The group race to surround Elle and the limp Animahni.
"She's not used to open air yet. The air below the ship is thicker. Fresh air is overwhelming her." Elle quickly reports then moves in to give her CPR. It takes only minutes to revive her. While breathing into her mouth Animahni gasps and feels Elle's lips on hers. As her eyes open she stares at Elle with a glint of pleasure.
Jack interrupts with a growl, "She pointed toward the ship. Animahni? What were you trying to warn us about?"
The woman's eyes tremble as realization returns.
"It chased us from the depth's. A giant."
Mal groans, "I'm not the only giant? Well the hell."
"Oophalah held it off to give Tyrakuus and I a chance to escape and warn you. We must hurry."
"Wait. If Oophalah was too large to come to the surface how is this giant getting up here?" Ruby points out.
Animahni sits up and uses her hands in a stretching motion.
James opts to question, "It stretches?"
"Yes." Animahni attempts to rise while confused.
James looks back at the dead dragon and connects the dots, "Did it look like that?"
Animahni eyes the dragon, "Yes! Only smaller."
"Hmmmm! One had rock hard skin and invisibility, Another has fire. This one has stretching ability."
Ruby squints, "The point?"
"The Fantastic Four." James whines almost smiling.
Jack rolls his eyes, "Big help Kid. You and your Comic book references."
"You knew I meant a comic. You knew." James laughs quickly then straightens up. Jack takes the lead, "Animahni, Elle, Sophia, Maddy, Cam. With me. We're heading down. James stays with Mal and Greta. Ruby? Your choice."
The groups splinter and head into unknown territory.
Ruby opts to stay by James. He was always under her protected custody.
While everyone stood talking Greta Winston looks at her knuckles and bulges her eyes. Her fingers were missing. With a swift touch she found them intact. Somehow she was turning invisible herself. She quickly put her fingers in her pants pocket. Shock would keep her silent. With uncertainty she chose to go find her horse.
Entering the bowels of the ship in darkness Sophia lit up her flesh to give everyone better vision. This conserved Elle's absorption of the sunlight for later.
"Eyes on every angle." Jack ordered.
Animahni raced back toward the water and dove in. She needed to find her hybrid friends.
"Spread out. Be cautious. We don't know what to expect." Jack belts out while arming himself with his favored Glock's.
Everyone cautiously divided the basements lengthy belly. Although a large area was water coming up from the depths, there were plenty of hiding places in the scattered debris of equipment.
Only Madigan Ridge hovered where they first separated. She had no reason to move about when she was albeit useless except for distraction tactics. Being able to phase through living things created a cellular disturbance. Disorientation gave her friends at least a temporary breather.
Sophia herself while illuminated didn't wander too far in any direction. Her light was needed by everyone for safety. She was ready to fight at any rate. Her inner friends guided her senses to be on target should something attack. Thus far her newly absorbed friends were loyal toward their host.
Elle had her own gun ready but had raided a stash of alien weaponry from the museum area a day before. James had pointed out certain weapons of potential use to her. Around her waist was a band of thin pinions that with a sensitivity touch of her good hand could extend into hydraulic spears. With some education she found them to react to their possessors finger prints. No other person could extend them but her. Having been a javelin thrower while back in college sports gave her an accurate edge.
Jack kicks at debris hoping to force the lizard out into the open. Although a large area it could easily become congested should the beast enlarge. His nerves of steel couldn't wait to engage the enemy.
"See anything Jack?" Cam fanned about nervously with a machete in hand.
"Not yet. Keep silent."
Sophia has a better idea, "Jack? My friends tell me to create a low level sound like dogs hear I think. It might flush it out."
"Allow me." Madigan drifts near her daughter. Jack had nothing to say.
A shrill noise barely emits through Madigan. A vibrational link between reality and the nether. Sure enough garbage to the left shifted abruptly. Forcing Jack and Cam side by side.
"You brought a machete to a gunfight?"
Cam refuses to look away at Jack's observation. Instead fearing of an attack at just the moment he lost concentration.
"Why do more damage down here by bullet riddling everything?" The pilot chose to reply. Madigan inceases the decibal range and forces the beast out into the open. It was the wrong beast. Elle quickly jumps in to protect the inhabitant. Jack in turn held a hand over Cam's chest to stay back.
"What the hell is that?" Cam shivers.
"That's Animahni's friend Tyrakuus. He's a squid hybrid I'm thinking."
"That is one ugly dude."
Tyrakuus responds to Elle via touch. A tentilcle caresses her cheek forcing a mental image to explode inside Elle's mind. She witnesses an aquatic battle in the depths between He, and obviously Oophalah. Both severly wounded by the lizard on its way to the surface. The battle fierce Oophalah had managed to ward the beast back long enough to give he and Animahni a chance to reach the interior lagoon.
Breaking away from the induced images Elle nods at Tyrakuus and assists him to his bodily mass of tenticles. It was a messy sight to behold.
"The creature's here somewhere. Tyrakuus just tapped into my thoughts. Telepathically. I saw the battle below. I even saw Oophalah. He resembles a giant killer whale in humanoid form. An aquatic Dwayne Johnson. Only bigger. Lots bigger. Easily a real whales size."
"Elle? Get him to safety above. He looks injured pretty bad."
As Elle guides him toward the ramp something wraps around her leg and drags her from his grasp. Tyrakuus falling backwards under her loss. All Elle could get out was, "Son of a--" before she was dragged underwater.
