PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

WALSH USES THE DOOR. no shadow shenanigans. no smoke and mirrors. yet, his steps possess a pointed grace. he waltzes in and greets his underboss wordlessly with his quiet, tired eyes.

"underboss choi." he says, finally. "what did you want to see me for?"

when he takes his seat, his heavy gaze slowly strays to the box.

"are those cookies?"

Chu-e Choi

Chu-e does give a smile when Walsh enters the room, nodding as the other man sits down. "Chocolate chip. Feel free to help yourself." A moment to gather up his papers, then two folders are passed to the other.

"One is just a general check over of the propaganda campaign against the League. I've talked it over with other parties; I just wanted you to be updated on the plans." While Walsh was in charge, being an Underboss expected a certain autonomy that lower members of the organization couldn't always be expected to use. The leader wasn't there to hold his hand; this was more a very detailed report. "There's a social media smear attack on prominent figures as well as more classic methods like pamphlet drops, radio, and television. The goal is to lower faith in the League while lifting Rocket up in the minds of the people. Subjugating towns or cities will be easier if a majority of the populace works with us."

But that was more something that could have been dropped on his desk in the end. It didn't require a meeting. The next folder did.

"But that isn't what I wanted to talk about." Motioning to the 'M.A.G.M.A.' folder. "This is a compilation of raw data that was recovered from one of our Kalos branch labs. It was a for a failed project codenamed 'False Prophet'; the goal was to find a way to infuse regular people with a fraction of the power of Legendary pokemon. There was a raid on the lab shortly after Blackwell fell when things were in chaos; it's a miracle that Lulu Flint could recover what she could."

Chu-e tapped flipped open his own folder.

"The project was deemed a failure, mostly due to lack of test subjects and raw material for testing purposes had at the time. However, after review from myself and Cillian Quinn, we think there could be something here. With your blessing, we would like to reopen the project. The 'Modification and Adjustment of Genetics to Magnify Avatars' or 'MAGMA' for short."

shiv

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

THE NAME IS CLEVER. an antithesis of the league's famed initiative; the foil causes him to laugh mid-chew of his chocolate chip cookie. brushing crumbs from between his gloved fingers, he mulls over his underboss's proposition.

the boss swiftly approves the continuance of propaganda. already, the internet is awash with rocket bias. in the minds of the hoenn people, the league's figures are concrete. tangible. rocket still remains a nebulous murky cloud with little to attach to face.

"although the idea sounds promising, i want to ask you," he does not stir too much, for his posture is a stiff ornate curtain, "what do you and merlino see in this? what does rocket get out of this?"

Chu-e Choi

"Power, of course." It's simple. Why else do these things?

"We can't take over Hoenn, or Sinnoh or Kalos or any other region, like we did Kanto." It's a matter of fact. The situation will never be the same.

"We don't have the raw manpower. We don't have the element of surprise anymore. We're not a band of 'terrorists' throwing a fit. We won once. We're a threat now."

A paper is taken from one of his folders, flipped over, a pink glitter pen produced from a pocket.

"Right now, the League has more resources and raw power. More powerful pokemon in greater mass, more people, more Avatars- things that can turn a battle over in their favor.

"Before, we at least had Shadow Pokemon, but....

"We know from intel that there are Shadow Pokemon in League hands. The machine is down and we have no idea when it will be repaired. Even then, they can't stand up to gods unless in large number. We need a push."

He finishes his scribbling It's a mess, some loose type of plans with a crude drawing of Hoenn itself to the side, writing small and loopy.

"It's also tactical. We know that Stormy Silph is an Avatar. But how much do we really know about what she can do? What does she hide from us? What about the League itself? If we could replicate her powers, even if they're weaker, we can work out ways in a controlled environment on how to counter them for when she uses them against us."

shiv

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN HUMS IN THOUGHT. his voice rumbles in his throat all coarse and scribble like his underboss' art. long pauses follow after chu-e's statements, for declan takes his time.

and takes his time to chew the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

"have you any clue on how to replicate these powers, then?" although his voice prods at the plan, his eyes betray a knowing. an understanding— that is altogether pleased and alluring, as if pulling choi in to a simmering idea.

Chu-e Choi

"Most of the research we can recover does have a few basic building blocks. The recipe was shitty but the ingredients are good." And there was still more data to sort through. More ingredients, better pizza in the end. Or at least maybe more chances to make a passable one.

"Though, I am very interested in that machine you showed off. If it can do whatever it did with Lugia, what else could it do?" If anything, it just cemented his own want to assist in finding Xerneas. Chu-e loved Fairy types, knew how to raise them well, and had an above average interest in old stories. While not an expert in that regard, and while it might not be wholly useful, perhaps digging through old legends could provide some crumbs of truth or inspiration on where to look.

shiv

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN DABS HIS MOUTH WITH A CLOTH. clean of cookie, the man speaks slowly as if peeling the ink of information off from a page.

"hoenn's contest circuit uses machines modeled after this one to force shiny pokemon. cotillard and the megalopolans employed these machines to tear apart space to create what we know as ultra wormholes. however, moving to ultra space has become something of an impossibility as of late." walsh folds his cloth into its center as if it were imploding upon itself. "it can convert energy and finetune it, adjusting the the wavelength of its energy source, before merging the energy with whatever it strikes, whether it is flesh or something abstract... such as a spatial grid."

walsh faces chu-e, a grey lock gracing his intense expression.

"it appears you've already laid out the next step. if we wish to replicate powers, we have avatars of our own to test. i have no reservations against pushing our own people past their bodily limits. however, we can kill two birds with one stone if we secure an enemy avatar for ourselves, don't you believe so?" walsh says. "avatars are a hot commodity right now, underboss choi. many stakeholders are wishing to stake a claim on them— and if all pokemon exist for the glory of team rocket..."

he leans in close.

"by extension, that includes avatars too."

Chu-e Choi

Any statements that may be shocking for those OOC said by Walsh are brushed off by Chu-e. He's no stranger to savagery and eating your own for progress. Walsh's words are tilted and tumbled in his mind, the end of his ink pen finding his mouth to engrave more teeth prints into the plastic.

"Okay. Okay." Another paper is pulled out, flipped over, the blank whiteness marred with his ink as quick as the first. A few bullet point notes for himself about everything Walsh had just said, it had been a lot, before he sections that off with a line and starts writing his own thoughts.

"I don't mind breaking a few eggs but we shouldn't snap our Avatars too quick. We don't know how hard they are to replace." A few words scribbled down, names of the publicly known Avatars on the League's side. "It actually might not be wise to grab one of these guys first. They're easy targets since we know information already but it would lead to a large scale manhunt. If we can sniff out an Avatar that isn't Rocket, public, or, the dream, that League doesn't have claws in.... well, what's one more missing person?"

Another sharp line, as if cleaving the thought for later. He can come back to it.

"I'm no scientist. That kind of stuff is left more to Flint and Merlino. Unless I'm missing something real big, it sounds like that pretty little machine could fill some of the holes MAGMA has going on right now... "

shiv

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN SEEMS PLEASED. his smile is a gentle one. perhaps, it is a product of his aged appearance. when not made taut by stern expression or calculating gaze, there is a welcoming allure to his presence. it is like a cape or a noivern's leathery wings. there is a second's warmth before the ensnarement.

"you may borrow it. we are attempting to create duplicates of the device, after all." walsh says. "we will need to find an avatar then. an avatar so doe-eyed and untouched. there are bound to be some out there. all you need to do is hunt."

Chu-e Choi

That does give Chu-e a bit of pause.

"Can I borrow the Floette, too?"

What to do with the machine? Chu-e knows his best bet, personally, would be to push some buttons and hope for the best. Yet, it also doesn't seem like it would do him much good in his experimenting without a source of power. It would be like giving someone a new gaming system without a way to plug it in the wall- a nice gesture but ultimately useless.

"There has to be at least one." Yet, in his mind, he's already mentally trying to sort out which of the public Avatars may be the easiest to snatch for testing. Just as a back up plan. "Plus, I'm not saying we can't test ours... just not as hard as I would want."

He shuffles through the papers, assessing.

"Well.... I think that's just about everything on my end. Unless you have more questions, we're free to shoot the shit and admire how pretty the other is. Which," Chu-e leans in some, squints, makes a vague circling motion around his head with his whole hand. "What product do you use? Your hair always looks so shiny and healthy...."

shiv

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

THE ROCKET BOSS TAKES ANOTHER COOKIE. enough time has elapsed for him to feel sufficiently secure for more treats.

"of course. if it's not in the laboratories, it's in the medical bay."

he bites into his cookie. chews it thoroughly before answering, the compliment a sweet chase to the pastry.

"i don't think too much about the product. as long as it smells nice. points if it's 3-in-1." walsh sets his half-bitten cookie down on a napkin. "feel free to commence immediately. this may very well be an arduous project, and so, do not be afraid to find assistance from our talented rosters."

Chu-e Choi