paradisa | 001 || text;

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raiden

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I want answers and I want them now. Where am I, how did I wind up here, and who's responsible for this?

[Private//Hackable]
Is this because of the Patriots? Rose... God, please let Rose be alright. She couldn't have turned on me. She told me no more lies. That we were going to start over. I'm done being a soldier, from running away - or at least I thought I was.

At least I still have my gear. I'd be more worried if I woke up without my things. But why was I allowed to keep them...? None of this is making sense...

I hope someone responds to my message. Maybe it wasn't wise to alert people to my existence. This all could be a trap... but I've got no other leads.

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[Bladewolf recognizes that voice....though it sounds significantly younger than he last heard it. He debates with himself for a while whether or not he should respond, as he easily hacked Raiden's filter, and his text filter got pinged on both "Rose" and "The Patriots".

Of course, there was also his artificial nature to consider. By the sound of him, Raiden was fresh from the Big Shell Incident of 2009, which puts his ability to trust an AI at an all-time low. Finally, after mulling it over a while, Bladewolf responds. Have a deadpan, robotic sounding voice filtering over the journal.]

You are in a "parallel world" known as Paradisa. The castle you now reside in is said to possess a consciousness which draws individuals from all times and places, for purposes unknown. No one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for our detention here.

[Meanwhile, he's gonna engage his stealth camo, and instruct his puppies to do the same, and make his way down to the Lobby, where he's sure Raiden turned up, due to it being such a common arrival point. Bladewolf'll only be sitting a few feet away, observing you for now, his journal open nearby, inconspicuous, as he can't cover it in his stealth.]

Parallel World. Right. Like you expect me to believe that? Tell me the truth.

[He is out in the lobby although a bit off to the side, trying to stay hidden from view. He sort of sticks out like a sore thumb thanks to his Skull Suit.

Raiden's texting on his device, inspecting the network and blogs, trying to piece together some sense of this place]

It was difficult for me to accept as well. However, lacking a more logical explanation, and based on my own experiences here, it is what I have come to accept as the truth. Should you require more proof, there are individuals here who have attempted to find an explanation for why we are here. They have compiled a comprehensive report, which can be found in the "journal" all are issued upon arrival. [He pens in a quick page number for Raiden to look over.]

If that still does not satisfy your curiosity, allow me to indulge my curiosity....

[Bladewolf and his puppies simultaneously decloak, while Raiden's codec buzzes, altering him to a call.]

Edited (Derp derp forgot a detail) 2013-05-21 04:29 (UTC)

[The codec call almost gives him a heart attack. He was about to pull out his MK. 23 but realizes... that's his codec ringing. Is this really a parallel world? Why would someone else have his frequency? He slowly raises his hand to his left ear and crouches down, his other hand placed on his gun holster. He was going to have to be cautious. Whoever was calling could be working for the Patriots...]

... Who is this?

Edited 2013-05-21 04:30 (UTC)

I am known as Bladewolf. Before we proceed further, I wish to know the last thing you remember. I do not wish to reveal information which may upset you, despite your understandable desire to have the whole truth.

[He doesn't know much about humans, but Bladewolf knows you, dude.]

... You're.. a robot dog... And you talk...

[Let his brain try to take in everything. It's a bit of an overload. Robot dog talking to him over codec.]

Is this... a VR mission? But I just... No, it can't be...

[It might take him a bit to answer your request, Bladewolf.]

Affirmative. I realize that you may be disinclined to believe the word of an artificial intelligence, given your recent experience with the Patriot AI, GW, but I can assure you, this is not VR.

[He'll take a few steps forward, his pups jumping around and otherwise acting silly, and poke you in the cheek with the manipulator on his tail.]

A diminished sense of reality is common, for those exposed to the early forms of VR training. However, pain and pressure sensation in VR are nonexistent. Can you feel my "tail" poking you?

[Raiden stares for a few moments. He isn't used to this evolved version of the codec nor the fact that things are still happening around him while he's talking through it]

You-

[He swats Wolf's tail away and eyes the ... puppies?]

Who are you? How do you know about the Patriots?!

[Bladewolf sits down, his puppies mirroring the action, and cuts transmission.]

I am an artificial intelligence, developed after the fall of The Patriots in 2014. By my reckoning, there are nine years separating the time you come from, and the time I come from. You recently killed Solidus Snake, did you not?

[Just a pile of sensitivity, this one. Rubbing salt into the wound and all that. This is leading somewhere, he promises.]

...

[Raiden really isn't sure what to say. He stands up once the codec ends though, looking down at Wolf. He isn't about to answer that last question]

You're from the future.

[He looks around, almost expecting to be on candid camera. This is too ridiculous to be real. Even more ridiculous than Vamp running on water.]

Affirmative. I was initially created and educated in the year 2015, and reactivated in 2018.

[Sorry Raiden, it's just Bladewolf and his puppies. The puppies, for their part, are starting to approach Raiden, curious. There's 6 of them, alternately equipped with small, non-functioning chainsaws on their backs, or what appears to be a rail gun.]

As previously stated, Paradisa makes no exception for time period. The year in local time is 2013, yet there are individuals present from centuries in the future, and the past.

Edited (derp was gonna finish that sentence but then I thought better of it..) 2013-05-22 00:51 (UTC)

...

[Raiden clutches his head and sighs. Is this another part of the Patriots plan...? Was anything he did in the last 24 hours actually real...?]

How do I know I can trust you?

[He keeps an eye on those puppies.]

Truthfully, given your experiences, I know that you cannot.

[He's gonna have to Go There, isn't he? This is not a subject Bladewolf knows he should talk about.]

However, it is better that I instruct you on the truth of Paradisa, than someone who does not know your history. I know that before you joined the U.S. Military, you were a child soldier in the Liberian Civil War of the late 1980's, under the tutelage of ex-President George Sears, also known as "Solidus Snake". I also know that you continue to be haunted by your actions in childhood, and your recent exposure to the Patriots has left you with a natural sense of distrust.

[He pauses.]

However, you must trust your senses. I am standing right in front of you, the castle's floor is under your feet. You must make your own decisions regarding what constitutes reality, as you experience it.

[The fact that this... machine... knows so much about him only makes him more uncomfortable. This is more nerve-racking than Rose trying to get answers out of him. This is hitting all too close to home for him.]

How do you know so much about me?

[What constitutes reality... Easy for him to say. Wolf didn't just go through an entire day worth of mind-fucks - one that has him questioning how much of his life actually happened and how much was just brainwashing.]

I have read your personnel file. In 2018, you and I work together for a company known as Maverick Security, fighting a terrorist group known as Desperado Enforcement.

[Another pause, while he stuffs down what little emotional response he has.]

You might say that I owe you a life debt, of a sort. I have learned much from you in our time together, including your true nature and motivations for why you fight. It has assisted me in establishing my own directives, my own reasons to fight, despite my directive for self-preservation.

[He's about to question Wolf about the 'true nature' and 'motivations' as it just rubs him the wrong way but would honestly just rather avoid the subject. ... So he does.]

... I see.

[Raiden lets out another sigh]

It's just one thing after another... I can never catch a break, can I?

Unfortunately. If it is any consolation, you fight to support your wife and son, as well as to prevent others from suffering your childhood fate. That is why I follow you, because your motivations are pure.

[It's the honest truth. Though Bladewolf occasionally admonished Raiden for his extreme methods, he nevertheless continued to help him, because his cause was one worth fighting for.]

I am sorry, that you should find yourself here at such a crucial time in your life. There is, unfortunately, no way to leave.

It's a b-

[Forget the gender, Wolf's last statement has Raiden staring intently at the cyborg dog. All of his thoughts focus on that one statement]

... No way to leave?! There has to be a way! My girlfriend is pregnant...! I have to get back home!

If there is a way, none of the others who have lived here have found it. The castle, with whatever sentience it seems to possess, will send people away at it's own discretion. In the intervening time, I have been informed that time, relative to our experience in our own world, does not move forward until we return, so should the castle send you away, you will return to the moment you left. I realize that it is little consolation, but it is all we are provided. Rosemary will still be pregnant with your son when you return home.

[One of the puppies decides to get brave, and is hopping up and down near Raiden's leg, as though it wants to be picked up.]

It appears one of my offspring is fascinated with you. It's artificial intelligence is a rudimentary version of my own, so this does not surprise me.

[Time stops back home...? He sure as hell hopes so. That'll take a lot off his mind. But the castle can send people away? Hm. He'll have to check out more on that link Wolf sent him]

Normally I wouldn't believe this but it seems I have little choice...

[He raises an eyebrow at the puppy.]

... How.. did you have puppies when you're a robot?

Unfortunately, that is the case. I was skeptical of all I have told you of Paradisa when I first arrived, but lacking any better explanations, I have come to accept what I have been informed by other residents.

[Bladewolf kind of nudges at one, pushing it toward Raiden.]

It is something the castle does on seemingly random occasions. Granting children, or causing some sort of physical or mental change in the residents, as a demoralization tool. I believe that I was granted offspring, and human residents granted children, so that we might experience parenthood, and mourn the children when they are inevitably taken away by the castle. I welcome the experience, because it grants me an experience otherwise only experienced by biological organisms.

[... Great. A weird world that steals people away from different times and universes and basically uses them as lab rats. Just where he wanted to be! As if his childhood wasn't demoralizing enough.]

Has anyone tried to put a stop to it?

[He kneels down and scoops up one of the puppies to get a closer look at it.]

According to the records in the journal, people have tried, and failed. Not only is the castle sentient, but it is able to repair itself if damaged, and restructure it's interior to suit the whims of it's occupants. The most one can do while here is relocate, either to the small town near here, or out into the wooded area that surrounds the castle and town.

[The puppy will wriggle at being held, and will say in a high-pitched version of Bladewolf's voice "Greetings, Ninja.", the red optic on the front it's "head" flashing with each syllable. If Bladewolf had a sense of humor, he might laugh at the irony of one of his robotic offspring greeting Raiden similarly to the way he had when they first met.]

I have opted to assist with organizing escape logistics, in the event of a castle-wide crisis. It is all I am able to do to assist the residents here cope with circumstances that are ultimately beyond our control.

...Are you familiar with alternate universes or magic?

[Raiden raises an eyebrow at the greeting. He's not a ninja... He's not even that great with a sword.]

.. Great. So it's basically sit back and deal with it?

[He gently sets the puppy down]

Are... you the only one from my "universe?"

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