Otacon should have seen it coming. He should have known it was possible. He was a computer hacker, for god's sake, and he had experimented to Glitch City and back with his Blue cartridge
( Read more... )
"I-i-it's like this." He spoke quickly, trying to minimize the technobabble as much as possible.
"This place is a world that's a game everywhere else. But if it's not...if it's actually the game itself somehow, then it's all computerized. And computer programs, th-they're not perfect. They can have mistakes in them. Glitches."
Otacon paused for breath, clearly panicked and shaken.
"That...that thing out there was a glitch in the original game. People called it 'Missingno.', short for 'missing number'. It's leftover data, except it was left in the finished game and encountered when it n-never should have been. It was difficult to defeat, and if you caught it, all sorts of data could be corrupted and destroyed
( ... )
"There's a computer in the Pokemon Center--if it still works, maybe I can get something fixed with it. But I can't do this alone, James. I need you with me."
Otacon was far more alert than usual, not to mention more aware of how quiet footsteps on corrupted coding was. The lack of sound save for that disturbing music was really starting to get to him, and then--
"It's a d-different form of Missingno." he explained, trying to edge away from the mess of distorted pixels. "They're not all skeletons--they're more commonly pixels like that."
The engineer took a shaky breath, adjusting his glasses.
"We just have to--" Otacon was cut off by a piercing noise from the thing--why did it seem so loud, like someone was blasting it in his ear...?! Otacon doubled over in pain, hands held against his head.
I forgot about that--what happens here if the game freezes...?!
The cry seemed to blend into one long, deafening sound---and then Otacon blacked out.
He caught the engineer before he hit the ground; he pulled him into his arms and, though he hated the thought of it, forced himself to flee the battle. He didn't know what had happened to Hal-- the data corruption he'd been talking about?-- but he had to get him somewhere safe. He took him to the Pokemon Center, running as well as he could with an engineer in his arms.
So apparently, the game freezing was, for Otacon, the equivalent of a whack to the head. He was unconscious for no longer than a few minutes before stirring, groaning in pain with a hand moving to his head. That was a headache that would probably be around for a while.
"Ngh...ow-" He flushed faintly red upon realizing just where he was. "L-Liquid? What happened?"
Liquid had set the engineer on one of the couches in the Pokemon Center, not quite sure what he was supposed to do. He hadn't seen Hal get injured and the missing number hadn't touched him; he didn't know what was wrong, and Liquid hated that feeling of utter uselessness when he was in a situation that he couldn't control.
For those few minutes, Liquid had been tensely waiting for Hal to prove himself right-- for him to change into one of those pixellated automatons and lose everything about him that made him Hal.
It was a relief when he opened his eyes and he was still Hal.
"You passed out," he replied, brushing some of the engineer's hair out of his face. "I got you to the Pokemon Center. Are you all right?"
Otacon got up, muttering things sounding like 'crashed' and 'soft reset' as he crossed the room to the PC. A spark of determination lit in his eyes as he got it working--the screen was pixelated and difficult to see clearly, but legible with some effort.
Maybe if he started by figuring out where this computer was damaged, he could trace that to his source. It wouldn't help the landscape or their Pokemon, but it would at least be something.
"This has to work." he mumbled to himself, focused on the barely readable screen. Because if this wouldn't work, they'd have to fight one way or another.
Silence passed, for the most part--Otacon was focused completely on his work, eyes sharp and determined.
"This place is a world that's a game everywhere else. But if it's not...if it's actually the game itself somehow, then it's all computerized. And computer programs, th-they're not perfect. They can have mistakes in them. Glitches."
Otacon paused for breath, clearly panicked and shaken.
"That...that thing out there was a glitch in the original game. People called it 'Missingno.', short for 'missing number'. It's leftover data, except it was left in the finished game and encountered when it n-never should have been. It was difficult to defeat, and if you caught it, all sorts of data could be corrupted and destroyed ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Casting a wary look out the door, he motioned for Liquid to follow as he walked out.
Reply
He followed the engineer out, staying close to him and keeping an eye out for any Zombiedactyls.
Reply
( ... )
Reply
What. Just... what.
"...What the hell is that thing?"
Reply
The engineer took a shaky breath, adjusting his glasses.
"We just have to--" Otacon was cut off by a piercing noise from the thing--why did it seem so loud, like someone was blasting it in his ear...?! Otacon doubled over in pain, hands held against his head.
I forgot about that--what happens here if the game freezes...?!
The cry seemed to blend into one long, deafening sound---and then Otacon blacked out.
Reply
He caught the engineer before he hit the ground; he pulled him into his arms and, though he hated the thought of it, forced himself to flee the battle. He didn't know what had happened to Hal-- the data corruption he'd been talking about?-- but he had to get him somewhere safe. He took him to the Pokemon Center, running as well as he could with an engineer in his arms.
Reply
"Ngh...ow-" He flushed faintly red upon realizing just where he was. "L-Liquid? What happened?"
Reply
For those few minutes, Liquid had been tensely waiting for Hal to prove himself right-- for him to change into one of those pixellated automatons and lose everything about him that made him Hal.
It was a relief when he opened his eyes and he was still Hal.
"You passed out," he replied, brushing some of the engineer's hair out of his face. "I got you to the Pokemon Center. Are you all right?"
Reply
"Come on...there has to be something..."
Reply
"..."
Reply
"This has to work." he mumbled to himself, focused on the barely readable screen. Because if this wouldn't work, they'd have to fight one way or another.
Silence passed, for the most part--Otacon was focused completely on his work, eyes sharp and determined.
Reply
And Liquid was stuck just standing around and waiting to see if Otacon could find something useful in the computer.
"...anything?"
Reply
Otacon stared blankly at the keyboard, trying to come to terms with the fact that he'd failed at the one thing he was good for.
"...nothing. I'm...sorry."
Reply
Leave a comment