[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

The light from Marcel's staff is a useful tool despite how little it brightens the area. Emma steps lightly, deliberately, placing one foot in front of her with conviction. But she does not trip like her partner does, because there was nothing there.[break][break]

He stumbles forward and she instinctively reaches out to catch his elbow, steadying him. Her grip is tight, commanding, but she quickly let's go before looking at the ground.[break][break]

Whatever tree root he had apparently caught himself on was no longer there, shimmering away into nothing. What exactly was going on? Where were they?[break][break]

"I think we're going in circles. We're being tricked."

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]he mumbles a quick thanks to emma before brushing off his robes. he follows her gaze to where the tree root had previously been, previously being the key word. "huh."
[break][break]
too impressed by the game mechanics to be truly afraid, he slowly spins to get a better look at his surroundings, a near impossible feat with the dark looming over them. "think this is intentional? or just a glitch?" if it was the latter, the situation was at the very least problematic
[break][break]
they couldn't get trapped in this game, right? that was just one of those bullshit horror stories circulating the internet.
[break][break]
right?
[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

The cyborg's hand retreats back to her side immediately after Marcel is back on his own feet, and her attention is no longer on the man. Instead, she's staring ahead with a look of intensity. [break][break]

She's continued walking where Marcel stayed behind to twirl. Emma turns her head, his head, back to watch her partner.[break][break]

"What's a 'glitch'?"[break][break]

Her expression is genuine this time, astoundingly open and curious as she studies his face. But the crack of something approaching pulls her away, and she responds by firing an AURA SPHERE in the direction the noise came from. The beam of light temporarily illuminates along its path.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","raidHead"]

[attr="class","raidInfo"]

[attr="class","raidText"]



THE BEAM ILLUMINATES HIS DRESS. he walks, thinking of murder. aggroed by the attack and general proximity of the two adventurers, the gardevoir begins to collect energies in his palms.[break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]marcel can't help but laugh at emma's question--he should have seen it coming, really. he follows the line of her AURA SPHERE as he opens his mouth to answer, though the words die in his throat as soon as he sees what they're dealing with.
[break][break]
two menacing orbs of light and the ominous figure that commands them: evidently, not a glitch. a quick DECORATE is cast on the cyborg in anticipation of their battle. his grip on his staff tightens.
[break][break]
he watches the pokemon for a beat longer before finally making his move. "now." he says moments before a PSYBEAM is hurled at them. trusting emma to be able to cover herself, he summons a SPIKY SHIELD to protect himself. when the next one comes, he meets it head on with DAZZLING GLEAM, but the attack breaks through the light and hits marcel on the shoulder.
[break][break]
swearing, he uses DECORATE again. with only one special attack at hand, he's relying on emma to break through the pokemon's defences with brute force.
[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

Marcel laughs and Emma remains puzzled, staring at him with an eyebrow raised, expecting an answer. But he doesn't have time to give one, because the length of her arm and the end of her hand and the AURA SPHERE she had let go illuminated a threat. Her eyes squint to adjust to the dark, to locate the dark figure that lurks beyond the stretch of her fingers.[break][break]

Something slams into her arm, knocking her backward, off balance. It hurts immediately, temporarily rendering her systems disorganized and unresponsive. But it's Marcel's quick thinking and his DECORATE that brings her back. When she turns to confirm Marcel as still alive and safe, she watches him get blasted by the second PSYBEAM. [break][break]

Fury rises in her, a desperate need to protect, and she lunges as Marcel retaliates with a DAZZLING GLEAM. Or maybe he had tried to use it to stop the PSYBEAM. Emma can't think, she only reacts. She's empowered a second time with DECORATE, her fists glowing as she races in to square up. [break][break]

Her metal fists find purchase in the mega Gardevoir's weakest points, CHIPPING AWAY at the Pokemon's health bit by bit. Eventually, finally, the threat turns to face her. She had managed to grab it's attention and turn it away from Marcel. Whenever possible, she'd manage to throw up her fists in a PROTECT, but the more she uses it the more it crumbles. But she knows to use it sparingly.[break][break]

For every block, she pushes, blasts, beats, forces the Gardevoir back. This was her duty.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]this battle was never going to be quick, be easy, and marcel can feel the energy begin to drain. he sees his mana run low and downs a potion to restore it. LIFE DEW raises his and emma's health points, strength seeping back into his limbs. he takes a breath.
[break][break]
a MOONBLAST comes his way; this time he manages to dodge. another DECORATE is cast on emma.
[break][break]
when marcel turns he finds himself face to face with the gardevoir. when had it gotten there?! he hadn't even sensed it closing in on him. he begins to feel drowsy as he stares into its wide, swirling eyes. he knows HYPNOSIS when he sees it. before he can fall asleep, he wacks the pokemon on the head with his staff, breaking eye contact. he was safe, for now.
[break][break]
staggering back to restore the distance between them, he attacks with DAZZLING GLEAM again.
[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

Even Emma, strong, confident, viable, unrelenting Emma feels fatigue slow her punches. She can feel her shoulders overworking, her reflexes slowing. Her NO GUARD proves to be a blessing and a curse as each hit lands against the Gardevoir. But, in return, the favour is returned to her. She can feel her strength whittle away as a result of every impact, every PSYBEAM and SHADOW SNEAK and whatever else the beastie had.[break][break]

The Pokemon's strength and vigor seems neverending, and the cyborg's body trembles with exertion as she stands still, breathing hard. Her knuckles flex, adjusting her grip on the dusters clenched between her fingers. At this rate she was bound to break herself or her weapon before she put an end to this monster.[break][break]

And then her moment of silence comes with a near-disaster as the Gardevoir's TAUNT on her falls quiet. It turns back to Marcel, attempting to mesmerize him into a deep sleep. She witnesses the man falter under the HYPNOSIS, nearly giving in. [break][break]

"No!"[break][break]

Her voice cracks, a clear indication of her exasperation, her exhaustion. She raises her hand instinctively, blasting an AURA SPHERE to help distract, to do anything to prevent her friend from falling under the wicked snare. But in doing so, the Gardevoir turns back to her. It's dazed by the sudden DAZZLING GLEAM, but not prepared to fall. Instead, it clutches Emma with it's odd HYPNOTIC gaze, and Emma is too tired as it is to resist.[break][break]

The woman's avatar's breathing is labored, her shoulders sagging as she begins to crumble. Her hands are too heavy, her feet glued to the ground.[break][break]

"No.. no.. I can't.. I can't lose.."

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]had marcel been a different man, he might have panicked the moment he saw emma hit the ground, but after years of working for rocket, he finds such reactions do not come so easily to him. he mutters a curse once he realises the situation. he uses DAZZLING GLEAM once again, using the seconds it buys him to run over to emma.
[break][break]
the gardevoir, hot on his heels, goes to follow up with SHADOW SNEAK. the moment it materialises, marcel aims a solid kick to its chest. the pokemon staggers back. he wacks it with his staff again as it aims a PSYBEAM at emma, the attack narrowly missing her as a result.
[break][break]with such a high special defence, marcel's sole offensive move was not an advantage by any means, but emma's worn down the pokemon enough that he can see it's on its last few health points. finally, he puts an end to the battle with DAZZLING GLEAM.
[break][break]
once the pokemon has dispersed into nothing, he falls back to sit next to emma's sleeping form. one look at the cyborg was enough to tell marcel he had no chance of lugging emma, metal limbs and all, out of the forest and into safety. so he summons a SPIKY SHIELD large enough to cover the both of them as he waits for her to wake up.
[break][break]
he wondered if emma snored. the thought's enough to draw a quiet laugh out of him.
[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

Her body hits the ground with a resounding thud and she's out cold. She misses Marcel's impressive display of heroism as he steps in to deal the finishing blow. Instead, her model opts to softly snore, her fists relaxing from their incredibly tight clench. For the first time in perhaps forever, Emma looks genuinely peaceful.[break][break]

Despite her being virtually oblivious to Marcel's presence at her side, she is comforted. She does, however, begin to stir when he laughs. He's quiet and discreet, but Emma's hands dig into the ground as she sits upright: at attention.[break][break]

It takes her a moment to realize they're out of danger, that the canopy above her is a result of Marcel's SPIKY SHIELD, not some sort of prison. Only after she gives herself a moment to relax into the heels of her hand does she side-eye her partner.[break][break]

"I heard you laughing."

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]he barely flinches as emma jolts awake, though he does take care in preparing to jump out the way, should she begin to attack on instinct. once the chance of that has passed, he relaxes, leaning back on his hands, mirroring emma's pose.
[break][break]
glancing at the cyborg, he feigns a look of innocence: artfully deceptive, entirely convincing. he was good at things like this, by nature of his job. emma probably knew better than to believe it.
[break][break]still, he can't help but say, "you must have dreamt it."
[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","rocket"]

The woman's smile is fleeting, blink and you'll miss it. He's lying and she knows it. But his face is pristine, perfect. He's an expert.[break][break]

She doesn't look at him when she speaks, she merely begins to get to her feet, the groan of her mechanical joints a harsh reminder of the damage she had sustained.[break][break]

"I like it when you laugh."[break][break]

Attention goes to her elbow as she plays with the mechanics, bending it back into place. In the confusion, it had been broken in some manner. She tinkers with it for a moment, distracting herself from her brief moment of softness.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","mthread"][attr="class","healer"]another laugh rises from the compliment, an involuntary reaction to cover up his embarrassment. he stands. "flattery will get you everywhere."
[break][break]
as if to prove his point, he taps the ground with his staff. LIFE DEW makes quick work of restoring their health points. marcel uses the move a second time, then once more, before their health returns to a level he finds acceptable. it was better to be safe then sorry--who knew what else they would run into.
[break][break]
once the SHIKY SHIELD fades, marcel finds that the forest now looks far easier to navigate through. it appeared the gardevoir had played some part in their struggle--outside of the battle, that is. "now to find our way out of this damn place."
[break][break][break]