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Post by Parugi on Sept 12, 2019 11:20:39 GMT -8
[Date: August 5th, 2017] [Time: 12:37 PM] [Room ID: Seashell] [Interviewee: James Arthur] [Interviewer: Archivist Booker Samir]
Everything ready? [Clearing throat] All right--let's get started. For the purposes of Team Liberty's Information Documentation and Archival Sector, this interview is being recorded both on video and on tape in the Seashell Room in the Alamo's prison district. My name is Booker Samir, Executive of the Liberty Archives. The current date is August 5th, 2017, and the time is currently 12:37 PM. [Sounds of paper moving] Mr. Arthur, would you state your full name and rank within your organization?
. . . My name is James Arthur, Field Executive.
Thank you, Executive Arthur. [Pause] Before we begin, I feel it necessary to inform you that while our primary interest is in collecting information on the incident at Cape Brink, part of the purpose of these interviews, and IDAS's role in Team Liberty as a whole, is to craft a full narrative around the larger conflicts involving our organization, that we may ultimately compose a comprehensive history of what has led to these and other events. To that end, there may be times where I follow after answers and paths that may seem trivial or difficult or unnecessary to talk about. Your responses are your own--you hold every right to withhold an answer or redirect the conversation as you deem necessary. Do you understand?
[Pause] I understand. Please, ask your questions.
Very well. [Pause; tapping of a pen on paper] Let's start with the basics. Obviously, you ended up involved with the events on Two Island--otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here right now. What prompted you to head there?
I decoded a message that originated from an established Ford agent, known as Tyler McKinley. The message detailed a location and a time. Two Island on July 31st. From what I am aware, McKinley gave the message to a Rocket operative, who gave it to another, who decided to contact me. I chose to pass on the message to Leader Goldhawk who organized the mission to investigate.
Interesting . . . Why do you think an Agent of Team Rocket would decide to entrust you with such a message as opposed to leaving it to decryption operatives within their own organization?
. . . The Rocket Agent in question happened to be a relative of mine. My sister, to be precise. Still, I . . . never mind.
I see. [Note: Follow-up in future investigations.] Always a shame when family members wind up on opposing sides . . . Let's switch gears a bit. You said the message came from McKinley himself? Can you elaborate?
Hmm, I am guessing that McKinley gave the message to the Rockets as an attempt to lure them, or perhaps all of us there. The message itself was longer than it technically needed to be; he turned it into a riddle. I am grateful he did, however. With a longer message, it is easier to find patterns. The cipher he chose was rather famous among cryptologists which simplified matters. The only real problem was figuring out the passwords. Something I could have 'brute-forced' as it were, but a guess of mine turned out to be correct.
A stroke of fortune, then.
A stroke of convenience at least. I would have cracked it in time regardless. After figuring out what the passwords were, I am pretty sure I know what his inspirations for them were. Though, guessing them did take a certain degree of luck.
I take it this wasn't your first time working with encryption?
Heh. No, no it was not.
Good to know, good to know . . . So you decoded McKinley's message and accompanied Goldhawk to Two Island. How involved were you in organizing that mission?
Not very involved; Goldhawk decided to take the reins for the most part. I submitted a list of names of suitable agents. Some of these were chosen, while others he chose himself. We did not have enough intel to devise a comprehensive plan. After choosing the agents, he decided what route we would approach from, and the rest we would have to decide when we arrived.
Mhm; making do with what little time you had, as it were. And what did you find upon arrival?
To quote a common saying: "everyone and their mother were there." Sleight and a cohort of Rockets, Bounty and his Separatists, a separate group made of Liberty, Rocket and even Team Plasma agents. And there was somebody there who nobody among such a diverse group had heard of before.
Was this mystery figure antagonistic, or . . .?
. . . Good question. He provided us with intel that proved useful after the events that took place on Two Island, as well as provided back up for me on the Island itself. There was something of a incident, however.
I'm all ears if you would like to share details.
. . . I might be overstating it. At one point, during a battle, his personality shifted towards the aggressive, Galahad, my Togekiss, noted a drastic change in his aura, and he started lashing out wildly with the aura, nearly hitting my Pokémon. He stayed on our side after that, but the change was sudden and jarring.
I see. Could you tell me this person's name?
. . . He never actually gave his name. He was fairly short, silver hair, he had a scar across his jaw.
We'll keep an eye out for him, then. [Note: Follow-up in future investigations.] So a massive group converged at the scene. What did you find there?
The group converged at what first appeared to be a large crystalline structure. We split into two groups: Goldhawk and a number of our agents stayed at the surface while the rest of us entered. We followed stairs into a room. In the room were . . . memories. James Pierce's memories to be precise. An image of him appeared in the room, told us to leave, and when we said no, he summoned his Pokémon to block us. Agent Diamond, our mysterious silver haired 'friend' and myself stayed behind to fight Pierce's Pokémon to allow the others to pass.
After a harrowing battle, we emerged victorious, but I was the only who had Pokémon still fit for battle. The others returned to the surface and I continued on. There were eight other rooms like that one, each one for one of Ford's "Children". I am unaware of how many other battles like mine took place. I can tell you at least one other took place, but you would have to ask other members of the group to find out exactly what happened.
I caught up to some of the others and we reached one final chamber where the rest of the group was. In the chamber was Ford himself, surrounded by all nine of his "Children" who were residing inside pillars of light. Instead of immediately jumping to a fight, people started questioning Ford. He tells us that due to some magical contract, he was unable to directly speak of what he was doing, but he gave us clues to which we used to figure out what he was speaking of. That crystalline structure we were in? An egg.
An egg? [Note: Possible relation to "Alternate Beasts" dimension?]
Yes, an egg. One that when hatched, would release . . . [Pause] well, what we are dealing with now. The being that came from the egg, Ford said it was attracted to this world because of all the fighting in it. So his plan to stop it was to stop all fighting in the world, so he setup a magic ritual to 'turn off' anything that could cause violence. Pokémon abilities, human abilities, even weapons were supposed to be subject to it. The general consensus of the group was that it was worth letting Ford perform his ritual.
And what did you think of that plan?
. . . I maintained a healthy skepticism due to Ford's past actions, but in the end I favored the consensus. He was about to perform it, when one of our group gave a revelation back. Remember McKinley?
Of course.
He betrayed Ford . . . for the sake of that monster. There is something I neglected to mention. In one of the chambers right before the bottom, Shadow Admin Sleight and his wife were fighting a being known as Sloth. Sloth, being a reference to one of the Seven Deadly Sins. You may have records of Executive Vert and I fighting similar beings known as Lust and Greed.
Multiple records of several engagements, yes. We received others from Team Rocket fairly recently.
Right. You see, the thing is, as McKinley decided to shed his false human form and force Ford to attack us, Sloth was defeated. And afterwards, a sigil appeared. I do not know if this made it into the reports, but when Greed and Lust died, a sigil was left for a brief moment. And when the sigil appeared, so did that monstrous blob. I hate thinking I had a part in this, but if defeating those Sins was what allowed that monster to go free...
Some might say you bear some responsibility in that case, certainly. But I think it's fair and accurate to say that there was no way of knowing what defeating the Sins would entail, particularly for someone in the midst of confronting them.
. . . I suppose you are right. In any case, McKinley forced Ford to activate his ritual, deactivating all Pokémon power in the world. Not quite what was advertised as guns still worked, even before Bounty was able to activate a countermeasure Ford prepared. After that, we removed ourselves from the place as fast as possible. James Pierce and Quincy Adams were unable to escape, I am afraid. [Note: Review 3rd-party reports of Q. Adams and J. Pierce in order to compile fuller history.] We managed to defeat some of the being's foot soldiers that it created using guns and our Pokémon's natural abilities as they chased us, but we would've been overwhelmed had we stayed. We retreated back to Four Island and that brings us back to the present.
That's quite a story.
Indeed. I wish I could say it was a fabrication of my design.
Do you have any thoughts on the recent reports from Two Island?
. . . No comment.
Noted. [Note: Executive appears reluctant, if not unable to provide thoughts.] Well, Executive, I have only a few more questions for you, so hopefully you'll bear with me. You said you stayed behind to combat James Pierce. Could you tell me a little bit about that--why you decided on that course of action, and what prompted your decision?
. . . Somebody had to make a path for the others and I had the opportunity to face Pierce in a battle once before, so I had experience no one else had. Plus, I have to admit there was a score to settle between us.
You had engaged Pierce previously?
. . . Yes.
How many times?
Just the once. But I got see some of his tactics. I fared better the second time around when his Pokémon were forced into a straight fight. Having allies did not hurt either.
I see. [Note: Double-check records for earlier reports of this encounter.] What about non-combative encounters?
If you recall the forum we had with the Hojohsin League, I was the one who found the witness needed to take him down. I humiliated him on the world stage, evening the score. He... remembered to say the least.
You humiliated him?
Did you see the news concerning the forum? He was arrested by his own government. All his machinations laid bare. By the time my witness finished with him, he was a sputtering wreck.
Of course--all questions are for the record. [Pause] That's a very impressive feat for one witness. Tell me more about them.
Piers Ebner, professor of theology and Pierce's twin brother. He was . . . unnervingly eager to testify.
How so?
. . . He asked me what would happen when Pierce was found guilty and delivered to our custody. I told him he would be imprisoned until the verdict of a fair trial. He was . . . disappointed. He told me that Pierce should have been executed.
Bad blood between brothers, it seems.
Remember how I said I figured out McKinley's inspiration for his passwords?
[Nod]
The passwords were Cain and Abel
Fitting. [Note: Further insight on J. Pierce to be gained from P. Ebner?]
I thought so as well. McKinley may not have been a pleasant sort, but he was accurate in this aspect, I will gave him that.
So did McKinley's clue lead you to Piers, or was he an unrelated discovery?
Unrelated. The clue that I found that lead me to Piers was obtained around the same time I fought Pierce in a Pokémon battle.
And what was that clue?
A painting of his Alma Mater. Where Professor Ebner now teaches.
Mhm . . . Tell me more about Ebner. You said he was Pierce's twin and that he's a professor. What else did you learn about him--or from him?
Only a few more details. He and his brother came a wealthy background and entered college when they both still teenagers. He seemed to know about Ford, referring to him as an actor, a thespian. And he can condemn his brother with the same apathy one might have when talking about the weather.
No mention of involvement with Ford on his part?
He somehow knew of him, but other than that, none that could have been discerned.
Where is Ebner now?
Presumably back at the University. We returned him there while we went to go pick up another agent.
I see. [Note: Dispatch units on P. Ebner investigation.] Well, Executive, I think that's all for now. Do you have any closing thoughts for the record?
. . . One of our agents willing joined Ford before learning of the true threat. For that reason, I will be calling for an investigation into Agent Sonja Baron to see whether she should be court-martialed.
[End interview recording]
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