@imensus
██▒ “Hm? Oh, was that joke not good ? “ Akane smooths her dress in sheepish demeanor; violet eyes shifting away in momentary awkwardness . She had hoped in hindsight to use the usual advantageous means of unification - this time merely for the sake of it . Although all things considered, there was a solid reasoning why Phi was so deadpan, her aqua-colored eyes narrowed flat and sharp on her own. Even so, it wouldn’t really help would it?
“I’m sorry. Guess we aren’t the joking type, huh ? Situations like this, I suppose I can’t help but attempt them. It’s a constant habit of mine.“ She was certainly familiar with Sigma, Phi, familiar yet not - unexplored, granted that the her of the future had recollection of her personality quite well in what she called ‘the bad future’, this Akane did not, as was ordained .
A production of her own making, but one that the young woman still hoped to familiarize herself in this timeline with . Also, it wouldn’t hurt to understand Phi better. Her brilliant mind was ample reason enough to know that she was dependable despite Akane’s less than..lawful means to include her in Dcom via Crash Keys.
Already the frame-work for various futures were being lain out tugged at her mind, but most importantly was her concern with the virus to come - Radical-6. Having a panicked brain (her own no less ) now would only sour her focus and precision for visions - so room for negative emotions like trepidation had no place.
Any anticipation of something dreadful was counterproductive; thus, she spoke lightly of things, for now. There would undoubtedly, certainly come a time when their situations here changed, her vision risked more than fifty percent of coming to culmination, and once again the Field opened itself to her with various road-maps and possibilities never known before.
“Actually, Phi, I thought it might be good for us to get to know each other . While we aren’t placed in the same team, I think cooperating is important . “ It was mandatory that trust was between them - for even she was uncertain as to what lay in store . She could only, with no small amount of whirling thoughts, wait. Granted her experiences, Akane had no small reason to doubt that it wouldn’t be good.
“ Do you have a favorite animal, for example ? Mine happens to be rabbits. ”
When Phi had first met Akane, all those years later, she had been stunned by the woman’s unbelievably calm and collected demeanor, one that put Phi’s own deadpan nature to shame. Akane was willing to not just get herself killed, but go out of her way to get killed under very specific circumstances, all to further plans that had been in motion for nearly half a century. And, once the Ambidex game had successfully concluded, she had taken some time to get to know this extraordinary being, each conversation of theirs filling her with deeper admiration.
And now - now that they were back in 2028, and finally near the same age again - this Akane thought that the best icebreaker would be a shitty pun. A pun so egregious, so unjustifiably horrible, that it ranked up there with the very worst sentences she’d ever heard out of Sigma’s stupid mouth.
The two Akanes really were two different people, after all, even if they shared many years of memories.
“Let’s get one thing clear. I’m your ally in this process. I’m going to help you save the world. But, if you really expect me to be the Morecambe to your Wise, I suggest you find another comedy partner. That’s not my vibe.”
It’s true that Phi had done her fair share of wordplay while on the lunar base, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to escape with her life intact, and the lives of humanity spared as well. She’d save the sassy asides for when she was actually close to death; that’s when her best material came, after all.
But, on second thought... Akane was trying to just establish a bond between them. And that was fair. Cooperation was going to be vital in surviving whatever lay ahead. Phi didn’t need to smile, but she could at least take a chill pill.
“Yeah, all right. We can do small talk. If it wasn’t obvious, I’m a cat person. Sometimes, I feel like those little things get me better than any human ever could.”
Whew, that was out of the way. And relatively painless.
“Now, my turn to ask a question. So, what’s your favorite thought experiment?”
