towerofanimus | [open]

Entry tags:

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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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"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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