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Should they feel relief or disappointment when their suspicions arenât validated? Likely the former, but there is a sour twist of dissatisfaction that coils through Fernâs system when Walsh only moves to assist
Grigori Sokolov.[break][break]
Malice still seeps through the
AROMATHERAPY in trace amounts, warping Fernâs sense of the situation. It is only a means of looking good.
Saving face.[break][break]
They are not sure if they trust this act of benevolence from their boss. But they are not granted the time to continue studying
declan walshâs actions.[break][break]
Regretfully, they are forced to turn awayâpulled by the unfurling of Tapu Kokoâs first attack. As the wrath of nature subsides, however, a face they assumed they wouldnât see again steps forward from the aftershocks.[break][break]
Just as he had emerged from the sickly sweet pink mist of the Interdream Zone, fed by the mind of
jayden cross, Alexei appears now. Haunting Fernâs shadow as he did in their dreams in the weeks following Dewford and the Ultra Deep Sea.[break][break]
The spike of fear is not one they betray as the older Volkovâs smile widens. Sharp, all teeth.[break][break]
âAgh, you again?â they manage to spit at him, but their eyes are moving beyond him to Jayden. He isnât unconscious like the time before, surging forward against his own hindrances with sheer brutality.[break][break]
âAh, ah,â Alexei commands their attention,
âthereâs no saving him this time.â Fernâs stare reconnects with violent red, and their own hatred bubbles up.[break][break]
âDidnât I tell you? He is not capable of love. Lookâthis is only proof. The moment when it realizes itself.â This time, Fern doesnât hesitate to act. They bring the same force of nature as Tapu Koko with them as they break toward Alexei.
or Aleks?[break][break]
He meets them with a snapping jaw, locking them in a tangle of arms and teeth that seek to find purchase. But this is what Fern wants. Their hands plant on his forearms, and now
they are one with a triumphant snarl. Energy licks from their palms. The thin tether of their restraint frays and snaps in a brilliant burst of light. Electricity flares out from the conduit of their planted hands, overstimulating Alexeiâs system and stunning him until every muscle and joint locks into place.[break][break]
Blue bores into red.[break][break]
âAnd I told youâ youâre wrong.â Fern barks the words out, the dagger that remains hidden on them twirls in their hand, rolling with their wrist before it bites into an abdomen, sharper than any teeth, then pulls up.[break][break]
Blood bubbles through a snarling grin, laughter follows the dissolution of the apparition as it breaks into pieces to only leave the echo.[break][break]
But Fern doesnât need to know the words that could have been saidâ they were uttered once before, and they echo in their mind now as they whirl, stomach sick with their own prior paranoia and distrust.[break][break]
âââand if you were a true rocket, you would understand exactly what i meant. 'to be a rocket means to have an intimate sense of loyalty â you, my little duck, do not have it.â[break][break]
It is a sentiment they know will linger as much as it already has, festering under the surface even as they launch themself up and position themself behind Jayden. Flanking his back with theirs and shielding from behind as the
SPRINGTIDE STORM rips out from the blades in his hands. [break][break]
It is only then that they seek out their patron, electricity still sparking from their fingertips with stubborn furor.[break][break]
Tapu Koko, meanwhile, continues to act of its own disdain, irritated by the felineâs prolonged presence in the cave. Mirrored electricity crackles from the deity, angry and vindictive, as it sweeps toward chien pao. The pair, patron and avatar, not in accordance, but somehow synchronized in the ramping charge of vindictive lightning.[break][break]
It twists into the air, shield coming together as it descends. The beak of the
BRAVE BIRD pointed at its back.