It’s Sheriff Navidson’s truck that pulls up to the cave. It’s emblazoned with the Dewford City Crest. It’s a vaguely Navidson shape in the driver’s seat. The man who exits the truck is, by all rights, not Michael Navidson. The facial features are roughly the same, but older. Rougher. Coarse, like someone has taken sand paper to an image of Navy and aged him like wine.[break][break]
Jirachi looks perplexed, floating towards him. Navy feels the sensation of another presence in his mind. With nothing to hide, least of all his identity and intentions, he lets the Wishmaker see the truth. Afterwards, Jirachi cheers, flying against Navy’s chest and giving him a hug with tiny arms. For a small thing, he’s warm. Patting the star on the head, Navy looks to Lars.[break][break]
“Yeah, we know each other. I like the little fella a lot. So much so, in fact…” Another familiar face makes himself known. Hattori the Greninja bows before Lars and Jirachi. He’s holding ice cream in his hands. One cone is given to Jirachi, the other to Lars.[break][break]
“…got you somethin’ little guy.’ Jirachi shrieks in delight. Hattori closes the eye left to him after the other was sacrificed in service to his Lord, laughing at the occasion.[break][break]
“It’s really me, by the way. Space/Time Distortion’s a hell of a thing. So…” Under the brown beard is a familiar smile. “…today’s a rare day where there’s nothing going on in the Ultra Deep or these caves. Crazy, I know.” He had Vortigern to thank for that.[break][break]
“You n’ me…we’ll report that we had a successful combat exercise…but what I wanna do…is show Jirachi around my town. Inside the truck, of course. Tinted windows. No security breach, promise.” He looks at Jirachi nibbling at the ice cream before looking back to Lars. “Deal?”

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+ Laurence Anderson

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“They know my truck, and they know me. Everyone here thinks it’s novel.” Jirachi picks up on the bitter tone of Navy’s voice, or maybe senses the emotion when it bubbles like rotten broth in his mind. “You didn’t go to Galar with the rest of the League government, did you?” Bitterness gives way to wry amusement. Had they been trapped in the heroes’ weapons, then the entire upper level of the League sans Dahlia herself would be gone.[break][break]
“It’s just age. I remember what I looked like in my 30’s back in Galar.” And a thousand other things. Memories of holding newborns in his arms, or dancing with Melody under false stars.[break][break]
“All this to say…we’ll be fine. Look, I’m the guy who freaks out about stuff. Arceus knows Kyle and the rest act like the craziest shit I’ve ever seen is no big deal. But there’s nothing I can do about this. Until the eggheads can figure out how to age me down, guess this is how it has to be.” As if that solves the situation, Navy starts towards his truck. He climbs in. Jirachi eyes the vehicle curiously.[break][break]
“You get in here, little guy. It lets us humans get places faster.” Jirachi floats onto the dashboard and yawns.[break][break]
“C’mon, he wants to come.” He says to Lars, smiling roguishly.


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+ Laurence Anderson

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“Oooooo…!” Jirachi does, in fact, sit on the dashboard. Watching the world outside, Navy pulls the truck out from by the cave. They’ll be back to town in no time. Really, there’s no point to this. That in and of itself is the point.[break][break]
His heart aches when he sees the little star. It aches the same way it did when his parents passively left his brother to rest in the maternity ward. By the time Jirachi entered the picture, much like Gabe, he was nothing special. The magic wore off. Something to be respected. A legendary, sure, but there are more impressive legends in Hoenn. Something to be kept around until someone decides to try and bond with him. That person will get appointed the avatar. All will be right in the world.[break][break]
I don’t want that poisoned cup.[break][break]
The sheriff thinks that as he rolls the window down, puts on classic rock, and cruises.[break][break]
“Hope you like rock, Lars.” He muses as classics from fifty years ago come out of his speakers like the beating of old war drums.[break][break]
“Anyway, I don’t go in for that fantasy stuff. Guess that’s what happened. I mean this in the best way possible, glad you n’ Elinor weren’t there.” He had children there. People he misses dearly.[break][break]
“It’s sort of crazy. If we’d died in there…entire command structure of the League would’ve been toast. Would’ve been Elinor, Goode, and you.” A grim thought. He’s glad someone would’ve been spared. “Well, a few gym leaders, too.”[break][break]
“Guess Rocket would’ve lost just as much.” Pulling out a cigar, he lights it up. In the midst of his first puff, he finds a force pulling it out of his mouth. Jirachi exerts the tiniest mote of his power, chucking the cigar out the window. In smoke is written a message.[break][break]
BAD![break][break]
A gust of wind catches the smoke after Navy reads it, dispersing it into wisps.[break][break]
“Cheeky.” Navy quips. The shooting star huffs and looks back at the road.

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+ Laurence Anderson

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