explosivecombat | 017. [Locked Audio/Rocket Frequency]

017. [Locked Audio/Rocket Frequency]

[AUDIO / PRIVATE - TEAM ROCKET FREQUENCY]

Good evening.

[The voice that comes over the 'Gear tonight is calm, at least; soft and open, a bit high-pitched perhaps, but generally not unpleasant to listen to. Confident, in a bit of a self-satisfied way. So it goes.]

My name is Solf J Kimblee; I hold the rank of Beta within this organization. I suppose I owe you all an apology for being away from the organization itself for so long.

I think it's time to remedy that a bit.

As one of the field agents in charge of assisting with the training of the new recruits, I would like to extend an invitation to all of you - particularly the new ones that I have yet to meet, although I would like to see those I'm already acquainted with as well. It isn't an order; again, it's just an invitation to talk. I would like to get to know all of you, and to have a fuller understanding of your talents. Should you require orders or simply want something to do, I may have a proposal for you; we'll see.

I would prefer meeting you in person; I'm in the Goldenrod base for the time being, but if you're currently elsewhere, neither time nor money is a problem for me. Let me know where you are; I'll meet up with you.

I must say that I'm pleased with the work I've seen so far, however. Do keep it up, hm?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not entire sure what these "hollow men" you're referring to are, but we don't have very many supernatural entities, no. I've told you before that we have alchemy, which you've mentioned as being close to what you consider magic, and that's...reasonably common, to some extent; when it comes to purely supernatural beings, however, there were only eight of them in the world that I know of - all very powerful, incredibly formidable beings, capable of things that most humans wouldn't believe if they were told.

At the time that I was brought here, I've verified that two of them are dead. I don't know the whereabouts of four of them, but I assume they're also deceased; one of them has been nullified as a threat, I believe, and I have it on good authority that the final one is killed sometime in the near future.

Did they threaten your nation?

[He tips his head a bit, obviously curious. Logan seems more relaxed now that the conversation isn't about his own country.]

What were they capable of?

I wasn't terribly familiar with all of them, but I did know what most of them were capable of. Seven of them identified as siblings, all of them named after the Seven Deadly Sins; their temperaments reflected that. As for their abilities, Envy was a shapeshifter; Gluttony was capable of tearing open the front of his body somehow and consuming literally anything; Wrath had the Ultimate Eye, which granted him uncanny levels of aim and precision and allowed him to anticipate his enemies' movements; Lust, their only sister, was capable of extending her fingertips to just about any length, rendering them sharp enough to cut through any material. Sloth had superhuman strength; I wasn't familiar enough with Greed to know much about him.

Pride was the oldest, and appropriately the most dangerous. He was capable of manipulating shadows, giving them tangible form and using them in ways similar to Lust - cutting through anything - or simply grabbing people to control or manipulate them; said shadows were also capable of forming eyes, allowing him to see anything in places where shadows could logically fall, and they also had many mouths, which he would use to consume victims. He ate Gluttony that way, I'm fairly sure, for the sake of acquiring the latter's powers.

The eighth was a being known as Father; he was the one providing the largest threat to Amestris. He was trying to gain enough power to...ah, the only way I can really describe it is "become God" - to basically take the power that the forces of nature and the world itself hold. He planned on doing this by sacrificing the lives of everyone in the country.

[Logan is silent for a long moment after that's out there. Though his attention is back on the Snivy, it's clear he's thinking it over. He's never heard of anything like that, but "Pride" sounds a good bit like the Crawler. This entire thing is almost unbelievable; if he hadn't faced the Crawler it would be unbelievable.]

But they were stopped?

[The question is sudden and Logan seems to have surprised himself with it.]

They didn't manage to destroy the country, did they?

Ah, I haven't seen the outcome of the final battle for myself; I was brought here in the middle of it. But there have been two people here from Amestris that I know for a fact were from a later point in time than I am; neither of them would have been alive had these beings succeeded, and I've had it verified flat-out that our country was victorious.

That's good to hear.

[And though his expression doesn't alter any, Logan's tone of voice changes to reflect that. It is good to hear that they triumphed in their world. It sounds as though they were facing an even greater threat than the Crawler. But there must have been people who at least knew about it in Kimblee's world. Still, it's enough to give him momentary hope for the future of Albion; it's more than he's had for the past four years.]

These... "homunculi" was it? What are they? They sound like supernatural beings, but are they...

[How does he describe a Hollow Man? Um...]

Are they zombies?

[Well, close enough, right?]

[...Reaver would like to remind you that the Hollow Man Anti-Defamation League is getting a little tetchy about that~

In the meantime, Kimblee's whole brain is crying.]

Zombies...? As in...what, reanimated corpses?

[Yes, yes, he's well-aware of that, but how else would you describe Hollow Men?]

Yes, though Hollow Men are really skeletons controlled by Wisps, though I suppose it's possible that these "homunculi" creatures are entirely different.

[JUDGING BY THAT LOOK, AT LEAST... dear god that is a terrifying expression.]

[UH.......]

...define "wisps" and I might be able to give you a better answer.

They're souls of the departed that have a strong attachment to the world. They can take on the form of ghosts, but the majority of Wisps are more malevolent. They become Hollow Men when they control skeletons.

[Completely said with a straight face! This is the most matter-of-fact discussion in the world! And what is with your expressions, Kimblee?]

Ah...then I believe we have something similar, actually; it's entirely possible to use alchemy create human bodies that are kept in stasis but are effectively dead - they're empty, nothing more than shells or dolls, really. I've seen them myself, they're unbelievably unsettling - but either way, it's possible to animate them using the soul of one who was previously deceased. That would be the closest thing we have to a zombie, where I come from.

The Homunculi are different; they operate on the same sort of principle, I believe, but they're considered something else.

What are they then? How did they come into being? No human has powers like that.

[Are they something like Heroes, though? That could explain it!]

[GOODNESS, WHAT IS WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS.]

Well, as I've said, they operate on the same principle as the...zombies, if you will, in that they're the result of a human container being animated using the souls of the deceased, but instead of being imbued with only one soul, they're given the souls of many, in the form of a Philosopher's Stone. This Stone allows them to access powers and abilities that are based in alchemy, but to levels that most humans wouldn't be capable of reaching; it also allows them to heal themselves nearly instantaneously - they can use their powers or heal themselves as much as they like until the Stone is used up, at which point they either need to consume victims themselves or get their hands on another one...or deal with only having one soul until they can do either of the previously mentioned, at which point I believe they would age and take damage like a normal person.

They have their own thoughts and feelings, independent of the souls they rely on for power, due to being created from Father. I have no idea how this happens, and I'm reasonably sure I don't want to know.

So they are a bit like Heroes...

[Ah, was that aloud? Never mind!]

They certainly sound fascinating. But you said they were planning on destroying your country? Why? To create another of these Philosopher's Stones? What point would that serve? They're already created, and from the sound of it they only need one Philosopher's Stone per Homunculus. Would they create another one?

[But there are only seven deadly sins, right? What would they name the eighth...? YES THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION at least he's not asking it out loud.]

Well, as I said, Father was trying to become God, for the sake of...

[...]

...ah, so he could...

[... ... ...]

...you see, it was a bit of a...

[... ... ... ... ...]

...I'm fairly sure he wanted to take over the world or something far-reachingly optimistic like that, for the sake of his own amusement, but I might be wrong on that so please don't quote me.

...He... didn't have a clear goal in mind...?

[.............

Kimblee..... what does he do with this...

...at least it wasn't to "cover the world in darkness"?]

Well that's... certainly something...

...I'm sure he did, I just haven't the vaguest idea what it was.

...Well, regardless, he's been defeated, so I suppose it isn't really that important now.

[...Still......]

...that is a valid point, yes.

[CAN WE DROP IT NOW]

[YES ALRIGHT FINE, WE CAN DROP IT

but that leaves the horribly awkward topic of actually discussing things

how does he shot social...]

Well, at least you don't have to worry about that when you return.

[...you know, this topic isn't any less awkward. But Kimblee is really more than used to just kind of rolling with the assumption that he has something to return to; this is easy enough to discuss, really.]

No, I don't. According to those I've spoken to, everything ends rather well for Amestris; a good amount lost their lives in the fight, but from the sound of it, most of the country survived.

That's the most important thing, after all. If a few have to die, it's to save a country.

[HE'S ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH THAT..... orz]

Indeed.

[He pauses for a moment, however; Logan tends to not like the topic shift, but. Curiosity compels.]

I take it you don't consider Albion to be prepared, however?

[He falls silent for a moment. He's already told Kimblee more than he's told the citizens of Albion. Would it really hurt to talk a bit more about it...?]

...No. They don't know what's coming. I've been working to prepare the army, but even they aren't ready to face it.

...Wouldn't it have been easier to give them some sort of idea of what they might be facing?

[LOGIC]

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