Spring Cleaning: the beast wakes;

[legendarybeasts]

Who: Suicune (legendarybeasts), Rocket operatives and bystanders in the area
Where: Route 7
When: May 8th, 8:30PM
Summary: Rockets capture Suicune.
Rating: PG-13
Log:

[It runs. The wind carries it, fog is its mantle, and the ground weeps dew at its passing. It has known only endless sleep for so long, and now, it has awakened to the scream of the grass and the clouds, knowing in its heart that the world's Order is not being kept. The Old One sleeps too, too deep, not watching, and then they all fell after it.

But then it heard whispers, up in its cold mountain hideaway where pure crystal water flows in trickling, shimmering rivulets. The water whispered to it, wake up wake up, I am hurt, and it did. Its brothers sleep still, their consciousness tickling at the back of its mind like a reassurance. It does not know what awaits, only that it must run, and seek, and destroy.]

Comments

[these_balls]

[They're not typically in the communal areas of the base much; they each have their own offices, when they're not off on business. And lately, there's been a lot of business. Archer hangs up the call on his earpiece before someone speaks up.

Archer's Houndhoom's head snaps up, followed immediately by his trainer, both appraising their interlocutor with sharp eyes. A Grunt; they all look similar in their black armor, but if Archer had to guess he would say non-native, they just have an...air about them that says they haven't spent their lives breathing clean air. At Archer's greeting, he nods back, but makes no other outward gesture of acknowledgement.

The question makes him pause, briefly, gauging his answer before he replies.]

Study it, Agent. It will be turned over to Proton's team for inspection. The goal is to harness it.

[determinator]

That's it?

[Archer does sound a bit disappointed, but in all honesty, what else could you do with it? It would be important to figure out what it's capable of before attempting to use it.]

I see. I assume you plan on utilizing it to its full potential after you've studied it.

[Because really, that would be a waste. He's done questioning that, however.]

I'm afraid I never caught your name, Executive. I am Colonel Frank Archer of the Amestrian military - a title that means nothing here, of course.

[Not that he won't use it! It's kind of hard to drop it, even after seven months.]

[these_balls]

Yes, Agent, that's it.

[Whether Archer is being intentionally cryptic or not is another matter entirely, but there's a shadow of a smile on his mouth. He doesn't comment on the agent's assumptions, definitely preferring to leave 'harness' vague. As it is, they have no idea how long they'll actually be able to keep Suicune under control, and that's if they capture it.

They will, of course, but Archer has always preferred caution to optimism.

At Agent Archer's introduction, one of his brows lifts in quiet amusement.]

Agent Archer, is it? I am Executive Archer.

[He lets that hang for a second before continuing. Their world hasn't had things like 'militaries', so the title leaves him cold, and he hates the feeling of ignorance.]

A man of war. [That, too, a foreign word. Johto has never warred with Kanto, or with Hoenn or Sinnoh. At least, not in the living memory of man.] 'Amestrian'? Is Amestria your homeland, then?

[It probably sounds funny to the other Archer, but it's a logical linguistic assumption.]

[determinator]

[Executive Archer? That is not funny, Johto. No, really. Putting someone in charge of this team who happens to be named Archer and isn't him? Unfair, really. Well, don't worry Executive. He'll take Team Rocket out of your hands someday~]

Amestris, actually.

[He's heard it before here. It doesn't particularly matter; he's been away from home for eight months. Most people would probably get homesick. The only thing he misses is the power that came with his rank.]

Indeed; ours is a militaristic nation. From the looks of it, Johto isn't.

[...That's... assuming Johto by itself is a country. He's not entirely sure what it is.]

[these_balls]

[Very doubtful, Agent Archer, but you're welcome to try.]

I see. [Amestris...he turns the name over in his mind, as if testing it, imagining it on his tongue. It sounds strange, in a way that doesn't lack appeal. To think, an entire world, and not a single pokemon. He isn't certain whether that's fascinating or horrifying.]

Oh, but we are, Agent. We merely express it differently.

[To make his point clear, he puts a hand on his Houndoom's head, feeling the horns. Is that not what their pokemon are? Soldiers sent to do battle? Is 'generals' not what they are?

Humans do not fight, but that does not mean they are never belligerent. That is a trait inherent to humanity, across every known dimension, and it is certainly true in the pokemon world.]

[determinator]

[Archer's smirk widens at that. Aww, it's cute how you think Pokémon are similar to actual soldiers! ...Just ignore the fact that they actually are.]

Of course. Pokémon are fascinating. To be honest, an army of Pokémon would have been far more useful than the soldiers I commanded back home.

[At least a Pokémon could have used Protect and not died in an array!]

[these_balls]

You truly fight human-to-human. How... [barbaric.] ...straightforward. [He's imagining some kind of twisted method of population control, not even going to lie. IS THIS HOW YOU CURB OVERPOPULATION OR SOMETHING]

An army of pokémon would be difficult to control with any success, unfortunately. In that regard, they're as independantly-minded as human soldiers. [There's a reason why the traditional number is a maximum of six, and many have less. The smaller the number, the more easy and effective the team, or so goes popular wisdom. It's something Archer believes in, as a matter of course; with Rocket numbers swelling, coordinating all of them becomes more and more of a challenge.]

How many were under your command?

[determinator]

[Straightforward is one way of wording it, Archer...]

That would be why there's a limitation on the number of Pokémon we're permitted to carry, correct?

[It's not really a question though, and Archer's perfectly fine with moving on at the Executive's question, Archer's smirk goes quite dark. It's a good thing the mask is on - this is the closest he's gotten to openly crazy-facing at anyone.]

Seven-thousand. That's not including two alchemists - one who specialized in the creation of chimeras and another who could alter the chemical components of anything and make it explode.

[He's quite proud of his alchemists, thank you!]

[these_balls]

[That's the dictate of conventional wisdom, yes. Five to a hand, and the in-case. The League just made it a rule, which eventually made turned into basic convention once the PC system was put into place. Archer doesn't have a chance to explain it, however, not when Agent Archer pulls out that number and the expression in his eyes turns cheerfully wicked.]

Seven thousand? Under your direct command? [He can't imagine how that could possibly work, and even suspects it to be a bald-faced lie at first. There had to have been subdivisions of some sort--seven thousand is more than the current swollen entirety of the Team, and more than the population of some of Johto's entire cities. They must have bodies to spare in this 'Amestris' place.]

[That said, the agent continues, but this time the new, foreign words only serve to strike at Archer's imagination.] Very impressive, Agent. If I may--what is an 'alchemist'? [If Agent Archer could kindly take the hint and also explain 'chimera', that would be lovely.]

[determinator]

Yes, under my direct command. [Well, that's not mentioning the fact that Mustang was there to oversee him, and then the Fuhrer showed up anyway, so it was more like Archer was babysitting the troops. Still. For a moment they literally only had him to respond to. It was wonderful. Until the array went off, but we're not discussing that!]

Ah, an alchemist is a scientist. They study the way things work and create arrays to alter things to their whims. For example, there's an alchemist who specializes in fire - he heats the air and ignites it with a snap, creating a controlled flame. [...That's how it works, right? Well anyway...] The two I was working with were capable of making anything exploding using the chemical composition of whatever it was he wanted to explode, as well as his array. The other created chimeras - fusions of two animals or animal-human hybrids - with his alchemy.

[...He has no idea how Tucker's alchemy works, so there's no reason to try to explain that!]