Her stare is primal. It's barely contained by her trainer's calming influence. Regardless of perception, Howard was a peaceful man with a gentle touch, in spite of his tendency to raze cities with fists of ice and stone. Their bond is what calms her, what allows the Aerodactyl to interact with society in a productive way.

Yet the opposite is also true. Her violent nature influences him. She gives the admin more bite.

After glaring at the former underboss and seeing through his soul, she snorted and returned to her dormant slumber.

"Chu-e." Howard's voice is quiet. "You gotta let go of me for a sec so I can actually climb into bed.

A yawn, then a deep breath.

"Just for a second." He lowers Chu-e onto the bed. "Promise."

---

Chu-e Choi

"Hm." Howard shrugged with casual indifference, before throwing another Pokeball at a Barboach swirling in a nearby pond. "Gimme a minute. Give LeQuint Dickey a call while I make my own."

He meandered off and left Hitoshi with his rocks. What a strange little dog, he was.

"You're wrong, Hitoshi." He told nobody in particular, looking at the horizon as a hand was stuffed in his pocket. "He deserves it just as much as we do."

Jayden Cross deserved to die.

---

Hitoshi Inoue
CATCHING BARBOACH

What a murderous little ogre. In all of his time wandering Hisui with the Survey Corps, Doug had never seen a Pokemon quite like this.

He wondered where Pon had come from.

"Kill? No, no, little ogre." The ground shook slightly, threatening to send Ogerpon careening from her tree. After a moment, it became clear that the bear was laughing. "There is no need to be so hardhanded. Only those with blue skin and gnashing teeth will be punished with death."

And they had been. And more still would suffer the consequences of Doug's wrath.

"My name when I came into this world was Onikuma, though even the land itself has forgotten that name. It has been too many years. My human partner, both yesterday's and today's, calls me Doug. You may do the same."

There was a hint of longing in the Ursaluna's voice, though it quickly disappeared into the sea of melancholy.

"Our thief, little Pon..." Doug's eye glinted. "...is a monkey."

---

Andrea Vaneau

Tempest Quinn had dragged him from his very warm bed to track down a god of death.

Yippee.

Luckily, one of the perks of being a Rocket Admin who paid everyone's salaries was that he got to drag Adrian from his very warm bed to join him in his unending march of misery. Who better to track down the damned than one who had been bound to it? If Adrian wanted to instill order into this world, then no better place to do it than hell.

It was likely chock-full of the damned after the battles, to be sure.

"This place is as miserable as I expected, though I suspect it must be like home to you." A Howard Slayte with a different face glanced to Adrian. Longer hair, tired eyes, and a five o' clock shadow lined his features.

Yet only Howard Slayte wore the eyepatch and the cowboy hat, and those he still had.

"Tell me about this place. Give me a tour."

---

Adrian Malcolm

The admin hadn't practiced his hand at romance in years, since he had left his wife-to-be behind. He was rusty.

Not rusty enough, apparently.

He let Chu-e dig himself into a deeper hole. He let a man known for using his words fumble over them and get tongue-tied. The younger man reddened in embarrassment, rushed out a few words, and get embarrassed all over again. A vicious cycle that would likely never stop repeating.

"Pffft." He snickered for a moment, before giggling to himself. "Alright, Chu-e."

The warmth in Howard's voice could have melted hoarfrost and coldest snows of winter. It was something that Necrozma could not replicate, even if it absorbed enough light to burn the world and boil the seas. The experience was... human. An experience that no god could ever truly replicate.

"No need to rise. I've got you." The admin stood, holding Chu-e tight in trembling arms. He was exhausted and physically weak, but Chu-e was a walking skeleton. The man was designed to be carried like a princess. "I haven't done this in a while."

He shuffled through the cramped hallway to his room, past the Aerodactyl that was now curled up in her proper spot, and stood in front of the bed.

"It's embarrassing, I won't lie. Luckily there's nobody here to see."

---

Chu-e Choi

"You told me." He closed the distance, peering at her for a moment, before scratching his chin in confusion. "You seriously don't remember?"

How was that possible? How did she not know? It was like a chapter of history had been purged from the records of her life. A monument to yesterday was stripped down in testament for tomorrow. Yet that made no sense. How far had Ameena's dream reached? How much had Rocket's scientist erased?

How much had June stripped away?

"You don't." He'd have to get her in a room with Ameena so she could fix this. Then he'd need to punt her off a cliff for overcomplicating this matter. It would've been easier to send her back to the top of Sky Pillar for more rocks. "You were pissed at me for shooting you out of the sky, and we stopped talking. I said a lot of stupid shit."

He paused.

"Really stupid shit."

He paused again.

"And we met in a dream and said a lot of stupid shit. You told me everything." He met her gaze. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you."

---

june sleigh

The scribbling stopped. "Ah."

An awkward pause followed as a car cut across three lanes in front of Grigori. A cyclist in his rear threatened to get brake-checked. Slateport traffic was a wonder. Hopefully Grigori's insurance company job could net a fine premium, if that wasn't some ten-layered Rocket front the admin was unaware of.

"This was an insensitive ask, then." Every Rocket ask was an insensitive ask, these days. Everyone was on the fringe. "I'm sorry."

An alcoholic father explained a lot, then. It explained why Grigori was with Rocket. It left few options available, to be boxed in from all sides by abuse. It reminded the admin of Dewford's sheriff.

"I'll pay for it, unless you're going to tell me you taught her how to bribe a cop and fail. With all the money I rake in, Rocket will forgive twenty grand in favor of saving a 'asset'."

He made air quotes with his fingers.

---

Grigori Sokolov

"She's unbelievable." The rough scratching of pen on paper came from the passenger seat as Howard worked on a set of ledgers. Even when it came to bailing out Rocket assets, the logistical train never ended. "She's lucky she didn't have anything on her."

There were a dozen things that could extend her little foray in prison. A certain serpent, Regieleki, a metric ton of contraband. The fact that June had somehow dodged the worst case scenario—an AQUA contract—was proof that Arceus was a benevolent god, no matter what Naomi Sato claimed.

Or perhaps freya morningstar was somehow the worse saleswoman on the planet. She could compromise with Walsh but not with a deliverywoman with a million PD of debt.

"There's a bar on the way to the courthouse. You're gonna watch it for a hot minute on behalf of the owner." Scribble. Scribble. "I figure you'll appreciate an excuse away from the battlefield."

The words went unspoken. Rest your soul, Grigori.

---

Grigori Sokolov

There's a faint humming. A distant lullaby. It's not fully developed, and Chu-e does not get to hear the full song. it's a tune reserved for someone no longer in the archaeologist's life, and it was someone he would never see again.

But he could dole our a segment to this man. To this puppet with cut strings attached to his form. There's no desire to rebind his strings to a new master, nor is there a desire to cause Chu-e to dance to his own whims. There is only the wish that the boy from the flower shop will eventually find his own freedom and dance to his own motions.

Until then, he can rest here for a spell and lick his wounds.

"Sharp. Opaque. Fragile." The admin murmured quietly, his breath tickling Chu-e as the other man mused of flowers. They're a wonderful thing, but so transient and fragile, meant to fade and disappear from their moment in time once they wither and die. "But highly cherishable, used in great works of art. Eventually, lava cools and leaves something-

He stroked Chu-e's hair slowly.

"-tangible behind."

The television flickered on. With a halfhearted attempt, the admin swiped the remote and turned it off, leaving them both in silence save for quiet breathing and beating hearts. His head shifted slightly as he heeded Chu-e's query.

"Oh? Concerned for me?" His eye glowed a dull red as the sun finished setting. "How kindhearted."

He tapped Chu-e on the nose.

"What's your solution?"

---

Chu-e Choi

She wasn't a pervert. She was a degenerate.

"You have no assets. You're paying her with my money." June was lucky that Howard was in business mode. It saved her a major blow to her dignity. "Whatever."

There's shuffling as he rose from his desk.

"I'll be there soon. Don't drop the soap."

Click.

---

june sleigh

There's a thud on the other side of the receiver. The groan grows louder.

"How the fuck did you get ten grand on a speeding ticket?" He's impressed, and it's evidently clear. However June managed to rack up so many violations is a mystery. "June."

It's clear that he's looking at a legal codex.

"You bribed a cop." His tone was accusatory.

---

june sleigh