Somehow got thrown back in time

[ventus_aerius]

[He wasn't sure how he had ended up on the roof of the high rise (office building?), just that there had been an explosion as Zero struck down Omega. Everything after - during, Harpuia decided - had been a blur and no matter what he did, his memory would yield no more information. Could it have been a result of the Resistance repairing him (here

Comments

[is all over this]

[tothexthpower]

[X has not been paying much attention to the open-access comm channels available on Giga City. He's got enough to worry about just monitoring the dedicated Hunter frequencies. Even if he had been monitoring the channel Harpuia used, neither of those names would have caught his attention.

Instead, he's currently outside on an ocean overlook off the main plaza. There's a strong breeze coming in off the ocean today and he's taken his helmet off so he can feel it in his hair. It helps rinse away some of the stress as he leans over the railing and into the wind. It's not much of a comfort, but at least it's a brief respite from the worry that's been weighing him down since he woke up on Giga.

They were all waiting on their scans now. Alia had taken Zero for scanning first. It made sense since he was the base commander. They had to make sure he hadn't been compromised. And Zero needed the reassurance that he was still himself - not that X doubted that Zero was still Zero. Not after meeting him in person. But X knew Zero needed

[tothexthpower]

[At that, X turned his head toward the other reploid, his hand dropping from his mouth in an involuntary mixture of surprise, disbelief, and amazement. That was- He was kidding, right?

He didn't look like he was kidding.

Was he lying? But why would he lie? And why would he use such a drastic lie if he was trying to trick him? It didn't make sense for him to be lying... But that meant he was telling the truth -- as far as he knew it.

The rush of hope and relief, at the idea that the long, drawn-out, seemingly never-ending fight to stop the mavericks could very well end within the next hundred years, was almost as much a shock to his stability as learning this reploid was from over a century in the future. Maybe it was a lie. But he would hold onto that hope anyway.

Still leaning on the railing, he reached up to run a hand through his hair.]

That... may be a good idea. ...You're probably not going to like what I'm about to tell you.

sh-short tag. orz

[ventus_aerius]

[another nod before Harpuia holds out a hand for X. An offer of help, if he needs it]

...

[tothexthpower]

[X blinks at the offered hand, then smiles and laughs a little weakly as he gestures apologetically to decline.]

Ah, hah... Thank you, but I'm okay, really. It's just... been a rough week.

[He took an instant to steady himself internally before pushing off the railing to straighten up. As he did, he glanced around and then gestured slightly at a set of benches up against a wall to indicate where they should sit.

They needed to talk, though X still wasn't sure how to explain what was happening when he wasn't even sure himself.]

Please...?

[ventus_aerius]

[there's a questioning stare directed at X before the green reploid looks at the seat and bows slightly] Understood.

[Harpuia starts making his way towards the set of benches, but stops briefly as he realizes something] Apologies, Master X, I haven't properly identified myself...

I am one of the Four Guardians, Harpuia.

[tothexthpower]

[Oh... that was just disconcerting, watching him bow to him like that. He hadn't meant it as an order...]

Ah, just X is fine... Harpuia. [He added the last a touch hesitantly, not sure if he would prefer some kind of 'Guardian' title the way he was giving X the 'master' title. Though X wasn't much of one for grand titles.

X followed after him to take a seat on one of the benches.]

[ventus_aerius]

[by Harpuia's reaction, it seemed that the lack of title was fine to him. Besides, the last time he was referred to by title was by Kelverian of the Eight Gentle Judges... But that was then and this is now and well. Whatever it was X had to tell him, it couldn't possibly be worse than 'You've died and returned to Cyberspace', could it?]

[he stayed standing when they reached the benches] So what was it you needed to say?

[tothexthpower]

[X watched him for a moment before murmuring.] You... might want to sit down when you hear this.

[He frowned slightly and ducked his head a bit as he ran his hand through his hair again in a nervous gesture. How was he supposed to prove this to him...?]

Harpuia... can you ping the local city system servers and request a time check?

[ventus_aerius]

[he takes a second to access the servers and does as he's told and-]

[silence]

Is this... Is this date correct? [then again, it would explain all these old models and why Harpuia couldn't recall this city being here. It must have been destroyed sometime during the Maverick Wars]

[tothexthpower]

[While Harpuia checked the date, X watched him to see how badly he took it. So far, so good, but...]

Yes.

[A hesitant pause as he glanced away then back.]

...or at least, as near as we can tell. You're not the only one whose time stamp is off local.

[ventus_aerius]

[he's still standing and he isn't shaking. This must have had something to do with that explosion. Omega and the Dark Elf had already distorted the dimension, time travel couldn't be that far off... right?]

I can understand why my time would be different, but... [if there was anyone else from his time there should have been a response. Unless there were only the extremists-] Does anyone have a time stamp that matches?

[tothexthpower]

[X blinked slightly in surprise. Harpuia understood why his time was different? Was time travel normal in the future?]

I don't know. I don't think so. There are a few that are close - within a few weeks forward or back. But others... [X shook his head slightly.] ...I'm over two years ahead.

[He hesitates briefly, then looks up at Harpuia with a look somewhere between hopeful and entreating.]

If you know why this is happening...? Does it have to do with the vertigo quakes?

[ventus_aerius]

[at the surprised blink, Harpuia could offer an apologetic look. X was confused and worried enough. Telling him that Harpuia had, quite possibly, died just before arriving here would not have helped]

...

[he shakes his head]

I wish I could give you answers, Master X, but I have none. Or none that would be qualify as 'satisfactory'.

[tothexthpower]

[Oh Harpuia, you have tact. &hearts How wonderful. Because, no, X would not have taken it well.

As it is, he sighs and slumps a little bit in disappointment.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Not with our luck.]

It seems none of us have answers yet. But we're all in this mess together. [X glanced around to be sure there was no one close enough to overhear. The lookout was still otherwise empty and the sounds of the city, wind, and ocean should be enough to mask their conversation. He hoped. He continues in a quiet tone.]

There's a pretty good case for some kind of time distortion. But we haven't ruled out... other possibilities, either. [He didn't want to scare him even if Harpuia seemed to be taking it fairly well. And he wasn't entirely sure no one was listening in out here in the open. He wouldn't lie, but maybe it would be better to not just dump it all on Harpuia all at once.]

[ventus_aerius]

Hmmm... [which meant there were others who were caught in this mess as well (whatever this mess was). But if this was from a century ago then...]

An incident back in Neo Arcadia created a rift in my time. It has been resolved, but perhaps it has a hand in this? [he's just tossing an idea out there; Omega's power was due to Weil and the Dark Elf's influence. And it didn't appear as though the Elf Wars had even occured either...

He reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose] What a mess this is...

[tothexthpower]

[X frowned thoughtfully. A rift in the future... It was as reasonable as any other idea. At least it was resolved, so if it was the cause, the... time ripples, would stop, right? Maybe.

But if they did, they could be stuck in this present. Oh he did not want to have to explain this to the Federation. They'd flip their lid over more than one Zero - let alone more than one X.]

It's possible...

[He watched Harpuia as he showed the first open sign of stress over this. He'd appeared so stoic about it before, but X knew he had to be confused and off-balance under that mask - just like everyone else was.

He didn't even think to hesitate, as he simply reacted by standing up and lightly placing a hand on Harpuia's shoulder.]

We'll get through this together.