[attr="class","text"]

For the people. Yes, Gunner could be amicable with Summer if it meant ensuring Circhester's survival.[break][break]

And anyway, she was engaged to marry another man now. Whatever the future had in store, Gunner no longer had to worry about he and Summer returning to old habits.[break][break]

They were moving on.[break][break]

So he nodded. "That's fine with me." Then, after a beat, he added, "You are happier with Liam than you ever were with me, by the way. I can see it when you two are together. I'm glad for you, Summer."[break][break]

And then Gunner gave her a small, honest smile — the first in a long time.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Gunner shook his head. "I don't see you as a threat, Summer. Not anymore."[break][break]

She had proven herself devoted to the cause of protecting Circhester. In fact, she had shown everyone just how capable she could be, not just in battle but as a leader. Compared to leading a whole city during wartime, leading a single company back in Hoenn was a piece of cake in comparison.[break][break]

If they ever managed to find a way home, there was no doubt in Gunner's mind she'd excel at being the CEO her company needed her to be.[break][break]

"We are allies. I think what you're asking for is if we can be around each other and talk to each other as normal people again. Is that it?"

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

"Because I thought I wanted a family. All my life, I wanted to get married and have kids," Gunner replied. "But when it finally happened — the kids part, anyway — I thought my hesitation was temporary. I thought it was normal to be afraid."[break][break]

He returned the coin he'd been fiddling with to a stack of coins representing the southern watch station.[break][break]

"But the feeling of dread and apprehension didn't go away. And it was easier to escape into work than confront the reason for that. It was easier than talking to you."[break][break]

Back then, the thought of returning to Summer had felt like willingly returning to a cage. Perhaps the bars had been gilded, but it was a cage nonetheless. And now that he'd admitted to it, he realized he'd been nothing but a coward.[break][break]

"We were idiots," Gunner agreed, the bitterness audible in his tone, too.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

When Gunner did look up at Summer, his expression carried a hint of skepticism, though it lacked any real antagonism.[break][break]

"The right part of you?" he echoed. "The part of you that you wanted to be, maybe. But it wasn't the whole you, just like I wasn't the whole me while I was with you. And if you can't love someone for all that they are, is it really love?"[break][break]

It was a question he'd asked himself many times, during many lonely nights. He knew his answer, and it made him miss home even more.[break][break]

Mention of the baby brought Gunner's gaze back to the map. He'd hoped she would never ask, so that he wouldn't have to tell her the truth he'd once confessed to GIDEON GRAVES.[break][break]

But there they were, her question hanging between them. The air grew tense as his silence dragged on. Then, finally, he looked into her eyes again and said softly, regretfully, "No. I tried my hardest to want it, but I just couldn't."

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

At least Summer was admitting her recklessness and thoughtlessness. Gunner still had no idea what had gone through her head at the time. Instead of joining an operation against hostile targets, she should have been at home. Perhaps then she wouldn't have lost the baby.[break][break]

But time had lessened his frustration over that situation. And wishing it had gone differently was not going to change the events that had already taken place: getting stuck in this poisoned land, the breakup, the miscarriage — any of it.[break][break]

"I agree," Gunner said. "We weren't right for each other."[break][break]

He paused when she asked about his old work and exhaled, feeling weary.[break][break]

"I did reach out to you at first because of the HBIC," he admitted. Finally, he had given voice to a truth he had never explicitly confirmed but always carried with him. "It was my job to spy on you and Lion Heart Trading Co."[break][break]

Another pause. Rough fingers idly fidgeted with a coin from the map.[break][break]

"But I did love you. Or I thought I loved you." He shrugged. "I loved the person I thought you were. But we were clearly both wrong about each other. We didn't know each other at all, did we?"

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Summer was right, of course. Gunner was a person who tended to be mired by his past: the Kanto War and Team Rocket's villainy, the death of his ex-girlfriend, Mila's sudden disappearance, and now this rift between him and Summer. And he held grudges for a long, long time.[break][break]

But their situation in Circhester had changed so many things. The factional divide between the League and Team Rocket had fallen, discarded after their first shared wintertide feast.[break][break]

Many of their peers believed there was no more going home back to Hoenn, that Galar was their home now. Summer herself had fallen in love with a local. It was possible she considered the citizens her own people now.[break][break]

Gunner ran a hand through his ash blonde hair. He'd imagined many different ways this conversation could go, but he still felt unprepared to talk about it.[break][break]

"Okay," he finally said. "I'm also sorry. I let my prejudice and anger rule me. I was… I was a hateful person." He still was, but that hatred had turned inward. It was the reason he buried himself in his work — so he could forget all the decisions he regretted.[break][break]

His eyes remained on the map, unable to meet Summer's.[break][break]

"I wish things had gone differently, too."

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

An update on the front counted as work, but Summer's desire for a more personal conversation gave Gunner pause. So he decided to address her former request first, even if it was only delaying the inevitable.[break][break]

"The breaches in the wall from the most recent attack have been repaired," he reported, pointing at two locations on the map. "Additionally we've reinforced the old stone at this southern location, since a lot of it has been eroded away by poison."[break][break]

Attacks from Dynamaxed Pokémon were regular occurrences, with no obvious pattern to them. Defensive measures included manning the wall at all times and keeping the power spot as clean as possible.[break][break]

"New recruits have joined the city watch since the attack — boys and girls who've just turned eighteen," Gunner continued. "Their training is going well, for the most part."[break][break]

He hated the thought of throwing them into battle at such a young age, but they had volunteered for the service. Who was he to turn down people who wanted to protect their home?[break][break]

His report complete, he fell silent and waited to see how Summer would broach her other topic of interest.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Summer's sharp cry caused Gunner to jerk away from her as if she'd slapped him again. He took a step back from her and really saw her for the first time that day. Finally, he recognized her as the pitiful, broken woman he had abandoned.[break][break]

An insidious voice hissed in his head: "You did this."[break][break]

Gunner clenched his jaw and dropped his hands to his sides. "I'll get a nurse to help you back into bed," he said at length before turning on his heel to leave the room.[break][break]

As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he flagged down the nearest peasant who volunteered at the hospital. The nurse hurried into Summer's room moments afterward and rushed to her side.[break][break]

[break]

In an old pub near the defensive wall surrounding Circhester, Gunner stood over a pool table the city watch had converted into the "war table." It was the only surface big enough in a nearby building where they could spread out a map of the city. Coins, no longer being used for their original purpose, marked different locations throughout Circhester.[break][break]

Approaching footfalls caused Gunner to look up from the map. Expecting it to be one of the volunteers of the city watch, he was surprised to see Summer Atreides instead.[break][break]

Their relationship had become less strained simply due to the time that had passed since their arrival. He could stand being around her now and even speak with her, though only about work, and he preferred to make reports to Raziel Beckett as much as possible. But Summer took her responsibilities as the city's queen seriously, and Gunner would be foolish to leave her in the dark.[break][break]

Still, it felt uncomfortable to be alone in a room with her. "Summer, what a surprise. What brings you here?" he asked her.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

"It's the truth, Summer!" Gunner snapped back, meeting the full brunt of her fury with his own. "You've thought about it too, haven't you? How fucked up it would be to bring a child into this world? And when their parents aren't even talking?"[break][break]

But she seemed gripped by a frenzy of grief and rage, not hearing him as she struggled to rise from her hospital bed. Gunner knew better than to let her continue in case she hurt herself.[break][break]

Stepping into the room, he moved to stop her, grabbing her arms and forcing to sit back down if she would let him. "No, don't get up. Lie back down," he ordered.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Gunner heard the pain in Summer's voice, in the quiet way she scoffed. He remained in the doorway, hovering there as if frozen to it. Like he was seconds away from fleeing.[break][break]

Because she was right. He wasn't hurting. At least, the pain of losing something that had partly come from him hadn't set in yet. All he could feel was the weight of expectations lifting from his chest, freeing his lungs so he could breathe.[break][break]

"I don't know, Summer," he exhaled, feeling irritated by her question. "It doesn't matter. We've been here a month with no way home yet."[break][break]

It had been a hard month of rationing food, medical supplies, clothing, and equipment. Gunner had been working nonstop with others to cleanse the city of poison, repair buildings, and keep watch on the ice walls.[break][break]

What kind of parents would they be if they raised a child in this world?[break][break]

"Maybe it was for the best."

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Summer looked a mess. The guilt gripped Gunner harder, tearing at his heart. Unable to look her in the eye, he averted his gaze to the foot of her bed.[break][break]

"Yeah, he is," Gunner said of GIDEON GRAVES.[break][break]

An awkward tension filled the space between him and Summer. It was easier, in a way, to talk about anything other than their situation. Yet she brought it up anyway, indirectly mentioning the reason he had come to the hospital — and why she was there in the first place.[break][break]

"Yeah. They did. I'm sorry." He swallowed, uncomfortable, unsure of what to say. "You, uh… you seem okay, at least."[break][break]

She hadn't died, at any rate. But of course, it was the worst thing to say to a woman who'd just lost a child.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

Gunner had not spoken with Summer since their nasty argument a month ago. He would not have come if the peasant woman hadn't mentioned Summer needing Gideon's help.[break][break]

Though Gideon was not a doctor in the medical sense of the word, he'd taken it upon himself to act as one. And considering the scarcity of their supplies and Gideon's limited time, whatever was wrong with Summer had to be urgent if she needed him.[break][break]

Of course, upon arrival, Gunner received the news. She'd miscarried. She was fine, but the baby was gone in a tide of blood.[break][break]

He was numb all over as he walked with leaden footsteps toward her hospital room. A maelstrom of emotions swirled with him, but the first and foremost that had surfaced upon hearing the devastating news was one that stoked his guilt the most: relief.[break][break]

Relief that he didn't have to be the father of a child in this Arceus-forsaken world.[break][break]

Or at all.[break][break]

Gunner pushed open her door. It creaked loudly on his hinges. "Summer?" he ventured, still standing in the threshold. If he entered, he did not know what he would do. What he would feel. It was better to keep his distance.

[attr="class","ooc"][break]

[attr="class","text"]

[break]

Calyrex had just departed. Gunner remained on the ice wall created by skyler dross and Kyogre, looking out at the vast, poison-infused wasteland that Galar had become. Their visitor was a mere speck in the distance and growing smaller with every minute.[break][break]

Gunner still wore his League-issued uniform as everyday dress, but he'd procured a heavy cloak to keep him warm from the wall's chill. As a result, his outfit was an odd mix of the world from which he'd come and the world he'd been forced to call home.[break][break]

Home. No. They had only been in Circhester for a month. It was longer than any of them had expected to remain, but they were all still hopeful that they'd find a way back to Hoenn. They had to. Everything they'd ever known was back there, not here in this damned version of Galar.[break][break]

With those thoughts swirling in his head, Gunner turned away from the horizon and started down the steps toward the city.[break][break]

A distressed peasant woman met him at the bottom, rushing over as if her feet were on fire. "Sir! You have to come to the hospital, quickly!" she exclaimed.[break][break]

Gunner frowned. "The hospital? What's going on?"[break][break]

"It's the queen! Your brother is with her. Something's not right, sir. Hurry!"

[attr="class","ooc"][break]