garbagechild | 001. [Video/Action for Goldenrod Rocket HQ]

[No. Oh god no. Lust freezes with her 'gear in hand, staring at the jerky video with an expression of growing horror. She's either far too sober or not sober enough to be confronted with this.

Which is mainly why she doesn't think to cut her own video feed. She forgets about it entirely. Wrath is on her video feed. Wrath. All she can do is stare, stunned and stricken, questioning the video's reality.

This is a miserable time for Envy to be wherever the hell he currently was.]

Edited 2014-12-11 22:31 (UTC)

_{[WELL LUST, IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL ANY BETTER, HE'S ABOUT AS HAPPY TO SEE YOU AS YOU ARE TO SEE HIM.]

[In fact, when her face unexpectedly pops up on his screen, he yelps and drops the 'Gear with a clatter, grasshoppering backwards and up onto the bed. His last memory-- besides the horrible, disjointed visions of running away from the Gate that had flashed through his mind's eye, anyway-- is of being SKEWERED BETWEEN THE EYES by her.]

[And while he'd arguably deserved it... that's still super unpleasant.]}

YOU!

_{[This is hollered off-camera, as the only thing the screen is currently showing is the ceiling. But after a moment or so, when Lust fails to crawl out of the screen Samara-style, there's a creak of bedsprings and a patter of footsteps before Wrath appears again, crouching over the 'Gear and scowling.]}

You.

You!

[Lust repeats the exclamation with little thought. That little bastard! Why did he have to end up here?!?

And where the hell was he?]

[Curious about the yelling, Lust's Jigglypuff pokes her disgruntled looking face into the corner of the screen, wanting to see what was making that shrieking sound.]

_{[At the sound of her voice, even parroting his words (... or, uh... word) back at him, makes Wrath positively bristle.]}

You-- you you you TRAITOR!

You tried to KILL me!

_{[Sure he snapped your fingers but THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN BETTER.]}

I oughta--

_{[He snatches the 'Gear up to look undernea-- ... wait where is she]

[The camera's view topples over and over as he turns it in his hands.]

[What.]

[How is this possible?]

[w h e r e?????]}

[Oh for god's sake...]

For the love of...

It's like a radio that's also a telephone and has a screen so you can see who you're talking to, hold it still!

[The accusation he flings at her is telling.]

I didn't even maim you, calm down. I've had a blade between my eyes, it's not that bad. Though I suppose I should warn you that you aren't invulnerable anymore.

[He can find out about the ledges on his own.]

_{[But where???]

[For lack of anything better to do than listen to her, he finally stops turning the damn thing around and around and instead glares at the screen again.]}

What're you talking about?!

You betrayed ALL of us, how's that better just 'cause-- just 'cause-- not invulnerable?

... Where am I, traitor! You tell me where I am right now or I'll TELL!

[Lust pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.]

How we're communicating. Right now. I'm in my house, using my 'gear to talk to you and see you. A 'gear is the thing you're holding and staring at and talking to.

And I have no idea where you are specifically. This isn't our world. What we are doesn't even exist here, we're human in this place.

And there's no one here to tell on me to.

[There's some smug satisfaction at being able to impart that bit of information.]

_{[... House? Since when did any of them have a house that wasn't just Master's palace?]

[Wrath just STARES at her for a second, jaw hanging slightly]

[Finally, he shakes his head, jutting out his chin.]}

You're trying to trick me.

_{[They can't be human, not yet! And how could Master not be here? She's like... everywhere.]}

Edited 2014-12-11 23:24 (UTC)

Believe what you want, I don't give a damn if you jump out of a tree and shatter every bone in your body. At least being crippled would keep you out of trouble.

[She really shouldn't be taking such petty glee from having the upper hand over a confused child, but he had killed her. And she did offer him advice.

Sort of.]

_{[Affronted, he draws himself up. That smug tone just-- just drives him crazy!} How dare she be so disrespectful when she's in the doghouse with Master and he isn't?!]

I'll shatter every bone in YOUR body!

_{[Yes Wrath, she is sure to be intimidated by an angry eight-year-old child with no powers and a healthy infestation of fleas.]}

There's no reason for either of us to hurt the other, you little idiot, I'm trying to impress on you that you can be badly hurt here!

[Hastily added as it occurs to her suddenly...]

And for god's sake, don't eat any berries!

I'M not an idiot, YOU'RE an idiot!!

_{[This is such a productive conversation. If this doesn't get you a gold star for effort, Lust , who knows what will.]}

... WHAT berries?! Why would I eat BERRIES?!

_{[He's still not buying that bit about being human now.]}

You're the one who doesn't even know how his 'gear works.

Because you'll get hungry and your body will hurt and start to not work right.

You have an animal with you, yes?

[Lust pities the poor Pokemon.]

_{[Before Wrath has a chance to make a snotty retort, Mama decides that's her cue to step in. The camera jerks as it's taken away from Wrath (again), his livid face replaced by the Pokemon's.]

[Ignoring the faint "HEY!" from her trainer, the Kangaskhan rumbles and gives Lust a look that's somewhere between apologetic and stern. She knows he's being loud, but name-calling is hardly necessary, missy! You are an ADULT.]}

Khggrooowrr.

[Well, that eases Lust's worry about Wrath's Pokemon. The Kangaskhan can certainly handle herself.]

I hope you're a patient creature, your Trainer is...sheltered and unstable.

[To put it kindly, Lust thinks. But she knows the Kangaskhan can't explain anything to Wrath, and he needs to understand as best he can about Pokemon.]

Wrath, this Pokemon is one of many that are native to this world. They're smarter than animals back home, and have a vastly different physiology. They have a sort of symbiotic relationship with people, it's difficult to explain. But you're responsible for this Pokemon's health and well being, do you understand me?

[YEAH Wrath couldn't hurt this Pokemon if he tried. Fortunately.]

[Mama obviously can't respond in kind, but she's a smart creature. She understands what Lust means just fine, and dips her head in an ackowledging nod. She kind of got that idea already from her interactions with the kid so far, but she'll keep that in mind all the same.]

[Wrath's head pokes back into view, still looking aggravated.]

Pokemon? You mean the chimera? She's a chimera. Right?

No, she isn't a chimera. She's a Pokemon.

[It's easier to talk to him when he's calmed some.]

Like the big eyed pink thing on my lap here. And every animal you'll see. They're all Pokemon. That is a Kangaskhan, specifically. You're her trainer now. And that means you're responsible for her well being. You have to take care of her.

Big-eyed-- wha--

_{[Oh THAT thing. He'd... he'd sort of thought it was a toy or something. He'd watched the kids outside that woman's house carrying around similar things-- dolls and such.]

[He watches it in mingled fascination and unsettlement as Lust continues. It's a little mind-boggling... truth be told, if she hadn't outed herself as a DIRTY NASTY TRAITOR before he'd come here, he might have settled right down into Obedience Mode.]

[She was, after all, delivering orders just like she once had before Master had punished her.]

[Wrath frowns deeply, glancing at the Kangaskhan. She seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He's not even sure HOW to take care of things.]}

Why're you telling me this stuff?

Why should I believe it?

She's a Jigglypuff. Her name is Chanteuse.

[And she would continue staring at Wrath until she was acknowledged.]

And I'm telling you this because while I don't much care about you, your Pokemon shouldn't suffer from your lack of knowledge. Just be kind to her.

--I wouldn't be mean to her!

_{[Mostly because she's big enough to turn his head into pulp by squeezing it between two fingers, but, you know.]}

She's nice!

_{[NOT LIKE YOU. >8(]}

She's nice like Mommy.

And BOY, will you be sorry once Mommy gets here. You betrayed her, too!

There's no guarantee anyone will show up, Wrath.

[Though at this rate, Lust isn't going to be surprised.]

And there's a great deal you don't understand.

_{[A smoulder of frustration enters his eyes once again, and he clenches his fists, leaning upwards to try and make full, glaring eye-contact.]}

No!

You heard her, just like I did! Just a few hours ago!

She said she'd only be gone a little while. She wouldn't say that and then not come find us!

_{[Other world, okay. Chimeras being called 'Pokemon', fine. But one thing Wrath really cannot wrap his mind around even without his stubbornness getting in the way is the time disparity.]}

Wrath...

[Lust struggles to make her tone as comforting as possible, but it's difficult.]

I've been here for months. I know that's difficult to understand, but it's the truth.

_{[Well, you've been enjoying his confusion so far, so now you get to enjoy watching his brain cave in trying to process what you're saying.]}

W... wh... what are you...

_{[Tears well up in his eyes. How is that possible? Had he stayed dead for that long? And if he'd been dead, why hadn't Mommy come back and saved him?]

[Where had he been moved to?]

[What's happening]}

You... y-you're lying...

_{[His voice is a tearful croak. He's more scared than angry now.]}

No, I'm not.

It's just a strange thing that happens, time moves differently here. It's...it's alright, calm down.

Nnno, it's NOT all right!!

_{[His voice grows loud again, hysterical.]}

You betrayed us and Mommy's gone and we're not in Amestris, and-- oh, ohhh, Master's gonna be so angry...

She'll kill us.

She'll kill us.

Master isn't here, no one's going to kill us. And even if she did show up, no one would let her hurt you. She doesn't have any power in this world at all.

[Maybe his distress and confusion will make it easier to convince him of the truth.]

Master was a bad person Wrath, do you understand that? She used us, she treated us cruelly, she never cared about us at all. She lied and led us all on.

NO! No, no, no!

_{[He shakes his head wildly, hair falling around his face like a ridiculous, shaggy mane.]}

No she's NOT!

She takes CARE of us!

She does it even though nobody else would!

Who CARES if she lied? If it weren't for her, we'd be-- we'd be...

We don't really know what we'd be.

There's nothing wrong with what we are, she's the one who told us the world hated us. She only took care of us so she could use us. This world doesn't hate us at all.

You'll see. Even you can't ignore your own experiences.

_{[Oh Lust... it's not exactly her fault, especially since she's telling the truth... but...]}

I'm NOT ignoring my own experiences!

I-- I never even met Master and everybody already hated me! They hurt me, they... they strapped me to things, they tore my clothes, they tried to kill me! I didn't even know then-- I didn't even know what I was! I didn't even know why until Envy came, and told me!

Don't lie, don't you lie, maybe Master isn't gonna make us human but she was telling the truth about everything else!

_{[His voice cracks again.]}

It'll always hate us! We don't even hafta do anything and it'll hate us!

You'll have new experiences here.

There's nothing I can say that will change your mind, but people aren't going to hate you here unless you act in ways to earn it.

That's rich comin' from you!

_{[Anger had once again squeezed its way into his voice, which drops to a venomous whisper.]}

Traitor.

_{[As far as he's concerned, Lust has more than earned his hate. HMPH.]}

[Al spends a good five minutes looking at the post, not sure if he should reply or not. While on the one hand he misses his friend dearly, he doesn't know if this Wrath will be like the one he saw over the weird weekend, and he's not sure he wants to deal with that again.]

[At least he can't cause nearly so much property damage now...but he also has even less of an idea than the other homunculii of what he'll need now. He needs help from someone, and he's not sure how many of the others here would be willing to help him. So, with a sigh Al turns on the feed and hopes.]

Wrath? It's Alphonse.

_{[Well, fortunately, Wrath has at least gotten the 'WHAT IS THIS AND HOW DO I USE IT' period mostly out of the way with Lust, so Al will be spared having to try and talk to someone who keeps disappearing because he doesn't know how cameras work.]

[... He's still got some learning to do, though, because only about half his face is in the frame when he answers. Have fun talking to his hair, Al.]}

--Al... phonse...?

... You're not Alphonse.

_{[... SORRY AL.]

[HERE WE GO AGAIN]}

[SIGH. Well, maybe it'll go a little better this time. Hopefully.]

[Who is he kidding this is gong to be a disaster.]

I'm not lying. I'm just not in the armor anymore. --ah, tilt it a little to the right, your face isn't quite all in the frame.

_{[He does tilt the screen at least, but now it's mostly dominated by his chin. Sigh.]}

You're lying. I don't know WHY, but you are! Tell me where I am!

_{[If Lust didn't know, Not-Al must!]}

[Al grimaces, but shakes his head.] I'm not lying, but I understand if you don't believe me.

We're in a different world now, this isn't Amestris. Alchemy doesn't even work here. I could make any circle I wanted, but all it would be is just an interesting drawing.

That's stupid. Of course we're in Amestris, how dumb do you think I am!

_{[THIS IS ALL A TRICK. A BIG TRICK. THE SAME TRICK THAT LUST IS TRYING TO PLAY ON HIM.]

[Hey, he bets they're in cahoots! She'd been about to JOIN the Elrics, after all! They're in on it together!]}

LOOK.

_{[He plunges his hand down to yank the floorboards up around it like armor. Like the armor that Al is supposed to be wearing.]

[... Or, well, that's what he would have done if this were Amestris.]

[Instead he just punches the floor.]}

--a-aAAAAAAAAUH!!

_{[OW. OW OH OW.]}

[Al had started to speak up to try and stop Wrath, but...welp. He hopes the poor kid didn't manage to break a finger doing that somehow.]

...I told you. [He shakes his head.] I guess I should have mentioned you're human now, too. Anyone that wasn't human is made into one here. I don't have any clue how, but that's how it is.

_{[There's a croon of alarmed concern from somewhere off-camera, and then a large, leathery-skinned head pokes into the frame, blinking in befuddlement. WHY DID HER TRAINER JUST PUNCH THE FLOOR? She knows humans can be odd, especially human children, but that kind of came out of nowhere.]

[She reaches for his hand, but he's already stuffed the smarting knuckles into his mouth, tears springing to his eyes.]

[Why didn't it work?]

[Glaring fervently at Al, as though it's all his fault, he mutters around his fingers.]}

G'no... no da'th naw pothible...

[Al blinks in surprise when Khangaskan comes into view.] Ah, you're his starter, huh? He was trying to use a power he had back home...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make him hurt himself.

[Then he sighs and shakes his head.] Wrath...I'm sorry, but this is how it is. Your Pokemon will do her best to help protect you, but you'll have to get used to this. There's no other option for any of us.

_{[GOODNESS. The Kangaskhan lets out a snort but seems to accept that explanation at face value The kid on the screen seems sincere enough. If only Wrath were so easy to convince...]}

I... I don't understand, turning human isn't that easy! If it were that easy, we wouldn't need Master! And my other arm'n leg wouldn't LOOK--LIKE--THIS--!!

_{[With a snarl, he chucks the 'Gear away. It's not FAIR! Becoming human was supposed to be a triumph, not... not this!]}

Wrath!

[Al winces and wait for the 'Gear to stop clattering around before he speaks again. Really, he doesn't blame Wrath for reacting like this--it was hard enough for Al to understand when he first got here.] Wrath, I know it's hard to understand. Whatever did this, it has power that none of us could comprehend, not even Dante.

You're WRONG! She's more powerful than anything!

_{[... Wait a minute HOW THE DINK DID HE KNOW ABOUT DANTE?]

[You know what, he doesn't even care. He's just kind of rocking back and forth and half-gnawing on his hand now, which Al can probably see, albeit sideways, from where the 'Gear landed. SO MUCH IS HAPPENING AND HE HATES IT.]}

[Oh, he knows plenty about that bitch, but he knows Wrath wouldn't listen to half of it right now. Maybe later, after Wrath has calmed a bit and settled in, but not now.]

She's only human, Wrath. One that's lived far longer than most anyone else, but still a human with faults and limitations. She's not a god. [Al says it softly, sympathetically. He doesn't want to scare Wrath, but he does need to understand this much.]

NO. No, no, no, no!

_{[He knows she's human, but she's also so much more.]

[How else could she control the Homunculi so easily? How else would he be so afraid of her?]}

She'll make you all pay for this, you'll see!

She's already tried back home. I didn't let her.

[He does his best to not let his anger about that whole...everything slip into his voice. God, but there was not enough pain he could bring to that woman for all the hurts she had caused.]

She's not here, not right now. Maybe someday in the future she will show up, but I hope that isn't the case. You shouldn't have to bow to her or to anyone, Wrath.

SHUT UP! Shut up!

You're trying to make me bad and I'M NOT LISTENING!

_{[... And with that, in true I BELONG IN A SECOND-GRADE CLASSROOM EATING PASTE AND READING DR. SEUSS BOOKS fashion, he plants his hands over his ears, shuts his eyes, and starts to hum loudly.]

[>8( NOT GONNA LISTEN TO THE BAD INFLUENCE. NOT TODAY.]}

[Al just...sighs, rubbing at his face. He should probably stop before Wrath decides to punch the 'Gear or something.]

...I'm sorry. I'll go now, but if you ever want help, just call me, okay? I don't want to be your enemy.

[And with that, he clicks off the feed.]

[Holy crap, motion sickness. Atsuro have to look away for a moment, before he looks back at the screen once he assume it's fine now.

And of course the feed's all over the place.]

Hey, are you okay?

[A young man's voice called out from the PokeGear. If Wrath checks the screen, he would see a young man's face on it.]

_{['MAMA' THE KANGASKHAN WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE HORRIBLE SHAKYCAM HER TRAINER IS SUBJECTING THE NETWORK TO.]

[The screen jitters to a halt as Wrath actually takes the time to stop... whatever it is he's doing with the 'Gear and see who's talking to him. Fortunately, he's moved past the whole 'Oh my god WHERE ARE YOU. Are you behind it? .... oh my god. Are you IN it?' phase.]}

Who're you?

_{[He ignores the inquiry after his wellbeing entirely. RUDE.]}

[NO IT'S OKAY AT LEAST IT'S JUST MOTION SICKNESS???

And wow, rude, ignoring his question!

...Well, okay, he's not that offended, as a long time resident in this world.]

I'm Atsuro Kihara! Or just Atsuro. I'm just your friendly fellow Pokemon trainer living here after being brought here.

_{[Pokemon, huh? Lust used that word... Is this guy in on it too?]}

Brought here?

Like me?

Where IS here?

[If by "in it" you mean being brought and stuck here, then yes.]

This place is in another, entirely different world from where you were, where creatures known as Pokemon live with people.

[He's assuming the kid doesn't know about Pokemon (how unfortunate!).]

_{[Wrath is thinkin' more along the lines of 'conspiracy theory designed to confuse and disorient him' than that, but SURE.]

So... not Amestris.

_{[He says this less like a question and more like a reluctant request for confirmation.]}}

[Atsuro can supply that, being the conspiracy theory nut he is.]

Yeah, it's not Amestris. Amestris is very far away and hard to return to right now.

_{[... The kid just STARES at Atsuro for a second, mouth curling into a frown. He really doesn't like the way 'very far away' sounds.]}

... How hard?

_{[HE'S A HOMUNCULUS. He bets he could do it! Probably. Maybe if he starts walking right now...]}

Very hard.

[Hmm, how to put it.]

Like...do you know about different worlds?

_{[... Judging by the blank look Wrath gives him, the answer to that question is 'no'.]}

Different worlds?

But there's only one.

That's why it's the world.

_{[He supposed that the Gate wasn't part of that world... but it wasn't a world unto itself. It was just... the Gate.]}

That's what I thought at first, but it's true. There's more than one world out there.

Amestris is one of those many worlds, and this place is another.

[Including his own world and the demon world. Wait, does Heaven counts? Probably.]

... Oh.

Okay.

_{[... Well, he seemed to accept that surprisingly easily. Unlike some of the other people who have tried to tell him about the multiple worlds thing, he has no pre-existing biases against Atsuro that might make him think he's lying.]}

[That's surprisingly easy. Maybe because this kid's still young?]

Got any other questions?

_{[Oh, don't worry, Wrath has lots of questions. Like, for example:]}

Why are there plants in here?

This is inside.

Plants are supposed to be outside.

Plants?

[Uhhh...]

Are they in pots with dirt in them? While plants can grow outside, they can grow inside if they have dirt, water and nutrients in their pots.

I thought they needed sun, too.

Don't they eat sun?

I thought plants ate sun.

Yeah, they generally do. That's why most plants are near windows, or underneath a ceiling glass.

I guess that makes sense, but I don't see any windows in this place...

Huh... Maybe it's a fake pant?

... A...

... A fake plant?

_{[He sounds like he never remotely considered the possibility that such a thing would exist.]}

Yep.

...You haven't heard of them before?

[Because either this kid's living under a rock or...he's far enough back in the "past". Wait, when did society start making fake plants, anyway?]

_{[Wrath wordlessly shakes his head.]

[A fake plant? WHAT WOULD THE POINT EVEN BE OF THAT????]}

...Okay.

[He got a general idea of what time period this kid was from. Generally speaking.

Who the hell knows what kind of technological and cultural development this kid's world went through.]

Basically, fake plants are, well, fake! They don't need water or sunlight, or even real soil. They're just there to decorate the room without the hassle.

... Oh.

They're supposed to be decorations?

_{[He knows what that is, but he's never really... THOUGHT much about it.]}

... OH.

I guess real ones would just DIE.

Haha, yeah! Especially if the owner's the kind of person who forgets to water them!

[And that's terrible.]

_{[Here comes another one of those HUMANS in uniform. Or a wall that was pretending to be a human wearing a uniform. Ralph had just come back from a mission he wasn't too proud of so when the gap between the Kangaskhan and himself closed, he tried to play the good guy by lifting his hat to her.]}

Ma'am.

_{[Pokemon did whatever they wanted in this place. Example: the Horrible Yellow Rat prancing at Ralph's feet. They'd done a job! A real job! Oh happy day! She had a shiny rock she was going to show Steve! It was a ground-type thing.]}

_{[The Kangaskhan let out a pleased rumble, nodding courteously to Ralph. What a gentleman!]

[Then she looks over her shoulder, fully intending to introduce her trainer to one of his future coworkers-- oh now where did he get off to?]

[She turns in place with the Pokemon equivalent of muttering, tail sweeping across the floor. HE WAS BEHIND THAT DOOR A SECOND AGO...]

[Meanwhile, a nearby potted plant seems to have grown a pair of eyes. Maybe it's a Tangela that got into the building somehow. ... Or maybe it's Wrath, huddling behind the leaves and staring up in awe and horror because my god that guy is at LEAST as big as Armstrong. Maybe bigger.]

[And Wrath doesn't like Armstrong. Not at all.]}

_{[It was a crying shame that Ralph and Armstrong never met face to face.]

[Ralph stops walking when he notices the big normal-type's sudden muttering and distressed faces. Whodawhat? And, as one does when one suddenly sees somebody looking around on the floor for a dropped eyeglasses screw or contact lense, Ralph starts looking too.]

[It doesn't take him long to spot the wild child in the plastic jungle.]}

That yours?

_{[He elbows the Kangaskhan lightly.]}

_{[The Pokemon turns around to look where Ralph indicated, and when she spots her young partner crouching in the plant, she lets out a relieved huff. THERE you are.]

[Wrath doesn't look nearly so happy about being spotted.]

[... Is... is he growling?]}

_{[...Okay, is this a kid or somebody's Ditto on a bad day? No, it had to be a kid. The big kangasaur monster seemed to be with him. Ralph can't help but growl a little himself under his breath. This organization just kept roping kids in. It wasn't right. This was a place for badguys!]

[You got used to spotting newbies after a couple years.]}

Easy there, squirt, nobody's got any beef with you.

_{[Oh for Heaven's sakes...]

[The Kangaskhan bustles forward. SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH A BABY KANGASKHAN, BABY HUMANS ARE NOTHING. Reaching into the plant, she plucks Wrath out of it by the back of his shirt before he can keep hissing and spitting at HONORABLE GRUNT RALPH. Show some manners, child! Good grief.]

[Now dangled in the air and somewhat more helpless, Wrath yelps and flails at the air.]}

MAMA! Put me down, we gotta go!

Before he tells on us!

_{[Mama sighs deeply and shoots Ralph a look like, 'I'm so sorry'.]}

_{[Ralph lets out a long sigh of sympathy for Mama.]}

Calm down, kid, nobody's going to be telling on anybody. We're on the same team.

--s-same team?

_{[That seems to change his tune, or at least make him stop thrashing around in midair.]}

_{[Ralph tugs at his shirt collar.]}

They gave you one a' these, didn't they?

... No?

_{[A heavy, rumbling sigh escapes the Kangaskhan. YES TRAINER, THEY DID GIVE YOU ONE. YOU JUST WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM WITHOUT IT.]}

_{[For a moment, Ralph feels a shudder of doubt. It wasn't entirely unheard of for people to sneak into the base...but this kid sucked at sneaking. The huff from his pokemon seemed to dismiss that worry.]

[Meanwhile, during all this, Bossy has been watching this conversation take place in something like wonder. She's too happy about getting to STEAL SHIT to be impatient.]}

Trust me, if you weren't on the team, you wouldn't be here. I'm gonna guess they haven't put you through training either.

Nuh-uh.

_{[At least he isn't growling anymore. Ralph hasn't done anything overtly threatening yet, and Wrath's curiosity is winning out over his fear, at least for now.]}

What kind of training?

Who's 'they'?

_{[SIGH.]

[Ralph hasn't actually spoken face to face with a new person in...quite some time.]}

Team Rocket. You're a Rocket. I'm a Rocket. She's a rocket.

_{[He jerked his thumb at Mama]}

We're the bad guys and nobody likes us, but that's the way it is.

--But I'm not a Rocket, I'm a H--

_{[Then he pauses. Maybe... he shouldn't talk about that. His team has rules too, after all.]}

... What are Rockets supposed to do?

_{[Ralph offers a mile-wide shrug.]}

Whatever they tell us. Usually stealin' stuff and bringing it back to base. If that's not your style, there's usually some brain-numbing task to be done around here, but trust me, kid, don't get put on laundry duty.

_{[Staring at those machines for days on end does things to a man.]}

Mop the floors, wash the dishes, do anything but laundry duty.

Stealing?

I can steal.

_{[His tasks with the Homunculi had involved more spying and fighting than literal theft, but one of his first acts upon clawing his way onto the soil of the real world had been to yoink a bunch of fish right off the campfire of the Elric brothers.]

[And that's not even getting into how he obtained his mismatched limbs.]}

I'm good at stealing!

Yeah, well, they'll find somethin' for you to do. You're a kid, they'll probably think you'll make a good pickpocket.

_{[He says this with a sort of resigned disgust. The wrecker was getting worn around the edges. Him? He was used for intimidation. Most folks hand over their pokemon and ran when a walking wall wearing boots threatens them. Then there was the heavy lifting.]}

How long you been here, anyway?

_{[There's something sort of off about Wrath but Ralph can't quite pinpoint what it is.]}

Um... I'm not good at telling time.

_{[Which probably makes it obvious that he's been here less than a day.]}

I woke up in a room. There was a bed in it. And Mama.

Hoo boy.

_{[Ralph pinches the bridge of his nose again. Why'd he have to be the one to bump into the kid? Now he's gotta take him by the arm and lead him into basic training where he'll get shoved into a uniform and yelled at for a week.]

[Ugh. Rockets. But...bricks and stones, who says they can't do something not horrible first?]}

Hey kid, y'hungry? Mess hall's back this way.

_{[IF IT'S ANY COMFORT, RALPH, there's no way Rocket boot camp will be anywhere near as traumatizing as his initiation into the Homunculi.]}

Hungry?

... No, I don't need to eat. I'm--

_{[And then he is cut off by his starter, who plucks him right off the ground again and puts him on her shoulders. EXCUSE YOU YOUNG MAN, OF COURSE YOU NEED TO EAT.]

[She nods to Ralph.]

[LEAD THE WAY, SIR.]}

_{[Thank Nintendo for giant kangaroo dinosaurs. Ralph turns and leads them back into the mess hall. It's dingy and lined with long tables full of surly and scraggly individuals, all in grey or black and rarely white. Equally scruffy Pokemon turn and make eye-contact with Bossy as she trundles after them. She sends them hisses to reassert her position in the lackey pecking order.]

[The buffet isn't impressive to anyone who's ever had to walk down a school lunch line. There are bins of mashed potatoes, limp green beans, mysterious bubbling pots labeled 'gumbo' in marker, among other things in varying shades of grey and brown with flecks of green that could really be anything.]

[And then. Oh, then there's the glass-protected, refrigerated, well-lit case down at the end of the line with plates of Slowpoke tail, fresh vegetables, small pouches of wine, and other delicious things. But those things were reserved only for the highest of the high, the most reliable, the most underhanded, the most cunning...or the richest. Whichever. It's Team Rocket.]

[Ralph glumly grabs himself a plastic tray and holds it out for the hair-net wearing Machoke on the other side to fill with lumpy potatoes. Maybe he'd try the brown stuff today. Live a little.]}

If you hold your nose when you swallow, it's not so bad.

_{[The selection might not be too impressive, but Wrath's never been down a school lunch-line before. So he stares at the array of glops and reheated canned goods with wide eyes.]

[None of it particularly looks like something he wants to put in his MOUTH, but it's fascinating all the same.]}

What IS all this stuff??

Free, that's what it is. When you're done here I'll show you which buttons not to press on the drink machine.

_{[The huge man moves away from the line and lets the kid take his time. It's probably the only chance he'll get to eat today. Meanwhile, Ralph gently (as gently as somebody like him can anyway) thumps the side of the ice machine and holds his glass underneath.]}

C'mon you crummy thing.

_{[Thump thump thump.]}

C'mon.

_{[Thump THUMP--} THUMP_{]
[A small avalanche of ice tumbles out of the machine and all over the floor.]

[A well-rehearsed voice hollars from the other side of the mess hall.]}

WRECK-IT. THAT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK.

...Ah, nuts.

_{[Mama has longer arms than Wrath does, so she grabs a tray and grunts encouragingly at him to indicate that he should point out what he wants on it.]

[After a few minutes of leaning over to get a better look at the options, the tray winds up mostly full of sardines, pulled pork, and a whole lot of cooked carrots. And one Slowpoke tail. He has no idea what ANY of it is gonna taste like, minus the fish-- and even that'll be a surprise, since he's only ever had fresh fish before.]

[Mama plods over to Ralph with the loaded tray in hand just in time to see the ice disaster, and Wrath tilts his head from his perch on her shoulders.]}

... Is that one of the buttons I shouldn't press?

_{[Finally a few ice cubes tumble into his glass.Ralph draws in a deeeeeeep breath. Then he lets it out slooooowly.]}

Eyup.

_{[He hits the soda button and once his glass is full he moves out of the way.]}

Welp, there goes that TM. There's always next week.

_{[Mama lets out a sympathetic rumble. TOUGH BREAK, MAN. Then she bustles forward to delicately pick up a plastic cup in her claws and fill it with water. NO SODA. Too much sugar. Her new trainer doesn't need that on his first day.]

[Wrath just fidgets until she's done, looking all around the cafeteria, clearly intrigued.]}

Are all the people here Team Rocket?

_{[Ralph leads the way to one of those long benches. He sits down on it and the whole thing tips upwards ever so slightly. He's used to his tray sliding away from him so he hangs onto it in a practiced motion.]}

Yup. People, Pokemon, everyone. Sort of a...secret club of evildoers or somethi'n like that.

_{[He occupies his mouth with a spoonful of food to try and forget about the ice machine.]}

_{[Mama ambles after him, politely taking a seat on the floor and letting Wrath clamber onto the bench on the other side with his tray full of mysterious edible (?) things. He's actually more interested in what Ralph has to say, though.]}

A secret club?

I'm kind of in another secret club already, but... I guess I could be in two.

Two secret clubs.

_{[Wrath, SECRET MEANS SECRET. Stop talking about your other secret club.]}

Oh yeah?

_{[He lifts a brick-shaped brow. He's catching onto that pretty quickly.]}

What kinda club is this secret club of yours?

_{[He's not actually interested but he is curious to see if the kid spills the beans.]}

Edited 2015-01-09 07:46 (UTC)

_{[Wrath had picked up a carrot coin and was licking it experimentally, but he stops to blink at Ralph.]}

A secret one.

_{[If Ralph expected anything different, he's apparently going to be disappointed.]}

_{[Smart kid. Ralph lets out a little satisfied puff of a laugh through his nose and takes a bite of "pizza" in quotation marks.]}

Then you know all about not gettin' caught then. Good t'know.

Yeah.

Getting caught is bad.

_{[He punctuates this with a solemn nod, then nibbles on the carrot coin, wrinkles his nose, and puts it back down. 8( Ew.]}

_{[Ralph isn't sure he likes how well the kid seems to know the drill. So he decides to focus on something else.]}

You should eat that, it's good for you.

But it doesn't taste good, so it can't be.

_{[He says this like it's a fact, and to be fair, THAT'S KIND OF ALL HE KNOWS ABOUT FOOD AND EATING. If your body needs it, you'll want to eat it. If you DON'T want to eat it, you shouldn't! Simple.]

[Mama snorts softly and nudges the tray towards him. EAT YOUR VEGETABLES, LITTLE HUMAN.]}

_{[Arceus help him when he discovers CANDY. Ralph shrugs and digs back into his own plate. He can't help but think about his most recent job and how easy it was.]

[Like a familiar pair of shoes.]

[Or how he thought a familiar pair of shoes might feel like. Considering...]

[Meanwhile, Bossy reappeared at the table, carrying her own little tray. She gave Mama a snotty little stare before digging in with her hands like an animal.]}

_{[He pokes his tongue out at the carrots. HMPH. He doesn't want 'em.]

[So instead he shifts his attention to Bossy and waves at her from across the table.]}

Hello!

_{[Mama notes the snotty stare, but SHE IS THE BIGGER 'MON (literally) so she just shuts her eyes lazily and lays her chin next to Wrath's tray.]}

_{[Bossy blinks at Wrath. Why was he sitting with them? Ralph did not have a lot of friends on the team.]}

Shrew.

Bossy, be nice.

Shrew.

_{[Wrath tilts his head, but he's FAIRLY USED to team-mates not particularly wanting to talk.]

[So he looks back down at the tray and picks up one of the sardines (or CONVINCING SARDINE-LIKE FISHY TOFUS or whatever passes for fish in Pokemon-land) and chomps on it... only to make another face. What. THAT DOES NOT TASTE LIKE THE FISH HE ATE ON THE ISLAND.]}

_{[Wow, no dice on the fauxfish either, huh?]}

Is there anything you do like?

This doesn't taste like fish.

_{[He's completely unfamiliar with packaged food, given that the only things he's EVER EATEN outside of the red stones Envy offered to him were fresh-caught fish and barbecued meat straight from the butcher's table.]

[SO HE LOOKS A LITTLE DISTRESSED at the fact that this LOOKS LIKE A FRESH FISH but tastes so.... NOT.]}

_{[Ralph's brows meet. He's not sure how to help this kid. Fish was...fish!]

[Bossy is though! She hops up onto the table and reaches greedily for Wrath's plate.]}

_{[Mama's eyes snap open again and she lets out a warning growl in Bossy's direction. She might be willing to put up with some BS, but you'd better watch it, Missy. >8[]

[Wrath, on the other hand, doesn't seem bothered by this in the slightest, and he promptly scoops up handfuls of carrots and sardines and plops them right down on the table in front of the Sandshrew. 8I He doesn't want them so he literally couldn't care less if someone else takes them. SHE CAN HAVE 'EM.]

[Finally, he turns his attention to the pulled pork (or extremely convincing porklike tofu) and cautiously nibbles on a strand of it...]

[THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM.]

[Face brightening, he takes a bigger handful and shovels it unceremoniously into his mouth.]}

_{[Bossy growls right back. She aint ascared of you, you walking fanny pack! And then suddenly there is a pile of 'gross' food in front of her courticy of the wild-haired angel on the other side of the table.]

[Well then!]

[Still looking Mama dead in the eyes, Bossy starts gathering up the food and shoving it into her mouth bite by bite. Try and stop her. Try.]

[MEANWHILE, Ralph pauses in his own meal when Wrath's face finally lights up. He didn't realize just how invested he was in this kid finding something decent before being put through training until he found himself grinning.]}

Not bad, huh?

_{[Mama's eyes narrow... but her trainer handed the food over willingly, so she won't pursue the matter. If Bossy had actually snatched the tray away, though... She's got her eye on you, shrew.]

[Wrath, oblivious to the tension brimming between their two starters, nods enthusiastically to Ralph, talking with his mouth full.]}

I'th good!

What ithit?

_{[Bossy narrows her eyes as well, but in an awful little puffy-cheeked smile.]

[Ralph polishes off his plate and gestures with his fork.]}

Best I can tell? Some kinda nondescript lunch meat. Some days it's bad, some days it's not so bad. Trust me, once you get some money in your pockets, there's a lot better than this waiting for you outside.

Money? I've never needed money before...

_{[He sort of vaguely knows what it IS from hanging around with the other Homunculi, but they never actually like. Pay for anything. They'd always just taken what they wanted, one way or another.]

[Not that you wanted for much that money could buy when you didn't particularly need to eat, sleep, drink, or do much of ANYTHING humans needed to do to survive.]}

_{[Now that gets a laugh out of him.]}

Well you're gonna need it now! Y'cant steal everything...too many cameras. And guard Pokemon.

_{[He'd lost the seat out of a good pair of pants to a Poochyena in some old lady's back yard last week.]}

_{[Wrath chomps down on another handful of mysterious porklike lunchmeat, listening raptly.]}

What's a camera?

It's a...hmmm

_{[He taps the fork on the table. How did you explain something like that? Sure he lived inside an electronic device but it didn't mean he could tell anyone how it worked other than 'you push buttons and I get thrown off a building'.]}

Kind of like...eyes that people stick up in places to watch over important stuff.

_{[Wrath chews slowly on his mouthful of processed animal muscle, fascinated.]}

Eyes?

... So they can watch stuff even when they're not there?

Mmhmm. And whatever the eyes see goes onto something called a video tape so other people can watch it. So if you broke into a place with security cameras, people could check the video tape later and tell people what the thief looked like.

_{[And then they arrest you and make you do community service because you broke a window and possibly several ovens in a fit of rage.]}

_{[Wrath swallows audibly. 8[ HE'S NOT SURE HE LIKES THE CONCEPT OF CAMERAS.]}

... That sounds scary.

Scary for thieves maybe.

_{[Maybe he could convince the kid to be a not-so-bad badguy. He sure isn't going to tell him about spray painting over camera lenses.]}

So when you see one hangin' from a ceiling somewhere, be on your best behavior.

_{[Wrath nods fervently.]}

Okay!

_{[HE KNOWS HOW TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS LIKE THAT.]

[... Unfortunately, what he's picturing are actual LITERAL EYES HANGING FROM THE CEILING, so uh... good going, Ralph.]}

_{[RALPH DONE A GOOD.]

[Whups.]

[He piles his glass and fork onto his tray and stands. The bench slams down into its proper position and Bossy tumbles backwards off of it.]}

Good luck, kiddo. I've gotta get going. C'mon, Bossy.

... Oh. Okay.

_{[Wrath waves goodbye, unconcerned with the fact that he's being left by himself. SOME OF HIS CONCERNS HAVE BEEN EASED.]}

_{[He gives wrath a broad wave and lumbers off. Bossy lingers behind only long enough to stick her tongue out at Mama before scampering after him.]}

[There's someone in a uniform, and he spots the kid easily. He's got a Vulpix and an Absol trailing him, and the Vulpix stops to say hello.]

Hi! New person? Hello!

[Micchy sighs, and tugs his hat down a bit.]

... Stop that. And you - you don't need to sneak around here.

_{[Um, excuse YOU, stranger, he obviously needs to sneak.]

[The short, indistinct figure behind the door shrinks further back from the Vulpix and its trainer, mistrustfully.]}

Are you a state alchemist?

_{[The Kangaskhan's sides swell and fall in a deep Poke-sigh, as she shakes her head. SHE'S REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS, her trainer is obviously a little confused.]}

I have no idea what that is, so I'm going to say no.

[Oh. The Vulpix sits. It's okay, her trainer was confused at first, too!]

_{[... Well DARN. Everything is adding up to the younger Elric brother and Lust having been telling the truth. It's easy enough to dismiss them as liars, but random strangers, not so much. What reason could they have to want to trick him?]

[He glances between Micchy and the Vulpix uneasily. He's not in his Rocket uniform yet-- just a plain black T-shirt and baggy shorts. And no shoes. He left the uniform back in the room, not even having seen it.]}

... Where am I?

_{[Unlike before, when he'd demanded an answer to that question from Al and Lust, he doesn't sound angry when he says it. Just kind of worried.]}

This city is called Goldenrod City, in the Johto region. The building -

[He glances at the Kangaskhan - yeah, okay. It's fine to tell him.]

- Is one of the headquarters for Team Rocket. It looks like you're a new recruit. And if you don't remember signing up that's... normal. I don't remember, either. A lot of people get brought here from other worlds.

_{[The Kangaskhan sniffs, almost a little haughtily. What kind of faithful Rocket Pokemon do you take her for? Her pint-sized partner may not be Grunt of the year yet, but she'll have him trained up in no time!]

[Wrath on the other hand still looks unsettles as hell.]

Team Rocket?

_[Wat.]}

[He's just checking.]

Yes. It's an organization here... other people would be better at explaining it. But there's rules, and if you don't follow them, you get punished. Do you understand that?

[He's. Not totally sure what he's working with here.]

_{[Bizarrely enough, that's the first thing anyone's said to him here that makes any sense, and he sobers up instantly.]

[He understands rules, and he understands punishment. He understands those concepts very well.]}

... I'm good at following rules. Master says I'm a good boy, so-- so I can follow rules!

_{[Mama nods proudly, gesturing to Wrath as if to say 'See?']}

Good. You can't let anyone who's not in the team know you're in the team, or they'll take you away. You're also going to get training soon so you know how to get in and out of this place. And you're going to have to learn how to catch creatures like the one you have, both to make your team stronger and to give to the team if you're not on a mission.

Am I making myself clear?

_{[Wrath listens in utter silence, wide-eyed.]

[It's not identical to the lecture he received upon joining the other Homunculi in serving their Master... but it's similar enough, in letter and spirit.]

[If he were a bit older, or had been with the rest of them longer, he might have scoffed and sneered, said something about already belonging somewhere and that if they wanted him, they could just kill him right now instead because fat chance.]

[But he's small and pretty damn scared and his entire existence has been spent being tossed from one group to another, so even though the Master still has his loyalty, this new 'team' is already taking root in his brain.]

[He doesn't want to be punished.]

[He nods, fervently.]}

Good. You can sleep and eat here for free, but not in other places. There's a cafeteria down the hall where you can get food.

... What's your name? I'm Mitsuzane.

_{[He's on the very verge of saying that he doesn't need to eat, that he's above such human needs-- but then he remembers his own vows of secrecy. That he not reveal himself unless absolutely necessary. So he just nods.]}

M-... my name's Wrath.

[... You know what, he's not going to ask. At least it doesn't sound like an Overlord name.]

... All right. Do you need help finding anything?

[He's sort of concerned about how young this kid seems, but if he can handle himself, all the better. It's not his place to take care of wayward children.]

_{[The Kangaskhan rumbles-- she was in the process of showing him around, before he apparently decided to play Hide and Sneak. Something she'd normally encourage, if he were on a mission! But they're not at that stage yet!]}

I...

_{[He'd been looking for a way OUT, so that he could get his bearings, and get back to his Master...]

[But this guy's information changed the situation quite a bit.]

[Maybe it'd be better not to admit he was looking for an escape route.]}

I-- I guess!

What was it? Maybe I can help find it.

[He would not blame Wrath, honestly.]

--Uhhh...

_{[Wrath isn't good at lying at all.]

[But fortunately for him, Mama interrupts then, planting a big clawed hand on his shoulder and starting to nudge him towards the cafeteria down the hall.]

[SHE WAS TRYING TO SHOW HIM THE PLACE WHERE THE FOOD COMES FROM BEFORE HE DECIDED TO START HIDING FROM EVERYBODY...]}

I see. Should I leave you two to it, then?

_{[Before Wrath can reply, his Pokemon pretty much answers before him, scooping the boy up to tuck under her arm (so that he won't go running off anymore) and nodding to Micchy.]

[THANKS SIR, SHE'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE.]}

[Fortunately for Wrath, this white-haired Rocket Grunt isn't very tall; as a matter of fact, despite being sixteen, he's short enough to pass as someone younger than that. He also has a cloak drawn around his shoulders with a Murkrow riding in the hood, peeking over his shoulder wherever he goes.]

[...He's also standing directly behind Wrath, because unlike another child we could mention, he does know how to hide in the darkness.]

[Both his and his Murkrow's eyes seem to glow uncannily in the dim light.]

Mmmmmmornin'.

_{[H-hey, he's out of his element, okay?]

[Wrath is a pretty observant kid, but this is foreign territory and he wasn't quite expecting a hiding place to already be occupied.]

[With a barely-stifled gasp, he springs into the air like a jack-in-the-box, impressively high for such a little squirt (and he'd have gone even higher if it weren't for this sudden being human thing...) and whirls around, nearly tripping over his Kangaskhan's own feet as he scrambles backwards.]

[And then HISSES. Loudly.]

[The power of WORDS seems to have temporarily abandoned him.]}

[Henry doesn't seem fazed at all by the hissing -- he's been hissed at by plenty of creatures in his lifetime, he'll have you know -- and instead just doubles over laughing.]

A-- aha-- nyahahaha! Oh man, you should've seen yourself! [He's forced to support himself against a nearby wall, because apparently, making people nearly wet their pants is his idea of a good time. This goes on for ever-so-slightly too long before Henry manages to get ahold of himself again. ...Though he's still giggling under his breath.] You look [snrk] new.

_{[It's only the steadying hands of his starter that keep him from falling over entirely.]

[Well, that and the fact that he's being laughed at.]

[Wrath hates being laughed at. >:(]

[Trying to regain his composure, the kid draws himself up and balls his fists, baring teeth that, despite his dudden and unexpected humanity, are still quite pointy and wolfish.]}

S... shut up! Don't laugh at me! I'll rip you apart!

_{[With his terrifying EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BOY MUSCLES!]}

[Well, Wrath, prepare yourself for a whole lot of being laughed at. Oftentimes it seems as if Henry does nothing else.]

...Wait, rip me apart?

[ ... ]

Really?

[HE LOOKS ELATED.]

_[:(]

Yeah!

_{[... Wait, that is... not the standard reaction he was expecting after telling someone he was going to rip them apart.]

[Maybe he wasn't clear enough! Yeah, that had to be it.]}

I'll tear your arms and legs off!

I've done it before!

You'll be sorry.

You'll be sorry you laughed!

_[Wrath...]

Sorry? Why would I be sorry?

[Well, if anything, Henry's not backing down.]

That sounds like a great idea! You can tear off one of my arms, and then I can tear off one of yours! How's that sound?

--What? No!

_{[THAT WAS NOT EVEN REMOTELY WHAT HE MEANT, WEIRD... HUMAN PERSON.]

[Although unusually for an eight year old threatened with dismemberment, Wrath looks more disgruntled than frightened. He gestures to his mismatched limbs-- one arm and leg VERY VISIBLY DIFFERENT-TONED from his other two.]}

I took this arm for myself, you can go get your own! Greedy!

_{[... Yeah, he's sort of assuming that Henry is proposing a TRADE. A trade that he doesn't want. >8( THAT'S NOT WHY HE SAID HE WAS GONNA RIP OFF YOUR LIMBS, MAN.]}

Well, what if I let you keep that arm and take your other one?

[Is this a conversation that's really happening inside Goldenrod Rocket HQ?]

[Yes. Yes, it is.]

No, because then I'd be missing an arm.

_{[Wrath says this in the same exasperated manner that one might explain why they don't plan to share the cupcake their mom packed them for lunch.]}

I'm keeping the other one till I get one that matches the one I got.

So you can't have it.

Um… I can find you a new arm? I'm sure plenty of Grunts around here would be willing to donate their appendages to the cause.

[That smile? Is not a mentally stable smile.]

No, I said 'matches'. It's gotta be from that person.

_{[THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. Wrath needs to have the arm of Edward Elric. Other arms just won't do.]}

If you bring me HIS arm, then we can talk.

Ccccannnnn Iiiiii... find you two new arms?

Ugh, no!

I don't need two arms!

I need one. His other one!

And his leg, too.

_{[Wrath straightens up, squaring his feet and folding his arms.]}

If you can get me the arm and leg of Edward Elric, you can have my arm and my leg. I'll take 'em right off and you can do whatever you want with them!

It's a deal! Tell me who and where this Edward Elric guy is and I'll have his severed body parts lickety-split!

[HENRY...]

In the meantime, you're new here, right? Haven't seen you around.

_{[NOW we're talkin'! Wrath's initial disgruntlement has more or less been shed in favor of excitement. He'd much rather take the rest of Edward's body himself, but you know, in a pinch, he sure wouldn't object to being straight-up HANDED the pieces on a silver platter. Heck, who would?]}

He's short and his hair is yellow and he wears a BIG red coat and one've his arms'n'legs are made of metal!

_{[And then, with a wicked grin that's a little too wide for his face, he gestures to the discolored limbs of his own.]}

The ones where these used to be!

_{[Jesus, Wrath, you little ghoul.]}

... But yeah, I just got here. I just woke up in a room with a bed and also Mama in it.

_{[He gestures to the Kangaskhan behind him, in case it wasn't immediately obvious who 'Mama' is.]}

[Henry's hype just gets bigger and bigger, the more Wrath talks -- whoever this weird kid is, he has a lot of similar interests, which is very rare for Henry indeed. ...His excitement drops a little when the boy mentions his Kangaskhan's name, though.]

...Eh? You named her Mama?

_{[Wrath tilts his head, scrunching his nose.]}

... Well, yeah.

'Cuz she is one.

I would've called her Mommy but someone else already has that name, so it had to be something different.

Hmm, okay, I guess.

[He shrugs.]

I dunno. Maybe she'd want to have her own name.

_{[At that, Wrath looks sort of befuddled.]}

What do you mean?

Names are something other people give you.

That's how names work.

That's how I got mine.

Well, yeah, but like... [Henry takes a moment to think about this.] You're supposed to give someone a name that's only theirs. It's like part of their identity. So by calling her 'Mama', you're basically saying that she doesn't have her own identity -- the only thing important about her is her relationship to her kid.

And that probably doesn't feel very good, for her.

_{[Wrath frowns. Humans just don't make ANY sense.]}

But kids are supposed to call their mothers that!

If it was bad, why would anybody do it?

It's only bad if the mom doesn't have another name. It's... think of it like a nickname. Most people call the mom by her real name, but the kid calls her 'mom'.

...Anyway, the point is, you should probably ask her how she feels about it! Because I might be making all this fuss for nothing, I'unno.

_{[This is all so confusing. Why are humans so complicated?]

[Declining to reply, he looks over his shoulder at the Kangaskhan. She's been so nice! He doesn't want to make her unhappy.]

[Fortunately, she doesn't look too bothered-- letting out a reassuring rumble, she plops her enormous hand down on Wrath's head. ... Thereby covering most of it.]

[She gives Henry a nod of acknowledgment, though-- his concern for her feelings is touching! TEAM ROCKET SURE HAS PICKED UP A DELIGHTFUL CROP OF THOUGHTFUL YOUNG PEOPLE THIS YEAR!]}

[You know, Greed has seen plenty of things since arriving in Johto; after eight months new people showing up is nothing short of routine for him and he barely pays attention to it.

That being said, it's usually not small children playing around with the 'Gear so that makes him pay attention right away.]

It's not a toy.

[Guess who has no idea about what Wrath looks like?]

Of course it's a toy, it has buttons.

_{[He says this as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. Why would anything be covered in stuff that's so fun to press not be a toy?]

[The screen jitters again, now at least showing Wrath's eyes instead of just a color blur.]}

Also, it's mine. I can call it a toy if I want to!

Edited 2014-12-12 20:23 (UTC)

[......

He really doesn't want to deal with any more tiny children.]

Sure, call it what you want. But if you break it, you're gonna be bored.

_{[TOO BAD, GREED. WHEN HE FINDS OUT WHO YOU ARE HE'S GONNA COME THROW ROCKS THROUGH YOUR WINDOWS BECAUSE YOU'RE A TRAITOR AND YOU SMELL.]

[But at least he can't do that through the 'Gear.]}

What? I wouldn't break it!

_{[Yes you would, you little shit. Have some self-awareness.]}

[What are you, eight years old? Yes you would.]

It's pretty fragile. Don't drop it or anything.

[And as tough a guy as Greed looks, the tone is more gentle than irritated.

....it's sure a good thing he doesn't remember Fourth Wall too clearly, but he's getting the feeling he's seen the kid somewhere before anyway.]

_{[Yeah, he would. :(]

[Fortunately (or... unfortunately, considering he's going to have to go through the whole OMG YOU'RE GREED? YOU'RE A TRAITOR? YOU'RE THAT GREED? THE ONE WHO'S A TRAITOR?? thing all over again), Wrath doesn't remember a single stitch of Fourth Wall madness.]

[So Greed's voice isn't ringing any bells.]

[There's pause.]}

... Oh.

_{[An even longer pause.]}

... What if I already dropped it?

_{[A LOT?]}

[....he's really getting the feeling he's seen the kid somewhere before.

....didn't he meet a child homunculus during the strange weekend? Greed's pretty sure he did, but unfortunately what the kid looked like is completely gone from his memory.

Running into another homunculus doesn't seem likely anyway. It would probably be the one from the other world if that happened.]

Well, if it's still working right now it's probably okay. Just be careful with it from now on. I don't know if you can get a replacement easily.

_{[Yeah Greed, it's THAT KID.]}

I didn't know it could break.

Is it broken?

Will pushing more buttons break it?

What does the pink one do?

_{[Sorry Greed, you are now the receptacle of ALL HIS 'GEAR RELATED QUESTIONS.]}

[...he can already feel a headache coming on.]

I don't know. I've never tried.

[Does he look like wants to be tech support?

...ugh. Let's change the subject.]

What's your name?

_{[Wrath has no reason to keep his name secret, so he's pretty willing to come forward with that info.]}

I'm Wrath!

Where's the sound coming from?

Is it coming from this hole?

[There's a scraping noise as he touches the mic.]

[NOPE

nope

He does not want to deal with this right now. But he doesn't hang up, either.]

Nice to meet you, Wrath.

That's the microphone. I don't know how it works, but you talk into it and whomever you're talking to can hear you because of the speakers.

Like with a phone?

I'm not allowed to use phones.

What's your name? Do you HAVE a name?

Not everybody has names.

I didn't at first!

_{[... Greed, if you know what's good for you, MAKE SOMETHING UP. HE WON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO THINK HE'S BEING LIED TO.]}

I have a name. It's [don't say Greed don't say Greed] Darius.

Why didn't you have a name at first, Wrath?

[Maybe he should pretend to find the name unusual, but that would be another lie. Telling one is hard enough as it is.]

_{[OPERATION SUCCESSFUL. Wrath has no idea who Greed is.]

[Dar-yus is a funny name. But in a surprising display of civility, Wrath refrains from mentioning this.]

[Instead he shrugs his mismatched shoulders.]}

'Cuz no one gave me one.

[....he'd been afraid it was going to be something like that. How did the kid even escape the Gate? Something like that should be impossible.

Had he grabbed the kid before Dante...]

Names are important, yeah? Good thing you have one now.

I do! It's a good name.

_{[He likes it. He's full of anger, so it feels right to be named after it. Even though it had been picked out for him by people who hadn't even met him yet.]

[If only Greed had gotten to him first.]}

[Honestly, it's not like Greed would have given him a much better name, if he thought to give the kid a name at all, but he would have been free.]

Welcome to Johto, kid.

_{[Free and named something stupid is a hell of a lot better than living under Dante's heel, that's for sure.]}

Johto?

Is that what this place is called?

Yeah, that's right. There's another place, but people all start in Johto.

[And that actually makes him think of something else.]

Where are you right now? Is it a small town or a big city?

[Oh god please don't let him be in Goldenrod...]

_{[HAHA HE'S IN GOLDENROD SORRY GREED.]}

Uh, I dunno!

I haven't been outside yet.

This building is real big.

There's even plants in it.

_{[Greed is now being treated to an extremely close-up view of a potted plant that's outside the door of the 'dorm'. ... Like, really close up.]

[... Wrath, honey, he can see it. You don't need to go closer.]}

[Oh goddammit are you serious.

Are you serious.]

My house has a couple plants, too. Makes some good decor.

[Let's... focus on that.

And not the other thing.]

I didn't even know plants could go inside!

I thought they came from dirt.

But there's no dirt in here.

_{[... Also, Wrath, those plants are fake.]}

[ah...]

Well, plants do better with sunlight, you know. But they do fine in pots with a little dirt and water.

[Should... he... mention that they're fake plants?]

_{[Not unless he wants to explain what the point of fake plants existing is to begin with. Do you really want to open THAT can of worms, Greed?]}

Really? In a POT?

With just dirt and water?

That's all they need?

Don't they get BORED?

I'd be bored if I had to live in a pot.

[Greed is terrible enough with children when they're not undead monster people so he'd rather not...]

Ah, well, they're plants. I dunno if they have opinions about these things.

_{[Wrath turns the video back over to himself, tilting his head.]}

Why not? They're alive, aren't they?

Well, yes, of course they are. But they're not thinking beings. Not like you or me, or your Pokemon. Or even animals that don't understand speech like dogs or cats.

Oh.

... Well, if I couldn't even think, then I'd be really bored stuck living in a pot.

[If he couldn't think, he wouldn't be aware of being bored...]

Ah, I don't know. I think being trapped alone with your own thoughts is far worse a fate.

_{[HE'S A SMALL CHILD OKAY, his ability to rationalize nothingness is limited. Even though he's probably more intimately familiar with it than most.]}

Well, when I was trapped with my thoughts, they were the only thing that let me escape!

If I didn't have them, I'dve just stayed there forever!

And that's awful.

[...You know, he's going to let the kid logic prevail here because Wrath does have a point in a very small child understanding of the world sort of way.]

Guess you have a point there.

[Let's avoid talking about the Gate, though, because Greed isn't going to be keeping up the bullshit act if that continues to be a topic of discussion.]

_{[Wrath looks pleased at what he'll interpret as agreement!]}

Mommy says I'm pretty smart.

[...oh wow that stings in a way he doesn't want to spend too long thinking about.]

That so? Well, it makes sense that she would.

[...MMMMMMMmmmmmm... someone's being stealthy!

...someone not doing a good job of it! Cynthia didn't know what was going on here, but... well, she did kind of have to wonder, given that if you actually figured out what was going on, you wouldn't be quite as cheerful about things as she was.

TIME TO BE THE FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD PEGASUS KNIGHT, THEN! She's only in uniform because people get on her for not wearing it, but she's... probably a little more cheerful as she marches on up than a lot of Grunts.]

Hey, kid! Having a little, uh, trouble...?

[...she's loud and probably behind him, so she might startle him a bit...]

_{[That's the SECOND time he's been inadvertently crept up on today, and while his reaction isn't quite as dramatic as it was with Henry, he still squeaks and startles visibly before whipping around, fists up, all ready to start throwing punches.]}

Trouble! NO! I'm not in trouble, YOU'RE in trouble!

_{[And then he... uh... growls. At her.]

[The Kangaskhan sighs, dragging a heavy paw down her face. ARCEUS GRANT HER PATIENCE...]}

Edited 2014-12-13 07:22 (UTC)

Woah!

[...she doesn't step back, though she smiles a little nervously.]

Hey, I'm not here to mess with you! I'm a professional heroine, so I'm here to lend a hand!

[SWEET POSE!!!]

... A... professional heroine?

_{[That's one of those words that he knows the meaning of but has never... really heard in practice. So pardon him if he's just... kind of staring at you in total befuddlement, Cynthia.]

[But she doesn't seem threatening, so at least he's not growling anymore.]}

Exactly! So, if you need any help settling in or the basic explanation, I'm your girl! All this stuff can be kind of complicated to someone who got dumped here, but it's not too bad when you get used to it!

[HE'S LESS ANGRY, THAT IS A VICTORY]

_{[... Well, she's not trying to hit or murder him or anything, so... maybe she's not that bad...]

[All the same, Wrath tilts his head, brow furrowing, and shoots an apprehensive look up at his starter. Who nudges him forward encouragingly. GO ON, MAKING FRIENDS WITH TEAM-MATES IS GOOD!]}

Um...

You're not literally going to give me a hand, are you?

Because yours are probably pretty good hands but they're not the ones I want.

_{[So, you know, it would be sort of unnecessary. :I GENEROUS BUT UNNECESSARY.]}

Haha, naaaah! That would just be weird and really bad for me...

[...she doesn't bat more of an eye at that, because hahahahahaha dad...]

...and I'm not going to give you anyone else's hand, so don't think about it.

--I wasn't gonna ask for someone else's hand!

_{[... HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN GOING TO ASK FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S HAND.]

[But Cynthia's reaction is mentally filed away under 'Okay so talking to people about limbs isn't guaranteed a good reaction'.]}

Edited 2014-12-31 00:43 (UTC)

Okay, good!

[...she grins, as though she's really just told someone not to take a cookie from the cookie jar as opposed to trying to take other people's hands.]

I know a few people who would, so it never hurts to say so!

Buuut yeah, basically the bottom line is that you ended up in another world be...cause. I'm not sure why either! I mean, I was actually trying to get to another world before getting here, so it makes sense for me, but other people were just... going about their day, I guess. It's actually a pretty nice place, though, so that's not too bad! It's just kinda like a vacation.

A... vacation?

_{[Wrath is... literally unfamiliar with this term.]

[HOMUNCULI DON'T GET VACATIONS.]}

...

You know, when you take a break from things and do something fun...?

[...admittedly she hasn't gotten one of those before this but she actually knows what they are]

_{[... His head slowly tilts to the side... and then tilts to the other side as she elaborates.]

[Yeah, he's... you totally lost him, Cynthia. HE KNOWS WHAT FUN IS. But the idea of taking a break in order to have it is weird. People do that? And don't get in trouble? WEIRD.]}

...uh... or you could go on an adventure, that's fine too...

[KID YOU KNOW WHAT AN ADVENTURE IS RIGHT]

[...there was no icons in this mun's collection to express the level of "what" Veronica Madaraki was currently feeling. At the least, she's not weirded out by this for the reasons that you would think.

Sigh. What was her life.

She watched everything happen, flinching a little as the screen violently jerks and moves and oh. That's a Kangaskhan, she's never seen one before. Cool.]

Uhh... Hello? This isn't really a puzzle.

[If Wrath ends up looking into the Pokegear, he'll see someone that's a little older then him with stitches crisscrossing across her face and on her neck.]

_{[His voice is a little muffled when he replies, because he is currently pointing the damn thing away from himself and it keeps falling sideways onto the mattress as he tries to pry open the little latch on the back.]}

Well, if it's not a puzzle, it wouldn't be so hard to figure out.

_{[FOR THE LIFE OF HIM HE CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW SO MANY PEOPLE CAN BE CRAMMED INTO THIS THING.]}

Ah, uhh....

[Well, she wasn't going to get a good look at whoever was currently trying to take apart the Pokegear like this. This was going to be a little problematic.]

It's a Pokegear. You use it like a phone, there's nothing to figure out!

[Just... kind of... trying to lean to the side and get a better look at this kid. Geeze, kid, these things are supposedly expensive.]

... Oh.

I'm not s'pposed to use phones.

But this doesn't look anything like one.

Are you sure?

_{[He turns it around again and at last she'll get to see-- well, part of him, at least. He can't be older than eight, and a great deal of his face is hidden by his out-of-control mane of uncut hair.]</sub}

[She could see why. It had barely been a minute around this kid and Veronica was already noticing just how bad he was at technology as a whole.

Resisting the urge to simply turn off the gear and walk away, she decided to be an adult about this.]

Yeah, it's a kind of phone. [She nodded, though it was likely to go unseen. Wow, that's a lot of hair.] But, you can see the people you're talking to, instead of just hearing them.

_{[I-it's not his fault, he barely knows how basic stuff even works, the chances of him actually working out a 'Gear right off the bat are pretty slim. He'll get the hang of it... eventually.]}

So they're not inside it?

Why are they so small if they're not inside it? Shouldn't they be BIG?

[She hopes so. It's difficult to actually look at the person when they're trying to pry the gear open.]

Uh, no, we're not.

It's a.... [She frowns, thinking this sort of thing over wasn't what she did often.] No, because then, the Pokegear would be too big. You see?

... Oh.

_{[He supposes that makes sense!]

[He's not gonna argue with that.]

[So instead he starts tilting the 'Gear to see if it will let him look closer at her face.]}

You have lines on your face.

[Apparently that worked.

She had no idea that it would work. Wow, how the hell did that happen.

Uh... hello there.]

Uhh, yeah, I do. They're stitches.

What's a stitches?

_{[For someone who's CAUSED plenty of injuries, Wrath isn't terribly familiar with what you did to fix them.]}

[.....CHILD.....]

They're for when you get hurt and people put you back together. They keep you... together.

Oh!

That's right.

I forgot humans don't just heal.

_{[THAT MUST BE AWFUL.]}

...Ah... [Wow, hold on. That sounds like a thing her big sister would say.]

T-they do, though. It's just that they don't heal very fast most of the time.

Well, yeah, but what's the point of that?

Getting a cut and it just stays there?

For weeks?

That's awful.

_{[... So why exactly did you WANT to be human again, Wrath?]}

[Veronica pauses, as though appalled by that Wrath just said. Then, ever so slowly, she raised one of her hands to the camera. It was painted in scars, and stitches connected it to the wrist. She looked it over momentarily.]

I think of them as battle scars, actually.

_{[In all fairness, a lot of Wrath's opinions are pretty appalling.]

[He cocks his head to one side, blinking.]}

... Why would you want battle scars?

Being reminded of being hurt isn't fun at all.

Uh, well, they remind me of what I've battled, and won against.

...It's more like, I'm being reminded that I'm still alive.

Oh!

So they're like prizes for winning?

_{[... THAT'S REALLY NOT WHAT SHE MEANT, WRATH.]}

.....

[NO.... THAT... HMM....]

Uh, I guess...

Oh! Okay! That makes more sense!

... I'd rather have a different prize for winning, though. Scars don't seem very neat otherwise.

Y-yeah, they're not. You should probably have different prizes.

[Especially since you're so young, kid.]

So, what's your name?

_{[BEING YOUNG DIDN'T STOP HIM FROM STEALING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIMBS AND TRYING TO KILL HIS MOM.]

[But we don't need to talk about that right now.]}

I'm Wrath!

What's yours?

[Doesn't stop Veronica from slaughtering thousands either. Young people, nowadays...]

"Wrath"...? [That... that is not a name, in any sense of the world.] Uh, okay. I'm Veronica.

_{[Hey, his Master thought naming her collection of undead monster people after the 7 Sins was hilarious good fun, okay?]

[DON'T JUDGE.]}

Veronee-cka?

Veronica.

That's a long name.

[At least her master didn't have a sense of humor like that.

...Hopefully. God, she'd be named envy or something, she'd hate that]

I guess... There are longer names, though, especially last names.

_{[Dante's sense of humor is kind of sick. ... More than kind of, actually.]}

Last names?

How many names do humans have?

Well, uh... ususally three.

...Sometimes four.

[She shrugged.] I only have two.

Four?!

_{[He echoes, eyes wide.]}

... How does anybody even remember that many names??

Yes.

[It's a little scary isn't it.]

...Uh, they just remember it? I'm not sure.

Edited 2015-01-02 01:23 (UTC)

GOSH.

I sure am glad I only have one!

....Yeah.

[There's a beat, and Veronica scratches sheepishly at the back of her head.]

Uh, do you have any questions? Like, about this place?

Oh, I have LOTS of questions.

Nobody seems to know the answers to any of the real important ones, though.

Like, how to go back home?

Yeah.

Or how I got here.

_{[A pause, as though something just occurred to him.]}

... Is this place what happens when we die?

[Ah, that question. The question that she had considered sometimes, and that others have asked about.

She frowned in thought, this kid didn't need to think about stuff like that.]

...No, it's not. I guess sometimes it might seem like it is, but there's a lot of us that were fine right before we showed up here. So, don't worry about that, okay?

_{[Unfortunately, Homunculi think about death a lot.]

[Both because they've already died once, and... well, when you can't have something anymore, it tends to suddenly seem a lot more fascinating.]}

Oh. Okay.

I was just wondering, 'cuz, it's really different from the place I thought I'd go.

....Heh.

[For whatever reason, that got a chuckle out of her, one that was not very humorous.]

It's different from the place I've gone to when I was killed, that for sure.

Oh! You've died?

_{[He says this sort of like someone might say 'You've broken a bone?' or 'You've had a concussion?']}

Did you see the Gate?

Yeah.

[She says that in the same way one might have agreed to getting a shot, or getting shot.]

It hurts like hell. [It's a bloody good time though. Haha... sigh.]

The... Gate?

Yeah, dying is pretty awful.

_{[He'd died a couple of times now... and even if it was impermanent for him now, that doesn't mean he likes it.]}

You know, the Gate.

You'd know it if you saw it.

_{[He pauses, rubbing his chin.]}

... Maybe humans go somewhere else when they die.

_{[He can't remember where he went before he was brought back... only where he went after that.]}

[Veronica was in the very same boat. DYING SUCKS BRO COME JOIN THE CLUB. They can talk about how painful it is to get ripped limb from limb by someone ten time stronger then you.]

...I... [whaaaaat okay man you're really confusing her??? unless... waaaait.]

Do you mean... the pearly gates? [Veronica was in no way as religious as her sister. She knew the gist of it though. You died, you go to a big gate and then you live on clouds and eat clocks or something. Maybe that was just a movie.] I don't know a lot about that stuff.

_{[Wrath blinks, then rubs his chin, frowning thoughtfully.]}

Pearly?

No... it was kind of rocky. And scary.

There's lots of eyes behind it.

Billions of eyes.

[....

..........]

W-what...?

That's where I lived until I got away.

I broke out and ran.

I don't want to go back.

It's a bad place.

......Well you don't have to go back there. You're here now. You're safe.

_{[At that, Wrath blinks and just stares at her for... quite a long time.]

[It's the first time anybody's said that to him since...]

[Well.]

[Since a time that he doesn't like thinking about.]}

... I've never been safe before.

Can it be like that all the time?

[...She'd never seen someone give a look like that. Veronica almost did not understand what it meant until he spoke.]

...Y-yeah, it can be. Keeping people safe is my job, actually. I'm a bodyguard.

[She guards bodies.]

Really?

What a strange job.

_{[But like before, he doesn't sound mocking so much as just perplexed at the notion.]}

...It's not that strange. Lot's of people have that kind of job back home.

[Likewise, there wasn't any anger in her tone, simply a determination to get her point across that her job was pretty important.

After all, it was the reason she was alive.]

I'm the best there is at what I do, too. I've taken out all sorts of threats.

_{[Wrath's main job thus far has been the exact opposite of that. Except it also seemed to revolve around taking out 'threats'. HUH.]}

Oh.

I'm pretty good at that!

Taking out threats, I mean.

_{[Hell, after his initial training, most of his missions had just involved one of the others pointing at someone and telling Wrath "Go."]}

Oh, really?

[She eyed the kid briefly. She knew better then to underestimate anyone's abilities, but... this kid seemed to have trouble with just using a pokegear. How would he be able to fight?]

_{[Well, she's not WRONG, but thankfully he's never had to handle machinery any more complicated than a gun. And even that wasn't exactly in the sense of using one. Just getting to see how it worked.]}

Yeah!

I'm a good fighter.

I'll fight anybody!

_{[His Master had seen the possibilities surrounding having an incredibly bloodthirsty, bitter potential wrapped up in adorable, harmless-looking packaging and decided WELL SHIT, HE'S GONNA BE THE LITTLEST ASSASSIN.]}

[What a coincidence, the professor thought THE EXACT SAME THING. Let's make a killing machine, and make it TOTALLY ADORABLE while we're at it.

Veronica chuckled briefly at that, even smiling.] Well, uh, maybe you'll get that chance around here sometime.

_{[A SURPRISINGLY-EFFECTIVE STRATEGY!]}

You think so?

I hope so!

Fighting is fun and I miss it.

_{[Actually, it's really only fun when you can't die, and he'll discover very quickly that here, he is no longer invulnerable.]}

[A nod of agreement. Hmm, she liked this kid's way of thinking.]

If you have any powers, you're usually not supposed to have them. But, twice a year, you can get them back. It's only for a little while, but I got into a big fight during that time.

[Judging from her grin, it was awesome.]

[There is a man. He is wearing a shirt, but it is rolled up to the elbows, and both his forearms and the skin that envelops his collarbones are covered in elaborate black tattoos incorporating strange, geometric patterns and desert flowers in twisted shapes and arrays that probably no one understands.

No snakes anywhere, though, so as far as we know, he's human. Probably. We never bothered to check.

More importantly, he is smiling, but he looks more concerned than happy. He smiles with his mouth, Wrath, but not with any other part of his body.]

Whoops! Careful with these phones, tiny human, I'm not sure if they let us have new ones if they break.

Or rather, I haven't asked.

_{[... Wait, tiny HUMAN? EXCUSE YOU, MISTER, WRATH IS... well. Hm.]

[He does want to be human. He's just... so many different kinds of not okay with becoming human like this.]

[So Cecil is rewarded with this weird, thousand-mile stare for a moment or so while Wrath tries to figure out how exactly he feels about being mistaken for a thing that he both hates but also desperately aspires to be and SUDDENLY IS but doesn't want to be. #HomunculusProblems.]

[He finally settles on asking:]}

... They can break?

Everything can break if handled badly.

Or at least, let's hope so!

--Wait, but--

Why would we HOPE it'd break?

Okay, I don't hope it will, but it's like, I hope can. Because for anything to exist forever means that it'll see the inevitable death of the universe, then spend the rest of eternity floating around in the void, and it's like...

do you really want that to happen?

... I guess not.

I spent a pretty long time floating in the void and I don't think I'd wish that on anybody.

[He's not gonna ask how that happened--he already has a few ideas--but kid, you're like, eight.]

...

It happens to the best of us.

_{[Yeah, eight different kinds of fucked-up.]}

I guess so, but most people don't get back out of it again.

_{[ESPECIALLY NOT ONES WHO WERE SUMMONED OUT OF IT AND THEN SHOVED BACK INTO IT FIVE MINUTES LATER TO ROT FOR EIGHT YEARS.]}

[Well this...is...

he warms his voice a little, so that there could be at least some reassurance.]

Very few things are impossible, though.

But let's change the subject. The past is gone and cannot hurt you any longer.

_{[He pauses, and when he speaks again, his voice slowly brightens with dawning realization.]}

... Yeah.

Yeah, I guess you're right.

This place is real far away from where I came from, right?

We're in an alternate dimension, so I'd say...yes.

So... maybe I really don't have to go back!

_{[He goes quiet for a moment, just breathing deeply and staring at something off-camera that happens to be his hand.]}

... I made it!

[Speaking of uniforms, there's some jerk in a uniform that's probably a bit too familiar. He's carrying far too many books and research notes (they're all stacked up neatly) and he's conversing with the Alakazam walking beside him.]

--I wasn't expecting an evolution so quickly, but they're more powerful now--

[He cuts himself off when he spots the Kangaskhan, raising an eyebrow. The Alakazam beside him just looks completely bored.]

...I don't recall anyone in the base having one of these. Where's your trainer?

[Don't worry about trying to get the message across to him, that Alakazam is a good translator!]

_{[Oh yes.]

[Oh yes.]

[Wrath recognizes you. Even though his time spent under Archer's jurisdiction had been relatively brief, there's just no forgetting it when someone fires rockets at you and then straps you to a table to experiment on you. That kind of sticks in your memory. You know, just a little.]

['Mama', on the other hand, has no idea about the connections between her brand new trainer and any HONORABLE HIGHER-UPS OF THE GREAT TEAM ROCKET. So she stands to attention, like any loyal Rocket Pokemon should, and nods respectfully to the Alakazam before turning to beckon to her young companio--... er.]

[The shadowy space where he'd been crouching seconds before is now empty. The Kangaskhan blinks at the Total Lack of Trainer for a second or two, before turning back to Archer and the Alakazam, shrugging a little sheepishly as if to say Well, he was here a second ago!]

[Gosh, she's had her trainer for maybe half an hour, tops, and she's already lost him. This is NOT her day.]}

[The Alakazam relays her message, looking a bit more amused now. His favorite game is hide and seek, so he definitely gets your trainer.

...Of course, his version of hide and seek is "I'm going to hide in an inaccessible area and taunt you until you come find me" so it's no surprise that Archer doesn't look pleased.]

Ah, I understand how that goes.

[He shoots a dark look at the Alakazam, who continues to look amused.]

I'm sure you'll find him somewhere. If he's new - I believe he is, I haven't seen you around before - you can send him my way if he needs assistance.

_{[The Kangaskhan nods, sheepishly scratching the back of her neck and inwardly facepalming over making such a godawful first impression-- ... and then she freezes, scarlet eyes widening.]

[Oh.]

[Oh no.]

[TRAINER NO]}

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

_{[If anyone's ever wondered what noise a fake potted plant makes as it's swung through the air like a battleaxe, it's kind of whistly. Like a wiffle bat on steroids. For the four individuals present in that hallway today, they no longer have to wonder. Because there's a child in a dumb costume now lunging at Archer (from behind another doorway that he'd managed to dart into the shadow of at the sight of his bygone kidnapper) and swinging a miniature plastic shrub that had been lending its decorative presence to somebody's office over his head.]

[He intends to hit Archer with it as hard as he possibly can. ... Which isn't actually very hard, since his new, tiny human muscles hold barely a fraction of the strength he's used to, and also, like, Archer's Alakazam is standing right there.]

[So, effective assault? Probably not, even if by some miracle it succeeds.]

[Also, there's clods of fake dirt everywhere.]}

Edited 2014-12-21 07:27 (UTC)

[Archer's reflexes have never been great and being in Johto for three years hasn't helped at all, but Alekhine - the Alakazam standing beside him - senses the danger well before Archer does and immediately throws up a Protect to shield his trainer from said danger.

..."Danger".

Archer turns to look at what the hell just happened, looking more confused than anything else at first. Alekhine just looks amused, but that's nothing new.]

What...?

[And that's about when he recognizes the wild hair and pale skin.]

You--!

Edited (html.....) 2014-12-21 07:30 (UTC)

_{[The plant snaps against the Protect and Wrath's war howl sputters out like a candle. He stares down at the ruined decoration in his hands for a second or two, baffled, before throwing it aside and assuming a fighting stance, baring his sharp, awful little teeth at the man and his Pokemon.]}

YOU.

You brought me here!

_{[IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW.]

[... OKAY NOT REALLY, but, you know, eight-year-old logic. Archer had kidnapped him once, so obviously waking up in an unfamiliar building and running into him meant that the same thing had totally happened again!]}

[Archer rolls his eyes and sighs. Of all the things he's ever been accused of, this is definitely the strangest.]

Of course, because I have magical world-hopping powers that allowed me to bring you here. Why would I even bother with that? It's been months since you escaped.

[...And years since he's been here, but that isn't the point.]

I take it you've just arrived.

_{[Well... yes, it had been months, but... but...]

[Wrath's look of angry confusion only deepens, and he scowls deeply, one canine jutting out over his lip. He'd already made contact with Lust and Alphonse, both of whom had at least somewhat tried to explain the time disparity to him, but all that had done was tie the young ex-Homunculus's brain into pretzels and on one occasion make him fling the 'Gear across the room.]

[So yeah, Wrath's growing comprehension of the logic behind this strange place he was plopped into is going great.]}

I woke up in a room. There was a bed. And her.

_{[He points to 'Mama', who is looking absolutely horrified. Her... her trainer just tried to assault a superior officer. WITH A WEAPON. OH GOD.]}

And a picture phone.

_{[He'd heard the word 'Gear' bandied about, but 'picture phone' made more sense to him.]}

And now you.

Yes, that's correct. This place is called Johto and it's nothing like home. There's no way to return home right now, so you'll have to live with it.

[...Is it obvious he has no idea how to deal with children? Because he has no idea how to deal with children.]

In this place people raise creatures like these to battle.

[...For...some reason...]

Have you spoken with anyone else here?

_{[There's a pause-- although it's obvious that whatever the kid's got for a brain in there is definitely ticking, not once does his smoldering, malevolent glare change.]

[Archer is the last person he wants to be talking to. Even talking to Lust the traitor is a more appealing prospect.]

[But this place is so utterly alien and the people here are strange and he's already realized that he can't use his alchemy.]}

... A few.

_{[He says this grudgingly.]}

Good, then I'm sure someone can explain anything you have questions with.

[You're probably on good terms with Envy, surely he'll get in contact with you eventually!]

_{[... YEAH, that conversation is... not gonna go too well.]
[It's around this point that 'Mama' shuffles hurriedly around Archer and Alekhine to put herself between them and Wrath, just in case the kid got any crazy ideas about attacking again. Shooting apologetic looks at the Alakazam the entire time. Amused he may be, but this is so humiliating!]

[Wrath's eyes narrow, but he makes no move to go past the Pokemon. She's proven already that she could probably pick him up by the hair and throw him fifty yards if she wanted to, and he wants no part in that, thanks.]}

I wanna know how to get out of this building. Tell me now.

_{[He'd been hesitant to admit to that to others he'd talked to (especially the one who'd brought up punishment for rule-breakers, but Wrath doesn't give a hoot about being 'good' for Archer.]}

Edited (ugh HTML) 2014-12-21 08:11 (UTC)

[Oh don't worry about it, Alekhine's just a jerk but he's seen some pretty ridiculous things happen in Johto, so there's no reason to feel embarrassed!

Wrath's demand earns a cold look. Archer hates kids trying to boss him around.]

You'll find the way out eventually, but you should know that if you mention anything about this organization or this place, you'll be thrown in jail. That's not to mention the punishment Team Rocket will rain down on you, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut and your head down.

[He would continue on about how Wrath should respect his elders as well, but he's pretty sure that's not going to do any good.]

Did you read the note in the room you woke up in?

_{[If Archer notices a twinge of something like fear creep into the boy's eyes, it's not his imagination.]

[Wrath is more than familiar with the concept of being punished for stepping out of line. And as hot as his animosity burns for his old captor, he's not actually willing to risk his neck now that it's been brought up again. Jail doesn't scare him, but the nebulous 'rain' of punishment from above does.]

[So although he continues to scowl, there's no bratty comeback for that.]

[He does, however, shake his head at the question. He hadn't even seen the note.]

[At which point Mama decides to make herself useful, and helpfully pulls said note from her pouch. She'd thought ahead and grabbed it on her way out of the little dorm.]}

001. [Video/Action for Goldenrod Rocket HQ]

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