Though Gavin had afforded Serena Malcolm a few days of space to collect herself, attempts to contact their missing agent had begun in earnest and hadn't ceased. Gentle concern had turned to full-blown worry and then demand, for Rockets couldn't simply go missing as she had without risking repercussions.

If she defected, he might have to do the unthinkable.

Only he does think about it, often, and it strains against his mind until at last—

"Um. Serena, the door, it's soundproof..."

The gentle, slightly awkward voice of Gavin's assistant before the door opens regardless to reveal the piercing amber glare of a man who's lost too much sleep worrying about this stupid girl.

It softens, nigh immediate, when he takes in her dishevelled appearance.

"Arceus. Get in here."

He ushers her into the office, closes the door.

"Where have you been?"

"How could you not know?"

It's an instinctive response, sharp and demanding before memories catch up and take root in his mind. He can relate more than she knew. Gaps in time, fractured memories, nightmares so vivid they felt real.

"Nevermind," he says, quick, before Serena Malcolm can respond. "I'll talk to Walsh."

Sitting down in his chair with a heavy sigh, he threads his fingers through the fur of a Sylveon who jumps immediately into his lap. Its ribbons curl around his forearm, possessive, and the psychic energy of a calm mind floods through his veins.

His heart rate slows, his thoughts are clearer.

"Serena..."

She's not the first to come to him seeking the power of an avatar, the answers.

"It's not as simple. If it was, we'd all be avatars."

Serena Malcolm looks as if she's coming apart at the seams.

It's nowhere he hasn't been, and he maintains his patience as she vents her frustrations through words and sharp gestures. His Sylveon helps, its psychic powers keeping the edge off a mood that might have otherwise turned foul when Serena snaps at him.

Weak.

It's how she presents herself, frail and desperate.

Years ago, Gavin might've sneered at her and turned her away. Weakness will get you killed. He has been raised and conditioned to be nothing but strong, to be unwavering, to hide what she puts on display. But he's grown, changed, and he brushes aside the toxic thoughts of old.

"I'm not turning you away." The deep timbre of his voice carries easily in the quiet of the office. "I'm asking you to be realistic. I can't work miracles. If I could, all of Rocket would be Avatars, and we wouldn't need to step so carefully around the League."

He covets power not only for himself but for his allies. His family.

"Tell me, Sera. Is this so that you can combat Katherine Fairburne?"

Gavin can read her like a book, her clenched fists and gritted teeth telegraphing her ire as clearly as if she'd been shouting at him. He is unerringly patient in return, still as stone when he watches her.

It's not until she turns to leave that he speaks.

"Sit down, Serena."

She won't get the choice to leave; the door shimmers with pink energy as the underboss clicks his tongue. He wasn't done talking, and she was going to listen.

"The problem is that you're not thinking clearly, right now. You're angry. You've got every right to be. But if you go charging toward Fairburne in your current state she'll make a fool out of you. Being an avatar won't change that overnight. She's had time to acclimate to her abilities; you'd need the same."

As if to punctuate his words, miasma curls around his fingers.

His eyes flash, dangerous, at the mention of Walsh.

"If you go over my head, Serena, we are done." No matter the cost. It echoes in his head, a memory. Walsh would just as likely get her killed encouraging her bloodthirst for the benefit of Rocket. "Legendaries choose their partners. I can't force that choice any more than you can. But if you work with me, then maybe there is something I can do."

"I do understand." Softer, now.

He understands more than she'll ever know.

"It's why I didn't want you mixed up in all of it."

Because it was dangerous, but he knew her type. They were cut from a similar cloth. It's why he'd agreed when she'd asked him to be her mentor. How far would they go in pursuit of power? Too far.

Emma had been right about one thing: it was never enough.

"There's a project in Rocket. M.A.G.M.A. Have you heard of it?"

Top secret, confidential, but there were always whispers. Not of the project's purpose, but of its existence.

Serena Malcolm

Something dark and dangerous flashes in Gavin's eyes.

"If you want out of this, I will deal will Walsh. You have a choice, Serena."

Had it been another agent raised high to the rank of Beast, and not one of those he'd taken a special interest in, Gavin might not have offered to stick his own neck out on their behalf. But he's grown fond of Serena in the time she's spent as his protégé and has no desire to see her suffer the way so many of them had in Kanto. He was Walsh's underboss. Surely if anyone could talk him down...

"But if you want to proceed... M.A.G.M.A is a project formed around the goal of studying avatars and trying to steal or replicate their powers. But it's in its early stages. There have been deaths. This could kill you."

Serena Malcolm