She drowned. Again.

***

Back to life:

Under two kilometres of Norwegian Sea.
Lungs filled with salty brine.
Every cell screaming out.
In a small metal space.
In absolute cold.
In the dark.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to reality:

She'd been on a fishing boat tracking the Gungne - a Norwegian ice breaker returning from deep ice when the unimaginable had happened. Huge arms had casually grabbed her boat from beneath and effortlessly dragged it down and down, folding the hull around her cabin like paper. The vessel was left like a broken child's toy on the shelf.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to the here and now:

Focus. Possibility of Templar rescue - vanishingly slim at best. They knew her last position but how could they reach her? No weapons, but she had been wearing her lifejacket and it now kept her pressed against the top of the steel that was her prison.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to life:

Under two kilometres of Norwegian Sea.
Lungs filled with salty brine.
Every cell screaming out.
In a small metal space.
In absolute cold.
In the dark.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to reality:

How long could she keep coming back to life? How long would her Anima last? Why couldn't she stop singing that damn Soul II Soul song? Ah yes - it had been on the radio before she had gone down. She craved release.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to the here and now:

Focus. She turned inward and examined her Anima core - a small beacon of light and warmth. She noted the capacity. She mentally examined the rest of her - wait ... there ...

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to life:

Under two kilometres of Norwegian Sea.
Lungs filled with salty brine.
Every cell screaming out.
In a small metal space.
In absolute cold.
In the dark.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to reality:

Her body was producing more Anima than her violent resurrections were taking away. Just. If she focused she could add it to the core - a tiny amount at a time. A vanishingly small drop at a time. With enough Anima she could blast out of the steel prison and her lifejacket would carry her to the surface.

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to the here and now:

Focus. How long would that take? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?

She drowned. Again.

***

Back to life:

Under two kilometres of Norwegian Sea.
Lungs filled with salty brine.
Every cell screaming out.
In a small metal space.
In absolute cold.
In the dark.

She drowned. Again.