[Thread] Winner: Not Snake

[kept_ya_waiting]

Characters: Brawl Snake [AU] kept_ya_waiting, open
Where: In front of the bank
When: Shortly after this entry.
Summary: Snake came to Econtra just as he was defeated by Lucario in a Brawl. He's now a trophy, in front of the bank.
Warnings: Trophiness

Comments

[tomo_boshi]

Tomo had no idea what Christmas was. He thought the Miko might have brought it up once but he really hadn't been paying attention at the time and couldn't remember now. He had no interest in all this gift giving. Perhaps at the New Year...

He had gone out to stretch his legs and perhaps poke around to find out if there was anything interesting going on, when he noticed something large and human shaped lying in the snow in front of one of the buildings. A statue? Here? He edged forward and bent down.

"Why, it looks like Snake," he murmured. The man had been gone a while now, and Tomo really hadn't expected to see his old roommate back in Econtra ever again. He seized an arm and worked to pull him upright with a grunt.

He could sense a living ki, a life force, buried somewhere deep within the figure. Could he have somehow been made into this thing? He peered up into the face. Yes, it was younger, and there were some subtle differences, but it certainly looked like Snake to him.

"Snake?" he tried, a bit hesitantly. He had been called insane but speaking to inanimate objects was not normally in his repertoire. "Little Snake, what happened to you?"

[kept_ya_waiting]

Snake didn't reply; after all, how could he? His trophy held its pose, shining as though it were freshly cleaned, despite lying on its side in snow and dirt. No one was quite sure how Smashers' trophies did that, but for Snake, it at least meant he didn't have the embarrassment of being covered in dirt and slush in addition to his defeat at the... paws of Lucario.

[tomo_boshi]

Tomo readjusted his grip and gave it a solid pull, shifting it. It was uncommonly heavy! "Oh, Snake, you really must watch your weight!" he groaned as he pulled on it.

He winced and released him as his hand slipped; he glared at his broken nail then took a step back to re-access the situation.

If that was Snake, and he was trapped that way, was there a way of undoing whatever spell this was? He stood still for a long moment, thinking it over.

[kept_ya_waiting]

Snake continued standing there, but a stray ray of sunlight flashed off the trophy's base, causing the golden stand to shine brightly.

[tomo_boshi]

Tomo took a deep breath and sighed, finally stepping forward once again to examine the statue. He circled it slowly, tapping his chin as he looked it over.

How was he attached to the base? He knelt down beside the base and examined it, reaching out and running his hands along the smooth surface.

[kept_ya_waiting]

Snake's trophy remained motionless, though the light again flashed off the trophy base.

[tomo_boshi]

Tomo mumbled some Chinese curse of frustration and leaped up, pacing a small way up and down to try and think of what to do. If Nakago had been here, he could probably have undone whatever curse this was with a thought (not that he would). But Tomo just didn't have that sort of power. He knelt back down. He rapped gently on the figure's chest. "Sn-ake! Snake? Hello?"

He tapped on his head with a similar result, then with a shrug, tapped a few times on the base.

[kept_ya_waiting]

Snake's trophy suddenly flashed a blinding white, with an odd and otherworldly sound accompanying it. When the light cleared, Snake was now standing there, sans trophy base, shaking his head and setting the palm of his hand against it. "Hnn... Lucario hits harder than I thought," he said to himself. He glanced up, then, from his musings to Tomo. That must have been the guy who freed him. He held out his hand.

"Thanks for the help. I'm Snake," he said in greeting. "Who are you?"

[tomo_boshi]

Tomo took a step backwards and shaded his eyes, then smiled as the statue vanished to reveal Snake. He wasn't quite sure what he had done, but whatever worked.

But his face fell at Snake's next words. "You're very welcome, but you don't know me? I'm quite certain that I know you. But things like that happen here." He didn't shake hands--it was simply not his custom to do so--but instead bowed, letting the feathers of his headdress ruffle dramatically. "I am called Tomo," he said. "And this place is called Econtra."

[kept_ya_waiting]

"Sorry, I've never seen you before," Snake replied. "Then again, I haven't met all of the Smashers in my area. Econtra, huh? Sounds like new areas have been cropping up since Tabuu was defeated." He dropped his hand, bowing at Tomo in response to the stranger's own gesture of greeting.

"Thanks, though, for tapping my trophy base. I guess Lucario walked off somewhere, though why he forgot to tap me after he won is beyond me."

[tomo_boshi]

"Smasher?" Tomo blinked, then smiled, slightly wounded that this Snake didn't remember him, but that wasn't his fault. "I'm afraid I haven't heard that term, nor those names before. But that's to be expected. You've been transported from your own world to this rather unusual place," he explained.

[kept_ya_waiting]

"...Guess I'm not home anymore," Snake said to himself, glancing at Tomo's somewhat unusual appearance. "Should have realized." Snake paused for a moment, stepping on the snow, hearing the crunch of it beneath his feet, listening to the sounds all across Econtra. It was different than any place he'd been. The colors weren't as vibrant. It seemed dull in that regard. Still, the promise of something new kept the man going.

"I get the feeling that you know me, but I don't know you," Snake said after a short pause, directing his glance toward Tomo.

[tomo_boshi]

"Hmmm, how do I explain?" Tomo murmured. As a believer in magic, he actually had an easier time with such concepts than the scientific minds often did. "This place draws in people from different worlds. Sometimes, it will draw people from worlds so similar, we'll get doubles: two people almost exactly the same except for a slight difference in their history that changed everything for one.

"There was a man named Snake here before, who certainly looked and sounded like you, but I don't remember hearing anything about trophies or smashers from him. He was a soldier. We shared living quarters for a time. His brother was here for a while as well."

Tomo smiled. That had been fun.

[kept_ya_waiting]

"Sounds like magic," Snake replied. "Zelda could probably explain it to me, too." He shook his head. Other worlds and other versions. And Tomo knew a version of him? This version had a brother?

"I don't have a brother, sorry," Snake said. "But if another version of me trusted you, I suppose I can as well."

[tomo_boshi]

"They say it's science," said Tomo. "That a machine does it. I don't know anything about that.

"No brother, though? That's a shame. I'm afraid you will have to make up your own mind about this place. I don't mind it so much, but many see it as a prison. Our Keepers are not known for their altruism," he gestured with a pointed nail upwards to where glowing balls of electricity circled high above the compound. "Our hosts," he introduced. "I'd stay away from the wall. They kill those who try to go over."

[kept_ya_waiting]

"I see," Snake replied. "Thanks for the help then, Tomo." Wait. What did Tomo say?

"...Kill? What's that?"