030. [Anon Text + Images.]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, good afternoon, network - it's been a few months since this particular device has been active. There's an ID assigned to it, of course; those familiar with Team Rocket's activities in the past may recognize it as belonging to the individual calling himself Seth.

He's been inactive lately, as far as crime goes; that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.

Today's message comes with a few lines of text and an attachment; the text is definitely deliberate, to say the least.]

What does this world mean to you? Do you think it's something worth protecting, or would you rather sit on the sidelines and watch it burn? This place is more than sunshine and Pokémon battles. If given the choice to make a difference, would you take it?

[As usual, there's a set of photos attached to the message; the first few show a desk in a nondescript room, covered in various mechanical things - those who are familiar with incendiary devices and triggers in your world will likely recognize them. The rest?

Those are bombs. A lot of bombs.

The last two are the usual shot of the Rocket member in question, in full Team uniform and shot from about chest-level, keeping his face and other defining features out of the shot. He's not holding anything stolen this time around; rather, it's one of those white cards that he's used to deliver messages before, the words written on it scrawled out in thick, blocky lettering as though someone had gone over the words repeatedly, obscuring any sort of distinctive handwriting for the sake of making it far less identifiable.

LET'S HAVE A WAR.

The final shot is similar to the first; only the card has changed.

OLIVINE CITY.

YOU HAVE THREE DAYS.]

Comments

private | dead philosophers hotline;

[doitrockapella]

[The nice thing about investing the better part of a year and a half into ferreting out and developing a professional rapport with one of the more notorious Rockets on the region's payroll is the fact that occasionally, you manage to become privy to a few of their secrets — and a lot of their proclivities.

Anonymous or not, decoy ID or not, she's well aware who to call to get to the bottom of this, and it's not on the public venue he's so courteously provided for the purposes of really obviously baiting the Guardians.]

Planning a war without inviting me? And here I thought you were a gentleman.

dead philosophers indeed.

[explosivecombat]

Ah, that was rather rude of me, wasn't it. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed - and either way, I imagine three days is more than sufficient warning to ensure that no arrangements have been broken.

text;

[pipers_son]

oh good it isnt goldenrod. would thank you kindly if you didnt bring any of this game there, i have plans for a circus and war is bad for business

[Priorities.]

so are you actually interested in answers to those questions of yours?

anonymous text;

[explosivecombat]

Goldenrod has been on the receiving end enough times in the past, as has Ecruteak. A change of venue seemed appropriate by now.

If you have answers, you're more than welcome to give them. It matters reasonably little in the end, but I'll listen. Why not, I suppose.

[healing_wish]

Second chance, that's what this world means to me. It's definitely worth protecting.

A war, why?

[explosivecombat]

The reason is irrelevant. What matters is that I think it's time that we had one. It's been a bit too long, in my opinion.

[text]

[exeggutorhead]

with all those bombs, you're really looking to make a proper war out of this, aren't you? relatively speaking.

haven't seen one of those in a while.

[...When you're from Amestris three years is a long time for no wars.]

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

Neither have I. It's been too long, I think.

text

[saxsongs]

It means something important to me. Important enough to protect this place from bastards like you.

[Yeah, not happy.]

anonymous text forever

[explosivecombat]

The prodigal son returns.

Am I to assume I'll see you in Olivine, then? We can make a proper reunion out of it.

[anon text]

[usedswift]

what's the point? you just broadcasted a warning for everyone in the city to evacuate. buildings can be rebuilt.

[anon text forever]

[explosivecombat]

The logical assumption, if you're going to throw statements like that out there, is that you will do nothing in response.

Am I correct?

[text]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Now there's something Blake hasn't seen in a while. It energizes him.]

Big mistake, asshole.

If you're dumb enough to go around making pre-crime announcements, three days is plenty of time to track you down.

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

Perhaps I welcome the attempt.

Come find me, if it pleases you.

[private video]

[cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Mossssst impressive!

[Seriously, that's just...wow. Somebody has way too much free time on their hands, not that Cobra's complaining.]

And an excellent choice of targets!

[It's been way too long since anyone attacked the actual city of Olivine, and unlike some cities, it's actually important.]

[private text forever]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, there's no point in staying anonymous for this much, though the return message will be locked down hard and the text function is staying put.]

Consider it greatly appreciated, Commander.

It may also be relevant to inform you that my superior officer is no longer present; once this attack is over, I believe I'm your weapon to control.

[text]

[tearsofademon]

Or how about let's not have a war and instead let's take the next week to sleep in. Doesn't that sound like a better idea?

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

You're more than welcome to follow that course of action, should you choose to. Don't let me stop you.

Text

[gardentrainer]

[Jade recognizes the incendiary devices and triggers. She's also been savvy with mechanical things.]

you cant do that!!!
those are homes to people and you cant just go destroying them because you want to start something
theres a lot of people who dont want a war to happen and theyll stop all of those before it can cause damage >:(
why are you doing this?

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

I never said that people aren't welcome to try to stop me; there are several who have said they'll put in an attempt, and I believe them wholeheartedly.

If they stop me, then they do and that's my own fault; my motives are largely irrelevant at this point, I think.

[text]

[imthe_shit]

[ You bet your ass Snake knows what those are. He's feeling pretty irritated, but... Olivine? How far was that? There was no WAY he could get to Olivine in three days. ]

You must be pretty bored to be attacking a defenseless city. Oh, that's right, we're the ones who are supposed to defend it.

The ones that think this world is worth protecting. So the question is, why don't you think so? Even Team Rocket lives in this world, too.

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

[...goodness, someone is irritated.]

Well, I can't speak for the entire organization; Team Rocket's official stance on that question of yours isn't one I'm authorized to give, nor are we a monolith. However, I can speak for myself perfectly well, so I'll ask that any answers I may give be taken as my own viewpoint, not the organizations.

I never said that the world itself isn't worth protecting; I simply don't have much of an opinion one way or another. If you want to protect it, I can appreciate your conviction and determination, and I look forward to seeing your sort on the battlefield. If you or others don't want to protect it...well, that's their choice, isn't it?

I facilitate change in the world. It's up to the rest of you to decide what that change entails.

Video

[lightningbearer]

*after a couple utterly fail attempts at text, you get video instead!*

Looks more like a sneak attack than a war.

*...he knows there's no way in hell he can reach Olivine from Goldenrod in three days with his team, so may as well see how much this guy likes to talk*

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, hopefully you don't mind the equivalent of somewhat awkward Skypeing.]

Call it what you like; we'll see how it goes when the time comes, won't we?

[text]

[enjoymyatelier]

...well, I'm at least happy to know I won't have to be dodging lightning strikes out of nowhere in Ecruteak, at the very least.

...With that said, I can't tell if this is a step up or a step down, really.

[anonymous text]

[explosivecombat]

And as always, your approval is what matters.

Go ahead and elaborate; you're practically begging the question.

perma anon

[islandshore]

Stealing my message verbatim? You could have at least tried for something a bit more original.

[But then, Riku fully suspects this was an attempt to set him and the whole PGC off. The one benefit to a text response is Riku's ability to wait and deliberate his reply with his face and tone hidden behind letters on the screen.

Olivine City, though... Just who does this creep think he is? Though Riku's permanent residency lies in Celadon, the Olivine House is now his responsibility. Moreover, as PGC leader, he's obligated to go...

If this creep wants a war, he can have it.]</small

likewise.

[explosivecombat]

You have to admit it wasn't a terribly original message on your part, either.

As it stands, however, it seems to have served its purpose. You have my greetings; I was wondering if you would show up.

[voidedrogue]

whoa dude u need to chillax

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

...I'm sorry, I need to what?

[text]

[ortion]

[Well that's certainly a lot of bombs...Dist would think this was a post from Kato if he didn't see the ID and lack of flair throughout.

Still...he's mildly interested to see how this plays out. And hey, it kind of overshadows the mass Pokemon theft he orchestrated so that's a plus.]

My, Olivine seems to be a popular target for arsonists these days. I wonder what makes it so appealing to rain destruction upon.

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

Well, in my case it's a matter of convenience; I was simply here when the time came for this particular declaration.

So here I am, and for now, here it is. We'll see how it goes in the end.

[Video]

[radeonthecity]

[Because Domri doesn't do text /handwaves him knowing what it says and doesn't care who knows who he is.]

I'd rather it just be the cities and towns that burn and the wilderness get left alone, but even if this whole world gets wrecked there are lots of other worlds left.

What are all those things on the table supposed to be?

I've heard about wars. They sound kind of fun. It's going to be a while before I'm near Olivine though, so you should show it on these things if anything wrecked happens!

[anonymous text forever]

[explosivecombat]

[...oh, goodness. He vaguely remembers talking to this one before; as it stands, Domri, he likes you.]

I'm limiting it to the cities for now, don't worry; I have no desire to destroy the wilderness. So who knows - maybe next time I'll invite you along, if you want to join in that badly.

The items on the table are explosive devices - designed to take out buildings and cause a good amount of damage and the like.

text;

[angerpoints]

[... well now, that sure is a challenge. Truth be told, when Yusuke first reads over the text, his first inclination isn't just to feel alarmed - in fact, there's a large part of him that's actually... pleased that shit's about to go down. Excited, even. That's not something he's necessarily proud of, considering that he isn't stupid enough to not comprehend how much devastation there would be if that many bombs went off, but the fact is, he's gone way too long without experiencing an adrenaline rush that was anywhere close to being on the level of what he would receive on the job at home, long enough that the promise of a reprieve from all the boredom and restlessness and, yeah, anger over being stuck just sitting around babysitting a menagerie of animals is enough to propel him right out of his seat and get him rushing around his hotel room collecting his crap in preparation to leave. As he's shoving a few changes of clothes into his backpack, Yusuke jabs out a quick reply to the anonymous Rocket's message, a little grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. This is gonna be good.]

I don't care how many bombs you've got. If a fight's what you want, then a fight's what you're gonna get. Just do me a favor and don't punk out. I hate guys who don't follow up on their threats.

anonymous text forever;

[explosivecombat]

Oh, believe me, I have every intention of following through.

If it's a fight you want, a fight you'll have. You're going to have to earn it, but I doubt you'll have much trouble with that.