The two stared at each other. Both had their reservations about fighting, though neither had a choice now. The moments seemed to tick by as they stood firm, but one of them would have to make a move.

Lynda would be the first to move, rushing forward and readying a punch. She couldn't last for a full fight, so her best bet was to end it as fast as possible. Even if she were to fall, she still felt a few berries moving about in that bag, so she could rely on those.

Caria felt her muscles tense up for a moment, freezing out of fear. She's not had to face many dangers before, but now, someone was coming at her with the intent to harm her. It felt surreal, but she knew she had to act, even if she wasn't used to fighting. She let her psychic powers take hold of her and whisk her off to the side before the punch connected. Extending her arms, a chilly wind surged from her body towards the Mawile.

Lynda chased after her target, believing this weak attack wouldn't stop her. With each step in this wind, she could feel her reaction time slow down, her steps slowing down in their rhythm. The chill was an annoying side-effect, and was one thing she'd need to avoid if she were to survive after the fight. Still, her speed wasn't impaired too much, so she caught up to the Kirlia and threw another punch.

Noticing this strategy was working out for her so far, Caria again let her psychic carry her away. Again, she blew a chilly wind towards the Mawile's direction. This time, the thief didn't chase; instead, they launched a fireball from their maw! It traveled unfazed by the icy wind and struck its target, with Caria recoiling back a few feet from the impact. She seemed surprised at how well she took this attack, but she had little time to assess the situation. The Mawile was charging again, seeing an opening and taking it!

Without the wind to slow her down, Lynda ran straight up to the would-be hero and stopped a few feet short. Whirling her head around, she battered the Kirlia with her maw! As before, Caria tried using her psychic powers to save herself. This time was too little too late, and Caria was flung across the room, rolling to a stop on the ground.

Lynda kept her distance, feeling as if she should let her attacker get up. Though she had committed a crime, it was not in her morals to attack a prone enemy. The Kirlia struggled to get up on their feet, clutching their side where the maw struck. Both shared the same fighting gaze, and Lynda dropped into another fighting pose.

"Give up. You're outmatched." Lynda charged forth once more, intent on putting an end to the fight.

"I won't...let..." Caria was just now figuring out how frail she actually was, and she readied her psychic powers to strike...

...but then, a beam shot down from the opening in the ceiling of the cave, landing between the two! Caria slammed against the wall behind her, while Lynda was sent to the opposite side of the cave from the blast. A roar followed, and from the light above descended a monstrous blue beast. It flapped its red wings, aiming towards the Mawile, and dove straight for her. She barely had time to get to her feet before jumping off to the side onto her belly to avoid the attack. The blue-scaled Pokemon flew straight into the wall behind her, causing the cave to shake. Boulders dropped from above, threatening to crush the two - or trap them.

Caria stood up using the wall as leverage, noticing the dragon that had swooped in. She could tell its power was too great for them to stop, and its anger wouldn't quelled without a fight. Either way, the two of them wouldn't last unless they fled.

The dragon-type recovered from its hit and turned towards the Mawile. It loomed tall above her, gathering energy in its mouth, likely the same attack from before. Caria, thinking selflessly, used her psychic to fly full speed towards the beast. Once close enough, she fired off the strongest gust of icy wind that she could muster. Ice quickly formed on its body, and its attention turned to the Kirlia, the energy fizzling out of its mouth.

"Run!"

Lynda didn't need to be told twice, nodding and running past the Kirlia. She continued blowing the wind, trying to slow it down as much as she could before fleeing herself. Despite this, the ice forming on the beast's body melted off quickly and it didn't seem to be affected much by the attack. The dragon appeared to coil its body together, its long blue tail wrapping around itself. Noticing this, Lynda seen that Caria was within striking range of the tail.

Past transgressions were forgiven.

Lynda leaped forward, the blue tail whipping towards her being the last thing she sees before blacking out.

"No-!" Despite her efforts, the Mawile wasn't able to push Caria fully out of the way of the tail's reach. The impact from just the tip of the tail and the floor she collided with was enough to knock her out.

Lynda's body flew straight into one of the room's exit holes, bouncing and rolling down a long slope before coming to a stop deeper in.

The dragon roared in victory, the cave still rumbling and boulders still falling about. It took Caria's limp body into its mouth, and flapped its wings to make its escape...
