Chapter 1062: Intermission: Memories of a Turtle
*Bing-Bong*
Wait a minute, what’s with the title?
|Like it says, we’re doing an intermission.|
Okay…why? We’re in the middle of several fight scenes.
|Exactly. We need to give people a break from reading nothing but fight scenes so that they won’t get bored of them.|
Seriously?
|0ne Pi3ce does it.|
You are not GODA.
|Hush you. Now read the script.|
Fine, let’s see…
In this intermission, we will be looking into the mind of [Tortallion] while he attempts to restabilize his existence.
As such, we’ll be looking into his memories of when he…oh. This…this isn’t really an intermission, is it.
|Yup.|
Well then…we’ll now be returning to your regularly scheduled chapter.
Thank you.
*Bing-Bong*
____________________________
Several hundred years ago, on a random day in Spring…
“Buubuubuu…”
[Uh…Medusina. I don’t mean to chide you on your babysitting abilities, but are you sure it’s safe to have the princess ride on your head like that?]
[Oh don’t worry about it, Tortallion. Mi cabeza is softer than any cradle in Undertow and beyond.]
[Not the point, Medusina. Not the point.]
It had only been XX months since the Storm Queen’s daughter was born, and the Storm Knights had already become enamored with the little bundle of joy, going so far as to be her regular caretakers when not fighting.
Of course, they made sure to rotate in shifts in order for the baby to have equal exposure to all of the kaijin. After all, it wouldn’t be good if she wasn’t able to recognize them all as being friendly faces.
Especially the Fang brothers.
At this point in time though, the ones taking care of little baby J@# F@n% were Medusina, a jellyfish kaijin who was known to be a beguiling force of nature on the battlefield, and Tortallion, a turtle kaijin who had defensive abilities stronger than steel{and failed when it mattered most}.
And as Tortallion stated earlier, Medusina had placed the [Storm Princess], on top of her head. Thankfully the top of her head was like that of a jellyfish, so there weren’t many ways for the baby to fall over. That and she had tentacles acting as safety straps as well.
Granted, this didn’t stop Tortallion from fussing.
[Are you sure she isn’t affecting your ability to think and operate? I could carry her on my back for a while.]
{And fail to protect her again?}
[Oh it’s fine, you worrisome lummox. Babies are tougher than you think. Remember that one we saw eat a wolf’s head?]
[That was a baby dragon.]
[Same thing.]
[It really isn’t.]
As to why this duo was walking through Undertow with their queen’s baby in tow though, it was due to the fact that their shift in taking care of the baby was coming to an end.
Usually, the kaijin would come to Storm Castle in order to take over the child rearing duties for the week. However, Shockheel, the kaijin in charge of taking care of the baby this time around, didn’t show up at the appointed time. Making matters weirder, she wasn’t answering any telepathic messages either.
As such, Tortallion and Medusina figured that the best course of action for a situation like this, was to go and see for themselves as to why she had been so unusually quiet. Hence why they were on route to her home.
In order to help integrate with the growing number of citizens of Undertow, and keep their origins a bit more secret, the Storm Knights were given homes all across the city.
That said, some of the kaijin took advantage of their newfound freedom a bit more than the others…and started creating new “physiques” amongst the general populace.
Eventually, Tortallion and Medusina finally reached the front door of Shockheel, as evident by the fact that her home was decorated with all manner of eel themed symbols and decorations.
[I feel like, after Krakelios, Shockheel embraced the whole “house decor” thing the hardest,] Tortallion observed while staring at a mural depicting and eel turning into a coconut tree. [Is that supposed to be symbolic?]
[To be fair, while our homes aren’t as malleable as our rooms, it’s still a great feeling to make a space your own, you know?,] Medusina replied.
[I suppose…do we have a key for this-]
[I think the door’s unlocked.]
[Ah.]
With their path undeterred, the turtle and jellyfish kaijin entered into their friend’s domicile with little to no expectations of anything being out of the ordinary. Especially since the home was as spotless as Shockheel usually left it.
[Shockheel! We know you’re here. Are you okay?]
[It’s your turn to take care of the baby!]
“Bububa?”
Evidently, they should’ve prepared for the absolute weirdest possibility.
[Why hadn’t she replied yet?]
[I don’t know, but I think I sense her over there.]
A walk down a hallway and a turn towards a door later,Tortallion and Medusina had finally arrived at what they knew to be Shockheel’s bedroom. However, the moment they got to the front of her bedroom door, the duo paused as they sensed something…strange.
[Huh…Tortallion. Am I going crazy, or is there another life signature behind his door other than Shockheel?]
[You’re not. I’m sensing it too…wait,didn’t Shockheel vow to not canoodle mortals on weekdays anymore?]
[Canoodle?]
[Baby’s present.]
[Ah…yeah, she vowed to not canoodle mortals on weekdays anymore.]
[So…who’s in the bedroom with her now?]
[Ya know I can hear ya both just fine, right?,] Shockheel finally interjected. [If you wanna so badly just open the door. She doesn’t bite too hard yet.]
[Huh? She?]
[Okay…]
“Babu?”
With cautious movements, Tortallion opened the door to allow Medusina and the princess to enter first. Once they passed, he followed after.
[Okay, Shockheel. Why is there a second life signa-oh.]
[Gasp! Another baby!]
“Babu.”
[Yes, my baby. She just hatched.]
Much to Tortallion’s, Medusina’s and even the baby’s surprise, they found Shockheel holding her own baby.
To be more precise, Shockheel was holding a baby girl that the others could sense had an innate [Chaos] similar to her own. On top of that, the baby girl had thin and translucent external teeth lining her cheeks, as a sign of her otherworldly heritage.
As Tortallion and Medusina stared in awe at the child, Shockheel couldn’t help but radiated this feeling of pride and joy.
[Whoa…I didn’t know you were pregnant…how come you didn’t tell us?]
[Well, I wasn’t exactly pregnant. Not built for that, remember?,] Shockheel answered while staring off to the side, where the remains of a slimy eggshell remained. [But isn’t she beautiful?]
[Yeah…,] Tortallion nodded. [Wait, does that mean you know who the father is?]
[Well, not exactly,] Shockheel answered in a mildly embarrassed tone of voice. [Could’ve been that soft haired merchant from a while back. Maybe that brave soldier who tried to fight off that bear beast. Could even have been a wandering poet that tried to woo the Queen not too long ago.]
[Yeesh. And here I thought the others were promiscuous,] Medusina teased.
[Hey, I’d like to think I have standards on who I have relations with,] Shockheel retorted. [I’m not like Krakelios and the Fang Brothers when they go on their retreats to the Archipelago of the Nine Pleasures. I’m pretty sure half of those children are-]
[Hey, hey, whoa, whoa,] Tortallion interrupted. [Let’s try to keep that talk to a minimum around the babies? They’re still small, adorable and innocent.]
“Bu?”
[Fair enough.]
[Mmm…]
[Oh, hey! She’s waking up.]
Tortallion and Medusina went quiet as Shockheel’s baby began to stir into consciousness.
Eventually, a pair of bright yellow eyes opened wide and stared at all the kaijin present. Surprisingly, she didn’t cry at the sight of the monstrous turtle man and jellyfish woman.
[Oh…she got your eyes! Well, the shape of them anyways,] Medusina praised.
[She does, doesn’t she,] Shockheel agreed while cradling her child.
Moments of love-filled silence passed until Shockheel decided to break it. Before doing so though, she positioned herself so as to bring the baby closer to Tortallion.
[Do you want to try and hold her?]
[M-me?]
[Yeah, you.]
[But, uh…]
[Oh come on, you overly cautious giant,] Medusina teased. [You can handle the princess but you can’t handle a fellow kaijin baby?]
[That’s different. None of us even held her until after a year or two-]
[Oh, it’s fine,] Shockheel insisted. [I know you’ll be gentle with her. You’ve always been gentle around kids.]
[Uh…okay.]
Shockheel presented her bundled baby to Tortallion, who proceeded to try and be as gentle as he could with his meaty turtle-like limbs.
It took a bit of time, but he eventually managed to secure the baby in one arm.
[Whoa…newborns are…heavier than I thought.]
[Yeah. Caught me by surprise too.]
Compelled by instinct, and just by how tiny she was, Tortallion used his other hand to try and boop the baby’s nose.
Chomp
[Ah.]
Instead, he got his finger nommed on by a surprisingly toothy baby.
[D’awww. She likes you.]
[Huh…I figured that would hurt more.]
…
{Is this really how you remember it happening?}
