ALLEGIANCE

EXCHANGE OF TRUTHS

WHILE GAVIN'S HEART THROBS, walsh is serene. there is a grace to his patience that allows the smallest of his gestures, whether it is the briefest bracing against his desk or the lean against his chair, to ring delicate.

the boss accepts the other's formalities with a stiff nod.

"your file?" walsh muses. "gavin merlino. used to be one of our scientists. klaussner had promoted you to underboss." he raises a brow. "and currently in a relationship with our admin, emma wolfe." slowly, his gaze falls to the manila.

Cillian Quinn

Gavin Merlino.

It's what he expects, but the name of the pretender on Walsh's lips still inspires dread in the pit of his stomach. He should be proud, he thinks, to have hidden his truth so completely that even a man of Walsh's power and resources has not dug it up — but there is only cold resignation.

Walsh's gaze finds the folder, and Gavin sets it delicately between them. Inside is a dossier on a different man with a different past: Cillian Quinn, legally declared deceased in his homeland of Galar, M.I.A since he'd boarded a flight bound for Kanto.

He's assumed to have been caught in the crossfire of the region's ruin, yet here he sits.

He drops his carefully crafted accent, then, and allows truth to bleed through in Galarian flair. There are traces of Kanto, as well, of Hoenn where he's spent so many years, but the colours of Circhester speak loudest. "Thought it best you learned from me. I don't intend to run from Rocket, and I've nothing to hide from you."

Amber eyes stare steadily, calm in spite of his racing heart.

shiv

ALLEGIANCE

EXCHANGE OF TRUTHS

WALSH FLIPS THROUGH THE REPORT. each turn of the page is deliberate. slow. he reads against the rhythm of any clock, as if pushing back against the hands that threaten to tick past walsh's own pace. to tick past the drumming of gavin's beating heart.

finally, walsh closes the file. cillian's accent seems to hang in the air like an ornament about to fall.

"do you have any family?" walsh asks.

Cillian Quinn

Try as he might to focus on the rhythmic ticking of the clock, the turn of each page jolts him back to sickening reality. Though his stare is calm, the hands positioned in his lap sport knuckles white with tension.

His heart beats like a hummingbird's wings—

'Do you have any family?'

—and almost stops.

Lips part, but no sound escapes them. He had included only his own details in the file, almost without thought. He's thinking, now — of a different time, a different office, a different man sitting across from him.

We won't just kill you if you betray us.
Your family, your lover, anyone and everyone you care about.

Lulu Flint.

Emma Wolfe.

He closes his eyes, draws breath. Survive, no matter the cost. I'm sorry. They're haunted when they open, but he doesn't look away. He doesn't dare. "Yes, sir. My parents remain in Galar, but my sister, Saoirse, has taken with Rocket." In his lap, his thumbnail digs deep enough to draw blood. "Our Head Scientist, Lulu Flint."

ALLEGIANCE

EXCHANGE OF TRUTHS

THE ROCKET BOSS HUMS IN THOUGHT. it resonates with a vague tone, a color both displeased and intrigued. his hand pins the file to his desk with a flat, gloved palm.

"it is starting to sound like your family has infiltrated a syndicate of infiltrators." the boss finally says. "in one sense, you should feel right here at home. in another, i could have you both killed for your utter lack of transparency."

walsh remains composed, but the shadows of the room begin to move without any shifting light.

"tell me then, cillian. why did you hide?"

Cillian Quinn

Fear sinks its psychic fangs deep into the fabric of his mind. His fingers adopt a subtle tremor, blood beading against his palm. The ticking of the clock seems mocking, now, as if its steady rhythm seeks to contest the racing of his heart.

But in spite of instinct that sees all of his muscles tense, Gavin merely inclines his head to acknowledge the threat. Lugia's outrage, distant, is acknowledged also... but it cannot help him, not here.

Shadows shift along the wall and Gavin swallows, anxious.

Cillian. His neck prickles.

"I was afraid." He's afraid now. His eyes are wide, his breathing shallow. "I thought that if Blackwell found out the name I'd joined under wasn't my own, he'd have me killed. I was of no use to him, then. But I can be of use to you, sir."

I have been, haven't I? He bites down the urge to beg.

Loyalty. Obedience. It's what's expected of him. We own you.

Drawing breath, he parrots words once spoken to THEO BECKETT.

"My loyalty, my life — it's yours."

ALLEGIANCE

EXCHANGE OF TRUTHS

DECLAN DISMISSES GAVIN'S WORDS WITH HIS HAND. he shakes his head.

"words mean nothing. you need to show me."

the boss sighs, leans back in his chair— but the posture remains precise.

"what i don't understand is that you were afraid because of blackwell. this is not silas' rocket. not anymore."

the shadows continue to morph and ooze in their umbral bays.

"a return to silas' rocket is a return to certain failure." he says. "we can't be bloodthirsty without reason, and that extends to this circumstance. however, should this revelation be the cause of a compromised rocket past, present, or future, it will be reason enough."

Cillian Quinn

The vice grip around his chest eases ever-so-slightly with Walsh's words, though Gavin's focus remains threatened by the shadows along the wall. It's a moment before he answers, as if considering carefully.

"I know that our Rocket is different than it was," he acknowledges, inclining his head. "But I've been in Rocket thirteen years. Only recently have we abandoned the practice of eating our own. You've had my loyalty since the beginning, sir, but I've exposed these secrets because you've gained my trust."

Such words may also mean nothing; he can only hope that actions taken in spite of his fears are proof enough.

"Cillian Quinn is dead. I haven't used that identity since I left Galar. But even if this identity were to be compromised," foreshadowing, "even if the entirety of Hoenn knew who I was, my allegiance — it would change nothing for Rocket. If words mean little, then let my actions speak: I have not once abandoned Rocket, not even when Cadis offered the choice. I would hope that I've proven my worth to you in the time since you've taken power."

His breathing levels out as he speaks, the tremble in his hands subsiding slowly. An understanding of expectations soothes against blind terror.

"With our efforts in Sootopolis, I intend to prove it further."

ALLEGIANCE

EXCHANGE OF TRUTHS

THE ROCKET BOSS folds his arms. He remembers tracing the schism of the Hoennian branch. A risky move— but needed, in order to separate the loyal from the wishy-washy. To see who remains, weighted by trust like sediment unlike the slick oil that rises to the surface.

"good. i'll be expecting much, then." walsh says, readjusting his gloves. "your commitment has been duly noted, even by those in kanto in fact. sootopolis will add to your decorations, should all go according to plan." he leans forth, broad, dark shoulders looming over his desk. "since i do verily appreciate your honesty, then i'll let you into my little secret."

the shadows in the room converge, sweeping into declan's cape. they crawl up the fabrics and begin clinging to his skin. smoke wafts from his neck to his face, obscuring it before he reemerges from the billowing black cloud.

a different face emerges: ulysses monroe, the previous hoennian commissioner. another gale of smoke reveals gavin's own face, wisps of black traveling across fabricated glasses. finally, the smoke dissipates, revealing walsh's original appearance.

"the faces of people we see never leave us." declan says. "every face we see in our nightmares is one we have seen before. this ability of mine will be our own little secret. now go, i have matters to attend to."

Cillian Quinn