Luculent Reveries

*Raven gets out and observes his surroundings.*

Raven: <I... don't feel safe here for some reason...>

"I seem to manage."

*Euryale materializes her Keyblade, slinging it over her shoulder.*
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T"What is Machina?"

*Thiera begins walking through the jungle, back towards the beach.*
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*When they're in the desert, they see another pair walking nearby. One is a blond-haired woman with green armor & a white cape, the other is a middle-aged man with tied-back black hair, & a fu mancho. She has a longsword at her side, he a katana.*

N"Why do we always end up being dragged into someone else's problems?"

Clegus: <A mermaid with a Keyblade?>

*The black ink touches Clegus and it turns into a black dolphin-like creature with thin sharp teeth that ressemble needles. It has thick short bat-like wings instead of pectoral fins, two on each side, and its glowing red eyes. There's an image of the Sun on its forehead, with the Dreameater glyph at its center*

Clegus: <What the...!>

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*She walks with Thiera*

Allina: <Machina are machines. There used to be a large city her, with advanced technology, but...>

"'Cause that's what heroes are for?"

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"Yeah... I imagine you're from here. And why are you surprised about someone else having a Keyblade? It seems everyone has one."

*Euryale darts down to the ground & shoots back up, swinging her Keyblade at the Dreameater's stomach.*
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T"So, what happened?"

*At the beach, they head through a small canyon to a village with a large, shell-like structure.*
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N"We aren't heroes."

*The man taps the woman on the shoulder & points to them. The pair heads to meet them, resting their hands on their swords.*

Woman<Who are you? What have you come here for?>

Allina: <Sin happened.>

[Besaid... this is where I was headed to.. before it happened.]

*She materializes her Keyblade and stares at it as she walks into the village*

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*The Sunset Torpedo screeches and bites at Euryale's head. Clegus holds his Keyblade out and a sphere of grey smoke emerges from its tip, dissipating immediately after*

Clegus: <Oh, right.>

"Whatever you say."

*Taiyo looks at the two.*

"Umm, we don't know?"

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*Mimiru flaps towards the Dreameater, slashing at it.*

Woman<You aren't associated with Kefka, are you?>

N"Who?"

*Taiyo remembers the psychotic clown who jeered at her at Disney Castle while the Horned King was assaulting her.*
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*Euryale blocks & darts down towards the sea floor.*
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???<Sin is no more.>

*At the entrance to the village, they see a middle-aged man with a long red coat. His left sleeve is empty, his right arm slinging an oversized katana over his shoulder.*

*She turns around and stares at him*

Allina: <And who would you be?>

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*The Sun on its forehead releases a very bright flash, blinding them momentarily, and it rockets down the tunnel, out of the cave, screeching. As they are exiting it, they bump into another guy with a Keyblade*

Clegus: <Your friend?>

"No no no no."

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*Mimiru stops swimming, crashing into the new guy.*

???<Hm. First time getting that reaction. Just call me Auron.>

"So, who--or what--is this Sin?"

*Auron nods towards a giant, disembodied fin laying against the wall.*

Auron<One of the few remains of the monster who terrorized Spira for a thousand years.>
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*The pair look at each other in confusion.*

"Taiyo, do you know something I don't?"
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"That's the guy the King took in. I still don't know him very well, though. Should we...should we chase after it...?"

"There's a lot I know that you do not. Like how to please a woman for example. And that we're not associated with that demented clown. That's who Kefka is, right?"

*She stares at it, astonished, but a sad look quickly spreads across her face*

Allina: <Even Sin... the Dreameaters... Wait.>

*She tries to see though his glasses*

Allina: <Auron? Sir Auron!?>

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*Suddendly, the ground shakes violently and cracks up and a large amount of black mist starts flowing out of the ridge. They start feeling lightheaded and extremely sleepy*

Clegus: <That's Drea-->

*Clee closes his eyes and falls asleep, his body very slowly starting to sink towards the ridge*

*Euryale swims after him, fighting to stay awake.*
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Auron<Yes. It's me. And the Dreameaters are not responsible. Not entirely.>

"Then who?"

Auron<A man with silver hair, a black coat, & a long sword. He called himself Sephiroth. He showed up & slaughtered Sin. Then he came here & slaughtered the priesthood. He said he was going to Bevelle.>

"Then we have to stop him!"

Auron<Not yet. This is the man who killed Sin. If we rush this, we'll lose everything. We have to plan carefully.>
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"Oh yeah, Mimiru looks so pleased when you're hanging off of her all of the time."

*The man scowls.*

Man<Kefka, that honorless dog. First he slaughters our homes, then he constructs this...this accursed heap of trash by destroying our world & others.>

N"Wait...you're saying a CLOWN did all of THAT?"

"I hate... this place..."

*Mimiru falls asleep sinking to the bottom.*

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"Clowns are scary... Which is kinda redundant."

Allina: <If you'll excuse me, there's something I need to do... at the temple.>

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*A giant grey tentacle breaks out of the ridge and grabs Mimiru. The ink keeps spreading about and the whole area starts becoming darker and darker*

???: <Euryale!>

"You guys are losers."

*Nero starts to walk forward, but the man steps in front of him.*

Man<Hold there, young sir! Thou still hast yet to explain yourselves!>

"What?"

Woman<He means who you are & why you're here.>

*He points to Taiyo, then to himself.*

N"Taiyo. Nero. I guess we came to kill a clown. You?"

Woman<The very same. Forgive the interrogation. My name is Celes, & this is Cyan.>
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"Help me rescue him! Or get King Triton! I've never had to face a Dreameater this big!"
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Auron<Come.>

*Thiera looks from Allina to Auron. Shrugging, she follows Auron into the town.*

"Nice to meet you, I guess."

*Mimiru and Clegus wake up lying on the floor of a cavern of sorts. It is a small, cylindrical chamber full of shelves with various nick-nacks that fell off of ships and the statue of a man at the center. this mermaid i staring at them, and Euryale is also there.*

???: <Oh, hello.>

Clegus: <...I feel like I was hit by a ... very big Dreameater.>

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*Allina walks into the temple*

OOC: It's as though he thinks I'm going to do anything with the temple.

*Auron enters a medical tent. He grabs a young man who was just getting up, thrusting him towards Thiera.*

Auron<He comes too.>

Tidus<Wha...? Who is she? Were are we going? Why?>

"I'm Thiera."

Auron<We are going to stop Sephiroth.>

*Another young man with a longbow over his chest leaps up from a bed, rushing towards them.*

???<I want to go, too! Please, I'll not be any trouble!>
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N"So how do we get in there?"

Celes<We've been through this region many times, & we know of only one way into the tower. Fortunately, it's just beyond this stretch of desert. Unfortunately, we can find no way to unlock the door."

N"I think we'll manage."

*As they head through the desert, a thick mist obscures their vision.*

"Where are we and how did we get here?"

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"Not another monster."

"Ariel & I dragged you here while you were unconscious. We lost the other guy in the confusion, & as far as we know, that monster is still out there somewhere."
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"We might be able to avoid a fight if we go through the mountains. On the other hand, there's 4 of us & we're all heavily armed, so we'd probably be able to handle any Dreameater that emerged."
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Auron<Why do you want to come?>

???<What would you have me do? Stand back & watch as darkness overtakes this world? I would never turn my back on a people beset!>

Auron<"It's the right thing to do," huh? Fine. You may join us as a Guardian.>

???<I thank you. If I heard correctly, you are...Tidus, Auron, & Thiera. It is truly a pleasure to meet all of you. You may call me Ramza.>

"You dragged us to a..."

*She looks around a bit.*

"A stoarge room?"

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"And this is when some big mean monster that almost kills us appears."

*Allina enters the temple and goes through the Cloyster of Trials. Soon enough, she is at the Chamber of the Fayth*

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Clegus: <Sure looks like it.>

Ariel: <This is my grotto. I'm Ariel, and I see you've met my friend Euryale.>

Clegus: <Um, thanks. Clee, nice to meet you. The weirdo's Mimi.>

Ariel: <Oh, nice to meet you Clee and Mimi!>

Clegus: <So... why all the junk?>

*He swims upwards, circling about, staring at the variety of objects placed carefully on the shelves.*

Ariel: <These are treasures from another world!>

*Because they stayed in the desert, the mist drifted over to Taiyo, all of it reforming into a large, flat, wormlike beast. About 24 feet long, it slithers along the ground towards them.*
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"My friend & I can get us to Bevelle in a hurry, but what are we going to do when we get there?"

Auron<Every Fiend has a weakness. Sephiroth is no exception>

Ramza<His ego.>

*The trio turns to Ramza, who looks at the ground near his feet.*

Ramza<I...have some aquaintances who are after his mold.>
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*Euryale looks out of the cave to see if the Dreameater is close by.*