Five years ago feels like a lifetime ago, but it’s a night she remembers all too well, one that haunts her dreams from time to time. Despite the scars its left on soul, it’s faded a bit, but never forgotten.

Of course, she doesn’t think twice when the text arrives.

Heavily inured? “C’mon, Blade!”

The Gallade has been through this routine before. A quick TELEPORT brings him to the lab and back, emergency kit slung across his back, “To Mauville Hills!” once she’s ready, she places a gentle hand on the Gallade’s arm and, in a flash, they arrive in the hills.

It’s not a small area, but the Gallade’s psychic typing and natural empathetic abilities draws them towards the injured and suffering. An unconscious man, limp on the ground with a familiar figure hovering over it.

Eva’s attention is immediately drawn to the injured, but it doesn’t remain there for long. Confusion grips her when it’s just one. There’s little evidence of struggle, little reason to call her here.

Emerald eyes flash up towards the figure, familiar bright blue hair brings back distant memories.

“King . . .”

---

KING WAYLAND

the second her name leaves his mouth, xen, his lucario, descends onto the gallade in full force, engaging him in CLOSE COMBAT.
[break][break]
"dr. morales. it's been a few years, hasn't it?" from the deep v of his collar, the marred flesh, a stain of their last encounter, pokes out, sanguine atop pale skin. his lips curl back, baring fangs. "surprised ta see me after leavin' me for dead?" king spits.
[break][break]
"must've been easy, lettin matty off his leash like that. i know he was itchin' to finish the job he was buildin' up back when we were a team." he takes a step in her direction, tossing a pokeball up and down into his palm. "sorry ta say, even if ye weren't involved all those years ago, yer real close to matty. and since i can't get him..."
[break][break]
the question hangs as king catches the orb, white knuckling it, before brining out the pokemon inside - urshifu.

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

Blade didn’t stand a chance. The close combat knocks the wind right out of him and the Gallade is forced back by the blow, away from Eva.

A gasp of surprise leaves her as she flinches away from the sudden attack. Her gaze flashes between the Gallade and King as he speaks. She didn’t want to leave him for dead. The screams haunted her. Life, no matter who’s it is, is sacred. She remembers disappointment she felt in MATIAS SILPH for dragging her there. It wasn’t what he promised.

Words are lost on her tongue. She watches Blade rise, shedding the medical pack on his back. A pink scythe extends from his elbows, striking at the assailant with PSYCHO CUT. He’s a healer, not a fighter.

Eva’s jaw clenches, posture stiffening at his threats. She’s no stranger to war, no stranger to death. King doesn’t frighten her, though he should.

Since I can’t get him . . . the implication isn’t lost on her.

His step forward with met with a step back, keeping the distance, “Settling for an easy target then, hm?”

Coward – it’s implied. His Urshifu is met with a flash of light. Syah the Machamp is released onto the field.

”Don’t do this, king.”

---

KING WAYLAND

"easy target," he laughs, mulling it over with clear aggression. king cracks his neck, continuing her advance, despite her retreat. in the distance a PSYCHO CUT breaks against the lucario's cross-guard, and he returns a METEOR MASH in response. "yea, maybe ye 'r easy, but it's not about the effort. it's about the message."
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at king's enunciation, urshifu launches forward, fist shrouded in an inky black energy as it throws a WICKED BLOW in the machamp's direction. "don't worry, doctor, i won't kill ye. think how nice it'd be for us ta match?" he pulls his shirt up to reveal the large gnarled scar.
[break][break]
his smile is crazy, deranged, and full of malice and rage. like his pokemon before him — king rushes in. eyes boring holes into eva's own, every bit a predator on the hunt.

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

Psychic energy breaks over the Lucario and it’s returned with a steel METEOR MASH. Blade buckles beneath the blow, retaliating with AERIAL ACE to push the Lucario back, grow the distance between them. He needs space to get to Eva, to get them out.

“A message doesn’t change what’s happened, King,” she tries, she always will, no matter how fruitless the effort may be. He inches closer, she steps back, faltering only as the Urshifu launches at Syah. Dark energy washes over her beneath a roar. The Machamp launches back with NO GUARD and a DYNAMIC PUNCH in the form of an uppercut.

Her eyes break from his for only a moment to glance at the scar across his chest. The memories of fire flash around him. Then he lunges.

“No!” For someone who doesn’t fear much, it finally grips her like a hand around her throat. Fight and flight mix together and she’s paralyzed as his large hands reach for her. This is different than war and her instincts have grown stale in her role at Head Professor.

Her feet move on their own, not as practiced as they once did. They carry her to the side, a last-minute effort to lunge away from him. It proves successful for a moment. The uneven ground sends her falling into the dirt and to her hands and knees. She finds herself scrambling to get up, put any sort of distance between them.

“Blade!”

---

KING WAYLAND

the AERIAL ACE breaks on his guard, small gashes forming between parted cobalt. the fur's stained sanguine, but it's not enough to stop his assault. just because he didn't approva of king's plan, didn't mean he wouldn't do everything in his power to help the man. utilizing his EXTREME SPEED, he appears behind the gallade, a fisted paw aimed at the back of his head.
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"i don't care if it changes 'nythin'," he replies back in a snarl, footsteps padding the distance between them with fervor, "i only care that i can pay it back." the NO-GUARD proves vital in breeching the legendaries bubble, but he easily DETECTS the four-armed creatures punch, dodging it with a nimbleness somethin of its size shouldn't be capable of.
[break][break]
the fear in her eyes catches him off-guard. in her he saw himself, terrified of his approaching father, defenseless to the on-coming assault. king hesitates for just a moment, and it's enough. she dodges, falling to meet the hard earth, scrambling to get away. a knot forms in his throat, but he made the decision to deal with whatever the consequences were.
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"XEN. keep 'em there!" like a predator that already knew it's prey were on their last legs, he advances on the woman, gaze hard and steady.
[break][break]
whatever the consequences were.

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

His name in her voice rings in his ears. It’s desperate, he’s desperate. The Lucario’s EXTREME SPEED catches him off guard. And it isn’t until the canine’s fist plunges into her back of his head that he realizes where he disappeared to. A daze washes over the Gallade’s mind as the world momentarily spins. He can hear the scuffle, feel the fear, see Syah’s frustration as her dynamic punch sails past the legendary’s bulky form.

He knows what he has to do, although he doesn’t like it. Run.

A long breath leaves his body with his realization. He cast one more look towards Eva before a flash of light consumes him and the Gallade disappears, TELEPORTING away to find MATIAS SILPH and bring him back.

Syah’s frustrations are clear in her deep roar as her fists sail through nothing but air. Darkness coats her vision as a DARKEST LARIAT flares across her four arms. They swing violently at her opponent aiming to knock his bulky form to the side and back, creating space.

Eva’s plan is similar. Tension grits her teeth together as her heart races in her ears. Flight is impossible, leaving only fight. And fight she will.

A thick boot kicks out from under her, aimed at the inside of King’s knee as he advances. Its aim is to make him stagger and fall, bringing him to her level so he doesn’t have the high ground.

---

KING WAYLAND

lucario's eyes narrow at the TELEPORTING gallade's disappearance. wherever it went, it wouldn't be enough. turning back to the combat, he disappears in a flash of EXTERME SPEED.
[break][break]
with the none-so-subtly of a coy predator, king catches eva's foot at the heel. behind him, the DARKEST LARIAT is met blow for WICKED BLOW, the grunting of the legendary the only sign of any pressure. what did she expect hitting a dark-type pokemon with his own attribute?
[break][break]
before king could capitalize on the assault, xen, his lucario, appears behind eva and reaches to lift her up like she was not but a child. his trainer scowls at the action, but he lets the woman's foot go.
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if all was successful, he reaches into her pocket, pulling out her phone.
[break][break]
"call him."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

Well fuck. He catches her foot like it’s second nature. In a flash of annoyance and desperation, she does the only thing she can: Struggles.

It’s not for long. The Lucario lifts her up like a ragdoll. It’s a firm grip, one stronger than a human can muster and there’s no slipping out of it. She can’t move quick enough to slap his hand away as it approaches. She strikes nothing but air as he pulls out the device. Emerald hues flash with defiance.

"No,” an answer simple and to the point.

With another blow being shot down by her opponent, Syah’s fury rises even further. In her periphery, she sees King’s Lucario advance on Eva. She's trapped between the two with no Blade to get her out.

Her attention strays from her opponent. Cut off the head of the snake and the body will fall. A DYNAMIC PUNCH brews in her right fists as she turns her back on her opponent and charges towards King, attempting to blow him back.

---

KING WAYLAND

he'd expected her defiance. wanted it. his fist comes forward to meet her abdomen, eager to feel her deflate beneath his touch. the approaching fighting-type isn't lost to the lucario, who instead of turning to face the pokemon in combat, brings eva's entire body with him as he rotates.
[break][break]
instead of cutting the head off of enemy snake, she's barreling to the cut off her own. it'd be a painful end. of course the legendary didn't sit still and allow all this trouble to stir. it takes off in chase, readying a WICKED BLOW if the machamp truly wanted to continue the path she was on.
[break][break]
nonphased by the pokemon's approach, king speaks up again.
[break][break]
"call 'im or i start tearin' yer pokemon apart limb by limb in front of ye."
[break][break]
machamps were powerful - he had one of his own, after all - but it would do little beneath the combined assault of his two pokemon.
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"ye got five seconds 'fore i show ye i'm serious."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

Of course she’s defiant. His actions are cruel and senseless. For someone who rarely feels anger, it swells in her chest, fueling the fire that drives the defiance. Even when he strikes, it doesn’t shake her. The fist does force her to keel over, folding against the Lucario’s hold as the wind rushes out of her lungs. The sharp pain forces her eyes wide against her will as she gasps a breath back in to replace the air she lost.

The pain lingers, bringing a pang of nausea that’s only amplified as the Lucario spins her around towards Syah. The fighting-type’s dynamic punch stops mid swing with a roar of frustration. Instead, her wide feet pound the ground, letting the defeat manifest in a deep roar. What’s she supposed to do? She’s helpless with Eva in the arms of the enemy.

Syah’s eyes meet Eva’s. As always, Syah’s ready. This isn’t the first time she’s faced death with unwavering bravery. The Machamp may be ready, but Eva’s not willing to lose her over this, “You’re cruel, king,” she hisses, wiggling and arm to yank free from her captor. Silently, she reaches for the device, a finger tapping the first ‘favorited’ contact on speed dial, MATIAS SILPH. Hopefully Blade has found him by now.

---

KING WAYLAND

"cruel? CRUEL?" his face transform into a fit of rage, and he tears down the collar of his shirt to reveal a pale, pink patchwork of gnarled flesh. It'd been years since the incident, and dozens upon dozens of treatments both by humans, and by pokemon.
[Break][break]
but there was no changing the last. a past that he, and in no small part she, had inflicted upon him.
[Break][break]
his rage carries, hand reaching out to grab the edges of her lips to squeeze them together painfully.
[Break][break]
"be glad im not havin' ye go through what i did." no, that was reserved for MATIAS SILPH. at least up until Eva said something stupid. then, well, who knew?
[Break][break]
his attention shifts to the ringing phone, then to its click, and finally, the voice of an old friend comes on.
[Break][break]
"hey matty. did ye miss me?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

Apparently, he doesn’t agree with her assessment. Eva winces at the painful pinch, brows furrowing in retaliation. The now free hand moves up to slap his away with more force than you would expect from a small woman, “You did this to yourself when you murdered all those people,” she spits out the accusation without hesitation, the free hand curls into a fist, pointing a sharp finger at him, “You’re stained with their blood, and that’s not something you can wash off,” she’ll never forget that night: the fire, the bodies, and reports that followed from across the region. A lot changed for all of them that night.

Emerald eyes train down to the scar on his chest. That’s also a night she’ll never forget. She searched, convinced he was dead. Did she not look hard enough? Could she have saved him? They’re questions someone like her can’t help but ask herself as undeserving guilt creeps in. Does she deserve this?

Her attention is quickly drawn away from KING WAYLAND at the sound of MATIAS SILPH 's voice. Her stomach drops as King's threat looms in the air. She couldn't let King hurt him. Her eyes flash toward Syah and her opponent as her mind clicks into gear, attempting to develop an exit strategy.

---

KING WAYLAND