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[attr="class","textbox"]Gaming had never been Isaac's strongest suit. That went doubly so for the massive, online worlds some practically lived him. Way back in the past, before he'd struck it out on his own, El Sunderland had convinced to him to join one and have their back as a healer. A controller through the window made it clear to both of them that it wasn't Isaac's strongest suit.[break][break]

Now that they were reconnected, Isaac figured the least he could do was reach out an olive branch on that front. El even offered to share their account for a few, so Isaac could see what the game was like at the high end before sinking actual money in. It was much appreciated; the idea of clearing out another basement full of Rattata was enough to make Isaac's eyes glaze over.[break][break]

Instead, Isaac got to pilot a tricked out account sitting pretty at the level cap. Emphasis on pretty; of course El was the type to spend almost as much time agonizing over character creation as they were to play. Not that Isaac was much better, except instead of an ethereal beauty in an immaculately-arranged gearset he'd have probably made some Waluigiesque abomination.[break][break]

Regardless, Waluigis probably got less raid invites than bards. Isaac cocked an eyebrow at the notice as it came up, but before he could select it he noticed the username was quite familiar. Okay, sure, so the specific name wasn't anything he immediately recognized. It didn't change the fact that, by this point there were some fairly obvious recurring motifs to go off of.[break][break]

To say it had been a while was an understatement. It turned out getting sucked into weird medieval post-apocalyptic Galar, investigating the disappearance of his kidnapped brother-in-arms immediately after, nearly getting slaughtered by his former mentor for digging too deep into the matter, forming a bond with a legendary Pokemon, and running himself ragged across a warzone to try and rebuild the trust his true identity had shattered was busy work.[break][break]

There was still a lot unsaid. There were still some things better unsaid. Both the guilt and shame of his past mistakes and the buried rage at Josh's simmered beneath the surface. A part of him still wondered if those things were intertwined, if it had all been his fault one way or the other.[break][break]

In a fucked-up way, it just meant they were even. They each had their regrets. They each had their buried secrets. They'd each hurt each other. Besides, he'd be a hypocrite if he dug his heels in and refused to move on. It was time to let go. Maybe it was serendipity, to boot. Getting that first uncertainty out of the way in a virtual space would make this all so much easier.[break][break]

Behind two levels of obscured identity, he threw caution to the wind and accepted the invite.

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[attr="class","textbox"]The good news was Isaac had until the party formed (a task easier said than done, with his unfamiliarity with the controls) to gather his thoughts and prepare what he had to say. The bad news . . .[break][break]

"So you're telling me we make music to buff people, and that's why it's extra important this character has an ass that doesn't quit." Maybe Isaac could have spent more time preparing if he didn't need to clear up essential gameplay information with El Sunderland's help.[break][break]

By the time Isaac had gotten a crash course on rotations and a 25 page RP background explained to him, he was out of time. The party had been fully formed, he'd bumbled his way over to the meetup point, and he'd officially run out of distractions. Now it was time to pay the piper.[break][break]

A part of him found the goal of the level (did people still call them levels?) ironic. Sure enough, he could feel the Pressure of a pair of eyes settling onto the back of his head. "Really, big guy?" he asked as mist wafted through El's secret base. "You pick now of all times to show up?"

It seemed he and El would be having a guest over today.[break][break]

Okay. Now he was truly out of distractions. Isaac took a deep sigh, steeled his nerve, and enabled ingame chat. "Huh. Small world. Didn't realize it was you." He did. But acting casual was of utmost importance here. "Been trying the game out on my little sib's account. Didn't expect you'd be on their friend list. Small world, huh?"[break][break]

"Thanks for the invite. Should help me get my mind off stuff after being fired."[break][break]

With that, the coded message had been made. In a public lobby, too much detail could get real messy, real fast. However, to someone who knew Isaac's former line of work, this "firing" would be a heavy weight lifted off of both of their shoulders.