cyan_maid | Victory Road IC Inbox

I wish it was something that simple.

[She can't see him, but she might be able to pick up on the slightly resigned and unhappy tone.]

I'm going to assume you heard about how Kazuki got attacked at the start of this month and how one of his pokemon got stolen?

[Armin can hear the distinct clunk of a coffee cup being set down.]

I have. There's an update?

I know where they are keeping the Meganium. I don't know for how long, but I know the location it's at right now.

[D8 !!!!!]

What can I do to help?

Well, I was hoping to hire the services of the Fletcher Gym in retrieving this pokemon.

Unfortunately, the location is nowhere near the Islands, and I'm worried that if I travel there myself, they may have already moved the Meganium by the time I arrive. You are located much closer to it than I am. And as a fellow E4 champion, I trust that you have the skills to deal with any sort of defence Team Rocket may have set up.

I'll pay, of course. Whatever your going rate is. I just... want to try and get this pokemon back to Kazuki.

Pay? Jesus, Armin, I'm not going to charge for this! Just let me know where to go and I'll be bringing my associate along to do what we can. Hopefully we can get in and out without having to fight anybody, but we'll be prepared if it comes to that...

We can argue about payment later.

[Armin feels like he is still taking up a lot of Jane's valuable time and thus she should be compensated. Even if this is also the sort of thing he'd do without payment. Maybe they can compromise and donate money to a cause Jane cares about or something. But still, that is a concern for later.]

I wish I could give you any information about how Team Rocket might be defending it, but unfortunately, the location is all I've got. Do be careful, okay?

[And he'll be sending Jane a message with the address information he got from Steven.]

[Armin! The important thing is to stop Team Rocket! She didn't find a way to make her gym also a detective's office for the money!!]

I'll be quite careful, I promise.

[And she'll...go get Riz? Should I go to his inbox or do you want to bring him here?]

All right. Thank you.

I will say I haven't... I haven't told Kazuki about this yet. I don't want to give him false hope in case the lead doesn't pan out. Do you think I should?

[He values Jane's judgement here.

and also, his inbox works fine.]

That depends on how you think he'd take the news. Would he try to save his Pokemon on his own? Put out a more public notice and put the kidnappers on alert? I don't want to say you shouldn't tell him, but...just try to consider his reaction before you decide.

Before all of this, I would've said he absolutely would not go and confront them. That's not-- he's not from a world where it's normal to fight, thankfully, so he has never had to. It's not in his nature.

But before all of this, I also would have said it's not in his nature to not be positive and he's definitely been struggling with that since getting attacked. Which is understandable -- there is not a person in the world that wouldn't be changed by something like this, especially not someone as empathic as him, but it does make me worry I can't predict his actions as clearly as I could before.

Hm...then I think...maybe we ought to wait. If he's not used to confrontation, then I wouldn't want him to hurt himself doing anything rash.

You're right. I wouldn't want to give him false hope either. That just might be more painful in the end.

I'll do my damnedest to make it not-worse, but it is better to be cautious in that regard, you're right.

I know you'll do the best that you can. That's why I came to you, after all.

Hey. What did you do about it when I first got here and started posting? Besides get mad and take bug photos for some admittedly sick burns. I never did thank you for that idea, did I? My bad.

Anyway.

This question is time-sensitive.

Uh, well, my first instinct was to reach out to you, let you know I was here and able to help, and that you would be okay. Obviously it did not shake out as planned, but we are where we are regardless.
Why, what's up?

Okay. Yes. I was there for that part.

Maybe this isn't the right question.

Fuck.

Yeah, that was the wrong approach.

You and I, we're used to the multiplicity of selfhood.

There aren't as many Janes as Dirks just because I clogged up the works of reality with my own infinitely replicating, infinitely expanding egoscapes, but if a Jane met a Jane passing through the rye, neither of you would bat an eye, right?

What do I do with someone who has no reason to expect that.

Should I be worried that he's not bothered?

Hm...well, no, I think if I met another version of myself, I would have quite a lot of questions and a fair bit of emotional issues with it, both me and this other me.
That is, if I still know me well enough.
At the very least one of us in the equation would struggle to comprehend the existence of the other, and that would probably be the other Jane, because...I kind of had to innoculate myself against that here?
There really wasn't a choice for me to stick to my stubborn guns, so to speak - things were strange here, they had no explanation, and there might not even be ground to make a path to find the answers. I was lucky I had others from back home here already, willing to catch me if I fell when I tried to step through the clouds.
Huh, I guess that is a roundabout way of somewhat agreeing with your assessment, though. In the general concept of "another Jane", I personally would not be inclined to shut down the possibility.

But then to look at it from that perspective...to not expect there to be any more you but yourself, and then not be bothered when that isn't the case? It almost feels like an oxymoron.
I think...hm.
I think it's important that you acknowledge that's a mindset you're interacting with and forge ahead with your explanation regardless. Whether or not this person is bothered by multiple selves, they still need to know what sort of world they're coming into and that others might reach out to them with expectations.

Miss Jane?

[It's about a day, maybe two after this whole mess hit the network. Since then, Riz has thankfully crashed at some point, sleeping a good twelve hours as his body got the rest it so desperately needed. He's also done a lot of thinking. About things Allura said specifically.

He looks a little nervous right now --which in Riz manifests as twitchy, sweaty hands, and a need to make his clothes even that bit more formal and proper than normal-- clutching a letter in one hand, quickly setting it down on her desk before he can crease it with his nervous hands. Or get sweat all over it.]

I-- [his voice is a little raspy and he swallows, then goes on] I'd like to tender my resignation.

[Yes, the letter he put down in front of her is most definitely a resignation letter -- the hyper formal sort that was undoubtedly cobbled together from about twelve different websites. It's probably, definitely, a little too formal for this situation, but Riz doesn't know how else to do this.]

[When Jane looks up from whatever she's been doing when Riz came in, it's with big eyes. Big, wide, very confused eyes.]

Wh...Riz, whatever for?

[He knots his fingers together, not knowing what else to do with them. There's too much nervous tension in them to just let them hang loose. He'd probably just end up fiddling with everything.]

I really like you, miss Jane. You've been kind to me, giving me a job and a place to stay and everything. And I think it's really cool what you are doing, with, uh, your gym and detective business and all.

But, uh-- Well, someone brought up a really good point that the stuff I do might reflect badly on your business. And I don't really think I can change what I do cause this is the shit Aguefort teaches us.

[And because Riz still believes it was all completely justified, and the things he found inside that Jenny station, or rather, the absence of things only strengthen him in that belief.]

I don't mind if I end up with a bad reputation. I'm a goblin! Nobody likes us. [He gives her a toothy grin that is probably mean to be reassuring but isn't quite.] But it ain't right for you to have a bad reputation on my account, so uh. I was thinking it'd be better if we split. Cause I know you've worked hard for your gym and everything and I don't wanna ruin that.

[Well, he does...he does have a point. It could certainly reflect poorly on the gym should anyone look further into it, that a member of the Aurora League was totally fine with employing someone who interrupted local law enforcement. She hadn't thought about it that way - only that it might impact Riz, not her.

It still feels cruel, even if true, to consider it.

Jane frowns, closes her eyes.]

Well, I can't deny there's truth to that, even if it hadn't occurred to me before. And...I suppose if you're truly well and set on going at it on your own, I can't stop you. [It's going to be so lonely. Again. And he had been there for her when she was really hurting.] But...I mean...I don't think this means we can't ever work together in the future.

[So long as he's covert about it - so long as he's not caught, and no one knows, then no one can get them in trouble, right?]

And frankly, that bit about nobody liking you is ridiculous. Whether you happen to be a goblin at the moment or not.

[She's not going to deny that he's a goblin in a human body right now, or is a goblin at home, but it...no. No, it's stupid to assume everyone would hate him for something he can't control.]

[Jane had been an unexpected comfort herself. When Riz has applied to the Fletcher Gym, he had really only been interested in a job, being the sort who couldn't sit still and do nothing. But with Jane around, there had also been the added benefit of having someone who could occasionally force some food or a drink in his hand. And without the rest of the bad kids or his mom around, Riz had absolutely needed that.]

I'd like that. I could be your man in the shadows. I'll share my intel with you and won't tell you where I got it from so you've got plausible deniability.

[Cause sometimes, the by the book cop has gotta call in the wild card.]

[Jane's grin is kind, but also mischievous, the kind that you share with someone you're happy to be in cahoots with, and she holds out a hand to Riz.]

It's a deal.

Victory Road IC Inbox

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02/07/2022

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