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[attr="class","skullbody"]"War crimes? You really think people like me get to be protected by those?" Isaac asked. "Your Typhlosion tried to fry me to death in a cave with its strongest move. Let's say it succeeded. Who's there to speak for me? There's no Rocket embassy. There's no Rocket media. And when Rockets lash back, you take it as more cause to put us down."[break][break]

"I hid because I know my life means nothing in your books. And you haven't proven me wrong."[break][break]

Being the last man standing only meant so much when there were more men waiting in the wings. Delirium did not realize this. The Ditto let his eyes ease shut and a silly smile spread across his face, the bootleg Infinite Energy coursing through its body disappearing. It was back to wearing the guise of a regular Metagross now, and as its eyes eased open its sealed jaw dropped comedically.[break][break]

A Sceptile was already in its face, pushing it back with a heavy Leaf Blade to the side. The attack sent it spinning, Delirium scrambling to put up its dukes and get ready for a fight. His eyes pulsed with power, and for a second a Psychic looked ready to erupt from its eyes.[break][break]

It never had the chance. The Steelix clamped down before Delirium could react, and the false Metagross joined its real counterpart in unconsciousness.[break][break]

Finally able to stand, Isaac threw out a volley of Pokeballs to return them and Haru to safety. Truth be told, he hadn't planned an ambush in the slightest. If he had, he certainly would have had more than four Pokeballs on his person. However, all he had left were Echo and Halberd, and they were busy trying not to die. Isaac was going to have to get through this one alone, it seemed. He sunk into a fighting stance, scowling to smother the panic building up in the back of his mind. Maybe if he held the line, they could slip away.[break][break]

"Well? What're you waiting for? If you think I'm so bad, send 'em at me! Or are you all talk and no action?"[break][break]

Echo's horn quivered, the empathetic Ralts picking up on his distant trainer's anxiety. Oh, no. Oh no no no. That wouldn't do at all. The Ralts peeped in distress, preparing to run from his station and join the fray. However before he could, a gentle claw set upon his shoulder.[break][break]

Even as the poison left him wincing and weary, Halberd shot Echo a supportive look. A knight never left his charge behind.[break][break]

The Corvisquire hunched down, letting Echo hop onto his back. Together, they flew out to war. The poison left Halberd's wingbeats weak, but he didn't care. He'd make up for them by beating them twice as fast. Funny. If Supernova saw him right now, perhaps his old rival would mock him for falling back on copying his techniques. Let him mock. Right now, his focus was as iron as his determination.[break][break]

So, too, would be his body. Echo could feel the bird growing beneath him as the light of evolution swallowed him up. His feathers turned from soft and downy to hard and steely, each becoming as hard as a plate of armor and as sharp as a knife. His Big Pecks and thighs reinforced, jutting outward into a set of Mirror Armor. His crest hardened into a steely helmet, and the tips of his claws curved into a sextet of blades. Three times his former size and many times his former strength, the time for squirehood had passed.[break][break]

As Halberd crashed down onto the battlefield, letting out a piercing screech, he had come into his own as a Corviknight.[break][break]

"Hal . . . heh. Guess that poison's no issue when you're like this, huh, buddy?" Isaac asked, the concern in his voice melting into appreciation. The Corviknight let out a boisterous caw in response, his steely body having forced the toxins right out of his system. As if to show how much better he was doing, he swooped right towards the Sceptile, twirling gracefully to hit him with a dead-on Drill Peck.[break][break]

While he descended, Echo hopped off of his head to stare the towering Steelix in the eye. He was Isaac's smallest Pokemon, now facing off with Elinor's largest. However, he may well have been Isaac's best hope in fending the steely snake off. Raising his hands up high, he gathered a nexus of Psychic energy above the Steelix's head, having every intention of bring the power down to bring the towering snake down to earth. The bigger they were, the harder they fell![break][break]

It was time to see if the same was true for councilwomen.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]The Iron Tail sailed high, and Isaac knew he had precious little time to act. "Echo!" he called, worry surging into his voice. Once more, his Mega Brace began to glow, but the keystone nestled into it remained inert. Instead, the lattice framework started to shine, Z-Power flowing through it.[break][break]

The space between Echo and the Steelix tore open, a black hole forcing its way through the seams of reality. It shook, shuddered, and quaked, greedily inhaling everything and anything it could pull into its orbit. All momentum was drained from the Iron Tail, the attack's shine dulling and its force skidding to a halt.[break][break]

Halberd steeled himself against the incoming Frenzy Plant, his Iron Defense helping him brace himself as it pinioned his wings to his sides. He was grounded, but he wasn't out for the count. The Sceptile would be winded after this exchange, and he would only have to endure.[break][break]

And endure he did. As the black hole roared to life, the pull of the Frenzy Plant started to loosen against his body. With a thrust of his bladed wings, Halberd pushed back against the blow, sending vines and trimmings hurtling right into the black hole. They, too, only served to make it stronger and more forceful. It began to quiver unstably, fed to its very limits by the actions of their foes.[break][break]

Echo's earlier plan of attack had been abandoned. All of his focus now was on guiding this black hole as it slowly, unstably condensed down into a single black speck.[break][break]

That was when it ruptured, tearing back open to unleash an overwhelming tide of psychic might right towards the Steelix.[break][break]

BLACK HOLE BARRAGE - PSYCHIC-TYPE: incoming moves are nullified then countered toward a foe of ralts' choosing. the more moves nullified the stronger this attack is.[break][break]

"Coming in alive. That's rich. Was I coming in alive when your Typhlosion tried to incinerate me? As he asked his question, he cast a baleful glare to the gravity-crushed remains of Elinor's Poisoned Barb. "Or maybe when you tried to poison me?"[break][break]

"And after I never even lifted a finger towards you. For shame, Councilwoman."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Echo landed atop the Steelix's head, throwing up his arms in a little "ta-da!" pose. Were the Steelix not actually fainted, this could have been a very risky position for Echo to end up in. However, for the time being, he was perfectly happy to stand atop his perch, waving his arms cheerfully in Isaac's direction.[break][break]

"Echo, focus," he gently chided, before turning his attention back to Elinor. "If I fought how you fought, councilwoman, those two Mega Metagross would have rushed you down before you could even draw a Pokeball. And yet here you stand, even when they have far more than belief telling them you're dangerous."[break][break]

"I can't fault you for caution. But hypocrisy? Gladly."[break][break]

Halberd flew through the air, startled. He wasn't used to this newer, large body, and certainly hadn't expected an enemy Sceptile to turn this battle into an impromptu rodeo. His flailing flaps meant that he was unable to stabilize properly, letting the Sceptile steer him pretty much wherever he wanted.[break][break]

It was time to put a stop to that. Echo focused a burst of Psychic energy towards Sceptile, trying to use a rush of force to push it out of its impromptu saddle. Whether the attack connected or missed, it would snap Halberd out of his distress. Were the attack to connect, Halberd would take advantage of the separation to try and rocket into Sceptile. Were it to miss, he would pull his wings to his side, aiming to use his superior weight to end up on top of Sceptile either way.[break][break]

No matter the path taken there, the end result would be similar; Halberd aimed to use his superior weight to drive Sceptile into the ground with a Body Press.[break][break]

"I gotta give you some credit, you know," Isaac mused. "You've trained 'em well. Y'know. Besides the part where they're all too willing to murder on a hunch."[break][break]

"But I guess that's just par for the course for you League authorities, huh?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Echo tilted his head in confusion as Elinor seemed to scream his name. That lasted for about five seconds before the Steelix trundled into action. His launch left Echo flying, and that left both Isaac and Elinor scrambling to safe their beloved Pokemon.[break][break]

The good news for Isaac was that Echo was a lot smaller than an entire Sceptile. He made a run for one of the climbing ropes by the rift, hopping a little as his shoe was left behind in Elinor's goo ball. He hanging off of the with one arm and caught Echo against his chest with the other, looking for all the world like some kind of swashbuckler. The Ralts peeped cheerfully and snuggled into his chest.[break][break]

The good news for Elinor was that she didn't need to follow Isaac's lead. Instead, the Steelix was able to do the catching for her, his body bracing itself against Halberd's Body Press. Halberd fluttered back, ready to charge in for another Body Press, only to be cut off by a sudden shout of "Wait!"[break][break]

From his semi-aerial perch, Isaac could see that the Steelix had Sceptile in his jaws. "Let him set it down first," Isaac said. A particularly painful hit would either slacken Steelix's jaw and send the Sceptile hurtling down to Earth, or cause it to clench up and hurt the Sceptile far more than Isaac could have intended. In no case was fighting in this condition going to end well.[break][break]

The Corviknight glared holes into the Steelix's eyes as it flew past, but let it pass with a nod of acknowledgment. It flew back towards Isaac's side without a further word.[break][break]

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac sighed in relief as the situation wound itself down. At this point, the worst aggression on display was the tense stare-off between Halberd and Elinor's Steelix. Their hackles were raised, born of loyalty and protectiveness for their trainers, but neither was willing to jeopardize the tense peace by throwing the first punch.[break][break]

Isaac met Elinor's gaze in turn, but not to stare her down. Instead, he shot her a nod, a brief acknowledgment and acceptance of her thanks.[break][break]

Maybe in most situations, he'd leave it at that. It wasn't like speaking with a councilwoman was on Isaac's bucket list. However, the quiet melancholy of a freshly-settled battlefield held an irresistible lure. Rather than walk away as he intended, Isaac found himself sitting back on a nearby rock.[break][break]

"I know what it's like to lose a Pokemon," he said, his quiet voice still the loudest thing on the battlefield. "Half a year ago, I lost one I thought would be with me 'til the bitter end. We were in over our heads, and she tried to protect me just like she always did."[break][break]

"I've made peace with her choice." Isaac's grip tightened around the last Pokeball on his belt, any remaining tension ebbing out of his body. "But . . . that doesn't change the fact that I refuse to cause anyone that pain, if I've got any say in it."[break][break]

"I'm not always so lucky. But today, I was."[break][break]

There were no higher-ups observing. There was no life or death situation pushing him into doing something he'd regret. There wasn't even an unlucky accident that brought tragedy in its wake. There was only Isaac, the chance to choose vengeance over mercy presented on a silver platter.[break][break]

He soundly rejected it. Because no matter how many times this world kicked him in the nuts and spit in his eye, he was never going to give up hope that it could be better. If it was going to prove him wrong, it needed to stop being such a coward and kill him already.[break][break]

Until then, he would press onwards towards the future he wanted, even if he had to make it with his own two hands.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac had long accepted that he was a softer side of Rocket, but he'd never had that fact called out so directly before. He certainly didn't expect that callout to come from Rocket's biggest enemies. The slightest bit of a blush poked out from beneath his mask. "Yeah. Well, someone's gotta be, right?"[break][break]

He sighed, casting an eye out to the makeshift campsite he'd set up. "Would you believe me if I said it took ending up here to make me this soft?" he said, voice quiet and contemplative. "I know, I know. Sure as hell not how you'd expect things to go in an org like Rocket. But I went from a loner with no prospects to being surrounded by people. Had no choice but to start opening up again, y'know?"[break][break]

"I forgot how good it felt to care." A small, sad smile spread across his face. "I sure picked a hell of a place to learn that, huh?"[break][break]

Deep in the cave, people important to both Elinor and Isaac waged a senseless war over who could wake God and expedite the destruction of the multiverse. Isaac wanted so badly to condemn the whole thing, and yet he knew his words meant nothing. Rocket would never stop throwing the world into disarray so Walsh could have a fraction more power. How could he condemn the League's escalations and excesses when the people he loved were the reason why?[break][break]

"I promised myself this life wouldn't break me." Pain laced itself into his smile, despite his best attempts at hiding it. "Maybe it already has. Just in a different way."[break][break]

At Elinor's apology, Isaac turned to Echo and nodded. The Ralts teleported over to the weary councilwoman, splashing a cloud of healing Life Dew onto her and her weary team. "And there's mine," he said, holding out an arm for Echo to teleport back onto. "That should make us even."[break][break]

Yet an apology wasn't all she wanted to trade. She also wanted to know Isaac's name, which was immediately off the table. Still, for the unexpected honor shown by the councilwoman, he could play ball. Just a little bit.[break][break]

"You can call me Blackjack."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Ha! Somebody gets it!" Isaac clapped once, reclining back against a nearby rock. Rocks were comfy, right? Echo made sure to quickly float a cushion underneath him so his casualness didn't come at the expense of his spinal cord.[break][break]

"See, everyone thinks it's so mysterious and edgy. Got a cool ring to it, y'know?" He turned to look towards the ceiling, as if trying to see stars in the crystals lining the Ultra Deep Sea. "But really, it just means I hit 22 and went bust."[break][break]

He snickered a little at the cynical joke at his own expense. "Devil's in the details, eh?"[break][break]

Their little teasing back and forth was nice. It was safe. Even with a councilwoman, Isaac was fluent in the language of sass. It was easy to forget just who he was talking to and carry himself away on a raft of easygoing banter.[break][break]

When Elinor's more sincere offer broke through the veil, that safety went flying out the window. Isaac blinked rapidly from sheer shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His heart started to pound inside of his chest. His skin started to pale. He'd successfully proven his honor and integrity to Elinor, but at what cost?[break][break]

Perhaps he'd proven himself a little too well.[break][break]

"That's one bold offer," he said, a slight bit of strain beneath his voice. "What, you telling me the League's on the lookout for burnout renegades now?"

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