My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

XI. Infestation - Payback

The heat began to pick up around Volcarona as it let forth an intense blast of all-consuming flame that scorched the earth and melted boulders as it barreled towards Umbreon, who continued to dash straight towards the blazing inferno without fear or hesitation.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the battle continued to ensue.

"What is she doing!?", Hop exclaimed in a nervous sweat.

Just as it appeared as though Volcarona's attack would hit its mark...

"Close in, Umbreon", Marnie shouted. "Use Detect!"

Umbreon's ruby-red eyes glimmered swiftly as Marnie's command reached her ears. As she and the volatile Fire Blast rapidly approached one another, she became hyper-aware of everything about it - its movement speed, its shape, its trajectory, etc. It was almost as if time was moving in slow motion, giving Umbreon more than enough leeway to react. At the last possible moment, she pushed herself off her feet into the air, performing an elegant barrel roll to her left. Fire Blast had missed its mark, and Umbreon now had a clear shot at her target.

Weston's eyes widened in surprise. "What the..!? No way!"

Marnie gave a confident smirk. "Bring it home with Crunch!"

Umbreon continued to close in rapidly with her fangs bared.

"Volcarona, quickly", Weston yelled. "Use Leech Life!"

Volcarona opened his mouth exposing its own fangs, preparing to charge in and meet Umbreon's attack head on. However, he couldn't react quick enough - before it could move, Umbreon clamped down on Volcarona's thorax with her fangs, tight as a vice grip. Volcarona cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake Umbreon off as they floated in the air. Umbreon was crafty, however, and used the momentum of Volcarona's shaking to her advantage. When Volcarona tried shaking her off to the left, she jerked her head to the right, and the sudden shift in momentum was enough to throw his entire body to the side. Umbreon released her grip, sending Volcarona sailing head-first into a nearby boulder with enough force to kick up a cloud of dirt and dust.

"Wah!", Weston cried out in shock. "Volcarona!"

"Volcarona is unable to battle! The winner is Umbreon!"

The audience hadn't cheered louder during any single moment of the entire battle up until that point as they did in that moment, during the beginning of Marnie's comeback. Evidently, her fans were many, and the relentless high-octane display they had just witnessed pleased them greatly.

"Yooooooooooo!", Hop cheered with excitement, "That was insane!"

"Oh yeah!", Marcus shouted with equal excitement and exuberance. "Crush him, Marnie! Crush him, Umbreon!"

Hop chuckled. "Wow, mate, you know, I'm not used to seeing you this wild."

It was true - Marcus was practically defined by his modesty and timid nature. On any normal day, he'd never behave in such a manner. Needless to say, however, this was not a normal day. Today, he was a member of Team Yell, proudly supporting one of his best friends during one of the most crucial matches of her life. He was going to give it everything he had, and he was going to have a riot while doing it.

"Let me have this, Hop", Marcus replied. "I'm having fun."

"Well now, there's the Marn we all know n' love", Piers commented. "She didn't lose sync with Umbreon, not even for a second. Not a single move went to waste." He gave a smirk to Marcus. "Whatever training you did with that Umbreon beforehand must've been pretty intense, eh, Marcus?"

Marcus grinned. "Truth is, I didn't do any training with Umbreon before sending her over to Marnie."

Piers looked at Marcus in awe. "Y-you're kiddin', right?"