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Eddie was about to lose his goddamn mind. [break][break]

This whole Curator nonsense had been preoccupying his thoughts more than he cared to admit. Who was she? Why had she randomly shown up at the end of his first experience with the RKS simulation? What did any of this mean? [break][break]

Rerunning the scenarios he and Shalin Nariya had experienced had proved to be ineffective at recreating their strange chance encounter. Maybe he needed to start getting weird with it, though; maybe deviation was the key to all of this, [break][break]

“So, you done this one before?” [break][break]

He gestured nonchalantly to the white-haired lady who seemed just as annoyed as she ever was when Eddie refused to address her properly, [break][break]

“Ran into some weird stuff the first time I did an RKS run. Still haven't been able ta replicate it, and it's startin' ta drive me up the fuckin' wall.” [break][break]

The white-haired woman looked like she was about to interject with a statement of her own until Eddie chimed in again, [break][break]

“Did I tell you about that? I ran into this weird chick after a buddy and I did the usual run. Wound up in some dusty basement with a buncha frozen Pokemon. Weird as hell, Shalin told me she'd never seen anythin' like it before.” [break][break]

Eddie was ignorant to the smoldering rage of the figure sitting across from him, silently fuming and glaring daggers at the oaf who hadn't even bothered to answer her question.

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Yuina Higashi [break]

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Eddie realized he had made a terrible mistake the moment Yuina laid eyes on the matriarch of the Hexenzirkel. If he had known that this scenario in particular would be so distressing to the young woman, he would've opted for something else entirely. Pushing himself up from the table and shielding Yuina behind his bulky frame, Eddie reached for a Poke Ball at his belt, [break][break]

“She wants us to join her cult,” he explained, though he now scowled at the black-clad woman, “Don't worry, I'll take care of it.” [break][break]

Because this was just a simulation, right? It wasn't as though either of them could come to any actual harm. Though with that in mind, he now wondered why this particular scenario filled Yuina with such fear, [break][break]

“Achilles, give us a hand!” [break][break]

The Gouging Fire now at Eddie's side hissed angrily at the woman across the table, circling around as the woman rose from her seat. Eddie made sure that he shielded his friend from the sight of what he thought was to come, [break][break]

“Not a fan of this one?” [break][break]

Eddie turned to look back at Yuina and his eyes widened in shock, [break][break]

“Hey, uh, who're your two friends?” [break][break]

Two Unown, one that looked like an exclamation point and the other that looked like a question mark. He had last seen such creatures in the presence of the Curator; were these one and the same, or was this just the mother of all coincidences?

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Yuina Higashi [break]

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Nigma and Eru, huh? Curious as Eddie was, any further questions should probably wait until after they dealt with the issue at hand, [break][break]

“Looks like they've got your back,” Eddie replied, noting the way the two Unown now hovered next to Achilles, “Don't worry, between all'a us, this lady doesn't stand a chance.” [break][break]

And with that, Achilles lunged. Eddie knew there would be more of these creeps emerging from the shadows before long, so they'd have to hit hard and fast.

[attr="class","bottom"]attack them [break]
Yuina Higashi [break]

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Yuina's mounting panic was palpable. Eddie frowned as the white-haired woman slipped away, replaced by her Unown-armed cohorts. He wished that he could offer his friend some real comfort in her distress, [break][break]

“I hear ya, Yuina. We're almost outta here, almost-” [break][break]

Eddie was caught off guard by a HIDDEN POWER from somewhere to his left. There was no time to react as he was blipped out of the simulation, with Achilles following shortly behind. As the world faded to white around him in that familiar transition to the next simulation, Eddie was struck by his own bit of panic. [break][break]

Was there a way to get back to Yuina? He couldn't just leave her back there all by herself. Maybe, with some luck, she wouldn't be far behind him.

[attr="class","bottom"]on to the next one! [break]
Yuina Higashi [break]

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Eddie looked around him with some awe. This place was gorgeous, in kind of a strange and haunting way. The white tree stretched above him, reaching heavenward, and though it was bare of fruit or leaves it still looked distinctly alive, somehow. [break][break]

Suddenly, Eddie realized he was not alone in the glade. He spun on his heel when he heard Yuina enter the scenario shortly behind him, and he quickly looked her over with an expression of concern, [break][break]

“You alright? Didja get hurt or anythin'?” [break][break]

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied the shapes of Pokemon frozen all around them in poses of reverence. A bit of superficial familiarity, but he would have plenty of time to investigate after he checked in with his friend.

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Yuina Higashi [break]

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When Yuina threw herself into Eddie's arms, he instinctively returned the gesture in kind, wrapping her up in a tight, comforting hug, [break][break]

“Hey, it's okay, kiddo,” he offered soothingly, “You don't have nothin' to apologize for; I ain't hurt, I'm right here, we're safe.” [break][break]

Though, now that he thought about it, there was something about Yuina's distress that nagged at him, outside of his desire to comfort her. When she had recovered enough to pull away, Eddie would watch her with a bit of curiosity and ask, [break][break]

“Somethin' about that scene get to ya?” [break][break]

He wouldn't pry if the subject made Yuina uncomfortable, but Eddie was genuinely puzzled. The Hexenzirkel scenario seemed no more distressing than any other one that RKS had to offer; why did it seem to fill his friend with so much dread?

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Yuina Higashi [break]