The Living Legacy @chocobolegacy-blog - Tumblr Blog

Arrival of the Legacy [ER Intro]

"Strange? Man this whole island’s strange…"

At his friend’s request, he thought back as far as he could manage. It wasn’t as though it was difficult to remember what occurred before he left, but it was more a task to remember at what point everything got blurry, indicating that his time at Rokkenjima began.

"Hmmm, let’s see…Ah, right! I just beat down Genesis, I think for good this time. You were still lost in your own world, but I managed to get us a ride to Midgar on a truck. That’s the last I remember."

Asmodeus had no problem with angering the senior Stake, caring very little of how he stood with the others unless he personally saw some satisfaction from it. Dealing with other Stakes that weren’t fellow Lusts was often a chore. With a sigh of exasperation, he told the other off.

"On the contrary, Mammon. I respect those who earn my respect, which you’ve yet to. You shouldn’t - how does the phrase go - count your chickens before they hatch. You might find yourself completely outmatched. "

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All at once, the memories rush back to him. The truck, their escape, his best friend's final words to him. He can feel the dampness from the rain in his bones, feel Zack's drying blood on his skin, and the pain and sorrow of watching the man's final moments breaking his mind.

It was too vivid to call it a simple recollection. The pain, the emotions...they were too real for him to simply be remembering. It was more like he was reliving it all in real time, and the experience of such once more pushed him near to tears. Thankfully, he managed tosnap out of it before breaking down entirely, bringing a hand up to tightly grip at the fabric over his heart.

"...Zack, you...may not like what I'm going to say...but in the time I'm from, years after all of that, you....you don't survive. We get off the truck...we almost make it to Midgar, but...the Shin-Ra army catches up to us. You left me hidden somewhere...I tried to stop you, but I was still too weak. By the time I was able to move again..." He cuts himself off as the vivid memories return. The wounds, the stench of blood and rainwater...his final words....

"...you said...that I would be your living legacy. That I would live for the both of us...that your honor, your dreams...that they were mine to carry on. A...a lot happened after that...more than I think I can even try to explain..."

"Feh...I'll make you respect me soon enough, Asmodeus. Once blondie here and I win this game, I'll make all of you punks bow down and kiss the dirt I walk on. Count those chickens, why don't you?"

At this point, the Stake was doing his absolute best to ignore the goings-on of the two Masters. He never could stomach all of that sentimental crap.

#dreamsofhonor

Who would you talk to if you were going to talk to someone you don't usually talk to?

"This place has already fulfilled a wish like that. Getting to see Zack again...it wasn't something I thought would happen until my life was over."

#Anonymous #The Chocobo Answers

brawlingbarmaid-blog

no time to dilly-dally. || open/intro

Well… what now?

Wide, chocolate-colored eyes stared blankly out upon the vast blanket of salt water that lied just beyond the shoreline. Tifa had situated herself just out of sight, ensconced within the thick foliage that consumed the sand. The shore before her transformed itself into lush forest the further inland one went, and it made for an interesting resting place of sorts, perfect for watching the area closely and trying to grasp the nature of the situation.

"I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re waiting for, but—"

Tifa silenced the robed, taciturn man that stood in plain sight beside her. When she had awoken on the island, confused as to why she was no longer nestled quietly in her bar in Edge, he had been there— and rest assured, he had not stopped talking since their initial meeting.

"Be quiet, would you? I’m just trying to get my bearings, that’s all," she remarked, making an effort to shuffle backwards several yards.

When you were as used to unannounced danger as Tifa was, you certainly kept on your toes, especially when you hadn’t run into anyone else in an unchecked area, and could very well be stuck in an unfortunate situation when you found out the other people weren’t so nice when you finally did meet them.

"While the situation isn’t to be taken too lightly, I happen to think you’re over-thinking things."

"Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that caution is always a good ide—-"

Her words, however, were cut short by a loud yelp. As she had retreated further into the forest, she had failed to see the hidden slope behind the dense brush. The back of her shoe slid clean off of the edge, and there was a brief second of stillness before she realized what had occurred. The drop wasn’t very far at all, but it was certainly jarring if one hadn’t expected it. Tifa slid, almost completely backwards and on her ass, down the dirty, rocky slope and into the brush at the bottom, making strangled, confused yelping noises all the way.

When she came to be at rest, all she could do was mumble and groan quietly to herself as her Stake’s head appeared above her, greatly unamused by her lack of grace in the moment.

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This island was deceptively large, as he had found out from his trek through the forests that made up a large portion of the landmass. He hadn't quite managed to find anyone else since parting ways with Zack, but he wasn't going to let that dissuade him. A place like this wasn't safe to wander around alone, let alone without his weapons. He stayed mostly quiet as he walked, speaking only to answer Mammon if he asked a question, or to tell the loud-mouthed Stake to quiet down so he could listen for something he'd thought he'd heard. At one such time, Cloud stopped and raised a hand in the middle of Mammon explaining just what he would have all of his sibling Stakes do when he won the game.

"...Mammon, stop for a second...did you hear that?"

"...and then, once Lucifer is done cooking my dinner and polishing my boots, I'll...huh? What's up?"

Standing in silence for a few moments, Cloud closed his eyes to block out everything else and try to pick up on the faint sound he'd heard before. Then, all at once, he hears it. The sound of a woman yelping in shock and then the sound of a body crashing through plants. However, it was not just any woman's voice...no, he knew that voice better than anyone.

"...no way...Tifa? ...Mammon, we're going! Clear a path towards the source of that voice."

Letting out a quiet sigh before nodding, Mammon raises his hand and, manifesting his blade from his palm, swings it through the brush blocking his Master's path.

"Hope this chick is worth the trouble."

Not dignifying the Stake with an answer, Cloud takes off sprinting, dashing through the underbrush of the forest as his Stake runs alongside him, clearing the path for his Master. Finally, after a short time of running, Cloud spots the familiar woman laying on the ground, a tall man he didn't recognize standing over her...was that her own Stake? It must be, if she'd been brought to this place as well. Running to her side and kneeling down, Cloud quickly looked her over for injuries. She may have been tough, but a careless fall could still break bones and cause head trauma.

"Tifa...are you alright? It's me, Cloud."

#brawlingbarmaid

chocobolegacy-blog

Arrival of the Legacy [ER Intro]

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"Cloud? You alright in there? Helloo-WHOA WHOA!"

The man soon found himself on his back, coughing in pain, completely befuddled by what just occurred, realizing the technique that was about to be used on him just as Cloud released him, recognizing him just in time to save Zack from a broken arm.

"Y-Yeah, that’d be me."

Asmodeus stepped over to younger looking Stake, smacking him on the back of his head, looking down at him with an irritable gaze.

"Have a little class This is important."

The raven haired male looked up at his old friend with a smile on his face, giving him a little wave with his unharmed hand. With that same hand he took his friend’s, pulling himself up off the ground, seeming completely perturbed by the fact that a few moments ago he was lying on the ground, flat on his ass. In fact, he seemed rather happy about it.

"Damn! You got pretty good, Cloud! Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…"

He took a minute to examine his friend properly, a little concern in his eyes. Now that he got a proper look at him, there were many things different about his old buddy.

"What happened to you? You look…older. You also got a fashion sense now too! Nice get-up!"

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Cloud let Zack ramble on as he returned the inspection. It was just as he'd thought...the man was completely unchanged from the last time they'd met. It was as if he'd never died...and that lead Cloud to think. If they could pluck people out of time...then when exactly was this Zack from, he'd mentioned Cloud's catatonic state, but...

"...Zack, I need you to listen to me. This is going to sound strange but...what's the last thing you remember before coming here?"

Mammon let out a grunt of pain before rounding on the taller Stake. Rubbing the back of his head, Mammon glared at Asmodeus with undisguised anger.

"How about you respect your goddamn elders, Asmodeus? Keep it up and I'll make you my personal footrest once I win this game."

#dreamsofhonor

"Mammon, do you know where our weapons go when they take them away?"

"Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Some secrets ain't meant to be figured out. Why d'ya ask? Finally resolving to winning this?"

"I've got people waiting for me. Can't afford to dilly dally around here. So...which way should we go first?"

"Hey, you're the Master here! You figure it out!"

"...fine, then I guess we'll head north for now."

And with that, the blonde and his Stake began to walk, heading north towards the coastline, as Cloud has said. He'd find someone eventually...he was sure of that.

#er!open

"So are we actually going to start doing stuff soon, or what? I told you already, I wanna win this."

"And I told you already, just be patient. There's no point in rushing in until we've at least got some more idea of what's going on."

"...you bore the absolute fuck out of me, Master."

"There's a lot more people here than I thought there would be..."

"Wouldn't be much of a game with just four or five players. All the best games these days have at least ten like Lea*** of Leg**** and Ca** of Du**."

"...what?"

"...nothing, forget it."

chocobolegacy-blog

Arrival of the Legacy [ER Intro]

dreamsofhonor-blog

"No way…."

There was a moment of silence before the blonde haired male was tackled to the ground, caught in a tight vice grip by the previously senior SOLDIER member. However, there was no aggression in his actions, just confusion and genuine merriment.

"Cloud, you’re alright! Man, you’ve had me so damn worried when I last saw you! Couldn’t even say your damn name, left me carrying you around all over the place… Are you okay? How you feeling? You don’t seem to be so brain dead either!"

"…Master, your foolishness knows no bounds."

Closing the gap between the two was Asmodeus, who was left glaring at his master with nearly violent intent, ignorant of his brother for a moment as he watched the reunion of the two friends silently.

"Though I suppose many would run to embrace a friend of such appeal…"

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Cloud had been subject to far too many attempts on his life to not react on instinct when the unknown man tackled him to the ground. Working entirely on adrenaline and muscle memory, Cloud grabbed the man by the arm and, using all of his strength, hurled him over his shoulder and into the ground, hands moving into position to break his assailant's arm to prevent any retaliation, until....

"...Z...Zack?" Releasing his long-dead friends arm and falling back to a sitting position on the ground, Cloud sat in silence as he looked at his friend. He was...exactly how he remembered. Every hair was in place, every fiber of clothing was the exact same...how was this possible? Could these witches pluck people from out of time as well as space?

"Yeeeah...as touching as this all is, can we get past the shock and awe already? Shit's boring."

Snapped out of his stupor, Cloud turned a fierce scowl towards his Stake before getting back to his feet and, taking a step to close the distance, offering his hand down to Zack, unable to stop the smile the crossed his lips and the tears that began to well up in the corners of his eyes.

"It's...been a long time...Zack. I'm glad to see you."

#dreamsofhonor

Arrival of the Legacy [ER Intro]

Cloud had woken in the middle of seemingly nowhere, surrounded by trees. Taking a moment to sit up, he ran a hand through his hair, partly checking for injuries and partly to assure himself that it was all real. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was getting a call for a delivery job and heading out on the Fenrir. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the forest with no memory of how he'd arrived, and a strange figure crouching by his side.

"Finally awake, huh?"

"...what?"

"I didn't stutter, did I?"

"...no."

"Well good! Least we know your ears are working? Mouth...not so much, but we'll work on it."

"...who are you?"

"Name's Mammon. I'm your Stake in this game. You've been called to participate in a Witch's Game. Specifically, the game of the Golden Witch, Beatrice."

"...Stake? Witch? The hell is going on?"

"Listen just...shit will get clearer once you start goin' around and talking to people, okay? So come on, grumpy butt. Let's get going. You wanna go home, then you gotta win."