dinohouse | [AU: Emeric as SilverBuster, Etienne as Enter, Displaced Hiromu. Closed Log.]

red_pleather wakes up one day, and he is not alone in his bed...

The sun's warm on my face, and the alarm hasn't gone off just yet.
Maybe I can stay here for a while.

There's movement behind me, and I smile, snuggling back into a
familiar scent, a familiar shape. I don't even remember Eti climbing
into bed with me last night, but it's nice. I'm not about to complain.

I grin to myself when Hiromu makes his little kitten sound. I'm used to it, of course, and really, he's so adorable when he sleeps, that's 95% of the reason I sleep with him in the first place. I don't really need to sleep, but I'd rather be here with him than off left to my own devices the way Masato usually does.

I shift my grip on the book I've been reading to get an arm around Hiromu and pull him closer against me. He can sleep a little while longer.

He pulls me closer, and I sigh, relaxing into him. I've slept much
better since moving into the base and having company.

A page rustles very quietly. Eyes still shut, I grin. "What are you reading?"

He's so sweet, but I tut at him anyway. I was trying to let him sleep in, and here he's trying to start a conversation. As per usual, surely.

"It's in French." I inform him softly, but this is probably not news to him. My entire collection is in French. "It's called Les Misérables, perhaps you have heard of it. It's quite famous."

He's tutting at me. I grumble amiably, wordlessly back at him, with my
eyes still closed, enjoying his warmth.

"Are you enjoying it? And you need your sleep just as much as I do,
don't make that face." ...that face he makes, though, that
affectionately disapproving face, is awfully cute.

"Oui, oui." I grin to myself as a turn another page. "I've read it before, of course, but it's a good story, worth re-read-" I trail off at his reference to needing sleep. Certainly he's still partially asleep himself, but it's not like him to make that kind of mistake. And it's the sort of mistake I'd rather not let slide. Despite the warmth I project, I'd rather he not forget that we still have to try to retrieve the bodies from the subdimension.

"What do you mean by that, 'iromu?"

I love the sound of his voice just behind my ear like this. I wouldn't
let it show, normally, but we're in bed, it's just us, and I'm facing
away from him. "That's great. Once I learn some French, maybe I'll
borrow it."

...huh. "That you shouldn't be huffy about me not sleeping when you're
obviously not sleeping right?"

I smirk and shake my head. He'd never made any reference to wanting to learn French before, but this could be a new development. I wouldn't mind. "We should start you with Le Petit Prince if you want to start reading French."

I frown again at this, and let a hand drift to his hair, stroking it through my fingers and wishing I could feel it properly.

One day. I hold onto that. One day. "'iromu, please. You're being obtuse. Why would I need to sleep? Are you dreaming?"

"Really? Is that something simple?" I murmur. It really is difficult
to focus. He's so comfortable, and he's... wow, he's stroking my hair.

I'm not objecting.

What?! "I'm not being obtuse, Eti," I say quite reasonably.

"It's a child's book, oui, but it has many layers of meaning." I keep my fingers toying through his hair until...

Until he says that name.

I sit up sharply, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him to arm's length. I can't help it, I give him a little shake to make his eyes open and focus on me. "Why would you call me that, 'iromu?"

He gasps, then spins me around, shaking me. I near yawn in his face
but get a hand up to cover my mouth.

I blink at him. "Because it's your..."

He doesn't look right. Not the same. He...

I stare. "Emi?"

I don't know what's going on, what's happened to Hiromu while he slept, but after a moment something dawns in his eyes and I feel as though my heart would be fluttering, if I could feel the beat of it any longer.

I reach to take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. "Oui."

He takes my hand, squeezes, agrees, and I actually squeak.

I'm not sure if the hug starts before or after the grin. All I know is
I'm clinging to him fiercely, overjoyed. "But how did you get free?
When? Eti must be so happy!"

This time, his words shock and confuse me so much that I can feel myself coming apart.

Literally, the avatar shudders in his grip and I gasp, struggling to pull myself together. I peel him off me with trembling hands and grasp both of his arms to still my fingers.

"Why are you saying that, amour? Why would you..." My voice is shaking too and I release him to scoot across the bed, wrapping my arms around myself to try and steady my avatar.

"We have not yet retrieved my brother, 'iromu."

He's shaking. I freeze, not getting it, all I know is that something's
horribly wrong, which I guess makes sense because it seemed weird that
Emi would randomly crawl into bed with me after being saved anyway-

Oh. Oh, no.

I want to reach out to him and stop him from shaking, get that look
off his face, but I think I'd make it worse. "Eti... Eti is Enter," I
say hoarsely. It's not quite a question.

His words chill me to the bone, I could imagine my body, hanging on in the subdimension, shuddering with the fear that washes through me.

I meet his eyes for a moment, swallow once to steel myself, and then nod. "'iromu, mon amour, what has happened to you?"

Amnesia, I would think at first, is the most obvious explanation, and yet... he remembers my name. Etienne's name. And the name of that... thing that has corrupted my darling brother.

"We're going to save him." I say carefully.

...is he calling me what I think he's calling me?

I blink at him, wanting very, very desperately for this to be right. For him to be Emi, and safe, and whole... except Eti needs to be all right, as well.

"When I went to bed," I say quietly, "Etienne was Grey Buster. And you... you were part of Vaglass."

I reach for him, managing to keep my fingers from trembling, and cup his cheek in my hand. I look into his eyes, searching for some hint of disorientation, a head wound, anything. But all I see is familiarity, but not for me. For my face, surely. For my life, my brother and I.

It took long enough for us to figure out our feelings for one another. Longer still for me to believe that it was okay to pursue something as frivolous as romance in the face of our mission, never mind my lack of a physical body, our working relationship being put in possible jeopardy...

The rekindled romance that had developed between Masato and the commander had helped convince me. That, and Masato in general, telling me in no uncertain terms that we would be good for each other.

All of that is missing from this Hiromu's eyes.

"You are not mon amour, are you?"

That hurts. Quite a lot.

He touches my cheek, and my breath hisses between my teeth. He's
searching for something in my eyes, and I don't know quite what he
wants but for a moment I desperately wish I could give it to him. That
I could be his Hiromu, be with him like he's obviously used to.

I shake my head, just a little. "No. No, I'm not."

I pull my hand away and sigh shakily.

I shouldn't be surprised. Alternate dimensions are not unfamiliar to us, obviously. But this is new. This is different, and...

And so very painful.

"My brother is lost. We'll get him back, but his..." I hesitate. How to word this clearly. "His body is not with ours. Masato's and mine." I look away, needing a moment to compose myself. "Where you are from, my brother, he is a part of the team?" The idea makes my heart leap, until I consider the balance of the scales. "And I am..."

"Eti," I choke out, then I shake my head. It's no good losing control
over this. It'll only upset Emi further.

I swallow. "He's part of the team. And you... I lost- we lost you to
Vaglass thirteen years ago."

He sounds pained. I fear this alternate version of me is not... what I have come to expect from my brother, for example. The distance. The... evil. The violence, so terribly out of character from the boy I remember, the boy in my heart, the boy he should have been.

"What is he like?" I ask suddenly, my voice shaking. "My Etienne, my brother, what... what..."

...I don't know if this'll hurt or help, but I fold my legs under
myself and think about how to answer.

I wish I could take his hand, like I would if Eti were upset.

"He's a great fighter," I say slowly, softly. "Economical and skilled.
And away from fighting... Incredibly gentle, sweet. Won't let people
walk over him, though. He has a great smile..."

I smile weakly at this description. Just as I would imagine him. My poor brother...

I am simply even more resolved to save him. To get him back.

I'm almost afraid to ask my next question, but it must be done.

"And... moi? Enter, that is. You said my name, you know me, or know me as him, non?"

"What's he like here?" I ask hoarsely, not wanting to know. But if I'm
here for a while, I have to know, I have to help.

...oh, hell. "I'm working on you." I try to say it calmly but with Emi
-- an Emi -- right here in front of me, it's hard to keep my voice
steady.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised he's asking. He might not be my Hiromu but he's obviously still a Hiromu and of course he'd want to help.

Still, speaking of Etienne and what he's been forced to become is... difficult.

If he were mine, I would put my arms around him, hold him close against me, and offer every pathetic shred of this fake body of mine to make him feel better. But I can't do that.

"Messiah is using him. His face, his data. If Enter exists in your reality than you know what he is capable. His feeble motivations. Messiah has corrupted him. I doubt there is anything of my brother in Enter except for his voice and visage... but I know he must still be down there, somewhere. And I'll find him."

I shudder, just a little, as Emi relates it. It's horribly ironic, if I'm getting the meaning of that right. Twisted and harsh and wrong, that he should be telling me this when in my reality it's him who's been through it.

I nod at the end. "I'll help. I'm... I'm trying to reach you, in my world. I'll do what I can."

It's hard enough to try and understand what he's telling me, to clarify, and, worst of all, imagine my sweet brother free. I'd trade off in a heartbeat. I wonder if perhaps that's what has happened.

Even worse is the fleeting thought that somewhere, my sweet Hiromu is waking up, expecting to find me and discovering a demon with my face.

It's almost too much to bear. I'd start crying, I think, if I could.

"We have to get you home." I say with as much strength as I can muster.

I nod feverishly. "Definitely. But... but I don't know how I got here in the first place."

And the way he's looking at me...

We're together, aren't we.

"Non, non, I don't suppose you would."

I take a steadying breath, not really necessary any more but I still do it out of habit.

"We should talk to Masato, maybe. He might be able to help."

"Jin-san's here," I say with a rush of relief. Maybe he'll know. He's annoying, but he's an excellent engineer. But wait. If they're both avatars.

"Emi..." my voice is small, "you still got trapped in hyperspace?"

"Of course he is." I try to imagine a universe where Masato wouldn't survive. It's impossible. He saved me, truly. I never would have pulled myself together without his guidance and support.

The tone of his voice makes my heart break a little more and I sigh and reach to take his hand. I hope this is not too familiar, I think he could use the support.

"Yes. My body is with Masato's, in his lab. He says it's our lab, but I'm hardly useful in that way." I smirk a bit. I am very fond of my partner, even if he is a little... eccentric.

Good. Oh, that's a relief. I know how much easier some things got after Jin-san appeared.

And how much harder some other things got, but that's neither here nor there.

He... he actually reaches out and holds my hand. I look down at it in wonder, smile a little, and squeeze back. "I bet you're more useful than you think you are."

He squeezes my hand, so I suppose I'm not making him uncomfortable.

I wonder after his relationship with my brother.

"Well, I'm no engineer, non? But I keep Jueki in line, Kotako and me."

I swallow painfully at the thought of that. Kotako... Kotako actually has Emi here.

Huh. "Who's Jueki? And does Takosawa work with you?"

"Oh, Masato calls him J? He can be a little unruly at times."

I pause at his second question, frowning a bit, my eyebrows drawing together. "Takosawa?"

Oh.

Oh! "J, I know him, okay. He's a Buddyroid, still?"

...........

I have to turn away for a moment.

"Well, we needed someone to handle the heavy lifting." I smirk, but then he turns away, and I wonder what it is that I've said to hurt him suddenly.

I put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze, and it occurs to me. "Takosawa. A Buddyroid for us?" Or, not for us. For my brother, in that universe. I close my eyes and shake my head. "Where you come from is more different than I thought."

"He's all right," I say grudgingly, though really? We're a team of people with various social skills issues, and J's a lot easier to understand than Yoko.

There's a warm hand on my shoulder, and I wonder suddenly just how he and Jin-san manage to keep their avatars at body temperature.

I nod, not looking at him. "For your brother, yes," I say softly. "Kotako is yours, but she's with us. She's not with... with you. Though she wants to be."

I shake my head a bit at that, wondering if perhaps there's something about this alternate Jueki that I don't understand. Then again, he seemed surprised by the thought that I was an avatar, and so I assume Masato must not have had me or my brother, or anyone, with him in the subdimension. I can only imagine what Jueki must be like if he had been programmed to be Masato's sole companion.

"I'm glad to know Kotako is still a fixture." I say softly, carefully. I would have been okay without her, I had Masato and Jueki after all. But I love her dearly.

I nod swiftly, trying not to let myself lose control. "She's small and
fussy and very smart," I tell him, smiling. "She's met, um, you since
you got taken, and she wants you back so badly."

Okay, some control lost. "I'm getting through to you, a bit. I'll keep
going. Is there hope for Eti?"

I smile at that. "Just the same as she ever was, here. Just the way I like her."

I can imagine, if she exists in his world, she would miss me terribly.

His next question catches me in the heart and I sigh heavily.

"He doesn't..." I pause to collect my thoughts. "He doesn't respond. He doesn't know us, not consciously. But I'm sure, I'm sure his body is still in the subdimension somewhere. And when we get that back..."

"She's nice. Looked after me sometimes when I came here when I was small." When Nick needed maintenance, or when Gorisaki was wringing his hands at him because he needed to vent to Nick.

Ah, no. No. "Eti," I say softly. I cup Emi's hand in both of mine. "Let me help, all right? For as long as I'm here. I'm sure your me was helping."

He takes my hand, and for a moment I can believe that he's my amour, my beloved 'iromu...

No. I shake my head a little, and grasp his hand with a little squeeze. "I'm sorry to tell you that. I imagine.. I imagine you have strong feelings for him, considering your..."

I hesitate, unsure as to how to address his origin. "He was, of course, but please don't think you must dedicate yourself excessively. The retrieval of bodies from the subdimension is our primary goal. My own, Masato's, my brother... and... anyone else."

I nod feverishly. "I do, I do. He's my friend."

...is he asking...

For some reason it's easier to say this to him than it would be to my own Eti or Emi. "Strong feelings like that, though?" I clear my throat. "More for the... for my you. I think. I don't know. Which doesn't mean that Eti's any less important to me."

Ah, that makes it clear, then. "The other me is probably doing the same thing," I tell him, voice rough. "Of course I'll help out here, too. Even if you're not 'my' Emi, you're still Emi. You're all still important."

I would blush, I think, if my avatar could. As it is, I do turn away, and remove my hands from touching him entirely. "Je suis desole. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I... As I am sure you have guessed, your... counterpart and I, we mean.. rather more to each other."

I am startled by his insistence that he has feelings in that direction towards the... other me. "He is not.. dangerous?" I have a hard time not saying 'evil', but I know better. Etienne is not evil. My counterpart might be... But still.

"We should discuss this anomaly with Masato. Dimensional travel isn't a specialty of his, but he knows more than most."

I shake my head. "It's all right. I... I don't mind telling you. And I'm sorry the other me isn't here, to be with you."

He sounds like Eti. "He is. But I don't care. If you don't ask, don't try, you don't get what you want, and I want him free from Messiah, whether or not he might care about me in that way. And yes, Jin-san sounds good."

"Do not apologize. There is no point in it, non? You are here, and so, we will make due."

I elect not to linger on the thought that he would put himself through hellfire and worse if it were to rescue my counterpart. Part of me longs at the thought, wishing for my 'iromu back. The rest of me grows ever more concerned about this Hiromu, and the dangers he might put himself in.

I slink off the bed and stand with a stretch. "Come, we'll find the others."

He's very composed about it, but he must be worried about his... his me. I am, too. Oh, I know my team will look after him, but it'll hurt him enormously to realise that the person he loves has been taken by Messiah.

I stand up, run a hand through my hair, and grimace at the feel of it. I suspect it's standing up everywhere.

I turn to watch him get up, and can't really help the fond smile that flits across my face. He looks an awful lot like my beloved own Hiromu. Especially with his hair sticking up in all directions.

I restrain the impulse to brush his hair down for him and instead retrieve my jacket. "I'd rather be forward with everyone we run into. And we should perhaps inform the commander."

...what's that look for?

I straighten my clothes as much as I can. I guess I could find what he -- the other me -- wears but it feels odd. "Forward...?" I repeat blankly, and then I get it a moment later. "Oh. Yes. I suppose we could've tried to pass me off as, well, me. And yes, I want to tell the commander."

"We certainly could have, but I would rather not give off the impression that we're hiding something, and Kotako would certainly notice the difference, even if Nick didn't."

I grin at him and clap him on the shoulder. "Trés bien. Let's go find the commander, then."

"Nick." I break into a grin. Why hadn't I thought of him already? It'll be good to see him. "Yes, they'd know immediately."

I am so very wistfully jealous of my equivalent just now.

"Of course." I head for the door and wait for him.

I assume the base he comes from is built similarly to ours, if not identical. Still, I wait patiently to make sure he stays with me as we head down into the command center.

Commander Kuroki is at his desk, riffling through paperwork. Morishita and Nakamura are similarly implanted, typing away at something or another. I find myself silently praying that Enter is not planning an attack. The last thing we need right now is to go into battle with an unfamiliar Hiromu who may or may not be disinclined to attack Enter with the ferocity he requires.

"Commander," I announce as we enter. "We have a problem."

I stay close to Emeric, hating just how natural it feels. When we swap back I won't have this.

The commander looks up at us, glowers, then is suddenly on his feet without seeming to pass through the intervening space.

I probably should have expected that, but here I am, completely oblivious to anything particularly important.

"Commander, hold on," I hold up a hand and put my other hand on Hiromu's shoulder. "He's safe."

He's frowning so hard it's a wonder his face hasn't collapsed. "He's
not Hiromu," he rumbles. "Is he? Emeric, what the hell?"

I wince a little when he spots Hiromu right off. I'm glad we didn't even think about trying to pass him off.

"He's Hiromu, but he's not our Hiromu. I know, it doesn't make sense, but it's true. He's from an... alternate dimension or something."

"I don't want to be here any more than you want me here," I say quite
truthfully. I imagine he doesn't wish me any harm, and I badly want to
spend more time with this Emi -- but I need to be home and Emi's
Hiromu needs to be here.

I frown a little at that. I know what he means, but it still hurts a little hearing something like that in his voice. It's not that I don't want him, it's that he doesn't belong here. Which... Isn't much better, I suppose.

"We were going to look for Masato." I inform the commander. "To ask his opinion about maybe getting this Hiromu home and our Hiromu back."

The commander nods slowly, looking me over.

I caught Emi's reaction. Maybe we need to talk about this. But right
now I'm just standing firm in front of the commander like I would at
home.

"Go ahead," he says gruffly.

"Merci beaucoup, Commander." I thank him with a little bow and then salute. "We just wanted you to know, just in case something were to come up."

I turn to leave again, my intent still on finding J or Kotako. If Masato's avatar isn't available, we'll need Masato for that, but Kotako could at least find out.

That could've gone better -- but it could've gone a lot worse.

I follow Emi, noting the tiny differences in the base's layout and colourscheme. This is bizarre.

To be continued...