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For a while, Eddie had been flying blind as he picked his way up the uneven path, higher and higher, towards an unfamiliar summit. He thought he caught glimpses of that gray hide between the trunks of conifers and behind patches of lush ferns, and with some amazement, Eddie realized that he had been right. When the mists grew thicker, rolling like an early morning fog over the leaf litter beneath his feet, the soldier spotted the Sword waiting for him, watching him from over a bulky shoulder, [break][break]

“Geeze, bud, this yer idea of a joke?” Eddie groused, picking a thorny burr from his pant leg, “Where the hell are we, anyway?” [break][break]

Terrakion nodded and inclined his head to a break in the trees just ahead of them. The soldier tilted his head quizzically. He squinted, trying to peer through the mists to no avail. [break][break]

The Sword lead the way more slowly now, and Eddie could have sworn that the legend had begun to tread these fae grounds with something akin to reverence. It was hard not to do the same when all the noises of the world, like birdsong and the rustling of 'mons in the thicket and even the sound of the wind rushing through the trees were absent from this place. It would have been unsettling, Eddie realized, were it not so serene. [break][break]

He was so preoccupied by the sights and sounds of the place that he almost ran into Terrakion's back. Eddie prepared to grouse again, until he watched the Sword bend a knee and bow its horned crown in deference. The soldier's gaze shifted upward, and in that moment, Eddie felt the urge to follow Terrakion's lead, [break][break]

“Oh, shit – !” And Eddie floundered for a moment, awestruck and surprised when the Hero of Many Battles' golden eyes settled upon him, “Zacian! Uh, hey!” [break][break]

He thought heard the Sword next to him huff indignantly, but Eddie was far more preoccupied by the figure of the sleeping man resting under Zacian's vigilant watch, and by a familiar voice that broke through the stillness of this most sacred of places, [break][break]

“Huh, Navy?” [break][break]

Wide eyes darted from the slumbering version of the sheriff to his somnambulist double, [break][break]

“Wait, how're you – what happened ta – ?” [break][break]

It was easy to get lost in the strange sort of dream logic Eddie seemed to have stumbled into, but the sheriff's unfinished question was far more pressing than the soldier's own. After all, after watching the man grieve once, Eddie wasn't about to give him any undue reason to do so again, [break][break]

“No, no, he's fine!” he began emphatically, until he thought better of his choice of words, “Uh, I mean, he's still kickin', if that's what yer wonderin'. He's restin' up at a hospital in Slateport, last I heard.” [break][break]

A kinder fate than what many had suffered in Petalburg. Eddie's dark eyes lingered on the Navy in the water and frowned at the wound in his gut. Though the soldier had forgotten the specifics of such stories years ago, it was evident that this place was more Avalon than it was Arcadia, [break][break]

“What about you? Yer, uh, not lookin' so hot.”

[attr="class","bottom"]Navy [break]

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Terrakion rose, and it looked from the ancient knight to the blade of promised victory that laid nearby. Eddie looked too, but his line of sight traveled up to the trees above him, to a little nest he had neglected to notice upon arriving in the Weald. There was a soft glow of metallic plumage, and its light bled into the thick, misty air around it, reminding Eddie of the tales of ghost lights told by his cousins abroad. The soldier decided that the presence of an Illumina Pokemon seemed rather fitting in this place, before he began again, [break][break]

“Hah!” Eddie loosed a sharp bark of incredulous laughter, “Yeah, rough ain't the half'a it, bud.” [break][break]

Even if he had made it out of there in one piece. Eddie scratched at his chin as he tried to decide where to begin, [break][break]

“I'll tell ya what I can, but I'll be honest, it was a real goddamn shitshow.” [break][break]

Though, considering the fact that Petalburg was now under Rocket's control, that was quite the understatement, [break][break]

“I rolled up there with Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki ta try an' put a stop ta things,” he began, though Eddie was careful not to voice the fact that the gym leader's own aims seemed a lot more personal. Vindictive, even, [break][break]

“Then we ran inta the admin with the Regice.” howard slayte, a man who needed no introduction, “We tried ta hold 'em off as best as we could, 'tween us an' this civvie, Roze Falkner, who pitched in ta help. Had ta book it, though, 'cause we were getting' nowhere fast.” [break][break]

And because they were getting swarmed by grunts on top of everything else, [break][break]

“The big guy joined up with us durin' that whole showdown. Saved my goddamn bacon, 'cause I'm pretty sure I woulda gotten flattened if it weren't for 'em,” Eddie continued with a nod to the Sword themself, who only acknowledged that gratitude with a modest huff, [break][break]

“Got separated from Tsubaki after that. Me an' Terrakion got lost in this sandstorm, but the big guy lead me out of it. Found noah faber and a buncha other folks that got taken out, and ran inta the bastard that did it – I think his name was Monroe Somethin'?” [break][break]

Not that the guy really stood out to Eddie. Ulysses Monroe's political tenure had come and gone long before the Paldean had ever set foot on Hoennian soil, so as far as he was concerned, the guy was just some dickhead at the top of the Kantonian Rocket pecking order, [break][break]

“Anyway, I squared up with one'a his goons, before we had ta book it outta there.” [break][break]

A familiar bitterness started to creep into Eddie's voice. After all of that violence and bloodshed and sweat and tears, Rocket had snatched the town right out from under them. Of course, it didn't help that they had two veritable war machines at their disposal, [break][break]

“Things got real hairy, real fast. Rocket got their hands on another one'a those big fuckin' golems, and got their hands on Petalburg. Terrakion managed ta scoop up Noah on our way out, and I know Tsubaki made it outta there in one piece, but...” [break][break]

But Eddie would have given just about anything to have been able to route the Rocket invasion. He unconsciously turned away, staring to some nowhere spot out over the misty waters beyond, as the bitterness gave way to shame, [break][break]

“Whole thing went ta hell. Real goddamn shame.” [break][break]

But maybe Navy had fared better in his own battle, gut wound notwithstanding. Eddie's attention returned to him properly as a thought occurred to him, [break][break]

“I take it you were in Sootpolis when the whole... 'Calyrex evil twin' thing happened?” [break][break]

He was genuinely curious to know how that whole affair had shaken out, especially considering the current state of Sootopolis and the nature of Navy's injuries. Maybe the evil Calyrex had, like, shivved him, or something? Now all Eddie could think of was an evil little rabbit man lunging at Navy with an evil little knife. [break][break]

No, no, that was stupid, but it was a sort of morbidly funny thought, and Eddie could at least indulge the absurd notion a little bit now that he was assured that the sheriff was as okay as one could be in the wake of war.

[attr="class","bottom"]Navy [break]

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Were Eddie an angrier, more bloodthirsty man, he'd be at Sootopolis' gates himself, choking the rolling waves of the surrounding seas with the blood of Rocket. But as it stood, he didn't have much stomach for that sort of wanton bloodshed, and his heart sank at the thought that this fighting would continue, [break][break]

“Yeah, its a real goddamn mess.” [break][break]

Nearby, Terrakion nodded in assent and settled into a spot alongside the gracious wolf. Even in this moment of repose, Eddie thought that the Sword's expression had soured somewhat. Maybe he was displeased at all this talk of foolhardy men and their ceaseless squabbling – the soldier knew that Terrakion had seen just what sort of collateral damage could be caused by that all-encompassing violence. Or maybe the Sword was fuming at the atrocities perpetuated by the enemy – now that was a perspective that Eddie could truly empathize with, [break][break]

“And it sounds like you've really been through the wringer,” he chuckled humorlessly, “Surprised ya made it outta there in one piece, but I'm glad ya did.” [break][break]

But the soldier felt a new flash of anger when he considered all that the sheriff had been through; it wasn't enough that the League forces had been besieged by a veritable leviathan, but to be assaulted by members of the opposite faction while they were doing it? [break][break]

“What the hell is the League's plan, Navy? Are we supposed ta fuckin' play house with Rocket in Sootopolis while they turn Petalburg into their personal fuckin' sandbox?”

[attr="class","bottom"]Navy [break]

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Eddie's first reaction was a sigh through the nose, an angry, frustrated sort of huff like a snorting bull. His faith in Navy was unwavering, but his confidence in some of the League's top brass was somewhat lacking, [break][break]

“Yeah, some goddamn plan that was.” [break][break]

But, as ever, the sheriff presented Eddie with something more concrete and actionable, and as ever, it was a balm to the soldier's angry spirit. He let some of that tension go with a sigh and a relaxing of his too-stiff shoulders, [break][break]

“But yer right, we gotta stop 'em, 'specially now that they've made landfall.” [break][break]

Eddie didn't have much of a mind for strategy, but even he knew that Rocket's takeover of Petalburg had the potential to infect the rest of the landmass like a cancer. That's why he had to do his part, and why he had to take the upcoming battles more seriously than anything he ever had in his life, [break][break]

“We'll be there, wherever they rear their ugly fuckin' heads next,” he acknowledged with a nod towards Terrakion, “And we're gonna do a helluva lot more than just bloody their goddamn nose.” [break][break]

And in all honesty, taking the place of the sword suited Eddie just fine. Rocket had much to answer for, and the soldier was eager to repay their wanton destruction threefold. [break][break]

Terrakion gave a sharp, almost chiding bark, and Eddie turned to the Sword with some surprise. Ah, shit, he always had been easy to read, hadn't he? And the soldier got the impression that he was being told to keep his priorities straight. Justice was one thing, but going all 'Code of Hammurabi' on those bastards was a surefire way of making sure this war never ended, [break][break]

“You sure yer gonna be okay here?” Eddie asked, turning back to both the physical Navy and the dream spirit-Navy, “Last thing I wanna do is leave ya laid up like this if Regice decides ta come back fer round two.”

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As Navy's hand landed on his shoulder, Eddie considered how easy it would be to die for the man. [break][break]

After all, that was the easy part, wasn't it? Running headlong into danger without a thought for himself, only brimming with fierce loyalty for his friend and a defiant streak of stubbornness against whatever great ugly thing they would be facing down, whether together or apart. In his youth, Eddie always dreamed of going out in some blaze of glory, burning out like a fiery comet until he was reduced to ashes and memories. That was how all the heroes had died, with thundering screams and clashing spears and burning hearts, alongside brothers worth dying for. [break][break]

But living was trickier. Survival wasn't glorious, and sometimes it wasn't particularly heroic, especially when you were sent crawling back home with your tail between your legs. But there were many things more important than glory, [break][break]

“I ain't goin' nowhere.” [break][break]

And that was a promise. Eddie would not leave Navy another friend to mourn, [break][break]

“I'll be here, jus' the same dumb bastard I ever was, an' I'll still be here when yer done catchin' yer forty winks.” [break][break]

He hoped the easy smile that crossed his face would be enough to convince the sheriff of that.

[attr="class","bottom"]Navy [break]