FIC: Avatar Advice (part 2)
Seeing as there was not nearly enough Enter content in this week's ep, I present my continued musings on what should be.
In which Bandit makes up about a dozen plot devices concerning how the Avatar system works. This is Gobusters. We don't really care how things work, do we? I thought not.
Part One
Title: Avatar Advice (part 2 of I'm not sure...)
Fandom: Gobusters
Pairing: Jin/Enter (Or as I'm now calling them, Jinter)
Every return to the subdimension sapped at Jin's will a little further. Life as an avatar wasn't nearly as fulfilling as life in a real solid body, but it was a thousand times better than the crushing bleakness of his refugee hangar. The overwhelming air pressure settled on his shoulders, making the memory of a fresh breeze sheer torment. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep moving between like this. He was still adjusting to the change when he realized something was very, very wrong.
Enter was bent over the glass case containing Jin's preserved body, studying it like a tourist in an Egyptian mummy exhibit. Don't panic Jin steeled himself. Don't even act surprised. It was completely in the plan for Messiah's primary henchman to be standing over the last vestige of my real life. Or it's completely in the new plan, anyway. He took a deep breath. "I know, I know. It does sorta take over the room. I'm thinking of putting it in storage and getting a nice coffee table."
Enter rose with what could only be practiced nonchalance. "Indeed, it is something of a relic. Seems sentimental to keep such a thing around."
"What can I say? I hate to throw things away." Jin swept in the room and hopped onto the case just to prove how trivial an item his human form was. He doubted Enter believed him, but as long as the charade was going, he was probably safe enough. "You should've let me know you were coming over. I would've cooked."
"Cooked?"
"Don't do that eyebrow thing. I'm considered a very good cook ... in specialized circles. As it is, I guess we'll just have to go out."
Enter's expression remained bemused as Jin jumped down and took his arm. Bemused was good. Jin suspected Enter of being as thirsty for entertainment as Messiah. Maybe more so. And if there was one thing Masato Jin prided himself, it was keeping an audience entertained. "We'll hit up an udon shop on the surface as long as you can avoid installing a virus in the chopsticks or anything for an hour or so."
"I will see what I can do." He wasn't objecting to Jin's grip on his arm. Jin thought that could be good too, but then decided that was more a matter of perspective.
"Seriously, I like this shop. If you're just going to go and create a metaroid anyway, we'll just go to Mosburger or something."
*****
"You are joking, of course."
"I'd never joke about something like this."
"How long did this go on?"
"Almost until the crash, I swear. Kurorin's a great commander, but I don't know what he would've done without me."
"And you sincerely mean every one of them?"
"Every password in the entire E.M.C. was 12345 until they hired me. I think he was planning on defending the system with his fists if anyone was arrogant enough to hack in." Jin slurped at his udon. It was scalding hot, which was enough to register in his avatar's taste system. Almost as good as the real thing. Almost. "Don't get me wrong. Great guy. Lost without tech support."
"Yes, I broke in once. And by that I mean, I walked in through an open door." Enter plucked thoughtfully at the noodles with his chopsticks. He was only eating enough to be polite, which was weird in itself. Weirder that they were having a halfway normal conversation. Weirdest that Jin had switched from "Distracting an Enemy" mode to "Impressing a Date" mode without being completely aware of the transition. He would not be able to explain this to Kurorin or any of the kids. However, seeing as he was a freelancer and not a contracted employee these days, he didn't see any need to do so.
The idea that Enter was manipulating Jin for anything other than personal gain was, of course, patently ridiculous. Enter's definition of "gain," though, was somewhat more vague. Was he trying to throw Jin off psycologically to make him a less effective opponent? Turn Jin into another apostle of that irritating skull guy? Or did Enter just not get a lot of subdimensional action and took an opportunity when he saw one? All plausible, and Jin found himself having a pretty enjoyable time figuring it out. Options 1 and 2 were destined for failure anyway, and option 3 ,,, well, Jin hadn't ruled out option 3 yet.
"It has been a not unpleasant afternoon," Enter said at last. "But alas I have duties to attend to."
"Sure, me too, really." Actually, Jin was starting to worry he wouldn't be able to extricate himself in time to refuel his Enetron. Enter's presence that close to his totally vulnerable corporeal form had forced him to leave the subdimension without the refuel he'd gone back for. If it got much lower, J would show up with emergency supplies, and seeing as J was babysitting Youko today, he'd likely bring a crew of spandex heroes with him. "Next time, you should try eating something" The "next time" had slipped out before Jin fully considered his own implications.
"Perhaps."
Jin paid for the meal (Ryuuji still trusted him enough to lend him cash, and he doubted Enter had a grasp of "currency"), and the two of them walked out of the restaurant and nearly into the arms of a Metaroid fashioned out of ... Jin was guessing a spoon. "Didn't realize you were bringing friends,"
"Qui is not one of mine." Disdain dripped off of Enter's voice. Escape's Metaroids did all lack his sense of style.
"You won't have a problem with me blowing it up then?"
"A Metaroid of such caliber is a debasement of his Majesty. I would be most insulted if you did not."
This was undoubtedly a bad idea, Jin realized, giving a brief glance to the Enetron reading on his changer as he suited up. He needed at least 5% capacity to get back to the subdimension himself which meant he had a couple of minutes at best to beat this thing or at least drive it off. The kids would be here soon, but he wasn't about to let his favorite udon shop get destroyed by a spoon in the meantime. Besides, showing any weakness in front of Enter was a much worse idea.
Dodging spoons and occasional curry-related puns (Escape must have been at the CocoIchiban across the road), Jin managed to force the monster out of the streets and away from civilians. The creature was slow and heavy on defense, not doing much damage to Jin, but battle was wearing his Enetron levels thin. He was getting tired using his sword, and after nearly being decapitated by a swinging blade, Jin threw his Enetron to the wind and fired his blaster at the thing's metallic heart. While a burst of pride initially warmed him as the thing disintegrated, he quickly realized pride wasn't the only thing about to burst. The morph slid off, and Jin slumped against a vending machine, lit by the blinking red glow of his Enetron meter. J would be his only hope of avoiding regeneration. If he'd gotten the critical message in time and wasn't too far away...
"You look a bit pale, little bug."
And Enter hadn't left. Terrific.
"Oh I'm fine. Just waiting on my ride."
"You have less than a minute before your Avatar breaks apart. I understand that can be quite taxing on a physical body."
"Well, these things happen."
"Nevertheless, seeing as you paid for lunch, I suppose I could offer some help."
"If you're talking about another system upgrade, I think I'd like to see the price tag before I buy."
Enter knelt next to him. "Oh don't worry. I have every confidence you can afford it." And then Enter's lips were on his.
Jin had just enough time to register this as a kiss before his system flooded with energy. Every encoded neuron in his body was suddenly alive and full of power, common sense fading fast in his Enetron-drunk state. In that moment, there was no subdimension, no E.M.C., no imminent threat of world destruction. All Jin had left in his mind was the clarity, the realness, of his own hunger, a sensation he hadn't felt in fifteen years. When Enter released him, Jin was embarassed to find himself falling forward into his by rights sworn enemy, unable to completely control his overpowered limbs. Said enemy, looking entirely to pleased with himself, ran his thumb over Jin's lip, as if wiping away a trace of Enetron. "Do take care of yourself, little bug. Both of yourselves. Au revoir." And he was gone.
Jin needed a minute to process what had just occurred. He still felt slightly drunk and didn't trust himself to operate the avatar until he was sure all of his limbs were going to do what he said. This was a minute he was never destined to receive.
"Senpai!"
The whole crew. Super. Jin managed a casual "Hey," and his hand waved with a bit more force than usual.
Ryuuji rushed in to pull him up, forcing Jin to pretend he was totally comfortable slumped against the vending machine. All the cool kids slumped against vending machines. "We thought we'd be too late, but J said your Enetron levels bounced back. What happened? Where's the metaroid?"
"The what?... Oh, right. Took care of that. No sign of the big guy yet. You guys handle it when it does, okay?"
"How come you're not dead?" Hiromu still hadn't mastered tact.
"Oh, I'm a genius. I thought of something."
J wandered in front of him. "The most likely explanation is that Enter--"
"Ice cream!" Jin shouted, kicking J's leg out from under him with more power than he'd ever possessed before. He used the backlash to spring unsteadily to his feet, ignoring the others confused expressions. "Suddenly have a craving for ice cream. Gotta stop back at my hangar for a sec, and then we'll get ice cream. Great? Great." He grabbed J by one of his antennae and transported them both back to the subdimension before any more classified information could slip out.
"-- performed another system upgrade in order to continue romantically pursuing you." Anyone else might have been indignant at being cut off mid-explanation, but J wasn't emotionally advanced enough for that.
"Which is exactly the sort of classified information you don't need to talk about to anyone ever. Now plug into the mainframe. We have massive security system upgrades to perform."
******
In which Bandit makes up about a dozen plot devices concerning how the Avatar system works. This is Gobusters. We don't really care how things work, do we? I thought not.
Part One
Title: Avatar Advice (part 2 of I'm not sure...)
Fandom: Gobusters
Pairing: Jin/Enter (Or as I'm now calling them, Jinter)
Every return to the subdimension sapped at Jin's will a little further. Life as an avatar wasn't nearly as fulfilling as life in a real solid body, but it was a thousand times better than the crushing bleakness of his refugee hangar. The overwhelming air pressure settled on his shoulders, making the memory of a fresh breeze sheer torment. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep moving between like this. He was still adjusting to the change when he realized something was very, very wrong.
Enter was bent over the glass case containing Jin's preserved body, studying it like a tourist in an Egyptian mummy exhibit. Don't panic Jin steeled himself. Don't even act surprised. It was completely in the plan for Messiah's primary henchman to be standing over the last vestige of my real life. Or it's completely in the new plan, anyway. He took a deep breath. "I know, I know. It does sorta take over the room. I'm thinking of putting it in storage and getting a nice coffee table."
Enter rose with what could only be practiced nonchalance. "Indeed, it is something of a relic. Seems sentimental to keep such a thing around."
"What can I say? I hate to throw things away." Jin swept in the room and hopped onto the case just to prove how trivial an item his human form was. He doubted Enter believed him, but as long as the charade was going, he was probably safe enough. "You should've let me know you were coming over. I would've cooked."
"Cooked?"
"Don't do that eyebrow thing. I'm considered a very good cook ... in specialized circles. As it is, I guess we'll just have to go out."
Enter's expression remained bemused as Jin jumped down and took his arm. Bemused was good. Jin suspected Enter of being as thirsty for entertainment as Messiah. Maybe more so. And if there was one thing Masato Jin prided himself, it was keeping an audience entertained. "We'll hit up an udon shop on the surface as long as you can avoid installing a virus in the chopsticks or anything for an hour or so."
"I will see what I can do." He wasn't objecting to Jin's grip on his arm. Jin thought that could be good too, but then decided that was more a matter of perspective.
"Seriously, I like this shop. If you're just going to go and create a metaroid anyway, we'll just go to Mosburger or something."
*****
"You are joking, of course."
"I'd never joke about something like this."
"How long did this go on?"
"Almost until the crash, I swear. Kurorin's a great commander, but I don't know what he would've done without me."
"And you sincerely mean every one of them?"
"Every password in the entire E.M.C. was 12345 until they hired me. I think he was planning on defending the system with his fists if anyone was arrogant enough to hack in." Jin slurped at his udon. It was scalding hot, which was enough to register in his avatar's taste system. Almost as good as the real thing. Almost. "Don't get me wrong. Great guy. Lost without tech support."
"Yes, I broke in once. And by that I mean, I walked in through an open door." Enter plucked thoughtfully at the noodles with his chopsticks. He was only eating enough to be polite, which was weird in itself. Weirder that they were having a halfway normal conversation. Weirdest that Jin had switched from "Distracting an Enemy" mode to "Impressing a Date" mode without being completely aware of the transition. He would not be able to explain this to Kurorin or any of the kids. However, seeing as he was a freelancer and not a contracted employee these days, he didn't see any need to do so.
The idea that Enter was manipulating Jin for anything other than personal gain was, of course, patently ridiculous. Enter's definition of "gain," though, was somewhat more vague. Was he trying to throw Jin off psycologically to make him a less effective opponent? Turn Jin into another apostle of that irritating skull guy? Or did Enter just not get a lot of subdimensional action and took an opportunity when he saw one? All plausible, and Jin found himself having a pretty enjoyable time figuring it out. Options 1 and 2 were destined for failure anyway, and option 3 ,,, well, Jin hadn't ruled out option 3 yet.
"It has been a not unpleasant afternoon," Enter said at last. "But alas I have duties to attend to."
"Sure, me too, really." Actually, Jin was starting to worry he wouldn't be able to extricate himself in time to refuel his Enetron. Enter's presence that close to his totally vulnerable corporeal form had forced him to leave the subdimension without the refuel he'd gone back for. If it got much lower, J would show up with emergency supplies, and seeing as J was babysitting Youko today, he'd likely bring a crew of spandex heroes with him. "Next time, you should try eating something" The "next time" had slipped out before Jin fully considered his own implications.
"Perhaps."
Jin paid for the meal (Ryuuji still trusted him enough to lend him cash, and he doubted Enter had a grasp of "currency"), and the two of them walked out of the restaurant and nearly into the arms of a Metaroid fashioned out of ... Jin was guessing a spoon. "Didn't realize you were bringing friends,"
"Qui is not one of mine." Disdain dripped off of Enter's voice. Escape's Metaroids did all lack his sense of style.
"You won't have a problem with me blowing it up then?"
"A Metaroid of such caliber is a debasement of his Majesty. I would be most insulted if you did not."
This was undoubtedly a bad idea, Jin realized, giving a brief glance to the Enetron reading on his changer as he suited up. He needed at least 5% capacity to get back to the subdimension himself which meant he had a couple of minutes at best to beat this thing or at least drive it off. The kids would be here soon, but he wasn't about to let his favorite udon shop get destroyed by a spoon in the meantime. Besides, showing any weakness in front of Enter was a much worse idea.
Dodging spoons and occasional curry-related puns (Escape must have been at the CocoIchiban across the road), Jin managed to force the monster out of the streets and away from civilians. The creature was slow and heavy on defense, not doing much damage to Jin, but battle was wearing his Enetron levels thin. He was getting tired using his sword, and after nearly being decapitated by a swinging blade, Jin threw his Enetron to the wind and fired his blaster at the thing's metallic heart. While a burst of pride initially warmed him as the thing disintegrated, he quickly realized pride wasn't the only thing about to burst. The morph slid off, and Jin slumped against a vending machine, lit by the blinking red glow of his Enetron meter. J would be his only hope of avoiding regeneration. If he'd gotten the critical message in time and wasn't too far away...
"You look a bit pale, little bug."
And Enter hadn't left. Terrific.
"Oh I'm fine. Just waiting on my ride."
"You have less than a minute before your Avatar breaks apart. I understand that can be quite taxing on a physical body."
"Well, these things happen."
"Nevertheless, seeing as you paid for lunch, I suppose I could offer some help."
"If you're talking about another system upgrade, I think I'd like to see the price tag before I buy."
Enter knelt next to him. "Oh don't worry. I have every confidence you can afford it." And then Enter's lips were on his.
Jin had just enough time to register this as a kiss before his system flooded with energy. Every encoded neuron in his body was suddenly alive and full of power, common sense fading fast in his Enetron-drunk state. In that moment, there was no subdimension, no E.M.C., no imminent threat of world destruction. All Jin had left in his mind was the clarity, the realness, of his own hunger, a sensation he hadn't felt in fifteen years. When Enter released him, Jin was embarassed to find himself falling forward into his by rights sworn enemy, unable to completely control his overpowered limbs. Said enemy, looking entirely to pleased with himself, ran his thumb over Jin's lip, as if wiping away a trace of Enetron. "Do take care of yourself, little bug. Both of yourselves. Au revoir." And he was gone.
Jin needed a minute to process what had just occurred. He still felt slightly drunk and didn't trust himself to operate the avatar until he was sure all of his limbs were going to do what he said. This was a minute he was never destined to receive.
"Senpai!"
The whole crew. Super. Jin managed a casual "Hey," and his hand waved with a bit more force than usual.
Ryuuji rushed in to pull him up, forcing Jin to pretend he was totally comfortable slumped against the vending machine. All the cool kids slumped against vending machines. "We thought we'd be too late, but J said your Enetron levels bounced back. What happened? Where's the metaroid?"
"The what?... Oh, right. Took care of that. No sign of the big guy yet. You guys handle it when it does, okay?"
"How come you're not dead?" Hiromu still hadn't mastered tact.
"Oh, I'm a genius. I thought of something."
J wandered in front of him. "The most likely explanation is that Enter--"
"Ice cream!" Jin shouted, kicking J's leg out from under him with more power than he'd ever possessed before. He used the backlash to spring unsteadily to his feet, ignoring the others confused expressions. "Suddenly have a craving for ice cream. Gotta stop back at my hangar for a sec, and then we'll get ice cream. Great? Great." He grabbed J by one of his antennae and transported them both back to the subdimension before any more classified information could slip out.
"-- performed another system upgrade in order to continue romantically pursuing you." Anyone else might have been indignant at being cut off mid-explanation, but J wasn't emotionally advanced enough for that.
"Which is exactly the sort of classified information you don't need to talk about to anyone ever. Now plug into the mainframe. We have massive security system upgrades to perform."
******