micolash watches undros hungrily and freya keeps an eye on the ultra beast's behavior. it had devoured one of her dragons - at her own behest, in a dire situation - and she worries sometimes that it's acquired a taste.

the beast drifts nearer to them, claws flexing minutely. its kin give them a wide berth, warded away by the human scent that clings to the half-dragon.

"sometimes it gets so close to being peaceful." when there is nothing but the deep calling her name, begging her closer. "and then, when you've let your guard down, it shows you how monstrous it really is here."

the trench has darkened as they've walked, but now it illuminates with a soft neon glow. before them, the landscape undulates. flashes of light blip intermittently down structures reminiscent of veins. she stops and puts a hand on the wall beside her.

"do you feel that?" she asks, suddenly breathless.

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

she does not slide so easily into complacency and when alex begins changing, she reacts. her sygna suit protects her from the temporal effects; arms come around him, heart skittering when she has the gut-wrenching notion that something as ridiculous as a tear in space might take him from her again.

his exclamation makes her turn her head. 

"mico!" the ultra beast reacts quickly. her anxiety stretches onward, one hand leaving alex's side to grasp for the ultra beast's ball. distrust still lingers in golds, but micolash grabs the heavy dragon in its arms and brings him safely to the ground. 

once his now-stubby legs are back on the earth, it withdraws and slowly slides its gaze over to freya, contemplating the beast ball.

"the effects are temporary," she says hurriedly, half-convinced. 

off in the distance, pink energy blooms. micolash's wings beat in a frenzy and freya swallows, hoping that her eyes are betraying her. that it's just another one of the deep sea's tricks. 

"alex...?" she says slowly. "are those dynamaxed poipole coming towards us?"

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

"we'll level the playing field," she says. her dynamax band, wrapped like a ribbon in another braid in her hair, glows softly. micolash abandons undros' side and jolts upward into the air; energy radiates off of it in waves, body growing bigger and bigger until it towers above them like a kaiju. 

gods, what hells we're capable of unleashing, she thinks. 

"mico and your doublade will ward them off. they'll lose interest if they lose our scent. come on," she says and allows herself to be a shoulder to lean on so they can traverse the rocky trench together. 

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

the explosive sounds of combat are still dangerously close. shelgon aren't exactly known for their speed, but alex seems to share her worry - withdrawing him into his ball might make the effect permanent. she angles them deeper into the trench and as they go, a pressure mounts in her head. her stomach curdles and bile slakes the back of her throat, but she swallows it down. 

thirty agonizing minutes pass before the sounds of combat fade. freya tilts her head, ears straining, listening for movement. 

she startles when the shape of her naganadel appears again, blood-scored and weary. in its arms is a small poipole, breaths shallow. "did you kill the rest?" she asks. its face gives nothing away. 

"i brought melusine with me," she says to alex as she withdraws a ball for micolash's offering. "she won't be affected by the time distortions. her and micolash, they can get us home."

ALEXANDER STONE

☉