Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Fourty Eight

~ Syo's POV ~

Raolin sent more flames hurtling towards us. The heat felt intense against my skin as Naoma jumped away, taking me with her. She landed next to Gaius, who was impatiently twirling one of his blades in his fingers. "So they were brothers," the thief muttered. "That's just wonderful for us."

"A secret sibling surprise." I sighed. "We better not get any more of them..."

"We need a strategy." Naoma said. "There are more of us, but Raolin clearly isn't going to go easy on us."

"Oh yeah? Try saying that to everyone else." Gaius replied, pointing. He was indicating towards a scene of chaos: Raolin was launching attacks of freezing air. A blur of black, which I later figured out was S'yan, had managed to tear into Raolin's skin, creating several small wounds. Kireina was dodging every one of Raolin's attacks effortlessly, finding an opening and delivering a strong punch to Raolin's stomach.

"No offense, but not even the world's best strategist can fix that mess." I said, looking up at Naoma. "Why not just leave them to duke it out? They're pretty strong after everything that's happened."

Naoma paused before shaking her head. "No, we need to find a weakness." She decided. "But gathering everyone to talk it out clearly won't work."

I watched as Laurent helped Emi to her feet. I gasped, a sudden idea coming to mind. "We could use Emi's help," I suggested. "You, Emi and even Azura can combine your powers to take him out."

"What do you mean?" Naoma questioned.

"Emi can manipulate the air, right?" I began. "If you combined her air manipulation with the water abilities that you and Azura possess, then you can create something pretty deadly to counter Raolin's PSI Fire! Since fire needs oxygen to burn, maybe you can create some kind of bubble to hold him in!"

"Would that work?" Gaius questioned. "I only have a loose understanding of this kind of thing, to be honest..."

"I'll go ask Laurent. He's bound to know." I said. "You two focus on helping the others with Raolin."

"Will you be okay?" Naoma asked. "I mean, all kinds of attacks are being thrown out, and you're tiny..."

"No worries!" I grinned. "It's because I'm so small that I can dodge whatever's being thrown at me!"

Naoma nodded and allowed Gaius to drag her back to the fight at hand. I fluttered away and around the commotion, narrowly avoiding a stray psychic thunderbolt. I eventually reached Laurent and Emi, perching on the latter's shoulder. "Are you okay now?" I asked.

Emi gasped lightly as she noticed that I was there. "H-How did-" She began, but she stopped what she was saying. "Whatever. I'm fine now. You should hide or something; I'm going over to that jerk and I'm going to kick his a-"

"I actually have something to ask Laurent," I interrupted before Emi could say something crude. "I had this idea where Emi, Naoma and Azura could combine their abilities to create a bubble. That bubble would contain Raolin, and while he's in that bubble, he won't be able to use PSI Fire! Would that work?"

Laurent adjusted his glasses as he replied. "I'm afraid that I couldn't say for certain," he stated. "PSI doesn't necessarily depend upon it's surroundings. The power produced comes from and is limited only by the mind. Because PSI is not exactly natural, it can't be countered by anything natural, either..."

"You've got to be kidding me...!" I groaned. "I thought I'd come up with a genius idea, too..."

"We might as well try it," Emi shrugged. "It just might work. Besides, I'll take any opportunity to prove to Laurent that he isn't as quick-witted as he likes to think."

They both ended up smiling warmly at each other, leaving me completely bewildered. I wasn't used to Emi showing anyone any particular kindness, although I had noticed that her behaviour slightly changed around Laurent. I was about to bring this up, but that thought quickly left my head when I stumbled, having to tightly grip Emi's shoulder to stop myself from falling to the ground.

"Azura!" Emi called out. Azura turned towards us and approached when Emi beckoned her over. "We're going to need your help with something." Emi said. "Can we rely on you?"

"Y-Yes, of course." Azura nodded. "I just want this to end... What do you need me to do?"

We explained the plan to her and launched it. Azura began by using some of the water from the fountain to create a small bubble, which Emi helped increase the size of until it was big enough to hold a person inside. Emi also took away the oxygen that was stored inside of the bubble. "Is that truly safe?" Azura questioned. "Having no oxygen would suffocate him."

"That's the point." Emi replied, obviously holding back a satisfied smirk. "Come on. Let's get him inside of this thing."

"But how?" I asked. "We didn't exactly plan that far ahead. We can't just expect him to walk into it."

Emi rolled her eyes and glanced back towards Raolin. He was being kept busy by Gaius and Kireina. Naoma was leaning against the wall behind them, clutching her head, with Laurent knelt next to her. "Where's Goth Boy?" Emi inquired.

"I asked him to search for my mother while we were here." Azura explained. "What Raolin said earlier bothered me... I don't want her to be hurt."

"Aww, that's sweet of Gandamu to do for you." I smiled. "He's a jerk with a heart of gold!"

Emi merely grunted in response. "Let's get this guy in our trap." She said.

Emi glanced over at Kireina and Gaius, who were still working together to counter Raolin's attacks. Kireina was beginning to look tired; there were black marks on her skin, indicating some bad burns.

The Kazz and the thief met brief eye contact with Emi. She nodded at them, seemingly sending the message across immediately. With a joint effort between the two of them, they shoved Raolin forwards. He landed just short of the bubble's wall, so Kireina delivered a swift kick to his stomach to finish the job. He flopped inside the magical bubble, immediately beginning to lose strength.

"Congratulations, guys!" I cheered. "Our master plan worked in the end!"

"Is everyone alright?" Azura asked, glancing around the room.

"Y-Yeah..." Naoma stuttered, using Laurent's arm to help her stand. "I just got a bit careless... That guy's PSI Thunder really knocked me out in one hit."

"What is that thing?" Akuro asked, nodding towards the giant bubble. "It looks fun!"

"Just an idea that I came up with!" I bragged. "Also, it's not really that fun. Raolin's currently not getting any oxygen."

"Just don't kill him," Naoma said. "I still need to ask him about that 'future' Ciar talked about."

"When we let him out, he'll be completely drained of any energy." Emi explained. "It's unlikely he'll be able to run away. But we still need someone to hold him down, just be to sure."

"S'yan can do that!" Akuro exclaimed, grinning at the prince. "He's all big and tough!"

Azura nodded. "Very well then. Shall we release him now?"

Emi shrugged. "I guess so. I would like to see him struggle a little longer, but we do need answers."

The bubble made a satisfying pop and vanished, leaving Raolin gasping for breath in a crumple on the floor. He tried to push himself up, but S'yan's hand immediately went for his throat, pinning him to the ground.

Raolin winced as Emi stood over him. "You have a lot of explaining to do." She frowned.

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we're slowly getting there don't worry

AceAttorneyFan over and out!