Dad. They were entering dangerous territory. This was a story that had been whispered of for a year. A ghost who had compelled June to do what few ever had and seize ancient power for herself, and then step even further to reach the domain of avatarship.

A nameless ghost could do no harm, but Gabriel Sleigh could. Even now, his death shaped the world around him. Howard wondered if he had ever wanted that. Unlikely. Few did. Yet two people capable of changing the world sat in a car on the way to an impound lot, discussing Grigori Sokolov's biggest shame and sin.

"You didn't." She knew that, but the fact that she asked terrified him. Memories were missing, but she wanted to tell him anyway. "But if you want to tell me, I'll listen."

It was his obligation and his desire to chronicle the world. In the same way that he hadn't forgotten about the Excadrills or the mountain of suffering that this region had shouldered.

"Because if it's you, I want to know."

---

june sleigh

“One night, my dad went to the shop to work on a project, December 26th. Next day, I go out to check on him, and…”

“He’d been murdered. Stabbed.”

She ripped off the band-aid fast and hard. June learned from annalise henderson in the power plant that it was better to be fast. Concise. Less she dwelled on it, the better. Because she couldn’t remember his face that well anymore. His presence. His footsteps.

But she could remember his corpse like it was still in front of her. In a way, it always was. She gazed into space, down at the frigid blood-covered concrete floor. “The police arrived after I called them. They decided to investigate it, 'cause I told them he’d never kill himself. And they did.”

“But do you know how long it took for them to call it a cold case? An accident, likely Rocket hit and run? Two. days. They spent two days, said they found nothing and slammed the door in my face. Said they had more important things to attend to. Wars to fight, actual, serious cases to solve.”

“And a week after, what the Game Corner called its ‘grace period’, they called and said I had an outstanding debt from my Dad. I told them to kick rocks. So, they got the police involved. The same officers that greeted me before dragged me down to the courthouse in fucking handcuffs.”

“And do you know how long it took for the exact same men, the two fuckers that shrugged their shoulders, and told me to go fuck myself– for them to do their research, painstakingly describe all the legally binding ways I was fucked, exactly what was owed them by my Dad’s own writing, and wrap it up in a neat bow and shove it down my throat?”

It did not take a genius to pick up the punchline.

---

howard slayte

Stabbed to death. Beaten to death. Howard remembered a DRK Triad grunt dead on the ground, his face caved in.

Grigori Sokolov. Damn.

"Two days."

---

june sleigh

“Two days.”

“The League did not care about my Dad,” June returned to reality. She can’t cry about it anymore. Her tears over it are long gone and dried up. “They did not care about me. They do not care about your friend. They only care about themselves. Always have, always will.”

It was an active, firm hand that shoved June between the grates and let her fall into the sewers. Rocket had done nothing personal. If anything, they did to her what they did to everyone. She was unspecial. In a way, that was more preferred.

“But hey, they’re going against a Totalitarian dictatorship ran by literal psychopaths, so what do…”

The ceiling shifted from a faint green to an ever brightening yellow. Yet she did not fly forward in her seat. If anything, she might've felt her back slide further into the leather. “Howard, do NOT–”

---

howard slayte

"Your dad made you move mountains, June. Even his memory is stronger than the average person. I wish I could've met him."

It was such a small thing. It was just one life impacted out of thousands. That life did not matter when weighed against the millions that lived in Hoenn. Team Rocket had exploited her. Team Rocket had broken her. Yet she blamed the League because her suffering had been systemic compared to their personal affront.

The League didn't care about Gabriel Sleigh or Shred Zeppelin. Rocket didn't care, either. A Rocket Beast was replaceable. A grunt was even more expendable. In that vein, June Sleigh didn't matter either.

"I car-" He muttered silently as he ran another red light, almost hitting a minivan in the process. Howard let out a yelp and served, narrowly missing it as he continued across the intersection. A million miles away, Kyle was laughing in his grave at Howard falling for the same shit twice. "Oh, son of a bitch."

A police siren blared.

"FUCK!" The car pulled over.

---

june sleigh Miyako Noguchi

June pressed her palms into her eyes. Maybe if she did it hard enough, she could get out of THIS pullover via medical emergency. Instead, she could only take her anger out elsewhere as she had to pretend she wasn’t just in this situation. Oh, and curse out Howard.

“I’ve met drunk drivers with more awareness than you, lug nut,” she groaned. “Just… what’s the first thing they fucking teach you when you learn to drive? The FIRST thing? Always keep your eyes on the…”

The taps get her attention. Ruby red glasses greeted her, in front of a very familiar face. Painfully familiar. This was a sign from Arceus.

She needs to not be into women. It’s the only possible logical conclusion to get from this, as she once again meets the cop who arrested her the first time.

“No,” she said. It was not ok. “And do not insinuate that this Neanderthal can drive better than me. Please. I’d sooner decapitate myself with the window than have that be the case.”

But, she did comply much easier than the first time. June yanked his glove compartment open, and dug around for the car’s precious papers. “You don’t have to shove worthless shit in here, you know. You’re allowed to take trash out of your car.”

Several fry holders and burger papers fell onto the floor as she collected his stuff. Gross.

---

howard slayte Miyako Noguchi

Shred's wrappers were haunting Howard a year later. Yet if he could escape Top Champion with a future Rocket Beast in the passenger seat and a dead body in the trunk, he could deal with some parking officer. What he couldn't deal with was this one being the one to put him out of 20,000 PD.

He hadn't been bled that badly since buying those funeral urns at auction, which now unceremoniously sat on his coffee table. It hurt even more that they were likely replicas.

"Afternoon, offic-" He cut off as June handed him an envelope with all of the registration information for his vehicle. "Wait, you know each other?"

He gave June a murderous glare.

"Please, my driving is immaculate. Kyle praised it, you know. I just got distracted, officer. I apologize." He slipped the registration information through the window. "It can't be as bad as whatever she did for you to pull her over."

His eye flicked to June, before leaning in to Miyako.

"What'd June do?"

---

june sleigh Miyako Noguchi

"Assets?" Howard raised an eyebrow. "She's broke. She doesn't have-"

Miyako licking her lips was wholly unnecessary. Unfortunately, it was also the bridge to jump from financial matters to perversion. The admin's face flushed slightly, before slowly turning to June.

She did, actually.

"You fucking degenerate!" He hissed at her. "Does she even like chicks? Do you even like chicks?"

---

Miyako Noguchi june sleigh

Both of them must’ve been hammered. It’s the only way Howard thought that she didn’t hear him and that Miyako gave her snakey grin before telling him not very subtly what happened. June’s face went redder than the cop’s shades. This was like a shitty meme, except she was the punchline and it wasn’t funny, only deathly embarrassing.

Howard couldn’t get away with this. She told him not to ask. Well, it was heavily implied he shouldn’t have asked.

All she needed was five seconds without police supervision. She glared into the distance, then suddenly pointed a finger straight through the glass. “Wait, hold on, that woman over there isn't wearing a bra OR shirt!”

She got exactly what she wanted. It didn’t matter if Howard looked away or not. But Miyako was distracted for a mere moment. As soon as it happened, she went into action. Her hands rose straight for Howard’s neck. Then, she wrapped her hands around--

The circuit was completed. Howard would feel what it was like to be tased, but three times as worse. A quick shock to jolt his senses and show him who not to fuck with. His limbs might flail, and his bones feel liquid.

It did not last long, and by the time Miyako looked back, June was nearly back into the position she started in. “Oh, whoops, my bad. That’s just… a Furfrou. Whoops.”

She gave her the most innocent smile. The kind a kid gave you when they were totally guilty but desperate to play it off as ignorant innocence.

“Anyway, you were saying?” Black smoke emanated from Howard’s skin. Two black marks adorned his neck. It was clear what happened– but would Miyako do anything about it?

---

howard slayte  Miyako Noguchi

There was a phrase uttered by the truly deranged, but was known by a scant few.

Instead of simply taking Howard's left hand...

And taking Howard's right hand...

June simply wrapped her hands around his throat and completed the circuit.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The sensation was like being thrown into a bathrub with a toaster or having a Rotom possess the microwave in Team Rocket's breakroom. A guttural shriek left the admin's lips, which sounded suspiciously like he was being zapped with Miyako's taser.

June was a brutal degenerate. Who distracted a cop with nudity? This was something Shred would've pulled in order to avoid a speeding ticket. Maybe Violet had chosen her for that reason.

After several deep breaths, Howard let out a dull groan.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck..."

---

june sleigh Miyako Noguchi