explosivecombat | 004. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City]

004. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City]

[ACTION]

[Three days gone, with no explanation.

Kimblee had awakened strangely on Tuesday, feeling as though he hadn't slept much at all, and throughout the day he'd been unable to shake it - it's the same sort of feeling he gets when when he's been overstimulated, maybe, or spent time on a particularly difficult assignment. He would have chalked that up to a simple failure at restful sleep - he's not immune, and it happens - but then he'd checked the Gear for the time and date.

Three days gone. No memories from those three days whatsoever.

That. Doesn't. Happen.

He'd spent most of the day more wary than usual; he doesn't like this any, nor does he like the fact that there's nothing he can do about it. Even the normal solace he finds in sound isn't coming to him; he usually finds the music in Johto to be a nice constant, but now it's just grating on him - hell, he can't even be sure that anyone else is hearing it at all, and that's no use to him whatsoever.

Bluntly put, he's been feeling disoriented, Johto makes next to no damn sense as it is, and this entire thing is leaving him just a bit irritable and not wanting to stay in one place for very long. So! Today he's out wandering around Goldenrod; he doesn't seem too terribly bothered by the snow, though the heavy coat he has on over his suit and the long, pale scarf he has wrapped around his neck and shoved into his collar is definitely helping, as are the gloves he usually wears. He's determined to find something to clear his head; after a while, he finds himself in front of a building that's both stupidly loud and gaudily done-up. He kind of tilts his head at it for a moment; the place is pretty much an exercise in sensory overstimulation, isn't it.

It's perfect.

He pauses for a moment before entering; the music playing softly through the streets is the same as it always was. He doesn't want to ask if anyone else is hearing it; that's just asking for trouble. However, there are ways to get some sort of response without asking directly. He pulls out his Gear briefly, sending out a quick message via Text before entering that...casino. Game Corner. Thing.]

[TEXT]

Has anyone been able to locate the source of the incessant stream of music, or is that another of those mysteries that we're encouraged to not think too much about?

[OOC: Action-wise, you're more than welcome to catch him outside the building itself...otherwise, he fully intends to spend the next good while wanting to kill a slot machine in the face, so he won't exactly be hard to meet up with if he's seen.]

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[ There's probably a word to perfectly describe what he's trying to get at, but Maes really isn't hip in the culture of hair or whatever.

He pauses for a moment to think of a way to describe it.

And finally gets up to pull out a pad of paper.

... And then draws something similar to a palm tree. Or, at least... tries to draw something similar to a palm tree. His artwork is about as good as his cooking, honestly. ]

[...Hughes, what the hell is that? Kimblee just kind of headtilts at it for a moment; really, the last time he saw a hairsplosion like that, it was when he was being picked up from Central Prison by that soldier who randomly turned into En-

..................

Really.]

...well, I certainly can't say I recognize it; if anyone were wandering around Amestris with hair like that, I'd definitely remember them.

[Well, that drawing is definitely giving him more than enough of a reason to not be making eye contact - he's generally terrible at that when he lies, usually staring at a far wall or the ceiling/sky instead, and he has next to no poker face besides - and given that he's still working with Lust, to his knowledge, he isn't about to sell her out by telling Hughes about the Homunculi. He supposes, in a way, that his promise of silence can extend to Envy as well; Envy may not be from his world, but that's a minor detail in terms of this, really.]

[ He's too busy staring at his drawing to notice anything. Because... he's not quite sure if that drawing is altogether correct.

Shrug ]

Ah, either way, I've heard this isn't the first time.

...really, I'm not entirely sure if that's good news or not.

[ He taps his chin thoughtfully. ]

Do you remember drinking or eating something strange?

[ Though, the idea of an entire city being drugged was kind of ridiculous. ]

[...somewhat ridiculous, yes, but sadly a logical conclusion, given Johto as a whole.]

I wouldn't say so, no, but we're also being made to consume whatever's available here. If something has control over a large part of the region, wouldn't it be easy to taint the supply as a whole, at the source?

[ You never know, Team Rocket could've put drugs in the water supply and...

.... wait... he's not going to give you ideas, Team Rocket... ]

A little too easy, for comfort, actually.

[...please don't, Hughes, Kimblee would appreciate it.

As it stands, he'll settle for running his fingers along the sides of that cup containing his tea, thinking for a moment.]

And I take it there was nothing else out of the ordinary, outside of your location - no unexplained marks or the like?

[ Maes takes a sip of his tea, and is immediately reminded of why he prefers coffee. Or at the very least, Gracia's tea... but Gracia loves tea, and it reminds him of home. ... Even if the tea he makes doesn't taste a bit like what he's used to drinking. ]

No. Apart from waking up somewhere else and not remembering the past three days, everything else feels very... normal.

[ As 'normal' as it gets here, anyways. ]

[...let's just stick to the coffee next time, Hughes.]

So it looks like there's nothing to be done. At least not yet.

[His voice is tight when he says it; displeased. Very, very displeased.]

[ But... thoughts of Gracia... ]

Mmm... [ He's not so pleased, himself. ]

Say, what is the government like here, anyways? I've heard that the police does almost nothing to dissuade Team Rocket. Yet, if Team Rocket has such a reputation, and needs to steal Pokemon... they can't exactly be on top, can they?

The government?

[That...actually isn't anything Kimblee's given any thought to since his arrival. Huh.]

From what I understand about Team Rocket, they lie low for the most part, but once in a while they make large enough strikes to make the population unavoidably aware of their presence - doing just enough to keep themselves established as a threat, basically. I wouldn't say they're on top, though, no.

Yet, there must be some sort of government in place? Otherwise, what's keeping this place from unraveling into total chaos? People have, essentially, tiny fighting machines, afterall...

[ He takes a moment to muse over this. ]

[...hold on, brainwave.]

Given that this "Elite Four" are supposedly the final people we're supposed to defeat in order to complete the challenge and return to our own worlds, it logically follows that they would be the most powerful trainers in the area. That's more or less accepted as a given.

But say we take that one step further - what makes them the authority on whether we return home or not? No one has challenged them so far, which I find suspicious enough on its own, but I don't believe anyone even knows who they are, nor have our...captors, if you will, made their own identities known; given that they are, presumably, the highest level of the hierarchy, is it too much of a stretch to assume that the members of the Elite Four are responsible for us being here in the first place?

And we've already agreed that if they're capable of that - pulling from different worlds and points in time and what have you - then three days...well, that really shouldn't be much of an issue.

[ That... makes sense. Maes is nodding along. ]

Hang on... if nobody knows who they are, where exactly would you go to after completing the gym challenge...? How, exactly, would one go about finding the Elite Four at all?

... And if they can be found, then why hasn't anyone just stormed in their general direction and ignored all the gyms?

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much assistance there. Perhaps a discussion with Mustang might be in order; he's the one who told me about these people in the first place, and he seems to be rather invested in this challenge.

[ ... and somehow, Maes doubts Roy is going to talk to Kimblee about this... ]

I will have to ask him the next time we see each other, then...

[ He frowns slightly as he takes some time to think. ]

Why would they just let you home, though, if you beat them? [ He's more musing out loud now than talking to Kimblee... ] I mean, what's in it for them, to send these inexperienced people out to battle them?

[ Does this conversation feel familiar to you, too, Kimblee? Somehow, Maes is having a strange sense of déjà vu... ]

It does seem rather pointless, doesn't it? Assuming that actually is the case, that is -

[He cuts off abruptly once he's said it; this...doesn't feel right. At all.]

Hughes, I could have sworn we've had this discussion before.

[ Eh...? An awkward silence as he stares at Kimblee. ]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[ YOU DON'T SUPPOSE THEY JUST ERASED OUR MEMORIES BECAUSE WE FIGURED IT ALL OUT, KIMBLEE????? .... no wait, that theory has already been made... ]

Well, I...really, you don't suppose...

[HAS IT, THOUGH? He thinks it may have, but he isn't entirely sure because UGH, JOHTO, YOU SUCK.]

... That we had the same exact conversation two days ago but conveniently forgot?

[ He's laughing. Because... what... why would that happen? And how? ]

Well, if we find ourselves effectively having been blasted in the brain again within the next few days, we'll know why, won't we?

[...hang on.]

...except for the fact that we...technically won't.

[Well, that was one of those things that definitely worked better before it was out there, wasn't it.]

.... Well, there's a dilemma, isn't there...?

[ He has to admit -- quietly, to himself -- that it was rather amusing watching Kimblee be as confused as he was about everything. ]

I'd suggest writing things down, but honestly, if they can erase your memory, I doubt there's anything they can't do.

[ Wait a minute... who are they anyways? And since when did he sound like such a conspiracy theorist...? ]

I can't imagine how they could possibly be keeping track of literally everyone in Johto, however -

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