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
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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.]
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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?
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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.]
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Why don't you actually try for me this time? Give me a guess.
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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.
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After a while, she shifts a little awkwardly.] So...what now, boss?
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The look fades quickly in favor of that easy smirk, however, and his gaze is less scrutinizing now - at the very least, he seems content with the answer she's given him for the time being.]
Well, to start with, we're not alone on this island. Mitch is here, and he appears to be the one from our world, not a duplicate; that would be the good news.
The bad news is that Archie is also here. He appears to have located one of his admins - the woman. Angie, I think her name was? [Of course, he knows full well what her damn name is; Archie's been insufferable for weeks. But that's irrelevant.] However, that doesn't really matter anymore - with you here, that puts Team Magma back at an advantage.
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[He tips his head slightly; there's something that's been bothering him. Nagging at his thoughts. Something about the timing...it's not -
...hm.]
Still willing to fight, then?
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[That Maxie's most likely still intending to continue working toward a battle between Groudon and Kyogre - well...she'll do what she can to sabotage that goal, but as long as little seems to be at stake, she can go along with this for now. If only to keep Maxie's eyes off her.
And if there's the chance for a little fun on the way...well, thay wouldn't hurt at all. Not a bit.]
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It was such a nice try, though.]
And are you going to stay on my side this time?
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What...what d'you mean, boss?
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[He begins pacing again. Circling her.
Predatory.]
Don't get me wrong, you know. Physically? You're lovely as always. But there are some things you can't conceal from me. Marks. I can sense it in you, you know.
[His fingers shift upward, sweeping lightly over the center of his forehead again, though his touch doesn't linger.]
Perhaps you haven't learned to feel it. But you aren't the only one between us who's handled the Blue Orb. It. Leaves. Marks. And at the time of that explosion...the Blue Orb was still within Archie's body.
It's very dormant; I wouldn't worry about it too much as far as your behavior goes. But if you're from the time you claim you are...why can I sense Kyogre in you, hm?
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Courtney freezes for a second, her fingers digging hard into Ninetales' ruff.]
I-I...I don't know what you're talkin' about.
[It's difficult to talk; her throat seems to want to close up completely. As she speaks, though, she's already shifting position, ready to move. She'd never be able to stand against Maxie's Pokemon for long, but...but if she can just distract him, put him off balance enough to give her some time...
Ninetales is growling, hard and edgily. It's almost inaudible except that she can feel it through her fingers.]
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[His tone is sharp, snappish; it doesn't last long before shifting back to his normal way of speaking, though there's a definite sense of aggressiveness that remains behind his words as he continues.]
I'm not here to punish you, Marge. That's been done for quite some time, as far as I'm concerned. You don't have to fear me anymore; it's over.
Now why don't you just relax. Stop lying to me. It doesn't help you any when you lie to me.
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