Something's missing.
[In Umbra Cave, or in one of the caves that aren't Umbra Cave but might as well be, there is a woman in a Team Magma uniform lying face-down on the stone floor, half-submerged in a still pool that takes up most of the back of the cave. She is unconscious at first, and wakes slowly. Interestingly, she does not seem perturbed by waking in an
( Read more... )
It's been fairly intolerable lately. But getting better.
Of course, as much of an experience as returning to the light usually is, it doesn't usually come with...surprises of this nature. The water is what catches his attention first - or rather, the sound of the surface being disturbed, a person leaving it...not Archie. Too light to be Archie, and Archie doesn't usually follow him to this place besides.
Someone else, then. He presses back into the shadows for a moment, keeping himself unseen but unable to see anything himself as a result. The passage he uses is a dark one. He'll probably remain unnoticed for now -
...and then he hears the voice, and isn't entirely sure what he thinks of it; at the same time, remaining hidden is no longer an option. For various reasons. Let's see if he knows this one. Or perhaps more importantly, if she knows him.
Out of the shadows toward the back of that cave, then, though he'll remain close to the wall for now.]
I should say not. Though how fortunate that actually is...well.
It's a bit arguable.
Reply
She does the first thing that comes to mind and drops to one knee in front of him, sweating.] L-...Leader. [Somehow she can't get her voice under control. Ninetales, perturbed by her mistress' distress, crowds closely to her side, teeth very slightly bared.]
Reply
Let's hope you don't catch him on a really bad day, shall we?]
Mmhmm. Don't worry; you're safe for now.
[He doesn't remain where he is, though he doesn't directly approach her, either; he knows better than to do that with Ninetales on the defensive. Instead, his movements are closer to pacing, following a sweeping, steady arc, his gaze fixed intensely on her; there are several reasons why this one might be anxious around him. Some are decidedly more...pleasant than others, when the 'other' options involve things like Tentacruel and rock slides and taking great pleasure in snapping her spine.
Just the same, he's not displeased to see her. The smirk is more than sufficient evidence of that, though his gaze burns.]
I assume you've just arrived?
Reply
Now...she isn't sure she's smart enough, this time. She's able to hold his eyes for a few moments, but it's hard, and she realizes that it would probably be a lot safer not to. In fact, it would probably be wisest in general to choose the safe route, here.
Her throat is dry, and she has to clear it before she's able to speak.] A...arrived?
Reply
Well, given that you thought you were dreaming, you certainly didn't start out here, did you?
Reply
Reply
So anxious, Marge - why don't you relax? Aren't you happy to see your leader?
[ He pauses in his pacing, having contented himself with getting a good look at her; he draws his left hand back to rest it against his hip, his fingers kneading lightly into the fabric of his coat.]
Or would you rather be alone right now? I can think of several reasons why things may have changed. I wonder if they're the same as yours.
Tell me your thoughts.
Reply
Just...confused, boss.
[shut up she is not at her best right now]
Reply
Admittedly, it's a very, very good reason...but. Technicalities.]
Oh, but that doesn't answer anything, now, does it...?
But I'm in a good mood, and since you've just arrived here, for now I shall humor you - the important thing is that you're no longer in Hoenn. This place is an island; some say it's another dimension altogether. Given what I've seen, this is both the most ridiculous explanation I've heard and yet the one that makes the most sense.
It exists outside of our world. Pulls people in whenever it likes, from wherever it likes. Sometimes you get more than one of the same person, though they're not the same at all, really. For example, there's another version of myself running about right now. You'll know him when you see him; he's the pathetic, uncoordinated individual currently running around without insignia.
Just keep in mind that this place is good to its people. For a certain interpretation of 'good.' If you really need something, you'll probably get it. If you really don't want something, you'll probably get that, too. And in exchange, we're this island's toys. Expect it to alter your personality. Or maybe to cause you to wake up next to someone you don't particularly like. Maybe it'll do something to you physically. Who knows.
It has its good and bad points. I've been here for ten months now and find that outside of the occasional bout of mind-altering, I really can't complain. But we'll see how you handle it.
Reply
And she's all too aware that her safety relies entirely on Maxie believing that she's still loyal to him. What he's just told her about the existence of different versions of people is a small blessing that might help convince him...but she doesn't know how true that actually is (and he certainly might just be toying with her), and he's already noticed how nervous she is...
Safe topics. Safe topics. Maybe he'll believe she's just having a hard time digesting the information.
Right. Good luck with that.
She settles herself in a more comfortable half-sitting/half-kneeling position that she hopes she isn't too tense to pull off.] Ten months, boss? But that's...
[She'll just let that linger. Let Maxie form his own conclusion about what she might have meant. Her fingers dig compulsively into Ninetales' thick fur ruff.]
Reply
Though the gesture is casual, his gaze is alive. Burning.]
It can be considered many things, I'm sure. If you don't believe me, I suggest you wait until you've spent some time here. See the place for yourself. Get to know it properly.
[His hand tightens slightly against the fabric of his sleeve, bunching the material a little before releasing it; it's a slow, steady process, over and over, though it's something he doesn't seem terribly aware of. It's an idle motion, really - something for his body to do while his mind works. After all, he's been very aware of exactly how separate one's mind and one's body can become since Groudon had overtaken him in the cavern; if the...unfortunate incident a bit more than a month ago is any indication, this place doesn't intend to let him forget.]
And now that you have a bit of an idea of what you're looking at when it comes to this place, perhaps you'll understand why this question is relevant, Marge - why don't you tell me what was happening when we met last? Back in Hoenn - what were we doing?
Reply
I'm...not really sure. [That, at least, isn't a lie. She has a lot of memories of what happened, and even more memories missing or incomplete, but she can't seem to put them in any kind of order right now. She isn't even exactly sure what she'd been doing before waking up here. That's...perturbing, now that she thinks about it, but it can be addressed later, when her former leader isn't staring at her like that.]
Reply
Why don't you actually try for me this time? Give me a guess.
Reply
Reply
He doesn't remember.
Should he remember?
He remembers the cave, and the feeling of heat searing through his body, and dimly wondering why it wasn't killing him from the inside; then there were...thoughts, something else's thoughts, and he had dropped out of consciousness at one point, and when he had awakened he didn't...exist anymore, his body wasn't his own and his thoughts were still something else's, patterns he didn't recognize, and his memories and understanding were gone for the time being - all of it back now, of course, but there's still the undeniable feeling that none of it is...his. His body, his mind, his life - none of it is really his anymore; it belongs to someone else, though he can't say whom, and he imagines eventually that this thought process, too, will be wiped clear like whatever existed before this, and his essence will die but his body will remain and it's. It's.
It's very complicated.
But...right, she'd mentioned something. An event. An explosion of energy. Accessing this part of his memory always feels more like looking through a perfect stranger's photo album and realizing that you recognize some of the locations in them, but...technicalities, really; the longer he thinks about it, the more it starts to come back to him. There had been the battleground, and Archie - no, not Archie, Kyogre, that had been Kyogre - and the...the children had been there, the boy and the girl...he doesn't remember if Marge had been there as well, but it's possible she might have been. And there had been light and heat followed by an immense sense of loss, like something had been...taken from him...ripped and carved out by force, and he had been left so empty except for that orb and he had wanted it gone because fuck it was killing him get it out get it out get it out -
...
It's then that he realizes how tense he's become; his right hand has shifted, tracing light, repetitive patterns over the center of his forehead while he thinks, following the same trail over and over - down from the hairline on both sides, circling between the eyes, back up the center.
He doesn't recall starting to do it; again, it's amazing how disconnected the mind can be from the body's activity. He stops abruptly, though the look in his eyes still isn't quite...right.]
...right. I think...I know what you're talking about, yes.
Reply
After a while, she shifts a little awkwardly.] So...what now, boss?
Reply
Leave a comment