Shelter From the Storm, pt II

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

[There's a sound not unlike a muffled explosion down in one of the lower floors. In the relevant hall, the source of the noise becomes clear when a spray of river water and a soaked Snake come tumbling out one of the doors, knocking it clear off its hinges.]

[He coughs out a bit of water and shakes his head to clear it, standing slowly and warily and looking around at the flooded hall. This...isn't Arsenal Gear. But the more he sees the more he gets the feeling that all this is a little familiar.]

...you've got to be kidding me.

((Lame and finally canon updating to make my life easier 'cause I play him post mgs2 elsewhere anyway and I keep forgetting. :,D Specifically from when he jumps off Arsenal Gear at the end to chase down RAY like an idiot, for symmetry because it amuses me. Don't worry, Nexus, he remembers you. It's just...been a couple years.))

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[finebehind.livejournal.com]

[He quirks a brow.]

What were you doing in there?

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

[He shakes his head and leans back on the wall, getting his bearings again. It's all coming back to him; the Nexus, everything that happened while he was here; but it's a little jarring.]

Not there.

[A pause, then:]

Arsenal Gear. Liquid was getting away with RAY.

[finebehind.livejournal.com]

Oh--so you're new here, huh?

[But something's a little off...Jack tilts his head a bit, eyeing the soldier.]

No...you don't seem new.

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

New? Not really.

[He takes his bandanna off to wring the water out of it, running a hand through his damp hair.]

Looks like this place decided to send me home for a while.

[Six months to the day he first arrived. Lucky him.]

[finebehind.livejournal.com]

Home?! What--what was it like?

[He stepped closer to Snake, flustered.]

Did time stop--did it keep going? What happens when we go back? You said you were at Arsenal Gear, was that were you left off?

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

[He holds a hand up to silence the barrage of questions.]

Slow down.

I first came here in 2007. Picked up right where I left off, from the look of it. Didn't remember any of this until I showed up here again.

[finebehind.livejournal.com]

[Reluctantly Jack settles down, listening as if his life depends on it.]

So it does stop...

[His expression falls.] We don't remember anything? But...

[He couldn't imagine just...forgetting the Rose he'd met here, but...if he had to leave he wasn't sure he could bear remembering her either.]

...Rose.

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

[He won't pretend to understand exactly what that's about. But he can make a couple guesses.]

...Can't say it works the same for everyone. There aren't any guarantees. Only way to find out is when it happens.

[finebehind.livejournal.com]

I guess so...but at least we know something now, instead of just being held here in the dark.

[He shook his head, brow furrowed in thought.]

[formerfoxhound.livejournal.com]

[He frowns. Doesn't really do them a whole lot of good, though, if they can't remember any of this. Made sense, considering all the people here from years ago. You can't change the past, no matter how much you might want to. But he doesn't like the feeling of being bound to one fate, either.]

Not much to go off of. Either way, I still ended up back here.

[finebehind.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I wonder if anybody comes back and doesn't remember...?

[What if he had been here before, and just didn't remember? The thought was...unsettling, to say the least. It wouldn't be the first time Jack had botched memory.]