From Hell To Heaven

From Hell To Heaven
Date of Scene:	13 December 2012
Location:	Goug - Seventh Heaven
Synopsis:	After a traumatic experience getting back to civilization, Mercade Alexander finds his way to the Seventh Heaven, meeting with Rinoa and Tifa.
Cast of Characters:	Mercade Alexander, Tifa Lockhart, Rinoa Heartilly

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Mercade Alexander has posed:
It is probably a normal evening in the Goug slums. There's always people out there who want to drink their cares away, especially in the hard life of those who don't partake of Shinra's 'largesse'.

It's probably not unusual for someone to come in a bit haggard, or maybe even slightly injured. It's a rough trip, after all, from the closest port of Junon, or even through the nearby wilds. The slums themselves have predators of their own kind. More of the human type... And occasionally something less so.

But what happens tonight might just be a little on the unusual side. The door opens, the silhouette of a man in a trenchcoat falling into the building from the flickering light outside... And then the man falls flat on his face, thudding there barely sensate. It's Mercade Alexander, his coat torn, his body bearing signs and scars of many wounds. His clothing is haggard, his look of a man who hasn't shaved (or bathed) in days. In short, he looks like hell.

Watson pokes his head in behind into the doorway. You know it's him because he's got a chocobo-fit gray bowler hat. Mercade picked it up on a lark a while ago. The Chocobo comments succinctly, "Wark!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
There are a few things of interest in the bar today. Its actually not such a typical evening right now.

First thing, the barmaid of course.

But outside of her, its pretty empty, maybe its too early, or maybe the usual people that are usually around are gone on a training trip.

Like those ever happen, right?

The barmaid is leaning over a table, a large paper sprawled over it. Its not a map, they are plans. Looks like the business she had with Xanatos is not completly off. The idea of turning the place into an inn is still there, and its a good time to get it done, there's people without a place to stay at after all.

She looks up when Mercade steps in, offering a wave. She had time to clean herself up from the Manhattan fight at least, wearing her leather barmaid dress, less flashy but functionnal "Hey, seems like you're in a dire need of a shower."

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Since the defeat of Manhattan, lots of places have been experiencing an influx of people. Goug has too, but not so much as Traverse Town, the capital of trail weary travellers. Either way, it's probably good business for 7th Heaven. Such a nice and inviting atmosphere, why, Rinoa still remembers the first time she found herself in the Goug slums and was brought here by Tifa.

She's back at the bar again, helping Tifa to make orders. Indeed, tonight it's pretty slow, and pretty quiet. Unusual perhaps for a usually popular bar. While Tifa was making plans to expand her business, Rinoa was making plans of her own to visit Garden and deal with some long forgotten contracts with SeeD there..

However when a man in a trenchcoat steps in and suddenly falls flat on his face in the bar, she frowns a bit and moves quickly towards him. "Hey..Are you alright?" Angelo barks excitedly beside her as she comes bounding up to the man, a potion already in her mouth which she tosses at Mercade.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade groans, slowly rolling over. The potion is tossed to Mercade, who uncorks it and drinks it desperately. Healing sparklies! "Oh God, am I in heaven?" He says, staring upwards, and seeing Rinoa. He blinks blurry eyes, and his sight clears... And he sees Angelo as well. "Whoa. Nice puppy! Good puppy!" He says, jerking slightly to the side and propping himself up. He looks around, and blinks. "Oh hell, I am in heaven." He chuckles lamely. "Sorry, I haven't been in civilization for a while." Mercade says. "You guys are a lifesaver." He looks over to Rinoa again, and then at Angelo. "Have we met? I don't remember..."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart brings out the tray of doggie treats for Angelo, moving over to the counterside "Good girl as always Angelo." She smiles, shaking her head "You are in the Seventh Heaven. Not quite heaven though, but given the state of things right now, its still better than hell.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Angelo whines a bit, nuzzling against Mercade and licking his face a little, tail wagging quickly behind her. Seems she's pretty friendly with strangers at least. Once he takes the healing potion, Rinoa straightens up, relaxing a bit. "Oh, thank goodness! You're alright!" She frowns still, offering him a hand up. "Umm, what happened to you? I'm afraid, we haven't met before.."

She scratches her head when he talks about being in heaven, and then chuckles. "Well, I guess you could say that..Afterall, this IS Seventh Heaven!" Angelo's tail wags eagerly as Tifa comes over with treats, and she grabs hungrily at the treats, munching away on them and forgetting all else for the moment.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Oh hell, seriously?" Mercade perks up. "Then I made it! Hell yes." He looks to Tifa, and grins. "Tifa! You're a sight for sore eyes!" And not just because she's pretty. "Can I get some W..." He pauses. "Water, please?" Whiskey would be great, but right now that would be a bad idea.

He pulls himself into a chair at this point and sits down. Watson just sort of hangs around, warking amiably and poking around outside.

"Name's Mercade Alexander." He says, smiling wanly. He flicks his hand in a motion, as if to pull something out... But nothing appears in his hand. Mercade winces. "Damn. Need to get more business cards." He sighs, and then continues. "I'm a detective from... Well, what used to be Manhattan." He nods to Rinoa and Angelo, absently giving the dog some pets. "You're a nice puppy, aren't you? Who's the best puppy?" He asks Angelo.

He looks back up. "I've kind of had a bit of an adventure." He admits. "It's a hell of a story, but to summarize it involves a lot of getting lost, dealing with bad people, hostile wildlife, and running."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart lifts an eye brow, and goes to get a glass of water for Mercade, along with a small bassin of warm water, soap and a sponge "Here, clean yourself up a little too, you look like a mess. You can go take a shower if you prefer as well, I'm sure you can use a bit of relaxing too, after all that happened." She leans down to pet Angelo's head as she talks as well, just taking care of the good doggy a bit. Mercade doesn't need pettings, even though he might like them.

"Yeah, everything's crazy right now, that's why we all do what we can .

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa arches a brow at Mercade. What a strange guy..But he's pretty funny too, at least he's got Rinoa smiling. "Nice to meet you, Mercade! I'm Rinoa, and..I guess you've already met Tifa. Wow Tifa, you seem to know everyone!" Well is it any surprise really, considering that she runs a popular bar? It's a hotspot for meeting people!

Her smile fades then, when he talks of Manhattan. "Oh..From the detective agency? I'd heard something about them..But..That's really sad what happened..I'm really sorry for your loss. I guess that means, you're without a home now, right?" Well, she'd invite him to stay here, but it's not really her place. She'll let Tifa handle that.

He talks about his journey here, and she nods. "Oh yeah, Goug is a pretty dangerous place! I mean, we're in the slums afterall! Lots of nasties out there! Glad to see you made it here in one piece at least!" Angelo meanwhile, once she's finished eating her yummy doggy treats, glances back at Mercade, and nuzzles against him, seeming to quite enjoy the attention she gets.

"Oh yes, the dog's name is Angelo! She's actually two years old." Not exactly a puppy anymore..

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Tifa is a great person who helps out a lot of people. Besides, she's also a bartender." Mercade grins. "It's her job to know everyone, right?" He chuckles for a moment, and takes the water, drinking it slowly. He remembers enough from Boy Scouts about this. "I'll take you up on that, as soon as I get a chance to recover a little bit." He certainly wouldn't mind pettings, but that's an entirely different subject.

His expression goes dark at the mention of lacking a home. "I suppose it's one thing to say you're trying to fight to keep that from happening... Entirely different for it to happen to you." He nods. "I need to find out if any of the others made it out... And then maybe we can set up someplace again. I'm not going out without a fight." Because he's already down. He chuckles at the mention of the slums. "Oh, it wasn't just the slums. There was also the killer robots, sand people, pirates, the Midgar-Zolom, and a horde of angry chocobos."

He looks down at the puppy, and give it some more pettings. Guess Mercade likes dogs! "Angelo! That's a nice name! You probably take good care of Rinoa, don't you? Are you one of her best friends, huh?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart uhms "Well yeah, you're not really limited to being in Manhattan for your agency, right? You can find some other place to work from. Hey, you could even work from here really, there's lots of people that come here after all, set yourself a table in the corner and people come to see you when they need help." Its an idea anyway. She shakes her head "Either way, Manhattan might be lost, but I heard someone say that things that are lost can always come back one day. The only thing you shouldn't do is abanddon them."

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Angelo barks happily at Mercade and seems to nod in agreement, tail wagging all the time. Rinoa nods. "Yes, she's pretty helpful. I still owe her my life among other things.." She smiles warmly at her dear friend before looking back at Mercade, seeming quite shocked when he speaks of all the adventures and dangers he survived.

"Oh, goodness! No wonder you're such a mess! You must be exhausted after all of that, but at least you're still in one piece!" She smiles and nods to Tifa. "You know, she's right, at least there are other worlds to retreat to. You can always rebuild, right? Just hang in there!" still, she wouldn't suggest building in the slums. What a dark and dingy place. Ironically, it's probably the best place to fight crime.

"Y'know Tifa, you should really look into adding an inn to your bar here." Among other things.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade nods at Tifa's words. "You're right. You're both right." He says, straightening. "We can't give up. We can figure something out. Just like you said. Maybe here, or, well..." He looks over at the table where the plans lay. "You know, if you're interested, maybe we could set something up. Maybe we can build a place in Traverse Town later on. It's nice and central, gives everyone plenty of room to work with." He rubs his chin and winces at the brush of a couple days of whisker-growth. Hard to rock the stubble when you havent' shaved in a while.

He looks over to Rinoa and chuckles again. "Does she take in strays like this often?" He tilts his head. "I'm going to have to start learning the area if we're going to set things up here."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart puts her hands on her hips "Hey now, its not taking in strays as much as helping out those in need." She smirks, and she walks over to the table "These are actually plans for the renovations into making this an inn, that we started with Xanatos. We were about to open one in manhattan, and part of the overall project was making this one into an inn, so that's what was I looking over. Opening one in Traverse Town was the next step after that."

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa cant help but giggle. "Well, I guess she took me and Angelo in..But yeah, I guess she really does have a good heart. We're all glad to have her here afterall! You know, she fended off heartless, and dragged me here herself! It was quite the brave feat!"

Rinoa then heads over to the table, peering over the plans. "Wow, that would be really something! It'd certainly attract clientele!" She nods and smiles at Mercade. "That's always an idea. Goug attracts lots of crime. I'm sure they could use your help much as anywhere.."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Fair enough." He says to Tifa. "I'm just razzing you." He nods at the description of her plans, and nods again. "I see. I guess... Those plans are a little out for now, then." He sighs, leaning back in the chair.

Rinoa's reply causes him to nod. "There's a lot of crime here, but I think... I don't know if I can really solve what the real reasons for it are. I've seen places like this before, in my world."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smirks at Mercade, but nods "Its no use feeling down over it right now, you just have to pick yourself up and get things moving until everything is fixed." She moves over to get some tea ready, a pot to heat up "Its not like its technically impossible to bring back. Didn't we bring another world back at some point? And unlocked new ones through our actions, like Serendipity? There's no telling what will happen, and honestly, we need people like you as well to inquire into things to find the solutions. If you stop moving, that's where everything is truly lost.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"I... don't know." Mercade says. "Maybe we can. Maybe we can't. I don't know how it works. Merlin and Mickey didn't have a lot to say." He looks up, his eyes burning. "I'm more worried about the people who did this. They need to be stopped. We need to make sure they can never do this again. Ever. We need justice for what they have done."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods "I totally agree with you. But one thing at a time either way. Finding the people that are responsible for this is just as important as taking care of those outsted by this situation, and bringing their home back as well.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"How do we do that though?" Mercade asks. He looks up at the ceiling, thinking. "I've tried to look for answers to this. The Keyblades seems to have a link to it, but I don't know anything about how it works or why." He looks back down, drinking more water and then looking over to Tifa. He starts scrubbing from the washbasin and sope he's been provided with. "Do you have a plan?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head "I don't have a plan, but I'll do what I can. Either with these arms and legs of mine, or with my heart. And by that, I mean holding the bar. My friend Aerith is gone on training to get stronger. I think what we need more right now is a place to call home, and that's why I'm here right now. I want to have the bar ready for my friends to come back to, and I will make the place bigger so that even more can stay here. The important thing is doing something, not just idly wait. What that something is though, depends on what you can do.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade nods, and drops the considerably less clean scrubber into the water. "You're right. We all need to do what we're best at. You're good at making a place for people to rest... And I'll continue to help people and look for answers. When the time comes, we'll work together to put a stop to this."

He wrinkles his nose. "But first... I need to go wash up properly. Then get some new clothes, and find some new guns." He pauses. "They have guns around here, right?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart laughs a bit at that "Well, not here here, but there's some in town, no doubt. I know Turks like to use guns among other things." She's seen them a few times at least, plus Barrett had a gun grafted in the arm, if that wasn't the scariest part of him. "I do have a proper shower in the back if you want to, this was just to refresh yourself a bit. Feel free to relax here all you want. People are all shaken up right now, honestly the business ia little slow because of that this week. People don't want to be the next town to fall to the dakrness."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade nods. "All right. I'm going to go... get some new clothes, and then I'll be back." He stands up. "I think what I've got will be good for now. Between me and Watson, I guess..." He pauses. "Watson?" He says, and pokes his head out the front door. "WATSOOOOON!"

The chocobo is busy rummaging in garbage. "Waaaaark!" It says happily, its voice reverbeating from the cheap tin garbage pail.

Mercade sighs. "This is going to be another long day."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart giggles softly "I haev a chocobo waiting on me at the ranch as well, no place to keep him here sadly. I'll be right here when you come back, I'm getting the resizing plans ready as you can see.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"I'll see you later." Mercade waves. "I'll see you later! I'm going to go chase my chocobo now." He bolts out the door, going after the giant superchicken. "WATSON, DON'T EAT THAT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S BEEN!"