vulpesvivus | ☮ 050; [voice/video] dated to saturday morning

[It had been a week since anyone heard this voice. Longer still since it was broadcast over the network.]

[For Hal Emmerich, it had been five years since he awoke from a dream calling itself Johto. Five long years of wandering as fugitives against the world, of unkind truths and harsh realities. Failed missions, broken hearts, and at last a hard-won victory at the end of it all. The Patriots' AIs were eliminated thanks in no small part to Naomi, and for the first time since 2005, Otacon felt that everything might just truly work out alright. But first there was Snake to worry about--he'd last been seen from the air, fighting Liquid Ocelot on top of Outer Haven.]

[And the very next second, Otacon was waking up in a room he only vaguely recognized. His voice was the only thing heard at first, sounding as if the Pokegear was a short distance away.]

Where--...? Oh, no. That's not good. I'm piloting a helicopter and I'm dreaming, that can't be a good thing. Wake up, I need to wake up or I'm going to crash right into Haven, it'd really be stupid to die now.

Phaaaa. [The concerned bleating of an Ampharos was much closer to the Gear than Otacon's voice--he was the one that had turned it on, most likely. The silence that followed was almost tangibly stunned.]

A...Asimov...? No way. This--that was just a dream. It still is, because this kind of thing doesn't just happen! Think of how many laws of physics a place like this would break, it's...it's not possible. I'm still in the Kasatka. I can't...

[Another pause. There was the shuffling sound of someone taking the Pokegear, and then a familiar yet somewhat older face in an unfamiliar turtleneck and trenchcoat appeared onscreen.]

...This really happened, didn't it? I thought--I thought it was just some dream I had. That I was going crazy or something. But it's too lucid to be anything like that, isn't it?

Is anyone else still here? How long has it been? And does anyone know if this place is even real?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Miles' face shows up on the screen quickly. He doesn't look any older, Otacon, and you know kids his age--if any significant amount of time had passed, an eleven year old boy would look so different. ]

Mr. Hal?

[ OOC:

]

[If Liquid looks a little haggard-- as though he might have been worrying for a week over the sleep-coma'd body of his boyfriend, perhaps-- it was completely your imagination.]

Hal, where are you right now? When did you leave the hotel?

[Okay, that was a good sign. For a given value of good 'I haven't actually been missing for five years' was a move in the right direction, at least.]

...Yeah. Yeah, it's still me. [And things were slowly coming back--before, he could only have remembered one or two people he'd met here. because it was all just a dream from years ago, wasn't it? But now that he was back, the memories were clearing themselves up quickly.]

[ooc: asdfghj LOL BEST EVER]

Lots of people are still here. Sheesh, you sound kind of stupid. I have no idea if this place is real or anything. I'm tired of being stuck here though!

[For a second, he froze up at that voice--'Liquid' had for nine years been the name of their enemy. The name of the enemy he knew Snake had been fighting right up until a few short seconds ago.]

[But...but that wasn't right here, was it? The longer he spent standing there in confusion, Otacon remembered just what had happened in the time he'd spent here. Liquid--this Liquid, as Otacon had known him for a year at least--wasn't his enemy. Not even close.]

I don't...I don't know. He could safely say he didn't know a lot of things.] I...think I'm in the Pokemon Center, but I'm kind of thrown off right now.

...how long was I gone, James?

I kind of assumed 'lots of people' still being here was a safe bet. I was worried about a few specific ones.

And I figured if I've really been gone for as long as I think, someone might've figured out some answers by now.

Well, then you should have asked for them by name instead of being so vague about it. Don't you think? No, you don't. Because if you did think, you would have known otherwise.

[ Tch. ]

So you were here before and asked such a dumb question? You're not helping your case here one bit.

... I guess you're from the future now, then. [ He isn't sure he's seen such a big time skip yet, though. ]

[ ooc: teehee ]

I...guess I am. It's good to see you again, Miles.

I was told you were busy; I suppose this is what he meant by that.

Good morning.

You know, you're not really helping much of anything. I'd like to see anyone try to think straight after spending five years at home before coming back here.

_{[When Otacon's voice came through her speakers, it sounded rougher than normal, just a little-- but that was nothing unusual. His father had said he'd been working on something... and when he says the word 'helicopter', Heather's all primed to grin like a clown. Because dude, was he totally building a helicopter?!]

[... But then his face appears on the screen, and the grin dies on Heather's face.]}

... H-Hal?

Huh? Who said something like that?

...hi, Heather.

[He greeted her with a smile of his own--not quite the bright and cheerful kind he so often wore five years ago, but honest and sincere regardless. Whether he thought it was a dream or not, Otacon hadn't completely forgotten her--assumed she was a product of his mind cracking after Emma died, yes, but not forgotten.]

It's...good to see you.

Mr. Emmerich, senior. Your father.

My father--?!

[Clearly that particular memory hadn't returned to him just yet. Otacon turned pale at the idea for a moment before slowly starting to calm down--no, they'd settled everything a long time ago in Goldenrod. Everything was alright between them, Otacon knew that if he thought about it.]

...right. He...probably didn't want anyone to worry that I wouldn't wake up. That's how this works, isn't it?

Huh? You mean people return to this place even if they go home?

It looks like it, yeah. I know I've been here before.

That's how it's always worked, for as long as I remember.

... So there's no point to trying to find a damn way to leave.

Is it-...I mean, it couldn't have just been a week here. There's no way that's physically possible--there's no way a lot of this is possible, but that kind of sticks out a little.

Some people don't come back, that much I remember. So there's some way out for good. I just honestly don't know what it is.

_{[Silly Hal, Heather's not a figment of your imagination!]

[Heather, meanwhile, doesn't smile back. Not because she's not happy to see him (she always is!), but because... this is the second time this has happened to one of her friends... and like Ironhide, Heather knows that Otacon's life is not the most pleasant one to return to.]

[But UNLIKE with Ironhide, Heather's known Hal since they both got here... gotten used to his softspoken, bespectacled presence on a daily basis, gotten so used to talking to him that seeing him like this, so much older-looking... is kind of a shock.]}

Are-- ... are you okay?

It happens, Mr. Hal. There's a difference of fifteen years between myself and Larry. I slept for a week and came back with nine months' worth of memories.

I'm fine, don't worry. Just...a little thrown off at the moment.

[Otacon adjusted his glasses, the same slight compulsion he'd always had. He knew that Heather would understand better than most the kind of things he went back to, so he spoke as calmly as he could.]

I'm not hurt or anything, I can promise you that much.

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☮ 050; [voice/video] dated to saturday morning

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