(Samus to Crocodile)
“You look like you’re in a good mood.” Samus looked to the bearded man, whose cold exterior looked to have thawed a marginal amount. Or she could me misreading things, she couldn’t quite tell from the look in his eyes… eye. In his eye.
“Oh? I can’t deny that.” Solid Snake chuckled, and Samus could swear that he was enjoying having gotten her into her Zero Suit.
“Remind me why I had to get out of my armor.” She replied icily, her blue eyes locked on the… Spy? She honestly didn’t really have a good title to use when referring to him.
“Because.” He casually hefted the Smash Cannon over his shoulder, his other hand rising to let her see the spirit within. “I managed to bag a big one. I think this’ll really help us out in the field.”
“Of course it will. And I have to be in my Zero Suit because…” She trailed off interrogatively, arching one of her golden eyebrows.
“Because we’re not sure what effect it has! I wouldn’t want to damage your armor in the case of a sudden case of gigantism.”
The two of them shuddered for a moment at the memory of what happened when Little Mac had burst from his clothes, revealing that his little Mac was anything but. Then they looked back to the spirit. Samus caught glimpses of teeth, and a green hide.
Snake must have noticed her expression, because he chuckled. “Yeah, this one was a lot of work. Hell of a crocodile, but brains and high explosives usually tend to do the trick. I know you need some help fighting that Kraid character, and I figured natural armor and claws would help out.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. Still, it was sweet of him, from a certain point of view. “Well, sure. I can’t really complain to getting a free upgrade.” She paused a little tat that, tilting her head to the side. “Though… Come to think of it, I really do get a lot of things for free. Ancient Chozo statues tend to be compatible with my armor.”
“What, you upgrade by looting tombs?”
“Hey.” Samus sent a sharp glare his way. “I am not,” she stressed that word in particular, “a tomb raider.”
“Sure. Touchy subject, I get it.” Snake chuckled, and Samus was immediately reminded of the fact that she didn’t much care for him.
The woman pressed the spirit into her chest, channeling its power through herself. The idea of using a living creature’s soul to strengthen herself was still a little unnerving, but they took whatever breaks they could use in the battle against Galeem.
“Well? Is it working?” Snake leaned in, curious.
“Hold on…” The woman lifted a finger towards him, closing her eyes and concentrating on the soul within her. She could feel it quietly stirring, a wealth of scales and ridges. Then it became aware of her presence, and lurched towards her.
This was the part that she was bracing herself for: some spirits happened to be stronger than others. If a spirit proved to be too strong for its owner, it had the potential to overwrite the warriors with its own tendencies, thoughts, and even form.
A green tail burst from her suit, its thick and scaled length thumping against the ground behind her. The woman huffed as she was forced to stand in a stooped posture, and she looked back to the large appendage curiously. It was ridged, as she’d expected, and a good deal larger than she’d thought.
“Great… So much for keeping my figure, this one’s a tough one.” Samus chuckled, shaking her head. “And here I thought I’d get out of this without looking like that imbecile K. Rool.”
As she spoke, her teeth thickened in her mouth. She played her tongue along them, feeling what could only be described as sharp, lethal fangs. It was a little strange to picture biting down on someone to fight them, but she’d seen stranger. Besides, it’s not like she smiled enough for anyone to miss her pearly whites.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Snake tilted his head, watching her hips broaden. Scales split her toughened suit with ease, and her thighs rippled with new muscle in the seconds before smooth skin was overtaken by green scale.
“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Samus hissed through her teeth, unable to easily open her mouth. A hint of gold entered her right eye and she grimaced, tugging at the collar of her suit. It tore beneath her left hand with a surprising amount of ease.
The blonde glanced down as the scraps of her clothing fluttered to the ground around her, looking to her arm. Her pinkie finger had merged with her ring finger without her knowing, and each of her digits was tipped in a wicked greenish claw. More of that olive hide swept across her palm as she watched, and she flexed it apprehensively. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing. But I think you misheard me. I didn’t say a ‘crocodile spirit’, like one of K. Rool’s henchmen. I said it was a ‘crocodile’ spirit.” He stressed the emphasis gruffly.
“And K. Rool and his ilk are crocodiles, yes?” Samus didn’t see the connection, and her confusion cost her the use of her feet. Her big toes curled into wicked talons, while the rest shortened into stubbier claws. Her foot shrank a little, and her back lengthened appropriately.
She rolled her shoulders with a low, husky groan, feeling ridges slide into place in three rows along the small of her back and its flanks. They were hard and knobbly, and she could feel them protruding from her body at all times. Her whiplike tail crashed agitatedly against the ground once more, and she looked to Snake with ire.
He lifted his hands mollifyingly, taking a step back from her. “Yes, but not like this one. It’s kinda funny you mentioned tomb raiding earlier, because I grabbed this spirit from the world of—”
She hissed loudly, spinning around to confront him. “You mean there’s an ACTUAL crocodile inside of me?” Her cry came out as something close to a roar, one that turned into a girlish yelp as she overbalanced. The changing woman had turned a bit too quickly, and as a result had overbalanced her new body.
She fell onto her belly with a huff, and was both relived and horrified that it didn’t break her concentration as much as she’s expected. Granted, she could feel her calves and thighs shortening, but it wasn’t like she’d lost the battle against this spirit yet. Still, the fact that she barely felt the impact meant that her belly was covered in scales, not entirely a pleasant prospect.
Drool trailed past the right side of her cheek, and she looked up to him with a mixture of anger and panic. “Get this thing out of me.” Every word was drawn in a rasping hiss, one that extended as she felt her face begin to distort.
Her right eye twitched slightly as she began to see her nose in her peripheral vision. She watched it thicken, and her coarse teeth bared further, gnashing against one another in vain. The blonde’s hair whipped behind herself, and she dug her scaly right foot into the ground.
“Can’t. This thing’s outta SP.” Snake hefted the Smash Cannon idly, shaking his head. “Dunno why this thing doesn’t run on conventional ammo. I’d have this stocked for days.”
Samus roared in panic at that, feeling the edges of her mind begin to fray. She wasn’t fully prepared for a raw, bestial assault on her mind. The thoughts that were clashing with her own were so alien that she couldn’t defend against them.
Her face cracked further out from the back of her head, and she wheezed with discomfort. Her full breasts were a distraction, and she was glad when they sank back into her tough hide. Hide was good, hide meant that she could better protect her eggs.
Something about that sounded wrong, and the woman wiggled her hips angrily. She knew she had eggs, that was part of being a broodmother. So why was laying them such an odd concept? Her other eye glinted with gold, and she clenched her right hand as it too transformed.
This time, she could feel it. She could feel her hand twisting beneath the change, becoming something better befitted to her life. She was a fighter after all, and such weak flesh could barely stand to defend her progeny.
A tongue that was much too large for her mouth pressed against her teeth and she retched, rearing her head back and angling it from side to side. That wasn’t good, she needed a proper snout to hunt. Luckily, her body was receptive to this need.
Her sinuses ached deep within her nose as her muzzle creaked outwards. Her nose flattened out onto its surface until it was just a bump with two holes, perfectly suited for breathing underwater. Soft, and delicate flesh found itself giving way to a greenish muzzle. The only soft part about this was the muscle she used to open and clack her jaw shut.
Funnily enough, the longer muzzle helped space her teeth out a little better. Her sharp fangs glistened as she bared them, then with a loud pop, her mouth snapped shut. She could feel some of her teeth pressing against what passed for her lips now, reminding others that she was the apex predator here.
She bared her teeth and snapped them at the nearby human, her hair falling free from her head with the motion. She could taste his scent on the air, and it told her absolutely nothing about the man. He was neither a predator nor was he prey, he simply was. Her simple brain was infuriated by this, and she scrabbled away from him, swiping her tail at him in passing.
Of course, it didn’t connect. Then again, she hadn’t really been trying. Her belly rubbed against the ground as she searched for a safe haven. Luckily for her, the world she was in was an amalgamation of universes. She found herself between a route populated by tough-hided red fish with oddly flavorful tails and small snacks hid within robotic animal forms.
It was strange, and confusing. But it would do. Samus wriggled her hips from side to side, letting out a low, deep-throated hiss as she felt an egg bulge deep within her. It was round and hard, and it stretched her tough cloaca as it slid from her form onto the ground.
The egg was the first of her new brood, and she angled her head back, allowing a contented rasp to slip from her throat. It was neither pleasurable nor was it painful: rather, it was fulfilling. Somewhere deep within the reptile’s mind, a human woman railed against this latest humiliation. But it was a tiny voice, and one the beast could ignore.