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POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 0:05:33 GMT

Chu-e Choi likes this

They've met, before, but never like this.

He makes a sorry site, Balder Schwartz, made lethargic by the drugs they've been using to keep him down after Chu-e Choi's death. In all his caution, Gavin won't get within strangling distance even with the Sun's avatar chained and subdued.

Balder would doubtless recognize 'Cavalli'. Perhaps he'd seen the news, when Gavin's identity had been revealed and compromised. Regardless of how he'd come to know the so-called League trainer for a fraud...

"About time we had a chat, I think." Gavin sits down outside the cell, introduces himself as, "Merlino."

Balder Schwartz

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POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 5:32:48 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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"Spare me your pleasantries, traitor."[break][break]

A ball of spit flew from the Alolan's side of the cell to land in front of the previously know Cavalli. Sadly, the drugs he had received not long ago prevented him from being at full capacity and completing the action he desired to do.[break][break]

"And to think I trusted you, ran alongside you. Only to find out your true identity and you being part of rocket."[break][break]

With a defiant, yet tired gaze, the man looked up at the underboss. "What the hell brings you here, Merlino? Hoping to take over Choi's job of sucking me dry?"

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Gavin Merlino

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october 28th

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POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 6:00:01 GMT

Gavin doesn't flinch, though his lip curls as spit marks the ground before his foot.

"Traitor? And who do you claim I've betrayed?" His foot shifts back from the wet spot on the floor. "My loyalties have always been with Rocket."

It takes him a moment to remember what Schwartz is referring to. The Pokeathalon feels like lifetimes ago, as if it had happened to a different person. He hadn't been an avatar, then. Cadis hadn't taken ill. Walsh hadn't taken over.

Gavin blinks away a distant expression.

"Choi is dead," he says flatly. "My power is of a different nature. I'm here to talk. You label me a traitor but we don't know each other like that, do we, Balder? Really, trusting me when you knew nothing of me was your first mistake."

Balder Schwartz

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Balder

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February 12

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 6:29:31 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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If this talk had given him any information so far, is that Merlino is also an avatar. However, the piece of information that stunned the alolan for a bit was regarding the man who had captured him. "Hold up. Choi died? The parasite actually got him?" He might be the "Enemy" and the reason he was locked in, but the man wasn't in control of himself either. He deserved respect to some extent.[break][break]

As the talk returned to the traitor front, Balder frowned. "What, is it wrong to trust someone to not be part of a bunch of family murderers now? To expect them to not be part of those that killed your brethren? Guess next time I'll just cave their face in as soon as I see them!"[break][break]

The sarcasm was strong in this one. With a rattling of chains, Balder got up and advanced towards the jail bars. "And what would you even want to talk about with me? Feels odd you'd wait till you experimented on me and stole my light before you'd consider talking."

[attr="class","queencred"]Nano

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Gavin Merlino

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october 28th

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POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 6:37:41 GMT

He knows, then? That the nature of Chu-e Choi's relationship with Necrozma was less of avatar and patron and more parasite and host? All the same, Gavin remains guarded when it comes to revealing further information.

"He's dead." The confirmation is all Balder gets.

And I'm alone.

It weighs heavy on him, the burden of a responsibility meant to be shared. Yet he won't admit as much to his boss, Declan Walsh, and so he certainly won't admit it to the likes of Schwartz. The accusation, though, makes him frown.

"Your brethren? Who of yours are we supposed to have killed?"

Gavin only knew of their allies, in Kanto.

"You think they haven't experimented on me, too? We're avatars." But they hadn't stolen his power, for Gavin wouldn't allow the experiments to go so far with him. He was an ally to Rocket, an asset. "Perhaps you just interest me."

There's something sharp, perhaps mocking in his smile.

Balder Schwartz

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Balder

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 6:59:24 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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"What else would I mean by Brethren other then my family? Alolans. Your gang killed them in the Kantonian takeover." The urge to knock that man out was slowly growing stronger. The attitude, the way he kept to secrecy... Complete annoyance. And when he replied to his experimentation comment..[break][break]

"The fucking difference between both of our situations is that you volunteered and can walk freely. I had none of that goddamn choice, was brought here against my will, and now this." He moved his restraints to show them and make them heard in the location. Comparing their situations was like saying the Moon was the same thing as the Sun. Similar yet completely different.[break][break]

Upon the comment of being interested in him, Balder looked at the man with a raised brow. "Sorry my guy but I don't share the same interest right now. You'd have to do better then this if you were trying to flirt and score." Might as well strike back a bit while possible.

[attr="class","queencred"]Nano

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Gavin Merlino

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POSTED ON Feb 20, 2022 16:52:02 GMT

"We killed many in Kanto." Gavin's tone is flat. "My superiors never gave me names."

In Kanto, Gavin had been less of a person and more of a weapon. They would point him at a target and he would do whatever he was told. Yet something gnaws at the back of his mind. Why would Rocket kill the family of Schwartz, unless...?

"If your father betrayed us, their deaths are on him," he scoffs. "Such were the rules, then. But I always took Schwartz to be the loyal type."

Not that they'd interacted much. Schwartz had outranked him, as had most others in Kanto, and so Gavin had kept his head down and stayed out of trouble where the other man was concerned. Still, treachery within the organization was often a big deal. He thinks of what happened to Marcel, and to Theo. They'd have killed his family if he crossed them, yes.

"Volunteered?" His laugh is sharp, humorless. "No. I did as was expected of me, nothing more."

No matter what the cost. Walsh's words still haunt him.

"You want me to flirt?" Gavin's mocking tone is almost coy. "I'm afraid I've already got a partner, but you flatter me."

Balder Schwartz

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Balder

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Feb 28, 2022 6:34:19 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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"Hold the fuck up. What did you just say?" Disregarding else that was just said, the Alolan focused on just one thing that the admin said: "If your father betrayed us". Vidar Schwartz, Balder's father, a rocket member? It had ben years, even a decade minimum, that the Alolan spoke to his progenitor, but he couldn't have become a member of this organization during that period, right?[break][break]

The chains rattled until they suddenly began to emit a cracking noise. Veins were pulsating upon Balder's arms as he was pulling with all his strength. Suddenly, one of the chains shattered, freeing one of his hands, which proceeded to grab the jail bars before him. One arm was all he could pull at the moment, but it was more then enough for now.[break][break]

"Tell me all that you know about Vidar Schwartz. From the very start. That bastard better have not joined your group and caused the rest of my family to die."

[attr="class","queencred"]Nano

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Gavin Merlino

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october 28th

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POSTED ON Feb 28, 2022 6:47:59 GMT

The illusion of calm is shattered with Balder's chains, and Gavin takes a wary step back from the cell. Miasma swells around him as if by some sudden breeze, though the air around them remains still. His amber eyes are guarded.

"Don't presume to give me orders, Schwartz." Gavin's fingers curl around a luxury ball at his belt, though he doesn't unclip it. "I'll answer what I can, if only to satisfy my own curiosity."

But he most certainly would not be detailing the man's entire history.

"Vidar served in Kanto. He outranked me, then." Then. "I never met him personally, and from what I understand he didn't accompany Silas to Hoenn. But Blackwell's lot liked to make an example of the ones whose families were killed when they stepped out of line." Gavin's lip curls in disgust. "If they did anything to yours, I didn't hear of it."

That didn't mean it didn't happen, of course. It wasn't always a spectacle, but...

Memories threaten, and Gavin shoves them back.

"I can put in a word with my contacts in Kanto, if you give me names." He shrugs. "Or ask Vidar himself, if he's still one of us."

Balder Schwartz

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Feb 28, 2022 7:10:17 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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A... High-ranked executive? In Kantonian Rocket? Under Silas the crazy bastard? "What the actual fuck..." The man released the jail bar he was holding with his freed hand, revealing a crushed metal pipe. He was ignoring the miasma emitting from the underboss, not like he would fear it anyway. [break][break]

Why.... Why would he have joined them? And since he held a high rank, that must mean he was part of them for a long time. Was it ever since they arrived in Kanto? Or worse... Since Alola? Since Balder's birth or even before? There were too many unknowns in this story. One thing was certain though: If this was true, the man would have to look into it, investigate further. And to think he had believed Vidar was a good man that helped everyone in need all his life...[break][break]

An offer broke the man's train of thought. Was Merlino offering... to look into his family's state? "What's the catch?" Hard to believe a rocket executive like him would do this for free. What could he be seeking to gain from this?

[attr="class","queencred"]Nano

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Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

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POSTED ON Feb 28, 2022 7:23:27 GMT

Lulu Flint, jayden cross, and 1 more like this

"Catch?" Gavin's laughter is cutting. "If your family's alive, I'm doing all of Rocket a favour in getting you off their back."

Behind his veneer of arrogance, however, is a deeper reason. He thinks of Lulu Flint and even Rowan Wrynn, and Tempest Quinn whom he'd only recently invited under the umbrella of family. For any of them, he would kill. And he thinks of Marcel, and Emma, and other friends who'd become like family over their years under Rocket's thumb, and knows the pain of not knowing. Where were they, now? Were they even alive?

Yet there is truth in his words, as well, for Rocket were his family as well. He was a leader, their protector.

His jaw works silently for a moment.

"Rocket's changed since Blackwell's death. Hoenn doesn't seem to realise that."

Balder Schwartz

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Balder

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Mar 15, 2022 5:49:53 GMT

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Cillian Quinn

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If there is one thing he never expected from Rocket, is to have people telling him the truth and be honest with their knowledge and experience. The complete opposite of League, where all he had found were lies and people plotting against each other (Except for a select few). The contrast is so intense, it's destabilizing...[break][break]

The Alolan sighed. A decision was needed now. "Frey Schwartz, my little brother... Freya Schwartz. Vidar Schwartz. Idis Schwartz. Sif Schwartz. That should be all of my family and relatives that were in Kanto as far as I am aware." Hopefully he doesn't come to regret this.[break][break]

"If you succeed in getting information about them, and that they're alive... I'll owe you one." He proceeded to sit against the jail bars, looking at the ceiling. "I don't agree with some of the stuff your gang did, but I do agree that League has to change. But what stuns me the most is how the few members I've met in here... Aren't so bad. Surprisingly."[break][break]

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Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

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6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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POSTED ON Mar 17, 2022 13:58:45 GMT

Gavin listens, committing names to memory.

"If they come to harm, it won't be under my watch. You have my word on that." For whatever the word of a wanted terrorist was worth, anyway. "This stays between us and my Kanto contacts."

There's no need to involve Walsh, he justifies, even as fear wraps tendrils around his thoughts. It's trivial, we have other things to worry about. Yet he knows even as the thoughts flit through his mind that the real reason for concealment is the safety of those who, potentially, had not chosen to get involved in the conflict between Rocket and the League.

"We have families, too." Gavin twists a ring around his finger; an engagement ring. "People we want to protect. I'll find whatever info I can."

With a dip of his head, Gavin departs.

When he returns a few weeks later, there's a file in his hand.

"Your brother Frey is en route to Hoenn. If you promise not to break my wrist, I'll hand these over."

He hefts the file in explanation.

Balder Schwartz

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Balder

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TAG WITH @balder

POSTED ON Mar 27, 2022 4:13:10 GMT

[nospaces]

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Cillian Quinn

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The Alolan nodded at the man's promise. The mention of him having a family he wants to protect and understanding Balder's desire... That wasn't a lie for certain. And that was still the one thing that stunned him about Rocket. What's with their honesty? This simply proved that League was rotten since their norm was lies and secrets...[break]

[break]

After the weeks had passed, a ray of hope was revealed upon the Alolan. As the underboss claimed, his younger brother was now on his way to Hoenn. Balder froze in his cell. No sound came from him, nor a single movement. However, his brain was functioning rapidly on this, with one core information...[break][break]

His family lived.[break][break]

After a few minutes of silence, he stood up and advanced towards the bars. "Why would I break the wrist of the one man that did more for me than league ever did in regards to my family?" He extended his hand through the iron bars that restrained him, waiting to be given the documents.

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Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

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creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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