cardio — what he's tried to help her improve has perhaps come back to bite them.

taking off into a run, he darts through the thick of the forest, venturing further into it.

where there's one, there's more, and while darkrai busies itself with handling that one obstagoon, more start to creep up on them, surrounding them to their sides. he sees their glowing eyes through the bushes, understands that they're about to get attacked.

"faster!"

how good is her cardio?

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

definitely not at the level it should have been.

she followed, doing her best to keep up. she’d do okay at first, but a lack of stamina would only take so long to become apparent.

this is the kind of bullshit that they trained for. the things she figured wouldn’t happen.

“fuck fuck fuck fuck…”

it hurt.

THEO BECKETT

☉

definitely not at the level, because when he looks over his shoulder, she's further behind than he thought she'd be. it forces him to slow down, to tense up as something eventually leaps out at them.

he meets it head-on, grabbing it by its furry arms to hold it back. naturally, he struggles, biology not favoring him.

"go!"

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

she gave a yelp as the threat narrowly missed her, thanks to theo’s exceptional cardio. this time, though, she didn’t listen. theo wasn’t darkrai, and she was pretty sure that as skilled as he was, he was no match for the obstagoon.

“shit! no!”

knowing she’d only have the power to do it once, she did it anyways. her shadow passed into theo’s, and she appeared only to be knocked around by their struggle. while doing all she could to keep her balance around them, her dark energy began to influence the obstagoon on contact, pulling it into her stare until it stopped fighting, and dropped. asleep.

lulu clung to theo, watching eyes on them, knowing they had some fraction of a section before…

darkrai appeared again, the expanding spheres of DARK VOID shooting into the trees in all directions.

THEO BECKETT

☉

locked in a grapple of sorts, it won't take much for obstagoon to overpower him, but gods, does theo put up a fight. with adrenaline pumping through his veins, he holds the obstagoon back long enough for lulu to intervene. he feels its strength draining away, and he lets go of it only to watch it slump to the ground.

once again, it's darkrai that comes to their aid.

DARK VOID buys them time, which he uses to catch his breath.

"thanks."

then, his gaze shifts around them.

"i think something's keeping us here."

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

darkrai focused on the attackers, DARK VOID the glow of eyes lessening with each sweep—but they kept coming. while he was still at fairly far-range, lulu stayed with her patron.

her eyes followed around, scrutinizing their surroundings as best she could in the dark, further than just the lingering obstagoon.

“what do you mean?”

THEO BECKETT

☉

"all of this feels unnatural. constructed."

fake.

"the obstagoon should've easily overpowered me but it didn't."

it's almost like something's toying with them. the thought concerns him, and he can't help but look all around them once again, attempting to find anything to help them out.

up ahead, another obstagoon appears, far off in the distance. it simply stares at them, and for a brief moment, theo swears he sees it gesturing over its shoulder.

"it's trying to lead us somewhere."

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

“it’s definitely not normal!”

darkrai looked over a shadowy shoulder towards the obstagoon in the distance, scrutinizing it with pale eyes. it couldn’t be trusted, but there was no staying here.

she didn’t catch the sight that theo did, and so she was even more confused when he suggested following it. leaving fallen obstagoon in his wake, darkrai then went ahead of them, attempting to maintain a clear path, and encouraging them forward.

lulu followed, but not before grabbing for theo’s hand.

“we should hold onto each other,” she reasoned, still rushing, ”so we don’t get separated if we disappear too.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

it's a good a plan as any.

with his hand in hers, he nods, then tugs them along the path, following after darkrai. he can still feel eyes watching, though he sees nothing, hears nothing; it's almost like his senses are dulled here.

so, perhaps with no real reason to rush, he slows, shifting from a run into a light jog.

"it feels like when we were in the mist."

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

it was a thought that had crossed her mind. that night at the soiree, when strange assassins had targeted the avatars and then vanished mysteriously.

something was after them, aimed to take them out, and this definitely felt too close to that. she almost expected to see white hair somewhere, between the trees.

her hand held onto his tighter.

”it does—but there’s no mist. that can’t be right. it must be something else.” she hoped.

THEO BECKETT

☉

he nods, agreeing if only for one reason.

"i still had my pokeballs at the soiree."

a branch breaks overhead, falling onto the beaten path. his hand squeezes hers, holding on a bit tighter as well.

"i won't let them take darkrai away."

nor will he let them hurt her.

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉

lulu hadn’t had her pokéballs on her that night, having relied on darkrai—and theo.

this time, and perhaps for the first time ever, she doubted him. her eyes flashed up in his direction as he squeezed her hand, though they were quickly back in front of her, vigilant.

“i know.”

despite her doubt, she attempted to trust, ever-reliant on the power she imagined him to possess.

THEO BECKETT

☉

he possesses power, though not as much as she thinks he does. he had the power to defend them, to fight off their enemies, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, his power mostly stems from his pokemon.

strip that away, and what does that leave with him?

not much, perhaps.

eventually, the path breaks out into a clearing. in the middle, surrounded by shades of green, is a singular stone pillar, oddly placed with vines and moss spreading across its surface.

"that must be it."

Lulu Flint // [x]

☉