001. Action for Goldenrod City/Video

[ardent]

[ACTION FOR GOLDENROD CITY]

[Well, if you're on the streets this evening in the general vicinity of the Radio Tower, you will likely come across a figure in what looks like a cross between a white gakuran and a military uniform (no, seriously, those boots cannot be school issue, can they?); he's got his arms folded tightly across his chest, almost as though he's cold despite being nothing of the sort, and he's staring rather intently upward.

Not at anything in particular. Just looking up at the sky.

However, if you're close enough (and you're probably close enough because he is pretty much the opposite of subtle), it'll be fairly obvious that he's probably not seeing much of anything despite the intensity of his gaze, given that he's got an impressive amount of tears going on. Like, "that should probably not be coming out of human eyes" levels of impressive. Holy shit. Tears. All over. Like he's seen the face of God or something.

Someone might want to poke him or make sure his brain hasn't just shorted out or something, he'll be here all night otherwise.]


[VIDEO]

[Hello, Johto! Sometime this evening you are being treated to some serious jittercam, courtesy of one of your newer arrivals (after he's come out of whatever trance he was in earlier because good lord almighty there is sky out here). It's not quite enough to make you seasick, but more than enough to make you wonder exactly how it is your life has come to this and who gave the complete amateur a camera before everything seems to even out. The video eventually seems to settle on a rather...uh, severe-looking kid with short, dark hair, red eyes and eyebrows that go forever, and whatever he's doing, he seems deeply annoyed with it, goodness. Who invited the spawn of Satan to the Poképarty...

And then he seems to figure out that he is, in fact, filming, and his response is so immediately joyful it'll give you whiplash if you are not properly strapped in. His grin is open and incredibly genuine, the expression entirely unguarded; he sets the device down on a table in front of him, as he appears to be outside still, and he immediately starts waving at it a bit - both through utter glee and trying to see if it actually is tracking properly.]

Ha ha ha - so it does work! This is excellent news, excellent! Now, if I can get it to -

[His voice is a bit odd - it's loud and enthusiastic, but it's strangely blunted, as though he hasn't...quite worked out how voice inflection works but dammit, he's trying. He reaches out while he talks, the conversation dissolving into rather pleased muttering to himself as he tries to turn off the 'Gear and promptly...uh, sends the video, good job.]


[VIDEO, TWO MINUTES AFTER THE FIRST]

[Well, Captain Eyebrows here seems to have gotten himself under a bit more control, though the amount of volume is still going to make people why he even bothered with a video - surely he can be heard in Kanto by now. He's clearly trying to sound authoritative; the effect is just...horribly shouty.]

My name is Ishimaru Kiyotaka, a student of the 78th annual class at Hope's Peak Academy! It's excellent to have a way to contact all of you, even if the situation that's brought it about is very weird indeed!

Whoever is responsible for this turn of events, I would like to both thank you for your generosity regarding the situation, and yet express my general confusion at what it is you expect me to do here! It would be appreciated if I could thank you in person - or...speak to you properly or knew who you were...hm.

[He...seems to have lost himself for a moment, hang on - ]

At any rate - if I've learned anything in my studies of others, it's that cooperation is the best way to ensure success! If you could introduce yourselves and tell me where it is you come from, I would be very grateful - let's make the most of this weird situation by working hard and working together!

[End feed!

...Ishimaru, please...]

Comments

[ardent]

[...ouch, wham indeed.]

And what makes you so certain, if you don't mind?

[lieutenantantichrist]

Because everybody else has had the same idea, and they all end up a whole lot of nowhere.

You're trapped here, kid. Get used to it.

[ardent]

[Oh, well, now you've just lost him, hang on.]

...I never said I was opposed to being here, though...?

[no really when did he say that]

That doesn't mean that we can't strive for our best anyway, whether we're here or elsewhere!

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake's brows draw together.]

Why the hell wouldn't you be? You just got kidnapped from...wherever you're from. Wanting out's the only sane thing.

[It's hard to imagine anybody in their right mind being okay with this shit.]

[an irritated sigh] Yeah, yeah, reach for the fuckin' stars.

[ardent]

[...]

...the reason doesn't matter; the point is that I have one! Now, I...I would like to ask that you introduce yourself, if you could!

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

What'd they take you from, anyway, some kind of military academy?

[That outfit is something else.]

Lieutenant Carter Blake. Philadelphia PD.

[ardent]

No, it -

[...WAIT, WHAT]

You're a police officer?!

[Well, it's a bit hard to know whether that surprise is a good one or not, hang on.]

Local-only, or on a larger scale?

[lieutenantantichrist]

That's right.

[He gets that look sometimes. He straightens up, face turning all business.]

That depends. What did you do?

[ardent]

[Well, Ishimaru's reaction to that is to straighten up immediately and offer a very smart salute into the camera, good sir.]

It's nothing I've done, sir, I can promise you that! It's simply a relief to know that there's law enforcement present!

[...hesi...tation, though...]

There's a...situation, back home. I would like to ensure that nothing of the sort happens here, that's all!

[lieutenantantichrist]

[The respect puffs Blake up a little, but he suspects something's going on here.]

Yeah, there's a few of us around.

[Just in case you were thinking of getting away with anything.]

[repeats flatly] A situation.

[That's never anything good.]

[ardent]

[Clearly, all Johto needs is puffed-up Blake, isn't it.]

Y-Yes...a hostage situation of sorts. Sir.

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Of course it does. All his shyness and humility gets old.]

[Hostages? Blake doesn't miss that the kid doesn't specify whether he was one of them or the guy taking them.]

All right, kid. Start at the beginning.

[ardent]

[Blake would he really be turning himself in if he oh of course he would never mind - ]

My classmates and I seem to have been captured by some sort of madman; we haven't seen his face and we don't know what he wants, exactly. We're being held inside our school - Hope's Peak Academy, it's a boarding school for the gifted.

[He twitches a bit; that's been...surprisingly clinical, if a bit rushed, but...well. Now is when the tears are threatening to start. He's keeping them in check for now - barely - but that's probably not going to last long.]

Three are dead out of fifteen.

[More twitching.]

It's not anything that you can do anything about. I...I know that. But someone needs to know, a-and...

[...ooooh boy. Yep. Tears.]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Holy shit, kid.

[Blake wasn't expecting that.]

[But he should have been. Is it somebody's idea of a sick joke that almost every kid here's been kidnapped, a hostage, or nearly murdered?]

Where is this school? What the hell are the police doing? A situation like that can't escape notice for long.

[ardent]

[Okay, just. Give him a second and he will try to stop crying and there is nothing about this that isn't just a tremendous orzfest and he knows it, but he'll...attempt to explain.]

That's what we've been telling ourselves, too, but we don't know what's happening with the police - it's been a week since this started and we haven't heard anything, and it's not like the school is in the middle of nowhere, either! We don't understand, but we also don't have any way to contact the outside.

[lieutenantantichrist]

A fucking week? Somebody's gotta be doing something.

[The view moves as Carter begins pacing in frustration.]

Jesus Christ, between that and the kid whose parents sold his organs to the yakuza, what the hell is wrong with the Japanese police?

What do you mean, no contact? If it's a whole school of kids, there has to be a bunch of phones around.

[ardent]

Sold his organs...?

[...Right, that...probably wasn't the point, was it.]

But for the time being it's not an entire school - it's only our class, from the looks of it. We can't access a good amount of the school, either; a lot of it is barred off. We've just now been able to get up to the second floor; our phones have been taken, and we haven't found a way to contact anyone else.

[lieutenantantichrist]

Tried to. He must've gotten out of it somehow or it'd be pretty obvious.

[The furrow between his brows deepens as he listens.]

So it's somebody with a plan and resources, not your usual lone gunman. HAs he made any demands?

[ardent]

I don't know - if any have been made, they haven't been shared with us!

[He huffs a bit at that, folding his arms; the longer he discusses this, the more riled he gets, and he is clearly getting into Let's Do This Thing mode (though whatever "this thing" might happen to consist of has yet to be seen). This has been frustrating him for a while and, well, he's kind of a shounen idiot gone terribly wrong, so you're going to have to forgive his...uh.

Idiocy.]

Two of the others are here now, from the looks of it, and I intend to keep them out of trouble here! But this situation is why I'm not opposed to being here, and if anything it would be better if I could bring the others here to join us!

[lieutenantantichrist]

You've at least seen the guys behind it, right? [It sounds elaborate, so there has to be more than one]

[Blake may not have the idealism, but he can understand the kind of idiot who punches their way out of problems.]

Yeah, hell, in your case getting kidnapped is good luck.

Three of you coming here at the same time...that has to mean something. Were you in the same place at the time, or do you have something in common?

[ardent]

No, we haven't! We've only spoken to the person behind it all through mechanical devices - and they blow up if we try to do anything to the devices themselves, so taking them apart is out of the question!

[Dear god, Blake, please don't make him explain the stupid stuffed toy. Robot. Thing. Monobear. He'd rather not.

As for connections, though...he actually brightens a bit at that.]

One is my brother! We weren't in the same area when it happened, though, unless the general dormitories count. The other is someone who showed up two weeks ago - we didn't know him before arriving at the school, but he's a good person!

[Oh god, he's getting chirpy again.]

Well, to be fair none of us knew each other before arriving at the school, but that's all right!

[lieutenantantichrist]

Christ, how elaborate is this? Your school is being held hostage by an electrical engineer?

[That is a good thing not to tell him.]

Not a logic to this either, is there.

[Blake rubs the spot between his eyes.]

You don't let much keep you down, kid.

[ardent]

Of course I don't - even if the situation right now is bad, there's no sense in complaining, especially not when others need leadership, guidance and a disciplinary figure to keep them in line! Letting things get me down will just get in the way of the hard work and perseverance required to see things through; I know justice will prevail in the end, and I have trust in my own fortitude to ensure that I'm there to see it happen!!

[lieutenantantichrist]

[That is a pretty constant stream of yelling from his phone.]

Breathe before you pass out.

Whatever's going on back home, you should've gotten some kind of little animal when you got here.

[ardent]

Ah...yes, I did. It's in the device it came in for now, until I can figure out how to keep it from misbehaving!

...why?