missing in action [ open ]

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow Platinum had been relieved for some time. She was, as is generally the case with horror stories, quite scared and concerned for the lives lost. Most so for Candice, who she had come to consider a friend in recent years. Though there had been no body found, Platinum knew that Snowpoint City would not be the same without her, and so she elected to go somewhere more welcoming. Somewhere completely different - that somewhere was Veilstone City. There was, as always, Platinum's draw to the game corner there in the city, but she knew that she could resist it if she just enjoyed the views and the city's wonderful landscaping. After all, it had come from carving out the rocks of mountains. While she couldn't say she found stones as fascinating as her friend Steven, she could definitely say that the way the city had been organised was interesting. Maylene lived in it too, which in itself was quite the plus when you were feeling down. Platinum curled her fingers together as she took a seat on a bench carved from stone, delicate hands forming the shape of a rock themselves. "I wonder if we will ever find out what truly happened to Candice," she spoke to no one in particular, musing aloud so that she wouldn't contain her emotions within and end up exploding. That was how she figured it was, anyways. Dark hair twisted around itself in the wind. It wasn't a gale, but it was definitely more than a breeze. The Berlitz-Silph girl tucked her scarf tighter around her neck to keep out the chill on the air as she scooted back further on the bench. Perhaps she could just sit here for a while. That would be nice.

► open

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[FERNANDO SILPH]

It was Veilstone City, assuming his memory served him correctly, that housed the "famed" Cobalt empire that Raven had so proudly bragged about. Generally, it would've been a bad idea to present the famed surname within the area but Fernando couldn't quite come up with a fuck to give. These days he couldn't find anything to care about. Everything was too scattered, too trivial to be worthy any concern. The only reason he even came to this blasted city was to retrieve something from within the Cobalt building. Something he'd be needing if he was to continue this farce. It was almost funny how coming back to Raven's home would also bring him to the one person he forbid to accompany him. With the fall of Silph, Platinum had been nothing more than a forgotten afterthought, taking her rightful place among trivial possessions that Fernando no longer needed. Whatever alliance their families held fell upon his father's death. There was nothing left of the Silph name other than the generic company that continued to dole out pokeballs. Well, that and the enclosed account Fernando had set up in preparation of usurping his father. Everyone could wonder where the Silph fortune had gone - vanishing the moment the company lost it's CEO, lost forever into the endless digital siphon. It would await his return, safely accumulating until he could return from hiding. Even now he hid from sight, leaving Platinum unaware of his approaching presence. Not that she'd recognize him now. His appearance had taken a dramatic transformation, no longer resembling who he once was. The only thing left was a deeper, cracked voice which grumbled throughout each word he spoke - not that he spoke, at all. It wasn't hard to position himself behind her. Careful steps brought him silently behind her, posed to strike as he draped a hand over her eyes. His other hand pulled at her scarf, considering whether choking her would be ideal. A firm tug is enough to loosen the fabric and allow his hand to glide over delicate skin. "Did you think you were free?" The tip of his index finger presses against her flesh, far from digging into her but strong enough to apply an uncomfortable pressure. A lash of his tongue wets his lips, pursing as another terrible growl escapes his lips. "Did you think you could escape me?"

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow She had thought she was free, and that was her mistake. She had thought, with Fernando's disappearance that she and her family would be left without the man who both saved and terrified her. There had been enough done that she had brought stocks back into the Berlitz business, her mother's research had once more brought money in - and, despite the horrors that had accumulated, Platinum had thought she was free. She thought that, despite all the bad, she had managed to accumulate some good. The heiress still sat, thinking about her lost friend, as her scarf loosened as soon as she tightened it. She froze at the touch afterwards, hands flying to her Pokeballs as she stood up and away from the touch, letting her scarf fall loose with his words. "You are gone, you have been for some time." She replied quickly, standing tall even with her fingers curled nervously around the team who protected her. Despite the ball at the back of her throat making her feel sick, she bothered to look at him. "You do not look like yourself. Perhaps you ought to take a shower." She breathed out heavily through her nose, indignantly taking another step back. "If you had stuck around I still would have been your property but I am no longer what you wish. Perhaps being cowardly was not quite your best move." She let her hand drop from it's safety net. Fernando was barely recognisable beneath this new outward facade. Though perhaps somewhat scarier, he was still the same person who had taught her to be stronger. She was not, however, a play thing any longer. "I am free."

► ice

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[FERNANDO SILPH]

Grandeur delusions may have gotten her through tireless nights, filled her with a false, comforting sense of security, but they'd do little to protect her now. Whatever false bravado she was putting on would be quickly silenced with a simple exertion of his wrist. It'll only take a moment for him to snap her neck but he decides against it. Platinum is worth more alive than dead. And, should the time come where he'd rather dispose of her, well he'd leave that for the Knights. "And how times have changed?" There's a bitter laughter to follow the hollow statement. For the Knights to rise to power then Fernando would have to fall. But he wouldn't be the only one. Naturally, the Dex Holders would be the first to rise and the first to fall. If all Fernando had lost was his wallet and name then he could only imagine what Platinum had to lose. "I left the world in inept hands. You beg and pleaded to be independent and so I let you go. Gave you the world." Fernando takes her eyes off her for a moment, glancing at the watch on his wrist before back at her. "You still fear thus you're still bound. What I gave you was taken by another - a farce of an owner. What I asked for in sweat you paid for in blood. But not your own. You're too scared for that. Tell me, how's that blonde kid? The one from Hoenn." His gloat is as real as her predicament. Platinum is stuck in a very bad spot with no where to run.

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow Platinum had been fighting with her thoughts to keep her occupied. She had worked hard since his disappearance, working on the Berlitz company and parading as a widow. She had even worn the colours of mourning for some time, to prove that she had not completely shed the relationship that had saved her family's business in a time of steep economic downturn. But she had saved it, and that was what was most important to her. "They have changed enough that I am no longer your property." Platinum spoke up, fists balling as she turned to look up at him once more. His laughter was callous and terrifying, but she stood tall as she could. It was important for her to stand against Fernando, to not let him win. "My hands are not as inept as you perhaps suppose, I have managed to bring my company back from woe, we are doing better. We are doing world. You do not have the authority to decide whether my hands are inept or not." Her lips curled downward into a frown, hair blowing over her face as she watched him and his every movement. If he wanted to kill her, he could have done so. That meant she still had some value to him, and she was not eager to continue in such a manner. And then he spoke of Emerald, her senior in time. He had been lost in the volcanic eruption of Mount Chimney, and she had been sad for his loss. All of the Pokedex Holders were saddened, it was the first of their own casualties. "Do not speak of someone you do not know. Emerald was a good and kind boy, He saw the best in Pokemon and died protecting people. He is remembered for his good deeds and you have no right to speak ill of his memory." She glowered, her eyes sinking into a narrow glare. "I have many fears, but I am not bound as I do not let them control me. I will do what I can for this world, even if it frightens me. I am free." Her statement was repeated, as much for herself as for her "husband".

► ice

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[FERNANDO SILPH]

Fernando does his best to stifle the small laugh that tickles the back of his throat. Instead, he stomachs it, breaking out into a gleeful smile, arrogant in his self appointed superiority. Platinum can hold herself in whatever manner she pleases but that does little to change what they both know. The world is different and both of them stand lower on the overall pedestal - her more so. "Is that what you think?" Fernando takes a step forward, slouching against the bench with his fingers intertwined within each other. "I leave for a few months and a new world power sprouts up. You, who swore to protect it now cower as you await their judgement. You can boast as much as you'd like about surviving but you can't say the same for your friend Emerald." Pause. "But, I suppose you should brag about that. I'm sure that makes up for his sacrifice." Fernando can feel his smile grow a bit wider, his dimples twitching at the sheer delight of his next words. "Since, y'know, you could caused all of this. Wasn't it you who was so adamant about stopping me from using Spear Pillar? No, Fernando! Stop!~ You can't disturb the legendary pokemon!" To blame Platinum for the entirety of the Knight's rise to power would've been an exaggeration at best, but Fernando knows how to work the point. Both of them there is some truth behind the statement. While Fernando is indefinitely a wild card, at least Platinum had some leverage over him. At least he could be pleaded to. "But I'm sure I'm just being a pessimist. Remind me how handing over a weapon of mass destruction to a cult of religious fanatics is a better idea than handing it over to someone who prefers to keep the world as it is? I mean, sure, I wouldn't have started a war against society, blowing up volcanoes and whatnot, but I'm sure having them kill Emerald was a much better idea than anything I could've created. Right, wifey? I'm sure you're glad with choosing those Knights over the guy who never harmed your friends." "But who the am I?" There's a whimsical, mocking muse behind each string of words. Fernando is enjoying this more than he should have. Even if he lost everything at least he could rub it in her face. Make her feel like utter shit. "Just the best chance the world had against them. But let's just go ahead and hand them over the most powerful pokemon in existence."

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow "I am not cowering, I work every day to counter what they have done, what they continue to do. That is more than you can say for yourself. You disappear because you are weak, obviously." Platinum was having none of his words, she felt wronged for the fact that she had so believed she was free. And yet here he was, continuing to make her life miserable and punishing her for something she had not been the cause of. Of course she had not wanted him in Spear Pillar. She had not wanted someone like him in power either. It was six of one or half a dozen of the other, and this "evil" power that threatened merely reminded her of team Galactic. And that was something she could deal with. Fernando was another matter. "You do not want to keep the world as it is, Fernando. Perhaps they are psychotic but we have dealt with those who would do things of such a sort before. You would be just as eager for power as they are just in a different way, and sometimes you are equally as controlling." Platinum frowned at him, taking another step back and forcing herself to not listen to him. He wouldn't have succeeded even if she let him. She kept telling herself that, and she would eventually believe it. "I told you not to speak of him! He is worth far more than your callous words, pretending and trying to harm. There is nothing in them, they are empty, like your power. I am free of you!" The young heiress was clutching at strings, hoping that he would just take the hint, believe her and leave her alone. She had not caused this horror by stopping him. She had not!

► ice

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[/div]

[FERNANDO SILPH]

"I disappear to couner what you have done, and what you will continue to do. Obtaining Arceus is a much easier task than slaying it." Fernando allows those words to sink in, unphased by her claims. They're empty words from an ignorant, optimistic girl. Platinum is just a child, showered in paux ideas of friendship and magic. They've worked for her before, helped her conquer Galatic and save her home region. But what she forgets to credit is skill, power, and that cheap little device she uses to over power her foes. Fernando knows, and fully acknowledges her power for what it's for. It's her idiocy that he can't seem to forgive. "You've dealt with a lackluster team who went on a wild rampage, causing chaos and destruction wherever they pleased. They destroyed an entire city before you stopped them. Now you face a stronger group, one with the powers of a God. This time you lost a dear friend, and that wasn't even to the actual combatants. I can't help but imagine how you'll fare when you actually have to fight Arceus." Another glance at his watch brings Fernando up and into a more poised posture. He still has some time before he has to move on. "I had power. I was on top of the world. If I wanted to hold the world hostage then I could just close down Silph and watch the economy burn. But I would never. I'm not wasteful. I don't dispose of countless lives for nothing. Have casualties hit the four digit mark yet? Please tell me that I'm a worse alternative. I'm sure Emerald would agree with you." It was a rare sight to see such a shit eating grin plastered all over his face, but this was just too delectable. Nothing brought a bigger satisfaction than being able to rub it in her face. He was right. She was wrong. The only difference this time was that it costed her a life. "Oh... but he can't. I'm sure you can beg for his forgiveness at his grave. If the other Dex Holder will let you."

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow "You are less than a man, Fernando. Your words are harsh and they are an attempt to wound me, but you are merely weak if they are your weapon against me. I am proud of my position and I would not want to see someone like you in power. Regardless." She frowned, "You would take advantage of your position and that is what truly repulses me." This time, Platinum was enraged. Golden eyes shone in fury as she contained a snarl. Always she tried to maintain her poise but Fernando was pushing her buttons. She had gone to him in hopes that his marriage would save her family - Arceus forbid he took her soul away with it. She raised her eyes to lock them on him again, "No, they are not in the four digit mark yet. Do not pray that they do. You may not be a worse alternative, Fernando, but you are certainly not a good one and I would much rather take them out than you." She looked him over with contempt, "You would cause horrors in worse ways. I do not regret stopping you. Arceus was captured at Lavaridge. Emerald's death was caused by a volcanic eruption. It could not be stopped and I am sad for his loss but I will not beg for forgiveness when there is no need for it. Resume your role as my husband and as the head of Silph, but I will never allow you to take control of this world. It is not your rightful place."

► ice

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[FERNANDO SILPH]

"But they're not. I'm not here to hurt you.I'm here to warn you." The arch of his spine is no longer twisted. From his height, Fernando is set to bear down on Platinum, seedy eyes glaring at her from behind tempered temptations. He is no longer a mountain, able to strike fear into those with the crossing of his arms. He's lost too much mass and muscle to radiate an image of strength. The only thing he has left are his eyes. Narrowed, spiteful eyes which carry a new found image of a man who's been wronged. Fernando is no longer a titan who tosses around his weight. He is simply a stranger who waits in the shadows, ready to slit the throat of those who cross his path. "Get in my way again and I'll personally take care of you. Arceus will fall but it won't come without sacrifices. Everyone who dies, everyone who sheds blood will be a direct consequence of your mistake." His message has been sent. Whether Platinum takes it to heart or not, he doesn't really care. Before, she was a thorn deeply embedded to her side. Now? It didn't matter. The Berlitz have done their job and Fernando has used them to the extent of their worth. If she tries to prick him again, well, he has his pliers at the ready. "But don't get this wrong, Berlitz. I already had Kanto in the palm of my hand. I had no intention of expanding that, only stabilizing it. But now? Now I have to kill a God. So do me a favor and apologize to your parents for being a little rough. I'm sure they'll be fine. I'll make up for it by putting the Galati-- Berlitz bomb to good use."

[PLATINUM BERLITZ-SILPH]

blossom of snow "I would rather not be in your way, I would rather never see you again so you do not have to worry about me stepping into your plans. I have my own mission and my own goals to acheive. For now, it might as well be that we were never married." Platinum watched him carefully, contemplating his words. He was throwing threats her way and the heiress did not doubt that he would go through with them. She also did not doubt that he would unleash the Galactic Bomb on Arceus should his need arise. To herself she hoped that the Pokedex holders and Gym Leaders might be able to come up with a slightly less violent alternative. "Your assumption is that you must kill Arcues to take down this threat, ours is something different. I only hope you understand that while I will not get in your way, I will definitely make my own efforts to rid our world of this threat. You and I have not got dissimilar goals if the Knights are enemies, but we are not allies as you yearn for too much power." She frowned, "By naming it after my family you do not shame us, we are not the creators and we are not the ones using it. You cannot frighten me with your words, you are just an angry man who is pouting for not getting his way. Good day, Fernando." She turned, making her way in the opposite direction as she began her path elsewhere.

► ice

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE