Video/Action for Pewter City - backdated to 7/29

[exeggutorhead]

[Video (/audio/text)]

[The feed opens on a sight that…really looks like it would be more suited to a brand new arrival in the world of Pokemon than someone who’s been there for nearly six years.]

[Envy’s hunched over the screen, eyes narrowed and looking like he’s trying very hard to figure out this newfangled technology business. Viewers will get to see his finger tapping at the camera, the screen, and every single button. The video cuts out to audio a couple of times, and a few random letters will occasionally come through the text function.]

What the hell kind of telephone is this…

[It’s a quiet, frustrated mutter to himself rather than an actual question. He doesn’t seem to have any idea this is being broadcast out.]

[This keeps going for another minute until he hits the Games tab button, and apparently he’s hit ‘volume’ several times because the tinny Tetris game music BLASTS from the speakers. Envy nearly drops the ‘Gear, gritting his teeth as keeps punching buttons.]

No, damn it how does this turn off?! Go back!

[His patience with today is just about gone, and as the cheery game music continues to play on, he finally just loses it entirely. Anybody who’s still watching will get a great view of some of Pewter City as the ‘Gear goes sailing through the air, and as it hits the ground (fortunately on grass and not concrete), it finally cuts out entirely.]

[Action for Pewter City]

[Haze Day for Envy has left him without anything but the foggiest memories of all his years spent in Johto. He may have gotten in touch with one of the other homunculi, but Wrath hadn’t…exactly been helpful in figuring out where he was, what was going on, why he was human, or where all these chimeras in the streets came from.]

[He is now frustrated and loose in Pewter City. Chances are, if you look like you know what you’re doing, he’ll sidle on over to try and get some information.]

Comments

EARLIER THAT MORNING

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy wakes up, which is the first sign that something isn’t right. Everything’s foggy, he feels tired when he shouldn’t be able to, he doesn’t feel like he should at all.]

[He can’t even remember the last time he bothered sleeping, it’s been years. At least.]

[There’s someone else in the bed next to him, so he keeps still. How did he get here? There’s an artificial sort of chill in the air of the room that he shouldn’t be able to feel. Cracking his eyes open just enough to see out of, he tries to get a look at the other person—a girl, awake and sitting up and tapping on some small thing that kept beeping when she touched it.]

[She feels almost familiar, like he should know her. But he doesn’t, the thought goes sliding away from him when he tries to catch hold of it, and the room doesn’t look familiar either. His stomach growls, and Envy tenses up. Possibly noticeably, if Heather’s paying attention.]

[Homunculi don’t get hungry. Or chilly, or tired.]

[What happened?]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Heather hasn't had the bad fortune of being affected by too many of the Fridays. Good or bad, it's at least saved her from too many embarrassing situations.]

[It's late morning and the shafts of sunlight coming in through the slats in the hotel-room shades are almost in the position where she'd need to hold a hand up to shade the screen of her 'Gear, but not quite.]

[She's been up for a couple of hours-- not an uncommon thing. And when the previously-slumbering body next to her shifts, she notices, and turns her head to look with an easy, if slightly drowsy smile.]</sub>

Hey. G'morning.

_{[Looking back down to the screen of her Mysterious Device (tm), she taps it with one finger.]}

Network says the Sawsbucks down the street is giving out half-price frapps between eleven and noon.

[exeggutorhead]

[Damn, he’s been noticed.]

[But she doesn’t seem the slightest bit confused to see him, not the way he is. Whatever happened to him, it didn’t to her, and she’s certainly a human. And he’s beginning to think, with a cold, twisting certainty in the pit of his stomach, that right now he’s something resembling a human too. He’s vulnerable. That’s reason enough not to let her catch on that he has no idea what’s happening.]

[That, and the nagging, foggy feeling that she’s significant somehow.]

[What the hell is the ‘Network’? He sits up, stretching his arms in such a way that he doesn’t have to work out a real expression to make at her and so that his back is facing away. He glances down at the screen, trying to look only mildly curious and not totally befuddled by the thing. There’s words and a little picture of an odd deer logo on the little glass part, that read out what she’d just told him. He has no idea what a frapp is.]

Hmm, do you want one?

[What persona is he supposed to have right now damn it. He’s tired, he can just…pretend to be more tired and stay neutral.]

[foolishwren]

Eh... _{[She shrugs and looks back at the 'Gear, swiping her finger along the screen and making the image slide out of view.]} I wouldn't say no to one, but given that it requires being an adult and putting on actual pants and going outside, I could give or take it.

_{[She doesn't sense that anything is out of the ordinary just yet. Envy is frequently a dozy space case in the morning.]}

[exeggutorhead]

[Mind still going a mile a minute, Envy keeps trying to glance at what the device she’s holding is.]

Ha. Who wants to get up and go places this early anyway, right?

[She’s being much more familiar with him than a simple one-night con job would suggest. So sleepy familiarity it is, although there’s something…off about how he generally acts towards her. Something ingenuine about it. Not excessively, but just a little bit.]

[The fog in his head is throwing him off. What has he forgotten? How much? No matter how hard he tries to think, it’s no use. He has to get out of here, he can’t stand it much longer. Maybe if he gets away from her it will stop enough for him to work things out, like a triggered human memory.]

[foolishwren]

_{[The remark gets a lazy laugh.]}

Hah, right?

<sub>[But hm.]

[He sounds a little more out of it than usual. A sleepy Envy is different than an Envy whose mind is elsewhere.]</sub>

You sleep okay?

You seem kinda out of it.

[exeggutorhead]

[He shakes his head, letting out a short laugh meant to show that he’s fine everything’s normal. For whatever normal is. The laugh doesn’t sound right, either.]

Can’t fool you, huh? Guess I didn’t. I think I’ll get up and go get some fresh air.

I’ll be right back, maybe bring you back one of those frapps.

[That ought to buy him some time while she waits. And with that he slides out of the bed, spotting some clothes draped over a chair. The clothes are definitely not the kind he’s familiar with, in style or materials. But they look about his size, maybe they’re supposed to be his. Or hers. She looks like the same size as he is, so he really can’t tell.]

[In an almost stilted way, he gets dressed in jeans and a shirt with some weird design on the front, and some sandals, and turns to walk out the door, trying to keep his stride unhurried.]

[What he doesn’t know is that he’s definitely wearing one of her shirts.]

action; FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

[armoredsoul]

[Alphonse hasn't noticed Envy yet, wandering down the street with a vaguely lost look on his own features. He could swear the Center should be just down this street, right...?]

Ugh, this is ridiculous.

[Beside Alphonse, Eddie the Luxray flicks an ear and snorts, nudging his trainer's leg before tugging on one pant leg. You turned the wrong street!]

[Kid looks kind of familiar, doesn't he, Envy? Almost like family.]

[exeggutorhead]

[The kid with the blue lion is enough to grab Envy's attention to start with.]

[He sure does look a tiiny bit familiar. And he sounds a lot more familiar, albeit without the metallic echo he'd be more used to hearing. But is it really possible, that the kid had gotten his body back in...whatever was going on?]

[SQUINTS FROM ACROSS THE STREET. HMMM.]

[He decides to try and sneakily follow possibly-Alphonse to see if he's right.]

[armoredsoul]

Eddie? What--

[The Luxray tugs harder on Al's pants, nearly making him trip, before shrugging off all pretense and getting behind the boy, shoving his head right into the small of Al's back, and just frog-marching him in the correct direction.]

[Obviously, this is rather confusing.]

Hey! Come on, what are you--we just came from this way!

[Eddie simply snorts and pushes even harder.]

Ugh, you're worse than Brother!

[exeggutorhead]

[Well, between the voice and what he's saying, there's really not much of a question anymore. After all, what are the chances of this being a coincidence?]

[Not high enough for Envy not to decide that he needs to investigate this more actively than simply being a stalker.]

[Now, Envy still sneers at Al plenty. All of the time, basically every time they interact. But it's at least taken on a far less threatening tone.]

[Right now? That threat has come back into the sneer full force.]

Looking a little lost, tin can.

[armoredsoul]

[Both trainer and Pokemon stop and turn to stare at Envy. Eddie, because he doesn't like Envy on sheer principle and has to greet the former homunculus with a growl, and Al because...]

...what?

[That insult hasn't been relevant for years and Envy knows it, what the hell?]

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy does not realize exactly why his choice in insult was so confusing. So he simply scoffs.]

You heard me. Don't play dumb, I know it's you, Elric.

How'd you manage to get your body back?

[There are teeth in the sneer, too, and his eyes are narrowed. This is...NOT NORMAL. At least not anymore.]

[How dare one of the brothers get back what they'd lost for their crime.]

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

....Envy?

[Well, Lust supposes that answers the question of 'how badly can someone's memories be muddled today?'.]

[Very, it sounds like.]

Video

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy practically dives for the 'Gear when he hears Lust's voice coming out of it. Wrath hadn't been the slightest bit helpful, but surely Lust would know something about what was going on.]

[He has to fiddle with it before he can answer, but he gets it working a little faster this time.]

Lust, at least you're here, do you know what's happening? Where am I?

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

...there are a number of answers to that question.

[Lust sighs. It's always the week's end. Forgetting where she's put down whatever was last in her hand is one thing. Envy's condition appears far, far more severe.]

[She's rather glad she's dressed in something simple and dark today.]

What's the last thing that you clearly remember?

Video

[exeggutorhead]

[It's a good thing she is, yes. He can overlook it not being her "proper" outfit, he's desperate enough for any kind of familiarity.]

[The question makes him hesitate, mouth setting almost into a stubborn scowl...he's not sure he wants anyone, even her, to know the full extent of his condition. He knows how weak he is right now.]

I remember...it's not all clear. [Even that is a bit jumbled. He latches onto the first clear memory he can think of, and at that more things fall more firmly into place.] We'd met up to talk about Greed in some diner a few days ago, and now I'm here.

What the hell kind of mission was this?

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

Oh dear lord...

[That's a vast amount of missing time.]

This isn't a mission, as such. We're very far from...home.

[It's difficult to phrase it like that, Lust finds. That world, that place, that's not home. It's simply the place they came from. This place, no matter the toll it takes, is home.]

[At least this is temporary. The effects never last beyond the day.]

It's a bit difficult to explain, bear with me. We've been taken, by forces unknown and stronger than any we're familiar with.

Video

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy looks...well, skeptical, to say the least.]

Forces?

And this isn't Creta or Aerugo [And absolutely not Xing or Drachma], so it must be farther than them?

video;

[pipers_son]

[...Well, that doesn't seem good. Joker starts to have Angel gather up some of his things for an impromptu trip, even as he flicks his Gear to respond.]

Oi, Envy. Pick up the funny device, it's important.

video;

[exeggutorhead]

[No, it really isn't good at all.]

[Envy's not too happy about this call, either. Exactly how many humans were involved in this mission? Unless this is the 'angry human' who was where Wrath was. At least that would be only two.]

[He still has no idea what persona he's supposed to have been putting on for these people, so he tries to keep his expression harried-but-neutral, like he's still frustrated but recognizes Joker.]

[It's...really noticeably not how Envy would actually, genuinely react to this call.]

Yeah? Did something happen?

[PLEASE. A HINT. ANYTHING. WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?]

Re: video;

[pipers_son]

[With his still dyed black hair and purple eyes, Joker is kind of hoping he can fake not-human if that’ll win Envy over more. And if nothing else, well, it can’t hurt.]

Do ya know where ya are? I think there’s some funny business goin’ on, and I don’t trust Wrath left on his own. He’s gonna burn a buildin’ down, ya know he will.

[...That part’s not even a lie, honestly.]

video;

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy squints at the screen. It's difficult to make out fine details on the little thing, like the shape of someone's pupils, but he can make out the purple eyes.]

[And this guy is talking about Wrath like he knows him.]

[Has he really missed an entirely new homunculus being created?]

No, I don't know where I am.

Where's Sloth? She should be watching him, shouldn't she?

video;

[pipers_son]

[Dang. He was hoping he’d seen a sign or something… Oh well. Let it never be said that Joker isn’t good at improvising.]

Well, turn the device around a bit and I’ll try and guess. Been around enough myself that I can…. probably guess, if you’re in a city.

Anyway, as for Sloth- [And thank god that Wrath’s told him about her.] -she ain’t here. Hey, Envy… What do ya remember exactly?

[Because it’s only him, Wrath, and Lust… and that Greed guy is gone, so far as Joker remembers.]

video;

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy does turn his 'Gear around him, trying to show off the area more. If someone can tell him where he is, that'd be helpful.]

[On the other...assuming Joker can tell the city, when that's done he's squinting suspiciously again, a frown starting to inch over his face.]

How about you tell me who you are exactly, first.