Player Plot: The Mysidian Tower!

[jadethenecromancer]

Who: Everyone who signed up for the plot!
What: Jade is taking a team to explore the Mysidian Tower before it'd swallowed by the Calamity.
When: February 8th-12th
Where: The Mysidian Tower on the Continent of Ruin.
Warning: Everything that can be expected of surprise monster encounters. Beyond that, whatever people bring with them.

The Enterprise brings everyone involved to the tower on the afternoon of February 8th. Thankfully the early floors have already been cleared by previous explorers, making the initial entry easy and relatively safe. Once the Heroes start reaching the upper floors, however... Who knows?

All threads will be linked here for easy access:
OOC info post
Ground Floor - Campsite
Friendly Monster
Floors 30-39
Floors 40-49
Floors 50-59
Floors 60-69
Floors 70-79
Floors 80-89
Floors 90-99
Floors 100-101 will be open at a later date.

Comments

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza still sees nothing wrong with this situation. What sinister uses could a man possibly have with a feathery raptor?]

Before you plan too much, we should see if it can subsist on rats...or perhaps geezard meat.... They are plentiful enough, and keeping their population down would be a public service.

[Because if the raptor has a taste for anything larger or more sentient than that, there is no point getting attached.]

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza looks to Kidd and Sephiroth.]

Do the notes you have found mention the location of any of these Crystals? If there are more Sapphire Crystals we can find to protect our cities, recovering them should be our top priority.

[thegreatninja]

I guess it depends on how many we can find...

[She's trying to remember if she's seen crystals like that before.]

[Closed Doors?]

[shinrasfinest]

Undoubtedly.

[As she doesn't hide her disappointment, there is no need for him to hide the sarcasm either. Wasn't it always the way, here? They were never in front, always lagging behind, always being played in one way or another where they couldn't see the strings.]

I wonder what else would be required in the process. [Sephiroth takes a long look down the line of books on just that shelf.]

Looks like I've the work cut out for me.

[shinrasfinest]

[He looks up and over in Ramza's direction, keeping only half an eye on who else is looking at the translation.]

It was written on a conspicuous slip of paper slipped onto the end a shelf. In a room behind a hidden door which required some fluency in Ancient and Hero crystal to open; it's clear --in my opinion at least-- it was put there for us to find.

[A glance in Kidds direction; he thinks nothing of the fact that it was hers that opened it. There are others present so Sephiroth dutifully continues with some more information; he's not had chance to share it with very many, after all, during the expedition itself.]

However, the ages haven't been kind to those other books. I'm hoping there might be yet some more answers in the journal I found but it will take time to translate all of it. They seem to be progress reports; these crystals were being tested at the time before that room was sealed off. Impossible to tell how long that might have been ago.

[jadethenecromancer]

[Reactivating the generator turns out to be a fairly simple matter. The elevator emits a soft hum as it becomes operational again, and in just a few more seconds, the lights turn on and the Heroes can see the entire room.

The good news is that there are no legions of mechanical puppets coming to life anywhere in the room.

The bad news is that a hulking lump of metal that had appeared to be merely a part of the wall is now vibrating, causing dust to come cascading on the floor, and slowly starts rising, unfolding itself until it looms over the Heroes. Light flickers in the two small eyes at the top.

Emitting a low rumble, the Iron Giant finally reaches its full height and raises its enormous sword.]

Well, well. [Jade steps back and quickly casts Enlightenment on everyone.] This should be fun.

[jadethenecromancer]

[The next floor is similar to the last one in that there are hallways leading to more bedrooms. The lounging area, however, looks somewhat different. There are a few armchairs and a table in one corner, but most of the furniture seems to consist of pillows and carpets to sit on, as well as several boxes sitting on the floor. This room has even more empty space than the one below.

Pieces of paper have been tacked or taped to the walls, near another row of computers. There is a flower pot near a window, though its contents have long since died and shriveled.]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Some dirt comes falling from the stairs, but the Stop and Levitation spells seem to keep the stairs and scaffolding steady, long enough for the quicker Heroes to make their way up without an incident. There are some more pieces of scaffolding here, this time in a considerably better shape. They could probably be brought down to add decent support for the remaining Heroes.

On the other hand, looking at the condition of the next set of stairs and the missing chunks in the ceiling, the scaffolding would also be useful up here. Bring it downstairs or save it for the next floor?]

Re: Floors 80-89 (crap, sorry I missed this!)

[jadethenecromancer]

[The materia doesn't come off of the device. It's essentially been crammed in without much expertise.

There are a few more similar devices with different-colored materia attached to them. Next to the devices, an Ancient computer has been connected to a tablet that looks very out of place compared to everything else. Johnny may recognize the tablet to be the kind made by the Initiative.]

Re: Floors 80-89

[charming_jerk]

[As soon as Johnny spots that computer, he dives for it, his eyes wide.]

What the fuck? Why is this here? Who's is this?!

[He will frantically try to power it on and check the name it's registered to.]

Floors 80-89

[thegreatninja]

[Yuffie looks over at Johnny with a confused stare.]

What is it?

[Like she's suppose to know...]

What are you trying to do?

Re: Floors 80-89

[they_call_me_sonic]

Oyyyy...!

[And here comes Sonic, curious as to the sounds of confusion come from the room]

You guys okay in here? ...and what IS this place?

[shinrasfinest]

[Even in that smallest of meantimes Sephiroth has already started to hold his temples between his thumb and forefinger. Nope, probably shouldn't have got up at all. It seems, to him at least that there is an overlong pause in the time it takes him to lower his hand and look up at the other man again as if drowsiness takes the hint and rears up to prove Albel's point.]

Spencer would probably get lost up there; he's best down here keeping the books straight.

If you would be so kind to relay the orders to one of the captains...

[not_most_days]

[Kidd glanced at Sephiroth, giving him a nod before looking at the others. She settled back on one heel and crossed her arms, looking at the tower itself with some apprehension.]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been thinking this but I think it's clear by now that this tower has existed outside of the normal "cycles". This place has been lived in, but there's still the signs that someone has been here. There was food on one of the floors that, while beyond eating, was still fresh enough that it hasn't turned to dust entirely. In fact, if this whole world is set back to the beginning in each cycle then why would the food be there at all?

So the questions I have on my mind are how much time a cycle entails exactly, what precisely happens before the starting point, and how has this tower managed to be an exception to all else we've seen in this world.

[The crystals and their locations were indeed important, but there was something 'wrong' here and she isn't simply going to let that slide either.]

But perhaps this is better explored once we decide to do with everything else here. [Like the force field]

Re: [Closed Doors?]

[not_most_days]

[Kidd smirks and offers Sephiroth a sidelong glance.]

Sorry I can't offer more help. Still, at least we know now that you can leave a future cycle your notes on all this. All we have to do is find a good bookshelf to hide it in.

Re: [Closed Doors?]

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena, who's been hanging back and watching--not to mention writing down what she can--approaches the desk.

Her Ninja and Time Mage skills might not be too handy for this job, but that doesn't mean she's not going to try to help any way she can. But first, she has a question to ask. ]

Ummm... Just how old is this tower, anyway?

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena, still looking towards the simulation, has her head cocked to one side. ]

Why does it still complete the cycle during the last three days? And would using two different crystals in two places have an effect? [ Everyone had been talking about using just the sapphire ones. What if... ] What if we used two crystals that canceled each other out? You know like Fire and Ice are opposites?

[ Realizing she's speaking aloud, she clears her throat and looks away, hiding the blush on her cheeks.

At one point, she had thought her Time Mage skills wouldn't have been handy, but at Kidd's comment, she had an idea. ]

Look for a crystal that halts time? Or at least slows it? That would be my guess about this place. That it hasn't exactly been reset; it just hasn't moved through time like the rest of the planet.

[ Stupid idea, right? ]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Alas, Jade isn't quick to talk about himself, especially with someone he doesn't know that well yet. That smile isn't going anywhere.]

Everything seems to be going smoothly so far. Of course, [Jade gives a grin] we've barely gotten started. There's no telling what will happen to us up there.

[...Already he's making it sound like they're all going to die.]

[jadethenecromancer]

That would be a fine mess if we discovered the Diamond WEAPON only for her to swoop in and snatch it from right under our noses.

We can hope that without Hackers to subdue the WEAPON, Palitutu can't claim it for herself. Though, I can't say I'm comfortable just ignoring her, either...

[jadethenecromancer]

Smuggling, then. I'm not sure what I think of that.

[The teasing was half-hearted at best, little more than an attempt at buying some time to consider how to approach this. An apology was out of the question. It wouldn't just be useless, it would be nothing short of insulting to imply Tear hadn't made her choices on her own, as though it had only been Jade who had led her astray. No, they were both at fault, even if the plan had been his.

Perhaps he was overthinking this. Sometimes it was best to get straight to the point.]

...Is there anything you want to say to me, Tear? [Considering that Tear had seen him turn against Anise after she'd voiced her objections, attack her with every intent to kill, without a hint of remorse... And that wasn't even touching his willingness to sacrifice thousands, a plan that had been his idea in the first place. Things like that weren't easy to forget.]

[not_most_days]

It's a fine hope, but I doubt she'll simply let it be like that. People of this world can use those Jobs as well, can't they? Just not nearly as well as we can.

[She shakes her head, trying to get things back on track.]

When we were in the Heran research facility the Ultima WEAPON appeared to be dormant. It wasn't until our encounter with Kalki at the Crystal did it awaken and become a threat. Something in that moment had to have been the key. Whether us, the Crystal, the corruption of it or Kalki. Or a combination of them.

Have we determined anything new about what the WEAPONS themselves are? I know the Ultima WEAPON was on display in Aqures Tosf in the past but I didn't get to investigate it.

[Instead she wound up playing into Palitutu's hands for not the first time.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ Ironically, Sheena will talk about herself. But usually very grudgingly at times and only in bits in pieces.

And she's still not fooled by that smile. ]

That's good. I haven't been on one of these trips before, so I don't know exactly to expect, but I have some idea. [ She's about to say more when he continues, his tone eliciting a wry look from her. ]

You're quite the optimist, aren't you?

No...but awkward times are fun. :D

[ninjainviolet]

Yeah. That will definitely work.

[ Now cut that out. You're not stupid, Albel.

And really? Trying to run away would make things predictable? Sheena hadn't been that yet with him. ]

Neither will I.

[ Oh hey, blush. Where did you come from? ]

[wickedone]

Damn.

[Albel scowled at the next set of stairs. He should have expected as much.]

We can't split up any further. [By now, he knew even he couldn't handle everything by himself.] Save the lumber for the next set of stairs. Only use what's absolutely necessary to get the others up here.

[wickedone]

[Albel went first to the papers, hoping for a clue he could actually use. He was useless with computers, after all. The bareness of the room was a little odd, but then again, he'd thought the rooms were odd since the last floor.]