moveslikestrider | | 007 | Video/Anywhere

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| 007 | Video/Anywhere | 4th wall

[There's flickers of red light in all of the cities and on the routes. If you're near enough you might hear the heavy toll of a grandfather clock. Mostly you notice there's more blond haired, red shirt wearing, shade sporting Dave Strider around. Everywhere you go there's another one, working some deal or gathering some sweet loot.

The flare of crimson radiance follows them like the lingering trails of smoke after a fire. They give a cool nod if you greet one, or a thumbs up if you wave. But one stands out from the rest, he's wearing a plain shirt 'this is what makes me [HOT] with the word replaced by rapidash' and jeans. Every now and then another Dave tosses him something and he catches it. He's holding a strange egg in his hands and eyeing it warily.

Or you can find him later, teaching the woobat population of Mt Moon to hug random innocent people's faces. It had to be done.]

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[Well, that's strange. Yukina's been wandering around for most of the day by now, and it seems like she keeps seeing that same strange boy popping in and out here and there. Not that that's precisely odd, for an ice apparition used to being in the general vicinity of demons, but still, it's a curiosity.

That strange egg is, too. She can't help but wonder if he's planning to hatch it, and if so, what might come out of it. Apparently all Pokemon hatch out of eggs, no matter their breed. Fascinating.

WELP, ONE WAY TO FIND OUT. Approaching it is! — a little shyly, almost, with her faithful Glaceon still at her side.]

That's a strange egg. Are you going to hatch it?

Yeah. I'm definitely going to make sure it cracks open. [By now, Dave is settled on the ground by a camp fire at the edge of the mouth of a cave. Mount Moon's grand depths are behind him and the egg is in his lap wrapped in blankets like a tidy little nest.]

Be rude not to when it was left all by itself.

Oh, it was abandoned?

[Poor thing. Now she's really curious.]

What kind of egg is it, do you know?

Torchic. I looked it up. [He fishes out his pokedex and keys it to the right entry. The small fire bird's cry echoes from the device as he sets it so the girl can see.]

It's a fire type, will fit in fine with the rest of my crew. Little guy won't ever be lonely now.

Dave...?

[Tenten has no idea what's going on, but she's twirling one of her recently-returned kunai around one finger as she moves around. Okay, this was starting to get on the creepy side, seeing Dave everywhere.

It's a bit before she finds the one with the Rapidash shirt and warily approaches.]

Dave?

[She might just be saying his name, but the translation: what the hell is this shit.]

Yo. [He gives her the same nod every other Dave has from where he's fashioning some sling and warm mini electric blanket to tuck around the Torchic egg. It bounces once, but he's handled enough pokemon eggs to know how to keep his grip from slipping.]

How's it going Tenten? Wait.

This is your first time seeing everything go crazy and all our powers come back, isn't it?

[Another Dave appears and tosses him something. He catches it and balances the egg at the same time. It's a note and the other time ports away as he rolls it across the backs of his knuckles.]

You could say that.

[She holds her tongue as the other Dave approaches, watching him kind of suspiciously until he's gone again. Then she turns her stare back on him. She wants answers.]

I thought it was just my Chakra and my weapons, but you're... what's going on?

[Dave flips the note open, then pockets it. Whatever was on it, he read it too fast to let Tenten get a look.] Told you. I'm not some normal joe.

[As much as he wants to be, he will never be that. He pulls the Royal Deranger from his sylladex and red light rolls from where he grabs the hilt of the white bladed sword. The broken blade's time reverses and the blade is back to a full weapon.

Dave balances the blade on his shoulder, turning the edge so it wouldn't bite into him.]

[Her eyes widen at the sight of that weapon -- how it even did that, she doesn't have a clue, but that's beautiful.]

Wow. And here I thought I was impressive on my own, but how did you do that?

Wait, hang on, first how've you got all these shadow clones walking around?

[Because that's what these have got to be, right?]

They're not clones or shadows. [Come on, work it out Tenten.] Well, technically could be clones. But they're not. They're all me. And I'm them. We're just spanning across time.

[That's what the note had been about. After Tenten left, he was to go back and give himself this note. Wheels, in wheels, in wheels. The grind of time loops is relentless.]

This is that stuff you talked about before.

[She turns to watch for any other Daves that might be passing by, hand still on the flap of her shuriken holster. She's not sure how much she likes this...]

...What are you doing, then?

Time loops. It's a delicate system that has to be carefully managed by not thinking too far ahead. Too far and you lose sight of what you should be doing in the moment.

[He shrugs and runs his finger along the flat of his sword. He missed weapons. Damn he missed them.]

Don't worry about it. Nothing harmful to you.

How far into the future can you see...?

[Of all the things she's seen so far, this wins the Most Bizarre Award.

That sword though...]

That's a beautiful weapon. Could I...?

[He flips the sword, offering it to her hilt first. It glows, the white blade giving off a light of its own not connected to the red that had been seen earlier.] It's not so much I see into the future.

I'm a knight not a seer.

I can time travel, but I don't see anything more than anyone else. I'm just living in more points of time than most. It's a delicate system. One wrong move and I pay for it.

Sounds dangerous.

[She takes the sword and steps back, testing the weight, the balance. It's clear she knows what she's doing, and she really likes the sword.]

What can happen?

[He watches her swing and produces Caldescratch from his sylladex. It's been a long time since he wielded a proper blade but his body remembers. He steps back and the blade snaps from broken to reforged.]

You have to watch your loops, if one isn't complete than the rules say that one doesn't exist. Only they do so, they're killed. Time isn't about to let loose ends hang around long. If one loop in a series doesn't complete-

[He turns and swings his blade. It's clear that he knows what he's doing as he falls into the speed game. The strikes at the air are slow at first, but speed up in a layered effect.] They all die.

That's what a doomed timeline is. The ones that time decides aren't necessary.

[The other Daves moving about their business all pause then one by one they warp out, knowing in their loops their lingering in this talk is done.]

And you're the one who controls all that?

[She falls back at the sight of the other sword, measuring it against the one in her hand right now. Whatever he'd just pulled that out of reminds her of her own scrolls. A bit of a grin curves her lips as she gives his sword a twirl, then flips it around with one hand, holding it by the flat of the blade to extend the hilt outward. Her other hand reaches behind her to draw a rolled-up scroll from behind her back, eyebrow quirking.]

We lost our audience, but you want to spar anyway?

[Ninjas. See an opponent, gotta challenge 'em all.]

[Dave can't help but grin, stepping back and putting his sword in a middle guard position. He comes up on the balls of his feet, ready to spring forward or to the side. He's ready to fight and switches from his caped gear to something else. He's in black pants and a red baseball T.]

Thought you'd never ask. Let's dance, Tenten.

[An eyebrow quirks as she flips the sword around again and bring her other hand around to mimic his position. If he didn't want it back, she'll give the new weapon a try.

But she's not the type to strike first, and only settles her weight, toes digging into the ground as a little bit of dirt rises up from the concentration of Chakra, prepared to spring straight into the air or flip backwards out of the way.]

Let's see what you've got, Dave.

[A girl with pointy anime shades wanders through the sea of appearing and disappearing Daves, watching all of them with interest until she comes upon what seems to be the main one with an egg. She raises an eyebrow at him and then looks back at the ponyta that's been following her as if to see it's opinion on the matter, then back at Dave.]

Hey. Are you the boss in this circus of well... you?

I'm the alpha of pack Strider, yeah. [It's times like this he's thankful for witty lines and no one noticing his slight pauses. Holy shit.

Girl kidbro. He gives the egg a pat.] So what brings you through the crowd to come see me?

You look familiar. Like a scrawnier version of someone I know of. And I needed answers.

[She looks him up and down again. Yep, definitely a bitty Dave clone.]

You look like a tiny version of a person I know. Life's full of surprises like that.

[He gets up, stretching and then sits back down, crossing one leg over the other like he's a professional business man.] Shoot.

[She looks mildly annoyed for a brief moment at being called tiny. But fair is fair, she did call him scrawny... even if it's true.]

First of all, where am I and why is there a pony following me? Not that the pony is a bad touch. [She pats the ponyta again, already becoming best friends with it.]

[He's pretty sure if he calls her little diva she'll punch him in the face. He's lanky, not scrawny ok.] You're in the land of pokemon, no joke. That flaming pony-

[Man, there's more irony in that than he can shake a stick at.] Is supposed to be your starter.

Ponyta is a pretty boss starter. I had the same thing when I first rolled in.

[And there's a shit ton of jokes around that too.]

I've been calling it lil D. [The ponyta whinnies again in response to the name.]

So why am I here?

[Lady B, Diva, Lil D. Dave chuckles quietly at the names and then straightens up as the egg bounces twice in his lap.] Same reason we all are and when we find out, you'll know too.

This is the crazy time, when all powers work and we port around like crazy. Chances are you'll go back to your place when the time is over. If not, well. You'll be here for however long until it zaps you away.

This is the world of pokemon fyi. You should have gotten a bag, and an id. It will say breeder or trainer on the back.

[She looks at the bag slung around her shoulder and then pulls out the ID, looking at the back.]

Breeder. [She frowns and puts it back in the bag.] No thanks, not interested in procreation.

Oh my god, that was not a mental image I wanted. They mean Pokemon, not people. [He produces his own id.] Trainer.

Breeders can use hidden machines without needing to collect badges. You just teach it to your poke and off you go.

[She raises an eyebrow.] What mental image would that be?

[Then she shrugs.] And I suppose it's good to know I haven't been transported to a polygamous breeding cult.

Yeah, no dude. You breed pokemon, not, you know. [Wow this is awkward!!!!]

Yes, I got that. [Just staring at him and willing him to shut up, omg.]

[He shuts up. Well. For two minutes.]
So, any other questions?

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| 007 | Video/Anywhere | 4th wall

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