Killian can list several ways he'd expect Lex to respond to his question. Flirty, haughty, or even a little panicked if things had gone wrong. When she's silent, it knots his stomach. "This is why I wanted to stick together." the thought is one shared only with himself. But it's too soon to assume the worst. So, he waits - gives her time to take care of whatever she's doing.

That's when the glass shatters, and a body comes flying out from the bow. Orbeetle shields him from the rain of glass with Expanding Force, but Killian doesn't notice. Those deep blues of his fixate on the woman descending from the opening like an angry goddess. Over the years, Lex has left Killian speechless and struggling for words many times. But not like this. His muscles are tight, his heartbeat is rapid, and he doesn't know if that's because he's afraid or turned on or both.

What he does know is that the woman currently grinding glass into a man's chest isn't the same one who stole his heart. She looks the same, has Lex's voice, but that look inside her golden eyes is dark. It makes his skin crawl and his lips purse.

Cillian Quinn, this is what you and your Rocket did. Killian finds his voice inside his anger for Rocket's underboss. "Lex, what the fuck?" his voice is razor-sharp, but Lex will recognize what it sounds like when it weavers.

"You're making an awful lot of noise for someone who likes to do things quietly." he doesn't care that the man's in pain. That's not why he moves to knock her foot off of him.

"And what the fuck is this?"

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

It’s Killian’s sharp voice that snaps her out of whatever dark trance she’s in. It cuts her like a knife. It’s deep, she recognizes the anger in it. The amber eyes that flash towards him as he approaches are still wild, unpredictable. There’s a sharpness in her own gaze that attempts to communicate warning he doesn’t heed. She doesn’t even know it’s there, but Gardevoir does.

He knocks her foot off, and the shadow pokemon rushes between them. She floats slightly above him, peering down with cold red eyes. She’s close enough to let the cool ectoplasm of her ghostly form brush against his skin. She has no loyalty to Killian, just the order from Lex to never harm him. Even then, it’s just obedience, not loyalty, “Back off,” she commands before Smoke has the chance to rush forward and defend Killian. The last thing they needed is fighting among themselves.

Anger radiates off him, she can see it, feel it as the Gardevoir fades from sight to leave the space between them empty. She doesn’t seem to understand what’s wrong, “He tried to run,” she repeats, as if that would make it any better. Her gaze moves back down to the captain as he rolls over, groaning, “He’s not running anymore,” problem solved.

Killian Decker

Last time Gardevoir stood before like this it had attacked. The memory is still fresh, but Killian doesn't flinch. Anger is a powerful motive and this time he has Pokemon of his own by his side.

"I don't care." he doesn't have the energy for long winded sentences anymore. This is a problem, one that needs to be addressed. "Look at yourself. No different than Lulu losing her temper." cold and to the point.

What happens if they continue and are forced to fight? Is she going to start killing people left and right? Killian doesn't want to take that chance. He's not sure if he could watch Lex walk down that path. "I'm calling this off." he whistles, sending Staraptor diving down from the sky

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

An anger swells within her too. Eye narrows to meet his, resolute in their defiance. How dare he. How dare he compare her to Lulu. She at least gave the man a chance, a choice. It’s more than she ever got. It wasn’t long ago Killian had Lex pressed against the stone wall of a mausoleum with his fingers curled around her throat. This is a stranger, a means to an end, not someone either of them loved or cared for. Hypocrite, “I am nothing like her,” she speaks slowly, articulating her words and lacing them with a growl.

“Calling it off?!” she reels back in surprise and frustration, spinning on her heels while Killian whistled to call down his Staraptor. Aubie remains high above, waiting for Lex’s orders, “Fine. Leave. I’ll finish what we started,” Failure isn’t an option, it’s seared into her like a brand.

“Smoke, lock the crew in, make sure they can’t leave. Oh . . . and shut this ship down,” the Gengar disappears to cut the engines and go in search of where the crew lies hidden. He will keep them there, “Gardevoir, get him up,” The Shadow Pokemon phases back into view, extending a ghostly hand to wrap the Captain in PSYCHIC energy to stand him up onto his feet.

Killian Decker

What the fuck was going on right now? Everything had been fine moments ago. Now they're out here arguing with each other about the ethics of torturing a stranger. "Ugh, aah." it's a strange mixture of noises and not words that come from Killian's lips.

If she does this alone, she'll likely kill someone. Not that she'd care from the looks of things. Fucking Rocket. Fucking Cillian Quinn. Fucking Lulu Flint. This entire region's done nothing but make his life hard. They were supposed to be passed this kind of shit with one another.

The situation spirals further down the metaphorical shitter while he's thinking. Lex, in all her anger, gives two orders, and he takes issue with one. Killian doesn't stop the Gradevoir. He could, Shadow Pokemon weren't invincible. But the man's safety isn't Killian's concern. He could drown for all the admin cared. It's Lex's soul that Killian is worried about.

"Seriously, Alexandra. What the fuck are you doing?" her full name - things were about to get prickly. "I'm ordering you to stop." gross. Pulling rank on Lex felt wrong, made his muscles tense and his skin crawl.

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

Alexandra. Lex whips around to face him with even more fury than before. He’s digging deeper, trying to poke the bear. Unfortunately, he knows all the right buttons to push to really tick her off. The order has her frozen in place. Her face twists into something unrecognizable. It’s a mixture of anger, disgust, and surprise, “What did you just say to me?” her words are slow again, deliberate. Lex heard him loud and clear. He ordered her to stop.

Killian could have just talked her down from the foreign high. A loving touch, a gentle voice. It could have reminded her this isn’t who she is, this is Rocket’s influence. But no, he chose anger and insult – salt rubbed into the wound torn open and stuffed with darkness. She hasn’t killed anyone, and she wasn’t planning on it. She’s not a monster.

He seems to think so, though.

Now she finds herself conflicted between the obedience beat into her and the defiance she’s always known. She’s torn between love and disgust. She’s submissive for Killian, that’s no secret, but pulling rank is a level she thought he’d never stoop to. It’s a new can of Wurmple he’s opened. She doesn’t question the task at hand anymore. It’s background noise compared to what the implication of him ordering her around means, “What’re you gonna do, Killian? Beat me into submission?” Like Gavin? Like Lulu? Like Kaito?

She’s getting real sick of being a puppet.

Killian Decker

She's been mad at him before but never like this. The look she gives when she spins around turns his blood to ice. Killian's frozen in place for a moment. He studies her face and the hint of disgust written across it. You'd think he'd said something horrible not her name.

"I said stop." he repeats, now that he's got her attention. "Just stop and take a look around, Lex." no need to push further. Killian can see the line he's edging toward. It's fast approaching, and knots his stomach.

He doesn't think she's a monster. The fear of her turning into one is what has him worked up. That darkness is a place Killian's been too before. Traces of it linger inside him to this day. He didn't want that for Lex. Watching her wade through it more than she has already would shatter him.

Is this how she'd felt in the weeks after his coma? If so, no wonder she'd been desperate to get him back.

He flinches at her accusation, flame dulling as genuine hurt flashes across his features. "What? Do you hear yourself? Beat you? Lex, I'd never." he doesn't care about the Gardevoir or what it might do. His steps carry him close to her. Touching her seems risky, but he tries to anyway. His hand reaches for hers, to squeeze, to try and center her. Center himself.

"All I want is for you to stop. Think. We can do this without torture. They'll work for us sure, but then they'll end up like us. Plotting to get back at the people that threw them to the ground."

There was a better way.

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

Finding Lex beneath the fury would prove to be a difficult task. It’s consumed her at this point. Through his curt command, she’s been reduced to nothing more than a subordinate by the man she loves, she trusts. It hurts. She asks because that’s all she knows. It’s what she’s been taught: if she steps out of line, suffering is the consequence. Emotional, physical, it doesn’t matter. Suffering is one and the same. If she disobeyed Killian, what would he do?

He steps closer, she flinches at his touch. It’s an attempt to pull her hand away but he squeezes, and his grip is firm. It’s jarring, at first. She doesn’t want to be touched, trapped, she wants to be free. She takes a sharp breath, a step back, but she remains in his grip. The longer his warmth lingers on her hand, the harder it becomes to pull away. She stops and looks around like he asks.

She sees a man, bloodied, in pain, forcibly held up by the Gardevoir’s Psychic. There’s shattered glass, unnecessary violence. In Killian’s eyes she sees fear, pain, and perhaps a hint of desperation. She recognizes it as the look she’d given him when he was lost, “I – I-,” she stutters, shaking her head. Her amber eyes quickly leave his, she can’t look at him anymore. It’s a sudden, oppressive weight of shame that crushes her.

She tries one more time to pull her hand away. It’s for a different reason: she doesn’t deserve his comfort, “I’m sorry,” she exhales, quietly.

Killian Decker

What dark depths have they reached where she flinches at his touch? He remembers Mt.Pyre and his stomach drops. This region had ruined them. Tainted who they were as people. They couldn't go back, they'd never be able to return to who they were before.

She tries to pull back but Killian keeps her close. He waits until he sees the darkness fade before releasing her hand.

There's his Lex. A piece of her anyway, she sounds so small as she shrinks away from him. He frowns. "No, I'm sorry." he'd been apologizing a lot lately, hadn't he? "I'm never going to hurt you if you don't listen." the fact he even has to say that infuriates him. They were supposed to be a stronger couple than this.

King and Queen. Unbreakable.

Yet cracks were starting to form. "Never again." god, that cuts him deep. But ignoring the mistake made it likely to happen again. He needs her close, her comfort and though she retreats, Lex needs him too. Killian closes the distance again to hug her.

"I'm sorry we're like this right now."

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

They really are lost. Whatever Hoenn has done to them hasn’t been for the better. The trauma has brought them closer, but it’s also driven them so far apart. It’s times like this she fears maybe it’s too far. He’s still able to pull her back, which means something.

He’s sorry, she’s sorry. It’s an all too familiar dance at this point. Lex doesn’t flinch this time. She needs him as much as he needs her. Melting into his embrace is easy, accepting her sins is more difficult. She doesn’t quite know what to say. A part of her is conflicted. There was a sense of power she relishes in, but Killian’s reaction of disgust and disapproval was heartbreaking.

A deep breath brings his scent when she lies her head on his chest, “Let’s just . . . finish this and go home,” she won’t step back or let go until he does, finding comfort in his embrace.

Killian Decker

If Killian had to describe how things felt in a single word, he'd go with heavy. An almost unbearable pressure pressed down on their relationship. Every time they moved forward, something pushed them back. Felt like they were trying to walk against a thousand miles per hour wind.

Things were going to get worse. To add to the metaphor, they were about to get hail in their wind.

"Why?" Killian peels himself off her, it's a simple question. "I doubt they'll be bothering anyone again. You've scared the shit out of their captain." and he didn't want a vindictive pirate working for them.

"I'm not saying, no, but I'd considered this finish. They know these waters belong to Rocket now."

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim

As he peels back, so does she. She glances up to look at him while he explains his “why”. It makes sense, he always does. In return her shoulders shrug, sparing one last glance over towards the Captain and the Gardevoir, “Ok, then let’s just go home,” if things are finished, then that’s what she wants to do. Lex wants to run, run from the sight of the shattered glass and beaten man that acted as a painful reminder of her brief dip into darkness.

Her gaze turns back to Killian. At his word, she could collect her pokemon and Gardevoir could TELEPORT them home, simple as that.

Killian Decker

He was expecting something more than shrugged obedience. An actual answer, perhaps, but Killian doesn't push. There'd been enough of that today.

Before they leave, a question pops into his head. Killian's not sure where it came from, only that its presence is difficult to ignore. He steps over to the captain's groaning body. His knees pop as he crouches down next to him. "Hey," fingers flick the man's forehead, "How'd you afford this ship? It's way too fancy for lowlifes like you." the man answers with a moan.

Again, Killian's fingers tap the center of his head. "Come on. I know you can speak. Tell me, or I let her finish what she started." there's a coldness to his tone that borders on heartless.

Here comes the hail.

"Ugh. A gift from some Johto guy named Kaito. Said it was ours for a small share of what we stole. And that if we ran into Rocket, to keep an eye on them. Report what they were doin."

Oh.

Killian stands tension in his shoulders, eyes dark with malice. This was the warehouse all over again. He turns to Lex to gauge her action. Is this going to push her back over the edge?

Alexandra Briarwood - Sink or Swim