[IC] - All the World's a Game

[Koishi]

Engi-Con

---

A drone snatched the letter, putting it up to Voltar's eyes.

"Zhis shall be acceptable." Voltar said, and the two of them left.

[wonderweiss]

Unknown part of Idaho; Ocelot

---

God, I've been walking for days... I bet this is what Snake was going through...

Huh? Is that... An airport! Yes, jackpot! Do I have any money, though? Crap! Wait...

I pulled out my I.D. Yes, this should get me through!

But where to go after this... Ah well. I'll think about it while I get there.

[S121]

Engi-con

John looked around him and saw that he had gotten everybody. That is, until he heard a voice behind him.

"Master Chief Petty Officer John-117... I can't believe I'm seeing the Master Chief!"

(What?)

"Hmm?", John let out as he looked behind him.

Who he saw was a man that was 5 feet, 10 inches tall that had brown hair and brown eyes.

"Umm, can I help you?", John asked in a slightly awkward tone.

John was not the best at talking to fans. He was only concerned with carrying out his daily routine and was not usually given praise, so when something like this happened, he would always be taken aback and feel awkward.

"I heard people talking about saving the world from aliens. Is it true?", the Mantis pilot asked.

"Yes."

"Can I join? I have a mech that would prove invaluable to a task like this."

John was reluctant, but knew that he shouldn't let his opinions get in the way of facts. The fact was, this man could have something worth looking at.

"First, I'll need to see it. Then, we can talk about you joining."

"Oh, you won't be disappointed.", the man said as he led John to his mech.

Soon, they reached the Mantis.



"This, Master Chief, is the Mantis."

As soon as John saw it, his jaw dropped.

It had been a long time since he had seen tech from his universe. He knew what one was capable of, he could only imagine what an army of them could do.

John looked over to the Mantis Pilot and spoke.

"You're in."

"Yes! Don't worry, I won't let you down. I'm very good at piloting this."

John sighed.

"Don't make me regret it.", John said.

"Here's the address to the meeting. It will be held at 8:00 PM.", John said as he gave the pilot a piece of paper.

"Thanks."

Right before John left, he stopped and turned his head back to the pilot.

"By the way, what's your name?", John asked the pilot.

"Jason Stone.", the Pilot replied.

"Welcome to the team, Jason Stone."

John then left the Engi-con.

[wonderweiss]

Yukari's Resort; Huey

---

I saw as John came around.

"Welcome back, John. You not only recruited a good deal here, but you also seem to have recovered from the ordeal."

I turned to the Mantis rider.

"Ah, it's you! Hey, let me say that your performance was quite spectacular. You wanted to help save the world? Well, here ya go."

---

Yukari's Resort; Announcer

---

Wait... Did I just hear that John was here?

I looked out. It was John! Oh, I want to see the look on his... Erm... After my little speech.

Hey, John, over here!

Dammit, he can't hear me, no one can. Dammit, hurry up and do something about me already.

[Kristia]

Yukari´s resort

"Looks like people are starting to gather" Renamon said leaning on a sofa

"Hope they will help and not go away like flies" Nera followed sitting on the same sofa

[wonderweiss]

God-freakin-damn! It's getting so boring here in a jar.

Hellooooo! Anybody there?! I'm just a freakin heart, anyone who can talk to hearts, that would be lovely!

Who am I kiddin. Who the hell's gonna hear a heart? Never heard of a character that could do that.

[S121]

Yukari's Resort

John nodded at Huey.

John may have gotten through the pain, but there was still something on his mind.

(After the meeting, John.)



"Ah, it's you! Hey, let me say that your performance was quite spectacular. You wanted to help save the world? Well, here ya go.", Huey said to Jason.

"Yea, it's a shame that they didn't take my Mantis's focus into account. Mine is lethal when fighting one enemy at a time, capable of outmaneuvering tanks and helicopters and able to jump into them without suffering damage to the hull, while the others were more focused ion multiple targets at once, being tanking mechs.", Jason said to Huey in a casual tone.

[Kristia]

Yukari´s resort

"I see you focus on machines, yet I wonder what would you do without your bipedal tank" Renamon greeted Jason

"And how much time it took for making such machine?" the fox asked

[S121]

Yukari's Resort

"I see you focus on machines, yet I wonder what would you do without your bipedal tank.", Renamon said to Jason.

"Don't worry about me, I'm a lot tougher than I look, a lot smarter too.", Jason casually said to Renamon.

"It took 3 years to develop it, but if I have enough people, I could probably have one made in a week."

Jason then asked Renamon a question.

"So how do you know Master Chief?"

[Kristia]

Yukari´s resort

"We teamed up when an incident ocurred in Osaka and in a base on a close island, since then we have traveled all the way here" the fox said calmly and continued

"Yet, he tends to focus only on his mission, it worries me that he just goes to the front like there would be nothing to lose" she said with a barely noticeable tone of worry

[S121]

Yukari´s Resort

"Well, that's the thing. John was trained to do the impossible. In the games, he would fight armies of Covenant and still emerge on top."

"As for the nothing to lose attitude, it could be a multitude of things. You see,... on second thought, it might not be polite to tell you some of the more personal things about him. I'll just say this, he really doesn't have anything to lose, not anymore.", Jason said as his tone turned into a more serious one.

[Kristia]

Yukari´s resort

"Im glad you won´t tell me his secrets, but John does have, he got us and we care for him, no one is invinsible, thats what make us humans and I know that inside of that armored soldier lies a person who also cares for us" the fox countered him

[wonderweiss]

Resort; Huey

---

I turned towards John's fox friend.

"Umm... I... I think I have an idea of just why John is in such a state. Here, let me get out."

I got out and placed myself on the nearby wheelchair, taking an AI board with me.

"Okay. John may or may not like the fact that I am showing this to you, but you have to listen. Both of you."

I then connected the board to an audio player. It then began producing a sound. It was the announcer's last words.

After it was done, I then said to Renamon, "That may be why he's so depressed. Is there anything you two can make of it?"

[WriggleRid3r]

Yukari's Resort

---

"Is everybody here?" Rumia asked John as Murasa and Nitori were setting up a sort of monitor system, wires and tools everywhere.

[S121]

Yukari´s Resort

(Jason)

Jason paused and thought about Renamon's words for a minute.

"Hmm... Well then again, he's always been like that. He's cared greatly for his fellow Spartans and for those he swore to protect, even going so far as to run straight into a city of Flood, just to save one of his friends, Cortana. When you say that he acts like he has nothing to lose, what exactly do you mean?"

Then, Huey went over and showed them the audio recording.

Once it was done, Jason spoke.

"I think we should talk in private.", Jason said to Huey and Renamon.




(Isaac)

After grabbing Zero's body from the hotel, Isaac flew off to Yukari's Resort.

Isaac landed at the front door and entered. As soon as he saw the couch, Isaac put Zero on it and sat down next to him.

Despite the fact that Zero was still inactive, Issac still talked to him.

"Don't worry Zero. You'll be back to your old self in no time."




(John)

"Is everybody here?" Rumia asked John.

"Yep.", John said as he finished counting everybody.

John then realized that he still had to fight Akuma.

"Soon."