[Battle] SABRINA vs SKELL

[abyss]

ROUND 1
SABRINA vs SKELL
BATTLE COMMENCE

[SKELL]

I'M THE ONE THAT MAKES YOU SCREAM

The caverns aren't as quiet today as they usually are- bloodcurdling screams and wails of terror bounce of the walls. It's a symphony to the ears of the ghosts roaming about the area though; it doesn't even bother little miss Skell. Of course not, she's busy organizing her weaponry behind a large rock in the cavern. A wicked grin comes from a ghostly figure looking over her shoulder, but her gengar does not remain motionless for long. He gets busy quick, following his trainer's lead and setting mines all along the entrances to the area. It's mischief, and that's what Thanatos does best. Skell wipes bloody fingers on her dress and returns a pistol to her belt before making another trip to her bag of tricks. She secures her night-vision goggles, pulls out a smaller pouch of smoke bombs as well as a milk carton full of unidentifiable liquid. Erebus the dusknoir eyes the gadgets from his station in the corner and nods, content with the strategy at hand. Skell, with the poise of a lioness, strolls to the center of the cave and scans the area. She scooched past the mines and walks around the corner, unscrewing the milk carton cap as she goes. And the inside liquid comes out with a squish, leading a trail towards the mines. Skell steps over them again but continues pouring. Finally the trail is complete, the trap has been set- the blood has been spilled. And it all led to the mangled body of a little Nox girl who wanted to play soldier. So please, any of you Nox agents who want to retrieve the poor girl's body, go right ahead. Skell would love to see some more Nox scum blown to bits.

LAIKA OF GS!

[sabrina]

”Come closer.” They ought to know better. Surely her reputation proceeds her. But no, Saffron's gym leader has been missing for years now. Missing – presumed dead. The two men mistake her raised hands for a sign of surrender. They fall, fingers tracing delicate patterns in the air, signifying nothing. It is her mind alone that forces them to submit to her will.

Sabrina watches as their knees buckle and they come own upon the hard packed earth, their cries of surprise mingled with outrage. The fear will come later. ”Please, there's no need to kneel. Warley, why don't you teach our guests proper invasion etiquette.”

The Alakazam stands, as ever, at her side, her faithful companion and dearest friend. She doesn't need to tell him twice. Even as the words are being uttered, Warley begins to glow faintly, a subtle purple that grows brighter, brighter, brighter before streaking outward, reaching and twisting as it envelops the two men, as it molds their limbs to the Alakazam's will, forcing them to jerk upward like puppets at the beck and call of their master's string. Sabrina smiles. They are of one mind in this. No further instructions are needed.

The men take a single step forward, their legs jerking stiffly in unison – up then down. ”Come closer.” She beckons them forward with the wave of her hand.

Up, then down. ”Closer.” Up, then down. ”Closer.” Shudder, then release - piss runs down one of the men's legs, leaving a tell tale stain down front of his cargo pants. ”You should have left while you still had the chance.” She can feel the terror coursing through them when she reaches out to brush their minds, blinding them to reason. They're their own worst enemies now, lost to panic, unable to grasp the simple truth: she will not hurt them, she doesn't need to hurt them to win.

”I'd let you go now, but you seem to be having trouble with your legs... How unfortunate.” Her voice is dull, uninterested. Such lost creatures. Is this the best Lux can do? If so, she isn't impressed.

But no, this isn't all that they've brought to bare against her. These men are just the tip of the iceberg. These men are in her way. Her true opponent lies ahead. Sabrina can sense her, a heady mixture of blood lust and glee, one that the former gym leader hopes to share at her usurper's expense. Skell, you will pay for all that you've done to my city. You will hear the cry of every innocent put to death by your hand, every orphan that you have made in your mad scramble for power. You will feel their pain as though it were your own. This, I promise you.'

She looks at the men and smiles then, a sharp, sinister thing. ”You're lucky, you get to live.” They don't quite manage to look relieved until she strides past them and disappears into the mouth of the cave. ”Come on, Warley, we have a score to settle.”

[SKELL]

I'M THE ONE THAT MAKES YOU SCREAM

Skell can hear everything, every little wail of agony, every little cry for help; the crack of bones as they bend at their opponent's will. She does not dare move, only listens as her men fall to the ground, spitting and coughing up their own blood. They have not yet died, as there is no scent of death in the air. No crisp scent of flesh that causes her hellhounds to shudder. A shame. Skell sympathizes. I thought they were capable of much more. She pulls a deck of cards from her bag, chooses one and slips the rest back in. The jack of spades stares up at her as a lighter flickers on. She lights the corner and watches it crumble. "Bless these men. Bless their families as we suffer our loss. Allow them to rest in peace and tranquility, for their service and duty has been fulfilled." She mumbles quietly and quickly, faster than the fire can flicker an turn it's victim to ash. "Omertà, Omertà, tell me you have not been betrayed- and if betrayed you have been, send these men to the depths of Hell, where they can burn and rot with the sinners." And she puts the card down as the fire finishes it's work. Skell flattens her dress, and whips out her pistol after finishing her ritual, readying herself for the enemy that was to come. Thanatos sinks into the ground and disappears completely into shadow, whereas Erebus dashes to the corner and camouflages himself. "Destroy them." It's an order. And so they all prepare themselves- with shadows, with tricks, as Skell aims her gun at the figure approaching.

LAIKA OF GS!

[sabrina]

Hell hath no fury like a psychic scorned.

They think so little of her now - those that don't think her dead and buried have labeled her a coward. And maybe they're right. She is a coward. No, she was a coward. Now she's on the offensive, her mind reaching out and twining with Warley's as they scour the vast network of caverns for their prey. Skell - she is a far off beacon of dark glee and self-assurance growing ever closer, closer.

Sabrina takes a step forward, then another, and another, doing little to mask her footfalls. She wants Skell to hear her coming, to know that, this time, she is the one being hunted.

The darkness presses in around them as they move forward, swallowing them, but Sabrina pays it no mind, trusting Warley to be her eyes. She doesn't need to see the woman to locate her. She would know that particular energy signature anywhere, the feel of the woman who has taken everything that she has loved and lost and turned it into bedlam - broken homes and cardboard boxes, deceit, and decay, and chaos. 

Up ahead, someone or something is burning. This, too, goes ignored. There is no time to mourn the lost, only to make them. With luck, today will be the day that Skell joins the dancing dead that roam the fields above. The advancing pair will accept no less, and echo chases echo as they approach, Sabrina's cold chuckle chasing after a cry of "Destroy them."

"Destroy us?" The voice that answers Skell's order is Warley's, and this time, there is no echo. The words are for Skell and Skell alone. "You will not live long enough to destroy us." The footfalls cease as red light fills the cavern. Sabrina and Warley will not be fighting alone. 

[SKELL]

YOU'RE NOT SAFE WITH ME AROUND

Wicked witch, pull something good from your bag of tricks Pale fingers tease the pistol, dancing towards a trigger. C'mon, c'mon, a little bit faster- Come on! Come on! Cause some disaster Steady hand   steady hand     steady hand There's a figure approaching- two -and they move cockily. Their footsteps are not disguised; their laughter fills the air, as red light soars through the cavern. Skell stares on, her gaze unwavering. Steady hand     Steady           Steady But wait, a voice forms somewhere in her mind- a threat of death, a threat of thievery, a threat of revenge; the threat of fools. They are coming for her. Skell does not respond. It's not a choice. Fear makes the decision for her, before it runs along her spine and whispers in her ear: "get ready." And she feels it. She feels fear. But then again, fear is what keeps her raging on.                                                             fire!                               .... A miss, she knows because there is no screech that echoes off the walls, no cry of agony; no thump as a head hits the dirt. A miss, but a miss is not a failure. A miss is a signal for them, for both herself and her ghosts. And so, as she throws down her smoke bombs, the undead jump into action. Thanatos rises, his aura flickering with darkness. With a swift, chaotic movement, he gifts the enemy (whatever species it may be) with a DARK PULSE. Erebus plays along and approaches the second pokemon with trickery on his side, showing the enemy it's SHADOW PUNCH. Smoke fills the cavern, creating a thick murky darkness in an attempt to blind the opponent.                               Skell, oh, little miss Skell                               you manipulator, you murderer, you savage, you bitch.

LAIKA OF GS!

[sabrina]

Bullets ricochet all around her, and still she advances. The reports were not entirely wrong.

Name: Sabrina Lacroix
Status: Deceased.

Her life was lost when Saffron was taken from her and twisted into the vile thing that it remains to this day. Now, she has nothing left to lose. The footfalls start up again as she moves closer, closer. With nothing to fear but failure, she will give it her all this time around - everything that she has, everything that she is, and those standing beside her will do the same, for Saffron, for her. Warley's voice sounds in her mind, urging caution - always caution. She does not respond.

Step. Step. Step. Step. And then comes chaos. Shadow upon shadow, smoke filling the cave. Already running blind, Sabrina smiles, stills, closes her eyes. Her opponent hopes to cripple whatever sighting devices that she's brought along for the ride. She does not yet realize that Sabrina is viewing her through her mind's eye, locking on to the feel of her, the whirl of chaotic thoughts, and rush of fear, knowing that there will be far more of it when she is through.

It comes for them, pure dark energy released into the equally dark depths of the cave. They can feel it, can track the arc, but some of them are quicker than others. Warley teleports around a blast that careens toward him. Celestia follows his lead. Pokey, however, takes the brunt of the assault, his reaction time too slow to make an effective dodge possible. His mouth opens in a wordless cry as he is struck. For a moment, he sees only the great void beyond as the darkness tears into him - it may be little more than a shot in the dark, but it's super effective. He sways where he stands. Sabrina says nothing, her team takes care of its own, she needn't worry about the injured Slowking.

Celestia is at his side in record time, soothing away the agony with a Heal Pulse.

Sabrina continues to advance, eyes closed, arms at her sides. Were it anyone else, it might look like an act of surrender (or suicide, whichever you prefer).

There's a knife in her boot. She makes no move to reach for it. Instead, she stops and reaches a hand out toward Warley. The alakazam takes it, and the two blink out of existence for half a heartbeat, only to reappear behind their target. "You hoped to steal my sight, didn't you?" Sabrina's hand is at her boot, at Skell's throat. "But I have come as an agent of  justice, and justice cannot be blinded." 

The naked blade rests against Skell's pretty little throat in the darkness.

"You may want to tell your pokemon to stand down."  It sounds like a suggestion. It isn't.

It never occurs to Sabrina that, if she were going to do the deed, she would have done so already.

[SKELL]

YOU'RE NOT SAFE WITH ME AROUND

Chaos is among them now- the cavern is a battleground, a cluster of smoke and ash and confusion. Skell's force has vanished from reality, leaving only a black hole; a death machine behind. The sort of metamorphosis that leaves the enemy with no tangible fight, the sort of metamorphosis that makes Skell and her devils untouchable. The enemy shall be killed, but they shall not see another bullet- or where it came from. Skell pushes her bag as far as she can, watching it slide into the smoke and out of sight. She shall not need her witchcraft anymore. Her pokemon will take care of this.                       but wait!         There's another voice. But it does not bounce off her mind's walls this time- instead, the caverns inhabit this interjection. It's a familiar sound, but she only remembers who it belongs to after metal grazes her neck. This voice is a victim's. A fool's. This voice is dead, it's been that way for a year. Who are you?                                     Sabrina! She cackles, the blade slapping her each time she inhales. "I'm sorry, but this is quite the comedic comeback," She taunts, as usual. But her little mind games have never worked with Sabrina. It's always been that way. "You see, I thought I dealt with you over a year ago." Skell relaxes into the hazardous position. "But I guess not. Here you are. And you have beat me in my very own game." Her eyes close, her muscles tense, and she prepares herself.                                                         There is no pain. So she opens her pretty little eyes and attempts to eye Sabrina. "Mmmm.." Skell's lips form a pout. "Couldn't do it, could we? She thinks for a good long moment. Skell has stolen everything from this woman, and yet her throat has not been slit. There is no blood dripping down her dress; there is no corpse laying alongside the dismantled little Nox girl. Sabrina has done nothing but threatened her. Skell is not afraid of any threat. T'is the action that will do the damage. "May we have a little talk, Sabrina?"

LAIKA OF GS!

[sabrina]

Every person has a defining moment. A moment when you think you know yourself, and find someone else (maybe better, maybe worse) standing in your place, looking back at you with your eyes. Sabrina had thought that moment long since passed, though that she'd met her true self when she'd let go, when her temper had roared like some great beast, and her abilities had broken free of her, had raged in turn, and a man had lost his life. Life had stopped then, if only briefly, and then it had become a rush. A rush to regain control, a rush to reason, a rush to escape. She knew, at long last, why those around her had always feared her, why there was hesitation in their actions, their words - Nikolai's hand scant inches from her cheek, dropped before reaching it's destination. Erika's furtive glances, worried, unsure, whenever she'd thought Sabrina otherwise occupied.

She'd known, she'd always known, but to know and to believe something to be o are two vastly different things. After that moment, she had believed, she had become the monster. She thought herself that monster now, capable of being pushed, of lashing out, capable of anything. She thought that she had embraced it - for Nox, or her city, for herself. She was wrong.

She does not know this until she presses her knife tight against Skell's throat, until Skell begins to speak, and she is not afraid. Skell knows: there will be no bloodshed this night, the knife in Sabrina's hand does not have much farther to go. It will press harder in anger, draw blood, but it will be more trickle, less spray, and death will not come for the mafia's little princess. Sabrina is still learning this. She believes herself capable of murder, of this murder. But she is not a murderer. Accident is one thing, direct intent, another. and she will learn. She will learn.

"Is that what I am? A problem to be dealt with?" Isn't that how it's always been? Sabrina smiles, a bittersweet thing, so close now that her lips nearly brush Skell's hair as they quirk upward. Freak. Abnormality. Monster. The smile fades, and the knife presses closer, shifts. The trickle comes, a thin line that traces the contours of Skell's throat - a pale, delicate thing, now a study in contrasts. "Seems you've missed your mark." The barb about her lack of commitment goes unremarked upon. She does not yet know that it is the truth. She still believes herself capable of this thing, of willfully ending a life. Perhaps she is.

"May we have a little talk, Sabrina?"

If Skell wants to talk, far be it from Sabrina to deny her. The knife is steady in her hand. It does not press forward. Not yet. First, she needs answers. "A little talk." she echoes. "Yes...It has already begun. You have five minutes." And then I will end you.

[SKELL]

YOU'RE NOT SAFE WITH ME AROUND

Yes, every person does indeed have their defining moment, although it's not always apparent when it is. Skell has no way of knowing if the, "moment of truth," as people seem to call it, has occurred in her life. Perhaps her moment has already happened, whether it was when she seized Saffron, or sent her brother away for a crime he did not (and at that time, couldn't) commit. If it has happened, then what is she here for? Why did little miss slip into a dress, fasten her night-vision goggles and ready her gun? There must be a reason she's here. Or maybe there's not. That little thought almost makes her laugh. Skell has to hold it back so her throat does not touch the knife- it's now held much closer to her pale skin, almost breaking the first layer, almost drawing some scarlet...Skell breathes in and thinks. She does not think of an escape or a trick. That is the most usual thought that would cross her mind in this situation, but instead she is only focused on how to proceed where she is. No running. The fox will not flee tonight.                           She can't run in heels anyway. She does not have a comment for Sabrina's remark. Probably because Sabrina is correct- she is simply a problem to be dealt with. At a time, that problem was of high importance. And of course, she believed that the issue had been eliminated quite a time ago, but apparently, it was not the case. Because here she was, in the flesh. And she had won. Or so she thought. You see, Skell can do a great deal with five minutes. "Oh, my," She says dryly, "how generous of you, not to slit my throat immediately." Although her fingers barely reach, they tap the ground in a rhythm. "Five minutes is plenty for what I need to say." She presses her neck against the blade; feels the metal. She familiarizes herself with the blade. Better get used to the knife that is soon to be wrapped in your long fingers.

LAIKA OF GS!

[sabrina]

Five minutes - enough time for the kind of hesitation that brings an empires to the ground, enough time for the seeds of doubt to take root. That is how it begins, and how it ends.

Five minutes for Skell to catch on.

Five minutes for Sabrina to hesitate, to realize: It isn't the same as before. Before there was blind rage, but this time she can peer beyond her hatred, can hold the spark ready to set the moment ablaze and keep it from igniting. This time, Sabrina is in control. 

The knife feels hot in her hand, an extension of her rage, and still it does not cut. No sound comes but that of voices, Skell's, hers. There is no battle cry, no screams of rage, no burble of blood, and breath, and death, only voices, and Sabrina knows that she is lost, knows that Warley was right all along. This is not the answer. 


The realization sits heavy in her as the knife lowers a fraction, and then there is nothing but air. The creatures that burst forth from the red lights vanish. The alakazam watching from the shadows, urging caution, vanishes. The woman who found herself, her defining moment, vanishes. Only the tension is left as the world holds it's breath and waits for Skell to realize that there are two minutes left on the clock, and no one left to hear her. And when Sabrina reappears outside the cave, the word coward lingers in the empty air.

[The Crash Man Ω]

VICTORY: SABRINA

+ 500 WEP to Nox