towerofanimus | [07] || [Setting the Stage] || [Closed]

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[07] || [Setting the Stage] || [Closed]

Characters: Ganondorf, Naoya, Nesir, Richtofen and Sephiroth.
Setting: Cathedral Floor, backdated to the 29th January.
Format: Action.
Summary: In exactly one month the "Dark World Plot" Ganon has been working on for awhile begins- It is time to settle the final details and speak of it to his " closest allies" (needless to say, in this room 'friendship' and 'allies' are very strange concepts whose meaning is uncertain, lost to the mists of legend).
Warning: The extreme concentration of evil and chaos in this room exceeds the the recommended health and safety levels.

[ Ganondorf did not do anything extravagant for this meeting. It was no a full fledged Evil Meeting as the ones he usually held, no there would be a time later for such a meeting. Only a small reunion for a few of those he knew and could potentially be of help for his next plan. He had sent notes to Richtofen, Naoya, Nesir and Sephiroth, directly in their dormitory- Using the network was somewhat risky considering the scale of the operation.

It was night time and the Cathedral did not seem much different; if anything those with such powers could feel there was a barrier around this floor preventing non-invited people from entering or eavesdropping. Two Darknuts were guarding the entrance and five chairs had been installed in circle around a table, with the same kind of food and drinks Ganondorf had managed to gather during the future self event. Plotting evil things didn't mean they couldn't be refined ~~and hungry~~.

Obviously Ganondorf was the first one present, sitting in a chair and reading another large book from the library- Though it was only a way for him to pass time while waiting for the time to come. ]

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[Naoya arrived at the appointed time, hands in his pockets. That last... event... had been a bit of a strain. It still bothered him, which was why he'd taken out a few monsters on his way down. There was no sense in coming to one of these meetings without a clear head. Someone had to, at least.]

[He sensed the barriers and chuckled, before stepping inside and nodding to Ganondorf, taking a seat at the table.]

[As always, Richtofen makes no secret of his arrival. It's lucky that the cathedral muffles people's voices, or else the way he's talking to himself as he descends the stairs would be ten times more annoying.]

-always so pushy! No, I told you, I will not be wasting all of mein ammunition so quickly! They'll- Oh, hello. [When he gets just a few feet away from the table, he raises a hand, waving to Naoya and Ganon.] Am I early?

[He flashes them an obviously fake smile. Through his teeth, he mumbles:] Shut up. [Hopefully, his voice is too muffled for the other two to have heard that.]

[Nesir was in a foul mood, but that was really nothing knew. Her anger had only got worse since coming back to normal from the administrators latest experiment and she had been informed she had a new job.

She didn't mind that; she still found the Morgue unnatural, until she learned what the new job was.

Nesir couldn't allow herself to feel fear, and so it simply manifested itself in aggression. She stomped into the cathedral glaring at everyone and all but threw herself into a chair.

These weren't people she had to pretend around after all.]

[Why the church though? Sephiroth lingered in the doorway guarded by the Dark Nut's for a few moments peering into the cathedral. It was certainly more grandiose than the similar building he recalled from back home.

Perhaps Ganondorf was ready to reveal his master plan now, that Sephiroth hadn't been able to figure out - considering the language gap. It's not like he had any other plans for tonight, he could at least find out what the troll wanted that warranted dropping a note into the Dormitory after him. He wasn't one to allow himself to be summoned usually.

He noticed the barrier well enough when he walked through it. Casting a glance around at the others gathered here before approaching the table. Apparently there were to be five of them.]

You're not.

[ He had nodded to Naoya and this was his only answer to Richtofen- Seeing the doctor speaking to himself made him wonder for a moment his choices, his life. He nodded back to them all and waved at the food when they were all here. ]

Make yourself at home.

[ He paused before starting. Sephiroth may be disappointed at the plan, it wasn't exactly the one from years in the future, yet Nesir probably would know exactly what the plan was about, minus the dark world decoy. Originally he had planned to gather the Triforce, but now that Link was gone... Damn green clothed Hylian, the Hero was always on his way, there had been seven of them in the tower and now that he needed one, no one remained. Even in death the hero managed to piss him off. ]

So, it has been a long time since we tried a large-scale plan. You both were there when we infiltrated the control room last year. [He pointed Naoya and Richtofen, and lo! A miracle had come to pass- He didn't remind everyone of what Richtofen had back then.] I have thought a lot about this, why did it fail? I believe it is because we lack knowledge.

We know nothing on the administrators, of the systems that run this tower, of what lays within the administrative floor. This needs to change and this is why I called you here.

[Small damn miracles. Naoya sat back, liking the sound of this. Even if it all went to hell, at least it would be entertaining.]

Forcing our way into it like last time is not going to work. And even with the small amount of coding I've been able to scrape from my stay here, the internal coding of the network and the other systems remains totally incomprehensible.

[Richtofen plopped down in a seat, taking Ganon's advice to heart and scrutinizing the food. He poked and prodded at things, humming idly as he listened to what Ganon had to say.

He seemed distracted as he chimed in, directing his words at Naoya.] Maybe you should apply yourself harder.

[If he realized what he just said was insulting, he gave no indication of it. Other than that jab, he seemed to have nothing of value to contribute to the conversation.]

[Nesir's memories of the event were fuzzy but she remembered that as leaders of shadow cells went Ganondorf was not bad at all. She reached to grab some food and sat back eating happily, it really was a far cry from what she was used to.

She raised an eyebrow at the plan, wondering if it was anything like the one he had put forward to her whilst believing they had been in the tower far longer than they had.

She understood little about what the man... Naoya... was saying, computers were still a mystery to her. She smirked at Richtofen's words.] What do be making you think you could be any more successful than last time? I do be assuming you did be dying?

[For the sake of not looking out of place Sephiroth slipped into the last vacant seat eventually after taking a (maybe) longer than needed glance around at the others gathered here that Ganon had summoned. He also glanced suspiciously over the food as if deciding if he was in the mood for any of it and then deciding against it.

He inched the chair a little further out of the general shape of the 'circle' - he's not part of this group. His even being here is testing the water before he dove into something he'd regret. He didn't know a great deal about any of the other people gathered here. In fact, Naoya he hasn't encountered at all until now.

Finding out more about the Administration? Sephiroth frowned a little and folded arms lightly across his chest. He wouldn't say anything, though how Ganon could have conjured the master plan he'd spied in the research room without having any firm idea on what made the Tower run, seemed extremely too naive for him! It felt distinctly like this would have been one of the lesser missions that Sephiroth hadn't been able to recall before.

Hasn't that what had happened though? People had gained years, for a while at least. It was somewhat comforting that the more loose ends he tied up about the last event in his mind, the less he suspected he was the one who'd had his memories wiped.

Even so, reconnaissance is needed. Sephiroth would go a long way to finding out more about how the Tower functioned regardless.]

Edited 2013-02-05 22:53 (UTC)

Yes, I figured the internal coding of this tower would be hard to break. Breaking through the control systems may be close to impossible currently. However, I believe you may be able to break through a much less important system.

And I can give you five days to work on it without the administrators realizing the intrusion.

[ He'd mention which system later, but he had his reasons to believe Naoya could break into this one. More so if he accepted help from other specialists in the tower, but he would let him do as he pleased.

Implying a facepalm as Richtofen spoke, Ganon nodded at Nesir. ]

We did manage to infiltrate the computers and yes, we did die. However I shall not mention how the security system was alarmed our presence... [He'd direct his glare at Richtofen for a second though, so everyone knew anyway how the security system killed them before continuing-] But what was our real mistake? It was to go down there with as only purpose to take over the tower and its systems.

If we had purposed ourself to gather informations and explore rather than head to the controls, we would be better armed today. And this is why this time we will be successful. We do not plan to infiltrate the lower levels to take over, but to gather information.

[Richtofen glared right back at Ganon, gripping the edges of the table until his knuckles went white. If there was one thing he hated more than being reminded of his past failures, it was being reminded of failures that had been falsely credited to him. Yes, he'd pointed a gun at Zo, and yes, he'd yelled at him and threatened him a little bit, but it was clearly the stupidity of the others that spelled their downfall. How could it be anything else?

That in mind, Richtofen decided to plead his case as soon as Ganon was finished speaking.]

It was not my fault! [He rose halfway out of his seat, still gripping the table, and yeah that was definitely more of a yell than an attempt at civil conversation. Way to go, Richtofen.] It wasn't! Stop looking at me!

[He plopped back down in his seat abruptly, then shuddered and rubbed at his arms, as if trying to brush away the feeling of thousands of pairs of eyes all staring at him at once. Still in a sour mood, he decided to pick away at Ganon's plan without even hearing the details.]

How do you plan to do this, anyway? Are you sure your brilliant plan- [He made sure to emphasize the part about the plans being Ganon's, of course.] -will not fail und get us all killed again?

[Well this was interesting, Nesir picked up another cake and watched with a grin. Purposefully staring at Richtofen, one eyebrow raised.]

If we do be going only for information it do no be mattering if we do be dying or not. [Nesir assumed that this was at least similar to the plan she could vaguely remember from when she believed she had been here for ten years.]

That's provided that they don't wipe our memories of ever being down there if we all do die. Then there is the question of bias of those that don't die and do remember, vs those who don't. We need an efficient way of recording what we do find.

[The silver-haired one had refrained from piping up until now, instead carefully observing and listening the others. Though the recent scare he'd had with memories he thought he'd lost makes it more imperative that such a thing never happens.

He smirked a little before making the obvious point this all rested on.]

This all depends on how successful we are actually getting down there in the first place. And being able to stay down there undetected.

I'd like to see them attempt to wipe my memory. I don't forget anything.

[Though he wouldn't put it past them... which made him even more intent on learning what they could do.]

What system do you intend on me breaking into, and how are you going to get these mysterious five days for me to work on it?

[ Ganondorf didn't pay much attention to Richtofen's complaining and shrugged it off as being his usual self. He then nodded to Nesir. ]

I won't hide it, that is a suicide mission. Odds are that whoever will go down there will die. I doubt they'll erase our memories. Officially, we'll pretend to be looking to take over the tower, as we did before. They did not erase our memories then, they will not now. As for staying down undetected, Ruana should be asleep by then.

[ If not, then the team getting caught first would have to distract her long enough. He then turned to Naoya. ]

The elevator. Last time it took us to the lower floors- It was obviously a technical default they overlooked and we exploited it. They probably have fixed it since then, but we know the possibility exists. All you have to do is make it so the elevator allows us to go to the lowest floors of this tower. You're free to work alone or with those we had contacted a couple months ago.

As for the five days...

[ He smiled. ]

I am going to curse ten floors of this tower so as to draw the administrator's attention to the cursed floors. Trust me, whoever is in charge next month will not be able to do anything but contain this "dark world" and prevent it from spreading to the entire tower.

The curse will serve two purpose. Keep the administrators blind as to our true intents, and on the last two days it shall keep prisoner all the residents that would try to stop us from infiltrating the administrative floors. [He directed his stare to Richtofen.] Richtofen, I'll need you to keep the prisoners busy.

[Nesir and Ganondorf had already spoken about the possibility of a mind wipe at length but since then Nesir had learned more about this insufferable tower and there were far greater dangers.] What we should be worrying do no be whether they do be taking our memories away but if they do be giving us memories that do no be our own. We do be needing a way to be proving our information to be true and that they do no be making us believe one thing when it did be another.

[The curse sounded interesting, but Nesir wasn't sure it would distract all of the administrators.]

[It was all sounding a little doubtful to Sephiroth. There wasn't (as usual for the Tower in general) anyway to guarantee that memories won't be removed and/or messed with, that Ruana will indeed be asleep - and even so the thought of this whole thing disturbing her sleep if she was asleep. Sephiroth thought perhaps Ganondorf was underestimating the other had-to-be capable administrators. He doesn't yet know much about Ganon's cursing abilities and the idea of Richtofen keeping people busy just smells of the electrified flesh trail he'd left before after he'd perfected his last weapon.

The only thing that did seem to be guaranteed was that they will probably die from their appeared take-over attempt. Carefully weighed up against whether or not Sephiroth thought this worthwhile enough to balance the extended paralysis he'd have to go through again. Oddly, provided the information they manage to come away with is important enough - Sephiroth doesn't mind. He wasn't much scared of death even before he came to the Tower, now even the associated agony it may come with was quickly becoming less relevant. He nods in Nesir's direction to show his agreement with her point, they need to have someway to make sure what they do manage to obtain information wise is somehow recorded in something admin-proof (if such a thing even exists!).

They also need to target what information they want - but for the time he will allow Ganon to continue to explain. He's got to have covered this. What's on the menu for the next month, for example, isn't information that's important]

[At first, Richtofen seemed lackluster at best. The idea of going on another suicide mission was far from ideal. Getting killed just for the sake of gathering information didn't sound like much fun to him. However, as soon as Ganon mentioned letting him stay behind and distract prisoners, his eyes lit up with an intrigued sparkle.

He waved a hand dismissively in Nesir and Sephiroth's direction, then plopped his elbows onto the table with such enthusiasm that they began to sting. Resting his chin on his hands, he directed all his attention toward Ganondorf, and he smiled.]

Wait, wait, hold on. What is this about the doctor distracting prisoners? I would like to hear more about that part.

I'll do what I can. However, I make no absolute promises - I've limited material to work with, and their coding is resisting any attempts to make a coherent language out of it.

[It's seriously driving him nuts. More than usual, in fact.]

[... Whatever, Richtofen. :| ]

Then I advice you to work with the others- April Sinclair, Fujisaki Chihiro and Jin Shirato in particular had all sounded very competent. There were others but I do not think they are still in the tower.

[ He knew Naoya hated team work as much as he did, but if he didn't think he'd manage alone that may be a necessity. They could probably trick the elevator through manual means-- But hacking through it would be better. He then nodded. ]

But Nesir is right, we need a way to control the veracity of the memories. I will myself use a mean to objectively record the events- I do not know yet if I will have the time to go down myself while maintaining the diversion. Furthermore, there will not be one team but two to three. By confronting each team's version of the event we may be able to see what is true and what is not.

[ Before turning to the doctor- ]

Yes, the cursed floors I mentioned will have monsters, traps and mazes. A lot will be automatized, however I need a living presence to keep things in check and distract the others. I believe you would fit the role and you would be granted administrative powers within these cursed floors.

Will we still only be letting the team leaders be knowing the true objective? [People who could withstand torture, the less people who could betray them the better in Nesir's book.

She sat back and watched the others though she was interested in what Naoya was saying.] There do be being a code?

[Nesir had barely finished speaking when Richtofen let himself squeal. He sat up straight and practically bounced in his seat, holding balled-up fists to his mouth in an attempt to muffle himself. Screw all that talk of gathering information and getting killed. As much as Richtofen wanted to know how the Tower worked, his immediate entertainment took precedence, and five days ruling over a cursed land full of monsters definitely sounded like fun.

He completely ignored the other two in favor of trying to pry more information out of Ganon. There was a sparkle in his eye as he leaned forward, and his voice, predictably, reached a high pitch.]

Monsters und mazes und traps, oh my! [Pay no attention to the unintentional, anachronistic movie reference.] And I will be able to do whatever I want to the prisoners? I can keep them running around like scared little puppy dogs?

Yes, unless we have other reliable people in these team that can be 'trusted'. You will coordinate the whole operation in the administrative floors and will directly lead the first team. [He then turned from Nesir to Naoya.] If you believe you have time once the hacking is done, you can lead the second team. [Then to Sephiroth.] And you the third if you want, albeit I may need you for something else altogether.

[ And he turned back to Richtofen. Was it that of a good idea? Well, at least he wouldn't be in the way of the teams and of the Triforce. ]

Yes, but whatever happen they must not die nor kill themselves before the operation is complete. As long as you follow these two rules, you are free to do whatever you want. [A pauses.] However you are only human, so your new powers may exhaust you at first. Do not overdo it. As I said a lot of it is automatized, intervene only when you feel it necessary.

"Such as what else, exactly?"

[Sephiroth almost scowls at the very notion of his heading a team. A team to do what exactly, appear to be on a take over attempt while he's taking notes? He's very much of the opinion that whatever a team could accomplish he could do to a far more superior standard, alone. Especially given some of the half-witted other residents he's came across so far. A good craftsman shouldn't blame his tools but surely this would be an exception to that rule!

Not that he couldn't do it mind, he can be a fine leader if so applied. If he didn't have a lot of an issue trusting anyone but himself.]

[Naoya stays quiet while the others discuss, going over plans in his head. He's not sure he'll be able to pull this one off, privately. He's confident in his hacking abilities, but this programming language resists his every attempt. He should be able to gain limited control over it, but past that small step he's not sure what he can do.]

[Not for the first time he wishes he had Loki here for backup. ... And to watch the explosions.]

I likely won't have time to lead a team. I fully expect retribution once I begin hacking, even with some of them distracted. They know we can get into at least some of their systems as evidenced by what happened a few months ago - and that wasn't even anything vital. Poking at their main systems will likely set off some sort of alarm. I can cause a distraction, though I doubt it'll last very long. Some crude traps to slow them down might also be a possibility.

I can't guarantee a timeframe, however - so prioritize what you want to do while you're down there. You almost certainly will not get to do most of the things on your list.

[Nesir's eyes widened a little bit but she nodded nerves hitting her all of a sudden, making her grasp for the emptiness.

Once she was safe and emotionless she ran what Ganondorf had said past her again. She wasn't sure if she could coordinate an entire operation. She had been taught how to lead teams of warriors in the temple she hadn't ever done anything... well important. She was only an Acolyte after all.

And she had never led others in the service of the dark god. Not that this group were actually in the service of the dark god, as they came from different worlds. But...

She looked at Ganondorf, she remembered going through this plan before and not being surprised, but that was with the- now barely accessible, false memories of the ten years here.

It was very strange, but Nesir found herself enjoying it, being part of the planning and knowing she would have to coordinate an operation, even if it was a planned suicide mission. She concentrated on listening again, still in the emptiness; if they were playing attention they would notice she was very still, the usual natural movements of a body non existent.

[ The Evil King noticed the change in Nesir. Unlike for many other people, Ganondorf had appreciated the last event. It had shown him who he could and could not trust, that was why he still picked Nesir in spite of the shortest time. Ganondorf then looked at Sephiroth. ]

There is no point telling you now. I need someone in this tower, and they disappeared. If they return, I'll tell you then...

[ Then turned to Naoya and nodded. ]

It's fine, I have other names in mind for team leaders. The teams will cover as much field as possible. As I said, it is our first attempt at gathering intel. If this onetime is successful, this will open the window for larger scale operations. I think we are all aware we won't leave this tower anytime soon, so long-term plans are our only option.

[ This was not too difficult for Ganondorf, he after all was the one who remained sealed for hundreds of years in the Dark World and Flooded Hyrule. He was very patient and a specialist at waiting, plotting over long time period. He wasn't so sure about the others though. ]

No killing or suicide? Oh...

[Richtofen looked almost disappointed for a moment. He sunk back into his chair and half-listened to the others as they discussed their infiltration plans, but his mind was elsewhere.

He remembered being back home, constantly on the run from zombies, leading his amnesiac teammates around through time and space as he secretly plotted to take control of his creations. As much as he hated her, he had to admit that that brat Samantha made things interesting with her little "games." Even though neither he nor his teammates died, he still remembered the joyous, breathless exhiliration he felt as he tried to survive while Sam toyed with him.

He nodded mutely to himself. He was sure he could make a fun game out of whatever Ganondorf set up for him, even if he had to hold himself back from actually killing their prisoners. Especially, he thought, if he was getting enough power to potentially exhaust him.

With his lips pursed and a somewhat calm look on his face, Richtofen raised his hand.]

I have a question... Exactly how much power am I going to have?

[Yeah, this entire time, he's basically been sitting here thinking about nothing but himself. Nobody at the table should really be surprised.]

[Arms still loosely folded, Sephiroth continued to watch and listen to the four of them discuss this plot without any further comment. Resisting eye-rolling at Richtofen as, quite typically he was only interested in his part of the plan. Not much different to each of them though no doubt, only less controlled about it perhaps.

Concerning that 'part' of his that was offered, Sephiroth wasn't sure really how Ganondorf had managed to pin him for this. He didn't know many people within the Tower yet so how he was to get any sort of coherent team together for ANY purpose (let alone one so sensitive and important as this one could be), let alone lead them... this was something that, sickeningly, Sephiroth didn't feel competent enough to accomplish. Yet. Sure they'd followed him into the Infirmary that one time but-

-yea.

It would be unforgivable for a failure to be down to the lack of excellence in his role. It was a difficult pill to swallow, given his own hunger for an opportunity to do something about his predicament in general - but the idea of having to rely on other random residents for, well, anything, leaves a sour taste in the back of Sephiroth's mouth. It's asking for problems.

He won't refuse to help, though what assistance he can offer will depend on the rest of the plan as it's unfolded.]

They can die, but this must not happen before the fifth and final day.

[ Ganondorf sighed. At least Richtofen wouldn't be able to ruin the plan from there, this thought comforted him. ]

You will have entire control over the monsters contained within the cursed floors, on some environmental elements. You'll have powers to fight them off if the need to get involved yourself arises.

And that is already too much.

[ For the details of how these powers work, another day maybe. ]

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[07] || [Setting the Stage] || [Closed]

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