lucario had managed to sense her first, standing and moving to appear next to king in an instant. not even then, did king pull his attention away from the emptiness of which he lost himself. only when sagira's voice calls to him, filled with angry, crackling lighting, does he turn.
[break][break]
it'd been some time since he saw her last. she was still the kind of eye-catching beauty that had enthralled him so many years ago. the only difference was the look of pure and utter hatred that twisted her face now. the hatred that was directed at him/
[break][break]
"sagira—" king hesitates, narrowed eyes searching for a reason for their meeting; an idea as to what he could've done since they last met to call upon this hatred; for a young girl at her side. he found none of those.
[break][break]
"sagira, what are ye doin' here? where's delta?"
[break][break]
unlike the two pokemon at his side, both of which were tense and uneasy, king felt secure, if not confused. he saw no threat here, but that wasn't because it didn't exist.
[break][break]
it was the last shreds of him clinging onto a false hope.

[attr="class","ooc"]sagira mosse [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-machamp"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-aggron"]

an attack like this, as clear as a summer sky, would never have caught him off-guard before. against anyone else, he'd have likely struck first - cobra kai style - but with sagira, everything was different. it had to be. this was the mother of his child.
[break][break]
king hesitated.
[break][break]
his pokemon didn't.
[break][break]
lucario's aura sensing appendages flare, DETECTING the attack before anyone else. tapping his knuckles against the iron shell of the sleeping aggron, he concurrently moves to stand in the way of the ENERGY BALL.
[break][break]
not that it was needed.
[break][break]
a WIDE-GUARD goes up, a horizontal shield the width of an entire human body, that goes up to protect against the surprise ambush.
[break][break]
from behind it, king looks up with a conflicted expression.
[break][break]
"we don't need to do this, gira."

[attr="class","ooc"]sagira mosse [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-machamp"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-aggron"]

why?
[break][break]
why couldn't he get a break? just one. how much longer did he have to fight? he'd been fighting since he was a boy, against an overwhelming force disguised as a face he could trust, to the very people he'd chosen to place his trust in.
[break][break]
and at every turn, no matter his decisions, or circumstances, he was betrayed.
[break][break]
his knuckles turn white, as he digs his fingers into his palm. fists shake, and his breathe comes uneasy.
[break][break]
"i didn't want any of this," he says so softly, it's carried off by the sounds of clashing battle. it was true. he'd joined the league to do some good with his life; to aim his temper at an enemy that deserved it. he'd placed his trust into the people around him; laughed, drank and opened up to them. yet, none of that mattered. they turned on him just as quickly.
[break][break]
the arrow pierces lucario's shadow, ethereal chains binding him in place just as a sky blue PROTECTIVE dome surrounds them from the LEAF STORM. it might as well have been a gentle breeze, for all the damage it did.
[break][break]
no doubt at this point she knew the truth of it. that he'd been turned on, ostracized, betrayed. yet here she was hunting him down instead. he deserved it, surely, but the others? they were no different. even if king hadn't killed those one-hundred and six directly, his information led directly to it. but people like MATIAS SILPH ? he was just as responsible, if not more-so, for driving king to this.
[break][break]
but sagira wouldn't understand that.
[break][break]
no, she loved matias too much. she always had. he'd been a third-wheel for the entirety of their friendship. their hook-up had been a mistake, a regret, and nothing would change that. for just that short amount of time, he was a stand-in; an excuse. even now, she wouldn't listen, wouldn't try.
[break][break]
no, she just wanted revenge. an outlet for her anger. and that was all he was good for.
[break][break]
and what of delta? where was she? no-doubt with matias right now. the thought widened the void he felt in his chest, and cold, pale anger raced through his veins.
[break][break]
that was enough to pull him from his stupor.
[break][break]
"xen," his voice was barely above a whisper, but it trembled with emotion, "let's give 'er what she wants."
[break][break]
the lucario only grunted, SWORDS DANCING around his body, muscles bulging against the chains that held him. from king's other hand, he releases two more pokemon. they stand on either side of him, taking in the sight of the protective bubbles barrage. they knew why they were here. why they were needed.
[break][break]
sagira only saw him a monster. so, he would give it to her. in a burst of movement, his pokemon shot forward.
[break][break]
and so did king.

[attr="class","ooc"]sagira mosse [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-machamp"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-aggron"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-blaziken"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-urshifu"]

for the first time in a long time, king doesn't think.

he'd been the type of predator that acted out of instinct for the vast majority of his life. it'd been the crutch he leaned on to survive the beatings, the missions, and the grief that consumed him the day sagira hadn't made it back.
[break][break]
instinct had guided his rage for the weeks leading up to his betrayal, and the very same night when he plunged the blade into MATIAS SILPH's side. numb to it all, he acted without concern for anything, or anyone else.
[break][break]
only when it all ended, did it come rushing back. since that night, he hadn't taken a single life. his decisions, actions, or commands, had led no one to their death. he'd suppressed the animal inside, if not for sagira's memory's sake, than his own. despite all that, here he was again. back where he started despite all he'd done to avoid this.
[break][break]
so, he cuts it off. numbs himself from everything but what he needs right here, right now to survive. then wallowing self-pity can come later.
the CURSE takes hold, siphoning some of the blaziken's life energy. there was nothing he could do to stop it, so he doesn't even try, instead shifting his attention to the SPIRIT SHACKLE. DETECTING it's trajectory was easy, and crushing it with his clawed hand even more so. his advance continues, eyes locked onto the shifting owl.
[break][break]
ROCK TOMB meets ROCK TOMB, the aggron raising rocks of her own to counter-act the claydol's defenses. with precision, and annoyance, she tosses them at once to meet, only missing one, maybe two of them. the first strikes her, landing squarely on shoulders. she roars in pain and flips it off of her. the other is caught by his machamp, and with a VITAL THROW, he tosses it back.
[break][break]
lucario and urishifu break out ahead of king, advancing at a much faster pace than himself. summoning an orb of energy, xen tosses an AURA SPHERE directly at sagira and her legendary monkey, while his own legendary begins to FOCUS its ENERGY.
[break][break]
all the while king never stops his advance.

[attr="class","ooc"]sagira mosse [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-machamp"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-aggron"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-blaziken"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-urshifu"]