saskia returns, shivering, a couple hours later. keiko mori had told her they'd done what they needed to, but after they passed the usb off, after the sun started to dip and she was told she could be discharged, she shook her head and took another assignment. 

her fingers sift through irina's downy feathers and she apologizes in soft murmurs for how heavy she is. the oxygen tank on her back, connected to the rest of her diving gear, is about half full. her hair is damp, curling down her back. a ruddy stray piece of kelp lay tangled in one of the locks. she hasn't noticed yet. 

dmitry and frogger are tiny shapes under her, following irina's shadow as the blimp pokemon glides over the waves. 

the building that had sloughed into the sea is gone. bits of debris have floated to the surface, but most of it has been swallowed. taken. devoured. she shivers again and hunches closer, clenching her teeth so they don't clack together.

dmitry pips and saskia peers around irina's wing, spotting another diver below. she urges her togekiss closer and when she nears, relief breaks on her face. 

"hi, porter," she says with a smile. dmitry and frogger surface beside porter, staring owlishly at him and his dhelmise. 

porter holmes

☉

from his vantage point, she probably does look like a half-drowned rat, shoulders hunched against the cold. irina flits her wings to keep them just above the rolling ocean, but saskia knows it's taking a toll on her. so she pats her fluffy head and pinches her nose, slipping off of her with a squeal.

she hits the water, splashing porter in the process, but resurfaces a second later. the initial shock of the water wears off pretty quickly, even if her lips are a tinge blue. 

"long day," she says, but that smile doesn't leave. "it's...this is a whole mess, isn't it?" she looks past him. 

there's an oil-slick glittering on the water some yards off. broken window panes, bits of electronic scraps, stray cloths - so much destruction. so much pollution. 

"what are you doing out here alone? we're supposed to buddy up in the water."

porter holmes

☉

irina still flutters anxiously over the waves, unburdened but frustrated all the same. saskia gratefully loops an arm around the dhelmise to buoy herself, reaching with her free hand to grab irina's ball. rest, friend, she thinks as she pulls her into the beam of red light.

"man," she murmurs, "sometimes i wish i could sleep in a pokeball."

her own self-reflection makes her completely miss porter's reply to her question. when he peers around to look at her, she blinks, heart squeezing painfully, every inch of exhaustion threatening to catch up to her at once. 

no, don't look at it! keep going! there's still so much to do!

his palafin's shiny blue head breaks through the surf. frogger and dmitry, floating comfortably by her side, immediately spur into action and dive under the depths. saskia's eyes harden and she tucks her mouth into her breathing apparatus, yanks her goggles down over her eyes. 

then she nods to porter, untangles from the dhelmise's gnarled wooden flank, and pats her ranger partner on the soldier once before diving down to follow.

porter holmes

25. Perform thorough searches of the area to locate missing individuals or threats.

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