Leviathan, Part 3

Alex opened his eyes slowly, finding total darkness surrounding him.
He couldn't see anything, but as for hearing anything, that was a different story.

A steady pounding echoed around him, the sound of flowing liquid came from somewhere else in the distant, and every so often, the soft, squishy floor he lay on shook.

He remembered the events of the previous night. He had been eaten alive.
Twice, come to think of it.

But that was fine. Actually, it was great.
Few things could be better than this. An odd sentiment, given the gravity of the situation, or at least it would have been, if Alex were in any real danger.

So there he was. An unarmed human, lounging in a stomach vast enough to contain a collection of what were previously believed to be the largest creatures in the seas of Enki. And everything was fine.

Alex rolled over, rubbing the wall gently; he was already coated in a somewhat-viscous bath of sorts, so it would have been pointless to worry about gathering a layer on his hand, considering his entire form was covered within minutes of his entrance and had stayed that way the entire night.
And it wasn't unpleasant. As far as stomachs went, this was probably the best one Enki had to offer.

Eventually, the entire chamber tensed up a little, heralding a long, deep intake of breath.

"Somebody awake in there already?" an echoing voice asked drowsily.

"More awake than you, by the sounds of things," Alex replied.

The owner of the voice- and for the moment, of Alex -chuckled a little at that, sitting up and causing the human nestled deep inside of her to roll as his surroundings shifted.
"So, how'd the night go for you?" she asked him.

"Just fantastic," came his reply. "And yours?"
It was a wonder she could hear him, but then again, it was a wonder she even existed in the first place.

"Fantastic's a good word for it."
In Bianca's case, it was a wonder that one little human could have proved so satisfying, but that was attributed to her. Adapted specifically to eat extraterrestrials, but thankfully for the humans, who as of yet were unaware of her presence- Alex being the exception -she wasn't cruel.

Alex provided her first taste of human, but she primarily stuck to feeding on sea creatures, and Alex wouldn't be providing nourishment, as the massive ocean-dweller demonstrated yet another remarkable ability of hers in controlling her stomach and making it a completely safe pocket for her guest to occupy.

"So," the colossus said, "I guess we'll be returning you to the surface today."

"Yeah..." Alex sighed, "but I'll be back, you know. Probably won't be able to stick around every time, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"Yeah, you'd better come back. After all, if I come up there and start asking for you, don't you think some people would get the wrong idea?"

"Ah, jeez," the human answered with a laugh, "there'd be panic across the planet. Even back on Earth I bet that'd cause some commotion if word got out..."

Bianca chuckled a little as well at that. "I'm almost tempted... But if people got to know me first, I don't think they'd worry so much."

"Some would. The fact that you might eat them could keep some people in their homes, even if your intentions are good."

"Not that staying in their homes would help them, any."

"Now, now, Bianca... let's not start ripping houses out of the ground. I can tell you right now, that definitely won't make a very good impression."

"Aww..."

Alex could hardly believe himself; talking to a giant ancient shark-like lifeform like this, especially considering his current location.
Although she took it rather well; if she was going to partake in a little bit of banter, she had better know how to take it. That much she had learned in her first days of communicating with visitors.

"Anyway," Bianca said, "I suppose you'll want to come out now; get you cleaned off and back in your pill."

"It's a submarine," Alex corrected.

"No, it's definitely a pill," the shark insisted.

"Have it your way. I know you will, anyway."

"Quite an assumption. You're right, though. Probably unsafe while you're in there though; don't want to risk you getting crushed or anything."

"Right. So... do I come out now?"

Bianca chuckled a bit. "I don't know, do you?"

"It's up to you," Alex conceded. "But I figured that was where the conversation was going, seeing as we were just talking about it."

"True, true. Brace yourself then; this might wake you up."

Alex waited as Bianca moved around, wondering what she was doing out there. Any questions were answered in moments as she swallowed mouthful after mouthful of seawater, dousing him in frigid water.
He swam to the top, gasping for air; he was in no danger, but he really wasn't expecting that. Before long, the shark's stomach was about three-quarters full, give or take. The fleshy hollow heaved, squeezing inwards, and bringing Alex back up with the cold torrent.

Light came back as Alex flowed up into Bianca's mouth, out into the giant pool in the moss-lit cave.
He continued upwards, past the rows of sharp teeth, and soon reached the surface, treading water and catching his breath.

The shark moved out from under him and then emerged as well; gently, so as not to toss him around on the water's surface.

"Awake?" she asked innocently.

"Wide awake," Alex said quickly. "Can-- can we get out of the water?"

Bianca giggled a little, bringing her palm up under the shivering man, lifting him out as she clambered back up onto a solid surface, reclining against the wall again.
Alex dropped a short distance onto the shark's belly, which he had only just been lounging in a minute ago.

"You'd probably like it if you were dry now, right?" Bianca asked.

Her guest didn't need to provide her with an answer; she was already taking action. Alex watched as she brought her hands up, holding them a distance away from him, and her white palms started to give off light.
She showed him this before; she could produce intense heat in her skin and scales. At that distance, it actually felt rather nice, and Alex found the chill in his bones departing in moments.

"It's amazing how you can do that," he muttered, mostly to himself.

"It does come in handy," Bianca said pridefully. "Most of my scales are like razors anyway if you so much as graze them the wrong way, but coupled with this, I was able to fend for myself against creatures in the abyss even when I was very small."

"It's difficult to imagine you much smaller."

"We all gotta start somewhere. You were a weird little pink thing starting out, though I can't really imagine how you must've looked in detail," she admitted, looking up as though trying to envision that anyway. "The way human infants are... it kinda scares me."

"Seriously?" Alex asked, letting a chuckle slip out.

"You humans start out as screaming blobs notorious for rancid projectile vomiting. How is that not terrifying?"

"That's probably an exaggeration, wherever you heard that from. Although, admittedly it's not much of one."

"I can browse pictures with my symbiote too, you know. It's a wonder that such bizarre things can mature into something so cute..."
Her eyes wandered back to Alex, and she grinned.

Alex looked down, trying to hide his face as a blush crept its way onto it, but it didn't do him any good; Bianca could tell.

"Aaanyway," she said, coming out of a yawn, "we should probably see about returning you to the surface. Don't want to keep them worried for too long."

"Yet you had no qualms about making me worry about my own fate," Alex pointed out.

"True, but I cleared the whole thing up, didn't I? And I didn't need to have any qualms about it; in the end you enjoyed it anyway."

Alex said nothing, continuing to look down at the white scales below him, but his tense composure gave away enough for Bianca to decipher yet again.

Rather than continuing to keep him in that awkward situation- as fun as it may have been for her -she reached over for the diving vessel and moved it over towards Alex, setting it down on her belly next to him.

"Thanks," he said, standing up. He risked looking up to her and trying to smile a bit, but he hoped that his face wasn't still too vividly radiating a sheepish hue.

Alex stepped into the submarine, positioning himself in the seat, and then pressed a switch to close the capsule up.

The giant shark picked it up, moving into the water again with the intention of setting Alex down in it, though she did find herself tempted to swallow him again, just to further show her stance on how the submarine was actually a pill.

The capsule auto-adjusted its pressure level as Alex descended into the water.
"Thanks," he said, pressing a button to allow for wireless audio transmission.

It was a nifty thing Bianca had going there; the hair-like parasite that had rooted itself to her skull allowed her to send and receive such transmissions herself, so she and Alex could communicate even while underwater.

Before Alex made it past twenty fathoms, he jolted as a white wall came together a short distance ahead, snapping shut and causing him to move back with the water. He chuckled nervously as Bianca moved the water with her tongue, getting Alex situated directly over it before she started to swim out of the cave.

"I figure I'm less likely to run into trouble than you are," she said through the speakers. "Things do tend to grow a little large down here, after all."

"Good idea," the human responded from inside.

"Anyway, just sit back and relax; I'll get us up top in no time."

"Will do. Thanks, Bianca."

The shark made no further responses from there, focused on keeping Alex the right way up as she navigated the underwater maze surrounding the cave. Not that it was crucial that she did so; a separate sphere inside of the vessel made sure Alex didn't get flipped around too much, but the thought was very much appreciated.

From there, about ten minutes of swimming upwards in relative silence passed by, before the shark spoke again.

"Almost there; starting to see light," she broadcasted to Alex.

Before long, she slowed down to a stop.

"Are we there?" Alex inquired curiously.

"Well, almost, but..." Bianca tapered off there for several moments.

"What is it?"

"You know those guys from that desert continent? Like to color everything red and kill people?"

"Zhalkkryshai?"
Alex sat up straight, his pulse picking up. "Bianca, don't let them see you."

"Right, but... they're kind of battling right now, and... you guys don't seem to be doing too well. I don't remember them ever having so many ships..."

"They can just grow them whenever they like," Alex explained. "It's all made in hatcheries and sent out to war. No will of their own. Just a few master controllers out in the desert inhabiting multiple bodies at a time."

"Wait. Say that again..." Bianca prompted.

"Just a few master controllers inhabiting multiple bodies at a time?"

"So they're just hollow pawns; by themselves unthinking and unfeeling, right?" the shark asked.

"Yeah..."

"So what that ultimately means is that this is all a whole bunch of extraterrestrial meat that I don't have to feel guilty about in the slightest?"

Alex paused for several seconds, realizing that. "Actually... yeah. That's exactly what it means."

The aquatic titan giggled eagerly at that, swishing her tongue around in her mouth as though getting it ready.

"But I don't want you endangering yourself!" Alex said hastily. "What if the humans get the wrong idea and they fight you, too?"

Bianca scoffed a little. "Like anybody up there can even scratch me. I've been waiting a long, long time for something like this."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Positive," she confirmed. "I've dealt with much worse than this before. The Arphoss were smart like you guys; their ships were actually made of metal, not meat."

"Well... alright then," Alex conceded. "Go ahead and let me out somewhere. And then do your thing. That rampage you've always wanted to go on, it's time for that."
To his surprise, he found himself smiling a little.

The Zhalkkrysh could be fought back and moved out of the way now. And Bianca was more than happy to be the one to tip the scale for that.

Her jaws went their separate ways again momentarily, releasing Alex near a small rocky spire, a fair distance away from the commotion.

"I'll be back for you later," Bianca transmitted. "Just sit tight and enjoy the show."

She opened her left hand up, letting the satellite Alex had been looking to retrieve roll out into shallow water next to him; he could use the retrieval cone to take it the rest of the way when he was ready.
With that, she drew back, turning around and swimming away befor Alex even began to turn the vessel around to watch her.

This was going to be so much fun.

>>>>>

The sound of quick footfalls echoed as a woman rushed through the narrow passageways of the battleship.

One of the on-deck turret operators had started feeling a bit faint, and so they opted to let them down and bring someone else up who could aim properly, but it was crucial that she hurried.

She brushed by an engineer on the stairs, breaking out into the daylight, staring around at the sheer number of Zhalkkryshai ships in the water.
They were like huge red-and-black whales covered in bony plates. And guns. Couldn't forget about the guns. They were kind of tearing everything apart.

Her expression was devoid of any trace of fear, however. She was no stranger to fighting Zhalkkrysh.
Aside from sheer numbers, there were no surprises in this battle.

Sharp scattered projectiles flew through the air, but they weren't made for precision, thankfully. It was like a shotgun blast; powerful up close, but at this distance the ship wasn't in a terrible amount of danger.

The woman walked past the previous gunner, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Weak-willed and served no purpose here. Maybe he'd find some employment below.

She approached the forward turret, climbing into the seat and sealing herself in the transparent sphere.
Placing her hands on the controls, she set the barrels spinning and took aim at the nearest organic ship.

But she didn't fire a single shot.
Apparently, there was a surprise or two in store here after all.

The most massive creature she had ever laid eyes on burst out of the water, shining white like a living porcelain statue, catching the enemy ship in its mouth and rising high into the air.
The piscine vessel flailed about in an attempt to free itself, but all it did was waste energy, as it ended up disappearing into the mouth of the ivory giantess.

The humans' ship floated back, tossed about on the waves as the leviathan came down, treading water as she swallowed her catch, a bulge visibly sliding down her throat before disappearing into her ribcage.
She cast a glance back at the human forces before turning her attention to the Zhalkkrysh and diving down, advancing towards the crimson vessels eagerly, steam rising up around her.

She was like a radiant shark with a human shape. It was just like those pictures in the ruins the probes explored before humans first settled here. There had been no sign of anything like this actually living on Enki, but references to such a creature had been made by numerous civilizations in their decaying temples and stood strong.

And she was witnessing the existence of that creature with her own eyes.

The gunner let her hands off the controls, slumping back in the seat.
Maybe she should request someone to take her place. She was starting to feel a bit faint.

>>>>>

She was so accustomed to a sensation more like a little spark inside of her.

But then again, until now she had only come across sapient prey large enough to give only a spark.
But now, there were these things.
And she never expected them to writhe like they did; they always seemed so mechanical, at least until she gave them a reason to shake off that lethargy.

And despite their looks, they tasted amazing. It made her curious what the protein constructs wandering the desert had to offer, but even to her it would have been too much trouble to go on land for them.

She never liked leaving the water for too long, aside from resting in her cave. At her size, standing up straight was difficult; water served as an aid for her, but without its support she was significantly weaker and gravity demanded a much greater toll.
The crouching stance she usually took on when on land wasn't exactly a choice. Standing up at her full height couldn't be maintained for long.

But she didn't have to worry about that weakness right now. The Zhalkkrysh had entered her territory and she had the advantage.

An entire navy right where she wanted them. Of course, she couldn't possibly eat all of them, and so she'd need to be discerning and pick the best ones.
Unfortunately, everything currently above her seemed a little rotten.

Bianca surfaced again, white light dancing in the steam around her. Several Zhalkkryshai vessels turned over like dead goldfish as they were scorched by the shark's presence.

Her scales released another radiant pulse, scattering the vessels across the waves.
Smaller, serpentine pods launched out of the red carapaces, attempting an escape, but the hot water devastated any that came even remotely close, leaving only a few operational.

They were fast; out of range before Bianca could do anything about them, heading off towards the humans rather than retreating.
She couldn't exactly intervene without risking damage to the humans, so she instead turned her focus towards more of the advancing crimson fleet.

A rising hot fog followed her as she glided towards the Zhalkkrysh, like vast, rising cloudy wings, curling back around her like a glowing angel of death under a spectral veil.

She wondered if the Zhallkryshai controllers could feel fear as she rushed towards their pawns; the only way to properly appreciate the grin on her face was while in the throes of terror.

Or maybe the minds connected into these bodies didn't care at all and would press doggedly on until there was nothing left to press on with.
In which case they'd just keep coming to Bianca, and she had no complaints about that.

Steam continued to rise up, forming a thick veil around the area, blinding her prey and obscuring her voracious display from the eyes of any onlookers. Probably good for them; the human fleet had most likely been shocked enough already.

>>>>>

Alex stared on in awe, even after the billowing white curtain had drawn itself shut.

It was no wonder why so many had seen Bianca as some kind of deity. She was virtually unstoppable like this, and there was no doubt everyone who had come to live on Enki had come to fear this kind of zeal.
It was a nightmare, no doubt, for any unfortunate enough to find themselves on the short end of the stick. The humans up close to the scene were retreating and the shark had no intentions of even making a move for them.
Although, there was no way they could know that if Bianca didn't come right out and tell them she wouldn't hurt them, and Alex knew firsthand she wasn't the sort of person to be so straightforward about these things.

The salvage worker's eyes traveled back to the ships at the sound of rapid gunfire; they were shooting down into the water at something. Something fast; not one of the bloated bloated battleships that had decided to dive.

A few of the new threats sprang out of the water, like glistening black serpents, onto the decks of various ships, but they were too far off for Alex to make out what they were doing from there.

From there, Alex's eyes followed another ebony streak, his pupils widening in fear at the realization that one of them had ignored the ships altogether and was heading straight for him.

His first instinct was to get back in the submarine, but he caught himself, realizing that would have been a terrible move. His machine was very fast, but there was no way it could outrun whatever this thing was.
He had been having a lot of realizations lately that made him think perhaps he should request some better equipment.
Provided he made it through this, that is.

It would have seemed silly to request a taser of some kind; he wasn't supposed to get into situations like this, as he was supposed to spend time deep below the surface.
But he wasn't supposed to go and get himself swallowed alive by a giant shark lady in the ocean abyss either. But he did anyway. Twice.

And while that little happenstance did turn out for the better, the point still stood. If Tenshi wanted their satellite back so badly, they could shell out a few extra credits to make sure things went according to their all-important schedule.

Alex sprang back, just a few moments too late, knocked off-balance by a lashing tendril as the serpent left the water, rushing onto land and coiling around the spire in a single quick movement.
It appeared to be modeled after the veiled drifters that twisted through the shallows, but was more adapted for quick movement, and was also much larger.

Valves opened up just behind a few of the veils, allowing living cargo to exit.
Alex watched, wide-eyed as the keratin-plated figures crawled out, falling off and landing nimbly on their pointed feet.

Three Zhalkkrysh, their eyeless gaze turned on him intently. For a while, they didn't move, as though simply examining Alex, and in turn, he was able to examine them. It was all he could do really, he didn't dare move from his spot on the ground and provoke them.

Mottled and striped plates covered their vaguely-humanoid bodies in different patterns, as though they were armored with sea shells. Their heads were long and narrow, ending in a few indentations, as though maybe a face was supposed to go there, but the only definite feature they had were mouths that closed up in a T-shape, the lower line tracing along their short necks.
Their legs seemed to have some substance to them, conical in shape and ending in points that the rest of the body balanced on inexplicably, but their arms were flat, ending in brittle-looking hands, but they had been proven strong enough to crush a reinforced helmet and the human skull inside with barely any effort.

Alex cringed as one of the Zhalkkrysh shrieked, its spine curving as its chitinous arms extended to touch the ground, in preparation to lunge at him.

He rolled to the side as his attacker skidded by, yelping as an arm of another Zhalkkrysh stretched out, hitting the ground with its flat side to him, but it angled so its razor edge faced him as it swept towards the human.
Alex avoided it narrowly by sitting up, and then quickly got to his feet, leaping back to dodge the arm's return.

Their movements were difficult to gauge; they didn't move like human. They would throw themselves into motions and then suddenly change it into another, as if making quick inserts into their patterns as a heat-of-the-moment thing.
It was a bit like watching a fly move. If flies were bipedal and every part of their body could be used as a weapon.

The drifter husk was tangled around the terrain in such a manner that Alex really didn't have a lot of room to move; just another thing to add to an already-long list of disadvantages.

Alex's breathing was heavy, and his pulse was frantic; Bianca couldn't come to his aid and she didn't even know anything was happening over here. And to make matters worse, he was unarmed.

Well, not completely unarmed. That revelation came in suddenly like a ray of invigorating hope.

The Zhalkkrysh stalked around Alex in a wolflike manner, looking for an optimal place to strike, but it felt more like they were just taunting him.
But it at least gave him time to think.
The drifter didn't seem to move at all unless it had a pilot. Its tail was blocking his path back to the submarine, but if he played his cards right, perhaps he would have enough time to climb over it.
His plan wasn't to try to just get away though; he knew that would end in failure. But what he did have in mind just might have a chance at success.

The two in front of him stopped moving, and driven on intuition alone, Alex threw himself to the side, cutting it close but managing to dodge the assailant from behind as it sprang forth.

He got to his feet once more, in time to receive a blow to the chest from a sweeping hand, which knocked him for several feet and causing him to collide with the husk.
He tried not to make any noise of pain; they would only finish him off faster if they thought he was down for good. But he couldn't even begin pretend that didn't hurt like a bitch. His lungs felt like they had been deflated and refused to fill all the way again.

Alex used the husk for support, getting back to his feet, but he couldn't make any more evasive moves; the Zhalkkrysh had him blocked off.
If they weren't interested in studying him beforehand, he would have been dead by now. It looked like their goal was to cripple him first, take their time, and then kill him.

Maybe all he had left to do was to let it happen. Bianca was distracted, the fleet was had their own problem. Nobody around to save him.
Maybe this was it.

No.

He wasn't going to just give up like this.
He was determined to come out of this alright.

Alex turned, his breathing measured, and began climbing the husk.
An airy hiss of aggression stung the air behind him, but he paid it no regard. His heart pounded in his chest, and deep down he felt like maybe this was a bad idea, but the alternative was to simply accept death.

His frantic pulse missed a beat as a hand collided with the right side of his face, but it was looking for a place to grab, rather than making a deliberate strike, but it still impacted like one.
He clenched his teeth as the Zhalkkrysh pulled itself onto him, preparing to slam his head in between its hands and crush it.
He was lucky these creatures were so lightweight.
With a growl of effort, Alex reached behind himself for his attacker's shoulder joint, throwing his and its weight forward and causing it to flip over. The claws it had been holding on with raked across his face, but the cuts were shallow.
From there, he wasted no time in hoisting himself over to the other side of the husk, just as another Zhalkkrysh leaped up with intentions of landing down on him.

Alex touched down on the rocky shore, bounding over the stunned alien and making a dash for the submarine, pointed towards the fog.

The third Zhalkkrysh vaulted over the drifter husk, passing both of the others in its pursuit, pouncing as it neared Alex, who was only just stepping into the sub.
It smacked into him, knocking him against the armrest and snapping at his face, but with the help of his adrenaline rush, he forced it off of him, rolling it across the front of the vessel.

It tried to climb back up, but it was too late; Alex had it right where he wanted it. If he weren't in a panic, perhaps he would have smiled smugly as he pressed the switch that started a low humming.
A low humming that lasted only a few moments.
And then a flash erupted from the front of the sub, and the unfortunate creature was sent flying into the distance, hissing angrily as it flew into the fog and vanished from sight.

Alex wasn't left with any time to feel accomplished, sadly. The two others advanced quickly, and the next pulse had to take several seconds to charge.

Alex dove over the back of the seat, reaching for the nearest suitable object to try to fend them off, which happened to be an oxygen tank. Not ideal, but it worked in movies, at least.

Rather than lunge at him directly, one of the chitin-plated horrors landed next time, whirling to the side to make a strike, but Alex easily ducked it, before standing up again and slamming the oxygen tank into the Zhalkkrysh's head.
Aside from making it stagger momentarily and then become angrier, the effect it had was nothing like in movies. It was a little disheartening.

It must have been odd controlling so many bodies; it was probably like a real-time strategy game. But the minds seemed to get a little worked up about it; showing so many signs of aggravation over a little scratch on a grunt's armor.

Alex held up the tank to block a downwards smack, and following up, he shoved forward to knock the Zhalkkrysh back and make it stagger again. In retaliation, the other one lunged forward, tackling the human and knocking him down, the oxygen tank leaving his hands.

He stared up in terror at the armored monster as it clutched one side of his head again, extending its other arm out in preparation for the death blow.

What finally made him cry out wasn't the impact, however. The impact never came.
Everything seemed to stop as a screeching roar carried on a steaming gale ripped its way through the air.

The Zhalkkrysh looked up, somewhere behind Alex, and then backed off, following the other in a dash back to the husk. They would never reach it; an enormous glowing talon dove in from overhead, piercing the husk and turning it to ash, before flicking the two retreating bodies into the water, their insides cooked.

Alex picked himself up gently, turning to see Bianca's head behind him, her intense expression fading and turning into one of worry as she looked down at him, her hands losing their glow.

"Alex, I'm so sorry," she said hurriedly, looking him over carefully. "Are you alright? I didn't think they'd go for y--"

"Bianca," he responded out of breath, cutting her off. "It's okay. You didn't know. I'm just glad you showed up in time..."

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," she continued to apologize, picking up the submarine gently. "I was so focused on them that I didn't even think to check over here. If I had arrived too late, I don't know what I would have done..."

"It's okay," Alex repeated. "You weren't too late. Without you, the fleet would have been crushed. You saved them, and you saved me."
A thought occurred to him, and he sat up quickly, looking over at the ships. Some of them had turned towards him and Bianca.
"What about them?" he asked. "Those things reached them, too."

"Taken care of. They were done before I even finished my work."

A sigh of relief had yet to come; Alex still stared out at the ships, worrying about something else. "So, it looks like they're aware of you now. What do you think will happen?"

"Oh, not much," Bianca replied. "They'll come looking for me before too long, no doubt, and they'll be asking you all about our encounter. Tell them anything you want; I'll be coming back and introducing myself nice and proper before long."

Alex finally relaxed at that, giving her a smile. "Yeah. There will be a lot of freaking out, I imagine, but they'll get used to you."

"Just as long as I don't start ripping buildings out of the ground."

"Yeah. Try not to do that."

Bianca chuckled a little, and then glanced over at the ships as well. "So these people... they won't hurt you if they don't think you're saying everything, right?"

"I'll be fine," Alex assured her. "They know me."

"Alright then."
The shark set the sub down in the water again, and then backed off just a bit to give him room.
"Well, go on then. Take them their satellite. I'll see you again soon enough, and I'll probably be pestering you over your intercom to the point you get tired of it."

Alex nodded slowly, looking up to her as he got into his seat. "Ah, chances are you'll need a break from me before that ever happens."

The shark chuckled again at that. "I doubt that. I'll try not to hijack your signal too much though, in case someone else ever tries to say anything important through it."

"Rarely ever."

"Ah, wonderful," Bianca said, backing up and starting to slide back below the waves. "Expect me to bother you often, then."

"Trust me," Alex returned, "I don't consider it a bother."

Bianca nodded at that, flashing him one of her signature grins. "Well, see you around."

"Just one more thing," he said. "Bianca... thank you."

The titan looked surprised at that. "Why are you thanking me? I ate you twice, and I almost got you killed just minutes ago."

Alex shrugged a little. "I guess I just... well, because of you, my life's just gotten a whole lot bigger. A lot more exciting than I ever thought it'd be."

"I have a lot to thank you for as well. Being huge and terrifying is fun and all, but... it makes making friends a lot harder than I'd like. And I think a friend is what I wanted more than anything."

"And I'm happy to be that friend."

Bianca smiled again; a warm, sincere expression. "I'll see you again soon, Alex."

"And we'll talk sooner."

One last nod, while her head was still above water. "Absolutely."

In moments, the waves enveloped her, and she proceeded back into the depths.
Alex watched as her shape moved out of sight, and even after it had disappeared, he continued to stare after her.

A horn from one of the ships caused an immediate recollection that he should be heading towards them, and so he closed up the vessel, and moved out into the water, extending the retrieval cone to pull the satellite along behind him.

There was no sign of Bianca in the water; she definitely moved quickly.

Alex continued on, smiling to himself. Humanity had seen a lot. But this was completely new. Bianca would definitely be getting a lot of attention, and of course, people would want her to be a permanent ally versus the Zhalkkrysh, and she had already happily obliged, unofficially.
Now Alex had a new task; he would need to keep everyone calm about Bianca's emergence, and be there when she came back up as proof that she was a friend and not a foe.

It wouldn't be the easiest thing to do, but he felt up to the task. He befriended a giant anthropomorphic shark and grappled with a Zhalkkrysh. With that in mind, he was confident that he would do just fine here.

He didn't have much farther to go until he reached the ships when static sounded through his intercom.
He was expecting a transmission from one of the ships, but was pleasantly surprised by the voice that came through instead.


"So... is this alright, or is it a little too soon?"