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Fair enough.

[He half-heartedly shrugs, getting the point. His friends are alive. That's good enough for him, even if Archie can be whiny about it.]

[It's another moment before he says,]

And yes. I have.

[archie ducks his head slightly.]

Sorry. What happened?

[He's silent, still. Finally looking away from Archie and into the distance. Absol shifts near Archie, turning his gaze to his trainer instead.]

It's a long story.

[he takes his hand off absol and shifts back, giving him space to go over to nanu, if he wants.]

Seems we both got all night.

[Nanu sighs. And it really seems like he's not going to reciprocate the vulnerability Archie's shown tonight...until he pipes up again.]

...How much has Anabel told you about me?

Almost nothing. Just that you were there for her when she washed up, I believe.

[he shrugs lightly.]

Didn't think it was really my business to ask someone else about you.

[Out of the corner of his eye, Nanu looks at Archie appraisingly and nods his head. That's something he can respect, even if it wasn't what he was expecting to hear.]

I know you know she's Interpol. Guess she didn't tell you that I was her superior. [Now he actually does turn to the other man, glancing briefly at Absol.] Wasn't on your specific case. But I'll keep what I do know to myself.

[As if he was going around blabbing Archie's entire story anyway? It's serious, at any rate, though he wants to see how Archie reacts.]

No, she didn't. [he's slightly surprised? archie shrugs.] That's nice of ya, but I don't think I could've been more public about it. If someone's gonna ask you go ahead and tell 'em what you want.

Past tense. You ain't her superior anymore?

[verbal permission to go around telling the story of Archibald's Police Record?]

Left the agency about a decade ago. I'm regular Alolan police now. [he was about to tug on one of his sleeves with the patch on it, before he remembered he's in a different jacket for the cold.] Taught her everything I knew. ...Most things I knew.

[get ready for more of that bitterness in his voice; it's just the beginning]

She happened to wash up on the night that cemented my resignation.

[VERBAL PERMISSION TO TELL ALL ZERO PEOPLE THAT CARE]

Huh. [he would've thought they'd worked together for a long, long time.] Why'd you resign? She didn't have anything to do with it, did she?

[his tone indicates he feels like that's a no, else their relationship would be wildly different, wouldn't it?]

[it only matters if it's hilarious to nanu]

No. Not her. [one of his hands comes up to pinch the bridge of his nose, like he's developed a sudden headache] I didn't fully leave until I knew those bastards wouldn't lay a finger on her.

...Like I said. That night was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. [his hand lowers and somehow he looks more worn than before] I wasn't just on a beach stroll. My partner and I found her right after the assignment we'd been on went FUBAR.

...It's really that bad?

[god, that's fucked up. corruption in higher government and companies doesn't surprise him, but it's still not great to know about.

he shakes his head.] You okay if I ask what happened? What did they do?

Worse than whatever you're thinking.

[Bitter with a bite. Not at Archie, of course; just lost in the past. Absol silently pads over and sits between them, in front of the bench. He nudges Nanu's foot; Absol was there for all of this, after all.]

I guess if you spilled your guts, you deserve mine. It won't make a good bedtime story, though. [It's meant as levity, but he doesn't really put any heart in it. Nanu sighs and leans his head back.] ...I don't know how much Anabel's told you about what she does. It's not my business to tell you hers. But she's on the same track I was back then.

We had reports of...beasts, that aren't pokémon. Dangerous ones. Enough to call us in. Had no clue where they came from until the research department got a break. Wormholes. From another world. They were coming through somehow, and going on a rampage to get back home. [a humorless chuckle] It's a hell of a lot easier to believe now that we're stuck in this godforsaken world, isn't it?

No kiddin'. That sounds like some kinda psychic type legendary fuckery.

[he doesn't touch on the topic of anabel-- nanu's right. she hasn't told him too much about her personal life or much about her work life and it's not his business to tell archie hers.

archie hates it, but he kind of feels like he can tell where this is going to go already.]

One of them was more powerful than expected, right? [he's surprised there wasn't reports of this in the news-- unaware of the time difference. maybe they were just really good at covering it up. frankly, he's expecting nanu to tell him one of his pokémon were killed in the line of duty. sad, but it happens. he frowns at his hands, then glances over to absol, watching it watch its trainer.]

[Nanu nods without directly answering the question. One had to be above the rest, of course. There's always a predator on top of the food chain.] My partner and I—we'd been tracking down these things for a while, and this one took the cake. Enough of a widespread danger that we were tasked with...putting an end to it.

[Implying exactly what Archie thinks that means. He shakes his head, not quite lost in the memory, but getting there. Only twice he's had to tell the full story, even if he's intentionally leaving bits and pieces out this time.]

Except this time, they gave us a third team member. A girl. Young. No combat experience whatsoever. [Taking a deep breath, his gaze falls on Absol. A small comfort in this shitty story.] ...I should've known. I was in charge of that task force, but I still let it happen.

[While that wasn't directed at either Archie or Absol, the latter lets out a huff of denial. He pauses, ruffling Absol's head underneath his scythe. Nanu thinks that Archie does know where this might be going; just not how it's going to get there.]

Hm.

[he grunts, not liking it, but knows better than to go off on a tirade about how fucked up killing pokémon, no matter how dangerous they are, is. it's interest as well, though. he tries to imagine what a pokémon from another world that could be that dangerous would be like. it's interesting from a biological standpoint-- what type would it be? would it be something new entirely, or would it be familiar enough?

his expression-- whatever was on it, interest, concern, whatever-- turns far more tense and upset when nanu gets into it. he figures it out almost immediately that it wasn't a pokémon that fell in the line of duty.

cautiously, archie reaches out and puts a hand on nanu's forearm, gives it a squeeze. his hands are warm-- he's not sure how else to communicate he's still listening without making a comment that doesn't really need to be said.]

[Normally, he'd shrug Archie's hand off. Out of annoyance of the perceived pity, or just because he doesn't like being touched; it doesn't really matter either way. But he doesn't this time, too tired to make even the smallest effort for a shrug. And maybe also a sense of affinity, considering they've both made themselves vulnerable to each other tonight. (Later, Nanu will blame it on his exhaustion and the late night. But it's still there.)]

[Another deep breath, accompanied by a shake of his head.] I don't need to tell you how senseless it is to assign a non-combatant to a dispatch team. You're not stupid. You can guess what happened.

That thing... It was just trying to get back home. To its own world. It just so happens it's a chomping, rampaging gob on legs, bent on destroying and eating anything that gets in its way. [Absol, in the same vein as Archie, rests his head on Nanu's leg; unusual for the normally aloof harbinger.] Well, we didn't just find the damn thing. It came to us. And thanks to a slip of hesitation on our part, the girl--

[...]

[He grits his teeth, the hands on his crossed arms gripping just that much harder.] ...There wasn't anything left. And you know what? If she hadn't been there, it wouldn't have come to us. Because that thing—it was following the scent of its home world. Those wormholes, you see, it slathers that scent all over anything that goes through them. Or anyone.

[Finally, he turns back to Archie.] What a coincidence. Huh? That we had just the right kind of bait.

[he lets go after a few moments anyway-- he knows nanu well enough to know that he wouldn't like the extended contact, nor is it really appropriate right now. his hand retracts and he folds them in his lap again, listening as nanu finishes off the sordid tale. figures it was just a confused, lost and scared pokémon. though interpol using human bait? the idea of the plan makes him disgusted and angry, the mist that had descended on them while he was being a baby dissipating a bit-- feeling a bit more like evaporated condensation more than a cold fog.]

Stupid fucking bastards. [he's not sure if he includes nanu under that right now. probably not.] The one person with a link to that world--

[he figures if they had a choice they wouldn't have sent in a non-combatant.]

...Back home, after all my bullshit was over. May flew Rayquaza up into space to destroy a meteor. You saw that in the news, right? She told me it had to go like that because the original plan was for Mossdeep to send a rocket full of Infinity Energy up into it to teleport it into another dimension, where it would've hit the planet as normal. That would've been cataclysmic.

[he glances over at nanu.]

I guess if people can't tangibly feel the results of what they've done, they don't give a shit. [he'll never forget standing in the storm of kyogre's rampage and seeing what he'd wrought with his own hands. matt's panic on the comm, rain and waves so severe everything was going to die.] They weren't there to see what happened. She wasn't in the right universe for them to have to tell her family what happened and why she's not coming home.

[If the mist hadn't evaporated from Archie's feelings, they would have from Nanu's. His side of the bench is uncomfortably warm, as if heating up. Yet at the same time, small puddles subtly form on the ground within a few feet of him; from the bottom-up, as if it were raining. The water is cloudy and muggy, much like how he feels about the entire situation.]

[Any immediate response is silenced when he hears Archie tell another part of his own story. He doesn't interrupt, only nods when asked about seeing the event in the news. (In truth, he'd known via his job, because it had been near the same time as Team Rocket's nonsense. It kind of clues him in to the time difference between them.) But he doesn't seem surprised by what the initial plan was supposed to be, even scoffing and shaking his head when Archie glances over.]

Well, we wouldn't have had to clean it up.

[That's...well, his particular brand of dark humor, except with all of the humor sucked out of it. And as Archie continues, Nanu can put two and two together, reminding him of why he started associating with the pirate in the first place. Leaders of these teams that crop up far too often never feel remorse for what they've done or tried to do. Archie's clearly wracked with guilt every hour of every day, and if it weren't so insulting to say it out loud, Nanu would call it refreshing.]

It's easier when you're at the top, making the decisions that trickle down while you sit behind a desk and read reconnaissance reports. ["You" being figurative here, of course, and not a jab at Archie.] If you ask me? My higher-ups wouldn't have given two shits even if they were there in person. And believe me, I gave them hell. It's all numbers and opportunities to them. I'd sooner have them in her place instead.

No love lost for 'em, eh? That thing would've done the world a favour to take them instead.

[he scrunches his eyes shut for a moment, staring down at the concrete in front of him, clenching is fists and digging his nails into his palms. he did the same, didn't he? not intentionally, but he did it to may. her going into the cave of origin then never coming back out is certainly a nightmare scenario that hangs in his mind a lot, especially when his emotional effects get bad enough to almost replicate the atmosphere outside the cave.]

I'm... sorry. For what it's worth. [man being empathetic sucks. he feels like shit.] Thanks for telling me. I guess it was hard, huh?

[Nanu sighs, the anger and heat ebbing away and leaving grief and regret in their wake. He can't tell what atmosphere effects are coming from him or Archie, but he supposes it doesn't matter. They've both confessed some heavy shit tonight, and his money's on the insomnia that brought them together in the first place sticking around for a long while more.]

Figured if you coughed up your problems, it was only polite to reciprocate.

[It's about as much of a thank you as Archie will get. His tone is a little softer, however much that can be, considering; he does appreciate it. But wait, there's more! If you've ordered Nanu's Backstory in the past ten minutes or less, you also get a free bonus!]

And, wouldn't you know it... it came back. Was about to confront it right before I was whisked away to this world. [Absol lets out another huff, before jumping up onto the bench inbetween them and plopping himself down without a care of whether or not he's happened to lay on parts of them. He acts aloof, but knows both men need some sort of comfort right now. The mist has gotten thicker.] And considering how long and hard you've been dwelling like this, I had an inkling that you were dumped here pretty close to your own source of self-disgust, too. Am I right?

Oh.

[that's... not good? the cold mist descends again. is nanu going to die? he hates that idea, even if nanu might not care. maybe he's just accepted it. he digs his nails into his palms again -- they're blunt, it doesn't hurt -- and exhales. crobat looks over at him with concern.]

It was... a couple weeks ago. Yeah. I mean-- half a year with the time here, but I can't count that.

[he doesn't care about that, though. he looks over at nanu with concern.]

Are you... gonna be okay?

[Nanu just nods, his assessment apparently correct. Being dropped here on the cusp of some serious emotional bullshit like this is so much worse. Knowing he might go back home just to get eaten kind of isn't a great thought? He plays off his own garbage as no big deal, but it's hard to hide it between them right now. So he doesn't even try.]

[Absol leans his head—the non-scythe part—on Nanu's leg. Then he stretches out one of his back legs, gently kicking Archie's fists. Very entirely super accidentally, of course.]

Here, or if I get coughed up back home? [another...bad joke that doesn't really work...] 'M fine. Anabel's the only other one here who knows. Whatever happens, happens.

[The look he gives Archie doesn't exactly inspire confidence in that claim, though. But he knows that, and he knows Archie knows that. What else can he do?]

Are you?

[he nods, understanding. kind of sucks to know that, but there's literally nothing he can do in the meantime. none of them will know until nanu goes back and... as he says, whatever happens happens.]

No, [he says flatly.] After shit like that, you just-- don't get okay.

No. But it can get better.

[The fact that this is Nanu saying so, completely seriously and with genuine care toward Archie might make it seem like he's been replaced by a pod person. But, no. He means it.]

Hey. If a wretch like me can get back to basic functionality, I think your chances are good.

[Okay, that one was a joke...but still for Archie's benefit.]

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