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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"C'mon . . . don't tell me you haven't found any of them . . ."[break][break]

No amount of concentration knit in Isaac's brow could change the fact that his Pignite's search had come up empty. Baconator turned her head to Isaac, shaking his head and letting out a gruff grunt.[break][break]

Frankly, Isaac shouldn't have been surprised. This was an active warzone. People and Pokemon were crisscrossing every tunnel this cavern had to offer. Their scent trails clashed and battled just as fervently as their bodies did, with one's presence quickly being overwhelmed by the next person to fight, struggle, and bleed their way through the cave. Even in the more isolated areas of cave, the realm's own scent quickly overwhelmed that of its denizens, something stale and meaty that left Baconator shuddering as he tried to identify it.[break][break]

Even if Ashley Shepard, ana fell, or Eris Halla were still here, there was no hope of tracking them like this.[break][break]

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I get the picture," he said. "Alright, fine. You can give it a rest." Baconator, sighing in relief, rocked back onto her hind legs. "You too, Colonel." The Combusken by his side, who was having a hell of a time trying to smell with a beak, ceased his mirroring of Baconator's Odor Sleuth.[break][break]

Well, shit. Now what? Isaac sighed in frustration, punting a pebble away from him for having the audacity to be that close. "Maybe we should just bail," he muttered, casting a baleful eye towards each tunnel leading into this chamber. "League soldiers, Ultra Beasts, the Interdream mist . . . no telling what could come out of those tunnels."[break][break]

Little did he know how relevant his answers would be. Little did he know how much more relevant the pebble he kicked was. As it careened down a sloping tunnel, the echoes from each hitch and bump it hit would reach the ears of an all too familiar face. If only he knew just how close they were . . .

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Footsteps. Loud, hasty footsteps.[break][break]

Baconator's large ears meant that she heard the sound before anyone else. She reached up to grab Isaac by the scruff of his neck, not letting him just walk away from what could be a potential lead. "Huh? What's up, Baconator?" Isaac asked, following the direction of her outstretched hoof.[break][break]

It looked like yet another cave system. "You heard someone down here, didn't you?" Isaac asked, the Pignite nodding in response. The Colonel slid his way in front of the two, ready to shelter them from whatever lurked down there. Baconator promptly shoved past him, because she didn't need anyone to take care of her. The Colonel shoved her back, because he didn't need anyone telling him that he was the second banana here.[break][break]

As the two glowered towards each other, foreheads pressed close, Isaac just slipped past them. They could catch up when they sorted their crud out. Until then, he'd do a little bit of forward scouting. He'd probably be quieter without the two kicking up a fuss behind him, anyway.[break][break]

He considered announcing his presence. He also considered the fact that, if it was a League official or an Ultra Beast kicking up a fuss, he'd just be serving up his ass on a silver platter. For the time being, he decided to keep a little quieter, muffling his footsteps to the best of his ability as he traveled down this latest branch of the Ultra Deep Sea.[break][break]

What were the chances that he'd get spotted?

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Wait, was that the telltale sound of a Pokeball bouncing off of stone?[break][break]

Wait, was that a command?[break][break]

Wait, was that Julia?[break][break]

"Hey, Jules, wai-!"[break][break]

His protest was swallowed up by a big yawn. The first note of the lullaby hit his ears, and Isaac realized just how hard he'd been working. Pitched battles, targeted raids, philosophical debates, misunderstandings, eye-opening vengeance, hallucinogenic torments, miracle turnarounds, and now rescue mission after rescue mission.[break][break]

He'd fought so hard, for the wrong reasons and for the right. He'd been active for far longer than he had been on Mt. Pyre. The strain of the realm was taking its toll, even with brief, repeated breaks through the rift to catch his breath. Adrenaline and determination kept the worst of it at bay, but in the face of Lapras' lullaby it all hit him at once.[break][break]

Maybe it'd be okay if he took a nap.[break][break]

Just for a minute.[break][break]

Without a word, Isaac hit the ground like a sack of sexy potatoes.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Huh? Whuzzat?"[break][break]

Julia had basically full body tackled Isaac to the ground, and yet he still remained asleep. Just how tired was the guy? Still, he managed to come out of the situation unharmed at the cost of Julia's dignity. She was left propping his bosom up with her face, the one thing stopping his head from clonking against the ground[break][break]

Luckily, she wouldn't be left in such a bad spot for long. As Julia shook his shoulder, her muffled voice asking for him to wake up, his eyes started to flutter open. He shifted slightly, still caught in Julia's grip but easing off of her body to instead flop by her side. At least now the poor girl could breathe.[break][break]

Through the dreamlike haze, he could barely make out what he was looking at. Then her voice started to register in his ears. So that's what that Julia-colored blob was! "Silly Jules," he said, his sleepy voice stumbling over itself on every syllable. "You're not supposed to be in my dreams!"[break][break]

Then his brain caught up to the rest of his body. Isaac looked down, realizing that he was indeed laying in Julia's embrace, and promptly squirmed away to give her some personal space. He hoped to Arceus that most of his mask would hide his face. He could already feel his blush threatening to burn right through it.[break][break]

"Oh. Uh. Julia. Hey," he said, because how the fuck else did you react after waking up to accidental snuggles from the other side of the warfront? "Didn't think I'd catch you here."

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Right. Maybe lying on the floor wasn't his best move here. Isaac swirled back into a sitting position, doing his best to look cool after literally everything that happened. Did it actually make him look cool? Probably not, after that clownshoes entrance. Did it make her feel better? Clearly. The girl went from tense and worried to calm smiles and giggles.[break][break]

Maybe trying to be cool wasn't Isaac's forte. Maybe that was okay. Maybe he was doing great just the way he was.[break][break]

"Who, me? Yeah, I'm doing just fine," Isaac said, shooting Julia a confident grin. "Though something tells me I should probably be thanking a certain someone for stopping me from scrambling my brains on the floor, huh? I wonder where my mysterious hero went . . ."[break][break]

Now it was his turn to laugh a little. "It's been . . . ups and downs for me. But, I mean. When you consider where we are, that's probably the best I could ask for." He'd seen lives end. He'd seen lives saved. He'd been tormented by his past. He'd been freed by his future. At the end of it all, a new hope born from the spark of an old friend was there to see him through, her Pokeball safely tucked against his belt. "This point, I'm just trying to do what I can, where I can."[break][break]

"How about you?" The confident grin on his face shrank some, concern filling the space left behind. "You don't usually strike me as the strike first, ask questions later type. Though in a mess like this, like Arceus could I blame you for it."[break][break]

It wasn't that he was judging Julia. He just wanted to know who the hell pushed his sweetest friend into such a survival mentality.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Considering that Julia was a Ranger in an active warzone, Isaac wasn't surprised. However, he was quite dismayed. The girl was a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly. The idea of one of the more brutal Rockets he knew coming at her with lethal intent . . .[break][break]

She made it out, at least. That wasn't surprising. She was real strong, especially where it counted most. Hell, she'd even managed to escape in one piece! Some of the people Isaac had stumbled upon were run ragged, bloodied, and even in need of emergency medical attention. Julia was a little tired and a little shaken up.[break][break]

In their dreams, maybe.[break][break]

Lazuli's nervous reaction said it all, but it wasn't until he saw for himself that Isaac realized how wrong she was. The thin veil of dream mist around them started to part, and with it Isaac's rose-tinted view of Julia's condition came crumbling down. "Jules-" Isaac started, worriedly clutching her wrist to get a better look at her arm.[break][break]

The bruise was as fresh as it was massive. Still in the process of developing, its color was a nauseating swirl of red, black, purple, and yellow. Whatever he was doing could wait. Right now, his friend needed him. "You weren't kidding . . . I . . ." More of the mist swirled around him, this time a little thicker. Isaac tried to wave it away to get a better look at Julia. Whenever he did, he was given clarity for a precious moment, only for the mist to regroup and come back. "Come here. Let me see you. Please. I . . . you look like you got hurt. Bad."[break][break]

There was worry in his eyes, and a rare serious look on his face. He couldn't make out much from the brief glimpses he was given, but each one looked worse than the last. At times, he was afraid if he kept peering through the veil, he'd only find a corpse staring back at him. He couldn't shy away from such fears, though. They were just further proof that Julia needed him.[break][break]

Such was Isaac's singular focus and worry that he didn't see the cracks starting to spiderweb across the ceiling. Hopefully, even if Julia didn't take care on her approach, Lazuli would be paying enough attention for the two of them.[break][break]

Isaac's rose-tinted view wasn't the only thing coming crumbling down.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Jules . . ."[break][break]

She hated being worried over. That fact didn't surprise Isaac. She liked being the hero who helped everyone, not the one causing them worry. He tried to hide his concern, but his mask hung insincerely atop his face. He couldn't bring himself to hold his concern back, no matter how hard he tried.[break][break]

How could he? One minute, her arm was a bruise. Then it was untouched. Then it was a burn. Then it was missing entirely. Then it was a break. Denial and fear were erestling for dominance along the currents of the Interdream Zone, and Isaac had no idea what was fact and what was fiction. How could he believe Julia was okay when he couldn't even believe his own eyes?[break][break]

"I have a camp," he said. His voice was fast, almost desperate, spurred along by the cracking sound coming from the ceiling. The further the damage spread, the faster he spoke. "I've been slipping people out. The lost. The injured. The ones who're just done. I can take you there. I can let you rest. I can get you home. Please, just, let me-"[break][break]

The cracking reached a fever pitch. The weathered stone above Isaac and Julia snapped clean in half. Julia had already been helping the two to their feet, but it was too late. They'd lingered too long. That sound spelled death.[break][break]

Maybe it didn't have to for both of them.[break][break]

Isaac shoved Julia back, desperation shining in his eyes. He could only hope she'd stumble back far enough to avoid the relentless deluge that hurtled towards him. He tried to shout something before the inevitable, but any words he had to say were blocked behind a curtain of unforgiving stone.[break][break]

Silence fell where Isaac once stood.

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