"i am not too sure. but from what we know now, we would've prioritized rayquaza a lot more."[break][break]

perhaps even planned around it. but hindsight is everything, and he's in no position to criticize.[break][break]

what he does do, however, is offer a thought.[break][break]

"it was convenient how rayquaza only intervened after some of the meteor was teleported away. i wonder what happened to sea hoenn."

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]

The dragon-hooded girl nodded at the mention of Rayquaza as Rocket's possible answer for the meteoroid. "Yeah, that makes sense. I probably would've done the same thing..."

What the underboss said next caused her to go pale as a sheet. "What do you mean 'after'..." For the first time ever, Andrea got physical... or at least attempted to get physical against an assassin with years of experience, reaching for Theo's lapels with the intent of grabbing them.

"Are you saying that all we did was for nothing?! That the League went and teleported the meteorite anyway?!" The young woman cried out, anger and desperation written all over her pained visage.

THEO BECKETT //mission

☉

it would've been easy to just step away to avoid being grabbed even if he wasn't expecting it from her. he lets her do it anyways, perhaps curious to see what would come of it.[break][break]

their height difference makes it a bit awkward as he's pulled down to her level.[break][break]

"yes."[break][break]

was she distracted when it happened?[break][break]

"the primal points fired and struck the meteorite, teleporting the majority of it away. but they did not account for the material within. the crystal that rayquaza shattered."[break][break]

the tera shards.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]

Andrea let go of him and hung her head down, the hem of her draconic hood falling over her downcast eyes, veiling her visage in shadow. "Then all these Pokémon sacrificed themselves for nothing..." She was obviously referring to the frozen statues that riddled the icelands, but was too mentally drained to gesture towards them.

A faint light of hope shined through the darkness that was her own depression, prompting the dragon-hooded girl to once again look up. "Wait, if some of the meteorite got teleported instead of all of it, maybe Sea Hoenn survived! Although... They might not be happy about what we did to them..." She mused, suddenly struck by an overbearing sense of guilt.

THEO BECKETT //mission

☉

"i would not say for nothing. we're here, are we not? alive and well."[break][break]

a hand raises to smooth out his lapels.[break][break]

"perhaps."[break][break]

then, a thought, one brought up to push her into further questioning things.[break][break]

"should sea hoenn attack us, what would you do, andrea?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]

It wasn't an easy question to answer. Even though that battlefield simulation in The Cloud still haunted her memories, Andrea had yet to experience the horrors of war first-hand.

"I would try to talk to them, see if there's anything we could do for them to forgive us." The draconic cosplayer eventually replied. "If talking wouldn't work, then... I guess I'd have no choice but to fight them in order to protect our own Hoenn."

Was conflict sometimes unavoidable then? It wasn't a reality she wanted to accept, but as Theo had said, humans had many differences that often couldn't be reconciled simply by shaking hands.

"Mr. Theo... What was the Ultra Beast War like?" The girl hesitantly asked.

THEO BECKETT //mission

☉

"i see."[break][break]

a respectable answer, though not one he necessarily agrees with. the talking part, he means. he may not be privy to the whisperings in the league's upper echelons but he is insightful enough to know that they must have attempted at least one parley.[break][break]

"i was not here for it. but from what i heard, it was...unforgiving, even if it was only for three days."[break][break]

he would imagine it still to be incomparable to the war in kanto.[break][break]

a question rises then.[break][break]

"do the megalopolans frighten you?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]

The girl blinked at his follow-up query. "Megalopolans? I don't know... I haven't met any, just seen pictures of them on the news." She sheepishly admitted.

Granted, that majestic mustache could give anyone a spook.

"I guess I'm more scared of the idea of them existing. Same with the DRK Triad." The dragon-costumed woman continued, looking down at her own feet. "The fact there are people out there who want me dead even though I've done nothing to them is very frightening."

Turning back to the underboss, Andrea mustered a warm smile. "You scared me too at first, but now I think that you're kinda nice." Her face once again fell, as she thought back to the brutal faction conflict that had taken place on METENO's surface.

"Do you think the League and Team Rocket might go to war eventually...?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

THEO BECKETT //mission

☉

her warm smile has more of an impact than he expects it to. it's enough to make him return one, though his is far less warm.[break][break]

"it may sound strange but i don't mean to be nice. i simply try to be honest with you. tell you how things are in the world in hope that it might save you from future pain and burdens."[break][break]

which leads into her last question.[break][break]

"because a war is coming, andrea. the one between the league and team rocket is almost certain. but there will be others i hope will not come to fruition."[break][break]

because he's seen what the megalopolans are capable of. he'd rather not have to fight them as well.[break][break]

"i would suggest you pick a side carefully before the time comes."

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]

Being fed convenient lies from the League, and brutal honesty from a wanted criminal... The world truly had gone topsy-turvy. War was coming; it could not be stopped. This deep-seated hatred fostered by years of pain and loss would inevitably reach a boiling point.

"I don't wanna pick a side..." Andrea mumbled, ever struggling to remain neutral in a world where neutrality was discouraged and frowned upon.

She no longer knew if Team Rocket was as heinous as the League made them out to be.
She no longer knew if the League was as righteous as they made themselves out to be.
What she did know was that both factions wished to uncompromisingly eradicate the other. And that was terrible.

Her eyes trailed yet again to her frozen Mega Salamence, meeting the dragon's defiant gaze. "I'll just try to do the right thing. What that is I don't know yet..." She began to pensively walk away, but not before treating the Rocket underboss to one last, somber smile. "Happy holidays, Mr. Theo."

THEO BECKETT //mission

☉

"i suppose that's all anyone could ever ask for."[break][break]

in other words: follow your heart. but that sounds too whimsical for him to even attempt to say it.[break][break]

he dips his head in parting as he takes a step back as well. his cincinno snuggles into his neck, wrapping tighter to provide the warmth he needs to make the trek through the icelands comfortable.[break][break]

"happy holidays to you too, and thank you for the sake."

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-cinccino"]