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[attr="class","skullbody"]The trio on the Lapras' back appeared to be civilians. Had they gotten caught up in the scuffle between the Officer and his foe? Or had they been unrelated finds, picked up along the way? Whatever the case, they seemed both atartled and a little afraid to see someone like Isaac reaching out to them. The most boisterous looking civilian fished a Pokeball off of his belt, while the largest extended an arm out to hide the smallest behind her.[break][break]

Isaac sighed sadly. He knew this reaction well by now. However, with a snap of his fingers, he made it clear just what he was doing here. Echo and Reverb teleported around the trio, showering them in some Life Dew to bring their energy back up. Surprised, they turned back towards Isaac, who simply stepped aside and motioned towards the rift.[break][break]

"Yeah, Zev Harcourt never really struck me as the forgive-y type," Isaac said. "He was even more inward than usual when I saw him. But I can tell he was not happy."[break][break]

Caleb's biggest concern, against all odds, seemed to be Isaac. "Is that seriously the first thing you're asking about?" he asked, a little more taken aback than he'd intended to be. "C'mon, man. At least worry about yourself, too! I'll be fine. I always find a way."[break][break]

A mischievous smirk crept up the corner of his face. " 'Sides, not like I can just bail on you when I owe you a spelunking trip."[break][break]

It was easy to dismiss, but the truth was Caleb was right. Isaac's web of allegiances, between Rocket friends, League contacts, and a growing number of defectors, was getting increasingly tense and frayed. Rocket's growing aggression meant lines in the sand were being drawn deeper and harder than before. With open war becoming a reality for the region, loyalties would be monitored and demands would be made like never before. The tightrope he walked was starting to slice and tear at his feet.[break][break]

Isaac groaned as he realized that sacrifices may have to be made. "Don't tell me I'm out of a job," he said. The Howling was safe not because of Zev at this point, but because Caleb willed it to be. Now that their truce had broken, would that still be the case?

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"Zev is too careful with his civilian identity to cause a fuss at his bar," Caleb reassured. "So keep working there if you like it. I just...might not show up for a bit. I'll have to enjoy happy hour somewhere else." He smiled a little at that. If he survived the Ultra Deep Sea, he'd definitely need to celebrate with a strong drink.[break][break]
Lyra looked expectantly at Caleb, awaiting further instruction. He considered the Lapras, head pounding from dehydration and body aching all over. "I'll go with you this time," he decided, reluctant to leave Isaac but sorely in need of some rest. Maybe they'd pass a League outpost where he could clean up a bit, grab some painkillers and a snack. Then he'd keep looking for folks who needed help. He might be a mess, but he was trying to be a better mess than he used to be. One step at a time.[break][break]
"My door is always open," he told Isaac. He hesitated, then pulled the other man into a hug. Isaac had been doing a lot of the hugging lately, so Caleb wanted to show him it wasn't all one-sided. He cared about Isaac, even if he had no fucking clue how to help him make a decision about what side to take, who to be, or where to find peace. All he could do was make sure Isaac knew that brothers didn't have to be blood-relations.[break][break]
Rocket didn't have to be Isaac's only found family.[break][break]
"Don't let this kill you," Caleb muttered softly. This being...everything. All of it. The weight that Isaac carried.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Isaac let himself flop into Caleb's arms. He'd spent so much of this warzone carrying burdens, one way or another. It felt nice to be carried for a change. Maybe he should let it happen more often.[break][break]

Yet it was Caleb's final words that truly caught Isaac off guard.[break][break]

Death was something that Isaac had been good at defying up until this point. Life tried. Dear Arceus, it tried. But he always came back a little bit stronger, a little bit sturdier, beaten and bruised and bent to all hell but never quite broken. It felt all too easy to laugh the warning off, tell Caleb that many had tried and many had failed.[break][break]

But would it truly be that easy?[break][break]

Depending on what he did next, three deaths awaited Isaac. He could stay with Rocket, continuing a plan doomed to failure. All the while, their cruelty would grow in reach and deepen in depravity. He'd be left either a hollow shell of who he was or a nonster finally broken into Rocket's image. In either case, he was bound to them. In either case, he was complicit. In either case, he would be dead in spirit.[break][break]

He could hide, instead. He could leave Merlo behind, just as he left Sunderland at home, as he uprooted himself and ran away for the third time in his life. He'd wear a new name, a new face, a new future, and try to do things right from a fresh slate. In exchange, it would cost everything; his badges, his friends, the past year of hard work he'd put into rehabilitating himself. Even in such safety, he would be dead in identity.[break][break]

His one chance at survival was to resist. He could demand what he'd earned back from Rocket, defiantly pushing back against the inevitable. They didn't take kindly to traitors. They would come at him with everything they had. To some, it'd be personal. To others, it'd be business. He'd never know a day of safety in what remained of his life, as Rocket relentlessly pushed for him to be dead. Not like the other deaths. Not metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically, or any other fancy way.[break][break]

They'd just end his miserable life. But only if they could catch him.[break][break]

"Hey, c'mon, buddy," Isaac said, the three deaths he faced engulfing his train of thought. "This is gonna be the death of me, one way or another."[break][break]

"All the more reason to figure out how to face it while I've got time, yeah?"[break][break]

It was a question without a response. After all, there was only one answer, and it was Isaac. He'd have the rest of his life to meditate on it. He'd think as he and Caleb parted ways. He'd think as they and their Pokemon scoured the caves for the lost and the desperate. He'd even think as he stared longingly into the rift, an escape that wasn't meant for him. Not yet, at least.[break][break]

There was still so much to be done.

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