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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

But common belief is that the space llama brought us here. Dunno why. Who knows, it's apparently a giant space llama.

Hey, flip your thing over to video. I wanna see that handsome face.

[Oh, and this is his doppleganger. An exact replica. Updated to be exact. That means he's got a spare mask wandering around, if anything happens to his! Sweet.]

[~~Poor Jack is going to be mighty disappointed.~~]

Nowhere. They don't exist. There's no government. No military. No structure, the law enforcement's a joke....it's a bunch of clones of this one hot chick. The major punishment? Community service. It's...yeah. I've got a lot of work to do here. You showed up just in time!

There's a species of'em that are made out of organic cotton candy, who the hell knows? They're probably just genetic experiments that got dumped here hundreds of years ago and adapted to survive. And yeah, that's what everybody does. This whole planet revolves around'em.

This thing? [He points to the puppy in his lap.] Breathes fire.

I'm... gonna try not to think about that one too hard. Already kinda getting a headache.

...oh. Uh. Right. Yeah... Yeah, okay.

[Tim would gladly avoid video, but he doesn't really have much of an excuse to ignore a direct request, does he? Better not to piss off Jack immediately.

So the video switches on. Showing off Tim's still very intact, scarless face.]

That's... huh. Doesn't seem like the type of world that can even exist? I mean, that's like... storybook level structureless, or something.

[And Jack's already got plans. Because of course he does. This can't lead to anything good...]

Experiments... Yeah. Yeah, that makes more sense. This pink thing just about screams science experiment gone wrong. Seems a little... maybe... not super ethical to make 'em fight, but uh... Maybe that's just me.

...Seriously, fire?

....holy shit.

Look at that face....

[That's...that's both as right as can be and not right at all. He'd taken care of that. He'd taken care of it personally. Fitted Other Jack for his mask and everything. So...time stuff. Huh. After taking over Hyperion, but before the upgrade. Interesting. Really, really interesting.]

So...Space Llama can warp time, by the way. And I've got a hell of a hunch that I came here from your future! Don't worry, we do cool things.

[Oh that is weird. Jack's eyes never leave the other man's. He barely even blinks. He used to see that in the mirror every night. God it's been too long...]

I know, I know, it shouldn't work. But it does. And kids are just sent out into the wilderness when they're like ten, to fight wild animals. And this is normal! The friggin things love to fight. Well, most of'em. Doom Boner here's more of a lover than a fighter. Actually, he's mostly a sleeper. But he does breathe fire! Plus, ladies love'im. And he's making me money!

....by the way, Hyperion's...uh...Hyperion's kind of a greeting card company here. You like taking pictures of cute animals in hats?

Uh... Right.

[...Man. Why does he feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden?

...Okay, yeah, the staring. But Jack staring at his face and making him uncomfortable, that's not new. He did that from the second they met. This feels... different? Maybe it's just his imagination. But it's unsettling nonetheless.]

Shit, time, really? I... Fuck. Okay. Okay, just one more weird thing, I guess. Uh... Geez, how far in the future are we even talking here, like, what, a few months?

[A bit longer than that, of course. Not that Tim's got any clue. Everything that happened on Elpis is still fresh in his mind, since it all only just happened.]

Well. That's messed up. But if it works, I guess it... works? I'll just go with it. Worked well enough on Elpis, should work here too...

...Greeting cards. [Greeting cards. Oh god. Wow, that's uh... wow.] Uh... I... suppose?

Well, this ought to give you a hint it's been more than a couple months.

[Jack reaches up and runs his fingers over the silver skunk stripe in his hair. Another small difference. Only Jack doesn't see it as small.]

[Something will have to be done.]

I'm guessing it's been a few years! Still president of Hyperion, I pretty much run Pandora now...uh, I'm even richer than I was...

Oh. Got some bad news, actually....

But yeah, Pokemon love to fight. They mutate and get stronger, the more they fight. Some of'em are elemental based. There's a book, it tells you everything.

People here lose their shit over stuff with pictures of cute animals on'em. So...that's what I give'em! And thank god, I feel my soul die a little bit every time I have to do it. Got a guy who writes the captions already.

...Oh. Oh, wow, I am... way behind, geez.

Uh. Wait. Bad news?

[The fact that he runs Pandora is already bad enough news. God, that's... honestly a scary thought, but he'll deal with that thought later. When Jack isn't watching his reactions.]

Guess I'll read up on it all then. That's something I'm good at. Ha, and just when I thought I was done with studying...

Oh. I mean... If it's popular, yeah, guess that'd be a good place to start. Hah, yeah, they wouldn't be super into weapon manufacturing here. [Wait, did he just accidentally sign up to be a part of-- Oh goddammit, of course he did.] Um. But yeah, that's... not so bad.

Hey, don't worry about it! We'll get ya all caught up. Oh yeah we will.

Yeah. [Jack actually looks honestly a bit...bothered.] Some murdering assholes with a grudge against me took out Nisha. She always liked you.

There's literally hundreds of these things, the studying's just starting, kiddo! You're gonna have a ton of headaches. It's...ah, you'll see.

And you gotta admit, this dumb bastard's cute as hell!

[He half lifts Doom Boner, who's tongue lolls out as he barks a lazy 'dour' at the other trainer that looks and sounds confusingly like his own.]

Right... Okay.

[That's not ominous. At all.]

Wait... Shit. Shit, Nisha, seriously? Fuck... [Tim actually goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, okay, Nisha wasn't really a good person by any stretch of the definition. And, honestly, she kinda scared the shit out of him. But she'd still been part of the team and... Honestly, damn, it's kind of a surprise to hear anyone managed to take her down.] I... I'm sorry, that's...

[He's not even sure exactly what to say to that.]

Oh man. Just like the good old days back in college. Yay.

...Yeah, okay, I'll rate that as pretty goddamn adorable.

Yeah. Some punk ass Vault Hunters. Little group in the service of a certain siren I wish would just drop dead. Kept messing with Nish till... bastards. That's a cheap move, going after a man's girl.

Those assholes just don't quit, buddy. But I guess that's my fault for being all soft and not taking care of'em when I should have.

[He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. It's more than time for this to be a private conversation.]

Hell yeah he is. I hated him at first, he's pretty useless for battles. So he didn't make me any money. But he's got his uses, and now I don't go anywhere without him. Can't say it hurts to be known as 'fat cute puppy greeting card guy' around here.

Oh... her. Right.

Probably shouldn't be surprised, but... I dunno, guess I just didn't think she'd still be a problem for so long.

[It's weird how easy it is to just talk about Lilith like she's the bad guy and about Jack and everyone around him like they're on the good side. Like he's slipping right back into how it was before he knew what Jack was like. Which is why he decides not to even comment on that part about being too 'soft'.

Ugh, damn, there's that sick feeling again whenever he thinks too much about everything that's happened. Great.]

Oh, yeah, that would make for a pretty easy good reputation, huh? Cute dogs just have this... super trustworthy vibe about them. That's... clever.

You can't begin to imagine the problem she turns out to be. The problem they all turn out to be. You try and be nice. You try and let things go. You try and focus on the bigger picture. And look what happens! I'm not making that mistake again.

[Nope. next chance, they're all dead. All of them.]

Not that I need it, everybody here pretty much loves me anyway, but....eh. I still don't quite get what I did to piss Athena off so much, but she's spewing a bunch of bullshit and threatening to beat me up in the street. So that's...that's a thing.

I dunno, hell, maybe you can get her to calm her tits some. She's really starting to annoy me.

Yeah... I'm sure you won't, sir...

[Yeah, this can't be good. Note to self, if Lilith shows up, go as far away as possible.]

Oh. Uh.

[Yeah, wonder what Athena's pissed about. He can't possibly imagine. Nope. Not him.]

I-I don't know, she's pretty stubborn, I doubt she'd listen to me? Uh. But I'm- I'm sure she doesn't actually mean that. Probably.

[Oh no, he's 100% sure she does.]

I'd like to think she doesn't, but we both know that she does. She's...kind of gone nuts, I guess? Did you know Lilith tried to up and murder her? And she's still pissed at me? How does that even work?

God, it friggin sucks when a friend turns on you! I am getting so sick of this bullshit!

Ugh, anyway...I'm in Goldenrod, get here quickly.

For the love of a possible magic space llama and...you know...me, get here quickly.

I... I'm sure there's a good explanation for it? Or, I... I just mean, y'know, Athena never really seemed like the crazy type to me... at least...

But uh... Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty terrible.

[Yup, betrayals sure are the worst. It's such a good thing Jack's speaking to the most loyal employee here who would never ever consider turning against him... Ha ha... ha...]

Um. Goldenrod. Right. So is there a fast travel network here or...?

Not really, her only explanation seems to be I'm apparently evil and deserve it? Again. Not the one who tried murder her. I paid her! And thanked her! Hell I offered to pay her to leave me alone, that seemed like a win-win for us both since she said all that mattered was the money...or something like that. Hell, and now you're here...if she'd just calm the frick down, it could be like old times!

Uh....yes and no. You gotta unlock your destinations by visiting'em first. I can pick you up, but I gotta grab somebody to port me. Kind of annoying.

Oh. [...Well, she's not wrong, he's pretty evil.] Uh, she said that? The money thing? Doesn't really sound like her.

[Old times. Yeah right.]

Ah, I mean... You don't have to go out of your way or anything, I can just walk. Can't take too long... [He's hoping it takes a really long ass time.] This thing probably comes with a map or something, I assume, so... I can figure it out.

Edited 2016-08-08 15:08 (UTC)

She was pretty clear about our old adventure being about the money. Which...she didn't actually take if I'm remembering correctly. Not that time. The next time she took the money!

Mmm, I've been hearing that a lot, and yet....

But you're not some asshole I've never met before. You're my other self! And you know me. You're not gonna screw around with me. You know better.

Do you need any money? You don't start out with much.

Yeah, that's what I mean, she didn't actually take it back then... I mean, the job after that was kind of an exception...

Right. Yes, wouldn't dream of it, sir. And uh... still under contract and all that, anyway! Wouldn't go against that.

[Oh boy, does he know better...]

Uh. I mean... I guess that couldn't hurt, no? [...Hey, look, he might despise Jack, but he'll still take his money. Because fuck it, he might as well. Oh god, please pay him.] Hadn't even really thought about that yet.

But you see how messed up that is, right? Sure, she'll work with me, she'll take my money if she needs it, but dump us on a planet where I can't even defend myself and suddenly it's all 'oooh, I'm coming for you!'. When we haven't talked in years? Double-u Tee Eff?

Damn right you are. But...I mean...it's not like that matters. We're buddies! You'd have my back anyway, right?

Nah, doesn't hurt at all! I'll send you a Handsome Cat, too, they poop money. All my employees have one. Oh! I'll send you Jackpot! How perfect is that?

I mean... It does seem like it'd have been better for her to just... try talking things out. Guess that's not exactly her style, but... still.

[Not like Tim expects Athena to actually avoid confrontation in that way, but it sure would've made his life easier...]

Well. [Ahahahaha, fuuuuuuck.] Yeah. Yeah, of course. Definitely.

[Oh god please never bring up that he said that.]

A... Sorry, um, a what now? Jeez, getting the feeling I'll be saying that a lot here...

I told her, first day she showed up, I don't have any problem with her. I had nothing against her! Hell, I liked her. She's a badass and she does what needs to be done, I respect the hell out of that! Now? Now she's pissing me off.

Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought. Eh, this place...it can mess with your head sometimes.

A Handsome Cat! Hold on...[CJack takes the puppy out of his lap and gets up, exiting the video feed for a minute. The view of a nicely decorated living room is offered. In a moment, Jack comes back into view holding a Meowth. Said Meowth is wearing a yellow collar that bears a gold disc inscribed with a single 'H'.] One of these guys! This one's named Jackpot!

How long has she been here? Maybe she, um... needs some time to cool down? I don't know.

Oh. W-Well, no need to worry about anything here, at least...

[...Okay, for once, Tim is screaming internally for a totally different reason. That cat... Holy shit.]

Oh my god... Ohhh god. [Tim needs to put his hand over his mouth for a moment, because a very undignified sound almost gets out and honestly who can blame him because oh gosh look at the kitty.] That... is super cute.

Heh, was almost expecting 'em to be all bright yellow or something.

Yeah, 'cause Athena sure is known for cooling off and calming down when she's got a grudge....

[Jack doesn't acknowledge the other man's repeated affirmation, but he notes it. Good. Good. Yeah, of course this guy's okay. Why wouldn't he be? He's just all jumpy, that's all. He needs to settle this Rhys problem. But other-Jack isn't Rhys.]

....so you like cute shit, huh? Yeah, I'm putting you in charge of graphics. I get the feeling this kind of stuff is right up your alley.

[Jack reaches off camera and shuffles through some cards. He shows one to his doppleganger. It's yellow. There's a mewoth in a bow hugging another meowth in a tophat. The caption reads 'You're Pawesome'.]

Nah, Pikachu are yellow. I gotta get one of those, too. They're ridiculously popular for graphics and stuff.

...Okay, point. Can't... really argue with that one.

[And not for a lack of trying to come up with a good counterargument.]

Uh... hah, yeah, I guess I do? Always kinda had a soft spot for cute animals. Cats especially. Aw, geez, that one's cute too... Cheesy, but cute.

[Graphics... Well. At least he doesn't have to shoot anyone? So he can't really complain.]

Huh... Guess there must be a buncha these things that already have like... I dunno, fanbases, I guess. Probably helps if they actually look like animals and not uh... [He glances down and off screen at his own little pet blob.] ...well, kinda freaky.

Yeah, I guess if I had to say, I'm a cat guy. Usually. I got a personal one of these, he's the friggin' worst. I mean, I call the damn thing 'Cattrap' for a reason.

Don't complain about that thing. You wanna see something awful to start out with? Hang on. I kicked it outside again but it always gets back in. Somehow... [Jack trails off, eyes clearly searching for something.]

AHA! [He swings the gear to show a very disgruntled looking Trubbish oozing along his floor.]

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