"Death is meaning less and less every day, it seems."

The dead had to remain dead, but Howard couldn't hide his visible relief that Kyle had a chance at survival. Even if Kyle returning to the board was a detriment to Rocket, Howard couldn't help but express excitement at the prospect of the Top Champion's return. A great figure had no need to disappear into the night.

Not withouth Howard there to chronicle it. If it was not penned, it had no purpose. Even if Kyle's name would last into eternity, Howard would weep if his story was not told.

"I'm glad, though. I wonder if that makes me a traitor." Amor had been a traitor, once. He had betrayed the League searching for justice for his own personal wrongs. "Kyle will become a martyr, then. Once he returns, that value will be lost."

Amor was right, then. They had to move quickly.

"Dewford cannot be held. Mossdeep can. Yet Mossdeep is only valuable as a chunk of rock. I suppose you'll appreciate the space center though. Erebus might, as well." Howard's lips became a thin line. "And what truth is that, Amor?"

He was genuinely curious.

---

Amor Rose

"Lesser men who do not dream." Howard waved a hand dismissively. "We're all cogs in this great experiment called Team Rocket; an organization that will collapse at some point. I do not act out because I lack the power, authority, or weight to do so."

The idea of greasing Rocket's gears with blood instead of oil to make the machine crumble and fail was a delicious idea, but that was a plan for the bold and the brave, not the craven and cowardly.

"Alas. Regarding what you said," Howard peered into the washing machine and pulled out his clothes. Wet. Chu-e didn't have a dryer, which partially defeated the point, but what was Howard to do? "I think you're wrong."

The admin chose his words with delicate care. Despite Chu-e's demeanor, Howard suspected that the man viewed him and everyone around him as meat. Not due to Chu-e's own actions, but due to the connection with Necrozma. Even now, he struggled to distinguish between Necrozma's current and former Avatar.

He suspected that if he said that, Chu-e would poison his drink.

"About the others knowing who you were. What you were. What you are now."

---

Chu-e Choi

• player/ooc name: Magnetic (sometimes)
• character tags: howard slayte Preston Fugu
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): i'm naturally perfect
• ic posts for characters: Howard , Preston
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: looking for area zero excursion threads

"You as well. I will call for you when the time is right."

An admin's call was absolute. If Howard demanded Adrian's appearance, then the defector would come. This was the life he had signed up for when he had joined Rocket. In spite of that, Howard would rather Adrian come of his own accord, and fight with him of his own free will.

He would not send an army of slaves to fight a god, and the life of a grunt was just as valuable as his own.

When Regice eclipsed the sun with its colossal form, the admin had felt that resolve flicker. Were they really? Was any human life equal to the colossus that could end a town with a single strike? How many lives would be lost to rage against Eternatus?

Hell, could they even win?

"Maybe. Maybe not." Howard muttered to himself as he inspected the haul of Wishing Stars and Dynite Ore. His eye flickered in annoyance as he saw no Wishing Stars that fit the size and quality that he required. Annoying. Time was running out.

His eye flicked towards Dewford. The island town sat atop a sleeping giant, and that giant would rouse itself and shake the world asunder when the time was right.

"Take care of yourself..." Howard looked down at Regice's Pokeball. "I'll try."

He would.

---

Adrian Malcolm

"Player?" The cat's purring grew louder.

Howard considered playing dumb for a few seconds. He played a lot of things: Varoom Kart 64, crossword puzzles, financial management, trivia games, but Howard knew that Chu-e had absolutely zero interest in those things. The only things that interested the shorter man was the death of his child...

...and Howard himself.

"Yes." Howard turned to his colleague, eye flickering with bemusement. "But not because I am better at manipulating people around me. I am just harder to view as a threat. I am helpful, thus nobody doubts me."

Elisabeth Fiorelli had said it herself. It was best to give people what they expected. They expected a meek, helpful admin who ensured the gears continued to grind. He offered that, and thus why question him? What threat was Howard Slayte to the greats?

"People just know what you are now. They know what to expect." Howard was just a man with a singular passion and dream. Because the direction was constant, there was no need to predict his movement.

Nonetheless, his brow furrowed at the pet name.

"Gemstone?"

---

Chu-e Choi

The admin looked at Amor with a bemused expression. The Nebula head was incredibly intelligent, but occasionally Howard felt that he was limited in his grandiose ideals. Dialga. Regidrago. Deoxys. Pieces on a board that were designed to fulfill Amor's grand plan that he had wished to complete for years.

Yet that grand plan was all that existed. It made the Head Scientist's way of thinking inflexible. Nonetheless, he was a moderately good man in a sea of demons. Perhaps it was for the best that Amor only looked to the reaches of what he strove to accomplish, instead of beyond.

He supposed that was why he liked the Head Scientist. His story was easy to follow, and it was a grand one.

"Simple." Howard coughed into his fist and gestured at the mountain of Wishing Stars. Wishes consolidated into the form of glimmering jewels. If a person's dream was their most important aspect, then Howard strove to accumulate as many as possible. "We'll take both."

Dreams. Rocket needed more dreamers who dreamed of a brighter tomorrow, instead of a future of ash and abandoned worlds and cooked meat.

"I am not a military commander. I will leave that to Underbosses THEO BECKETT and Cillian Quinn given their experiences in Kanto." The admin held up a trembling finger. "But each city has a different value. Mossdeep will help us blockade Ever Grande. Dewford has Wishing Stars and Dynite Ore."

The admin sniffed, evidently on the verge of tears.

"We will attack quickly, because that is what our forefathers did. When the foe leaves their neck bare, you pierce it." A moment of bloodthirsty reckoning revealed by mourning and loss. The admin gave Amor a look. "You do not think he will stay dead?"

---

Amor Rose

While ■■■ marched forward, familiar with the surroundings that had bestowed him great power, the admin looked around with a bright-eyed excitement.

"I've not, no. Work does not permit me many expeditions into other worlds these days. Public appearances. Work at headquarters. My schedule is quite cramped." The gears of bureaucracy had to run smoothly, especially with Rocket ramping up their military might in anticipation for what was to come. "But I must thank you for the opportunity."

Especially since Howard had promised the Rocket Beast that he'd look into this dimension. Admittedly, that had been before Howard had been promoted to admin, in which case prior orders had been voided due to the ascension in rank. Nonetheless, he owed ■■■ a debt for his aid at the Ancient Tomb.

It was best to repay it now, before it began to rack up interest. Owing the devil was not ideal.

"This place is a ruin maniac's paradise. I'll have to make time to visit it in the future. Who knows what secrets lie within?" Howard frowned and scratched his chin. "That symbol looks familiar. It reminds me of the one you drew for me a few months prior."

Back when ■■■ had proclaimed his disdain for this universe. Fun times.

Alongside the Golurk, Howard's Claydol joined their entourage. A mediocre company, but Howard suspected that any threat that came their way could be crushed by his colleague. For once, Regice was noticeably absent.

---

Zev Harcourt

In college, Howard hadn't been able to afford eggs. His diet consisted of ramen, illegally grown Pinaps, alcohol, and cured meat. The diet had stuck like a proverbial leech for years after graduation, and he had only recently kicked the habit thanks to having money to burn.

And burn it he did, just not on food. When choosing between starvation or purchasing a statue found on the estate of a Kalosian duke, Howard picked the statue. Before that, the paintings of the dead artist. Before that, a complete Shieldon skeleton.

"It's not. I thought I'd be signing off on the shipment of poached Pokémon, then moving on with my life." Life, unfortunately, had different plans. Howard wondered who was behind this scheduling mishap. Probably fern delaney. The admin likely thought of it as a joke. "Though I'll admit..."

The admin plucked a bright green egg out of a bush and stretched his back.

"...it's nice to be out of the office." Howard's eye gazed up at the courtyard's dome, where a replica sky had recently been installed. "I miss doing stupid shit like this, if you can believe it. Reminds me of my grunt days."

Those days had sucked, but nostalgia was a great way to blind one's self.

---

ameena abadi

Howard didn't know what a computer worked, but the analogy was appreciated.

"Alright, alright! Maybe if we like..." The admin scratched his chin and tucked his head against his chest. This was the academic process in motion, but the difference between Howard and most other academics was that he didn't use complicated technology to measure readings. That was more up the alley of Lulu Flint or mint frost and their crazy gizmos.

Instead, Howard used the tried and true 'try something, and write down if it works'. An ancient technique, but quite usable.

"Dynamax is just the flow of Dynergy, right? I've got an idea. C'mere." Howard took Priam by the wrist and dragged him over to the colossal titan just outside of the grunt's room. "This is Regice. Say hi to one another."

⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕ The alien pattern flashed in a bright pattern, as if mirroring a cheery demeanor. The effect was artificial, as if the construct was playing pretend. A machine struggled to understand the human heart.

"Alright." Howard pointed at Regice. "Touch it."

---

priam conrad

Howard leaned down to scratch Sprinkles. Fingers used to unearth relics gracefully gave the kitty a masseur of a lifetime.

"Where? In Area Zero?" Many things. He had gotten a mountain thrown at him by Regirock. He had gotten jumped by Mesprit and Eris Halla , he had waged several battles, and he had lost much. At the end of Rocket's forceful push into Area Zero, all they had to show for it was a handful of maps and objectives.

All Howard had to show for it was a wounded Aerodactyl and a Regirock that refused to heed his orders. It left him feeling empty.

"A lot." Howard's eye twitched as he regarded Chu-e and his washing machine. His eye was his main tell. Each time it twitched, it gave him away. "Navy punched you?"

Good. He should've punched you harder. The thought ran through his head, but the admin kept his mouth shut.

"If you're alive, you got lucky. Navy's strong. Stronger than you."

---

Chu-e Choi