"Yes, we are." Howard's voice was soft as he listened to Annalise's screeching. How many times had he heard this song and dance, that Rockets were pathetic? This was one of the few times that he felt it was earned. It had not been pathetic when Howard and Shred had faced down two Avatars together.

That moment had been their pinnacle, before it all came crashing down. Now Shred was a husk filled only with vile thoughts. Justice and retribution had a pleasant taste when they had fought Chi-Yu and Palkia. It had been an honorable battle that had proven their mettle.

Honor had a pleasant taste, but it had gone sour and expired down in the dark. In Area Zero, there was only the law of the mighty. As Walking Wakes and other monsters tore up grunts and rangers alike, it was only the strong that survived.

June was not strong. She did not deserve to be here. Neither did he, but here he was. Here they were.

Crumble returned to his Pokeball as Howard thought of a way to distract Shred's ire. He had a far more important battle to wage against Annalise, and Howard wouldn't let June interrupt. If Shred changed targets, Howard doubted that he could fully stop the Beast before he routed everyone here.

When Shred raged, it was terrifying indeed.

His Claydol beeped once, then twice, then thrice. Afterwards, it fell from the sky due to the Shadow Pokémon's lucky strike. The admin instinctively reached for his Golurk, before putting the Pokeball back on his belt. Not again. Instead, he threw out his Brambleghast. The tumbleweed let out an eerie whistle as it Disabled Galvantula's Shadow Bolt.

"Stay..." Howard grunted as he kicked her again. "...down!"

He put his foot on her chest as he glared at her from beneath his helmet. His cape billowed slightly in the Giant Chasm's wind.

"Or he will kill you. Sit down. This will be over soon."

---

Shred Zeppelin annalise henderson june sleigh
D2E6CmfS

The second kick slammed into June’s side, and armored one’s foot firmly planted itself onto her chest. She clawed at foot and limb to free herself from the pressure but to no avail. Without the armor, they’d be on equal terms. With the armor? Fat chance in hell. But it hurt like hell and put a pressure on her mind seldom felt.

Like she was trapped underneath a pile of rubble, or deep underground. Her chest labored to suck in air against the weight of the world, and it never felt like enough. Arceus, was this really it?

A shriek of pain momentarily distracted her from the claustrophobia. Annalise. Red crimson beneath the torn fabric, the result of the Grimmsnarl’s nasty attack. The Claydol was replaced with a Brambleghast, which screech pierced the ears of the demented Galvantula. She recoiled against the sound, but did not relent in its incessant twitches.

“Cath–Cathode! Help her,” she pointed to the ranger with her newly deployed Altaria. She did not listen, and instead sent out its own high-frequency pitch. Her mandibles rubbed violently together and sent a Bug Buzz straight to the Brambleghast, visible by the ripples in the air.

June didn’t know if she should throw up or scream.

Desperation and frustration boiled and bubbled inside her lungs until the feeling overpowered the crushing pressure. She fumbled around for the knife handle and clutched the unfamiliar weight like a drowning man to their savior. “Go to hell!”

The knife handle slammed into the side of his knee. The impact drove a wave of numb pain through her muscle, but she held on strong and brought it down again and again. It felt awful, being so powerless, out of place, and with a thick dread in her lungs. But she wasn’t about to roll over and die. Or, even worse– let Annalise…

June redoubled her efforts.

---

annalise henderson Shred Zeppelin howard slayte
TOTAL: 970
pVyhGU7W

"You're right."

As the force of the desperate Hurricane forces your Grimmsnarl back, you stand there, unmoving. With the raging of the winds and the raging of your heart, you've found an ephemeral peace of mind. A moment of clarity before you fall to your worse impulses. The long breath before you pull the trigger. The calm before the storm to come.

"I'm pathetic. I'm a loser. I'm a scumbag. I'm a rotten piece of shit. I've squandered every opportunity I've ever been given. I've disappointed everyone who's ever believed in me. I always try and try and try, but no matter how much I sacrifice, I still fail."

And then, thunder roars in the distance and the skies begin to darken.

"So why? Why did the League see a pathetic wretch with nothing to his name, reaching for his impossible dreams, and take from him? Why? WHY?!"

A hairy tendril launches forth, and with a devious Sucker Punch, Grimmsnarl grabs Altaria by the wing, bringing an end to the beating of wings and the whipping of winds. At the same time, the storm descends upon Annalise. You close the distance between you and her with a single-minded ferocity, like a beast hunting wounded prey. Yet even as you grab her by the neck, you don't allow yourself to rip her throat out. Not yet. Not until you get your answers.

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME!?"

---

howard slayte june sleigh annalise henderson
2tXoWnIl
TOTAL IS 1040.

Stabbing an armored man with a knife was a pretty sound decision for the dexterous and trained. June was, in that moment, neither of these things. To her, the knife was a hammer and her assailant was the nail. If she slammed the blade into him enough, it'd eventually work.

Right?

Wrong.

As June pulled the blade away to try again, Howard grabbed her hand callously and wrenched the knife away. It clattered next to June a few feet away. So close, yet so far. A small microcosm of this battle from her perspective. A constant struggle that would never amount to anything.

"Stay-" His voice cuts off as rocks crack and explode. The sound is familiar. He quickly stands up and turns towards the noise, aware of what was likely coming. Whether it was drawn by battle, the golem at his belt, or some insane machination of fate, there was nothing to be done but face the golem that came lumbering forth.

"Regirock." Howard grunted as his Brambleghast was struck by the Bug Buzz. The admin hardly seemed to notice, though. He reached for his belt. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

Regirock would not take another step forward. Not this time.

Regice's Pokeball flew, opened, and covered the land with frost. Its very presence was enough to chill the other three trainers, with ice slowly encroaching on the feet of Shred, Annalise, and June. The cold did not discriminate between friend or foe.

"I'll hold it off, Dread! Finish up!" The admin shouted as Regirock lifted up a massive boulder the size of a corner store and threw it at Howard and his golem. Regice, in turn, responded with a Hyper Beam.

---

Shred Zeppelin june sleigh annalise henderson
SxT_BmZe

That was… was…

Whenever June went to the library, there were always books about these things– golems. Given life by something, someone, made of pure material for the purposes of Hoenn. They’d never been the target of her studies, but they were the ones that always popped up. The ones she ignored in the search for a much faster one.

And the world slowed to a crawl, the weight forgotten and the fight a dream. Howard… had mentioned something like this, right? Back in his apartment? Was this the same thing, or something else entirely? Was this him, or someone like him?

But the most important question of all: did it matter?

No. Not now, not ever. Because she could move, she could breathe, and there was something– someone much more important. She crawled over to her knife and took it back into her hand. She pushed herself off the ground and sprinted straight for Annalise. Her breath poured out of her mouth visibly and left a trail of frigid moisture in her wake.

Her sneakers slid on the frosty earth, almost straight past the pair. The knife rose high, and she looked almost as crazed as the one-armed man. But she lacked the fire in his eyes. Replaced with pure, unadulterated fear.

“Get in line, fuckface!” She swung straight for his arm, desperate to create an impossible scenario: he could not strangle Annalise without losing his other arm. And if he switched targets, then the ranger would be fine. Thank Arceus.

---

annalise henderson Shred Zeppelin howard slayte
TOTAL: 1235
x|VurTrY

Call it a coincidence, or call it fate, it doesn't matter. In the end, it's arrived all the same.

As the titanic Regirock bursts out from the earth, you turn to face it, your look of surprise concealed by your bandages. Another one of these big bastards, here, of all places? Well, thinking about it, you guess it isn't too strange. You've already come across Regice, after all, so it makes sense that Regirock would show up, too.

But that does make its interruption any less infuriating, does it?

And your opponents are all too eager to capitalise on it. While you're still distracted by the presence of the golem, the Ranger Captain delivers a kick to your chest, filling the air with a sickening CRUNCH. A howl tears itself from your throat as you fall to one knee, burnt skin breaking like wood bark beneath an axe. But despite how bad it hurts, you won't let go. You just need a little longer. Just a few more seconds before the last gasp of air fades from her lungs.

But when June's knife bites down on your arm, your time runs out. Your fingers finally give up their grip, and you're left with another bloody wound. Things aren't looking good for you. Grimmsnarl is still struggling to take down the Altaria, clashing against a Moonblast with a Play Rough. You can't rely on him to help you a second time. Since Howard's busy holding off Regirock, you can't rely on him, either. You're left alone, staring down both Annalise and June, one against two. You're outnumbered... Just like you were back then.

You can't escape it.

"▂▂▃▃▅▅!"

You let out an anguished roar, a noise of pure incandescent rage. It's a sound more akin to the garbled calls and glitched beeps of a Paradox Pokemon than anything resembling human speech. Despite that, there's no better way to say what you wanted to say, and no better warning for what you're going to do next.

You reach into your jacket, pull out your pistol, point it towards the two, and fire.

---

howard slayte june sleigh annalise henderson
uNwnEgTT

The Hyper Beam struck the boulder and the golem that threw it.

BOOM! The boulder exploded, raining rock and stone and dirt down on everyone and their Pokémon. For a moment, it looked as if it were snowing. Dirty stone, born of the union between rock and ice, a meeting that had been thousands of years in the making. It almost made Howard wish this fight was under better circumstances.

He was growing oh so weary of war, yet the rage in his soul never left. This had been a distant battle, once, before Shred had died in front of him because of PENELOPE LIVY 's meddling. Now, it was personal.

Being struck by a Hyper Beam, Regirock stumbled back and blinked backwards, stunned for a moment. Using the opportunity, Howard turned back, and...

BANG!

"SHRED!" Howard screamed at his comrade as he fired his gun. Above, his Brambleghast latched onto Annalise's Altaria to prevent its harassment, sapping its strength with its corrupted vines. Someone was falling. Someone was shot.

Why? Why was this happening? He should've never given Shred the all clear for this battle. It was a mistake. His colleague let out an inhuman scream that chilled the admin's blood.

Was this thing Shred Zeppelin? Where had it come from? Hatred directed at two women had overflowed from the beast like wine from a chalice. He was incomplete, and the world would burn for it.

June...

"Enough!" Howard roared as he ran towards them. "ENOUGH!"

---

Shred Zeppelin annalise henderson june sleigh
Using Strength Sap on Altaria + Hyper Beam on Regirock
Running towards da fight
Shred-kun...
RKMCkAdz

June’s been shot out of the sky before. That hurt. Broke her arm too. That also fucking hurt.

She’d been put through the wringer for the holidays and collapsed on the floor of a supposed friend’s apartment. That really fucking hurt but in a more unique way. Hell, she’d cut off her damn fingers in a different timeline. That felt like hell, but not like death itself.

But as the bullet entered her side, away from anything too too important, all of those seemed like mere scrapes and bruises. Simple wounds that she could shake off in a few minutes. The shot felt like death, like blood. Like a feeling that she’d never be able to shake. The thought  of dying had crossed her mind before, but never like this. In real life. She fell to the ground, once more out of breath, and quickly put her hand on the wound.

For all the good it did. Blood seeped through her shirt like a steadily leaking faucet. Her brain didn’t process the concept of whether it was life-threatening or not, but it sure did feel like it. Pain spread from the wound like the roots of a tree, and encapsulated her whole side.

Slowly, her head turned to Annalise, oblivious to the man who’d done it, the other man upset at who’d done it, and even the two ancient defenders of Hoenn.

“A-are you hit?” She asked. The ranger didn’t look hit. Thank goodness. If her carelessness had gotten Annalise shot, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself.

June couldn’t remember exactly what happened next. All she could tell was that her other hand recalled one Pokémon and unleashed another. Midnight, the massive Roaring Moon that scared the lights out of her. She thought she saw it bite into the ghostly tumbleweed and tear it away from the Altaria with a strong Jaw Lock.

From there, it got hard to concentrate. Her attention narrowed on her side and Annalise, unable to pay attention to Regirock or Regice or the Ranger's supplies or map or anything else. “I think– I think we need to leave…”

---

annalise henderson Shred Zeppelin howard slayte
TOTAL: 1444
FnnOHLne

It's too late. The deed is done. The bullet and the gunsmoke cannot return to the barrel, nor can blood return to the wound, nor can burns return to the fire.

The Mega Altaria descends upon you. A beak stabs into your throat and talons tear into your chest, ripping through clothes and bandages alike. Could you have dodged? Perhaps, if you had even tried. Instead, blood begins to pour from the deep gouges in your flesh, like murky water pouring out of holes in a peat bog. You feel the pain, but you barely even react to it. A scream lives and eis in your throat. This vengeful spectre has called forth the last of his malice, and now, he's little more than a corpse waiting to rot.

Brambleghast drains the strength from Altaria, but in turn is caught in the jaws of the Roaring Moon, only to eat a Drain Punch to the chin from Grimmsnarl. All the while, Regice and Regirock face each other down, not for the first time, and not for the last.

You're doing it. You're winning. You're getting your revenge. Why isn't it making you happy?

Howard grabs you. He's still trying to stop you from fighting the girl. Why? Why is he going out of his way to protect this nobody, this enemy? You grip his shoulder so hard that his clavicle threatens to buckle. You don't understand. You can't understand. You won't understand.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, HOWARD."

You have to finish this.

---

howard slayte june sleigh annalise henderson
MpdCPV1k