towerofanimus | [open]

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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.

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"Garland did that, too. He got inside my head, my memories, changing what I thought. It was sort of like a dream." He frowned slightly. Did they have the same kind of technology Terra did, with vessels for souls? It was weird to think that someone else might do the same kind of thing, after all they'd done to stop Garland, but it was hard to know what was really going on in this place, other than the fact that it wasn't good. That was obvious.

He nodded, thinking this over. "It's probably better for them if we fight each other. Teaming up is the best idea. If there are so many of us and less of them. There must be something we can do." He looked up at Kuja, with another smile.

"How about you and me team up, for a start?"

Kuja couldn't help a shudder at the description; or rather, he made no move to suppress it. Zidane was safe on this matter, at least. It had felt so real, foreign thoughts intruding on his brain, muddling his thinking until he couldn't tell where he began or ended...

Wait. Teaming up? Kuja's first instinct was to shout Zidane down, go into another burst of temper. But no, Kuja wasn't a child, he had a grip on his emotions and didn't always need to act on them. So instead he considered the matter. Normally the idea of working with Zidane galled at him, but... couldn't Zidane be his best advocate? If he truly believed Kuja was capable of - morality or whatever he cared to call it, then Kuja could use that sincerity to his advantage. If nothing else, Kuja could claim the opportunity for reformation in order to keep his past a secret. It'd also give him access to the "fellowship" without compromising his current standing with the others.

"If I were to agree, would you promise not to tell anyone of what I did, of my plans? You may disclose my role as a weapons developer and merchant, but nothing beyond that."

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. He hadn't been sure how Kuja was going to react at all. There were a lot of things about Kuja he wasn't sure about. He believed there was good in him, and he'd wanted to save him, but the situation was a lot more complicated than that.

Zidane wasn't a fan of lying. Not that doing what Kuja asked would necessarily directly involve lying, just not mentioning what Kuja had done. He had already realized how bad it would sound: Hi, I'm looking for my brother, but be careful, he tried to destroy the world! If everyone was afraid or mistrustful of Kuja, how would he learn to deal with people? However, if Kuja was a danger, people would be exposed to it, with no warning.

He believed that Kuja could change, that he could be a better person, and he knew he had to show him some trust to get some in return. But he didn't trust him completely yet, largely because he knew what Kuja was capable of, the very thing Kuja didn't want him telling others. Kuja wasn't dying now. He might have had his powers, though to what extent, Zidane couldn't say. Had that changed things for the worse again? Zidane wanted to believe it hadn't.

"I promise, but you have make me a promise, too. I don't want you to plan anything like that again. Any plan that involves hurting people--or conquering them. If we're gonna work together, we've gotta share things and be honest with each other, got it?"

Kuja released his breath in a hiss between his teeth. Was Zidane serious? Never hurt anyone, for any circumstances? No, even Zidane had to be more sensible than that, surely. At least he hasn't picked up on how Kuja must have killed others in the labyrinth. Would Zidane recognize the unique circumstances, or stick to his morals? Hopefully the former; Kuja wouldn't bring it up now.

"Please, give me a little credit. I've quite gotten over my temper tantrum, and I'm not going to slaughter everyone at random. If nothing else, please believe that I would not act against my best interest that way, since once revived my victims would retain a grudge."

Right now, Kuja isn't ready to entirely trust Zidane yet. Not with his own secrets and thoughts, at least.

"It wasn't just some temper tantrum, Kuja," said Zidane quietly, not liking the way he put it. How many people had died? It was hard to even estimate, and he wasn't going to take that lightly. Kuja had been completely out of control, and whole cities had been destroyed. Everyone had almost been destroyed. From Zidane's perspective, all that had happened such a short time ago.

It wasn't that he didn't think Kuja should hurt anyone, since self-defense was another matter, and Zidane had done his share of fighting. But the planning and scheming and willful hurting of people--he'd had enough of that.

"I didn't say I thought you were gonna slaughter everyone." After all, Kuja had been here, without him, and it seemed that he hadn't done anything like that. "I said no plotting and planning and stuff like that. And don't hurt anyone if you can help it."

"Never mind what it was! Terra was better off fully dead." Kuja felt irrationally hot-tempered. How was it that Zidane brought out the worst of him? Usually he was so in control of himself. How irritating. That he caused the death of thousands, tens of thousands, didn't come to mind. To Kuja, that was just part of the plan. A dispassionate means that his end goal justified. People died every day.

"You might as well tell a chocobo not to run" Kuja muttered under his breath. Aloud he continued, "This Tower isn't large enough to get away with such things, so even if I wanted to let my feelings get the best of me, it would be against my interests. Just what do you think my plotting could do here, exactly?"

"What it was is important." Zidane stayed calm, but he meant what he said. "I'm not only talking about Terra. I'm talking about Gaia." If Kuja wanted to reform, he had to understand what it meant, the harm he'd done, and Zidane couldn't let that pass.

"I don't know, Kuja, I just got here," said Zidane, but it wasn't exactly promising that Kuja was being defensive. "But that's the deal." He wasn't going to feel like he had to keep to his end of the bargain if Kuja didn't keep up his. (Not that he was currently planning to go out of his way to tell everyone, but he wasn't about to lessen his bargaining power by saying so.)

"If we're gonna team up, we really have to work together." When he'd gone after Kuja, he'd thought there was a chance he could bring him back. That would have meant working something out, and it was true here, too. "To help people."

"Suddenly you care about that useless chunk of rock? Don't forget that it was trying to destroy Gaia."

Just the same as always. Lecturing and moralizing, regardless of Kuja's actual goals and actions. At least he wasn't being as woefully shortsighted this time around. Regardless, he could avoid fights easily enough, so it was little sacrifice to save his reputation.

"Fine, what do you propose, then?"

Right now though, Kuja needed every ally he could get.

"I didn't say that. I don't know what else could've been done about Terra." He really didn't. It--and Garland--had been killing Gaia. There was no sense worrying about what could have been done now, when what happened already happened. "Like I said, if you hadn't shown up, I might've done the same thing. What I mean is, what happened to Gaia is important. You didn't only hurt Terra."

He studied Kuja, trying to imagine what he might be thinking. He didn't know. He felt a lot of different things when he looked at him: angry, and afraid, and sad--but also hopeful. Because wasn't Kuja standing here talking to him rationally, possibly working with him? Maybe it was a start.

"I don't exactly have a plan yet." Honestly, he didn't. He'd rushed down into the Iifa Tree, and then, once he'd woken up in the Tower, he'd gone looking for Kuja--or Dagger, or any of his friends. "You know, stick together, watch each other's backs. Figure out what's going on around here and what we can do about it."

"I did what I had to under Garland's watchfulness."

Maybe Zidane didn't understand that, didn't understand that Kuja was banished but also monitored, in danger of being destroyed any day. Really, if Garland wasn't used to waiting hundreds, thousands of years for results, Kuja might not have lasted as long as he did.

Of course Zidane didn't have a plan. He was more the spontaneous type to Kuja's patient planning. Kuja had to admit that Zidane's instincts were good at least.

"I suppose. I've already made some contact with a few people. Many of them considered 'evil'. If you really want to help, go foster friendships with those who claim to be 'good'. That way we have all of our bases covered."

"Kuja..." Was he really absolving himself of all responsibility? Zidane did understand somewhat, after what Garland did to him, but Kuja had made his own choices, too. He hadn't been fighting Garland out of the goodness of his heart. If things had gone a little differently... Now was not the time to press the issue too much, he knew. He hadn't forgotten Kuja's earlier outburst, but he couldn't just let it go. "I know you did a lot of what you did because you had to." A lot of, he stressed. Not all. "But that's kinda not what I meant either."

Okay, this already wasn't going so well.

"Uh, hold on, wait a sec, who are these 'evil' people?" He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. No, scratch that. He was sure he didn't like it. "Is it really a good idea to rely on them at all? Maybe we can back off on the whole 'evil' thing and focus more on the regular people here."

If Kuja is good at one thing, it's justifying his actions; otherwise, what would that imply about himself if there had been other options he had discarded for the more ruthless ones? Kuja was also good at deception, both others and even himself. Right now, he's mollified from Zidane acknowledging his necessary sacrifices.

"A number of people... Don't be so naive. I don't agree with all of their ideas, but they are powerful, and I'd rather not have that power turned on me." He'd already faced Ganondorf's strength once, and it was enough. "So I've persuaded one that a greater unification would be more beneficial. With you charming your way with the 'good' residents, we have a better chance of stopping their moralistic bickering long enough to actually accomplish something."

He was going to have to talk to Kuja more--about Terra and Gaia. He wasn't going to change if he couldn't admit what he'd done wrong.

Zidane was very disheartened and lonely in this moment, suddenly feeling the full weight of what had happened. He took a second to remember his friends and felt a little cheered, but he was more or less trapped in this place alone. With Kuja. (And some other people, who for the most part, at least had seemed nice.) Well, he couldn't give up that easily.

"I'm not naive. You're being more than a little vague with me here. That's not how working together works. You don't agree with all of their ideas? So, which ideas do you agree with?" He sighed. "I don't know, Kuja, it's generally not a good idea to ally yourself with someone 'evil'." Which is sort of what he's doing, in a way, isn't it? Though he doesn't believe Kuja is evil, not at heart.

"How do you know they're not gonna lie or betray you, if they're not trustworthy?" And he really could have been asking this same question of himself right now.

"Many of them are selfish, greedy fools who just want power. They're no better than Brahne, or Garland. I'd rather know where a wasp is than to not know."

Why couldn't Zidane see that? Couldn't see the wisdom of keeping track of those most dangerous, most likely to turn on you, of even directing their actions by understanding their goals. The villains were too large a presence to be written off entirely, and the residents couldn't survive as a whole if divided.

"Because I expect them to lie and betray me, and I'll know how they'd do it. Even a villain has loyalty to something in their hearts: one just has to find it."

"Can't you know where they are without working with them? I can hear where wasps are without climbing right up into the nest. You already know they're gonna betray you." He was concerned, not only because of his difficulty trusting Kuja, but also, hadn't Kuja had enough of dealing with people like that all the time?

Selfish, greedy fools who just want power.

Kuja had wanted power, before he'd known he was going to die. If he hadn't started worrying about being mortal, what would have happened to the people of Gaia then? Zidane was willing to bet it wouldn't have been great. And it wouldn't have involved Zidane living a long and happy life.

"You're gonna tell me all about these evil people, right?" He frowned, then paused. "I won't make friends and lie to them, not like that. I'll be honest with the people I meet."

He wondered if Kuja really wanted to work with him. Kuja had saved his life, that he knew, and that was something, a big something. They were both Genomes, and that was something else. "What are you loyal to, in your heart?" Kuja had brought it up, and Zidane was curious. He realized that Kuja wasn't necessarily going to tell him the truth or even answer, but it was too late to worry about that; he'd already asked the question.

No, Zidane didn't understand at all. He wasn't the same kind of person Kuja was, didn't have the same sort of experience. Zidane was the type to win others over with his sincerity, which was fine as far as his methods went.

"Do you really want to quibble over the method, if the goal is the same? If you want me to keep you up to date, that's fine, but leave me to what I'm best suited for. You can be honest and I can lie."

He should have expected that question, but it still made him pause. Didn't Zidane know? Or at least, couldn't he guess? It wasn't even his business, not really.

"You tell me, Zidane. Didn't I spill all, in the end?" Bitter? Just a little.

"I'd rather you come with me," said Zidane, honestly. He didn't like leaving people behind, and wouldn't he be, in a way?

"The method is a big deal. It's a huge deal." Was Kuja really asking him that question? "Your methods haven't always been the best, Kuja." They'd been some of the worst, in Zidane's personal opinion.

"No, because I keep trying to tell you, there wasn't an end. Don't you get it? I'm still gonna bring you back."

"They've been very effective for me so far." If it wasn't for Garland... but he didn't like to dwell on the past. "A pincer maneuver is more effective here. Unless you want to tackle the 'villains'."

Maybe Zidane was bitter? Kuja could hardly blame him, but if Zidane really wanted his help, Kuja was going to go with the best plan to fit the situation.

Zidane's comment brings Kuja's turn to bitter feelings. "Fine. Whatever. If you can find a way to end this, I'll go along quietly."

During his stay in the Tower, Kuja had been wondering if Zidane had an ulterior motive. Was a quiet death too easy?

"Yeah, for you, maybe," said Zidane. He was more concerned with people's general welfare than with Kuja's plans. "I'm not a big fan, personally." Especially as those methods would have involved him and his friends all dying. "If you remember." Okay, so maybe there was a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He wasn't exactly bitter so much as wary and weary.

"I'd try tackling the villains," Zidane said, though he wasn't sure exactly what he would do with them. But he'd try! Not that he actually wanted to hang around with a bunch of people who were supposedly villains. "I just don't know about this pincer manuever thing..."

He nodded at Kuja's agreement, however. "Okay, good." He wasn't sure exactly what could be done about Kuja once he brought him back, but maybe he could live with Mikoto or something like that. There had to be an answer, because he wouldn't give up on him. "So long as we're in agreement on that."

Kuja ignores Zidane's bitterness; he doesn't want to think about that sort of thing right now, and it'd only drive a wedge between them. Regardless of personal feelings, Kuja wasn't so stubborn as to drop an ally for that.

"Maybe we could both try our luck with both groups. Feel out the dynamics. Then compare our notes to determine a course of action."

Not the most efficient plan, but Zidane was good with people. He should be able to win over some, and at least get a read on others.

Zidane is willing to--not exactly let bygones be bygones, but he is willing to cut Kuja some slack for the time being.

"That sorta sounds good. So you'll be spying on the villain types and trying to get them to cooperate with everybody else?" Put like that, it does make sense and doesn't sound as bad.

"I'll see what's up with people. Somebody must be working on a way to get out of here."

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