| 007 | Video/Anywhere | 4th wall

[moveslikestrider]

[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.]

Comments

[moveslikestrider]

[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.]

[usedswift]

[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?]

[moveslikestrider]

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.]

[usedswift]

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?

[moveslikestrider]

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.

[usedswift]

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...?

[moveslikestrider]

[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.

[usedswift]

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?

[moveslikestrider]

[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.]

[usedswift]

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.]

[moveslikestrider]

[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.

[usedswift]

[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.