[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]okay... she missed something. well, several things, actually.

she's the last to know, understand, realize. and when it dawns that this situation is dissolving quickly, her expression twists into hurt.

too many questions of why, what, how, and who rise but one is persistent in the way it drives a knife into the body: why did Felix Gallagher lie to her?

bryan delarosa and Eva Morales clash quickly, ferociously, and the scientist looks lost in a way she detests. her back crawls with life, with paranoia, with anxiety. it burns more than the seared flesh of her arm.

she's been lucky, perhaps, to not have run into bryan delarosa on a personal level. too lucky, it would seem.

"who's that?"

she questions Eva Morales in a rushed whisper, body shifting into the defensive.

and as Felix Gallagher releases his infernape, her eyes narrow into anger.

"what're you doing?"

why is he doing this? is he... attacking them? her?

the metal beneath them begins to groan, melting and twisting beneath the infernape's heat. her golurk springs forward, wrapping clay hands around her and Eva Morales's waists to drag them forward before the metal floor they had been standing on gives way.

once they're safe on another piece of metal, she turns her attention to bryan delarosa and Felix Gallagher. somehow, the latter's gallade stays close to her, persistent in the way it protectively hovers in her proximity.

the ticking sound seems louder now, more demanding.

"there isn't time for this!"

it's harsh, irritated, patience worn way too thin. one more push and she'd surely snap. except... well, she's past that point now.

"trap them."

they need to stop that ticking, solve the puzzle, get the fuck out of here. instead, they're fighting amongst themselves. ugh.

behind the two scientists, more soulless volcanions creep closer. they're surrounded.

"never-ending nightmare."

as her golurk lurches into z-move: never-ending nightmare, illeana's healing mist begins to spread around them until it reaches its five foot radius. the pearly pink mist seems restless, angry in the way it feebly reaches tendrils toward bryan delarosa and Felix Gallagher despite the distance being too large for it to overcome.

bryan delarosa Eva Morales Felix Gallagher

They made it very clear, quickly, that Illeana was not a part of this charade. The way they attacked them both put Eva’s suspicions at ease. The Mega Pidgeot takes the brunt of the G-MAX SNOOZE as Illeana’s Golurk scoops them up in its arms. Eva squeaks in surprise but the ghost is a familiar presence.

The metal grate gives way moments after the Golurk shifts their position, “It’s The Wolf,” the professor practically growls the title, her emerald eyes burn with an unfamiliar hatred, “A Rocket,” and her self-proclaimed rival. They’ve met on too many occasions and Eva was the one that usually ended up bruised and beaten – not this time, “Xernea’s avatar,” if that wasn’t already abundantly clear.

Dolly whips up a HURRICANE. The gale force winds batter against the opposing rivals but Eva can see the Pidgeot isn’t as steady in the air as she should be. The Snooze must have gotten to her, “We gotta go! The puzzle, Illeana!” When she turns to put her mind to work, the urgency is doubled when she meets the soulless gaze of an approaching Volcanion. They just couldn’t catch a break, could they?

---

illeana reyes & bryan delarosa & Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she looks angry. livid. feral.

the expression of scorn merely increases as Eva Morales confirms the identity of the man they're facing. bryan delarosa. the wolf. xerneas avatar.

rocket.

a look of betrayal greets Felix Gallagher before never-ending nightmare engulfs them. and as bryan roars about not being able to hold him down, she can't help the snarl that follows.

"watch me."

unfortunately, her golurk cannot keep them in the shadows forever. the move eventually fades, but it makes no difference. she steps forward and another command comes quick, as if she's unwilling to let them go. to let them off so easily isn't in the cards for her. felix's gallade throws up a wide guard and her irritation grows bigger.

"phantom force."

the automaton tries to chase after Felix Gallagher and bryan delarosa in the shadows, but it falters. there's a sense of loyalty not only to its trainer but the rocket admin as well. a single clay hand rises up toward the two rockets before it shoves them away, closer in their goal to retreat than they previously were. when it returns to illeana's side, it doesn't turn away from the two men. no, it watches them as they go.

Eva Morales calls for her, then, and she turns. she, like eva, comes face to face with a volcanion. this one... seems different. there's a spark in its eyes, a light where the others had nothing. she stares, unblinking, and it stares back.

"let us pass."

silence falls and is quickly overwritten.

"please."

the volcanion seem to have a sense of lucidity in the confines of her healing mist for they moves out of the way quickly, shoving their brethren into submission in the process. with the volcanion moved, she grabs Eva Morales's hand and rushes toward the source of the ticking noise: an engine almost ready to blow.

and yet, the race against time isn't just against the explosion. it's also against the mild solace she's given the volcanion. her mist can only go so far, can only stretch so thin. the volcanion help enough with their minds back, though, and perhaps it'll be enough...

"we gotta get out of here."

there's no time to waste. no time to try saving it... they have to go. now.

with Felix Gallagher's gallade now at her side, opposite her golurk, she urges Eva Morales to go forward. there's an expectancy in the look she gives her science sister, as if she knows eva is the only one that can get them out of here in one piece. after all, she's the fiercest woman illeana's ever had the pleasure of working with.

"you're an expert at rock-climbing, right?"

she points, then, to the rocky terrain just beyond the room. her smile returns slightly, nearly overwhelmed by stress.

"lead the way!"

and where eva leads, she follows until they're out. safe. sound. with felix's gallade still lingering, despite it all.

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bryan delarosa Eva Morales Felix Gallagher

Somehow, the avatar happens to escape the rather of the ghost-type z-move. Eva’s fjaw clenches, gritting her teeth in distaste. What the heck couldn’t this guy do? She’d yet to find a weakness – but she would. Matias beat him once which gave her a sliver of hope in their next meeting, she wouldn’t be so helpless, not like she was in the woods.

The Professor returns the mega Pidgeot as it slowly falls from the sky after being overtaken by slumber. Before she’s able to reach for the Gallade’s pokeball, Felix Gallagher’s steps in to block the incoming MOONBLAST. She doesn’t have time to ponder why on earth the pokemon would protect them and not speed after its retreating trainer.

Something about illeana reyes’s mist seemed to persuade the Volcanion to step aside, clearing a path for them to what may be some sort of exit. The hiss of steam and groan of grinding, rusted gears serves a remainder that time is not on their side.

“Expert?!” Eva’s eyes grow wide at the thought. She would by no means consider herself an expert. Sure, she had some experience but not enough to stake another life on like Illeanas.

Emerald hues turn upward to fixate on the climb. There’s urgency in Illeana’s voice and the subtle tremble of the ground beneath her spurs her confidence, “Right, right, ok, follow me! I’ll map out a safe path,” she reaches up, grasping the moist rock, “Careful, it’s slippery from the steam,” she pulls herself up, ledge by ledge, fingertips testing the crevices before continuing. She hoped Illeana was paying attention to her path. Eventually, she was able to lead them to safety, up and out of this strange mechanical world.

---

illeana reyes & bryan delarosa & Felix Gallagher

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