(Untitled)

[eflamberge]

[The flamboyant, blue-haired Count is standing somewhere smack in the middle of Azimuth Plain. He seems to have no Pokémon out whatsover, not even Fang, his trusty Zangoose, or Raymond, the newborn Zangoose-morphing baby that he's been parading around the Island. He is, however, carrying five Poké Balls, as opposed to the usual six, and his sword.

Comments

[aquaboss]

[There's no reason to think that Edmond is waiting for Archie to show up; but here he is. Actually, he's been looking for Water-Type Pokemon and... somehow wandered over here. Those strange new Pokemon have been captivating his interest of late, so he's been looking around for those too.]

[Oh look, it's Edmond. Edmond with a sword. Edmond without the baby Zangoose. Come to think of it, he looks tense - maybe even scared.]

Hey, Count. What are you doin' out here with that? [A nod at the sword. Archie has Gyarados out with him today and the large Pokemon seems pretty content with watching the surrounding area with bemusement.]

[eflamberge]

[Seeing Archie approaching, Edmond relaxes. An Archie's presence could definitely be helpful right now. He's going to try to keep Archie by his side while simultaneously trying to have him believe that nothing especially important is going on, i.e. that he isn't waiting for a murderous madman. He smiles, though it's a little strained.]

Ah, I'm just... out here. [He gestures vaguely to their surroundings.] 'Catching some rays', as it were. Beautiful day, isn't it? And I assume that by 'that', you mean my rapier. But your question doesn't quite stand - you've become acquainted with the island's dangers, haven't you? You can't blame me for taking more precautions than absolutely necessary.

[aquaboss]

[Oh Edmond, if you had any idea how this Archie and that Maxie got along instead of hating one another's guts... You'd want him out of here.]

[Archie lifts an eyebrow at the expression. That doesn't seem normal. Or maybe what he saw the other day wasn't normal. Either way, it's a dramatic twist from the other day.]

Yeah, I know 'bout the island's dangers. [Though he's thinking Silent Hills-dangers - a sword sure would have been helpful against those things.] Still, a sword seems a bit outdated. An' that answer of yours leaves me wonderin' if that's all there is to it. [He folds his arms, waiting for Edmond to spill the truth. And he's not going to take no for an answer, buddy.]

[eflamberge]

[Edmond raises a finger in total "I'm going to teach you something!" style.]

Of course that is not all there is to it! I have plenty more swords at my house here, and even more at the Flamberge mansion back in my world. I collect them. You should come see them sometime, they're a breathtaking sight, if I do say so myself.

[Tra la la, were you trying to get him to spill something? Because he's totally pretending you wanted to go in a different direction entirely and switching the topic.]

[aquaboss]

[Collecting swords? Well, he's heard of weirder hobbies.]

Yeah, guess they would be. But what are you really doin' out here? To be frank, you look scared stiff. It's a pretty drastic change from the other day.

[What was that? Trying to switch topics on him? Not gonna work, buddy.]

[eflamberge]

[He smiles more genuinely then.]

Oh, I'm like an open book, am I not? I get told that.

I'm here to meet someone.

[aquaboss]

Yeah, you could put it that way.

[Meet someone? Yeah right. Looks more like you're going to...] You're here to fight someone. [It's not a question, though his eyes go from the five Pokeballs to the sword with silent curiosity. How do you plan on doing that, exactly?]

[eflamberge]

Fight? Oh, no. [A brief, quiet laugh.]

Like I said, the sword is only for self-defense. I carry it all the time, except when I'm taking Raymond out - I wouldn't want to endanger him.

You see, the person I've been waiting for... is you, Archie.

[ 8D Let's try this~~ ]

[aquaboss]

[Pokemon, sword. What else is he supposed to think? Archie doesn't look persuaded by the first statement, but the second causes him to pause.]

What d'ya mean by that? [Are you trying to play headgames, Edmond? 'Cause Archie doesn't like headgames.]

[eflamberge]

[He nods.] Yes! Somehow, I knew I would meet you here. I just wanted to talk to you more.

[At least that much is true. He wants to talk and keep you with him so he won't be alone when he faces Maxie... ;A; It's not like he wants Archie to shield him or anything - Edmond can take care of himself - but... it's easier to fight menaces together, isn't it?]

[aquaboss]

Huh, a pretty crazy guess on your part. I only ended up here after chasin' after some strange Pokemon. Not sure what it was, but it sure was fast. [It's too coincidental, but he'll believe it for now.]

So what do you wanna talk about? [It definitely would be, if Archie was inclined to fight with you. Of course, he's already lost miserably to that Maxie once, and doesn't intent on reliving that any time soon.]

[eflamberge]

Well, let's see. Have you met the right Maxie yet? The one I mentioned to you.

And, ah, a strange Pokémon? What was it like? Can you tell me more?

[Let's talk, talk, talk~ ]

[aquaboss]

The right Maxie? [Oh right, he means the one that he likes, which isn't the crazy one.] No, can't say I have.

Oh, it was some kind of weasel, or something. Speedy little thing, I lost it somewhere around here, but it was down by the beach when I found it. Dunno if it's a Water-Type or not...

[eflamberge]

I see. It's a shame you haven't met him yet. When you do, let me know.

Do you think we could be able to find that Pokémon together? I could send out my Zan-

[Oh, right. Um. His Zangoose isn't here.]

... My Absol, maybe. He has a great sense of smell, among other things. If something is out of place, he should be able to sense it immediately.

[aquaboss]

Guess I will. [Not that he's looking forward to meeting any other Maxies.]

So you were waitin' here for me to talk to me, an' now you wanna go off in search of this Pokemon? [Suspicious boss is suspicious.]

[eflamberge]

[He shrugs and smiles.]

Well, I don't see why not!