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[hellburger]

Kazuhira Miller has made himself at home at a cozy Nexus seating group. He pores over a spread of newspapers and magazines covering a plethora of universes and alternate Earth timelines. To one side, a text book on theoretical physics is opened to a chapter on string theory and a cup of black coffee has formed a puckered ring over Donald Trump's leering face on an issue of Time Magazine.

He lays his current paper flat on the adjacent coffee table, leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and loosely clasp his palms. "What's the strangest news you've ever heard? Or, if you'd rather: what world event would you say has affected you the most?"

Miller's head turns and points to a four-inch stack of glossy flyers. He sighs. "And ... while we're at it, when did newspapers become seventy-percent ads?"

Comments

[ixis]

A strange person plops his upper body onto the back of the sofa Kaz is currently inhabiting, so he can reach and pluck up one of those newspapers. Naugus doesn't care if he upends things or disrupts whatever order the man has with his research.

"Which event has affected me the greatest? Well, how about you have your pick. The Great War, where a massive clash between two races caused outrageous amounts of upheaval and casualties for my people? The uprising of a robotic despot who would exile myself, the former king, and countless others to a realm of no return? Or maybe his resurgence years later where he would once again threaten the kingdom with a weapon of incalculable destruction and ultimately and literally rewrite reality itself?"

He turns the paper over in his claw, frowning at the pictures and words.

[hellburger]

Miller sneaks an upward glance past the lenses of his aviators at the big thing parked behind him. He's doing his best to mask his constant surprise here in the Nexus, partly by telling himself this is all some prolonged hallucination. Spoiled MREs? He's still working his way through the list of suspects.

"I understand the concept of WMDs and the time-honored tradition of the victor writing history, but do I even want to know how someone goes about rewriting reality?"

He casually rests a palm on his unread pile of papers to prevent them from getting mixed in with the rest.

[ixis]

"Well, I certainly can't ask him myself, can I? Since his actions stranded me here. Whatever he figured out, it was a means to erase a world entirely. Not even rubble or a blasted planet left. Just a blank space where something used to be.

"I could show it to you, if you'd like." He's offering tours now of his erased world. Maybe he's getting over it. Or maybe he's just eager to cut off any doubt this man is already prepared to express.

On the other side of Miller, where he's not looking, a tail loops around and aims to swat and scatter whatever unguarded papers there are. You know, just to be a dick.

[hellburger]

"Fair enough. If I had that kind of knowledge, I'd keep it confidential too."

The light is just so to give some indication of Kaz's eyes flicking to the side as he registers the tail motion. A pile of funny papers spreads out across the floor.

"Sorry. I like to get to know someone first before going home with them," he says, reaching for his coffee cup, silver watch flashing ostentatiously against his olive drab. "Besides, if it's a blank space, what's there to show?"

[ixis]

"Don't flatter yourself, I don't court Overlanders. And I just thought I'd offer the proof in case you were quick to doubt. Glad you're the trusting sort." He snickers, his mischief cheering him up.

"Are you behind on the news in your zone?"

[hellburger]

"And you're not my type, buddy," he says with a grimace. "I don't even know what, uh, species you are.

"I've only been ... here," he gestures at the surrounding forum, "for a day or two. Just reading the papers out of morbid curiosity. U.S. politics get wild as time goes on."

He appears to be briefly distracted by an article about Ben Carson and his stabbing story. He peels his eyes away to look back at Naugus. "How do you keep up with news of your despot world-eraser? Is there a paper for your world?"

[ixis]

"I don't. He likely undid himself with the rest of the world. Or deposited himself in a place like this. I have no idea. As far as I know, I'm the sole survivor of what he did. I strongly suspect he thought me enough of a threat that he would exile me in such a manner." Again. He's getting sick of exile all the time.

"There will likely be a great deal of unanswered questions for some time to come."

[sumarusfinest]

"Newspapers in my home are not so bad when it comes to ads. It's still a status symbol there." Katsuya Suou is a slim Japanese officer in a grey and red suit with tinted lenses. He does look sympathetic to the TIME magazine the other is holding.

"The most life changing event I've read about was tabloidesque rumors being true." That was when everything changed, back home...

[hellburger]

"You mean the papers are a symbol, or the advertising space is still remotely valuable?"

Miller leans back on the couch and props his ankle on his knee. "What kind of tabloid-style rumors are we talking about? Celebrity love affairs? Liberace being gay?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Space is a premium, so the papers are written almost entirely in kanji, even rarely used ones. Thus being able to competently read the paper is something only the educated can do with any real ease." The officer shrugs, because educational elitism is really an unfortunate thing.

"Mysterious beast attacks suburban home, victim drained of all blood. Demon sightings. People having freakish accidents happen to them. Things of that sort."

[hellburger]

Kaz's brain suddenly switches gears. "You come from Japan? Which part?"

"Truth be told, I probably wouldn't have believed you 48 hours ago, but damn if I haven't seen some weird shit since then." He combs a hand through his hair. "You know there's a goddamn nekomata running around here?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Sumaru. Toyama prefecture." Katsuya nods briskly as he replies. He doesn't have much of an accent, but now that Kaz is listening, it's definitely there.

"Sumaru is a....special case." Katsuya admits, adjusting his tinted sunglasses with a sigh. The mention of a demon in the Nexus makes his entire demeanor stiffen. "There is? Has it been causing any trouble? How could I have missed one?" He bites at his thumb, clearly vexed.

His extermination was clearly not thorough enough.

[hellburger]

"Huh. Never heard of Sumaru, but then again I spent most of my years in Japan around the Kanto Province -- I was born in Yokosuka."

"The yokai was behaving herself, near as I could tell. Even gave me a kiss and a gift," he says patting his pocket where said cat treats now live. "'Missed one?' Are you part of some kind of demon patrol?"

[onemorebounty]

The destruction of Zebes affected me; the loss of a childhood home, compounded with the change in how the galaxy regarded me, took some time to process.

*The woman speaking is tall, easily 6'4", and the close-fitting garment she wears highlights a toned, athletic form.*

Ah, the days when ad-filters had to be run by hand.

[hellburger]

"Are Zebes and the childhood home one in the same? Large-scale loss seems like a common theme around here."

Kaz shifts over on the couch and pats the lightly-scorched upholstery (thanks, Naugus). "Care to have a seat? I can't imagine the entire galaxy having anything but a very fond opinion of someone so beautiful."

Layin' it on thick already.

[onemorebounty]

Zebes is where I was raised, yes.

*She sits, although his stale line gets an incredulous look.*

You'd be surprised how many people look at you differently after you kill your first planet.

[hellburger]

"Sorry to hear it. Is that why you ended up here?"

Miller leans back and props his elbow on the top of the backrest, cups his chin thoughtfully. Clearly this man invests a lot of energy in posing.

"I'm getting an education on planetary destruction today. A guy earlier told me his reality got rewritten and he lost his world in the process. How'd you pull it off?"

[onemorebounty]

No, I'm here for largely unrelated reasons.

*Without some decent plumage, all the preening in the galaxy isn't going to impress her.*

Repurposed the piezoelectric generators, triggered a seismic compression wave that brought parts of the core to critical mass.

*She pauses, then decides this human is a little too (probably-)Earth-centric to have grasped certain matters of scale yet.*

There's a slight difference between one planet and an entire universe, though.

[hellburger]

"I'm no geologist and I only half understood that, but ... I gotta say, I'm relieved to hear an explanation that doesn't include magic.

"I like to take some comfort in the fact that planets and universes don't disappear without some quantifiable science involved." He picks up a very fancy-looking emerald coffee cup and turns it in his hands. "And then I land here and ... well. Goddamn wizards and demons and shit."

K-Kaz....

[cardboard_boss]

Boss can barely believe who is sitting in the seating area. His XO but he looks the way he looked when he was younger. When he had all his arms and legs. The Kaz he remembered from the MSF days. It felt like such a long time ago now.

"You haven't changed a bit."

Re: K-Kaz....

[hellburger]

The familiar voice commands his attention immediately. Kaz is immediately on his feet. "Boss!"

Then he gets a good look at this particular Snake. "Boss? What the hell happened? You look like shit!"

Miller wastes no time taking stock of the damage. He even touches the bionic arm to make sure his eyes are deceiving him. "... Your arm! Boss! What ... what the fuck?"

[cardboard_boss]

"It's a long story." Boss just smiled at his comrade and put his good hand on Kaz's shoulder. "I'm from your future. This place brought me here against my will." He frowned. How else could he explain about the whole accident and coma for nine years? This version of Kaz worked with him nine years ago. The young, determined young man Boss knew back at Costa Rica with all his limbs intact.

"It's good to see you again."

[hellburger]

Kaz returns the gesture, giving his commander's shoulder a squeeze. "It's good to see you too, Boss, even if it looks like the future's run you through the wringer.

"... This place and its fun little tricks." He laughs to cover his nerves. He's running through all the things that could have happened, what might have led to a goddamn piece of shrapnel in Snake's head. Christ. He keeps joking, though: "A blond bombshell from outer space was just giving me a rundown on the science. Weird shit."

[cardboard_boss]

"I've looked better." He smirked wryly and was glad of the blond's company. "You haven't fallen for another blond have you, Kaz? I'm getting jealous." He offered his comrade a sly smirk. He doesn't like you sleeping around with all those girls, Kaz.

[hellburger]

"Whoa! Take it easy, Snake. I was just doing a little window shopping! After all, she didn't speak French, so I was perfectly safe," he returns the smirk, happy he can banter just as easily with this future Boss.

He crosses his arms and shifts his weight. "I gotta say you're one of the few people I know who can gracefully incorporate -- not only an eyepatch -- but a horn and a prosthetic limb into his ensemble."

He tilts his sunglasses down ever so slightly to get a clearer view. "Say, that arm ... looks an awful lot like Gálvez's. Russian make? Does it have that same handy lighter?" Pun intended?