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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Almost wasn't. Didn't realize we weren't meeting at the usual spot."[break][break]

Even after becoming more embedded into Rocket, there were parts of their training that Zev still compartmentalized. Most of their grappling practice had still been in the confines of Zev's own home, as had any of their practice for the Flying Sword art. Only Pokemon battles tended to take place elsewhere, and that was because Zev wasn't about to fuck with his furniture.[break][break]

"So, what's today's plan, then?" Isaac asked. "Giving the gym circuit another shot? Getting a workout in for your Pokemon? Some kinda SPECTRA training preview?" There were only a few ideas for the kind of training that would require meeting on the sub.[break][break]

If this even was training. There was a distinct possibility that Zev had something else up his sleeves, but what that may be he was unsure. Isaac made a mental note to be prepared for anything.

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"None of those things," Zev answered.[break][break]

While he was a consummate liar, he needed Isaac to obey him that day without any questions asked — easier said than done, considering the blonde's tendencies. Yet honesty could go a long way when applied with care.[break][break]

Retreating to his duffel bag, Zev removed an object from a side pocket: a combat knife, still safely in its sheath. He handed this hilt-first to Isaac.[break][break]

"Careful you don't cut up the mats today. I don't want to have to replace them."[break][break]

That was the only instruction Zev gave while he removed his shirt. A network of scars, both old and new, covered his skin, the latest one from the stab wound on his lower abdomen. Though the altercation with Caleb Harcourt happened a month ago, the scar tissue was still new and fresh.[break][break]

Zev made his way to the center of the sparring area, then turned to face Isaac and fell into a defensive stance. But instead of raising his arms, he simply let them hang at his sides.[break][break]

"Attack me with the knife."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]For a second, Isaac wondered what kind of weird dream he'd slipped into. Then he remembered that the nightmare where Zev told him to stab people and the nightmare where Zev started stripping were usually two different nightmares.[break][break]

Then he processed that the person Zev told him to stab was him.[break][break]

Typically, training exercises like these used rubber knives. Zev tended to be more live fire than most, but even he had his limits. Besides, his "defensive stance" didn't even have his arms raised up. If something went wrong, the man's blood would have been on Isaac's hands. Was he that convinced he was invincible? Even after what Caleb Harcourt had done?[break][break]

Or was this some kind of two-pronged loyalty test? Was he trying to see if Isaac was loyal enough to obey even his most insane order yet? Or was he seeing if Isaac was loyal enough to not stab him, despite the chain of command pressuring him onwards?[break][break]

Maybe something was completely wrong here.[break][break]

Isaac held the knife, his expression unreadable. And then, settling into something resembling a fighting stance, he started to speak.[break][break]

"What flavor cupcakes did Gwen bring to the Howling last week?"

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Zev stared at Isaac, caught off guard by the other man's nonsense statement. Isaac often said the stupidest shit, but this one had to be the most outlandish yet.[break][break]

"What are you talking about?" Zev demanded, his frown a mix of confusion and irritation. "Nenet brought an assortment of croissants last week."[break][break]

He remembered them vividly, a fresh batch of a dozen homemade croissants. Each one had been split in half and filled with thick cream, its flavor subtle, not too sweet. Different berries brought tartness or sweetness to the pastries. Topping them off had been a dusting of powdered sugar and thin lines of chocolate icing.[break][break]

There was no way Isaac Merlo, of all people, would have forgotten.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"And some League psy-op trying to yes, and a cold reading out of me wouldn't have known that."[break][break]

A confident smirk spread across Isaac's face. If someone had bodyjacked Zev, or sent some kind of impersonator to try and mess with Isaac's head, he would've likely tripped over that hyper-specific question. He would have never been prepared for the entire thing to be the verbal equivalent of a shell game.[break][break]

"If you're gonna give me an order that batshit crazy, I'm gonna make sure you're you before carrying it out," he clarified. "Compliments to the chef on those croissants, by the way. Nenet really outdid herself on those."[break][break]

They'd established that Zev was in his right mind. That only made his order all the stranger in Isaac's eye. "So. One last question before we get started. Why are you asking me to stab you?"

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Count on Isaac to determine whether Zev was an imposter or not using a completely ridiculous yet effective method. Zev shook his head, impressed and exasperated.[break][break]

"Clever," he said in rare praise of the younger man. "And I'll let her know."[break][break]

Isaac's next question was a very good one, but Zev felt that a demonstration would be a more effective explanation than any words. So he tapped his chest, right over his heart — the same place where Michael Navidson's Iron Valiant had hit him the other night.[break][break]

"If my hunch is right, you'll see as soon as you strike," was all Zev offered. "Just do it. And put all your intent into it. Don't hold back, or you might actually injure me."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Something akin to pride lit up in Isaac's chest as he earned a rare compliment from Zev.[break][break]

It promptly faded when, in lieu of an explanation, Zev simply clarified his order; come at him, right in the chest, with genuine killing intent. That wasn't any less crazy. If anything, it was crazier. A part of Isaac wondered if this was still some sort of loyalty test, and if Zev was just going to give him a walloping for daring to turn such intent against him.[break][break]

Yet if he was trying to test Isaac's loyalty, did his initial hesitance and bout of impromptu spygames not already prove it? His first test came from arriving on time. His second came from ensuring Zev meant what he said. The third test lay right in front of him, and it came at the point of a knife.[break][break]

It wouldn't work without intent. Whatever Zev did next, he had to mean it.[break][break]

Caleb Harcourt tried to atone for his sins and was hunted like a dog by his own brother for it. Eris Halla was reduced to a victim and a plaything, her brain forever scarred by people like Zev. Ashley Shepard, one of the lights of his life, was being broken and twisted into a murderer before his very eyes. Even he found himself shackled to Rocket's seedy underbelly, and who was clutching onto that chain but the best mentor and biggest enemy he could ever ask for?[break][break]

Isaac spun the roulette wheel of mixed emotions that Zev made him feel, over and over again, until he hit the jackpot. Hate. Hate. Hate. His grip on the knife tightened, Isaac a conduit between Zev's intentions and the blade's. "I'm doing this for you," he repeated, half as a reminder to Zev and half to prevent himself from being lost in this indulgence.[break][break]

Then, in the blink of an eye, he surged forward. His blade shot for the agreed-upon spot in a blur of loyalty and loathing.[break][break]

For a brief, precious moment, Isaac was the protégé Zev had always been denied.

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Zev saw the flash in Isaac's eyes seconds before he lunged. What he saw there was true killing intent: pure and unfiltered hate. For the single heartbeat between the kickoff and the impact, Zev was proud of Isaac.[break][break]

Prouder than he'd ever been before.[break][break]

It took all of Zev's willpower not to flinch away or block the attack. The knife struck true, right above his heart.[break][break]

The metal snapped in two, ricocheting off the expanse of dark crystal that spread across his chest in the blink of an eye. Even under the fitness center's glaring lights, they barely gleamed. Instead, their blackness seemed otherworldly, more akin to the cold void of space than any earthly gem.[break][break]

Zev looked down at his chest. He imagined the crystalline carapace disappearing, and — as if in response to his will — it receded into his flesh with barely an itch, his skin restored. No mark or blemish remained as an indication of what happened.[break][break]

When Zev met Isaac's eyes again, the Beast grinned in triumph.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Zev's body language said danger. Zev's smile said pride. Isaac was unsure which of the two reactions he felt more ashamed of.[break][break]

He didn't have time to process it. Not when an even more shocking revelation took its place. Unexpected resistance left the hilt of the blade falling from Isaac's grip. The snap of metal was underlined by a high pitched ping, reverberating through the walls of the training room.[break][break]

Where a wound should have been, a solid chunk of negative space took its place.[break][break]

"Holy shit, Zev." Isaac's eyes were wide and his voice was hushed, his hatred giving way to a cocktail of disbelief, fear, and awe. The carapace retracted into his skin without leaving a single blemish behind. Under layer? Over layer? For the life of him, Isaac couldn't tell.[break][break]

"You're an Avatar." It was the only explanation Isaac could think of for such a sudden and terrifying change. But what Pokemon could it have even been? None of the legendaries Isaac remembered could perform a feat like this. Something strange had happened here. Something different. Something fascinating.[break][break]

"When? Who?"[break][break]

"How?"

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Zev relaxed out of this stance, pleased beyond measure. He rubbed at his bare chest where the crystal had been, still expecting to feel something beneath his skin — an unnatural hardness, or some other abnormality. But nothing was out of place.[break][break]

He did not know if he was an Avatar. Chu-e Choi hadn't been one, according to Cillian, and unlike other Avatars, whose patrons walked alongside them, Zev did not know where Necrozma was. But like hell he was going to admit that to Isaac.[break][break]

What he would admit — because Cillian had written the report, and word would pass from the rest of the upper brass to the lower ranks — were the when, the who, and the how.[break][break]

"A few days ago, bryan delarosa and I went to Ever Grande City to seize Chu-e Choi. Underboss Quinn had received an encrypted message that the League was attempting to undo his condition," Zev explained. "Are you familiar with what that was?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Clearly, Zev hadn't been expecting to be so intact after his little trick. He rubbed his chest as if someone had just made him aware of the fact that he had skin.[break][break]

Wait. Did that mean Zev didn't even know this was going to work? "You know, there were probably a thousand other ways we could have tested this," Isaac said. "You could've died if that didn't work right." Who knew? Maybe the Pokemon that had altered him was afraid of knives.[break][break]

Said Pokemon dated all the way back to Chu-e Choi. Isaac's blood ran cold. He resisted to ask if the man had been returned to his home safely, knowing damn well that if one more bad thing happened to Eris Halla he was going to scream. Instead, he focused on the other important thing any Rocket worth their salt knew about Chu-e.[break][break]

"Necrozma . . ."[break][break]

It was only appropriate that one of the dangerous, most cruel men in Hoenn now bore the mark of one of its greatest tragedies. A poet couldn't have written a more perfect pairing of man and beast.[break][break]

The good news was that, if Chu-e was truly freed from his affliction, maybe he and Eris would finally have a shot at a normal life. The bad news was that to Zev, this was less an affliction and more an eagerly received blessing. A defanged Chu-e would have no interest in causing another tragedy as horrid as the Darkest Day. Zev Harcourt? If he saw that he stood to benefit? If what few things he held dear would be spared the worst of the devastation?[break][break]

"I'm aware."[break][break]

The past few days may have spelled the beginning of the end for the Hoenn region.

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"The plan was fairly simple: Delarosa was to use his powers as Xerneas' Avatar to cure Chu-e first. The most important thing was to prevent the League from figuring it out for themselves, and getting their hands on Necrozma."[break][break]

Zev assumed Isaac knew the doom that could befall Hoenn should the League possess such formidable power. Whether it compared to the doom Zev himself could bring to the region was another matter entirely.[break][break]

"It worked," the Beast continued to explain. "Choi is back to normal again, and now Necrozma is with me."[break][break]

He spread his hands, and the dark crystals manifested down the length of his arms until they covered his fingers in razor sharp claws. Zev flexed them experimentally.[break][break]

The look on his face was one of sheer delight. But his smile was wrong in all its wickedness, and his eyes were bright like the distant stars: cold and cruel.[break][break]

"The crystals appear automatically to block fatal attacks. It happened last night when a League officer's Pokémon tried to kill me, but I needed to be sure. So good job trying to kill me, too."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]So Chu-e Choi was cured? Eris Halla might want to hear that. The poor girl could use some good news every now and then, even if it was a mere side effect of Team Rocket's mad ambitions.[break][break]

He wondered if Rocket could have done this at any time, and simply waited until Necrozma's host was no longer under their control. He wondered what was stopping the League from doing it while they had Chu-e under their custody. Were they incapable of doing what Rocket could? Or did they simply not care about leaving the man stuck as a living seal?[break][break]

Isaac wasn't sure which answer scared him most.[break][break]

Zev wouldn't care. Zev simply cared about what this power could do for him, and being a piece of emergency shielding was just one of his many new abilities. He was also able to sprout growths of crystal where he pleased, using a pair of wicked looking claws to demonstrate. Already, his control over the ability was impressive.[break][break]

However, it left Isaac with questions. Was it the lethality that lead to the crystals sprouting? Zev was unharmed, so it couldn't have been a direct biological reaction. At the same time, Zev hadn't bothered to start small, instead escalating all the way to being stabbed by a knife. Did intent without danger cause any reaction? Would being very, very hostile in Zev's general direction get his crystalline hackles raised? Or did there have to be a strike thrown? Was it truly autonomous? Or was it instead a conscious choice on Necrozma's part? Did the crystals need to migrate from his arms to provide their protection? Or could another set sprout anew?[break][break]

As Zev spoke for longer than usual, Isaac decided to get a head start on helping Zev gather more danger. In this case, that entailed lobbing a quick hook right towards the distracted man's chin. Whether the attack ended up landing or not, he would quickly blurt out "Just another test!" It was the least he could do to make sure Zev didn't start beating the shit out of him.

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