BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

NEWS TRAVELS FAST. it is only the secrets of the selfish that elude open ears. alexander’s revival marks the depths of illeana reyes’s avarice. a betrayal that fernando remains unaware of despite stone’s appearance in his very office.

“ha,” he says, blinking.

here, in the privacy of his office, fernando does not wear his eye patch. constant wear has eaten away at the uncomfortable unfamiliarity the fabric but he still prefers to go without. the hollowed out orifice still sticks out despite his recovery. a scoops look at the inside of his head, dead nerves and strings loose and apparent.

a gruesome look that’s just as off-putting at the scenario that created it.

his remaining eye looks alexander down from heat to toe. he laughs inwardly at the man’s appearance. it’s different, yes, but he can recognize the minute details well enough. fascinating how world lines split apart at the smallest discrepancies.

his attention lies on the empty space beside him. he looks straight at alexander’s shoulder chin level. which, based off his height, is someone else’s eye level.

“you said you had a guest, alfric, but i never expected this.”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

HIS STARE HOLDS WITH THE ATTENTION OF SOMEONE BEING SPOKEN TO. a good moment passes before his facial cues move from undiscernible to stark disapproval. whatever happens, it goes beyond recognition for stone and silph are the only ones present.

“…”

then it hits. all at once. the realization. the shock. the ramifications of what this means should it prove to be true.

his eye engorges in the same way his brain expands. a reach for his eye patch covers his vulnerability. it wears against the ridge of his ear, slacken under the duress of his own haste.

“you’re our world's stone?”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

“HM.”

doubt festers. it’s natural to remain skeptical. even in the face of everything that’s happened in hoenn, this strays a bit too fictitious. not impossible but not probable.

“you did your best,” sits his judgement. his questions lie elsewhere. “how are you here? back again?”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

“AH. YES. REYES.”

fernando’s eye narrows at her mention. the expeditions into THE WILDS now has league approval but for illeana to be the one responsible for alexander stone’s return spells dubious. it has the same scent of her tinkering with the primal points.

“not by gambling the region’s safety this time, i hope.”

he sighs the weight stone has long freed himself from.

“regardless, your return bodes good news. assuming there are no consequences for tampering with these ‘borders’.”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

HIS LACK OF REASSURANCE CAUSES A RIFT BETWEEN THEM. silence permeates words cannot. the will to live is an innate instinct. he cannot blame stone for wanting a second chance. but to be the cause behind unseen misfortune falls within the responsibilities of those who have never died.

to right supernatural wrongs.

“it’s dead,” fernando states plainly. this far gone from the event, the reveal is no more than stating a simple fact. there is no investment of pain behind ancient history. hoenn moves at a break neck pace.

“sounds like there is some validity to morningstar’s claim. freya morningstar knew you were at sootopolis.”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

“OH.”

stone is not the only one to have his mask nicked by private revelations. the mention of rocket and freya in the same sentence brings complexion to his face. it speaks of disbelief. digesting that this was the real alexander came easier, with some expected hesitance.

but working with team rocket?

well, that puts littleroot into perspective.

“do to her?”

a single eye narrows in on him. holds at both the implication and the audacity.

eventually, he relents. his one eye can’t stand up to stone’s pair.

“i told her there is no glory to dying on the battlefield. we do what we must for those we care about. the same cannot be said for those who seek an excuse to escape at the hands of their enemy.”

he clicks his tongue.

“i did not think that meant join the very organization that she had asked me to oust goode for.”

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ALEXANDER STONE

BEDROCK

a solid foundation built on the crumbs of others

“I AM NOT HER KEEPER, STONE.”

more than one implication sits underneath his surname. how many of them are relevant between the two is up for interpretation. but where alexander allows himself to be honest, fernando is strict in severing his criticism. the delineation between colleague, friend, and tormentor must forever be separate.

“whatever happened to morningstar after her leave from council crippled her esteem. when she came to me, i told her she did not realize overly critical she was of herself.”

he says so matter-of-factly. as if his word is true history. in some ways, it is, but each character in this story has their own distortion of what happened.

“and what happened to her after your—”

his nose wrinkles. there’s a way of putting this together tactfully.

“—departure, crippled her body. a decrepit husk of skin and bones. this time, i found her. i fed her, i homed her, and i played along with her make believe word of serfdom and knighthood. but she is an adult, stone! i will not cage her or babysit someone who comes and goes.”

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ALEXANDER STONE