He’s impossible, a thorn in her side. A deluge of past bias and tension never lets the rift seal. He’s gaudy, and egotistical in a sense. He follows orders blindly like a good soldier and it blinds him to what part of those orders may not be right. If it was anyone, anyone besides freya morningstar and Rayquaza standing before them she would not be here beside him.

“I ask the right questions, you ask ridiculous ones,” she growls under her breath, leaving the words unsaid directly in hopes of taking the higher road. A mature action impossible for him to comprehend. She white knuckles her tablet, the tapping of her fingers on the screen more forceful than they need to be.

Adrenaline spikes through her veins in anticipation. Her heart leaps into her throat when the energies begin to spike only moments before the transformation physically manifests.

Eva should be keeping her eye on the dangerously high peaks of the various energies at work. But she can’t. All she can do is watch helplessly as the woman she holds most dear bends and breaks before her eyes. The familiar snapping of bones breaks her’s. What’s left of a tattered and clumsily mended heart and soul shatters anew. It takes every fiber of her being to not jump to Freya’s aid, to hold her, to beg her to stop, to try to take the pain away. It leaves her tense as a statue, frozen in place with unblinking emerald eyes red at the rims with the sting of tears.

There’s a reason to doctor’s don’t treat loved ones. Emotion tends to cloud judgment and Eva comes dangerously close to letting it do so. Instead, the SYGNA SUIT under her lab coat gently glows as its invisible treads stretch towards the Gardevoir behind her. The pokemon buffets the emotional storm enough for her to keep her composure, absorbing what it can.

It’s beautiful and horrifying all at once. She feels joy and regret. Everything she worked towards to unlock to dragon’s potential for the sake of Hoenn culminates in the torture of a loved one. When she approaches Rayquaza and Freya with shaky breath, her eyes are wide, red, and ripe with an apologetic sheen and words she’ll never say out loud.

I’m sorry I wasn’t enough. That you have to endure this instead of me.

paxton concordas distracts Freya while Eva quietly gathers what she needs. She’s gentle and slow, wishing she could find her voice but the knot choking her makes it nearly impossible.

---

freya morningstar & paxton concordas

MATIAS SILPH was cursed by his patron, hammered with violence and malice and insatiable hunger. groudon chiseled cracks in his mind, shedding humanity to get at the meat of the monster that dwelled within him. but no such monster - as deeply as she has tried to convince herself with her self-loathing in the past - exists within her. 

her mind had fractured under duress, but those hairline cracks are held fast with brilliant gold. even now, as pain shudders through her, as energy and blood leak from her pores, she feels herself. 

her ruined lips curl back. her mangled windpipe, made for gorging flesh, whistles as she talks around her maw. 

"hurts," she keens, but lowly, serpentine eyes darting towards eva. her expression is torn, but there is no point in hiding truths to spare feelings. eva wouldn't forgive her for that either. 

"bad, but i feel...stronger." rayquaza hisses and sinks their head lower. they eye the cameras and with little warning, flames pour behind freya's back, gracing her arms and her calves, singeing her flame-resistant under armour. golden scales glitter resplendently, and only when they begin to smoke and when she winces, does the serpent snaps their jaw shut. 

freya now possesses draconic resilience, which grants resistance to elemental damage (fire, lightning, cold).

blood trickles out of one nostril, and though her clothes are in tatters, she remains unscathed.

a static blast, electricity skittering off her in waves.

she licks her lips, tasting salt. looks at the magnezone, and then at paxton. grim acceptance is overshadowed by adrenaline. her wings might take her too close to the sun, but if there were ever a time and place, it is here. it is now. 

"joules. have joules hit me."

Eva Morales paxton concordas

☉

The flames force her to stagger back in self preservation as the god bathes Freya in fire. She seems unphased, which comes as a surprise to Eva. In contrast to Paxton’s horror, Eva watches in reverent awe. She doesn’t see a grotesque amalgamation of pokemon and human. She sees a goddess, a unity of not just the soul but blood. The only fear she feels is wrapped in worry . . . and perhaps skepticism. It’s not unreasonable to assume her faith has been shaken.

She doesn’t need Freya’s confirmation to know she’s in pain, she can see it for herself. Her skin is torn, bleeding. Everything about her body language is tense and cautious. But when she asks to be struck down by the Magenezone, Eva is as surprised as paxton concordas. She too snaps a look in his direction for confirmation.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Magnezone obliges to the dragoness’ wish.

“Wha- NO!” Eva’ tablet clatters to the floor as she lunges forward. The Gardevoir’s PSYCHIC aura wraps itself around her and tugs her back against her will, “Stop!” she wriggles in the tight grapes of her guardian but to no avail. The ZAP CANNON rockets forward, bathing Freya in a violent surge of electricity.

“Paxton, get your pokemon under control!” she barks at him, eye wide with worry and fury. It’s only when the sparks dissipate into nothing that the Gardevoir releases their trainer and she rushes to Freya’s side.

---

freya morningstar & paxton concordas

paxton stammers at her request and her malformed fingers-made-claws twitch in amusement. a draconic rumble in her throat is her laughter, tangled inextricably with pride.

the colors are prismatic. light refracts off of eva's cheeks in hues she can't name. she's never noticed it before and the marvel slips away before she can chase it as more scales rupture through her flesh. from wrist to shoulder, stretching all the way up her neck, she gasps and gnashes her teeth. 

she braces herself as the lightning meets pluming scales. the ground is torn as she's shoved backward from the force of the blow. her back aches, alight with new pain, and the black pools of hers leer through the light. 

and then it's over. muscles twinge, static arcs around her, and blood flows in a steady stream from one eye. but she is intact, and she is whole, and she is magnificent. 

and then, with triumph still on her face, her legs wobble, her knees give out, and she sinks forward with a wet cough.

paxton concordas Eva Morales

☉

All she could see for a moment was white. Blank, lifeless, empty white. Then colors began to appear, dotting her vision in pinks and greens and oranges until the world quickly rushed back in around her. She shouldn’t have looked directly at the attack, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Freya.

Her ears hum with the residual echo of the ZAP CANNON’s blast and she strips herself of the Gardevoir’s tight hold. The guardian could only watch, unmoving, as their keeper rushes quickly towards the dragon and avatar. Dissipating sparks of electricity tickle her skin and she follows the line of scorched floor straight to Freya, “Freya? Freya? Are you alright?” she doesn’t like the sound of the wet cough or the weakness in the tremble that brought her to her knees.

A gentle touch to her wrist, an assessment of her pulse. Quick, but steady. No arrhythmia. A quick glance across her skin and scales shows no burn left by the sudden influx of electricity. She is conscious, recovering. To a seasoned professional it seemed freya morningstar had pushed herself to the limit - the limit that borders the unthinkable.

With a gentle pull, Eva helps her back to her feet. The blood is already drying on her cheek when Eva inspects the eye and the new scales that had torn themselves from beneath her skin. Already her strength seems to be returning.

Then in one foul moment, Eva gives in. Worry becomes corrupted by fear and fear leads to anger and anger to hate, perhaps even a splinter of envy. The whites of her eyes darken with red and the edges well with tears she fights to hold back. Her face molds into a distorted version of herself, twisted in anger and before she can even stop herself she acts on it.

An open palm darts forward, a strike aimed for Freya’s cheek. It probably hurts Eva more than it would Freya, the small scales leaving a dozen little cuts across her palm and fingers. She sucks in a breath as if she’s about to say something, but she just lets the silence linger for a moment.

“Never ask me to do this again,” she finally snaps to both Freya and Paxton. She whirls around on her heels, her short legs moving as fast and they can to take her as far as they can, “Find yourselves a new doctor. I thought I could do this but I can’t do this. I can’t,” she seems flustered and moves frantically to gather her things to leave, “I hear John Sullivan has gotten pretty good and illeana reyes can help you review the footage and the results. Not me,” she shakes her head, repeating it to herself more quietly, mournful this time, “I can’t do this.”

And then, she's gone.

---

freya morningstar & paxton concordas

her teeth are sharp and do not fit in her mouth. her lips are split and stretched; there are tears in her eyes, but they are not from the pain. i can protect them, she thinks as a hand slips to her wrist, gathers her to wobbling fawn's legs. i can protect you, she amends wordlessly, as her dark eyes soften. 

energy whirls away from her and letting go takes a grating pressure off of something too abstract to name, but it also brings back her pain. bones shudder and flesh shivers, knitting itself together as best it remembers. eva is close enough to hear the breaking. the squelching. 

and freya sees dark malice that does not belong in her beloved emeralds. the pain across her cheek is a fire that consumes all else; her head twists to the side and she stares, unblinking from the shock. 

by the time she turns her head, eva has her back to her. she stumbles forward on legs still bent on hind quarters, stutters to a stop as her jaw clicks back into place with a jarring snap. 

"eva," she gasps and the earth comes up to meet her knees. rayquaza lowers their head, blocking her view, one eye trained on her. fingers slick with blood scrabble at their scales, but they do not move. not until eva has gone. 

the tears that stain her cheeks are thick with blood. 

her body is her own and it aches and rings with pain. with great effort, she gathers herself to her feet and slumps against rayquaza's side. her patron does not react to her hateful stare. 

"send me the report when you're finished with it," she says flatly to paxton and spits a glob of cheek fat beside her. "i'll go get patched."

Eva Morales paxton concordas

☉