Chase Through the Spiky Mountains

First topic message reminder :

Link to mission:

(Energy - 11)

The Black Spear mountains looked menacing as expected. The cloud cover was thicker than usual, showing signs of a possible storm to come. That certainly didn't help with the overall menacing image portrayed. Who would ever want to venture to this place? Sova, having had a bad experience in this area in the past, didn't fancy coming back. But if he stayed away, that would make him a coward. That was something he just couldn't handle being.

Besides, he had a mission to do and he wouldn't have to go all the way to Black Mist Mountain. And there was a torchick with him, since it was an escort mission, so it wasn't really lonely. Though he was pretty sure the torchick wouldn't be a very capable fighter. At least the mission seemed easy. Find Staraptor and get her to stay and chat.

Sova giggled. "All of that's true, I had no way of telling no one would be hurt and I'm in no place to decide when to and not to follow laws. But like you said, they exist for a reason; and sometimes that reason is, to be broken. Lets say someone's life is at risk and they can save their self by breaking a law. Would you ask them to die instead? Or even better, what if you had to break a law to save an innocent? Wouldn't you?"
Surely the gengar wouldn't try and argue for following the law even if it means lives are lost. After all, William seemed to live to protect others. Surely he'd break laws to do so if necessary.

William found himself sighing at Sova's inability or unwillingness to try and understand the situation.
"That would be justified law breaking then. This too is carefully detailed in legislature. All laws exist for good reason and thus should not be broken. If Pokémon would act like you, then there would be no way to control the general populace and things would quickly fall to crime and chaos. Well, technically it isn't a crime if there isn't a law against it, but I'm certain you understand what I mean."
Just how stubborn, just how chaotic would one have to be to deny this one pillar on which civilized society had been created? Some day this Eevee would run into some serious trouble. And William really didn't want to have to be he one to say "I told you so."

"The law isn't always right. Someone made it, someone who wasn't perfect. Do you think they made perfect laws? No. To me, laws are guidelines. I can decide for my self what is right and wrong. If someone's life is at risk and I have to break a law to help them, I will."

Sova couldn't understand how the gengar who strived to protect others at all costs would obey the law over saving someone's life. How could one be so easily shackled by words? Especially someone as strong as William, and with such a clear moral compass.

"The law has not been created by one Pokémon. Over time the law has been perfected and is continuously improved to provide us with the right thing to do, no matter the situation.
And if your complaint about the law is that it was made by one Pokémon, incorrect as it may be, then remember that the Pokémon breaking it only is one as well. So if that is something you want to criticize, start with yourself."
William couldn't understand how someone who was a member of the guild, the very institution dedicated to enforcing the law, could hold legislature in such little regard. Why did he join if he didn't care about justice?

"You're ignoring the point. The law isn't always right, it isn't perfect. Do you expect me to follow it even if it means an innocent life is lost? What if I'm wrongfully accused of something and attacked? Do you expect me not to defend my self just because they're with the "law"?"
Why would one let someone else dictate their life? Sova couldn't understand how someone could so blindly follow rules even if they were wrong. Sure, laws were good guidelines to follow, but sometimes breaking rules could be necessary.

"If you are wrongfully accused then you will not be attacked, but taken in front of a court and given the chance to defend yourself. If you are attacked, then the law states that you do have the right to act in self-defense. The law is constructed in such a way that situations of the sort you are describing can not come up."
What was so difficult to understand about the law being created in a way that there never would be an innocent life lost due to it? Only by recklessly ignoring the law could complications like these even show up at all! So actually Sova would be at fault, were something of the sort to happen. Why couldn't he see?

"Eh, fair enough. But if situations like what I'm describing DO come up, I don't care what the law says. Hopefully, you agree that's a fair compromise." Sova said, beginning to sound bored. What were they even accomplishing with all this talking?
He'd noticed the torchick and staraptor had all but stopped talking, probably having talked about everything necessary. It was about time to go and there wasn't much point in continuing the conversation.

Besides, how could the gengar argue back now? If the law was perfect, by Sova's proposal, he would never break it. No worries.

"If such a hypothetical situation were to occur, then by its very definition the legal situation would be unclear. In such a situation you would be expected to interpret the related legal texts to the best of your moral reasoning. If no legal texts are available, then moral reasoning is all that is left. However I suggest reading a bit about legislature, seeing as you seem not to be aware about many a law."
Well, at least Sova was partially agreeable. But still he had given William more than enough reason to worry about his moral stability. There was a lot of work the Gengar still had to do but he was deternined to keep the Eevee away from a life of crime.

Sova waved a paw at the gengar nonchalantly. "Yeah yeah, all I got out of that is that I should do what I think is right. Which I already do. Laws make for good suggestions though." He half-joked.

Inside, he was actually considering William's words, but to him, admitting that would have been like losing the argument. So he decided on pretending not to care. It fit him more anyways. He rarely worried about anything, let alone something as small as laws.

And...that was the thing William had been worrying about. It seemed as if the Eevee wasn't even willing to consider the Gengar's opinion, stubbornly clinging to his own.
How could Sova get upset about the Staraptor's behaviour of having continiously refused to approach him when he himself was doing the exact same thing?
Some Pokémon just were hypocritical by nature the Poison type figured. Hopefully something like this would not lead to complications in the future.
Knowing Sova however it most certainly would.
Why were they still talking anyway? It was obvious that they weren't getting anyway with this.
Surely even Sova would have had to notice?

Sova awaited the gengar's next response, expecting another criticism. But nothing came. He figured this meant he'd upset William. It made him feel bad. Perhaps waiting longer would have yielded some words, but impatient by nature, he decided to break the silence himself. "At least the mission's done. Maybe after this we can just forget this conversation happened. Holding grudges and dwelling on things won't do any good, y'know?" He tried to sound as sincere as possible. Hopefully he was wrong about having upset the gengar, maybe William was just distracted thinking about something.

Either way, maybe what he'd said would end the argument.