloud started, are: One. Myself, Tillomiki, Trev, and Jessie will keep an eye out on Sector One, Two, and Three. I hear the President's going to give his speech in Sector One at seven o'clock, so we'll be there. Two. Jairen, Tifa, Knighthawk, Lauren will be group two. They'll keep an eye out on Sectors Four, Five, and Six. Three. Rio, Nanaki, and Wedge will make up group three. They'll be in..." "I'm going to meet up with a few friends," Rio started. "I'm not sure if they're going to follow the sectors faithfully..." Cloud shrugged. "No biggie. Can you bring Wedge?" "Sure, no problem." Tifa spoke up. "Why don't we just trash the idea of combing sectors? We're all trying to relax and achieve a mission at the same time... I mean, we all have PHS phones so we can keep in touch, right?" Cloud thought about the idea, then nodded. "Okay, yeah, let's trash the idea. Tifa's right. Make sure everyone has a PHS." He nodded at them. "Okay, I'm going to get something to eat. Let's meet back here at nine tonight. That fair?" Everyone nodded their consent. "Good. Let's move." [OOG: Okay, that's it for AVALANCHE, we can move along now. If you're in AVALANCHE and I forgot you write yourself in to one of the groups or something :> If you're in AVALANCHE and want to finally start writing about your festival, then do so. It's a great time to get those who are itching to be part of AVALANCHE (Ahem, Adam and Matrim) into the group, so E-mail people with your ideas for interaction. Hopefully Jairen's group can get with Matrim so Quicksilver's not hanging around controlling three NPC's.] -- -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Relay... KKid, get a clue. Date: Tue, 25 Aug 98 21:16:31 (PDT) From: "Eileen Stone" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" TOM: Quite possibly, the oldest trick in the book KKid1 a aol.com Sun, 23 Aug 1998 23:40:45 EDT To: smcclure a goldrush.com [Admin: Kkid, I am constantly flushing your inconsequential oog's. I'll save the planning posts and the stories, but learn to address, will ya? I've been sick for days and I'm not in a good mood.] (OOC: I know I know, the title is a cliche, but it was all I could think of! besides, im pretty sure a snare IS the oldest trick...) Leaning against the catwalk, Argoulor carefully surveyed the catwalk below. His snare was set perfectly, and by virtue of the numerous coils of rope already on the catwalk, it was almost invisible. he thought, Argoulors musings were cut of by an almost inaudiable thump from the lower catwalk. The female SOLDIER he had shot in the other room had apparently used the air ducts to get past the locked door. Not answering Argoulors mental request, the woman carefully moved over to the door leading out to the street. Something startled the woman and Argoulor could barely prevent himself from bursting into hysterical laughter as he saw her expertly pivot and fire 4 perfectly aimed bullets into a rat that had strayed onto the catwalk. Calming herself, the SOLDIER then began to walk back to the trapped door. He watched carefully and the moment her foot stepped in the right coil of rope, he put both fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly, while at the same time throwing the switch that activated the crane. This was the best part of traps. He focused on her face and saw her look up at him with puzzlement, which then changed to rage, and, as the rope tightened about her ankle, fear. Lifting her revolver, she was almost able to get off a shot, but the force of the crane lifted her so suddenly that she lost her grip and the gun fell to the catwalk with a clatter. Whistleing a merry tune, Argoulor leisurly strolled down the stair to the lower catwalk and, with his hands in his pockets and a casual smile, wandered over to where the SOLDIER woman hung, "Hey there," He called, "Whatcha doing upside down?" Her face twisted in rage, she dre forth an exquisitly designed blade and, with a completly lack coordination due to her disorientation, flailed mercilessly at Argoulor, though he was standing a good foot away from the tip of the blade. "You know," Argoulor said as he ducked in and snatched the blade from her hands, "you could hurt someone with this," "Shut up," she replied, "You know," Argoulor said as he stepped closer and removed her belt, examining the contents of the pouch, "You really need to work on your people skills. Hmmm... a Hi-potion, 'couple lockpicks, blow gun with darts, how very wilderness of you, a PHS, a whole load of pendants, and explosives! I love my explosives. I could make a lot of money off of you. Your pretty well loaded with Gil too, and you have a charge card, could you tell me the spending limit?" She declined to answer, "Oh well, just so you know, your paying my hotel bill tonight," He added with a grin, "Now, your sheath," he removed it and slid the sword in, slinging it over his shoulder, "now what else?" He poked at the materia, "Maybe not... Well, I guess that's everything," Grinning wickedly, "oh how rude of me, I won't let anyone say I let a date get away without a goodnight kiss," and with that, he kissed her quickly, and pulled back with a mocking smile and her necklace in his hand, "Thanks for the stuff, now, my customers await!" With that final humilation, he wandered back to the exit door, and, pivoting on one foot , he aimed the woman's revolver at the console next to the door he had trapped. Focusing his superior vision, he expertly leveled the revolver and fired. The bullet struck the "unlock" key dead-center, allowing Zeng to pass through, as soon as he noticed. With that bit of buisness settled, he slipped through the door and pulled it shut. "That was quite fun, I bet she's steaming mad too," and, having enjoyed himself immensly, he slipped into a dark alley and made his way to the most expensive hotel in the area, courtesy of... "Kytria DeLeuria," he read off the charge card. Forwarded from: Troy Altiare #1 @172 -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Confirming Date: Thu, 27 Aug 98 01:24:32 (PDT) From: "Jenny L." Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day- July 9 2000 Time-afternoon Place- Sector one, near the concert site ============== Korrine nodded. "OK, let's go get the others, first." She and Turi walked over to Vixen, Azeral, and Rasten. "Hey, guys! Whats up?" Korrine asked cheerfully. Vixen smiled. "Oh, Azeral and I were talking and stuff." Korrine looked over at Azeral. "I'm sure you're glad that you and Vixen are back together, right?" "Yeah..." Azeral nodded, and smiled slightly. "Well, sometime, I'll have to sing a love song for ya." Korrine said in a corny 'cute' tone. Vixen laughed. "Yeah!" "Well, what's up with you?" Rasten asked. Korrine looked at Turi. "Umm, Turi? You wanna explain what just happened?" Turi nodded and continued to explain what had happened just a few minutes earlier. When, he was through explaining, Korrine defined what the group needed to do. "So, what we're trying to say, is, we need you all to help us find this guy." "Well, sure! We'll be glad to help! What do you say, Azeral, Rasten?" Vixen jumped up. "Sure, why not." Azeral stood up, too. Everyone looked at Rasten. "Sure, I guess." Rasten replied. "Uhm, ok! Anything else we need before we leave? Need to get any supplies or anything?" Korrine asked the group. The group looked at each other. ======= OOG-OK! There's my post! Uh, sorry it's so short. Oh, and, Azeral, there's four reasons why I didn't continue your post: 1. First several days of school......it was very confusing and stressing. New school, too. :/ So, should I say, not enough time? 2. I thought that maybe you'd do better in continuing it. 3. I wasn't sure if I was really supposed to continue it, or if anyone could. I would have asked, or gone on and posted, but like I said.....school.... 4. stress Um, I think that says it all. Sorry! Uh, anyone can continue this now. (I'd suggest someone go get RD or something. ^_^ BTW, I forgot if she was in the group, or if Rasten was. But I think Rasten was, and Ferna went somewhere else.........right?) == Jenny (Korrine) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Ride the nausea wave... Date: Thu, 27 Aug 98 11:45:51 (PDT) From: Da Ly Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: Geez, why do I keep using such weird titles? ::sigh:: Once again... language...] Time: 2:25 PM, July 9th Place: Sector 3 slums, steel refinery Zeng backed up as a click sound came from the door. He immediately threw the door open and ran into the room. Boiling vats were everywhere below the metal platform he was now on. But more importantly, on the long catwalk in front of him, a figure hung suspended in mid-air. "?!!" He quickly ran over and stared in confusion at Kytira. He was relieved to find her still alive, but furious that Argoulor was nowhere in sight. "Kytira, what happened? Where is he???" he asked before surveying the premises. She was pissed as hell. She narrowed her eyes angrily, "That stupid jerk.... He got away." "Where?" "Out the door..." she replied. Zeng immediately took off towards the door, leaving Kytira. "Ze------ng!!" Kytira yelled, waving her arms frantically. "If it's not too much to ask, can you let me down?? Preferably BEFORE the blood rushes to my head???" He glanced back at her then ran up the stairs towards the controls. He quickly pulled the lever back to its up position. "OOF!! Shit!!" She was dropped painfully onto the metal catwalk. Kytira didn't move. She just lay on the floor, most likely praising the solid ground. Zeng leaned over the catwalk, to see Kytira, still not moving. "You okay?" he asked, heading towards the stairs. Fifteen seconds later, he finally received an answer when he was on the catwalk. Kytira slowly raised her head from its hobby of resting on the catwalk. "I-m j-just a bit dizzy, nothing too serious." She slid the rope off her ankle, threw it aside into a boiling vat below and applied pressure to her ankle, wincing at the pain. Zeng stood up and turned in the direction of the exit door. He stepped over Kytira and started his way off of the catwalk. "C'mon, we gotta go after him." She glanced over at Zeng weakly and slowly got up, using the rail for support. She shook her head, trying to shake the dizziness off. She took one step without the aid of the rail and collapsed. "Oww... my ankle....." Zeng rushed over to her and helped her back on to her feet. "C'mon, we're still on a mission. " "Your twin brother's such a bastard..." Kytira remarked angrily through clenched teeth, taking a few steps and still wincing at the pain. "That bastard took my sword, my gun, my wallet, my bag, my necklace, the p-pendants..." she leaned onto the rail to keep her from collapsing. "And he also..." She cut herself off, cringing at the memory of Argoulor kissing her as a sharp wave of nausea hit her. She shook her head to try amd shake off the pain as well as the sudden urge to lean her head over the rail and vomit into one of the vats below. [OOG: She's NOT going to throw up. Just the impression. Besides, I'd hate to think of anyone of you reading about someone throwing up right after eating dinner or something. :| Yuck...] "Kytira, we have to get go-" Zeng cut himself short as soon as he saw Kytira leaning over the rail. He sighed and turned away, letting her have some privacy. Oddly, she didn't throw up. She just let her head hang miserably, silently letting a few tears go. The pendants and her sword were extremely important to her. That sword was given to her by her brother. Plus, that was the only sword she could use without tiring out at a fast rate. Moments later, Zeng was starting to get impatient waiting for her to gather up her dignity, if she had any left. He turned around to see her head still hanging over the rail. "Kytira, let's go. " She slowly got up, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and turned towards Zeng. "I can't believe you two are related..." she mumbled, her eyes damp and red. "I bet that 'elite' bastard gets advice from other bastards on how to be even more of a...." She stopped herself as a sudden look of confusion washed over her. She then stared accusingly at him. "Hey! Where were you anyway???" "At the door." Kytira narrowed her eyes, giving him an icy gaze. "You know, this never would've happened if you hadn't asked me to go through that stupid air--no, 'filth' duct..." She slowly limped off the catwalk. The pain was still throbbing in her ankle, her co-ordination was a bit off and she was nauseous, but as usual, she was too stubborn to admit it. Zeng caught up with her to make sure she didn't fall or trip, but Kytira immediately smacked him away. "I don't need your help." She continued walking down the catwalk towards the exit door, continuing on. "He's your brother! I bet you knew he'd be like this! Damn it! Why didn't you tell me??! Arghhh!" Kytira clenched both of her fists tightly until her knuckles turned white. She continued her screaming as Zeng silently stared at her as if Argoulor had managed to take her intelligence along with her belongings. "Shit!" She cursed. "I could've left some of my stuff back at headquarters and I could've avoided this humiliation! The guys back sure'll love hearing about this now, wouldn't they..." "Sorry," Zeng said quietly after a moment. Kytira ignored him. "I can see it now," she turned away from him and held her hands up as though a blinking florescent sign took its place. "'Kytira DeLeurie screws up one lousy mission.' She was caught off guard, hung upside down, mugged and ki--ughhhh...." She grabbed onto the rail for support to keep her from falling to her knees. Her face scrunched up as the color of her skin drained away. 'Ugghhh...' she thought. 'Feels like the time I went to the Gold Saucer's speed square and took one ride too many...' "Kytira, let's go." After a few moments, Zeng watched as Kytira moved away from the rail, dusting herself. Thinking about the Gold Saucer's speed square didn't better the situation. She was nauseous as ever. She nodded weakly and immediately tripped over herself. Zeng darted forward and caught her before she could slam against the metal platform. He slung her left arm over his shoulders as she tried to stand on her feet. "Come on, we still have to find him." Kytira once again, trying smacked him away, succeeding only in giving him a feeble slap. "I said I don't need your help!" "You can thank me later," he replied as they made it over to the exit, Kytira still mumbling complaints and curses. "Shit. Zeng, why do we have to chase after him?" she muttered as he opened the door, letting them both out. "Haven't I had enough for one day? I just want to go home, run a hot bath and drink some really strong anti-bacterial mouthwash till I drop dead..." "You're lucky that it's your belongings he took and not your life." "Lucky? Ha!" Kytira snorted, immediately regaining her balance and pulled away from him. "All my stuff-" "We'll get it back." "Damn right, we will!!" She shouted, walking at a rather quick pace to avoid Zeng and another argument. "Damn stupid, bastard... " she muttered under her breath. "Kytira?" "WHAT???" She snapped, whirling around to glare at Zeng. He pointed to the left, "We're going that way," he said, trying not to take too much notice of her embarrassment. Kytira clenched her fist, ready to explode again. But strangely enough, she managed to keep her temper under control. That small pang of guilt she had for being horribly rude to Zeng on the train had doubled its size. She knew he was right about her being lucky that he didn't take her life considering that he was known as a murderer as well as some other horrible titles. Plus he hadn't done anything that deserved any of that attitude she had given him. She turned away and laughed. "You must think I'm a complete bitch..." She shook her head, sighing and becoming a bit relaxed. "Listen, I didn't mean to... umm.. you know.... go ballistic and take it out on you back there. Life's.... been a bit stressful lately. Sor--" Zeng shrugged. "Let's just get going," he called over his shoulder as he walked ahead of Kytira. "We're still on a mission. She blinked. "Hey, you know where he went?" she asked, running after him. Zeng nodded confidently. "What are you? Some kind of psychic?" Kytira cut him off before he could speak a word. "You know what... Forget it, forget I even asked. I don't want to know. My life's complicated enough as it is already..." *** [OOG: Pissed as hell, to sadness, to anger, to apologetic... sheesh, keep a mood and try to stick with it for at least 10 minutes. ::snicker::] Da Ly -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Darken, Frightren Date: Thu, 27 Aug 98 21:51:55 (PDT) From: "Red Dragon" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" (oog: In case you don't get the point of the title, It's an anagram of 'Ferna Redknight'. ^_^ See? I DO use them! ) Time: early afternoon (as in, before Rasten got Korinne's autograph) place: sector 1 plate Rasten sat at his booth, drumming his fingers along the painted wood. Not that many people had come to see his 'zany inventions', and alot of those that did asked if he had any materia. Appently somewhere in the maze of booths someone was selling some, though he couldn't see what was so amazing about that. Shinra always had plenty availible. Still he sometimes found himself wanting to find who ever manned that booth and punch him in the face. But of course, scientists never did that sort of thing, so Rasten calmly waited for someone to pay an intrest in the things he had backbreakingly worked over for the past 2 months. Very few had, today. "What's this?" asked a voice behind him. Rasten spun around, ready to explain everything, only to see Ferna there grinning like an idiot. He frowned, annoyed at her tricking him, but still happy to see her nonetheless. "Decided to come for lunch after all?" he asked, now grinning. "I'm not that late" Ferna protested. "It's only... one in the afternoon.." "it's fine." Rasten agreed. He could close the booth at any time, not like it was exactly swarming with costermers now. Ferna fingered one of the machines in front of her. "Where are we going to eat?" She asked. Rasten asnwered the question with a vauge wave in the direction of the rest of the festival. "There's plenty of places to get food today." He said "There's a place not that far from here..." ~*~*~*~*~*~ Ferna absently watched Rasten close up the stall and place a sign saying "closed for today" on the front. Was the feather really what she thought it was? She thought. Was Vixen okay, alone by herself? Should she have left Drake home alone at Rasten's? "...what?" She asked, after Rasten said something. "I asked why are you still in your 'costume'." Rasten repeated, catching up to her and shaking her out of her thoughts. "Oh. Me and Vixen came from that costume party in sector 4. She wanted to go somewhere else, so I went with her." she shrugged. "I guess it would look more nomal to see two people in 'costumes' rather than one." They arrived at the foot court, and Rasten went up and ordered. He placed the steaming food on the table Ferna had chosen far away from evreryone else, hard to do, given the amount of Midgarians (would that be the right word? or Midgari? :-/ ) out today for a good time. "Where is Vixen now?" Rasten asked. "She wanted to stay at the concert over that way." Ferna paused to bite her hotdog. That was another reason Ferna had chosen a spot away from people- seeing someone in a costume eat so realistically might rouse some suspition. "She said she wanted to see the singer... what was her name? Kory?" "Korrine? She's singing here?" Ferna nodded into her drink. "Yeah.. It's been all over the TV and stuff.." "Don't you remember Vixen talk of her? I think after lunch we should go find her." Ferna shook her head. "No... I think I'd rather.. go home. You can find her by yourself." Going home wasn't all she'd do, if she could help it. She had to find out if he was actually around. "I think I've had enough of this festival." Rasten nodded, and the next few minutes they ate in silence. Silence of course, except for the constant buzz of thousands of people having a good time. The Midar musical concert seem to have started again, thoigh it didn't sound like Korrine or that other woman was performing. "So..." Ferna started after a while. Did you find anything out?" 'Anything' was something Ferna had asked Rasten to find out for her sometime in June. Her past was still blotchy, and anything else she knew could be a help to see who she was- or maybe who her brother was. The expression on Rasten's face told her that he did know something. "well..." she prompted. Rasten hesitated, if only for a moment. "I did find some things out. Though the blood test," actually, that was the only thing he had done. " I found that in," he paused, and looked around at the people, and lowered his voice. "in, your, er, present form, your blood mostly resembles dragon's blood, which I suppose I'm only guessing on what it wasn't, because I haven't exactally ever seen a sample of dragon's blood." A represed shudder told Ferna that he he didn'y want to *try* to get some either. "So I couldn't be sure of what species you were um, created from either, thought my guess would be the common dragon." If there was ever such thing, because dragons were an endangered species. He paused, for breath, and to make sure no one else was listening. "...and then the other thing, about- your age." that was something Rasten wanted to find out, because he thought such scientific experiments such as herself were concieved nearly a century ago. Rasten had said it was hard to do such a thing, but he's try anyway. Rasten stopped to look at a paper from his pocket, but Ferna bet that it didn't have anything written on it.. " Like I said, it's hard to get an exact date, but.. I figured that your're somewhere in.. your late-twenties." "WHA... what?!?" Ferna barely kept herself from shouting, but she still stood up. She was unsure of her month or year, maybe, but she was not this young! "Rasten, that can't be right! I'm... " Ferna carefully lowered her voice again. "I'm ninety.. nintey.. ninety what? I can't remember...!" she paused. "...It's true..." Ferna mumbled, sinking into her chair. Rasten looked around for a way to calm her down. "You still live longer than a normal person." he said. "you look ten years younger than you are." Ferna sighed. "yeah, but still...." she shook her head. "It's okay.. I'm okay, Rasten. You go look for Korrine." Rasten agreed, and started to get up. "You sure you want to be by yourself?" he asked. "Yeah, there's something I want to do now, anyway." Something she *had* to do now, more than ever. As Rasten walked off, she pulled the golden brown feather from her pack and looked at it. If she could find the owner of this, maybe she would find out more about herself. After all, if some things she knew weren't real, what was? Unnoticed, her only link to her brother snapped in her hand. (oog: I suppose you would of wanted me to write more, Dizzy, but I didn't feel like it. ~_^ ) -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Choices Date: Fri, 28 Aug 98 23:30:45 (PDT) From: "Jenny L." Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day- July 9 Time- afternoon Place- Sector 1, near the concert site ============= Korrine nodded to Turi, and the two headed towards Vixen and Azeral. Korrine went over to Vixen, and stood by her. Turi started talking to Ramzi, but Korrine wasn't very sure of what he said. She was sort of daydreaming. Vixen and Azeral seemed to catch the conversation, though. "Wow, really?" Vixen turned to Korrine. "What?" Korrine blinked. "Umm, I didn't know about this!" "Sorry, I wasn't listening. Um, yeah, it's true...." Korrine still wasn't sure of what Vixen was asking. She turned to Turi. "Turi? What's going on? Have you made a choice or somethin'?" Turi nodded. "Well, I'm trying to figure out who this guy is." Korrine really felt bad about not listening, because she was a little confused now. "Ok." She remembered that her whole purpose was to figure out what was going on. She tried a little harder to listen. But, she caught a bad time, because Turi stopped talking. She watched as Vixen and Azeral got up. Korrine sighed, and stared at her fishnet design hose before getting up, and following. "Umm, Turi? Exactly what are we doing now? I wasn't listening......" Korrine looked down a bit. "Well, I'm not exactly sure yet. I learned at little more about this guy, but I'm not exactly sure of what to do really......" "Turi, listen, before you do anything, I want to say one thing: Please don't worry about me. I'll be ok no matter what, ok? I promise." Her voice dropped a little lower than usual. "I just don't want anything to happen to you." Turi replied. "Aw, don't worry about it." Korrine shrugged. "So, are you sure you don't know what to do?" She looked around, and saw the rest of the group watching them. But then, Vixen quickly looked away, and Azeral pretended to be looking in the distance. Korrine continued. "Well, please, just don't worry about me so much. Make whatever choices that are best for you. Don't let anything else get in your way." Korrine's voice increased to her normal, sort of high pitched tone. "Well, whatcha doing to do?" Vixen, Azeral, Ramzi, and Korrine all looked at Turi. "Not to make you feel pressured or anything." Vixen added. ======== OOG-OK. Ok, ok, there it is! It's finally Friday, so I got time to write it. ^_^ == Jenny (Korrine) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: The path ro Freedom........ Date: Sat, 29 Aug 98 22:14:20 (PDT) From: Chapman Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day: July 8th Time: Late-Afternoon Place: Sector 1 Turi nodded. He had to consider his opintions. This man, Ramiz, claimed to know how to remove the Amulet in Turi's forehead. The same Amulet that holds Neo. Turi has longed for so long to rid himself of Neo, and to also rid himself of the representation of his past. Neo was an begotten reminder of what Turi had done. " Korrine... It's not that simple. " Turi said. Korrine put her hand on his shoulder. She gave him a ensureing smile. " Turi. Really, I'm flattered, But please,, You've gone through a lot. You don't need people like me to make your choices. " She said. Turi shook his head. " No no. Korrine, It's not like that... Can we talk in private for a minute? " He said. Korrine signed and nodded. Both of them went to a nearby ally. Korrine stood, arms corssed infront of her. She awaited whatever it was Turi said. " Korrine. You don't understand. " " What then Turi? What is it I don't understand? " She asked. Turi lowered his head, and leaned back againest the wall, crossing his arms infront of him. " Korrine... it's just..well. He offer he made me, It was a lot. It really was. But, If I had taken it, It would have risked something that I would never dare chance. " Korrine gave him a puzzleing look. " What Turi? What would you have risked? " She asked. Turi raised his head. he looked straight into her eyes. " You, Korrine. " He said. He continued to explain to her the discussion he had with Ramzi. He also explained to Korrine who Neo was, where he came from, and what Ramzi had said. " He told me that if it failed, it would put your life in danger. Korrine, I can't do that. " Turi admitted. " Why not? Turi, I'm honored that about your concern for me. But Turi, you've gone through a lot. You deserve some kind of a break. " She said. She took his hand, His good hand, into hers. " Turi, I'm willing to risk my life if it will make you happy. What about you? " She asked. Turi looked her in the eyes. " Korrine. Please...... Don't make me choose. I can't do this. " He said. Korrine gave him a sad smile. " Turi, Why not? " She asked, a bit irritated. " Because I love you, what's why! " Turi exclaimed. Turi felt himself grow hot with embrassement. He never expected to blurt out his feelings like that. But now i was too late. What he had said was said. Turi cursed himself. Because of his actions, His friendship with Korrine was now, and would be forever, diffrent. She now knew how deep his feelings were. She knew he had interest in her, but never this deep. Korrine stood, both dumfounded, and shocked. It happened so fast. She knew he liked her, But she never thought he would say something. Turi's hand fell from hers. He lowered his head " Korrine... I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean- " " Turi. It's okay. " She said, holding up a hand. Turi's head looked up. He looked at her, confused. He didn't know what to do. He honestly didn't know. Korrine looked into his eyes. " Turi..... I know. " She said. Turi nodded, and turned away from her. She was at his right now. He slowly took a few steps, before saying, " So that's why. Korrine, I can't risk your life, You mean too much to me. " He said. Turi closed his eyes, and stood there. He waited for her to do something. He didn't know what. Would she walk away from him? Would she laugh in his face? What would she do? Turi's eyes snapped opened when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned into Korrine's aqua gaze. " Turi. Please. I know. I know now, how much I mean to you. But please, for me, do this. " She said. Her right hand rose to his right cheek. She caressed his cheek, gazing into his eyes. Turi looked down, and stepped back. Korrine took her hand back, and tucked it with her other arm. He looked up at her, a serious look in his eyes. " Alright. I feel I would betray you if I refused you. " He said. * * * * * Korrine and Turi found Ramzi talking with Vixen and Azeral. " She's make you proud. " He said, his eyes soft, with a happy gleam in his eyes. Azeral and Vixen looked up at both of them. Both were smiling. " I'm so happy! " Vixen said gleelfully. " She's gonna be a girl. " Azeral announced to the two. Both fo them smiled. " Wonderful. " Turi said. Turi's gaze fell on Ramzi. " Ramzi, I've changed my mind. I..., " He looked over at Korrine, then back at Ramzi, " I accept your offer for help. " Ramzi's eyes changed from happiness to a serious, stone-like look. " Very well, we must leave immediatly, if not sooner. " He said, standing up. Turi's jaw dropped. " Leave..Leave where?! Now!? " Ramzi gave a nod. " If not sooner. " Azeral and Vixen exchanged looks. " Uh..you guys go on ahead. Sarah and I...have some catching up to do. " Azeral said, taking Vixen's hand. < He's changed so much since I first met him. I'm glad he's happy. > Turi thought. He looked back at ramiz, then Korrine. < I hope one day I can find the same happiness.... > He said. " Alright, then I guess we're going. " Korrine said. Ramzi shook his head. " No. " He said. Korrine frowned. " What? Why not? " She asked, placing her fists on her hips. Ramzi turned to face her. " He has to do this alone, Don't worry, He'll be back soon. " He said. Ramzi's eyes gave a hint of a smile. Korrine didn't like it. " Why does he have to do it alone? " She asked. " Because, Outside.........pressure, Must be removed. If you were there, it would....distract him. " He said. Korrine's jaw hung open. " But- " " No but's Ms.Fox. If you want Turi back in one peiece, then you'll have to let me handle him alone. Your being there would makes things much more difficult. " Ramiz said, his tone a bit more harsh this time. Korrine stood there, speechless. She dropped her hands by her hips. " Alright, Fine. But don't be gone for too long. " She said. She gave Turi a reasureing smile. " Now you don't worry about me, I'll be fine, and I'll be waiting. Come back soon. " She said. She leaned forward, and gave Turi a quick kiss on the lips. Turi blinked, speechless. He couldn't say anything, But only wave good bye. Then Ramzi and Turi, left. --------------------------- [OOG: Alright, Turi's off with Ramzi somewhere. I'll post about that. And what about Vixen and Azeral? What's gonne happened between those two? I'll post on that too. Comments, and the like, welcome. Constructive flaming if you must =) ] -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Fairground Journeys Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 03:22:12 (PDT) From: "Threep Meister" Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: OOOoooh, what an INTERESTING title. Az: Nope, I'm fresh out of smart remarks now. Sorry. =) I'm also operating under the assumption that AVALANCHE on mischeif duty such as Trev are splitting up. I lost the last post concerning AVALANCHE, so I'm running on my memory, which isn't all it should be. One more thing. Ha ha. Want a MIDI suggestion for this post? Aeris' Theme. =) I remember way back when when we did that a couple times....] ------------------------------ Time: July 9th, 2000 Place: En Route to day's stations. Trev's feet were leaden as he made his way to the main fairgounds. What little sleep he'd gotten the previous night was fractured by rebelling thoughts and dreams. In one dream he was the man who had gunned down Barret; in another, AVALANCHE had won; beaten Shinra. In yet another, they'd all perished and Shinra had claimed victory. "Weird night." He mumbled to himself. 'Tifa's the Boss now. She's good at what she does. AVALANCHE will go on.' Trev thought. 'But...there was something about Barret that the whole of the world will never forget. Something about him....his dream. I'll never forget.........' His mind drifted back. Three people had sat around a small round table. Trev was one of them, ill at ease, had been in the midst of a heated discussion with the man across from him. Barret Wallace. Rio Yokaze, the ninja, was perched near the windowsill, listening, but with half a mind. "......C4 doesn't cost nothing, you know. How the heck are we supposed to run AVALANCHE if we don't have any money? Barret, you have to think these things out! We can't just go from reactor strike to reactor strike without any money!" Trev said. "Damn it, I don't know where da hell ta get any money! What are we going to do, rob a bank?" Barret responded. "Although I bet we could, the last thing I want on my conscience is....." Someone rapped ont he door. "Identification!" Barret yelled. "Elleen Desiree." Came the reply. Barret sighed and opened the door for her, letting her enter. "I was actually thinking about that too." She said. "I bet you guys don't have enough money for breakfast?" Barret looked away. Trev nodded. "That's right." He admitted. "You guys are going to have to find a way to get some money," she said, "and you can forget about Corporate Sponsors." Trev grinned a bit, but Barret remained unresponsive. "But...as for the real reason I'm here....I want to go home to Sector One today. My parents are probably worried sick. I called them yesterday and they seemed so relieved that I was still alive." "I.....I understand." Barret said. "I get worried sick about Marlene too." "Where did you leave Marlene, by the way?" Trev asked. "With a friend of mine in Sector Five." Barret responded. "I....I...yeah, Trev, we'll think of a way to go get some money. I want to go visit Marlene some time today." Trev nodded slowly. "It's really lonely.....being someone like you....isn't it?" Trev was waiting for AVALANCHE to arrive. They'd be picking up his explosive in a matter of minutes, and then it was off to the next Reactor to strike again. Trev spotted Barret and the others as they disembarked from a train and headed towards him. "Barret." Trev held out the backpack bomb pinched between two fingers, as though he was scared to be holding it. Barret grabbed the pack roughly and slung it over his shoulders. Trev ducked and covered his ears. He slowly stood up straight again. "Okay, Barret, listen up! I've got a couple safety tips for you! Number one..." "'Keep away from heat or open flame.'" Barret intoned. "Number two! Never--" "'Play with the detonators.'" Jessie finished the sentence. "Okay, okay, so you've got my rules memorized. This time there's a third. Never, EVER, shake this backpack, or you may become the first human crater in Midgar." "Gotcha..." Barret said. He nervously glanced the the backpack. Trev glanced at Jairen Quicksilver. "Say, Barret, did you check out this new guy? You know all the trouble we've had with--" "Dammit, don't question my judgement! He's not with the Shinra! He's just like you and I!" Trev put his hands up in a sign of surrender and cringed a little. He watched as the others got back on the train. It's wheels hissed as it accelerated away from the platform. Trev watched until it faded away from vision, and then Trev slunk back into the shadows, minus bomb, minus friends. Trev lifted his head, clearing the sad memories of his leader and friend from his mind. "Trev? You ok?" Jessie's voice broke through his haze as it had before in the past. "Just thinking about Barret." "Yeah. It's really...terrible." "But we can't stop now, Jessie, not after we've gotten this far. We're neck-deep in it, now, and we all know that there ain't no getting off of this train we're on." Trev grinned. The main fairgrounds sprawled out in front of him. People milled about. "What say?......let's rock." They separated and filtered through the crowd, disappearing from each other's sight. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: TOM: The Hostage Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 03:22:13 (PDT) From: KKid1 a aol.com Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" onth 2 Day 9, 6:15 P.M. Outside Sector 3 steel refinery Argoulor's eyes glittered grey in the darkness. Overwhelmed with pride and stasfaction, he could hardly believe what had just happened. He had trapped, beaten, and humiliated a member of SOLDIER. Not only that, but she was first- class, the 'Invinvcible' division of SOLDIER, and he still had time to rob and humiliate the girl, leaving her hanging by her ankle over a vat of boiling steel while she waited for her partner to catch up, but Argoulor wasn't finished yet. Pulling out the hapless SOLDIER's credit card, he searched his memory for the most expensive and high-class hotel within walking distance. 6:45 PM Blue Plate Hotel, Sector 3 Lying on his back on the king-sized bed in a presidential Deluxe Suite, without paying a single gil was immensly satisfying, but Argoulor's silent celebration was soon interupted by the digital ring of a PHS. "Go away," he said to the phone as he put a pillow over his head, but it resumed ringing with electronic regularity and persistance, "Fine, fine, I'm answering, just stop ringing," Argoulor pulled his PHS out of his coat and found it to be silent. "Odd," he thought, "I could have sworn I heard a..." he was cut of by another ring, "The girl had a PHS, maybe its a friend of hers," He smiled wickedly "I could enjoy this," Answering the phone, he asked into the mouthpeice "Hello?" A young, female voice replied, "Kytira? is Kytira there?" Argoulor knew Kytira was the SOLDIER, but he didn't have a clue as to who was on the other end of the phone, "Depends on who's asking," Argoulor said crypticly "Leia Escaler," she replied, "I'm sorta her sister," "ahh, Leia, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you!" "Who are you?" She asked for a moment Argoulor was silent, "Quin," He replied, "Quin Q. Quentin" "Oh, how do you know Kytira anyway?" "Well, I guess I can tell you, Kytira wanted to keep it a secret, but you see, we're lovers." "What! Why didn't she tell me about it?" Leia seemed a bit upset at not being told anything about this though tempted to speak his mind he, knowing he would need a hostage, thought better of it, "Well.... umm... ShinRa was known to keep grudges against SOLDIER members in romantic relationships. Rumor has it that they deny promotions on those grounds, so she wanted to keep this a secret." "Why didn't she say anything to me?" "I don't know really." "Well, can I talk to Kytira?" he asked himself, "Well... you see..." He struggled to find an excuse, "She's not here, she's... In the hospital, in surgery, she was shot while chasing Argoulor Jarstan," with a wicked smile, Argoulor realized he could gloat, "The world's greatest weapons smuggler." "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, "Is she alright?" Argoulor grinned as he spoke with a sense of dread in his voice, "Fifty-fifty at best," "That can't happen! Can I visit her, so I can see once more before she... I mean if she..." her voice was cut off by a sob. "Well... the surgery has just started, so they won't let you in, they're going to call me with results when its finished." The trap was set. "Really?" hope entered her voice "Can I come over to your place and wait with you?" "Alright," Argoulor said then gave her the adress of the hotel and room number. "I'll see you soon," he added "Yeah," she replied with a sigh. -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: Prelude to Honor Guard Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 15:35:04 (PDT) From: Mackinnons Reply-To: "Midgar" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List Midgar" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List Midgar" Place: Soldier HQ, Room 237 Time: 7:30 am Day: 9 After recovering and getting permission to leave the hospital, Janus had received orders to meet with General Cantorek at Soldier HQ. He had arrived about 10 minutes ago, being greeted by an over tired and over worked individual who redirected him to waiting room 237. It has been about 5 minutes with no sign of the general. The room was small, painted white with a miniature Palm Tree in one corner, and grey carpets blanketing the floor. There was a long oak table in the middle of the room, surrounded by a fleet of chairs. Janus had decided to seat himself at the head of the table, near the door. At the far end, where he assumed that Mr. Cantorek will sit, was a file. The urge had come to him many times to look, but he decided he should rather not. Janus, uncomfortable seated, waited patiently for the General. Five minutes passed when he erupted, "Forget this!!" Janus sprung up from his seat and grabbed the file. Opening the file, he realized that it was his. he thought to himself. He began to read, skipping the useless stuff, when he came upon one phrase that shook his world, EXPERIMENT Number... "Wha...what does this mean???" mumbled Janus in a frightened tone. He read one when he reached another word that made him jump back, Hojo. Seeing that name, Janus threw the file back on the table and pressed tightly against the wall. Grabbing his head, Janus began chanting that name over and over again. "hojo...Hojo...HOJO!!!" A man with long black hair appeared in his head, he appeared to be laughing. Not just any laugh, an maniacal laugh, a laugh that caused Janus to drop to his knees. "grrrrrr.." grunted Janus, trying to overcome the horrible feeling that accompanied that name. Quickly shaking it off, Janus's world had changed. He was a creation of Shinra. They had made him. They have given him all that he has. Most people would hate Shinra if it had happened to them, but Janus only realized that he had nothing else, his life was nothing. He felt no more hatred towards Shinra than he did when he entered the room earlier today. Slowly he walked to his seat, again to wait for the General. He dare not mention this incident or Court Marshall would be his punishment. Suddenly without warning, the door swung open, and in the doorway stood a man, who Janus assumed was General Cantorek. "Good, day," greeted the general. "Sorry to keep you wait, but I am very busy." He walk over to the head of the end of the table opposite of Janus. Picking up the file, he began to scan it. "Ohh, how interesting," was all he said as he read. "Okay, it seems that we will be taking a short trip to..." he quickly glanced down at the file,"Briefing room 2328." He looked back up at Janus and smiled, "Your first assignment, must be nervous." "Not really," Janus answered, he wasn't really listening, his mind was thinking of Hojo, and who he was. "Why not, it is a pretty big one too," asked General Cantorek. "I Dunno," was all Janus responded with. "Well, lets get one our way," suggested the General as he arose from his seat and headed to the door. Not knowing the way, Janus followed. -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Oops, Damn Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 20:10:06 (PDT) From: Benjamin Cutler Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: Oops, pretend that this snippet was in my post somewhere.] Time: Past noon, July 9th Place: Beach West of Wutai A young couple with their four year old daugter were taking a walk down the beach. The little girl saw a large white thing flapping in the tides. "Mommy, what's that?" "I don't know, honey. Let's go look," the mother replied. They all walked over to the white cylindricoid [OOG: Making up a word here.] object. The mother reached down and peeled off one of the sheets. Immediately she screamed and the father covered his daughter's eyes. The mother screamed for a good minute before she got a hold of herself. "Honey, come on, we've got to report this," the father said. They dragged the body out of the tide area so it wouldn't wash back out to sea. They stuffed it in a thicket and rolled the sheet up tight. Then they drove back to Wutai and brought some authorities back to the spot. When they took the body in, they conducted some tests that showed that it was Ariana Shinra. The chief called Midgar to report it. [OOG: Ok, now I'm finished.] -- Benjamin Cutler Racercks Productions chrystis a ibm.net Owner/Head Programmer http://surf.to/rproductions/ AIM: DeFlama ICQ: #15277841 "The ones who think they know it all are very annoying to those of us that do." - Unknown -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Somewhere more familiar Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 20:10:06 (PDT) From: "Jenny L." Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" Day- July 9th 2000 Time-late afternoon Place- Sector 1 ==================== OOG- I got my title for this post from the cd 'Sister Hazel: Somewhere more familiar'. I don't care for the cd that much, but I remembered the title. ^_^ ===================== Korrine watched Turi and Ramzi leave. She just stood there for a minute, but then took a step back, and looked around her. There weren't as many people around now, since it was late afternoon at the festival. It was almost over. Korrine blinked, and turned around where Azeral and Vixen had been. But they had already gone, so Korrine was all alone. Korrine looked back towards where Turi and Ramzi had gone. Of course, they were long gone too. At first, Korrine wasn't sure what to do. This was the first time she had been left alone in the big city, and she felt like a lost little girl. She thought, Korrine sighed with relief, now that she knew where to go. On her way to a group of stands, she ran into a couple of kids. "Wow, Korrine Fox?" A boy who looked about 13 exclaimed. Korrine smiled sweetly. "In the flesh." The other two boys who were with him (all about the same age) looked amazed. "Cool, um, I like your songs!" One of the boys said. The other two just examined her body. Korrine kept on smiling and nodding, even though it made her uncomfortable when people stared at her body. Finally, after a few more compliments, the boys left. Korrine sighed with relief, and went on towards the stands. As she arrived, she saw about four different stands close together. One was a jewelry stand, one was a healing item stand, one was a candy stand, and one was a news stand. Korrine went over to the news stand. She came up to the person managing it. "Hi, I'd like to buy a copy of today's paper, please." Korrine said. "Ok, that'll be 80 gil." The guy at the stand said. Korrine went through her purse for the gil, and handed it over. She took the paper, and sat down on a nearby bench to read it. The front page article was about the festival, and Korrine singing. She turned to the second part of the paper. One article about a death in Costa De Sol caught her eye. Since it was in another city, there was only a small sentance mentioning it, but to Korrine, it seemed huge. It read 'Teenager in Costa De Sol found dead'. Korrine blinked, and read on about what had happened, and who the person was. The name said simply 'Ty Star'. As soon as she found out who it was, she threw down the paper. "No! This can't be!" Korrine said out loud, and started to cry. She had never felt so alone and upset in her life. The only person she had now, was Turi. ======== OOG- OK, I don't know if I did the newspaper thing right, but I had to have Korrine find out that Ty died somehow. To quote a Paula Cole song: "I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over...." I didn't want to wait forever. BTW, anyone can interact with me that wants to. If you're in the area, and aren't doing anything that important, go ahead. *wink wink* *nudge nudge* Just remember, Korrine's in Sector one, and you'll find her crying. == Jenny (Korrine) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========-------- Subject: ToM: Anger Control (Cid) Date: Sun, 30 Aug 98 20:10:07 (PDT) From: Benjamin Cutler Reply-To: "MIDGAR" To: "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" , "Multiple Recipients of Mailing List MIDGAR" [OOG: <>: Since Cid gets mad, he'll swear of course. A bit of violence too. And I asked Arcana about this, of course. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't ok.] Time: June 27th, 2000, 10pm Place: South of Wutai, Marauders Cave, About a Day's Walk South of Wutai Ariana was tied to a chair, and Cid was stuck with guard duty. He hated guarding this bitch, she couldn't go a minute without insulting him. He wished he could find a gag that she couldn't work out of. He'd even tried a rock, which probably broke a couple of her teeth. He even slapped her and nothing happened. It actually made it worse. And of course now was no different. "How old are you anyway?" Cid yelled, "None of your fucking business!" "Let me guess. 80?" "Shut the hell up!!!" "You're mothers so old her social security number is 1!" [OOG: Arcana said SS numbers are ok, too.] "What the fuck is your problem, bitch?" "And she's so fat when she wears high heels she strikes Mako!" "You'd better be quiet unless you want to lose something valuable!" [OOG: Like more teeth. Stop thinking like that.] "Why were you up so late last night? I know you tried to touch me while I was asleep!" If it had been at all possible, steam that would melt metal would have been coming out of Cid's ears. "What's the name of that girl you've got a picture of in your pocket? Isn't it...", and then with a mocking tone of voice, "<>?" Cid was teetering on the edge of insanity here with all these insults... and then she has to touch Shera. "What if I told you, I told her to screw up so you couldn't go into space? After all, I'm a Shinra Family Member!" Cid didn't even hear her say, "And don't you know cigarettes can kill you, gimp?" He'd been poked too much. He lost all rational thought. He brought his spear up and aimed it right at her face. "That's right, GIMP! G-I-M-P! I've seen you run!!" Cid yelled and charged. When Ariana realized what was happening she let out an unearthly scream, and even that was cut short when Cid's spear punctured her face. Once that was done, Cid came back into reality. When he realized what he just did, he started whispering, "Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! I'm in such big trouble now..." The Marauders had wanted her alive. After thinking about it for a second, he did the only thing that came to him. He ran. Pheya [OOG: The fire EA.] had heard the scream and came to investigate. Just before she turned the corner she yelled, "Cid? Is she bothering you aga..." Her sentence was cut short when she stepped into the chamber. Cid was not there, but what worried Pheya was that Ariana, their hostage, had a hole through to the back of her head. An extremely large puddle of blood was on the ground, with bloody footprints left behind. They matched Cid's shoes. [OOG: Or whatever he wears, I can't remember.] Pheya yelled for all the other members, [OOG: Whoever they are, I can't remember this either. Pretend they all showed up.] and they came running. After they all took in what had happened, they all hauled ass for the entrance. With luck, they thought, they would be able to catch him. Cid had grabbed the fastest Chocobo they had and was heading for Wutai. It just happened to be Atomic. Luca was out first and shot the biggest ice ball he could at Cid. It missed Cid, but hit the chocobo. "Dammit, Luca! That was mine!" yelled Pheya, punching Luca hard. Cid, meanwhile, had gone hard to the ground. He wasn't very badly hurt, but Atomic wouldn't live without medical attention. Cid couldn't care about that right now. He was very close to a hiding place he knew about, and he headed straight for it. The Marauders didn't see where he went, and they thought he had gone on. They chased after him. They went right past him. Cid decided he'd better wait until morning before heading for Wutai. So he fell asleep. =-=-=-= Time: June 28th, 2000 (actually my real birthday, cept in '82), 7am Place: Mountains South of Wutai Cid yawned and streched, and then remembered where he was and what he needed to do. He quickly got up and looked outside. Apparently the Marauders had given up looking for him. He started heading for Wutai. =-=-= Time: 9am, same day Place: Beach west of cave The Marauders couldn't get Ariana back alive, not in this condition. Maybe with the legendary Phoenix, but not just Restore materia. So they did what made the most sense. They wrapped her in a sheet, took her out in a boat, and dumped her body in the ocean. Atomic had survived, but would be out of it for days. =-=-= Time: 8pm, Same day Place: Wutai Cid walked up to the local travel office, and asked the clerk, "Excuse me, when's the next boat to Midgar?" "It's leaving in about 30 minutes, sir. Do you need a ticket?" "Yes, one-way. And I want a private room. I don't want to share." "That'll be 800 gil." Cid fished around in his pocket to come up with the change. He exchanged it for the ticket and headed for the docks. [OOG: I'm making stuff up here, and I assume that Wutai has a boat dock, after all, it's a tourist resort now.] Cid walked onto the ship, waving goodbye to the Wutai continent. Now that he was no longer part of the Marauders, there was no way that he would ever get into space now. Unless he could find somebody in Midgar. Cid went down into his designated cabin, only to find out that he'd been sold a cabin with somebody already in it. Cid grumbled once he realized that he'd have to share a room. That meant he'd have to put up with whoever else was in here. At least they had seperate beds. =-=-=-= Time: 1pm, July 5th Place: Midgar Docks [OOG: They must have some docks out somewhere. They probably have a chocobo stable or something so you can get to Midgar.] Cid got out of the ship, after spending a week of hell with somebody who had chronic body odor. He could see Midgar on the horizon. As part of the ticket he got a rented chocobo he could ride to Midgar. For more he could have had a private chocobo wagon, but he didn't feel like it right now. The chocobo galloped away towards Midgar... [OOG: Ok, Cid's now in Midgar, for anybody who wants him. He has no plans at the moment, so he's open for anybody's group, but Arcana told me he probably WON'T join AVA, just so you know... And yes, Arcana said I can do this so don't get mad. I just hope Maxime doesn't decide to come back...] -- Benjamin Cutler Racercks Productions chrystis a ibm.net Owner/Head Programmer http://surf.to/rproductions/ AIM: DeFlama ICQ: #15277841 "The ones who think they know it all are very annoying to those of us that do." - Unknown -------=========================+++++=========================------- This note comes from: The MultiVersal Dreams BBS @ (209) 754-5851 ----======= WWIV 4.24a via the PPP Project Software =======---- --------=========+++=========--------