Pinky

Fate took his right hand out of his mouth and slipped a Breach knife out of his boot, tearing off some cloth from his tattered left sleeve with two fingers and balling it, stuffing it in his mouth.

He narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth between the cloth, and chopped off his pinky with one swift slice. His vision blurred from the pain and he screamed, the sound muffled by the cloth. When he managed to reign in control of his body, he forced his eyes open and examined his hand.

The wound was gushing blood like a fountain, so he tore some cloth off of his mostly undamaged right sleeve and wrapped it around the wound as tight as he could make it, staunching the bleeding. Then he spat out the cloth in his mouth and checked his body for any more of Griffith's energy. To his relief, there was none.

He gingerly picked the finger off of the ground, prodding it with a swift poke first to check if the bear's energy would somehow enter him once more before he did so.

Fate stowed his amputated pinky in his pocket after wrapping it with more cloth stolen from his right sleeve. 'Cait should have a med kit in her ship to reattach this thing.'

It was times like these he was glad that medicine had advanced so far under the care of Embodiments. They could even reattach heads if taken care of quickly enough. Such machines were extremely expensive and much less successful than a trained Health Embodiment and took up a lot of space to fit the patient inside, but the convenience of having one in one's home was often worth the price.

But the machines that reattached hands, feet, and digits, while also capable of mending flesh, were relatively small, being only about three feet wide and long, and two feet tall. They could easily be built into the walls of a ship, like those owned by Fate and his friends. Maya was the one who helped Cait commission her ship, and Fate knew she wasn't one to forget essential things like that.

Long story short, he'd be able to reattach his finger later. First, he and Cait had to survive.

Speaking of Cait, things weren't going well for her. She was constantly backpedaling away from the bear, who was walking forward leisurely as it deflected her telekinetic blasts. He could spot his sword's tip peeking out of Griffith's back at an angle, the handle still dangling from the creature's belly. Cait's back was to Fate, about three feet between the two and closing.

'I should probably help her," he thought, wishing he still had his Manifest Power's original ability to be forgotten.

He broke into a run, dodging past a psychic shove from the bear and ducking under a swipe from his claws as he rolled under the bear, grasping at his sword. Griffith roared in pain as Fate twisted his sword in the wound, sending some Divine Energy into the blade and wrenching it to the left, where the edge was facing.

The sword cut through the bear's flesh with ease, the pain enough to make it forget about its fight with Cait for a few vital seconds as his side splattered blood on the floor. She leaped onto the chance, bringing the full might of her Divine Hold on top of the bear. Fate joined in, rolling out from under Griffith and dodging a paw as he focused his Divine Grasp on the creature.

Griffith struggled, trying to push back and failing. His Divine Energy's toxic qualities were kept in check by Fate's own, the two eating away at each other as Cait kept her full attention on restraining the bear.

It roared, trying to claw at Fate, but Cait's influence slowed it so much that dodging was a breeze. Fate raised his sword, the blade humming and devouring the red light coming from their Ex-Ears as he swung down, chopping the bear's head off in one clean motion.

Cait sighed a breath of relief when the bear dropped to the ground, the screaming faces on his back ceasing their noise as their eyes dimmed. She stopped her Divine Reach, walking past Fate into the tunnel. "Come on," she said over her shoulder. "Let's leave this place."

They jogged down the tunnels, using the mapping function of their Ex-Ears to explore each of the tunnels they haven't entered yet. The third of the four tunnels was the one that yielded what they were searching for: a light at the end and a cool breeze blowing on their face. They went from jogging to running, eager to finally be free of the tunnels.

They came out into a forest of deciduous trees, providing much-welcome cover from the bright sun above. They squeezed their eyes shut and covered them with their hands, the sudden brightness a far cry from the red light they were using to see for the past several hours. After some time adjusting, they opened their eyes and switched off the flashlights on their ears, studying the trees.

"Any clue where we are?" Cait asked.

"Looks like it might be the forest south of the palace," Fate replied, checking the mapping function of his Ex-Ear. "Yep, south of the palace. Ship's that way," he said, pointing in the proper direction.

"I say we run there. I'm ready to finish the job and get the hell off of this planet."

"Agreed."

An enraged roar echoed out from the tunnels behind them, causing the birds in the trees to take flight and chirp warnings to their fellows. A low, persistent screech came soon after, joined by another, and then another.

"He isn't dead?" Fate asked incredulously.

"I guess not," Cait replied. "We should get to the ship before he catches up to us. I doubt he'll be able to get through the shields."

They started dashing toward Cait's ship, the screeches behind them growing louder and louder despite the two bolting it as fast as they could.