Violet City: Inn

[tangorines]

"Get off of me! Go, you stupid thing! Go!"

Alois wrenched away the gear from the teddiursa, shoving it as far away from him as he could. He snarled when it tried to cuddle closer to him. It was late, and it wanted to go by to sleep at Alois' side but the boy wanted none of that. He kicked it off of the bed and went back to the gear. His other pokemon surrounded the teddiursa and helped him to his feet. They weren't sure what had gotten into their trainer. They were almost afraid of him. Ladybird and the beedrill tried to corner their teddiursa friend. He had been the last one with the gear. He had seen something happen. While the bug pokémon huddled around the teddiursa, Alois sat upon his bed and stared at the face reflected back in the pokégear. His team glanced at him occasionally, trying to make their suspicious looks less obvious.

Alois couldn't ignore their stares anymore than he could ignore anyone else's. He picked up the clock from the bedside desk and threw it in their direction. Already he was reaching for another item. "Stop looking at me! Don't you have anything better to do than stare and gape at me like dying fish? Look away!"

He fumbled with the gear, his fingers trembling as he made the machine work.


[It's the Midnight Hour, Johto. Normal people are asleep at this time, at least those who hadn't been subjected to various plot related elements of a certain video game. Alois, however, isn't going to the Velvet Room, nor is he announcing the beginning of the end. He's simply broadcasting a message is all. It's the same message each night since the twentieth of March.]

Hoheo taralna rondero tarel... Hoheo taralna rondero tarel... Hoheo taralna rondero tarel...

[It goes on for a half hour, at the same time each night before it suddenly cuts off and nothing fills the gear but silence.

But today, on the thirty-first of March, Alois decides to changes tactics. The broadcast is made in the early hours of the morning, his chant becoming more and more insistent. This time the video is on and Alois, though his eyes are half-cast and his complexion paler than usual, seems not yet defeated. He was not going to stop until he got what he wanted. That much was obvious.]

Hoheo taralna rondero tarel. Hoheo taralna rondero tarel. Hoheo taralna rondero tarel. Hoheo taralna rondero tarel. Hoheo taralna rondero tarel. Hoheo taralna rondero tarel! Hoheo taralna rondero tarel! Hoheo taralna rondero tarel!!

[His voice reaches a feverish pitch before dying altogether. He breathes deeply, steadies himself, and waits with a patience that doesn't seem to be of his own choosing.]

Comments

[action]

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

[Oh god what. After seeing this she makes her way to Alois's room. Her hair is down from her pineapple style and hanging loose down her back; she's wearing her white nightgown because who has time to change when someone might be in trouble?]

...A-...Alois-san...?

[action]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[He hears the footsteps first, and though he knows they were too light to be that of a tall man he can't help but feel excited. Maybe it was him? Maybe he had taken some other form? Maybe - Chrome's voice shatters that illusion very quickly and Alois suppresses the urge to yell at her too. It would have felt great, he thinks, to have yelled at her. But she wasn't a servant of his.]

What. [He pays little attention to how she's dressed. The only concern to him was how fast she had found him.]

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

[She tilts her head and, though aware of his anger and impatience, doesn't move away]

What's wrong?

[video]

[thebelsareinert]

Are you possessed or is this normal for you?

[video]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[Was it hi-- ... no. It was some boy, perhaps around his age or older. An interesting boy who had a question. Alois considers his words for a moment before responding. A distraction from his earlier disappointment was necessary.]

Yes, I ordinarily go around chanting spells. I even start bonfires in the middle of the night and throw sacrifices into it to please the gods.

[video]

[thebelsareinert]

[... Yeaaaaah, this guy's screwing with him. On the bright side, though, it probably means he's fine, so Hiro can roll with that.]

Must make it hard to talk to people.

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

[When Envy first turns on the video, he looks a bit grouchy because who the hell is chanting noisily into the 'Gear at this hour, but then he notices that it's Alois. So he lets the annoyed expression drop. It's replaced by one that's curious and just the smallest bit concerned. Was he still sick?]

...was something supposed to happen?

[And that's about the closest to 'are you okay' Envy will give.]

[video]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[His entire demeanor shifts from anticipation to dejection in the span of a few seconds. Alois visibly deflates and shakes his head.]

...Someone was supposed to appear. But it seems as much as a joke here as it was then. [And yet then, there were still results. He expected those same results now.]

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

[Well that was interesting; maybe Alois' world had magic or something, it wouldn't be the first time he'd met someone from a place like that. He'll file this information away.]

Maybe they're just not in Johto yet?

[video; filtered]

[usedcalmmind.livejournal.com]

[ The backdrop is of silhouetted trees against the slowly-lightening sky. Sebastian is crouched on the forest floor, watching the feed with an insidious smile. ]

Your mantra seems ineffective. Just what did you expect to happen?

[ He's fishing for an answer, actually. All he knows is that whatever Alois is trying to accomplish, it isn't working — the boy's been doing this for days. ]

[video; filtered]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[The setting is eerily familiar to him. Forests tend to look the same during the early hours of the morning. There as nothing to see but various shades of gray and blue. Yet against this forest was a figure he wasn't eager to see. Alois almost slinks away, as if by becoming smaller he'd be hidden from Sebastian's gaze. He stops himself, however, refusing to back down now. Not now, when he had come so far.]

It's a good thing such a thing as my 'mantra' has nothing to do with you, Sebastian.

[After their last conversation, he's sure that Sebastian was taunting him. Perhaps he was being so bold as to filter it from Claude. He didn't want to think that there was a chance Claude was avoiding him...]

[video; filtered]

[usedcalmmind.livejournal.com]

— Of course. My apologies; I had hardly meant to pry. I can only imagine you might want to keep such piteous desperation to yourself.

[ Somewhere between taunting and outright insulting, yes. Sebastian figures subtlety is a lost art at this point, except for his own entertainment, and he's entertained enough just watching Alois fall apart. ]

[usedsubstitute.livejournal.com]

A-Are you alright? _{[Iris isn't quite sure what he's saying or why, but the tone that he's taken on is quite frightening to her.]}

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[...Again, it wasn't Claude. He's beginning to think that perhaps this was a useless effort.]

I'm about as right as I'll ever be, Sister Iris.

[usedsubstitute.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. W-What exactly were you saying, if you don't mind?

[video]

[useddestinybond.livejournal.com]

[Ciel looks half asleep and clearly irritated.]

What is this nonsense you are spouting at such an hour?

[video]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

My apologies Little Earl. Did I wake you from your precious slumber?

[He'll put on a smile, just for Ciel.] Perhaps you'd be willing to help me, from one noble to another?

[video]

[useddestinybond.livejournal.com]

I wasn't quite asleep, thankfully.

[He sits up a little more and runs a hand through his hair. His eyepatch is gone, and Alois can see the lack of the contract mark. Unfortunately here in Johto the contract is null and void, so there is no mark over his eye. It just looks a pale blue, paler than his other eye, as he is still blind in it.]

What did you have in mind?

video

[3-butterflies.livejournal.com]

video

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[His first impulse is to scream at her too, to get her as far away from him because she was simply herself. She was horribly soft. What were the chances of her really understanding? But knowing she was there and concerned about him was enough to calm him down, just a little.]

...He's not answering me.

video

[3-butterflies.livejournal.com]

[She's just gentle as always, quiet in her asking, with a small tilt of the head, holding the Pokegear as gently as if it were the poor boy himself.]

[video]

[iridisiridum.livejournal.com]

It warms the heart to witness such devotion.

[ Oh, Alois. You delightful little shit. Do you realize you simply remind Mukuro more and more of himself at that age? Even down to the (haha) somewhat abnormal preoccupation with an older man, although Mukuro supposes here is where the differences end.

He's not going to pursue Chrome on this night -- she must learn her own lessons and make her own decisions, right? ]

[video] 1/2

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[Alois nearly drops the gear in surprise. Why was Sebastian contacting him? Had the demon thought it fun to throw salt on the wound? And hadn't he already spoken to the bastard? Honestly, was Sebastian that attached to Ciel that he'd contact Alois twice...]

[video]

[fauxearl.livejournal.com]

[After his initial panic he took a closer look and realized it wasn't Sebastian. It was that other man, Mukuro. Seeing Mukuro wasn't any better than seeing Sebastian. Alois sneered. Damn Mukuro was creepy with his assumptions, not to mention looking like the enemy.]

I'm sure it does. [GET OFF THE FEED]

[video]

[iridisiridum.livejournal.com]

[ Assumptions? Now, really, Alois, that's taking it a little far, don't you think? Mukuro simply watched the other videos attached to this one to figure out what exactly was the merit of your miniature satanic ritual.

Now he's just clucking his tongue. ]

If only children of this era were so well-mannered.