it's not DANNY HALL she finds.[break][break]

"professor reyes."[break][break]

his face, indifferent as usual, betrays nothing. with his hands clasped behind his back, he takes another step forward, staring down at the young scientist before him.[break][break]

"just visiting, i presume?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]he steps forward.

and she steps back...

a dance she doesn't wish to engage in. she can feel the phantom pain now, an echo begging to be given life.

"you could say that," she offers. her back crawls with paranoia, with panic, with fear. she ignores it as best she can. and she pretends with a neutral face, just as he, that they're acquaintances instead of opponents.

"it's... been a while."

THEO BECKETT

"not for you. you were here just the other week."[break][break]

information spreads like wildfire, he finds. gossip, rumors, and speculation often obscure the truth. he just knows where to look.[break][break]

his hand slides into his coat. it's not a pokeball he pulls out, but a pack of cigarettes.[break][break]

"do not make the mistake of thinking there will be a next visit, professor."[break][break]

he offers her the pack.[break][break]

"what does this tree mean to you?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]her lips threaten to pull into a sneer. and for a moment, she wants to give in.

instead, she blinks and the expression dies beneath neutrality.

"i wouldn't dream of it." a lie, perhaps, but she presses on to rid herself of the awful skittering of her jagged scars. paranoia creeps in and poisons her just as the littleroot tree had succumbed to the same fate.

fitting.

the pack is held out, stared at, and left to hang in the balance.

"is it not uncommon for a scientist to flock to unnatural phenomena?"

THEO BECKETT

"no."[break][break]

the pack falls back to his side.[break][break]

"but it is uncommon for said scientist to repeatedly risk her life for a tree."[break][break]

up above, past the thick clouds that loom over them, a roar pierces.[break][break]

"do you not value your life?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"is it risking my life?" her head tilts at the thought.

there's no apparent threat at the moment. it looms in the shadows, in the skittering skin of her back.

and the question posed is... uncomfortable.

her lips pull into a coy smile as if to deflect from answers she doesn't want to seek within herself. it works, if only for a little.

"that depends," she murmurs. her eyes drift up to the clouds, to the roar that sounds. "are you trying to snuff it out?"

THEO BECKETT

it becomes abundantly clear that this conversation isn't going to lead anywhere. so, with a click of his tongue, the shadows around them start to shift.[break][break]

"it seems i have to."[break][break]

but the threat doesn't come from the shadows. at least not yet.[break][break]

instead, the ground beneath illeana cracks, making way for sableye's DIG as it bursts out of the ground looking to claw at her legs.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-sableye"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]at long last, her expression gives way. it breaks at the seams, porcelain shattering into a scowl. her body shifts as if motion beckons.

and yet, she's not quick enough.

the ground beneath her breaks apart. jagged purple claws tear at fabric and skin. the resulting shriek is jarring.

psychic terrain is steady when it bleeds, quite like blood in a way. it eases pain as she stumbles, as she threatens to crumble. and her shaking fingers are fumbling with the pokeballs at her waist.

still not quick enough.

two flashes pop like fireworks and somehow, only one form takes shape. it's hulking, looming, menacing. and when the automaton snarls, she grins.

"earthquake."

she lurches to grab hold of clay limbs as the ground begins to tremble.

THEO BECKETT

today, illeana reyes will learn.[break][break]

the EARTH may QUAKE but nothing can be done to stop the assault that comes. with time comes preparation, and since illeana's previous visits theo has come to learn one thing:[break][break]

she will return and return and return until she gets what she wants.[break][break]

hence, the trap.[break][break]

EARTHQUAKE slams into the sableye but it continues on, seemingly unhindered while it DISABLES the golurk from using it again.[break][break]

at the same time, the shadows around them materialize. gothitelle's SHADOW TAG prevents escape. PSYCHIC looks to engulf illeana while a SPIRIT SHACKLE shoots at her from the shadows.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-sableye"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothitelle"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-decidueye"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]today marks history... illeana reyes, finally meeting the consequences of her actions.

it's a pivotal point, really. sap sipper to...

the ground shakes, earthquake ripping apart the earth. she's struggling to stay standing, even with fingers clawing at clay. and somehow, it's still not enough to provide salvation.

her golurk's move is disabled, locked away beneath a prison. it tries to retaliate with a hulking fist swinging around, hammer arm unleashed.

and she finds her own laced behind a clever psychic. the spirit shackle strikes too quickly and she hates the scream that escapes. the scientist struggles against bindings that refuse to loosen, that refuse to give way.

the look that theo will see, then, is one of pure panic.

...to hostage.

THEO BECKETT

the outcome of their encounter has long been decided.[break][break]

as illeana is held by both PSYCHIC and SPIRIT SHACKLE, theo approaches, his advance unbothered by the battle that continues to rage on in the background between golurk and sableye.[break][break]

but no words are shared. no sentiments. all that happens is the HYPNOSIS that carries illeana off to a peaceful slumber.[break][break]

illeana reyes: head professor, geneticist, and hostage.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-sableye"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothitelle"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-decidueye"]