even in the face of defeat, weakness wasn't an option.

pain racked his body, pulsing through even the medication. it was enough to keep him up at night, tossing and turning, boiling and seething in rage. gabriel was set aflame in anger. the emotion coursed through him, washing his nerves in a prickling sensation that reminded him of running a finger over a BIC flame.

it shows in the flexing of his jaw, and grinding of his teeth. gabriel's shoulders rest stiffly against the frame of the bed and his eyes stick to the view out of his window. it doesn't change, even as a figure walks inside.

"fernando." he says, his voice doing his best to carry the weight of his station. he remembered screaming in pain as he woke, until nothing else remained.

"any casualties?"

other than me.

FERNANDO SILPH

"good then." gabriel says simply, remaining as stoic and steadfast as FERNANDO SILPH does before him. in the bigger picture this was ideal. the loss of one councilman's arms was negligible; they already weren't designed to be the front-line of the league, save for fernando himself.

his thoughts inevitably fall onto the doppelgangers and their alternate reality. gabriel still remembers the impossibly powerful vice-like grip of his alternate's god-pokemon. he knew fernando out of any of the councilman had the ear of their commissioner more than anyone, so...

"what are we doing about the copies?"

FERNANDO SILPH

keeping his mind on the goal is the only thing that ensures his sanity. laying here for who knows how much longer would drive him wild; he needed to accomplish something, no matter how small.

more than anything, however, he wishes he had a drink.

"are we expecting them to crossover?" perhaps a better question would be. "do we believe are they responsible for the unown attacks?"

FERNANDO SILPH

history has proven that the membrane that separates realities could be penetrated. but, fernando had lived through and participated in each of these incursions and strange events. thus, he defers to the other councilman.

"so you believe these events to be separate," he says, voicing his thoughts aloud, "but the going theory is that they do not originate from this... this world, correct?"

gabriel reaches to scratch his face, lifting his missing arm at first, scowling, then moving to use the other. his unshaven face makes it more audible than it normally would've.

"still, both events happening at the same time couldn't be a consequence."

FERNANDO SILPH

so, short of speculations, they still had nothing tangible. if it was frustrating for gabriel, perhaps it would be more so for the man who took the defense of hoenn upon his mantle.

"it could be this unknown group wishes to cause strife between our... world and the other. engage us on one front while we're unprepared to defend another." a sound tactic, or so he thinks. gabriel could see a great picture, but made no attempt at pretending to be a grand strategist.

"your next steps?"

FERNANDO SILPH

despite his words, gabriel didn't feel that fernando was the type of man to simply sit back and wait to be called upon. he catches the other councilman toss a glance to his injured limb, and bites back the venom from his lips.
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gabe wanted nothing more than to sit up from this bed and jump straight into the action, but, how pathetic must he have looked here? the hum of the machines nearby reminded him of his humanity — his weakness.
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and so too, did the eyes of fernando silph.
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"very well then. i'll speak with the commissioner on ways i could assist from my... current station." he works the muscle of his jaw, doing the best to break from the mold of annoyance. "and this... meteor?"

[attr="class","notes"]FERNANDO SILPH[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

dahlia goode was a woman who gave even gabriel pause. it wasn't intimidation, infatuation, or anything of the sort — no, there was something else there, something that lingered beneath the surface that probed at his curiosity. something that would have to wait.
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"i see," he says at last, closing his eyes and taking a breath. "i will do as you recommend then." it was only half-a-lie, of course. gabriel wouldn't move from this bed, but not even arceus themselves could keep him from working.
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lifting up the heavily bandaged stump, gabriel turns his gaze onto it.
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"any names that could help with... this?"

[attr="class","notes"]FERNANDO SILPH[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉