The water pulled TO off their feet and sent them spiraling forward as the ocean filled the shattered bubble of air that once protected the grand estate, the trees, and the people.
Thankfully, despite the suit being shut down, it still stayed in underwater mode, so while they found themself disoriented and confused, they could at least breathe.
They slammed against something, reached out, grabbed onto whatever it was, and then hooked their legs around it so that their hands were free. At least now they weren’t spinning, helpless to the mercy of the tide. The suit had shut down entirely, but of course those who designed the armor had considered such an occurrence, and planned for it. They reached up to the back of their helmet and felt around, pressing at the various bumps located just on the lower edge of their helmet. Eventually, they pressed something and the inner screen of their visor pulled away, letting them see into the murky water through tempered glass.
The sudden mass of water that crashed into the building had entirely destroyed the ballroom, opening the house up to the outside entirely. The pure force of the water tore apart the wall, leaving only the most secure support behind, one of which TO was currently holding onto. Not even the pods escaped damage; Most of them rode the water far away, while a few others had crashed and shattered.
“DH, give me your status.” TO said, then realized of course that they couldn’t send DH anything. Their suit was down, and they couldn't access any form of communication.
The realization hit them suddenly, harder than the water had once it broke through the glass. If their suit was down, then DH’s suit was also down, meaning they wouldn’t be able to put it on. From how DH was talking, TO very much doubted that they had gotten their suit on before their systems went dark. Even if they had, DH was out there, in all this chaos, without their helmet active. Would they remember how to fix their helmet? Would they panic? How much air did they have? How close were they to a pod?
They had to find them. They had to find DH and get them to a pod, and they had to do it fast. Already, their head was aching from the slowly diminishing oxygen in their suit, and the gradual buildup of the CO2 that poisoned their minimal air supply.
To let go of the pipe and the rushing currents around them pulled them away instantly. They thought at first that they could use their helmet to calculate the direction of the currents and maneuver to where they needed to go, but remembered, again, that their helmet wasn’t working. They were so irritated with themself for forgetting about it. It wasn’t even that they forgot; they knew their systems were down, but it was just instinct at this point to access them when they were wearing their armor.
The current pulled them away, but TO grabbed onto a tree - now mostly bare after the water had pulled the leaves away- and looked out at the chaos.
Of course, they couldn’t see DH anywhere. Panic set in as they realized that if DH hadn’t gotten to a pod, and didn’t have their armor on, then the water would have taken them already. They would probably have drowned already or at least gotten beaten up by the debris that was being pulled about.
They were alive, or they weren’t. If they were alive, they were in a pod. If they weren’t, there was nothing they could do.
TO knew that with their limited time, they should get to a pod; there were still plenty around, and they’d be able to get to one without issue. DH was underwater, and dead, or they had gotten to a pod, or they had put on their armor, or they had figured out some way to protect themself.
There was no point in looking for them. That’s what the logical, well-trained part of their mind said. The part of TO’s mind that could solve problems and find ways around difficult situations told them that the best thing they could do was just get to a pod.
They strained their eyes, looking through the murky water for some hint of DH. Yes, it was pointless, but they couldn’t just leave without knowing for sure; They had to look while they could to at least make sure that DH wasn’t still here, that they were somewhere nearby where they could just grab out, take their mate, and bring them to safety.
Some primal part of their brain would not accept that DH was in danger, and there was nothing they could do.
TO tried to check their oxygen levels, but cursed again - this time out loud in the silence of their helmet. They needed to know how much time they had left, what their oxygen supply was like.
No. Don’t worry about that. Focus on locating DH, on just seeing them. Just that one small thing to start. It was getting harder to focus. It was as though they were thinking through the same murky water that threw them around with such ease.
Something struck them in the back, knocking them from their place in the destroyed tree and sending them spinning into the currents that rushed around. The mess of debris and bubbles around them blinded them and in a panic they reached out, grabbing for anything they could find.
They caught something, and though it didn't stop their spiraling entirely, it slowed them and dragged the helpless TO along with it through the water.
At least they weren’t spinning anymore. The debris finally faded from around them, and they could see what they had grabbed.
Their hand clung to the tail of one of the giant glowing anglerfish, which was moving with a purpose that TO hadn’t yet seen in any of them, heading to a nearby pod that was packed full with civilians; from what TO could see, they were all people who had been working- indebted, service, and maintenance workers. Did this fish think they were food? The pod was so much bigger than the fish, but TO knew that many species of animal could eat prey much bigger than themself.
Even if that was the case, why was it so focused? More confusing, if it was after food, why didn’t it seem to react to TO at all? TO must have seemed like a much easier meal than the pod.
The answer came once TO got a better look at the fish. Placed just behind the stem on its head, which held the glowing orb, was a small black box. It fit into the fish's head, digging through the skin. On one side, a faint light the same color as the orb was blinking rapidly. Was it controlling the fish? Yes, that made sense. Likely it was going to get the pods and bring them up to the surface faster.
“It’s just a fish. Probably another safety device.” They said to themself as they tried to calm down. They were breathing fast now, their headache getting worse with every breath. It made it difficult to focus on the fish; Something seemed off about it to them. There was something wrong, but the murk that TO was trying to think through kept them from understanding it.
No. They had to focus. The fish wasn’t important, so they had to ignore it, ignore the way their heart seemed to struggle in their chest, and ignore their throbbing head. They had to look. They had to find-
There it was. Just out of the corner of their eye, they caught a flash of iridescent fabric. It was hard for them to track them at first, but with some effort they could see the figure in the water, draped in flowing fabric.
It had to be DH.
They. let go of the fish, intending to swim towards DH, but they were moving much faster than TO had expected, like they were sliding through the water. The current must have caught them, and was dragging them along.
TO tried not to think that DH was underwater without their armor. They tried not to think that if they still didn’t have their armor on, their mate…
No, they wouldn’t think about that. They refused. The idea that something had happened to DH, that something so terrible had happened just when TO left them for a short time was more than their mind could handle, and so their mind refused to accept it.
Let them be ok, they thought, I don’t care about anything else. I’ll figure it out. I’ll never let them out of my sight again. I’ll run, just let them be ok!
Who they were pleading to, they couldn’t say.
They got closer, but before they could see if their mate was alive or dead, a nearby tree that had been clinging to the ground finally came free, sending a cloud of dirt and dust into the water and blinding them once more. The flicker of fabric before them threatened to disappear entirely in the fog of dirt.
No, they were so close. They were close to their mate, they couldn’t let anything happen to them! A shout escaped TO’s lips, echoing inside their helmet as they struggled against the water, reaching out desperately to grab DH.
They grabbed something. It had to be DH! TO tried to pull back, but to their surprise, DH pulled forward! DH was still alive! DH was alive and swimming! They had no idea how they were alive without their helmet, but they were! And not only were they alive, but they were pulling them somewhere. Without their armor, how could DH be doing anything?
Of course… the civilian force shield. TO had forgotten about it, but now they felt foolish for their worry. Even if DH didn’t have their armor on, they’d have their civilian badge on, and that had a shield. It would have protected them for a few minutes at least!
They had DH. DH was alright. Now they had to get to a pod. Somehow, they had to get to a pod before they ran out of oxygen entirely, and before DH’s force shield became a useless barrier of CO2, as TO’s armor was becoming. Still, it was so hard to see, and somehow it was even harder to move.
No. impossible to move. They felt so heavy, and their head hurt so much. How much time had passed? What were their oxygen levels? Were they dying?
DH suddenly pulled them from the water, out of the gloom, and they could almost see again. The murk was gone, but now they could only see spots in their vision. Still, they could tell that they were in a pod that had flung open when the water pulled it away, but which had landed in such a way that it still trapped most of the air inside.
They were out of the water, laying on the floor of a pod. They were safe.
Mostly safe. They still couldn’t breathe. Was something wrong with the pod's air supply? As the door closed behind them, they remembered that even out of the water, their suit would stay sealed either until deactivated, or removed. They pushed themself to their knees as their hands scrambled at the back of their helmet to hit the emergency release. They felt a panel under the button that had released the screens in their visor and struggled with it for several minutes before it came loose and they could mash the button hidden on the inside. The helmet fell apart into three pieces and landed with a splash in the ankle-deep water on the bottom of the pod as TO took long, desperate gasps of stale air that had never tasted sweeter. They leaned against the curved wall, gasping as the pod lit up and moved. It shuddered at first, threatening to give up, but then rose towards the surface.
It would take a while, but the oxygen in the pod would be more than enough for both of them.
They were safe.
TO turned around to face DH, to hold them regardless of who might see in another pod somewhere. They had been so scared, so worried…
All that fear and worry came back to them as they saw that the iridescent fabric they had chased wasn’t DH’s dress. It was Lendulins. Lendulin, who was now staring at TO in disbelief, their eyes wide, and their tail lashing at the water.
“Tio?” her voice was quiet and scared. She looked over TO, looked over their face, and then their armor, as though trying to confirm that what she was seeing was correct.
Slowly, anger flooded their expression as their hands balled into fists. Her eyes narrowed, and a snarl exposed their slightly pointed teeth.
“Explain.”
