David banked into the final approach toward Marina's cove, already rehearsing an apology for pushing his exploration time. The words died in his throat as he caught sight of the beach below.
The pristine white sand had been violently churned, great furrows carved deep enough to expose the darker silt beneath. Seawater had surged far beyond the normal tideline, leaving drying pools that stretched nearly to the trees. The crystal-clear waters of the cove had turned murky with churned silt, and floating in the mess...
"Oh that's not good," David muttered, his wings catching an updraft as he circled lower. "That's really not good."
Severed tentacles dotted the water's surface like particularly morbid lily pads, their translucent tissue still rippling with dying patterns of light. More had washed up on shore, their hooked surfaces catching the morning sun in ways that made his fur stand on end. The Cuddlebugs circled closer to his form as they descended, their usual enthusiasm completely absent.
"Marina?" David called, his voice carrying easily across the disturbed water. "You better just be molting or something because this is giving me serial killer vibes and I-"
The water erupted.
Marina's massive form burst from the depths wrapped around... something. David's eyes struggled to process what he was seeing as she dragged her opponent into view. His brain kept trying to categorize it as 'goldfish' before violently rejecting that classification.
The creature's basic shape might have started as a fish, but someone had clearly gotten creative with the evolutionary blueprint. Its scales resembled armored plates, layered like living titanium and reflecting the sun in bright patterns. Two huge eyes rolled independently in their sockets, each one roughly the size of David's head and carrying that special kind of vacant malice usually reserved for garden gnomes.
Did someone feed pure protein powder to a carnival prize? Because that thing is built like a fishy tank.
He shot forward over the water, already planning angles of attack before remembering one very important detail. His toxins would spread through the water, and while he was pretty sure Marina could handle herself in a fight, he really didn't want to find out how she'd handle being accidentally poisoned.
"Son of a-" David banked hard as the battle below reached new levels of chaos. Marina had wrapped dozens of her larger tentacles around the mutant goldfish, and the hooks that lined them...
Holy shit.
David hovered, watching as she used her full length of each tentacle like a living saw, rapidly pulling them across the creature's armor in ways that sent an unholy screech echoing across the water. The hooked surfaces weren't just for show - each one looked like someone had weaponized fishhooks, their wicked curves designed for maximum carnage.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SWIM INTO MY COVE?" Marina's voice carried clearly despite the chaos, her bioluminescence flashing aggressive patterns beneath the surface. "I WAS TRYING TO TAKE A NAP YOU DISCOUNT REJECT!"
The goldfish's response was to roll, its armored bulk threatening to drag Marina under. She countered by extending more tentacles, wrapping around the creature's gills in ways that looked extremely…unfriendly. The hooks found purchase in that softer tissue, and the sound that followed made David's ears flatten against his skull.
"OH YOU WANT TO PLAY ROUGH?" Marina's voice had taken on the kind of tone that remind him of death metal vocalists. "I'VE EATEN BETTER LOOKING FISH THAN YOU FOR BREAKFAST!"
David circled helplessly above the fight, trying to find any avenue of assistance that wouldn't result in accidentally poisoning his new friend. The problem was, Marina's combat style involved being basically everywhere at once. Her tentacles moved with devastating coordination, some acting completely independently while others worked in perfect sync to saw through the goldfish's armored hide.
"This is like trying to help a tornado fight a tank," he muttered, watching as another of Marina's tentacles was severed by those brutal scales. "Extra style points for the trash talking, though."
Blood clouded the water in expanding patterns as Marina's hooked tentacles finally breached the goldfish's armor, the creature's huge puffy eyes rolling in their sockets with increasingly frantic energy. David winced as she quite literally began peeling the scales away, each brutal yank accompanied by creative suggestions about where exactly the fish could stick its attitude.
"I SWEAR TO WHATEVER GOD YOU PRAY TO," Marina roared as she wrapped more tentacles around the thrashing beast, "IF YOU BROKE ANY OF MY GOOD TENTACLES I'M GOING TO TURN YOU INTO SUSHI!"
The fight had moved into deeper water, Marina's bioluminescence creating a spectacular lightshow beneath the surface as she worked. Those horrible hooks caught the sun like liquid metal, each savage pull sending fresh clouds of red spiraling through the cove's once-pristine water.
Well this is new. Usually I'm the scariest thing in sight but this is... actually this is probably what I look like to other people. Huh.
The goldfish made one last desperate attempt to escape, its mutated bulk surging toward open water. Marina's response was immediate and overwhelming - dozens of her larger tentacles whipped forward, wrapping around its bleeding form like living cables. The hooks extended to their full length, and what followed...
"Okay that's definitely going in the 'top ten most metal things I've seen' list," David hissed, his ears swiveling to track the unholy sound of Marina basically turning her opponent into an underwater sawmill project. "Though its still below the time Claire ripped the head off the..."
Captain chirped questioningly as they flitted nearby, clearly wondering if they should attempt to assist. The rest of the Cuddlebugs had maintained a holding pattern around David, their tiny forms creating perfect formation as they watched the aquatic carnage below.
"Not this time team," David called back, watching as Marina's assault reached its brutal conclusion. "Pretty sure we'd just be getting in the way of... whatever the hell this counts as. Nature documentary meets monster truck rally?"
The battle ended with a particularly vicious display of tentacle coordination that left David genuinely impressed. Marina's larger appendages had basically turned the goldfish into the world's most violent accordion, while her smaller ones systematically dismantled what remained of its armor. The creature's final splashes of struggle were lost beneath the sound of Marina's victory screech - a noise that somehow managed to combine triumph with extreme annoyance.
Her sensory organs suddenly oriented upward, finally spotting David hovering above the carnage. "Hey!" she called, her voice carrying both exhaustion and accusation as she began dragging her prize toward shore. "Thanks for all the help up there! Really appreciated the moral support!"
David dropped altitude, hovering closer now that the immediate danger had passed. "Look, I was going to help but-" He paused, noticing the full extent of her injuries. Nearly half her tentacles were either completely severed or hanging by literal threads, and the ones that remained showed clear signs of damage from those armored scales.
"But what?" Marina demanded, though her tone had lost some of its edge. Several of her intact tentacles were already gathering the severed ones floating nearby. "Stage fright? Performance anxiety? Because I've got to say, your timing could use some work."
"My strongest ability is…situational," David admitted, dropping to land on the beach as Marina settled into her previous spot. "And everything else I have is toxin or control based. Wasn't sure how to engage without accidentally poisoning you too. Water tends to spread things, you know?"
Marina's tissue rippled in what might have been surprise. "Wait, seriously? But you look so..." She waved a tentacle vaguely in his direction. "Pointy."
David was about to respond when he noticed her quivering slightly, her bioluminescence patterns becoming erratic. Without hesitation, he threw back his head and unleashed Siren's Call. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, echoing off the water's surface in ways that shouldn't have been possible. The Cuddlebugs immediately perked up, their tiny forms practically vibrating as the ability took hold.
"What the..." Marina's remaining sensors oriented on him as the regenerative effects began to manifest. "That's... actually that feels pretty good. Didn't know you could do that."
"I like to cover all my bases," David explained, watching as her healing rate visibly increased. "Had to kill too many one-trick ponies to risk being one myself."
Marina drifted back into the shallows near shore, her remaining tentacles trailing in the clear water of the cove. She made an affirmative gesture with several of them, then proceeded to do something that made David's jaw drop. She began methodically eating her own severed appendages, using her intact tentacles to feed them into what he could only assume was her mouth.
"Um," David managed, his ears flattening in confused horror. "Should I... should I be concerned about this?"
"Oh!" Marina paused mid-snack, apparently remembering he was there. "It's a Mutagen thing. Got lucky with a fusion - I can heal faster by... recycling parts of myself." She resumed her disturbing meal with enthusiasm. "Weird, I know, but these days what isn't?"
David was about to comment further when he noticed his Cuddlebugs had discovered the half of the goldfish Marina had casually tossed onto the white sand nearby. The word 'food' had barely registered in his mind through their link before they descended on the carcass with their usual enthusiasm.
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"Speaking of weird," Marina continued, apparently completely comfortable eating and talking simultaneously, "you really couldn't help? I mean, don't get me wrong, looking scary is great and all, but I figured you'd be more..." She waved another tentacle expressively. "Bitey?"
"About that..." David's ears swiveled thoughtfully as he watched Marina continue her self-cannibalism. His mind raced back to his conversation with Doc, remembering how he'd managed to isolate that single strange toxin strain. "I might be able to help now, actually. Let me try something."
He focused intently, trying to picture the complex cocktail of chemicals he usually produced as separate things instead of one nasty blend. Like trying to pick apart the ingredients of a particularly lethal smoothie, except the smoothie was in his mouth and could probably kill a horse.
Usually everything just sort of... happened. His toxins mixed together automatically, creating that familiar mint-tinged mixture that had put more than a few enemies into permanent naps. But if he could isolate just one part, like with Doc...
Sort of like trying to drink just the vodka out of a mixed drink, maybe? Except the vodka is technically medicine. Kind of. If medicine could also stop your heart.
David concentrated harder on the analgesic component, the one that usually worked alongside his paralytics and soporifics to make sure his victims had a peaceful trip to whatever afterlife they believed in. The change in his saliva was immediate and surprising. Instead of the familiar cool sensation, this isolated strain tasted distinctly medicinal - like someone had dissolved hospital-grade painkillers on his tongue.
Well that's new. And also kind of gross. But mostly new.
"Don't freak out," David said, bouncing down into the shallows next to her. The water barely reached his chest, his wings held carefully above the surface. "This might help with the pain."
Before Marina could respond, David extended his ridiculous tongue to its full length, running it along one of her larger tentacles. The texture made him want to gag - somewhere between firm jelly and raw fish - but he forced himself to focus on maintaining the isolated toxin.
"What the actual fuck are you-" Marina's indignant response cut off abruptly. Her tissue rippled with surprise as the analgesic took effect. "Oh. OH. That's... that doesn't hurt anymore. At all."
Encouraged by her response, David took to the air again. He circled her massive form, carefully applying a modified Corruptor's Touch to her various injuries. Each application made her tissue ripple with relief, the painkiller absorbing rapidly through her damaged surfaces.
"You're not feeling sleepy though, right?" David asked between applications, his wings working overtime to maintain precise positioning. "Or paralyzed? Nothing going numb that shouldn't be?"
"No, just..." Marina's remaining sensory organs tracked his movement with obvious curiosity. "Just no pain. Which is... wait." Her tissue suddenly rippled with understanding. "Control and toxins, you said. And they're usually all mixed together?"
David landed back on the beach, shaking water from his fur. "Yeah. Normally everything blends into one really nasty cocktail. I never thought to try and separate them, but I was talking to Doc and..." He noticed her remaining tentacles had gone very still. "What?"
"David," Marina's voice carried an odd note of recognition. "What's your last name?"
Uh...why does she- Shit. The System Message. I forgot about that for a bit.
He shifted uncomfortably, wings tucking closer to his sides. "Fisher."
"As in, the David Fisher? The one the System ranked as having the strongest offensive ability?" Her tissue rippled with growing excitement. "Oh my god, I'm going to be famous. Wait until I tell everyone I had THE David Fisher as a-"
"Maybe don't spread that around?" David interrupted quickly, his fur bristling slightly. "It tends to attract the wrong kind of attention."
Marina's tentacles waved dismissively. "Fine, fine. But can I at least know what it's called? The ability that's supposedly so terrifying? We took bets, and I intend to collect. Hah! Let me guess, it’s some sort of…"
David considered for a long moment as Marina began to speculate wildly, watching as his Cuddlebugs continued their enthusiastic demolition of the goldfish carcass. Marina had proven herself trustworthy, and after all, she had just shared her own abilities with him...
"Doom Blade," he said finally, bracing for the usual reaction.
Marina was quiet for several seconds. "If the System hadn't backed up how strong it was," she said slowly, "I'd think you were a total edgelord with a name like that."
David sighed heavily. "You're not the first person to say that."
"Good news though," Marina's tissue rippled with returning cheer, though her sensory organs kept darting back to study him with newfound intensity. "I should be ready to move again once everything grows back. Though next time?" She paused, like she was still trying to reconcile the infamous David Fisher with the soggy bat currently standing on her beach. "Maybe lead with the whole 'I can make magic painkillers' thing? Because that's actually really useful. You know, for someone who's supposedly the most dangerous..." She trailed off meaningfully, clearly still processing the disconnect between his 'reputation' and his personality.
"Deal," David agreed, watching as Marina's regeneration continued at an accelerated pace under the combined effects of his Siren's Call and her self-cannibalism. "Though maybe next time don't get into a death match with the world's angriest goldfish while I'm gone? I thought something had actually managed to kill you."
"Please," Marina's tissue pulsed with amusement. "Takes more than some overgrown prize fish to take me down. Though I've got to admit..." Several of her new tentacles flexed experimentally, hooks extending and retracting in sequence. "Having painkillers on tap is a game changer. Usually losing this many limbs is a real pain in the... well, everywhere."
David watched the regeneration process with fascinated horror. The new growth looked almost crystalline at first, transparent tissue gradually filling with color and neural patterns as it extended. Even with the enhanced healing, the process looked uncomfortably organic.
"So," he ventured, trying to distract himself from the biological spectacle, "is this normal for you? Random sea monsters trying to claim your cove?"
"Define normal," Marina replied, her new tentacles beginning to show the first signs of bioluminescence through the gentle waves. "Because if you mean 'does weird shit regularly try to eat me', then yeah. Pretty much standard operating procedure these days." She paused thoughtfully. "Though usually they're not quite so... googly."
The Cuddlebugs had finally finished reducing their portion of the goldfish to bones, their tiny forms absolutely stuffed. Captain managed to float over to David's shoulder, landing with considerably less grace than usual and immediately falling asleep.
"Speaking of weird," Marina's sensory organs oriented on the food-coma victims, "your little squad there can really put it away. Pretty sure they ate their body weight in murder-fish."
"Food is their second favorite word," David explained, carefully adjusting his position so Captain wouldn't fall. "Right after 'murder', obviously."
Marina's response was cut short by a distant sound that made both of them freeze. Something between a roar and a whale song rolled across the water, instantly silencing the ambient sounds of the island.
"We should probably get moving soon," Marina suggested, her remaining original tentacles rippling uneasily. "Trust me - I don't want to meet that while I'm still regenerating."
David's ears swiveled toward the sound, tracking its direction. "Define 'that'..."
"Let's just say that goldfish?" Marina gestured at the remains with a newly grown tentacle. "That was small fry. Emphasis on fry." Her tissue rippled with dark humor. "The adults tend to be a bit more... enthusiastic about disputes."
Another sound echoed across the water, closer this time. David's fur stood on end as he recognized patterns in the noise from the night before.
"Right," he said quickly, gathering his stupefied Cuddlebugs with gentle wing sweeps. "How much longer until you're good to go?"
"Give me ten minutes to finish growing these back," Marina replied, her regeneration visibly accelerating. "Then we can introduce you to the fun part of ocean travel - running away from things that definitely want to eat us!"
"Story of my life," David muttered, watching the horizon warily. "At least Claire would appreciate the irony."
"You're full of surprises," Marina observed as her final tentacles reached full extension, hooks flexing experimentally. "First the toxins, then the healing song, and... you're crossing an ocean just to find someone?" Her regenerated sensory organs rippled with what might have been amusement. "Most people I transport are trying to put as much water as possible between themselves and their problems."
"Yeah well, my problems tend to follow me anyway," David muttered, his ears swiveling toward another distant rumble. The Cuddlebugs huddled closer, their overfed forms suddenly alert as something massive displaced water far beyond the cove. "Speaking of problems - how about we continue this chat somewhere with fewer things trying to eat us?"
"Fair point." Marina's tissue rippled with mischief as she opened her transport chamber. "Though I've got to warn you - after a regeneration this big, the ride might be a bit... bouncy."
David's stomach lurched at the mere thought. "Fantastic. Because nearly losing my breakfast last time wasn't enough fun."
Another sound rolled across the water, this one carrying the kind of undertone that made David's survival instincts start filing paperwork for early retirement. The Cuddlebugs pressed closer to his fur, their usual bravado completely forgotten.
"Time to go," Marina announced cheerfully, her newly restored tentacles spreading wide. "Unless you'd like to stay and explain to the local legislature why we redecorated their cove with fish parts?"
"I'll pass," David replied, already moving toward her transport chamber. "Pretty sure my diplomatic skills peaked with the crabs earlier."
"You did what now?"
"Story for another time," David assured her as he carefully herded his still-woozy Cuddlebugs inside before leaping through the opening himself. "Preferably when we're very far from here and I've had time to prepare a better explanation than 'it seemed like a good idea at the time.'"
As Marina's chamber sealed around them, David caught one last glimpse of something massive moving beneath the waves. Its shadow stretched far longer than anything had any right to, and he could have sworn he saw multiple sets of eyes bigger than Marina's entire body tracking their movement.
"So," Marina's voice vibrated through her chamber walls as they began to rapidly submerge, "about that story..."
"Let's just say," David settled into position, trying to ignore his stomach's preemptive protests, "that some people really need to learn how to play nice with others. Even if those others happen to be heavily armed crustaceans with apparently poor impulse control."
The water closed over them as Marina's bioluminescence painted their descent in familiar patterns of light. Behind them, something breached the surface with enough force to send waves rolling over the surface above them. David decided very firmly that he didn't want to know what it was.
"You know," he mused as they quickly picked up speed, his Cuddlebugs already looking slightly green around their tiny whiskers, "Claire's going to be so mad she missed all this."
"Sounds like there's a story there too," Marina replied, her tissue rippling with curiosity as they entered deeper water. "But maybe save it for when we're not actively fleeing from the local wildlife? Speaking of which..."
The sound that followed made their earlier visitor seem positively subtle. David's ears flattened against his skull as harmonics that shouldn't have been possible rolled through Marina's chamber.
"Right," he managed, trying very hard not to think about what might be following them. "Talking later. Fleeing now. Got it."
Marina's laughter vibrated through her chamber walls as they accelerated into the deep, leaving the island - and whatever horrors called it home - far behind.