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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 7:58:56 GMT

Zac Ramsay and John Sullivan like this

[attr="class","spiral"]Hoenn is no stranger to disaster. The frequency in which the region faces danger desensitizes those that live through each ordeal. It becomes routine, nothing more than another statistic in a timeline of tragedies.

As per any other incident, the aftermath of the workshop being blown to bits entail reaching out to League dispatch. An ambulance and firetruck are called out to the scene, several minutes of travel time drowned out by the siren in the distance.

Fernando remains, scouring the remnants of the building for clues and corpses. Ash and soot leave the air pungent, and for that he is thankful. It means none of them are still burning.

No one else has an obligation to stay. This work, like with any other profession, is best left for trained to handle it. He only stays because someone has see that information is processed and passed on.

His Pokemon rest in their balls. Only the MISTY TERRAIN remains.

“What was that?” He keeps a straight face, straight point, but the accusatory tone weighs heavily in the air. It sits in a gray haze not unlike the treetops around them.

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 8:35:58 GMT

John Sullivan and Chu-e Choi like this

    "Now that," Zac agreed, "is a fantastic question."
He stood a ways back from the rubbles, surveying the complete destruction of the workshop. The plastic and faux-metal fabric of his ruined jacket had cooled, fusing completely to his skin, giving the impression that there was a stronger, golden form bursting through from underneath.
     The destruction had been his fault, in a way, but not through any malice or planning. He had been wounded, out of his mind, and thankfully everyone in the building when the hearth exploded had already been dead or got out okay.
What did happen? Zac asked himself, struggling to put together the chunks of memory. His mind was thoroughly muddled by smoke, conflict and at least one concussion.
    He walked over to where the door had been at the start of the day, talking as he retraced his steps. "I remember arriving and heading inside," he said, stepping across the non-existent threshold. "Dave was wounded, so I healed him." Zac looked around, found the remnants of what had been the hallway, and pushed aside some rubble, as if doing so would clear up his scattered memory. "Then...there was a noise? I went down the hallway and then there was, uh, and explosion. The first explosion." Zac said, correcting himself. He stood around for a moment, getting his bearings. "Yeah. Something blew up, and when I got back up there was smoke everywhere. After that things get hazy but...I remember you being there already. What did you see? What caused that first explosion?"

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 9:13:42 GMT

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[attr="class","spiral"]“I’m aware of what unfolded, Ramsey.”

Accusations transition to annoyance. Zac Ramsey, for his clean record, misunderstands how far his optimism will take him. For the League is filled with distrust and suspicion at every turn. Fernando’s paranoia has tempered amid the uprising of witch hunting that goes on behind office walls, but it still lies dormant.

Thankfully, what he’s probing for his incompetency, not maliciousness.

“I mean, why did you let them get away?”

The blame lies within Pokkenger and Zac. However, seeing as only one remains, Fernando tunnels his point onto the only person available.

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 12:33:14 GMT

John Sullivan likes this

Pieces start to slide together, reforming a whole. A crowd of people, fighting to the death, and Fernando standing at the center, untouched by the chaos around him.
    P̵r̶o̴t̴e̴c̷t̷ ̷F̴e̸r̵n̵a̵n̴d̸o̷
    "I'm aware of what unfolded, Ramsay." Fernando said, and Zac can hear the rising annoyance in his voice. Is he pissed at me for blowing up the house?
    “I mean, why did you let them get away?”
Zac frowned. "Pokkenger? That's who you were fighting, right? I thought that woman with the gun was one of your hires. She seemed to be defending you."
"Listen Fernando, I didn't expect anyone else to be here, and honestly during this whole fiasco I hardly knew which way was up, only that people were trying to kill me. You were fighting the Pokkenger, right? How did that happen? Why were you squaring off against a superhero?"
Zac shook his head. It was easy to look incompetent during such a mess. "I've been thinking for ages that we need some easy way of identifying ally. Like how rescue teams use bandanas? Maybe some sort of color coding system would have prevented all this confusion."

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 12:47:51 GMT

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[attr="class","spiral"]“No. Not him. He’s an idiot but he’s not responsible for this. I mean the others.”

His own perspective of the situation is skewered. Even he knows this, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hammer the point home. “No one should have been able to leave the scene. Not without making it abundantly clear they had no intention of obeying.”

The fact that Zac misinterprets the situation comes as no surprise. Chaos spreads like wildfire, accelerating well beyond what any one person can process. Likewise, Fernando can barely make out what happened during and after being tossed around by the explosion.

“Me and Fairburne came here alone. Someone set us up.”

His eyes narrow at the mention of Pokkenger. The fact that the rider’s reputation has all but been cemented within Zac only adds his distaste to the situation. The fact that a Gym Leader, Avatar, and member of the Aqua Initiative glorifies him keeps Fernando from holding his tongue.

“Firstly, he attacked me first. Secondly, he’s no superhero. He’s a selfish megalomaniac who does nothing but interfere with League business.”

But Zac’s suggestion does hold some weight. Unfortunately, it shouldn’t be needed. For now, given their discussion, he leaves that on the backburner. Circling around too many talking points only dilutes the serrated edge of his scorn.

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 13:37:23 GMT

John Sullivan likes this

  "The two that left what that woman? Again, I thought she was a hired gun of yours."
    Zac had been blind or unconscious during Ezra Zeke and Chu-e Choi 's attacks, and had seen none of their attack on FERNANDO SILPH . As far as he was aware, Chu-e had been caught up in the blast and was carried away by Lulu Flint , who he thought had been hired by Fernando. “Me and Fairburne came here alone. Someone set us up.”
    "Yeah that's starting to come together. Sorry mate, I'm new to this cloak and dagger stuff and I thought she was one of yours," Zac said apologetically. There was truth there, and tired resignation. He'd made mistakes today, and had lost friends, too. He'd been to this workshop a few times in the past, and knew the names and faces of those killed. The idea that Fernando was digging into him for not bringing his other friends to justice was trying to say the least.
"[The Pokkenger] is no superhero. He’s a selfish megalomaniac who does nothing but interfere with League business.”
Zac stopped his walk through the ruined house. He turned on Fernando, neck growing warm as anger rose inside him. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms like thorns. "Selfish? He's anonymous mate. Your name is on half the stuff I buy in the Pokemart, so who are you to accuse him of being a megalomaniac when he's just trying to help?"

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 14:09:24 GMT

Katherine Fairburne and John Sullivan like this

[attr="class","spiral"]“…”

Fernando raises an eyebrow before smothering the question of his look with a deep seated scowl. “If that were the case, they would have waited for me. But, understandable. Today there is a lesson to be learnt.”

“I don’t have hired guns, and, regardless of who they are, if you don’t know them, don’t let suspects leave a contained scene after an act of terrorism.”

He clicks his tongue. “Innocents, bystanders, they’re more inclined to wait to be rendered aid then you can imagine. Other, more dangerous individuals, not so much.”

Watching the much larger man turn in place does little to intimidate him. Whoever had planted the bomb had caught him by surprise. When confronted head-to-head, Fernando fears no one. Not when confidently well prepared.

“That’s exactly what makes him selfish.” His own tone is calm, matter-of-factly, practiced enough mentally to make his points articulate in the face of having to actually verbalize them. “Doing whatever he wants, with no regards for protocol, is a spit in the face of people like you who work through the system.”

“There is reason that first aid responders have to be licensed, Ramsey. Even if you’re trying to do ‘good’, beating down on someone’s chest because you saw it in a movie, does more harm than good. Advertising herbs you picked out in the wilderness as proven medicine just because it works for you, without a shred of scientifically research, is not something you should be a proponent for.”

His own resentment sits just as deep as Zac’s need to defend his friend. They stand entrenched in their beliefs, unwavering. Fernando’s job isn’t to prove that he’s right but to convince the other man to concede his point. Only then, can he make sure such an incident doesn’t repeat itself.

“So what happens when things go wrong? When the masked vigilante’s refusal to abide by the rules we’re bounded to, results in someone getting hurt, in someone dying? He gets to abandon his mask and continue living his life without an ounce of accountability.”

“This isn’t the first time the Pokkenger has gotten in the way and it won’t be the last.”

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 15:33:40 GMT

John Sullivan and Chu-e Choi like this

  “Doing whatever he wants, with no regards for protocol, is a spit in the face of people like you who work through the system.”
Zac thought for a moment, letting his annoyance cool. Fernando was right, as usual. If anyone knew about how to wield the system as a weapon it was him. Fernando was proof that working within the system could be a powerful tool for good. Likewise, if he ever broke ties and started working with the league but under his own rules...well, then he would be little different from the Pokkenger he despised.
"He's trying to make Hoenn a better place mate, same as you and me. Just because we're working at it from different angles doesn't mean he's your enemy." Zac sighed, trying to follow his own advice. Fernando wanted to protect and improve Hoenn, same as him.
    "You're right though mate, and you know more than anyone else how much I love accountability. Everyone should be held accountable for the damage they cause." He hadn't forgotten the League's view on Katherine's 'accountability'.
Zac looked around at the ruins of the workshop. Four dead. Dave is still injured. And this whole place blown to splinters.
    "So how is the league going to make this right?"

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 15:51:13 GMT

John Sullivan likes this

[attr="class","spiral"]“No. Not different. Wrong. He’s working it from the wrong angles.”

The fact that Zac continues to resist makes all of this a moot point. Change comes slowly. This much he knows. For now, Fernando accepts dismissing his attempt at ramming his viewpoint down his throat. He’ll come around in time or not at all.

“You can only get in the way so many times before it becomes malicious. If you’re such a fan, if you ever get the chance to speak to Pokkenger, ask him why he attacked League forces to try and kidnap a Megalopolan for me. I’d love to know how much information we would’ve lost if not for Laurence Anderson.”

His sarcasm gets the best of him, “Not like Smohke has proved integral to preventing the region from being wiped off the map in the next decade.”

The insinuation about Katherine doesn’t go amiss. As much trouble as she’s brought onto him, he has a dismissal for that as well. However, without a more explicit prompt, there’s no reason to open a can of Beedrill.

Instead, Fernando focuses on the more pressing matter at hand. Having the League card flipped on him seems to be a recent trend in Hoenn. Today, he takes a stand. No more.

No more Selena Desmarais s, no Alexei Ivanov s, and certainly no Zac Ramsay s.

If he wanted to blame the organization then he should've never joined it. They are together or not at all.

“Good question, Gym Leader Ramsey, how are you going to make this right?”

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 16:07:46 GMT

John Sullivan likes this

The venom is Fernando's voice leaves Zac shocked. He'd been asking about protocol, but something about the way he'd said it had landed poorly. "I'm not passing the buck mate!" Zac said with surprise. "I'll be here rebuilding this place with my bare hands if that's what's needed. I knew these people. I'm not going to be leaving them high and dry." Zac looked at Fernando. The battle had clearly worn off some of the man's professional veneer.
"What I was asking is how does the league deal with stuff like this? There must be a standard reparations thing, right?"

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Apr 25, 2021 17:13:38 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"]“Oh? That’s a first. Color me surprised.”

Fernando’s much too prideful to admit fault amidst a petty tirade. So he doesn’t. But his opinion of Zac does shoot up by a good measure. Such character is hard to come by. It places him in the ‘good heart’ bucket. Now, if only he could confidently say he doesn’t also fall under the ‘idiot’ one, things would be perfect. Unfortunately, statistically, and historically, it seems unlikely.

“But good for you. Gym Leaders who actually care and stay after seem seldom these days. Fortunately, you won’t be the one to put back the pieces.”

The reminder of coming aid becomes increasingly more apparent as the sirens grow closer. “The League will conduct an investigation based off our reports and handle the rest. As for us, we’ll be sent to a hospital for examination and recuperation.” He clicks his tongue. “Considering the damage we took, this is far from optional.”

White and red become more than dots as the vehicles come onto the scene. “Seeing as I’m involved, I’ll make sure that everyone leaves here compensated. It won’t make up for everything but it’s the least I can do to fix what was lost.”

Unfortunately, there’s somethings that money can’t buy.

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POSTED ON Apr 26, 2021 5:12:34 GMT

"A league investigation sounds great. I can't wait to read the final report and find out what I missed," Zac said, letting out a short laugh. He watched as the lights approached, winding up the unsealed roads of rural Fallarbor. "No arguments about the checkup. I feel ten years older after all that."
Zac had stopped unconsciously draining the nearby plants a while ago. His healing had 'restored' his body as best it could, and while he was free from burns and scratches, the healing had just further embedded the faux-metal. As the emergency vehicles wound closer, Zac felt the weight grow in his arms and legs. Exhaustion. He'd been blown up twice and was only standing though a combination of willpower and Tapu Bulu's healing. But no amount of green infusion could substitute for rest. Zac's legs started to shake, and he sat down in the rubble.
“Seeing as I’m involved, I’ll make sure that everyone leaves here compensated. It won’t make up for everything but it’s the least I can do to fix what was lost.”
"That's good to hear mate." Zac said, nodding slowly. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You're one of the good ones."
Regardless of their difference in method and ideology, Zac and Fernando both wanted the same thing: a better Hoenn.

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POSTED ON Apr 27, 2021 3:30:05 GMT

Zac Ramsay likes this

[attr="class","spiral"]“I’ll be sure to make sure a copy gets sent your way.” Their waiting dies down as the ringing in their ears grows. “Do try and write yours prior to reading mine. The chaos of the battlefield fills us with doubt. Someone else’s account can create biases that guide our recollection. It’s fine if you’re uncertain but it’s important that you note as such.”

Several EMTs pile out of the vehicle to attend to both Avatars. Questions are asked, only those about their well being, before both are ferried out enroute to the nearest clinic.

“For what it’s worth Ramsey, most of these people are good. They’re just—” Fernando falters for a moment, unable to give an apt description without resulting in disparaging remarks. “—well, you’ll see.”

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POSTED ON May 2, 2021 3:45:15 GMT

Zac answered the EMT's questions en route to the hospital.
Confusion? Yep
Headache? Does a full body ache count?
Ringing ears? Yep
Memory loss? Definitely
Difficulty concentrating? A bit more than usual, yeah.
when they arrived, the doctor's prognosis was simple: concussion. Zac needed lots of rest, daily monitoring and a more complete family medical check.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine," Zac said, blinking and waving away the nurse who was shining a pocket light right into his eyes. "How long until I can get out of here?"
"You have surgery scheduled for tomorrow," said the nurse. "Depending on your rate of recovery it will likely be a few more days before you can head back home."
"Yeah, okay," Zac said, letting out a sigh. "Thanks nurse." She checked his vitals and let him be, satisfied that he was healing.
"I'm a lousy patient," Zac said to Fernando. "I can never wait to get back out into the world. They don't even let you have Pokemon to keep you company!" The nurses had confiscated Zac's Pokeballs, and had removed the flowers from his room too after that started growing along the walls. "I bet you're the same, yeah? Sitting around just waiting for the your body to catch up...it feels like wasted time."

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POSTED ON May 3, 2021 7:40:28 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"]“Oh? I quite enjoy it.”

He says this with his eyes closed, fully enjoying the comfort of laying in his hospital bed. “The risk of permanent injury is never worth the trip but once I’m here I can sleep to my heart’s content.” His manner of speech is drawn out, drowsily as he teeters between drifting off and maintaining an auto-piloted conversation.

“Eighty hour work weeks do that to you. Teaches you to enjoy whatever vacations you can get.”

Fernando rolls over, one hand tucked underneath his pillow, cradling it until it ferries him into a slumber that never lasts long enough.