[open]

[happygolucky]

Characters: Zidane and ANYONE
Setting: Room 4-04 and throughout the Tower
Format: Action or prose (I'll match you!)
Summary: Zidane's arrival and subsequent explorations. Feel free to encounter Zidane at any location or randomly elsewhere.
Warnings: None to speak of!


Room 4-04 and dormitory levels:
"What? No way." Zidane balled up the first letter with a frown after having read both of them. He wasn't about to believe that the world was destroyed, not after everything he and his friends had done. They'd just saved the world, hadn't they? They'd gone through so much. There had to be a mistake, or someone was lying. Probably the latter. He wasn't about to trust anybody who threw him in a room with a collar on. This was bad, though. Really bad. He had no way of knowing exactly where he was or how he'd gotten here. But he couldn't let everyone down. He had to keep calm and figure all this out.

Curious as he was, it didn't take Zidane long to discover the contents of his trunk. All his stuff was here, too? Where was everybody else? And Kuja. Right! He had to find Kuja! Not that he knew where to start looking, but he straightened nonetheless, his tail curling determinedly. He could do this. Although first, he should probably change out of this weird white thing he was wearing.

By the time he headed out into the hallway, his tail was already starting to droop again. This wasn't like anywhere he'd been before. It couldn't be Memoria again, could it? Kuja couldn't have done this… No, Zidane was sure he wouldn't have. Right? Right. He had no shortage of questions he wanted answers for, but no matter what, he had to keep going, like always. How else would he find what he was looking for?



Floor Three:
Libraries, he knew. Books, he understood. He had them down. But what were these boxy machine things? One of the letters had talked about "the network", and they might be it. There were letters on them, so they were probably for writing. He had never seen one of them before, but if they were the way to communicate, then maybe he could get in contact with someone he knew. Yeah! It was a start. He found a place at one of the network terminals and began poking at it.

When he caught sight of someone else nearby, he turned, flashing a quick smile. "Hey, could you help me with this?"



Floor Six:
Exploring the forest had been a good idea in theory, but Zidane hadn't counted on a host of angry animals having it in for him. Oops. (Hm, why did this seem familiar...?) Fortunately for him, he was good at climbing and as fast, if not faster, than his pursuers were, but this simple forest was proving to be more of a pain than he'd counted on. He leapt from tree to tree, trying to avoid the biting birds (teeth, why did they have teeth?). Probably, he told himself, he should head back to the staircase ASAP.



Floor Twenty-eight:
In the midst of his searches, he couldn't resist the lure of playing with an organ (haha).

As an actor, he had some training with instruments. Not a lot, but some. However, a gigantic pipe organ was far from being one of those instruments, and so the noise drawn forth from the organ by Zidane's hands (and tail) was nothing so much as a discordant clamor. He was surprised, and pleased, when some of the other instruments joined in of their own accord. Kuja liked music, so if he was around, maybe he'd hear this. But it was disheartening not to know if there was any point in searching, so his cacophony, in spite of his lack of expertise, took on something of a mournful tone.



Floor Twenty-five:
He hadn't liked much of what he'd seen of this tower, but this meadow was almost--peaceful, if also eerie, so he paused to rest for a moment among the flowers, plopping himself down with a sigh, hoping no hostile monster voles or butterflies would appear.

He'd known, when he'd gone back to the Iifa Tree, that there'd been a good chance he might never return, but he hadn't expected anything like this to happen. He hoped Dagger was all right. She'd be worried about him. He wouldn't for a single second believe that anything bad had happened to her. Not her, or any of his friends.

He picked a flower and tucked it behind his ear, then picked another and turned it in his hands.

Comments

Floor 3

[bugarallyboy]

"Huh?" Kota had just happened to pass by with his hands behind his head. There wasn't much to do except wandering around in this tower, and that was what he was doing.

"Help with the weird computer-thing?" He leaned in to look at the network device. It looked different from the terminals back at home...

[happygolucky]

"Com-puter thing? Is that what they're called? I've never seen anything exactly like it." It was true that he was familiar with some technology on Gaia, and he'd glimpsed even more advanced technology on Terra, but that had been beyond him.

"Yeah, what do you know about it? The letter said there was a network for getting in touch with people. There aren't any moogles around here, so I'm figuring this is it." He smiles. Not that he expects the moogles would have their mail service network in a place like this.

Kota doesn't know how to explain things...this is going to end well.

[bugarallyboy]

"Let's see... Well the network stuff we used back in my world worked with my armlet." Kota said with a grin as he pointed at his right arm. But then he realized these computers weren't exactly like the terminals he used back at the Den.

"...Oh right. These aren't from my world." With a frown, he scratched his cheek. "If it's like any of the older things, I think there should be an 'on' button."

[happygolucky]

"Carrying it around on your arm seems a lot more convenient," Zidane had to admit. These big things were clunky and didn't look like they could be moved around.

"On button, hmm." Zidane looked at all the buttons and, without delay, curiously pressed a few that seemed promising, until--suddenly, the screen lit up.

"Ah-ha! That one must be it. We're getting there!"

floor 3!

[guiltapalooza]

"Hm? Oh, sure!" Willow gives him an unreserved smile back, and gets up from her own terminal to come over to his. "What do you need help with?"

She likes helping, and she likes computers, and he seems friendly. She doesn't hesitate at all to offer.

[happygolucky]

"Thanks!" He smiles gratefully in return. At least the people around here seem nice, because the atmosphere sure doesn't. "I've never used one of these things before. I get you must press the buttons to make the letters, but... That's all I got so far!" His fantasy world has not prepared him for this, but he's always ready to learn something new.

[guiltapalooza]

"You're from somewhere that doesn't have this level of technology?" she asks curiously. It's a weird concept to her, even if things here are a little more advanced than what she's used to.

"Let me grab a chair. We'll probably be here a while." Willow grabs one from nearby and drags it over, setting it off to the side from his and sitting herself down in it with focus and determination. "My name's Willow, by the way. I was actually substitute teacher for my high school's computer class for a while, so you're in good hands."

[happygolucky]

"Yeah, I guess so! I've never seen one of these, anyway." Actually, there had been much more advanced technology on Terra, so there might have been something like this, but if so, he hadn't had the chance to check it out in all the commotion. "Great to meet you, Willow. I'm Zidane."

All this determination seemed like a good sign. "Hey, I lucked out, I've got an expert on my side."

[guiltapalooza]

"We'll get you situated," she says cheerfully, always happy to teach someone. Sometimes she kind of missed her days tutoring her friends through school-- however annoying it could get, it was satisfying to watch them do well.

"That's me, computer expert. I can click and type with the best of 'em. So what have you figured out so far?"

[happygolucky]

"'Computer', got it. Well, it's on, looks like! And--the letters, I've got that." He's curious about these things, and if they're going to help him in this new situation, he wants to learn as quickly as possible.

He types out: hi. "That's about it so far, but I just got here, and now I'm in your expert hands."

Floor 28

[fallen_stage]

The music floor was quickly becoming one of Kuja's favorites. Whether playing on his own, or listening to another resident or a mere phantom, he liked the relative solitude of the floor. He could feel more at peace there.

Not that anyone could tell with that racket going on with the pipe organ. Surely that couldn't be Ganondorf..?

"Who is making that awful di - "

No. It couldn't - Kuja's mind rejected the person before him as impossible, surely a mirage, brought on by stress, maybe. Yes, stress from the labyrinth still, from dealing with the whole Tower. That was why he felt like someone punched him in the gut as he stared incredulously.

[happygolucky]

Zidane thought he was starting to get the hang of the organ. It wasn't that hard, or maybe he was overestimating the level of skill he was managing to achieve, which was a distinct possibility. Or else he liked making noise enough to judge it a fine effort.

He was distracted from his musical pursuits when he heard someone talking (not that he could hear what they were saying over the sound of his playing) and sensed movement in the periphery of his vision. He turned, and the organ fell silent. His hands froze on the keys as he went absolutely still for a moment, his own expression one of complete surprise. Even though he'd been looking for Kuja, encountering him suddenly here, like this, was still a shock. He took a moment to collect himself.

Then he smiled with relief, letting out a deep breath along with his words. "Kuja! I knew I'd find you!" He started toward him, then hesitated, not sure what the situation was here. Last he'd been aware, Kuja had been dying. Now he seemed--well, he didn't seem to be on the verge of death, as far as Zidane could tell. But that was a good thing. Right? In any case, it was clear that things were different here, but he didn't know how different. "Are you all right?"

He hadn't really faced Kuja as a friend--or, more precisely, not as an enemy--before, but he was sure he'd made the right decision in going after him.

[fallen_stage]

Zidane was looking for him? Smiling at him? It was almost too much. Everything Kuja had been trying to pack away in the back of his mind since coming to the Tower was surging forth, conflicting feelings tying his tongue into knots. It shouldn't be like this. Not now. Kuja was supposed to erase his past, blend in, make allies; Zidane's presence could destroy all of his plans. Bad enough having Vivi around, Zidane wasn't going to respond to threats and blackmail.

"...Better than I've been."

Since Zidane wasn't trying to kill him, wasn't snarling in anger, wasn't yelling, could it mean he was from the same period as Kuja? Two people pulled instead of one by accident, with a delay? Now wasn't the time to contemplate such things. In Kuja's mind, it was almost like he was back at the Iifa Tree, except he didn't have the luxury of dying to say things without consequence. Now he had to own up to his actions.

The prospect was disheartening.

[happygolucky]

"Better's good!" He was still smiling, though his hesitance didn't fade. Kuja was still something of an unknown quantity, in some ways. "I gotta say, I was worried about you." He scratched the back of his head, then figured he might as well go for it it and approached Kuja, closing the space between them, if not all the way, then by a good bit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If Kuja had his powers, then Zidane by himself didn't have a chance of standing up against him, but he was willing to take the risk. He had been told that he couldn't die here--he wasn't sure if he believed it, but there was that, at least. He didn't think Kuja was going to attack him, not that he was completely unwary. The idea of people coming to the Tower from different times hadn't occurred to him, or he would have been more cautious. He assumed that he and Kuja had both been brought here from the Iifa Tree, through a portal, or something like that. He'd gotten to Memoria that way, so why not somewhere else?

The trouble now was knowing what to say. "I told you I'd come get you."

[fallen_stage]

As Zidane approached, Kuja took a step back. Seeing Zidane so happy to see him was... unsettling. Didn't he realize that Kuja had tried to kill him? Kill his friends? Was he just that stupid? Of course he is, Zidane always is, stupid, naive, cheerful little bastard.

Worried about him! Kuja's face flashed to bold anger at Zidane's last words. Of course Zidane came to get him. Of course Zidane did it out of the pure goodness of his damned heart, and never had a selfish bone in his body. Well he didn't need that pity. Zidane was years too late for that.

"You're an idiot. I told you to go and instead you throw it all away! For what? For closure? To convince yourself that you're a 'good person', who would never consider leaving even an enemy to die alone? I wonder, did you tell your precious canary about how you were going to save poor, wicked Kuja? Did she effuse about how wonderful and noble you are? Maybe you wanted to be her fairytale prince when you came down to spit platitudes in my face."

Floor 28

[materiahunter]

"Gawd, what is that noise!?"

Continuing her exploration of the tower, and somehow avoiding the spider that was running around eating people, Yuffie was stopped by a sudden racket that echoed loudly throughout the floor. She covered her ears and set out to find the source, which turned out to be some pipsqueak fooling around with an organ. And was that a tail...?

"Heeeey! What're you doing, trying to make everyone deaf?"

[happygolucky]

Zidane turned with a laugh, pulling his hands back from the organ keys. "Nope! I'm trying to get their attention." He grinned, and added, "And then maybe make them deaf." Now that he had someone's attention, though... It didn't seem fair to subject her to the continuing noise of the organ, especially as she was a cute girl. So--forget the organ. He turned away from it and toward her.

"Looks like it worked. The first part of my plan, anyway. Buuut, I think I'll let you off easy and spare your hearing, cause I'm such a great guy."

[materiahunter]

Yuffie grinned, despite herself. "Yeah? Thanks."

She took a moment to look around at all the musical instruments scattered around. "This place sure has a lot of junk," she muttered.

"So, what's your name? I'm Yuffie."

[happygolucky]

"Anytime." He winked.

Looking around at all the many, weird instruments, he shook his head. "I know, right, it's like someone's big, weird music warehouse or a concert hall gone wrong. Wonder what all this stuff's even doing here?" This Tower was weird in so many ways; he hadn't even begun to discover them all yet.

"Yuffie--hey, that's a real cute name. Nice to meet ya! I'm Zidane."

[materiahunter]

"I have no idea! This place is so shady, and there's some real weirdos here."

Wow, the kid was a real charmer! If it had been anyone else, she might have been creeped out, but he seemed decent. She puffed up like a chocobo, enjoying the ego stroking.

"Well, of course it is! I'm the pride of Wutai!" And not a humble bone in her body. She sat down on a nearby stool and gestured towards him. "So where ya from?"

Floor 3

[yougotthatwrong]

[He just happened to stumble upon a teenager reading a mystery novel. (Ironic, considering his life is one.)]

...Yes?

[happygolucky]

Didn't mean to disturb you, it's just I've never used one of these things before.

[He jabbed the keyboard with a finger.]

Think you could give me a hand?

[yougotthatwrong]

Huh? Oh, sure!

[And he's going to approach the terminal. :|b]

[happygolucky]

Thanks, man! I owe you one.

[He smiled gratefully as the other teenager headed over.]

Name's Zidane, by the way. I just got here.

[yougotthatwrong]

Makoto, it's nice to meet you as well, Zidane-san.

[And now that he's near the terminal, he's going to start explaining things!]

So, where do you want to start with>