<sub>[You guys.]

[You guys.]

[It is so cold outside.]

[No, seriously, it's bitter and the snow's been building up and for the towns up north like Mahogany and Ecruteak, the snow is rooooollin' in.]

[But unlike last year, when Heather pretty much spent the first snows of the season filming her Pokemon skidding around on the streets of Goldenrod trying to eat snowflakes ... this time, when the feed comes on, it's filming the snow out the window from indoors, where it's brightly lit, with low, cheerful chatter in the background.]

[Outside, the snow is drifting down in big, fat flakes over the old houses of Ecruteak, making the whole dang place look like a gingerbread town.]

[Heather's voice cuts in.]</sub>

Guess what, you guys.

_{[And then the 'Gear is scooted around, giving a jerky view of what seems to be the interiors of one of the several old diners in the town, festively decorated and full of old folks enjoying their coffee. Then Heather's face slides into view, and she leans in for a moment or so, adjusting the 'Gear's position a little, biting her lip as she does so. Then she withdraws, grinning widely.]}

I am no longer a drain on society.

That's right, people.

I have a job.

Try not to faint.

<sub>[... She does look slightly less messy than usual. Like she actually tried to do something with her hair and gave up halfway through as opposed to one sixth of the way through. ... Oh. And also. She's in a dress.]

[... But don't get too excited, guys. There's nothing to fill the dress with so somehow Heather In a Dress looks even more like a boy than Heather In Normal Clothes does. Still, viewers, feel free to take a moment or two to inwardly marvel at the bizarre, surreal vision that is 'Heather Mason in a nice, old-school waitress outfit', but don't expect her to wait up for you. She's already continuing, scratching absent-mindedly at the collar of the dress as she does so.]</sub>

Figured I'd better rake up some cash before Christmas gets too close-- gotta get people presents and stuff, y'know? So yeah. The old folks who own the place are super chill. They make my last manager look like .... well, she already was a psycho bitch-monster of death, but they make her look like even MORE of one. _{[She pauses, canting her head to give the 'Gear one of those 'YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT' looks, because there HAVE to be some people out there who remember where Heather worked around this time last year. And WHO she worked for.]} Guys who were here one year ago, you probably remember her.

But yeah, so, they gave me permission to check messages and stuff if it's not too busy in here, so! Best bosses ever.

And hey, if you're in the area, stop by and visit or something. It's nice and warm in here.

... Plus...

_{[And that's when she holds up a coffeepot, with a cheerful grin that borders ever-so-slightly on the sinister.]}

I'm legally sanctioned to pour boiling hot liquids in close proximity to people now! Sweet, huh?

_{[End feed. c:]}

<sub>[It's about eight in the morning, the day after Halloween night. Juuuuust the right time for the bright early-morning sun to be shining in through everybody's windows. The Ecruteak Inn in particular is RIGHT in the perfect place for that light to be blaring in, which is why the first thing that shows on the screen (accompanied by the scrapes and jitters of somebody picking the 'Gear up) are the bright white bars of sunlight across the wooden inn-room floor.]

[The next thing it shows is ALSO covered in the bars of sunlight, but it's so BRIGHT that the glare actually maxes out the screen's capacity for a second or two before it adjusts and shows that the gleam is actually the sunlight reflecting in a million little points off of what seems to be a fairly impressive pile of NOT candy like one might expect there to be on somebody's floor after a successful night of trick-or-treating, but... shiny... things?]

[Yes. Shiny things. All kinds. Eyeglasses, doorknobs, strings of still-lit decorative Halloween lights, a genuine police badge, a set of handcuffs, a roll of foil tinsel, some well-polished pots and pans, small hand-held mirrors, coins of all shapes and sizes, more than a few pieces of (gulp) expensive-looking jewelry, a weathervane, several articles of clothing studded with those fake rhinestones, bottles of glitter (as one may imagine, the glitter is now EVERYWHERE), flashlights of all shapes and sizes (all of them are still turned on), a large (and opened) tube of "Sparkle Fun" toothpaste, what appears to be a small army of glossy Mr. Mime-shaped garden gnomes...]

[And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Somebody was productive last night.]

[The unmistakeable sound of a panting dog suddenly invades the speakers and a giant orange blur passes in front of the screen briefly, accompanied by the click-click-click of blunt claws on hardwood.Then the sound of licking, followed by a hoarse groan.]</sub>

Nnngh....

<sub>[Around this point, the view begins to zoom out. .... Erratically and jerkily, like the most poorly-filmed dramatic zoom-out in history, because instead of using the zoom button, the camera-holder is literally scooting backwards across the floor on his butt, all the way to his sleeping bag. Only then is the whole scene revealed.]

[Sprawled across the sparkly spoils of their night on the town are two very, VERY tired teens, now only partially-dressed as the thieving monkey and corvid they started the night out as. Kaito Kuroba is face-down on top of a small, tangled pile of beaded strings (you know, the rainbow-colored kind that hippies hang on their doors), with his monkey-ear headband slid down over the back of his head. And part two of the dastardly duo is flat on her back, half of her poncho rumpled up around her neck and her mask is halfway off. As is expected of someone like Heather, she bears the telltale marks of having apparently gotten into a physical FIGHT with someone at some point during the night, and somewhat LESS expected of someone like Heather, she also has what appears to be an infant Tyrogue clinging to one of her legs.]


[It's like The Hangover, ADD Teenager Halloween Edition.]

[The screen stops jittering once the filmer is safely settled on his sleeping bag once more.]

[Cujo is busy rousing his trainer by licking what's visible of her face while she mumbles protests and sort of feebly slaps him with one hand, while Kaito is dragging his face up off of his uncomfortable-looking pillow and squinting blearily in the bright morning light. Biz the Aipom scampers onto the screen and hops up on his trainer's shoulder to proudly present him one of the many wallets stolen during the night. Nobody particularly notices.]</sub>

Wh... huh...?

Cujo, go 'way ... where... whuhappen...

_{[At last, the mystery filmer finally speaks up, in that mild, quiet tone some of the network may be familiar with as coming from the scruffy, twitchy photographer that follows Heather and her father around and occasionally talks about serial killer owls.]}


Oh, you two are up.

Mr. Mason says you have to give all that stuff back today.

<sub>[The two teens stare at him blearily, and then down at their piles. ... And then at themselves. Kaito reaches up to run his fingers through his hair and produces a small shower of glitter. Heather lifts her leg in the air with a mildly horrified expression at the pink... thing on her leg. Then they look back at Henry.]


[The feed cuts.]





[BUT A FEW HOURS LATER, a much-more-cleaned-up Heather will be popping onto the feed again, hair still sticking in every direction (she'd had it gelled to look like a Murkrow's head feathers) and glitter still sparkling pretty much... everywhere. ... Including her teeth, when she grins sheepishly.]</sub>

Uh... hey, guys... so um... Kaito and I found a bunch of... stuff... that was apparently stolen... by kids in costumes. That totally weren't us.

... So if some weirdos grabbed something from you last night, it might... totally be here.

Yeah.

Uh.

... Happy Halloween.



[OOC: Action for Kaito and roomies, obviously! Otherwise, if your character was in Ecruteak, feel free to assume that the dastardly duo nicked something from them and will be sheepishly returning it at some point today.
Blue = Kaito, Orange = Heather, Brown = Henry.]

<sub>[This is the last place Heather wants to be. And when the feed blinks on, it shows.]

[There's the usual busy murmur characteristic of a Pokemon Center lobby on a Monday morning. It's been awhile since Heather's been under these fluorescent lobby lights, and she looks a little washed-out and pale. Sleepy, too-- and blinking in irritation at the bright lights. She must have rolled out of bed not that long ago, and her cheeks are still flushed from the cold walk between the hotel and the Center.]

[Judging from the pink plush cushion she's leaning on and the colorful Poke-care posters splashed all over the wall behind her, she's sitting in the lobby. There's a small (say, less-than-a-football-sized) dusk-colored egg in her lap-- but weirdly, none of her Pokemon can be seen. Normally at least one or two of them are present in her transmissions, either chillaxin' in the background or (in Cujo's case) doing something derpy, but none of them are there.]</sub>

Hey, guys... uh...

I just thought I should letcha know, Phoenix is... um, he's in the Pokemon Center here in Violet. He went yesterday to get somethin' for his cold and didn't come back, and apparently he uh... collapsed.

But they said it doesn't look like it has anything to do with him being sick, it's like...

_{[She rubs at one of her eyes with the heel of her palm, grimacing.]}

... Those faints that people've been going into lately.

So, he's... um... he's doing okay.

_{[Around this point, a familiar (to some) shiny blue head pops into the frame-- Phoenix's Quagsire partner, Butch, is clambering up onto the seat next to Heather. ... And onto Heather.]}

Ooff-- Butch, jeez, hang on-- _{[She hastily grabs her bag (the smaller, owlless one) and slips the egg she was holding inside before it gets crushed under the giant amphibian's weight.]} Anyway, uh-- I'll-- ... I'll be taking care of his Pokemon till he wakes up, I guess. But yeah, I just thought I'd give people the heads-up, in case anybody was... I dunno, worried.

_{[Weirdly, Butch looks as stupidly happy as ever (as he curls into a ball that's like twice as big as the lap he's trying to sit on), so Phoenix can't be in that bad a state. But for some reason, Heather still looks very uncomfortable-- and she's not the sort to worry unnecessarily about somebody when she knows they're more or less fine.]}

... Anyway. So, uh-- hey, Kaito? _{[She addresses the camera.]} You guys gotten to Violet yet? I thought maybe if you were here, we could all-- I dunno, meet up for lunch or somethi-- hey! <sub>[The camera jostles wildly-- looks like Butch is batting at it playfully. It shakes around a bit before the view steadies again-- upside-down and facing in the opposite direction, towards the front desk.]

[Two Nurse Joys are standing behind the counter and looking in Heather's direction very conspicuously. One of them has an expression darkened by consternation-- the other looks a little confused. The first says something quietly to her under her breath, and upon hearing it, the second one's eyes widen and she claps a hand over her mouth.]

[The camera jerks again as Heather grabs it back from Butch and turns it back to herself, but her attention is on the nurses now-- her expression briefly unreadable. But hey-- it's no secret to anybody who's been in Johto since the summer that Heather's relationship with the nurses of Violet City was an antagonistic one. Hell, she turned that Center upside-down on more than one occasion-- and laughed in the face of their authority, with no regrets (or shame)! Oh, the youthful shenanigans! Any second now she's gonna direct her gaze back at the camera and do a classic Heather "THEY MAD?" smirk or something, right?]

[.... Right?]

[Heather swallows hard, hunching her shoulders a little, as though trying to look a little more inconspicuous-- and then hastily shuts the camera off. Her last expression before the feed cuts out is one of... jeez, it kinda looks like ... guilt.]





[ooc: For those in the Pokemon Center, Heather can either be found milling uncomfortably around the edges of the Center lobby, looking like she just saw a Wanted poster for herself, or (most likely), hiding out in whatever room Phoenix's in to avoid contact with the Nurse Joys as much as she can.
ALSO, for those who weren't around back when this happened, this is why Heather's not feeling too hot about having to see these particular Nurses again.]</sub>

_{[The feed opens out on the expansive city skyline, though the slight reflection of the PokeGear shows that, thankfully, there's a panel of glass in between it and the unholy winter storm raging outside. It's nothing compared to that blizzard from last month in terms of whiteout-- the buildings outside, lit up brightly as usual, are still perfectly visible, but the low, gutteral moaning of the wind and the occasional pulsing flash far off in the roiling skies-- tumbling with clouds of that weird velvety orange-gray color only seen in the thickest of snowstorms-- indicate that it is not a pleasant night to be outside.]}

Screw my shift, man. I'm not goin' in tonight.

The ol' bat can kiss my ass.

_{[There's a low rumble of thunder and a clump of buildings off on far side of the city go dark.]}

Ugh. See?

Screw that. I'm staying in my room.

_{[... Well, she might go and bother what few of her friends remained in the hotel. ... Though it was a dwindling number, lately. It made the enormous city seem surprisingly lonely. She'd gotten used to having most of her buddies within walking distance and it was funny how quickly it had seemed normal. Ah, well. She'd already known she took things for granted... at least they were still in Johto.]}

[Though it did make her wonder if she really wanted to stay in the city much longer. ... The old wander gene was kicking in, and then there was the arrival of a certain prominent figure (although they'd never formally met...) from Heather's past...]

[The feed lingers on the window for a moment or two before the camera-holder seems to snap out of her thoughtfulness and turns away, transforming the scene into a brief, ugly blur of floral hotel wallpaper.]

Anyway. Anyone else in the hotel hungry? Maybe we can pool a little money and order some epic room service, because like hell am I gonna try and go out to eat tonight.

.... Oh yeah, and-- heh.

_{[The camera turns once more from where Heather's flopped down on the bed and shows.... this.]}



... I think being cooped up indoors makes them restless.Hey!

It's, uh-- ... it's Cheryl.

I hope you got somewhere sheltered because this storm's a real doozy. Have you made it to Cherrygrove yet?

Anyway, uh...

... Listen. I'm probably gonna be heading out of town soon and backtracking to Violet City. Which is... probably on your destination list if you're goin' the usual way.

_{[There's a brief pause. Heather sounds almost humorously sheepish and unsure. To anyone already familiar with her usual cocky way of talking, it'd probably almost sound adorable how uncertain she was. But really could you blame her after what had happened when the last person she knew from back home showed up? This was a big deal and she didn't wanna fuck it all up.]}

Do you... I dunno, wanna meet up for coffee or something while I'm there?

<sub>[When the feed blinks on, it's snowing.]

[More specifically, it's snowing outside-- the vantage point is high, aiming downwards from the fourth-story window of Heather's hotel room at the street corner below. The snowflakes are thick and fat and have been coming down for awhile.]

[Heather is nowhere to be seen-- looks like she's the one holding the camera. Her voice, however, is clearly recognizable, albeit it's hushed-- and there's a couple of other voices in the background, too..]</sub>

Hit record. Hit record, dammi--

Okay-- okay, shut up, Liquid, I'm filming.

HHEM.

Sup, Johto?

It's just a little past one-thirty in the morning. It's snowing, and we have made a discovery.

_{[Around this point, another voice cuts in-- one belonging to a familiar disapproving scientist.]}

Heather, this really isn't something you should be broadcasting, think of those peop--

THAT DISCOVERY is that a certain street-corner is a one-ingredient recipe for destruction. Please observe.

<sub>[The camera zooms in on a corner of the sidewalk down below-- it looks innocuous enough, but hey, look at that rich, snooty-looking lady walking down the sidewalk! She's got a fashionable-looking PokeGear pinched between her shoulder and ear, and her arms are full of shopping bags. A live Furret appears to be wrapped around her neck.]

[When Heather speaks, her voice is full of barely-restrained laughter.]</sub>

She has.

No.

Idea.

That her life is about to be changed forever.

<sub>[The camera follows the woman's progress as she heads down the sidewalk-- and then, as she steps off the curb to cross the street at the corner... her feet go out from under her, her bags fly in the air, and she lands on her back on the ground, sliding gracefully across the street. The Furret, now puffed-up and horrified, trails behind her.]

[Meanwhile, there's a small explosion of muffled laughter from off-screen that continues for the entire period of time that the woman tries-- and continually fails-- to collect her bags and get up.]</sub>

AHAHAHH! Right on her ARSE!

Liquid, don't encourage her--

Ohoho my god, she just keeps falling down!

Heather, that's-- pfffhhah-- AHEM. Heather, that's NOT funny. It's-- pffff

Look-- wait-- I think she's gonna make it-- she's gonna-- ... no she's not.

<sub>[EVENTUALLY, the woman finally struggles upright and carries on her way huffily-- but the video goes onwards.]

[For those staying on Heather's channel, they will be treated to footage of many individuals-- random teenagers, businessmen, even a traveling Nurse Joy-- all coming face to face with the dreaded Icy Corner and losing the battle in various hilarious, slapstick ways.]

[And then, eventually ... A certain individual of note comes walking down the street. Who could it be? Well, Heather doesn't recognize him (considering the circumstances under which they met), although he'd certainly recognize her if he saw her...]




[The camera zooms in on him, shakily.]</sub>

Oh my god. Oh my god. It's a policeman.

Is he prepared.

HEATHER. Do you have NO respec--

--To meet the Corner of Doom?

You are a sadistic child.

Let's find out.



( Will Jerry survive??? )


[ooc: Green is Otacon, Orange is Liquid, normal is Heather.]

<sub>[Things have been oddly silent on Heather's end of the line over the past day or so. She hasn't been responding much to other transmissions, or even to private messages. Right after all that chaos, too-- you'd think that given she WORKED at the Goldenrod Department Store, she'd be on the network constantly with all kinds of 'This is CRAZY, you guys'-style transmissions about Evil Bitch-Supervisor of Death bullying all the Officer Jennies for not stopping the robbery or how there was a soda machine with a fist-shaped hole clean through it or something. But no-- nothing.]

[And her friends at the hotel may have noticed that she didn't wind up coming back to her room that night.]

[When the feed does come on, it's a little more obvious as to why.]



[What? Heather in a POKEMON CENTER? Could she be...? ... Nah. She's obviously not in there for herself, although both of her arms are heavily bandaged and a few nasty-looking, angry red scratches are peeking over the edge of the gauze.]

[But she's sitting hunched on the floor by one of the recovery-ward beds for Pokemon, her vest lying in cushioning pile behind her and a battered-looking Cujo asleep by her side. She looks tired... even more tired than she's been otherwise, lately, which was saying something. And judging by the way she kept glancing up at the Pokeballs encased in the incubatory healing device sitting gently on the cot next to where she's sitting, her Pokemon are the real reason she's in here.]


[The camera shakes, then bobbles a little closer, and Heather finally notices. She turns her head to the camera, frowning at first, but then a wry, half-amused smile quirks her mouth slightly.]</sub>

Was wondering where you were, y'little weirdo.

_{[She leans over and reaches out, grabbing the camera and tugging it with some difficulty away from whatever's holding it]}

You must be worried if you're not chewing on it... the other guys are fine. Relax.

_{[The mystery-filmer is revealed as the fat little Totodile toddles over and tries to wedge itself into Heather's lap. She rolls her eyes and lets out a gusty sigh but lets her legs slide down so that there's more room. Now that the camera's on her, though, she frowns a little at the sight of the little red 'Record' light, but then shrugs. Oh well. While she's on...]}


So, uh, police.

The hell were you last night?

I could've used the help.

<sub>[Her tone makes it obvious that working with the cops isn't exactly the first thing on her agenda, but there you go.]

[She doesn't need to say that a lot of people got hurt-- the rest of the network probably already knows that, it's had to have been all over the news by now.]</sub>


Anyway...

_{[She goes quiet again, rubbing the back of her head. Scritch. She... doesn't feel as talkative as usual.]}


... Oh yeah. Last thing. Joker.

_{[Reaching out next to her, she picks a handful of something that chinks and glitters in the low light. A bunch of coins! She grins.]}


Think you dropped these, Bozo.

Great job.




( Aaaand for those who might have been around the aftermath of Joker's getaway last night... )


_{[ooc: Feel free to action if your character was injured during/after the robbery and they'd be in the Pokemon Center too!]}

_{[You know how most workplaces have those ridiculous, seemingly-arbitrary rules concerning things like cell phones and mp3 players that make sense in theory but really don't in practice? Well... turns out Johto's no different.]}

[The feed flickers on and off a few times so anyone who's looking at Heather's channel is being treated to a sort of trippy view of the ceiling of one of the many floors in the Goldenrod Department Store, jiggling around as though the 'Gear is the subject of a tug-of-war.]

[And uh... judging by the voices that are conversing in heated tones somewhere off-screen, it is.]


I'm telling you for the last time, Temp! NOOOOO PokeGear use during your shift!


It's my break! I'm not even DOING anything right now!


DON'T you backsass me, young lady! I know your type! Traveling trainers who want to make a quick buck-- you're all the SAME!


Wh-- jeez, calm down! I'm not like-- trying to question your authority or something!! Take a chill pill!


YOU ARE OUT OF LINE!


The guys on the fifth floor said they could use their 'Gears during break!


WELL. This isn't the fifth floor, IS it?!

_{[There's a pause, and then a low, almost inaudible mutter on Heather's part of:]}

Oppressive tyrant....

_{[... But apparently it wasn't inaudible enough.]}

BACK IN MY DAY WE HAD TO TIE OUR MESSAGES TO PIDGEYS AND HOPE TO DEAR ARCEUS THAT THEY DIDN'T GET EATEN BY ARBOKS ON THE WAY THERE!!


E-eep!


I HAD TO WALK TWENTY MILES TO WORK EVERY DAY IN BLINDING SNOWSTO--

<sub>[The feed clicks off.]





[A very resentful-looking Heather slumped in her seat at the cash register, smoldering darkly and glaring at the file cabinet in the staff-room where her PokeGear had been dumped, locked, and left. The words 'AND YOU CAN HAVE IT AT THE END OF THE DAY IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!' were still ringing in her ears.]</sub>

[Jutting her chin out resentfully, she planted it on one palm with her scrawny elbow on the counter, plucking uncomfortably at the fairly-silly-looking Department Store clerk's uniform she had to wear. Yes, there was even a cutesy little hat and a popped collar.]


God, it's like high school all over again....






_{[ooc: Video replies will be answered later in the day when Heather gets off of work and has her PokeGear returned to her!]}