"Good question." Palom pushed an errant bit of his hair behind his ear, "Nightmares?"

Rydia was still dozing, stretched out on one of the church benches with her right arm dangling over the edge and resting on the floor.

"It sure was a long and quiet night. I allmost fell asleep" Cecil said as he came walking into the church, "Did she have a nightmare? Or did something happen?" Cecil asked a little worried.
Edit: Terribly sorry about forgeting the " marks :o

"I... I'm all right." She did a fake smile. "It was only a bad dream... but it felt so real." Tifa held herslef to keep her mind together. "Eveeryone was in it and... I can't say." Her speech was shakey.

OOC: Omnishadow, you're starting to forget to put quotation marks. It's making your posts hard for the rest of us to read.

IC: "Tifa...tell us about it. Sharing your worries with friends makes them go away faster, after all." the mage smiled, sitting on the bench.

"Hmm... Yeah whatever, if you dont want to talk about it then its fine. But dreams can sometime have warnings in them." Cecil said after thinking about the little he got to hear."I will go and check up on Celes. Hope she did not fall asleep." Cecil said as he walked through the back door/opening. (Whatever!)
OOC: Sorry about that DB, I really am. If I missed something else just tell me.

OOC: It's alright, just remember that you don't have to rush on your posts. It's a fairly common, yet easy to fix, mistake.

IC: Palom nodded, "During sleep, the mind is especially receptive...this dream could mean something, or it might just be a nightmare. Either way, it's your dream, you decide who to talk to about it." shrugging, he went to go find and awaken Rydia.

Celes looked beat, but awake. Noticing Cecil coming up, she said "I'll be right down." and hopped down, landing next to the rocket poking through the side. "Had some minor trouble with these red things, but they were nothing." With a bit of a yawn, she said "Almost time for sleep, I guess."

"There were monsters up here?" Cecil said surprised. "Ah... well, the others waiting." He said and went back through the opening.

She fell to pieces, "Oh, Cloud!" She held him and huge tears streamed down her cheeks. "There was a huge monster and everyone...they were... Promise me that we won't go to the crater, ((forgot the name)). Promise me!"

((eh, i did this cause it was getting boring.))

OOC: Do you mean the northern crater? Hope we get there! ^_^

IC: Cecil came through the opening and saw Tifa crying in Clouds arms so he guessed she had told him about her nightmare. He did not want to interupt so he did not say anything and just stood by the wall and checked his equipment.

OOC: yea that's it, the Northern Crater.

OOC: *applause in background, nearly interrupting the romantic-FMV music*

IC: Palom walked over to Rydia, shaking her, "Hey, summoner, wake up!"

She looked up at Cloud. "Oh, Cloud..." Tifa stopped crying and held him tightly. "I never want to see that again." Tifa was holding Cloud as if he was going to fade away if she were to let go.

Rydia woke up normally, and looked at Palom. "Mmmm, that was a pleasant rest. Wait, where are we?" Rydia stood up by herself and looked around the church. She sighed. "Well, so much for hoping it was all a dream." She said with a hint of sorrow in her voice. She didn't feel like breaking up tender moments, but if anyone knew anything about this world at all, it'd be the two lovers clutching each other. Rydia patted Cloud on his right shoulder. "I apologize for ruining the moment, but Lord Bahamut reminded me in my dreams to pursue the evil. Well, it wasn't all he said, but it was the gist of it. Do we have any idea where we can find this evil, or at least a place where clues could be? Someone strongly connected to this world, who knows the breath of life here or somewhere might really be a help."

"This whole thing is pretty ironic, y'know...years of bossing around Summons, and now they do the same to you." Palom grinned, though his eyes were thoughtful, "Of course...I never knew much about the nature of the Summons, ancient beings that lend us power when needed. Why do they answer your calls in the first place? Are they bound to, or does it merely serve their own ends?"

"Half a world? That sounds like quite a trip. I'm ready to make it myself, but I think a concensus should arise before that. Why do something that everyone else wouldn't like?" Rydia said after some thought, and then neared the doors to the church, one of them just hanging from its rusty hinges.

"Summons possess personalities like humans, and I sometimes think that they may have been human in some day and age. This means that motivation can come in just about any form, like greed...recognition...duty...maybe even out of sexual urges, but I think a summoner like me must earn their trust to be able to use them. A bond of trust between a summoner and those that she summons is something only a very limited number of people could possibly have. I'm not sure why. Maybe there's a sixth sense to understanding the feelings of the summoned monsters and earning their trust. However, the technology of this world may have bridged gaps that people are simply unable to cross in our time, Palom, given the nature of these Summon Materia. It's not like I can do anything about it, but I wonder how the monsters in the materia feel?"

Tifa stopped her fit and regained her composure. "Cloud, we could call Cid. It would makes things much easier if we use his airship." She then looked at Rydia. "As for the Summons in the materia, I never really thought of them having feelings. I thought they were just very powerful energies that manifested themselves into what we see when we summon them."

"If that was true, Tifa, then why would Bahamut appear as a dragon instead of just his Mega Flare attack? It doesn't make sense. I doubt the Summons actually exist inside the Materia, but are called by it. When not summoned, they stay in their own realm, doing whatever Summons do on their offtime." he shrugged.

"I think they might have been all mortal at some point or another...but not necessarily always human, and some are just spirits...perhaps the descendants of these former humans? As for their motives, I could have sworn some of those Sylphs were checking me out..."

OOC: Parts of the airship was destroyed right? (Emergency lever)

IC: "Airship? You got those here as well?" Cecil said with a surprised look on his face. "Well I guess its not too strange that they have managed to build those with all the technology around here..." He added after thinking about it a little.

"Of course they do! Cid is great with airships!" he stopped suddenly, "Wait a second...how did he get to your world? Is this Cid a man with a helmet and a big brown beard?"

"What I wouldn't give for us to have the Red Wings here." Rydia suddenly complained. "Military might, air superiority, and shorter travel times. And given what we're up against, we could probably use every last bit of all three advantages."

"This Cid sounds like a good idea. We have someone called Cid who's a mechanic in our world, too, and if your Cid is as good at his job is ours was at his..." Rydia left the statement hanging, allowing the others time to dwell on the idea.

(OOC) Oh no, you're not getting out of this one so easly......

No answer came from Cid. Celes looked a little lost in thought, all this talk of Cids made her think about her Cid, "Grandfather.." She whispered, mostly to herself.

OOC: I'm kinda toying with the idea of Palom becoming evil, any thoughts?

IC: Palom overheard her remark, "...Don't tell me you know a Cid, too? What, is there some interworldly Brotherhood of Cids or something?" he grumbled, slightly annoyed by the recent events. This...was absolutely nothing like he had pictured it.

OOC: What about both Palom and Cecil becoming evil? I for one like that idea ;)
IC: "This Zolom should not be too hard for us to beat togheter." Cecil said to Cloud. "We have many strong heroes here, Palom for example. His black magic were strong when he was a child but now he has improved much. And Rydia, a born caller and black magic user. And Celes, I do not know much about her but im sure she is strong as well. And then we have you two, you who can wield that massive blade must be very strong." Cecil said.
OOC: Note that he does not mention himself. He does not have faith in his own power.

OOC: "If anybody is the least capable of being corrupted by evil, it's Cecil. His class of Paladin says it all. Also, Cecil was mostly unconfident at the very beginning of the game when he was a Dark Knight. But he's your character. I'm just saying this if you want to play him like he is in the game."

Also, I was wondering if Rydia might gain a Holy Summon to match the Alexander summon the latter Final Fantasies had. I was thinking having Aeris as a summon would be cool! Or Aerith...they're both the same. Getting it at the church sounds too easy so...maybe we could make a trip to the City of the Ancients, possibly? I'll find a reason if we desperately need one.

IC: Rydia reached into her inner pocket and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves, other clothing she had taken from the abandoned shop. "Well, since we have an idea of what to do next, we should act on it. Which way do we go to get to Secter Two?"

Rydia looked uncertain as Cloud explained how they might reach Sector Two. "Hmmm...it sounds like some dangerous traveling, not to mention that I never really spent my time climbing things. But if it's truely a mess of metal, then perhaps there should be plenty of ways...easy ways, hopefully, the scale it."

OOC: Omnishadow, while Cecil is your character, I'm just going to remind you why Cecil became a Paladin in the first place. He's good, pure-souled. That's what being a Paladin is all about. As for faith in his own power...he got it ON with Rosa, beat Zeromus, saved his buddy Kain from the depths of darkness (sort of...a lot of stories have Kain coming back as a villain later, including mine).

If AB gets an Aeris summon, I want Meteor. Ultimate Black Magic, Ultimate Summon. Actually, getting Ultima would suit me too. :p

IC: "It sounds like an easy trip...for those of us with the necessary physical strength. Cloud, Tifa, and Cecil shouldn't have too much trouble...but Rydia and I will be utterly screwed over if it requires too much climbing, or anything carnivorous inhabits the ruin."

Rydia shrugged. "What part of 'easy way to scale it' didn't you pay attention to? I'm sure it's not such a steep climb in some areas. And besides, you said Wall Market, right? I think we might be able to get some information or find some useful items. I'll go on ahead and get a look at this scrap heap that we have to climb. It will give me time to find a route to climb up by the time you arrive."

Not waiting for Cloud's responce, Rydia checked to make sure she had her whip and hurried outside.

OOC: Exactly, Cloud. Of course, it's FC's choice...not yours, but she already said "No ultimate summons or spells at the beginning!"

I was just being sarcastic, really.

Yes, Palom gets annoyed easily. He's one of those people with low tolerance for "stupidity"...that, and he thinks everyone is stupid. He isn't being as rude as he was as a little kid, but he's grown a bit more arrogant. Inside, though, he doubts his own power and goodness...his entire usefulness as a member of the group.

IC: "Rails...and it wasn't mentioned before!?" Palom clapped his hands over his face, "Is there anything else?"

Overhearing Rydia's comment, he stuck out his tongue at her departing back, restraining an instinctive urge to hurl insults after it.

"Will anyone still BE in this Wall Market, and can you think of nothing but looting!?" he called after her, "If you find something, try to bring back something more useful than just CLOTHES!"

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Moron..."

"Thanks, Cecil. You did a pretty good job of kicking Zeromus' ass, you and Rydia might even be able to take the Zolom by yourself."

OOC: Well... I meant that he has not been any usefull in this rp and he only has his sword and basic healing, as a dark knight he had awesome powers (FFIV intro scene) He believes he is inferior to the rest, like Cloud who can both wield a sword thats as big as himself and use magic. But I guess we will leave this till later. Sorry if I did not say it clearly.

IC: "I might be able to hold it of until Rydia used her summons but I would not be able to beat it. Not if it is as Cloud described it. Your magic would easily beat me, and I would never have been able to beat Zeromus without Rydia, Kain, Rosa,". ((Dont remember the rest, sorry)). Cecil said to Palom.

OOC: I never meant that Cecil would just *Poff* "Oh! Look, Cecil is evil!" I meant that if something VERY unlikely happened he would turn back to becoming a dark knight to be able to use those powers. ((drain good)) :p

OOC (to Omnishadow): "Are you talking about the Firestorm and the Litbomb attacks used against the monsters on the airship? Those weren't Dark Knight spells. They were items. I know because I actually earned some Litbombs during some leveling on the moon, I think. I'm not sure if I really got them there. It's been years."

"Dark Knight Cecil and Paladin Cecil were actually pretty balanced. With the Black sword, Cecil was capable of KOin' powerful enemies like the Rocs near Mount Ordeals, but was woefully incapable of fighting against zombies. I found Paladin Cecil to be even more useful."

OOC (to Cloud Strife): "I didn't want Aeris to be a god spell. Merely one with a Holy Attribute. If you don't wanna give her to me, then that's cool."

IC: Rydia found the terrain rough going enough as she was traveling between Sectors Five and Six. She had to climb up a destroyed crane and walk along the arm of it to reach a rise in the land she needed to get over. It was certainly dangerous, and this made Rydia melancholy. "His Majesty Edge wouldn't have had any trouble doing this stuff. His physique was made for this." She complained, scrambling up on the plateau. She didn't look too surprised to see a playground amongst the ruins of machinery and rusted heaps of metal throughout this deserted landscape. Already, she could hear the sounds of what she guessed was Wall Market. She didn't think it'd be so close. "If they said Wall Market last, then I should be able to see the base of the scrap heap from there." Then she turned towards the gate to Sector 7. "Nevermind, I can see it from the playground."

It was a monument to an apocalypse. That place must have been hit HARD. And saying hard like that was still quite an understatement. Rydia was so stunned by the look of all that scrap that she didn't notice the visitor. "Come here, often?" The young man said. Rydia thought he sounded like a nice enough guy. "Not really." She said. The young man nodded. "I figured as much. I've never seen you around these parts. Well, I won't ask why, but it looks like you want to climb up and over that heap of metal there."

Rydia wondered if she should trust the man, and decided that she could at least listen to what he said. "I might be. Do you know how I can do it?" She asked. The man looked her up and down. "Well, you sure don't look the type to scramble over the rough stuff, but I know an easy path. Thing is, it's gonna cost you." Rydia frowned. "Cost me for what? So that you will show it to me?"

The man shook his head. "No, for the batteries I got. The batteries will make some of the machines in the heap function, which usually makes your trek over this pile of rusted crap a lot easier. But I can't give them away for free, though. A guy like me has to make a profit of some kind." Rydia brightened up, until the problem arose suddenly. "I don't have any money, though." She said, shrugging helplessly. The man already had an answer to her query. "Well, Wall Market is right this way, ma'am, and opportunities to earn some gil are easy enough to come by. Feel free to choose how you wanna go about this. I'm just leaving some answers to your problems on the table for you, should you wanna take 'em."

And after that short conversation, the man began foraging for scrap. Rydia assumed that this was how he came by his batteries in the first place. So she needed batteries to make the machines function for her. Like an engine makes an airship fly. Rydia understood that easily enough. Deciding that she still had time before the others came here to find her, Rydia hurried to Wall Market. Earning some money of this world's currency would ensure that she'd get over this heap and maybe purchase a good meal. She hadn't eaten anything since early afternoon, yesterday, and all she had since then was water to drink.

OOC: Actually, a sword-only duel between Cloud and Cecil would be fairly even. Remember, we agreed all of the characters were balanced...the more magic Cloud knows, the weaker his other skills are.

Hey, do you think we could have a scene where Palom saves Rydia from getting roughed up?

IC: "Bah...Cecil, by the time I cast a spell, I'd have a sword through one of my vital organs." Palom laughed, seeming genuinely pleased by the compliment, "It's pretty rough out there, it seems...survivor towns tend to be, from what I hear. Rydia's very pretty, and she might get hurt if someone takes her by surprise. She'll be safer with an escort."

A spring in his step, the Black Wizard left the building, following the direction Rydia had taken. He climbed the crane with a bit more ease, scrambling up it like a monkey in red-black-and-green robes.

OOC: Damn... Hoped they were dark knight spells. Lets just forget about that crap for now.

IC: "Heh, I dont know about that." Cecil said to Palom, "Hey! Wait up! We need to stay togheter!" Cecil shouted after Palom and started running after him.

OOC: Did FFIV have any Invisibility-type spells for Black Magic? I'd check a website, but the school blocked all of them.

IC: "Bah, she can go off on her own, but let the unproven mage do anything? Noooooo!" Palom managed to duck into a side alley, avoiding Cloud, Tifa, and Ceccil...surreptitiously continuing his search for Rydia.

OOC: "I think there was a spell that granted invisibility, but it was a White Mage spell. Edge had a self-invisibility spell which was one of his ninja powers."

IC: Rydia searched Wall Market loosely and quickly. A pharmacist house where you can buy digestive medicine, a clothing store like the one Rydia had been to that specialized for cross-dressing men, some kind of wrestling guild, a place decorated with neon lights shaped like the cross between a girl and a bumblebee, a large bar and a small bar (to which Rydia assumed were competitors), and finally, the entrance to a place called Don Denario's mansion. Well, it wasn't all that there was to see, but it was the gist of it. Rydia figured that in some way, each one of these places had the potential to earn her some of the local currency, which someone offensively informed her was called "gil", and if she wanted to make a sizeable bundle, she should try everything. But there wasn't enough time to do everything, exactly. She had to pick the most lucrative business proposition there could be, and when she asked around, Don Denario got far more mentions than any of the other businesses. "He doesn't sound like the kind of guy I would want to meet, but I don't have a choice. Without money, I can't buy the junk merchant's batteries, and without batteries, I can't scale the easiest path possible up the junk heap. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you just gotta do." She said to herself more to build up her courage than anything else. Setting Don Denario's mansion in her sight, she moved.

OOC: Magey hat time!

AB, did you just say that Rydia found another clothing store that specialized in cross-dressing men, LIKE the one she had gone to before? :p

IC: Palom stopped at a market stall after successfully giving Cloud and the others the slip.

He had found a long, dark coat that effectively hid his robes, bought a pair of sunglasses, and was now looking at a traditional item of his profession, one that he had seen only in old books.

At one time, long ago, White and Black mages had worn distinct 'uniforms' to show their allegiance. White Mages had preferred more clerical garb, white robes often trimmed in red, or red-and-yellow. Due to the negative connotations once associated with their destructive profession, Black Mages had chosen heavier robes, with face-concealing hats. It such a hat that Palom was now buying. Wide-brimmed, with a pointy top, it seemed to speak of older, simpler times. His face a dark, featureless shadow, the glasses reflecting only the light, his body shrouded in the dark coat, Palom found he enjoyed looking the part of a mysterious and powerful warlock.

He grinned, spotting a head of emerald hair bobbing eagerly through the crowd, looking at everything with all the wonder and naivete of a newcomer. Even though it was harder to locate Rydia now that she was no longer wearing her revealing, light, gauzy, green clerical robes, her hair still stood out in a crowd. He managed to wonder at the ruins of what had obviously been a once-great marvel of technology too, but surreptitiously.

[Since I know that posting normally without joining would be against the rules, can someone direct me to the sign-up thread, or at least tell me who´s still available? And what´s going on, too?]

OOC: Sorry i haven't been on. Been sick and haven't been able to move from all the mass coughing.

IC:Tifa began laughing uncontrollably when they entered Wall Market. "Hey... Hey Cloud! Remember that time Aeris was kidnapped?!" She pointed at the Don's palace. Between laughs she saw that Rydia was heading into it. "What?! Why is she going into there? Oh no..."

Even as a thick crowd formed between Tifa and Rydia's locations, Palom managed to push through, smiling as he wondered whether using magic without Materia was something alien to these people...and thinking of ways to make this into an advantage.

A bald black man with shades and a tuxedo pretty much threw the dress into Rydia's arms. He didn't say anything, and simply nodded. Rydia got the idea. If this Don Denario was truely the mayor of Wall Market, she might as well look presentable for him as token of respect. Wait, why did she need to see the Don? Oh, it was probably his decision to give Rydia something to do for some money. But then again, the guards looked at each other when she approached them, asking "I need to make a lot of money in a very small amount of time, and the people told me to come see Don Denario for that purpose. Is it possible that I could talk to him about this?" and...wait, did she just condemn herself to something she didn't know she was asking for? Something was definitely weird, but the dress was her size, and she hadn't earned her money, yet. Down in the dank, cool cellar with the torture devices and everything, Rydia changed and left her other clothes bundled up on the table with the clamps.

The dress was certainly flattering to Rydia's freshly matured body. It was the color of crimson, with Y-shaped shoulder straps, with one strap going over the shoulder and the other wrapping around the side. The skirt was a little too high for her tastes, though. Perhaps she could mix and match what she changed from and what she changed, too. Yeah, this simple dress was nice, but when she put on the fingerless gloves and wrapped the jacket around her waist, she felt a lot prettier.

The black gentleman came down the stairs shortly after Rydia finished. "Miss Rydia, the Don will see you shortly. Are you ready to meet with him?" The man said, and Rydia could tell that he was oggling her. She felt right, but thought one more thing could complete it. And she saw it on him. He remained still as she strolled over to him and seized his shades, putting them on. "I am, now. How long will it take?"

(OOC) New thread time! And AB, Don Conieo was killed by the Turks at Wutai, remember? It happoned when Yuffie stole the party's Materia.