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the sky is his sanctuary, the wind his guide, but today, they have led him astray. the masked rider looms above him like an omen of death, their moltres blotting out the sun with its terrible wings. in that moment, nick knows fear, the kind that settles deep into the bones, the kind he hadn't felt since the darkest days of his past.[break][break]

he is no stranger to team rocket, no stranger to the horrors they inflict upon the world. he had been one of them, once, a lifetime ago, before he had found his way to the light. but that was the past, and this is the present, and the present is dark and full of terror. a ritualistic sacrifice is demanded.[break][break]

nick's grip tightens on his mount, the fierce and proud braviary that has been his companion through so many battles. he could feel the bird's tension, its readiness to fight, but nick knew that they were outmatched. the moltres is a legendary creature, a force of nature made flesh, and nick and his braviary are little more than insects before its might.[break][break]

but he has a duty. the league counts on him to scout. to be cowed by this beast is to admit defeat.[break][break]

nick bids his braviary to ascend to face the moltres and its masked rider. "neither you nor rocket own the skies," he calls out, his voice ringing with a confidence he does not feel. "i intend to finish my duty."[break][break]

his knuckles go white, every muscle tensed for a confrontation.

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nick's brows furrow, his heart sinking further with each passing second. the fact that the girl is unable to answer josh's question isn't a good sign, and nick fears the worst.[break][break]

"if it's three days..." nick mutters, trailing off. "you're right. we can't go looking for them. but we can save the children. we have to."[break][break]

he watches as josh approaches the children once more, asking them about the last place they'd seen their parents. he can see the hesitance in their eyes, the fear of revealing too much information. they've been through a lot, and they're understandably wary.[break][break]

"please, we just want to help," nick says, his tone gentle. "anything you can tell us might make all the difference."[break][break]

it takes a moment, but finally the girl speaks. "the pokecenter..." she whispers, sniffling. "they were helping the pokemon..."[break][break]

"thank you," nick says, giving the girl a grateful look. "that helps a lot."[break][break]

he then turns to josh, who's suggested taking the children back to oldale town. it's a good idea, but... "i don't think the boy will be able to ride a pyroar in his condition," nick notes, looking at the boy's twisted leg. "i'm worried it might cause further damage."[break][break]

nick takes a long, deep breath. "i am—" he pauses, biting his lip. "i was a doctor. i could take the time to stabilize him. but if you want to get them out of here as soon as possible, i could try to carry him while we ride."

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in many ways, life as a pokemon ranger is a constellation of near misses and happy accidents; in other ways, it's an endless march of uncertainty and terror. nick supposes that, for a young ranger like the woman that appears in the cavern, the sky and earth are not so separate. for a young ranger like her, the world is a larger place. a wildcard.[break][break]

as nick stumbles back, he finds himself in the middle of a frenzy of pink and blue flames that light up the cavern like a twisted aurora borealis. the momentary relief that washes over him when he sees that the aegislash has not turned its attention to him is quickly replaced by the realization that it's instead focused on the froslass and its trainer as they embark on a mission to slay this strange beast.[break][break]

then there's the flash of a blade, the scream of metal against metal, and the sound of labored breathing. it's juliana, aiming for the aegislash, seeking out its weakness. but nick's not a betting man, and he doesn't want to leave this to chance. chances are what have led him to this moment, after all. his hand flies down to his belt, fingers brushing against the cool surface of one pokeball. none of his pokemon will be effective against this foe, but perhaps they might distract the beast long enough to allow the swordswoman to get a hit in.[break][break]

niamh, his toucannon, appears in the cavern in a brilliant flash of light. the light show continues as her beak begins to glow, and she streaks like a comet towards the aegislash. BEAK BLAST makes contact with the aegislash's shield—an opening is made.

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clearly, the children have been through something traumatic - something that's left them both physically and emotionally hurt. the way the girl recoils from them suggests that she's been on edge for many days at this point. he exchanges a glance with josh, his eyes narrowed.[break][break]

"we're here to help," nick echoes, though his voice is soft and gentle, like he's speaking to a scared animal. "please, tell us what you can."[break][break]

the girl hesitates, her tear-stained face wary as she looks between nick and josh. "mom told us to get out of the city," she stammers, her voice barely a whisper. "but, my little brother got hurt, and..."[break][break]

she breaks off, a fresh wave of tears spilling down her cheeks as she strokes her brother's hair. the boy whimpers, his eyes fluttering open for a moment before closing again. nick's heart lurches at the thought of these poor children going through what they've gone through. he forces himself to focus on the present, though, and crouches down beside the children.[break][break]

"we can get both you and your brother out of here," he soothes. "are your parents nearby?"[break][break]

the girl breaks out into another burst of sobs so powerful they rock her entire body. she shakes her head, emotion rendering her incapable of answering vocally. nick's eyes darken with concern.[break][break]

"how long since you've seen them...?"[break][break]

the girl holds up three fingers.

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nick looks up at the sound of the approaching dragonair, and his brow creases as he recognizes the distinctive form of the sky blue serpent. it seems his partner has finally arrived. he accepts roze's handshake with a curt nod, his grip firm but brief.[break][break]

"nicholas steele, but feel free to just call me nick," he replies, his voice low and rough from disuse. "and yes, it is quite the predicament."[break][break]

he turns his gaze back to the nest, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "the people of the town are without power, and yet..." he gestures to the honchkrow, her keen eyes scanning the area for any potential threats to her tiny, fluffy chicks huddled beneath her wings. "the murder has as much a right to occupy the space as anyone else."[break][break]

he sighs heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "i don't know how to resolve this without causing undue harm to either side. ideally, i'd like to find a way to keep the power on while still allowing the murkrow to remain here, but..." he spreads his hands helplessly. "i'm not sure how to go about it."[break][break]

he looks to roze, a rare note of openness in his eyes. "any ideas? i feel like i might have thought about it for too long. i might be missing something."

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nick nods, his brow furrowing in concern as josh expresses his worries about rocket using the survivors as bait. it's not outside of the realm of possibility, and nick knows all too well how ruthless rocket operatives can be when they're trying to achieve a particular objective.[break][break]

so he turns to solomon, raking his eyes over the bird with a ruthlessly piercing gaze. his braviary is easy to read: prideful, boastful, and bossy, he's easy to provoke, and quick to catch onto danger. if solomon had picked up on any rocket grunts in the midst of the razed woods, whether separate from survivors or in tandem, it doesn't show, given that his feathers are unruffled and his demeanor still confident.[break][break]

"solomon would be more energized if he had," nick admits. "but you're probably right to be careful. we should approach cautiously, just to make sure."[break][break]

when josh proposes using tazama to track down the source of the cries, nick nods again. "let's head in, then."[break][break]

with that, they set off at a steady pace into the wilderness in search of the cries they had heard. solomon takes to the sky again, keeping close to the shattered canopy to keep an eye on nick and josh's blind spots. in the midst of travel, nick loosens his grip on tazama's reins, and allows her strong nose to guide them. so they move at a brisk trot, and nick hangs on, peering through the darkness in search of anything out of place.[break][break]

then, there. nick spots a flash of blonde hair in the underbrush, and nick bids tazama to slow alongside it. to his side, there is a young girl, probably only ten, her face dirty and her cheeks strewn with tears, as she sobs over the crumpled figure of a still-breathing but unconscious boy, maybe around six-years-old. his left leg is turned at an odd angle, and a thin stream of blood flows from a laceration around his hairline. nick's heart aches at the sight, and even further at how, when the girl sees them, she recoils, fear clear in her eyes. they've got to help them.[break][break]

a screech emanates from the sky, and nick's head lurches upward as he searches the canopy for solomon. a warning screech. something wicked this way comes.

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"you really don't need—"[break][break]

but the words die on nick's tongue as he sees the earnest, almost desperate look in eddie's eyes, and realizes the soldier's intentions. it would seem that eddie feels the need to repay nick in some small way for his kindness. and though it's not needed, not required, nick can see that eddie would take it as a kindness if he accepted. and though nick is no longer wired to relish in shared human contact, he acquiesces anyways. perhaps some change is in order.[break][break]

nick sighs, a soft sound that's barely audible over the crashing of waves against shore. "uh, yeah," the ranger says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "i suppose i could go for a bite."[break][break]

besides which, it's been far, far too long since he last had a proper meal. the thought of something warm and filling, something that isn't just another protein bar or can of spam, makes nick feel a little bit lighter, a little more at peace. [break][break]

"lead the way, then," nick says, gesturing for eddie to take point. he follows the other man then, flicking water from his clothing, and marveling at just how easily he had been pulled out of his shell.

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nick listens to yuina's explanation with a growing sense of disbelief, his brows furrowed in confusion. protectors? guarding territory and pokemon within it? it sounds like something out of an ancient myth, a legend from the dawn of time. and yet... there is an unsettled conviction in yuina's words that gives nick pause. she believes what she's saying, of that he has no doubt.[break][break]

as yuina begins scribbling in her notebook, nick takes the opportunity to study her more closely, his gaze flicking from her intent face to the ancient book in her lap. there is a fervent, almost fanatical quality to her demeanor that puts nick on edge. he has seen that look in people before—people so consumed by their cause that they lost sight of reality, of the world around them. it was not an attractive trait, in his opinion. but he also knows better than most how easy it is to become consumed by one's work.[break][break]

and now that she identifies herself as a historian, it makes sense. in nick's experience, historians just tend to be like that, given all the history professors he met back in college.[break][break]

nick crosses his arms over his chest, and the fabric of his orange jacket ruffles with the movement. "i'm nick," he replies. "i'm a ranger. i didn't mean to interrupt—i just came out here because there were weird reports in the area."[break][break]

"i guess i know why, now." he looks out into the darkened woods, and his eyes grow distant. "...i feel bad for them. bad might be the wrong word, but..."[break][break]

nick rapidly shakes his head. it's hard to make sense of the emotions he feels in the presence of the phantoms, so he finds it best to rid himself of the emotions entirely. instead, he fixes yuina with a stare once again, and tilts his head to the side. "i apologize if this is too forward, but is there anything i can do to help? something about them... i don't know. i want to know more."

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"he'll be careful," nick assures josh, though he can't help but feel a pang of concern as solomon disappears into the evening sky. he knows the bird is capable, but that doesn't make it any less worrying. still, they've got a job to do, and solomon is a vital part of that.[break][break]

when tazama purrs and offers her back, nick blinks, taken aback. he's ridden braviary before, but never something quite as large as josh's pyroar. he hesitates for a moment, his hand resting on the lion's flank, feeling the powerful muscles beneath her fur. then, with a nod, he takes her up on her offer, clambering onto her back with a grunt, his old bones creaking in protest. tazama seems unfazed by his weight, though, and sets off at a trot, quickly catching up to josh and nuka.[break][break]

as they draw nearer to the copse of emerald-hued trees, nick scans the area for any signs of rocket activity. the last thing they need is to be ambushed by a gang of thugs with nothing but a stick and a braviary. but, to his relief, the area seems clear. solomon is waiting for them at the edge of the trees, his head cocked to the side as if listening for something.[break][break]

"what is it, solomon?" nick murmurs, dismounting from tazama and striding forward, his walking stick in hand.[break][break]

that's when he hears it—a faint, strangled cry, barely audible over the rustling of the leaves. it's coming from deep within the trees, and it sounds like someone's in trouble. nick's heart pounds in his chest as he exchanges a glance with josh.

"we've got survivors," nick says, his voice grim. "how should we go about this?"

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for a long moment, nick just stares at eddie in silence. there's a strange juxtaposition at play—the earnest man before him, awash in guilt and regret, not dissimilar to the haunting darkness in nick's own past. yet at the same time, their burdens feel equally heavy, equally difficult to bear. nick's heart goes out to eddie, just as it has so many times before with so many of hoenn's inhabitants. nick prepares to say something that he's never been able to believe himself.[break][break]

"it's alright," nick says quietly, finally. he reaches out and squeezes the other man's shoulder, a firm, reassuring pressure that lingers for a few moments. "you can't blame yourself for the actions of others, eddie. what happened to petalburg isn't your fault."[break][break]

he glances away then, down into the rolling tides. something dark prickles at the back of his head. petalburg hasn't been his home since five years ago, but he spent his childhood there. he can still recall the curve of every street, that ice cream shop down the road, his best friend's address. it's all gone. it will never be the same. nick can never relive that part of his life again.[break][break]

nick hesitates, then reaches down to grip tightly onto the body of a final feebas. "i appreciate you apologizing, but you really don't need to. not everybody can be a hero. even if they want to be. that doesn't mean they're lesser for it."[break][break]

nick wades back into the water, and bends down into it. "sometimes, the best thing you can do is what you can."[break][break]

the last fish trapped in the tidepools swims off into the deep from nick's hands.

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the sun dips below the horizon, bathing the landscape in the soft glow of twilight. nick stands before a power line that cuts through the outskirts of verdanturf town, a small crowd of disheveled utility workers behind him. his eyes, sharp behind his round glasses, narrow as he observes the nest tucked amongst the wires - a jumble of twigs and debris, home to a brood of cantankerous murkrow chicks and their mother, a large honchkrow.[break][break]

he'd received the call this morning. the power outage in the neighboring houses was caused by the nest shorting out the line. the neighborhood, usually alive with the hum of electricity, was eerily still. as a ranger, it was his duty to resolve such issues, to ensure the safety of both the wild pokemon and the town's residents.[break][break]

but as he stands there, surveying the nest, he can't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the birds. though the town calls them nuisances, even they must care for their young, even they seek homes in high, dry places. do they not also have that right? do they not also deserve such amenities? must judgement be meted out to innocent creatures only trying to protect their own?[break][break]

yet, the people of the town need power to keep their lights on, their fridges running. he can't in good conscience allow the outage to persist. nick sighs, running a hand through his short, peppered hair.[break][break]

...though, is he misremembering, or is another ranger meant to assist him with this task?

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rusturf tunnel is a place nick avoids when he can, its depths too close for comfort for a man who has always yearned for the sky. still, duty calls, and he finds himself here more often than he'd like, boots crunching on the loose dirt and gravel. the air is heavy with the scent of damp earth and something else, something acrid that catches at the back of his throat.[break][break]

he's not alone. up ahead, a faint glow pulses, casting eerie shadows on the tunnel walls. as he approaches, nick sees it's an aegislash, its blade and shield emitting a radiant light. the pokemon levitates back and forth, facing a corner of an adjacent cave, it's shield raised. nick can feel the aggression rolling off it in waves.[break][break]

this isn't the first time he's encountered these glowing beasts. they've been appearing more and more frequently, protecting what they may see as their territory. he has been told that they have been appearing on purpose, but nick is unsure of what to make of these reports, much less of the strange beasts themselves. worst of all, when nick follows the direction of the glowing aegislash's body, he lays his eyes upon a small nacl, drawn into a corner, and steadily being advanced upon by the aegislash. it's with an ache in his heart that he realizes he can't stand to see the poor thing be cowed by the blade any further.[break][break]

nick moves six paces around the aegislash, hoping to find a good angle by which he might catch the blade off guard, only to find that he's misplaced one of his feet, and a small rock clatters out from beneath his boot. like an alarm has been triggered, the aegislash whips around, and nick presses against the back wall of the cavern out of hope that the aegislash may not have noticed.[break][break]

alas, it has. slowly, it levitates towards nick.

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