"How many times have we told you?" The voice was only just discernible through the harsh ringing in her head, as she slowly began to push herself up off the ground in the cold and damp alleyway. "This is OUR patch."
It had all happened so quickly. Flying back into Jubilife City at the end of a typically lively day for her, Diane was more than ready to head back to the hostel, crash into bed and get some well-earned rest. The Gligar had swooped in to land at her usual out-of-the-way spot, a small, quiet backstreet only a few minutes or so away from her accommodation, and had only gotten a few steps further when her attention was caught by something out of the corner of her vision, sparkling in the moonlight. Before she could even turn her head to see what it was, though, that was when the scream came.
A deafening, piercing shriek, so powerful that it struck Diane like a Bullet Punch straight to the base of her skull. Clutching her ears and screwing her eyes shut, lest they shatter there and then from the banshee's wail, she had no way to notice the onrushing attack, a swift and heavy impact, slamming into her spine and sending her careening straight into a puddle and tumbling into a heap.
Still disoriented from both the horrendous impact, and the equally horrendous sound, she fumbled around briefly for her glasses, which had themselves skittered away a few feet upon her rough landing. Thankfully it only took her a few seconds to find them, before turning herself over to try and see what was going on, the three dark and blurry figures before her slowly coming back into focus.
A growing unease began to take hold of Diane, as she recognized the trio gradually closing in on her, three of the last people she wanted to be faced with at this moment. She had never learned their names, never really having need to, but she had run into the Murkrow, Sableye and Misdreavus a number of times in the past, sometimes even intentionally. Her mischievous nature often got the better of her, and as the gang would prowl their little corner of Jubilife at night, the Gligar couldn't help but give them a playful jibe or a slightly too low pass on the occasions she flew by.
This time, though, it was their turn. They had laid in wait until she returned, then leapt out from the shadows before Diane even knew they were there. She had no intention of finding out what else they had planned, steadily crawling backwards away from them.
And then she paused. Something felt different. She felt different. She brought a claw up to her collarbone, and as the realization hit her, the background of unease spiked into fear, front and center.
Her Eviolite was gone.
A sinister smirk grew across the beak of the Murkrow, as with a gentle flourish of his hand, he revealed the rock pendant that had been around Diane's neck just seconds ago. "Missing something?"
The Gligar leapt to her feet in a flash, only to be met with both the Sableye and Misdreavus lunging towards her, sending her scampering backwards out of their reach. She heard a faint chuckle from the Murkrow just behind the two. He had known they were bluffing, but now, Diane just couldn't take that risk. Not without her Eviolite. There was no way she could take all three of them in a fight on her own like this. Heck, she probably couldn't even handle one of them now.
"Don't worry," the Murkrow crowed, stowing the pendant in a pocket on his waistcoat. "We'll put this to good use." Swiveling on his heels, he beckoned the others to follow, as Diane could only watch him walk away.
The Sableye hissed at her, and Diane almost jumped out of her skin.
The three vanished back into the darkness at the end of the alleyway, leaving Diane standing there, alone, shaken, and with the chilling knowledge that she only just stood 4-foot-8, and barely weighed 90 pounds on a good day. For the first time in a long time, she felt small. Fragile. Weak.
Immediately, the little Gligar turned tail and sprinted as fast as she could towards the safety of the hostel.
