[attr="class","beck"]i would hate to lose someone i cared about so much.

leave it to Tempest Quinn to help him realize that he would hate it, too, and so here he is, trying.

theo glances to the entrance before peering up at what looms above them.

"how did this spawn again?"

he's read the report but it's always good to get a reminder.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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It's nice to spend time together again, even if bittersweet memories send stabs of hurt through the pit of his stomach. He swallows them down, focuses on the warmth of friendship rather than the chill winds of remorse.

"Uh."

That was the problem, wasn't it?

"We don't really know."

They were looking into it, for sure, but they were struggling just as much with figuring out why the city had split apart, rearranged itself, and then set itself right by the time the night was through. The influence of some legend, perhaps, but which?

"Something caused the Spire to vanish. After, the air was sort of..." Gavin's brow furrows. "Glitched? And then a while later, this tree just kind of showed up where the Spire used to be. Honestly, not even the weirdest shit that happened."

But it was pretty weird.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]"hm."

he's not smart knowledgeable enough to form any theories of his own, so that's where he leaves the conversation of the tree at.

"i'll be there for the next op, hopefully."

he turns to cillian.

"i'm glad it went well."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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"I'd hoped you would be at Sootopolis. Why weren't you?"

Gavin turns, too, offering a curious look with no hint of accusation. Despite being an underboss, he wasn't the first to hear of every single movement within the organization. It was too big for that.

His lip twitches into the genuine ghost of a smile.

"I'm glad, too. But this is only the beginning."

His ambitions wouldn't stop at one city.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]"i was asked to look after miro."

as much as he argued his skillset would've been better utilized elsewhere, he knew it was not in his place to argue, as they both know all too well, orders are orders.

"i would've preferred to have been at sootopolis."

he has no qualms sharing his thoughts with cillian, knowing it'd stay between them.

"what's next for us?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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"Ah."

Mention of Melody Miro leaves a bitter taste, but not for the girl herself.

"I'd have preferred that, too."

But in their years apart, Gavin has learned to look out for himself; perhaps the one good thing that had come from the separation. Throw him into the shark tank, and he'd learn to swim.

THEO BECKETT is right. This will stay between them.

"We do for other cities as we've done for Sootopolis: sow distrust and discontent, and capitalize on it when the time is right."

It was a slower takeover than Kanto had been but for Gavin, the lack of bloodshed is worth it. To walk the streets of the city freely and see more than the burned husks of buildings and the gaunt, terrified faces of what unlucky survivors remained...

Thoughts of Kanto bring the conversation back to an earlier thought.

"You know it was MATIAS SILPH who came for Miro? Tch."

Gavin still holds a grudge.

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[attr="class","beck"]it's slower than what he's used to as well, but he finds that he much prefers this approach.

there's less bloodshed this way.

at the mention of a familiar name, theo chuckles.

"i heard he came over. didn't think he'd get so involved this quick."

the grudge is shared, albeit less intense.

"you should've killed him."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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"Didn't you? Loves to get in our way, that one."

Our meaning Rocket, though it applies more directly to THEO BECKETT and Gavin as well. There's a shadow in his gaze.

"Would if I could, but I'm not stupid enough to go for the throat in a public setting."

You never knew how many civilians were capable trainers on their day off, just waiting for an opportunity to play the hero.

"If given the opportunity, there's no one that wants him dead more than I do."

[attr="class","beck"]"he'll continue to be a pain."

as he once was in kanto. the memory, no matter how distant, is enough to sour his mood.

in response, he clicks his tongue, dismissing it.

"his time will come."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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"Fuck 'em."

It's a dismissal of the subject as Gavin pulls out a cigarette, lights it. Gray smoke mingles with black miasma as he exhales, tilting his head back to look up at the network of twisting wood above.

"He can wait. I want Fairburne dead."

Gavin wonders if THEO BECKETT would've felt the heavy weight of guilt, failure, had something similar happened back in Kanto. He'd always seemed better at turning off his emotions.

[attr="class","beck"]of course.

theo would've felt the same, though as they've come to learn, he'd have hidden his emotions better. or buried, rather.

he fished for a cigarette as well, lighting it shortly after.

"who was her handler?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

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Gavin's lip curls.

"I don't know if she had one." He shrugs. "She seemed to have Walsh's favour, and I wasn't trying to step on any toes at the time. I didn't know what he was like."

And after the hell they'd been through with Blackwell-era Rocket, he's sure THEO BECKETT understands the need for caution with one's superiors.

He rubs his thumb along the scar on his palm, shakes his head.

"Still don't, but Sootopolis was an important op for me. Feel less replaceable than I did before."

Ordinarily, he'd hesitate to admit to such concerns, but not with Theo.

"I've already put in a request to Killian Decker for whatever information we had on her. Imagine there'll be a briefing with the brass once we've gathered everything we can, talks with S.P.E.C.T.R.A on how we might deal with her."