A fresh start; [train plot epilogue]

[these_balls]

11/23/11 18:49
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with this important news bulletin.

The woman on-screen looks polished and cool, but the scene behind her, the Saffron Train station, is total chaos. Evening is descending, and her neatly styled bob is periodically lit up with the red and blue of police lights. Under her, a scroll bar reads: MAGNET TRAIN HIJACKED, CURRENT MISSING POKEMON COUNT: 43.

"Hopes were high following a shareholder change that allowed for the completion of the Magnet Train renovation project. However, unexpected chaos arose today during its maiden voyage. The train was hijacked by the notorious Team Rocket about two hours into the trip; they went so far as to knock out the conductor to set up a bomb in the cab, threatening to blow the train off-track if passengers didn't hand over their pokémon."

The camera pans out to various images of people, young and old, being taken out in stretchers. A few crying faces, hands cradling empty pokéballs. Several Nurse Joys, all looking haggard, are accompanied by Chanseys and Blisseys to heal the poisoned.

"Luckily, some brave passengers were aboard, and most of the hijackers were apprehended or taken out. Many were injured, but no lives were lost—though many precious pokémon are now missing. While police here in Saffron work on taking in the captured Rockets, a concerted effort is being made on behalf of the Viridian and East Johto Police Headquarters, servicing New Bark and Cherrygrove, to find any pokémon lost in the Indigo Plateau. The Elite Four have generously volunteered their services, but this may delay the renovation in the battle halls and further push back the date at which they'll be accepting challengers."

A Jenny walks up to the newscaster's side, looking grim. The announcer politely hands her the microphone, which the police officer accepts with a nod.

"We currently have several Rocket members in custody, and are issuing warrants for several others--"

The image cuts to pictures and video showcasing several escaped Rockets, and some portraits and names. Over it, the Jenny's voice continues.

"If you have any information regarding these individuals, we ask for your cooperation in bringing them to justice. Our hotline is 1-800—"

Click. Darkness.

Ariana's eyes trail upwards from the remote control and settle somewhere around her boss' elbow, as if afraid of rising any higher. The silence hangs heavy in the room, and not one of them dares break it save for the dying hum of the enormous television. She can feel the heat rising off Archer, standing next to her, and it makes her tense. They could lose their jobs over this; they could lose more than that. It depends entirely on the whim of the man in front of them.

Certainly, this is what they'd wanted, but it's strange to find herself once again on a lower rung of the food chain.

His chair swivels, and they collectively hold their breaths. His mouth is a thin line, but neutral rather than disapproving. Just being under his scrutiny is overwhelming. Being in his presence feels like being in the middle of a roaring crowd. She wants to please him; they all do.

"Satisfactory," he declares, tossing the remote control to the desk with a clatter. "This will suit our purposes just fine."

They exhale.

"What next, sir?" Ariana dares, lifting her eyes.

"We wait," he informs her, letting his chin rest on twined fingers. "Count our gains. Train the new recruits. When the moment is right, we'll strike again. Patience is a virtue, as you well know."

"Yes, sir," they chorus.

"Good. Well done, and you are dismissed."

They turn and they march, like good Growlithes, his eyes burning into their backs. Ariana is both mournful and relieved to be out of the office.

And then Petrel opens his mouth.

"So that was a disaster, but it was a satisfactory disaster? Pardon me if I don't follow."

Proton rubs the bridge of his nose. "It wasn't meant to succeed. It was meant to be a red herring. Think, Petrel."

There is a pause, presumably while Petrel thinks. Anticipating that this may take a while, Ariana pipes up.

"The mission had three purposes: first as a loyalty test, secondly to capture pokémon, and thirdly to waylay the population."

"It's that third one I'm having trouble with."

Archer materializes at her side, looking amused. He arches a brow. "Don't you see, Petrel? This way, we're hiding our biggest asset. We already own the train line."

[[OOC NOTES:
      - You may post IC reactions to the broadcast here.
      - If your character was caught/was sighted/defected from the Team/dropped out/etc, now is the start of their two weeks of police dodging/community service/jail time! Have fun.
      -We're working on working out Kanto details and are hoping to have them out by the end of the week, keeping our fingers crossed. We hope you'll bear with us and use Bulbapedia for the time being. Gym leader levels may be modeled on those of their Johto counterparts.
      - If your character's pokemon was stolen and you're desperate to get it back, there will be opportunities.
      - This isn't the last of the Rockets! Sit tight for more nefarious scheming coming your way. ]]

Comments

[Video/Audio/whatever]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Heather had considered maybe going on the train trip just for kicks, and to spend time with some of the friends she knows were going ... but then laziness had won out.]

[When the news broadcast had come in the next morning, she was lying on her stomach on her bed, blearily scrolling through all the network posts with some toast in one hand. Do de do, random person complaining about calls from Joey... somebody having trouble with their Gyarados... Magnet Train disast-- oh SHIT MAGNET TRAIN DISASTER.]</sub>

Ho-lee ....

<sub>[She watches the news bulletin, suddenly wide awake.]

[.... BRB CALLING UP ALL THE FRIENDS SHE KNEW WERE ON THAT TRAIN.]



[ooc: I'm in total crunch-time as I come to the last couple weeks of my hiatus, so responses may be slow BUT if your character is a pal of Heather's and was on the train (I've been totally out of the loop so I'm not sure who participated in the plot and who didn't, sob) feel free to tag right here and assume she called yours up to see if they were okay!]</sub>

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[Well, this is one phone call he hadn't been expecting.]

...Heather? [This is a hello from the hospital bed 8( ]

[Video]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[SUP MERLIN. Been awhile, huh?]

[Needless to say, Heather winces a little at the sight of Merlin's location.]</sub>

HEY-- uh... yikes. They really did a number on ya, didn't they? ... You okay?

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

Not as bad as it could've been. [If a few cracked ribs and other injuries could be counted as "not that bad"]

Guess you heard about the Rockets taking over the train?

[Audio]

[her-mouse-jesty.livejournal.com]

[She answers in Audio, so heather doesn't see her injuries yet.]

Hello, Heather.

[Audio]

[foolishwren]

_{[.... 8( MINNIE.]}

Minnie?

Hey, is-- ... you were on the train, right? Is everything okay?

... Are YOU okay?

[Audio]

[her-mouse-jesty.livejournal.com]

... We're all alive.

[how much can she say without making Heather freak out with worry? oh boy.]

...

[oh well. she sighs.]

Several of us got injured and robbed.

[video]

[tapestodiane]

<sub>[He's on his way to the hotel when he hears the familiar little ring tone from his Gear. True to his style he'd resisted anything more than the most basic of care, ignoring the protests of the Joys when he simply walked out of there. He'd allowed them to clean the multiple shallow wounds and give him something for the toxic gasses he'd inhaled, but other than that, he just wants to lie down and will himself better.]

[That's how he normally does it. It hasn't failed him yet, even if it does leave some discomfort, pain and lightheadedness when he navigates the streets through the buzzing crowd.]

[The name on the screen is a little unexpected, but appreciated, and he accepts the invitation for video transfer with the habitual ease and without much thought. He might look a little dazed, but composed.]</sub>

I'm okay, Heather.

_{[He figures that's why she's calling - he was there to see everyone film and broadcast before he made way out of there.]}

[video]

[foolishwren]

_{[It's definitely why she's calling. Admittedly, this is a bit of a new thing when it comes to... well, Cooper. A few months ago she wouldn't have considered him enough of a friend to specifically check in on his well-being. Now, though? How things change.]}

Good to hear. I just thought I'd... you know. Make sure.

I just saw it on the news and...

[video]

[usedrage.livejournal.com]

[Ken will answer, half-surprised and blinking at the gear. He's got a bruise on his cheek, and a cut on his forehead (but the latter was inflicted by his own damn Pokemon, so he can't really complain about it). All in all he's mostly intact... under his shirt may be a little bruised, but he's probably in better shape than anyone else she's talking to right now.]

Heather-san? What is it?

[video]

[foolishwren]

Hey, kiddo...

You doing okay?

_{[She's wearing a frown. She doesn't like the look of that bruise... hopefully that's all that's wrong. She knows kids can handle bruises, but after being told that Team Rocket had specifically targeted kids with some of their injurous actions, she's kind of... pissed about that.]}

video

[newhero.livejournal.com]

[you will be happy to know that this minuscule Mudkip-- barely even the size of one's hand-- made it through that debacle of a train ride completely unscathed! the pokégear is also apparently very delicious.]

[Sora's more or less unscathed as well, just a mite roughed up. honestly, he generally looks worse if you wake him up before 9 a.m. excuse the garbled sound as he tries to pry the Mudkip off the 'gear. or maybe it's the other way around.]

Heather? What's up?

video

[foolishwren]

<sub>[WHOA sooprise Mudkip. THAT'S NOT SORA-- ... okay THAT is Sora.]

[BRB SCRUTINIZING. ... Okay, he looks all right. Still, though. No one should be roughing up her little bros. >:(]</sub>

Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were on the train, right?

[Audio]

[shiromadoushi]

[[Sounding oh so tired as he answers.]]

Hey...

[Video/whatever] He'll be on video, but they can answer with what they want.

[pianokeys]

[The T.V. was usually on, in case someone wanted to watch it; the Other Father himself kept himself busy looking after anyone who needed him, or making music, or tending to the garden... It was a coincidence that he happened to see the new bulletin.

He was a man used to bad turns in life, but it didn't mean he ever liked them when they reared their ugly heads, especially when children were involved.

The children... John, Rose, Popura. They could be hurt, and there was nothing he could do but stand there, looking at the T.V. with his jaw dropped.

His mind went blank for a moment, as it always did when bad things happened. These had nothing to do with the Other Mother, his wife wasn't here to stop him from getting involved... But something in him was scared, worried for the children, worried for what he might find if he contacted them. He associated bad happenings with the death of children.

No, he had helped Coraline, he had gone against what he classed as the worst force possible. He could do this and he needed to have more faith in himself. The children would be fine. The children would be fine.

He began to contact anyone he knew who was on that train.

The Children Would Be Fine.]

video;

[usedwindything.livejournal.com]

[Oop! Phone call!]

Oh! Hi, Father! [He seems cheerful as usual, despite of the fact that he was just on a bomb-laden train a few hours ago.]

[Video forever]

[pianokeys]

[He gives a mental sigh of relief. You're not dead, this is better than he had hoped. And that cheery disposition makes him smile.]

You all okay over there, kiddo? I was worried.

[Audio/Video]

[vengefulyears]

[Ever since Clive found out during the meeting that they would be hijacking the Magnet Train, he's been worried about the Professor's and Little Luke's safety, and as much as he wanted to tell them not to go on that train, he couldn't say a word about it. Now that it's happened and the news has gotten out, his worrying only gets worse from there.

So now he's going to give each of them a call and make sure they're okay. They better be okay.]

Re: [Audio/Video]

[hintcoinplz.livejournal.com]

[Oh, someone's calling!]

Hello?

[Audio]

[vengefulyears]

[And there is a panicky Big Luke on the line.]

Luke! Are you all right?!

[Video]

[puzzling]

[ After a few rings, Layton finally picks up. He's not too badly injured. It's obvious that he has gotten into a few scuffles, but nothing too badly. Maybe just a cut just under his left eye, a tattered jacket, and bruises, but nothing too bad. ]

Luke, is everything alright on your side? [ Of course, always worried about others first! ]

[Video]

[vengefulyears]

[Oh, Professor... Clive immediately frowns when he sees the other man's condition.]

Perfectly fine. ...I hope those are the worst of your injuries.

[Video]

[rooster-shout.livejournal.com]

[Today wasn't a good morning. Especially since Billy had no idea if any of his friends were okay. He's calling all of the ponies.]

I hope the bad guys didn't hurt them.

video

[youfartknocker.livejournal.com]

[ Look who just found his Gear!! Yep, this kid. ]

Uh, huh huh huh. Those guys are cool.

[hasearthbooks.livejournal.com]

[Gorthan has escaped, and is safely back in Goldenrod. Except his picture is among those that are broadcast - there's a warrant for his arrest out. This does not surprise him in the slightest. Hell, he's surprised he hasn't been captured already. Perhaps that would have been a better outcome. Perhaps then he wouldn't feel as shattered and miserable as he is feeling now.

He has plans for his two weeks of hiding - things that he had calculated he would be doing before the mission even started.

But still, that doesn't mean that, on a cold, lonely night, he won't be found on Routes 34 or 35, half narrating his uncomfortably existing sorrow to the night sky, half hoping that the Policemen there will notice him and be competent enough to recognize him.

Because he feels he needs to pay for what he's done.]