"We are heroes." He was unabashed in that proclamation. Eduardo Hisakawa would find the proclamation confusing, and Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki would demean him for his actions in Dewford and Petalburg. "We are brothers. We were born into Galar together, and we journeyed through that world together."

He closed his eye. He did not meet Eris's demanding gaze. Human beings were hypocritical, but he was a hypocritical person. His only purpose was to ensure that Eris Halla grew up in a world where she could spend her life putting herself back together.

She was entitled to that tomorrow.

"You care." He opened his eye. "But consider this, Eris:"

He put a hand on his hip.

"You can't perceive emotion. Does Mesprit exist to you? Does Lenore still exist to you, after digging through the ashes of that fire? You should've wished for rain, little lady."

---

Eris Halla

"I am." He closed his eye. "You're right. That's what I need to be, though. It'd be disrespectful for me to be anyone other than unredeemable garbage. If I mock you, disrespect you, and deride you, you won't cry. You'll just be angry."

That was an emotion he could tolerate. Not the tears of a child. Not the sight of Isaac Merlo's little sister breaking down in front of a monument to the slain.

"So be angry." His eye flicked to the Pokeballs she hadn't picked up, to the golems she could not command. Even if she stole them and ran away, they would answer the call of their adoptive sibling. Even if they did not love or hate him, they saw Howard as just another model of their assembly line.

At this point, he was. He rubbed two fingers together and watched as tiny pieces of stone fell off and clattered against the floor.

"They exist to kill. They have always existed to kill. That is what we designed them to do. I am simply assigning them with a higher purpose."

His eyes met hers.

"I'm giving them hearts."

---

Eris Halla

"They won't."

He spoke with utmost confidence. There was not a sliver of quavering resolve in Howard's words as he regarded this child that proclaimed herself a witness to the tales of heroes and giants and creatures of myth. There were few in this world as storied as this fourteen year old child.

Even if her eyes weren't bright or innocent anymore.

"Because they will not betray you. They will not betray you or Navy or Tsubaki or Eddie or anyone." Howard inclined his head, a mechanical pop ringing out as he did so. "Because you are human. They could turn their backs on me right now and join your side."

The Pokeballs lie on the ground, unused.

"And it would not matter. They would kill Eternatus regardless of if I led them or Navy. As for why I give them hearts..."

He thumped his chest, which let out a dull thud that rang out into infinity.

"...I just want to see what would happen. I want to prove that humanity has far surpassed godhood."

---

Eris Halla

A flicker of hurt emerges, before being buried in a sea of red.

"I am." The admin closed his eye. He clenched a fist, the mechanical digits popping and grinding like clockwork. It was too perfect a form, too carved from stone to be human, and yet... "Even now, I'm human."

Even if he was a brain in a jar, synapses firing in pure thought. Even if he was the most brutal conqueror in history, he would be human.

Because Howard Slayte had a will. He had emotion. He had knowledge. He was heir to something that Mesprit could only dream of.

"I am something that Eternatus cannot comprehend." The admin's eye opened, magenta light burning in the pupil. "Human. That is why we will win against Eternatus."

---

Eris Halla

"Then everything is lost." He said, not believing that truth for even a moment. He shook his head once, then twice, then thrice. "Because it means that we've forgotten yesterday while reaching for tomorrow. If I've lost humanity, than that means you have too."

He met her gaze as he walked down the monument to pick up his belt. Pokeballs jingled from it as he did so. Regice's was beginning to scuff and fray. Regirock's was new, but its Pokeball was unnecessary. It would receive a new one, soon.

"Slowly but surely, this world is ruining us. It's ruining you and Tsubaki and Eddie and Navy and Isaac. None of us are the same as when this all started, and by the time it's over..." Howard didn't even want to think about it. He and Navy would be dead, most likely. Tsubaki would grow up dysfunctional, as would Eris. Eddie and Isaac would simply persist. "...well."

He smiled.

"You'll have to call their humanity into question. But I won't accept a criticism of my heart and will from you, little lady." He turned to her. "Not when you can't even save a knight and his princess."

---

Eris Halla

That wasn't true. The act of attempting mattered to the archaeologist. Because even if an attempt failed, it could be done again. No door was fully shut until someone shut it themselves. Yet if he wanted to force her hand, he could not guide her forward. She would have to stumble blindly forward.

Stumble, hoping that a miracle would bless the knight and his princess in that kingdom of steel and steam.

"Then keep trying." He shrugged at her, his heart breaking as he did so. "Try until you succeed. Insist until the world itself acknowledges your commitment. Otherwise, give up."

Telling Eris Halla to give up was a betrayal of her character. Yet he did not allow himself to take it back, even as his lip trembled. In the distance, a wave crashed against the beach. The tide was shifting.

"Let's do one last trade, Little Lady. One last trade for good fortune." His eye bore into her soul, as if searching for an answer. "We have mobilized the Eternal Floette. I can arrange a meeting. Perhaps that will help you with your mission."

Unlikely, but Howard hardly cared. Alba Evovae would dance to his strings.

"In exchange, I need some meteors."

---

Eris Halla

"I'm chasing Regidrago. I'm trying to fulfill an old friend's dream."

Howard Slayte, contrary to the perceptions many held of him, was not a liar. He hid his identity, he misdirected, and he often deceived. Yet he did not lie. The truth was sacrosanct, and to muddy it for mere material game was proof of a lesser person. Howard was flawed, but he wouldn't look a little girl in the eye and lie to her.

Regardless if Eris was a bigger threat than many recognized.

"Years ago, that giant drained power from other meteorites at Meteor Falls for one reason or another. I'm following its footsteps." Even if it was a fool's dream, it wouldn't stop Howard from marching after the golem with the same dogged determination that had led him to Regirock. "Little Lady."

His voice was soft, like an older brother explaining that Lenore Halla wouldn't come home.

"If you do this, I will catch Regidrago. I will seize it and use it to kill Eternatus. I will use it against you. I will use it to fight Navy . I will use it to fight Eduardo Hisakawa and Isaac and anyone else you love. But."

He held up a finger.

"You will help save the world, and you will abate the suffering of the Mechanical Kingdom's knight."

---

Eris Halla