dualislogs | ya gotta wanna be a battering ram

WHO: The entire dang city.
WHAT: Dualis Days, a week-long summer celebration.
WHERE: Central Square Park and the rest of the city.
WHEN: June 17-23.
WARNINGS: Terrorist violence, likely some blood and injuries. Please warn in individual threads!

June 17; Central Square Park.

Every year for as far back as anyone can remember, the start of summer is heralded by the week-long festival known as Dualis Days. This celebration officially kicks off at midday in the middle of Central Square Park with a commencement speech by the current mayor. This year marks Marcelina Dubanowski's third term as mayor of Dualis; she is an average-sized, middle-aged human-presenting woman with blonde hair styled in a short bob and a plastic, toothy smile that never seems to turn entirely off.

"Welcome, one and all!" she begins, with the practiced cadence of someone who is quite comfortable with public speaking. She invites all citizens, new and old, to spend the next week indulging in festivities in all districts of the city and getting to know their neighbors a little better. This is a joyous time of celebration, and the crowd responds with enthusiastic applause as the mayor finishes her speech and introduces this year's parade marshall, Peshtigo Tengfei.

Tengfei blows a whistle six times to signal the start of the parade - and this is where the celebration goes sideways.

A loud explosion tears through the air, and it's followed by panicked screams and the sharp screech of microphone feedback. A bomb has gone off at the platform where the mayor was standing, collapsing the wood and tearing it to splinters and dust. Chaos erupts in the gathered crowd, and as the people shift in all directions to get clear of any possible additional bombs, a loud siren cuts through the cacophony, calling attention to the sudden crackle of video feed present on all television screens throughout the city, including those set up in the park to broadcast the mayor's speech for those standing far from the stage. The picture is plain, a black background and bold white block letters filling the screen:

WAKE UP
WAKE UP
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES

The final image is an anatomical graphic of a human heart, displayed for about three seconds, and then the feed goes black again.

Confused murmurs sweep through the crowd as citizens resume tending to the injured and evacuating the area until official first responders arrive.

June 17-23; aftermath around the city.

Dualis Days continues as scheduled, though Mayor Dubanowski is unable to enjoy the festival, as she is spending the week in the hospital recovering from her injuries. A team of Iterations guard her door - no visitors allowed - but the news media frequently report updates on her condition. Nothing to worry about, folks! Return to your celebrations, and don't mind the increased visible presence of the Hand as Iterations are stationed every few blocks throughout the city. It's only for your protection, after all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

To be honest, a hug is what Aqua was expecting at some point from Cissie. She isn't as tactile a person as a lot of other people, just by virtue of her upbringing and her seriousness about her duty. But with people like Cissie, Aqua has grown to expect hugs and even appreciate them. In this instance, she wraps her arms tightly around her friend in turn, a sign of her relief that their friendship is intact.

"I'm fine. I have some of my magic back now and I've been using the healing spell all day." She gives Cissie another glance just to see if her friend looks injured. "If you know anyone who needs healing, mine isn't as strong as it should be, but it's still better than what we had on the other world."

Cissie gives her friend a reassuring smile, and reaches for her hand. "There's a lot here that seems better than where we came from, at least where technology and medicine are concerned. But I think that place left me a little wary. I'm not sure what the deal is with this place, yet." Her expression shifts to something a little more concerned. "Are you okay? Really? Does using your magic wear you out?"

Aqua gives Cissie's hand a squeeze in return. She understands the wariness Cissie feels. This is only the second time Aqua has been kidnapped to a new world like this, but after the last one even she is a little concerned and uncertain. Given their time in this world has been greeted with a crisis, Aqua doesn't think that either of them is really that far off, unfortunately.

"I haven't really discovered anything useful, either," Aqua admits quietly. Not that she has really had a lot of time to look around yet. She gives her head a gentle shake at Cissie's questions about her and offers a small but reassuring smile. "I'm all right. My magic just needs some time to recharge after I use it. That's all." She's been through a lot worse, after all. The Realm of Darkness was much, much worse. At least she isn't having as hard a time finding the strength to continue here.

That reminds her of something and she lifts her right hand out in front of her. "But I did want to show you something." Cissie is one of her closest friends now, after everything they've been through together, and given that she's been using it a lot here, she sees no reason to hide her keyblade any longer. So, with a flash of light that solidifies into her weapon, she calls Stormfall into her hand. "This is my weapon, the one I've been training with for as long as I can remember."

Cissie shifts back, and gasps at the flash of light and the amazing weapon suddenly in Aqua's hand. Her eyes are wide, but not with fear; she might be afraid if it were someone other than Aqua, but instead she's just amazed.

"Wow," she breathes, reaching out a hand. She stops herself before she touches it, not sure if it's safe for anyone else to touch it. "It's beautiful. How does it work? What do you do with it?"

Aqua doesn't really know how the Rite of Inheritance works in a world like this - she has access to her weapon and some of her magic, but not everyone does, so it might not even work - and she isn't entirely sure she wants to find out. She doesn't retract Stormfall, yet, but she does turn it a little so that Cissie can see the length and thickness of the blade. If one looks closely, it is in the shape of a key, just with a lot of embellishments.

"I'd let you touch it, but I don't know if the Rite of Inheritance would work here," she says apologetically. "Usually, there's a rite a Keyblade Master has to give to anyone who wants to become a wielder. Since a lot of my magic doesn't work here, the Rite probably wouldn't, either."

Still, she isn't sure she really wants to find out. At least not until she's sure that Cissie understands what being a keyblade wielder is all about. And if Cissie is paying attention, Aqua's words suggest that she is a Keyblade Master herself.

"This is called a keyblade," she explains. "Stormfall is this particular charm and that's what gives it this shape. Otherwise it would just be a silver key with a golden hilt." Rainfell was her keyblade in the beginning, but now she's had enough time and gotten chains from other meaningful events and links with other people to have more than just the one. Stormfall is the only one she can access here, though. "It's the weapon of anyone who is tasked with protecting other worlds from the forces of darkness."

Pushing herself to her feet, she holds it in one hand and swings it out in front of her a few times, so Cissie can get a better idea of what using it is like. It's a lot lighter than it looks.

"Everyone has a different fighting style and each keyblade reacts to that and is shaped by it. This one is mine. Not having it back in the Iteration world was like losing a limb. Having it back makes me feel whole again."

Cissie watches Aqua stand and move, using the blade like it's an extension of her body. She can't help but smile. She knows that feeling; it's the way she feels with her bow, and she can't help a small pang of homesickness at just remembering her own equipment, which she hasn't seen in years, since she was whisked away from home. Funny, that thinking of an object would make her homesick in a way she hasn't felt in ages.

"It's amazing," she says sincerely. "It looks like you, if that makes sense. Like it definitely belongs with you. Are you a Master? What... does that mean, exactly?"

Still holding Stormfall in one hand, Aqua settles back down on the grass with Cissie, thinking through how best to explain what she does. There's a lot to it and she doesn't quite know where to begin with it.

"Keyblade wielders are tasked with protecting the worlds from darkness," she begins. "We can travel to other worlds and help the people there. We banish darkness if there is any and we keep the balance between light and darkness. As a Master... I'm expected to excel at that. It's my responsibility to do that, to keep the worlds from falling to darkness."

Her expression clouds considerably for a moment as she thinks back to how dramatically she'd failed that one. Her sense of duty and her dedication to helping and protecting people can be drawn directly back to her training.

"We spend a lifetime in training to become Masters, to learn what our skills and responsibilities really are. And then we do our best to uphold those responsibilities."

ya gotta wanna be a battering ram

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