victory_road | 01

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c. price. still on patrol.

[She doesn't expect that to mean anything to anyone except for one person. If he's out there- good. great. that would be totally amazeballs. But she has no idea how long it's been since she's been here last, it could be a whole new generation of... well. everyone.

Chloe really hopes that isn't the case. It's twisting her stomach into knots just thinking about it. If he isn't here, it means Munchies isn't either. Or... if he is, she wouldn't know where to begin looking for her big tub o' lard.]

u ever just take a nap and wake up and its like 100 years have passed
i should definitely be way more hungover for how long i mighta been out
what year is it

more important question
my bird keeps hitting me with celery n he wont stop
what do??

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I believe it's a leek, if your bird is the bird I'm thinking of.

[You know. Can't be Ford Pines if he's not pedantic about small details, even at a moment like this. If it weren't for her opener he'd have been worried she didn't remember him. That happens a lot. It's a bizarrely comforting feeling to realize that one of his friends is back and still knows who he is.]

I missed you. I'm the one who's supposed to disappear for long stretches of time with no warning.

[Words cannot even express the joy that Chloe feels upon seeing Ford show up on the feed- and even better, he remembers her!

All her anxiety and stress (or at least most of it) melts away, but she's Chloe so when the camera comes on, she isn't showing the huge grin she'd had a second ago. But if you look close, you can see the happiness twinkling in her eyes.]

Ew, who are you? I'm looking for a real man. He's big and round and probably handsomest dude here. You seen him?

[She cracks a smile as she lets out a laugh. It's really, really hard to keep a straight face right now.]

I can't say I missed you, since I barely remember being gone, but... damn, dude, I'm so. so. glad that you're still here. I was sc- I thought- I mean. Fuck. Ya know?

I know. Hold on, I think I know where he is.

[He stands. Behind him more of a building comes into view; it's mostly stone and the walls are curved outward. Up top is what looks like an intricate glass and metal dome, though some of it's hidden by the tall forest trees all around. Over the door is a mosaic rendering of an Archeops and the words Horizon Gym.

He walks down the front steps and starts on a gravel path that leads around the side, talking as he goes.]

I think at this point the Pokémon world is stuck with me, for better or worse, at least until I hit 92 and have that heart attack.

[Ha ha! Mortality!]

[Chloe pulls back a little from the camera, feigning a glimpse at a watch she isn't wearing.]

Shit, we've got what. A year left, then? You're looking grayer than ever. How've things been since I was here? Actually... how long have I been gone? Is Anna-?

[She doesn't want to get her hopes up, but her voice quickens a little as she brings up her girlfriend.]

[Ah. roblox_oof.wav. Ford is glad he has to look away from the camera to see where he's walking because he doesn't know if he could meet Chloe's eyes.]

No. She and Elsa are both gone. A lot of people are. It's been two years.

[A little more, actually, but just saying 'two years' still gets across the gravity of how long it's been.]

[Chloe can tell almost immediately what he's about to say, just in the way he looks away. Or maybe that's just her own penchant for assuming the worse case scenario...

Either way, it's not too much of a shock to hear that the sisters are gone. But what is surprising is hearing that it's been two years. Two whole years with everyone going on without her, two years of Munchies being taken care of by someone else.

She sort of takes a seat nearest where she can, which is against the outside wall of "Mom's" house, letting the Pokegear rest next to her, showing nothing but the blue sky above.]

Can you hold on...? Before you get where you're going. I don't want to be all boohooey and shit when we see each other.

[She's sort of. Having a crisis. What happens when you leave a Pokemon for a long time? Do they forget? Is it like a scent, does she need to give him a t-shirt of hers to get him to remember?? Fuck]

What if he doesn't want me anymore? Fuck. I wouldn't want me anymore. Not after I abandoned him for two years. That's... so long...

Of course.

[It's a long walk around the side of the building out into the grounds behind, but she doesn't know that, so he stops by the wall of the research building and leans himself against it.]

I should point out that you didn't abandon him. That implies choice. You fell victim to a very common quirk of this universe and stumbled back through the wormhole you fell out of, and no one can possibly fault you for it.

Thanks.

[If Ford can even hear her say that, her voice cracks a little and it comes out more a whisper. Damn it, she thought she'd be able to, y'know, not have this kind of breakdown. She was doing so good! Everything was fine!

Stupid irrational fears. Stupid abandonment issues projecting themselves onto this situation. Stupid universe for taking her girlfriend away. Stupid, stupid, stupid.]

I mean. I guess. [This time it comes out like a grumble. Because she knows he's right, but the logic plug in her brain has been disconnected for a long time.] It just feels so... I don't know. Unfair.

[Chloe's feelings have a very expensive projector and it's currently running in overdrive.]

He didn't ask to get stuck with me, then left behind and then boom! Here I am again! What if I fucked him up like- like- it's just unfair! Why did I have to disappear again, when everything was fucking awesome before?

Edited 2020-11-30 23:48 (UTC)

If I might offer a suggestion: instead of worrying about how he might feel, ask him how he does feel?

[The one real good thing that happened in the past two years is that Stanford Pines has... well, not mellowed exactly, but he's had two more years of self-examination. He's still not perfect and he probably never will be but he's managed to grow at least a little in that time and that's something.]

I know Munchies and something tells me he's not the type to hold a grudge.

[Chloe is quiet for a long moment.

She slowly picks up the Pokegear, keeping it pointed away from her for the moment as she sort of. Processes what he's just said. Damn, that's. Yeah.

When she points the camera back to herself, her lips are pressed together and she's just giving him a blank expression.]

I'm not used to your sciencey logic bullshit making any sense emotionally, what the fuck happened while I was gone? Who hurt you?

[Forgive him; he's old, and so he hears that and thinks it's a legitimate question.]

No one, purposefully. I'm just on the other side of two relationships and have done a lot of thinking.

Oh, I guess that makes-

TWO??

[Sorry, sorry. Let her just-]

You barely managed one last time, you got hella game since last time we talked. Deets!

[See, now this conversation is swinging around to stuff he isn't good at talking about. He has made a mistake.]

I wouldn't use the phrase 'hella game', exactly.

[It wasn't like he was trying. Both of his relationships just kind of snuck up behind him and hit him over the head.]

His name was Jack. I don't think you would know him, he was after your time. You would have liked him. He was very intent on not letting me disappear into the woods whenever I was upset about something.

He and I have that in common.

[Until it's Chloe's turn to disappear into the woods when she's upset, in which case go away.]

Come on, man, you got two people to fall for you. The sooner you embrace your inner silver fox, the sooner you can start workin' on number three!

Got any hotties you've got your eye on?

[Boy is he regretting stopping. Where the fuck is Munchies to save him from this.]

I, uh. I'm not currently interested in a number three.

[It's around then that Chloe realizes maybe she's, uh, lacking a bit of tact here.]

Yeah... right, sorry. I zeroed in on you because I'm still emotionally constipated over Anna- you probably don't wanna talk about this shit right now, either.

I appreciate that your first instinct after being gone for two years was to try and improve my love life.

[He really means that, even if he's definitely at a point where he's not actively looking for romance.]

Did you still want me to go and find Munchies?

[Chloe wants to say something deep and meaningful like "well duh, I saw how happy you were when you were with somebody" or "your happiness is important to me".

But it's Chloe, so of course nothing of the sort actually makes it through the brain to mouth filter.]

Yeah, duh. Whatever.

[She brightens though, at the mention of Munchies. All her insecurity and fear has melted away, back to excitement.]

Go get that big ole tub of butter.

[See. There we go. If there's one thing he appreciates in Chloe it's her ability to bounce back. Ford pushes off from the wall and continues on his way around the building. He chose this spot specifically because of the surrounding forest, so he isn't sure exactly where in said forest Munchies might be, but he can't be too hard to find. He's a gigantic beanbag chair.]

Oh-- that's my house, over there.

[He angles the camera a little so that Chloe can see a round building in the distance. There are several more past it, but the closest one is obviously the biggest.]

[Yeah, it's one of Chloe's better qualities. She's gotten pretty good over the years at compartmentalizing and dealing with it later. Or... trying to? She's at a point in life where it's 50/50 whether it implodes in on her later. Still way better than where it used to be.

Chloe is about to offer him a congrats on the new place, but hold on a sec-]

Okay, but the important question is: are you still cooking ramen with a coffee maker?

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