Aki yanked her hand back, throbbing red after the foolish blow. She managed to shake off the pain—her arm strength wasn't anywhere near enough to seriously hurt herself. Not yet, anyway.

[color=00FFFF][i]Dodge!!![/i][/color]

The creature reared back with its pickaxe, broadcasting an obvious attack. Aki stepped to the virus' diagonal as its mining tool swung past her figure and struck the ground, inducing a piercing shockwave that rocketed past her, blowing her auburn hair to the right in the resulting wind. The earth groaned at the strike, receiving the judgement of the weak-looking program in place of Aki. If anything about this world was real, it was this: the entity that loomed below could kill her.


In that moment, something broke within the older teen. The impossible reality of their new home, the fictional creatures attacking them, the very real chance that one or all of them would die—several dangerous thoughts struck her all at once. She was no longer concerned with figuring out what had happened, with finding a way to escape. For a brief reprieve from this terrifying new world, thought and reason left Aki.

The girl lashed out against the virus wildly, striking the beast with as much strength as her meek arms could muster. Several blows connected with its helmet, others at its softer obsidian body, and yet others missing the Mettaur entirely. And because the universe somehow chose not to return the teen to the real world in the midst of her breakdown, she continued her barrage indiscriminately.

[color=00FFFF][i]Aki! Snap out of it!![/i][/color]

The Mettaur leaned back to launch another shockwave with its pickaxe, this time, directly into the face of its opponent. Unperturbed by the assured death warrant staring her in the face, Aki defied rationale and reached for the pick mid-swing.