victory_road | 001 ♟ audio/video

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001 ♟ audio/video

[There's no video for this broadcast, just audio. Well. There's background noise, anyway, for a few seconds. Then someone awkwardly clears his throat.]

Um, is this... working? [Huh, funny. Isn't that voice familiar? The tone's a little off, but the sound of it's definitely the same as that Jack guy, right?] How... How do I know if it's...

Oh! Wait, the light's on, that probably means people are listening and... hearing me talk to myself... like an idiot. Great. Cool.

[...He quickly clears his throat. Right, yeah, let's not keep talking to himself like a moron, that's no way to make a first impression.]

I mean. Hello there, youuuuu, ah, lovely... people. Oh god, that was terrible. This is... Jack. Handsome Jack. That's... me. In the flesh. I mean, not that you can see that, but--

Just. Just got a quick question. I... These Pokémon things, they're supposed to be like... animals, right? Um. I'm just gonna turn on the video for this, one sec... [And then the video feed clicks on, showing off one very excited Ditto, smiling right at the camera.] So... Seriously, what the hell is up with this thing? This is just... I don't even know. Someone used some jello for a science class and something went wrong or whatever? It's kinda freaking me out a little...

[The Ditto doesn't seem bothered being talked about like this, still looking as happy as can be.]

I... don't really know what to do with it. Do I like... feed it? Does it eat? It doesn't look like it eats, but... don't wanna kill it by mistake.

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I'm... sorry, what? The... You've... What. You've gotta be kidding me, right?

[A Jack AI in his head. Wow. Wow, okay. That's some nightmare fuel right there.]

...Heh, you're not so bad with pep talks, are you? [Who on this team is the one with the Inspire skill, Athena? Way to copy him, wow.] I...

...Look, is there... is there a way I can help out without Jack hearing about it? I don't want people to trust Jack, I really don't. And... And yeah, okay, maybe he can't do as much here. But I'd still like to avoid having him actively against me, you know? At least, just... for now.

Yeah. I don't even want to know how it happened. And if he hadn't told me he brought down Helios just to get rid of the AI, I would've kicked his ass clear across the continent.

[That's why she's willing to trust him. For him to go to such drastic measures... he had to have really wanted that AI gone.]

It's not a pep talk. All I'm doing is reminding you of the things you've done. My real pep talks involve a lot more shouting, so you better watch out soon.

[There's a pause, and then she sighs, a hint of frustration in it. Of course the other guy who was once in Jack's shadow doesn't want any direct confrontation wit him...]

In case you weren't able to tell from our time on Elpis, "indirect confrontation" isn't exactly my thing, outside of assassinations. You'll probably have to figure something out with Rhys, if you want to be sneaky with revealing all of our information on Jack.

So it's... it's definitely gone now, yeah? For good? Jesus, like just the real thing wasn't bad enough already.

[...He realizes the irony in him saying that, but let's not even go there.]

Ha ha, right... That sounds like you.

[...]

Yeah, well... We're not on Elpis. But sure... I'll work something out. Somehow. I really do wanna help out, y'know? I'm just-- [...Is there a good way of saying he's too scared? No. No, not really.] Nevermind.

No idea. I was close to the ruins of Helios not too long ago, but I didn't have enough time to check it out. Nothing seemed to hint that a rogue AI might be lurking around, though, so that's probably a good sign.

[There's another pause, and when she speaks again, it's... probably the softest he's ever heard her voice. It's not exactly warm and comforting by any normal person's standards, but now there's no edge to it at all.]

I know you're scared. But he won't be able to do anything to you. I'll make damn sure of it.

[That's such a weird phrase to hear. Ruins of Helios... He really is seriously behind on... well... everything.]

I mean, I don't even know what kind of signs there would be of that, but... Yeah. Yeah, probably good. Just gonna be optimistic about that one.

[Oh.

Oh, that's... a new tone. He's never heard Athena talk like this before. And by Athena standards it's... Well, shit, it catches him off guard. Which is clear enough by the fact that the nervousness just... disappears for a moment, while he stares at her.

It makes the fear in his eyes a lot more obvious. But there's also... maybe not quite relief and maybe not quite hope, but something close enough to both those things.]

I... [Another pause. Briefer this time.] Okay. Okay...

...Thanks, 'thena.

It's Jack. He'd probably want people to know he survived the crash of his space station, if just so he can brag about surviving such a thing.

[Or because he'd want the person behind the crash dead ten times over.]

... Do you want me to come meet up with you? I'm a few towns away, but there's a fast-travel service available to people who have already visited multiple towns.

That and to shout like a million different death threats. Probably get creative with a lot of them.

But yeah. Good point.

[The cynical part of him is already thinking of reasons why it's possibly not a good point, but he'd rather ignore that part right now.]

Um... Yeah, that'd be really great, actually.

"Probably"? He absolutely would. I'm sure you remember his reaction after the Eye of Helios was destroyed, or what happened after we defeated the vault guardian.

[It's... not really all that amusing, even in hindsight, but boy does that memory still stick out among all the other things Jack did during their mission.]

Good. Go to the center of town, find the sign that says the town's name is "New Bark Town". I'll meet you there.

Yeah, I uh... I try not to think about that? Because that was... really messed up.

[It's the reason he's trying so very hard to avoid pissing Jack off now, because angry Jack is terrifying.]

Alright, I'll be there. See you soon, I guess.

Good. I'll be there shortly.

[And with a click, Athena's video ends, leaving Tim with just the others chatting with him for now. It doesn't take long for her to find the local fast-travel station - which looks remarkably similar to the ones she's familiar with, though the actual device is simplified down to just a pad - so she wastes no time in requesting a teleport to New Bark Town.

And... wow, fast-travel on this planet is actually a lot smoother than what she's used to. Fast-traveling on Pandora always left her with an odd, itchy tingling feeling along her skin as she was digitally deconstructed and reconstructed elsewhere. This just felt more like a whoosh, like being flung through the air. Definitely more comfortable, she has to admit.

So, looking quite unruffled, Athena makes her way to the center of town. In almost no time at all, Tim will be able to spot her, clad in her usual attire and armor, and... yep. That is a floating sword hovering by her shoulder. Seems the space llama is really trying to find things that suit them, huh?]

Wow, we need to find out how that fast-travel tech works. I've never gone through anything that smooth before.

[Tim's just been waiting in the agreed upon location, his gear out as he's still talking to people, because... well, what else was he gonna do, really? At least most of the people are friendly.

Y'know. Except Jack. Talking to Jack's been less fun.

He immediately puts the gear away when he sees Athena, though. Hell, he actually seems to relax a little when he sees her - and for a nervous wreck like him, that's saying something.]

Seriously? Man, that's good to know. The fast travel we got always made me feel kinda sick.

Nice to see you, Athena. I mean, y'know. In person, not just on a tiny screen. [And... Wow, yeah, that's a floating sword, alright. He can't help but stare a little. This is gonna take so much getting used to.] ...Ha, man, so that's yours, huh? Pretty fitting.

Isn't it? I'm still not sold on how this place works, but I can give them credit for picking something appropriate.

[Whatever weird sound the sword makes, it certainly sounds happy! At least Athena's acknowledging it, instead of how she kept pushing it away when they first met...!

... Of course, Honedge's happiness doesn't get much attention for long, because Athena's eyebrow is raising as she gets a look at Tim.]

You look paler than usual. Did something happen?

Yeah, apparently that happens a lot here. Turns out mine's kinda fitting too, as it turns out. Man, a living sword's way cooler though. [...Quick glance at his Ditto.] Uh, no offense, buddy.

[The pink blob isn't offended one bit, at least.]

...Oh, do I? I, ah... I dunno. Mostly I've just been talking a bunch to... people.

[And by people, he means you know exactly who.]

[... Right then. You don't have to be a genius to make a guess as to what he means by that.]

What did Jack say to you?

I don't know, a bunch of stuff. Lot of, uh, ordering me around. He wants me to go to Goldenrod and get right back to working for him. Lots of uncomfortable staring at me too. Which he always does anyway, but... I dunno.

[There's usually more weird flirting with that. Which... you know... ugh.]

He talked about you, too. Figured you should know that.

[Athena just rolls her eyes.]

I'm not surprised. Let me guess, he's trying to make it out that I've completely lost my mind and that I'll probably skin him and anyone else with him alive the moment I see them. Does that sound close at all?

[Not that the idea doesn't sound tempting, but now that she's actually... you know. Not completely lost, she's cooled down marginally.]

You're not going to Goldenrod, right?

Yep, that's about the gist of it. Actually asked me to talk to you and see if I could sort things out, I mean, what the hell's he even expecting there?

[Right. That question.

The fact that he's hesitating probably isn't a good sign. The answer to that question should just be "hell no, of course not". But...]

...I don't know.

[Athena just snorts at that, because wow. She likes this kid, honestly, but there's no way he can say anything that would change her mind. She doubts even Janey could convince her to not deck Jack square in the nose if they ever met face-to-face.

... Her amusement doesn't last long, though, when she notes his hesitation.]

You don't have to. Jack doesn't have even a tenth of the power he had as the CEO of Hyperion. He can't do anything to you here.

Right... I know. I know, it's not the same at all here. Like... logically I know that.

[No Hyperion, no weapons, no real power. So long as Tim isn't in the same location as Jack, he should be safe, in theory.]

It's just that... man, he talked a whole bunch about being betrayed? It seems to be on his mind for some reason, he got pretty pissed going on about that. Honestly, kinda freaked me out a little... And...

...I don't know, maybe I'm paranoid.

[... Well shit. A look of guilt... may briefly cross Athena's face at that. She's the one that told him about Rhys after all, and if he's hung up about that.... whoops.

But no. She's not going to get hung up on that now.]

I told you before, didn't I? If he wants to do anything to anyone here, he's going to have to go through me first.

...Yeah. You did.

[And honestly, he really just needs to decide what's stronger. His trust in Athena or his fear of Jack.

It's not an easy call to make.]

...

God. Jack is gonna be so fucking pissed.

[Good. Good. It's not just a petty feeling of victory - that even Jack's body double would rather join up with her than him - that makes her feel good about this. It's... it's nice? Having one of her old vault hunting companions back with her? She's not sure if nice is the right word. She's sure there are better words for it.

The point is, it's a Good Thing that he's with her now.]

Maybe we can use that. If everyone else here can see just how unhinged Jack is, then he likely won't have as many people blindly following him anymore. After all, this is supposed to be a planet of pacifists.

[Don't think about it too hard, man. Athena can't wrap her head around it either.]

I don't know, do you think he'd go off like that where people can see it? Cause he seems to at least be trying to keep a good reputation.

[He crosses his arms, trying to think over his whole conversation with Jack again. See if maybe anything in there could be useful. But uh... instead, well...]

...Man, you know he seriously thinks we're buddies? Like, he actually said that. How oblivious can one person even be?

[Instead a bunch of salt just spills out. Sorry, Athena, that one's been sticking with him.]

If something really pisses him off, I doubt he'd be able to hold it in for the sake of appearances. I don't think even he could've stopped those fits after Lilith screwed him over twice.

[She just shakes her head. Those outbursts had been a bit surprising, yeah, but looking back on them now... it was like a kid throwing a temper tantrum.]

He thought the same thing about me, apparently. He thought we were friends, like I would even have thought that back when we worked together. [She may have respected him at first, but that's... a completely different thing than friendship.] Seems like there's no part of his life where he isn't deluded on some level.

True enough. That involved attempts on his life, though. I mean, I don't know if I'll rate anywhere near that level of-- [And then Tim remembers how Jack basically just sees him as an extension of himself. Right.] ...or... no, it actually might, come to think of it.

[Yeah, Jack's not really the type to react with anything resembling chill.]

Oh, yeah, he said that too, about you. Threw in something about how it could be just like old times. He just... really doesn't get it. It's almost incredible.

...Not like the times are really all that old for me yet, though.

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