02x. [Action - Fourth Wall Event]

[explosivecombat]

[It's been a surprisingly explosion-free few days.

It's not that Kimblee doesn't enjoy having his alchemy back, as he certainly does. However, he doesn't have a proper outlet for it (..."proper") and there's that battle recently, odd and dreamlike and just kind of hovering on the outer edges of his memory - he suspects it wasn't quite a dream and there's been more than enough evidence to back that up, but really, there's not much to be done about it.

So he's restless as hell. Restless as hell is never a good thing.

Today he's got Ayanami out with him, and they appear to be exchanging blows; whether encouraging this with something that's actively tried to kill him in the past is a good idea or not is apparently of no consequence to him today, since he seems to be having a grand old time either way - the shocks she's sending at him are being countered with sharp snaps of his hands coming together and whips of energy detonating in midair when they connect with the electricity, and the explosions are loud and he isn't flinching at them in the least, and the look in his eyes is getting manic.]

Again - come now, you can do better than that!

[That's about the point when Ayanami decides to prove that she can, in fact, do better than that; she waits until the next time he fires off one of those explosive currents and promptly Mirror Coats him, and he's suddenly very, very grateful that getting kicked out of Johto for a month and a half seems to have done wonders for his spine because holy shit, nothing like having an explosion rebounded at you for double the damage, getting the hell out of the way is probably prudent.

But then the air clears and Kimblee is laughing like this is the greatest damn thing he's ever seen, and he's looking a bit of a mess but hey, at least he's happy, even if he's probably deaf as hell after that - ]

That's more like it; absolutely beautiful!

[...right. Well, either way, he doesn't seem to mind.]



[OOC: He can be run into just about anywhere because Johto is, as usual for these things, completely on the blink; he's going to be a bit...um, excited no matter where you happen to run into him because yay alchemy, but you are more than welcome to put him where you want him - he'll be ending up in Goldenrod after the event, however, so he'll definitely be there at some point!]

Comments

[deadpanned]

[And amid all this, watching impassively, stands a boy of about twelve with a bland, expressionless face. The Bidoof that had been shuffling about near his feet seems approximately thirteen times more terrified by this display, and promptly takes cover behind some rocks; the boy, on the other hand, merely slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans and observes the scene through dark and calculating eyes.]

Impressive. For your next trick, do you intend to subdue the Titans?

[explosivecombat]

[Well. That's certainly interesting, isn't it; when Kimblee turns to see exactly who's addressing him, he's not quite expecting that.

He tips his head a little; he's not displeased by it.]

That depends on if they're in my way; I've never been one for senseless heroics.

[deadpanned]

[It's evident (albeit subtle, almost imperceptible) that there's something about that particular choice of words that he approves of; a faint gleam in his eyes, a touch of something around the mouth that doesn't even come close to a smile but that probably tried anyway.]

Given present observations, "in your way" appears hardly an optimal place to be situated.

[There's an implicit "how interesting" in the silence that follows, but no further remark is voiced.]

[explosivecombat]

It often isn't.

[And that's really all there is to it, if he's going to be honest.]

Am I to assume you're new here? I don't recall seeing you.

[deadpanned]

I would presume so, as this does not appear to be a summer camp.

[A beat.]

However, in the event that you are in fact my designated bunk counsellor, I feel certain we will be able to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement for the duration.

[explosivecombat]

[...oh, that gets a bit of a smirk out of him.]

While I'm no one's bunk counsellor, it strikes me as a bit insipid to refuse to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement, fullstop.

[bertall]

<sub>[Holy shit. Explosions were the last thing Bertholdt expected to hear outside of Cherrygrove, so understandably he'd be a little concerned. Especially when Berik takes off to find the source of the sound. So what does his trainer do? Chase him down.

SCREW DANGER THIS IS IMPORTANT OKAY.

Luckily it's not hard to catch the Vulpix, but it... looks like he just ran right into that nice little mess and oh my god Kimblee what did you do this place used to look so nice what the hell.]</sub>

This is beautiful?

[explosivecombat]

[Mm, and that's definitely a voice and a person attached to it, rather indignant by the sounds, and when Kimblee turns to see exactly what he's dealing with -

...goodness, child, what do they feed you.

Ah, but that is neither here nor there; he simply smiles a bit, the expression dissonant, clashing sharply with the look in his eyes. Bright. Alive.]

I'm not offended if you disagree, you know. Most people seem to.

[bertall]

_{Why'd you have to run off like that, Berik? Now look-- [He should. probably stop talking to himself here and focus on the matters at hand, huh?]}

I can't really blame them. This place used to be really nice, but now it's... <sub>[well.

this.]</sub>

Why?

[explosivecombat]

[...Mm.]

Because it's been a while since I could use my talents properly. Better a place like this than a city; I've no interest in wanton destruction of people or property, and I imagine the consequences won't be to my liking besides.

[bertall]

You have a point. As long as people aren't getting hurt... _{[He pauses to look at the Vulpix in his arms for a moment, then back at Kimblee. It should be okay to hang around for awhile, right? Either way, he's staying.]} Um... How did you do that, anyway?

[explosivecombat]

[...Well, sure, he doesn't see why not.]

I'm an alchemist; it isn't just restricted to turning lead into gold, where I'm from.

[glaciates]

[Isaac had woken up in the Ice Path, which certainly was a welcome surprise until he realized just how cold it was in there. He's made a friend - a large Ice-type Pokémon who resembles a glacier that's been sliced in half for no apparent reason - and he's currently riding on that when he shows up outside of Goldenrod. The weather is still cool enough for both alchemist and Pokémon to be comfortable, though the proximity to the city has Isaac a bit on-edge.

He's currently sitting on Avalugg's back as the Pokémon lumbers toward the explosions. Isaac's expression is unimpressed and he hops off the Pokémon once he's close enough to get a good look at who's causing the explosions.

He can't say he's surprised to see that it's Kimblee.]

I feel like I should be telling you that's dangerous, but I guess I'm the last person to tell you that, huh?

[After all, he would regularly train with his own Pokémon...]

[explosivecombat]

[...Isaac, what the hell were you expecting. There are explosions in Johto, of course it's Kimblee.

That said, the voice gets him to tense up immediately, his eyes sliding closed for a moment before he turns to look; he knows who it is, and he's not surprised that he was unaware of his presence before now because despite Isaac's height he's always been ridiculously stealthy, and when he finally does turn around to see him he's gotten his expression under control.]

Most likely.

[It's in response to the question, flippant though it was; he gestures back to Ayanami, and hopes she'll take the hint and not snipe him in the back.]

It's been some time, Isaac.

[glaciates]

[Well we certainly can't have that, now can we? That would just be rude.]

Yeah, I guess it has been.

[It doesn't feel like it for him, but the chill in the air is more than enough to tell him that he's been gone for awhile. He hesitates for a moment, looking a bit lost before finally coming up with something else to say.]

Sorry about leaving again.

[It's not his fault and he knows it, but that doesn't change things any. He's left Kimblee alone twice now. Johto really needs to decide if he wants him here or doesn't.]

How have you been?

[explosivecombat]

I can't complain.

[He shrugs a little, flicking one of those stray strands of hair out of his face; his ponytail's been doing a spectacular job of messying itself up during the battle, a few more locks have come loose.]

And really, you have nothing to apologize for; I imagine if you had any say it wouldn't be an issue.

[For several reasons; he's arrogant enough to assume he's one of them, and realistic enough to know that "cheating death" is more likely.]

[glaciates]

[You know him too well.]

Yeah.

[A pause. It's as awkward as it usually is when Isaac has no idea what to say. This feels way too familiar, but it's usually never this awkward with Kimblee.]

So uh... have you gotten any new Pokémon?

[God, this is awkward.]

[saxsongs]

[The worst place to suddenly pop into. Why does this world hate him so much everytime something like this happens.

At least he didn't appear right in front of explosions or anything like that, so he's safe from flying off to the skies of Johto for now, but he's still too close to something like this in his opinion. All too close.

Now let's pray no one notices him as he slowly walks away.]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, given that Kimblee is really, really prone to failing basic spot checks when he's particularly elevated, the chances are pretty decent that you will not be noticed, Ren. Unless something seriously stupid happens, in which case...no promises.

Godspeed and may the odds be ever in your favor.]

[saxsongs]

[Good thing Ren isn't the type to do anything incredibly stupid. Too bad this is only true about Ren and not the Pokémon here.

Cause finally Ren's Arcanine was able to find him in this chaos so he happily tackles Ren to the ground, barks once and proceeds with licking his owners' face.]

Ikki, not now--

[dixiechick]

[Restless as hell is never a good thing, and she's long since learned to be afraid of laughter when it sounds like that.

A screw-up and a failure she might be, but somewhere in that empty head of hers she's still got some scrap of a self-preservation instinct, and that's why she's rather prudently hiding behind a fairly large outcropping of rock as all this business is going on, peering out with undisguised trepidation, wishing the painfully loud noises would cease. She likes it better when it's quiet — or, well, when it's peaceful quiet, at least. There's a different kind of quiet, too (that petrifying deadly quiet), and she likes that least of all.

And now, it seems, she's stuck with a nervewracking dilemma: she doesn't know where she is, but she's pretty certain she's not anywhere that she's supposed to be, and if she doesn't get back soon she's going to catch it, she just knows it. But she'd catch it worse if this man recognizes her and turns her in to the police, and while he seems like a criminal (given the explosions, and the laughter, and the dapper way he's dressed), that doesn't mean anything toward whether or not he's inclined to help her. On the contrary, he might do just the opposite, and cause even more trouble, and then she'll really be in for it.

Indecision grips her hard, and she's trying to keep her breathing steady and even, and what that ultimately means is that a short distance away there's a vaguely familiar face peeking none-too-subtly out from behind a moss-covered outcropping, worrying her lip as she tries desperately to figure out what to do.]

[explosivecombat]

[...None-too-subtly indeed.

Kimblee is in the middle of approaching Ayanami (sort of aware that she might just decide to blast his head off but he's pretty sure they're beyond that point, and besides, all the fun of standing on the edge of cliffs is the knowledge you might fall and this operates on a similar principle) when he notices her - he recognizes her immediately, because he always recognizes people immediately and at this point he likely couldn't forget or mistake her for anyone else if he tried, but he doesn't exactly catch her expression. It's Locke and for the time being that's enough, and if she's not approaching him there's surely a reason for it, and it's only when he's recalled Ayanami and has let his hair down, shaking it out before gathering that ribbon in his hair to tie it again (it's made a horrible mess of itself) that he realizes.

He's still coming down from a manic period; she doesn't like seeing him like that, surely, but she's never shied away from him when he's like that, either. She's too arrogant for that; she's always seemed under the impression that she can calm him. Last time she'd kissed him, for hell's sake.

Curious.

He doesn't look over at that spot where she seems to be hiding; he simply keeps his gaze downcast while he ties his hair up again.]

Playing coy today, are we?

[His voice is loud enough to be heard but it's light, the usual gentle placidity contrasting sharply with the tension still gripping his posture.]

[dixiechick]

[Oh, no. Spotted.

In her haste at backing up (which is more of a physical extension of a psychological response than anything else; it's not as though she knows where she'd go right now, anyway), her foot catches somewhere and she stumbles, pitching back for a hard landing on her tailbone, her legs a tangled mess beneath her.

Blast.]

W-What?

[What does she do what does she do?]

[explosivecombat]

[...that...um. Well. That...

...what.

He finishes what he's doing with his hair before starting in her direction - he's not the sort to go bolting over in concern to see exactly what Locke's malfunction is today, he'll get there when he gets there, thank you very much. But at least that means his approach is reasonably measured as opposed to just rushing the woman.]

You heard me.

[dixiechick]

[Get up get up get up — and she does in fact manage it, but there's something decidedly off about the way she's carrying herself, even when she does; they're roughly the same height in objective measure, but you wouldn't know it from the way she stands: shoulders lowered, head down, lip caught in a perpetual cringe.

The problem here is, she doesn't know what the right answer to the implicit question is, but she does know what happens when you make someone repeat themselves too many times. When you're too stupid to answer a simple, basic question. When you're—]

I'm sorry.

[That's...usually a good start. And at least he's not...sounding an alarm? Even though he's sort of acting like he knows her? But he hasn't identified her, he's just being familiar, so maybe...]

I think I took a wrong...turn.

[It's probably her fault, after all. It usually is.]