islandshore | 67

[It's late at night when Riku turns on the feed. Judging by the starlight surrounding him he's outdoors. Lights from the surrounding cityscape shimmer from afar. The camera hovers behind him as he rests along the edge of a roof.

It hovers closer, and he finally turns around, gaze distant despite the camera's close proximity.]

You ever stop to wonder about our place in this world?

[Why, yes, it's one of those messages.]

I mean, think about it. We're dragged from our homes, dropped here and expected to play by their rules. And sure, some of us are successful. We've had businesses sprout up from nothing, helped fight off giant monsters, been invited to proms...

Still, we're outsiders, and sooner or later, we might disappear, and all the work we do here gets left behind.

[He looks up, sighing softly.]

It just got me thinking... What do the locals think about us? Do we count as citizens, even though we aren't part of the world? And how much do they really know about us in the first place?

[Heh.]

But maybe I'm over thinking it. I mean, this is a world that somehow manages to sustain itself even without an obvious education, limited career paths, and a surprising amount of pacifism in the face of crime. Community service as catchall punishment's kinda light, after all...

[Leaning back, Riku shrugs.]

I don't know. What are your guys' thoughts? I've got time to kill.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...that really is light, as a catchall punishment.

[Enough so that it makes Weiss raise an eyebrow.]

I think we're as much a part of the world here as we are anywhere. Yes, we might go home and completely forget, but the things we do still make some kind of impact while we're here.

Yep. It's more like a slap on the wrist, so it's no wonder Team Rocket's still going strong.

[Presumably. If they were truly disbanded, he's sure they would've known by now.]

And that's true. Even if we go, the locals probably remember, and us outsiders have brought new stuff to the table, like the circus and the Breeding Center.

You would think the powers that be would take steps to disband them.

Exactly. We leave an impact, regardless.

But they haven't, and if that's not enough, they've got control over Goldenrod's Radio Tower.

Still... not like we haven't taken out our share of threats. A while back, these two teams-- Aqua and Magma-- wound up taking control of two Legendary Pokémon. There was this huge battle that literally rocked the region. Chances are, the whole place would've fallen apart, but we managed to hold them off for a while.

[They didn't win that fight, but they did make a difference, and that's better than nothing.]

...where are the police?

[That's absolutely crazy-sounding.]

Then you all definitely left a mark on the world, in a good way. I'm sure of it.

They're around, and sometimes they pitch in when Team Rocket attacks, but when potentially world-ending disaster strikes, it's usually us who do damage control.

Not that they don't try. There've been times when huge chunks of the cities blow up, and they're some of the first to step in. Still, most criminals get hit with community service or short-term imprisonment.

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