After his exploration in Meteor Falls. Zata rested in Fallarbor. From the bar he was drinking in the night prior he heard of a cemetery near the outskirts, where fallen soldiers of past battles resided. He thought it wouldn't harm to investigate the place. Perhaps he could find something. 

He explored the area the following day. He was not one to believe in the afterlife, but he still tried to respect the dead. He read the names and whatever was etched on the tombstones, some were titles held by the deceased, their loved ones, their deeds. Some were the fallen from the Ultra Beast War. It caught his attention and he lingered there a while. With no idea why. 

There were moss growing on the tombstones of the war's fallen warriors. Something inside drove him to remove the moss with his bare hands, wondering if the deceased fought side by side with his brother. 

Then a few Ghastly popped out and disturbed his peace and time of mourning. Zata stood up, agitated and annoyed, he held up a pokeball and a Froslass came out of it who immediately used Hex on the Ghastly, enough to scare it away.

As with every time he had trouble regulating his emotions, he drew from his pocket a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Lighting one up before placing everything back in the pocket of his coat. He took a long drag out of it before releasing back all the toxins into the open air. That was when he noticed that he was not alone in mourning the fallen. He approached the older looking man, "Family?" he asked.

Gunner Graves

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This was the first Zata had heard about the attack on Fallarbor. The first thing that came to mind was the question of why Rocket would want to attack such a small town. Perhaps its vicinity to Mount Chimney. But that's the least of his concerns at that moment.

Zata listened to the man's explanation of why he was there, of his hometown and family, thinking nothing more of it.

The bud of his cig lit as he took in another drag before he answered the question. His gaze fixed on his shoes as he kicked away a pebble. "Interrogating the dead." Smoke escaped with his words.

"Some buried here might have fought alongside my brother during the war, they might know a few things. How he died for first." The young trainer decided it best if he sat down for this, he brought himself to the wet cold ground, his arms resting on his folded legs as he stared at nothing. "But he wasn't buried here, so I have doubts. His body was sent back to my hometown in Oldale. You might think it's normal, but something's amiss. He hadn't been in Oldale since the day he left years ago. Why would they send him back when he clearly did not want to be there. If he died in war why wasn't he buried with his comrades in arms."

He rested his palm against his forehead with a tired sigh. "I hope you'd excuse my rambling. I don't know where I'm going with this." A momentary laughter. "I've been looking for answers, but the dead don't speak." He finished, taking in another long drag off his cigarette. This was his first at expressing his emotions since his brother's death. He wasn't one to show emotions but the exhaustion had taken a serious toll on him.

Gunner Graves

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Reason returned to him after hearing the stranger's words. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I wanted there to be more. Chasing after something was an excuse for running away from my feelings," This wisdom seemed to come out of nowhere. But he had always been smart and analytical, whether he would heed his own words of wisdom was another story. He took another puff out of his cig, its light slowly dimmed as it burned through.

"He was a ranger." He answered. "Always wanting to protect, to the point of sacrificing himself." His voice turned sour at the end, driven by anger. The stages of grief apparent in the young man.

Gunner Graves

☉

Zata didn't know much about his brother's personal life. Not even where he was stationed during the war. The suggestion the stranger gave him was actually quite helpful. He wondered why he didn't think of it before. Perhaps because he didn't know anything about how the rangers work, nevertheless the existence of a headquarter in every region. He realized he was lost because he had done it all alone. You can't talk to the dead. But you can with the living. Zata never asked for help from a person in his life. He was comfortable with his independence. But now, he must take a leap.

The younger man stood up, with a sense of hope filling his veins flushing out the despair. "Nefertum, Raul Nefertum. I'm Zata." He answered simply.

He returned the Froslass that had been hovering around him back into her pokeball. He brought out another, a larger Mudsdale appeared. But before he mounted it, he looked at the stranger. "And hey Gunner, you seem like you've seen and know a lot. Do you know why the Megalopolans attacked us in the first place?". He heard the name before, and putting two and two together, they were the reason of his brother's death.

Gunner Graves

☉

Zata had always been a recluse. Isolating himself from the rest of society. Only going out to work under the demands of a capitalism society, feared by his co-workers. Always grocery shopped under a hood and a mask. He learned from a very young age that all his demise came from other people, and the only way to keep himself safe was to push other people away. His brother's death changed the trajectory of his life, but it did take a while. Years.

"They could've asked nicely. They lost and ended up with nothing anyway. Would be smarter to make a trading agreement or something." His emotions spoke through, his hatred towards the aliens noticeable under his breath. "I bet someone snitched on us, or made contact first. Out of all the worlds out there what are the likelihood that they found and targeted us. We don't even have that many resources to begin with. Stealing from each other like wild creatures." The Mudsdale neighed and stomped its hooves, sensing the trainers emotions preventing the man from mounting it. He pet down the Mudsdale in an attempt to calm it and him down. "Isolation is always the safest option. I know this best." He said from his experience and skewed view of the world.

Zata had been putting off reading the news. He could not stop imagining his brother being eaten alive. It haunted his nights. Wandering the silent graves were much easier.

"That's all I know." He answered. "I'm going to figure out where he was stationed. How he died. If he was-" His whole body stopped, he could not finish the sentence. Saying it out loud would make it a reality. He could not allow for that to happen.

Gunner Graves

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With a strong leap Zata was able to mount on the now calmed Mudsdale. He looked down at the older man, processing his thoughts as to think of what to say to him.

"Never have I been this emotional in front of a person before. Thank you, for listening. 'Till we meet again, Gunner."

He gently patted the Mudsdale's rear. It neighed and then began to run, leaving nothing but dust behind.

Gunner Graves

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