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

VENOMOUS HEARTS

AN INTERRUPTION

SHOULD A CALL EVENTUALLY ARRIVE, Walsh would pick up. He cradles his phone against his cheek, voice dry and boxy, almost echoing.

The boss takes a breath: "yes, merlino?"

Cillian Quinn @madeleine

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

THE ROCKET BOSS TAKES ANOTHER COOKIE. enough time has elapsed for him to feel sufficiently secure for more treats.

"of course. if it's not in the laboratories, it's in the medical bay."

he bites into his cookie. chews it thoroughly before answering, the compliment a sweet chase to the pastry.

"i don't think too much about the product. as long as it smells nice. points if it's 3-in-1." walsh sets his half-bitten cookie down on a napkin. "feel free to commence immediately. this may very well be an arduous project, and so, do not be afraid to find assistance from our talented rosters."

Chu-e Choi

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

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

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN SEEMS PLEASED. his smile is a gentle one. perhaps, it is a product of his aged appearance. when not made taut by stern expression or calculating gaze, there is a welcoming allure to his presence. it is like a cape or a noivern's leathery wings. there is a second's warmth before the ensnarement.

"you may borrow it. we are attempting to create duplicates of the device, after all." walsh says. "we will need to find an avatar then. an avatar so doe-eyed and untouched. there are bound to be some out there. all you need to do is hunt."

Chu-e Choi

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

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN DABS HIS MOUTH WITH A CLOTH. clean of cookie, the man speaks slowly as if peeling the ink of information off from a page.

"hoenn's contest circuit uses machines modeled after this one to force shiny pokemon. cotillard and the megalopolans employed these machines to tear apart space to create what we know as ultra wormholes. however, moving to ultra space has become something of an impossibility as of late." walsh folds his cloth into its center as if it were imploding upon itself. "it can convert energy and finetune it, adjusting the the wavelength of its energy source, before merging the energy with whatever it strikes, whether it is flesh or something abstract... such as a spatial grid."

walsh faces chu-e, a grey lock gracing his intense expression.

"it appears you've already laid out the next step. if we wish to replicate powers, we have avatars of our own to test. i have no reservations against pushing our own people past their bodily limits. however, we can kill two birds with one stone if we secure an enemy avatar for ourselves, don't you believe so?" walsh says. "avatars are a hot commodity right now, underboss choi. many stakeholders are wishing to stake a claim on them— and if all pokemon exist for the glory of team rocket..."

he leans in close.

"by extension, that includes avatars too."

Chu-e Choi

we forgot we were human

marie's tests

AGAIN, THE MACHINE FIRES. The beam strikes Lulu Flint violently— and it is only seconds until she feels the effects of it. Her whole body goes into panic, and her veins flood with an overflow of INFINITY ENERGY that attempts to both merge with and escape from her.

From her mouth, a pool of SHADOW appears too; however, it is more reminiscent of the nightmarish shadows of Darkrai rather than Cillian Quinn's miasma-esque hue and texture. Briefly, Lulu Flint feels tired. As if she can finally sleep. The pain is both rejuvenating and horrible— but as the pool begins to fade, she feels her body replenish with the insomniatic curse of her patron.

Perhaps, such things can be harvested.

Walsh calls out to the rest as he stands, "your pain is worth every little bit of knowledge we can gleam. what i see is promising. continue your trials. no matter what the cost." With a flourish, he leaves with a couple of attendants.

marie jules Cillian Quinn Lulu Flint

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

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

DECLAN HUMS IN THOUGHT. his voice rumbles in his throat all coarse and scribble like his underboss' art. long pauses follow after chu-e's statements, for declan takes his time.

and takes his time to chew the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

"have you any clue on how to replicate these powers, then?" although his voice prods at the plan, his eyes betray a knowing. an understanding— that is altogether pleased and alluring, as if pulling choi in to a simmering idea.

Chu-e Choi

we forgot we were human

marie's tests

DECLAN WATCHES QUIETLY. Despite the risk, despite the grandeur, he stirs little. Old eyes stay focused with sharp edges— like Cillian Quinn's smile. The beam strikes the Underboss, and for a moment, everything seems okay. The energy in the air calms after a second's crackling.

Then, Cillian Quinn feels it. As if overwhelmed, overloaded by a sudden surge of energy and blood that rushes through his body all the way to his brain, the Underboss is inundated with INFINITY ENERGY. As he suffers this odd contradiction of pain and revitalization, from Cillian Quinn's mouth, a pool of SHADOW spills out: a cloudy residue of his avatar powers.

It stays, hovering, before it begins to fade at the edges of its will-o-wisp like shape.

Walsh watches still. Focused and quiet.

marie jules Cillian Quinn Lulu Flint

PEPPER STEAK

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAGMA

THE NAME IS CLEVER. an antithesis of the league's famed initiative; the foil causes him to laugh mid-chew of his chocolate chip cookie. brushing crumbs from between his gloved fingers, he mulls over his underboss's proposition.

the boss swiftly approves the continuance of propaganda. already, the internet is awash with rocket bias. in the minds of the hoenn people, the league's figures are concrete. tangible. rocket still remains a nebulous murky cloud with little to attach to face.

"although the idea sounds promising, i want to ask you," he does not stir too much, for his posture is a stiff ornate curtain, "what do you and merlino see in this? what does rocket get out of this?"

Chu-e Choi