Action/Video — Somewhere in Route 29

[brokencode]

[ It'd been a bit of a busy morning, if Angel was being honest. Waking up alive of all things was certainly a highlight. However, finding out that her father was alive as well had certainly brought down her mood, as well as the fact that he was still dead-set on maintaining his tight grip on her.]

[She shuddered at the thought, stumbled, and then caught herself against a tree. She'd lost sight of the town and all its potential menaces awhile ago, but she still didn't feel comfortable stopping. Even as her muscles ached and her heart pounded, her only thoughts were to keep running.]

[Another step knocked the thought right out of her. Her leg quivered, barely able to hold her weight long enough to bring her gracefully to the ground, rather than sending her tumbling into a heap. It didn't take long for Angel's new friend, the small Mareep, to pad up to her and give her a reassuring butt of the head.] 

[So she wasn't going anywhere then. Fair enough.]

[After a fair amount of wiggling, Angel struggled her backpack off her body and into her lap. With just a little rustling, Angel plucked out her Pokegear and clicked it on.]


I'm not sure if anyone is going to find this broadcast. It is... difficult, not being in the position to access any communications device at any time. But... I hope that someone is listening. And that that someone tells someone else. And maybe, just maybe, we might all be able to save someone's life. 

If you are listening, is absolutely imperative that you pay attention to what I am saying. There is a man here — Jack, often known as Handsome Jack. He is a tyrant. A power hungry megalomaniac who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And I have no doubts that many of you have already fallen under his grasp. You need to know that you mean nothing to him. His own daughter was a pawn for him, a means to a brutal end. 

I don't know where I am, or where any of us have found ourselves. But it won't stop Jack. He's already tried to pull me back in. I have no doubts he will recruit others.

If you listen to only one thing, listen to this: if you value your life, you will abandon Handsome Jack.

[Clicking the recording off, Angel sat back, abruptly aware of just how bad all of her limbs seemed to be quaking. For a brief second, she put her head in her hands, allowing a single sniffle to escape before she forced herself to her feet again. With her pokegear clenched in her hand, Angel took a few stumbling steps, followed by a few more. Within a few feet (and after a few quizzical baas from Mari), Angel hit her stride once more, and continued onward]

Private Action | Murphy and Angel 
[In truth, Angel didn't make it much further before her legs started to give out once more. This time, she made it to a tree, collapsing beneath the shade with a heavy breath. As if to still the frantic woman, Mari quickly clambered over, plopping down on Angel's lap with a defiant bleat.] 

[Angel couldn't keep herself from smiling. It was small and strained, and quickly faded under the weight of everything else she was feeling. But it was a distraction, and a welcome one at that.] 

With nothing more to do, and becoming acutely aware of just how in over her head she was, Angel quickly began sifting through her 'gear, frowning until she finally managed to pull up a map. Her stomach bottomed out as she studied the distance between where she had left and where she had to go.]

Perhaps fleeing was a mistake after all... 

Comments

Video

[thedifferencebetween]

[Seriously?]

[Seriously?]

[He hauls his ass all the way to get her, finds her gone, and then turns on his 'gear to see this? At the moment, he's too tired and drained to even lose his temper.]

...Angel.

What the hell?

Video

[brokencode]

[And there it was. She had been waiting for his voice to crackle out from the device in her hand. For a moment, she hesitated, wondering if that incessant voice in her head would tell her to back.]

[But her feet trudged onward.]

They needed to know, Jack.

Video

[thedifferencebetween]

Needed to know what?

'Cause none of that's true, sweetheart. Wanting my daughter home where I know she's safe is hardly trying to lure you into my clutches or whatever the hell you're trying to paint things as. That's what any father would want, even if their daughter wasn't weak and sheltered. And I'm gonna tell ya again: I run a home based greeting card company. What kind of planet-wide scheming do you think I'm getting up to, here? There aren't any lives in danger! I mean, other than mine, from that dude who's constantly threatening to eat my insides....

[Jack sighs. He's just tired. He's been through so many spikes of emotion in the last couple of hours and now he's just tired, sitting somewhere in New Bark and trying to get through to his rebellious and apparently mentally disturbed daughter.]

I...I really don't understand where all this is coming from. Twenty minutes ago you're calling me 'dad' and telling me you miss me, and now this?

Look, fine. You said your little thing, fine. Will you come home now?

audio;

[secondhandsome]

[So this is a thing. Finding out Jack has a daughter, well, not too big of a surprise, he and Athena had kinda figured that one out already. Finding out that she's apparently here now? Kinda crazy. Which he only heard about because Jack suddenly demanded a quick fast travel to where she was.

And then she wasn't there.

And now this post is up.

What the fuck.]

Uh... What?

[Not that what she's saying is wrong. It's not, it's all an accurate description of Jack. But... wow, a lot is happening all of a sudden.]

audio;

[brokencode]

[The voice on the device is expected, but all the same, Angel felt every fiber of her light up in both fear and fury. She lifted the device to her mouth, forcing herself to breathe evenly and avoid giving away her struggle.

You know exactly what I am talking about, Jack. Leave me alone.

audio;

[secondhandsome]

[Oh god, she... she sounds mad. Yeah, he maybe should've made it more clear who he is, but in his defense this is all an awful lot to process.]

Whoa, whoa, wait, I'm not-- I'm not him, so uh, no, I... actually don't know?

What the hell is even going on...

[private video]

[kissmyaspis]

[Yeah, she's going to make this private. A guy like Jack... she wouldn't be shocked if he tried spying on any conversations surrounding someone he wants to get under his control.]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are many people here that have been completely fooled by your father.

[Athena is smart. Very smart. It doesn't take much to put two and two together, and her and Tim had already figured it out. The ghosts, the picture... it really isn't all that hard to come to the conclusion that this girl is Jack's daughter.]

... A pawn. What did he do to you?

[private video]

[brokencode]

[Jack had once done all he could to keep her lineage a secret. It made someone knowing where she came from surprising. Certainly, she'd hinted at it in her own speech, but it was still startling to hear the connection acknowledged out loud by someone besides herself.]

[But more surprising was the voice on the other end. She had memorized it eons ago, somewhere in the beginnings of her torture, when she did her best to monitor her father's "heroic" mission on Elpis.

[On her own, and carrying a history like she did, the gladiator was a hard woman to forget. But the fact that she had once openly defied Handsome Jack and still lived on...]

You know how he is, Athena. Two could play at the subtle knowledge dropping game. Exactly what he did... that doesn't matter. You know what I am saying is true. [At least, she hoped that she did. Angel didn't want to spend hours recounting every bit of torture she had suffered through. She didn't want to remember the friends she had betrayed, or feel the blood on her hands once again.]

[private video]

[kissmyaspis]

[If she's surprised that Angel recognizes her, she certainly doesn't show it. In fact, the closest thing to emotion she shows is just a slight narrowing of her eyes. Because not only is she smart, she's observant. The sunken eyes, the bony cheeks... they aren't the marks of someone naturally thin. She's visited (and razed) enough villages on Pandora to recognize someone who doesn't eat well, and that... that sets off some alarms in her head.]

I believe you. I'm one of the last people that needs convincing for just how cruel Jack can be. [Another pause, as she lets Angel's appearance sink in.] He wasn't kind to you, was he?

[video]

[journalname]

[That's all...certainly something. But what he sees most is a too-thin human child, trembling. He has no right to reach out to one such as that, but...]

Do you need someone to help you? Forgive me, but you do not look well.

[video]

[brokencode]

[After the chorus of familiar voices greeting her, Angel was a little surprised to hear a voice she hadn't ever come across. She lifts her device, slowing her pace in the slightest, so as to avoid tripping or otherwise hurting herself, and squints at it.]

I hope you will forgive me as well for being so abrupt but... who are you?

Coming from the place she had, a land of backstabbing and face-eating, strangers didn't leave Angel feeling all that comfortable.

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

[What in the world...? Lust watches the video and is almost...bemused. She shakes her head and flips on her own video to respond.]

I don't know the man you're offering warning about in any personal capacity - I've heard him on the Network, I think we all have - but I can assure you...tyrants find no place here. Others have tried. We've had attempts at world domination, attempts at world destruction, one man simply tried to announce he was in charge and yell until everyone listened...

No one listened.

You'll see what I mean, if you're in this world for any length of time. It's a peaceful place, aside from some bizarre natural occurrences. And it manages to stay that way, no matter what violent or power hungry individuals find themselves here.

Video

[brokencode]

Angel offered a skeptical scoff, followed by an inward giggle. At least she could afford to be a little disrespectful to those who might have been her elders. She didn't mean anything by it, and certainly didn't think anything less of the woman for offering her opinion but... ]

[This was Jack they were talking about.]

I'm afraid you haven't really met him then, if you don't think he could manage all that...

[Private Video]

[cyan_maid]

[Oh. Okay, wow. The name "Jack" pings too much about who Jane had recently been talking to for her not to respond, but she makes her response private immediately. There may not be much she can do, but Jane's friends are her priority, and if something in this colorful and happy world can turn out to be malevolent, well, they need to be prepared.

She already asked about the guy bellowing about his axe. Something's telling her that this girl might be a better source on that whole "eating babies" thing.]

Miss? Hello - sorry this is coming from a complete stranger, and private at that, but you sound distressed, and if this "Handsome Jack" fellow is as bad as you say, I doubt drawing his ire is something I'd ever want to do. Do you mind if I ask, does he...or, well, did he run something called Hyperion? And does he have...

[Well would someone actually make a possible split personality public information? Best go with the story she was given.]

Does he have some sort of "body double" here?

[Private Video]

[brokencode]

[She had expected Jack to establish some amount of reach in the world. But the more and more people she heard from, the more troubled she grew. The tighter his grip, the more difficult it would be to warn people off.]

[And the harder it would be to avoid his wrath.]

[Hearing the word 'Hyperion,' of course, made Angel cringe in the slightest. She could have gone a lifetime without hearing that name again.]

Correct. He was president of Hyperion for a time. Due in no small part to his manipulations, of course.

As for your second question, I would assume that yes, he has a body double. I have only just arrived here, but he has briefly made contact with me.

At least she could relax a little now, knowing that the man she had spoken to earlier was who he said he was.

Voice

[meowbel]

[Granted, Mabel knew something about this peron named Jack but one thing was for sure. From the way Angel described him, he certainly reminded her of a certain triangle she encountered back home!

But another thing was for sure too]

Hey, are you okay? I don't know where you are but if you want somebody to talk to, you know I'm here right?

Voice

[brokencode]

[Angel quirked a brow at her device. She had hoped that someone would listen to her, but she didn't expect that someone might actually care about her]

I... er... I appreciate that.

[She couldn't remember a time when someone asked about her own wellbeing. Her father never cared, and the friends she had didn't have reason to suspect she could feel anything until the very end.]

My name is Angel. Who are you?

[action]

[sialia_sialis]

[With his initial clothes disposed of, Murphy wants to put as much distance as he can between New Bark and himself. By now, he's well aware that this place has very little connection with home, but that still doesn't make him eager to paint a target on his back.

He isn't quite sure how long he's been walking, with the "Swablu" who apparently considers him its master perfectly content to sit on his head and sleep. Even considering the relatively easy terrain, it's a good distance, and one that leaves him shorter of breath the longer he goes.

Eventually, he decides a small break won't spell his doom, and comes to rest against a tree. The change of pace stirs the Pokemon, who readjusts its position and has a good look around. A few moments pass before it gives a little trill and flutters its way off of him and farther into the woods. Unable to coax it back, Murphy follows it through the trees until it lands. He's a bit surprised to see a girl and a -- sheep? -- underneath the tree Swablu is staring intently at and offering a concerned "Blu blu?"

With some hesitation, he announces himself quietly before approaching.]

Hey... Sorry. This little guy's mine.

[action]

[brokencode]

[Angel started at the approaching rustling. She shifted, moving to leap up and start running at the sight of a synthetic face. Even when the small blue Pokemon appeared, Angel looked afraid, having met her fair share of the more aggressive monsters over the past few hours.]

[But Mari, though initially apprehensive, relaxed at the sight of the other creature. And after its chirping, more innocent than threatening, Angel felt herself relax too.]

[Of course, the man that came though after the Pokemon put her on edge again. She gave him an apprehensive look, before glancing at the pokemon. From his words, he didn't come off as an immediate threat, but she still didn't look comfortable.]

He's... he's cute.

Video

[veggie_vamp]

Whoa whoa whoa, hold the ICoffin! What's this about Jack being a bad guy? Cause the Jack I know is a fun guy!

Video

[brokencode]

Yes, he has a tendency to come off that way. Until you cross him, of course.

I speak from experience.

video;

[fuelthefire]

[Krieg likes to listen to the audio chatter on his Pokegear...mostly because he's hoping one of his teammates will show up, because he's feeling pretty damn lost on his own, but even without any familiar voices, it's typically pretty interesting anyway, at least.

But today...that sure is a familiar voice. A surprising voice, and not a teammate, exactly, but a hell of a lot more welcome than Handsome Jack's stupid voice.

The video is of Krieg's mask...and it's actually a reasonably comfortable distance from the device, for once, though no guarantees about it staying that way.]

Already knew that. What else you got?

video;

[brokencode]

[Well that... was certainly surprising. Considerably less surprising consideringall the other allies she had met along the way. But the gruff voice still managed to startle her, if only for a moment.]

[After taking a moment to calm the equally as surprised Mareep, Angel turned her attention to her device. She offered a hesitant sort of smile toward the beast on the other side of the screen]

Hello, Krieg. [Her voice was soft, even uneasy. Krieg wasn't a threat to her, but she still wasn't sure how to talk to him one on one.]

[private video]

[styxiedust]

Ugh, I knew it! Nobody that calls themselves Handsome Jack with a straight face can be any good--and--[Hufffff. She cuts off to compose herself.]

[Tim was afraid and if this girl is attesting to it, it's for good reason.]

Dear, do you have people that can shield you from him? Are you in immediate danger?

[private video]

[brokencode]

It is a bit of a tip-off. [Especially if Jack hadn't been showing his megalomaniacal colors.] As for my own safety, there are people escorting me for the time being, and others who have volunteered to continue the job.

There are many here who know just how bad Jack can be.