033 [Video/Action for Goldenrod + Anon Text]

[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?

Comments

[anon text]

[atrueheroine]

[[Don't worry; she gets that a lot.]]

You have power in numbers. One person alone can do very little. It would be stupid to avoid joining the group in favour of being a lone hero. That never get anywhere.

You can have that as my answer, I suppose.

[video; locked]

[soggypastry]

[There's a delay in the reply to that. She can indeed take that as Page's answer, but she needed a moment to switch to a different kind of filter.

Hi, Page. Pinkhaired lady on your screen now. Remember her?]

You'd be willing to work in a squad, then? No one in this group works alone. We don't take chances like that.

[video; locked]

[atrueheroine]

[[Page blinks in surprise as the familiar face pops onto her screen, and not just because she wasn't expecting the medium change.]]

I didn't expect to see you again so soon. At least, not in this context.

[[Really, she's actually kind of impressed. Consider it an achievement.]]

Just what it is this group of yours is fighting against? I'm getting the impression that this place isn't as rosy as I first thought, if that attack on that building was anything to go by.

[video; locked]

[soggypastry]

Likewise.

[She'll take what she can get, though! No complaints here, even if she has to feel out what kind of person Page really is.]

We're fighting against the people who attacked the lighthouse. [she takes a deep breath now, needing to calm her nerves. Recruitment has never been a strong suit.] They're called Team Rocket. They've done things like steal others Pokemon and attack trainers directly, along with destroying other buildings and nearly taking out two towns. We don't know what they're after, but standing by and letting them have their way isn't an option.

[video; locked]

[atrueheroine]

Team Rocket....

[[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]

[soggypastry]

[Page raises a fair point, and Lightning nods. It was something she'd thought about before making the call; keeping their heads down kept them mostly safe, but it clearly wasn't doing them any favors with the masses. They'd need to work on that.]

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.]

[video; locked]

[atrueheroine]

[[Page is clearly not the only one raising fair points; Lightning is also speaking sense. What does she have to lose? That attack on the Lighthouse was brutal and needless, and if that was a sample of what Team Rocket is like....]]

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]

[soggypastry]

[A proper meeting, huh? Well, she can certainly understand the need for that, even if the idea is making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. But that's just paranoia talking and she stomps it down. No time to go hide, Farron.]

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. ]

[video; locked]

[atrueheroine]

[[Goldenrod. The large area to the west of Violet. A fair distance. Tch.]]

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]

[soggypastry]

[Better than saying she was in Kanto, though; then it would have been farther and more expensive.]

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.]