Under circumstances such as Howard's, Oscar would normally visit after the completion of whatever procedure needed to occur. Yet this particular incident involved a--niche curiosity of the disturbed scientist. Oscar had missed out on the advent of Sygna Suits, at the time he had been busy trying not to die. Even after his return though, he found himself disinterested in the technology. He was fixated on other matters, too busy to spare time for what he saw to be elaborate costuming.

His perception changed once Howard had asked him to repair his own Sygna Suit. Being hands on with the tech piqued Oscar's curiosity, and he now found himself craving a suit of his own. To this end, he sought to absorb as much information as possible about these battle garments--and Howard's grotesque undressing provided an ample opportunity to do so. Plus he wanted to provide emotional support.

Oscar likely failed in the latter, too focused on the procedure itself to comfort Howard. It was not that he did not care, he just did not know what to say that would make this hell any better. Oscar folded his arms, discomforted by the crinkling of his hazmat suit. Why did the material have to be so loud?

As Howard threw out pointed questions that Oscar did not know how to answer, he would eventually look to one of the doctors. "Shouldn't he be out for this? His body is gonna go into shock if this keeps up as-is." Persuaded either by Oscar's inquiry or Howard's demented screaming, one of the doctors would prepare a syringe of emergency anesthesia. As that same doctor moved to inject the restrained Howard, Oscar would shoot his friend a thumbs up.

"You're doing great, see ya on the other side!"

@howard

"YOU TRAITOR." Spittle flew from the admin's mouth, lips dry and cracked. His eye looked everywhere but saw little, and saw shadows in every corner. He tried to point at Oscar before being confined by a swarm of nameless faces. "YOU WANT ME TO DIE. THAT'S WHY IT DIDN'T WORK. YOU'RE A TRAITOR TO ME! TO ROCKET! TO-"

He felt a needle in what little remained of his flesh. Regice had taken its pound, and Registeel had claimed another pound as Oscar and Howard had delved into a ruin that lay dead underneath the earth. They had marched as far as they could, before the ruin had ended in darkness.

"WAIT. WORSHIP THE CRAFTSMAN AND WAIT." He ranted as darkness enveloped him, and he found himself at the garden once again. Over millennia, the garden turned to sand and the sand parted to reveal ruins dedicated to a three-fingered hand. "Wait."

His eye opened, and existence was pain.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck." Light flickered through his eyelashes. "Dammit."

His head turned, each vertebrae in his neck popping as he did so.

"Oscar?"

---

oscar clayton

Oscar tried not to be hurt as Howard ranted before being put to sleep. He knew that his friend did not mean the vitriol he was slinging Oscar's way, though that did not make Howard's words any less sharp. Oscar took a deep breath, acknowledging that Howard was not within his right mind. As Howard slowly fell into a slumber, Oscar's hurt feelings began to rapidly heal. Without his screaming, this whole process would be a lot easier.

Oscar observed the rest of the procedure with great interest, though the doctors would make it clear that fully removing the suit would take hours. Oscar accepted this fact, and took what scraps they already had back to his lab. Oscar took the time to study the fractured armor, attempting to find where they had failed. What seemed to be the issue was that the Dyanaenergy of Registeel's mysterious blast clashed heavily with the Infinity Energy within the Sygna Suit. It basically rendered its protection useless, which would answer some of the questions Howard shouted while he was awake.

After studying the scraps for several hours, Oscar would receive a call from the doctor overlooking Howard's procedure. They had finished removing the scraps of the suit, and Howard was no bandaged and resting in a private room. Oscar left right away, ignoring his body's cry for sleep. He had gone without properly recovering from his own time fighting Registeel. Resting would take too long, there was far too much to do in the wake of that mighty battle. Plus, he would not be able to sleep until he knew Howard was okay.

Oscar was led into Howard's room, and the wary scientist would wait patiently for Howard to wake up. The archeologist was quite a sight, almost appearing like Shred with how bandaged up he was. At last the forlorn admin would awaken, his voice much softer as he recognized Oscar. Oscar knew Howard would be alright, but seeing him awake brought him such a sense of peace that he could not help but chuckle. "Hey man." Oscar managed through a sigh of relief.

"Hey man, you had me worried for a second. Just a second though." Oscar pulled a chair right up to Howard's bedside and took a seat. "I have answers, when you're ready. I'd ask how you were feeling but that's pretty self explanatory."

@howard

"Yeah. Shitty." Howard's face twisted as he wracked in pain. "Fuck."

The first time he had been in this room, it had been far more painful. Taking a dive into the beating heart of a Wishing Star had almost destroyed the archaeologist's body, and he suspected that if he did it again, there wouldn't be enough of him left for Rocket to put back together.

Getting his ass kicked by Regice, then Registeel? These giants despised him, or maybe he kept throwing himself into harm's way. If it weren't for Oscar and the other members of Team Rocket, they likely would've lost their admin in the field.

Maybe it would've been deserved. Oscar would've done a better job than him, most likely.

"I'm going to assume that my memory isn't broken and that we failed to seize Registeel." Judging from Oscar's expression, that was not likely the case. Which meant that it had escaped into the bowels of Hoenn, meaning they'd have an Eiscue's chance in hell of finding it again. "Not good. Could be worse. The League could have it."

He waved a battered hand, scarred from contact with Regice's core.

"What've you figured out?"

---

oscar clayton

Oscar rubbed his neck softly as he let Howard talk and adjust. He did not wish to comment on their failure to secure registeel, nor on Howard's breakdown within the ruins and after extraction. The idea of doing so made Oscar a little queasy. He was happy to see that Howard was more or less normal again though, enough so that Oscar could not help but smile.

Pleasantries and welfare checks could wait though, Oscar had information to report. When prompted, the scientist would clear his throat and begin. "Normally, your Sygna suit would protect you from Dynaenergy radiation--or it was believed. What was not accounted for is how the suit would react to a direct, concentrated blast of pure Dynaenergy--you know like the one you ate like a champ while fighting Registeel."

Oscar adjusted himself in his seat, feeling uncomfortable about even the slightest mention of that incident. He quickly tried to move on, "So like, Infinity Energy and Dynaenergy counter each other based on which one is strongest during an encounter. This time it was hands down Dynaenergy, which completely eradicated the Infinity Energy that would normally protect you from--" Oscar gestured generally toward Howard with his hand. "This."

With his report finished, Oscar gave Howard some space to consider what he had said so far before leaning in. "I believe we can overcome this design flaw so that this doe snot happen in the future--but it's gonna be messy."

howard slayte

"You are Team Rocket's best engineer—the mastermind behind the Genesects—your work will be studied for decades after this war is over. If you can't solve this issue, then nobody can." He regarded Oscar with an expression mixed between anger, scorn, pain, and tenderness. "So you will. Because you must."

It was impossible for Howard to understand engineering. It was a science that he could not comprehend, beyond the ancient mechanisms that mankind had developed when they had first sparked flint against steel and society had bloomed from the advent of fire.

Yet it was needed.

"It wasn't just Registeel. Regice, too." Howard sighed. First in Dewford, then in the desert. "A double-whammy. Not much we can do, but..."

It had hurt. It had hurt. It had hurt. The pain had been unbearable. Not again. Never again. He was mortal, and being reminded of that mortality was an unfortunate reminder. It was humbling, and that experience was not one that the admin had wanted to relive.

"What's your plan, then?" The admin snorted, his body shaking as he did so. "How messy are we talking?"

---

oscar clayton

Oscar was not convinced that he was the best engineer Rocket had, but he appreciated the compliment nevertheless. Even if it came attached to Howard's high expectations of solving this issue. Not that he could not, it was just all theories and guesses for now. Still, with Howard's backing (and funding) it should not be difficult to prove his hypothesis correct.

Speaking of, Howard had requested a run down. Oscar cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, "Thank you, for one. Uh for two, I have figured that the Infinity Energy used to create Sygna Suits is not strong enough. Mega Stones are fine sources no doubt, but their nevertheless diluted. The energy used to create these stones originally stemmed from a particular pokemon, thus the purest form of Infinity Energy comes from pokemon themselves."

Oscar began flipping through his phone until he reached a blueprint he had been sketching in the waiting room. It came with a few algorithms and written details that gave more information about Oscar's theories, which he would summarize as he pointed the phone toward Howard. "I believe that if I charge the Sygna Suit during its creation with Infinity Energy extracted from a living pokemon, it can create a stronger defense against Dynaenergy--and most things to be honest. Still, it would require sacrifice. Your mileage may vary on the morality of such things, but if it means a better future for us then it may be worth it."

Of course Oscar would keep to himself that he had no qualms with killing pokemon for their Infinity Energy, for he has learned that being upfront with such things tended to put people off.

howard slayte

As Oscar finished his explanation, Howard stared at him. His expression did not say a thing, it was difficult to assume if the admin even understood the process that Oscar was speaking of. His breathing was shallow and deliberate as he regarded the engineer.

"You realize, Oscar, that your explanation is why I believe you are the best of the best? That was remarkably eloquent." He regarded the phone. The points swirled in his barely coherent mind, but he had still understood them. He now understood a mechanical process of the world that he had not understood before. "Very good."

For a moment, he regarded his hands. Dynergy scars. Veins that had been reddened and blackened by an influx of Eternatus's divine poison. He had supped on it, and he had almost died for his folly.

He had almost died.

Not again.

"I don't want to die, Oscar." His voice was soft and contemplative. "Being so easily broken... it sucks. People are easier to break than machines, but when you break a person, they can't be fixed."

Howard looked up at Oscar, before coughing into a cloth. It came away red, and the admin regarded the blueprint. He didn't fully understand it, but it was remarkably impressive.

"For tomorrow, for a future where nobody else suffers." That had been his promise. Tomorrow would be good and pure and clean, even if today was miserable. "Crack a few eggs, Oscar. Make me an omelet."

---

oscar clayton

Oscar blushed, not expecting to receive such compliments from Howard. It made him privately pleased to have someone appreciate his methods, he had grown so used to others reacting negatively to Infinity Energy extraction. Howard's hope for the future reflected his own; the reason he pushed for progress so fervidly was so that humanity could ascend past their drawbacks. Heartache, hate, free will, illness, death, mankind would be so much happier if it did not have to worry about such things.

The future Oscar sought would be free of such afflictions.

The expression Oscar shared with Howard was one of understanding. He saw his pain, and related to it well. "I too fear death, as you know." Oscar leaned back in his chair, fiddling with his phone as he tried to articulate his thoughts. "Not just mine, but the death of everyone I care about. That's why it is so important that I get this right."

He looked Howard in the eyes, nodding with silent affirmation at his following vow. "I will do everything within my power to not let this happen again."

Oscar shifted in his chair, taking a more casual pose as he changed the subject. "One thing that would help is knowing what it is like to bond with a pokemon. What do you feel when you wear the sygna suit?"

howard slayte

It was a hard question. When Oscar uttered it, Navy syncing up with two Pokémon at once entered his mind.

"You feel powerful." Howard said simply. He didn't feel powerful when he wore it, but the sensation was there. The thrum of energy as the human body was pushed beyond its limits and into the realm of miracles.
"You feel warm. Your emotions link up to your Pokémon's and you two become one. I feel what Shirley feels. Her rage, her primal desire, her love."

They did not need a Sygna Suit to display their bond. Howard's Aerodactyl had been with him from the beginning, and all it took was a glance at their shared scars to discern their unbreakable bond.

It was one not forged in steel, like the Genesects that Oscar produced. It was primal, ancient, and old beyond measure.

"But it's a power we shouldn't have. Our love for our Pokémon and for one another should be what guides us, but if we must use it, we will." Howard was silent for a spell.

"Do you love every Genesect you've built, Oscar?"

---

oscar clayton

From Howard's description, donning a Sygna Suit sounded amazing. To tap into the incredible power of a pokemon would be an unparalleled sensation, though it came with a caveat. It required a strong bond with another pokemon, which was a resource Oscar was unsure of. He cared a great deal for many of his pokemon, but were any of his relationships strong enough to create a synchronization?

As Howard brought up Genesect, that was where Oscar's first considerations lingered. "I love Prime--I think. I would say more accurately I care for it deeply. To tell you the truth, I am not sure I really love anything. It's such a alien emotion to me, though I care a great deal."

Oscar leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and pressing his thumbs into his chin. Perhaps he thought this position would increase the blood-flow to his brain. "If I recall correctly from Amor's notes though, pokemon with Infinity signatures on Prime's level are incapable of bonding with a Sygna suit. It would have to be a weaker pokemon--but I am struggling to think of a compatible match."

howard slayte

In his mind, the archaeologist suspected that Oscar's deficiency would not matter in the grand scheme of things. Elisabeth could use a Sygna Suit, as could other choice members of the high brass. He struggled to imagine them loving themselves, let alone their Pokémon.

Not that Howard was one to judge.

"That's counterproductive. Explains why I could never force a bond with Regice, though." Not that he wanted to. Regice was a tool. It was a sapient tool, he now realized, that deserved attention and care. The engineer had been right about that during their first discussion. "Too much of a good thing, I guess."

Too much good and too much bad threatened to undo the whole system. Oscar lacking the capacity to love was an interesting development, but from someone in Rocket? Expected.

Maybe that was why he surrounded himself with steel and machines.

"And if Prime was destroyed? If it left?" Howard said softly. "Would you cry?"

---

oscar clayton

Oscar slowly recoiled at Howard's question, feeling immense anxiety from even the idea of losing Prime. Oscar deflated as he put his feelings into words. "I would not just cry, I would be broken. Prime encapsulates so much of my life's work, losing it would be the worst thing that could ever happen besides outright dying."

Oscar shrugged slightly as he internally admitted that it would not just be because of Prime's technological investments. "We've created quite a bond--it and I. I have more fond memories with it than I do with my own family. I think--I think I really do love it--my partner." Oscar slowly ran his hands together, fidgeting with his fingers as he came to what he believed was the point hidden within Howard's question.

"I'm guessing--I need a bond like that with a pokemon to synchronize. That will be a challenge, I can't think of a pokemon other than Prime I could possibly feel that way about."

Oscar looked back to Howard, "Tell me more about your bond with Shirley."

howard slayte