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[attr="class","textbox"]It was a nice, warm hug on a nice, cool day. Isaac smiled a little as he was comfortably sandwiched between his dearly missed sister and his new friend. However, it was clear not everyone was as comfortable as he was. Poor Jack was already complaining about the cold.[break][break]

"Oh, shit. I gotchu." Sometimes, inebriation made people more skilled rather than less skilled. This was because without one's inhibitions, it was easy to do things before your brain told you "whoa, slow down, buddy." In this case, Isaac was able to flawlessly whip his shirt off in a single sweeping motion of his arm just to offer it to Jack. "I don't get cold anymore, so it's all yours."[break][break]

Between that little gun show, and him forgetting where Aurelie lived, it appeared drunk Isaac was officially a himbo.[break][break]

Once he was in the stairwell, Isaac let out a sigh of relief. Yep. This was definitely familiar territory. "Oh yeah! You showed me how to make the thingies here," he oh so helpfully specified. "That was fun. You gotta make him a thingie next. He'll love it. But maybe not right now." He looked around, conspiratorially, then leaned in to whisper to Aurelie and Jack.[break][break]

"Don't tell anyone, but we might be a little drunk."[break][break]

His uproarious laughter melted into a soft, supportive hand squeeze. A million and one brain cells screamed out a million and one different answers to her agreement, but in his drunken haze all he did was smile. Perhaps it was for the best. Even the most innocuous of words could have lead to truths getting out that Jack simply wasn't ready for.[break][break]

"I brought him here!" Isaac said, smiling proudly. "Guy needed a change of pace. So I decided to take him to the best tiki bar I know. And since I can do this now-!" Wind up the stairs. Wind down the stairs. How he didn't trip and explode was another one of those little Isaac miracles. "I was all, woosh, you're in Lilycove now. Pretty cool, eh sis?"[break][break]

Somehow, in all those words, he managed to not answer a single one of Aurelie's questions. Incredible.

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[attr="class","textbox"]"Oi. You literally asked for it, remember?" Isaac gave Howard a teasing nudge with his elbow. " 'Men like me don't deserve to leave boats in one piece. You're going to have to beat the crap out of me to make them believe it, oh hero.' "[break][break]

He had to take the shot. After all, they were friends.[break][break]

"I getcha, man. Sometimes, I wonder if I broke a long time ago and just didn't realize it." There wasn't even any sorrow to his smile. There was only the cheeky grin of a man who had nothing left to lose and everything left to gain. "Just means, no matter how far they push me, they can never break me again. Isn't that great?"[break][break]

Suicune's head tilted ever so slightly, both from Isaac's words and from Howard's lingering look. It was funny. For all Howard lionized them as a piece of history, that couldn't have been further from the truth. They were an outlier, another reality's Suicune brought here through means they could no longer remember for reasons they could no longer recall. The death of this Johto, and the sins of this Kanto, had no bearing on it. The loss they felt could be sympathy, even empathy, but never the true depths of understanding.[break][break]

They were a stranger lionized as a god. They came bearing gifts to an idiot lionized as a hero. Strangers, outcasts, lost souls, was it any surprise that the two gravitated towards one another? Was it any surprise that they, in turn, gravitated to the strange, sad man lingering in their doorframe?[break][break]

The Pressure settled around Howard for but a moment, like a weighted blanket in a sacred spring. He would always be welcome here.[break][break]

"Well. How about we put that whole better future thing to the test?" Isaac turned to Eris, giving her hair a quick ruffle. "Step 1 of a better tomorrow; actually making it to tomorrow. C'mon, sis. Let's get you to sleep." It was starting to get all too dark outside. The last thing he wanted was for nightbrain to set in.[break][break]

In the corner of the room, a brief pulse of static flickered across the TV. The strangest part was that Isaac hadn't even plugged it in.

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[attr="class","textbox"]"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Caleb had drawn a well-deserved first blood. The Terastalized Altaria was put onto the back foot. Halberd had sheltered Lyra from the worst of the storm. Their strategy of covering each other's backs was paying off dividends, and they only had each other to thank for it.[break][break]

Maybe at this rate, they'd actually stand a chance against Zev Harcourt.[break][break]

"You've got one impressive team, too," Isaac said, a statement further reinforced when a tiny little Pidove launched a Heat Wave bigger than its entire body. "Hal-" He didn't need to say anything else. The Corviknight already knew. He dipped down, wings spread to block out the worst of sound and heat alike. Unlike the Draco Meteors, there ephemeral attacks would be a lot harder to block. However, the less pain Lyra suffered, the more they could push their current 3 to 4 advantage.[break][break]

"If you're gonna go out, let's go out with a bang." Halberd's red eyes sparked to life, the patterns along his feathers glowing to a fever pitch. His armor plates smoked as he clumsily touched down on the ground. This time, he didn't just spread his wings for show. Instead, with each passing second, he beat them harder and harder. With each slam, more Blade Birds fluttered from his feathers.[break][break]

"Unleash your rage!"[break][break]

In a rush of steely feathers, howling winds, and Infinity Energy, the Mega Corviknight shed his form. All of his lingering power left his body in the form of a G-Max Windrage, seeking to overwhelm Lam's Altaria before it could gather its bearings. They had been two of the heaviest hitters on the battlefield, but their time was nearly up. What better way to go out than in a single final clash?[break][break]

Now smaller, duller, and distinctly de-Mega'd, Halberd found himself stumbling. He was wide open for any and all retribution.[break][break]

TEAL DEER;[break]
Halberd soaks up incoming attacks for Lyra.[break]
Halberd ends Mega Evolution to use G-Max Windrage, hoping to put some final heavy pressure on Altaria.[break]
He's not in much shape to dodge or weather further attacks. Is this it?

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[attr="class","textbox"]Xerneas had given chance after chance, yet even a life debt could only be taken so far.[break][break]

Bryan had done the unthinkable. Just as his Kommo-o lashed out at Isaac, so too did he lash out at his own patron. In that moment, Xerneas' demeanor did a 180. Gone were the second chances. Gone were the plans to retreat. Instead, in but a single intense glare, the man who thought he was above life and death was reduced to nothing.[break][break]

Wounds that were once healed tore back open. The vines he wielded like extensions of himself fell slack and limp. His breath rushed out his body as he fell to his knees, as if ready to have a heart attack right then and there. He used to last of it to scream into the uncaring void, demanding to know what Xerneas, or Isaac, or anyone in this Arceus-forsaken hospital had done to him.[break][break]

Even as he seethed from the Power Whip that rent his flesh, Isaac tried to study the look in Xerneas' eyes.[break][break]

Suicune simply looked to the other legend. Their own eyes were soft, understanding. The people of Hoenn, even those who fancied themselves great, were short-sighted and foolish. Some pedestaled beings such as themselves as gods. Others saw them as slaves, another resource to be controlled as part of their forever war. Sometimes, Suicune was fascinated by them. Sometimes, they pitied them. Yet even as they longed to see them brought to their full potential, it could lead to tragedy just as often as triumph.[break][break]

Part of liberation was standing back and letting people make their own mistakes.[break][break]

"It's over, Bryan." Suicune stared the Komm-o down, icy mist leaking from the sides of their mouth. They wouldn't press the fight. Not after what had just happened. However, if Bryan were to somehow try and keep the fight going, they would surge forward to bring the Komm-o to a heel with their Ice Fang.[break][break]

All the while, Isaac kept Bryan in his sights, his heart pulled in a million directions. Half of him wanted to help the former Beast to his feet, healing him up and giving him one last chance to set this grudge aside. The other half wanted to bind him in chains of ice and bring him to justice, both for his own good and for the region's. A darker part of his brain knew that, if he needed to defend himself with lethal force, it would be all too easy now. It wasn't like Bryan would believe death could finally catch him.[break][break]

Instead, he took a note from his patron. What happened next would be in Bryan's hands, not his.[break][break]

"Stand down."

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[attr="class","textbox"]"Never been better." Isaac flashed El a cheeky grin as he drew more water along the tips of his fingers. He ran it over his reddened skin, sighing in relief from both his magic powers and the water's natural chill. "Come on, you know me. Gonna take way more than some two-bit ripoff artist to make me blink."[break][break]

The Walking Wake surely would have taken offense to that if it wasn't busy hitting MUGEN with everything it had. A pair of afterburners left the Genesect dip down after their collision, its arms unfolding to snare the Walking Wake tightly. No matter how hard it tried to Bite MUGEN, they refused to give in, using another pulse of their Magnet Rise to pull themselves into the sky.[break][break]

Thinking quick, Isaac rolled some more Magnet Bombs into the shadow of the polarized Genesect. With a connection formed, the resulting aerial suplex landed with an extraordinary amount of force. Dazed and stunned, the Walking Wake could barely even focus on the cannon snaking out from MUGEN's back. Its shine reflected off of the sparkling cavern floor as it charged, brighter and brighter by the second.[break][break]

"Alright, MUGEN. That's enough."[break][break]

Unlike Baron, MUGEN was not making a threat. He was making an execution. Nevertheless, as Isaac stepped forward and set a hand on their cannon, MUGEN begrudgingly accepted it. The cannon retracted into their back with a disappointed hiss. As they stormed away, Isaac approached the Walking Wake. It glared defiantly at him, crimson eyes blaring all the while.[break][break]

Those crimson eyes were soon met by another. Suicune hopped off of their icy platform, landing by Isaac's side without so much as making a sound. They met their distorted mirror head on, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. The Pressure was like standing in the center of a boiler room. Even Isaac had to take a step back, lest he be crushed beneath their inner struggle.[break][break]

Finally, the Walking Wake bowed its head towards its alpha.[break][break]

Surprisingly, Suicune's eyes narrowed in displeasure. They shook their head, instead using a pulse of Extrasensory power to help the Walking Wake rise to its feet. The two of them were both strangers in a strange land. This world wasn't Suicune's home any more than it was the Wake's. Yet in spite of this, they had found their own destiny.[break][break]

Their point made, Suicune turned to walk away. The Walking Wake watched it pass, then rose to its feet with its head held high. Even as it limped from lingering paralysis and the injuries of a battle well fought, it refused to let Suicune leave its sights. The Johtonian beast slowed slightly, one last reward for the prideful paradox.[break][break]

Together, they strode side by side.[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]Isaac couldn't help but wince at Doug's statement.[break][break]

Two years ago. He was younger. He was stupider. He'd just gotten decimated in a fight with a common poacher, who at that time seemed like the strongest person his universe. She entertained his attempts at stopping her, so long as he went to the sub after. All he had to do was listen to what they had to say.[break][break]

There were plenty like him on the sub; frustrated, disaffected, listlessly drifting beneath a world they'd slipped through the cracks of. There were plenty like the poacher; opportunists who didn't mind hurting others if it kept them a step ahead of the rat race. There were plenty like those he'd later grow to fear; monsters that thrived in a world where others died beneath their heel.[break][break]

He wondered how many of these young men and women would come in as he had, only to come out broken into Walsh's latest attack dogs.[break][break]

What Rocket had to say made sense when he didn't have the full picture. He'd been failed, or failed himself. The specifics didn't matter when there was only one escape in the darkness. Dahlia's League seemed deaf to their cries. They called for interdimensional genocide as the only way to save Hoenn's skin, while Rocket put on a show of being the only ones fixing things. It seemed perfect.[break][break]

It was a veneer that fell apart in moments, not because it wasn't working but because Rocket's higher ups grew bored. They wanted action. They wanted blood. They wanted power, the type they couldn't skim off of being the better man but the type they could take for themselves. Littleroot was the scapegoat. Meteno was the key. What misguided little idiots like Isaac thought was immaterial.[break][break]

He'd thought the ends justified the means. Then he realized what he thought Rocket's ends were couldn't have been further for the truth. The means existed to serve the ends, and they did so with as much greed and gluttony as Walsh himself. Trust shaken, a region plunged deeper into war, and all because Walsh and his inner circle Wanted.[break][break]

In a world where the weak served the strong, did bottom feeders like him and his fellow grunts even rate? Or were they just cannon fodder?[break][break]

He scanned the crowd, trying to gauge their reactions. He knew they wouldn't say a word. Not while they were together. Social pressure went a long way towards hiding the truth. Instead, it was their body language he kept an eye on. Who perked up eagerly? Who paled at the thought? Who averted their eyes, as if afraid of facing the truth that had been put down in front of them?[break][break]

He wished he had more time. He wished he could speak to each and every one of these grunts on their lonesome. But Doug would have to return to camp soon, and he'd need to focus on getting everyone back alive. Who knew if he'd get the chance to talk with them after? Who knew, if he was even able to, if it would be productive? It would never be enough. No single person ever could be. And yet, for now?[break][break]

"That's enough."[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]"No promises!"[break][break]

Before it had been swallowed up by roars, first from the Walking Wakes and then from an entirely different creature, Isaac's cheeky remark bounced along the walls. To his credit, he wasn't stupid. Even as the Walking Wake's claws and jaws were painfully close, Isaac was just outside their range.[break][break]

The Flamethrower from its companion, though? That was a problem.[break][break]

Isaac quickly hopped away from the showdown. As he did, he trailed a hand along the damp floors of the cave. As he pulled his fingers up, it rose into a screen of water, reducing the incoming Flamethrower to a scalding hot steam. It hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Nevertheless, Isaac scowled, fully prepared to strike back.[break][break]

He was the magically-enhanced trickster. Baron was the precise, learned warrior. But MUGEN? MUGEN was the apex predator, a savage beast dolled up in the guise of a machine. As it knocked its Walking Wake to the floor, it didn't even hesitate. It plunged a Fel Stinger right into its side, the glow from its eyes blaring as it drank in the other creature's pain.[break][break]

A pity it didn't properly seal the deal first.[break][break]

Shocked beeps escaped MUGEN as the Walking Wake shuddered to its feet. With a twist of its surprisingly developed legs, and a furious thrust of its hips, it sent the Genesect clattering across the room. MUGEN steadied its landing, the smoke rising from its chassis met with a consternated hiss. From there, the two were off, their Dragon Rush and Flame Charge colliding head to head.[break][break]

"How's it look to you?" Isaac asked, not to El but to Baron. It was clear that the Iron Valiant had stopped paying attention to this timeline long ago. Just as the Paradoxes were the impossible effigies of entities beyond time and space, so, too, were the visions that would dance through Baron's Future Sight.[break][break]

With how valiant the Wakes fought, a part of Isaac hoped that their futures wouldn't come to such ignoble ends.[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]"Little too quickly," Isaac admitted, still a touch sheepish. "But, hell. With what this region's been like these days, can't say I blame myself much." Hoenn was splintering apart from the inside. Threats lurked in every new shadow that formed in the wake of its decay. He'd always wondered why Hoenn's higher ups could be so callous and paranoid. Now, he saw where they were coming from.[break][break]

So be it. It was fine to be ready to fight. He just wouldn't let himself be judge, jury, and executioner.[break][break]

"This is Zeph. Guy's half of why the Petalburg Woods are healing up as well as they've been." The Dragonite rubbed the back of his neck, shooting Freya a shy smile. "I'd say he's basically the wind beneath my wings. But as you can see, he's the wings, too."[break][break]

They were a curious thing, Sygna Suits. Having experienced both Avatarship and the gifts of his own teammates, it was staggering how in some ways they different and in others they were all too similar. Could any Pokemon tap into the potential of a legend? Or were Sygna Suits dragging out potential man and Pokemon were never meant to achieve?[break][break]

A part of him worried. And yet it was a gift Zephyrus willingly, freely shared. So long as that was the case, Isaac trusted him.[break][break]

"Fly's a hell of a move, huh?" he said, any doubt dispelled by the cheeky grin he worked up. "Can't say it's one I've thought twice about before. Never needed to fight my battles up in the clouds. But when you can share moves with your Pokemon, tapping into that potential's a whole lot more useful."[break][break]

For a moment, Isaac's grin took a turn for the mischievous. "Wanna give it a try?"[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]Isaac was a devoted guardian, a tenacious fighter, and a warrior practiced in both his own talents and Suicune's blessings. However, that didn't mean he was just some war machine. As the Naganadel blasted past him, and he swiveled in midair to give chase, he quickly found himself slowing to a halt.[break][break]

For all the beast's first appearance startled them, how it regarded Freya was even more of a surprise.[break][break]

"Huh." Tilting his head curiously, Isaac let his helmet roll off into his palm. As he did, he promptly fell flat on his ass. Right. Flight was a borrowed gift, too. Blushing slightly, he kipped back up to his feet, giving his bruised tailbone a gentle rub. "Can't say I saw that one coming."[break][break]

He opened his main hand, letting Luck & Pluck float away. As he did, he approached the Naganadel, a somewhat guilty smile on his face. He approached with his hands up and palms turned outwards, a sign he had no further tricks up his sleeves. "Sorry 'bout that, buddy. You gave us a heck of a scare." As did any Ultra Beast sighting, especially of an unattended one. Especially in a place like Area Zero. "That one's on me. My bad."[break][break]

Okay. Perhaps he had one last trick up his sleeve. An orb of shimmering water gathered in his outstretched palm, which he gently floated towards the Naganadel's wounds. Even if it was too hesitant to accept full treatment at first, being in the proximity of the mists that wafted off of it would help ease some of its pain and fatigue.[break][break]

"There. That should make us straight."[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]"Busy man." Not that Isaac wasn't one, too. Between his Avatar status, his obligations to the people of Hoenn, and his own personal plans, there was rarely a quiet day in the life of Isaac Merlo. Would that even change if all those fetters fell away? Or would he simply find something new to throw himself at, come hell or high water?[break][break]

One must imagine Sisyphus happy.[break][break]

Doug's posse would evac him out of there once the time came. After that, it'd fall onto Isaac to make sure everyone made it to League HQ in one piece. A part of him wondered if he should call for backup. Another part realized he already had plenty of that. The six balls on his belt, well-worn and marked with individual seals, weren't there for show.[break][break]

Besides, he'd been wanting some alone time with these Rockets, anyway.[break][break]

He was strong enough to heft these Rockets up, but he preferred to lead them behind him instead. As frustrating as being part of a chain gang must have been, being scooped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes must have been worse. He owed these POWs at least that basic dignity, even if he knew what would have happened were the roles to be reversed.[break][break]

"Let's hustle, then." A Tailwind fluttered behind him, just enough to help lighten their load and help spur them along. "Got anything you want to say before you're off, doc?"

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[attr="class","textbox"]"These days, feels like we've lucked put when shit makes sense." The presence of Ultra Beasts here didn't add up, but neither did the crystalline rot that had plagued Hoenn since the Meteno aftermath. Did they truly avert the end times? Or did they trade a quick, merciful death for a slow decay. "The Deep Sea's kinda like this, right? You think Eternatus backed its way into the gap somehow?"[break][break]

The last thing they needed was to form a dimensional centipede with a monster like that.[break][break]

On reflex, Isaac stuck out his hand to call forth a shield of ice. Unfortunately, wrapped up in his Sygna Suit, all it did was leave the air shimmering slightly. "Right, shit-" Isaac muttered, mere moments before a blast of draconic energy overwhelmed him. At the last moment, he clutched a hand to his chest, as if trying to brace himself for the inevitable.[break][break]

When the light and smoke faded, the Naganadel let out a disbelieving hiss. Isaac still hung in the sky, barely phased. In his hand he held the King's Shield aloft, a gift from the Aegislash he unleashed just before impact. He settled his hilt into Isaac's other hand, a smug flash in his eye as Isaac pointed him Naganadel's way.[break][break]

Today, he was both the dragon and the knight.[break][break]

With a beat of his borrowed wings, Isaac shot towards the Naganadel. A shield bash to the face left its ears ringing, giving Isaac the chance to turn and point the sword right at its chest. Luck & Pluck began to glow a radiant white, a Steel Beam erupting from his tip to try and overwhelm the Naganadel before it had a chance to recover.[break][break]

As man and beast dueled in the skies, Zephyrus landed in front of Freya and Cal. His wings idly beat back and forth, ready to call forth a Hurricane to try and deflect any further potshots the Naganadel would send their way. With Calcifer's offense and Zephyrus' defense working in concert, who could stand against them?[break][break]

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[attr="class","textbox"]Normally, Isaac would have been tempted to linger around. The Dark Triad was here. He, Navy, and Nomi could stand as one while Lis either played along or took opportunistic potshots. They could stand tall over interlopers from beyond this universe, and then try to make a point about unity that would fall on willfully deaf ears.[break][break]

This time, things were different. Isaac just made the list.[break][break]

Did Lis have a grudge against Isaac, or against his patron? Or was the grudge against what the two working in concert represented, the idea that even an abandoned street rat with stains on his soul and a gun to his head could rise above his fate? He defied the odds that she'd sold her soul to avoid, and broken the chains that she swore were her own tether. So long as he lived, he was an acute reminder that Elisabeth Fiorelli had died long ago. All that remained was decay, a death row prisoner of her own device.[break][break]

Isaac had tried that life out for himself. He'd half expected to rot in Rocket's clutches forever. He'd set himself on fire to be a light in the darkness and let better, more deserving people like Ashley Shepard stomp him into the muck so they could escape its rise. It was a foolish endeavor. All he did was give them a false sense of comfort as they all succumbed to Rocket's clutches.[break][break]

To think Lis had chosen the same, pitiful fate for her one woman show. She was the victimized maiden, the matron's justifications, and the torturous crone all in one.[break][break]

She and Wo-Chien spoke as one, a hungering legion that demanded absolution. The air between the two of them grew thin and strained. For each second they stood there, their energy was forfeit. Suicune's knee buckled ever so slightly, icy mists spreading between their fangs as they clenched them tight. Part of them twanted revenge. Part of them knew now was not the time and place. This time it was Isaac's turn to comfort them setting a hand on Suicune's flank. Soothing green light passed between the two, the legend taking a shuddering breath.[break][break]

It wasn't worth it.[break][break]

All the while, Akane held the line. The Iron Thorns targeted the manifesting Unown with relentless precision, array after array of Pin Missiles raining down on the Dark Triad's setries. Kalistarius' bright blue color was Nomi's last act of kindness; it at least allowed Isaac to avoid any friendly fire. It wasn't until Hattori's Smokescreen filled the chamber that her vigil ended.[break][break]

Isaac's agreement was silent. He set his other hand on Navy's shoulder, then took a deep breath. He took one step, two steps, then finally three, carrying Hoenn's newest Elite away on the northern wind. To Nomi and Lis, it would seem like he was being spirited away, all while Isaac and Suicune had disappeared entirely.[break][break]

"I'm nobody's but my own. And neither are you," the disappeared Isaac said. As he spoke, a chill encircled Elisabeth, as if he was circling around her at this very moment. "But if you want to find me, you know where I'll be." With that, he was gone, leaving only a quiet echo bouncing off of the walls of Area Zero.[break][break]

As Nomi and Navy fretted over this twist in Isaac's fate, he welcomed it with open arms.[break][break]

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