[Mushverse: Open To All, specifically seeking Shoutarou, Jou, and/or other cop/doctor types]

[gibken]

[OOC: This is a behind the scenes ficlet starring Enter (interpolate) and Joe (gibken), both belonging to me. Warnings for captivity, implied torture, and mind fuckery.]

Like crawling from the depths of his own mind, he clawed his way to the surface just to stick some small part of himself through into wakefulness. His physical body was stuck, frozen stiff, unresponsive. But he could hear. Two voices, bickering. He had the fleeting thought that it might be two of his brothers, the tone was the same as any one of their disagreements. But then the laugh, high pitched and sharp. No, that wasn't anyone in his family. Someone else's family, probably.

His tenuous grip on consciousness failed and he slipped back into peaceful oblivion.



-

Enter isn't often frustrated. He simply wasn't designed that way. He was the calming influence, he was made to be agreeable, even pleasant, when the need suited him, and otherwise to be efficient. But rarely angry, or even annoyed.

All of this was of course before Escape was created. She had been saddled with a number of Messiah's less savory traits, her temper primary among them. When she discovered him here in his make-shift laboratory, preparing to wake his prize, she had fits when he told her in no uncertain terms to leave, immediately.

This prize is his. Every incredible streak of energy in his existence is now Enter's to dissemble, to pull apart, examine and learn. And there is no way, on this Earth or any other, that he is about to share in his glory with Escape.

So there.

Petty and childish it might be. Tit for tat, as they say. If Escape's entire raison d'être is childishness, it is simply logical for him to follow suit.

Preliminary research, undertaken as Enter waited for the boy to reach a mental place from which he might actually wake, had given Enter a name, Joe Gibken. A crew, the alien pirate Sentai, Gokaiger. A family, the much older scientific Sentai, Livemen. A cabal, the self proclaimed support of Kamen Rider Fourze. Three very disparate influences, each with claim on him. And there was more energy clinging to him than even that.

Heroes. This boy was a magnet for them.

A cable twists lazily in the air over his prone body for a moment before Enter pressed the tip of it to the center of the boy's chest, sending a spark into him.

He responded, with a low pained moan. Now he was awake.

Now the fun would begin.

-

The pain stops for a moment and Joe chokes on his feeble attempts at breathing. His eyes clear slowly as he blinks away lingering tears. The stranger, his interrogator, stands impassive as ever beside him.

"This is getting us nowhere, now, is it, mon chou." He's not really speaking to Joe. It's not a question and he expects no answer. Joe's learning to tell the difference.

"I fear you've already told me all you consciously know."

Joe swallowed once, twice, three times. "Are you going to kill me?"

As per usual, any question posed by Joe goes unanswered. Like magic, the stranger pulls a small computer from nowhere. A thin wire leads from a port on the computer's side to a small sort of electrode. This is new, for all the pain he has caused thus far, it's always been with thicker cables exposed at the ends.

"This is of course assuming you have no knowledge locked away deep down in your admittedly quite scarred psyche." His mouth twitches up on one side into a near-smirk, but the expression doesn't reach his eyes. "Luckily, I have contingencies."

He presses the electrode quite unceremoniously to the side of Joe's head at the temple.

Terror grips Joe's heart and catches his breath in his throat.

-

Things seem to be going well at first. The boy's uncontrolled thrashing is violent but he's lacking in the strength to make any difference in his position. His eyes are rolled back and his mouth is open, his breath ragged.

Enter's computer, connected directly to the boy's mind, gave him incredible access. He had uploaded a small program he wrote on his own, which had all the effect of particularly virulent truth serum without the necessity of forcing the victim to swallow anything, or forcing an injection.

Humans, or human-like aliens anyway, were not so different from machines after all. Jacked in this way, Enter was able to hack through and break down a number of metaphysical barriers constructed in the boy's mind, hopefully freeing the information he still desired to rest from the boy.

"Now." He gave his computer a sharp tug, pulling the pad from Joe's temple and leaving him alone in his mind. "Tell me, why does your energy contain traces of the sands of time? Tell me what you know about Den-O."

Things fell apart very quickly after that, as the boy's back arched off the table, punctuated by a long drawn scream that tapered off with a hiss of failing vocal chords, and then silence.

"Merde."

-

Nebulous. Dark, light, grey haze.

His body convulsed, his stomach reflexively emptying. It wasn't even pain, at this point. It was simple blinding confusion.

What was real, anymore, except the rough feel of concrete against his face, and the twinkle of numerical code dispersing behind him.

Pirates. Soldiers. Students. Siblings.

It's all real.

Comments

[catcameback]

"I..."

What does he think kids are, anyway? He can't be too much older than Joe himself. And his hat, what is that?

God, this guy is weird.

I guess having the distraction from my worry about Joe is okay, though.

"Yeah, it's pretty dumb." I say awkwardly. "But that's just what the city is like. The school we go too... Is pretty much in the middle of everything. But we don't. We don't think what happened to Joe had to do with the Zodiarts."

That we know of.

[halfboiledjoker]

So Kazari and...Joe, was it? They must both be at Amanogawa. And Kazari obviously knows enough about what's going on to know the Zodiarts by name.

I can't help but look at him with a more critical eye, now. I'm assuming we both stand on the same side in all this, especially since both of us are here for Joe. But I can tell that there is so much more going on here - going on all across this city - and the invisible spiderwebs are starting to cling stickily at my skin.

"Who would want to do this to him?" I ask quietly. "You said he's been missing for days. This isn't a random attack, Kazari. Somebody planned this for him." It hurts to say, but it's still true.

[catcameback]

I sigh and pace some more. He may be weird as hell, but he's right. This wasn't a freak accident, not with how long Joe was missing. I shove my hands in my pockets and clutch at my Switch. If I find out who did this to him, I'm going to tear them apart. Twice.

"I don't know. I really don't know. We... Our family has been having some trouble lately." To put it mildly. "Joe and me, we're both foster kids. He had a fight with one of our dads and ran out of the house and then he was just gone." I clear my throat and manage to release my Switch so I can gesture weakly with both hands. "I don't know who, or what... How did he look? When you found him? He wasn't bleeding."

[halfboiledjoker]

Kazari sticks his hands in his pockets. To anyone else it would look simply defensive, or perhaps anxious. But I've seen that move so many times before, in so many different ways, and I note the shape of his hand as he wraps it around something in his pocket. Something he's clinging to tightly like a security blanket. Like a weapon.

Like a GaiaMemory.

I cough quietly to clear my throat. "He was by the side of the road, wrapped up in black plastic, like a trash bag." I think back to how bad he looked, beaten and bruised from head to toe, but admittedly not bleeding freely. Any blood that had been there had already been dried and scabbed over. "He'd been bleeding at one point, but not recently enough to..."

Far too late the oddness of the question strikes me, and I give Kazari an odd look. "How do you know that?" I ask with a quizzical look on my face. "That he wasn't bleeding."

[catcameback]

I look up fast enough to catch his eyes, daring away from my pocket. I swallow hard and restrain the impulse to growl at him.

It's none of his business, Kamen Rider or no. It's my Switch and I use it for the forces of good. Mostly.

No, completely. I haven't done anything bad with it at all. Damn it.

"He's not trash." I grumble softly under my breath. Who would do this, who would treat Joe like that?

Worse, who would have Joe in their clutches and let him go alive?

"I just... know." I suppose, if he wasn't surprised that I know Eiji better as OOO, he might not be surprised about how weird I can be. "I couldn't smell it on you."

[halfboiledjoker]

Strangely, that's the least odd answer I think he could have given me for that.

"You couldn't smell it?" It doesn't make sense, not if this kid is human. But if he knows Eiji, and knows Eiji as OOO...well, then maybe he's not human. Not entirely.

I narrow my eyes slightly. "You're both foster kids?" I muse aloud, then look to the phone still clutched in his hand. "Is it your foster parent you're trying to reach on the phone?" Now I'm concerned for the lack of communication as much as Kazari must be. "Maybe you should try again?"

[tarosetera]

It's 1:01:01am when I arrive.

I don't generally use the DenLiner to travel anymore. Not after Naomi helped us with securing Gai in this timeline. I've been doing my best to avoid Owner, and thankfully I didn't see him tonight.

He wouldn't like what Deneb and I have been doing lately any more than Yuuto does.

I come in through the door to the room with all the blood, and manage not to ruin anything when I come out.

It's not until I'm passing by former Greeed Kazari and one half of Kamen Rider W that my bad luck decides to kick in full force.

I stumble into a poor elderly woman being wheeled gentle down the hallway, a young doctor that is very focused on his charts that I knock all askew, and a small bow carrying a very large bouquet of flowers.

I apologize to each of them, bowing low as I can, as I try not to be too obvious as I pass one of the heroes we've been trying to protect, and one of the former villains we're not really sure about anymore...

[catcameback]

"Exactly." I say plainly. "I couldn't smell it on you. You smelled like Joe, the street smelled like Joe, but none of it smelled like Joe's blood."

I nod at his second question, and lift my phone curiously when he draws my attention to it. He's right. I could try to call Yuusuke or Megumi.

I turn my back to him and dial Megumi's number, and as such am staring blankly listening to a phone ring while a lanky awkward guy bowls over no less than three people in a five minute span.

Clumsy bastard.

[halfboiledjoker]

There's a ruckus from down the hall and I can't help but look that way. There are a handful of people picking themselves up off the floor, and one who's still sort of flailing in the middle of the hall.

I wince for his sake, sympathetic to his plight. And then his arms flail away and I see his face.

"Nogami-kun?" I say aloud, standing up to get a better look. It certainly looks like the odd Rider I'd met a while back, even though I'd never found out what exactly his whole situation is. And now he's here at the hospital, with me and Kazari and this Joe fellow...

...oh, something is certainly amiss here. I sigh and rub my forehead for a moment before walking over to Nogami-kun's side.

"Nogami-kun," I say as I grab him amiably by the shoulder. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."

[tarosetera]

I blink at Hidari-san when he grabs at my arm. I know him in the general sense, though I don't think we've met in person before...

...Oh. Momo and Ryuuta's night out when they fought the Hydra Brain Beast with... yes that was W. That makes sense. Hidari-san would know my face from that.

I nod vaguely, still trying to apologize, and pay for, the flowers I ruined. I feel bad about talking directly to another hero when Yuuto isn't here. He's been so grumpy lately. I hate to keep him out of the loop. "I... yes. I... I have a serious case of bad luck."

[halfboiledjoker]

Bad luck isn't exactly something I remember from our evening out together, but now that I think about it...I look at him a little more closely, bringing all of him into focus. Somehow I have a feeling this isn't quite the same person I drank with, or even went to karaoke with.

"Nogami-kun," I say slowly, keeping my voice low. I don't want to scare him away, but I would very much like some answers. "Are you also here for the kid? For...Joe-kun?"

[tarosetera]

I hope my wince isn't too terribly noticeable, maybe just a little twitch at the corner my eye.

"I..." I glance around. Not many people left in the hallway, mostly just us and Kazari, who seems quite occupied with his phone.

I have to remind myself that he's not just some poor kid whose brother is in possibly critical condition. He's a former Greeed, and now a Horoscopes, and even though he lives with a large family of good people now, his loyalties are still somewhat in question.

"Yes," I answer Hidari-san, softly and cautiously, giving a little nod. "It's very important that I see what his condition is."

I tilt my head slightly. "What are you doing here?"

[halfboiledjoker]

He twitches in a way that I can't help but notice, but I try to keep my frown from deepening. I'd hope that Nogami wouldn't lie to me, not in this sort of situation, but I'm not sure I really know him well enough to expect that of him.

"I found him," I answer him at last, sighing and putting my hands into my pockets. "Beaten and bleeding at the side of the road. Nogami-kun, I've come this far. I'm not going to walk away now."

I look down for a moment, at both of our shoes, then back up to look him directly in the eye. "I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me what's going on...and maybe come clean about who - and what - exactly you are."

[tarosetera]

My heart sinks when Hidari-san tells me how he found poor Joe. Sure, he's the Singularity, he's also a former Zangyack soldier and a (former?) member of the Gokaiger sentai team. But in his mind he's still, for the most part, just a high school boy that wants to make his parents proud, hang out with his friends, date, laugh, and have fun while he's growing up. It may be a fabrication, but it's his mind's reality, and it's so painful to think of him in such a situation.

He's been through too much already, and much more to come. He doesn't need to be beaten and left bloody by some passing thug. At least, I hope it was just a passing thug, not someone more sinister. But I can't imagine Joe's combat reflexes would have allowed him to be bested by a normal foe.

I blink, my mind has been wandering out of control, and Hidari-san is still looking for answers. I can't zone out into my head full of questions and worst case scenarios right now.

"No one is asking you to walk away, Hidari-san. Thank you for bringing him here. Thank you for finding him." I run a hand through my hair, still glancing around to make sure no one is listening in. Of course just because I can't see anyone doesn't mean there isn't anyone, but...

I'm becoming far too paranoid.

"It is a long story, one that I am hesitant to talk about in a hallway where anyone could be listening in. I... well I can tell you that I and my comrades are very invested in the well being of Joe Gibken, as well as all the heroes, yourself included, in this..." I lower my voice to barely a whisper. "In this timeline."

[halfboiledjoker]

My eyebrow raises so high I think it might have gotten lost in my hairline. "Timeline?" I say aloud, then look around anxiously before lowering it to a whisper to match Nogami's. "...timeline? You mean there is, uh, time travel at play here?"

On one hand, I can't believe it. I very desperately want to wave it away, chalk it up to random mutterings of somebody who seems to have (at least) three different personalities, and then move back to my investigation of the area. But my investigation has more or less stalled out, and (this) Nogami is actually being forthcoming with answers.

Even if they're crazy answers.

"How is that possible?" I whisper again. "Do you have a time machine, or something along those lines?"

[tarosetera]

He face gives away his thoughts on the matter. He thinks I'm crazy, or at least some part of him thinks I might be crazy. I can't blame him...

...no, that's wrong. I couldn't blame someone that wasn't him. If it were someone else that's met two other beings using my body, and then had the time travel bomb dropped on them.

"Is it so unbelievable?" I let the tiniest hint of a smile crook at one corner of my mouth. "So hard for someone who frequently lets his partner's mind share his body?

"My partners borrow my body sometimes, and I come from a different timeline. That's really all I can say out loud. In such a public place."

[halfboiledjoker]

Oof. He has a very good point.

I lower my head in a subtly embarrassed apology. "If I didn't question everything, I wouldn't be a very good detective, now, would I?"

Still, I might as well take him at his word. "There seems to be a lot you don't really want to say in public," I point out quietly, looking all around us. "Might we speak somewhere a little more...private? If not right this moment, some point in the very near future?"

There's still Joe to tend to, after all. I don't know how much Nogami is willing to talk before he has a chance to check in with this all-important kid for this timeline.

[bluedolphin]

I'm still out looking for Joe. Yuusuke covered half the town and then went home; I don't know if Jou's taken up the search or what. But the phone rings. I'm hoping against all hope it's Joe; but it's Kazari, "Kazari? Darling? Where are you"

[catcameback]

"I'm at a hospital." I repeat the name of the hospital the nurse had told me. My voice is kind of shaking a little but, I think I'm surprised she actually answered. "Joe is here, I found Joe, but I haven't seen him, I don't know how."

[bluedolphin]

My heart wrenches at once. I remind myself to stay calm, got to hold the family together if my little boys are going to make it through this, "okay, sweetheart. I'll be over there at once. If they call you through from the waiting area, send me a text at once."

Red lights and speed limits be damned.

[catcameback]

"Hurry." I hope she doesn't get in trouble or anything, but still, I want her here sooner, rather than later.

I turn and eye Shotarou and his friend. "I don't think they're going to call me through. But if they do, I'll let you know."

[bluedolphin]

After several near-misses on the road, and probably racking up at least two or three speeding fines that I'll hear about later on, I arrive at the hospital.

The receptionist promises to trace Joe for me, so I try to call Kazari again.

[catcameback]

My phone ringing catches me off guard, but I don't even bother answering it when I see the number is Megumi's. She must be here.

I find her at the reception desk and restrain myself from tackling her to the ground with the exuberance of my hug.

"Mom." I don't call her that all the time but I've been pacing and panicked for too long so far. I'm weak right now.

[bluedolphin]

"Kazari! Sweetheart." I stagger backwards from the force of his arms. He's certainly too big for me to pick up, but there are times when I'd like to, "You don't know where Joe is? They were going to find out for me."

[catcameback]

"He's here somewhere, I just don't know what room, they won't tell me." I'm whining. I don't really care. "I don't think they think I'm really related to him or something."

Which is true, I have to remind myself. But documentation wise we're totally brothers, that should be enough.