Casefile 001 - Video/Action for those in Mahogany Town

[used_fireblast]

[Action]

[Harry has apparently managed to at least get outside of the Rocket base without major incident, and is now sitting with his back to a very solid tree going through his pack more thoroughly. He looks at the hat that came with the Rocket uniform in vague disapproval for a moment before tossing it away into the treeline like a frisbee. Tucking the rest of the outfit back into the bag, he cautiously surveys the last items left outside the pack, the Pokegear and the Pokeball that was on his desk.]

No, don't touch that you fool. That's where they left the bomb.

[His tone is dead-pan, talking to no one in particular.]

Man, I hate it when my life starts looking like a bad horror flick. Pity there's no horny college kids around, poking at probably-dangerous stuff with sticks is what they're supposed to do.

[He sighs, leaning forward and looking resigned. With the manner of someone handling nuclear material, Harry presses the button on front of the Pokeball.]

[A minor explosion of light makes Harry jerk back, crying out a bit as his arms fly up to shield his face.]

HELL'S BELLS!

"Smoochum!"

[Harry slowly lowers his arms, staring blankly at the Smoochum crawling up onto his lap. It certainly doesn't LOOK dangerous, but he's seen a seven-year-old girl successfully hold off a small army of fallen angels.]

What on God's green earth are you?

"Smoo~"

[Fascinated despite himself, Harry slowly reaches out and picks up the Smoochum and picks it up. It begins gently gumming his hands, apparently quite content despite the distrust its trainer is showing it. Harry sets it down, and it begins crawling up his arm and into his lap again.]

No immediate threat, at least. Suppose I can't get much worse than dead, anyway, unless this place is a secret hot-bed of necromancers.

"Smoo-chumchum."

Yuh-huh.

[Harry turns to the last remaining piece of mysteriousness, the Pokegear. It looks SORT OF like a cellphone or PDA, which means he has roughly the same knowledge of its use as a chimp does of the key-card lock on its enclosure.]

I don't suppose YOU know how to use this, do you?

"Smoo."

Yeah, thought so. Thanks.


[Video]
[At first, the screen wobbles, showing mostly sky. The sounds of someone poking at the Pokegear can be heard, fingers brushing across the microphone.]

Always figured Hell’d be more fire and brimstone than this. Maybe infinite screenings of the Star Wars Christmas special. But no, me, I get little fiddly electronic things with unmarked buttons. Don't I feel special... and now I'm talking to myself. That can't be healthy.

[The screen steadies to reveal a tired-looking man poking around the screen on his Pokegear, looking a bit unsure. A curious Smoochum occasionally bounces up into frame, trying to see.]

Okay, the blinking HAL-9000 eye-of-death means this is going, right? Mab, Maeve, whoever's behind this, you’re not nearly as funny as you think. The background music is a nice touch, very impressive piece of magic, I have to admit. It's just catchy enough to stick in the head, just annoying enough to encourage experiments in self-trepanning.

Murphy, Molly, Thomas, if any of you are seeing this somehow... there are some things that I have to do alone, out of pride, or because the danger to others is too great. This is not one of those times, and if I ever say something is, I'm probably being stupid or being manipulated or both. But be careful. If I'm right, the Faeries aren't going to take too kindly to mortals poking their heads in.

Comments

video;

[show_my_cannons]

... You are being recorded.

Re: video;

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[A beat, as Harry sizes up the man appearing onscreen. Trying to figure out who, if anyone, can be trusted.]

... Recorded, or broadcast? There's a small, but significant, difference.

video;

[show_my_cannons]

[He's big -- linebacker big -- muscled and covered in scars. And slightly sullen-looking.]

Broadcast. Everyone can hear this.

Re: video;

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[Everyone with one of these gear things, he assumes. Must find out if anything else can pick up or broadcast to these things.]

Good. Then whoever brought me here knows I'm all out of bubblegum.

[And his primary way of kicking ass, but no one else needs to know that.]

Where is 'here', anyway?

[He has his theories, none of them terribly good.]

video;

[show_my_cannons]

... Yeah? And?

[The phrase is completely lost on the poor 'Bot.]

Some place called 'Jhoto'. We are required to fight our creatures against each other.

Re: video;

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

Creatures?

[A blank stare. Harry looks between the screen and the Smoochum.]

You mean this thing?

"Smoochum!"

[He recalls mentions of Pokey-man battles at the Carpenter household, but somehow always imagined it in the context of orange Godzilla-clones. And that electric rabbit thing.]

You can't be serious.

"Chum."

[Harry is aware that appearances can be deceiving, but the Smoochum is busy chewing on the corner of the Pokegear. It is not an image very conducive to battle.]

video;

[show_my_cannons]

Do I look as if I am joking?

[No, Ironhide, you look more like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.]

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

Hell's one of the theories.

Oh, and the music doesn't go away. [Envy: ever unhelpful.]

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[That's some... impressive hair. Not helping the theory that this is some part of Faerie, for Harry.]

Figures. Always knew the movie of my life was low-budget, just didn't think it was 8-bit.

[Hair could also indicate that this is a punk concert that got re-e-e-ally out of control.]

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

[Yeah, and the unnaturally violet eyes probably don't help with that either. But Envy is fairly used to people looking at his hair funny by now, and for the most part finds it amusing.]

It's something you get used to, if you get stuck here long enough.

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

'Stuck here'? People getting brought here against their will is what, a regular occurrence? And long enough to get used to this...

[Harry pinches the bridge of his nose, sudden revelation apparently causing a headache.]

Hell's bells, I'm stuck in a crappy remake of 'The Prisoner'.

"Smoo~"

[The Smoochum has managed to climb onto Harry's shoulders and begun chewing at his hair.]

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

Yeah, new people show up every week, and sometimes people already here will just vanish. Nobody knows why. [He shrugs, wearing a nonchalant smirk.] Me, I've been here almost eight months.

[He glances at the Smoochum, snickering.] Interesting starter you've got there.

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

Starter?

[Harry reaches up tugs the Smoochum free, holding it in his lap with one arm. It seems fairly happy investigating the fabric of his shirtsleeve.]

Implying this is the first, and I have to go get more like a really hardcore Beanie Babies collector.

[He'd begun guessing as much back in the Rocket HQ, but the prospect does not thrill him.]

"Chum."

The hell is it, anyway? I can't keep calling it 'it', I feel like an HP Lovecraft protagonist.

[video]

[usedgrassknot.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid the music won't be going away any time soon.

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[At least other people hear it too. He was beginning to worry.]

I've heard of parts of the Nevernever that are radically different than the mortal world, but constant elevator music's a new one on me.

[More colored hair and leather, too. He's beginning to think his apprentice would feel much more at home here than he does.]

[video]

[usedgrassknot.livejournal.com]

The Nevernever?

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[So he hasn't heard of the Nevernever. Maybe a vanilla mortal, then, or at least something pretending to be. Either way, Harry doesn't particularly care about keeping the magical world's secrets right now.]

It's the world that exists alongside the physical universe. Relies on magic the way the mortal world relies on physics. Where this IS, I think. Part of it anyway.

The local name might be different.

Re: [video]

[usedgrassknot.livejournal.com]

It's not part of your Nevernever, I'm afraid. If anything, it's another world.

Re: [video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

[The interest of Harry's inner nerd has been piqued.]

What, like a parallel universe? Possible, I suppose. What makes you so certain, though?

[Harry takes a closer look at Marluxia. The absolute sense of certainty in the face of apparently no evidence is very familiar.]

You're not a wizard, are you?

[Video] AHAHA totally meant to tag this sooner, whoops.

[foolishwren]

This place isn't Heaven, but it's not Hell either, I'm glad to report.

You get used to the music eventually.

Re: [Video] Quite all right. ^_^

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

So I've been told.

It doesn't really count as 'getting used to it' if there are straightjackets and rubber walls involved.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

Not a huge fan of either of those things, myself.

Anyway, if I haven't gone crazy after being here a whole year, you're probably safe.

Re: [Video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

An entire year?

[That's... troubling. Harry's not sure he wants to think about what might happen in Chicago, given recent events, if he's here that long.]

No chance of just walking past the lamp-post in the forest and coming back out through the wardrobe, then.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[Heather's had some time to get used to it-- as well as the comforting fact that she actually had it better in this world than she did at home. Not that that's the case for everybody, obviously.]}

Nah, sorry, I think Mr. Tumnus is in another castle.

Re: [Video]

[used-fireblast.livejournal.com]

Probably just as well. I've had bad luck with goat-people.

[Harry is mostly sure she's joking. Mostly. His life is weird enough that she might not be.]