Magna City Shining Congress – Side Halls

[Chibi Pika]

She caught her breath and straightened up, then launched another zen headbutt at Vesta's chest to return the favor. At least they could speed this up now that Blue was safely out of the way. "Don't hold back," she called to Jade. "Keep her grounded for me if you can!"

Vesta staggered backward, growling in frustration. She let out a spray of small fireballs right in front of her chest to put some space between her and Leaf, then spread her wings for takeoff--

That's what Jade had been waiting for. With a loud crack! she fired the Thunderbolt she'd been holding for the past few seconds. The Charizard tried to swerve, but didn't have the maneuverability while mid-takeoff. The lightning clipped her wingtip, and she fell to the ground, only barely managing to catch herself on all fours.

Thick, hazy smoke billowed from her mouth. Her eyes flashed with fiery anger, a low, guttural hiss escaping her throat.

"not real, none of this is real, you should all burn."

With a roar, Vesta slammed her claws into the polished hardwood floor, channeling a wave of heat which erupted into a blazing ring of fire all around her.

"Charizard get you, too?" he muttered.

Ralsen was tense, eyes fixed on the battle, following Vesta's movements while keeping his Leaf Blades at the ready, in case she took a turn for their position.

His eyes flickered toward Blue for just a moment. “She’s my first partner,” he said, without knowing why.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Jade was right on target, sending Vesta crashing back to the floor. Hadn't taken all the steam out of her yet, though. In a narrow hallway there wasn't much room to get away from a full-on heat wave. Leaf gritted her teeth and did her best to weather the blast anyway. She couldn't let herself get pushed back, had to keep the pressure on, but even after the initial wave burned off there was still so much fire...

"I need an opening!" she called out. If Jade just could cut through the ring with some more water, Leaf could dash in and land another strike.

---

It took Blue a second to register what the guy was talking about through the dissociation. (Why would he expect to hear that in a context that actually made sense, after all?) 'First partner.' So he was a trainer, huh. 'Obviously not a very good one,' half of him wanted to say, hanging back while his partner flipped her shit and other people dealt with it, but fine, he could have a pass for the grass-type thing.

"Lucky you," he said instead. "'Least somebody has their charizard partner here with them." Maybe for the best that Charizard wasn't here right now, actually, if there was a chance it'd just mean him freaking out. But at least Blue would've been able to help calm him down. He knew that much. Didn't know jack about... whatever the hell this was.

Blue winced as he finally picked himself up, then allowed the wince to shift into a glare that only looked a little bit shaken, probably. "So you seriously got no answers for why your partner's having a meltdown?" Or using him as a scratching post.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"I need an opening!" she called out. If Jade just could cut through the ring with some more water, Leaf could dash in and land another strike.

Jade winced as Leaf weathered the Overheat, then broke into a run on all fours, already feeling her gem go cold. She traced a wide arc around Vesta, or as wide as she could get within the hall, letting rapid-fire streams of water wash over a good chunk of the flames surrounding her.

Jade used AGILE Chilling Water!

Blue winced as he finally picked himself up, then allowed the wince to shift into a glare that only looked a little bit shaken, probably. "So you seriously got no answers for why your partner's having a meltdown?" Or using him as a scratching post.

Ralsen didn't take his eyes off the battle, but he could feel the bite in Blue's words.

"It's all around us," the Grovyle said quietly, his voice flickering with the embers of corruption. "I couldn't pull her back from the brink when I was struggling to hold myself back." Not when the darkest corners of his mind agreed with her. She was right she was right he had to get back he had to wake up—

 

[Phoenixsong]

Cold water cut through the flames and Leaf was right behind it, surging over the smoldering remains of the ring to crash into the charizard. Surely she had to be slowing down a little after a big attack like that, right?

She glanced up and down the hallway, past Vesta, then past Ralsen and Blue (shaken but standing, thank god), then back again. Had everyone else cleared out of this hall by now? Maybe one last good throw would do it, long as it didn't mean tossing her right into someone else. Knock some sense into her or knock her out, whichever game first.

---

Blue watched the guy warily, finally catching the weird flickers in his voice. He didn't sound like he'd gone full darkwhited or whatever (yet), not like Gladius, but the way his tone wavered back and forth didn't seem like a great sign.

...He was gonna have to play therapy dog with no context again, wasn't he. Oh, hell. But he couldn't fight; there was nowhere else to go. What else could he even do to get out of this any faster, or at least pretend he was anything other than useless?

"What 'brink'?" he asked, cautious, like maybe sticking his nose in things that were resolutely Not His Business wouldn't be horrible and traumatic this time, maybe. "Far as I can tell this... stuff only amps up whatever's already bothering you, not anything new." Hopefully.

 

[Jackie Cat]

“…I suppose you can’t always get something outta nothing, y’know. But I’d say what truly matters is the amount, value, and perspective you put behind a cost. As in, is it enough or too much? Is it worth it or not? Is that a sacrifice or an investment?”

The girl glanced again at the chessboard, paying particular attention to the black pieces. “But most importantly, if a cost is truly inevitable…”

She reached for the other Lopunny’s paws and gently pulled them by the board, drawing the lone pawn close to the other black pawns.

“…then you don’t have to take the entire burden all by yourself. A weight becomes more bearable when you share the burden with multiple people who wish for the same thing. Dontcha think?”

Julius' mouth trembled a little. "Yes, it... it is so hard to do it all alone."

He drew himself up, with a bracing intake of breath.

"It is not only one 'mon's decision to make. Not Arthur's, nor my Lord's, nor mine. We must all step forwards together. Perhaps... a game of chess is a wrong metaphor."

Julius pushed the game aside, and it evaporated into mist.

"I was never one for team sports," he said, with a light cough to clear his throat. "But perhaps we all need a 'huddle', at this juncture...?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Cold water cut through the flames and Leaf was right behind it, surging over the smoldering remains of the ring to crash into the charizard. Surely she had to be slowing down a little after a big attack like that, right?

The full-force Rapidash charge left Vesta reeling. She tried to retaliate with more flames, but her firepower had greatly diminished from that last explosive technique. Her wings twitched with paralysis, keeping her grounded.

Jade gave an inward sigh of relief. They had the upper hand now; time to weaken her firepower even more. She reached for a swirling multitype energy and shifted it cold at the last second before letting it fly.

Jade's STRONG Tri Attack! Frostbite!

Vesta shielded herself with her wings, but the frost settled into her scales. Her tail flame diminished, no longer blazing as furiously. Her snarling had lost its fervor.

"you shouldn't... be able to stop me... if you're not real..." the Charizard hissed, her voice heavy.

"What 'brink'?" he asked, cautious, like maybe sticking his nose in things that were resolutely Not His Business wouldn't be horrible and traumatic this time, maybe. "Far as I can tell this... stuff only amps up whatever's already bothering you, not anything new."

Ralsen watched the battle closely, his claws barely twitching with each blow that struck Vesta. "That's true. It's not new. I've known for a long time that my being here is nothing more than an accident. We have to find our way home. But... this isn't the way to do it."

The Grovyle's eyes widened slightly as the pair managed to keep his partner grounded. "Vesta!" he called out, taking several steps forward.