A flame blinked to life within the makeshift prison cell. even as light flickered in from between the cracks in the ceiling.

Flicker. A cigarette was lit. A second followed, and was slid between Kouji's lips. The rush of nicotine and smoke graced the air, filtering through the Ultra Beast's individual parts. Above, the thudding of Regirock caused the structure to groan. Even now, it was a graceless machine, more of a cudgel than a scalpel.

"You thought I'd kill you?" Howard's eyebrow raised at the younger man. Even though his face and body had changed, his mannerisms remained the same. "For sticking to your guns? Please."

A deep sigh.

"The better question is 'how'. Go ahead, ask how." The admin seemed wearily eager. "Go on."

---

Kouji Matsubara

"I'm glad you asked!"

For a moment, a flicker of the grunt who had complained about Kouji's blending habits in the breakroom emerged. His eye sparkled slightly. He pointed up at the ceiling above with his cigarette, the faint flame lighting the way above.

"Regirock slammed its fist into the floor, and as it did so, the platform opened up. Neat thing about Stakataka. They're awfully handy for construction and for tricks like this. They'll be useful as we rebuild the city."

His face sagged for a moment, realizing that the logistics for repairing Petalburg were going to be immense. His face quickly brightened.

"The slam of its fist masked your fall. Clever, isn't it?" Above, Regirock shifted earth and destroyed buildings and rebar, a bulldozer made from sentient stone. "But where were we?"

The admin had nearly forgotten.

"I am not a traitor."

---

Kouji Matsubara

"Maybe I am." It's a surprising thing to admit, but there was nobody there to judge Howard or denounce him as a traitor besides the man clapped in irons. "I'll let history decide that for me."

His answer was weak, but there was little room for logic in the eleventh hour. Howard hadn't slept in days, and dealing with the ramifications of Elisabeth's death and Kouji's imprisonment were taking their toll on Rocket's newest admin. Convincing himself was hard. Deluding himself was easy.

"Wait." The admin frowned and scratched his chin. "I don't need to convince you? Then why'd you try to stop me? What was the point, Kouji? You knew you couldn't stop me. Yet you persisted anyway."

Kouji genuinely baffled Howard.

"Explain it to me."

---

Kouji Matsubara

"You don't understand."

Where did he even begin to explain it, when Howard himself didn't know where to start? Elisabeth Fiorelli 's dying words rang in his mind, and in the corner of there room, Tapu Lele flickered into existence like a mirage. He stared at it for a moment, before the guardian deity faded.

He was losing his mind.

"She attacked me first, and Regirock remembered her. She fought it, and I don't know when or where. But know this, Kouji." His eye flickered in the darkness, illuminated by the faint flame of the cigarette. "Something that protected this world for millennia decided that Elisabeth Fiorelli needed to die."

Silence fell like a blanket over the duo as the words sunk in.

"But you're right, of course. The chain of command must be respected. Even if Walsh and Monroe wanted me to catch Regirock, I still killed an underboss. I suspect I'll be punished. But order in Petalburg will remain."

"After all, I did just execute a grunt."

---

Kouji Matsubara

Silence, then words.

"A peaceful world that never changes." He finally whispered, a confession of the deepest part of his heart. "One where we have proven our mettle and defeated every threat to our species. One where Eternatus is dead."

In an unchanging world, Howard could complete his recollection of history. If time did not move, there would be no need to weave new threads into humanity's great tapestry. He could instead dedicate his time to other pursuits.

It'd be relaxing. Peaceful. A world where his purpose had been fulfilled.

"So I can go back to practicing archaeology." The passion for that field had gotten him into Rocket when this had all began. He was no child soldier, raised to know only Rocket. "Assuming I survive the next month, of course."

Nicotine calmed him from the understanding that his days were numbered.

"I never wanted to kill you." Howard raised an eyebrow. "But since you are, I have a job for you."

---

Kouji Matsubara

The lie was swallowed gracefully. Kouji Matsubara was a sword, and his thoughts were his own. Yet Howard knew better than to wholeheartedly trust a grunt, when he had spent his entire career hating Team Rocket.

Yet grunts were cogs, as Howard was. It was hard to demean each and everyone and sniff out a faint whiff of treason that existed in them all, for better or worse.

"Regirock opened up a series of Tera Tunnel networks when it emerged from the ground. We're still mapping them, but they likely connect around the region. If used properly, they would make a fine advantage." Marching through poisoned veins of Tera Crystals seemed like a death wish, and yet Kouji had to disappear for a spell. "I want you to go down there and start mapping them."

Snap. Click. Kouji's shackles fell to the floor with a clatter. The admin's shattered helmet was forced into Kouji's hands.

"And find Registeel."

---

Kouji Matsubara

"I'll send the money to the grocery store on the corner in Rustboro, until you return."

It's the best consolation that Howard can offer. Where Kouji was going, nobody was going to save him but himself. Maybe Arceus, if he was willing, but the admin suspected that His gaze did not fall upon the shadowed veins of the world. Fortunate, it meant that a second Admin Fox would not be noticed.

"Your Pokémon." The Stakataka bricks slid open to reveal Kouji's belt. "I healed them for you. Sorry about your Urshifu."

He felt more sorry for Kouji, if anything. A week? Unlikely. There was a chance that Howard would never see Kouji Matsubara again, but still, this was his punishment. Furthermore, it was a chance to prove his worth.

"If you die, I'll go to the Border and piece your soul back together myself."

The wall parted open, revealing a hallway of Stakataka bricks. Blue eyes regarded Kouji as a distant light opened at the end of the hall.

"It's down there. I can feel it." He repeated, thinking of how the steel giant had descended into the the earth and had failed to resurface. "Find it."

---

Kouji Matsubara