lieutenantantichrist | [17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

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[17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

[ACTION]

[In a low-rent corner of Mahogany, there's a real gym. No mazes, no boss trying to fight you in exchange for something they call a badge, no lackeys, just weight machines and a floor covered with rubber mats, the way it should be. Open twenty-four hours, and this late there's no human in this room but Blake. He's in a sweatsuit, gray in contrast to the brown of the Hitmonlee holding pads for him in its upraised paws. The only sound is his harsh breaths and the thump of his fists on the canvas. His shoulders are hunched like a boxer's. His eyes look straight ahead. Judging from the sweat darkening the back of his shirt, he's been here a while.

On the other side of the room, a Snubbull is sitting on the floor, looking at a Gear that's resting on the mats. A Musharna floats beside her. Fifteen minutes of frustration proved that claws are no good for texting with, but she wants to talk to someone. She really wants to.

She snubs softly, so as not to make her trainer angry. The Musharna's eyes show no reaction, but the buttons on the Gear depress. The text that Steve watches appear seems to be accurate, more or less. The transcription might come strange through the dreaming creature. It's close enough for what she needs.]

[TEXT]

Hello lo low hello

Please talk to me.
I want to talk.
I will tell you my favorite story.
He told it to me when I couldn't sleep. His eyes were closed for some of it but I shook his knee and got to hear the end. Without the end it isn't a story.

Once
upon a time there was a girl. She was poor and alone because her parents were dead, and child services didn't exist then, so she had to go to live with her wicked stepmother and do work for her. Hard work, the kind that nearly killed her, but in time she got used to it.

Then one day she heard the prince was giving a big ball. She asked to go, but her stepmother wouldn't let her. So she tried to run off and get a ride to the castle from a knight, but her wicked stepmother had tailled her, and she found her and dragged her off the horse. While she was going, the wicked stepmother threw the knight a gold coin. He held onto it, and he kept looking at it all the time. He kept thinking about the girl.
He wanted to help her, but he couldn't.

The knight went to the ball, and he was going to kill the prince, but there were too many guards around watching him, so he ran away.

Then the knight went to find the girl and save her. The wicked stepmother grazed him in the neck with an evil spell, but he killed her and all the other guys too, even though he got hurt bad. At first the girl was scared, but then she was free and she was okay. She got to go back home to her real parents. The knight was a hero. All the papers said so.

And everyone lived happily ever after.

..........
..........
..........

Tell me your favorite story.
Voice or video if you can.
The words alone are lonely.

Tell me please.

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[It's only the deep ache in his muscles that tells Blake that he's been pounding his fists mindlessly for a long, long time.]

Yeah, well, here's something else to believe.

[He feels a bead of sweat fall from his forehead, and watches it darken the mat.]

I'm not a good guy, kid.

Right! Good witches are a lot better. But watch out for when good witches go bad, too!

[ :/ face from Roxy, but she turns it into a soft smile. ]

Yeah, they do. Otherwise they wouldn't be heroes, would they?

[Steve is a sucker for anything that begins once upon a time. Soon she's rapt and wide-eyed.]

Wow, you mean people who studied with her died? That's a hard class...

But that's not fair. She was being punished just for being strong? So she was just left between worlds like that?

[Steve's paws knit tightly together. She looks deeply disturbed by the idea.]

That can't really happen. Someone left out alone where they don't belong, trapped forever.

Can it?

Is that where you're from? [He does sound tough.

Steve nods fiercely at the screen.] Yeah! A real cop's the best thing a person can be. They're strong and they beat up the bad guys.

They keep people safe, no matter what.

[Her ears drop, and her snubs become less steady.]

Even if people don't understand what it takes.

Oh.

[Steve is a bright enough dog (who'd been around a cynical enough person for the last year) to see where this is going.]

They fought and took the old home back, didn't they.

Is home worth that?

Yeah I'm from down under, but I'm from a different state than Ned Kelly. Where I'm from is dryer, not so much trees and bushes.

[Well he'd beg to differ, but again he's cognizant that the little pink dog seems to think the world of law enforcement types, and he doesn't exactly want to pop any bubbles today so...best to play it as kid-friendly as possible.]

That's what a real cop does, yeah. They've got a memorial up at a few towns actually, for the policemen Ned Kelly killed. Can't fault'em fer bein' brave an' stickin' to their duty.

[Even if Sniper was on Ned Kelly's side and privately thought those few men were idiots to die for a system that did little to reward them.]

Not every cop's a good one though, an' Ned unfortunately ran afoul of one.

Right, Human.

[It's not hard to understand, but she can't pronounce it for the life of her.

Her ears quirk up. She finds what the young man says very interesting.]

That...would be nice. If there's somebody watching. I don't have parents but I have my trainer. What do trainers have?

If someone made the world, did they make all the worlds? People come here from so many.

Some of them don't seem like good places.

Edited 2014-07-01 09:34 (UTC)

Sure it can. Anything can happen, especially if the gods are as jealous and spiteful as mortals.

[That is exactly what Steve was afraid to hear, even as she doesn't notice that the sounds of fist hitting pads behind her has stopped. Her eyes go wide, and she doesn't make a sound. Words appear anyway.]

What if we're the shadow world?

I really don't think that's anythin' to worry about. This world is strange and probably its own separate thing, but I wouldn't call it exile. Besides, this place doesn't really feel like her Land of Shadows did. Whatever this world is, it ain't the same thing.

They tried. They tried very, very hard. But the people of their original planet found themselves a savior, to lead the war effort and crush the invaders.

[His tone gets a little strange, when he says the word savior. There might be some disdain there, some anger, a lot of fondness, and perhaps a touch of regret.]

...Millions died on both sides of the conflict, over nearly seventy years, before both sides decided to try working differently. Is anything worth that much blood?

_{[She nods (not that anyone can really tell, without video coming from her end)-- she can tell there must be something more going on than just Blake venting his considerable spleen, and yeah, there are DEFINITELY no Pokemon in the 'real' world, although she's not sure she'd consider 'real' a good term for it. But she doesn't want to interrupt the story.]

[The crunch of wood mulch and dirt can be heard between words as she heads swiftly down the road.]}

He had lots of friends, and they all ate grass together. But as time went on, the rabbits wandered everywhere, eating as they went. So Frith said to El-ahrairah... 'Prince Rabbit, if you can't control your people, I'll have to find ways of controlling them.'

But El-ahrairah had a bit of an attitude, so he just said, 'My people are the strongest in the world, and they do what they want!'

This made Frith angry.

[That seems to trouble Steve.]

What happens if a good witch goes bad? Do they go somewhere?

What if they're not heroes anymore?

[Steve listens to the rhythm of Heather's footsteps. She hopes she doesn't have far to go. It's too late at night for long walks.

She snubs along with the story, and nods firmly.]

Yeah! The strong one wins!

[That's the rule she knows.]

[Steve's special kind of uglycute is a powerful force.]

Doesn't everybody have a favorite story?

Tell me one you like, then. Or something else.

Just... [She hunches down at the sound of a hard strike against pads and a snarled curse.] Tell me something.

[Riku can see why he might say that. The abrasive attitude and rough exterior sure aren't winning him the favor of thin-skinned sentimental types, but is that really such a big deal?

His expression is blank, and his tone even. He just has one question:]

And why's that?

[Blake's eyes stay fixed on his sore knuckles. They're dense and gnarled, an old man's hands. The throb of impact is an old friend.

He doesn't answer right away.]

You know that shit people keep saying about other worlds? Not even completely different crazy ones, like where you came from. Worlds like the real one, but with one thing different.

_{[Heather can't help but let a smile cross her face at that response. Because while she can't honestly remember (this is a story she'd been told probably before she'd even been old enough to understand the concept of 'stories' at all), she's pretty sure she might've had a similar reaction.]

[Without even realizing it, Heather's voice takes on a few notes of Harry Mason's old storytelling humor.]}

Now hang on, I'm not done with the story yet!

Where was I... oh yeah.

So Frith decided to get the better of El-ahrairah... he decided to give a gift to every single animal and bird, making them all different. Some of the gifts were harmless... but to the fox, the weasel, the hawk, and the dog...

To THOSE animals, he gave a fierce urge to hunt down and kill El-ahrairah's children. And since all the rabbits did was wander around and eat... they weren't nearly as strong as he thought.

And he was scared.

Did the savior save anybody?

Seventy years...that's so long to fight. Did they live so long, or was it their children, too?

[Steve pulls her knees up. She doesn't notice that the room has gotten quieter.]

I don't know. Fighting is fun. I'm good at it! But from how people talk, and what he says, and what you say, it's different other places. The loser doesn't get up again. He told me that.

And he said sometimes it's better that way. There's people who the world is better off without.

[Sunk in thought, she doesn't notice the shadow looming behind her.]

[Steve's paws cover her mouth in alarm.]

That's terrible! You can't just have someone's children eaten because they made you angry!

[Some of the words are strange, but one catches her ear.]

Dog? That's like a Snubbull or a Poochyena, isn't it? He calls me that a lot.

[The translation stalls for a moment in the middle, as it takes the Musharna a thought to translate one snubbull to, in fact, the word Snubbull.]

Yep, you got it.

And the foxes are like Vulpix, weasels are like Furrets, hawks are like... y'know, Pidgeottos... you get the idea.

Anyway, El-ahrairah didn't want to get eaten, so he started to dig a burrow to escape into. That was when Frith came by.

'Oh,' he said, 'Have you seen El-ahrairah? I want to give him a gift.'

'Uh, nnnnnoooo,' said El-ahrairah, 'He's not here. I don't know where he is.'

'All right, well come out and I'll bless you instead,' said Frith.

And El-ahrairah was like, 'Shit.'

[Steve speaks again, looking almost afraid.] But people aren't sent here and they can't go back. That sounds like what exile is.

Wait, feel like...? You went there?

[Curiosity absorbs her attention and keeps her from noticing the shadow looming above her.

She jolts hard when a voice from above her says, low and dangerous,]

What do you think you're doing?

[That helps Steve picture it better. She's getting new context for things. There was another there she'd heard, but usually as 'That fuckin' FBI weasel.']

Smart rabbit. I wouldn't tell someone who I was either, if he'd set the world to trying to eat my children.

Did he hurt him then?

Yeah. Cops have to be brave. That's important.

[Her arms wrap around herself.]

Here the cops are all the same.

Hey. What's the difference between a good cop and a bad one?

It's the only world I've ever been to. [Her jaw juts out firmly, as though she's making an argument.] I think it's a good one.

[Then she lets out a sigh.] I hope so. I'm used to stubborn.

But the most stubborn people in the world, really? They must be something else.

[She perks up to see a face come to join the voice. He looks like a nice boy, and he has a nice smile. It makes her feel a lot less alone.]

Yeah. I'd like that a lot.

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[17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

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