Vertigo and Paradox (to Isengard!?)

[unyieldinghope]

[X takes the time during his travel to the meeting place Zero set up to consider just what all there is to cover. Informing him of his primary mission certainly is part of the list, but also... X grimaces, steps slowing; there's more to this "visit" than just checking on the activity that's been picked up around here and making sure Zero isn't

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[unyieldinghope]

[X takes his hand, though his grip falters just the tiniest bit at the verbal portion of the greeting. He keeps himself together, though, not letting the confusion surface. Instead, he laughs quietly and shakes his head and answers honestly.]

Always do.

[Besides the tone, those other clues pop up on sensors and scanners, and X doesn't bother hiding the bit of concern that rises to his features as he follows Zero. He can't disagree with the general emptiness of the place, but at the same time he knows that if something more sensitive came up he could easily transfer it over to a private line and carry on a simultaneous conversation to avoid suspicion if it came to that.

When Zero explains, X lets his shoulders droop a bit, expression settling for somewhere between neutral and uncertain. He isn't one to let things drag on for long, even if he'd normally let Zero come out with it on his own. It just keeps seeming like something's up, and there's a point where... ]

Zero.

[His tone isn't stern, but rather matching that same concern as before. Something in him tenses, and X falls quiet; asking this is strangely unsettling, and not for any reason he can place.]

Is something wrong?

[final_number]

[For a split second Zero freezes at the question. He realizes that - be it his X or another X, any X; there's no real way he can fool any of them; he's just... so used to relying on his partner in so many ways.

Which only makes this all the more frustrating. He can't stall, he can't really lie, and yet...]

I don't know. There might be.

[and then, in typical fashion, he diverts, and sits at the table, and gestures toward the solid-program-data that is the wine bottle.] Try some of this, it's amazing. Local and a pretty new idea.

[unyieldinghope]

[But instead of following the diversion, X draws a hand to curve over the fold of his arm, watching Zero worriedly. Green eyes lock onto the blond's face, and he just searches for a moment, as if trying to find what it is that's bothering Zero. He doesn't want to ignore this, not with what's going on. What could be going on.]

What is it?

[When the bottle's brought up, X presses his lips into a faint, downward-curved line. Yes, Zero, he's ignoring the wine bottle in favour of hounding the problem until he can solve it. Typical Zero fashion, be reminded of typical X fashion. Releasing his arm, X takes a seat at the table despite the fact that he has no intention of continuing to discuss the object in question until Zero concedes a little more information. You can't just tell X "there might be a problem" and change the subject--it just doesn't work that way.]

[final_number]

[Zero was trying not to... but he shakes his head, sitting back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Fine, X. You push, I push.]

You tell me. The Feds sent you out here to check up on me, that's no secret. So what am I being accused of this time?

[unyieldinghope]

[It's a valid question, and he supposes the irritation that undoubtedly accompanies it is just as valid. Folding his hands on the edge of the table, X bows his head for just a second before turning his attention fully onto Zero, eye contact and posture reflecting as such. How to start...? Well, start by pushing back some of the paranoia, obviously.]

In a sense, that's a secondary assignment, Zero. We needed to check up on something here, anyway. Your lack of checking in just added to things. Yes, the Federation's paranoid about it--that's a given. They're paranoid about everything.

[It's a frank statement, but a true one. Especially ever since the New Gen incident... But X sighs and leans back a little, loosening his posture enough to reflect his thoughts on the matter: the Federation being positively unnecessarily out of sorts over this. But there is the other problem...]

We've been getting strange readings over Giga City, though--that's the main reason we're out here. Or I am, anyway. I can't seem to reach the R&Der who came with me--still ship-side. But the interference I'm getting might be related to what we've been picking up.

[Which is... not everything, but most of it. He fidgets minutely, almost imperceptible--would be, were it not Zero he's talking to. How do you just address that, though...? Biting the bullet, X steels himself, corepulse picking up and a turning, twisting feeling settling in as he cycles air a little too quickly for a moment before evening it out..]

And... there's another problem I think might be related to it, which possibly ties back to the Federation's paranoia.

[final_number]

[Zero sits silent, impassive as the moon, only reflecting and transmitting nothing of his own now as he listens to X explaining. His arms remain crossed, his body moves not a millimeter, and yet suspicion and uncertainly only seem to deepen between them, despite X's attempts at honesty.

His eyes narrow slightly at the fidget, which he catches.]

Out with it. You're still dancing around it. If you think I've gone rogue or I'm covering something up here, then say it.

[unyieldinghope]

Zero. If you were hiding something, I'd know it. I know you aren't rogue or covering anything up--don't suggest that I'd ever think otherwise unless I had legitimate reason to.

That which cannot be analyzed, Zero. More than data.

[He doesn't quite raise his voice when he says it, but there's enough force to imply that he's insulted by the very idea. Hands tighten, and X exhales slowly to calm himself. There's no reason to get upset at Zero, and X knows it. His suddenly tight and defensive posture relaxes again, and he drops his hands to his lap. Staring at them, he shakes his head.]

Zero, I don't know how to explain it. You say you've been here a week--I believe that. I have no reason not to. But this is where that "other problem" comes in: our personnel logs have you leaving for Giga City almost two weeks ago.

[X's confusion is as clear as his words, and he looks up to Zero as if doing so will net him an answer.]

The only theory I can formulate right now, without locating the origin of the anomalies to make an attempt to confirm anything, is that they're affecting the perception of time around here.

[final_number]

[Well, that knocks the ground out from under Zero's feet. His defenses drop, and he's reduced to a shocked stare.

All this time and all the confusion and...

And now, if X is telling the truth (and why wouldn't he, he's X, even if...) ... then he can't even be sure about himself. His first instinct is stubborn disbelief, his second a kind of slow spreading horror.]

Two weeks...?

[This is Zero flying back through all his system logs looking for any sort of lost time, and there's nothing except.. that anomaly from earlier, which his system has tagged as only a handful of minutes previously. Everything before that is unbroken; his getting dressed down, his acceptance of the new orders, his getting on a transport, the transport itself, coming here, landing, checking in, taking 'official' possession of the half-deserted base, everything... There's no gap, there's no discontinuity.

He struggles to find his voice again, but for a moment nothing comes out. Until, finally.]

...What time does your system say it is?

[unyieldinghope]

[Zero's response prompts X to want to rise and move closer; he isn't so fond of physical contact, but Zero tends to be the source of a lot of exceptions. Giving him support is However, even then, X remains where he is so that Zero can run through the information and try to process it. It's difficult even for X to wrap his head around, and it's his theory! He probably should have added more theoretical physics to his repertoire, at this rate.

As Zero tries to regain his voice, X stands. His hands linger on the table for a moment before he turns to grab his chair, bringing it around so that he can sit closer to Zero. It removes some of the stiff formality of sitting across from the other Hunter, and X is disinclined to keep that formality when the facts are this mind-boggling. This... world-shaking, really.

A short exhale precedes answering Zero's question. Military arrangement, down to the very last second--for him, the present.]

21xx, April 30, 16:00:24.

[final_number]

[Zero responds leaden, with the color drained from his face. He slumps forward a bit, elbows on his knees, hands sliding along the dome of his helmet.]

21xx, April 23, 16:00:27.

[He lifts his head and looks at X. Is X lying? Or, has he been compromised himself, somehow? How could it have been done, and not left some kind of mark in his memory? Everything is perfect, tangible, real; he lived it all, he's sure. Even though, a small part of him insists, all Reploid memories are just impulses of energy driven through circuits and processors...]

I have no idea how. My memories are clean. Everything lines up. Except this.

[unyieldinghope]

[The reaction is almost automatic, but the purpose behind it is no less sincere: X's hand settles on one of Zero's elbows, the blue Hunter leaning forward slightly. The date is just as shocking--at the most, he'd thought that perhaps it was the perception of events, that the chronometer might have been affected, slowed by whatever forces were at work. But the lack of errors... X's expression draws together, and he gnaws at the inside of his lip. After a brief silence, he speaks.]

I don't, either. This...

[It takes him a moment to find the words to continue with. What can he say, though? He hasn't the faintest of ideas how to dissect the situation beyond what they know now. The details, then.]

There was a surge of some sort not long ago. Have you experienced any while you've been here?

[final_number]

...

[Zero lifts his head quickly, locking gazes with X. He twists his hand, and grasps the same arm that X touches him with, with his own hand.]

That might be...

[He leans forward, suddenly urgent, almost desperate.]

A few minutes ago. While I was sitting here. Just before you showed up. 21xx, April 23, 15:45:17.

[unyieldinghope]

[X forces himself to remain calm, setting a hand (timidly?) over the one Zero's grabbed him with--an awkward gesture from one not accustomed to being overly contact-friendly, but it's a fair attempt on X's part. When Zero's demeanor shifts, X almost draws back from the tension. But listening, he finds himself... more than curious, but also very, very wary. Examining the past time in his own logs, green eyes widen; that...]

21xx, April 30, 15:45:17.

[He withdraws from Zero, trying to seek his own space in order to cycle through potential explanations, discern what could have caused the events, what the technicalities could be... But an incoming transmission on the emergency channel distracts him entirely. Fixing Zero with a baffled expression (he'd know if something was amiss with his friend--you only fall for that trick once), he rises and urges Zero to do the same while simultaneously responding to the broadcast.]

You heard that, right? I don't know what's going on, but this requires our attention.