"Well, I have been out of the picture for two years... and I didn't have contact." Other than this, Chu-e is quiet as he listens to Cillian Quinn, nodding along. They seem to be on the same page here. Good. "Even if the old blood was harsh, I'm still grateful for what it did for me. I was lucky that Valerio Dachev gave me an option when he first recruited me or I might not have been so loyal. He, and Rocket, saved me from a very bad life."

But they can scheme more later. Chu-e has other things he needs to ask, things he needs to know.

"With my two year absence in mind... Do you know why I was MIA for so long?" He's quiet for a few moments, a scowl forming on his face as he thinks back on it, waiting for Gavin to reply so he can fill in any gaps in the other's knowledge.

"Silas didn't like me. We had a... small disagreement over a plan of his. So, even though I had been loyal to Rocket for... god, seven, eight years at that point? I got carted off to some.. research lab." A huff and he wraps his arms around himself. "I don't know what they were researching, but they kept... cutting me open and injecting me with all this gunk. Doing stuff to my organs. That's why I'm sick now."

"Only reason I'm not dead or locked up is luck and good ole' Ji-Hoon. Some Kalos Interpol found the lab, assumed I was a Prisoner of War, and then carted me back to a big hospital to try and stitch me back together."

"Ah, Valerio Dachev recruited you!" Had it really been this long since the Kanto veteran had returned himself? "He's come over to Hoenn, as well; recently made the rank of Beast, in fact. Our others are Emma Wolfe — you mentioned her — and oscar clayton, from MGH. That's us, too."

Rocket are everywhere, only this time the League doesn't know it.

"We're still hunting for a suitable fourth; dorian westcliff's in admin, now. I was pursuing the rank myself until the promotion."

Gavin was a man of science, but he was also sharpened sword to be leveled at their enemies. He'd spent time training, challenging gyms, and held the qualifications of the Beasts though not the rank itself. It was a point of pride, to be equal to those he'd admired.

Gavin shakes his head at the question, noting the scowl. Rough subject. He does not interject, tenting his fingers as the other explains the circumstances of his absence. He holds back a shudder — this was a reminder of why he'd kept so quiet, back then, why he'd stifled his ambitions to climb against his fear of... he hadn't known what to be afraid of, then, only that sometimes Rockets disappeared. Chu-e fills in the blanks with the sickening reality.

"Fuck." He doesn't apologize, for it's not his mistake to rectify, but he does offer: "That won't happen again, not on my watch."

[break]

Chu-e Choi

"Well, I've already harassed Valerio Dachev plenty. He has pretty good advice sometimes. Sometimes.." Chu-e laughed softly to himself. "I was planning on trying to meet up with Emma Wolfe sometime. I wonder if she would like cupcakes...." He hummed to himself as he thought that over. Maybe a more refined taste... she always had struck him as being quite classy. "oscar clayton I've not met. It might be good to meet him at least once, see how we get along." Since they would no doubt be working together. "That fourth slot not filled? Shame. I don't mind being 'reserve' till someone else is worthy. I just can't promise... well, we've went over my problems."

"Eh, you won't have to worry about it. I made the mistake of not taking myself out when I realized what was happening. It won't be a mistake I make again." Which showed how horrid the experience must have been, if Chu-e could speak so plainly about killing himself rather than endure whatever the hell had happened to him. "Mostly just pisses me off, now, that I don't know what they hell they were working on. The scientists and doctors, they always wore masks so we couldn't identify them. They never talked around us in anything but this thick code and jargon I could never hope to understand. The word 'prophet' was thrown around a few times but I couldn't even begin to guess what that was about."

The 'we' in his statement spoke of more than just him being worked on in that lab. What happened to them were likely worse fates than his own, and if anyone else from it lived Chu-e had no idea. They were most likely detained, anyway.

Cillian Quinn

In a testament to how close he's grown to Emma Wolfe, Gavin's answer is immediate. "I can put you in touch, if she's amenable. We live together."

He states it simply, no mischief or underlying tone to the statement. It had become as normal to him as breathing.

"I'll do my best to ensure you aren't needed," Gavin acquiesces; he had no desire to force the former Beast into a reprisal of the role, but there was no denying the usefulness of such a veteran in their ranks.

"The records might've been destroyed when Silas fell," he muses, the scowl on his lips suggesting displeasure at the thought. "I can put in a word with marcel maeda, though, and see if anything's still there. Maybe talk to some of the scientists. You remember any names from back then?" Even if they didn't directly work on whatever sick experiments they'd performed on Chu-e and his like, perhaps they knew those that had. "I was a grunt back then, and I worked with Pokémon rather than people."

Prophet gives him pause. It carries connotations of religion, devotion. It reminds him of Cadis' vision... but this had been before Cadis, before Walsh, before anything that Gavin understood.

Cillian Quinn's eyes might not alight with mischief, but Chu-e's do.

"Emma Wolfe finally found herself a Mr. Wolfe? Good for her. She always had a shitty time with romance." From what Chu-e could remember and heard whispered, anyway. He had never been very invested in other's business but at times it was unavoidable. "You know, I always really liked Emma. I think it was mostly one-sided, though." He gave a little laugh at that.

But, at the next questioning, Chu-e shook his head. "I never interacted with anyone in the labs. My role was more... well, it started as intelligence but changed to enforcer. The other Beast we had at the time, I can't remember her name, she was better at pure spying. Couldn't spin an angle like me, though." He raised his cup to that before taking a drink.

"So I never really talked to them much unless I was doing a pick up or drop off. Mostly just grunts like you were, too." Sighing, he grabbed for his kettle to fill his cup back up. "Sorry I can't be more help on that end."

Chu-e Choi is smart as a whip; though Gavin makes no direct statement, he catches the implication of something more between Gavin and Emma Wolfe.

The underboss' hard edges soften, a genuine smile settling quick on his lips. "I wasn't sure she liked me for the longest time. She's not one for closeness, usually, but it's good for her to be liked... treated more human than Beast, if you catch my meaning."

He thinks that if anyone will, it's Chu-e.

The lack of knowledge with regard to the labs is expected, so Gavin's disappointment is well-managed. He frowns, deep in thought. "I'll have to look into it more. There's bound to be someone that knows."

"Oh yeah, I understand fully. Being a Beast... it has it's perks, but it was never enjoyable. I'm really not sure how she's been one so long and stayed sane." It was dehumanizing, to be placed on a pedestal by many, treated as something other than human by others, nothing as a puppet by a few. Chu-e looks like he has more to say, but the two of them are interrupted.

It's first by his phone alarm going off, causing Chu-e to groan. He barely gets it shut off before a Gardevoir is stepping into the room, a little metal tray in his hands. On it sits a small paper cup. The Gardevoir places the cup daintily next to Chu-e, standing next to him pointedly and watching close. The psychic type radiates a malice much like someone's mom might.

"Uuuuugh..." Scowling, Chu-e picks up the cup and throws back whatever's inside, which is revealed to be a collection of colorful pills in various sizes and shapes. He picks up the tea to drink them down, chugging loudly before placing the cup back down. "Sorry, Cillian Quinn, looks like it's nap time at the nursing home... this shit will knock me out in like ten minutes. Let me pack up the rest of those cookies for you." Sighing as he stands, Chu-e goes to collect one of his Tupperware containers, one he won't mind missing.