soggypastry | 033 [Video/Action for Goldenrod + Anon Text]

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033 [Video/Action for Goldenrod + Anon Text]

[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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How soon can you get to Goldenrod? That's where we'll meet, if you want to continue this discussion.

[Far more interesting? Perhaps. But certainly far more dangerous. Should be fun!]

I'm in Goldenrod right now, actually. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be staying, but I trust this meeting won't take particularly long.

It won't, provided you can get to the Pokemon Center without taking the entire day. I'll be waiting when you get there.

I will have absolutely no difficulty accomplishing that, so I'll meet with you soon.

Right. See you there. Look for the woman with the Lucario nearby; that's how you'll know it's me.

[And, sure enough, whenever Kayneth reaches the Center, Lightning will be leaning against an outside wall with a Lucario shadowboxing at her side. She's examining every person who walks by with a purpose, but other than that, she looks just like any other person. Hopefully she's obvious enough for Kayneth to notice.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Kayneth has gotten by on the bare minimum of figuring out how to use the Pokegear so far, so he's not really the sort to have figured out privacy settings-however, he is cautious enough to have his Quagsire out with him in the event that someone saw that...

...regardless... it's not too difficult to find this recruitment agent, given that it's a bit hard to miss a woman with pink hair who has a bipedal jackal... thing next to her.]

You would be the one from the network, I presume?

[It's not difficult at all, probably. Besides the pink hair and the Lucario, she's wearing a black leather jacket one size too big. Probably sticks out like a sore thumb, but she doesn't seem to care at all as she pushes away from the wall. The Lucario has stopped shadowboxing in favor of watching the trainers, but he seems at ease, which is a good thing.]

That's right.

[She tilts her head, looking him over. He's not one of the Rockets she knows, but that means little in an organization that hides in plain sight. Time to see if this works.]

I never did get your name, you know.

[Well, if she's not even bothering with stealth she must either be incredibly competent or incredibly arrogant.

...or, well, both; sometimes those lines got kind of crossed and wow Kayneth pots and kettles!!!

Regardless, there's no reason not to be polite, and he likes to think himself the kind of gentleman that would be expected from his lineage, so-]

A pleasure to meet you, then. Forgive me for not introducing myself prior to this, but I'm certain you can understand my unwillingness to do so, given the circumstances-I am Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi.

[Competent and confident and not afraid. Or perhaps arrogant, yes, just a little. But better arrogant and knowing she has the skill to back it than cowering in a corner somewhere, at least.

His title gets a raised eyebrow, and a polite nod.]

Lightning.

[She watches his face for a moment once she says it; she's not the best at reading people, but if he's a Team Rocket member who knows of the list, there should be some kind of visible reaction. At any rate...]

You should know that I can't tell you everything about us until I'm sure I can trust you. There's a lot more at stake here than most people realize.

[He... doesn't react much to her name at all; perhaps some people would find the name "Lightning" a bit strange, but given that nobody in his world batted an eye at names like Waver Velvet, Luviagelita Edelfelt, Sola-ui Nuada-re Sophia-ri, and, well, Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi... well, "Lightning" is a little more sane than the rest of those.]

No, I certainly understand that. Given the lengths that some of these people go to in order to hide their identities, I don't blame you for being suspicious.

[Either a very good actor or he doesn't know...neither is pleasant, but she'll take what she can get and nod, shifting her weight as if to avoid a cramp in one leg. It's more to be ready to move or defend herself if she needs to, but he doesn't need to know that.]

At least somebody sees it that way. [siiiigh, then she looks back at him. Time for phase two.]

What do you want to know? I'll try and answer what I can.

[Kayneth is, at the very least, not giving off any suggestion that he might be about to attack.

...then again he's kind of a skinny nerd, if he's going to attack it's going to be with his Pokemon... he isn't unless Lightning gives him reason to, but it's not like Lightning knows that.]

I would guess that the majority of people are blind to their circumstances, then? Well, no matter-there's not much I can do about them.

What do you know about the person responsible for the attack that occurred in the area around the Goldenrod Department Store?

[It's definitely not like she knows that, and she prefers to err on the side of caution. She's seen skinnier people take down giants before...granted that was with high level magic, but still!]

If you're talking about the attack that was broadcast over the network, then not much. No one who was in the city at the time was able to get close enough to identify the attacker, and the person who did it seemed to be working alone. We weren't able to trace their gear signal, either. It led us straight into dead ends.

["high level magic"

you mean that stuff Kayneth used to have... but... doesn't...]

Is that so? How disappointing. Granted, given that they seemed to be incredibly competent, that doesn't surprise me.

[Something like that. The ability to call fireballs and thunderstorms and the like. She misses it sometimes....though she does not miss getting hit with her namesake. That stuff hurt.]

That's one way of describing them. [Secretive also works, really. Sneaky, too.] We're still working on getting more information. It's been a slow process with all that's happened.

[...yeah he totally misses all of it...

and he is... pretty frustrated with this turn of events, but whatever-he can take an opportunity to get an in so he can have access to info...]

I did face one of the Pokemon belonging to the individual in Goldenrod, at the very least. Granted, given that I asked you for information on that person in the first place, I doubt I'll be able to offer much that you don't already know...

[BUT AGAIN, IT MIGHT BE USEFUL...]

[Understandable.

She tilts her head at his words, face carefully blank. You have intel, man? Cough it up.]

Try me.

[Worst that happens is she already knows this stuff! ...Granted the chances of that are pretty darn slim. Man she needs better contacts on the inside.]

Very well, then. As I said, I only faced one Pokemon on the roof of the Goldenrod Department Store alongside another trainer. The Pokemon in question was a high-level Forretress-while a Pokemon acting alone might be expected to act somewhat randomly, this one wasn't. The criminal was giving it orders from a remote location through the use of telepathy. It was somewhat delayed, so I believe they were using a Psychic-type Pokemon as an intermediary. The criminal "spoke" to us as well, though given the nature of the communication it was impossible to determine much about them.

[He pauses for a moment to let that all sink in.]

As I said, I'm afraid I can't provide much concrete information, but it does give you some idea of what you're dealing with.

[More than some idea. She'd be assuming that whoever it was had been in the area, and given the timing, also possibly affected by the mutations. But with this information, her thoughts on that have changed. Emmy had mentioned the telepathy, but to know he was also ordering at least one Pokemon with it...damn they're outclassed.]

More than you know.

[she frowns, then looks him in the eye.]

What would you want in return for more information like that?

[well, if it helps, Kayneth is already trying to work out how to do this because damn that is a nifty skill

but uh]

Information for information seems like a reasonable enough trade. Have there been any incidents similar to the one in Goldenrod before April of this year?

[It might help, sure! ...Provided he doesn't try to turn it against any of her people, anyway.

She contemplates that for a moment, wondering if it's a good idea to tell him, but...intel for intel is a good trade. Take the plunge, Farron.]

One. November of last year, Team Rocket attacked the Mag-Train on its first trip. Stole Pokemon and put a lot of people in the Centers for a while. They got away before anyone could stop them.

Edited 2012-09-14 18:39 (UTC)

Just one?

[Well, he certainly isn't going to turn that against the PGC... more than anything, he's wondering what Team Rocket's deal is here.]

How long has this Team Rocket been around, exactly?

Just one before April. They've been more active since.

[He's wondering, she's wondering, they're all wondering. It's been a very odd year.]

They've always been around, as far as I can tell. Same as the natives. They didn't just pop out of the woodwork a few months after we started showing up.

However, they only started organizing large-scale operations after about a year or so... was there some sort of restructuring, I wonder?

We're looking into that. They definitely moved before the attack on the train, but we haven't found their new base of operations yet.

[It's still very much a work in progress, working with resources she's not used to having, so it takes time to get stuff done.]

033 [Video/Action for Goldenrod + Anon Text]

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