explosivecombat | 005. [Video]

005. [Video]

[VIDEO]

[Good evening, Johto!

The room is a bit dim when the video feed flickers on; Kimblee seems to have set the Gear on some piece of furniture in front of him - probably a desk of some sort. The room is nondescript, the walls bare, but it's spacious enough and there's what looks like that long trenchcoat of his draped over the edge of the bed behind him, as well as the edges of those boxes that the care packages came in, almost out-of-frame but just barely visible.

The room is his, after all, he just hasn't bothered decorating the place.

His voice is calm when he speaks, his posture casual - he's leaning back in whatever chair he's sitting in (and either it's a hell of a swivel chair or he's leaning it back on two legs and balancing it like that), and his arms are folded across his chest; despite that, however, there's a definite cocky note to his voice.

Someone's pleased with what he's received for Christmas, holy shit.]

My, my - judging from the feeds today, I'm not the only one who's received gifts from an unknown benefactor. Whether this is a sign that we've been favored by this world, or whether someone simply has a strange and possibly sick sense of humor has yet to be seen.

Perhaps a bit of both.

[And when he unfolds his arms, he's playing with something; it's moving a bit too quickly between his fingers for the camera to really focus on it, but whatever it is, it's small and solid and gleams a bit when it catches the light. A crystal of some sort, perhaps, blood-red in color.

For those from his world who would know a Philsopher's Stone when you see one: yep.

However! Kimblee will just be smiling and it will be a very pleasant expression, actually.]

I should hope that you're all enjoying yourselves; it's been such a lovely season so far.

[End feed.]

[OOC: It's been a lovely season indeed. Some of his CR has received things from him, just for the sake of reference; enjoy it?]

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[The sheer amount of "Oh, you..." here, Archer.

Though you did say something interesting earlier, if you don't mind - ]

So when it comes to your friend...well, you almost make it sound as though you were something along the lines of a handler - that he responded well to you, but not to many others, if anyone at all. Is that the case, or...?

[Archer nods slightly at the question. The subject change is a bit abrupt, but it's not something he's opposed to discussing.]

Yes, that's it exactly. Even from the beginning I kept a tight leash on him. Things were... difficult back then. There was no reason for him to continue to listen solely to me after he was reinstated, but that's just how he works, I suppose. I'm certainly not complaining any; this way he can provide support and protection no one else can.

[Of course he's still speaking of Kimbley in the present tense. It's difficult to acknowledge that his best friend is dead - and the shock of finding the watch here has only made things even more complicated. For the time being, he's just going to pretend Kimbley is alive back in Amestris. And who knows, maybe when he returns home it will be to a point in time where Kimbley will still be alive. No one knows how this works, after all.]

[...hm. Still in present-tense; that's more awkward than anything, but Kimblee will humor you for now.]

He must trust you a great deal, then.

[...Thank you for that. It's easier to talk about Kimbley as if he's alive.]

Yes, he does. Of course he should; I've never lied to him or misled him.

[Archer might actually sound sort of proud of that! Clearly this is an improvement!]

And how long - [did...] - have you worked with each other?

[He'll just pretend not to notice that pause, thank you.]

Let's see... it's been...

[Well, it's been over a year. Kimbley died in September though, so...]

...Close to a year.

Interesting. Most of my working arrangements don't last anywhere near that long - really, I'm surprised that our current arrangement has gone on as long as it has.

Indeed? You'll have to try harder to get rid of me, then.

[Despite the playful tone and smirk, that's something Archer really doesn't want to happen. He's gotten used to working with Kimblee; he doesn't want him to leave.]

[And if you're expecting confirmation that he won't leave you, you aren't going to receive it like that, Archer.]

Oh, believe me, I haven't been trying.

When the time comes for our little partnership to come to an end, you'll know it; hopefully it will end better than my last few arrangements did.

[Oh please, like he's actually going to admit to such a thing?]

Yes, I certainly wouldn't want to be blown up, thank you.

[Not that he's entirely sure that's what happened to your previous "partners," but they probably all met with an equally horrid demise. That's not the point, though.]

We need to focus on the Badges, Kimblee. Our partnership has proved beneficial thus far, but if the Gym Leaders are even remotely difficult, it would be wise of us to remain together for the time being.

Oh, don't worry - I didn't blow them up.

[And clearly, that is all that needs to be said about that.]

As for your statements regarding the Badges - dare I ask your reasoning behind that?

[That's lovely. Moving on.]

It should be obvious. If the Gyms are too difficult for us to take on immediately, the quickest way to work out strategies and gain levels would be to fight against one another.

I suppose that makes sense, for a given level of "making sense." However, that doesn't take into account the fact that I have no interest in sharing information with someone who's unable to take the gyms down himself, nor do I have any interest in obtaining information from one who's already defeated a given Gym.

If I'm going to win this challenge, I prefer to do it on my own merit, without outside assistance.

[O...kay... Give him a moment to process this.]

Well that's certainly one way of looking at it.

[Why the hell are you denying this? It provides a mutual benefit that you won't be able to get from just anyone else; what the hell has gotten into you?]

Very well then. Suit yourself. I wish you the best of luck with the Gyms, then.

[The most passive-aggressive thing ever.]

Likewise.

[His tone remains light, however; if anything, this little display is amusing him.]

Bear in mind what I just finished saying to you, Archer - if I were choosing to end this partnership now, you would know it; I certainly wouldn't resort to anything so backhandedly passive-aggressive. I have my own reasons for not calling it off at this point; all I'm asking right now is that you stay out of my business when it comes to these Gyms, as I neither want nor require your advice, nor will you be getting advice from me. I'll gladly continue training with you, as long as it continues to be beneficial, but as information goes, you're on your own.

[Of course, this is because Kimblee doesn't intend to challenge the Gyms at all and likely won't have much information to give you, but...that's a bit of a detail that he doesn't intend to hand you just yet.]

Of course, if you disagree with these terms, we can stop now, before we begin wasting each other's time. It's your call.

[But... wait... that... makes absolutely no sense. Why would you continue training with him if they're not going to bother sharing information on the Gyms? Honestly, if anyone's missing out here, it's Kimblee; Archer is pretty good at picking up information he needs. He's already gathered a bit about the Gym Leader here in Goldenrod; though whatever, if these are the terms Kimblee has set, then fine.]

I won't require your assistance in that regard anyway.

[That said, the passive-aggressiveness will die down a little, at least!]

As you've said, we're still benefiting from this partnership. I don't intend to end it so soon.

Excellent.

[No, he does not see the need to elaborate on what part of that he's replying to; he simply smiles and goes back to playing with that Philosopher's Stone between his fingers.

...only to startle badly half a second later when that Yanma manages to miss the Pokéball that's been rolling back and forth across the desk while it bats it about, sending it clattering to the floor. It doesn't seem too deterred by the fact that the thing has gone skittering to the floor; it simply dives after it and resumes its game on the ground.

Kimblee just kind of...stands there and judges it for a moment before attempting to resume conversation.]

...either way, I hope for your sake that this Gym Leader business isn't a waste of time - you have business to take care of back in Amestris, don't you?

[Oh come on, do you have to judge it? The thing's playing! ...Then again, it's having fun, clearly you must judge it forever.]

Of course I do. If this proves to be a waste of time, my chimeras will be strong enough to beat the answer out of anyone who may know how to return home.

[That's equal parts sarcastic and genuine; he's entirely serious about that, though.]

And do you have any theories on who that might be?

[His tone is entirely indicative of the fact that he does.]

I would assume the Gym Leaders would have some idea...

[He'll just trail off there, though. It sounds like Kimblee has some sort of idea!]

...Have you discovered something?

[Deets, Kimblee.]

...I wouldn't say I've discovered anything, no. But some theories have been formed; I'm surprised you haven't come to any sort of conclusion yourself.

The shorter version is this: I think you're on the right track with the Gym Leaders, given that they hand out the badges that will allow us to face the Elite Four and presumably return home. But take that one step further for a moment - let's assume for a moment that acknowledgement of your victory from the Elite Four isn't some sort of prerequisite for whomever is keeping us here to allow us to leave, as there's no verification of that one way or another. All we know, as far as these rumors go, that if we defeat the Elite Four, we can leave.

Isn't it possible that the Elite Four themselves are the ones keeping us here? They're supposedly the most powerful trainers in the region; control over these chimeras means control over Johto. We don't know what sort of powers all these chimeras actually possess, either.

I have reason to believe that interrogating the Gym Leaders would be a waste of time; we should be focusing on the Elite Four directly. Find them, find a way out. Simple as.

...Yes, that's...

[That's a brilliant conclusion! Excellent work, detective Kimblee!]

[Well, aside from wondering how he didn't put these pieces together and come to the same conclusion, Archer will just nod slightly at that.]

That's certainly a logical assumption. I doubt it would be possible to skip past the Gym Leaders and go after the Elite Four; at the very least their chimeras would be far too powerful, though it's entirely possible that the Badges are required in order to even battle the Elite Four.

[This is perfect; now he actually has a goal in mind!]

[Ace Alchemist Investigations, I'm telling you.]

Oh, I don't doubt that - I just think that if you're going to be focusing on interrogating anyone, it shouldn't be the Gym Leaders, save for information on how to reach this Elite Four. Have you heard anything regarding where they're actually located?

[...That's... a really good question, actually...]

No, I haven't. Considering that the train runs into the Kanto region, I thought they might be located there. Do you have any information on that?

Unfortunately not. The only one I've spoken to that actually might have any idea is Mustang, and even that's tenuous.

He's not willing to discuss things with me for obvious reasons, and I'd imagine he's not too fond of you either. Fortunately, I've been in contact with someone who might be able to get some information for me; if Mustang knows, we'll know soon enough.

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