#n2rau

[djverbose]

"Of course alternate universes exist. It's practically a scientific fact at this point." -Professor Supernova

He’s just going to lean away from the alternate. This is his first time meeting another one.

“Perhaps it is where you come from. This version of Vinyl City is either taking its time or the scientist are stupid. I’d wager on the second one.”

[r0b0tb0yband]

Neon J found himself among a large quantity of flora while he was on leave. The two figure heads N2R were worried about their commander and told him to take a break - to him it didn’t matter which universe he was currently in. As long as he wasn’t directly in the Metro Division, he could care less where exactly he was. Though with Natura being so close, he couldn’t help but hear the sounds of the next district over; bitterness rose in him as he walked through the plants trying desperately to ignore the sounds drifting from the other adjacent districts.

He had no problem walking through other universes in public. He looked alike enough to other Neon J’s that only people close to him would notice minute scratches around the metal of his monitor and limbs, or hear the dog tags as they rattled against the metal chest plate under his sweater.

His radar blipped around, showing the people around him, sonar quietly pulsing soundwaves to show his surroundings. As such, he knew immediately that he regretted coming here. He made no indication to the individual he detected, just in case they hadn’t noticed him yet.

((Feel free to pick anyone, I can adapt accordingly.))

Natura was Eloni's second favourite district. It was close to home, it was mostly green, and he didn't have to worry about blending in with the strange scenery that was Dream Fever (not that he had anything against Eve and her tastes). Natura was where he'd find himself when he wanted somewhere quiet that wasn't home. Most of the sounds in Natura were natural, calming.

As he was wandering, he thought he heard footsteps akin to his own. He'd thought nothing of it, until he noticed that the footsteps were not associated to any blips in his internal sensors. This wasn't any of siblings, or dad... or so he thought.

When he turns to look, he spots his creator, but he knows immediately that he shouldn't be seeing the man in question. J was at home, last he checked. And yet...

"Captain?"

[djverbose]

@n2r-au from here

He’s wearing a lanyard, is the first thought to cross Nova’s mind. The second is that they’re not dressed the same. He can tell that it’s another version of himself but the differences startle him.

“And why would your version of the Planetarium look any less splendid? What would prompt disarray? This place is a reflection of the image that I wish to show the world.”

[r0b0tb0yband]

@n2r-au / continued from here

His mirror image lay with his legs a bit mangled and a sizable dent in his chestplate. Of course, he’d also had the left half of his face skin missing, revealing the corroded endoskeleton that was underneath and his cobbled-together arm. Though, those two major chunks of damage, along with the rust that had formed at the joints, and the incredibly messy and somewhat rugged hair had all been suffered long before this sudden incident.

It had been too fast for either to register, but Zimelu, ever on edge for danger, had spotted Rin first, and without warning the others he’d rushed and shoved Rin out of harm’s way. The damaged one of the two of them was now sparking - something important was hit that was certain. All of them were in immense pain, lights flickering between all five of them.

The disguise he’d been wearing had, of course, been flung off in the incident, revealing their true nature to anyone passing by. At this point they didn’t care. They had already tried to stand up, already realized something was wrong. If someone wanted to finish them off, they likely could.

“Sorry… couldn’t watch one of us get scrapped like that. Even if you’re not the one I’m stuck with.” Zimelu spoke through the pain, ignoring the other Rin telling him to try to conserve energy.

Rin was having a time trying to process everything he was seeing. It looked like him, but where the similarities started, they also ended. Missing skin, a modge-podge arm, rust, corrosion. Nothing of this could have been caused by the hit Rin had been saved from, it all looked too old. This meant that this Rin (whose eyes were rapidly flipping between the 1010 spectrum) had been through a lot before.

To be fair to this duplicate, Rin’s systems were telling him that something was very off. Wherever he was, it wasn’t his own Vinyl City. He couldn’t pinpoint the Captain or his siblings, and everything he’d caught glimpses of thus far had all looked bizarre and out of whack.

And now this...

They’d tried to stand, to no avail, so now he was kneeling next to his copy, his hands hovering a short distance from the sparking bot. He wasn’t his father, or even Purl-hew who’d been slowly learning how they worked. He couldn’t fix this. He couldn’t help. The feeling of despair that washes over him is painted all over his face. If Rin didn’t find some way to help then...

Then the other spoke. He knew that voice, and it wasn’t his own.

“Z-Zim...?” His voice chokes a little. This explained the flickering colours, but it left him with more questions than answers. He shakes his head and gives the place a quick look-around. “Nevermind, don’t answer me. Listen, okay? I know the steps I took to get to this point. I’m going to pick you up and retrace my steps, and hopefully in the process we’ll end up back in my Vinyl City and I can bring you to Dad.”

Yeah. That would work. It had to work...

[r0b0tb0yband]

@n2r-au / continued from here

Internally, he cursed out the set of circumstances that lead to this moment. It wasn’t Eloni’s fault, or the rest of them; of course not. He couldn’t blame any of his troops for this regardless if they were his version of them or not. It wasn’t their fault what had happened. J would turn to face Eloni, absolutely sure that he would likely have questions.

“Apologies, Eloni. I am not your Neon J.” he explained. Though he kept his tone even, he couldn’t help the subtle weight of the burdens he held in the tone of his voice. “I’m sure you have questions, but answering them out in public might not be the best… I think I scouted a more private area this way.” He turned his head in the direction of a zen garden he’d spot earlier.

“Ah...” There’s a pause of uncertainty on Eloni’s face at the comment he’s given. So this wasn’t his Captain? How was that even doable? He’s about to ask something, but the words stay him and instead he just pouts. Questions would have to wait.

He follows the turn of J’s head, spotting the zen garden in the distance. He nods, subtly, and heads there as well, trying his best to not look as awkward or confused as he felt.

The moment he thinks they’re far enough from other people to ask anything, he quickly spits out the questions plaguing him the most. “How can you not be my Neon J? You look like the Captain but you don’t have the blip in my systems and the information is conflicting and causing me issues, please explain!!”