Fuck this mist and FUCK those Seals. The pink interdream mist was arguably far worse than whatever the seals were capable of. Materializing nightmares that could possibly kill you? It was like walking into siren song almost. [break][break]

The scenery changes vividly from one second to the next, warping and darkening seamlessly for his brain. Joules hovers next to him, his only tether to reality as the world changes. An endless wall of dark clouds over head, and thick sheets of rain. [break][break]

Distorted pokemon screams, yelling and screaming. The smell of gunpowder and the sight of Rocket and pokemon and Kantonian military. "We go straight, and keep out of sight. No matter what we see." he said walking forward into the deepest recesses of his memory. The sky flashed, lightning and energy beams lighting up the sky at random. He's on edge, jaw clenched under a helmet his finger just over the trigger well of his rifle. [break][break]

"Just keep moving." he murmured as light flashes and his eyes land on a figure with a skull mask. He can barely see their eyes. But he figured...if they have to be masked, then it's definitely not League. He raised his rifle, the Magnezone moving into defensive position, and prepared to fire.

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+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]


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Paxton shoots, his rifle barking under its silencer and the bullet goes clean through a rabid Zigzagoon before it can take a chunk out of Isaac's shoulder. The casing goes out flying but he's already ready with another bolt. "Get the fuck out of here." he said aiming at the skull mask and firing another shot. [break][break]

Its clear this is another Interdream Zone, and it's even clearer that this is just another Rocket stuck in the shit with him. But how many other were there? He can't tell. He's trying hard to keep his thoughts in line but the overwhelming stench of something burning, distracts him. The faded screaming of people in agony, the mangled body of people and pokemon alike do not let him focus. He needs out, and he'd shoot whatever stood in his way. "It's not real." [break][break]

Right, because people don't come back form the dead Paxton. Oh wait-

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+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]


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There's a pause in the shots as Isaac disappeared, and a wave of smog rolled through. Hot and carrying the smell of burning. The scene shifts, the screams muffle, and the gloom under a cloudy dusk is lit up by the burning of a building on a hill. Explosions goes off, the cries of survivors CALLISTA MOON and @sol ring out in the background. [break][break]

They corral the living, count the dead. All quickly moving back into the woodwork under the protection of battered and bruised pokemon. Paxton feels empty, staring at the demons of his past and the red, glowing eyes of the Rocket in pursuit. He trails behind his comrades gaze falling into that scanning motion. Joules steps forth to defend but the ghost and trainer disappear with the shift. They stay alert as Paxton turns to look at them, hearing a distant pinging. [break][break]

An SOS signal. Constant, weak. The man turned, swallowing hard. "Juliet." He whispered, before his eyes catch sight of the skull mask slipping in and out of the gloom. He follows without warning, slowly at first before taking off into a sprint after him. Association in his frazzled brain and the dream mist twisting reality and memory together until it slots Isaac perfectly into the role he always wanted to play: Rocket.


[break][break]

+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]
- welcome to the fall of rome BITCH [break]
- 'i think ive seen this movie before' joules, 2k23 [break]
- Paxton running str8 at isaac to beat his ass [break][break]

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It pisses him off. This Rocket seemed to be struggling. They're not moving fast enough to get away. The fear isn't there, but Paxton doesn't stop regardless, egged on by that far away SOS beeping his partner was struggling to put out. [break][break]

He gets in close to the skull masked blonde, before his head is snapped to the side as a fist meets his helmet, and another pokes into his ribs. He nearly crumbles but instead of waiting for a knee to the chest or an elbow from above he throws his entire body weight in a shove at Isaac, trying to barrel him down onto the ground.

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+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]
- takes hit to the jaw and ribs [break]
- tries to barrel down isaac [break]


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He's not expecting a trap, blinded by dogged determination to get his target to stop moving, and to get to the sound of that SOS signal. They go farther than expected, though it's fine for Paxton. What another bump or bruise. He can't feel it right now. [break][break]

Isaac takes him by surprise though, twisting his body and forcing him off the Rocket and rolling on the ground, dazed for a moment before trying to pop back up. He hears the shots of a muffled rifle and he knows its him. He's not at his post. He should be taking shots. He should have covered for them. He should've kept Joules by his side- [break][break]

The rapid succession of regretful thoughts send him into a full panic, trying to relocate the source of that SOS signal. Then comes the first smash of his head on the stone floor. It sets his head ringing and he doesn't quite understand what's happening until it happens a second times. Then a third. Until all he has left is a few precious seconds between his helmet forced into the ground to breath before impact scrambled him all over again. [break][break]

As this happens he feels trapped, scared just like before. Struggling to breath, and though he's note bleeding from his throat a hand still uselessly goes up to try to stop the nonexistent blood flow. And cut amongst the SOS is a shrill, long screech. Beyond a cry for help, one little Magneton's scream of agony and frustration at a sight they could not interfere with. [break][break]

Paxton can't sleep, can't die here. Joules- he can't see them but he knows the sight so well. A pile of scrap and magnets, leaking a black substance and barely able to keep eyes open dragging itself across the fusty earth. It pinged desperately, and the longer Paxton was kept from them the worse that the screeching became and the tightness in his throat. He needs to get up. [break][break]

The front of his helmet cracks and his eyes are forced shut as piece of plexiglass crack and fall out. He tires to lash out. With Isaac still on his back, he thrusts his elbow back into his side before squirming wildly to get out of the grip he was in. He heard distant explosions and the fall of rocks. Trees falling and lightning crashing. And cutting through it all is still those rifle shots and his partner's screaming. [break][break]

And then he remembered how they'd ended up in that way, as the smoke clears and he sees the oil slick drag behind his bucket of bolts on the dirt. "What...have you done?" Because it hits him all over again. The shock, the panic, the way he'd left himself unguarded. He nearly throws up in his helmet as he felt a ghost of the pain of a knife on his neck. And then he hits again, jabbing an elbow back again and kicking back his leg to try to hit Isaac with the back of his heels. Like a Tauros trying to buck a cowboy, he does anything the rid himself of the weight on his back that wasn't his actual sins.



[break][break]

+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]
- goes down with ISaac on top [break]
- nearly passes out while getting his helmet smashed into the ground [breal]
- gotta save teen joules, elbows back into ISaac's side [break]
- teen joules is shrieking near death, go crazy [break]
- blame isaac [break]
- elbowing squirming trynna heel kick isaac to get him to let go [break]


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"You didn't stop shit." Paxton spat out shaking in horror and fury all over again at the shifting creature before them. He vaguely sees a mountain of something else, his eyes focused on one. The helmet is cracks and unobstructed by the slight tint of the plexiglass he can see Joules in all its horror. [break][break]

Almost like a second wind he reaches back with his left, clawing for the top of Isaac's head and curling fingers into his hair, trying to bring him down and as close to Paxton as possible. As he does, he sends his right up to bop the Rocket in the nose before letting go as he tried once more to get the damn Rocket off of him. As he tries again, to flail harder than his opponent the pile of metal cries out, its long screech starting and stopping pathetically, it's energy running out. And the more it stuttered, the more desperate Paxton became as he tried to turn a lone teal blue eye on his enemy.


[break][break]

+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]
- we are still flailing madly [break]
- tries to bring isaac in close for a nose punch [break]
- trying to turn and face isaac [break]





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Isaac is persistent, and the longer this goes the angrier Paxton became. At some point they roll in the ground, tired and desperate and Paxton ends up on top at the grunt spoke. The lone eye peers through broken glass wild, pupil small as they locked onto Isaac. "Better than you have tried." he warned, voice cold as as he slams a hand at Isaac's throat, his other going to his thigh to grab a knife. "And I've killed all of them." [break][break]

He digs fingers into the blonde's throat, the glint of sharpened steel reflection fires and explosions that circled around them. He's just about to plunge the blade without a shred of hesitation before Joules, the real Joules, barrels through shrieking and beeping until her eyes finally lock onto Paxton. The sight startled Paxton, his piercing gaze finally leaving Isaac and going back to Joules. And as the Magnezone cries, dispelling the vision of the shiny magneton in a pile of itself, Paxton's shoulder slacken. He forgets Isaac, about to run for the electric type, relived they're ok. He scrambles off Isaac, sprinting towards the Magnezone and immediately beginning to check it for dents or rust. Joules is relived to find it's trainer, with multiple eyes closing as it embraced him. However, a lone eye watched the Rocket, hoping they would just walk away.


[break][break]

+ Isaac Merlo | clash 2 [break][break]

tl;dr [break]
- we are still flailing madly [break]
- we get on top and we threaten then [break]
- we pull out a knife [break]
- REAL JOULES TO THE RESCUE ONG [break]




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[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky