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IC Contact post for Mask or Menace
Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other
Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other
Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other
Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other
Re: ext
i'm fine
[...to some degree. anyway, whatever the count was doing he's no longer doing it. he's in a cavern, now, deep underwater in an air-filled pocket of cave. maxie - who the count no doubt recognises at this point, is standing near him, looking furious but disheveled.
bwahahaha! you're looking pretty pathetic now, aren't you? the great maxie! the count laughs, though it's archie's voice that comes out. his laugh is tinged with hysteria and sounds suitably deranged for what's about to go down.
no sooner has he finished saying it, a small child appears, emerging from the narrow path that led into the cavern. there's an exchange between her and archie and they battle - a fierce one - but it's somewhat hazy. it goes by like the count is watching it on an unfocused screen and the sound is muffled. maybe it's archie's own poor recollection of the specifics of what happened. a lot was going on and his mental state was declining by the second, not to mention the amount of guilt-trauma he went through after. it's probably no surprise he can't remember it exactly. she beats him. it's close, but she beats him. maybe it's strange to see something resolved through such a method, but that's how pokémon do. archie-- or rather, the count, now in his shoes, doesn't care. he laughs again, sounding increasingly more unhinged. maybe it's the orb he's still holding starting to burn bright enough with power that it almost scorches his hand, maybe it's just because he's lost it. the count isn't sure. he waves off the child anyway, holding the orb up above his head: with the increased illumination he can see the grey form of a giant whale laying dormant further into the cavern, floating in a deep pool within it.
the count starts on again. i will use the power of this blue orb to awaken kyogre at last! then i'll return everything in this world to its original, pure state!! now! AWAKEN, KYOGRE! RETURN EVERYTHING TO THE WAY IT WAS!!
in that moment, briefly, all he feels is hatred. hatred for what humanity has done to the planet that forced him into enacting this plan, hatred for maxie and the child for trying to stop him. maybe even, deep deep down, hating himself a little for going to such lengths. and... that's how the memory ends.]
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I don't believe you are fine at all, Archie.
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[he has no idea of what just happened, naturally.]
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[Now he's back to his old self.]
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i feel like i'm open with what i should be
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But not with your hate. And you have a powerful hate within you.
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HAD a powerful hate
i know i was wrong now
it's all gone.
[it's not. and he knows it's not.]
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Such hatred is not so easily removed.
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but i also was put in a position where i had to realise under no uncertain terms that my hate almost ended the world
that it almost got a bunch of people i care deeply about killed
and me too, i guess
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But if it had succeeded, the world would have been saved from corruption and decay. Is that not true?
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that's why i regret it so much
because no matter what it would've killed everyone
i'm sure of it
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The flaw in your plan was not in its design, but that you lacked the strength to harness the power you unleashed.
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i never wanted to control it
i didn't even want to catch it
i just wanted to let it do its thing
and i know now that i was too focused on pokémon. my plan would've hurt people regardless.
i don't want to hurt people. not anymore.
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I suggest you think carefully about what you would really do to save that which you love.
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[but... he's still responding. quickly, too. he's obviously invested in this conversation. maybe part of him just wants count to say the right thing (not that he hasn't already) in the right way.]
FOUR DAYS LATER I'm sorry
What of your team? Those who followed you believed in your cause. They fought for it. Must you doubt their belief as well as your own?
ITS GOOD
they agreed to retool when i wanted to
[the replies are still fast, but not as strong as before. THE COUNT IS GETTING THERE.]
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they made their own choice
[...he really let them down.]
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[He says nothing more. This isn't the moment for a big speech, this is a moment to stand back and let Archie's own emotions work on him from the inside.]
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Think about what I have said, Archie. Don't make the mistake of throwing away your strength for the sake of correcting your errors.