"I think Hoenn has a mixed opinion on your heroics," she reminded him, mounting her Glastrier as she descended into the water. This close to the docks, it was shallow enough to still wade through; they'd never managed to leave port, amusingly enough. "And you forget I've seen your villainy firsthand."[break][break]

It was true though that Matias had accomplished many military feats on behalf of the League, however. That was what made him such a high priority target for Rocket's operatives.[break][break]

Ultimately, it was why Declan had humored this situation between them. Not that Matias needed to know the specifics of that arrangement.[break][break]

"If you're my greatest strength, what does it say that I'm your greatest liability?" she retorted flatly, but even her wounded pride could accept the truth of his statement: supporting him, and Groudon, was the route to victory in this battle. Her Naganadel cast down another THUNDERBOLT to the Kyogre, hoping to paralyze it in place.[break][break]

Silent calculation resulted in Elisabeth dismounting, exchanging the Glastrier for a Venusaur that let out a low roar as it sloshed forward in the water. A SUNNY DAY sought to pierce through the DRIZZLE, empowering the INFERNO that blazed beneath the Charizard's shadow.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"In my experience, you aren't much of a romantic, Silph."[break][break]

A tiny scoff and an eyeroll met that insipid remark, while she attempted to focus more on the threat of the Kyogre in front of them. Already the fruits of this change in tactic were revealing themselves, a SOLAR BEAM immediately flaring out to join forces with a torrent of flames.[break][break]

"You just like a challenge, that's all. Or you get bored."[break][break]

The MEGA-EVOLUTION of her own Venusaur followed his, towering over the low-lying waves as she climbed upon its back. She could still see the scar from where it had been nearly killed in battle by freya morningstar, a purple welt blossoming at the center of its flowering bulb forevermore.[break][break]

This brief second lost to memory was enough for MATIAS SILPH to swoop in front of her, scorching the sea in preparation for whatever it was their synergy had forced the Kyogre to resort to. That was enough to make her feel his panic and urgency, and a WEATHER BALL of blazing heat moved to assist in drying the ocean to ruin.[break][break]

"What are you--?"[break][break]

An ear-splitting roar interrupted her as the Kyogre bellowed with rage, and what still remained of the water surged in answer, freezing at an alarming rate.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Silence settled in the smoke and steam of the Charizard's diminishing FLAMETHROWER as it hissed in the night air. All around them, the wreckage of ship and frozen sea stood as a testament to the might of the two great Pokemon, the Kyogre briefly imprisoned beneath a glass-like barrier of ice.[break][break]

Only when Matias's attack had concluded did Elisabeth catch herself holding her breath; as she released it, her tense grip on the Venusaur loosened once more.[break][break]

Her first instinct was to mock him for his declaration, but something in the way he glared back at her gave her pause. "You're so bad at judging people," came the unexpected voice of kyle lopez suddenly, and she disliked the way the Champion's criticism still lingered with her now.[break][break]

"I suppose we don't know each other very well," she said finally, and it was the closest thing to an apology she felt capable of giving. "You fought well," she added, and that would have to suffice as her expression of gratitude, too.[break][break]

The ERUPTION shook beneath them, and her Venusaur met it with an EARTH POWER that shuddered with a tremor that cut through earth trapped undersea, directed towards their mutual target.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Let me in"? Hadn't she already given him enough? Why did he have to keep asking for more and more, taking and taking and taking while still crying it was never enough?[break][break]

"It's never enough, is it? Let him in, and he'll bleed us dry."

[break]

Her guilt vanished in favor of hot frustration, which boiled over as the INFERNO abruptly shifted to a HURRICANE. It blew back the underboss and her Venusaur as the Kyogre broke through its icy confinement. Impulsively, Elisabeth reached out a hand towards Matias and vines burst through the water at her resentful command, shattering the remainder of ice as they joined with a FRENZY PLANT from her Venusaur to ensnare the Kyogre with stinging nettles and vines.[break][break]

Restrained for a moment, the enormous oceanic titan struggled to break through its leafy hold, eyes shining with fury for Groudon and its Avatar.[break][break]

"God, I hate you," she said through gritted teeth, and in this moment it felt like her words could be aimed at Kyogre, the man she was assisting, or the unseen Ruinous Beast that had gifted her this sudden influx of power.[break][break]

If she was to be honest with herself, Elisabeth wasn't sure of the true source of her resentment, either. All three, perhaps.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

She regretted relying on Wo-chien almost immediately. The wild, churning emotion inside of her tasted noxious and bitter, rising up like bile in her throat as her mind swam with dangerous temptation.[break][break]

Maintaining this tether over Kyogre required an immense amount of power. It demanded a supply of grudges she was afraid of uncaging in herself again.[break][break]

"Stop taunting it, damn you," she rasped out, exhaustion wearing on her as dark thoughts slithered in her mind. "We're running out of time."[break][break]

Somewhere in the distance, she could swear she saw the light of two ochre eyes. Watching her. Waiting for her to succumb further.[break][break]

"I can't keep--"[break][break]

The sudden jolt of inertia cut her words off as her hold on the vines loosened, the warning dying on her lips.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

His hubris unraveled him.[break][break]

Elisabeth's hand flew to her mouth in horror at the sickening crunch that followed, resulting in the grisly sound of teeth sinking into flesh. Half of her expected to see him severed in half, punished for his arrogance, only for the Kyogre to retreat carelessly into the sea instead.[break][break]

This was a warning, not a death knell.[break][break]

Blood blossomed red in the water, staining each wave crimson, and Elisabeth ran over to inspect the damage. What do I do, she thought desperately, and another thought whispered cruelly in her mind:[break][break]

"We kill him, before he can kill us."

[break]

She froze, a hand brushing the hair from his face as she contemplated that action. She could kill him, couldn't she? Injured as he was, alone and without allies aside from her, it would be oh-so-easy to summon a vine to wrap itself tightly around his neck, throttling him out of consciousness.[break][break]

Or she could simply abandon him, leaving him to die without her intervention. There would be a poetic justice in that, too.[break][break]

Indecision warred within her as she bit her lip, debating the merits of keeping him alive. How much value did this alliance give her? Was she safer with him dead -- would him dying, in fact, appease declan walsh more than keeping him alive as a puppet would? Which result gave her greater security?[break][break]

"KILL HIM."

[break]

She took too long to decide, in the end. He chose her next action for her.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]