Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich.

[The feed snaps on to a show a rather worried looking trainer gripping onto the Slowpoke Well for support; his glasses halfway down his face.]

Hello! Does anyone know what's going on? I'm in Azalea Town and I've just experienced some kind of earthquake. Are these natural for this time of year or this region? [He adjusted his glasses and then felt Nomad, his Pidgeotto land on his shoulder. The quakes didn't seem to bother him much, being a flying type.]

I've lost Naomi, my Vulpix. The earthquake happened just a few moments ago and in those terrifying seconds, she ran away somewhere. If anyone in Azalea is hearing or seeing this, could you possibly help me look? If not, any help would be appreciated anyway. She's quite a young Pokémon and freshly hatched from her egg not too many weeks ago.

[He had a look of genuine concern about his face. Prinplup was already searching behind bushes and checking behind buildings. What if she fell down the Slowpoke Well? He didn't want to think about that, really.]

I'm going to try and search for her, but I'm worried another quake might happen. She might have fallen down the well or something.....

[With that the feed went dead. Possibly another quake...]

[Otacon offered up Piplup a Pecha berry, as he focused his attention onto the PokeGear. So, he had been within Johto for a few months now with his buddy, Snake. Yet, Otacon had something bothering him in the back of his mind for some time now. It was an urge he had resisted but could no longer hold it back. Yes, he had failed a long time ago at it but now felt like a good time to try again.

He wanted to go out on a date with someone.

Perhaps, there would be some nice girls he could talk to and ask out? A quiet evening within Violet City or a nice picnic by the lake where he caught his Magikarp? The possibilities were endless, right? His other self had dated Liquid Snake. What could go wrong with him asking a woman on a date? Otacon sighed and felt Piplup nudge him to say something.]

Ok..ok....no need to get tetchy, Pip. I'm about to express my feelings across a network here..oh! Is this on? Damn. [He cursed himself for accidentally switching the feed on too early.]

Uh.....[He composed himself in awkward Otacon fashion. Adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat.]

I'd like to enquire if there are any single, lovely young ladies within Johto who would like to go out on a date with me? Or just get to know me better. I'm an easy-going kind of guy and I love technology and Pokémon. Uh....if you'd like to get in contact with me I'm within Violet City just outside of Bellsprout Tower. I'm always on the video feed on the PokeGear too.

[He cleared his throat again and wondered if he hadn't just made himself the biggest fool within Johto. What would Snake think? He couldn't help it. He just had to follow his gut instincts.]

Thank you.

Huh? Oh. You want another berry too, Nomad? Ok. [If anyone will realise once they tune in their Poke Gear to Otacon's signal is that he's feeding his Pokémon berries. There is a flutter of wings, as a Pidgey flies up onto Otacon's left shoulder and takes a peck at a Pecha berry in his hand. The engineer looks around for Snake, as he's travelling with his friend right now. They're in Cherrygrove City and Otacon is pretty excited about it all. New places are fun, right? The old soldier was probably having a smoke somewhere nearby, as he often did.]

You like that, Nomad? I know you don't eat as much as Piplup but you like berries too, don't you? [He offered his new Pokémon a smile and saw the bird Pokémon nod at him once. Piplup just stares and places his wings onto his hips. He's still wary about the new arrival, as Otacon only just caught Nomad on his way out of New Bark Town.

You can have some too, Piplup. But you'll have to wait your turn, ok? Nomad is new and I don't want him scared off by your temper. [The engineer pats Piplup's head and receives a nod but nothing else.]

As for battling. If anyone wants to battle with me I'll be more than happy to give one to any trainer. My level is between five and eight so I am pretty novice right now. Still, a challenge is what my Pokémon love. [Piplup pops his head into the screen, as he usually does, and waves.]

[The feed snaps on to show a rather confused looking guy with glasses just outside New Bark Town's Pokémon Centre. He is also currently sharing the PokeGear screen with a Piplup, who is conveniently sitting atop his shoulder. Otacon had just met the little Pokémon only moments before turning the feed on. He seemed excited to see the man and ended up jumping up, onto his shoulder to greet him and get a better look at the feed screen.]

Can anyone hear this? I'm not sure how I ended up within this place but....I am rather lost. Also, are these....Pokémon? I've read about these sort of creatures before but I never actually believed they were real. [Look again, Otacon. Piplup is now staring right at you and frowning.]

Snake? Sunny? If you are hearing this transmission, it's Otacon here. I've just arrived and I'm not sure what's going on to be honest. [He pushes his glasses up his nose and offers Piplup a small smile. The Pokémon is cute, he gives him that. Yet, why is he so interested in Otacon?]

My frequency is 141.12 if anyone wants to answer this transmission. Although, I'm not sure what frequency this PokeGear operates on.

"Snake? Can you hear me? Snake?!" Otacon felt his heart rate increase, as he desperately tried to get in contact with Snake for the second time. He was stuck in the Middle-East with no one else to help him. Otacon had sent the Mk.II to assist him but he had heard no word back from Snake. Had the Mk.II been damaged? Had Snake been captured or worse? Otacon snatched his glasses from his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Damn. Where the hell was he? Why wasn't he answering? He didn't want to fear the worse. That Snake was dead. No, he couldn't. He allowed his eyes to focus on the blurry monitor, before shoving his glasses back on. He had never failed Snake before and he wasn't about to fail him again. Yet, he was stuck here on the safety of the Nomad, whilst Snake was within a warzone. Otacon heard the feint tapping of footsteps on the metal steps behind him. He turned to see Sunny making her way down the steps shakily, carrying some tea on a tray. She offered Hal a small smile, as she set down the tea on his work table.

"Thanks, Sunny." He gave her a nod and a smile. He wasn't in the mood for smiling at all, but he always wanted to show Sunny he cared. He DID care. It was just that Snake might be in trouble right now. Sunny offered Hal a confused stare, whilst looking at the screen.

"Is Snake ok? I heard you trying to contact him." She looked at the computer screen back to Hal. Otacon swallowed.

"I...don't know, Sunny. Snake's not answering the Codec. I think he may be in trouble or there could be other reasons. Radio silence that sort of thing." He wasn't going to mention death. That wasn't fair for her to hear. She was much too young to even listen to the sorts of horrors that war could produce. Otacon gave her a comforting smile. "Snake's probably got his own reasons for not answering me. He'll be ok, I know it." He saw Sunny give a slow nod, before walking back up to the kitchen. The poor kid. Otacon watched her go and took a sip of his tea.

Just how he liked it. He blew some of the steam from the mug and swallowed hard. He never liked being left in suspense like this. Yet, he sat here for hours upon hours monitoring Snake and the battle situation. It was what he did. Yet, the feeling in his stomach was far from a good one. It was dread mixed with guilt. Otacon often felt useless at times. He could never actually be there in person with Snake. He was the wingman. The guy who appeared over the Codec screen. Sure, he gave advice and could use the Mk.II to supply Snake with weapons and other useful items. Yet, being there was a whole other ball game.

"Damn. Snake, please answer me." Otacon muttered under his breath. His fingers shaking slightly, as he set his mug down.