Sometimes, quiet is violent.

[explosivecombat]

Who: Solf J Kimblee (explosivecombat; anyone in Olivine City who wants to engage him, really. OPEN LOG, do your thing, tag yourselves in
Where: Olivine City
When: Slightly backdated - morning of February 8, 2014
Summary: Somebody wanted a war. You're going to have an investigation.
Rating: PG-13? ...look, if things go badly this is pretty much Kimblee going Michael Bay on Olivine City, so.
Log:

His timing had, admittedly, been poor.

Namely, the three-day time period he'd thrown down was not accounting for the sudden snow; while he could hold the fort reasonably well in below-zero temperatures, that had never really been his idea of a good time. Fortunately, the most important of those bombs he'd photographed had been set prior to the announcement going out - it wouldn't do to be acting suspicious in public after a bomb threat, after all; those he hadn't set before then...well. He'd been more than capable of waiting until those who were going to move had actually moved before sending Alekhine and the non-human Archer out to go get those taken care of. They're rather skilled at...convincing people that they really, really want to be elsewhere all of a sudden, after all.

The Alakazam is nearby but out of sight, having been instructed to keep an eye on things for him (as he's fully aware that he's not going to be able to one things get underway); the Gardevoir is at his side, as he always is during these sorts of games. His usual white suit has been abandoned in favor of sharply-tailored black, with a black shirt buttoned clear up to his throat beneath it and a bloodred tie around his neck; his face is obscured by the usual hooded mask, long ponytail tucked up beneath the fabric.

It's a lovely day today.

He's got something in his hand that he's playing with once in a while; something that he can rather cheerfully buttonmash if he feels like it, apparently, as there are a good amount of buttons on it. He presses a few of them now, almost idly; he pauses for a moment before clicking the red one at the top of it.

Hopefully no one was partial to a few of those indie bars toward the outskirts of town; that explosion is going to be a large one.

Let's begin, shall we?




[OOC: Okay, apologies for the delay but RL punched me in the throat. AS IT STANDS, HOWEVER, the deal is currently this.

There are currently eight bombs planted throughout the city, including the one that just went off on the northern side of town, because Kimblee clearly hates hipsters this morning and has decided that they can't have nice bars. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to find either the bombs or the asshole detonating them. Or both, if you all can manage, let's not sell ourselves short. Don't worry, he's somewhere within the city.

You're welcome to search the city if you wish; I'll gladly guide you through that part with meta directions in brackets - letting you know what you find in certain locations, if anything. The NPCs in certain locations (the hotel, the Pokémon Center, those hardware stores Blake was checking out earlier, the guards at the lighthouse) will not remember any suspicious activity having occurred, but they will have really large conspicuous holes in their memories if pressed. And hey, I'll guide you through that as well, if you have something to say to them.

Basically, feel free to investigate at will; throw a location in your comment subject, wherever you want to search. Let's make a game of it.]

[OOC PART II: Here's your current counter, guys.

Bomb 1 - hipster bars, northern side of town: DETONATED
Bomb 2 - Olivine Inn: LOCATED / NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 3 - docks, southern side of town: NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 4 - cargo holds, western side of town: DETONATED
Bomb 5 - specialized shops, city center: STILL ACTIVE
Bomb 6 - restaurants, city center: NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 7 - location currently unknown: STILL ACTIVE
Bomb 8 - location currently unknown: STILL ACTIVE

You've got your work cut out for you, Hero Squad. Godspeed. :|b ]

Comments

[explosivecombat]

[Whether you're looking for the scent of the guy or not, there's something Orthrus is likely going to catch long before that - that being the scent of chemicals that are definitely not supposed to be anywhere near a place like this, that seems to be emanating from directly underneath the dock.

And if you go to check that out, Walter, it's not...obvious, per se, but you'll likely be able to catch a glimpse of something...blinking? Just visible between a couple of the planks.

GUESS WHAT YOU'VE FOUND.]

[beholdmydemons]

[...Oh, okay, he may not know exactly what a bomb looks like but by the amount of freaking out his dog is doing he probablaaaaand that sure is something blinking.

He tells Orthrus to back off a ways (don't get it near fire, he knows that much) and steps away for a moment himself, mind racing. How much time does he have? Jostling it around might set something off, he was told, but...

He recalls Orthrus and sends out his Drapion and Raticate, quickly explaining his idea to them. Muriel sinks her claws into a plank, holding it steady while Samuel gnaws through on either end, giving the blinking light a wide berth. If nothing happens when they carefully lift away the first chunk of wood, they'll remove a few more the same way, opening a hole over the mysterious-possibly-dangerous device.]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, at least you have yet to explode the dock. You are Doing Well!

...that said yeah that sure is a bomb strapped to the dock there. Just kind of chilling. Blinking. Not any exposed wires or anything, just a lot of black casing, from the look of it. At the rate you're going you are going to drop that thing into the damn ocean, boy, because explosive devices weigh something.]

1/3

[beholdmydemons]

[...Okay. So they have a bomb. They need to do something with it. Throwing it somewhere it can't hurt anyone is looking to be the best option. And the obvious answer is...the ocean.

1) Take a boat out and throw it. This is stupid. He's not sure where to find rowboats, he couldn't row out far enough fast enough to get it out of range (judging by that first blast), and he'd probably get himself killed.

2) Fly out with Edgar and drop it. This is stupid. Edgar is made of fire.

3) ......


8|a ]

2/3

[beholdmydemons]

[He sends out Gertrude and explains the plan. The plan is to take the bomb up, then out - south over the ocean, veering east so as not to drop it over any boating routes, and dropping it in a clear, deep patch of water. And it has to be done quickly.

Gertrude's pupils dilate sharply.

Yes. This must be done as fast as possible. Is she ready for this?

She was born ready.

They carefully put holes in the planks, lift the precarious cargo, thread and knot rope handles to keep it steady. And then...she ascends.

3/3

[beholdmydemons]

[Like the sun in the noon sky, she reaches the zenith of her flight. The peak of her inexorable destiny. She is transcendent. In this moment...she will be fast.

Her legendary dance begins.

Autotomize. She sheds her earthly form.

Tailwind. The heavens make unto her a chariot.

Agility, thrice. She becomes the mantra.

And when her journey takes form, a cosmic vibration resounds, and that vibration is nyoom.






godspeed you crazy fuckin fastbird]

1/2

[explosivecombat]

[...WELL OKAY THEN

moment of silence for the bomb tbh, holy crap]

[explosivecombat]

[O...kay. Now that that bomb is going to do a whole lot of nothing outside of maybe sink really hard, what are we doing from here? You can always continue trying to find a scent trail, orrrrr you can head out to parts unknown. Choice is yours, man.]

[beholdmydemons]

[Well first we're giving Gertrude all the pats in the world when she gets back because all the pats for fastbird. Yay fastbird, praise fastbird.

And now we're going to see about finding a scent trail because seriously fuck whoever thought this was a grand idea. Hopefully that very distinct chemical smell was just as distinct while the thing was being transported.




someone else can deal with the giant fuckoff hole in the dock okay let's bounce]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, if you're trying to follow that very distinct set of chemicals, you are going to be quite in luck, because Othrus does seem to be picking something up! Something both chemical and decidedly human. ...and perhaps a human who uses entirely too many chemicals. jfc was the dude wearing cologne or something, what kind of fancy motherfucker wears cologne to the fucking docks. Like, even Alfred isn't this level of "poncy shit."

Moving on.

That scent trail will be taking you toward the city center; however, just because the guy you're after is a patient psychopath doesn't mean he'll wait forever.

Hopefully no one was planning on anything terribly important being shipped today; one of the cargo holding areas a good distance to the west, past the end of the docks, is going to be going up in a rather impressive concussive blast.

Right about now.]

[beholdmydemons]

[Holy sh-

The thought of turning around and abandoning the trail to run to the site of the explosion doesn't quite cross his mind until after he realizes he's still moving, urging Orthrus on. They have Pokemon, he tells himself. They can take care of themselves. Plenty of people will be there. He needs to see where this leads.

It works. They're staying on the trail.]

[explosivecombat]

[Well, the more populated areas of the city are increasingly filled with more and more nervous people in the streets, because these explosions are kind of coming from all the hell over - they don't seem to be centered in one specific location, they are going off all over town and that is definitely Not Okay, Not Okay at all.

But at Walter's urging, we will be following that scent trail to the...hotel, um. That most certainly is a hotel full of, you know. People.

One of whom is presumably your mad bomber.

So how are we doing this thing?]

[beholdmydemons]

[...Well, hopefully they allow Pokemon inside, because we're doing this by strolling right on in like we totally have a room here we're absolutely supposed to be here. Does it go to the elevator or stairs?]

[explosivecombat]

[...Why, yes, Walter, he wanted to be standing in an elevator containing a bunch of people preparing to go about their day, holding a bag full of chemicals while "The Girl From Ipanema" plays jauntily in the background.

Stairs, boy. Hustle.]

[beholdmydemons]

[HUSTLING

And hey, guess what we're doing when we find the door this scent trail leads to? HAVING A DRAPION PUNCH IT DOWN SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER oh god i'm sorry hotel management]

[explosivecombat]

[WELL HOPEFULLY YOU'RE NOT MAKING THAT EXACT EXPRESSION BECAUSE JFC CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FACE I mean.

If he's at all fazed by the door flying off the hinges with great force, it doesn't show in his demeanor; this is likely assisted by the fact that he's got a full black mask over his face, rendering his features indistinguishable, as well as the fact that his Gardevoir is still on guard and able to deflect the door into a somewhat more harmless landing spot on the bed.

He's still got the detonator on him; he's toying with it a little, turning it over in one of his gloved hands. But he doesn't seem to be pushing any buttons for now; he's sitting calmly at one of those tables that seem to be a staple of all Generic Hotel Rooms.

He doesn't speak, though he does glance at that Gardevoir; you're getting telepathy instead of actual words, the thoughts simply appearing in your head, foreign and obviously intrusive. Protocol, you see. Protect your identity until the end. Surely you understand.]

< It's a pleasure. >

[beholdmydemons]

[Walter goes rigid at the first note of the voice in his head, and Muriel pushes her big armored scorpion way through into the room, followed by a bounding Orthrus who lands in front of his trainer in fighting form. They all freeze, then, claws and fangs at the ready as Walter stares, eyes flicking around the room, Gardevoir-mask-detonator in a tight, quick survey.

He would attack if not for those buttons. A detonator isn't a familiar concept, but he knows that buttons do things and it's not hard to guess what things those might be in this situation.]

You're "Seth". [It's not even a question-statement. He just doesn't know what else to say right now. He'd been planning on going for the throat.]

[explosivecombat]

[He tips his head at that.]

< I am. >

[He doesn't move to get up, though he does shift a bit in the chair, crossing his legs at the knee. Clearly, he doesn't seem to think he's going anywhere.]

< Are you here to arrest me? >

[beholdmydemons]

[...Honestly, he doesn't know what to do now. With the buttons, and who knows how many more bombs out there, his hands are...loosely tied - he's not naive enough to think Seth wouldn't eventually set them all off, but with other people out there aiming to do roughly what he did, he can't provoke the man into setting them off any sooner than otherwise possible. And he can't exactly walk away.

He pauses, then shrugs, trying and probably failing to look like he knows what he's doing. God, that talking thing is disturbing.]

Hoping to maim you, more like. [He bites his tongue before he can say anything about "cowardly hands". The rough idea here is to not have those hands slip.]

[explosivecombat]

< Have I angered you that badly? >

[He twitches a little, though he doesn't seem terribly displeased; more like he isn't entirely sure what to do with himself.]

< Normally I would say that it's some misguided attempt to be a hero, but heroes aren't nearly so ruthless, in my experience. >

[beholdmydemons]

Do I have to be angry to think that's worth fighting against? [With a little...headtoss back towards...the city in general? You get the point. What is even going on here?] If a clean kill may as well be a scratch... [another shrug. He's still not letting his guard down, though, gaze drifting between the man and the Gardevoir and watching for movement from either of them.]

[explosivecombat]

< Are you trying to claim you're not? Humor me and tell me why you're bothering, then. >

[beholdmydemons]

[...He feels like this is a trick question.] Do you think you can confuse me?

[explosivecombat]

[He seems to laugh a bit at that, odd and breathless-seeming, though there isn't any genuine sound to it.]

< No, no. It's merely curiosity, nothing more. >

[beholdmydemons]

[....

Lord, his shoulders are getting a workout this morning. Shrug.]

I don't like you. I don't like your whole band of scheming jackals, and I don't like you trying to upend this world. I think you should be beaten back down, so I'll throw my weight against it, simple as that.