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Leaving work at work? Who had time for such a luxury? Even today, Gideon has asked Hazel here not for the relaxing scenery within the Insectorium, but so that he could return to his office as quickly as possible once their meeting concluded. Such was the life of an academic.[break][break]

Still, their kind could usually squeeze in even a little time for outside recreation.[break][break]

“What interests are those?” Gideon was curious; they’d been apart for so long, he’d forgotten what sorts of hobbies Hazel preferred. Photography, like him? Or perhaps fly fishing (though admittedly he preferred crafting the lures more so than the actual fishing aspect)?[break][break]

As @albrecht elaborated on his course schedule, Gideon finally poured himself a cup of tea. He took it with two sugars, no cream.[break][break]

“Quite diverse,” And impressive. So much history packed into a semester. The last class really grabbed his attention, though. [break][break]

“Have you ever thought about contract work? We’re always looking for qualified archivists here.” Here being the museum’s Collections & Archives Department – one of the largest in the country.

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GIDEON GRAVES was quick to learn that the protection afforded by commonplace Pokémon could only do so much. Whatever meager safeguard GREAT TUSKS had given their group was shattered by a fear so thick in the air that it dragged them to the ground. Moments later that fear was realized.[break][break]

All went black. [break][break]

The professor came to in a wholly different place. As his eyelids fluttered open, he was met with the ragged feeling of ruined turfgrass on his cheek. Then, as he righted himself, a view he would have never expected: Wyndon stadium, skewed into a dystopian caricature of its former architectural glory.[break][break]

"What the..." angelo vestri's voice pulled him away from his marveling. "Yes, I'm here... but how...?"[break][break]

The how would have to come later. For now, there were other things to take note of, like how they hadn't traveled here alone. From what he could tell, everyone from the previous battlefield had also been transported, many of whom were gathered around something at the center of the stadium.[break][break]

A statue. A familiar one, stoking Gideon's memory of mythical tales involving an ephemeral horse and its kingly rider. But what was it doing here? In the middle of the pitch? The professor was deeply curious, yet not enough to wander closer. There were too many already congregated around the statue. One he recognized almost immediately...[break][break]

[break]

His blood ran cold. In that moment, he was endlessly appreciative of skyler dross and angelo vestri and their protective presence.[break][break]

"J-Johnny?" A furry paw suddenly gripped his hand, unyielding in its hold as the URSHIFU followed after skyler dross.[break][break]

"Uh, right. Let me just..." Gideon used his one free hand to recall his GREAT TUSKS, whom was much too large to fit into the stadium's vomitorium. The professor's ROTOM emerged instead, ready to THUNDER WAVE any potential threat that may come their way.[break][break]

GIDEON GRAVES was none the wiser - for now - about angelo vestri's abilities, though he did wonder why the pilot needed his hand held too.[break][break]

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[break]
• ROTOM - THUNDER WAVE if anything attacks

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Despite being a stumbling mess in front of both Gunner Graves and angelo vestri for a second time now, the professor managed to smother the worst of the flames, leaving only smoldering fabric - and flesh - where the fire had licked at his body. [break][break]

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He wasn’t. Gideon breathed in sharply almost immediately after saying this, expelling a low hiss as he attempted to control the flaring pain screaming at all the nerves in his forearm. Thankfully, the TOGEKISS’ LIFE DEW offered blessed relief, assuaging much of the discomfort and beginning the healing process. [break][break]

Gunner’s worried pleas didn’t go unnoticed, though. Once the LIFE DEW had done its thing, Gideon extended his arm out for his brother to inspect. “I’m good, Gunner.”[break][break]

There was still anger festering over his sibling’s lies and deceit, yet the other’s concern pulled at his heartstrings. This prolonged period of resentment was weighing on Gideon; he hated how their relationship was suffering right now. But there was still care there, too.[break][break]

“Let's focus on why we’re here.” Gideon insisted, taking attention off of himself and focusing it on the celestial body in the sky. “Angelo, do you have any idea what’s going on with that moon? Why are the Celesteela drawn to it?”

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“Summer, then,” He confirmed with a small smile. “And feel free to call me Gideon. You’re right, I think we can drop the titles, all things considered.”[break][break]

‘All things’ being the elephant in the room: the pregnancy.[break][break]

But GIDEON GRAVES wasn’t about to bring that up unprompted. In fact, if he could have a pleasant lunch with Summer Atreides without mentioning anything about her and Gunner Graves procreating, the professor would be overjoyed.[break][break]

“Things have been going well, thank you for asking.” Gideon replied as he settled into his seat, placing the tray of food onto the table in front of him. He’d wait to partake until she received her own meal, however. [break][break]

“We’ve been rather busy at the museum, actually. Now that summer is getting closer we have more positions to fill. Summer camps, extra staff for increased visitor loads, and the like.” He explained, an excited spark in his umber eyes. Interfacing with his personnel was one the many things Gideon enjoyed about his profession. He was reminded of the spitfire memphis evren in this instance.[break][break]

“And you? How’s business?”

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“It is,” Gideon confirmed, stepping aside so that Ollie could collect the syringe from the desk. The other man’s injuries didn’t go unnoticed, though he didn’t comment on them. It appeared that they’d both run into trouble after separating in the Ultra Deep Sea.[break][break]

“Do you know how to collect blood correctly?” Just in case he didn’t, the professor went over the procedure for his friend. Restrain the specimen, find a strong vein (usually in the ear for thick-skinned, large-sized Pokémon like DONPHAN), carefully insert the needle. Gravity and capillary action would do the rest.[break][break]

“I recommend starting with the Donphan. I have a feeling he’ll be a bit more cooperative…” Although the way he just huffed at the two men wasn’t very encouraging.

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Relief softened the anger lines on Gideon’s face. He’d admittedly expected a bigger fight from Gunner, so seeing him acquiescence so easily was a small victory in and of itself. [break][break]

The elder Graves followed after the younger, walking back to where he’d left angelo vestri, but stopped in his tracks as the world darkened around them. A huge moon seemingly appeared out of nowhere and hung ominously in the sky, bidden by some unknown power.[break][break]

“Did you do something, Angelo? This seems–” Gideon began to question, but was cut off by the incredibly powerful tremors that rocked the land and opened rifts under their feet. He narrowly avoided falling into one, but ended up tumbling onto the ground.[break][break]

Moments later, the pressurized gas ignited flames that engulfed the surrounding vegetation and, consequently, found purchase on the professor’s sleeve.[break][break]

Gunner Graves’s WIDE GUARD didn’t have the scope to reach Gideon. A hungry fire quickly grew on the fabric, starting to burn the flesh beneath. [break][break]

“Oh shit!” Gideon echoed his companion from earlier, instinctively trying to swat the blooming flame until it was smothered away.

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As fighting erupted before the ancient tomb, a robust FEAR gripped at Dr. Gideon Graves' heart. It was a warzone not unlike the one he'd witnessed back in Granite Cave and the Ultra Deep Sea. Internally, anxiety clawed at his composure – would this be a repeat of that day?[break][break]

FEAR had overtaken his life lately. In fact, it was one of the driving forces that had pushed GIDEON GRAVES to this battlefield. Fear for Gunner Graves' safety, fear that his work really was meaningless, as his little brother had suggested. [break][break]

So he wanted to witness it all – the makings of history and what knowledge could be gleamed from first-hand experience. [break][break]

"Trust me, I have no plans to get whisked away this time," Gideon responded, a smile in his voice. Leave it to Angelo to be able to make light in even the most dire of situations. [break][break]

"We stick together." He echoed, nodding to both angelo vestri and skyler dross in turn.[break][break]

To solidify this, Gideon released one of the Paradox Pokémon he'd captured a few months ago. It was massive in size with an even greater ferocity — perfect for both offense and defense, depending on what the situation called for. [break][break]

"Protect!" In this case, the professor instructed his GREAT TUSKS to stand guard over their little group. Attacks were coming from every direction, but the mighty pachyderm would safeguard them.[break][break]

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[break]
• GREAT TUSKS - PROTECT around their group

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Gunner forced Gideon’s hand from his collar, wresting it away with enough abrupt momentum to push the elder Graves brother back into his arm chair. Gideon groaned in pain as he landed, clutching at his ribs.[break][break]

However, that hurt was nothing compared to the cutting verbal blows Gunner shot off immediately after.[break][break]

His entire profession was minimized to simple desk work and collecting bugs for no good fucking reason. Gunner had basically called him a joke to his face, acting like Gideon was the one playing pretend. It was fucking insulting.[break][break]

Which, he supposed was the point.[break][break]

“No matter how much you’ve trained, it’s just not safe– Gunner!” He attempted to reason with his brother, but a slamming door was all the response GIDEON GRAVES would get.[break][break]

Silence once again fell over the apartment. Deafening. Maddening. And while there had been so much anger and outrage moments prior, now all that remained in the wake of their argument was a profound sadness.[break][break]

Gideon buried his head into the palm of his free hand.[break][break]

“Damn it…”

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"Yes, it was partially buried in the soil here." Gideon squatted near the stone façade, pointing to areas of disturbed earth. He hadn't bothered to refill the hole the vacated lamp left behind, so this was almost certainly the same spot.[break][break]

"There could be other artifacts here as well. I didn't have time to do a thorough search before."
Flashes of his brother's charred body passed through his memory, unbidden and unwanted. Thank Arceus Gunner Graves had been miraculously healed.[break][break]

Speaking of miracles...[break][break]

"Is there a way to summon the soul fragment? You said the spirits here were attracted to you before..." Gideon looked around warily, not wanting to repeat his own experience with his sister-in-law's apparition.

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Any ounce of restraint that Gideon had was gone the moment Gunner squared up on him. He stood, albeit unsteadily, to his full height, looking down on his little brother with a venomous expression.[break][break]

"You think you're some sort of hero?" He practically spat the question into Gunner's petulant face. "Defending our home? Lying to your family for years to play spy? That's bullshit and you know it!"[break][break]

With his one free hand, Gideon attempted to grasp the collar of his sibling's jacket, clutching the fabric into his fist.[break][break]

"You're just a man, Gunner!" Mortal like all the rest. "This isn't safe. Your life isn't worth risking!" [break][break]

When his brother then turned the conversation to accuse him, Gideon grew even more enraged.[break][break]

"That's the point, you fucking idiot! Pretending to be a goddamn hero is too dangerous! It could have just as easily been you instead of me."

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More than okay.[break][break]

GIDEON GRAVES appreciated the youthful enthusiasm that permeated off of memphis evren. It was infectious, and just the type of energy he wanted to see in his staff. He had high hopes for the young man looking starry-eyed before him.[break][break]

"No time like the present, then." The director replied, a smile in his voice. "Follow me. Dr. Dumas should be around here somewhere."[break][break]

And so they entered the Collections, weaving in and out of cabinets — some tall and deep, holding skeletons of huge creatures, others waist-height for palm-sized specimens. [break][break]

There were divisions within the space divided by discipline, too. Mammalogy, Herpetology, Ornithology, Archeology, etc. At one point the pair even passed by a technician preparing what looked like a PIKIPEK skin for stuffing and archiving. Wads of cotton poked through its hollowed eyes.[break][break]

"Any questions so far?" Gideon asked, realizing that it was probably a lot to take in.

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Follow he does, keeping in step with Eva Morales — an admittedly more difficult thing than one might imagine, given their disparity in height. [break][break]

Gideon listened as his colleague described her thoughts, nodding along in agreement as he did so. She made some great points.[break][break]

"Yes, exactly. Preemptive knowledge would be pivotal if that were the case." It could be the difference between having the knowledge needed to prevent catastrophe and innumerable casualties piling up across the region.[break][break]

"There's increased potential for mutation, as well, considering how widespread Pokérus is. It seems harmless now, but that might not always be true."

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