the queen that stands before them is the largest greyson had ever seen. it towers over his own at nearly twice the size, emanating an aura that felt like the pressure of a legendary.
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was this the power of primal energy?
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"fuck me," he whispers, voice in awe. "that's a big fucking bee." excuse his kalos.
[break][break]
greyson turns to willow, uncharacteristically serious. his lips are set into a frown, but there's something in his gaze that speaks to his determination. this was one challenge he wouldn't back down from.
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"you should probably head back, willow. this isn't going to be an easy battle."

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

her face pales and the direness of the situation settles over her, made worse by the thin line of greyson's mouth. hurt flits over her features. as much sense as it makes, as much as she should turn tail and run, they're in those together now. whether he likes it or not. because if something happened to him down here, how could she ever forgive herself? 

no, later she'll have words with him about how stupid they were to keep trekking down on their own. 

she reaches for her pokeballs and drops one to stand by elisabet. foxglove shakes out her leaflike ears and tail, brown eyes widening as the primal energy reaches towards her.

camellia re-emerges too; dust flits off of her silent wings. 

"you can't do this yourself, greyson. elisabet and foxglove will help your team. i'll hold off the swarm with camellia. because you know as soon as you go after her, the rest of the hive is going to be on top of us." 

Greyson Connors

☉

relief washes over her. not at the situation at hand, of course - that still terrifies the hell out of her - but at the fact that greyson isn't willing her away. she stands her ground firmly and curls her hands into fists to stop them from shaking. her legs feel wobbly. 

elisabet and foxglove look at her with determination and she thinks we got this. we can do this. 

"you're right," she says and reaches for another ball at her side. she can barely handle ordering one pokemon around. elisabet and foxglove will mostly be following greyson's direction, but she trusts lus. 

"i can do that." she nods and looks at her two companions. camellia will probably be able to sense them first with a bug buzz and lus can plug up the holes. there should only be one main entrance for them to come and go, but they're at the heart of the hive. their internal structure could be anything. 

feeling not so ready at all, she sucks in a breath and says, "we're ready."

Greyson Connors

☉

she feels like she might lose her lunch. is this how greyson feels? probably not. she blinks rapidly when he cusses up at the vespiquen, brows furrowing. well, it got her attention. the effect is immediate, even before the flame sputters out from the tip of the delphox's wand. 

elisabet and foxglove brace themselves, the latter looking just as nervous as willow feels.

but she can't focus on them, or greyson anymore. the hive is suddenly alive with activity; the buzzing is claustrophobic, pressing in on her head. camellia's wings flutter as she tries to pinpoint where they're coming from. 

lus leaps into action, smashing the comb and blocking off potential exits. camellia flutters in a panic, guiding the heracross in the chaos as best as she can. with several walls collapsed, willow thinks they've done it, but a stream of combee burst from their left, racing towards the intruders. 

"elisabet! cover greyson!" she leaps around him, leaven arms swinging. 

Greyson Connors

☉

with most of the entrances and exits blocked off, the heat from greyson's attacks fills the space quickly. sweat trickles down the back of her neck; her throat rasps, eyes stinging as the room gets smoky. before she can warn him, he realizes it himself, and besides she gets choked off when lus is swallowed by half a dozen furious combee. 

"lus!" she shouts. camellia answers her cry by swooping in and restraining as many as she can with a psychic hold. it's not much, but lus manages to burst through the smothering cloud and square off again. 

in all the chaos, her focus is lost. she has no idea what to say to her pokemon. even the moves they can use are lost to her. 

but the bees are struggling to right themselves. with more of them pouring in, it might be their only hope...

"greyson, the smoke! they can't function with it." she draws the kerchief around her neck up and over her nose, eyes still watering. 

Greyson Connors

☉

her stomach drops. fear crawls up her spine, despite her attempts to keep things under control. internally, she's sent spinning, thinking is this it? after everything, is this it? her knees are weak. lus and camellia are still putting up a fight, but they're already weakened. they don't have battle-ready endurance. 

greyson's words don't make it over to her, but it doesn't matter. she couldn't move from the spot if she wanted to. 

foxglove and elisabet abandon greyson's side when it's made clear he has it under control. they go to willow's side; the leafeon rubs at her leg, trying to shake her out of whatever funk she's in. elisabet puts herself between willow and the wall of combee. 

and then there is a harrow screech. willow's hands go up to her ears and she drops to her knees. her green eyes water as smoke billows around her. camellia is swept up in the storm and her cry of fear is stolen by the wind. 

lus leaps upward and tackles the moth back to the ground, covering her with his carapace while the storm rages around them. 

black tendrils whip around, but willow realizes they're snapping around her. she gasps, jerking her chin over to see greyson at the epicenter, energy pouring from the pokemon on his wrist.

"the crystal," she chokes out to elisabet. the leavanny turns and, while greyson restrains the queen and every combee in the room, she sprints forward, momentum carrying her swinging leaven arms directly onto the primal crystal. 

Greyson Connors

☉