azume | tuesday week 13 ☆ interrogate cynthia club

tuesday week 13 ☆ interrogate cynthia club

[Emmeryn spends the earliest part of the week floating the idea of getting everyone together at once, less in a way like she's taking a poll and more like this is totally happening so get your thoughts together ahead of time—and Tuesday late in the afternoon she gathers everyone, Lucas and Cynthia included, in the Pokémon Center. Better that they all hear the answers together, she figures; better that Cynthia doesn't have to answer the same question twenty-odd times, is how she presents it to her beforehand, while apologizing for asking her to be at the center of things like that. It all comes together regardless, one way or another.

So! Here we are in the Pokémon Center; maybe it's kind of a tight fit but, y'know, worse has happened. Worse will probably happen again in the future if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Duma, about as useful as ever, stands half-asleep at Emmeryn's feet.]

Thank you so much for agreeing to come see us all like this, Cynthia. We have quite a bit of catching up to do, don't we?

[floor's yours everyone please don't make emmeryn have to put on her babysitting hat]

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[Man, there is a lot of yikes going on. This meeting is getting off to a great start. With that in mind, this subject seems like a good time for her to jump in. The moment Cynthia claimed to have no knowledge of what had happened to the other executives, this was Rin's thought as well.]

Is it possible Cyrus is accelerating his time table? Letting his henchmen keep their personalities was always just a means to ensure they'd be able to carry out their jobs well enough; once he started closing in on his goals, it was only going to be a matter of time before he drained their spirits too.

He could have already started. Except... [Hrm.] Without the Lake Guardians he shouldn't be able to. Right?

That's my concern, too. That he's done something to them, either because he's closing in on his goals or for reasons that only he understands.

[...Cyrus, apparently, does a lot of things for reasons only he understands.]

In theory, though, he shouldn't be able to. In practice, he may have found another way. It's something I'll have to verify.

That's what I've been thinking-- that he's done something to them.

Thinking about it, there's a strong chance he might it. I've noticed it a few times myself, but even Lucas pointed it out the other day; even after all the changes that have taken place in the world as the Lake Guardians have been restore, the members of Team Galactic aren't recovering as quickly as other citizens we've met.

I could be getting ahead of myself. As members of his organization who were already sympathetic to his cause, it could be that they were more susceptible and are thus taking longer to recover. But in a worst case scenario, it could also mean he has another means of keeping them under his control.

If you ask me, I think you're right on track.

[Good job, Rin.]

There are some things I've been looking into along those lines - things you ought to know about, if we're going to continue on this path that we've chosen. Once we've all regrouped and met up again, I'll be sure to show you what I've found.

So you don't want to tell us until you know for sure.

[Not a question, but a statement. Rin nods; that's fair.]

That's fair. Until that time comes, is there anything we should know about that could effect us immediately? Or anything strange we should keep an eye on?

I do think it's wise to keep track of the people that aren't recovering. We may be able to find a way to help them later on, once we're certain we can do it without hurting them. I want to avoid harming people as much as possible, Team Galactic or otherwise.

I don't believe you're in immediate danger at the moment, unless Cyrus really has gotten it in his head to do something drastic.

We've been able to slip under the radar so far, but after everything that's happened, he has to have noticed our interference.

[Not that Rin thinks they're in immediate danger either, if Cynthia doesn't. She's just sure Cyrus has to already be on the counter.]

Besides the ones in Veilstone and Eterna City, are there any other Team Galactic bases in this region?

No other official bases, though I'm sure they've set up some sort of network in Jubilife; they seemed active there.

There was that television station in Jubilife. If they wanted to set up some kind of communications network, that would be as good as any.

I think so too, sweetheart.

[Hrmmm.]

In that case, the bigger the city, the higher the chance is we'll encounter at least a few of them.

[Jubilife is a standout example with it's television station, but they'd likely want to keep an eye on other major hubs too. She can confer with Michael later what places seem most likely for that, what with his memory.]

We'll keep an eye out.

Well, we know they're using it for those weird granola broadcasts, at least. Bucky and I talked about breaking in and putting something else on. You know, literally anything that isn't twenty-four hours of how you should hydrate more.

[...]

Would that be something you're interested in doing? Trying to infiltrate their bases, throwing their structure off a bit?

[...Is this a dangerous idea to give Michael?]

Well, obviously. It never hurts to approach a problem from multiple angles, and getting all the assorted gods and Gym Leaders and whatever else seems like more of a long-term project. We can multitask.

[Michael pauses for a moment. He's still not Cynthia's biggest fan, but he's calmed down a lot since Lake Verity. If nothing else, he's more than capable of putting aside personal dislike for his own goals; that's just a normal demon workplace.]

In terms of prioritization, though, are you aware of the machines Saturn had in the Veilstone base?

[...]

I'm aware that Commander Saturn had some...interesting toys, that he used to do some very destructive things. Why do you ask?

Well, seeing as he isn't there to command any kind of defense, I see no reason those should keep existing.

Granted, I don't know what sort of setup he may have left behind, or how capable the flunkies are. But we'll never know if we don't check it out.