"I'm sick of getting gawked at, Lulu." Howard sighed as he took a deep drag of the lit cigarette. Nicotine and smoke made life worth living, especially as the work piled up. How many hours had it been since he had slept? He was reaching twenty.

How long had it been since Lulu had slept? She was probably reaching thirty.

In response to her query, the admin simply shrugged. His eye flickered with magenta, as if Dynergy demanded freedom from the flesh it had been shackled to. It was a body too symmetrical to exist, and Eternatus's leavings flowed through him like blood.

"I fell into a Dynergy storm in Petalburg. Came out different. Moving is stiff. My joints don't work."

It was like an old man complaining.

"Brought you a gift, by the way."

---

Lulu Flint

He endured mint frost 's bleating in silence. A reminder that this had been the man who had inducted him into Rocket. A reminder that this man was the source of every iota of misery the admin had experienced since he had been wrapped in chains.

It was almost poetic, really. If only Mint had been at Petalburg. Howard could've expedited the Rocket Beast's happy little reunion with Elisabeth Fiorelli when he inevitably took her side. Nothing killed a bird like a stone, regardless of the Mercurial's superior skill on the battlefield.

Even a Rocket Beast would stop moving if it was struck by a stone.

"We are cogs in a greater machine. Whether the name of that cog is Elisabeth Fiorelli or Howard Slayte is irrelevant. We are all replaceable. It does not matter if our bureaucratic process is writ in ink or blood." He and Priam had sat in Petalburg when the city was seized. The others had not come until later to peck at the carcass of victory. "A viper is comparable to a fox or a bee or a dog."

He raised a dying cigarette to BARNABY FINCH and Hitoshi Inoue . It was a mantra he and THEO BECKETT both share. The knowledge that they are all interchangeable parts. He met Lulu Flint's eye and nodded in minor condolence, acutely aware of his own death warranty.

"We lost an avatar. I loathe this waste in potential, but necrotic flesh must be excised to invite new growth. Even if that growth comes at a cost." His eye twitched as Hitoshi proposed his suggestion, instead focusing on ■■■ (Zev Harcourt ) as he entered. There was no fanfare to his entrance. There was no need for ■■■ to proclaim his arrival when Howard would simply scurry out of the way. "Regirock will not treat you kindly, Admin Cross. I've just purged it of fear, and I'd rather it not learn the taste of hate."

The admin looked around the decrepit Pokemon Center, his eye inspecting each individual crack. How many of these had been caused by the Max Stonefall? How would Chien-pao look after a mountain crushed it to bits?

"I regret her death," he lied, "but Underbosses Quinn and Beckett will suffice for now. We will-"

His voice caught in his throat as he regarded Shred 's throne. The throne of a vindictive, uncaring god. His eye lingered for a moment, before returning to the group. He inclined his head towards priam conrad as the man defended Petalburg. He had risen well; one of Theo's better ideas.

"-persist."

---

Howard recalls Mint recruiting him to Rocket and dreams of killing him for setting him on this path. His cigarette dies but it WILL RETURN.
Appreciates Theo and Hitoshi, respects Priam's hustle as he explains his interpretation of Rocket as some great machine. Gapes at Shred for a hot minute as he warns Jayden to avoid interaction with Regirock (surely nothing bad will happen aka start the thread)

It was a good plan.

"I like it." The admin nodded to himself as he looked away, silently musing on Hitoshi's stratagem. It was harsh and ugly and cruel, but it was what was required in this hellish space. There was no better way to defeat the devil than to become a bigger one. "It will suffice in the short term."

These next few weeks would become hell for Petalburg, but it was what the city required.

"Since it's your idea, you should be the one to act it out. Yet Kanto has little reason to listen to you." The admin chewed his lip slightly, before an idea came to mind. "Give me your sword."

---

Hitoshi Inoue
BINGO: SPACE

The sensation that June was experiencing was not the byproduct of her powers. It was the simple result of living a life. It was something that Howard struggled with for a year, and it was one she would eventually come to terms with. Eventually she too would look in the mirror and hate the person she was.

Howard knew that he did. Even now, as he looked into the mirror and saw someone else staring back.

"Because there's someone I have to kill." He thought of ameena abadi . "We shared a dream where we just... talked. You told me about your debt and I told you that I was sorry. Maybe the universe is a fucking asshole, because if you remembered all of this, it'd be a lot easier."

He didn't mention the confession. That could rot in hell.

"If I looked like me, this would be a lot easier. You wouldn't have to look at a stranger."

Maybe that made it easier. She could view him as Admin Fox instead of Howard Slayte. The person that she delivered rocks to could be remembered as a friend instead of a mortal enemy, and this form could take the blame. This could become their new ritual.

"But you don't remember, and I'm not me. I'm your employer, and you will do your job." In the corner, a small satchel glowed malignantly. "You will deliver. Discretely.

His eye lingered on Violet.

"Is it fast?"

---

june sleigh
BINGO: RITUAL

"Don't look at me weird. This is embarrassing." The admin crossed his arms, his cowboy hat obscuring his face. "I look in the mirror and it's not me, Oscar. It's fucked."

It reminded Howard of one of Oscar's Genesects. Did the fossils within look at their reflections and weep, knowing that they'd never live a life in their own skins ever again? They were encased in bodies of steel and told that it was their purpose to fight and wage war and die in chassis that became their coffins.

What a hellish experience, mechanization was. He wondered if a living being had once constituted Regirock and Regice. He immediately cut the thought from his mind and focused on the aftermath of the war.

"You need to look at Regirock, by the way. Regice, too." Howard pursed his lips. "See if you can figure out why Regirock went haywire and make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Maybe it'd distract him from the pain of losing Genesect Prime.

---

oscar clayton
BINGO: WAR

The admin does not return to his office on the submarine. Instead, he makes his home in a small section of Petalburg's town hall. It is broken and shattered and ugly, but it is a reminder that the heart of bureaucracy never truly dies. It is a reminder that Howard never dies.

It is a reminder that Elisabeth never dies.

"What the...?"

The flower is plucked between a thumb and forefinger. The rot goes unnoticed, as does the intention of a flower. It seems like something that Chu-e Choi would leave on his desk as a prank. The rose is inspected, before being tossed into a nearby waste basket.

It is unimportant. The memory of victory is forgotten. The woman on the ship is forgotten.

All that Howard remembers is the sound her bones made when they were crushed.

---

Elisabeth Fiorelli

As Makoto expressed their disbelief, Howard simply coughed into a fist. He had processed these emotions days ago, but even still his heart struggled with the revelation that he had killed one of Rocket's avatars. It was unnerving, how easily her bones had crunched and life had fled Elisabeth as an uncaring stone fist slammed down.

"She tried to attack me. She tried to kill Regirock. It responded in kind, and unlike her, it succeeded. She was a traitor." He frowned, as if trying to find remorse in his soul. "She had to die."

It felt odd for him to enforce Rocket's chain of command. He had killed Elisabeth. He had executed Kouji. These were the jobs that Rocket Beasts and higher members enforced. Yet there were few here. He was who remained, and thus it had fallen to him to mete out punishment.

"Have you ever felt so close to success, only for it to be stripped away in the eleventh hour? Did you ever feel like you were the champion of the world, that you couldn't fail?"

---

Makoto Kurumi
BINGO: CHAMPION

Thus came the defense. He had been preparing this for weeks, silently practicing his justifications as he cobbled Petalburg back together from nothing. How many times had he practiced in front of the mirror, preparing for this many eyes? Yet the admins surround him, questioning.

So the mask slipped off, and his smile faded.

I am surrounded by corners. No matter which direction I move, they entrap me. There is a humbling realization to the understanding that he may not leave this room alive, no matter how he wags his tongue to appease the menagerie.

No matter how much truth he uttered, it would not be enough.

"Forgive me. The city is a wreck, and I know that the reports have been inconclusive. We have tried our best to repair the city, but time is short. I have done what I can. Please bear with me, and I will labor to build you all a second Sootopolis."" His eye flicked to BARNABY FINCH . "What the Pokémon League razes, Team Rocket shall raise again."

His cigarette does not die. It and a mountain of vices are what cause the mechanism known as Howard Slayte to keep going, even when the nights are long and the work unending. Even jayden cross indulges in paperwork, though the admin pondered how to best splatter Chien-Pao against the wall.

That would leave one behind.

"Elisabeth Fiorelli's death is a great pity, but her loss will not hinder our progress, for I offer our newest Rocket Beast as compensation. Hitoshi will serve loyally and well. Know that failure is no competition." He knows what Hitoshi Inoue and THEO BECKETT both do: they are a mechanism and each gear can be replaced. A viper leaves the zoo, and a dog takes her place. "For I see we're not sipping beverages on the beach in Mossdeep."

They would do better next time, but he would not accept blame for the city's condition after seizing Regirock.

So Howard addressed mint frost , and BARNABY FINCH and jayden cross . Two admins who he thought would stand by his side.

"I caught Regirock after clawing past the Jinxed, with the help of very talented members of Rocket. After seizing it, Wo-Chien attacked it and me. Tapu Fini recognized the folly, and refused to assist." He raised a scarred hand lined red from Dynergy exposure to Cillian Quinn and priam conrad , should he appear. "As Underboss Quinn and Beast Conrad both know, Regirock responded as it has over the last five years."

He clenched a fist.

"With extreme prejudice."

He unclasped it.

"It is safely in a Pokeball, and it is stable. Your concern, Admin Cross, is appreciated." His eye brummed with something, before landing on Chien-Pao. Wo-Chien attacked Regirock, and here you are, digging into it. He'd kill that cat. "It typically labors in the city."

As Lulu Flint asked her question, the admin's eye twitched. He had been wondering that himself. That body. Those flowers...

"Paste. There is little left."

---

Howard realizes he may be fucked:tm: as people start questioning him, jovial mode off
Vows to rebuild Petalburg, pokes that they're not chilling in Mossdeep right now. Reveals that he raised up Hitoshi to Rocket Beast to help.
Summarizes his version of Petalburg's events and Elisabeth's death, leaving out more details for future posts and brevity. Elisabeth attacked him, Regirock tapped her. Using Priam/Cillian's experiences in Ruins of Regirock to support his claim that Regirock is a murderhobo and that it smashed Elisabeth into paste.
Lulu is asking reasonable questions and frankly it's ruining Howard's vibe rn he's gonna start eating flowers and shit in his next post

"If I could, I would. We both know I can't kill him. You could."

There was a constant cycle of blame, where the weak blame the strong for being mighty while demanding that the mighty cast down their contemporaries into the dust. Howard could not defeat the new general. Cillian could give him a run for his money. They both waged war in Kanto, after all.

"You were baptized in the Ultra Deep Sea. You changed in those waters. What am I supposed to do? Throw Regice at Necrozma and hope that it wins?"

The end was coming for them both. All Howard could do was choke out a laugh and shake his head.

"It has grown stronger, but not strong enough."

---

Cillian Quinn

There is a black rose on the table where Admin Fox sits. In a gloved fist, he crushes it in a brief stint of rage. Thorns dig into flesh and threaten to risk blood, though Howard did not look down on his hand. Looking in the mirror disgusted him. Being himself was revolting.

Yet there is a pride in victory, in Petalburg's seizure that he shares with only two others. He, Elisabeth Fiorelli and priam conrad could swell with pride, knowing that they had not dropped the ball in Mossdeep, nor allowed the walls to crumble in Sootopolis. Petalburg was a maimed prize, but it was a prize Rocket would take.

Elisabeth Fiorelli . His eye twitched in annoyance, though he buried it and replaced it with a large smile.

Slam! A newspaper fell against the table as Howard let printed ink and paper fall.

PETALBURG HAS FALLEN - MORE ON PAGE TWO

"Not too shabby! All things considered, I think we've done pretty good!" He smiled through the room as a cigarette threatened to fall from his mouth and clatter against the floor. "Sorry about the damages."

The gaping wounds in the earth will not immediately be fixed, but he does not speak solely of this city.

---

Howard reada the newspaper
YAPPAGE
No Pokemon out

Click. Click. Click.

Flint struck steel three times before a flame burst to life. The cigarette sparked and smoldered for several moments as the admin indulged in cheap tobacco. Taxing cannabis was one of Hoenn's wisest moves. The region likely made a fortune off the admin, with how many he was burning through these days.

Stress was a powerful motivator. Its abation was one of Howard's top priorities, now. When he was on the clock, he was stressed. Sometimes, he smoked off the clock. Rarely, but he felt the temptation gnawing at the back of his mind every once and a while.

It didn't help that work and play bled together, now.

"Hah..." Howard watched as exhaled smoke circulated in the heavens. Grigori Sokolov didn't smoke with them, anymore. The older grunt likely hated them. Not that Howard could blame him. "There we go."

Another drag. Another exhale. Clockwork. Grease to keep the gears running.

"I should kill you for what you said in the meeting. Going off about Regieleki and all that in front of the entire upper command." Howard tapped the cigarette against a knee as he sat on the curb. It sounded like a knuckle rapping on stone as he did so. "You made us look like idiots."

Not that they had needed much help.

"Doubt I could, though."

---

Shred

"One sec." The admin sighed as he lost his game due to the twinge of distraction. "Let's go."

This was definitely a waste of time. The trip to Slateport was, as Grigori noted, a long one. June had eaten a hole in his wallet, and it wasn't a particularly small one. Minute for Rocket standards, very noticeable on an account ledger. He'd have to pull the money from the ether to ensure there was no trail.

Sometimes having no money was a blessing.

"It wasn't a bad drive, though. Fuck Slateport's traffic. I don't know how you do it." He peered at her, then at the DA office behind them. "Though I guess you don't, if you're getting pulled over."

20,000 PD. Arceus.

"Am I gonna need to do this again?"

---

june sleigh