towerofanimus | [The Turn of the Tide] || [Open]

Entry tags:

[The Turn of the Tide] || [Open]

Characters: Gandalf and You.
Setting: Dormitory Floors, Hidden Floor, Cafeteria and Meadow.
Format: Action or Prose, I will follow.
Summary: The white wizard comes back with counsel in this dark hour. Essentially, after nearly a year spent on his dead homeworld, Gandalf is back and looking for informations regarding the state of things.
Warnings: Nothing. Will update if something comes up.

• Dormitory Floors (Morning)
Few were the people who would find comfort upon waking up within this dreaded tower. After all, what sort of reasonable being would find reassurance to be condemned to live in such a terrible place? The White Wizard was one of those people. Indeed, if Zo still had the means to summon people within the tower, it meant power had not been exhausted yet. It meant those who had remained behind were still alive, as he had hoped while he had been stranded on the shadow that once was Middle-Earth.

Last he had been in this tower, the truth behind their surroundings had been revealed and the glamour unveiled, as a consequence of the reserve in energy of the tower having been depleted. Doubtlessly a good thing, yet he had not forgotten the deadline. And so the first thing he did upon waking up was to leave his room and check the closest terminal--

Fifty-eight days. He closed his eyes and sighed. So very little time, yet an eternity. Miracles had been accomplished in much less than that. There was still hope. And his priority now would be to find out people who could inform him. Find who was left in the tower and learn from them what the situation was.

• Hidden Floor (Anytime During the Day)
Gandalf was familiar with most of the 101 floors that made up this tower. Most, but not this one. He was fairly certain this one floor had not been there before, and if the transporter that needed to be used to get there was any indication, as well as the special retrieval units that inhabited it, maybe this one floor was a safe floor. This was yet to be confirmed however.

He walked in and looked at the information displayed on the walls and smiled– Unless everyone in this tower had gone crazy (which was a very viable possibility especially considering what fools certain had been, but he'd rather stay positive), they would never have put such information where retrieval units, let alone the administrators could see them. This confirmed his feeling this floor might be safe, and he spent some time there, reading at the information with great interests.

• Cafeteria (Floor 01 - Evening)
Some things never changed. The oatmeal for all newcomers and the nutrition bars were one of them. If he were to trust what he knew about the tower, this would be the sign of a Jason month. Yert obviously things were no longer as they appeared, so he wouldn't be so quick to judge.

Still, Gandalf came down and had his meal-- Casting a most disapproving and sorrowful glare at the food. Not really what he enjoyed eating. But after nearly a year without anything to eat, that was better than nothing.

• Meadow (Floor 19 - Nighttime)
It was later that day, during the right that Gandalf went to the meadow. Apparently, the wizard knew exactly where he was headed and stopped before a few random stones on the ground, in a spot of the meadow he had personally picked a long time. Well, random. To anyone else these stones probably did look random, but to Gandalf they had a meaning. He had placed them there specifically as a marker. And before long, he removed them.

Indeed, he had stored two very important things there: the book that contained the entirety of his theories and findings about the tower, as well as a cache of the pipe-weed he had personally cultivated. One of these two thing was slightly more important than the other. But only slightly. Hopefully they were still there.

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[Someone else was here as well, for what seemed like the same reason; a ponytailed professor, reviewing the information posted. He seemed to be copying down things into a small notebook at an alarming rate, crossing out others, and turning pages to double-check still more information.]

[The hanging white cloud from the cigarette he was currently smoking was probably a hint the lecturer in green had been at this for some time. And the fact that he hadn't taken the slightest notice of Gandalf or anything else that might have been going on was a good clue he had no intention to stop.]

Nutrition bars. Link was going to kick this month's admin in the shins. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, repeat. He noticed the wizard settle with his food and decided that he at least ought to ask-

"Is there anything else?" Link mournfully indicated his own 'dinner'. It was worth a try. Sure, he had already asked several other people over the course of the past few days, but sometimes it was just a matter of finding the right person, right? Young heroes needed their energy, and it didn't matter if the bars were good for him or not.

He wanted the cake back.

[Xion had been coming to visit a certain friend of hers when she spots him, perusing the information they'd found out, that had been posted, and stops.

She'd heard that Zo was bringing in people one last time. If he were... really upset about what Ruana had been doing, would he really bring new people? But maybe he was trying to keep up an act, or something like that; nothing was for sure. He could be the same one as before, he could be new. Better to know for sure.]

Gandalf?

Sam had mostly been keeping out of the way. He was around for anyone who needed help or needed to talk but for the most part he had stayed in his own room or the meadow trying to get his head around everything that had happened.

He didn't understand all of it, but he knew enough and none of it was good. Rick was gone, dead if everyone was to be believed, and they usually were. Dead for good and not like most folks here who woke back up like nothing had happened. And not just disappeared either.

Sam had wandered down to the cafeteria, though all they were serving was nutrition bars. He looked around the hall for any recognisable faces and his mouth dropped when he saw one.

"Mister Gandalf?"

[ Never seen that one before. maybe a newcomer, or most likely someone Gandalf never had the pleasure to meet during his first stay. Either way, the man was obviously knowledgeable enough about this place, more than he himself was after his long stay in Middle-Earth. That and his doings seemingly confirmed his doubts about this floor.

Hopefully he doesn't mind an old wizard interrupting him. ]

Am I to assume this floor is safe from administrative influence?

Gandalf turned to Link when he heard his voice-- Hum. He had seen these green clothes before. And they looked as uncomfortably warm as ever. Well, he could only assume that the collection of heroes from Zelda's world had continued to prosper during his absence. Eru knows how many they had to be by now. Unfortunately, he had no pleasant news for Link.

"I am afraid not." The wizard shook his head and looked at his Link's dinner "As a matter of fact, I believe it would be wise for you to expect nothing but this from now on."

Gandalf isn't particularly pleased at his own words, but with the power shortages, it was a miracle the glamour system was still working. Quality food was a luxury they could do without. Sad truth is sad.

[ Gandalf had been absorbed in his readings when Xion called him out, but not so that he didn't hear her. Time had passed and many things had changed, but he definitely recognized the one who had worked with him and others these years ago to try and unite the people of this tower. ]

Xion. [ He smiled to her and nodded as a reply-- Definitely the same Gandalf she had known. ] I see things have quite changed in my absence.

Gandalf was about done -in every sense of the term- with his nutrition bar when he heard someone calling him. He turned around immediately, but he didn't need to do that to know who had spoken. That voice was unmistakable, that of a very special and resistant Hobbit. To see Sam was a relief in itself. He had believed all from his homeworld had me with the same fate than him, stranded on the shadow of Middle-Earth, but at least Sam was still here.

Well. Not that this tower was a safe place. But he nodded to him.

"Samwise Gamgee." Of the people from their world who had been brought to this tower, he had outlasted them all. Expect a Hobbit to always surprise you. "It's good to see you're still here lad."

Sleeping wasn't something that wanted to come, to Sephiroth, at all since his recent revival. He had frequently exhausted himself on the monsters that haunted the Tower during the hours of darkness but he found that he didn't have much of a desire to do that either, tonight. At least this floor offered the illusion of cool night air; he felt somewhat sticky, within himself still.

Gandalf's white was seen from a long way off, as Sephiroth stepped onto the meadow from the stairwell. He'd only seen the wizard once, maybe twice before he had disappeared. It seemed that Zo had seen fit to return the man to the Tower, yet from what he had seen there was still no sign of Ganondorf.

It might not have been the same Gandalf he had met once before, but the fact that this resident stopped to look under a very particular placements certainly gave weight to this opinion.

"It's been a long time."

Sephiroth kept a cautious distance from the White Wizard, and always a keen eye on their surroundings in case of any monster that might approach. Not that he'd be in the best position to defend himself with his crippled left arm currently but Sephiroth would forever try.

For now, that is more or less its main purpose.

[Waver glanced out of the corner of his eye before going back to his writing. A wizard was certainly nothing new, and at this point nothing would have surprised him.]

You've never seen it before?

Good, good.

[ There was some satisfaction in his voice. That they had managed to build a flood where the administrators had no power was no small victory. Better than he would have expected. ]

Never I am afraid. Many were the ambitions and goals when I last was here, yet this floor was not one of them.

Gandalf had been dusting off his book when Sephiroth called his name--

"Sephiroth."

Somewhat surprising, he had not expected company from anyone this late in the night, let alone Sephiroth. It was good to see so many were still there; although Gandalf clearly remembered the off feeling he had had back when he had last spoken to Sephiroth.

"A long time, yet very little all the same. But tell me, what worries bring you here?"

Everyone had to bear their share of worries, both in their worlds and in the tower. Yet to come and walk into the meadow that late in the night could be little more than the herald of another kind of worries.

I see--so you aren't entirely new here, are you? [Waver frowned, exhaling a thin trail of smoke.] Has he started pulling people in this month already...?

[It is him. Xion relaxes a little in relief. That made... some things easier. A lot of them, really.]

Yeah, they really have. Has... anybody told you what's all changed, yet?

[Catchup was always the highest priority to people who came back. Given the time limit and... so much of what they'd learned and what had happened.]

"That's a very honest way of putting it."

Sephiroth took a deep breath of the night air and let it circulate around inside of him like it might soothe even just a few of the needles of angst that he had been increasingly plagued with in recent days. He then opened eyes and regarded Gandalf once more, noting of course the book that the wizard had retrieved.

"To this floor? Hm. It tends to be on my patrol route usually."

Not that he looked dressed for battle, missing his long leather jacket and armor.

A correct assumption. I know this place very well. Too well, should I say.

[ After nearly a year and a half spent between these walls, Gandalf knew more of this tower than he'd like. Again, this time was ultimately nothing. ]

So it would seem. The duties of the child remain unchanged but he still has strength to draw back the lost one.

[ He shook his head. ]

No, no one yet, but I have seen how limited our time is. I need you to tell me everything you know.

[ The very existence of this floor was a very positive start, as were what little informations he had read and gleaned. But he needed the whole picture. ]

"Truthful more than honest, really."

Sephiroth was his name. Hardly could be more honest than that now, right? Maybe, after all, his suspicion that many in this tower had lost their grip of sanity was more justified than he'd like. Or maybe this was just Sephiroth. Something was wrong with this fellow, much more so than when they had last met.

"I see." He nodded and then proceeded to extract from the earth his pipe-weed "Among the changes I have seen, this floor is one of the few constant. Always welcoming to soothe our wounded souls."

Which may or not be the case for Sephiroth, who knew.

"It's good to see you too." Sam smiled in relief, tears springing to his eyes. It felt more like it would be okay now, Gandalf was here. He could fix things, he always fixed things.

"I feared I'd never see you again." See anyone from his world again.

"Important to keep tabs on that distinction, for sure."

If any one person knew the extent of which Sephiroth's sanity had been stretched, splintered and played with during his prolonged stay within the Tower of Animus it would be no great surprise that he was spiraling finally down into something that could only end with a complete shatter of his reality.

But of course no one did. The silver-haired man watched Gandalf carefully as he dug out another item from beneath the rock. Then as if he didn't want to get caught being nosy, he raised his face to the night air in time for a breeze to waft past them. It did indeed feel refreshing against his closed eyes, and Sephiroth even dropped his extended awareness for long enough to savor it; soothe his wounded soul, indeed. Not the smartest thing to do, but really what did it matter any more.

"There have been a lot of changes. But I am sure others have already regaled you with the details."

Engrossed as he is in catching up on what he missed, Gandalf will likely hear the new arrival to the hidden room before he sees them.

"Good morning, Ari-- ah..."

The voice should be unmistakeable, however. The Princess of Hyrule stands momentarily frozen at the entrance to Aria's headquarters, staring at the White Wizard as if she's seen a ghost. And in a way, she has. After a certain amount of time, she gives up on ever seeing the people whose souls Zo has lost his grip on, and Gandalf has definitely been gone longer than that ever shortening time frame.

Gandalf, in all his years and experience of guiding leaders towards their destinies, will likely note the subtle changes to her countenance since he saw her last. She's older, obviously, with an air of experience the seventeen year old girl he met in the library lacked. Even slack-jawed as she is in that moment, there's a hardness in her gaze that was only just beginning to form around the time of Dax's death, and a weariness that never quite left in the wake of the first glamour failure.

However, she stands tall, shoulders back and head held high even in her shock. Narya still rests upon her right ring finger, gleaming beneath her own personal set of notes she brings with her.

She can't be certain this is the same wizard as the one who gave her that ring; she learned that lesson long ago and has never forgotten it. But he's here, in this sanctuary, and her intuition tells her he wouldn't be devouring the information contained within with such vigor if he had no context for it all. Her brows draw together as she asks hesitantly, almost fearful to hope:

"... Gandalf?"

Link cast a mournful pout at his plate before setting it onto the table. Without waiting for an invitation, he hopped into the seat across from Gandalf.

"They had cake before." Completely irrelevant, unless you're an eleven year old. Another glance up at the (TALL!!) older man as Link fidgeted in his seat to get more comfortable.

"I guess I shouldn't complain, though."

Edited 2014-04-06 21:22 (UTC)

It's a bit of time before the other occupant of the room notices Gandalf - and once he does, the dragon decides to investigate. Phaeris does so somewhat carefully, however, being deliberately slow and non-threatening in his approach, given just how many people in this tower are startled by him in general. Being stuck here, he'll take what good first impressions he can get.

Landing about twenty feet from the rocks, Phaeris gives Gandalf a curious look for a moment before speaking. "A rather curious place to hide things, Phaeris thinks."

[Xion nods grimly, an action that's possibly more assertive and sure of herself then the last time he saw her.]

We should probably sit down. It's... a lot.

[At that point, Xion's retrieval unit shadow enters the floor, stopping a short distance away. Xion looks back at her and smiles and waves briefly.]

Oh. This is Suna. It's okay. All of us who had units following us for standing up to the admins... the normal ones got switched out for the retrieval units with chipped collars. So long as they have a chipped collar, they're on our side.

[Another change, since Xion didn't get a unit following her until July. Xion for her part, picks a nearby seat, as she'd previously suggested. She sighs softly, before looking up and over at Gandalf.]

Probably the biggest thing to know is that Jason is dead. He was killed during an event, around two months ago. People still come back when they're killed. Ruana does it now, but she's not as good as he was - it takes longer, and there's other side effects when they come back, it seems.

[That seems like more than enough to pick through at this point, so she stops, giving Gandalf room for any questions he might have. Since, in her position, there'd be a lot.]

Gandalf brings a reassuring hand to Sam's should and nods. Could he fix everything? certainly not? But if he could kindle hope, then his mission was a success.

"Fear no more, for Zo has seen fit to bring me back to the tower." What of the others though? Maybe time would tell. "And in this hour of need, the hardest still lies ahead of us."

The resurrection of Middle-Earth. And of all the worlds that have been lost to Ruana's madness and this tower.

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[The Turn of the Tide] || [Open]

hidden floor

Cafeteria

Hidden Floor

Cafeteria

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Meadow (Floor 19 - Nighttime)

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Hidden floor; gomen for tl;dr

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Meadow

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