[PP-F2] A Step Forward or Backward «Breaking the Unbreakable» (Piera)

[Lee 0]

"Number can lie. They will in this case too." He would move his fist back and let it pound against his chest as his attentions would be focused more so on the girl than the boulder as he would then swing in a backhand toward the rock and miss once again though the fight was not as it was prior. It was now focused on the fight with Piera. "You think just because you have the higher level that you can hurt me? You'd kill yourself before you could even think of putting a dent in me. That is the kinda shi*t you don't understand till someone spells it out for you."

ID:79725
BD: 1

Rock: 41-0= 41

[Piera 0]

Piera's fists began to shake from the force of which she was clenching them, Lee's baiting words igniting a passion within her that she hadn't felt in a very long time. Her cheeks were flushed as she argued in return, "You might have higher damage mitigation and thorns, but guess what? I have way more health and damage than you, not to mention regen and a familiar that can [censored] heal me. Not to mention all the crystals I have that could up my mitigation, damage or health! So [censored] take that!" With that, the petite brunette lashed out at the boulder without thinking, kicking out without much purpose and missing terribly, but just wanting to do something.

ID: 79733
BD: 2+1ACC=3 (miss)

Boulder: 41-0+41

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

"Big whoopdy do to you." He would hold his hands up in the air and let them twirl in a whimsical fashion. He then let his head come down slightly as he would continue "All of this shi* that you got and yet it still don't mean sh*t to me. Oh~ I have all these things I need in order to get anywhere near you Lee That is all I'm hearing. I need a potion, I need a crystal, I need a fu*king flying chicken cat." He would then point toward his sword "That thing will ruin your day in more ways than one." He would then watch as she aimed to kick the rock and he then threw a hand downward to where her foot would have hit and continued "If you could even f*cking..." He would then throw his fist once again, straight and striking the stone "...hit."

ID: 79735
BD: 6

Rock: 41-1=40

[Piera 0]

At Lee's mocking, the bespectacled woman's lip would curl into a derisive sneer, feeling hotter and hotter in her armor. Each thing he brought up made the pounding in her ears louder and louder. She didn't even bother glancing to know what he was pointing at. It was so like him to act like the big tough guy. But when he even mocked her kick (that she hadn't even really tried to connect), she lost it. "AUGH!" Without a word other than her angry yell, Piera released a fully fledged punch at the towering boulder, causing a shudder as it crumbled a little under the damage she dealt. "It doesn't [censored] matter as long as I [censored] win! And that's the point! What good is all of your manly posturing," She repeated his whimsical hand waving with extra mockingness before continuing, "If you [censored] die? You can't protect yourself. And that needs to change right god damn now."

ID: 79737
BD: 10+1ACC= 11 Crit

Boulder: 41-4=37

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

Lee would watch as she would lash out in rage and anger at the boulder he had been striking and cause it to shutter from the strike, dealing it a blow that had matched his own. He would, in a fueled rage now, throw a back handed punch at the stone but as it missed, he would let it continue to a stretched out arm and he would retort "Oh, now winning is your driving force?! Little miss four-eyes is gonna win it all and win it big, huh?! I can protect myself by not fu*king dying! That is what I do, not die. That is what everyone is trying to do, one way or another but god forbid that you want to win so much that you just never think and THAT is the real problem. I am the one that thinks and you are the one that doesn't. You go off and do all this shi* behind my back and at the end of the day, I'm the one that has to deal with you and when you ask me this or that, I help you find the answer."

ID: 79740
BD: 2

Rock: 37-0=37

[Piera 0]

Piera wanted to scoff at his miss, but held it in for now, even as he made fun of her glasses. Her expression screwed up into one of mild hurt as he made one particular accusation that made her reply, "I didn't do anything behind your back, things just got out of hand! I've told you this before..." The spearwoman sighed roughly as she tried to rub her forehead with a hand but then realized it wasn't very good for such action right now being encased in metal. "I know you do and I love you for it, I love you. But not dying just isn't enough anymore! We need to be high leveled to survive out here. We need to be strong enough to beat anything that tries to hurt us. Strong enough to kill anyone that tries to take us again. Strong enough to get out of here!"  With that final flourishing argument, Piera unleashed another devastating punch against the boulder, showering them with a small amount of dust.

ID: 79741
BD: 10+1ACC= 11 Crit

Boulder: 37-4=33

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

Lee would roll his eyes as she would speak of a past incident that suddenly came into his mind. This caused his right fist to clinch even tighter as his arm would shake ever so lightly in anger. She finished and struck the boulder which was becoming more of a outlet for them rather than one another. "Get out of here?! Do you even think there is an out? And for fu*ks sake, even the monsters aren't the biggest problem anymore. How the hell do you trust people in this place?! I want to and for the love of god they are so wish-washy that they might just turn on a dime for the sake of doing it and..." He would then draw his fist back and strike at the boulder with similar force to her own "...dead! I want to kill them, I want to kill any and everyone that tries the shi* that was done against us but I don't care about revenge, I care about not dying. You might want to leave but even if that happens, we wont forget Piera. We have to cope with it and that is what I am doing but you're not wanting to fu*kin listen!"

ID: 79742
BD: 9

Rock: 33-2(Crit)= 31

[Piera 0]

Finally the waterworks were released in the form of shimmering green eyes only held back by sheer will and her own glasses, frustrated with the accuracy of her lover's argument. "There has to be, okay? And I know not everybody in here is trustworthy, but I can't be that paranoid all the time. I just...I don't have the energy for it Lee." Finally the water in one of her eyes brimmed over as she said in a voice thick with emotion, "I want to believe there's still good in people. And I do trust some of them because they've proved that they're good people! Lowenthal, Jomei, Kalesh, Carmine, Mack, Grave, O-"

And then her list stuttered to a halt, a stunned and then distraught expression on her face as she remembered what had happened with the person who's name she'd just been about to utter, along with two other people. It was just one more thing she was burying deep inside of her.

Frustrated that she couldn't cover her face or wipe away her tears, the brunette could only look up before closing her eyes as tears leaked down her cheeks, silently listening to the end of the man's rant before she murmured, "I don't want revenge...I just want freedom. I don't want to be terrified every second one or both of us isn't in a safe zone." For a moment after, Piera was quiet before she threw out a haphazard punch at the rock as if to physically cry out rather than just emotionally. Finally she stated aloud in a small pathetic voice full of hope, "I'll listen....okay?"

ID: 79745
BD: 9+1=10 Crit

Boulder: 31-3=28

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

Listening to the girl speak it only seemed to give him the opposite effect. Everyone thought like that, he had heard it too many times in movies, animation and more over, most people stuck in the game itself. Energy? It takes energy to just not do anything? To turn down people? To tell them to go the fu*k away. She then began to list off a names that he knew all too well till she cut herself off with the name of an individual that perfectly proved his point. He would point at the ground before his feet and speak "THAT right there proves my example!" She would then continue on about how she wanted to go outside a safe zone and he would then roll his head and throw his hands up and then look back at her

"You want to be safe? When will that ever happen Piera? I mean, really? Is there ever going to be a time when a boss isn't going to be stronger than everyone? Is there ever a chance that you know someone isn't going to flip their collective sh*t and just start killing people?" He would turn away and back toward the stone and give it a jab, less out of anger now as he would continue "I'm not trying to make everything sound bleak but we have to try realistic."

ID: 79750
BD: 7

Rock: 28-1= 27

[Piera 0]

Piera let out a frustrated and sorrowful groan as Lee began to point and raise his voice. She hated that he was right. She hated that she was just starting to really make another friend (another female for once!) and after her and Opal's very personal talk...she thought...she thought that she was different. Opal had been Mack's friend for quite some time and a lead member in one of the most prominent guilds in Aincrad...and still...nobody else had seen it coming. What if Lee was right? She didn't want him to be right...

Eyes shining as she resolutely stared at some point to the left of the man's shoulder, not able to meet his eyes at the moment while he continued his point. She rolled her eyes slightly with a tear stained frown when he said that he wasn't trying to 'make everything sound bleak'. "What do you mean realistic? What's realistic about being trapped in a freaking virtual reality game??" The brunette asked hysterically before attacking the boulder again, this time weaker than previously as she inhaled a long shuddering breath to collect her thoughts and calm herself down.

"I-I know we can't trust everyone. But what do you want us to do Lee?" Finally the alchemist met her partner's eyes in genuine search for the answer. "If not try to get stronger and try to fight our way out of this hell, what do you want us to do? Because I don't think I can take sitting around in safe zones while I see my friend's list get shorter and short-" Her voice broke off in a sob as she looked down at her feet and said in a small shaking voice, "I just need to do something."

Raising her head, Piera continued, "I love you more than anything. And I don't want to do this alone. I want us to be together, always." Her lips twitched in a hint of a hopeful smile as she brought up, "Wasn't that always the plan? You the awesome tank and me healing and stabbing right next to you?"

ID: 79787
BD: 6+1=7

Boulder: 27-2=25

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

"This is our new reality though! Everyone keeps treating this like it is something that they are going to wake up from when that is only going to get hem killed faster!" He would clench his fist tightly and then release it and bring it up to his forehead and rub his temple, coming down from his anger slowly out of sheer force of will at that point. It was a simple run around, someone say things this way and another saw it the other and both were wrong and right in their own eyes. She then began to speak of trust to which he would lower his hand out to rest against the boulder which at that point, was growing a rather large amount of cracks and fractures.

"I want you to stop being so trusting of everyone that flashes you a smile and acts nice to your face. I don't want to be stuck in a safe zone either and I want us to be able to continue with our live, both in and out of this place but..." He would quickly clench his fist and pull his arm back and slam it into the boulder yet again, now more out of habit than anything else. "...you and the majority of people consider this a hellhole but is it really? Is the threat of dying that bad when the threat is just as real in the real world? I want to do this together and no matter how much I argue and seem like the bad guy, I do really want what is best for you overall."

ID: 79811
BD: 10

Rock: 25-3=22

[Piera 0]

For the first sentence of Lee's argument, the brunette simply stood there with pursed lips, knowing that despite her annoyance, he was right about that. But when he told her that he wanted her to stop being so trusting, the way he phrased it caused her eyes to flash with anger and she immediately retorted, "I am not that trusting! If I was, I would've been making waaaay more friends. And going out with the ones I do have (that are alive) more! But no. I've been trying to play it safe! For us. But do you know what I had been doing? Making allies. Making myself known to big players that should I ever actually find myself in trouble? I could message them. And they would help. That's what making connections does Lee. I could have been the best alchemist in Aincrad! Fighting on the Frontlines with one of the top guilds..." Okay perhaps she was getting a tad ahead of herself, but she had been on a roll. With frustration, the spearwoman lashed out at the boulder once more.

At Lee's point about Aincrad not being so bad and just wanting what was best for her, Piera couldn't help but feel her anger and resolve start to crumble, just like the boulder they were standing next to. "I know... If it weren't for the constant threat of death...I'd love it here." The healer cracked a smile with a sniff before continuing, "I know you want what's best for me...but I'm not sure I agree with you about what's best for me 'overall'. I'm not...I'm not happy Lee." At that rather pathetic admission, the bespectacled girl hung her head slightly before trying to meet her boyfriend's eyes with a hopeful gaze. "I want to live. But I want to be happy while I'm doing it. Both of us."

ID: 79815
BD: 8+1=9

Boulder: 22-2=20

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

Lee felt like this had all been said before in similar fashion but with far less aggression between them both. All the things that had boiled around them were now infesting the way they were going about things that would normally have been a playful discussion. He could only assume how she was but did not truly know how she interacted with people. Though, as she spoke of the front lines, his once slowly dying anger was doused in gasoline

"You are still stuck on the fu*king front lines?! For someone to be claiming to be making it safe..." He would swing his arm out in the direction of the boulder but would then move his hand to his face as if to hold in his anger and he would take in a massive breath before exhaling loudly. She would then go on to speak of how things would be and how she wasn't happy. Lee would move his hand up over his eyes "I don't want you to not be happy but I know you and you'll always find a reason not to be."

ID: 79816
BD: 5

Rock: 20-0=20

[Piera 0]

Piera sighed roughly at the immediately ignition of Lee's anger towards the front lines, just like she knew it would. She waved at the boulder and completely missed but focused on her argument. Finally removing her hand armor, the brunette rubbed her eyes under her glasses and tried to think of the proper words to convey her meaning correctly. "I know the front lines aren't safe. But neither is doing nothing. How long have we been stuck in here Lee? How long do you think our bodies in the real world can take being stuck in here? Because I sure as hell don't know. Yes, I suppose that being in here isn't that bad...but when you have to worry about being killed by monsters and other players and god forbid random power outages or physical complications in the real world... I want to get out of here as soon as possible. And I can't in good faith not do anything about it when I know I could make a difference."

At the armored man's argument about her finding a reason not to be happy, the alchemist pursed her lips with flared nostrils, crossing her arms in obvious irritation. "I see the reality of a situation but that doesn't keep me from being happy overall. I'm not completely unhappy now even. But it's definitely a slim [censored] margin. I know it's not a path that you're comfortable with but just like you want what's best for me, I'm trying to think about what's best for us long term. Being alive and together. In this world and reality."

ID: 79819
BD: 1+1=2 (miss)

Boulder: 20-0=20

Edited March 18, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

"Now that just isn't true. I'm not saying that doing nothing is great in theory but you can't stand there and tell me with a straight face and say that you could compare it to front line danger." He would point out in a matter-factly tone but she would continue on about the real world and how long they had been inside the game as a whole. She threw out the obvious threats that the game held that had been pointed out before but wished she could contribute. She began to rant about the overall well being of the two of them and that she wished for the best on both their parts to which he would let his head tilt back and throw his hands up "Why do you keep making it sound like I'm not trying though?!"

He would bring his hands down and hold them up and in her direction as if he was aiming to strangle the green eyed woman but would turn and punch the boulder again with the built up anger "It isn't that I'm not trying, it is just that what you are looking for and what I am looking for are not on the same playing field."

ID: 79865
BD: 9

Rock: 20-2= 18

[Piera 0]

As Lee began to wrap up his beginning statement, the alchemist's head would begin shaking back and forth like a bobblehead before she threw a light hit at the quickly crumbling rock. Piera's expression twisted into a grimace of lamentation as he asked asked her with distress, 'why'. Frowning in sorrow as he motioned to strangle her but released his pent up rage on the boulder, the bespectacled woman stayed quiet until he was finished. She wanted desperately to hold his hand or rub his arm, have any contact really, but knew it was best to keep her distance for now, occupying her hands by twisting her fingers together in knots.

"Honey, I'm not trying to say that you aren't trying. I know you are. All the time. But you're right. We just...don't agree..." She met her lover's eyes with an unsettled expression. Sure they disagreed about things, but nothing this major. They'd never had this bad of a fight. Ever. In six years of being together. They seemed for now to be at an impasse. Shuffling her feet in an unsure fashion, Piera said quietly, "I don't want to fight on the front lines if you're not okay with it. But I can't just sit in a safe zone doing nothing..." Sucking her lips in thought, the brunette glanced sidelong as she murmured, "There must be some way we can compromise without both of us being unhappy."

ID: 79873
BD: 5+1=6

Boulder: 18-2=16

Edited March 19, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

The man would stroke his chin lightly as she began to tell him that she did in fact understand his plight in her own way but that did not change how she saw things from her perspective. It was always something that had plagued the sexes from the start of time. His hand would then move to cover his forehead and the other resting on the rock as he seemed to be growing a headache "Of course I don't want you on the front lines but I also don't want to keep you locked away..."

He would pause for a bit longer than normal as the words flew from his mouth and, as if it were a boomerang, they would come back at him and something broke on the left side of his brain as his right eye would twitch several times before it would appear there would be a reset in his mind and he would blink several times and then turn his attentions toward Piera and reach out to pinch her cheek with its whiskers " Well, they wouldn't kill you. Me on the other hand, that will kill my intimidation factor. I can't curse up a storm and then feel threatening. It'll just be sad."

ID: 79876
BD: 5

Rock: 16-0=16

[Piera 0]

Piera's brow would crease in concern as she noticed his hand on his forehead, a sure sign that he was either getting a headache or truly annoyed and at his wit's end. Neither was good to be honest. Expression twisting in a moment of frustration, the brunette went to punch the rock again but lost resolve half way through and just tapped it, resting her fist against the boulder as she looked up at Lee. His eye twitched oddly and she braced herself for another spurt of yelling. When he reached out and pinched her cheek, she flinched involuntarily, not really thinking that he would hurt her, but not wanting physical contact while they were fighting at the moment. ...And then he spoke.

Eyes widening in utter confusion, the alchemist began to grow more confused and concerned by the second. "Honey....what are you talking about?" Her green eyes glanced between each of his as she stepped forward cautiously before she thought of something and a frown of annoyance began to pull at her lips. "If you're trying to change the subject, I swear to god Frank Lee Redir III, I will....piss in your cereal!" It was the only threat that could come to mind. "Now what were you saying?"

ID: 79964
BD: 1+1=2 (miss)

Boulder: 16-0=16

Edited March 20, 2017 by Piera

[Lee 0]

Lee would release her cheek from the light pinch as she would then ask him just what it was he was talking about to which he would glance over at the boulder which seemed to be wearing down quite a bit. He must have been hitting it far harder than he had been realizing. He would turn his full attention to the stone and draw back his fist and he would swing but she would ask him what it was he was talking about to which he would turn and his strike would find nothing but air but he would use the force to turn and point at her face "The whiskers on our face. It is kinda noticeable on both of us though you know how people are, if it is on a girl, people think it's cute. It'd be weird if I had it." He would turn back to the rock and steady himself as he would chime in "Don't you dare think bout doin that to my chocolate morning goodness."

ID: 79967
BD: 5

Rock: 16-0=16

[Piera 0]

Piera stepped aback, not only because she was worried about his stray punch clipping her, but also because of what he was saying. Blinking with incredulity, the brunette completely ignored what he had said and instead asked in a toneless voice that belied the anger she felt internally, "Are you seriously [censored] talking about the stupid whiskers again?" Fist shaking, she channeled it into the rock, feeling a modicum of satisfaction as a little more of it's health was chipped away. But then something rang in her about her question. He was talking about the whiskers....actually...didn't he say the exact same thing earlier? And pinched her cheek...

Head snapping up and focusing on her lover's face with desperateness, Piera reached forward to cup his cheeks. "Lee. Please tell me honestly... Do you really not remember the conversation slash argument that we've been having for the last ten minutes? Are you just [censored] with me for the fun of it??" Eyes bouncing to look between his own in search of the truth, the alchemist stated insistently, "You'd just said that um...[censored]." Her eyes closed momentarily as she tried to remember his wording. "That you didn't want me to fight on the front lines but you didn't want to keep me away? No, locked away." That was the phrase he had used.

ID: 79970
BD: 8+1=9

Boulder: 16-2=14

Edited March 20, 2017 by Piera