The Deciding Factor

It seemed that, despite Ditrysia's newfound power to argue, Kale had gotten the better of their latest spat.

That was the only reason why they were in this place -- because, somehow, Kale had subdued his partner enough to make her accept a mission in such a dangerous area without further argument. Ditri wasn't happy about this, of course, but there was really nothing she could do. She'd lost the battle, and now Team Assault was traipsing around on the outskirts of Shadowhue, 'scouting' out the area and deciding where best to start their journey.

"This should be easy, if that Pawniard wasn't bluffing about his strength," Kale was saying, all haughty and high on his horse. He had a piece of parchment in his hand, which he consulted once again. "So we just go in, beat up this Rampardos, and save the Miltank it's been keeping hostage. Simple."

"Until you find out that you're completely overpowered by said Rampardos," Ditri said, grimacing. "Are you quite sure we're ready for this, Kale?"

"Have I ever been unsure about anything?"

"No," Ditri admitted, "but your surety almost got us killed before."

Nobiar walks slowly behind them annoyed at Kale's remark, "I can hear you, I am right here!"

Nobiar is ready for his first mission and his chance to join a rescue team. "So is that all there is to the mission?"

"I know you're right there," Kale snapped, looking back at Nobiar with an annoyed expression. "I'm not stupid, you know!"

I wonder... Ditri thought, though she didn't voice her opinion. Instead, she nodded, though her face was the mask of worry. "I suppose that's all there is," she said, "but still... we have no idea how strong this Rampardos is, plus we'll be up against the Pokemon in the forest. They're pretty strong, I've heard. Stronger than in the Icicle Woods." She threw a marked look at Kale, wondering if he would pick up on her hidden meaning.

It seemed like he didn't. "Yeah, yeah," he said, waving dismissively. "Let's just go, already."

"Okay," Nobiar follows the two into the woods, doing his best to stay calm and not get too angry at Kale.

He notices something moving in the shadows, "So, uh... what kind of pokemon are here in the woods?" Looking all over as he senses more and more eyes being pointed at them.

"Not... sure..." Ditri said nervously, shifting her eyes around. "But I know for a fact that they're really... strong."

"Strong, schmong." Kale, who had decided to overtake both of them and take the lead, sniffed in disdain. "You guys are just scaredy-cats. We can take these chumps, easy."

"Oh come one Kale you must be scared too," Nobiar tries to ignore his comment, "I mean with all the eyes that are watching us you must be freaked out a little, along with that there is all this darkness."

A cacturne comes up behind the group.

Nobiar continues listing scary things, "and on top of that there is a cacturne right behind us," he freezes in his tracks after connecting the dots in his head and slowly turns around. "Uh... guys..."

"Scared? Me?" Kale sniffed, looking back at the Pawniard's shadowy form. The forest had enclosed around them very quickly, and there was little to no light penetrating the forest's thick leaves. He could barely see his teammates, but he wasn't about to let that get the better of him. "Fear is for cowards. I'm not a coward."

"Yeah, just foolhardy," Ditri mumbled, only loud enough for Nobiar to hear. She was about to comment further, when the Pawniard spoke again. Feeling chills run down her spine, the Butterfree turned around to where he'd indicated. A pair of ghastly eyes was staring down at them.

"...K-Kale..."

"What?" Kale had turned back around, and was walking away from them. "Hurry up, guys. We don't have all day."

"Kale you may want to see the," Nobiar is frozen as they are being watched then two more pairs of eyes appear behind the first Cacturne.

"Actually... nevermind... RRRUUUUUNNN!!!!" Nobiar bursts into a sprint going right past Kale and Ditri and away from the three Cacturne, while screaming.

"What?!" Kale said irritably. He turned around to chew Nobiar's ear off -- only to see him running pell-mell towards him. In a split second, the Pawniard had passed, and Kale in turn had seen what had scared Nobiar so bad.

"H-hey!" Without taking his eyes off of the Cacturne, he called to Nobiar. "Come back here, you idiot! What ever happened to being a good fighter, huh?! Come back and fight!"

Ditri herself was backing up slowly, never looking away from the wild Pokemon's piercing eyes. "Actually, Kale," she stammered, her voice squeaky and small, "maybe we should just... run..."

"No way!" Sneering in disdain, Kale pocketed the team's mission statement and took up a ready position, narrowing his eyes at the Cacturne. "A good explorer never runs! We fight!"

"Kale," Ditri groaned, but stopped retreating. It didn't do to abandon her partner, especially when he was spitting at death in its face.

Nobiar slows down and realizes that he was the only one who ran, "what do you know, Kale is foolhardy, and Ditri is loyal to her partner," Nobiar smiles, "I like that." Nobiar starts to climb up into the trees, "Well its time to go help them," he starts hopping through the trees to get back to Team Assault.

"What's wrong, tough guy?" Kale's smile was tight, but he refused to let the tension spread into his words. "Afraid of us, are you?"

"Kale," Ditri whispered, "Maybe we shouldn't provoke it..." She glanced uneasily at the Cacturne, who didn't seem to be moving. What is it doing? she thought, feeling chills creep down her spine as ideas popped into her mind.

Kale ignored his partner. "Come on," he shouted, pointing straight at the Cacturne. "Fight us, if you can. We'll beat the pulp out of you either way."

The Cacturne stirred then. It rolled its shoulders, then laughed. "Foolish little thing, aren't you?" it said in a voice like silken butter. "You don't even know when you're facing your doom."

"The same can be applied to you," Kale said haughtily. "Team Assault will defeat you if it's the last thing we do!"

The wild Pokemon laughed again. "Well, then," it said, pointing its thorny arms at the two partners, "have at it!"

Nobiar bursts out from the tree tops and into the area with the other, "How about I start!?! Fury Cutter!!" Nobiar's arms begin to glow with a black energy as he cuts the Cacturne, "how was that?"

The Cacturne looks at the tiny cut on his chest, "Ha! That was nothing! You think you can defeat me with that weak attack!?"

Nobiar jumps over the Cacturne, "Then how about this. Fury Cutter!" The black energy around Nobiar's arms grows bigger as he drops down on the Cacturn and cuts him.

The Cacturne faints and falls back. "You know Kale," Nobiar walks over to the team, "If you were going to beat him then you might want to make a move next time."

Ooc: The attack wont do much at first, so could you have him say something like he didn't feel a thing, or something like that please. Because Fury Cutter does more damage if its used continuously.

Ooc: Okay thanks I edited the post

(( You can rp the Cacturne too, you know. x3 It's an NPC, so it's not like it would be powerplaying to take control of it for your posts.

I'll reply later -- I really need a shower. :T ))

Okay I edited my post