[attr="class","elisatestbody"]
"She may have just been infected with Nihilego toxin. Stay alert."
[break][break]
No explanation was given as to who 'she' was, at first. Elisabeth watched as Lulu pulled away, turning to Nomi as if expecting to see a large white form darting away from the pink-haired woman. Instead, Underboss Beckett's voice called out to her:[break][break][break]
"Should you start to feel excited, Elisabeth, do let us know. We would need to leave immediately."
[break][break]
Excitement? The quickening of her heartbeat, the erratic pulse that seemed to leave her flushed with heat -- was
that how she'd characterize this sudden rush of emotion? It didn't seem to match it, not to Elisabeth's mind. It was a climbing panic, mounting and building to a crescendo with each step back she witnessed from her companions.[break][break][break]
"It is imperative that you clear your mind. Don't think about anything. Just relax. We need to ensure your safety above all else."
[break][break]
Her
safety? Was that their true priority, here? Nomi's plea to calm and be soothed instead alarmed and frightened the admin, her uncertainty heightened by the way each of them reached for a Pokeball as their gaze lasered in on her.[break][break]
Elisabeth's eyes darted from
Lulu Flint, to
THEO BECKETT, and finally to
Naomi Sato, the tension in each of their bodies reflecting a truth that their voices echoed in kind:[break][break]
It's them against you.[break][break]
This seed of paranoia had existed in her long before their descent undersea, a quiver of fear from another era of her life that had reflected enemies in every shadow. That latent potential flourished now as the neurotoxins took hold, awakening this part of her she strived so hard to keep dormant and quiet.[break][break]
If they'd arm themselves, she'd do the same.[break][break]
She wouldn't roll over and
die here.[break][break]
A Pokeball soundly unlatched; her Toxapex emerged with a low growl, glaring hatefully at those gathered around her. Three against one. Typical.[break][break]
The odds are always against you, aren't they?[break][break]
"I'm exploring deeper," Elisabeth said, her voice eerily level and calm.
"If you're so concerned for your safety, by all means. Depart now."[break][break]
Cage them before they cage you.[break][break]
Frozen projectiles of
ICY WIND lashed out from her Toxapex with warning in a semicircle around her as Elisabeth dove further into the remains of the sunken ship, shrouding herself in its debris in the brief moments afforded by the surprise attack.[break][break]
Hide, a desperate whisper hissed in her mind.
Fortify yourself.[break][break]
Supposing she was poisoned, supposing they were
right, Elisabeth needed time. For the emotions to cool on both sides. For the neurotoxins to leave her system, if such a thing was possible in such a short span of time, which part of her doubted.[break][break]
No, what she needed was the opportunity to think of an antidote for this
pounding in her skull, before the others beat it out of her.[break][break]
What use is all your knowledge in toxicology, if you can't even fucking cure yourself?[break][break]
Unbeknownst to her,
another distraction was forming outside the ship's hull, drifting towards the Head Scientist and Underboss as if in answer to her silent prayer...
THEO BECKETT Lulu Flint Naomi Sato[break][break]
NOTES
- Prompt Met:
Betrayal. Toxapex uses
ICY WIND on the gathered Pokémon while Elisabeth hides in the ship, another Pokeball at the ready.[break]
- Prompt Met: Wracking her
poisoner's brain to think of a cure before the others decide to just beat her senseless.[break]
- Prompt Met: Implying that
Ultra Beasts are on their way to creep up on
THEO BECKETT and
Lulu Flint.