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Who: Isaac McDougal (

glaciates) and Solf Kimblee (

explosivecombat)
Where: Goldenrod City
When: April 4th, stupid o'clock in the morning
Summary: It's been quite awhile since Kimblee and Isaac have seen each other in person.
Rating: PG-13 because Isaac likes to cuss.
Log: [It's been a long time since he's seen Kimblee in person. This hadn't bothered Isaac at all back in Amestris - he went for seven years without seeing the man and would have ignored him for even longer had he thought Kimblee wouldn't help him take down the Fuhrer on a single-man rampage through Central. Nevertheless, things are different here. He's missed Kimblee.]

[It started as a texting conversation late at night; neither of them could sleep and Isaac had figured now would be a great time to catch up. He's the epitome of social grace, after all. Regardless, Kimblee had apparently been up as well and after a few texts they realized they were both in Goldenrod. It didn't take long for them to plan to meet in the outskirts of the city. Isaac has never been fond of the city, but he's still not prepared to take on the Gym Leader here. It might be easier to move on and travel back here later but...]

[Anyway, now isn't the time to dwell on whether or not he's stayed here for too long. He has other things to worry about - like wondering where the hell Kimblee is anyway. Kimblee wouldn't stand him up, right...?]

[...not that this is some sort of date or anything. Wow, that's... possibly the stupidest idea ever. Of course it's not a date! He doesn't even like Kimblee like that anyway. Jeez.]

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[Kimblee has no reason to stand Isaac up - there was no point in agreeing to this sort of thing in the first place if he was just going to fail to show up altogether, you know - but at the same time, getting to their arranged location had taken a while; the primary reason for this had been that he had to detach Archer first, back in their room at the base. He tries not to think too long about the fact that he considers this place their room now, but the fact remains that it is; he's been rather happily ignoring the more awkward parts of the last conversation he's had with Archer as well. He can't disregard things like that forever and he knows it, and he has no intention of doing that anyway; however, for now it's unpleasant. This place is changing him somehow, rendering him soft; he doesn't like it.

It's a major factor in the anonymous Rocket attacks and his behavior on the network, and he knows it; that likewise bothers him, but less so than directly dealing with whatever shifts he's been undergoing personally, and he's been perfectly content to take the lesser of two evils lately.

However, such unpleasantness is also a major factor in his willingness to meet Isaac at ridiculous o'clock in the morning in the first place; conversations with Isaac tend to relax him, and he's found that he quite enjoys spending time in the other alchemist's presence. It isn't in the same way that he feels compelled to spend time with Archer; he can't exactly explain why, nor does he really feel a need to. It's just. Something they do once in a while here, apparently.

...ugh, this place...

However! Regardless of this place's influence and the general (unsure) that it brings, he's almost eager to meet with Isaac after all that's happened recently; once he's managed to get Archer detached from him and prepared to go out, he does spare the man one brief moment of hesitation before he leaves. He knows that Archer's lost Sheska recently, and when Kimblee himself had intended to leave him behind for good, he had waited until he was asleep before leaving in the middle of the night. It won't look good if he isn't back before Archer wakes up; there will likely be problems that arise if that's the case. He considers for a good long moment...

...and then quite simply turns the alarm off. Problem solved!

When he does meet with Isaac, he has Dorian out with him again, more as a force of habit than anything, but he knows that Isaac isn't exactly too fond of the city and those that might be in it. He also doesn't feel the need to tell Isaac that he recognizes the routes that have been in the background of Fuhrer Bradley's last two posts to the network; for whatever reason, it seems that Wrath is staying close to Goldenrod.]

...Isaac.

[Kimblee has never really thought anything of calling Isaac by first name, as opposed to the more formal title/last name combination that he usually utilizes for everyone else, or referring to him by his State Alchemist title. He's been doing this since Ishval; part of this is because "Major McDougal" is a goddamn mouthful to spit out on the battlefield, should he need to in the middle of some sort of crisis, and part of it is because he flat-out refused to yell instructions at The Freezer. There was basically no way around it that wouldn't sound dumb; as such, Isaac it is.

His next words are light, teasing; it's good to see him.]

Really, calling me out in the middle of the night like this - people will say we're in love.

[Why does this always happen? The moment Isaac thinks about something really awkward someone else has to come out and say it. Good job, Kimblee - you've been here for five seconds and already you've got Isaac's brain in tears.]

What...?

[Oh come on, don't be ridiculous, Kimblee! They're not in love. Obviously. Because that would be... stupid. They're both straight, after all.]

You know it's only because I have trouble sleeping.

[Isaac normally doesn't tsun quite this hard. Good job, Kimblee!]

[...wow, overreaction much? As it stands, Kimblee just laughs a bit, though the sound is soft, with no cruelty behind it.]

Relax, Isaac; I'm joking. Whatever the reason, it's good to see you again.

[You should know better than to joke about something like that...! Especially when it's with Isaac of all people. He's kind of the reigning king of social fail here.]

...Yeah, it's good to see you too.

[Just let him awkward over that for a moment before realizing that he should probably say something else. This is how conversations work, right? ~~See, he's learning!~~]

What are you doing back here? You're pretty over-leveled for this Gym. Why didn't you beat it before?

[Because clearly that's the only reason you'd be in town here. There's nothing else interesting about Goldenrod at all.]

[Oh, come now. Why would he be serious about anything like that?]

Well, I just started undertaking this badge challenge recently; last time we were in Goldenrod I didn't have the chance to defeat the Gym, due to all of the...ah, problems with Archer.

[He doesn't seem bothered or angry about any of that, however. Just something that happened, really.]

How has your own challenge been going - have you defeated Miss Whitney yourself yet, or...?

[...That's a good question, actually... It's not like he wants you to be serious about something like that!]

Oh, yeah. That.

[Well, that's a bit awkward. Needless to say, you two have reconciled, right?]

No, I haven't. I had some difficulty with the trainers in her Gym.

[Fucking Metronome, man.]

I'll be challenging her soon though; I'm not interested in staying here for too long.

Ah, of course - still not fond of the cities?

[His tone implies that he knows full well that's likely the case; the question is more a formality than anything.]

You don't have to be so nervous here, you know; despite the fact that this 'Team Rocket' organization has been a bit more active lately, in terms of what they're capable of doing there's far less of a threat here than there ever was in Amestris. It's reasonably safe, if a bit chaotic at times.

Of course not.

[Kimblee's statement there will get a pause from Isaac - he certainly hasn't forgotten his conversation with Ouka. Team Rocket's becoming more active, and even if they don't pose a threat to someone like Kimblee, they're still posing a threat to other people here in Johto.]

Yeah, that's true. What do you know about Team Rocket?

[The question is very pointed but not accusing - Kimblee's been here for longer and he seems to know a lot about what's going on here. Certainly he knows more about the organization!]

Hm?

[That question has gotten Kimblee's attention rather sharply; he knows that Isaac had responded to the latest attack, but he isn't exactly liking the tone, there. Please tell him this isn't determinator mode kicking in...]

Well, they're a criminal organization centered around the theft of Pokémon, general fearmongering, and attempting to reap as much profit or benefit as possible from those former two. They usually aren't active like this; in my time here, they've only done one massive, organized raid, so last month was highly unusual, with both of those attacks in such a short period of time. However, that looked more like a single person acting on his own rather than anything properly organized and thought out by Team Rocket; I'd think that a raid on the city would have been far more large-scale if it were done under proper orders, judging by what happened several months ago.

Why?

What did they do?

[Nope, sorry, deets first, answering your question later.]

Was it something like this? An attack on innocent people? Why the hell are they doing this - just to obtain Pokémon?

[That's ridiculous; Isaac certainly doesn't look pleased.]

[Kimblee just shrugs the questioning off, really; he's not nearly as dismissive as he was in Central Prison, but at the same time he doesn't seem too inclined to give any answer that Isaac might actually want to hear.]

Don't expect me to explain their logic; I may be a criminal, Isaac, but that doesn't mean that all of us think alike.

To answer your question, however - yes, it was an attack on innocent people; they assaulted the Magnet Train that runs between here and Kanto. That attack is unlikely to be repeated, however; it resulted in a loss, and people are wary now.

[Isaac falls silent, staring off to the side deep in thought. Kimblee makes it sound like they really aren't that much of a threat - but whoever it is behind the most recent attacks certainly sounded threatening. Even if it is just one person, they haven't been caught and they're probably going to strike again.]

That's all you know about them?

[There's... really no way to ask this without being incredibly obvious, is there? Fine. He'll just have to be obvious about it, then.]

What about recruitment?

Recruitment?

[Wait, wait, wait, what]

Isaac, what in the world are you talking about?

[Oh come on, don't give him that look!]

Someone has to take down this organization before they try anything else. It would be easiest to take them out from within.

[See, he learned something about strategy from Mustang!]

I'd rather not have to work with them but someone has to do something about Team Rocket.

[ASJKHDCSDFGDKFGH THIS IS BAD

THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD GODDAMN]

...and you intend to do this yourself?

[REALLY

REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD]

Of course. I wouldn't subject anyone else to this.

[He's a martyr, clearly.]

[UH

UH SHIT

HOW DO WE SALVAGE THIS]

And who will you have supporting you from the outside? This sort of operation works best with that sort of support already secured.

I'm working on that.

[Yeah uh. His support is currently a sixteen year old spoiled brat. But she's got high leveled Pokémon!! That probably don't listen to her...]

There must be other people here who don't like what Team Rocket's doing. I'm sure I can find others.

[...But that involves being social...]

You seem pretty concerned.

[Are you going to help him this time??]

[Isaac, this is -

...this...this is...

...this is perfect, hang on.]

Shouldn't I be? It's clear that you trust me a good amount, if you're willing to tell me about this, even after what happened in Central Prison. And besides, I don't see why I wouldn't be concerned, given that in their previous attack on the train, they seemed focused on stealing high-leveled Pokémon - in a place like that, with space constraints being what they are, I couldn't use my more powerful creatures, with the possible exception of Dorian; logically speaking, this would make me a potential target as well.

The question, then, I suppose, is whether you trust me enough to allow me to assist you with this.

[Yeah he... probably shouldn't trust you as much as he does... But that's not really the point now. He does trust Kimblee more than almost anyone else here - though exactly why is still something he's not entirely sure of. It doesn't matter. Kimblee's offering to help, after all.]

Of course. Anyone who's willing to stand against Team Rocket and what they're doing should help.

[He hesitates for a moment and then adds something else.]

...I do trust you, Kimblee.

[Excellent.]

In that case, then I'll ask you to hear me out on this - as I said before, I'm already a criminal. We're both well aware of my reputation, as is anyone who came from Amestris. Your intentions, when explained, could be considered altruistic; the same can't be said for me. Attempting to join a criminal organization wouldn't be seen as out of line for me, at least not by those who don't know me terribly well - and to be blunt, most don't bother to get to know me. It doesn't bother me any; it's simply fact.

Allow me to infiltrate the organization. My creatures are powerful enough to defend me, should I be found out, and my reputation won't be damaged any further than it already is. Between you and another individual I've discussed the recent attacks with, that would be at least some support on the outside that I know to be reliable.

[...That's all very true. Kimblee can certainly defend himself.]

[So why is Isaac getting a really bad feeling from this?]

You're sure you can figure out a way to get into the organization? And what about your...

[...your Archer...]

...friend? He'll be okay with this?

I can't make guarantees; after all, I know about as much about the recruitment process as you do. So I can't promise results, no. At the same time, I have less to lose from a failure than you do.

As for Archer, I don't have to report everything I do to him, nor is he...I don't know, surgically grafted on. He doesn't have to know.

[...Are you sure he's not...?]

I suppose that's true. Be careful, alright?

[He wouldn't want you getting hurt because of this, after all.]

I'll be certain to keep you updated on any progress that's made.

[...he pauses for a moment after that's out there; Isaac, what is he supposed to do with concern for his well-being, he can't.]

Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself.

Yeah, I know you can.

[Still, he doesn't want you to get hurt, alright?]

Then relax a bit, all right?

[No really

this concern

it's kind of killing him and not in a good way]

[Yes but. Relaxing is hard...!]

Thanks. I didn't think you'd be interested in helping out.

[Especially since last time you kind of laughed him out of Central Prison...]

[...someone's...still a little bitter about that, aren't they...]

Of course, Isaac; don't mention it. It's good to see that you trust me with this.

[Just a little bit!]

Yeah, of course I do. You've... been really helpful here, Kimblee.

[There's no way this will end horribly in future.]

Well, don't go spreading that around, mind you - I have a reputation to maintain and all.

[Oh of course not!]

Sure, Kimblee. Whatever you say.

[...And besides, who else does Isaac even talk to? Besides Hughes and Ouka, that is.]

[...Isaac, talking to Hughes has more potential for humiliating outcomes than you think. Just. Saying.

However, as it stands Kimblee just smirks, offering Isaac a light shove against his shoulder.]

Oh, come now. They'll say I've gone soft.

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