[ti]private[/ti]Just Deserts

<'T, you really said that? Girl, that's cold.'>

The Dragonair snickers and Tuesday rolls her eyes as if they were a terrible comedy duo.

"Shush or I'll send you back to your Pokéball." She declares then, the tail of a tan Angora cat swaying lightly as she jumps down from her Pokémon's back and lands gracefully on the golden sands. She turns towards Adarsa then, walking to stand by his side, but instead of looking at him, she looks ahead, at the decaying arch. Hattrem's Home. I didn't Pikachoose this, some graffiti reads, half-faded by the mercilessness of the desert.

'Me too, buddy, me too.' Tuesday finds herself thinking then.

"Mm... I've been known to sometimes exaggerate just the tiniest bit." She finally tells Ada in response to his justified yet poor excuse for a greeting. She turns and smiles faintly. "As have you."

Just a bit? They're both melodramatic as hell, but well, it's not like Tuesday would ever say so about herself...

"Tell you what... Bygones? I'm willing to pretend it never happened if you are."

Ladies and gentlemen, that right there, is a rare Tuesday olive branch.

Why, though? Why here? Why now?

In her pocket, the Corruption Detector still beeps, faint yet more present then ever.

Tuesday stares ahead at the ruins of the amusement park, at the vastness, the emptiness, and the sheer lack of anything even remotely interesting to focus on instead of this car crash of a conversation, and there, right there, she screams internally — imagining what it would be like to just shout and vent all of her frustrations this situation.

Then, once the second of imagining passes, she takes a breath, collects herself, brushes some dust off her armour, and catches up with Ada, not even a hint of the slightest discomfort showing through the well-practiced poker face that Mars had perfected throughout his life.

"So, how are you liking Ostellia?" She asks oh so nonchalantly, because it's the most harmless question that she can think of right now. There's no history between them at Ostellia, nothing bad had happened between them here...

Except that... Well... They're at the ruins of an amusement park.

The Ferris Wheel lies half buried just ahead, and written on one of its beams, the words Head for the seas, the apocalypse can't swim! can be read clear as day.

"Man, I wonder what happened here... This place is really fucked up."

And yet, as much as the mystery is intriguing, a different thought takes relevance in Mars' mind: "Remember when we went on a Ferris Wheel together, Ada?"

Who wouldn't want to be in Tuesday's company? No one, obviously! After all, all of Mars' best qualities exist in this amazing and frankly adorable anthropomorphic cat, and as for his negative traits... what negative traits? That man can doubtlessly find the positive side to anything when it comes to himself. Of course, flawless as he is, Mars could have also found the right thing to say in a situation like this; words that would make starlitlover smile and laugh with Tuesday as if they were old friends. But, why would he? Why should he bother?

Positively absorbed in such ever self-absorbing thoughts, Tuesday decides that nothing and no one will ruin Ostellia for her, and so Ada's words that drip in equal parts saccharine and sarcasm are met with a chuckle and a smile that is bright and honest. "Ha! Not sure about endearing, but I dig the mystery of it. Bet those dunes are great for sandboarding too. I was actually gliding over the Nexus the other day and—"

Now, Tuesday would gladly go on about her adventures in Ostellia, how she and Silvermoon had ended up facing a Xurkitree, and what an exhilarating battle it had been, but she finds herself pausing. It's because of Ada's Pidove, because of the faint yet ever present beeping of the Corruption Tracker, and because of the whole vibe of this place and how it gives her goosebumps despite her best efforts to let nothing and no one ruin Ostellia for her. Something is wrong here. Something is very wrong here.

The desert wind picks up, and in it sounds is carried: growls and sand crunching beneath heavy footsteps.

Something is nearby and it's certainly not another player. A Pokémon? An Ultra Beast like Xurkitree? Or, is it perhaps...

"Mars, get down here! Now!"

Mars has never been keen on being told what to do, and thus neither is Tuesday, but when her soft cat ears perk up at the sound of Ada's whispers, she looks at him, almost immediately jumping over the counter to duck behind it in a swift and effortless motion.

"Did you get a look at it?" She asks in a whisper then, gesturing to Orm before calling him back to his Pokéball. The Dragonair is too big to hide, yet the Pokéball is kept in hand just in case. Her other hand, though... That one reaches for Ada, resting on his arm. It happens without a thought, but is it that she wants to keep him safe or to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid and reveal where they are to whatever is pursuing them?

"It's a game." Mars' mind says.

"We're in danger." Tuesday's virtual body responds.

The thoughts are at odds, they do not align, and in the moment of hesitation caused by this internal conflict, those terrible dragging sounds grow closer and closer — doom approaching. Dark pupils widen, Tuesday's grip on starlitlover's arm tightens, and the feeling is strangely reminiscent of when they had found each other at Mistra...

Now, see, Mars can be extremely petty when he wants to be, and a part of him is still angry about how Ada reacted when he had tried to protect him back then. Under normal circumstances, he would very much remind himself of this fact, but here and now, all he really thinks of is that he really doesn't deserve to have the game throw all this fucked up shit his way, and despite their differences, nor does Ada. Ada shouldn't have to be afraid in UNOVR.

Born for war, Tuesday acts.

The horrors get closer and closer, and she smiles, giving Ada's arm one last squeeze before she lets go and stands. She summons her spear, ready to fight, and then, when she steps out of the long-forgotten booth, there's another sound.

Something else approaches.

"...Fucking hell."

Looking directly at the corruption monster for too long would have probably been akin to looking at an Eldritch being, insanity inducing, so perhaps Tuesday should be glad for the massive entity that drags forward towards this ruined amusement park — a collection of rocket boosters scorching the sand beneath and drowning out all other sound while at it.

She should be glad, but is that how she really feels?

Reading about a thirty foot tall bamboo rocket Pokémon on the wiki pages is one thing, another entirely is coming face-to-face with it. Is she shocked? Horrified? Speechless? No. Far from it.

"Ha..."

She amazed, and previous concern and anger quickly fade into a desire to fight for the joy of it. A desire to play the game.

"Fuck yes."

The monster's attention is on the gigantic Pokémon that she knows to be a Celesteela, and Tuesday takes the chance to attack, driving her spear into the amorphous mass.

"What are you waiting for, Ada?" She calls out with a laugh. She's gonna beat this thing up. Is she venting after everything corruption has put them through? You betcha.

The bamboo stalks light up, and for a moment, in the middle of the chaos of the battle, Tuesday is almost certain that something the Celesteela is doing is draining the monster in some way, making it smaller and... weaker. Do Ultra Beasts have some sort of effect on corruption? Is she imagining things?

Her spear slashes clean, but her thoughts are soon driven to the health bars displayed in the corner of her eye. At some point during their exploration, they game must have put her and starlitlover in a party, and thus she can see how fast his HP is falling. Oh, for fuck's sake.

"ADA! You haven't upgraded your HP yet?!"