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soggypastry[Private Text to: Riku and Xion]
Team Rocket's list of targets changed. You're both on it now, so stay sharp and watch your backs. I don't know when they'll move on any of us.
[/private texts]
[It's been almost three months since he left, with only a letter to say goodbye. To say that Lightning hadn't been thinking about him as the day that would have been thier first anniversary drew nearer would be a lie, and she's taken it with remarkable grace when all things are concerned.
Or maybe she's just used to getting left behind. Who knows. All she knows is there's a house on the beach with too many memories and dreams, and she can barely look at Lucky or Strike without expecting him to be right at her side. She has to put that part of her past to rest if she's going to be able to lead the Corps in the best way she can, and so she's come to the seaside once more. Something a young boy once taught her matters more than she ever thought it would now.
Those passing close to the Radio tower will find her crouched at the railing, a lit sparkler in one hand and a bottle with a letter in the other as her Lucario stands guard nearby, gear in paw. Today would have been special, if he were here. But he isn't and it's just one more anniversary of loss. One more thing that needs to be shaken off.]
Turn it off, Sen.
[The Lucario in question yelps, but it's only in surprise, not fear. Lightning's voice is steady and quiet, and she rises to her feet as the sparkler burns out and leaves ash in the wind. She moves to the railing now, but Sen manages to end the feed just as the bottle that was in her hand drops out of sight and into the ocean.
A few minutes later, however, something else hits the network. The fact that it's an anonymous text may make people wary, but there's nothing untoward about this one. No, this one is the exact opposites of the others that have gone out.]
[Anon Text]
If someone gave you a chance to help protect this world and everyone who lives here from the people who want to harm it, would you do it? Or would you stand by and watch it burn like the Lighthouse?
[text]
Date: 2012-08-30 05:29 am (UTC)[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 05:31 am (UTC)[[Well, that doesn't sound very bloody good, does it? Page has only been in Johto for around a month or so, but already she's found herself (reluctantly, in some cases....) fond of her new Pokemon friends. The thought of anyone taking them away from her sends sharp waves of anger through her system. Not to mention all the other things Lightning listed.
Whoever these 'Team Rocket' people are, they have to be stopped. However....]]
How do I know I can trust you? We haven't even met face to face. For all I know, you could be the enemy.
[[...it's nothing personal, Lightning, but when you've been doing this as long as her you become rather paranoid about who your friends and enemies are. You understand.]]
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 05:36 am (UTC)I could say the same thing about you, you know. I'm putting a lot of people at risk by doing this. All you'd be risking is your own time.
[Oh, she knows it's not personal, and she definitely gets it. Spend a few weeks being hunted by your own kind and you learn to not trust anyone right away.]
action;
Date: 2012-08-30 05:39 am (UTC)You don't look like you used to, Hope. I doubt she'd recognize you before you could get the badge and get out.
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 05:49 am (UTC)I want to meet you. Properly. What city are you in?
[[Page has studied the map intimately, and has managed to wrap her head around the way the 'feed' works; Lightning could, unfortunately, be anywhere in Johto, which won't be very conclusive to her desire to meet her.]]
I'm in Violet.
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 05:55 am (UTC)Goldenrod. I can't say when I'll have a chance to go back towards Violet.
[Or how long they'll be staying in Golden. Considering it takes about a week to get up here...who knows how this is going to go. ]
action;
Date: 2012-08-30 05:57 am (UTC)Then I can handle her. [If you can handle pushy employees, you can handle any pushy keet.]
Her Pokémon would be another matter, but I can handle that as well.
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 06:03 am (UTC)And I've got no idea how long it's going to take me to get to where you are. How useful.
[[Sighing in frustration, Page turns her gaze to the ground as she thinks.]]
Look, I'll try to get there in due time. Can you keep me updated on your movements? I am interested in what you are saying but I'm not joining any group of yours until I can meet you in person.
[[Two paranoid rebels, both very wary of each other. Clearly, this is going to go excellently!]]
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-30 06:12 am (UTC)It takes about four or five to make it from Violet if you keep a good pace and don't stop to take in the scenery.
[She pauses before answering that request. Hope has training to do, so they're actually likely to stay here for a while longer than a week, but...she can't show her hand so quickly. She won't.]
I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises if I'm needed somewhere and have to leave in a hurry, but I'll try and give you a call if I leave town.
[Excellently! ...just hopefully without any more buildings blowing up.]
[perma-anon text]
Date: 2012-08-30 06:30 am (UTC)I'm used to being in danger.[It takes a minute for a second response to appear. He thought of how he treated his friends, his classmates, and how he wanted to avoid putting them in danger at all costs. But at the cost of losing all that...]
Working with other people is important! ...No one works completely on their own. They gotta be able to rely on teammates.[text]
Date: 2012-08-30 06:54 am (UTC)danger's not a problem. and I like my freedom, but if it's someone I can trust, then sure.
[Which is to say he'd be off doing his own thing faster than you know it BUT he's willing to consider the alternative!]
no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 10:39 am (UTC)And then, to be always available. To use whatever ability I can attain to aid whomever I can reach. It is true that one person cannot turn back an army on their own, but for one person in trouble it can be one person that makes all the difference.
And even so, it will not be only one person. After all, we have the aid of Pokemon.
Re: text;
Date: 2012-08-30 01:05 pm (UTC)While there's certainly truth to that, not even numbers alone could truly make a difference if not employed effectively. To give an example, an army may have both superior numbers and armaments, and yet be easily defeated if enrusted to a commander who cannot effectively utilize those resources, or if the soldiers themselves are too poorly disciplined to properly put their orders into action. Whereas a single agent acting alone can, if used correctly, potentially demoralize and thus defeat an entire army. It is the ability to use resources at hand, in the forms of manpower, physical resources, and perhaps most importantly information, and to do so strategically, that is what makes the difference whether in war between nations, or dealing with criminals within a single nation or region.
This is also, of course, perhaps one of the greatest flaws of the local law enforcement; while I could hardly say for certain as to what resources they do or do not have at their disposal, what has been seen of their responses to such situations as the recent occurrance in Olivine suggests that they do indeed suffer from such critically poor organization that they are unable to effectively deal with that sort of situation regardless.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 03:01 pm (UTC)video-locked
Date: 2012-08-30 03:59 pm (UTC)Wait, did she really miss that many of the calls? She hadn't seen any ones sent out specifically to the Corps lately.*
Lightning? Did I miss anything sent from us lately? I don't remember anything being sent recently...
text/locked;
Date: 2012-08-30 04:47 pm (UTC)I'm guessing I should avoid butting heads with any Rockets for a while.
[At least over the network.]
TEXT - PRIVATE
Date: 2012-08-30 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 07:35 pm (UTC)[text]
Date: 2012-08-30 09:17 pm (UTC)...besides, he was rather intrigued by the idea of potentially having a proper fight with the person from the Goldenrod incident. So-]
Given that I currently live here, I have every intention of protecting myself, if it comes to that.
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-31 12:18 am (UTC)text; perma-not anon...
Date: 2012-08-31 12:37 am (UTC)[video]
Date: 2012-08-31 01:52 am (UTC)[They'd be more likely to get results than normal balloons, at least.]
no subject
Date: 2012-08-31 03:21 am (UTC)[video]
Date: 2012-08-31 03:22 am (UTC)They'd have to come down eventually. Any living thing would. The letter would just come down with them.
[video; locked]
Date: 2012-08-31 03:24 am (UTC)I know. I figured you would. [the smile falls after that; she already warned Riku and Xion, but...] You should know that Team Rocket has a hitlist out. Riku's on it.