She’s standing on the porch of their Lavaridge home. The house is situated high on a cliff, overlooking the city below. Behind a pair of flying-types lies a burning sunset, painting the sky with fiery orange that fades into the dark sky above. With a single hand shading her eyes, she watches the Altaria and Charizard spar in the sky. Small bursts of flames and dragon breath spit from their maws as they gracefully dive and twist through the air.

The force of Killian’s fall is even audible outside. It startles her, and she defensively spins to glare behind her. The reflection of the sunset against the living room winds is bright, obscuring her sharp vision into the house. There is a figure, that much is clear. The only one permitted to teleport into the living is herself and Killian, no one else can get past the barriers.

Lex. Alexandra.

There’s distress in his voice, but it is his voice, “Killian?” it only takes a few strides to get to the sliding glass door that she throws open wide.

“Killian!” he’s collapsed on the floor, tense and gasping, “Are you ok?” a stupid question, of course he’s not. But that’s all she can think to ask as her eyes grow wide with concern. Lex knelt beside him. A gentle push should encourage him to roll onto his back. She frantically scans him for any sort of bleeding, any sort of injury but finds no explanation for his condition.

“Killian, what’s wrong? Where’s Loveless?” She scans the room briefly, not finding the source of his sudden appearance. How did he get here?

Killian Decker

At her touch, Killian’s body shifts. A strange biomass spreads across his right arm. The redhead’s lips part in awe, there are words but their lost in the surprise. Her throat trembles, a knot tying itself around her windpipes. Even if she wanted to speak, there were no words anymore, not for this.

It all happened so fast. A foreign texture snatches her face, stretching back and around her head. There’s pressure. So much pressure. Her instinct is to draw back, but she’s held firmly in place. A muffled scream seeps through the cracks of Deoxy’s armor. Both of her hands raise, fingernails clawing frantically at whatever it is that’s consumed her. Off. Get it off.

The floor of the living rumbles with the weight of the Charizard as it lands on the terrace. His maw parts, a deafening roar echoing through the home. He stalks forward, jaws parted, and leathery lips curled at the threat. Flames dance from his lips, dripping like drool from the corners. He can’t fire, Lex is in the way.

He can’t speak, but his glare on the man they all have grown to trust says it all, Release her

Killian Decker

It’s him. . . But it isn’t him. Jed can see that. It’s confusing and it’s too much to handle for him. Another deep growl rumbles through his throat in frustration. The fire the drips from his maw ceases, but he paces anxiously, grumbling and glaring at Killian and the thing leaking out of him.

Lex, on the other hand, can barely hear him. His voice is there, but she doesn’t register the words. She’s frantic, confused, threatened. The pressure increases, literally squeezing the tears out of her eyes. Her fingers continue to claw at the material, trying as hard as she can to rip this thing off her.

“K – K – Killian,” she manages between sobs, “H-Help me.”

Killian Decker

Finally, there is release. As soon as the pressure releases, Lex pulls away. Fingernails turn their attention from the alien to the carpet, driving into the plush rug to drag her backwards and away from Killian.

What the fuck just happened?

Her amber eyes are wide, crimson hair a mess, and beads of sweat pooling at her brow. The way she looks at Killain is alarming, mostly filled with terror, confusion, and desperation to understand.

Did her eyes deceive her? Did his arm change into that . . . thing?

His comfort is met with resistance. She flinches away, sputtering out a “No,” before pulling herself even further away from him. She’s speechless, broken. Her lips part slightly to respond but nothing comes out.

After a moment of simply staring at him, there’s not much left to say except, “What the fuck was that, Killian?” Is this even Killian? Or an imposter in his place?

Killian Decker

Deoxys.

The name elicits and immediately violent response. Visible tension grows through her body, manifesting as clenched fists, a tight jaw, and shift in her posture.

That fucking alien again.

Killian had been hunting for so long, messing with thing he didn’t understand. Now look at him. He’s infected.

There’s a silence that sink between them as her eyes scan over his body slowly, head to toe. There’s apparent judgement behind the glare and perhaps a hint of disgust as she processes the information. Killian has long known how she feels about Deoxy’s and his hunt for the alien.

“Killian –“ she can’t believe she’s about to say this, “We need to call Lulu or something,” she shakes her head, the words taste bitter in her mouth, “Maybe Darkrai can exorcise this thing out of you.”

Not her Killian. It can’t have her Killian.

Killian Decker

It’s fair he doesn’t want either of them inside his head. Lex wouldn’t either. She also wouldn’t want a pokemon inside her, controlling her, haunting her. As he continues with his resistance, her eyes grow wider. She can’t believe what she is hearing. He actually wants this alien inside him.

The surprise phases into anger. It just tried to kill her, nearly succeeded.

Of course, she’s scared. She’s terrified. What does this mean? For Killian? For them? For their life? When she touched him, she touched it. When she kissed him, she kissed it. When she slept beside him, she slept beside it. When she marries him, she marries it.That’s not something she agreed to. What if it wasn’t willing to share its new host? What if it lashed out again and he couldn’t control it?

Heat flares inside her chest as her heart tightens into a knot. The tightness swells, spreading to her throat, “I-“ it chokes her, not letting the words form as she shakes her head, “This isn’t what I want, Killian,” it’s forced out as a hushed whisper as she moves a little further away. A quick glance towards the porch is a familiar tactic, not one she’s used in a while.

It’s an easy escape, an easy way to run. Not from him, from it.

Killian Decker

Her amber eyes burn holes into his. An ultimatum? Her jaw clenches, her voice almost a growl, “That’s not what I said, Killian,” and not an ultimatum she would force upon him.

Why? Why wouldn’t she?

Perhaps not as deep down as it should be, she thinks, no, she knows, he would choose it over her. That’s not a pain she’s willing to put herself through.

Now that her back leans against the wall, she stops. Some of the anger has faded into pain, no doubt a result of the choice she believes he would make, “I just – I’m just-“ she’s too overwhelmed to make any sense of it at all. Why?! Why would he let it inside him?

What does it want?

What happens when it’s finished with him?

“I just don’t know what to do,” she draws her knees closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around them defensively, “What do we do?” It tried to kill her. That’s not ok.

Killian Decker