"Kasra..." Kururu whispered. Pushing his way to the front was a large snake creature. He didn't have four limbs like a Viper. He slithered on his belly. His eyes were a yellow-gold and Aki found herself looking away from them. Inside, she was screaming. Why did it have to be another disgusting reptile?! She made a move to raise her gun, but Kururu pressed his hand against her shin. A signal to wait.
"Well, Kururu Socho." Kasra spoke. His tongue wagged from between his teeth, and his voice sounded like dried leaves. Aki's stomach turned.
"I see you've managed to hack into my system. Doing favors for an old friend, eh? How unlike you. Would you like to see where I keep Vesha?" Kururu was silent.
"Well, parts of Vesha." His laugh was a hiss. "I've been after him for quite some time now. But nowhere near as long as I've been after you. I take pleasure in Fate. I would've killed anyone who destroyed my system anyway. But you're not just anyone." Kururu straightened at this, as if it were a compliment.
"You're...a Keronian." He licked his lips. Aki bit back a gasp. Snakes and frogs were natural enemies...Keronians must be some sort of delicacy to their type. Every nerve in her wanted to reach out, grab Kururu and escape. But she couldn't navigate the underwater tunnels with her wounded shoulder. And she wasn't fast enough for a giant snake. Suddenly Kururu spoke up.
"Ku, ku...You only have five minutes, Kasra. Then this place will be rubble at the bottom of the lake."
"Yes, I am very aware of that. We had better get going then." He gestured for two of the lizard men to grab Kururu. Aki stepped forward, but the third one blocked her. Kururu didn't struggle. He acted like it didn't matter either way. But when he looked over at her, there was a wrinkle in his brow.
"What are we going to do with the pretty lady?" One of the lizard men asked Kasra.
"Leave her behind to drown. She's not worth anything." Aki's mind scrambled for a plan. She suddenly stood tall and started sliding her hands down her curves. She hated to do it like this, but she didn't want to leave Kururu.
"Oh, but I am worth something, Kasra-sama." Her tone was deep and sensual. Kasra laughed.
"Really? I'm not really a fan of Pekoponian females."
"I'm not really a Pekoponian."
"What are you, then?"
"Anything you want me to be." With her hands behind her back, she pressed the buttons on the bracelet. She transformed into a Keronian, and the lizard men gasped.
"What...?" Kasra hissed.
"I'm a shape-shifter. I can be this, or anything else."
"I have no need for another Keronian. Even if you do look tasty. Can you change into a Snake?"
"I need a day to study you, and then I'll learn. Just let me watch you, Kasra-sama. Then, I'll be everything you need." From the corner of her eye, Aki saw Kururu swallow hard. He looked relieved, but also a bit annoyed. Kasra however, seemed interested. He licked his sharp teeth with his forked tongue and hissed softly.
"I supposed I could put you in my harem. Maybe you can teach those empty-headed females a thing or two. Safrin, grab her. If she runs away from here, she'll just alert the rest of this one's foolish platoon anyway. We'll face them later."
"Why don't we just eat 'em all?" Safrin, who had a firm grip on Aki, asked.
"It's not that simple," Kasra replied. "The socho," and here he poked Kururu in the belly with his tail, "Is dangerous enough. But they have Giroro Gocho on their team." Some of the men shuddered.
"Yes, you remember. But let's stop babbling and get out of here. We only have... How long, socho?"
"Two minutes." Kururu rubbed his belly where he'd been jabbed. Despite that, he still managed to look undefeated.
"Right. Let's get moving."

Kasra had a small submarine waiting outside of the underground base. Aki couldn't figure out why reptiles would make a secret network under a swamp. She doubted that Plasomia was their planet either. Maybe the secret worked better that way. She and Kururu were taken to the very bottom of the sub, and locked in a room together. She was still a Keronian, and when his men shoved her into the room, she heard Kasra saying something about eating her too, and how women were too much of a hassle anyway. She didn't really care. At least she could be alone with Kururu, and they could plan someway to escape. If Kasra was really that smart, he would have put Kururu somewhere were he could keep an eye on him.
When she was pushed into the room by a lizard man, she landed on her wounded shoulder, and blood ran onto the stone. She cried out, now that she didn't have to look stronger in front of the enemy. The chamber was dark, but she still saw Kururu as he made his way over to her.
"Turning into a Keronian made your wound larger and more fatal. You shouldn't have done all of this, Aki." His voice was soft. He produced a medical kit from super space and began working on her injury.
"Why didn't you try to escape? You could have gone back to Pekopon."
"No. I couldn't just leave you, Kuru-chan. They're going to eat you!"
"Get serious. I can save myself. I don't need you here to do it."
"I know. But I don't think I could have escaped anyway. I didn't know the way out of those tunnels, and with my shoulder...Then there is the portal. I stand a better chance with you. I knew you'd figure something out, so I stuck with you."
"You're a smart woman, betting your Fate on me. I always find a way."
He poured an antiseptic into the gash and she sucked in air through her teeth.
"Sorry. At least it's easier to treat you when you're in my form..." Aki noticed he wasn't "ku-ing" anymore. 'He must be working on a plan', she thought. As he cleaned, stitched and bandaged her, he did seem distracted. He even poked himself with the needle once, swearing softly. When he was finished, Aki realized she was dizzy and tired from blood loss. She leaned against Kururu, feeling safe with him. He laughed quietly to himself.
"On the other hand...This could be the last day of our lives. Wanna make the best of it? Ku, ku, ku!" Aki smiled and rolled her eyes, but he proved to be all talk no action. Minutes passed, and he made no move to touch her. He hadn't pulled away from her when she leaned on him, so she stayed that way for awhile. She felt her eyelids grow heavy. The room was dark and warm, and Kururu was soft...
"No, Aki. Don't fall asleep." His voice cut into her reverie.
"We have to stay alert." He pushed himself up to his feet and Aki straightened, pressing her back against the hard wall. She used the pressure to remind her of reality. Her shoulder throbbed, keeping her awake too. Kururu started to pace around.
"Well, they took my bag, but they weren't smart enough to take my headphones...Ku, ku. They never are. Let's see, we are in a submarine, but it converts..."
"Into what?" Aki asked.
"A spaceship. I noticed the details while they walked us through it. Kasra's planning to launch into space. I'm guessing his home planet. There, he'll probably torture me before eating me. He really hates me...Ku, ku!"
"How long has he been looking for you, Kuru-chan?"
"Oh, 200 years...give or take. Probably longer. He's been after me since I was a shosa. That's when I caused the most trouble, you see. Ku, ku..."
"We can't let him land on his planet." Aki said. Her voice was quiet.
"Exactly. It's full of Snakes. I've been there once, but only in the safety of a mecha." Aki was shivering. The idea of a planet writhing with snakes made her want to throw up. Then...to her horror...she did. In the corner, she convulsed until her stomach was emptied. This was the last thing she wanted to do, in the last place she'd ever wanted to be. The fact that Kururu was there only made it worse. In this form, she was starting to have strong feelings for him. And now she was spewing her breakfast all over the wall in plain site. When she was through, she slumped over, afraid to turn around. Then she felt Kururu's hand on her good shoulder.
"Aki...We won't get that far. We'll figure out a way to get off this ship. I promise. And besides, it's still a submarine. We're not even in space yet! Ku, ku!"
"How long...do you...think we have, Kuru-chan?"
"Long enough. Just leave the planning to me." He sat down and she scooted closer to him, away from the foul puddle. Then he surprised her. He took the only thin blanket that was in the room and wrapped it around her tightly. Then he pulled her close to him, laying her head on his belly. His hands were in her hair, smoothing it out.
"I've got most of it figured out, but it's not time to take action yet. I think we'll have to wait a few hours. In the meantime, you should get some rest."
"But, I thought..."
"It's okay, now. I don't think they'll come for us until they land on their planet. That gives us lots of time. If something happens, I'll wake you up. At least Kasra changed his mind about you being in his harem. I wondered how you were going to pull that off." Aki laughed softly.
"Me too."
"Ku, ku, ku..." He continued to slide his fingers through her hair, and she fell asleep to the sound of Kururu murmuring to himself, putting the finishing touch on his plans.