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[Otacon did frequent the bars of the Nexus just to drink casually. He had taken a liking to some of the odd beers the Nexus was supplied with. This particular bar, however, wanted its visitors to drink a little more heavy. Emmerich looked up and noticed - ]

Shots Drank : 0/3

[ - above his head. The doctor looked at all the gin, vodka, rum, sake, and all other types of hard liquers that were available. He figured this effect room was the same as the other ones he had been in. He had to fill his counter to leave because the room would be inescapable otherwise. The man grabbed a spiced rum bottle and began to pour himself his first shot in a glass.]

Here goes nothing.

((OOC: There's only one little twist - People with nanomachines, cyborgs, machines, and others can get drunk in this room even if normally they couldn't. Drink 3 or more to leave.))

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...Sorry. [Force of habit. He hadn't meant to startle him.]

[He looks over Otacon's shoulder at the booze.]

So. Any preferences?

N-No, it's okay...

[Still feeling foolish, Hal gladly followed the change in conversation.]

N-Not really. I-I don't know m-much about drinks. I-I came i-in to l-look for parts, is all...D-D-dn't expect s-something like this.

[He looks beseechingly up at Snake.]

D-Do you have any r-recommendations?

[...parts? He can ask about that later. First things first.]

All of this stuff is pretty strong. From the looks of it you don't really have a choice as far as that goes. But.

[He ducks behind the bar and starts looking around for something.]

Calm down. The room says you have to drink three shots but it doesn't say how or how quickly. Good Vodka like this is tasteless, if you want to find something to mix it with. Otherwise...

[He sets a glass down in front of Hal.]

Cuba Libre. Rum and coke is usually a pretty safe bet. It's sweet. Think you could handle it.

[Hal listens carefully to what Snake says and smiles hesitantly as he picks up the drink. He sips it, finding the taste not unpleasant.]

Th-Thanks, Snake. Y-You really kn-know your stuff, huh? Wh-What are you having?

[He'd always wondered about the man he'd helped to kill met in that cold lab in Alaska. Snake had seemed unbreakable, unbeatable, sure in everything he did...Hal had felt like he'd lost more than an ally when Liquid had...When REX...]

[He holds the glass a little tighter and focuses on the man's reply.]

[Sure he does. Maybe a little too well.]

I wouldn't pass up good whiskey. You might like it, actually. But I'd wait til you could try it on your own terms.

[He gets a glass of his own and pours himself two shots worth over ice. You aren't the boss of him, Nexus. If the room decided it didn't count he'd worry about it later.]

Come on.

[He nods over toward his stalker corner and leads the way over to the table.]

I-I m-might then, s-sometime.

[He follows Snake and sits at the table, noticing how easy it was to see the rest of the bar.]

Y-You h-have a good v-view from here.

[Hal smiles, really smiles, the drink making him feel warm. Things were gonna be okay, after all.]

[From this vantage point you could see the bar and everyone who came into the room. All the better to stalk you with, not that he's going to admit it.]

I don't like surprises.

[Except he's a little surprised to see Otacon so calm, considering how he'd reacted to him the last time they'd spoken. And that surprise he does like. It's hard not to smile back, a little. Weird alternate universe or not, he'd missed his friend. He gestures at him with his drink.]

You look like you're doing better.

[Hal sips his drink slowly. The nexus through so much at him so quickly that he had to start taking everything as it came or else go mad. When he's more settled he will think back and be shocked at how nonplussed he had been.]

I-I am, I think...D-Doing better, that is.

[He smiles softly down at the glass.]

I-I've been w-working on m-making a wheelchair, w-would you b-believe? There's a p-puppy here who's back l-legs won't w-work, so I'm helping h-him out.

[He laughs a little. Lightweight? Yes.]

He-Helping him s-stand on his own f-four legs...Guess h-he's helping m-me too.

[Don't worry, Snake can hold his liquor pretty well, and he intends on keeping an eye on you.]

Hm. Good for you.

[That's Snake-speak for "I'm proud of you, buddy."]

Should have known you'd find something to keep you busy.

[Hal grins proudly at Snake as he finishes his drink.]

I-It feels g-good, y'know? H-Helping people again.

Wh-What about you, S-Snake? Keeping b-busy?

[He hasn't exactly been busy, unless you count getting drunk with POWquid, but he doesn't really want to talk about it. Snake is almost as good at dodging questions as he is bullets. Which means that every now and then he fails spectacularly. He waves a hand dismissively.]

Something like that.

[Hal stares for a moment at his counter, which had changed with a small "Ding!"]

That is so strange...

[Shaking his head, he returns his attention to Snake. Somehow he gets the feeling that the man's avoiding the question.]

You should find something you like to do too, Snake! Like...[Huh, Hal couldn't think of anything. Snake hadn't exactly talked about himself much before...]

What do you like to do?

[He hums, finishing his own drink and setting the glass back on the table.]

I've been looking for a way out, but no luck so far. Not much else for a guy like me to do around here.

[Hal gestures a little broadly.]

But what do you like to do? Not a guy like you, just you.

[It's suddenly very important for Hal to know. He'd been part of the reason this man was dead in his own world; it was only fair that he knew who he was.]

[He stands, patting Hal on the shoulder as he passes, and walks back to the bar, coming back with new drinks for the both of them.]

I've been a soldier my whole life. Don't know how to do much else.

[Any time he'd tried, it hadn't ended all that well. At least with Philanthropy it was on his own terms.]

[He's rather proud of himself for not flinching away from the casual touch.]

W-Well, th-this could be a ch-chance to l-learn, r-right? W-With everything on p-pause like it is...

Time doesn't stop, Otacon. Not even here. I've still got a job to do.

[Despite it all, it's easy enough to fall back into familiar habits and forget that this Otacon doesn't really know much about him at all. He sighs, tapping his fingers restlessly on the table before throwing him a metaphorical bone.]

I raised wolf-dogs in Alaska for a couple years. Even sled raced 'em.

B-But it is back i-in our w-worlds, isn't it? Th-That's what everyone s-says.

[The admission brings another smile to Hal's face.]

R-Really? Th-That's pretty cool! I-I've heard th-that there's a-an Alaska r-room somewhere. M-Maybe you c-could take i-it up again...

[Hal would want a ride. On the sled, I mean.]

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Doesn't mean it's stopped for good. Still moving along for you and me, right?

[Honestly, Snake just doesn't function all that well without a mission. He does miss his dogs, though. He might be considering it.]

Don't suppose this place was good enough to bring 'em here, huh?

[There are very few people Snake would take for a ride on his sled. Hal would be one of them.]

W-Well, i-it's hard to know f-for sure. I-It could be that time is p-passing here at a different rate, making th-the world s-seem to go faster or s-slower. In f-fact, each p-person might have a little o-of their own timestream around th-them, which m-might explain the same v-versions from d-different points in t-time...

[Hal blinks and takes a drink.]

I-It brought a crippled p-puppy here; I d-don't see wh-why it wouldn't have.

[Well, he understood most of that.]

Timestream?

[As for the dogs, probably because Snake isn't used to good things happening all that often.]

Hn. I'll keep my eyes open.

[You've given him alcohol and asked him (sort of) to explain the theoretical differences in time propulsion the nexus denizens might be subjected to. Run for it, Snake.]

It's p-possible that each w-world has its own timestream and wh-what's happening is that each p-person taken f-from each w-world stays w-within that timestream...We all j-just have a p-pocket of our world's t-time wrapped around us. Th-That way, if I'm r-right and if the n-nexus itself d-doesn't h-have a timestream, we, all of us who w-were brought here, a-are what m-makes time h-happen.

[Never! Snake is a man of considerable fortitude and will.]

[And he's sort of used to hearing long strings of technobabble by now. Hal still gets a blank stare in response, though.]

...Uh huh.

[He grins, happy that Snake seems to understand.]

See? It makes sense! We all h-have these little...b-boxes of time, and th-that's what makes t-time in the nexus w-work.

[And he's done with the second glass.]

[Er. Sure he does. He rubs the bridge of his nose absently.]

As long as it works.

[Hey, a pause in the technobabble. Now seems like a good time for an abrupt subject change.]

Found somewhere to stay, yet?

[Cause he has the feeling he'll be dragging your tipsy nerdy ass back there after this last drink.]

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