[Action]

[y_so_standard]

[All it took was the blink of an eye really. One minute he was standing with the other parts of himself and the stupid variants around the U-DO terminal, and the next minute he was in a far more pleasant place. Shuffled into an office that looked too much like his fathers, and handed a letter that made no sense, he was ushered back into the grounds and set loose.

So now, dear citizens of the Garden, you find a boy sitting in the middle of the path with a very clear 'Now what the hell do I do' crossed with a 'deer in the head lights' look on his face. ]

 

Where is...where is the rest of me?

 

[Approach? Y/N]

Comments

[action]

[fighting4afuture]

[The answer? Y. It's a thing, Trunks is especially protective of kids.]

Hey...you okay?

[action]

[y_so_standard]

[Well, right now this 'child' is trying to process a very new and very frightening reality.]

Am I the only one left? I can't hear them anymore. [He looks up at Trunks] Who are you? Are you part of the Federation forces?

[action]

[fighting4afuture]

[...strange kid. Trunks puts that to the back of his mind, though, and comes close, crouching in front of him.]

My name is Trunks. I'm not part of any Federation, but you're safe here.

[He's going to assume this Federation is something the kid's not afraid of, at least until proven otherwise. And Garden's safe enough, he guesses.]

[action]

[y_so_standard]

[Well, he was on loan to the Federation for their Miltian operation, so they're technically on the same side.

623 stares at him for a moment, mentally trying to kick his brain back into gear. You'll have to forgive him, he isn't used to hearing things with only one set of ears.]

Trunks? That's a weird name. I'm lost...I got separated from the rest and now I can't hear them anymore...I can't even hear the variants and they're always shouting.

[action]

[fighting4afuture]

Well, it's the only one I have.

[A bit jokingly. Yup, kid's definitely weird. He almost doesn't want to drop this bomb on the guy.]

The others...might or might not be here. [Whoever they are.] Who are they?

[action]

[y_so_standard]

The rest of me. [He keeps trying to connect with the rest of himself, or even his younger 'siblings' but it's just static. He's alone and he doesn't like it.]

We are not designed to function alone...I can not be what is left...[He's getting agitated] What have you done #666.

Trunks, you haven't seen them?

[action]

[fighting4afuture]

[...

okay the implications of what this kid's saying? Not really sitting well. But Trunks has gotten pretty good at keeping himself at least visibly calm, and freaking out is not going to help in this situation.]

Calm down. It'll be alright.

[The rest of him? Does that mean they look the same, too?]

I haven't seen anyone that looks like you, if that says anything.

[action]

[y_so_standard]

[That does. They're all clones so of course they look like him.]

Oh...[For a minute it looks like he wants to cry before his neutral face comes back on. He's hoping that all this mental silence is because Rubedo broke the link, that it will repair itself.]

Where is this place?

[action]

[fighting4afuture]

[Crying would almost be easier to deal with, in some ways.]

This is Balamb Garden. You've been pulled here from wherever you were before.

[bratbeyond]

[pinged by the sight of someone who might actually be his age!]

Looking for something?

[y_so_standard]

[Well if your age is around 12, you'd be right Damian.]

The rest of me. I can't hear them anymore...

[bratbeyond]

[Aw yeah +1 for the shota brigade!]

The... rest of you? [Headtilt.] What do you mean?

[y_so_standard]

[If all of him was here, you'd have +665 for your new shota army]

The other standard U.R.T.V.'s. [He looks...downcast? how good are you at reading blank face there Damian?]

We were on Miltia and about to complete our mission then #666 broke the link. I can't hear them anymore.

[bratbeyond]

[He's decent enough... but when Day's creeped out, his reading skills go down significantly.]

That's... probably because you're no longer in your world. You knew that, right?

[y_so_standard]

[623 nods and holds up the letter] Yes, I know that. I have to get home, father will be angry if this mission fails.

[bratbeyond]

[He nods] I know. "You've gotta get back and finish this."

... As weird as this is gonna sound, you probably won't be going back for a while. Time Compression's fickle about who it takes and who it brings back a lot of the time.

[y_so_standard]

[He grumbles something, which may or may not be something something 'FUBAR']

Does...this Time Compression do anything else to those it brings? [He has a very valid reason to be asking this. Normally a Standard URTV can not function very well completely cut off from the over mind and yet he is.]

[whatwewerebornfor]

*He doesn't know much about URTVs, but some Combat Realians survived the Conflict for him to at least recognize one on sight. Unfortunately, that's...about all he knows, since he never paid more than passing attention to those memories and doesn't have access to the joint databank anymore.*

You are a Standard URTV, right?

[y_so_standard]

[623 nods and hauls himself up, a little shakily] Unit 623, you are a combat model with the Federation, correct?

Please explain what is going on.

[whatwewerebornfor]

Yes. However, we seem to have arrived from different points due to Time Compression. According to my records- *Wait, how does he say this without freaking the poor kid out even more?* the last mission employing URTVs took place fourteen years ago.

[y_so_standard]

[Well now you have his attention, though he's probably focusing on you a little too hard. Have fun with that weighty stare Alex]

Impossible. [He wasn't even 14! He's 12! But...wait. Different points. He said different points.]

Improbable.

[whatwewerebornfor]

*His blankface is tuned to a fine art.*

It seems like the most probably explanation to me. You're aware of the situation, correct?

[y_so_standard]

[He paused, going through what he thought he knew, and nodded] Yes. I must admit...I...[a small amount of nervousness appears and then disappears]

This is highly irregular.

[whatwewerebornfor]

It is strange. But we do each have someone else who is familiar with our world, so that may make it easier.

[y_so_standard]

It will have to do. [He pauses for a moment, contemplating Alex. Then a thought strikes.] How should I refer to you? I know Realians use names instead of designation numbers.