one mil ( video )

[atlasrising]

[ The video starts with a rather...disturbed-looking Rhys staring wide-eyed at the camera. He's more or less bothered by this for a number of reasons. This had to be some kind of weird dream you had when you were passed out cold, but it wasn't turning out to be that way. When Rhys thought he would be waking up soon, something else happened. Like getting this weird Elgyem thing floating around nearby. Or the weird guy who was there to help him out of bed at his house. Rhys doesn't even have a house.

There's a pause at first. ] Uhh. Hi. There. I guess.

I'm, I'm here by some kind of mistake. My name's Rhys, and I'd really like to wake up from this dream now. So far the whole "pinching your arm" idea isn't working and believe me, I've been trying. I have a ECHO arm.

[ He'd probably show off his battle scars, but he's been through enough for a lifetime when it comes to adventures and the injuries you've collected thereof. So he just shakes his head. ]

Any help as soon as possible would be appreciated. There's...stuff I gotta do back on Pandora, and this doesn't really count as any of that.

So thanks.

Comments

[Audio]

[notachocobo]

It's not a dream.

[Trust him. He's tried to wake himself up from it.]

You're stuck here just like the rest of us. [A pause.] Sorry.

[Audio]

[atlasrising]

So you're telling me I'm not dreaming about waking up in a stranger's house, and having a little floating green thing trying to mess with my cybernetics? [ The green thing is pretty cute, he'd admit! The rest of this is not cute, though.

There's a little bit of a pause. ] Okay. So this isn't a dream. I am totally one-hundred percent conscience. I'm not in a coma, or on some kind of hallucinatory drug. This is real.

[ This sucks. ] Great! Awesome. I totally didn't just bring down a giant moonbase and eject all of my coworkers into space, and I definitely didn't want to check up on the carnage that I left behind. Nope!

[ It's not your fault, he's just...distressed. ]

[Audio]

[notachocobo]

Trust me, I wish it was all a dream.

[Cloud was slowly accepting all of it now but it still felt..weird. Still felt surreal in a way.

Exasperation is clear in his voice when he speaks next, the blonde rolling his eyes since Rhys can't see him.]

We all left stuff behind and not everyone is happy to be here. The best thing to do is make the best of it. Have you met your pokemon?

[atlasrising]

My, my pokemon? Uhh, you mean the green floating thing beside me? Yeah! I met it. Have no idea what it is, but I've met it all right. [ There's a pause from his end. ] It's...pretty cute, actually. I mean, for a weird green floating thing.

Okay. Everything that professor guy told me went straight over my head. [ During the whole lecture, Rhys was trying to get himself to wake up, not focus much on anything else. ]

So I'm stuck in this place with no explanation at all, and I have a pokemon. What else do I do?

[ Oh, there's a question he should ask. ]

How did I even get here? Is this even possible?

Video

[thedifferencebetween]

[The first thing Jack notices are the cybernetics. Those are Hyperion cybernetics. He'd know his own company's work anywhere.]

[And then the kid says the magic words. ECHO. Pandora.]

[Jack feels like the heavens opened up and a golden ray of light is shining down on him.]

[This Rhys kid is one of his boys!]

[He flips on the video for this one, and there he is, plain as day over Rhys' 'gear feed. Handsome Jack, in all his solid and masked glory, leaning back in a swivel chair with a fat houndour in his lap.]

Ah...I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, kiddo, but we're a long, long way from Pandora.

Don't worry about it though.

I got ya.

oh god

[atlasrising]

[ As if today couldn't be any worse. At this point in time, Rhys could probably write a novel. The second he sees Handsome Jack's face pop up on the network feed, he can feel his heart leap in his chest so hard it pretty much hurts. ] J-Jack...?

[ His tone could come off as dreamy. The last time he saw Handsome Jack, he had been trying to get off of his old workplace that had been on a slow but steady trail to a fiery death. Helios was now a wreckage pile because of Rhys. Because he had been trying to get rid of an AI of the same guy who was greeting him like an old friend. A week ago, Rhys would have been awestruck. Now? He knew better.

Jack had tried to kill him how many different times before he managed to take an escape pod. Now, in this weird place, he was being treated like a friend by a very fleshy, very real Jack. Not good. Very, very bad.

So Rhys does the only thing he can think of: stuff the 'gear under his pillow, and pile the blankets on top. See no evil, hear no evil! ]

[thedifferencebetween]

Wow, pretty informal there, but you're in shock, I get it. Super weird waking up here, I know! It's fine. Yeah, it's me! Bet you weren't expecting a personal greeting from your own hero and savior, Handsome Jack...

Uh...Rhys? Buddy? Looks like we're having some technical difficulties...uh...

[What the hell?]

Alright, do what you gotta. Dance around, scream in joy, swoon, whatever. But then you wanna pick your 'gear back up there?

[video]

[kissmyaspis]

[Oh hey, it's this guy. Would he be considered a friend? Probably not. But there was that little field trip of theirs to help Gortys find her upgrades, and they did fight a Vault Monster together, so he was... something to her, she supposes. A comrade. A fellow vault hunter.

And he'd disappeared, when he and Fiona had entered the vault. Or at least, Athena assumed they'd just disappeared. They never came back out, and the group had searched every inch of the valley, but nothing...]

Huh. You know, I was about to ask if this was where you really ended up after all that shit with the Vault, but you seem way more clueless than usual.

[video]

[atlasrising]

[ Oh god. Ooooh hell. A familiar face! ] A-Athena?! Oh god, please tell me that's really you right now. Please, please tell me...

[ When her video feed doesn't change into a double headed monster or something of the like, Rhys allows himself to breathe. Maybe now, he can get himself some answers. Or at least a distraction from the horrors that is the conversation up above. ] Oh thank god! Oh good. Okay!

Right, so this Vault business. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, but that that's seriously the last idea in my mind right now. Oh man, I gotta brief you on what's happened. It's, it's not good. [ And he has a feeling she's going to be pissed at him. 'Cause, you know. She didn't like Handsome Jack, and for the longest time he had been chilling out in his head. ]

Where are you? Are you in a house too? Because I need to talk to you pronto. I probably should have met up with you, like, ten minutes ago.

[video]

[kissmyaspis]

[A smirk crosses her face, even in the wake of Rhys's panicking. Good. He may seem confused and more than a bit out of sorts, but he's trying to get things done. That'll make this much easier.]

Rhys, focus. [Her voice is sharp, to cut through any more of his panicked babbling.] There's a sign in the middle of town, saying this is "New Bark Town". Find it, and we'll meet there. Got it?

Video

[coolskeleton_95]

IS AN ECHO ARM ANYTHING LIKE AN ECHO FLOWER?

Video

[atlasrising]

Uh, a what?

[ He shakes his head, before raising his right arm for him to see! ] It's a cybernetic. I don't...know anything about flowers. [ He's trying to sound like he knows what he's talking about, but his brain isn't agreeing to this. ]

All of my questions have pretty much been answered, but thanks anyway.

Re: Video

[coolskeleton_95]

[GASP!] IT'S A ROBOT ARM! HOW COOL!!!!!!!

video;

[cardboard_boss]

This isn't a dream, kid. It's about as real as it gets.

[Have a gruff old dude staring at you with his one eye while his Pidgey, Ash, sits atop his shoulder like a pirate's parrot.]

video;

[atlasrising]

Wow. [ This guy has to be aware of how scary he looks, right? Maybe it's the super gruff thing he has going on. Or the eyepatch. Or the scars. Or the weird pirate vibe he's getting. ] You are really intimidating. Do you hear that a lot?

[ Back to the main topic, though. ] How is this all real? People say it is, but seriously? It's like some bad drug trip.

[cardboard_boss]

[He can look pretty scary to some. Is it the scars? The eye patch? Or the prosthetic arm?]

Yeah, sorry. Most people say that.

[He's a tough SOB soldier from the heat of battle. A man bred for war.]

Beats me but it is. I woke up with my dog nudging my ankle. DD. He's my Poochyena and seems to enjoy being my companion. Understand about the drug reference though. First thought it was some damn dream gone wrong.

video

[thatwasours]

Everyone's got stuff to do at home.

[like plot a long con for murder]

video

[atlasrising]

Right. See, there's no reason why we're here. You've got stuff, I've got stuff. So there's got to be a way back home.

[thatwasours]

So, you're an engineer with some idea of how to build a device to cross universes or break a simulation?

I'm listening.

[it's only half-sarcastic.]

video;

[pipers_son]

I take it you've got the whole basics of everythin' by now?

[atlasrising]

Yup, more or less. I kind of wish I didn't, but what can you do.

[pipers_son]

Just get used ta it like the rest of us. My first bit of advice is gettin’ a good tempered Pokemon that’s big enough ta ride. If it were winter, I’d tell ya “Ponyta” but since it’s summer… Anythin’ else will do just fine.

video;

[oldestfriend]

Treat it like a vacation. That's what I'm doing. It's a pretty neat experience, having one that can go on for so long.

[By which she means, longer than a solitary day.]

[atlasrising]

I wouldn't mind a vacation after all the stuff I've been doing is done. This is all just really, really bad timing.

...There's gotta be a way to get back, right? Some stuff's been happening...home, and I really have to go take care of it. Like, really bad.

[oldestfriend]

It’s a mystery~. But, simple version, you get put right back when and where you were last you remember whenever that happens. Does that help?