calcifer is unsettled down here. not only does he feel out of sorts because they are surrounded by a proverbial sea, his tamer is in rough shape. the hasty patch job to her shoulder was meant to get her back on her feet so she could get proper medical help away from the rift site. and after fighting her way through more rocket grunts alongside Gunner Graves, she's all the worse off. 

she reaches up, pressing the wound under her slit mail, and when her fingertips come out red, she curses. she peels back the scaled cuirass with a whimper and digs into her quiver.

half of the staples have already popped.

calcifer makes a noise as she shoves the steel arrowhead into his tail flame, but dares not back away. her resolve is steady. pale eyes harden as the tip of the arrow glows white-hot and with one sharp intake of breath, she presses the hot metal to her flesh. 

her howl is ragged and vicious. she sways and the arrow falls from her hand, rolling onto the ground, but her skin is cauterized. burning like a motherfucker, but at least she's not bleeding. shaking, she stands and staggers onto the charizard's back.

he flies, directionless, until spotting a group of league personnel examining coils of dream mist. 

Naomi Sato
ARMOR

☉

she drifts in and out. when she goes under, it's right back up to the surface, teeth gritted in pain at the fire on her shoulder. she'd set a timer a while ago. you're meant to take reprieves from the depths of the ultra deep sea. 

she lost it some time ago. 

when calcifer lands, most of the league researchers are startled. the security on watch investigate her, but it doesn't take long for one of them to recognize her. she's helped off of the charizard and taken to get looked at. 

"we can't get through, lieutenant." he holds his walkie closer. "do you copy? this is section 3b, requesting medical assistance." static fizzles on the other line and freya comes to long enough to groan and reach clumsily for her quiver. 

a few slippery button presses and a pink-tipped arrow shunks into her hand. everyone around her takes a step back. she holds it up as though in prayer, but it slips out of her fingers and clatters to the ground. 

soft pink waves ripple from it, bathing those nearby in its light. it's not enough to do much for them, but spirits are lifted and freya groans as she sits upright. she blinks upward and then tilts her head at the unown-k watching above them.

one of the grunts follows her gaze, but sees nothing.

"miss morningstar? freya morningstar?" she tilts her head and rubs her temples, wincing at the buzzing sound in the air. 

Naomi Sato
ARMOR

☉

when she looks up again, the unown is gone. she's seen glimpses of them before, but the battlefield was blurry then and it's hard to focus now. her breath is coming in sharp gasps. someone is shaking her shoulder and is trying to get her attention. 

she feels stuck out of time. lifting her chin takes months, processing his question takes years. and finally, when she understand what he's asking, she coughs up brackish fluid and manages, "i don't know...how long it's been."

"it doesn't matter. look at her, man. she needs evac. fuck, the rest of us need to get out too. how long until this mist starts killing us too?"

her blinking is slow. she counts her breaths, but the numbers get away from her. calcifer paces anxiously, tail flaring to ward away some of the mist that hazes around them.

"get me - get me on his back..."

"there's a bloody warzone between us and the exit. you're not making it out of here like that."

more calls for medical assistance until the grunt on the radio swears and turns around. and then he turns, angrily ripping a pokeball from his side. a burst of light and he approaches with a battered espeon in his arms. one of its legs is twisted the wrong way and its breathing is ragged. she puts a hand up and tries to shake her head.

Naomi Sato

☉

the espeon in the grunt's arms will spend the last of its energy to heal her. she puts her hand up again and grimaces. the situation is dire and at the end of the day, she has someone to go home to. she has a life to get back to. 

her hand falls back down, clutching at her chest, and the espeon mewls pitifully as it starts to gather psychic energy. but the radio sputters to life and startles all of them, including the cat. relief sweeps over them all in droves and soon after, their lifeline appears.

calcifer raises his head at the terrastilized togekiss' approach, regarding it warily. he hunkers closer to his trainer. the grunts around her give him a berth to let him in. the espeon is returned to its ball. 

the league operatives crowd around the togekiss, awash with its healing energy. freya coughs up some brackish fluid as the ultra deep sea's poisons are expunged from her. she's not at one hundred percent, not by a long shot, but the world stops spinning and she can get to her feet with a grunt. 

Naomi Sato

☉

they steady her. and by they, one of the league operatives goes to help her but calcifer shoulders him aside and holds out an arm. she offers a glance as an apology, but no more. the togekiss may have pulled her back from the brink, stabilized her, but she's still in a bad way. 

the mist curls towards her, wrapping thinly around her ankles. she shakes it off and catches her breath. 

the fairy-type doesn't put calcifer on edge like it would her other dragons, but he still has a healthy fear of unknown pokemon. with no trainer in sight, freya is quick to mount up. she looks up again, though, wondering if perhaps she'd just made up the creature. 

"stay on guard," she says, grimacing as she draws herself onto calcifer's exposed back. 

"shouldn't you wait until help arrives?"

"i'm back on my feet. and you said it yourself - i need to leave this place." and with that she spurs calcifer upward. the charizard wheels up into the air. freya casts one glance backward at the crew and, alarmed, sees a figure skulking about the camp. she opens her mouth to raise her voice, to call a warning, but then she sees the creature floating beside the figure.

the words die in the back of her throat. she hesitates another moment and then leans forward into calcifer, urging him onward and away from the scene. 

Naomi Sato

☉