"Locke? Locke, oh thank god you're alright." Kate muttered as Locke carefully opened his eyes and weakly sat up. "They thought you were dead, you were without oxygen for nearly an hour... What happened? Go slowly, don't stress yourself." Locke nodded, rubbing his eyes and temples, a headache slowly making itself known.
"I felt Nuada break into the compound... tried to go and help... forgot to refill my inhaler." Locke muttered, leaning into Kate when she hugs him rather tightly, having been sorely worried. He relaxed, barely registering Abe walk over.
"Locke, I need your help." Abe said, gills working carefully, upset and angry at himself for his inability to act. Locke looked up at him sadly, seeing that Abe deeply cared for Nuala, and feeling a bit hurt. Kate picked up on this, but said nothing immediately.
"Anything, for a friend..." Locke's haltingly spoken words were chosen very carefully, as he felt hurt and stupid, for reasons only he and Kate understood. Locke looked to another table, where Hellboy, with a severe wound in his left side, lay with Liz doting on him.
"We need a plane, and we need to leave, now. Hellboy has a spear tip stuck in his side, and I can't get it out. It's magicked, and every time I get close, it gets longer and closer to his heart..." Abe seemed desperate, hiding something else.
"Did you find the piece?" Locke asked, his voice a whisper so only Kate and Abe could hear. Abe simply nodded, shaking slightly. "Good, there's an old plane in one of the hangars off the lower second floor east wing, I can cover you. Go, you found the location, now save her, just be careful."
Locke watched sadly as Abe helped Liz get Hellboy up and move him from the infirmary, heading for the location Locke gave. Abe paused briefly, smiling a bit in thanks.
Once certain they were out of earshot and that she and Locke were alone, Kate moved Locke's right sleeve. Halfway up his forearm was the silver bracelet with an intricate design and delicate curves, and beautiful glowing turquoise runes etched into its surface, each slowly seeming to glow with the beat of his heart. Around and under the immediate area of where the bracelet touched skin, Locke's skin had reddened, before it turned black as it spread slowly along his arm. Also, where his skin had turned black, it seemed as though rough scales had begun to develop.
"You're running out of time, we need to find them..." Kate said gently stroking the side of his face. His eyes did not move, focused on where Abe had been standing moments before, slapping himself mentally for not telling him everything.
"You already chose him, didn't you?" Kate asked, smiling a bit sadly and understandingly as Locke looked up at her suddenly, then nodded as his face reddened a bit. "Hopefully things go well and they return unharmed... Then we'll search that one last place you wanted to... Alright?" Locke only nodded, a sense of foreboding and unshakable concern flooding his thoughts. Something horrid was going to happen, and he knew he could do nothing to stop it.