dualislogs | A "vampire" arrives

Entry tags:

A "vampire" arrives

Who: Vincent Valentine and YOU
What: Vincent's arrival and initial exploration of the city
Where: Dormitories + the Park primarily, could wander
When: September 7-10
Warnings: Possible discussions of death? Otherwise, nothing really

a. dormitories

[After all he'd seen, 'this can't be happening' wasn't something he was going to entertain with a ponder. He followed the directions given by the statues and the strange "Head". Normally, he would have explored this strange new place in which he's found himself, but with all the unknowns, he opted for compliance, at least until he's found this dormitory room which was to double as his base of operations while he figured out the real purpose behind his being brought here. While he wasn't a scientist, Vincent had spent enough time around them to know the collection and analysis of DNA was rarely a good thing, especially when performed under such questionable circumstances.

He nods to the concierge when he's provided his key and network device, frowning down at it briefly before slipping it into the pocket and taking a look around the place. It was so...mundane...He didn't make an effort to appear inconspicuous in his leathers and red cape, knowing his brass claw stood out all on its own, but he doesn't immediately proceed upstairs, instead opting to take up a position near a wall and watch those who came and went.]

b. central square park | ota

[After getting to know the dormitories, he sets out to get to know his surroundings. His Turk training never really left, and getting a lay of the land, and by extension, the city, was pivotal to understanding where he's been taken. As he moves through the lush setting, a growing sense of unease grasped him as he made notes mentally:

There were no woodland creatures. The sounds, or the lack thereof, were unsettling and his hand was never far from the grip of his handgun. Because of the silence, the statues had a looming effect and his crimson gaze shifted around warily. It...might not be a good idea to sneak up on the guy.]

c. central square park | closed to Thane

[Continued from here.

Vincent approved of the selection of the Central Square Park. It was, as its name implied, centrally located but also public. They may not have privacy, but they would have the security of the location. Old habits die hard, and being a bodyguard had been ingrained in him for a very young age. He waited for the Drell near a bench, though he himself was leaning against a nearby statue, arms crossed. He'd never seen another of Tannor's race in Dualis. He'd be difficult to miss.]

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[Perhaps they communicated with eye movements. Or long, meaningful gazes. Or telepathy. ...Or more realistically, they both just didn't need everything detailed over and over again with words. Neither of them bothered with embellishment, either. And at least on Cloud's part, it's more comfortable without it.

So, the response is perfectly fine. Welcome, even. There's an ease with speaking to Vincent compared to most other people- and even with things not exactly being ideal with his presence here and not in Gaia, it's... actually kind of nice to see him. He hadn't lied earlier with that fact. It was.

His statement is met with a small hum of acknowledgement, and his gaze moving down the street.]

Mhm. C'mon. I'll tell you what I know. Some places you'll need, too.

[A small tour is probably crucial, to be honest. Even if the streets change regularly.]

[It was a fortune he couldn't have hoped for to have Cloud here. Knowing the other man, he already knew the ins and outs of this city, and would be a wealth of information for Vincent. The often over the years served that role for one another. He saw no reason for it be different here.

He nods, joining Cloud at his side.]

How long have you been here?

[A wealth was pushing it, but there's a couple of things that's quite useful. And, of course, even if he's willing to share what he knows, it doesn't mean Vincent's out on his own out here. Because he's not. Vincent's reliable. He's risked himself for them. More than that, he's a friend. An important one.

As he gains on him, He's given a small glance before Cloud speaks.]

...Two months, probably. Something like that.

[Because, of course, he's not exactly aware of different time points being a Thing, let alone the fact Vincent is from far in the future, he can't help but find it odd that Vincent asked. But.]

First thing you're going to want to know is getting around's tough. Blocks, and districts shift and turn into other things. The whole place is pretty much moving around, all the time.

[Another glance and...]

Tifa's here, too. She'll be glad to see you.

[He watched the blond carefully, eyes narrowed. That didn't add up at all. He realized both he and Cloud had a tendency to lose time, but two months?]

I see.

[Perhaps in this strange place, time moved differently.] ...'turn into other things'? How so?

[He nods.] And the others?

[The look he's given isn't unnoticed. And it's comforting, in its own way, that Vincent gives him it. The situation's unsettling. Obviously. But the fact that he's reacting at least indicates that this is real. The inconsistency can be looked at later. But for now...]

Mhm. Every district in this place, aside from the dorms and the park, moves. Easiest way's to show you.

[By now, they've walked a block. Immediately in front of them seems to be a shadier part of town- at least if the state of the street is any indication. The sidewalk is cracked, there's trash piled up in the corners of it, and the rain puddles glow in a multitude of colours- bombarded with pulsing, flashing overhead neon. A large, concrete building is seemingly covered in panels of all shapes and all sizes, each depicting something. Words. Advertisements, all kinds of visual noise- rusted ladders criss-crossing their way between them as a makeshift walkway.

He lingers, just outside the boundary- just where the smooth, clean(er) ground is. Then he looks to Vincent.]

It'll change soon.
As for the others... No. Not that I know of. Both you and Tifa must've come together. [And he's probably going to make an inquiry on the network about it. If more are here, it's important they're together.]

Oh, yeah. [He takes out his communicator.] You should have one of these. These... are kind of like phones. As in, you can make direct calls. But you can also use video messaging, and video calls. There's also some kind of public network.

[Quite a step above Gaia. But...]

Careful what you say there. The Head listens in. Have you spoke to it yet?

Moves...? [Unsettling to say the least. He followed Cloud's gaze to the seedier part of town he'd indicated. Vincent was reminded of the slums of Midgar when they'd returned to the place, a town cast off from concern, or seeped too much in darkness to find the light. It wasn't a part of town where happy reunions occurred, that was certain.]

...you mean to say areas of town become...other areas? Is there a pattern?

[If Cloud hadn't determined one, Vincent put it highest on his priority list. Perhaps...security devices mounted in the areas known not to move, focused on those that did...]

[Blinking, he looked back at the PHS Cloud indicated and nodded, pulling one from the inner pocket of his cloak.]

Briefly. When we arrived. It was less than informative.

[That's the worst of it. Certain places of the city are almost exactly like Midgar. Both in looks and feel- and occasionally, the advertisements even shift to look almost exactly like those of things like Loveless in the upper levels of Midgar. But it's twisted. It's the same as the lower part too, there's mako pits and furnaces that can be seen distantly. And... it persists for a while but then there's a shift. Then it's gone. But that...

That's too difficult to explain, for the moment.]

Not that I've noticed. Getting up high'd probably be the best way to look.

[A small glance back to the park.]

Only places I've noticed that seem to stick around are that park and the apartment complex.

[Hence leaving his bike behind. It won't end up on the other end of the city there. As he waits for the shift, his eyes move to focus on Vincent's communicator.]

Turns out there's a ton of other worlds. Other people were brought here too, from all kinds of places. You can reach 'em directly or with the public network using that thing if you need to.

As for whatever got us here, it wants to... extract data from us for a cure. Some virus killed the people here years ago, and they left behind a piece of tech that's trying to repopulate. That's the Head. We're here for a year. Apparently.

[A small pause. The jury's out on the year thing. And he's got no idea why, of course, but the idea of having data of any kind taken from him is... Yeah, it's a hard no. But he knows, obviously, about Vincent. And how he might feel about that, everything considered.]

... Whatever they do doesn't seem to be intrusive. Physically, anyway. But it's mostly recordings. This place is pretty well-monitored, and they've got compulsory NAPS where they make everyone talk to each other. I guess they scrub the data from stuff like that. People here've got big mouths.

[And he looks back to the slum. And right on time...]

Look.

[Now, it's a series of storefronts, and piles of scrap. The layout of the street has changed entirely, and the street seems to be a mixture of electronics shops, street food vendors, and... less savory establishments. He turns back to Vincent.]

There's other things, too.

[And it's a lot to explain.]

Edited 2019-09-11 21:28 (UTC)

[Vincent's long slumber gave him a bit of a dream-like view of the world. It wasn't so different from 30 years ago, and yet it was new and exciting, but more deadly, and the years seemed to escape him the longer he tried to see them. He wondered, at times, if he didn't exist outside of time, now. This place had the same dreamlike quality, but he couldn't tell if that was his perception or a fact of reality. The more Cloud explained, the more he was leaning towards the latter, but he'd learned not to trust his senses on things like that.

He nodded, fully planning to find the highest vantage point to watch this "shift".]

Mmm. The apartment roof is a good place to start then.

[But the years had made Vincent a patient man, and there was more business to attend to first.]

I remember its story. It doesn't sound believable. [But something about Cloud's explanation caught his attention and he turned to face him as well. 'Turns out there's a ton of other worlds'. Yes. 2,000 years ago, a being from another world arrived to devour ours. The Cetra fought her, but were weakened...this was a tale Cloud should know, but he seemed surprised. Vincent made a note of it, but didn't comment.]

I've noticed. Talking can be useful though, especially if you know where to listen.

[He stood up more straight as the shift occurred, eyes widening slightly at the evidence. It's one thing to hear about it, but quite another to witness it.]

...I wonder...

[Was it a shift, a bleed? Were other worlds blending in, or was it something less esoteric?]

...okay. Lead the way.

[He wasn't going to be finding any answers immediately anyway.]

[Vincent's certainly got the advantage of him there- as apparently, Cloud's phrasing would've indicated far more about the time disparity between the pair of them than what Cloud would know himself. As for the apartment roof...]

There's enough space. Most of it's taken up with a stable, but if you want to look, there's room.

[He nonchalantly looks at the shift. Sadly, for him, he'd seen it enough times for it to be annoyance, rather than spectacle.

But as for where they're going - it seemed Vincent was going to meet Boko, the ~~sometimes~~ inhabitant of said roof. Probably best to stop at his room and get a bag of greens for the chicobo too, to occupy him while Vincent looks.

He nods, and turns on his heels to move. As they pass the Shinra-manufactured bike, he takes a small moment to take the lock off it, and then continues walking, pushing it along between them.]

There's another thing. The Head's got enemies. It's an organization that calls itself the Heart, and a few months ago, they claimed responsibility for a bombing in the city.

[Kind of like AVALANCHE. But also not like AVALANCHE.]

Not much is known about them. But the Head and the city put a lot of priority on finding them.

[Vincent needed time away from the situation to better understand it, and just what sort of "Cloud" he was working with. His Cloud had accepted himself, but now, here? He was lost, confused, and not even sure of who he was.

Apartment roof it was.]

A stable? Chocobos? [Why would you keep them on a roof?]

Everyone has enemies. Do we have enough information to know which side we're on?

Just one, Boko. Things from peoples' worlds appear sometimes. Like this thing.

[A tilt of his head toward the bike. Which... was useful. Boko? Not so much. But. Soon enough, they arrive at the dormitories, and Cloud moves the thing between that building and the building beside it- locking it up before stepping inside.

One elevator ride later, and it stops at his floor, and he leaves it- making his way to his room. He leaves the door open for Vincent and gets the greens, stepping out. Then, he makes his way back to the elevator again. And as they take the last few floors...]

Not even close to enough. The Heart aren't clear about what they want. They're against the Head, but other than bombing the square, and getting through the network later to leave cryptic messages, they've not said anything.

[Even AVALANCHE put up posters around their marks displaying their reasons. And he's wary of the Heart. Just as much as he is about the Head. He's silent afterward- for quite a while actually- only the ding of the elevator doors breaking it.

...Well. That, as well as a knee-height adolescent chocobo. He's making a dive toward Cloud and the greens, with a loud kweh of excitement. Cloud's got little choice but to catch him- and the chocobo sniffs the bag (of course), attempts to get in it- then seems to notice Vincent- squirming around in the blonde's arms to take some of Vincent's cape in his beak and pull, lightly.

He's playful, alright.]

[Vincent was content to remain silent as they moved, observing all around him, learning the twists and turns of the dormitories, taking note of the movements of light and where the shadows fell. He and Cloud had never required conversations, and he took the opportunity to examine Cloud more closely as he went about his business. No stigma, but no weight to his gait, either. What could it mean?

He pondered his friend's status as they moved, eyes taking note of the foreign skies before looking down at the playful chick tugging at his cloak. No smile touched his lips but a softness found its way into his eyes as he crouched, reaching out a hand to the curious creature.]

Hello, Boko.

[Boko's a creature that's very much his age- and he's got a childish manner about him in all things. Greens, attention, scratches under the feathers, ball pits, and hurling things from ball pits are among his favourite things, for sure. But visitors? That seems to be something he enjoys very much too.

Certainly so, by the bubbling kweh that's coming from the little creature, anyway. And yep- he's bumped his head against Vincent's gauntlet, deciding that the long, protruding claws on it aren't scary, they're perfect for headscritches.

Cloud regards the bird for a small moment in very much the same manner. He doesn't openly smile, but it's pretty clear that he's fond of the thing. Not that it lasts long. He turns himself to walk toward the stable, placing the bag of greens into it. Then, he moves to the other side of the roof.

By now, the sun's just about coming up. And should Vincent follow...]

The guy he got delivered to's called Squall. [...And he's decent. But that's unspoken.] Boko stays up here sometimes. His roommates afraid of chocobos, so he figured here's a spot he'll be safe.

[A pause, and...]

There's bigger buildings than this on the other end of town.

Edited 2019-09-25 22:13 (UTC)

[Vincent obliged the chocobo, scratching idling beneath the feathers on its chin before rising and making his way after Cloud. He takes careful note of the information still being provided: a man named Squall, a roommate who fears chocobos. All was important information, maybe not right now, but at some point it would be.

He follows the younger man's gaze out over the city, making a mental note as well to stay here, to watch the city change, to find patterns in its shifting, but that was for some other time, after his friend had shown him around.]

Do they stay at the other end of town?

No. There's one complex, here. The machinery...

[Well.]

It's likely its somewhere here. But there's structures around the city, too. The machine that brought us here's probably around the pyramids.

[When he'd first got here, he'd seen a sphinx. Something which stuck in his mind- of course- because they didn't actually have anything like that on Gaia. Coming here is fuzzy, but he remembers that. And he's searched the city. There's nothing like that. But on the outskirts...]

I want to go. I've got transport now. And this, too. [He moves his hand over his shoulder, his fingers dancing over the hilt of a sword both alike the buster sword in size and weight, but quite unlike it in every other respect. Seifer's work.].

...Then his hand drops. He turns, looking upto Vincent's face. He inclines his head slightly toward Cerberus.]

You're armed, too.

[His eyes seem questioning. Wondering. He hadn't recalled that gun.]

[He follows Cloud's gaze to the distance, past the buildings, to the structures he indicated. He was reminded of the Temple of the Ancients, and he could only assume lost secrets were stored there.]

Yes, and with enough Materia to make it useful against more than men. [And a place like that? There would certainly be things more powerful than men there.] Tell me when.

[There has to be something there. His gaze lingers on the curious three-barrelled gun a little longer, before he nods. More Materia. That's good. Very good.]

Soon.

[Vincent's agreement, as every one of his statements, is something that doesn't need pointing out overtly. And that's good, too. It's comfortable. But that understanding is something he doesn't share with anyone else- Tifa especially. It's a two-person trip, and that means he's going to have to make sure she'll be okay while they're gone. And that's probably something Vincent's picked up on, already. It doesn't need pointing out.

But something that does-]

...Thanks, Vincent.

[Vincent nods at Cloud's thanks, though it hadn't needed to be said at all. Cloud may have been from a point in time prior to learning what he was, but he was still Cloud, still his friend.]

It may be nothing...a diversion.

Maybe. It's better to know though.

[Best case scenario: It's there. He's not expecting it to be an open exit even if it is, but if it's there, it'll help to know. If it's not- then having the thought eliminated as a possibility sooner rather than later is better.]

Mmm. [He nodded once.] I agree.

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A "vampire" arrives

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