Mika scanned the shore with a pair of binoculars he’d taken from Emilie’s yacht, “I don’t see anything,” he muttered, “no docks, no buildings…” he lowered the eyepieces, glancing at Emilie, Chloé, and Oklahoma, who were waiting on the boat’s deck. “I think this is the best place to go ashore.”

“The temple is deep in the desert,” Emilie explained, “it shouldn’t be an issue to get there without encountering other humans.”

“You called this your people’s homeland,” Mika asked, his archeologist’s instincts getting the better of him. “How did the Naga come to have a temple here?”

Emilie shrugged, “you might say that we weren’t so territorial as humans are, it didn’t bother us that the Naga had a settlement here until we found ourselves as enemies.” She sighed, “we took it from them in the opening stages, Natasha wanted it kept intact, a trophy of her victory.” The neko breathed out, her ears flittering slightly as she looked over at Chloé, “it wasn’t often that our forces killed one of the Naga, but we did here, when we took this place.”

“And you lost that war,” Chloé said, glowering at her.d

“The Naga didn’t exactly win it either,” Emilie murmured, looking away. “We won’t be able to dock, Chloé, can you take us to shore?”

“Can we just run the ship aground?” Oklahoma asked in a tired voice, “you know, instead of letting Chloé eat us all again?”

“Are you mad!?” Emilie balked, “I’ve had this boat since…” She tapped her chin, scowling, “I don’t know exactly, but I purchased it from the Venetian arsenal, and they’re not making any more!”

Mika looked at the modern, and motorized, yacht they were all standing on, “You bought this from the Venetian arsenal?” he asked skeptically.

Emilie blushed, “I’ve made some changes to it,” she admitted, “and yes, as technology advanced I had parts hewn away and replaced entirely, so not much is left of the original design…”

“Huh,” Mika chuckled, “Theseus would be proud.”

Emilie rolled her eyes, “I’m not scuttling my boat!”

“Don’t worry,” Chloé beamed, patting Oklahoma’s back, “It’s just a quick swim to shore!” She giggled, “Besides, you taste nice!”

With that she began stripping her clothing off, tossing her shirt and pants into a pile on the deck. The three of them were still unsure whether to watch or look away awkwardly, while Chloé had certainly grasped the importance of clothing, she still cared little about nudity. Her auburn hair billowed in the Mediterranean sunlight as she leapt from the deck, diving into the water. The yacht bobbed slightly in the water as it churned, accommodating Chloé’s increasing mass in the seas below them.

The seawater rolled off her as she rose up out of the water over the yacht, grinning down at them, without warning she grabbed Oklahoma off the deck, lifting the woman high in the air and dangling her over her mouth.

“H-Hey, give a warning next time-“ she was cut off as Chloé dropped her in, sealing her lips over her friend. With a loud *gulp* Oklahoma was sent downward, into Chloé’s stomach. Emilie was next, leaping backward reflexively as Chloé’s hands curled around her bringing the catgirl up and sending her the same way Oklahoma had gone without hesitation.

Mika sighed, hands on his hips as he looked up at the grinning Naga, “Ready?” Chloé purred, leaning down to him.

“Always,” he said with a grin.

Relative to the other two, Chloé took her time, slowly gripping him in the warmth of her hand, lifting him slowly up to her opening maw. Mika could feel the humid breeze of her breath as she exhaled, and the slow dripping of saliva from the roof of her mouth caused it to glint in the sun as she gently pushed him past her lips. Her lips sealed shut behind him, darkening the world slightly as she waited for him to continue further. He slowly made his way over her tongue, his hands sliding over the bumpy taste buds, slick with her saliva as clambered towards the back of her throat.

Welcome home, he thought to himself, relaxing and letting himself slide towards her esophagus. He glanced upward, seeing her uvula dangling down, waving him goodbye just as he went over the edge into her throat. There was a familiar hug of muscle around him, and then, lubricated by Chloé’s sticky saliva, he was slowly brought downwards.

“Mmm…” Chloé purred to herself, slowing his descent and enjoying the way he felt.

Mika’s body was encased on all sides as her esophageal muscles pressed in, hugging him tight and stretching his slow journey out. Mika couldn’t help but shiver at the show of control, and he felt himself growing hard as the powerful muscles of her throat slipped his whole body ever downward.

Finally, he was plopped into her stomach, splashing into the small pool of water there and cushioned by the soft interior. He sat up, panting and looking upwards at the tight sphincter that made up the exit of her throat, still enthralled by the experience.

“She’s certainly gained a lot of control,” Emilie commented, leaning against the far wall of the stomach, Oklahoma at her side.

“Yeah, how come he always gets eaten all slow? She usually just swallows me right down,” Oklahoma asked jokingly.

The trio felt their world shift, and their ears popped as Chloé dove beneath the water. Emilie steadied herself, her tail flailing to keep her balance in the shifting belly.

“The Naga of old viewed swallowing their high priests as an intimate act,” Emilie muttered, “a mutual display of trust and… well,” she just gestured at Mika awkwardly, “attraction. I don’t think Chloé is interested in that with the two of us.”

Oklahoma chuckled at Mika’s embarrassed expression, “Fair enough, I usually prefer guys myself too… Plus I’m pretty sure if I told Chloé to eat me, she’d take it the wrong way.”

…

Chloé slid up on the shore, her senses coming alert as she searched for any signs of danger. She could feel through the sandy ground that there were humans nearby, at least one, a man, she was fairly sure, was sleeping in a small tent erected on the beachfront, and there was another at a small refreshment stand a few hundred yards away, calm judging by his heart rate. Her skin shimmered as her camouflage went into effect, and while her massive tail left a trough behind her in the beach, nobody saw the massive Naga before she slipped away into the vast Egyptian desert beyond it.

When she was sure she’d gotten far enough away, she summoned her willpower, slowly contracting her stomach and forcing her three passengers back up into her throat. They slid up easily this time, her mastery of the reflex on full display as she casually let Oklahoma drop from her mouth into her waiting hand.

Oklahoma blinked at the bright desert sun, scowling as she wiped a wet strand of hair out of her eye, “Thanks for the ride, but grab a towel for me from the beach next time.”

Emilie came next, breathing out a sigh of relief as she fell into Chloé’s palm. She glanced up at the Naga, making eye contact for a moment. Both of them knew exactly why she was so nervous about being swallowed by Chloé lately, but it was clear neither was ready to talk about it more, especially near their friends.

Mika sighed, preparing himself for the ascent. He playfully rubbed the wall of her stomach, where her bellybutton waited on the other side. There was a small gurgling sound behind him, and he smiled. A moment later he was vaulted upwards, squeezed quickly into the same tight tunnel he’d entered from.

As before her throat seemed to almost cradle him, each slow pulsating movement from the fleshy wall of muscles feeling like a tender hug as he was slowly brought higher. He felt himself stop about halfway, and the rumbling of Chloé’s belly below seemed to call to him.

I don’t want to let him go, Chloé thought, looking around, he’s safer with me…

“You’ve got to let me out Chloé,” he muttered, knowing she could hear.

Chloé groaned, thinking about how close she’d been to losing him in Istanbul, but finally relented. The slow massaging muscles continued, pushing Mika upwards until he found himself forced upwards onto her tongue again. The soft mat lifted slightly, letting him slide forward over her teeth, her lips, and finally joining his friends in her palm.

Mika gazed around, taking in the endless rolling dunes and the clear blue sky above. This was a desert out of the comics and cartoons of his youth made real, endless, empty, and at the same time full of a strange yearning, as though what he sought was just over that distant horizon.

“You know where the temple is?” Mika asked, glancing at Emilie.

“Yes,” she nodded, clearing her throat and withdrawing a satellite phone from her pocket. “I presume we’ll be riding outside of Chloé for the trip?”

“On my tail, if that works for you,” Chloé said, gesturing down to the scaled appendage.

“Wonderful,” Oklahoma said, sighing with relief as she lowered them down onto the scaled appendage. She slowly camouflaged herself, looking around and doing her best to sense any nearby humans. With her body hidden, her friends looked almost comically like they were floating in midair as she made her way through the sands.

Trying to keep Chloé’s existence a secret is pretty much over anyways, Mika thought with a sigh. Footage of the Naga’s rampage through Istanbul was all over the internet, and for the first time the “Giant Snake-Woman” was featured in news outlets other than the Weekly World News. Still, nobody knew what to think, and the event had been short enough that the world didn’t seem to have much more than mild curiosity about the snake-woman, with many already calling it a hoax regardless of government statements.

“The pyramid with the next temple in it,” Mika asked, turning to Emilie, “it’s not with the ones at Giza?”

“Thankfully not,” Emilie chuckled, “I can’t imagine trying to navigate through Cairo with Chloé right now.” She glanced at the desert, rolling past them, “The Naga usually built their temples in the style of local human populations, so there is going to be much of the same style of architecture you’d see at Giza.”

Mika frowned, “You mean to say the pyramids at Giza predate the Naga? Who built them?”

Emilie shrugged, “my memory is long Mika,” she tapped the grimoire at her side, “I’ve written down thousands of years of secrets, but I don’t know everything. ” She thought for a minute, “if it’s any consolation, I’ve never met an alien, so it probably wasn’t them.”

…

“There she is,” Higgins muttered, watching Chloé slither across the desert. The drone camera was small, no larger than a baseball, and with the quietest motor available even Chloé wouldn’t hear it, and most importantly it had thermal imaging, rendering the Naga’s camouflage useless.

“What should we do sir?” one of his men asked, hefting his rifle and glancing around. The outfit Higgins had brought was made up of about twenty men, all men he knew were loyal to him. Yukia had met them in Cairo, and he’d had designs on dealing with her somewhere deep in the desert, but the rest of her entourage had rendered that impossible.

In addition to another several dozen human mercenaries, Yukia led a group of four other Nekos, each one carrying edged weapons and small automatic firearms. Like Yukia they had forgotten their usual disguises, letting their ears and tails twitch in the wind as they led their human servants.

“We’ve spotted the Naga,” Higgins said, standing up as the five Nekos approached. “What’s our plan?”

He felt his stomach lurch as he saw the five Nekos withdraw humans from their front pockets, shrunken to bite-size by their uncanny powers. One by one the nekos lifted their human prey high, dropping them into their waiting mouths with a scream. Gulps and giggles rang out as the Nekos shivered in excitement, feeling the rush of power that only swallowing a human whole would provide.

“We will deal with the Naga,” Yukia said with a grin, glancing back at her four fellow catgirls. “Your squads will provide covering fire and move to apprehend the Naga’s human companions.”

“Understood,” Higgins nodded. He waved for his men to follow him over to one of several hovercraft that were waiting for them. The naga’s ability to sense ground vibrations meant that a normal approach with armored vehicles was out. The hovercraft had been procured from a former East-bloc nation, with a number of additional features such as padded housing in a mostly vain attempt to make their approach quieter. As it was they’d have more of an element of surprise than they would have with jeeps or helicopters, but not much.

Higgins felt the bulky craft rise, skimming across the sand and blowing up dust in their wake.

“So what’s our real plan?” one of the men, a young recruit named Richards, asked him quietly.

“I’m not sure yet,” Higgins admitted, “wait, and see what opportunities present themselves.”

…

“There!” Emilie called excitedly, pointing to a sloped object in the distance. Mika and Oklahoma glanced at the horizon, seeing the polished white stones of the faraway pyramid reflecting the light.

Chloé frowned suddenly, “Uh, guys, something sounds strange…”

“I hear it too,” Emilie said, her ears flicking back and forth.

Oklahoma’s eyes went wide as the first of the boxy black hovercraft roared over a nearby sand dune. With a shout she grabbed Mika and Emilie’s shirt collars, causing them to shriek in surprise as she rolled them all off Chloé’s tail. They bounced along the scaly surface, hitting the soft sands with a thud that knocked the wind out of all of them just as the first bullets clattered helplessly against Chloé’s tail.

Chloé rolled her eyes, coiling herself slightly around her friends as they danced up and down her body, a mere tickle at most. A man in combat fatigues tumbled out of the back of one of the three approaching craft, shouldering a rocket and leveling it at her. Chloé simply moved her head out of the way with an almost bored motion, letting it zoom past her ear.

Not that it would have done anything anyways, she thought, a little smug. At this point she’d been hit without enough human weaponry that didn’t fear it, at most it would sting. She reared herself up, letting her silhouette be seen against the morning sun as she decided the best way to disarm the humans and their strange hovering vehicles.

“If you give up now, I won’t hurt any of you!” her voice boomed over the landscape.

“Get her!” Yukia’s voice called.

Chloé blinked, feeling the five sets of boots hit the sand at once. There was a flash of steel as the five Nekos drew their weapons, swords, daggers, and even one with a spear. Their speed was nearly impossible for Chloé to track, and pulled her tail back into a coiled position, raising the point to strike at them.

“Oh no,” Emilie muttered, her ears going flat.

“What? Who the hell are those ninja girls?” Oklahoma asked, raising her pistol but not sure what to fire at.

“They’re other enforcers, like Yukia,” Emilie said in a panicked voice, “and they’ve fed on humans recently!” She looked at Mika, grabbing his hand, “We’ve got to go!”

Chloé’s massive form loomed over the three of them as they ran in the direction of the faraway temple, the massive Naga’s battle with the mercenaries raging behind them. They didn’t make it far before the third hovercraft drifted in front of them, its cargo of a dozen mercenaries racing out the back hatch.

Chloé snarled, reaching for the attacking Nekos as they leapt up her tail. They were agile, impossible to snatch up with her fists, and when her tail whipped around for them they leapt to the sides, slicing at her with their blades. She winced slightly as they drew thin ribbons of blood, proving themselves to be more than mere steel. The rain of bullets cascaded down on her, distracting her as she tried her best to focus on the charging cat-women, who were scaling her tail in leaps and bounds.

“Don’t kill her!” Yukia ordered, “Just hurt her! We just need her off balance so we can grab the humans!”

Chloé fought a cry of pain as one of the Nekos traced a blade over her more human upper half, piercing her skin. She closed her eyes, growling angrily and letting her instincts take over.

With a scream Chloé let her entire body shudder, a violent pulsing shake that threw the five Nekos from her. While they landed gracefully in the sand below her, her scales shimmered, engaging her camouflage and quickly rendering her nearly invisible. A moment later the hidden Naga flailed her tail through the powdery sand, throwing up a vast cloud of dust that further obscured the battlefield.

“Get thermals on her!” Yukia shouted, looking up in a panic.

The human mercenaries slowly advanced, several of them wearing thermal goggles and looking around. There were brief shimmers as Chloé descended down from the dust cloud, plucking them up so fast that only the slightest screams registered.

“Fall back!” the mercenary leader shouted, “Get to the hovercraft!”

A massive tail shimmered into being, slamming itself down on their craft and crumpling it like a tin can. The men fired instinctively, watching their bullets flash harmlessly against the side of Chloé’s tail.

For her part Chloé swept back, circling them all and letting her other senses see for her. The Nekos were still disoriented, regrouping as they searched for her. The mercenaries were fleeing towards the remaining hovercraft, already terrified into retreat in the face of a true apex predator. Two of them were still in her fist, struggling feebly after she’d tossed their weapons away. She raised them up, debating what to do with them.

No, she decided with a sigh, lowering them down, I can’t just start eating them at every opportunity, that’s exactly what Mika is worried about. She slowly released the pair, and, after a moment’s confusion, they fled in the same direction as the rest of their comrades.

A few hundred yards away Higgins adjusted his sunglasses, walking towards Oklahoma, Mika, and Emilie at the head of his group of mercenaries. Emilie sighed, taking a step forward.

“February 14, 1929,” she said firmly.

Higgins paused, smiling as he heard the trigger phrase, “Emilia,” he said slowly, holding up his hand for his men to stop. “Or is it Emilie now, as I’ve heard?”

“You heard correctly,” Emilie muttered. “Can you let us by?”

Higgins glanced back at his men, who shifted uneasily, though some nodded.

“We lost them in the sand,” he said casually, “Load up in the hovercraft, we need to go retrieve Yukia and our other masters before the Naga kills them.” The men fell back, obeying him as he sighed, “Emilie, before you put me back under,” he started slowly, “Did you do anything else to me?”

“No,” Emilie said curiously, “Why do you ask?”

“Nevermind,” he mumbled, “I’m going to move soon, after that… who knows what happens.”

Emilie nodded, reaching out to touch his forehead. With a long sigh Higgins turned, jogging slowly back to the other men.

“What the hell was that?” Oklahoma asked, lowering her pistol slowly.

“That was that Higgins guy,” Mika muttered, “From South America.”

“A backup plan of mine,” Emilie said with a frown, “A… friend, I guess.” She stared at the temple, waiting in front of them, “Come on!”

…

The tide had clearly turned by the time the dust started to settle once again, and the five Nekos had circled up, gazing warily around them as they tried to determine where Chloé had gone.

“Cowardly humans,” one spat, “Yukia, your forces fled!”

“They were just a distraction anyways,” Yukia growled. “She’s faster than she was the last time I saw her, tougher too… Eating some humans must have really fired her up.” Yukia grinned, looking around slowly, “It feels good, doesn’t it?” she called, “you’re not really all that different from us!”

Chloé screamed in anger, shimmering into being over them and striking down like a cobra.

“Lookout!” one of the Nekos shouted, leaping back.

For at least one of them it was too late, and the four of them watched in shock and horror as the giant snake-girl’s mouth snapped shut on the stunned Neko. The loud gulp that followed made clear where they had found themselves on the food chain.

The roar of a hovercraft interrupted the battle, and Yukia turned to see the final machine coming towards them, the back hatch open. She didn’t bother signaling to the others, running for it as she heard the sands shifting behind her. As the vehicle passed, she saw Higgins in the back, waving to her, that same impassive look on his face as she leapt for it, fighting to keep her relief off her face. The other three surviving Nekos joined her a moment later, and once they were onboard the craft picked up speed, hopefully carrying them away from Chloé.

Chloé disengaged her camouflage as she watched them go, her scales shimmering as they took on their normal colors. With a sigh she concentrated on where Mika, Emilie, and Oklahoma were, slithering in their direction. She paused, feeling the angered fluttering in her stomach. There was a short gurgle as she sent the swallowed Neko lower, into the second stomach.

Mika doesn’t need to know I ate one, she reasoned, or about those… others .

Feeling guilty all the same, she made her way back to her friends.

…

The mood in the hovercraft was tense, and Higgins felt himself falling back into a familiar impassive mindset that often came over him during the more difficult jobs.

“These humans failed us,” one of the Nekos scowled, turning to Yukia.

“I say we enjoy a few,” another grinned, “Just to show them the consequences of failure!”

Higgins hesitated, they won’t pick me, he reasoned, but… Several of the men glanced at him, panic in their eyes. Richards in particular gulped, making eye contact with him even through the mirrored sunglasses.

“Do not threaten my men,” he said sternly, standing up and catching all of Neko's attention. “The mission was a failure for many reasons,” he continued, “The Naga was more powerful than you anticipated, the human companions were more… adept. ”

The three Neko assassins glanced at each other, then at him, slow grins coming over their features.

“The commander should take responsibility,” one said.

“Indeed,” another giggled, stepping closer.

Higgins took a breath, I’m not ready for this, he thought, cursing himself for his sudden sentimentality for his underlings. Still, his hand drifted towards his pistol holster, they’re fast, but I’ll take at least one with me.

“Back off my human,” Yukia growled, moving between them, “Higgins doesn’t screw up,” she said with a smirk. She leaned in close, throwing an arm around him as his men and the Nekos stared in shock, the hum of the hovercraft engines filling the silence. With a wink Yukia placed a hand on his cheek, slowly shrinking him slowly, his clothes becoming loose and heavy on him as he descended to her own eye level.

“What are you-“

He was cut off as Yukia planted a kiss on his lips, his first in many years. He didn’t breathe, counting his heartbeats unconsciously until Yukia leaned away, a strange red tint to her face as her tail tickled up his back.

Yukia looked at the other Nekos, then at the humans, then finally to Higgins himself, “What?” she asked, demanded rather.

Murmurs filled the cabin, and the Nekos and humans were united in shared confusion and whispers.

“I won’t let them do anything to you,” Yukia giggled, parting from him with a wink.

“Thanks,” he rasped.

Higgins was not a man in touch with his emotions, he’d spent the better part of his adult years stomping them down… Whatever dam he’d built had fully burst, and as he sat down in his seat he wasn’t sure quite what he was feeling.

…

Mika stared up at the white stone pyramid, waiting for Chloé to approach. A few moments later the sounds of shifting sand behind them gave away her approach, and she shimmered out of camouflage with a smile.

“They’re gone,” Chloé said with a nod. “I don’t know for how long though, we should do this quickly, if we can.”

“Right,” Oklahoma nodded, “How do we crack this thing open?”

“There’s a door,” Emilie said, pointing to a small outcropping near the bottom of the pyramid, “it’s only for the two of you.”

“Right,” Mika nodded, gesturing for Chloé to follow him.

The door itself was a slab of solid black stone, but as soon as Chloé came up behind him, a series of white runes glowed into appearance on it.

“The goddess must walk as her followers, hand in hand,” Emilie murmured, startling him. “I’m not sure what it means.”

“Are you guys serious?” Oklahoma snorted. “This one’s easy.”

Emilie frowned, “These hints can be very complicated, with many meanings and-“

“Hey, Chloé!” Oklahoma shouted, “turn human real quick!”

Chloé nodded, shrinking down as her lower body shifted and morphed. A moment later she was crouching, naked, in the sands, before slowly standing up. She walked to join them, oblivious to her own nudity as always.

“Okay, what now?” she asked.

Oklahoma chuckled, “C’mere you.” She gripped Mika’s hand, then Chloé’s, pressing them together.

“Good job,” Mika said, a little stunned as the door began to glow white, shaking slightly as it sank into the ground.

Oklahoma shrugged, “I mean I didn’t do great in school but I’m not stupid guys.”

“Shall we?” Chloé asked, grinning at Mika as she pulled him towards the opening door.

“Once more unto the breach,” he nodded, following her down the black tunnel descending into the pyramid’s depths.

“Good luck,” Emilie said softly, waving as the pair disappeared.

Oklahoma glanced around at the empty desert, then reached into her pocket with a sigh, pulling out a deck of cards.

“Want to play Texas Hold’Em?”

“When it comes to cards I really only ever played Faro,” Emilie said hesitantly.

Oklahoma sighed in disapproval, “The woman meets Jesse James and Leonardo Da Vinci but she doesn’t know how to play Poker… Don’t worry, it’s easy.”

…

“Look,” Mika said, pointing ahead of them.

As in the other temples a vast main chamber was opening up before them, large enough to accommodate even a full-sized Chloé’s massive form. A strange pale lighting emanated from crystals on the ceiling. Illuminated in the glow a pair of the lemurian trees waited for them, the ripe fruit dangling and waiting to be picked. In the very center of the room was a pointed obelisk, the obsidian black stone lit up with the runed writing and pictograph characters.

The pair watched as the pictures once again came to life, showing the hieroglyphic Naga goddess holding the stick figure human in her hands, swallowing him eagerly. The human, the priest by his small scribbled headdress, descended to the Naga’s belly, then lower, into her tail.

Mika paled, “I think that it wants me to go deeper inside of you… your lower stomach.”

“N-Nothing comes out of that one,” Chloé said nervously.

The beast will devour that which enters as prey, the familiar voice of the goddess called, but enter another way, and it can be fooled, and eventually tamed.

“Another way,” Mika muttered, glancing at Chloé. He closed his eyes, sighing, “I think I get it. I can’t go straight into it from your first stomach, I’ve got to get into it another way.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Chloé muttered.

“Do you remember when we left the last temple?” he asked, “what happened when you changed forms with me in your mouth?”

It dawned on her, “But my human form doesn’t have a second stomach,” she said hesitantly, “just uh…”

“Intestines,” He said, grimacing. I’m betting normal human ones aren’t nearly as survivable as Naga insides are either… “You’ll need to go to your Naga form as soon as I’m out of your stomach.”

She nodded, stepping back from him as she started to grow upwards towards the ceiling, returning to her true form. The Naga loomed over him, gently reaching down and curling her fingers around his body as she brought him up to her face.

“So uh,” she asked, hesitantly, “I can put you in my mouth to make you small, do you want me to swallow you in this form?” She blushed, “Or my human one?”

She’s really asking which one I like more, he realized. He smirked, “This one of course.”

Chloé fought a giggle, nodding excitedly, “Okay!”

At least this first part will be easy, Mika thought, relaxing as she licked her lips. He was startled as Chloé gripped his pants with her fingertips, slowly sliding them down. The tip of the giant’s fingernail caught the fly of his underwear next, pushing them over his legs slowly and letting them flutter to the faraway ground below as Chloé looked on lustfully.

“My clothes?” he questioned, feeling himself rise in arousal under her gaze.

“I don’t want you to lose them,” she said sweetly, flicking his shirt away and leaving him naked at last.

She’s got something in mind for me, he thought, tensing in both anticipation and apprehension.

It started similar to how it always did, Chloé raising him over her mouth, slowly letting him slide in. His feet ran along her bumpy tongue, her spit dripping down over him as the warm humidity coated his body. Gravity pulled him downward as she tilted her head back slightly, bringing him down to the opening of her throat.

The soft walls gripped him like an old friend as soon as his legs were in reach, and seconds later he heard the wet gulp as he was shot down into her throat. Chloé’s esophagus tightened around him, the steady downward pressure of her muscles squeezing him down.

Mika gasped, feeling the soft, wet walls of her throat against his erection. Suddenly he realized just why Chloé had removed his clothing, and he moaned loudly as she slowed his motion, making each inch of his passage feel like an eternity.

Chloé closed her eyes, focusing on her throat, smiling to herself as Mika squirmed and writhed in pleasure. It teased both her predatory instincts, and her mating ones, and she gripped Mika with her esophagus again, forcing him back upward, then slowly letting him slide down again, drawing out the journey and refusing to let him simply drop to the bottom of her throat. He realized with a start that she didn’t intend to let him out of her throat until she was done playing with him.

Mika shivered, feeling the way her throat’s muscles cradled him. When he climaxed Chloé could feel it, tightening her muscles around him and sending him to the heights of pleasure as she finally let him drop into her stomach.

Mika saw stars, and spent a few minutes panting, catching his breath as he sat up, looking around the familiar chamber.

“Thanks,” he said, blinking as he stood up. She got me to cum using just her throat muscles…

Chloé’s rumbling giggle echoed down to him, “I just wanted to show off my control.”

“Yeah,” Mika said, sighing as he looked at the tight sphincter leading to Chloé’s second stomach. He thought back to his last encounter with it as he moved closer, it was almost like a beast, more feral, less controlled… eager to take in prey.  

“We’ll have to do this quickly,” he said, looking upwards, “Your human stomach isn’t as… hospitable.”

“I understand,” Chloé’s voice rumbled.

Mika tensed, waiting, and a moment later the world around him seemed to rumble and shake. Chloé grimaced, feeling herself shrinking down to her human form, her organs rearranged as her tail split into legs once again. There was a fluttering in the pit of her stomach as the organ shrank from the vast chamber it was in a Naga’s body, to the smaller human equivalent. Mika was shrinking with her of course, the magic coursing through her reducing him in size even as he sloshed around in her stomach’s contents, but things were becoming cramped.

Mika grunted in surprise, feeling the fleshy wall press from behind him as her insides reformed. The world grew dark, unlike her Naga form, Chloé’s human body didn’t have the strange interior luminescence, and he felt a claustrophobic twinge of terror.

Focus, I need to move lower, he thought, gulping as he fumbled around for an exit.

Chloé shivered as the butterfly flutter of his hands against the insides of her stomach tickled her. She shifted uneasily, waiting for some signal.

“Get ready!” Mika shouted, feeling his fingers trace over the small sphincter that led to her intestines. And not a moment too soon, he thought, grimacing at the slight itching against his skin. Unlike her Naga stomach, Chloé couldn’t will her human one not to produce acid.

Taking one final deep breath he dove under the frothing liquid, pressing himself against the tight ring of muscle at the bottom of the stomach. It yielded easily enough, and outside Chloé’s stomach gurgled as she felt him slip lower into her.

Every instinct of Mika’s told him to reverse, to surface, to breathe, but he forced his way through them. It was like diving down into a soft tunnel, forcing his way deeper into some subterranean cavern. A moment later the sides seemed to grip him, pulling him in and cutting off any chance of escape.

Now Chloé! He thought in a panic.

Chloé took a deep breath, returning to her Naga form as quickly as she could. The familiar tingling sensation of her skin stretching over her growing body gave her a shiver, and she tried to keep track of where Mika was as the magic warped her body.

Light flooded back into Mika’s vision as Chloé’s human organs widened into the lower stomach of the Naga, releasing him from the tight confinement. His hands ran along the ridged surface below him, a deep, rich red in contrast to the pinkish walls of the upper stomach. He felt hair on his neck stand on end as he breathed in the air, which had a sharp, nearly chemical smell to it. The lower stomach groaned around him, as if the organ was a circus animal that was just now sensing an intruder in its cage.

Chloé’s second stomach was bigger than the first, and it reminded him of an open cavern as he saw the ridged walls ripple and twist as she moved, where the first stomach rested in Chloé’s human upper half, this one began in her snakelike tail, and the change to a more alien anatomy was evident. The cavernous organ stretched like a tunnel down into Chloé’s tail, narrowing slightly at the end. Her heartbeat was still audible here, but softer, further away. He’d come to see her first stomach as an almost welcoming place, but this was a deeper part of the Naga, more primal, hungrier. As he took a step the walls seemed to shudder, like a lion waking from slumber.

This isn’t a safe place to linger, he thought, slowly looking around at the walls. They had a roughness to them, as though they were ready at any moment to leap in at him, filling the chamber with the acids that he knew would spell his end. He glanced down at the far end of the stomach, grimacing at the thought of traversing such dangerous ground. For now at least, he’d stay as close to her first stomach as he could. How many creatures and people have had this place as the last thing they’d ever see? He wondered, shivering slightly. I might be the only person to ever see it and live…

Or he would be, if he survived this.

Don’t get nervous now, he warned himself. As if sensing his doubt, the massive cavern roiled, and an almost angry gurgling sound rang out as he tried to steady himself. He felt his heartbeat pick up speed, and the walls seemed to shift in anticipation. He tensed, looking around for some clue as to what he needed to do.

You are the beast’s master, The Naga Goddess called, not its food! Rise in confidence, as a tamer does in his charge’s cage.

The master!? Mika thought wildly, looking around. If this thing so much as senses me in here, I’m a dead man…

“Mika?” Chloé’s voice rumbled from above. “I-I’m doing my best, but…” She almost whined, “The lower one is a lot harder to control!”

He took a deep breath, standing upright, “Okay,” he said aloud, with as much volume as he dared. His footsteps squished as if he were in a marsh, and he winced as his feet stung ever so slightly with each squelching footstep.

I’ve got to be here as the master, he thought, thinking on the goddess’s words. He forced himself to stay still, ignoring the tingling pain in his feet as he stood upright. Prey would scream, panic, thrash around, he reasoned, I can’t do any of that, or this stomach will press in on me and coat me in acid… then that’s it. He gulped, trying not to panic. What would the master of this “beast” do?

He heard a small gurgle, similar to what he’d heard when Chloé was swallowing him before. With a sigh and a smile he walked across the ridged terrain to the taut sphincter between Chloé’s upper and lower stomachs.

“Hey,” he said, running his hand over it, “Chloé, I’m doing okay,” he said in a calm tone.

“R-Really!?” Chloé exclaimed.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” he said, “It’s working, I’m safe here so long as you want me to be.”

The tingling sting in his heels stopped, and the acid seeping up through the crimson ridged floor ceased. The room shuddered for a moment, then the same gurgle he’d heard from Chloé’s first stomach rang out, rumbling around him.

Chloé gasped in excitement as the massive obelisk in the center of the room lit up, bathing her in blue light. The runes glowed in an even brighter light, showing the snake goddess and her priestess embracing.

“I think we’ve passed!” Chloé said, slithering towards the fruit trees. She eagerly plucked one of the lemurian fruits, tossing it into her mouth and chewing as quickly as possible, swallowing it down. “Just wait!” she muttered between mouthfuls.

Mika sighed with relief, falling back on his haunches and letting himself relax.

Once the fruit hits me, we should get the next vision, he thought, staring up at the ridged red ceiling overhead.

Something glinted at the far end of the stomach, a small flash of light that gave him pause. He gazed warily down the long tunnel of flesh, shifting and moving as Chloé slithered across the floor of the temple. He saw the metallic glimmer again.

What is that? He wondered, “looking at the sphincter leading down to Chloé's intestines.. Is it worth the risk to investigate? He sighed, If I’m the master of this place, I should be able to go from one end to the other, that’s simple, right? Feeling like he was taking the first step over the edge of a cliff, Mika forced himself to begin the journey along the second stomach. He fought the urge to run, keeping himself calm while the walls rippled, groaning hungrily down at him. 

Finally, he reached the end, the tunnel narrowing slightly around yet another ring of muscle that no doubt led to Chloé’s intestines when opened. Kneeling down he began searching for the shining thing that had caught his eye, a moment later his hand made contact with something hard, metal, artificial. 

Mika froze, gripping the object, his heart pounding. Slowly, fearfully, he pulled it out of where it was lodged in one of the lower stomach’s rigid valleys. He held it up over his face, taking in the hooked prosthesis in an analytical horror as his subconscious raced ahead of his thoughts, already knowing what it meant long before he reached the conclusion.

The assassin, he thought numbly, the one who killed my parents, this was HIS! He blinked, how is that possible, how could it be here? Unless Chloé… She…

He gulped.

No, she wouldn’t.

She would.

She did.

His trembling hand let the object fall as emotions roiled in him, “Chloé!” he shouted.

She was startled, “What, is the vision starting?” she asked.

“You ate a human!” he shouted.

Chloé’s blood turned to ice, “I-I had no choice,” she said weakly, “he would have killed you all!”

“You promised!” Mika shouted, blinking away a tear.

“Mika…” Chloé muttered, “I uh… I…”

Mika sighed angrily, forcing himself to his feet, “Is that all humans are to you? Food? We’re people Chloé!”

“He killed your parents!” Chloé said, her own anger rising, “He killed so many other people Mika, him and his minions!”

“I…” Mika grimaced, sucking in breath as the mix of emotions dueled within him. “You can’t be this,” he shouted, “You can’t be a monster!”

“Why not!?” Chloé replied, her nostrils flaring, “ HE was the monster Mika, if Oklahoma had shot him, you’d have thanked her, if Emilie had crushed him under her boot, you’d have said he deserved it! Why does it matter what I did!?”

“Y-You’re…” he gulped, “I love you!” he shouted, causing the stomach around him to rumble as his passion reached a fever pitch. “I can’t love someone who’s evil!”

“Evil?” Chloé whispered.

She was familiar with the concept, it was one of the first ones she’d picked up once she’d started speaking, and reading. That primordial call to hurt others, and revel in it, disgusting across all worlds and places.

Evil.

Am I evil?

No, I ate humans, but only the EVIL ones… It can’t be evil to destroy evil, right?

“H-He killed your parents,” Chloé repeated.

He did, a part of Mika said angrily, and he deserved it.

“I…” Mika looked up at the walls of Chloé’s second stomach, seeing them undulate wildly. Panic welled within him, “Chloé, calm down!”

The naga gritted her teeth, willing her second stomach to be calm in spite of everything she was feeling. She felt a gurgle, and panic rose in her chest as she wondered how much control she really had.

Mika saw the acids dripping around him, the noxious fumes filling the air as his heart raced. He glanced around, then down to the prosthetic claw in his hands, the proof that Chloé had broken her promise…

This is it, he realized, his head going foggy from the fumes, I’m going to die here… Chloé!

A strange calm came over him, and he dreamily began to wonder what this all meant, if it was all really coming to an end here, like this. There was a certain finality to it, a final unification with Chloé that some part of him wasn’t entirely unhappy about. He was nearly smiling as his consciousness faded.

Chloé looked up at the obelisk, and the towering Lemurian fruit trees. Her heart racing, she slithered up to them, tearing the fruit free. 

This will protect Mika, she assured herself, practically shoving it into her mouth. She forced herself to eat more, ignoring the panic in her chest, hoping against hope that the protective juices would reach her human lover in time.

1. …

“Get up Mika,” the snake goddess sighed.

He groaned, rising to his feet. He glanced down at himself, seeing he was dressed in a strange set of ornamental robes with what he’d have called Mayan or Olmec Motifs. He was standing in the hand of the snake goddess, the familiar green haired, green scaled Naga that had guided him and Chloé so far.

“So is this your version of Heaven?” he asked finally, looking up into her face. She was much like Chloé, though with a sharper gaze, and the verdant hair of course…

“You’re not dead,” the goddess giggled.

“I failed, didn’t I?” he asked.

“No, you passed,” she muttered. “You went into Chloé’s lower stomach, and mastered it. Your panic was related to what we think of as outside circumstances.”

“And that’s enough to give me an extra try?” he asked with a wry grin.

“No, you passed, ” The Naga goddess repeated with a scowl, “I am expending centuries of stored energy to intervene at this point, my purpose is not to discuss the temples and their trials.”

“What then?” Mika asked.

“You and Chloé are not functioning as one unit,” the Goddess explained. “We are moving into the final stages of a plan thousands of years in the making, discord in your relationship is something we cannot afford at this juncture.”

“She lied to me,” Mika muttered, “she broke her promise.”

“Chloé has eaten humans,” the goddess said, “as she must. It wasn’t a promise she ever could have kept, not forever anyway.”

“Must?” Mika growled, “You said she couldn’t take what wasn’t freely given!”

“The Naga serve many purposes for humanity,” the goddess said coolly, “Murderers, rapists, daemon worshippers, all had complete agency, and we take them both for our sakes and your own.

“Executioners,” Mika said angrily, looking away from her.

“No,” The goddess snarled. Her open palm flipped, her fingers springing out and coiling him up like pythons as she raised him up to her face. “Humanity has grown,” she said slowly, “we’re all very proud of your progress, but in our time the world was a brutal place.” 

The world shimmered, and Mika watched as a tribe of horse mounted bandits descended upon a village. He heard the screams of the dying, of those taken. The smell reached his nostrils, the rich acrid smokey scent of woodsmoke, and he started as he found himself standing in the center of the village. All around him arrows with a white-red-white pattern on the feathers were embedded in the houses, a twisted claim on the devastation.

“Dear god,” he gasped, looking around at the devastation, at the dead. He was a historian, an archeologist. The realities of life in ancient eras were familiar to him, but seeing it was far different from reading it on a page. He looked down, seeing a small woven cloth doll at his feet. Slowly, hands shaking, he picked it up. It vanished a moment later, turning to smoke that slipped between his fingers even as he tried to grasp it.

“And we would bring these people to justice,” The goddess’s voice boomed.

Mika watched as the same men he’d seen looting the village were brought, bound and prostrated, before the Naga goddess. Embedded in her scaled hide were several arrows he recognized, the white-red-white pattern fluttering in the wind as the goddess plucked them from her scales with an angry scowl. When she was done, she turned to him, breaking the memory as she spoke.

“The Naga must feed,” she said quietly, “the Lemurian fruit provides much of our needs, but we need meat. We would eat animals as we could, but a single human carries more energy than entire herds of beasts… there is more to you, more to us, than the sum of our parts.” She looked almost sad for a moment, “We are predators Mika, this is the temple of Destiny, and that is ours, to feed on our prey to survive.”

“Chloé,” he said softly, “will she always be like that?” He gulped, “Will she always want to eat humans?”

The goddess looked to the sky, which went from midday blue to a black field punctuated by stars in an instant. The pair watched meteors dance for a moment, until the Goddess finally sighed, looking back to him.

“She will always need to feed on humans,” the Goddess said softly. “It is a hard thing to accept, but in a world so overrun with wickedness, she will never go hungry.”

Mika fell to his knees, his limbs dangling below him as he digested the truth that the goddess was explaining to him.

She can be sated with fish, sheep, cows, he thought, staring straight ahead, but she’ll ALWAYS need to eat people.

“Do you understand, she did not willingly break a promise to you? Trying to force that part of her into slumber was always doomed to failure.”

“Yeah,” Mika nodded, feeling hollow. 

“Now think carefully,” The goddess said, “Chloé has followed you for much of this quest, but in this she made her own decision… Do you think she made the wrong one?”

He thought on Charboneau, the man who had forever taken his parents from him, who had taken how many others from their loved ones. His fists clenched, but it wasn’t anger at the killer, it was his own struggle with the realization.

“No,” he said finally, “I think she did the right thing.”

“Now you understand why we have always emphasized taking only what is given,” The goddess said softly. “We always limited our numbers to yours, to make sure we would never grow beyond what you would be able to provide for us… or what those who chose wickedness would.”

“What happened at the end of the war?” Mika asked finally, looking up at the goddess. “When you defeated Emilie’s people, why did you disappear?”

The goddess gave him a sad smile, “They had reduced the human’s numbers far below what would sate us…” She looked up at the shooting stars again, “We had to go, we had to leave you to your own devices…” She sighed, and Chloé appeared before them, in human form, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. “We left a few seeds of our people, in case we were needed again, but otherwise? We left. You outgrew us.”

“Where did you go?” Mika demanded.

The goddess laughed, and as she did stars began to fall from the sky, “Mika, the archeologist, the historian,” she said, almost mocking. “Perhaps nobody will ever know everything? ” She coiled her tail beneath herself, glancing upwards and shivering, “As the Great Bard once said, there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Mika.”

The world shook, and more stars fell from the sky. The falling streaks of light erupted into bright points of silver that consumed the landscape, and as they began to hit the goddess herself, she smiled at Mika.

“Wait,” he begged, “I have other questions!”

“Some things we’re meant to discover on our own.”

The silver light consumed Mika’s sight, the edges of his vision sparkling like stars.

…

Chloé cried beneath the blue light of the obelisk, “M-Mika,” she sobbed. The knowledge that her beloved had died, writhing in pain in her second stomach, was too much to bear. She sniffed and thought over what she could do.

I can’t bear to go up to the others, she thought, wiping snot away, Should I… She looked at the sharp point of the obelisk, wondering against her own will if it would pierce her scales. Have I failed? Is this the end?

“Chloé!”

She froze, “No,” she whispered, “Mika?”

“Yes,” he said, wading through the pools of her stomach acid, “I’m here.”

“Are you-“

Mika looked down at the steaming pool that had risen to his knees. It didn’t hurt, or even sting as it had, Chloé’s second stomach roiled and gave him its worst and he simply trekked through it. There was a slightly citrusy smell in the air, the mixture of the fruit’s juices with the acids lessening their effect. 

“I’m fine,” he said, splashing the pool with his hands, almost playfully. With a smirk he walked to the passageway between Chloé’s stomachs. “Open,” he commanded, rubbing his hand affectionately along the top of the tight sphincter.

Chloé winced as she felt her stomach briefly open up, “I-I didn’t do that,” she muttered.

“No, I did,” Mika said calmly. “This place is mine.” He looked down at the pooled acids, frowning. The juices from the fruit pulp would nullify it, for a time, but he decided it would be unnecessary. He simply willed it to recede, and the pooled chemicals began to sink back down into the ridged interior, soon leaving him free of the noxious odor. 

Chloé shivered as she felt him step into her upper stomach, “Yeah, I guess it is…” She gulped, “Do you remember what we were talking about, before you went quiet?”

“Yes,” he said, stepping through the portal. He glanced around her upper stomach, taking in the smooth pink walls, pulsing with her heartbeat. “I think I understand now,” he said finally. He glanced back, seeing the familiar prosthetic of the hitman on the floor, an artificial human thing surrounded by the pulsing flesh of the Naga’s stomach. He picked it up, hefting it in his hands. I’m not leaving this in here, he decided. He didn’t know why Chloé’s stomach, which had never left any trace of its prey, had so much difficulty with the prosthetic weapon, perhaps Charboneau had simply used only the best materials when making it, or maybe something of him remained, some last trace of all the pain he’d caused them all… Either way, he wouldn’t leave it in here.

“I did eat Charboneau,” she said softly, “and his men…”

“They made their own choices,” Mika muttered. “I think I’m starting to understand what my real role with you is…”

“What?” Chloé asked hesitantly.

“The person who makes decisions about who gets eaten,” he said bitterly, “I’ve been elevated to judge, jury, and executioner.”

“It’s not like that,” Chloé protested.

“It is,” Mika said, “you need to eat Chloé, and I love you… but I have to keep you on the straight and narrow…”

Chloé sniffed, “Okay.”

“Bring me up,” Mika said, looking at the passageway that would lead to her throat. “We need to get out of here, back to our friends…”

…

The campfire burned brightly against the black desert sky, the constellations shimmering overhead. Chloé clung to Mika in her human form, and he lay against a sand dune, looking more tired than he’d ever been.

Oklahoma and Emilie watched the pair, their own faces illuminated by the fire. He’d told them briefly what he’d seen below, and he’d even brought up a small pile of gold and jewels from the vault, but neither the Neko nor the human pilot were focusing on the treasure now.

“Mika,” Oklahoma muttered finally, “If Chloé’s got to…”

“Eat people,” Mika snapped, “Don’t dress it up.”

“She’s gotta eat people,” Oklahoma growled, matching his tone. “So what? They ain’t any more dead than if we shoot ‘em, stab ‘em, or hit ‘em with a truck.” Oklahoma’s particular American accent was becoming stronger as she spoke. “What was it the good book said? Blessed are the peacemakers? That was a gun you know, the peacemaker, I used to have a replica one.”

“I doubt that is the intent of that particular verse,” Emilie said softly.

“Whatever,” Oklahoma muttered, staring at the fire. When she spoke again her accent had softened again, “The world’s full of monsters, and I don’t mean like snake-women or cat-people, real monsters. ” Her fingers traced in the sand for a moment. “They don’t sleep, they think they’ll never die, always dancing…” She scowled and let her own hand drift up to her hip, where her pistol lay in its holster, “Someone’s gotta end the good times for bad people Mika, someone’s got to end the fucking dance. Once upon a time it was Wyatt Earp, today it’s you.”

Mika gulped, “It’s a lot of responsibility,” he said quietly.

“I’ve lived a long time,” Emilie said, cutting in, “Most humans I remember a few years, some I remember a few centuries, but the truly great ones, those who I know I’ll never forget… they found themselves where you are Mika.” She smiled, her ears flittering as she looked at him across the campfire, “You and Chloé are together for a reason, and the full understanding is beyond even someone like me.”

“I trust you,” Chloé said softly, startling him. She smiled and looked up at him, “I’m… I wish I wasn’t what I am, that we could just be two humans in love, but we aren’t.” She nuzzled her cheek against him, “If this is what we’re supposed to do, protect mankind… deal out final justice for people?” She sighed, “then I’m glad I’m doing it with you, and I won’t let anything get in our way.”

Mika nodded, “Thanks,” he muttered, hugging Chloé close. He sighed, not sure if he was ready, but the streaking stars overhead comforted him.