melodiesofkupo | [video]

[Today you are all graced with the visage of the Mars marshal, who has finally decided maybe it's time he brings something up here on the network.]

Howdy folks. Name's Sparks Nevada, if we haven't met yet. Before this planet, I was on one called Crystallis. Though before that, I was on Mars, and originally, I'm... from Earth. Thing is, I know a few folks who're from Crystallis that are here, too. It was kind of a similar situation. Y'know, the whole getting dragged outta yer home to be forced to live on another planet with crazy magic and chocobos and all that stuff. The difference there was that we were all considered to be somethin' called "Heroes of Light" and we had to basically save the planet -- the whole multiverse, actually -- from gettin' annihilated. Yer welcome, by the way.

Thing is, there are sure a lotta coincidences on this planet. If the jobs and the races 'a folks and all that ain't enough of a clue, the place names are a dead giveaway. Half of them are named for the Heroes from Crystallis. Even I got one - Sparks Goldsaucia. Pretty cool. Reckon it's all a bit too much to be a coincidence.

Bonnie also brought up the map to me, and... [He looks that over in a separate window.] If ya squint just right, and slide some bits around, sure as heck does look like Crystallis. Durin' that whole apocalypse thing, the planet did get kinda messed up and broken, so I guess we wouldn't have known what the continents looked like after all that. Woulda taken some time to re-map, and I was only there for a month after the whole ordeal was over. Had a planet to get back to marshaling, ya see.

What's my point to all this? Guess my point is that I don't believe in coincidences. The universe is, like, both too big and too small at the same time for that nonsense, if'n that makes any sense at all. It does. I think.

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Okay, so like, back on Crystallis, wasn't there a group of Heroes brought in way way before us? Like, 2000 years previous? Do ya think it's been 2000 years and this stuff is startin' all over again?

[Oh god please no]

[Reno hadn't thought of that and he hesitated uncomfortably.]

I really hope not.

Do you remember what happened to those other Heroes, the ones before us?

[Sparks huffs, trying to remember. It's difficult.]

We did a whole lot of time travellin', didn't we. Alternate futures 'n histories and dreams and all that stuff... Reckon I wasn;t one of those who had the 2000 years in the past dream, so ya might have to see if someone else here did. But uh, if I recall correctly, I don't think it went super well.

[Reno massaged his temples, trying to remember as well. He wasn't there either, but he'd heard about it.]

I think... I think we were those Heroes. I mean, the ones who went back. There was some kinda crisis then, too, and they met Kalki. But was that thousands or was that another time in the past...? Gods, it was so convoluted. But somehow or other, I think we accidentally screwed stuff up with Kalki 'cause there was that accident, an' that's when we found out about Palitutu...

But it couldn't have been that early since Palitutu and Queen Sarah were still alive.

... [He paused ruefully.] I wish Jack were still around. He was way better at the whole time-shifting thing.

Yeah, seriously. [Jack was a heavy loss.] I do think it was awhile in the past, though. Not all of us were there, just like all of us ain't here now. I'm thinkin' this is way in Crstyallis's future. That's the only thing it could be, right? But it'd have to have been a long while ago if they'd all forgotten what happened back then. How many generations does it take to forget an apocalypse?

So you think... You think this is the same world. So far in the future that nature's changed the weather and the Heroes' names have replaced other cities, locations?

[Reno chewed his lip thoughtfully.]

The geography could come from that, over long enough... Climate change, resource mining. But changing all the names...

[He shook his head.]

Possible, maybe. But it might've taken another apocalypse to make it happen. Names aren't changed easily, and none of the places on this world are even close to what they woulda' been. Like, if they changed, some should've stayed the same -- right?

Not only that, but the world got pretty roughed up during the whole, uh, apocalypse thing. So that can account for some of the map changes too. You stuck around after everything was over, right? Didn't return to your home world? Were things that messed up that people'd lose all track of the past?

Maybe it ain't the future, but, well, a future? There's the whole multiverse thing, where people were comin' to Crystrallis from, like, different timelines and alternate futures of other people. Might be something like that. This stuff is real nerve-wracking.

Yeah, I stayed. An' yeah, crystallization left behind a lotta' mess, but we were able to move a lotta refugees out and about. There were enough people t' rebuild and remember what the big places were supposed t' be, even if the small places were changed.

Like, the streets might be fucked up, new lakes there or maybe old forests gone, but... the general regions would've still been the same, I think.

[When Sparks mentioned the possibility of an alternate future, though, Reno snapped and began pointing his finger excitedly at the screen.]

That -- That is a very real possibility, yo!

I mean, didn't people show up on Crystallis who knew each other, but from like, different timelines 'n such? Time's weird. Dimensions are weird. It's like there ain't any rules, so I don't know if we will ever be able to put a finger on whatever this actually is.

But I guess we can always blame all of this on that. Alternate timeline. Okay. So now what?

[What, if anything? Hew had no idea. It was mostly a rhetorical question.]

[Reno nodded in agreement.]

Until or unless we find out otherwise, yeah. Alternate timeline, weird alternate Crystallis thing -- we can handle that.

For "now what"... [Reno exhaled slowly.] I'm still tryna' figure out that part, too. I mean, this place is pretty peaceful apparently -- or it was until we showed up. I'm assumin' we won't be the last batch of people to show up in space.

I guess now we try t' help them figure out why. If we know why then maybe we can get back. I'm assumin' you'll probably go back to doin' the policeman thing?

I guess so long as no one's turnin' into crystal, we don't got a reason to panic. Though, I don't got time in my life for spending years 'n years on another planet again. Mars still needs a marshal.

[As far as work is concerned:]

Yeah, probably. Stick with what ya know, right?

I don't think we have much choice right now. You afraid they won't be able to replace you?

[Reno smirked.]

What was Mars gonna do whenever the great Sparks Nevada died?

Please. I'm totally irreplaceable. They just better not replace me with a robot while I'm gone.

[Because Techs might get in there and do a good job as marshal. Again.]

[Reno snickered.]

Well yer pride is intact. That's good. We're gonna need that here.

If I find anything else out, I'll let you know.

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