| Scene Listing | || | Scene Schedule | || | Scene Schedule RSS |
| No title. |
| (2013-06-23 - Now) |
| No description. |
| Rhiannon Zellen | Rhia doesn't usually find herself in the slums of Goug. Unless she's on some manner of mission for Shinra, or following the Turks on some assignment. Or the other way around. It seemed like this day, she was following up on some information regarding AVALANCHE. Not as a mission for Shinra, but merely out of personal curiosity. And it's with this that the doors to Seventh Heaven swing open, revealing the form of Rhia walking in. Dressed in her usual oriental dress covered by a lab coat, she is an oddity even among Shinra. But she really did not seem to care at all. "Hello, hello~" She greeted generally, waving a hand slightly in the process. Making her way over to the bar counter, Rhia settled onto a stool and rested her elbows onto the table, her chin in her hands. Considering the damage Goug took as a whole from the Black Beast's rampage, having such a customer could probably be seen as strange. And with her name and face plastered all over the news recently... |
| Tifa Lockhart | The bar is empty when Rhiannon enters though... which is odd. But it doesn't more than a few seconds for some voice to be heard from the back of the store, where a door is opened on the backyard "Coming right away, just a sec!" A bit of rattling, some empty cooking pans it seems, and Tifa steps in holding a box with various of those culinary tools, that she sets atop the counter "Sorry for the wait, was sorting up stuff in the back. What can I get you?" She offers up pleasantly. Wether its Shinra or anyone else, she serves drinks first and foremost. Although she doesn't know who Rhiannon is either. |
| Aerith | It wasn't hard to figure out this was a Shinra employee. Aerith understood implicitly how to tell them apart, as she had with Cissnei when she'd first met her. No one just walks around with a lab coat on unless they are on some kind of business, and almost every lab coat in Goug had Shinra's insignia on it somewhere. Then there was the fact that she had her face all over the news. That helped a bit. Considering all this, Aerith was not too keen on greeting this woman known as Rhiannon. Still, she was helping Tifa out, and since the barmaid had made the first pleasantries, flowergirl just kept on working the ovens and the grill for now. No need to fly off the handle. Listen to what she has to say first. |
| Rhiannon Zellen | Rhia didn't seem all that bothered by the fact that the bar was utterly empty the moment she walked in. Most people were too busy with the restoration and relief efforts to bother coming to drink in a bar. But hey, here she was, breaking the mold. Again. Soon enough, Tifa emerged from the back, setting abox of supplies onto the counter. "Oh there you are. Hello." A pleasant smile as she greeted the barmaid. "What can you get me? I think I will have..." She paused at that, still smiling as she reached into her coat and produced a syringe. "A sample of your blood~" Pause. ...And then she giggled in amusement. "Okay, not really. I suppose I want to have a drink. Surprise me." She didn't look like much of a drinker at all. And her violet eyes twinkled with amusement as she made such a whimsical order. "So..." She started, her eyes glancing about without changing her posture. "Business seems rather slow today. This building escaped the damage from recent events?" Events caused by /her/. Not that anyone knew. |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart blinks a bit at the weird approach. Eslecially with the syringue. "... uhm... How about a bloody mary then?" She tries to humor the girl, although she is a bit surprised. She really hasn't been much in the news either, so she didn't recognize the girl. Yet, yes, she can read ID tags off labcoats, so she knows soon enough its a Shinra employee. It does make her a little nervous, but honestly since she got in this world she hasn't done anything against Shinra either, so she shouldn't have to worry, right? She nods as she turns around, readying up the drink "Yeah, the monster appeared a few blocks down, didn't come in this direction, or we stopped it before it could, I'm not sure either way. Most of the area behind the bar here escaped direct damage, but lots of them crumbled or tilted by the ripples and the tremors and random debris flying." She sighs at that. She's been helping out with repair efforts too, and most of the rooms have been filled with temporary tenants for the time of the rebuilding too. |
| Aerith | Most of Aerith's time was spent in recovery mode as well, mostly as first aid and helping Tifa help others rebuild their homes. She wouldn't respond to the inquiries though, since her friend took care of those handily. Aerith finished up with cleaning off the grill and headed for the tables to get them cleaned off. With the bar this empty, she could hear the conversation perfectly well, and so she kept her ears tuned for anything particularly... wrong with this woman. |
| Rhiannon Zellen | "A bloody mary? I've never heard of such a thing. Sure then." A nod as she tucked the syringe away. She actually did want a blood sample though. But that was par for the course for this crazy woman. She also didn't particularly seem to care that her identification as a Shinra employee was plain to see. Either she had no sense of stealth at all, or it was just entertainment to her. Probably the latter. "I see. You were lucky then. A lot of the city took heavy damage. Relief organizations are running themselves ragged keeping things together. Quite a shame really." But she didn't seem all that concerned at all. Her tone of voice was rather cavalier and her eyes were downturned, examining her fingernails idly as she spoke. "I suppose there haven't been any...unsavory elements taking advantage of the fallen state most of the city happens to be in now, have there?" She smiled and glanced at Tifa then. Though she smiled, her eyes seemed to lack a certain warmth, making something seem...'off'. "Now would be a perfect chance to strike down certain elements while they are...vulnerable, hm?" |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart doesn't seem to understand what Rhiannon is fishing at either... But the drink is being ready. Vodka, tomato juices, and then she sprinkles a bit of spides over the drink, along with some other liquids, stirring it together and adding a piece of lemon, carrot and celery into the glass as well, sliding it over to the scientist. "Of course when a big company uses most of their ressource to fix things, their attention would be spread." As far as she's concerned though, they had more to worry about heartless and monsters like that black beast than Shinra right now. So that's why its not really in the train of thought. Plus they aren't really prepared for some kind of attack either, most of the members scattered. She looks over to Aerith helping out, smiling "Well we've been helping with it too, of course. My bar been renovated recently, so that's probably why it didn't crumble as easily." |
| Aerith | Aerith turned toward Tifa with a smile. For the first time since the conversation started, she spoke. "It's been keeping us busy, to be sure. We've gotten a few people in here taking full advantage of the new inn upstairs, and we've made it free of charge for any relief workers." |
| Rhiannon Zellen | "Oh how noble." Rhia replied, seeming amused that Aerith finally spoke. And here she figured she was some sort of terrible beast that evoked fear in her heart! That aside, she took the offered drink, staring into it curiously. "Interesting..." Not particularly adverse to it, or otherwise, she raised the glass and took a sip. There was no outward reaction towards the flavor. In fact, her lack of reaction made it seem like she didn't taste anything at all. "Setting that aside, you really have not seen anything at all? No Returners? Vigilantes? Allies of Justice? Phantom Thieves stalking the night? ...AVALANCHE?" That last one was uttered with an amused smile as she set the glass back down, eyes on Tifa and Aerith and watching for reactions, if any. |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart has been called an Avalancher before, she knows the news do exist. Montag was the name, he surely seemed to like rubbing it in too. But she lifts her shoulders "Beside the Shard Seeker, Valkyri and Detective Agency, I haven't heard of many groups around." She puts a finger to her chin in thought "I think there was one called the Zodiac Braves too, otherwise not really. There's a guy that was naming himself DRAGOON MAN that seems fishy though, but he's done nothing but help out. I just don't know what exactly he's doing though, what he wants, or who it really is, but as long as he's not causing troubles..." She grumbles at that "There's enough trouble makers around already." Like taht duck she ran into a few times. |
| Aerith | Aerith blinked for a moment, stared at Rhiannon for a few seconds, and scratched the back of her head. "So what exactly is she talking about? Who's AVALANCHE?" Aerith shook her head. "She's got a point, there's more than enough to worry about. Whoever you're looking for, I haven't heard of them." |
| Rhiannon Zellen | "Oh really. Too bad." She turned her eyes downwards, taking another sip of her drink as she pondered internally. "I suppose I should focus my attention elsewhere then. If you know nothing of AVALANCHE, then I should indeed look elsewhere." Shrugging airily, she set the glass back down and turned her gaze upwards, absentmindedly observing the ceiling lights as she spoke. "Cloud Strife. Barret Wallace...Do those names ring a bell?" The scientist asked casually, seemingly innocuously. "I am interested in...meeting them. For one reason or another." Her eyes turned to Tifa then and she smiled again. "Any idea?" |
| Aerith | Another two names she'd heard nothing about. Especially not this Barret. The questions however were prodding, deliberate at this point. Aerith had no idea they used scientists for their intelligence work, that was usually the Turks' business. But here she was, asking around about some very specific names. This wasn't just curiousity. It couldn't be. "No idea who those two are." She kept her voice level, her features pleasant. This couldn't register on an emotional level. |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart just seems to tense for a moment, as if she was weighting the consequences of answering questions like that. Or maybe its the names that she said. Either way, after a moment... a long breath is let out in a deep sigh "Not since the world merge... if I had any idea what happened to any of them I wouldn't be so worried either." And there you have it, simply the truth as well. For Cloud is even worse, it hasn't been in 7 years. "I didn't get any news from Cloud for 7 years either, if anything your records at Shinra would have more information about it than I do." Of course she has no idea he was in Nibelheim either. |
| Rhiannon Zellen | "Interesting..." Rhia nodded slowly, almost boredly as she had another sip of her drink. She was taking her time with that. "I suppose we do have more information than you do then. Far more. A shame. I figured you would have known, all things considered..." She didn't elaborate any further than that though and then straightened up, downing the rest of the drink in one swift go. "Well then, thank you for answering the silly questions of a curious scientist. I should be on my way, lest certain individuals wonder where I have disappeared off to." Chuckling to herself, she took out a coin pouch, leaving a few gil on the bar counter as payment for the Bloody Mary. "Stay out of trouble now, you two~" Rhia said in a playful tone, winking to the both of them before turning to moving off towards the entrance. |
| Aerith | Aerith waved back as Rhiannon left... then waited a few seconds to make sure she was gone, her eyes closed and senses tuned outward for a good fifteen meters. Once she felt the scientist fade from her radar, she sighed and opened her eyes again. "I don't like her." She didn't like Shinra in general, but that woman felt wrong. Something in the back of Aerith's mind felt that the doctor always carried around syringes like that... She turned toward Tifa. "Right. Time for some girl talk." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart sighs a bit at that "I don't like it either, but I can't turn out customers without good reason either. Not everyone is Shinra is rotten either, but I can't be sure about what she's wants exactly. Her qusetions were rather blunt." She looks toward Aerith "About what?" |
| Aerith | Aerith shook her head. "It was like she didn't care about being subtle or tactful in any way." Definitely not sent by the Turks then. She headed for the bar and sat on one of the stools. "Okay... Cloud and Barret. You're going to tell me who those two are." She directed her gaze toward Tifa. "Mind you, I felt someone else during the time where Zack vanished. I'm not quite sure who it was, but there was a second person. Is that... him?" |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart hms "Where do I start... I guess let's start by the begining, Cloud. When we were young, that is, I was like 14 at that time, Cloud was living in our village. I told you the story of Nibelheim already. It was about 2 years before that. Cloud left the village, saying that he'd join Shinra and become a hero. But I watched the news and the newspaper, I never heard anything about him afterwards. I don't know if he got to Shinra, if he joined SOLDIER, or if he's dead. I wish I knew, but that's the honest truth here. |
| Aerith | Aerith lowered her gaze again, eyes narrowed in thought. There was no evidence that Tifa was lying, neither in her voice nor in her recollection. Time for the next one, then. "And Barret? What about him?" |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart hms "After the whole massacre of Nibelheim, I moved to Midgar, trying to get some amount of revenge. I might be stupid or petty, but after losing everything, I felt that I had nothing left but that. I met with Barrett. He was an underling in a group called Avalanche, trying to resist Shinra. But the previous leaders had been killed, so Barrett ended up in charge of it. He's not the best leader, but he got things moving, and his idea was diong smaller scaled strikes at Shinra, destroying some small control points. But it wasn't working very well. He disapeared with the world merge, so he might be lost in darkness. |
| Aerith | Aerith sighed and propped her elbows on the bar. "So now he's the boss of this whole AVALANCHE thing... and he thinks that by striking at Shinra directly, everything will work out, that he'll get his revenge." Before Tifa could respond, Aerith pushed onward. "I mean, that's the only reason he could be doing it. Those small-scale strikes are just... ways of venting frustration." She shook her head. "I know because I've seen someone who doesn't act out of vengeance, greed, or anger. I don't know where he is now, but if he were here, he'd say the same thing." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart hms "No, he really believes that the reactors are destroying the planet, are killing it slowly, but Shinra wasn't taking any discussions, and expanding more, by rule of fist or gun. That's what he was rebelling against." She doesn't know any other motives, Barrett never wanted to talk about his past. But there was Marlene, have to wonder. |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled. "Yeah... that's what he probably told you. He's in charge after all, and the ones in charge want to be seen one way when they're really another." She stood from the stool. "It's not your fault or his, it's just how things work. You want to be seen as kind, benevolent, revolutionary; a force for change and good. The problem is that change and good sometimes come at very high costs." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart nods "I have my own reasons to hate Shinra... but we didn't want to kill people directly either. Otherwise, we'd just bring the pillars down on Shinra's building, but would that really fix anything? Hard to say." |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. "It'd only end in one way... people would turn from hating them to hating you. And if there's one thing you want to avoid, it's being hated." She made her way around the bar. "Besides, Shinra's popular with people right now because they're afraid. The Heartless have become an effective rallying cry, and for good reason. I still think the problem is in Wutai, and if we help end things there..." She shrugged. "...who knows what could come of it." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart nods "I know... there's not much I can do alone though... Avalanche right now doesn't exist, but... I'm still part of it." She walks over to the side, and pokes the small cast iron vault there "You ever wondered what this chest was for? That's the treasury I've been amassing for Avalanche operations. We always need hired hands, or information. That's the biggest reason I've been working hard and taking up odd jobs for treasure hunts or adventuring. Sure, adventures are fun, exploration is interesting, but that's where my pay went to. |
| Aerith | Aerith smiled. "Saving up for the future; that's a good idea. Just make sure no one else finds out what it's really for, or else it's gone and you're starting from scratch." She stretched her arms above her head. "I think I trust that Cissnei better than I trust that scientist, Rhiannon. If we can effectively work with her on solving this, we might have a faster solution. Just make sure not to show your hand in front of them, if you know what I mean. We're working to find out where they got the Heartless from and cut their darkness off at the source." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart nods "Yeah, that's my main concern. Shinra was my concern in our world, but here... its different. We saw what happened to Manhattan. This goes beyond striking at mako reactors." |
| Aerith | Aerith grimaced. "Hearts are at stake, and not just the ones still in a living body." She shuddered. "Entire worlds can be eaten whole. The very lifeblood of a place, gone in an instant. There's nothing Shinra can do about that if they don't act fast, and even they know it." |
| Tifa Lockhart | Tifa Lockhart sighs, and shakes her head "I know that much... And if this money has to be used against the heartless, I wouldn't hesitate to do it. |