001 - A Bad Day For Everyone

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Misaki Kirihara appears on the plane looking very, very pissed. Her Sig P230 is unholstered and leveled at…

…no one.]

Tch.

[She lowers the weapon, very slightly, taking in her surroundings. Or rather, the lack thereof.]

Contractor!

[She turns in a slow circle, tension wrapped around her like a creaking spring.]

Contractor! Show yourself. You’re being stupid. Using your power on a member of the NPA will get you killed. It isn’t worth the laugh.

[A pause. She’s starting to get angry again.]

Show yourself!

[She looks up, down, around at the stars, and a pained expression crosses her face. Barely audible, she mutters,]

You people… know how to be cruel.

Comments

[contract_star]

[Smile broadens, though he still has no idea why she's so upset.]

Y-yeah, it's me. Um. You can put your gun away. Most of the people here aren't dangerous. Don't worry, I'll explain everything.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She looks around at the stars. The stars.]

Is this why you never came back?

[contract_star]

[Looks around as well, though he stops and looks at her, slightly wide-eyed when she speaks.]

Came back? Did I go somewhere?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Now it's her turn to be confused.]

You... [She takes a step toward him, reaches out as though to check his temperature with her wrist--and then lets her hand drop to her side.] I didn't think the M.E. worked on people like you. What... do you remember?

[contract_star]

"ME?"

[And now Hei has a Very Bad Feeling. His face goes blank.]

What do you know about me?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[The slightest of flinches, and then her face hardens.]

BK201. Associate of Amber and the EPR. Central factor in the Hell's Gate events--which I would like some answers about, if we're going immediately in that direction.

[She almost--almost--looks away.] What exactly happened to you?

[contract_star]

[Goes very quiet and still, though the muscles in his jaw tighten. It takes him awhile to process and collect himself.]

I'm not an associate of Amber or her group. [Pauses, and his face darkens.] You're from my future. Or another version of our world. Where I'm from you [the vaguest of flickers in his gaze] don't know who I am yet.

[Goes silent again and looks down, though he remains completely on guard.]

How did you find out?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She won't look at him either, hurt, a little bit, by his reaction.]

It was hard to avoid, once Amber showed up.

What do you mean, your future? What's going on?

[She feels frustrated and helpless and hates feeling both. She's had more than enough of that recently.]

You're saying, where you're from, you never left. That you're from the past. How is that even possible? Does Amber have something to do with this? She's dead.

[Pause.]

We thought she was dead.

[contract_star]

Everyone here is from a different reality. Some who are from the same world are just from different times. So it's possible that you're from my future, and that I'm from your past. [Pauses.] Though I can't even conceive of a future where I would join with...her.

[A sharp look.] No. She has nothing to do with this. Nothing.

[Pauses again, and he closes his eyes briefly to calm himself down. He doesn't really want to upset her--unless she, yanno, tries to kill him or something.]

What year is it, where you're from?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Horse has left the barn, my dear Hei. ;p]

It's 2008, and whatever you might say, you did.

[She's give him her best ice-pick glare.] You must have had reason enough to do it. Logic being your most valuable asset.

[Insert a small spasm of guilt for a low blow here.]

[contract_star]

[Nods.] Future, then. It's only 2007 where I am. The sunspots appeared about a week ago.

[Shoots a glare back at her, hands clenching into fists. He's shaking now, though it's not just with anger anymore.]

What...exactly happened? And what do you mean, she's dead? [Never mind the ethics of knowing the future before it happens. Contractor + ethics = no.]

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

I mean, she was with you in the Gate--and then she wasn't. She dissapeared. We haven't found any trace of her, no activity, no rumors, nothing. Her group dissolved--the ones that weren't rounded up and killed were drafted into government service. We did, however, find her clothes inside the gate.

[Misaki crosses her arms and looks away.]

So unless she escaped naked, the Gate took her.

[She looks back at him.]

Why are you so adamantly against her? We know you made an attempt on her life once. Did you... want to die?

[contract_star]

[And surprise almost overtakes his calm exterior.]

In the Gate? Me and her? Why? What was she doing?

[Harsh look.] That's no concern of yours. [Then, deadpan,] What kind of Contractor would I be if I wanted to die?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She glares at him. Relationship damage at 43%--she can't take much more o' this, captain!]

You would best understand your own psychology. My assumption is you went in to help her--there was no other reason for you to be there. And past, present or future, you still fall under my jurisdiction--so it is a concern of mine. If you didn't want to die, why would you oppose her?

[contract_star]

[It's getting to be too much for Hei as well, so he shuts down, goes still and silent and blank. He's no longer looking at her.]

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She decides that risk is better than letting him get away with dropping the conversation. She grabs his arm.]

Look at me, Hei.

[contract_star]

[He does, though he still says nothing, and his face is still a mask of total apathy. She knows him as a Contractor, so a Contractor is what she'll get; even if it's hurting both of them.]

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[That face. What can she say to that face? It's almost like the mask, all by itself. She lets go of his arm and turns away, arms crossed.]

Why are we here, anyway?

[contract_star]

[Lets his body relax, just slightly.]

The Twins and Meredith Sault brought us here. We're part of an experiment--something to do with realities. And no, PANDORA's not involved.

[He blinks, and curiosity gets the better of him.] Are they still around in 2008?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head, still facing away.]

Not as such. Gate-related research is still under UN control, but the program is largely demilitarized.

[contract_star]

[He didn't expect that answer, and mild surprise shows on his face.]

Demilitarized? PANDORA? What could...?

[Stops himself and shakes his head.] What exactly happened at the Gate?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She glares over her shoulder at him.]

You'll have to tell me. When and if it happens in your world. I only know my half of it--which is more like one-tenth of the story.

[contract_star]

[Gives her a level stare.] Could you tell me your tenth, then?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She shrugs, noncommittal and not sure how much she should tell this person--providing he is Li, providing he is from the past.] You've heard most of it already. I'm more interested in the nine-tenths you apparently can't offer.

[contract_star]

[He's not going to let her escape that easily, not when Amber is involved.]

What about Amber? What did she do?