Partners in Crime

Submerged

Her agility and sharp eyesight, amplified by her Nen ability, gives Dusk the advantage she needs. As bullets fly towards her previous spot, she's already a few trees away, arrow notched and ready to fire again.

As an arrow finds its mark in one of the poacher's necks, she watches as the man drops to the jungle floor lifeless, Dusk is already back in motion, a shadow jumping from one tree to another.

Despite her heart pounding in her chest, she can't afford anything less than utmost concentration. Her training as an archer takes over, calming her nerves and steadying her hands for clean shots. In all of this chaos, she finds her peace through the sight of each arrow finding its mark one after another.

The sight of enemy reinforcements arriving with even more weapons and the sound of the surging river below kicks in her worst fears. She's absolutely cornered now with nowhere to turn. It's as if she had hit a solid wall.

"No, not water...." She murmurs but she has no other options. She presses her comm again, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, "Xav.... I'm jumping off into the river! You- you need to find me."

"No, wait, Dusk!" Xavia's words are cut off as the line suddenly goes dead. His heart pounds in his chest as his mind races with horrifying possibilities, his earlier annoyance at her long forgotten now that she's in danger, "Dammit!"

He knows very well that losing track of her now could mean things going south really quick. He sprints towards the river, dead set on locating her before it's too late, "If anything happens to her, I swear I'll kill every one of those bastards myself!" He barks out through gritted teeth.

As Dusk plunges into the water, her past fear returns with full force. The cold grip of the water dragging her down, her lungs screaming for air, it all feels alarmingly familiar and terrifying.

She fights furiously to stay afloat, regretting that she had never learned how to swim. She thrashes around desperately but the river is merciless, pulling her under as she struggles to keep her head above water. 

Water has become her enemy again. It holds a strange power over her like it had back in her horrid past, which only makes her more determined to fight back against it. 

With the river's furious roar guiding his way, Xavia tears through the dense jungle foliage. Cold fear gripping him tightly as he sprints past trees and leaps over stumps, "Hang on, Dusk, I'm coming," He huffs into the comm piece, knowing full well that she probably wouldn't hear him.

He speeds along the rocky riverbank, skidding occasionally but never faltering. His sharp eyes roam over the raging waves as he scanned for any sign of Dusk.

"Come on... Where are you?!" He mutters under his breath with desperation creeping into his voice.

"No, not again," Dusk thinks in anguish as she continues grappling against the fierce current that's dragging her downstream. The water around her is a cold, terrifying reminder of that night as she fights for every breath she takes.

Finally, Xavia spots her, a dark figure bobbing and thrashing around in the frothy current of the river, "Dusk!" He calls out to her though the roaring water drowns out his voice. Feeling a surge of relief wash over him, he dashes along the uneven terrain towards her without giving his own injuries a second thought.

As the cold water begins seeping into her lungs, Dusk's struggles become weaker. The strength that once filled her body is now rapidly draining away as she slowly starts sinking deeper into the river.

"NO!" Xavia bellows as he watches Dusk disappear beneath the waves. Time slows down for him and all he can hear is her name echoing in his mind. He doesn't hesitate to claw off his jacket, swiftly diving headfirst into the frigid current with a determined snarl etched onto his face.