[ORP] Just a day at Starmie Bucks

[Blood_Goddess]

"And THAT is why you don't take your eyes off of a battle!" The gray haired women announced as she abruptly re-appeared back up onto her feet, an arm moving across her waist with a ginger grip as she crawled her way easily back through the window she had been tossed through. As she did so, a massive brown form with an impressive span of wings fluttered down, a Crobat landing on the now gaping window behind Ray, peering in after the tall women with mild interest.
"Got it? Got it? Good. Alright!" shaking glass out of her hair and running her a hand over her sleeves she turned back to the Arbok with no intention of being distracted.
Gathering the state the Pokemon was in, damage it had sustained, as well as the remittance of what Ray could discern was an old pile of sparking skin.
"Shed skin." She noted "That's the end of condition modifiers. Time for a different approach-"

Reaching a hand out to gesture to Seraphine, grabbing her attention withing taking her eyes of off what had become the battle field. "You and Isabella Keep doing what you're doing" She told the brunette, allowing mossy eyes to drop from the Arbok to the floor now glittering with scattered glass.
It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for, unfortunately, she didn't find it in the condition she was hoping for.
The creature's poke ball lay not far where it had fallen to release the Pokemon, though it seemed to have been caught up in the fighting, as it now lay split into pieces among the glass.

"Hn, well so much for that option." She grunted out loud. Throwing her other hand out "Imp-" She barely managed to say, before the dripping wet bat at the window dove in with a hefty flick of his wings. Ray slammed a foot forward with a pained grunt as the Crobat impacted heavily with her back and clung there, the span of wings spreading around Ray, the double set flapping once, enough to bring both the Crobat and its trainer into the air and bring her back down on a table top.
Sweating slightly Ray again wrapped her arm around her torso.
"Hey! Arbok!" She called for his attention, while Breezeychu sparked a Thunderbolt attack at the snake.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"'Scuse me for being hesitant to fire at a live pokemon," Abel retorted, sarcasm lacing his words. Seriously? As for her previous comment, he could still hear the wailing sound of approaching sirens slowly getting louder. "I'm pretty sure someone already did." Cops; he wasn't that big a fan, but at this point he figured there wasn't much else to do but wait for them to handle everything. Oh well. For a few moments he deliberated on whether to unload the gun or not, but since the Arbok was still up, and he didn't know how long its trainer would be unconscious for, he settled instead for switching the safety on and keeping it loaded, just in case.

When Ray reappeared, he watched as her bat flew her up onto a table, and didn't miss the way she held herself. "You doing okay?" He asked, trying to keep an eye on her as well as on the snake.

---

See, that was why she didn't need to worry. All the same, the brunette was quite glad she was still tucked into a corner and out of the immediate attacking range of the giant snake.

"Always telling me what to do," Sera huffed, though she didn't sound too upset about it. Isabella didn't so much as bat an eye at Ray's request, and as she didn't hear anything from her trainer about ceasing, the Absol jumped at the Arbok once more, this time ready to sink her fangs into its flesh with Bite.  

[Grike]

Ray was a lucky girl, because today all of Ray's wishes would come true.

At least the part with the giant, man eating snake.

Fangs dripping acid, the Arbok whirled on Ray with a threatening hiss. Figuring the human for an easier target, the creature was successfully baited into unwinding itself as it's cheeks bubbled with another spit of acid.

Whose fault it was for what happened next is hard to say. Struck by both lightning and powerful jaws in the midst of it's own attack, the Arbok sputtered. Head snapping up from the pain, the pokemon ended up misfiring; belching the bulk of the acid into the ceiling right above Tes, Abel, and the cashier's heads.

Tesla didn't even register what happened until a chunk of plaster smacked her on her already injured shoulder. The pain doubled when drops of acid followed, the poison slowly dripping from the ceiling as it ate away at the support. It seemed Starbucks was about to get a new sunroof and Tesla, Abel, and poor, poor Carol were smack dab in the middle of the construction zone.

Her expression was flat. "Abel...you are a /really/ shitty look out."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

What-- How was this his fault. He threw up his free arm in exasperation. "All right, sure, whatever -- if blaming me will make you feel better then sorry, my bad." Seriously, what was her deal? Oh well, now wasn't exactly the time to think about it. Before any acid could drip down onto him he ducked under a nearby table. He checked the safety on the gun and then touched the barrel to make sure it wasn't hot anymore, and though he was loathe to do it, he then slipped it into his pocket - or half of it anyway, since a good portion of it stuck out. If he'd had his holster this wouldn't have been a problem, he thought to himself bitterly, but then again, why would he carry an empty holster? He wouldn't, that was pointless.

With the gun taken care of, he grabbed the single leg of the table that kept it upright, and hefted it up as he stood once more, using it as a thick, heavy umbrella. Holding it was rather awkward, and he had to bend his head a bit and balance the leg against his left shoulder to keep it upright. While he didn't think it would protect him from everything, he hoped it would protect him from at least some of it. Already he could hear the drops of acid sizzling as they burned through it, and a chunk of plaster from the ceiling plummeted to the ground nearby. "All right," he said, projecting his voice both to get attention and to make sure he'd be heard by everyone still in the store, staff and customers alike, "I suggest we get out of this acid rain and into the normal rain. Everybody out!" With that, the blond gestured towards both the door as well as the broken windows before offering anyone nearby the shelter of his table-umbrella if they wanted.

---

Sera was so, so glad she wasn't under that. She didn't need to be told twice - hell, she didn't even need to be told once - and there was only one problem that prevented her from already being outside the building: Isabella wasn't budging. "Isabella," the brunette called to her pokemon, a frown on her face as she tried to figure out just what the Absol was doing.

The dark-type was quite satisfied when her fangs sank easily into the snake's flesh, but now she had no intention of letting go. Her jaws locked and she planted her paws on the floor; she had no intention of allowing the Arbok to curl in on itself, to try to escape, or to lunge at any of the other humans - or do anything at all, really - without a hundred-pound Absol latched onto it.

Well... It looked to Sera like her Absol had no intention of going anywhere just yet, but the Mismagius at her side began trying to usher her towards the exit with soft but insistent "mis, mis" noises every few seconds. "Ugh, fine," Sera said with a huff, "I get it." Fine; if Isabella wanted to stay, she could, as long as she didn't die or anything, but there was no way she was staying. Making sure her purse was securely on her shoulder, Sera inched around the poisonous area of the ceiling and headed towards the door.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Occupational hazards." Ray answered Abel, not looking over at him but allowing her lips to spread into a grin "Nothing to sweat about, why don't you guys get out of here with that girl instead- The Chipmunk and I can handle this." fishing with a nod toward the Arbok. "This space was much to small to have a battle and have stand arounds without pokemon in the aria as well."

And almost to prove Ray's point one of the Arbok's attacks misfired, launching the nasty poisonous attack into the air right other the three still left in the building.
"Hn." she grunted with a slight grimace as she recognized the acidic attack, and not envying anyone who was hit with it.

"Hey hey hey! Princess where are you going? this fight isn't over." Ray barked as Sera made to leave with the other two.
Sparing a quick glance over toward the brunette, before she felt the weight of her partner Pikachu suddenly clamber onto her shoulder, the mouse's fur stinking of poison, and she wasn't unaware of the slight pained panting in the Pikachu's breathing.
"Look its almost done, its not going to stand for much more." A gloved and moved out into Sera's direction "Do you have a spare ball on you? Toss it here"  

[Grike]

Abel opened the damn to the flood. Heading their shepherds call, customer and employee alike would scurry for freedom. The drum-roll of footsteps startled a bubbling hiss from the Arbok but it was no mood to chase after the flock. The pokemon was clearly exhausted and instinct flipped the switch from fight to flight. Hood flicking back, the beast coils tight before launching itself like a spring towards Ray and Sera; fully intent on barreling through them to freedom - even if it meant taking the Absol along with it.

For Abel, the battle would suddenly be blocked by a pair of amber eyes. The weight of the table would lighten just slightly as Tesla did her best to carry her own weight. She was a wreck. Hair loosed from her pony tail hung around blood spattered cheeks in a dark halo. A few strands were caught in her shoulder, the acid burning and melting hair and cloth to flesh. The limb looked polka dotted, with glass shards shining under flickering florescent lighting like cheap circus makeup.

In other words she hurt. A lot. But sweet, sweet adrenaline was making that point moot and Tesla intended to ride the high as long as she good.

"Hey Hero." Her voice was pitched from the heart pounding in her throat but Tesla kept talking. Talking, teasing, poking fun, laughing - made s**t like this bearable. "We're forgetting something. Think you could pull his sorry a** out of here while I cover you with the table?" She nodded to the unconscious burglar on the floor.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

((I apologize for phone post but it's late and I am so tired so here you go))

"Outside where I won't get a concussion!" Sera barked back, her single hand balled into a small fist. With a huff, she reluctantly turned and headed a little closer to Ray so she could toss her a spare pokeball. "There. Happy?" She didn't sign up for this. No way did she want to stick around and get burnt by acid or have a ceiling collapse on her, or--

The Arbok's preparation wasn't lost on Isabella, and she rooted herself as best she could, even going so far as to dig her large claws into the tile floor. She even found herself grateful for the acidic attack before, as the various acid spots scattered around the floor only added more traction to the ground.

Oh no, no way was she standing around for that. When the Arbok lunged, Sera darted to one side -- regrettably it was the side further away from the door.

---

...well damn, she looked like utter s**t. Now he kind of felt bad for being so frustrated. Her question made him glance back to the unconscious robber; he'd almost forgotten about him amidst the chaos. At least the various other people all seemed to have evacuated in a frantic stampede. "You sure you can hold it o your own? It's prett heavy," he said as he turned his attention back to her. Well, it wasn't like they had much choice - she didn't look like she could do it, and someone had to. "All right. Got it?" The blond asked as he slowly let go of the table, then waited a minute to make sure she wouldn't drop it. Once this assured, he stepped over to grab the robber by the ankles to drag him out on his back. He'd agreed to pull him out - he hadn't agreed to do it gently.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"You never change Sera." Ray laughed "In a way that's comforting. but I can't quite pick out how." A cheerful grin joined the catching of the pokeball that Sera had tossed to her, closing her fingers around the small sphere enough to tap the button, expanding the metal ball to fill in around her palm and fingers.
She sure missed this feeling, handling pokeballs, for as much as she tried to encourage people not to rely on them, they were a fantastic creation.

Anyone who had not gotten out when the gunman had been incapacitated was making a dive for the door or windows now, though Ray stood fast before the massive snake, who seemed to recognize his situation and make a dive for the door as well.
If he reached the spout of people he would no doubt cause more harm, of course this would start with both Ray and Sera as they were the closest to the pokemon.

Sera dove out of the way, thankfully in time, though Ray wouldn't have much time to worry about her even if she didn't. The reason for the Crobat to attach to Ray's back suddenly made a whole lot more sense, as extensive training had brought this team to an almost flawless partnership. reading Ray's signals the Crobat flicked its powerful wings just enough to bring Ray up into the air, restricted by the ceiling Ray had to rely on her ability to pull her legs up onto her body, clearing up over the diving Arbok, and in the moment the large pokemon's broad hood was under her, the Crobat twisted his wings and with another movement flicked them again as the tall woman allowed her legs to drop, thought his time driving Ray downward in an attempt to literally stomp the Arbok onto the ground.  

[Grike]

Muscle, bone, and scale crunch noisly as Ray's boots hit home. A sharp clack rang the final bell as the Arbok's jaw was crushed into the roof of its mouth. Hundreds of pounds of raw muscle collapsed, spider webbing the tile beneathe. Isabela's catch would fall limp in her mouth, blood trickling between powerful jaws. A partly reward for the hero of the hour. If not for her stubborn hold on the Arbok, the beast would have moved far too fast for Ray's clever foot work.

It seemed Lady Luck had turned her gaze on Abel and Tesla as well. Adrenaline helped Tesla keep her grip on the table. Still, Abel would have to imatate a hunch back in order to keep under cover. By the time they reached the windows, Tesla's arms shook like a newborns. She almost dropped the stupid thing on her foot but they made it. Somehow...  

[Blood_Goddess]

The mass of Ray's weight dropped her torso forward, managing to keep her footing as she crouched over the purple hooded beast, helped greatly by the expanse of enormous wings from the brown bat clinging to the women's back.
Before Ray could move, the women hovered where she stood, trembling and gasping in very clear pain, as shocks ripped through her body from her whole torso, long strands of gray hair clinging to her sweating face and around her squinted eyes.
Slowly, she lowered herself onto her knee while still on the Arbok, one hand reaching down to lay it upon the Arbok's skin. Powerful slick scales under the tips of her fingers she allowed herself a moment to recognize such a fantastic pokemon as this.
But only a moment it was as she was fully aware of how dangerous it could still be.
With the other hand, she reached out to drop the pokeball onto its hood. With its previous pokeball broken its registration from it would be cleared, she could only hope it didn't have enough fight left in it to break out.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

What was comforting? How did that even-- Sera had no time to ponder this because of her dive, and only received a face full of plaster for her trouble as she managed to land in a spot that had had chunks fall from the ceiling. While she wanted nothing more than to get out of it - especially once she realized there could be acid under or around it - the movement of the Arbok behind her prevented her from acting on her desires. Instead, the brunette threw both arms over her head and curled up on the floor to make herself a smaller target, and simply hoped it wouldn't come after her.

After a few moments of nothing assaulting her besides ceiling plaster in her face, she tentatively looked behind her to find that Ray had somehow downed the thing. Good. She pushed herself to her feet once more while being careful of the globs of poison everywhere, put her purse back over her shoulder again, then rounded on Ray with a huff, "Okay, now I'm getting the hell out of here." A pause, in which she eyed the other woman critically. She looked like she was in quite a bit of pain. "And you should too - you look like total s**t."

Isabella was quite glad when her prey went limp, but just to be sure, she continued to hold onto it - she didn't know when or if it would wake and try to lunge at someone else, and she intended to prevent that. Or, for as long as she was able to, of course; the poison had long since entered her system and slowly ate away at her energy, leaving her awkwardly panting around the snake in her mouth.

---

Abel didn't mind hunching over to stay sheltered by the table. He picked his steps carefully, not wanting to trip or step in anything acidic, but that was it; if the robber ended up sliding through poison or getting hit by falling plaster, that would be his own problem. It wasn't too difficult to drag him out, and Abel pulled him through the door before he dropped the man's ankles unceremoniously on the sidewalk out in front of the store. At the very least he had the decency to dump him away from the broken glass. With that done, he pointed at the man and addressed any nearby employees or bystanders, "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

There. Once the failed thief had been sufficiently taken care of, the blond immediately turned back to the shop and pulled the table from Tesla's shaking hands. "Thanks. Here, I got it." The only thing he did with it though was set it back down just inside the door before he returned his attention to her and tried to gesture her out, "You should come sit down outside or something, you don't look too good after all that."  

[Grike]

"Hush, I look amazing." Still, Tesla slumped against the wall; chest fluttering like a startled pidgey's. She almost wished Abel had let her keep the table, or would at least bring it closer so that she could roll over it. The rain was still going strong, almost muffling the soft beep from the pokeball inside. Looks like they managed to catch the Arbok...goody. Now that the giant, sociopathic snake monster was alive and well they could all rest soundly. Good job team.

At least the rain was cool. Turning her face towards the skies, Tesla took a moment to relish in the icy kisses tracing along her shoulder. Until the cavalry arrived she intended to drink the moment in for all it was worth.

Soon enough sirens cried out from the rain. Police, firemen, ambulance...and of course, circling just on the edge of it all was the press.

Awesome.

"Think they're here for our autograph?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He couldn't help a slight chuckle at her words. She looked like crap and then some, but he wasn't about to argue. It wasn't like he could help her much at this point anyway... Oh yeah, it was raining. Abel had almost forgotten about the rain while inside the coffee shop, but outside with it pouring down on him, he'd have to be pretty much dead to not notice it at this point. It darkened his hair and slid down into his eyes in streams; he lifted a hand to try to wipe the droplets from his eyes but paused when he finally noticed the blood along his arms. He frowned at the smattering of gashes along his arms and set about trying to pick glass shards from them while the rain did its part to wash away some of the blood.

The comment about autographs made him stop a moment to look up, and a distasteful scowl crossed his features for a moment before he quieted the expression to a simple frown, then went back to tending to his arms. "Doubt it," he said with some lingering distaste in his voice as he flicked another piece of glass to the ground. He wasn't thrilled with all the sirens, either; sirens meant cops, and he didn't much care for them. Ambulances would be acceptable, given the various injuries they'd all sustained, but cops? No, he could definitely do without them.