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It was a comforting sound, the rack rack rack of the knock on the door. The door had a doorbell, and an intercom, and a camera. It had all of the best security systems that money could buy. Even Jensen might have had trouble slipping through that door undetected. But then again, Jensen could only walk through walls, he couldn't turn invisible. And someone was watching the door, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

The eyes had been watching for months, waiting, knowing the day would come. But before that waiting, they had been watching for years. They had seen happiness, and sorrow, and joy, and heartbreak. When it came to that all they could do was wait, their owner waited with baited breath.

They knew the knocking would come eventually. And as time went on, they never stopped believing that the day would come. That they would finally see what they had been waiting for all along.

It wasn't just that she wanted to see her son's face again. She could see him on the news, he couldn't keep himself off the television, it would seem. But his notoriety had done little to change her outlook on life. She was positive that no matter what happened, things would always get better. And she knew that he would come home. It wasn't about seeing his face.

And it wasn't about hearing his voice. She heard his voice on the news, as well. He had given a speech, one that had rallied the city against the vassals that had put his sister's life in danger a couple of months before. It was a good speech, simple, but he had always been a simple boy.

Whenever he got knocked down, he would stand back up. Usually, he would say nothing. And she would watch helplessly, but certain that someday, it had to get better.

And waiting for him wasn't all she did. She had two little girls and a new husband to see to. Roy had been undamaged by what had happened at InCorp, and had continued work as if nothing had changed. But for Sera, something had changed. And then Sera was taken, and within two days, Rufus and Isaac had gotten her back. And once again, Sera had changed.

The girl was less bright than she had been before. Once, she could illuminate a room with her radiance. Now she was just a little less brilliant. It wasn't the physical abuse, she had endured that as much as Isaac. But something was different now.

But in between caring for her two little girls, taking care of Roy (he was a busy man), and making sure Sera was going to be okay, her eyes watched the front door. She waited for the day her son would come home again. She waited so that they could finally be a family again. And she knew that it would happen, sooner or later, because she always believed that the future could be just a little bit brighter.

And finally that day came. She dropped the book she had been reading on the floor when she saw his face on the camera. The door didn't used to have so much security, but after the Collar came crashing through the wall, and they remodeled, she figured it was a worthwhile investment.

Before he even reached up to knock, she was on her feet, scurrying to be there as soon as she could. She wanted to see for herself what her son looked like as a man. He'd always been strong, and she knew he would be a good man. But she needed to see his face, to know, to be absolutely sure that everything would be okay.

Isaac Walker was falling. Or perhaps it would be better to say that he was going to fall. He was already off the edge, beyond salvation, falling backwards towards the abyss. Above him, he could still see the skyline of a city that stood by and watched him plummet. He was frozen in a moment of time, suspended still in the air, staring into the face of the only person who could have saved him. The lupine form hunched over the edge of a building, staring down at him with contempt.

He couldn't move, but that didn't mean he didn't know what was down below him. Without looking to see, he knew that the streets below were bathed in scorching flames, rivers of lava running where the people should be. Isaac's hand was outstretched helplessly towards the wolf, who held his paws behind his back mockingly. There was never a time when he would've saved him, and there never would be.

Ashes and embers hung like stars in the air around him, and he could feel the heat making its way up from street level. Behind the wolf, he could see silhouettes, they were on their way to save him. But they were too late. The city was burning, and there wasn't anyone who could stop it.

Isaac had been the only person present when Jin's life had ended, and Isaac knew that chances are, his light would be extinguished the same way. The only one there to keep him company the same one who wanted nothing to do with him.

A day ago, death seemed like a salvation. Not that he hadn't been afraid, but sometimes, the emptiness outweighed the fear. Death would be the quickest way out, but he couldn't do it himself. He couldn't let Edgar win, and if Isaac offed himself, that would be exactly what it meant. The monster had won.

But Isaac was free from Edgar's grasp now, the looming titan that had plagued him for as long as he could remember. He had shaken free, and now he realized, almost too late, that his life could have meaning. And along with that hope came another emotion.

Terror.

And as Isaac realized that terror, he began to fall. Embers danced in the air tauntingly, free to fly chaotically, rising up and away from Isaac as he descended towards the flames. Isaac could see those flames reflected in Tyloki's eyes, the orange glow the only light by which to see by, and as he fell, he saw Tyloki began to smile. The wolf was burning eyes and orange fangs, he watched Isaac fall, waiting to see the moment of impact.

It was a triumph, it was what the wolf wanted. They had both wanted Isaac to die. But not anymore. Isaac wanted to live. Their goals were no longer aligned. And the wolf would keep pushing Isaac until it ended this way. Alone, in the fire, staring into the pleased face of a demon who had finally gotten his wish.

Isaac didn't scream on his way down. That would be implying that he hadn't seen this coming. In truth, there was no other way it could have ended. He lost sight of Tyloki as the fire spread around him, but he never hit the ground. He fell through the flames, and now the city was gone. He couldn't see anything. But he could feel the fire burning his skin, and now he did scream. But there was no sound.

He screamed silently through the inferno. This was the way it would end. He wanted to live, which made the possibility of dying the most paralyzing fear he could imagine. Tyloki would lead him into those flames, and it would never stop. The fire would never end. It never could. And the flames didn't stop. Not until the rain started. Rain.

"Found ya." Rain said, Isaac recognized his light, husky voice, even before he opened his eyes. He could feel Rain's forest of whiskers tickling his cheek, and it roused him from his nightmare.

He didn't open his eyes to the hospital, but instead, to the world of Indicia. He shivered and his heart raced as he checked for signs of a burn from the fire, but it truly had just been a dream. Rain's muzzle was practically pressed to his face, and the otter's paws held his arms firm against the ground. Isaac stared up, controlled his breathing, and forced himself to calm down.

"Found me? I don't even know...where I am." Isaac spoke slowly, looking around. Definitely Indicia Land. Before the dream, he'd been fighting Dominic. It had been a draw. "I didn't know it worked like that."

"It's been a few days, and you haven't woken up yet. I haven't seen hide nor hair from Tyloki since he cooked..." Rain trailed off, acted like he needed to sneeze, and then continued on a different topic. "So I figured I would come here and see if I could find you. And guess what?"

"You did." Isaac said with a bit of mock cheer. "Wait, I haven't woken up yet? You mean, like, I'm in a coma."

"Sort of, yeah. Sometimes, Collars get stuck in their heads. Now that doesn't mean anyone that's asleep or in a coma is here. But I had a hunch, and it panned out." Rain shifted a bit. He was sitting with his legs straddled around Isaac's waist. Evidently, he'd had to use his entire body to keep Isaac still while he woke him.

"And you found me, one thing led to another, and here we are?" Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow at the otter atop him.

"Precisely. But you're awake now. Well, you're awake here. You still need to wake up in your world. That should be easy, now, though. Since we're just inside your head." Rain explained.

"I had no idea you could come inside my head. I thought it was just Tyloki." Isaac glanced around for any signs of the wolf.

"It's a bit of a gray area. I mean, it's not like I've got anyone around to explain how it works, either. Indicia just kind of are. The rules are just what the rules are. No one to complain to about that. Suffice it to say, yes. I can be here." Rain shrugged, not wanting to waste the effort on trying to explain it more fully.

"You haven't seen Tyloki around? The last thing I remember, he was..." Isaac could see clearly what had happened in the Underway. Tyloki had stepped in and had been utterly destroying Dominic. "Why'd he help me? He always says he won't help me."

"You'll have to ask him that yourself, Isaac. But knowing him, it probably had more to do with him than you."

"What happened after the fight? What's happened while I've been asleep?" Isaac thought about asking Rain to get off of him, but decided that after being in a nightmare for a few days, a little physical contact was welcome.

"I'm sure everyone will want to go over it with you once you wake up. But long story short, Dominic is alive, and in custody. Sera is fine, but she's waiting for you to wake up. I think Rufus is awake now, too. So all in all, I'd call it a happy ending. You won." Rain grinned toothily.

"I won?" Isaac whispered the words, as a question. He was struck by a sudden warmth in his belly. "I won." For the first time since the incident, Isaac was able to feel the relief of having saved Sera. The worry that had consumed him washed away, and he put everything else from his mind but those two words, and everything they brought with them.

"There's something else that you need to know. But I think it'd be better if someone else explains it." Rain said, sliding sideways off of Isaac's stomach.

"Is it bad?" Isaac asked, rolling onto his side to keep looking at Rain.

"That's open for interpretation." The otter said, looking sideways as he spoke.

"Rain." Isaac reached out and placed his hand on the otter's knee. "If there's bad news, I can't think of someone I'd rather hear it from. Definitely not Canaan or Tyloki. And if it's that bad, I don't....I don't want Miria or Sera or anyone else to see me as weak. So, I'd like it if you could tell me."

Rain swallowed and looking down at Isaac's hand on his knee. Isaac couldn't know how much effect the affection would have, he didn't know how it turned the otter into putty. "Okay.." He said, and he took Isaac's hand into his paw. "It's about Tyloki. When you were in the hospital, the doctors were monitoring your connection with him. I guess that's just how their machines work."

Isaac let Rain hold his hand between two paws as he spoke.

"Normally, I guess, a Collar and their Indicia have two distinct vital signatures. They're two beings, with two lives. If one dies, the other goes on living, at least physically. But the doctors noticed something different about you. You and Tyloki, your vital signatures are right on top of each other. They're not sure why, but they are convinced that your lives now hinge on each other." The otter gently squeezed Isaac's hand as he explained.

Isaac's breath caught in his throat. Their lives hinged on each other? At first, it was terrifying. Tyloki was crazy, overzealous, and uncontrollable. But as his mind ran through what it really meant, Isaac's lips spread into a smile.

"I didn't think you'd like hearing that. Or is this like a maniacal smile?" Rain sounded confused.

"I didn't. But, think about it. If one of us dies, we both die? I've got good news, then. I'm too scared to die, now. And Tyloki can't throw me into the thick of things hoping I get myself killed anymore. He'll have to work with me, unless he's willing to throw his own life away." Isaac explained.

"I guess thats one way of looking at it. But I don't know if Tyloki is gonna be happy about it." The otter scratched the back of his head.

"I'm going to be fine, Rain." Isaac smiled at the otter. "It's all going to be okay. Now, I better wake up. I'm probably getting pretty damn hungry."

The room was empty when Isaac woke. It was a sight that he had sort of become used to, over the past year. A quiet, steady _beep_was the only noise in the hospital room, and no one was sitting by his bedside, waiting anxiously for him to wake up. He spent a few moments shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight blasting in through the wall-sized window on the far end of the room, but once his eyes adjusted, it didn't take him long to notice the note left on his bedside table.

I told you not to end up in the hospital again. You need to cool it with the heroics, daredevil. Call me sometime, when you want to do something a little less dangerous.

Isaac smiled as he read the note. Only one person called him daredevil, and besides, he recognized the phone number. It was such a Miria thing to do, leaving her phone number when she knew he already had it. And the note told him to call her. He'd have to do just that, when he got out of the hospital.

Remembering now that he _was_in the hospital, Isaac checked over himself for wounds. He'd been hit in the shoulder and stomach, so he lifted his gown to see. All he found were small circular scars, the one on his stomach slightly larger than the one on his shoulder. They had already healed pretty much completely. It shouldn't have been a surprise. Healing damaged flesh was a simple prospect for modern medicine. The only reason his first trip to the hospital had been so severe was because of the Aer infection.

Isaac was also surprised to find that he didn't feel weak or exhausted, as he would have expected after waking from a coma. He had learned somewhere that the body would atrophy if left unused for a time. It was possible he hadn't been unconscious for long enough for that to happen, but he figured it was more likely magic.

Bless that Collared accelerated healing.

Alright, so, if nobody was waiting for him to wake up, he would just have to go surprise them. As he stood up and glanced around for his clothes, he was practically tackled back into his bed by Sera.

She squealed as she embraced him, and she buried her face into his shoulder. He managed to stay standing, and all he could do was wrap his arms tightly around her and wonder which god it was exactly he should be thanking for saving her. Hearing a sniffling noise, he placed his hands on her shoulder and gently pushed her off, and found that she was crying.

Sera was smiling, and tears were streaming down her face, and seeing that joy brought tears to Isaac's eyes as well.

"Izzy." She said through a sniffle, blinking tears from her eyes.

"Sera. I'm so sorr-" Isaac started to say, but Sera punched him on his arm. Hard.

"Shut up, you idiot!" She whispered, but she was smiling at him.

"Uh, Sera. These hospital gowns are...quite modest. So, maybe take a step back? It's just a little weird." Isaac said, cursing the hospital attire. He swore it was just a way to embarrass him, personally.

"That's more like the Isaac I know." Sera took a step back, looking her brother over. No matter what had changed, he was still her brother. Always would be.

"Everything that happened..." Isaac started, but Sera cut him off again.

"We never were ones to talk about the things that've happened to us. We could just look each other in the eyes and we would know. So Isaac, just look at my eyes." The siblings made eye contact, and Isaac understood. He knew that she didn't blame him, and that she would be okay. He would still worry for her, he would still look after her. But this wouldn't break her. She was just happy he was okay.

"Edgar did us a favor, huh?" Isaac said instead, and this caught Sera off guard.

"You want to talk about Dad now?" She asked, "How do you think of these things?" The annoyance in her voice was offset by her laughter.

"I just meant that Dominic was nothing compared to Edgar." Isaac smiled, closing his eyes. "He made us strong. Both of us."

"I've never thought of it that way." Sera sounded like she wanted to follow up with something else, but she didn't say it.

After a moment of silence, Isaac looked around the room. "Did anyone bring me a change of clothes?"

Sera laughed fully, now. "No, I guess we forgot to. Your dorm is an elevator ride away, though. It shouldn't take long to have someone bring some."

"You know a lot about the Registry, for a shift supervisor at InCorp." Isaac mused.

"I read a lot of books about Collars." Sera winked at him, and Isaac immediately tried to flush his mind of the thoughts that brought about.

"Was there anyone else waiting for me to wake up?" Isaac asked, looking out the door window, to see if anyone was in the hallway where Sera had been.

"Miria was waiting for awhile. You sly dog, you. I see what your plan is. Keep getting hurt so you have an excuse to see Miria more often, am I right?" Sera giggled, and she crossed her arms at him. "Anyway, she had to get back to work. Some more of your friends were around, but I guess they had to get back to work, too." She shrugged.

"What about Rufus?" Isaac asked, and as he did, Rufus was there, short of breath, as if he had been running to get there as fast as he could.

When Rufus entered, Sera instinctively took a step towards the corner, away from him. Despite everything that had happened, he still reminded her of their father.

"Isaac!" He shouted, and Isaac braced himself as his large brother rushed forward for a bear hug.

"Argh!" Isaac choked as his brother's arms squeezed the life out of him.

When Rufus relented, Isaac took a seat on the bed to steady himself. Sera looked away quickly, and Rufus coughed nonchalantly. Isaac didn't understand, so Rufus pointed down. Isaac flushed as he quickly stood and pulled the bottom of the short gown down towards his knees.

It was the first time the siblings had been in the same room, and all conscious, in years. No one knew what to say, and unlike Sera and Isaac together, neither could look into Rufus' eyes to understand what he was thinking. It was a gap that had formed over many years and lots of pain. Isaac knew that it wouldn't be an easy fix.

He stared trying to fix it with this. "It's cold in here." He sniffed, and coughed.

Rufus and Sera's faces slowly changed from concerned to amused, and then the two burst out laughing. Isaac blushed as they did, but it was better than fighting, so he let them laugh as long as they needed.

"I know why Dad was always so angry all the time! He was compensating!" Sera practically shouted.

Isaac's shoulders dropped, but he couldn't fight off a smirk at his own expense as he looked at the ground. His sister, he decided, was very weird.

"Isaac." Rufus said when the laughter stopped. "I didn't know that Dad did that to you. I didn't know that you felt that way. I spent years trying to justify what he did, because I knew him before he got bad. But I'm so sorry that I never saw it for what it was. Too little good to be called a good man."

Isaac waved his hand in the air. He didn't really want to have a sappy, 'I love you, bro' conversation right then.

"And I'm sorry for not coming back. I left you there, and then after Dad died, you needed someone to help lift you up. That should've been me. But I was too afraid to show my face again." Rufus finished.

Isaac nodded, and Rufus let it go, satisfied that it at least got said.

"Now on to business. Canaan sent me." Rufus spoke, sounding suddenly official, rather than brotherly.

Isaac made an audible noise of distaste, but he let Rufus continue.

"Sera, if you'll excuse us. Registry business, you know?" Rufus said.

"Wait, one more thing. Both of you." She said, and she looked at Isaac, and then confidently shifted her gaze to Rufus. "Dinner, tonight. At home. You'll both be there."

Isaac thought it over for a moment, and despite the nausea he felt, he nodded. "I'll be there."

"Rufus? You'll come, right?" Sera asked, trying her best to mend their relationship.

"I...might be busy. I'll let you know." Rufus said, and then he turned around. "Isaac, lets go. Canaan wants me to show you something, before anything else."

Isaac looked at Sera, and grimaced at her pained expression. At the very least, he would finally go home. Even if Rufus didn't come, that should be enough to cheer her up. With that in mind, Isaac followed Rufus into the hallway, leaving Sera alone in the hospital room, where she stood for just a moment before storming off on her own.

Isaac had made it as far as the elevator before the chill in the air reminded him that he was still wearing the hospital gown, so he demanded a stop by his dorm to get clothes. They went there after a particularly tense ride in a packed elevator, wherein Isaac was worried that half the Indicia on the thing wanted to jump him, though Rufus insisted that it was only his imagination. Once properly attired, Rufus led Isaac back to the elevator, and they waited until they could catch one alone before boarding.

Once they got on the vacant elevator, Isaac understood why Rufus had been waiting for an empty one. His brother didn't select one of the listed floors from the panel to travel to, instead, he seemed to tap a few random points on the screen off to the side, and a new set of options that Isaac had never seen before presented themselves.

Isaac watched in fascination, but he didn't understand what most of the words on the screen meant. Rufus selected one, and the options all returned to normal. The elevator started to move, quickly, and Isaac couldn't tell if it was moving up or down. The window that normally looked out over the central shaft of the Registry turned black, and the elevator moved fast, that much Isaac could tell, but he couldn't tell where it was going.

"Where are we going?" Isaac questioned, holding onto the wall for balance.

Rufus stood stoically. It seemed a trip he had made many times.

"You know about Lockboxes, right?" Rufus asked as the elevator traveled.

"Yeah, I do. Takes a Collar's power, gets it all bound up. No more magic." Isaac explained as if he were answering a question in school.

"More specifically, it places the totem inside of a metaphysical cube made of Aer, known as a Noetherian Cage. The wavelength of the Aer making up the Noetherian Cage blocks the transfer of Aer from the Indicia to the Collar, effectively blocking their ability to use magic. Despite the fact that it is reversible, simply removing the totem from the Cage will do, it gaps the link between Collar and Indicia." Rufus explained more fully.

"Okay, so what's that got to do with me?" Isaac asked as the elevator came to a stop.

"Sometimes, a Collar can be unstable. Or maybe they just choose to use their magic to commit crimes instead of helping others. Well, back in the day, there was no way that society could function if Collars, or Vassals, were running around committing crimes with their magic all...willy nilly." Rufus went on, and the elevator doors opened.

"Willy nilly?" Isaac asked, but Rufus ignored him.

"But, besides that, back then, during the war, there was a mandatory draft. If you were an able bodied man of the right age, you _were_drafted into being a Collar. That's how desperate they were." Rufus stepped off the elevator, and into a brightly lit white chamber.

Isaac followed him off. "It worked. We won the war, and Thrall numbers are a fraction of what they used to be."

"It did. But afterwards, the Registry was left with a lot of Collars, and not a lot to do with them. There was a lot more to it, but put simply, there was a changeover of power, and the new management decided that combat service was not mandatory. As long as a Collar regularly reported in, and didn't use magic to a negative effect, then they would be left alone." The chamber they were in was a waiting room of some sort. A few uncomfortable looking chairs lined the walls, and at the far end, a window next to a door. The window showed a small room, and inside, a single Collar, a control panel, and a lot of cameras. The cameras showed glimpses of hallways and...cells.

The man inside the small control room, impossibly, seemed to be the same borish guard who normally stood watch in the lobby of the Registry. The look on his face implied that he had the same sense of humor as the lobby guard. Brothers, maybe?

"And if they used their magic to...'negative effect'?" Isaac followed Rufus as they crossed the waiting room.

"Lockbox. But that was just enough to stop their magic, it didn't stop them. So for the worst of them, there were only two options. Kill them, or lock them up."

The guard pressed a button as Rufus approached, and the door opened, leading into a narrow corridor, also white, also brightly light. The corridor appeared to break into a cross shape, with three main branches besides the entrance where they stood.

"This is a prison. There's a prison, in the Registry." Isaac spoke, trying to figure where in the building it might be.

"Bingo. Gotta do something with the rabble. So when we catch a Vassal or a Collar that's up to no good, we stick their totem in a Lockbox and stick their behinds in here."

It didn't take a lot of thinking for Isaac to put together why they were there. Who they were there to see. Rufus had said Canaan wanted Isaac to see something, 'before anything else'. There was more coming, and Isaac braced himself for it.

Rufus led Isaac down the branch to the right, and through another locked door, this time opened by a scan of Rufus' Aer Signature. They emerged in what appeared to be a cell block, the prisoners were all confined to sterile white chambers that filled the walls. A small window on the front of each cell allowed those outside to see everything that was going on inside, and each prisoner had their own cell. Isaac didn't get the feeling they got out much for recreation. There was no natural light, only the cloying synthetic sunlight cast by Lightglass fixtures.

"So this is, what, the worst of the worst?" Isaac asked, glancing at some of the faces of the prisoners peering out at them as they walked.

"The worst." Rufus replied, not looking at the prisoners. "Their cells are all built around the same technology as the ARTS chamber in the Registry. They can get full exercise, even have full experiences, if they behave themselves. If they don't, then they get a cold cot and a bland meal, and thats it. Lights go out at night. Food comes twice a day."

Isaac pondered what Rufus meant by _experiences_as they walked. Eventually, Rufus came to a stop by a particular cell. He stood in front of the small window, not allowing Isaac to look inside yet.

"You have to remember, this is only for the absolute worst. There are other facilities for less severe punishments. But this here, this is what Canaan wanted you to see." Rufus explained, locking eyes with Isaac, speaking with a serious tone.

"Alright. I'm ready." Isaac assured him, but he wasn't sure if he was ready, himself. He nodded a few times, repeated himself. "I'm ready."

"After the fight, Tyloki went...rogue. He did something that we don't exactly approve of. Dominic is undergoing regular treatments to try and repair the damage, but it was...worse than this, before." Rufus said cryptically as he stepped aside.

Isaac took a deep breath, held it in, and stepped forward, peering through the glass. He almost immediately regretted it, and took a step back, fighting to keep his stomach inside. He retched a few times, but managed not to vomit. Rufus patted him on the back as he hunched over, and when Isaac was ready, he stepped back up to the cell door.

Inside, Dominic was laid up, seemingly unconscious, on a bed that resembled the one from the hospital. The only reason Isaac knew it was Dominic at all was because Rufus had said so. The man was otherwise unrecognizable. The flesh that was exposed was twisted and scarred, and what wasn't exposed was covered by bandages that looked like they needed to be changed soon. Even his facial features were difficult to make out through the burnt flesh.

"Debriding burns as bad as his...we can heal wounded flesh, but we still have to remove the dead flesh. With some time, he might look somewhat like his old self, but he's...not going to be the same." Rufus struggled to explain. "Tyloki burned him, all over, but because of his augmented healing, he survived what might have otherwise killed him. We believe that Tyloki was _trying_to kill him."

"If Tyloki wanted to kill him, he'd be dead." Isaac insisted.

Dominic had no hair on his body that Isaac could see, and he figured it must be a mercy that he was unconscious. As if he knew what he was thinking, Rufus continued, "They keep him in a medically induced coma for as much of it as they can. The thing is, we haven't been able to Lockbox his totem, because he needs the healing ability it provides him with."

Isaac had wanted Dominic to die when he took Sera, but he hadn't wanted to torture him like this.

Tyloki.

No response. Rain had mentioned that he hadn't seen Tyloki since the incident. The wolf must have gone into hiding so that no one could condemn him for his actions.

Real big wolf, you are, Tyloki. Taking on a helpless patient in the hospital.

Isaac looked at Dominic until the sight didn't make him sick anymore. Then he stepped back, and turned to Rufus for what to do next.

"Now that you've seen that, Canaan wants to see you. There's something he needs to talk to you about."

Isaac just about rolled his eyes. He was tired of Canaan, tired of the man's schemes and whatever else was going on. He didn't want to be a part of it anymore. He would tell Canaan just that, when he saw him. So, confidently, he nodded and said, "Lead the way."

Canaan had been waiting, it seemed, in a room in another wing of the prison. It was a conference room of sorts, just as sterile and white as the rest of the prison. Isaac walked in hesitantly, as it wasn't just Canaan that was there. Chase stood behind Canaan, who was seated just to the side of the head of the conference table. Across from Canaan was Everett, and behind Everett was his Indicia, who Isaac had never met before.

He was a tall, skinny creature with vibrant fur covering his body, and a sly look on his face, a muzzle that was always grinning at least a little bit. But besides all else, he was beautiful,_in the classic sense of the word. He put eyes at ease just by looking at him. He stood _gracefully, and Isaac hadn't even been previously aware that standing was something you could do gracefully.

Isaac wondered what his name was, instantly wanted to get to know him better, and then turned his attention back to the matter at hand. What were they all doing here?

Canaan motioned for Isaac to sit at the head of the table, between him and Everett. Rufus sat down next to Everett, and seemed comfortable enough, so Isaac took the seat he was beckoned to.

"Isaac." Canaan said with a nod.

"Canaan. Everett. Chase. And?" Isaac said, nodding to each of them in turn.

The fox spoke perfectly, properly, as close to lacking an accent as Isaac could imagine, and ended up sounded just a little bit stuck up. It came off, however, more as confidence than arrogance, and Isaac found it to be appealing. "The name is Bayard. But you may call me Baird or Bay if you wish. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." The fox said with a slight nod.

"Nice to meet you, Bayard." Isaac kept it formal, given the situation they were in, whatever it was.

"Let me start by saying that I'm glad to see you're okay. The situation we found ourselves in was quite dire, and I'm surprised to find that it had such a happy outcome." Canaan said, and everyone turned eyes to him. "Or, it had been happy. Before Tyloki had his way."

"I had nothing to do with that." Isaac explained impulsively.

"We know." Chase soothed him, letting Canaan continue.

"But the fact is, it happened. After you and Dominic were both recovered, successfully, Tyloki took it upon himself to deliver judgement upon Dominic. Before we could have a trial and decide his fate, Tyloki did it for us." Canaan went on. "As you must understand, especially given the way it seems Tyloki has treated you in the past, that we can't allow this kind of behavior to go on unchecked."

"That makes sense." Isaac agreed cautiously. "So how do you punish an Indicia, then?"

"Punishment is hard, because Indicia are so different from us. Rarely do we know their motivations, and the only way we can truly control them is to control their Collar." Everett explained. "But in this case, you didn't do anything wrong. Which puts us in a difficult position."

"And what position is that?" Isaac asked, looking from Everett to Canaan and Chase.

Rufus was the one who spoke up. "We need to Lockbox your totem, to keep Tyloki 'imprisoned'."

It hit Isaac like a punch in the gut. Thoughts raced through his head, and he wasn't sure how to feel. A few days ago, it would have been a gift from Heaven, the chance to lock Tyloki away. But things had changed. He had decided on a new future. He felt both at the same time, pulling him in both directions. He felt happy and sick.

"So if that's what you have to do, why this? Why meet me here? Why not just do it while I was unconscious?" Isaac asked.

"First, we thought that you needed the healing powers from your totem to recover, just like Dominic does." Chase said.

"And second, it might kill you." Canaan said simply, and Rufus looked down at the ground, away from Isaac.

"What?!" Isaac shouted, "What do you mean it might kill me?" The fear he had dreamt about, the terror of dying, returned in full, and he wanted to run away. But he stayed seated, he needed to know what was going to happen next.

"For reasons we haven't been able to fully...understand, it seems your life is tied to Tyloki in a unique way." Everett said, and Isaac remembered what Rain had told him.

"Rain told me, while I was asleep. If I die, he dies, and vice versa. What does that have to do with my totem?" Isaac wanted to cut to the chase.

"Since you seem to be sharing your lives now, it's possible that severing that connection could be fatal." Canaan spoke bluntly, which Isaac appreciated for once.

"Then no, the answer is no, we can't do it." Isaac answered reflexively, too afraid to die to even consider it.

"Before you make that choice, there is something we can try." Canaan gestured to Everett.

"My power can temporarily sever the connection between a Collar and their Indicia. It saps their Totem of it's Aer for just a moment. Its essential a Lockbox, but faster." Everett spoke slowly so that Isaac could follow along.

"You want to try...?" Isaac asked.

"If I touch your Totem, we can try severing the link for a moment. If it seems to be damaging to you in any way, we'll forget the whole thing. If you're fine, then we can continue our...discussion." Everett nodded.

Isaac looked at Rufus, who was still staring at the floor. "Rufus, what do you think?"

"I think this might kill you, too." Rufus said without looking up. "But I also think that Tyloki is going to get you killed. So I don't know, Isaac. I don't know what to do."

Ty?

Still no response. It seemed Tyloki didn't want to talk about it. Isaac could feel that the wolf was there, but he was staying silent.

"I don't think my power will kill you. You'll be reconnected almost instantly." Everett said, "But I guess there is no way to be entirely sure."

Isaac nodded and bit his lip. He took a deep breath. If Tyloki didn't want to talk it over, then he would have to make the choice on his own. "Lets try it."

Rufus looked up at him, worried that he was making the wrong choice. But he didn't say anything.

Everett looked at Canaan, who nodded once, and then he stood. He walked behind Isaac's chair, and rested his hands on Isaac's shoulders. "Your Totem, it's this collar, correct?"

Isaac nodded, but he couldn't speak. He could hardly breathe. He looked at Rufus, because there was no one else he wanted to look at if he might die. Bayard had disappeared, presumably so Everett could use his magic. He closed his eyes, breathed slowly, and then opened them again. Rufus was staring back at him, and just like that, the day had turned from joyous to terrifying. Life had a way of doing that.

Isaac had spent the day wondering if he believed in any gods. But the fact was, he didn't. No god worth believing in would have given him the life he had been given. So he didn't have a god to pray to as he waited for Everett to do his thing. He didn't have anyone to thank for the good times. And the only one he could blame for the bad was...no, not one. It was two. First Edgar, and then Tyloki. Neither of them were gods. They were both just monsters.

Isaac felt a shock through his body, and then he was gone. He opened his eyes and sputtered what felt like a few minutes later. Everett, Rufus, and Canaan were all standing around him, looking at him expectantly. He coughed, and felt weak, like he'd been through a Hell of a fight.

"You're alive." Canaan said with a smile.

Rufus and Everett both looked relieved. Isaac imagined he looked relieved, as well, but he couldn't say anything. His body wasn't quite ready to listen to him again. He was given a few minutes to recuperate, and everyone took their seats again.

"So that settles it. We should be able to Lockbox your totem, and then..." Canaan spoke, and Isaac cut him off.

"And then what?"

"Then you go back to your old life. You're done. Free. This all ends here. Tyloki is gone, and can't hurt you anymore." Chase chimed in.

"Free..." Isaac whispered to himself. As enticing as that sounded, things _had_changed, and he wasn't ready to accept it just yet.

"What do you say?" Everett asked.

"I need time to think it over. Can I have that? It's a pretty big decision." Isaac responded.

"I understand. Take some time to think it over. Get something to eat, talk to anyone you need to." Canaan said, and he stood. "We'll meet back here when you're ready." Canaan left, and Chase disappeared in a cloud. Bayard appeared and bowed to Isaac before disappearing again. Everett clasped Isaac on the shoulder before leaving.

Rufus moved and sat next to Isaac. It was a lot to think about, and Isaac was glad to have someone to sit with while he mulled it over. Going back to his old life? He couldn't do that. He wasn't the person he had been before. But he could build a new one.

"It'll be safer, if you go home." Rufus said, and Isaac nodded.

It would be safer. He was less likely to die, and that was something he absolutely didn't want to have to face anytime soon. But before he could decide, there was someone he had to do talk to. He stood up. "I'll give you a call in a little bit. There's someone I have to talk to first."

Riley didn't answer his LINK when Isaac called, so he went to the dorm to look for him. It was quiet, as it had been early when Isaac dropped by to get clothes. He tried to call Riley's LINK again, and again got no response. A knock on Riley's bedroom door yielded the same result. Nothing. Where the Hell was Riley?

"He's been dispatched on a mission. By Canaan." Rain explained as he appeared behind Isaac.

"A mission? He couldn't even wait to see me? If you're here, he can't be far, can he? So what's the deal?" Isaac asked. He was standing against the door, and Rain, as usual, was a bit closer than he should have been.

"He's just busy." Rain lied, but Isaac had no idea why he was lying.

"I really need to talk to him. Can't you let him know? He's still in the city, right?"

Rain shook his head, but he didn't say anything.

"Rain, what's going on?" Isaac asked, and he stepped half a step forward, leveraging Rain's desire to get information out of him.

He stood so close to the otter, they were almost touching. He could smell the otter's scent, the familiar ethereal scents of water and mist and mud, of life and jubilation. Freedom. With his back against the door, standing this way, it reminded him of their time in the shower. He'd enjoyed it, for a time, but he had since learned that it was just transference from Tyloki that caused him to feel that way.

"Riley has something he's dealing with. And when he's done dealing with it, then I'm sure he'll come talk to you." Rain said with an affirmative nod.

But even if it was just Tyloki that caused him to feel that way, did that make it any less real? Isaac took another breath of Rain's scent. He closed his eyes, and he was in the showers with Rain again. And then he knew there was something he wanted to do. Something he wanted.

Isaac wanted something. So he took it. Because life was too short to be afraid of wanting. It was too fragile to run away from things that you're afraid of. Without thinking about why, Isaac leaned forward and kissed Rain on the tip of his muzzle.

The otter looked dumbstruck, afraid to respond to the advance. Perhaps afraid that Isaac would bail out half way through again, and get himself injured. So Isaac kissed Rain's lips, and then leaned back against Riley's door.

Apparently, this put Rain over the edge, and the otter threw caution to the wind and leaned in, kissing Isaac's deeply, pressing the boy against the door. Isaac didn't hesitate, he returned the kiss as soon as it started, tasting the otter, remembering what he had missed since the last time. Rain tasted good, and there was a peculiar tickle on his cheeks from the whiskers. Isaac's hands reached out to feel Rain's slick fur, and he felt the otter's paws pressing him against the door, as if to keep him from getting away.

The kiss was more than just a kiss. It was everything that Isaac had become. Moreover, it gave Isaac time to prepare for what he wanted to do next. He enjoyed the otter's smell and taste, but that wasn't all he wanted. He reached a hand down and grabbed the doorknob, twisting it, and it swung open. He stumbled backwards, Rain still embracing him, as they entered Riley's bedroom.

Isaac felt a small thrill at the idea of doing this in Riley's room, but the bigger thrill came from doing it at all. He was surprised he felt that way, he hadn't used to, but he wanted this. It felt so good to finally have it. He stumbled back, trying to keep kissing the otter as he moved towards the bed. When he reached it, he fell back so that his feet were still on the ground, but his upper body was on the bed.

Rain didn't miss a beat, he climbed onto the bed, straddling Isaac's waist like he had done earlier in the day inside Isaac's mind. He hunched over and kept on kissing Isaac, but that was as far as he would go. Isaac wanted more. He wanted to know what the otter _felt_like. He pressed his hands to the otter, ran his fingers through the otter's fur, felt his skin and pelt and muscles.

Isaac found his hands drifting all around Rain's body, and inevitably, they moved towards his lower belly. The otter was wearing a loincloth, like he usually did, but that didn't stop him. Isaac shuddered and ran his fingers along the rope that held Rain's loincloth on. Underneath the loincloth, Rain's sheath and balls were resting on Isaac's belly. He felt the Indicia's thick tail coil up around his legs.

It was time. Isaac reached his hand under the loincloth and felt along for what was underneath. The otter had a plump sheath, obviously already aroused by what they were doing, and Isaac placed his hand on it, getting a feel for it. Something inside told him to keep going, so he did. The kiss broke so that the otter could coo approvingly as Isaac slid his fingers to the top of the sheath and found the otter's shaft that had slipped from the top.

"Hold on. Something's not right." Isaac said, and the otter looked disappointed as Isaac pulled his hand out of the loincloth.

"What's wrong?" Rain asked.

Without speaking, Isaac started to pull his shirt off over his head. That was the only way to know what the otter truly felt like. Rain giggled as he understood, and then resumed kissing Isaac after the shirt was off. Next Isaac started to undo his pants, and Rain lifted himself slightly so that Isaac could push and kick his pants off without having to stop kicking. Isaac's undershorts were the only obstacle left, and he quickly pushed them down around his thighs, and Rain helped get them the rest of the way off by levering them with his tail.

With Isaac completely naked and beneath the otter, Rain decided it was only fair for him to follow suit. He untied the rope that held his loincloth on and tossed the thing aside. Isaac grinned up at him, and got back to work.

Isaac scooted the rest of the way onto the bed, so he was laying down completely. Rain followed him, and they embraced each other. Isaac wrapped his legs around the otter, feeling his fur against his entire body, and almost reflexively he writhed his own member against Rain's belly. He started to moan, but it was cut off by the otter's mouth. Isaac gave an even louder moan, through the kiss, when he felt the warm otter's paw wrap around his member.

Returning the favor, he reached down and found the otter's length, fully emerged from his sheath, and explored it with his hands. He got to know how big it was, how long it was, how thick it was. He wanted to know everything about it. The otter didn't mind the exploration, and he shuddered as Isaac did so.

They explored each other for awhile. Isaac couldn't get enough of Rain's scent, or his taste, or how the otter's whiskers brushed against his face, or how the slick fur felt against his body. He cursed himself that he had gone so long without enjoying it for what it was. Not anymore.

"There's something I want to try.." Isaac whispered in between kissing.

"What?" Rain asked accommodatingly.

"Roll over." Isaac instructed, and Rain acquiesced without a thought.

Isaac rose to hands and knees on the bed, looking down on the otter, who upon further inspection, was beautiful in his own right, like Bayard had been. Beautiful in a way that Tyloki never was. The otter's shaft was bright pink and long, thin, oddly shaped, all things considered. Certainly different from a human, that was for sure. It lacked the knot that Tyloki had, so that was a blessing. Most of all, it glistened in the light.

Isaac leaned his head down and inhaled next to the sheath, and as he expected, Rain's ethereal, natural, clean, misty scent was stronger there. It drove him on. He took another breath and then ran his tongue along Rain's shaft. It tasted similar to the otter's muzzle, earthy but fresh and otherworldly. He rolled the taste around on his tongue, glanced up at the otter's face, smirked as he saw the effect his lick had had, and resolved to continue.

He gave another lick, this time earning another audible coo from the otter, and another. He had never done this before, he wasn't sure what would make it most enjoyable, so he was grateful to the otter for making noises or squirming when he was doing something right. Isaac inspected the cock as he licked it. It was a bit too long to fit entirely in his mouth at once, but it was thin, so he could almost wrap his tongue around it completely from the side.

He drove Rain wild as he licked, thinking about what to do next. Eventually he threw caution to the wind and took the tip of the length into his mouth. He licked at the tip, and was rewarded with a spurt of some of Rain's pre. It wasn't something Isaac was very familiar with, so he pulled back and sputtered, but only out of surprise. Rain looked down at him, concerned, but he assuaged the concern by getting right back to it.

Cock in mouth, he could taste Rain more than ever. He ran his fingers through Rain's fur on his thighs, and moved down on the otter's cock, taking as much as he could into his mouth. When it hit the back of his throat, he gagged and pulled off. Now that he knew how much he could fit, he could get to work. Instinctively, he took Rain's balls in one of his hands and gently held them as he worked his mouth up and down the otter's length.

Rain loved it. He squirmed and cooed and moaned constantly. Isaac moved pretty fast, and though he was inexperienced, he was a male, so he knew what was coming. The otter's squirming eventually turned into near spasms, and his moans started to hitch. Isaac prepared himself and he knew it was time when Rain tensed up and let out a long, sustained moan. Isaac pulled back, so only the tip of Rain's shaft was in his mouth. The otter's seed filled his mouth quicker than he expected, and it dribbled out between his lips. It was, like everything about the otter, a unique but highly desirable taste. It wasn't salty, no, it tasted like everything that Rain was. Free, loving, joyous. Like spring water, but also like dirt. It was unique, and Isaac savored it. He pulled his head away from Rain's crotch, and smiled at him as he swallowed the seed.

"What'd you think?" Rain asked between breaths.

"Sorry I put it off this long. But..." Isaac said, licking his lips clean.

"But?" Rain asked, squirming about on the bed.

"I didn't get off yet..." Isaac added, almost disappointed.

At this, the otter perked up and grabbed Isaac, flipping him over onto his back. "Let me take care of that." Rain insisted.

Isaac couldn't have fought it if he wanted. He found himself placed on his back, his own hard shaft jutting up into the air. Rain loomed above him menacingly, a toothy grin on his face. He wasn't sure what the otter was planning, but it didn't take him long to put it together. Rain moved so he was sitting across Isaac's belly again, and the otter's length dripped seed onto Isaac's stomach. Rain's tail lifted, and swiftly, he sat back, finding Isaac's cock with his tailhole.

Isaac had been mounted by Tyloki before, and he'd made love to Alkaid, but he had never been on top. He had to admit he was curious what it would be like. He didn't have to wait long to find out. As soon as his cock pressed against Rain's tail, the otter sat further back and Isaac slipped inside him with ease. Rain, very flexibly, leaned down and licked his seed off of Isaac's stomach, before moving up to meet Isaac in a kiss again.

Isaac was lost in bliss as Rain stretched his tongue into his mouth, wrapped around him, and sat down on top of him. His cock was warm inside Rain, and it wasn't too tight. Evidently, it was something Rain was used to doing. It wasn't long before Isaac was completely inside Rain, and he gripped at the blanket on the bed, almost ready to start thrashing about in pleasure.

Rain kept the kiss going as he raised up and slid back down, rising Isaac, not making him do any work. Isaac just gripped the blankets tightly and moaned through the kiss. Pressure started to build in his groin, and he closed his eyes, just kissing Rain back as the otter rode him. The otter didn't stop, and as the pressure built, Isaac knew he was close. He moaned the words through the kiss, but they were inaudible.

As Isaac came, pleasure racked his body, and Rain didn't stop. He kept riding, until the sensitivity grew so much that Isaac had to stop kissing so he could laugh instead. He pushed at the otter, the pleasure he had felt becoming too much, he laughed and begged Rain to stop.

With a grin, the otter obliged, and slid off of Isaac, lying next to him on the bed.

Isaac breathed heavily, looking over at Rain. "So that's why you like to do that."

The otter giggled. "I'll make sure I pass the message along to Riley."

"He really doesn't want to see me before he leaves?" Isaac asked, enjoying the afterglow too much to feel truly dejected.

"Like I said, he's got something he needs to deal with. He'll tell you, when he's ready." Rain said, and that was that.

"So Tyloki won't talk to me. Riley didn't want to see me before he left town, for some reason. I already talked to Rufus. So I just needed to talk to you." Isaac said to Sera, who was sitting across from him. He met her at a cafe near the Registry.

"They're giving you the chance to walk away? To just come home and pretend none of this ever happened?" Sera asked, trying to make sure she understood everything clearly.

"Yeah. Clean slate. No Tyloki, no magic. Just Isaac." He said, nodding.

"Wow." She said, taking a sip of her drink.

"You said it." Isaac agreed, taking a drink as well.

"What are you going to do?" Sera asked, though Isaac knew what she _wanted_to say.

"I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you." He replied, looking up at her.

"You want me to tell you what I think you should do?" Sera asked.

"Yeah, I'm curious. About what you think." Isaac answered.

"Isaac." Sera took a deep breath, and then look away, out the window, at nothing in particular.

"Sera?"

"Do you remember when we were kids, and Dad couldn't afford to get us both the toys we wanted for our birthday?" Sera asked, seemingly a non-sequitur.

Isaac stared at her for a moment, wondering what she was getting at, before answering. "Yeah, Edgar was always trying to pit us against each other, so he told us that only the best behaved would get to have their birthday. One party, one cake, one toy."

"Which is just crazy to tell twins. Only one of you can have your birthday this year..." Sera trailed off.

"And Edgar being who he was, 'behaving' wasn't so easy. Since he'd get mad and blame us for things that had nothing to do with us." Isaac continued.

Sera nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't really a fair contest, you know?"

"No, I guess it wasn't." Isaac said, "And he didn't even end up giving either of us birthday presents. It was a scam from the beginning. Neither of us was good enough."

Sera stared at nothing for awhile longer, but then she said something that caught Isaac off guard. "But you know, the more I think about it, he wasn't trying to hurt us."

"How do you figure that?" Isaac asked incredulously.

"He could only afford one birthday. Between the two of us, he could only afford one birthday. How do you make a decision when you know that no matter what you choose to do, someone else will suffer?" Sera asked, and then turned back to Isaac. He was silent. She went on. "He was too weak to make that choice, and so we both suffered. But at least through that, we were able to hate him together. If he had chosen one of us, maybe it would have worked. Maybe we would have blamed each other after all."

"So what does this have to do with us, now?" Isaac asked.

"Sometimes, you have to choose something, and no matter what, it's going to hurt someone. But it's important to still make a choice. Because not choosing is still choosing. Maybe." She said.

"I get it." Isaac said, nodding. And he joined Sera at staring at nothing out the window. It was something he did frequently in his old life, and he wondered, could he really go back to doing it again?

On his way back to meet Canaan, to tell them his decision, Isaac ran into Alkaid. They didn't talk. Alkaid stood in front of him, but he didn't block his path. He looked at Isaac, looked into him, and when he was satisfied, he nodded. Isaac nodded back, and was surprised when Alkaid embraced him for a hug. After, the cat left, and there was no one else Isaac needed to talk to, he had made up his mind.

Tyloki, if you want a say in this, now's the time.

But as he expected, Tyloki didn't say a thing. He took a deep breath and entered the room where Canaan and Everett were waiting. There was a sleek metal box on the table, a perfect chrome cube, with a square hole in the top. Isaac stared at the box as he entered, and he thought it all over.

He was different now. He couldn't go back to his old life. But he was afraid of dying, afraid of it ending before he had a chance to live. So he needed to walk away now, and build that new life. Or else he risked never having it at all. He unfastened the collar that was around his neck, and walked across the room, to where the box waited. Here it was.

The end.

Ty?

Isaac handed the collar to Everett, who informed him that he might want to sit down. He listened, and took a seat in the chair at the end of the table. Everett looked at him, searched for the proof on his face that this was what he truly wanted. And then he slowly lowered the collar Totem into the box. Nothing happened at first. He pressed a few buttons on the side of the box, and the top closed, somehow, and the Lockbox was now a solid, seamless chrome cube. As soon as the top was completely closed, Isaac noticed the difference.

It felt like he had the wind knocked out of him, and he couldn't breathe. There was no air to breathe. And his head hurt, it felt so empty, so quiet. There had been a soft hum in his head, all the time, when Tyloki had been there, but now, there was nothing. He remembered it had been like that before he met Tyloki, but it was almost too much now. When he wasn't thinking something, it was just silence. Overwhelming silence. His own thoughts seemed to hurt, and the world seemed less vibrant.

But most of all, he felt normal again. Normal, like he had always been before. He wasn't afraid, there would be no more fighting, no more dying. Isaac wasn't sure what job he would take up, he couldn't work for InCorp anymore, but he would take it one day at a time. It wasn't like he needed the money. Maybe he would take a trip, see the world. He smiled, settling into the silence as he considered all the possible futures.

Everything that had just opened up before him. He wasn't going to stay in his room anymore. It had been tough, but maybe his time with Tyloki had actually saved him, after all.

Rack, rack, rack. Isaac knocked on the door, and he knew it would open seconds later. The door had a doorbell, but knocking seemed more appropriate. Before he could even prepare himself, the door flew open and there was his mother. She looked him over, perhaps considering if it was the right boy after all. But apparently he passed the test, because then she flew out the door, and wrapped around him, and he held them up as she hugged him.

"Isaac Walker. You couldn't even be troubled to call me? It's been a year!" She scolded through her tears.

Olivia Walker was a tough woman, she normally walked tall, and carried an unshakable optimism. She had black hair, like her two youngest daughters, and she wore it in a ponytail that reached her lower back. Her skin was fair, and only a few scars from the tough times showed visibly. She laughed as she scolded Isaac, but he knew she still wanted an answer.

"It hasn't been a _whole_year yet, Mom." Isaac insisted, letting her hug him as long as she wanted.

"You know what I mean, young man!" She said, and then she pulled back. "You look like you're doing well. But I figured that, given what I've seen on the news. Just can't keep yourself off the TV, can you?"

"A lot of stuff just sort of happened. But it's over now." Isaac said.

Olivia crossed her arms. "Just sort of happened. I'm sure. Something tells me that it isn't over, though."

Laughter echoed from inside the house. "Come on inside, the girls are feisty lately and I have to keep an eye on them. Sera said we'd be having a family dinner tonight. Is that true? Will you be staying for dinner?" Olivia asked as she walked inside, searching for her two youngest daughters.

"I'll be staying for more than just dinner. I'm home. The whole Collar thing, it's over. It's complicated to explain, but I'm staying." Isaac explained, and Olivia stopped in the hallway.

"Can you do that? Just walk away?" She asked, and then continued to search for the little girls.

"I can. Like I said, it's complicated. But I'm out. I'm free." Isaac said, and he got to work helping his mother find out where the girls were.

Right then, it was like nothing had ever changed at all.

Canaan shook his head and sighed. He took one last look at the folder that held Isaac's file and dropped it in a bin next to his desk.

"Don't sound so disappointed." Chase sat on the side of the desk.

"I didn't say anything." Canaan replied, and he sighed again.

"You're sighing a lot. You're disappointed." Chase insisted.

"Isaac wasn't the one we're looking for." Canaan said, but Chase already knew that.

"So we keep looking. We'll find them soon enough." Chase sounded sure of himself.

Canaan stood and looked out the window, out over the entire city of Bastion. "If it wasn't Isaac, why did we spend the better part of a year monitoring him? A waste of time."

"There is no waste of time, when it comes to these." Chase tapped a claw on another manilla folder on top of Canaan's desk. "No such thing. Either what he did really mattered, or we haven't seen the last of him yet."

Canaan scanned the city skyline. "Either way, I don't like being in the position of not knowing. Can you go fetch me the next set of folders? We've got some work to do, since Isaac bowed out."

"That we do." Chase said, and he hopped off Canaan's desk. "I'll be right back."

Riley stared out the window of the train, the sun was starting to set, so he shielded his eyes with his hand. He chose a seat that was far away from most of the other passengers, and he was glad he could be alone for a short while. The train would be leaving soon.

Of course, Rain had let him know that Isaac had woken up, but he had ignored Isaac's calls, and he had avoided running into him entirely. Riley had finally come to realize something, and that realization hurt. So he decided to take Canaan's job outside the city, get away for a few days, and work through it.

Rain was in the seat next to him, and he put his paw on his shoulder. "He really wanted to see you."

"Not as much as I wanted to see him, and that's the problem." Riley said, still staring out the window.

"Maybe not." Rain offered, but he said nothing else.

"Miria kissed him. Sure, he was asleep. But with her offer, I've got no chance. I don't know why I thought I had a chance in the first place, but that doesn't matter anymore." Riley explained. "It's okay, it's always just been you and me."

"He's walking away, Riley. He's gone home, he's not a Collar anymore." Rain said, and Riley nodded.

With a smile, Riley turned away from the window. "Good, I'm glad he'll be safe. And hopefully he can find happiness now. He's had a tough time. And I..." Riley put his hand on Rain's arm. "I've still got you. And that will always be enough for me."

Miria got off her shift around sundown, and realized she had left her LINK in her locker. It had a few missed calls, mostly from Isaac. She felt bad for leaving her number, and not having her LINK with her when he tried to call. There was a text message, though, and he said he was looking forward to seeing her when she was free. She smiled, and she texted him back that she was looking forward to seeing him, too. She had been too busy during the day to see him after he woke up, but she had certainly heard the news around the hospital.

She changed her clothes, and then she sent Isaac another text.

Are you free tomorrow night?

It was a pointless question. She knew he'd say yes. Now she just had to decide what she wanted to wear.

Alkaid found Archer sitting outside the Registry, on the ledge of a small garden planter, staring up at the imposing building.

The cat sat next to him and stared along with him.

"I think, it'll be you soon." Alkaid said.

Archer shrugged. "I'm sometimes not sure if it's worth it."

"Everything turned out okay. And as it stands right now, you're next in line. Once you're in charge, then you can change things." Alkaid assured him.

"It'll be about time." Archer said, and together, they stared at the Registry. The building, the organization, the power that he longed to be in control of.

After an eternity apart, the Walker family sat down together for dinner just after the sun went down. Just before the meal was served, there was a knock at the door, and the entire family went to go answer it. Isaac, Sera, Roy, Olivia, and the two girls, Chloe and Haley. The door was opened, and there was Rufus, standing outside, looking sheepishly out of place.

He was invited inside, and as it happened, Sera had already set a place at the table for him. So the Walker family each took their seats, and as the food was being served, each of them thanked their own personal gods for the meal they were about to enjoy.

Isaac found himself thanking Tyloki, in some small way. It was the wolf that had kept him alive, in the end, even if Tyloki would never admit as much. The wolf that had gotten him through it all, so he could even be here at all.

And as they began to eat, they talked, and they laughed, and they enjoyed each other's company. For the first time in a long time, there was nothing wrong. They were a family again, even the damage that was caused by Edgar all those years ago was starting to fade. It wouldn't disappear overnight, but Isaac knew they would all be able to overcome it. It would just take a little time, and a little fighting. But Isaac knew something now that he hadn't before.

A little fighting wasn't always a bad thing.