Only because he didn't have all he needed. Not like I do.

The thought remains unspoken. This isn't a debate about the ethics of a man who had long since returned to a region that needed him. They spoke not of traitors, when both Eris and Howard danced the line like so many of their comrades and colleagues.

"Hm." He gave her a look. "I wonder if Volcanion will agree with that assessment."

Only when Eris mentions Rocket does he even begin to look uneasy. It's an emotion that passes in a moment, but a god of emotion is a fickle thing, and nothing goes unnoticed beneath its gaze. She won't like his answer, and frankly neither does he.

"I don't know. I would be more concerned with the eventual seizure of Littleroot. If I were you, I'd find a way to move the kingdom's portal or close it entirely. Once we take the town, I have no doubt that certain people will look down in search of material."

oscar clayton comes to mind. He does love his steel and mechanical toys.

---

Eris Halla

Her conviction reminded him of a better time.

"Then stop them." Those were the only words he could offer to the girl staring him down, angry at the prospect of losing a kingdom of cold iron and processed steel and the knight that attempted to warm it to the grasp of Team Rocket. "Defend what the knight is incapable of defending. Defend your home, Little Lady."

His eye flashed as he put a scarred hand into his pocket. A blast of cold sea wind buffeted them from the ocean.

"Because that's what I'll be doing." She's come to the same conclusion he has. If the League could close the portals, they would've done so already. When a god of space is shackled, anything is possible. "So, Little Lady..."

A grave dedicated to nineteen towered over them both.

"...do we have a deal?"

---

Eris Halla

An uncaring god watches as the child she has been entrusted with slowly cracks under the weight of the world, just as it watched as it stole Howard Slayte's integrity from him in his triumphant moment.

"Very well. It will take me time to get everything into place, but I will keep my promise to you, as I always have." The words feel like a slap in the face, cruel and uncaring and unjust. Yet still, even an angel must shake hands with the devil.

It's hard to know which is which, now.

"I'm going to stay here for a while longer, alone." She likely didn't trust him, so he added a few words. "I never got to have a good look at the ocean before I buried it in ice."

As he spoke, he pulled off the eyepatch that hid his missing eye. A Key Stone, corrupted red and pink, stared back at her, cursed by a land spirit and by overuse in the power of a god. As the wind blew hair in front of his face, he turned away from her.

"The view from the ground is wonderful. Why did I climb such a tall mountain to see them when it was right in front of me the whole time?" Howard gave her a small smile as he prepared to disappear. "Goodbye, Eris."

He disappeared with a pop!

---

Eris Halla

He teleports onto a nearby beach, his hat tucked under his arm. The ocean breeze feels good on his face and in his soul. For the first time since Petalburg, Howard Slayte's mind is clear.

"Three left, Little Lady. I only need three more." He felt Regirock and Regice's Pokeballs at his belt, and felt the weight of two geological eras crushing him down into the sand and surf that licked at his feet. "And when I have them, mankind wins. No more Eternatus. No more enemy. No more Howard Slayte."

It's a desperate prayer marred by the prospect of the Craftsman. Eris Halla despised him, now, and that was another step forward. When he was dead, that would be one less person to mourn him.

That was fine. There was no heartbeat anymore. When Navy or Eddie cut it out, they'd find nothing but ice and stone. Someone would do him in. His list of enemies was getting awfully long, now.

"It must be lonely, though. Partnered with a god of emotion that can't understand the heart of a child. Sorry, Eris."

In the distance, something sprinted over the water, sending a gust of wind. Before the admin could deduce what it was, it had disappeared over the horizon. That was secondary to this view, though. Everyone in the world shared this sea, as perfectly clear as it was.

"There's no room in this world for a kid as cruelly innocent as you."

---

Eris Halla