Video; A Diary, of Sorts [Open, dated Aug. 26]

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja sighs. The camera is positioned on a table across from him, the humble accommodations of his apartment at the Curti Center visible, an expression of melancholy on his face as, idly, he strokes a blonde-furred cat. "Is it working, yet?"

Mojito's voice pipes up from behind the camera. "Yeah, boss. Go ahead."

The genome sits back in his chair, staring off into space for a moment. "It is... August the twenty-sixth, and my name is Kuja... Tribal. Some of you have met me. It's been suggested to me that venting my thoughts may be beneficial, so here I am. I don't know what to think of this. Things that were revealed to us at the banquet with the Empress have been weighing on my mind. I don't know what I'm supposed to do; I've only barely begun to acclimate to this world, and already it seems someone is threatening to pull it out from under me." His expression twists in a snarl, and one hand gestures wildly to the air. "It's not fair! I thought, perhaps, I'd stumbled across some luck when they told me I wasn't dying anymore and now the godsdamned world's about to-"

The video cuts. He's sitting again, calm. "At any rate. Positive things. I have located a place of employment with work I expect I will, at least, enjoy. I shall be planning for a move to Sparks Golsaucia in the near future, but of course I will need a reserve of Gil built up before I attempt such. My magic is coming along nicely, as well; faster than I might have expected. I've yet to manage a Fira, but the elements are returning to me, at least. White magic is enjoying similar progress, though I haven't put in nearly as much practice there."

He crosses his arms, leaning in to stare at the camera directly. "I have questions, as well, questions not easily answered by a brochure. I've received a message, recently, that something of mine has been uncovered in the Dream Width. Apparently I'm to go and retrieve it. What I want to know is... what should I expect, there? Should I be hiring people to come with me?" A pause, while he considers something. "The Dream Width contains memories of the people that have traveled there. If there are things I would rather keep private, should I attempt a retrieval alone? Apparently they don't know what the item is, but it's quite large..."

"That all you wanted to say, Boss?"

Kuja taps his finger on the table. "No, I've just thought of something else. Someone in the Empire was selling... these." He holds up a little doll, in his own likeness. Given that it's a plush toy intended for children, the features are almost sickeningly cute. "This world is so similar to the one I came from. It could be that people have viewed memories from Gaia, or perhaps that the stories themselves have passed to Vaikuntha, somehow, but if it isn't that, and someone from Gaia is behind this... I need to know. I fear I'm losing my mind, in this place; if someone, anyone, knows anybody with these names, I-" He sighs. "I doubt very much they'd want to speak with me, but just to know..." He trails off, searching for words for a moment. "Just to know that something of Gaia exists and I'm not merely a madman, having dreamt it all."

The video ends. Attached is a list of names.

Comments

[zanarkandian]

Tell me about it. Just when you think your luck's turned around and you can finally live, this happens? It's pretty scary to think about, but the first half's barely even begun. It's not over yet.

[Tidus sounds more confident than he really feels. But. While they're here.]

I'm sorry, none of the names look familiar. I think you might be right about the stories, but...maybe other people saw dolls they knew, and that could tell us something?

[acapriciousreaper]

That is an idea that bears merit. I'll have to ask around, see if there are details. I'm beginning to suspect it has no connection to this whole Bahamut business, but what if it could offer a clue on something important?

[zanarkandian]

Maybe. I knew a Bahamut, where I come from. He was kind of the leader of the eidolons, but there we called them aeons. The whole thing feels kinda familiar, but not.

[acapriciousreaper]

I, too, knew a Bahamut. Not the most powerful eidolon, but certainly a formidable one. I doubt it's the same one; we did not exactly part on polite terms.

[zanarkandian]

Heh. They can be pretty tough nuts to crack.

I just hope we can crack this nut before the apocalypse. Not that summoners losing their minds and wanting to wreck everything is anything new.

[acapriciousreaper]

Out of morbid curiosity, what do you mean by that?

[zanarkandian]

It's just that the story sounds like it might be like what happened to the place I came from. A thousand years of death, all kicked off because a summoner couldn't let go of his grief. Don't want to jump to any hasty conclusions, but...

Long story cut very short, there was once a summoner called Yu Yevon. He lost a war, saw his city destroyed, and compelled all his surviving summoners to become summoning statues dedicated to summoning a dream version of his lost city. I'm from there, actually. But that's an even longer story.

Anyway, to protect his new dream city, he conjured this horrible floating monster called Sin and programmed it to destroy any settlement that got too big. He didn't want people getting hi-tech enough to find his dream city.

[acapriciousreaper]

Sin? That's a bit on the nose, isn't it?
How absurd. I hope it was at least taken care of quickly before the stupid thing could cause too much damage.

[zanarkandian]

Heh. It was all part of the illusion. Yevon's daughter built up a religion around the thing, telling people they could get rid of Sin if they just atoned for their crimes and sacrificed enough summoners.

[Might be a little bitter about that. Might be why he was initially very suspicious of the summoners' guild.]

The cycle lasted a thousand years, but we finally beat it for good. Unfortunately, we've got less than a year to beat this thing before total annihilation. But the other eidolons might have the answers, I think.

[acapriciousreaper]

What utter rubbish. 'Atone for your crimes'? I've never met a monster that didn't die upon being atomized. Finding the location of the summoning, I expect, will be the hardest part. After that it's only a matter of how much force we can bring to bear.
And if the summoning completes... well. We have a veritable army and I've seen bigger threats than some overgrown lizard laid to waste by a party of less than ten. The right people in the right place can make all the difference.

[zanarkandian]

We'll work to make it happen. I just...hmm. I wonder if there's something inside that cloud. It'd be the perfect place to hide if you could set up base there without losing your mind.

[acapriciousreaper]

I'd bet money on it. It is, after all, what I'd do, in a similar position.

[zanarkandian]

You've thought about how you'd...

Um. Okay. Maybe it's best I don't know.

[acapriciousreaper]

What? Oh, no, nothing like that, I meant more that I asked myself 'if I were an omnicidal maniac who needed to keep a location secret and inaccessible for eight months, where would I start?'
I quite like Vaikuntha and have no desire whatsoever to see it come to harm because some moron with more power than sense decided their life was too tragic and unbearable to carry on so they might as well take everyone else with them

that would be incredibly stupid and also horribly wrong

[zanarkandian]

Heh. Glad we agree.

All right, then. I'll focus my efforts on figuring out how to get in there...without potentially tipping them off.

[Voice]

[spaceforged]

You can ask an airship at the center to take you out to it. If you want assistance you can ask for it. The readings only match the signal with your own signature energy...they can't determine the size of your belonging.

If you...remember anything you've ever owned, you could guess how large you might need to prepare for. It works like any other retrieval...they'll run through the procedures with you before you depart.

Re: [Voice]

[acapriciousreaper]

That's fair, I suppose. I... suppose I'll have to ask. Some of my belongings were quite large.

[Voice]

[spaceforged]

It's usually not too difficult to gather a crew together. When you're out there the console for keeping track of it is fairly easy to use...they should run you through that too.

You'll see a cloud of dust when you're close. So far...I think the size of the cloud gives a hint to how large the item is.

[wind_in_my_ears]

[Klonoa messages Kuja on the imog slate, now that Luta's actually shown him how to do so.]

'If you need someone to go with you into the Dream Width, count me in. I don't have a way to get up there, but I'll do everything you need me to do to help. I've been wanting to get up there for a long time now.'

[acapriciousreaper]

That's unexpected. Well, you want to see the Dream Width, I may need someone to help carry large and irreplaceable works of art. I can't imagine what on earth else it could be.

[wind_in_my_ears]

'Sure, I can do that. Where do you want to put it?'

[Kuja may or may not have an inkling that responding might give Klonoa details about where he lives.]

[acapriciousreaper]

I'll have to see what it is, first. There's a nonzero chance it's simply not going to fit in the apartment, and if it comes to that...
Oh well. We'll burn that bridge as we come to it.
Meet me at Curti Center on the second, ten o'clock sharp. Apparently their pilots are used to this and do this all the time.

[Video]

[mech_and_mutt]

[Well, here Red thought he was just doing some friendly ribbing to get under Kuja's skin when he was showing off the doll-- but that furrowed look of concern started to look like it hadn't left Kuja since he'd first passed off that goofy little doll to him.]

Sheesh, the doll hit ya that hard?

Re: [Video]

[acapriciousreaper]

...
The dolls aren't the only thing that bothered me. Everything about Vaikuntha seems to be similar to the point of being unsettling. Moogles, Eidolons, black and white magic, individual spells, the names of monsters, chocobos-

All of it is something from Gaia. I've been to other planets before; this level of similarity is not something I have seen before. And then these dolls. Not just of me, but of... other people. Some of them I knew, many I did not. And it's speaking with my voice, saying things I said while either alone, or in very exclusive company.

And, most of the time, things I would rather forget that I'd said.

[Video]

[mech_and_mutt]

Gaia? I thought it was supposed to be Crys--

[Well, maybe there were several worlds that were eerily similar to this one. It'd make as much sense as anything else...]

In other words, ya still think someone has it out for you.

Re: [Video]

[acapriciousreaper]

It's a possibility, I suppose. That, or someone's been spying on a number of people on a scale that is, frankly, obscene.
I'm not sure which is more unsettling.

[Video]

[mech_and_mutt]

Spyin' on us? Why? To make dolls?

I mean-- if it were some other reason, wouldn't all this just be tippin' their hand?

Re: [Video]

[acapriciousreaper]

I can't even think of a reason why; none of it makes sense. Why would anyone even make such a toy to begin with? What's the damn point?

[Video]

[mech_and_mutt]

What's the point of any toy?! It's there to be fun! Last I checked they were given 'em to kids, right?

Re: [Video]

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja, for a brief moment, looks... quite deranged. "Yes, but why toys of me?! Why dolls?! It's like they're trying to make a point, to mock me, to remind me of everything I've done again by having a mass-produced knockoff make sport of my myriad failings!"
There's a flicker of something in his complexion, a reddish tinge that seems to be creeping into his hair- but then it's gone in the next instant, and Kuja looks... startled. No, shaken.
Without warning, there's the telltale clatter of the iMog slate being dropped onto a table, camera up, and the clatter of hurried footsteps away from the table. Mojito's voice pipes up in the background, concerned. "Eh, Boss? Boss!" There's the rustling of a paw fumbling with the slate, and then the connection ends.

[Video]

[mech_and_mutt]

[Oh.

That can't be good. Red's just going to take a minute to rethink some of his choices here. He probably SHOULD have gone with that weird silver-haired doll instead.

No, not Kuja, the other one.]

video

[poisonwish]

[Snow understands the frustration. Strange new world that's different and yet has so many elements that are similar -- and none of them what he wanted.]

Well. I wouldn't go into the Dream Width for just anyone.

[Snow White smirked and waved.]

But I wouldn't advise going alone. So I suppose I'll have to come.