Aid Returned

[bravenewmods]

The dust hardly settled on the destruction wrought in the streets of Union before the emergency signal hummed to life, a familiar voice beginning to cut through the static.

“...you hear me? This is General Ironborn. We detected an interference with the warp band’s signal. We’re sending a team there to investigate.”

Then another, her voice commanding over the noise.

“Matriarch Frea. Our scouts noticed a disturbance during one of their routine missions in your area. I’m sending a group of Valkyries to investigate.”

Quickly, more voices began flooding the signal, each one nearly running off into each other.

“This is Clement, from Sanctuary. Our oracles noticed a disturbing aura around your city. We’re sending anyone and everyone we can to help.”

“Captain Ingrid from Glacier, reporting. We noticed unusual activity in your direction and are on our way to grant aid. We have a debt to repay the people of Union, after all.”

Soon, voices from all over began to cascade over one another, giving orders, requesting further assistance to the city, inquiring about Union’s safety and sending words of goodwill. It became nearly impossible to discern one voice over the other, and their words ran into one another. But one thing was certain: In their time of need, Union had help on the way.

Frea’s Valkyries were the first to make it into the city, followed quickly thereafter by Ingrid’s troops. The Steel Battalion, led by Ironborn himself, strode through the gates by midday, and by evening aid from those individuals and settlements impacted by Union’s steadfast goodwill flooded the gates. Food, medical supplies, and, most importantly, a much-needed morale boost. Many stayed outside of the city’s gates, both out of necessity, as well as an added assurance that the city would not see another attack; they would watch the back of the city that had done the same for them.

Over the next few weeks, Union will see a surge of aid coming from all directions of the known world, as the city does its best to rebuild. Faces old and new will come together to help ensure that the people of Union will be well taken care of, their homes rebuilt and their lives hopefully put back on track. This was their way, after all, and Union always was the city to lead by example.


[[OOC: This post acts as the final post for the event. Players are encouraged to thread out parts of the rebuilding process, as well as interact with a few familiar faces that they might find within their city.]]

Comments

[actsmagnificent]

[ Heh. So this is what makes Union's way of doing things so attractive, huh? Even Sanctuary is coming to help. Haruka can't deny it amuses her - she might deny the smile that flickered across her face, though - but she's got more pressing matters demanding her attention.

Like how they won't be holding any plays in this Theater anytime soon. Or using quite a few rooms in the dorms. Their Berry tree nearly got split in half, too; they'll need to see if it can be saved.

She's got her Ice-types in particular on cleanup duty, Amara the Amaura clearing out the smaller pieces of rubble and Sky the Beartic handling the brunt of it (Ferrari the Nidoking is doing grunt labor). World Shaking is resting against that Berry tree, with his daughter Super Beauty running in circles around him. Passion the Ninetales is nowhere to be seen, despite living at the theater.

As for Haruka? She's examining the damage with Gene the Wooper dogging her footsteps, Natto, Gold, and her second Rhyhorn having already headed out into the city to distribute aid on a wider scale. For the most part, she's let the Pokémon do as they wish - her mind is elsewhere - but... ] ...Don't move that rock yet. Prop up those beams.

Bear! [ Sky hurries to do as she's told. She's getting all dirty, but what lady couldn't rise above that when her friends needed her? ]

[senpaidol]

[Rise's around, shaken but not wounded. Her two best friends are laid up, and she's been bouncing back and forth between watching over Toyo and Himiko as they recover and helping clean up the Theater. Or in this case, supervising her Scizor helping clean up the Theater and occasionally relaying instructions to the whole team psychically.]

[She's also, of course, taking the opportunity to talk to Haruka about the current situation.]

Well, that was pretty awful, but...it is kinda nice to know our friends appreciate us, right?

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka has no comment on this topic, so she won't fudge one just to say something. She sticks her hands in her jacket pockets. ] "Ever Grande," they'd said.

[ This is Haruka for "as soon as this place is more inhabitable, we're headed out again, have fun." But. It's a warning? ]

[senpaidol]

[She can just about understand that now.]

Kind of a pretentious name, huh?

[Because Sanctuary, Gigas, Citadel, and Union aren't.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Savior only knows what the heck "Gigas" is supposed to mean, anyway. ] They've got the power to match it.

[ Amara walks past, rolling a stone along with her head. She's clearing the area so Sky can move the big stuff! Working outside is nice in winter. ] We were careless.

[ Both a Union "we" and a Divine Defense Force "we". ]

[senpaidol]

[Rise thinks on that for a moment.]

Well...in all honesty, what could we have done differently? We were prepared to fight a god, and there's not really any way to prepare to fight in Union. Not against a flying force of nature who can just fly in over our walls if he's not Warped in.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka still doesn't think they should have invited a stranger into the heart of Union until they were sure of her priorities, but in the long run, it's done, so she doesn't feel like picking over details with Rise - who does raise some good points. Mostly she just wishes they'd been faster to start exploring, but, yeah, what's done is done. They'll just have to find this Ever Grande before the next god finds them.

So she nods. And exhales. ] How are your Pokémon?

[vistapoint]

[Honest to Savior, Geo's exhausted, but it doesn't quite outweigh the nagging feeling of worry he keeps feeling. The Theater's had gotten hit pretty badly in the attack and... while he didn't really know Haruka well at all, he couldn't help being concerned.

Maybe that's why he's found himself at the Theater, Maia clinging to his shoulder as always. Saiph is nowhere to be found, but Geo's Spearow, Taygeta, flaps around worriedly. Such terrible damage... Geo himself just kind of shuffles awkwardly in place as he looks around. This place really is a mess...

(Of course, that's to kind of be expected when a dragon god decides to have a temper tantrum in the middle of a city, Geo tells himself).]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Satisfied that Sky's not going to damage the theater further with her cleanup, Haruka glances over and sees the kid standing there. That's the Engineer, right? What's he...

...Heh. She shrugs. ] The box office is closed.

[ Actually, the box office is so very open, there's a hole in the window. But. Details. ]

[vistapoint]

I kind of had a feeling. This place got hit pretty badly, huh? [He shifts awkwardly again, as Taygeta finally lands nearby.]

... Did everyone make it out okay? [But more importantly--] Do you need any help cleaning up?

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka turns to look at him all the way at that. He's -

Well, he's from Union, all right. It's cute. ]

What about you? [ Seriously, kid. This is really good of you, but. You still live with like. A family and stuff, right? ] You live in the residential district, right?

[vistapoint]

Yeah, but I was in the general area, so...

[Plus no less than three people asked that he look around the city and help out where he can.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Fine, fine. Union's gotta Union. Haruka smiles. ] The buildings took the worst of it. We'll be fine.

[ World Shaking the Rhyperior grunts from against his tree. He's injured, but honestly, that statement still applies: the building he got knocked through is doing worse. ]

[child_of_luv]

You survived.

[Minako smiled. She looked tired, but relatively uninjured. How did you fair, Haruka?]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Well, you missed the miniskirt.

But aside from that Haruka seems fine. ] I guess.

[ Amara the Amaura tries to look small as she slinks past Trainer, pushing a pile of rubble in front of her. There are strangers here now... ]

[child_of_luv]

[Minako recognized the Amaura from outside the library.]

It looks like things got pretty beat up around here, huh? Need help cleaning up?

[actsmagnificent]

How about where you're from?

[ She hasn't rejected the offer of help, but it still surprises her. The whole city is pretty beaten-up... ]

[child_of_luv]

Uh... yeah... they uh, said they didn't need me.

[Or at least, they didn't need her particular skill level when it came to helping.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Who would ever turn down a cute Skitty like this, though? Haruka laughs. ] We won't say no.

[ This is Amara's cue to shove some rocks in Minako's direction. H-here. They are putting all the rubble in a pile in the courtyard, far away from the buildings, to be lugged away when World Shaking is feeling better. ] Ma.

[ Her offer completed, she hurries to hide behind Trainer, head and tail sticking out on either side. ]

[toxicrevenger]

[Pamela's been doing her part by helping with the plants, mostly. Accelerating growth at the rate she can works wonders for something like this. But even she has her limits and it's a bit tiring to expend so much effort. Proof that she needs to keep training and keep getting stronger in her own way.

She may not be a fighter traditionally, but when it comes to the threat posed to her homeland, even she can step up.

She greets Haruka with a tired smile when she sees her, glad that she had friends to fight by.]

Hello. How are you doing?

[actsmagnificent]

Pretty well for someone who can't conjure a tree.

[ Seriously, Pamela. She didn't have time to acknowledge that since they were all busy trying 1) not to die 2) to prevent other people from dying, but that tree impressed Haruka Tenoh. That is a thing that is possible.

She's fresh out of confetti, though. Sorry. ] You've been working hard.

[ And Haruka has been hardly working. Mostly brooding. And watching her Pokémon step up to the plate. Apparently training based on sheer charisma is good for some things - they all want senpai Trainer to notice them. ]

[toxicrevenger]

Distractions are good for the soul sometimes.

[She pauses.]

I know for sure that one of my uncles is dead and several of my family members are missing. My grandparents are alive and in the hospital and my parents are alive...but everyone else is an unknown. So I'm hoping I'll find them.

[actsmagnificent]

[ ...Oh.

Yeah, the Elite Four is going down. Haruka nods once - she's not very good at open displays of sympathy, but she can respect Pamela's circumstances by not making light of them. ] They can all be proud of you.

[ And if they aren't, then they don't know how lucky they are to have a relative like you. One never can tell with nobles. ]

[toxicrevenger]

My grandparents told me they are.

[Her relationship with her parents is more complex and emotionally distant, and her father isn't taking the situation well at all.]

Is there something I can help with here?

[actsmagnificent]

How's your Rhyperior?

[ World Shaking makes a welcoming rumble noise at that question. He can't do much but get better as fast as he can, but he always likes the company of fellow former Rhyhorn.

Also clearly none of Pamela's other Pokémon would be as good at clearing debris to prepare for rebuilding than a Rhyperior. It is self-evident. ]