Shocky was serious about wanting to play bebe Jeff.

[blondprodigy]

Who: Jeff, or a Jeff anyway. And whoever wants first dibs on meeting him... but there will be ample opportunity to meet him later on.
What: TIME PARADOX
When: Evening of January 4th.
Where: IN THE BITTER COLD OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS.
Warnings: Depends on who shows up now doesn't it.

Comments

[things_go_boom]

Maxwell was a lot calmer than her on this situation. Lash was still sporting a horrified on the entire event (and maybe just feeling a little bit guilty for her initial actions, not that she'd tell anyone) throwing herself in a seat near the group, one hand supporting her head.

In a strange way it kinda made sense. This Jeff still knew Tony and Maxwell. Maybe there were some memories gone, but he still had memories of them, not suddenly becoming a total stranger. Or maybe Maxwell was just that calm. This was a guy who had survived her kicking him in the balls and still willing to talk to her, after all.

Hrrrgh she just. Couldn't stand there and do nothing. Not even a minute after she had sat down, Lash stood up again. Samus and Falcon were almost like his family, remembered or not. Tony and Maxwell were people he still knew and his best friends. Best friends. She was the odd woman out, no matter how she looked at it. Maybe she should...

"I'll get him some food," she offered meekly, moving towards the cafeteria's counters, away from them. Hopefully Jeff hadn't changed his eating habits too much since he had grown. There. Now she'd be out of their stupid way for a while. But admittedly still within hearing distance.

[pkloveomega]

No matter how long he'd been living in the city, Lucas had never really depended that heavily on technology. It was only serendipity that he happened to glance at the computer and spot Lash's urgent message at all.

Unfortunately, he'd been too late; when he'd arrived at the fountain, there was nothing there but the wreckage of the Skyrunner. Fearing the worst, he'd jumped to telepathy, desperately leaping to any mind he could reach in hopes of finding some sign of Jeff.

First, he found Lash. He barely lingered long enough to register that she was thinking of Jeff at all -- a vague impression of uneasiness, sorrow, something almost like loss -- before he found the mind he was looking for. Or... something like it? Confusion, nervousness. It was like Jeff, but... it was like a shoe on the wrong foot. Something was jarringly different.

Still, it was enough to point him in the right direction. Lucas ran into the cafeteria, half-expecting to be greeted by something heart-breakingly horrible. "J-Jeff! Are you okay?"

[pedaltothemetal]

He'd figured it would turn into a regular party. Falcon did not do parties. Best to let Jeff catch up with Maxwell and Tony--people he actually remembered--while he went off to do something productive. Get clothes. Find Ness and Paula. Keep denying that the Jeff he knew was possibly gone forever. Thinking about a Jeff that didn't know him or Samus or the school so soon after Ionia's departure was difficult, and he wasn't sure he could even stand to be there.

It was one big headache. This Jeff was wet and cold and confused and Falcon was certain that the more people arrived, the more confused he would get. He glanced at Samus, who was perhaps the only person he felt comfortable leaving Jeff with while the student was in such a state.

"I'm going to go grab you some fresh clothes and see if I can't track down Ness and Paula. I'll be back."

And off he went.

[blondprodigy]

"I'm okay! I..." Wait, who was this new guy?

One big headache, indeed. On the way to the cafeteria, Jeff pinched himself more than once to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He really wished he was. What if he'd actually fallen into a coma after the crash? Or... worse? It was the most logical explanation for all this he could think of.

Jeff took a seat at the nearest table, convinced he'd faint or something if he had to handle much more of this. He took his glasses off and covered his eyes with one hand, trying to forget just how many people were crowded around him.

"...Um... You already know me, but the only people I know are Maxwell and Tony. Who are the rest of you? So I know what to call you."

[icequeen_aran]

More people gathered and Samus took to sitting a few chairs across from Jeff at the table and remained silent with her thoughts, communicating only with a nod at Falcon as he took his leave. Too many people gathered here; she could understand and relate. Jeff had plenty of friends and good people to take care of him, that was certain. Despite that she found herself compelled to stay even if she was only watching Jeff from afar.

She couldn't help but draw comparisons to when Otacon left and came back--younger and with no memory of what had happened. The codec disowning, all the drama and negative feelings, all gone on his end. It stayed with Samus. With Jeff it was the opposite; good feelings, watching him grow and even go so far as to call him a mother. The closest thing she could ever have to a child of her own. Was that going to be gone too...?

"Samus." The blonde answered simply, if a little sadly.

[pkloveomega]

...Oh.

Jeff was... oh.

It seemed impossible, at first: he could believe that this place could revert people back to little children, but for the Jeff he knew to have been replaced by... was this the same Jeff, but younger? Another version of Jeff entirely? Was there another Winters out there, just the same as Lucas' other-Tazmily?

...Maybe it wasn't so impossible after all.

"I, um... I'm Lucas," he mumbled. "I'm..."

Your boyfriend. He stopped himself before he said it. That... that wasn't something you just dropped on a person. Not in front of this many people. If he was going to say anything to... to Jeff, then this was neither the time nor the place.

"Um... we... we're friends." He offered up instead, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Uh... you... you must be really confused right now. Um... maybe once you're settled in, we could talk...?" But for now... it might be better for him to let Jeff stick to the few people he knew, sort out what was going on. It would give Lucas a chance to figure out exactly what he was going to tell this little boy, too.

[ohjeffums]

The reality of the situation settled over Tony like an uncomfortable frost, a chill that spread all over and seeped through his skin. Jeff was... why, it was as though he had been restarted! Samus, Falcon, Lash, and Lucas... people who had meant so much to him in such a short amount of time, they were strangers to him. He was a little grateful that he remembered Maxwell and him, though. Almost more relieved than he should be. It couldn't be thanks to a bonk on the head, considering how much smaller Jeff had become. Tony examined him and ruled that he must be 13 or so, based on his appearance. It was almost off-putting how sure he was of it, had anyone known.

That was how old he had been, the night he left on an adventure. And now, Tony assumed yet another truth: Jeff must have only just departed. Faint aspects of his mannerisms and way of speech were a bit different.

Another notable thought that streaked through his mind was the shock of how Lucas could just... dismiss their relationship like that... had it been him, he would have been desperate to let Jeff know, but... perhaps, Lucas had good reason. Tony thanked Lucas's consideration, but also felt a small prickle of jealousy that he was so good for Jeff, despite how glad he was that Jeff's heart belonged to someone so sweet. Even if it wasn't him. Maybe he was better off that way. He should feel guilty for even feeling the small bit of hope that came with Jeff's memory of Lucas being completely wiped out. He wondered what Lucas was going to tell him later with a slight trepidation he also couldn't help but feel.

Tony gently clinched onto Maxwell's sleeve as things were sorted out, for silent comfort.

[things_go_boom]

And there was Lucas. Again Lash was somewhat surprised he had kept his cool around Jeff. It seemed everyone else was. Maybe it was just her who had the problem. Maybe everyone else was just TOO STUPID to realize what was going on.

Whatever. When the cranberry cones were finished cooking and Nancy put them on the tray, she walked back to them, pushing it towards the younger Jeff's direction. Large soft drink bottle. Double-stacked hamburger. And the cranberry scones, of course. The ones Lash made fun of him eating alone. ("That's not a meal" "shut up miss calorie mate"). Without saying much more, she sat next to Maxwell and just...fiddled her thumbs for a while.

[safetyglasses]

Maxwell had a tendency of having very mellow reactions, though this school did its best to shed him of that habit. So he was actually quite proud of Lucas and Tony for their reactions so far, as the last thing this Jeff needed was a crowd of people going into hysterics because he existed. He was still Jeff, just... not quite the Jeff they knew. The biggest adventure he had so far was sneaking himself out of Snow Wood, as far as Maxwell could tell.

Food was a good idea, and Maxwell gave Lash a small smile of gratitude as she took a seat besides him and Lucas spoke. Maxwell gave Lucas a soft glance and gently pat Tony's hand. This was a tough thing to be dealing with, and he hoped they'd be able to piece together what had happened with a bit of level thinking. Anything was possible with this school, they just had to figure it out.

He had a pretty good idea about "when" Jeff had come from. He had only really caught glimpses of that particular Skyrunner before, and though the one outside was pretty busted, he still recognized it as being the same. Maxwell watched Jeff carefully, cupping a hand to his chin in thought. "So... I assume the last time we spoke wasn't too long ago, while you were still in your father's lab."

[blondprodigy]

Cranberry scones... She even made sure to pick one of his favourite foods. Just how close was she with his older self? He mumbled an embarrassed thank you and took the tiniest of bites, finding that his social anxiety combined with his confusion at everything else kind of killed his appetite. But he didn't want to seem rude either. DILEMMA.

"It's... Nice meeting you all. Again?" Although he had to wonder what kind of mysterious private talks this Lucas had in store. It couldn't have been good news if he didn't want to divulge in front of everyone else. He glanced over to Maxwell. "Yeah. It was the day after I left Snow Wood."