The trek through the Amazon rainforest was a difficult one, before coming to the rainforest Mika’s only real exercise had been long walks around campus, and Chloé was still struggling to move her human body.

“I think I’ve got it!” she shouted, striding behind him and Oklahoma with a grin. Her motions were exaggerated, and she swung her arms before her to balance, but she was walking, which was good, both he and Oklahoma were exhausted from carrying her.

“Congratulations,” Oklahoma muttered in a tired voice, “Are you sure she can’t just turn into a big snake again and carry us there?”

“People will see her,” Mika replied, “she can camouflage herself, but it’s harder to stay hidden when she’s moving, besides she can’t camouflage us, so unless you want to ride inside of her somewhere, that option is out.”

“Plus I don’t think I can weave around these trees,” Chloé said, looking up at the normal jungle foliage, “I’d leave a pretty big trail even if I could hide myself.”

The group made it to a road a few hours later, a dirt and gravel thing that could have been mistaken for a simple mudflow if not for the tire tracks in it. They followed it north, occasionally ducking further into the brush as they heard a truck rumble by.

“I-I need a break guys!” Chloé stammered after a few hours.

“Right,” Mika agreed, wiping sweat from his forehead, “I could use a breather too.”

“No,” Chloé said nervously, “a break from being human.”

Oklahoma frowned, “What, you can’t just stay like this?”

“It’s like tensing a muscle,” Chloé explains, “it takes energy… I’m not sure how to explain it!”

“Shit,” Oklahoma muttered, “Well, you can turn invisible if you’re standing still, right?”

“It makes it easier to not be seen,” Chloé said.

“Right,” Oklahoma sighed, “Okay, come on, we need to get to a clearing or something…”

Finding an open space for Chloé to transform was difficult, and in exasperation Mika and Oklahoma decided to simply separate themselves from her, letting her flatting a section of the brush far from the road.

From where they waited, they could hear the splintering of trees being bowled over and the earth shifting as Chloé went from a normal human girl to an enormous Naga. Mika glanced up through the jungle canopy, slowly letting his eyes trace over the blue sky.

There, he thought. There was just the slightest incongruity in the view, a bit of difference in depth perception between Chloé’s camouflaged form and a cloud passing overhead. A person’s eyes would slide right over it if they didn’t know what they were looking for.

“She’d be right on top of someone before they noticed,” Oklahoma said, airing his thoughts.

“I’ve seen it firsthand,” Mika said with a sigh.

“Is this really a good idea?” Oklahoma asked him, “taking her back to civilization I mean? This could be like taking a fat guy to an all you can eat buffet, and we’re the endless portions.”

“She’s starting to get it, I think,” Mika muttered. “At the very least she seems to understand that some people aren’t for eating.”

“Am I on that list?” Oklahoma asked, crossing her arms.

“Hey guys!” Chloé said, waving to them as she walked back. She stumbled, swaying slightly and using a tree for support.

“Are you okay?” Mika asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Chloé stammered, “It’s just that transforming takes a lot out of me, and I haven’t eaten in a while.”

Oklahoma shot him a glare, but Mika did his best to ignore it, “Let’s get into town, then we can figure something out… You said someone here owes you a favor?”

“Yeah,” Oklahoma sighed, “I can get us a ride to a bigger town and maybe some cash for a hotel or something, beyond that? We’re going to have to figure something out, credit cards and banks are out since those people after us will probably be able to track them.”

“One thing at a time,” Mika sighed, “Let’s go.”

…

Oklahoma’s contact had been a late middle aged farmer with grey streaked through his dark black hair. Whatever favor she’d done for him once upon a time must have been substantial, because he greeted Oklahoma with a grin and a bear hug that made her grunt. He’d given them food, and had his daughters bring new clothing for Chloé, and as Oklahoma translated the man’s Portuguese the only questions he had were about what they needed, rather than what Oklahoma was doing in the middle of the jungle with an American and a naked girl.

Chloé herself had waited back in the brush until Oklahoma and Mika returned with a pile of neatly folded women’s clothes. Chloé took the dress, bra, and panties, and looked at them skeptically.

“Do I really need these?” she asked.

“Yes,” Mika said, handing her the panties first, “put one foot through each hole, then pull them up.”

“Okay…” Chloé said, eyeing the bra warily, “What’s that part?”

“A bra, it holds your ah…” Mika trailed off as he fumbled with the clasp.

“You’re a real ladykiller, huh?” Oklahoma smirked, grabbing it from him and unhooking it with a *click.* She handed it to Chloé, who slowly put it on with a frown. The dress went on easily enough, and Chloé twirled it slightly, smiling at the way the fabric swished through the air. “Okay great, now hold still,” the pilot ordered.

“Ooh, that feels, strange,” Chloé murmured as Oklahoma dragged a hairbrush over her scalp.

“You can’t go around with your hair a mop like that,” Oklahoma growled. Chloé winced as she pulled the brush through a particularly stubborn knot.

Wow, Mika thought, glancing up and down Chloé’s dressed and groomed figure. He’d seen Chloé naked, both in Naga and human form, but there was a strange eroticism to seeing her like this as well. He suddenly wondered what Chloé would look like in a bikini, and he blushed. Chloé seemed to notice, and giggled as she clasped his hand, letting him lead her towards the farmstead.

A few hours later they were in the back of his old car, rolling through a paved city of a few hundred thousand. He’d dropped them off in front of a hotel, handing Oklahoma a wad of cash before driving off with a smile and a wave.

“That’s one hell of a favor,” Mika muttered, watching her tuck the money into her jacket pocket.

“He seemed nice,” Chloé said with a smile, “Why couldn’t he speak?”

“That was a different language,” Mika explained, “Portuguese, basically like English, what we’re speaking now, but… different words for things.”

“So humans have different ways of talking?” Chloé asked curiously.

“That’s one way to put it,” Mika nodded.

“Neat,” Chloé said, looking up at the rising buildings in awe. The town they were in wasn’t particularly large, but as a regional hub for the nearby countryside it had a few more modern buildings, along with a handful of older cars traversing the streets.

“There are so many humans,” Chloé said, her eyes wide, “I-Is this the place you spoke about Mika? New York City?”

Oklahoma snorted, “This place would be a neighborhood in New York, come on, I need a shower.”

…

The hotel was far from a luxury accommodation, but as Mika flopped onto one of their room’s twin beds he couldn’t help but sigh in pleasure. After weeks of roughing it in the deep jungle or sleeping in Chloé’s next, a real bed felt heavenly against his back.

“This is all so amazing,” Chloé breathed, looking out the window, “S-So many humans!” She turned to Mika, almost leaping at him eagerly, “Can you take me out to see more? I want to see humans doing all of their human jobs!”

“We should lay low,” Oklahoma said sternly, “There’s a guy I know here that I sometimes carry “packages” for, he’ll probably be able to get us transportation to anywhere we want to go, fake names, fake passports, you name it.” She licked her lips, “he’s a guy I do not want to be in debt to, so if I do this for you guys, I need some assurance that one of these temples you’re after is going to have some treasure?”

“Chloé’s temple had enough gold and gems to make a person rich a few times over,” Mika said with a shrug. “You can have the first pick of anything we find.” With a grunt he forced himself up and out of the bed, “Come on Chloé, we’re going to go walk around town a little.”

“Did you not hear me?” Oklahoma asked with a frown, “we should stay inside until-“

“I think it would be best if Chloé saw a little bit of human society,” Mika said in a hushed voice, shooting a glance at Chloé, who was still glued to the window, looking down. “Maybe if she gets to know some people, she’ll be a little more empathetic? Less likely to see people as dinner?”

Oklahoma licked her lips, “Yeah… actually that might be a good idea.”

“Oh, before we go, how do humans relieve themselves?” Chloé asked, turning to them both with a smile.

“Uh… relieve themselves?” Mika asked, confused.

“You know, make waste?” Chloé asked hesitantly. “I noticed I have two holes down here now, but I’m not really sure how humans are supposed to, you know, go.”

Mika’s eyes went wide, “Oh wow, uh…” He shot a pleading look at Oklahoma, who scowled angrily.

“Okay, come on,” Oklahoma waved her into the bathroom, “let’s go over the basics of using the girl’s room.”

Mika sighed, rubbing his temples, there’s so much she doesn’t know…

…

Chloé gripped Mika’s hand tightly as the pair walked through the market, her eyes bulging at every market stall. Most of it was locally grown fruit, though there were a handful of vendors with clothing, and even one merchant with jewelry.

“So where do these humans get all of this stuff?” Chloé wondered.

“They make it, they grow it, they trade for it,” Mika said with a shrug, “there’s a whole network of humans exchanging goods and services, all over the world.”

“Wow,” Chloé whispered, stopping and cocking her head at large pile of apples, “Can I try one of these?” Mika handed one of the vendors a crumpled bill he’d gotten from Oklahoma, and the vendor handed the shining red fruit to Chloé. She eagerly bit into it, “MMMM!” she crooned, leaning into Mika.

She’s so much like a normal girl when she’s like this, Mika thought, it’s almost like I really could just take her home, show her things, maybe…

There a crash, then a dozen voices shouting in Portuguese. A pair of vendors chased a fleeing man through a stunned crowd. For a moment it looked like he would escape, but a police officer appeared seemingly from nowhere, tackling the thief and wrestling the struggling man to the ground. With a grunt the police officer pried the bag from the man, showing a handful of stolen phones. The crowd clapped and smiled as the officer led the man away, and a few minutes later the shopping resumed.

“What was that?” Chloé asked curiously.

“That man tried to take what didn’t belong to him without paying,” Mika explained.

“So he’s bad,” Chloé said, her expression going serious, “Like the mercenaries in the jungle.” She smirked, “Maybe I should follow them and get a quick snack?”

“No!” Mika said in exasperation. “He committed a crime, but that’s not the same thing as trying to murder someone!”

“But he did a bad thing to someone else,” Chloé said with a frown.

“He did,” Mika nodded, “but does he really deserve to die for that? We don’t know why he did it, maybe he was hungry, maybe his family needed medicine, or maybe he was just greedy, all of that matters, don’t you think?”

Chloé rubbed her chin in thought, “I think so…” she admitted slowly, “but what can be done with him then?”

Mika sighed, grabbing her hand and all but dragging her to the edge of the market. A police station sat at the far side of the square, a pair of older looking squadcars resting in front.

“We have places to hold bad people,” Mika explained, “some people for a short time, some people for a long time, some people are even killed depending on their crimes, but we always try to determine the reason they did it, and how to make the punishment fit the crime.” He looked at her, gripping her shoulders and looking her in the eye, “They’re all people Chloé, even the bad ones, they all think and feel just like we do.”

Chloé shifted uncomfortably, “T-That seems like a good system for humans,” she admitted, but Mika scowled as he noticed the causal exemption she’d given herself.

“Chloé,” Mika said in a low voice, “I really like you, you’re a curious person, like me, and I want to show you the world… But you scare me Chloé, I’m worried about how you decide when it’s okay to eat a person.”

Chloé’s eyes were watery, and she sniffed a moment, “I-I’d never eat you Mika, or Oklahoma, or anyone else who was friends with you!”

“And what about innocent people who aren’t my friends Chloé?” Mika said harshly, “do you think you’ve ever eaten an innocent person? A person who did nothing wrong except being near you at the wrong time?”

Chloé was silent, looking down.

“Think about what I’ve told you,” Mika said slowly, “do you think you’ve ever eaten a person like that?”

“I… don’t know,” Chloé said softly, “I don’t think so… they’ve always had guns, and never seemed very friendly.”

Mika sighed, you’ll never know for sure, he told himself, and even if you did, would it be fair to hold it against her? She wouldn’t have had any idea humans were like her.

“M-Mika?” Chloé asked, biting her lip as a single tear rolled down the side of her face.

He hugged her close, “Hey,” he said, stroking her hair, “don’t cry, I want to be with you Chloé, I really do like you… but I want you to promise not to eat any more people, okay?”

“Yeah,” she said in a resigned voice, “I promise.”

Mika slowly let out a breath, then smiled, separating from her. It was like a load had been lifted, and they held hands, staring into each other’s eyes for a moment.

“Americano,” one of the vendors shouted, “Kiss that girl already!” a chorus of other shopkeepers joined in, along with a few laughing shoppers.

Mika rolled his eyes, but pulled Chloé in to a passionate kiss that made her squeal with delight.

…

Mika nervously looked up and down the deserted street as Chloé transformed in the large vacant lot behind him. She would leave an indent in the ground, there was no helping that, but at least he’d been able to find a relatively deserted strip of buildings for her to transform back into her true form. Her camouflage would keep anyone from seeing her unless they got too close, but she’d been at her hundred fifty plus meter height for almost a half hour now.

“Are you almost done?” he hissed under his breath.

There was a rush of air behind him, and a moment later Chloé was stumbling up to him, straightening her dress as she struggled to pull it back on.

“Sorry,” Chloé panted, “it’s hard to stay in human form so long, the longer this goes on the more rest I’m going to need.”

“We won’t always be in a city,” Mika sighed, “after this we should stick to the countryside unless we have no other options.” He glanced down the street, frowning at the darkened alleyways and windows. It’s almost guaranteed that someone saw something strange, he thought, but hopefully they won’t know what to make of it.

“I need to eat soon,” Chloé said, holding her stomach as it growled loudly. “Really eat, in my true form I mean.”

“Eat what?” Mika asked, nervous about the answer.

“I can eat any kind of meat,” Chloé said, “Humans are just… richer.” She licked her lips, “is there a watering hole near here? Lots of big animals go near those.”

Mika was about to answer, but the whistle of a train interrupted his thoughts. He glanced down the street towards the edge of the town, where a long train was coming in to the town’s freight station. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the numerous filled cattle cars, and as the wind blew the smell of bovine manure and bodies hit his nostrils.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said.

…

Higgins stared down at the streets of Rio De Janeiro from his hotel suite. With Mika, Chloé, and Oklahoma seemingly off the radar, for now anyway, Yukia and Emilia had gathered up most of the men and flown them all by helicopter back here.

We know you know; Yukia had said to him with a smirk. She’d removed her glasses, letting him see the slitted pupils with his own eyes. We’ll make you rich, but you’re working with us until the end now.

How did they know? He wondered, Who the hell am I really working for?. For the first time in a long career, he found himself wondering about more than his employer’s ability to pay. Is that a conscience? He chuckled to himself, No, I killed that cricket a long time ago… He walked to the minibar, smiling as he saw it held his favorite brand of whiskey, and then scowling at the price.

He took the mini-bottle anyway, pouring it over ice into a hotel monogrammed glass. He placed it next to his laptop on the room’s small writing desk, opening it up and waiting for the secure satellite connection. Yukia and Emilia had insisted he start attending video conferences for the higher ups in Ouroboros, as well as commanding their personal detachment of mercenaries. Once upon a time moving up in an organization like this would have brought him some satisfaction, but now he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

…

Oklahoma glanced at the door to the hotel room, They’ll be gone for awhile, she thought, I need to check in. She frowned, briefly wondering who she was checking in with, and why, but she suddenly remembered it was important not to worry about that, and she almost eagerly pulled the satellite phone out of her pocket and began dialing the memorized number.

“Ah, I wondered when I’d hear from you,” Emilia said in a pleased voice as she answered the call.

“We’re in a small hotel,” Oklahoma said, “I can give you the location-“

“No need, the phone has a tracker in it,” Emilia said, “How are Mika and Chloé? I assume she’s discovered her human form if you’ve made it this far?”

“Yes! It’s really something,” Oklahoma said, “She needs to turn back into a big snake girl every now and then though.”

“She’ll get better at holding that form over time,” Emilia mused, “particularly if she’s with the boy… Listen to me Oklahoma, I want you to keep them safe, stay with them. Do you need any money?”

“Always,” Oklahoma said eagerly, “how much can you send me?”

Emilia’s mouth curled into a smirk, even under mental control and with manipulated memories a human’s true personality showed through.

“I’ll see what I can arrange for you,” she promised, “you will tell Mika and Chloé that you received it from your criminal associates.”

“Hey, I’ve never been convicted of-“

“Yes dear,” Emilia giggled, “you’ve never been convicted of anything, I’ll be in touch.”

There was a click as she hung up, and Oklahoma briefly wondered who that had been. A moment later the conversation was vanishing, and by the time the phone was back in her pocket it was gone.

Back in the hotel suite Emilia sighed, opening her large grimoire and making a few notes. She and all of her sisters carried the books, against the tide of years some things simply needed to be written down to be remembered, although as an archivist her mind was sharper than the rest.

A beep called her attention over to her computer, along with a small machine attached to it via a USB cable. She watched the spiraling DNA on the screen, waiting for the results to appear on the monitor. Collecting some of Mika’s spilled blood had been almost an afterthought, merely something to satisfy her own curiosity about the lineage of the Snake Cult’s priests.

“Now let’s see where you fit in Thulsa Doom’s family tree,” Emilia muttered to herself. She reached for a small cup of warm milk she’d prepared herself, taking a sip as she read. She almost dropped the saucer, and her catlike ears went flat against her head as she read the DNA results.

“No,” she whispered, “t-that’s not right, can’t be right.”

NEKO DNA DETECTED, PROBABLE VIABILITY.

He’s one of US!? Emilia’s hands shook as she placed her cup of milk down. A male… they’re all supposed to be dead? Gods, how long has it been? She tried to calm herself down, No, not a Neko, just enough of a cross somewhere in that genetic code to be viable…

She almost leapt out of her chair as Yukia burst into her room, “Emilia!” she shouted eagerly, “Look at this!” she waved a copy of a magazine overhead, and before the other cat-girl could see what was on her screen Emilia casually closed the laptop, scowling at the intrusion.

“What!? I’m very busy here!”

“Oh yeah,” Yukia laughed, “Being the archivist is soooo hard, gotta keep track of all the human nonsense, right?”

“It is hard,” Emilia snapped, grabbing the magazine. She quickly scanned it, “Weekly World News?” she scowled, reading the headline, “Giant Snake Woman eats entire train full of livestock? Turns invisible to escape?”

“Yeah, looks like we’ve got them!” Yukia said eagerly.

“Secret cabal of cat girls controls world, rigs sporting events,” Emilia muttered, reading the second page story. “Damnit, how does this reporter always figure out our plans?”

Yukia shrugged, “The humans don’t seem to take them seriously, but I hear the fat cats at the top have been looking for that Gloria Chesterfield girl for a long time.”

Emilia glanced at the story author’s picture, she was a young woman with a nose ring and a flamboyant grin.

This lot probably forgets she has the nose ring, Emilia thought with a sigh. The bigger picture was where her people excelled, and how they had come into so much power and wealth in the human world, but day to day details were always a struggle.

“Come on,” Yukia said eagerly, “it’s almost time for the big meeting. The Princesse is going to update the humans on things.”

Emilia nodded, glancing at her laptop, “Why don’t we stream it to the TV?” she asked, glancing at the screen on the wall, “bigger picture, you know?”

“Whatever,” Yukia shrugged, flopping on the couch.

Most of the other parties to the teleconference were already dialed in. On one screen the organization’s headquarters in Japan was shown, a large amphitheater with a podium at the front and a ring of seating around it. Like a bizarre university class hooded Nekos sat with their large grimoires next to them, looking down as another, a black-haired cat-woman with European features walked, unhooded and unmasked, to the podium. The human attendees were in a number of locations, business leaders, political figures, and media personalities looked on with interest, waiting for the Princesse to speak.

The humans involved with Ouroboros had several layers. On the outside Ouroboros was a normal pharmaceutical company, of the upper echelons of the company only a small handful knew of the Neko’s existence, usually those that had been involved in the company’s more questionable activities for several years and had proved themselves capable of keeping secrets. Of the other important figures most were recruited through the company’s lobbying firm. While Ouroboros was far from all powerful or all knowing, but their influence was substantial, and growing with each passing decade.

“I’m pleased to see that everyone could make it,” the Princesse said with a small smile. “We have a number of matters to discuss.”

“We need to discuss the price of oil!” a petroleum industry CEO shouted.

“They can’t go any higher, they’re impacting transportation costs!” another man butted in.

Yukia sighed, pulling out her phone and starting a game of Tetris, “This is the dullest stuff,” she muttered, “humans and their money, who cares?”

“It does all seem rather ridiculous,” Emilia said with a small smile, “given what’s coming when the Princesse gets into that temple.”

“It’s going to be the cat’s meow,” Yukia giggled, focusing on her game, “I swear, I’m going to eat like a dozen humans that first day, I might start getting fat if I’m not careful.” She glanced up at the row of humans in the meeting, “I think I want to eat that one newscaster, the cute one with the weird hair,” she said pointing to the human in question.

“I’m sorry, what was that, Yukia?” The Princesse said sternly.

Yukia’s eyes went wide, and she looked down to see she’d accidentally rolled over the remote with her bottom, temporarily turning their microphone on.

“I said I wanted to MEET that one newscaster,” she said quickly, “I-I’m sorry, my microphone went on by accident!”

The Princesse just frowned, but clicked a button the podium, a “microphone muted” icon appeared in the corner of their screen as she continued addressing the gathered human’s economic concerns.

“Smooth,” Emilia smirked.

“Hey, these humans who work with us know what we are,” Yukia said with a shrug, “If they aren’t running out on now…”

“I think Higgins suspects something,” Emilia said casually.

“Who?” Yukia asked.

“The one you put in charge of our guards,” Emilia said.

Yukia frowned, pulling her grimoire up and flipping through it. She nodded as she read the entry on Higgins, the slapped it closed again.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yukia said with a shrug, “soon they’ll all be scurrying around underfoot, worshipping us like they used to for those stupid snakes.”

Emilia nodded, not really listening. The truth was she didn’t particularly want to see her people’s plans come to fruition. The way some of her sisters reveled in cruelty to the humans unnerved her, and while she’d been able to force herself to look the other way for the long centuries, with their ultimate goal in sight she was beginning to have doubts.

This Mika boy… he presents another way, Emilia thought to herself, a real future for our race, but he’s human, or human enough anyways… and the Naga already has him.

“Finally,” the Princesse said on the screen, “We believe that opening the temple in South America is within our grasp, and once we do, we will be able to give you all exactly what you deserve!” the Nekos in attendance with her clapped politely at that as she smiled out at all of them.

What they deserve, Emilia couldn’t help but roll her eyes, the Princesse was all but spelling it out for them, and next to her Yukia chuckled at the “joke.”

I’ve got to talk to the Princesse, Emilia decided, maybe if she knows there’s hope for children, for a future, she’ll end this madness. It was a far-flung hope, but she had to try.

…

The tavern on the edge of town was filled with hushed Portuguese voices, and Mika could feel a dozen pairs of eyes on him as Oklahoma guided him and Chloé back to a small booth against the far wall. While he couldn’t understand the language, the sorts of men who were found in these sorts of establishments were universal, and Mika did his best not to look nervous.

“Loosen up,” Oklahoma muttered, “you couldn’t look more like an American who doesn’t belong here!”

“I am an American who doesn’t belong here!” he hissed.

“Just try to act natural,” Oklahoma grumbled.

“Oklahoma!” a man’s voice called, waving them over to a dim booth in the back, “if it isn’t my favorite pilot!”

“Raul!” she said, returning his smile as she and Mika sat down across from him.

He was a lean man, with a flannel shirt and a cigarette in his mouth, the tendrils of smoke matching the handful of grey hairs in his smooth black hair. He stubbed the cigarette out on the table’s ashtray as he studied them, his smile never wavering.

“Who is this man?” Raul asked, glancing at Mika, “and you said there was a girl?”

“I’m Mika,” he said quickly reaching a shaking hand across the table. Raul took it with some amusement, and Mika did his best to give the man a firm grip. “This here is Chloé-“ he started as he realized she wasn’t with them, and he glanced over his shoulder in a panic. “CHLOÉ!?”

“I met some new friends!” she called, waving from the bar.

Mika’s face went pale as he looked at the rough looking group of men who were gathering on either side of her, smiles on their faces.

“What will the lady have?” the biggest of the men grinned, slamming a wad of crumpled bills on the bar.

“Does this place have Coca Cola with vanilla?” Chloé asked innocently, “I tried that earlier today and I really liked it!”

“I should go get her,” Mika said, standing up.

Raul’s hand caught his arm, “She’ll be fine,” he insisted, roughly forcing Mika back into his seat.

Mika chewed his lip, watching the bartender slide a bottle of Cola in front of a grinning Chloé, “She can handle herself,” Oklahoma said under her breath, “she’s the most dangerous person at that bar.”

He breathed out slowly, then forced himself to face Raul, “Right, like Oklahoma has said, we need to get out of the country, ideally without being detected by any official sources.”

“Would you like to share why?” Raul asked casually, “I don’t need specifics, but a bit of professional curiosity is natural, isn’t it? Oklahoma was always going to get herself into trouble eventually,” he smirked at the pilot’s glare, but otherwise ignored her, “You and the girl though? You don’t look like the types to get into real trouble…”

“He’s dodging child support,” Oklahoma lied quickly.

Mika’s eyes went wide, “WHAT!?”

“I know you’re embarrassed to be a deadbeat dad Mika, but Raul won’t judge,” Oklahoma said with a grin.

“Child support,” Raul said with a smirk, clearly not believing the tale, “right… Let me go talk to a friend and see when our next ship is leaving port.”

As soon as he got up and left Mika whirled to Oklahoma, “what was that!?” he asked angrily.

“I needed to tell him something,” Oklahoma said with a shrug.

“Dodging child support?” Mika asked, crossing his arms, “you couldn’t have told him I was a drug dealer, or dealing in stolen artifacts or something?”

“There’s no way anyone here is going to believe you are a drug dealer,” Oklahoma chuckled, “and if I said you were trafficking stolen artifacts he’d expect to see them at some point. Just stick to the child support story.”

At the bar Chloé was sipping her vanilla coke, listening to the men dip in and out of English and Portuguese as they alternated telling stories to try to impress her and get her attention, then slid into their native tongues to insult or threaten one another.

Finally the biggest of the men, a fellow with a bald head and a long thick mustache, slammed his fist on the bar, “I think she’ll drink with me now,” he said with a lecherous grin. The smaller men sheepishly returned to their own tables and drinks.

“Oh, okay!” Chloé said with a sweet smile.

Mika scowled as he saw the man buying Chloé another drink. He wanted to get up and go over to her, but Raul returned, and he forced his attention back to the smuggler.

“I have some good news, and some bad news,” Raul said with a sigh. “The good news is that I will be sending you to Rio De Janeiro free of charge!”

Oklahoma blinked, then she grinned, “I always knew I could count on you Raul! Are we delivering a package or-“

“You are the package,” Raul grinned, pulling a pistol and cocking it in one smooth motion. Around them several other men drew weapons, joining their employer.

“Damnit Raul!” Oklahoma scowled, “I thought we were friends!”

“Friends are one thing, but business is business,” he growled, “and there is a very large reward for the capture of you and your friends.” He gestured up at the bar with the gun, “go get the girl!”

Back at the bar the large man’s aggressive flirting was beginning to make Chloé uncomfortable, so much so that she didn’t even notice the pair of armed men approaching her from the other side of the tavern.

“Look girl,” the big man growled, “I’m through playing games, you’re going to come home with me, now.”

“I-I can’t,” Chloé stammered, “I’m here with friends!”

“You can call them tomorrow,” he said dismissively.

“I need to go,” Chloé said, sliding off the barstool.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me!” the man said in a raised voice. His hand shot out, gripping Chloé’s arm hard enough to make her gasp.

It was enough to break her concentration, and the next few minutes were filled with crashes and chaos as Chloé’s form began to revert. Wood splintered, and men were thrown against the wall before the onrushing wall of scales. The walls of the tavern exploded outward, and against the night sky Chloé reared up to her full height, stretching involuntarily as the ruined roof tiles and ceiling beams tumbled down her mountainous breasts like so much sand.

Mika groaned, rubbing his head as his vision started to clear, “Chloé?” he murmured.

Police sirens were blaring in the distance, and a handful of the bar’s patrons were firing their weapons up at the looming Naga, the *pop pop pop* of gunfire echoing through the night as the bullets bounced harmlessly off Chloé’s skin.

“Oops,” Chloé muttered, looking down at the destruction. She scanned the debris below for Mika, then scowled when she saw the large bar patron that had startled her. She reached down, wrapping her fingers around his stunned form, raising him up to her face with an angry growl. “Grabbing my arm wasn’t very nice,” she said angrily, her voice booming over the town.

“I-I’m sorry!” the man screamed, wriggling pathetically in her grip, “I-I’ll never do it again!”

“No,” Chloé giggled, licking her lips, “you won’t!” She opened her mouth, and the man shouted in terror, fighting feebly against her fingertips as he stared down the long black tunnel of her throat.

“Please!” he begged, fighting back tears.

Chloé paused, closing her mouth with a frown. Her stomach growled, and every instinct she had told her to eat the man, that he deserved it, that she was hungry, that she needed to do it.

“Chloé?” Mika’s voice called from somewhere down below.

She sighed, slowly placing the man on the top of a nearby building, “Be nice from now on!” she said in a stern voice.

“There they are!” Raul shouted, pointing at Mika and Oklahoma with a sneer as he and his men stepped over the rubble.

“Shit!” Oklahoma fumbled for her own gun as she tried to help Mika up, but the gesture wasn’t needed. A pair of hands swept down like angels, scooping them up and curling protectively around them as the bullets thudded against the outside of Chloé’s hands.

Chloé slithered away through the town, her massive form barely fitting between some of the streets. Cars were crushed beneath her, and red and blue lights flashed behind her as the police attempted to chase them. Soon she reached the edge of town, camouflaging herself against the night sky and the expansive jungle as the pursuit ended.

…

Emilia sipped her morning milk, reading the Weekly World News. She scowled as she saw Gloria Chesterfield’s smirking smile beneath the tasteless nose ring.

Giant Snake-Woman Returns, Destroys Tavern, Puts Local Womanizer in his Place? She folded the paper and wondered how long it would be before she and Yukia were ordered to pursue the group.