route_1065 | One day we'll see our names in stone where fires burn

Entry tags:

One day we'll see our names in stone where fires burn

Who: Roy Mustang (

king_of_flames); Solf J Kimblee (

explosivecombat)
Where: Goldenrod City
When: Backdated to the afternoon of June 18.
Summary: Ace Alchemist Investigations IV: Discussing Hughes, notes, and various other whatnot. And hopefully not erupting into some sort of fight in the process, um.
Rating: ...how do I ratings. PG? PG13?
Log:

It had been a while since Kimblee had been in Ilex Forest last, and he had practically jumped at the chance to return; as far as he was concerned, it was...well, pretty much a forest full of sentient bombs, and as such it was more than okay in his book. This trip had yielded more exploding things than had been there last time, and both of the things Kimblee had returned with didn't mind being carried, much to Archer's flailing chagrin; Archer had also complained a good amount about how they were never going to leave, though in the end it had been time constraints, not Archer, that had eventually gotten Kimblee out of the damn forest.

After all, he had an appointment to keep.

Mustang had left instructions to meet at the train station, and Kimblee had every intention of doing just that; given the context of their last discussion, he didn't doubt that Mustang wanted answers of some sort, but that didn't mean that Kimblee was going to show up entirely unarmed - that afternoon saw him sitting on a bench near the platforms, Dorian's head propped in his lap like a dog's while Kimblee ran his gloved hands through the Ninetales' fur. He seemed casual enough, but the fact was that Dorian was one of his most powerful; he was also remaining alert for any signs of Mustang's approach - he couldn't be sure whether he was actually arriving by train or had just told him to wait there for the sake of meeting with him in public, to make sure that he really had come alone. Either was equally likely; he couldn't say he blamed Mustang any if it was the latter, and the former simply wouldn't surprise him.

For the time being, there wasn't much to do but wait.

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"The 2:00 train from Saffron City will be arriving shortly at Platform 3," came a voice over the public address system. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, a large group of people came streaming out from the platforms above. Roy, in full uniform, was not difficult to pick out of a crowd -- and he was walking among the people who had just arrived by train.

It didn't take him long to spot Kimblee, though. When he did, Roy broke off from the crowd and approached.

Kimblee wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for, but he wasn't surprised that Mustang was in full uniform; many of those from Amestris didn't seem too willing to wear civilian clothes, even here. He vaguely wondered if he would have been the same way, had he gotten a full reinstatement; it was easy for him to assume that he wouldn't, that he would do the smart thing and not wear clothing that would ensure he would be so easily identified, but somewhere in there he suspected he would be doing the same thing.

It wasn't anything he dwelt on for too long; at the very least, it ensured that Mustang was easily seen, and he was somewhat pleased for that much - being approached from right out of nowhere wouldn't have been terribly appreciated.

His hand stilled against Dorian's fur; Dorian looked up, displeased at the fact that he was no longer being spoiled, then turned his head to follow his trainer's gaze. He didn't seem too impressed by Mustang over there; between all of the other Amestrians with the abovementioned uniform habit that Kimblee met with, he had long ago ceased to take those in that particular odd uniform as a threat, and he promptly proceeded to go back to nudging Kimblee's arm, seeking pettings.

Kimblee shot the Ninetales a look that couldn't have been more made of "...Really?" if he'd said it aloud, before giving his attention to Mustang.

"Good of you to join me; it's been a while." The words came easily, his voice casual, and he wasn't shying away from eye contact any; despite that, strictly a formality. "Name your location; it matters very little to me."

Roy did his best to maintain a neutral face. That said, he wasn't eager to get this started, and his body language showed that much. Roy held no trust toward Kimblee; he only believed that he would be honest this time because they held a common interest.

"I wouldn't mind finding a place here to talk. Or, if you prefer, I know an outdoor café not far from the station. As long as it's somewhere with plenty of other people making conversation. Make it harder for eavesdroppers."

Kimblee tipped his head a bit to the side as Mustang spoke, nodding after all of that was out there. "Good. The café will work well, I think." If for no better reason than such a place was likely a private establishment; outdoors or not, it was less likely that others could have infiltrated it without the owners' knowledge.

He had to wonder how utterly paranoid this would seem to those he had met here - to Emmy or Crow, or to the residents of Johto itself. He couldn't say that he minded too much; they were naive, after all. From worlds where the "good guys" always won in the end.

Standing up involved physically moving Dorian; being the spoiled brat that he was, Dorian quite simply did not want to move. Kimblee promptly recalled him, not in the mood to get in Dorian's version of an argument - namely, a staredown that tended to end in one of them pushing the other to the floor, depending on who had the faster reflexes and could move before the other managed to block - and rose to his feet, batting wrinkles that may or may not have been there out of that white suit.

He wasn't exactly thrilled about starting either. He wasn't wary of Mustang, exactly - he wouldn't trust the man with his back, but he could trust that he would likely cooperate as long as Kimblee had answers for him - but the topic was incredibly unpleasant for various other reasons.

He retrieved a satchel that had been shoved under the bench, out of the way and generally out of sight of those arriving due to Dorian being in the way; that done, he tipped his head a bit in the direction of the exit to the station, the meaning clear. Shall we?

However, he wasn't interested in remaining silent for long; there were things to be asked, some more idle than others. Asking things about Mustang's current activities was out of the question for now; best to keep it to the topic at hand, as unpleasant though it was.

"How did you find out about the Lieutenant Colonel's disappearance?" The question is straightforward but devoid of anything that may have been snide or pointed - asked through curiosity only. He hadn't exactly discussed this sort of thing with anyone else, as it was one of those things that was wildly inappropriate in most circumstances, but for now it was relevant. "Was he with you at the moment, or...?"

Roy didn't seem fazed by the display with the Ninetales -- this wasn't the time to be amused by such occurrences. He nodded at Kimblee's gesture, and got to walking once the other man was on his feet.

"No. His Pokémon came to me. Two of them, anyway. I remembered the same thing happening the first time that Fullmetal disappeared. I contacted others, just to be sure, and sure enough, his team was distributed around the region.

"And now it's your turn. How did you find out?"

"I suspected that something may have happened perhaps a day or two before that bit of text you posted to the network, but nothing was confirmed until then." Kimblee didn't seem bothered by that, exactly - or at the very least, there was no bitterness in his voice. "I checked my belongings and found something that I had previously given him among them. However, given that three-day blank period had occurred shortly before...let's say that I had reason to not think anything was amiss at the moment, given how that went in December.

"I wasn't in the practice of personally contacting him over the 'Gear, and I had no reason to find the fact that he wasn't at his apartment to be unusual. It was suspicious, but easily explained with alternatives."

"I see." That had seemed very like Kimblee; notice clues that lead to a suspicion, then wait until that suspicion is either confirmed or disproved. This also confirmed another of Roy's suspicions -- that none of Hughes's Pokémon had come to Kimblee.

After that, though, Roy had nothing more to say. They left the train station, and Roy made a left turn, in the general direction of the main road.

While it wasn't unheard of for Kimblee to act on his suspicions - he would have been rather dead in Briggs had he not at least put buffers in place before he knew for sure, after all - if he was going to be blunt, this hadn't been anything that affected him in the end. He had been fond of Hughes, certainly; he hadn't trusted him, as Kimblee trusted very few, but trust and fondness were entirely separate matters as far as he was concerned.

So yes, he was rather fond of Hughes; he respected him, to some extent. Were he to delve into more...nonsensically sentimental thoughts, Hughes had tended to confuse him a great amount - he was one of the only people from his version of Amestris that treated him as a normal human being rather than a general pariah, or with the general uncertainty that one offers a snake that one isn't sure is poisonous or not. He couldn't say that he didn't deserve it, nor could he really say he minded all that much - really, if he were the sort to be that easily offended by his reputation, then he wouldn't have carried out the actions that had earned it in the first place; it was genuinely that simple. At the same time, Hughes' treatment of him had been...nice, perhaps.

At the same time, he couldn't say he really felt anything at Hughes' absence. He had been annoyed and suspicious at Johto's timing with regards to the disappearance; the implications had been unsettling, and he had spent quite some time the night after the confirmation alternating between poring over those notes and writing some letters of his own. But when it came to the man himself, there was nothing. Hughes was here once, and he wasn't anymore; that cold knowledge was all. It wasn't as though he could have prevented it; finding out sooner would have done nothing. There was no point in dwelling.

Hughes was here once. He wasn't anymore. And while Kimblee was content to follow Mustang, wherever he was going, the idea of doing it in silence wasn't exactly his idea of pleasant; silence has grated on him for a while now, and the background music here...let's say that it had never really helped and leave it at that.

"I take it you're still seeking a way back to Amestris yourself?" Again, the question was most likely just idle curiosity, if his tone was anything to judge by; at the same time, should Mustang be actively trying to return to Amestris, it would make this discussion decidedly easier.

"Of course. You don't think I'm collecting badges for my health, do you?" If he could, Roy would be content to remain in one city and operate from there, traveling for purposes of bolstering his roster more than for pursuing badges. "Right now, the badge theory is the prevailing theory. I intend to follow it while keeping my eyes open for any other possibilities."

Kimblee wasn't going to argue with that any; he had his own thoughts on the badges and all this Elite Four...whatnot, but all of that was something to be discussed in more detail once they arrived at their destination.

"I can't guarantee anything I have will be useful, but again, that is a topic that Hughes and I tended to take interest in, while he was here; should you find anything to be of interest in these notes of ours, you're welcome to them."

It wasn't much farther. The café was in plain sight by that point.

"I wouldn't be much of an alchemist if I didn't try to overturn every stone that looked promising, now, would I?"

Kimblee smirked a bit at that, though the expression wasn't cruel - simply amused, really. "Fair enough, Mustang."

He fell quiet for a bit after that, though it wasn't for lack of anything to say; it was more a matter of getting his thoughts in one place. He knew, going into this, that this would probably be awkward; he hadn't anticipated exactly how so. "Civil discussions with Mustang" weren't exactly a common thing, as occurrences went; casual conversations were things that he could do, but when it came to the actual substantial part of the conversation, the time being, he would be content to let Mustang direct it, should he see fit.

Roy wasn't much for conversation quite yet, either. At least it didn't take them long to reach the café and get seats. Roy ordered a glass of iced tea and half a turkey sandwich.

Eating wasn't anything Kimblee was in the mood to deal with right now, personally; actually working out ordering when given several options tended to be a production that he didn't feel like getting into in front of Mustang. Coffee would suffice for now, simply because he suspected that the blood-to-caffeine ratio in his system was entirely too high for this conversation.

Or...non-conversation, as the case was turning out to be.

"We can't avoid it forever, you know." His words were brisk, but not annoyed; just incredibly straightforward. It wasn't as though he had anywhere to be, but still...

"I wanted to wait until we were here until we got to the meat of the conversation." Roy scanned the crowd, looking to see if there was anybody who seemed suspicious. After attaining some degree of satisfaction, he began. "So, first off. What have you got on your side of the table?"

Kimblee reached down to where he had set that satchel from earlier at his feet, retrieving something from it and setting it on the table; the notebook was thin and moderately expensive-looking, leatherbound. He didn't open it, rather settling for resting his left hand on it, gloved fingertips brushing lightly over the cover; there would hardly be a point in opening it, as none of the information contained in it was bluntly-stated.

"The primary basis of what we were working on was in regards to those three-day blank periods; we met up after the incident in December for the sake of posing theories and seeing what logical conclusions could be formed from them, if any. We met a second time - "

He cut off suddenly, and for a second there he seemed openly confused, brow knitting a little in frustration; the moment passed quickly, however, and he eventually just shook his head, starting again.

"My apologies - it was only the one time that we met in person; we had arranged for a second, but it didn't come to pass."

He paused. Shook his head again, slightly, as though to clear it. "There's a reason for the discrepancy, I assure you, but for the time being, let's ensure that we're on the same page; what do you know about those three-day periods - what have you been told, or worked out for yourself?"

Roy hesitated. That was the first time he's ever seen Kimblee do something like that. However, he urged himself to recover quickly.

"What I know is that, after every one of those periods, I have odd dreams. Dreams of events here that should otherwise be impossible, with people who shouldn't be here."

Kimblee nodded a bit at that; he'd noted the hesitation, but he didn't comment. "It's the same way with everyone else I've spoken to; they lose three days, and then they have some incredibly vivid dreams for a while, some of them strange to the point of practically being hallucinations."

He drummed his fingertips down idly on the cover of that notebook. "People can speculate all they want about what happens in my head, but first of all, let me assure you that I've never had problems with understanding reality. I don't hallucinate, and while my thought processes may not be considered normal, they are lucid, at the very least. I've never had any difficulty with missing time, and my referring to remembering everything you've seen is incredibly straightforward, you realize, as my memory is eidetic. My mind doesn't make up nonsensical things to fill gaps in memory, because there are no gaps to fill; the clarity varies a bit once in a while, but I remember everything as it was, and most memories are incredibly detailed. As for my dreams? Those are usually boringly literal - daily routines and conversations and the like, nothing too elaborate, but again, very detailed.

Needless to say, I was not amused by awakening only to find that not only was it three days later, but I couldn't call up any memories of those three days. I was equally not amused by the fact that I was suddenly hallucinating in my sleep."

He paused for a moment, closing his eyes in a slow blink before continuing. "I sent out a message via text a few days later - that day you saw me outside the casino, do you recall that? Hughes responded to the message; eventually, I ended up in his apartment to discuss the three-day blank period. It shifted eventually to discussion over who was in charge of Johto, and possible ways of finding out how to get at them.

What was odd about the conversation was the fact that about halfway through, we both started to feel as though we had had that exact conversation before, despite having never discussed that topic that either of us could recall."

He stopped then, more for the sake of gauging reaction than anything else; this was, for lack of a better description, awkward as hell - he wasn't exactly thrilled with discussing his mental processes with Mustang, but at the same time, what was necessary simply was, and there was no valid reason to withhold anything, either. At least not at this point.

"I had had similar thoughts." Roy's facial expression didn't change, remaining as solid as ever. "My memory may not be as good as yours is, but it's still capable of retaining more than the average person's memory. As for dreams...I can't say I always remember having them; usually it's the ones that connect to an emotion or pivotal event that I remember. And some of the things I recall during these dreams connect to neither. Eventually I made the connection that these dreams were events that happened during the three-day period. If nothing else, I'm grateful to hear that someone else reached the same conclusion. Probably means I'm close to the mark, if not dead on."

"I can imagine, given that everyone else seems content to dismiss these occurrences as 'something this place does,' rather than anything that should be investigated. According to Hughes, he had spoken to someone else about this; they seemed rather jaded about it, saying the incident in December was the third time that something like this had happened. That would make the time in May the fourth, and still, no one seems to have worked anything out, nor do they seem to be trying."

He leaned forward against the table a bit, resting his chin in his hand. "I know that others have tried to take notes or video during the three-day timespan; both were sabotaged after things returned to normal. The notes had been damaged to the point of illegibility; there were hours of video that had been recorded, but tampered with such that both picture and sound were gone.

"Really, this doesn't sound like the work of a place to me. The fact that such things are obvious nonsense aside, it sounds as though something isn't working quite as it should be. Human error, and the attempts to fix said errors."

"You're right." Roy paused before going on, as the server had come back with their drinks. Roy took a sip from his glass, then continued. "Or rather, I think you're right. Bizarre things happen here, but these events...these have to be unnatural. Repeated occurrences, precise amnesia, people not even here showing up...someone, or some cognizant entity, must be behind these."

"Oh, I've no doubt the precise amnesia is deliberate; the rest...I think something happens that they don't want us to know about."

The coffee was welcome, despite the warmth of the day; at the very least, it kept the sense that the entire situation was eventually going to do Kimblee's head in at bay.

"Since no one's power seems to work here, regardless of what it's based in, obviously something must be nullifying it in general. It's not impossible, but it's rather unlikely that a human is doing it through sheer will alone. However, the technology here is incredibly strange. It seems rather powerful in its own right - large machines capable of flight, devices allowing you to transmit to everyone in Johto without relying on radio waves - but at one point my device ended up getting rather soaked; it did a manner of odd things for days before needing to be replaced.

"Suppose, for a moment, that it's neither a person nor the place itself that's responsible for the suppression of our alchemy, or in charge of the actual process of bringing people here and sending them back. If it's a machine, then it would make sense. Mechanical parts break; repairs take time."

"Simply put, you suspect that these events are the machines malfunctioning, and our memories get wiped so we don't know that they malfunctioned." Roy took another sip of his iced tea. "I hadn't thought about it that way. It's definitely a plausible explanation."

Kimblee tipped his head a bit in acknowledgement of that, conceding the summary. "Leading us to the obvious question of who's controlling these machines."

"There's two static locations where people are summoned into this world: New Bark Town and here. People summoned into New Bark Town show up in a house owned by someone claiming to be their mother. When we get shoved out the door, it gets locked shut. No one knows how to get back in there."

Roy gave a bit of hesitation before going on. "The people who show up here, on the other hand, seem to have a commonality of their own -- they're all drafted into Team Rocket. In fact, Team Rocket draftees used to show up in Mahogany Town, but that's stopped. I think that's plenty of evidence to show that someone in Team Rocket knows how this works."

After taking one more sip, he added, "And it doesn't seem like they tell their men. A secret among the higher-ups, perhaps -- like old times.

"...I can see why Hughes would have taken interest."

Kimblee paused for a moment at that, running a gloved fingertip along the rimm of that coffee cup while he considered. "It's certainly one possibility, but let me ask you - what do you believe would be the purpose of Team Rocket doing this in the first place?"

The server arrived with Roy's sandwich. "Well, the most obvious purpose would be to bolster their numbers. That way they can have their way more easily." He took a bite out of his sandwich after speaking.

Kimblee seemed a bit amused at that, taking another sip of coffee before continuing; it did nothing to conceal the slight smirk tugging at his expression - it had been a while since he'd discussed anything like this, and it's surprisingly refreshing to get to do it again.

"That would be the most obvious reason, yes, but that doesn't hold up to simple logic - bear in mind that others like yourself have been permitted to stay in Johto despite being the sort to provide opposition to the organization, and people like Lt. Colonel Hughes were recruited in despite being the sort to undermine it from the inside. If they're recruiting, they're doing a poor job of it overall. Also bear in mind that these...odd three-day periods apparently end with all those who aren't supposed to be here sent back - meaning that whomever has the machine can control who stays and who goes.

"As such, I actually don't think it's the organization's doing."

Edited (PRONOUNS..............) 2012-06-25 23:10 (UTC)

Roy took a couple more bites from his sandwich as Kimblee spoke. He then swallowed before speaking. "So, not Team Rocket, even among the higher-ups. Do you have any leads on to who it might be, then?"

"No leads, unfortunately - just theories." Kimblee paused for a moment, hand seeking out that notebook again and resting lightly on top of it; the action was almost an unconscious one, something that he didn't seem aware of doing until his hand was already there, though he didn't seem too inclined to pull away once he noticed. "The most obvious has to do with this challenge that's been set before us; obviously, whomever owns the machine must have a strong hold over the region, and a good amount of power to keep the thing from being found and either manipulated or destroyed. The most powerful trainers in the region would certainly be suspect, then.

"So I ask you to consider, for a moment, the idea that perhaps defeating the Elite Four isn't a mere prerequisite for being sent home - it's the entire requirement. It would fit in with the way this world seems to work; if you've come this far, travelled difficult terrain and forged a strong enough bond with these creatures to be able to defeat the most powerful trainers in the region, you would have proven yourself in the eyes of this world. Having completed your trial, you would be sent home; a rite of passage, if you will."

Roy mulled that over a bit, taking a few more bites from his sandwich as he did. "So we have all the more reason to incriminate the Elite Four for our current situation. Unfortunately, they're still not accepting challenges, so we have no way of testing the hypothesis -- not yet, anyway.

"That still leaves one factor unaccounted for, though. What's the story with the people who are brought here and disappear weeks or months down the road?"

Kimblee pressed down a bit more firmly on the cover of that notebook, sliding it forward across the table toward Mustang before settling back in his chair again. An offer. "It's possible that there's something in there that will tell us. Again, Hughes and I didn't find any concrete leads, only theories - but you know as well as I do that those who operate behind the veil of secrecy in the first place don't care for people who find out too much."

The notebook itself was a complete compilation, containing Kimblee's coded notes on the subject, taking the form of rather rambling letters reminiscing about Amestris, all written in a heavy scrawl, sharp and angular and almost angry-looking, something that didn't suit the usual air of elegance Kimblee tried to put on for others; there was also what Hughes had added to it, several pages going on at great length about Hughes' wife and daughter, stories about things that he remembered back in Amestris, and the usual rambling about family that Kimblee had come to expect from the man.

He hadn't seen any patterns himself; after a while, he had stopped looking altogether.

"When it comes to our notes, I've made a copy for myself, but this is the book Hughes and I were using. I imagine that having his original notes would mean far more to you than it would me; you're welcome to keep them for yourself. Do with them as you see fit, I suppose - I'm fairly sure all of this is more relevant to your interests than it is mine at this point."

Roy accepted the notebook. "I'll be sure to take a look at this and see what I can figure out." He could understand why Kimblee would have less interest in this than him; he had nothing to return to but death, whereas Roy still had a life back home.

"So, does that about wrap it up?" Productive as this meeting was, Roy was ready for it to end. There was only so long he could remain in Kimblee's presence, even when the conversation was like this, and he needed to check into his hotel room.

"Just about, yes - although I do have one thing to ask you about. Given how much information I've given you over the course of this discussion, I think one response is more than fair."

Okay, that seemed fair enough, though he wouldn't admit such aloud. The waiter came back, and he told the waiter to bring two separate checks.

"Fine. Go ahead."

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One day we'll see our names in stone where fires burn

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