Selvaria floated in the sea between what Tom called Cayos Alacranes and Isla de la Juventud, the large province they were supposed to be exploring. Their mission—see how aid could be offered to the populous.
Technically, Tom wanted them to avoid direct conflict, but Selvaria saw that as more of a suggestion—Rachel certainly would have, and it was hard for her to feel noticed in the group she’d found herself in.
Hot steam puffed out of her large nostrils while looking up at Cahira’s super-awesome, baby Dragon Turtle as it rose back into the heavens. Its sleek shell, shiny magical cannons, spacious mansion, and its big, cute head made her want to squeal.
Cahira gave the monstrous titan of a turtle the most adorable name, too—Zippy; the turtle was fast, and proud of it. He’d gotten along pretty well with Galatea over the brief time they’d been able to know each other, and her baby seal kind of saw herself as his big sister. She had to be cool now because he was looking up to her!
Selvaria wanted to help her gain amazing new skills to show her little brother when they met again, which meant they needed to level up! The problem … leveling was hard.
Her longing eyes were on the powerful guns on the Pirate Queen’s boat. Wouldn’t it be awesome if I evolved into a mecha-girl, super space exploring laser blasting Leviathan? I could get a big cannon I can hold—fire planet exploding rays from my hands … Such cool stuff.
She was honestly debating how to spend her points after hearing Fiona and Maria’s explanation about the System; she loved it! If she wanted something, she needed to build up enough points, and that meant saving, which meant she needed to think smart like Rachel—although, she wasn’t quite sure how you got points outside of combat—they were a bit vague on that part.
“Selvaria?”
Her jaw tightened, neck swinging around to look at the very small dark-skinned man sitting cross-legged on her back. “Hmm?”
The words came out in a terrifying low rumble, but he seemed to catch her meaning. “I know you can’t communicate while in this State.”
He repositioned the long ponytail he wore around his front, settling in while scanning the lapping waves and bright, starry heavens above them. “You still know which way we’re supposed to head?”
She swiftly nodded, doing her best to put off a positive attitude; he couldn’t understand her, but she said it anyway, hoping he’d get the point. “Mhm! Mhm! I’ve got really good directions since I know where North and South and stuff are.”
Galatea floated up, doing small twirls in the air; she was a seal, so she couldn’t tell by her adorable, big-eyed stare how the animal was really feeling, but the tone in her mentally translated thoughts made it clear. “Mama’s the best with directions! We get to eat soon, right? Right?”
“You already ate a bunch,” Selvaria giggled. “You gotta make sure to have a healthy diet; we looked up plans, remember! Seals need the right nutrition.”
“Aww … Okay,” Galatea huffed, plopping down on her head. “I’m gonna take a nap.”
Ohan somehow translated their one-sided exchange, only able to hear Galatea’s thoughts. “Right. I might rest, too. When we get to the island, we don’t know what will be waiting for us, and given our numbers, the three of us need to be careful.”
Selvaria silently grunted in agreement, looking back up at Zippy’s speedy retreat. I have to save my points … Well, unless we can get a good crafter person. We need a crafter person to make mecha gear!
“Galatea,” she sighed, pointing with her tail, “I need to put my head in the water, so you’ll need to sleep by Ohan.”
“Okai!” Galatea yawned, rising a little to settle down in front of the swordsman.
“You’re such an obedient girl!” Selvaria chimed, releasing a rumble that made Ohan’s head and eyes snap to her. “Oh! Sorry, I’m just praising Galatea.”
The seal snickered, settling in around her scales to find a comfortable spot. “Mama sounds scary to people—Mama’s super strong!”
Ohan hummed, eyebrows pulled together while loosening up his shoulders. “Let me know if anything big comes up.”
Selvaria gave a bright nod in response.
He closed his eyes again as she swung her massive body around, head dipping into the sea; she swayed in the water, weaving her tail back and forth in long, even motions. She could see a shocking distance compared to ordinary fish, spotting various travelling sea life around the vast blue.
It would have been nice to gaze at the stars, feel the nighttime salted breeze on her face, and enjoy the uninterrupted sounds of the surface, but she had a mission to do! She was their transport after Zippy dropped them off, and it was her job to make sure there weren’t any threats nearby.
Of course, it wasn’t as if it was highly likely—her intimidating aura pacified everything in the oceans; who would attack a colossal dragon?! She was awesome, without a doubt, and no one could hurt her tough scales, but there were so many other things she wanted, too.
Rachel had Nia, and Cahira had an incredible arsenal of tools at her disposal—Selvaria salivated over her Dreadnought. She wished she’d turned into a Fleet Girl, like some of the anime she liked; in a way, she had, becoming an uber powerful Leviathan, yet that didn’t scratch her itch for so many other genres she loved.
Selvaria hummed one of her favorite songs from a series she adored in the gentle stream of sonar receptive pulses she analyzed around her —Xenosaga. She had so many things to be grateful for that came from The Oscillation; healing her brain was massive, yet there were so many other things she needed to improve on … communication for one.
She was self-conscious about herself and how others viewed her, which she tried not to be, but it wasn’t so easy. It sucked being lonely—even more to be made fun of or feel stupid, so she didn’t like to talk much.
It was a weakness she wanted to overcome, and knew not being able to speak in her Leviathan form likely stemmed from that after Fiona’s explanation.
Her mind flashed back to the time they’d entered the ruins—out of all of that, of course, her brain went to the one, uber embarrassing moment where she’d fallen down the ladder and landed flat on her back. So lame … No, think of a better memory! No one even laughed or brought it up … They were nice to me. What do you think, Mika?
Of course, her seed didn’t answer her back, but it was nice knowing she had some little friend inside her that healed her and brought her into a group that didn’t judge her. The little seed was kind of like the Ancient who helped support Emilia in Phantasy Star Portable 2—that didn’t mean she was always happy with the little helper, though.
Pondering on how her new life was turning out, Selvaria slowed her motion through the waves. Hmm … I’m a trusted member of the group. Even if we haven’t known each other for that long, they don’t make me feel less than normal like so many other people did … I might not have the same way of socializing, but they don’t push me. Can I really do this mission, though?
The edge of doubt creeping into her breast was swiftly stomped out. I can do this! I’m an ultra-strong Leviathan that can punch walls down and cast judgment on the wicked organizations of the world! Although … Mika, just so you know, I’d also really, really love to be like the humanoid CASTs as we grow together. I’m not a good human … I guess I’m not human anymore, though.
A smile lifted her terrifying mouth. I’m a scary monster that makes people jump, which is fun, don’t get me wrong! I’m cool and cute, and I can be sexy and super pretty … Thanks, Mika, really—I’m not trying to complain, but I just … I’m a monster, which is incredible—it really is! I’d just like to be kind of more—you know, humanoid-like! My heroes…
Her focus returned to the sea, eyes darting to a specific target to her right; the passive sonar pulses she sent out returned an exciting find. Oh! Put that on hold; gotta go, Mika! I just found a big ship! Cuba’s kind of a hot spot right now, so why is a ship sailing in the same direction we are? Let’s go find out!
Correcting their course, Selvaria went a bit off-target; they’d been shown a map of the area by Clay, and she’d done her best to memorize it. It wasn’t difficult to know which degree shift would change their destination using her atmospheric navigation sense.
She wasn’t surprised when their own sonar caught her approach; Selvaria couldn’t believe it; BP-391—a Cuban patrol vessel—was scanning the water with complicated instruments as she approached. Where are they aiming that light? That thing should have noticed me so far away!
Looking around, she couldn’t see anything particularly dangerous and let out a low rumble to wake up Ohan and Galatea; if they were looking for her, they couldn’t read their instruments well.
The ship wasn’t in view yet, given the rise and fall of the waves and their low entry, but Ohan seemed to pick up on the fact they were coming up on something. Selvaria had looked through the U.S. data book on the Cuba ships before coming down with a few other things during her downtime—she loved ships—and this was certainly something the Cuba Military owned.
From what she knew, it was armed with some giant artillery that could probably do some damage to her. If worse came to worst, she could have Galatea float with Ohan for a bit or have him swim while she sank the vessel, but the Cubans weren’t their enemies—although, Tom did warn her to be careful because there might be a military coup with various leaders trying to seize power.
Taking the safer route, Selvaria approached slowly; however, when they neared, the spotlights they were using seemed sloppy, and the dozen or so people on deck scanning the dark while manning the mounted machine turrets were anything but trained.
Well … It’s clearly acting strange; I expected to at least have to try and dodge or cut some rounds in half or something … Where’s my cool fight scene?!
They knew something was out there, but they couldn’t even coordinate properly as she circled around the ship to the opposite side. She should have never gotten this close to a recon vessel without being spotted, much less pull up beside it.
Shouts in Spanish could be heard above, making Selvaria’s stomach tighten; they sounded nervous. “Oh, no, we can’t talk to th—”
She slapped her two webbed claws over her mouth as the ominous rumbles of her voice reverberated through the still night air, causing the men up top to freeze. Ohan was close enough to jump to the lower deck, and Selvaria swiftly ducked under the water, causing ripples and waves to crash against the ship with her swift movements.
Air bubbles flowed past her as Selvaria shrunk down to her human size, slower than in her monster State but more than capable of free movement within the ocean; she grinned, watching Galatea spinning around in circles from the shifting current.
“Woaah—Woaaah! Mama! He-he-he, I’m dizzy!”
Coming to a stop, she looked up at the underside of the ship. “You ready to go up?” she asked, grinning.
“Mhm! Mhm!”
Selvaria pointed up and put a finger to her lips. “We gotta be shhhh!”
The seal’s eyes widened, whiskers twitching fervently. “Shhh! I’ll be quiet as a crab!”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Not knowing if crabs were actually quiet or not, Selvaria let the comment go; her little girl was so cute! Water flowed past her lips as she breathed and spoke at the same time. “Okay, just make sure to stay close to me; we can’t be too careful!”
Weaving through the sea with her thick tail, Selvaria shot up, water flowed past her thick, night-black hair; her tanzanite, inlaid, highlighted locks released a fierce glow with the red spikes along her back—she was fully charged and ready to go!
Launching out of the water, Selvaria aimed perfectly, having practiced her leaps on Cahira’s ship—the problem, her weight was in full force. Her feet caused a ring of sound as they slammed into the steel; it held, of course, but she hadn’t done the best of jobs at calculating her landings.
Momentum carried her into a summersault, tumbling across the deck to strike the wall; a hollow thud rang through the boat. Head spinning from the motions, Selvaria groaned, gathering her wits.
Wha … No-ho-ho … Not again!
Her cheeks darkened as shouts and frightening voices sounded in the night, but given the other sounds people were making, luckily, they couldn’t pinpoint the area or knew what caused it.
Flicking her plated tail to the side before curling it around to press her vertical fin against her calf, Selvaria groaned. No one was nearby since there weren’t that many people that seemed to be on the ship, to begin with, but Ohan stood like a ghost by the wall, blending into the shadows like a ninja—he was so much more relaxed.
Steadying herself, she jogged up beside him, easing her steps as the low pounding of her feet sent reverberations through the metal. The samurai’s raised hand made her halt, though, and unfortunately, as was expected when in a social environment, her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.
He pointed to an area where the cargo was strapped to the ground; they were on the floor below deck. “Your glow stands out too much; hide between the crates.”
His eyes snapped to Galatea as the seal silently floated up to join Selvaria. “Can she listen and translate?”
Flustered after the fiasco, Selvaria’s large aquamarine eyes darted to the seal; a proud tone was in the seal’s hushed voice. “Mhm! I know all the words! They’re saying a big scary snake might be on the ship; he-he-he, fear Mama!”
Selvaria straightened herself, trying to take deep breaths to calm her hot face and ease the tightness in her muscles. Cool off, Selv! Be cool! Just … I need more scales … Oh, not that I’ll use points, Mika! We had a talk about me putting it off auto mode, right?! Heh, I’ve got the wheel!
Ohan’s eyes narrowed at the explanation but nodded; he was as chill as a cucumber, making Selvaria a bit jealous. “Listen for a second and tell us if anything important comes up.”
Now hidden in the dark shadows of the inner cargo bay, cast by the bright lights around the edges of the open slots, Selvaria noticed her changed appearance.
When deprived of seawater for a day or two, she got a much more cute and petite figure, but when totally full—it wasn’t only translated to her Seawater Pool. Her figure was quite curved, and as usual, she was naked after returning to her original form; it wasn’t like she could take her clothes with her.
Her skin-tight black plated bra and shorts were more than a little showy of her physique, which she was super proud of—in the right circumstances, of course. The change in size also helped craft some fantastic cosplay and gave her versatility—not where her mind should be at the moment, yet there it was.
The water she carried with her was swiftly pulled into her body, skin drying almost instantly. Cool … be cool … breathe.
Galatea snickered, whispering, “They’re afraid Mama’s gonna eat em.”
“I do have a big mouth—he-he-heh…” Selvaria whispered, quiet laughter slowly fading out. Wait, why am I even hiding? I can totally just walk out and ask them stuff myself! I can’t speak Spanish, but maybe they speak some English…
A soft hum rolled through Ohan’s throat, vision narrowing. “Are they talking about a sea serpent or a snake? I don’t think they spotted you, Selvaria.”
Selvaria’s mind halted. “They didn’t…”
Her thoughts swiftly accelerated. How can they know a snake … No, I’m not a snake.
“Umm … Mama, why are they calling you June?”
Oh! They’re talking about another snake … Is there a snake Mythickin in the ocean? Oh, that could be my big arch-nemesis! I wanna know more!
Excitement boiled up in her chest. “I’ll go ask,” she whispered, voice subdued; she hated the crippling self-conscious nature that came out when around people.
Ohan stepped out of the shadows. “Right. I’ll back you up and follow your lead.”
My lead! My lead! Oh, my gosh! Yes! I love you, Ohan! Okay, my mission! I’m a tank, so I take the front!
Building up her confidence, Selvaria left the safety of the crates, stepping around the ropes; she didn’t trip on a single one on the rocking boat. Boldly walking through the hall, she found all the men and the few women hovering around the top of the staircase.
“June?” a few muttered, fixating on her figure.
“Selvaria.” They flinched as she took each step, sending a ringing sound from the pressure that struck the metal. “You’re not Cuban Military?”
They shouted in Spanish, running back to take defensive positions while Selvaria continued to advance. Ohan kept to the shadows below, somehow fading into the darkness; she lost track of him completely—he’d do his thing, though.
Galatea spoke while coming up. “They’re saying you’re not June—heh, they’re so dumb, Mama. You’re Mama, not June. Right?”
Selvaria broke into a jog as the first gunshot went off, bouncing harmlessly against her tight stomach; her seal took cover behind the boxes.
“Eat ‘em, Mama! Use your big teeth and claws to … Oh, or do that!”
Screams soon followed as Selvaria let the bullets be redirected off her body like they were tiny bugs, catching up to the first retreating woman and grabbing the back of her jacket.
Ohan appeared behind the one in front, glowing red aura illuminating his frame as he snapped his sword back into its scabbard—as if in some kind of anime, causing Selvaria’s eyes to sparkle as the weapons and radios were cut in two.
I gotta ask him how that works! Selvaria thought, holding the stunned woman in the air; she almost appeared to have given up, tears and hiccups shaking her body.
Two men jumped overboard with cries, and more shouts from others higher on the deck could hear. Selvaria gently sat the dark-haired woman down and brought her against the deck as Ohan motioned for the others to take a seat by the wall.
“Do you speak English?” Selvaria asked, glowing eyes causing her to lock up.
“Eh—Eh, n-not well … little…” she stammered, pointing at a man who yelled something back at her.
Galatea gasped. “Mama said we’re not supposed to use those words! Bad man!” she chastised.
Stop teaching my little girl terrible words! Selvaria glared at the terrified man, showing a few of her sharp teeth—he wet himself.
Selvaria scratched one of the spikes on her neck before pointing at him. “You, answer our questions. No curses.”
Ohan leaned against the side, looking up at the high walkways above the deck as shadows ran along it. “Are any of you Demi?”
“What?” the man asked, glancing at the others, repeating the question.
Giving them confused looks, the group shook their heads.
Figuring the unusually jumpy people didn’t know what they were talking about, Selvaria jumped in. “Powers—do any of you have any?”
“Oh! Uh, please, no, I just—we were forced into this! I swear—it was all June’s plan!”
The others all started babbling their own stuff.
Ohan and Selvaria glanced at Galatea as she floated back. “Woah! She eats people, too, Mama! Maybe we can be friends!”
“I don’t eat people, Galatea,” Selvaria sighed.
“Hmm? We eat a lot of fish and stuff, Mama?”
“People are friends, Galatea—not food.” Her brow furrowed upon returning to the shivering men and women. “Most people are friends.”
“Some food?”
“Heh ... Maybe,” she smiled, showing her fangs.
Ohan smirked, tapping the hilt of his sword. “Your friends don’t seem so keen on getting involved. In fact, as far as I can tell, they’re all held up in the hallways, waiting to ambush us. Not military tactics or bravery, so … Who are you, and what happened to the military on this vessel? Were they eaten by this June person?”
The man swallowed, sweat visibly on his face as the sea lapped against the side of the boat, throwing them against each other; a storm seemed to be blowing in. “I—we just want to live! Please!”
“Survivors?” Selvaria pressed, folding her arms and leveling a threatening stare at them; she always wanted to be interrogating bad guys!
He hesitantly nodded, pointing below deck. “Umm … I—I can take you to one if you’ll spare my life…”
The others began shouting, and one man even punched him in the face before tackling him. Ohan just watched, studying their reactions; the women eased away, trying not to get involved while the rest of the men seemed conflicted.
Selvaria calmly walked over and forced them apart. “You can’t kill each other until I get answers—I’m in control. Understand?”
Keeping both at arms’ distance, they didn’t even try to punch or resist after seeing her tank fully auto bullets.
Compliantly, the man that started the fight cleared his throat, showing a black eye and bloody lip. “He—not good—I show you!”
“Don’t put that blame on me, Roger!” the English speaker spat at the man, hitting his neck.
Roger’s nose flared, but he kept his composure, raising his hands in submission. “Ander … Heh, you worship June—do whatever she tell to do—sick.”
Selvaria caught the other men and women frantically nodding at the statement.
“Oh?” Ohan whispered, almost covered by the sound of the crashing waves. “So, it doesn’t look like your friends are coming down; we’ll have all the time in the world. Explain your stories to the seal as we’re going—I’d be truthful,” he growled, murderous intent causing a few of the men and the women to thoroughly piss their pants at the skill.
Selvaria was impressed; she could do it, too, but was afraid she might give them a heart attack—hers was really strong, so she didn’t use it too often.
It took two minutes for them to regain the strength to get moving, but Selvaria was sure they were telling her seal their life’s story—Galatea was eating the attention up.
“Woah … No way! She ate their fingers? How does that taste … The private parts gone, too…”
“Clean … Don’t scar my little girl’s mind!” Selvaria threatened.
They flinched, licking their lips before going on. Along their short route to the prisoner, they learned quite a few things; Alejandro took on the role of spokesperson and translator for the others.
Liam, a woodcutter by trade in the pine business of the island, took the reins of the conversation as Alejandro explained his story; he was one of the few men that hadn’t lost his bladder.
Passing through the metal hallways, Selvaria held her arms underneath her bust, glaring at the cowardly simp of a man—she wanted to throw him over the boat already. “Ahem, I—umm ... most of us were forced into military service—policing the streets for this woman—June Angel Coll…”
Alejandro hugged his coat and rubbed his arms, shooting back something in Spanish; Selvaria was quick to thump him on the back of his head—he stumbled forward with a few curses she’d heard from Maria, prompting a second beating.
“O-Okay—I’m sorry!” he cried, cupping his red ears as she sent him stumbling against the wall. “I’m sorry! I’ll stop!”
“Humph,” Selvaria grunted, watching him tuck into a ball as the others glared at him. “Get up, and continue!”
“Yeah!” Galatea said in a relatively bright tone for the mood. “Oh, do you like fish? I like this! Fishtails taste good! I like to nibble on them.”
He’s not a fish… Selvaria sighed; Galatea had a hard time differentiating anything from fish.
“I’m getting up!” he cried as the sharp point of her tail darted out, cutting into the metal wall beside him. “P-Please—spare me!”
Ohan hadn’t spoken a word since they began, listening and studying everything they were doing; Selvaria suspected he was also keeping track of other people on the ship—he was sharp like that.
Alejandro hissed as his fingers closed around his puffy ear and cheek; Roger had gotten some good cuts below his eye that refused to stop bleeding. “Some people—like me, joined her and became her favorite—egh … pets,” he grumbled.
“I can’t…” his words caught in his throat as her tail slapped against a rail guard, bending it in. “Uh—I-I think—she’s a Mythickin—she called herself divine … the incarnation—whatever that means—of Madre de aguas.”
Ohan’s jaw tightened. “A Cuban myth of a giant boa that is as thick as a tree and whose skin can deflect bullets?”
Oh! Selvaria turned to give him an impressed smile. He must have been reading up on all the legends and myths of Cuba—that’s pretty smart! I got the directions, and he’s got the info!
Turning back to Alejandro as he took a few calming breaths, he nodded, following the others down another flight of stairs that brought them into the 2nd-level of the ship’s underbelly. “June was known in our community as a domestic abuser—beating her husband. She—she confessed to Sastre here that she took a liking to human flesh months before the lights changed her…”
“A cannibal?” Selvaria asked in shock. That’s insane! She was really a cannibal—is a cannibal?! Is she if she’s now a snake … I DON’T KNOW!!!
Galatea floated near him, eyes big and whiskers twitching. “I don’t eat seals—she eats seals?! That’s not good!”
“N-No?” Alejandro muttered. “Humans … not seals?”
“You’re weird,” Galatea hummed. “That’s what I said! Mama, I’m confused…”
“No! I’m just—I’m…”
Selvaria put her fingers to her lips. “Galatea, shhh … We’re listening to the story.”
“Aww … it’s boring…” she growled, spinning in the air. “I wanna eat…”
“In a little. Be patient.”
“Okay…”
Turning back to the panicking man, Selvaria gestured for him to continue; they were being led deeper and deeper into the ship’s underbelly; it seemed pretty disorganized by each room as if it hadn’t been maintained in a while and had far more people that should have operated it.
“Umm,” Alejandro looked at Galatea in detest. “Right, eh … June ate her husband when he challenged her—well, after she started eating teens. She took over Abel Santamaría, a division within Nueva Gerona—ate all the police, and—yeah, umm, started to expand.”
They stopped at a room near the back of the boat, in a mechanical storage area; it was a little crazy to see not a single spot of blood, but if she’d eaten the whole crew, there wouldn’t be signs of a mess—except for the dented steel from her impacts.
He rubbed away his wet tears before finishing his story. “I don’t know who it was, but—but June was pushed out of the rest of the city by another man—someone she hates and won’t say his name … No one can say his name—well, none of us know it,” he muttered.
“Get on with it,” Ohan growled, dark brown eyes fixating on him.
A shiver ran down his spine as he coughed. “R-Right, umm … she’s being contested, and he was—was able to hurt her. So, she caught wind of this ship and—well, two days ago, she swam out here and took it, bringing back a helicopter to bring us here to bring it back…”
Ohan’s gaze drifted to the closed door. “And the man behind this door is the captain of the vessel that you’ve used to navigate, huh? Well … I guess we’re off to a good start.”