"No, Katherine," comes a voice from somewhere behind her, Gavin stepping out from behind a crumbling sandstone wall that had concealed him from her view, "that's your job, not mine."

Though spoken with humour, there's a certain subtext behind the words. They hadn't been together since Mauville and so Gavin hasn't had the time to lecture her about the events of the war. He's certain marcel maeda already has.

He appears to lack Pokemon companions, at first, until the phone in his pocket comes to life. Instructed to take pictures and document any evidence they found to be forwarded to their head of intel, the ghost-type inhabiting the phone sets about eagerly to its task. Normally it would be recording as well, but he wishes for their conversation to be kept private.

"On the subject..." Gavin kneels down to inspect something carved into the wall, a symbol he can't identify. The shutter clicks. "What do you plan to do about that unruly shadow Pokemon of yours?"

Katherine Fairburne

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about."

He worries to the extent that Lane has spread the video evidence. He'd seen too much, and yet his high standing among the league made eliminating him a risky endeavor.

"Mm. That'll be how it died, then. A shame we couldn't realize its full potential." He had wondered about the Dusknoir's effectiveness in certain situations, and its demise had answered only one of those questions. He stands up, suddenly, and levels her with his gaze. "Do you intend to return to the labs?"

Katherine Fairburne

Of course she would go right back.

Gavin frowns. "Yes. I want to see the temperament of whatever comes out; frankly, Katherine, I'm worried about your blasé attitude. Your reputation isn't the only thing on the line, here."

It was his own, and Rocket's in turn. He wouldn't alter his decision to follow Katherine if given another chance, but he would have made sure that Dusknoir went to someone more careful with its training. Violent though his own shadow Pokemon could be, they had never attacked someone other than Gavin without his express permission. He hadn't let them out of his lab until they were under control.

"Have you spoken to Lane since?"

Gavin beckons Rotom over to a half-buried artifact. After it snaps a photo, Gavin crouches down to begin carefully brushing away the sand.

Katherine Fairburne

"It's a risk you shouldn't have taken." Gavin's tone is sharp as steel. "You didn't have to ask. I followed you because you hold an important position in the League that I won't see squandered to recklessness."

Walsh had apparently agreed with his decision, at least according to the accommodation he'd received.

"And I don't think you did know what you were doing," he challenges. His Rotom continues to take pictures of the site, but Gavin's full attention is on the gym leader. He never yells, nor even raises his voice, but there's no mistaking his tone. "Did you know what you'd find in there? What would be let out? That wormhole was incredibly unstable and you released a volatile Ultra Beast known to the region as a terrorist in order to open it!"

His gaze smolders as he offers a sharp shake of his head in response to her question. He hadn't noticed, at the time.

"I've no idea what Lane was doing, but I know what the League will do — they'll watch, and to have their eyes on us is dangerous."

Katherine Fairburne

Subtly, Gavin signals to his Rotom.

"You know nothing of the sort," he snaps back. That she isn't conceding her own recklessness only serves to fuel Gavin's anger. "Anyone could have followed you into that damned wormhole. Lane did, I did — Giratina targeted you along with the rest of us."

Gooseflesh rises on his arms in memory of that penetrating chill.

"You shouldn't be proud. You should be aware that your actions affect everyone else." It was a generalization, but he's sure she catches his meaning. Lane's suspicions were a threat to Rockets above and below her in status. "This is your problem — not everything can be solved with brute force. Walsh has given us directive to infiltrate the League, not alarm it. Lane on his own is nothing to fear, but Lane with the backing of the Council? Of the commissioner?"

His Rotom continues to record.

Katherine Fairburne

Katherine laughs, and the look Gavin gives her is ice and steel. It does not waver as she justifies her actions, further cementing Gavin's opinion. It's not until she makes to exit the scene that he speaks, the words dark with warning. "Don't forget who you're dealing with, Fairburne."

He might have been civil with her, even friendly, but he was still her superior and she had crossed a line. He makes no move to wrap up their operation, his unmoving posture practically daring her to leave.

"Fortune favours the bold, not the stupid." Had she taken the risk in privacy, and not in the middle of an alien invasion with hundreds of eyes on her, Gavin might have supported her decision. "Your arrogance will be a death sentence. Giratina is the least of my concerns."

Katherine Fairburne

Katherine has the audacity to try and leave, and Gavin knows he cannot stop the Phantom Force. That's the thing about ghosts. Katherine, however, is not a ghost — nor is she the only one with access to them. Dhelmise makes impact with the sand, its heavy anchor sinking a few feet under the surface before it comes to rest. Its compass-eye spins to focus on its trainer, whose signal is all it needs.

Its anchoring shot aims to ensnare, rather than harm, the seaweed chain coiling around her like a snake.

"I think you've already forgotten."

He does not like this part of his job. He never has. Friendships have splintered and shattered under the weight of his duties.

"You are drunk on the promise of its power, but that power does not eclipse the whole of Rocket." Individually, they were weak in comparison to the legendary Pokemon — but as the war had proven, a united collective could bring down even a god. "Bear that in mind."

Dhelmise retracts its chains, and Gavin leaves without looking back.

Katherine Fairburne