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Julia's mouth curled into a small, brief pout. Isaac was lucky he had swum away at all, treasure or not. If Julia hadn't been there... if her plan hadn't worked... She bit the inside of her cheek. Stop thinking about that. He's okay, and that's what matters. Isaac was taking the whole almost-dying thing with surprising ease and humor, so Julia should relax, too.

[break][break]"Yeah, it'll be good as new in no time," she said, summoning the smile back to her face.

[break][break]She looked a bit surprised to be asked if she was okay, too. The adrenaline she had been running on was beginning to seep out of her, making her aware of a stinging pain in her hands. She looked down at them and made a face. "Scraped up my hands pretty bad, but other than that I'm fine." It turned out holding back a rockslide wasn't good for your skin; Isaac wasn't the only one who'd need some proper first aid.

[break][break]She leaned over Lazuli's side. "You must be tired, too," she said to Marina. "You did such a good job out there. Come on back and rest; we'll get you checked out at a Pokémon Center." She reached down to pet the Huntail with the back of her hand, then recalled her back into her Poké Ball. "You did good, too, Lazuli." She gave the Lapras a few appreciative strokes on the neck, then slid off her shell and onto the shore. "Need some help getting down?" she asked Isaac.

[break][break]Julia gave the lifeguard and paramedics a quick rundown of what had happened. They still wanted to check the two over, just in case, which Julia was glad to let them do. The disinfectant they put on her bleeding hands stung, but once they were wrapped up, they were satisfied that she had no other injuries. All she had to do was be careful with her hands while they healed.

[break][break]When the medics moved away, the rest of her team pulled in. Julia burst into giggles as all of her Pokémon (including all three of Chester's heads) tried to nuzzle her all at once. "I'm okay, guys, honest!" she said, petting two of the group at a time. "Thanks for all the help."

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Almost reflexively, Julia showed a big, genuine smile to Isaac's wince. "I'm okay, honest! It looks pretty bad, but I'll walk it right off." Hopefully, using Isaac's words would drive the point home.

[break][break]Before she was put back in her Poké Ball, Marina stared up at Isaac. Her head was bruised and scratched up, and she looked tired, but she seemed satisfied with what she had done. Lazuli cooed softly when Isaac scratched behind her ear, a combination of gratitude and concern.

[break][break]Julia followed Isaac's gaze to his own team, who were engrossed in a game of beach volleyball. His Totodile turned and waved without a care in the world. Julia's smile curled in a mixture of pity and amusement.

[break][break]"At least you know Knuckles did," she said, looking at the tsundere Riolu. "I guess the others just didn't get the memo."

[break][break]Julia finally got some space to breathe once her Pokémon had gotten their fair share of affection. She smiled back at Isaac. "I'm really glad I could help. You don't 'owe' me anything, though; that's just what friends do. But I'm glad I have friends like you to be there for me." Maybe the situation had been more extreme than what friends usually did for each other, but Julia still meant every bit of it. Heck, even if Isaac had been a total stranger, she knew without a doubt that she would have tried to save him. That was why she became a Ranger, after all.

[break][break]"Stay safe out there!" she called to him, waving. And with that, the last of her energy drained from her, leaving her running on reserves. "What do you say we go home and rest, guys? It's been a heck of a day." There weren't any protests aside from Snuffles wandering off toward what smelled like food. Julia's upper body shook with a tired chuckle before she sucked the Swinub back into her Poké Ball. She followed suit with the rest but stopped at Spot, who was staring at the distant Isaac.

[break][break]"Spot? What's wrong?"

[break][break]No answer, of course. The Lucario stared steadily at Isaac, eyes faintly shining with the blue of his aura powers. Julia watched Isaac for a few moments but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

[break][break]"He'll be okay, don't worry," she said, patting Spot on the head. "Come on, let's go back to the room."

[break][break]After a few more seconds of silence, Spot nodded and allowed himself to be sucked back into his Poké Ball. Something had been off about Isaac's aura. There was something darker lurking within it, yet his heart didn't seem filled with evil intentions. Spot trusted Julia and knew that Isaac was her friend, but this would be bothering him for a while. He just hoped nothing bad would come of it.