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>''Isn't it great?''
>The voice echoed loud and true despite the absorbent padding along the ceiling.
>It petered out with no response besides the water lapping gently at the edges of the massive moon pool that dominated the room.
>Floodlights perched over a large doorway illuminated a lone, human figure.
>He looked to either side, eyeballing a walkway encircling the inside rim of the domed chamber.
>Just in front of him, stabbing into the darker center of the room, was a concrete pier extending from the door and walkway behind him.
>Water splashed turbulently at the edges of the pier, going from inky black in the shadows to crystal clear whenever it spilled over the surface.
>The sprawling moon pool was thick with alien strands; glowing blue lures that wavered back and forth under the slow current just outside of the floodlights
>In the middle of them, a small island sat with a spiraling cone and two bizarre trees sprouting from a thick tangle of more strands.
>The man arrived at the end of the pier and tapped his foot impatiently.
>A pair of outcroppings backed by hardened plates pitched forward from beneath the waves, flicking water across the small sea.
>The two massive ears were definitely trained on him now.
>''I know you can hear me.''
>The distinct beat of his shoes was joined by bubbles drifting to the surface, ruffling the disturbed pool further.
>The spire reached higher and higher as the island hoisted itself upwards.
>A gray, equine body slid from the depths, stopping when the surface lapped at the withers.
>Water ran from the bushy strands of her mane, their tips still glowing as they draped across her forehead.
>It splashed onto a darker plate of chitinous gray and below it, snaggleteeth poked out from a tight-lipped crevice.
>The island opened its eyes, two electric blue spotlights coming to focus on the lone figure on the dock.
>They groggily blinked at him.
>Crocodilian nostrils flared in a deep sigh.
>A menacing cavern slowly opened below them, teeth backlit by an electric blue from the throat.
''Yes?''
>The handler was clearly nonplussed at the rumbling, girlish voice.
>''I know you're tired from the sparring, but you weren't listening at all, were you?''
>The ears moved back, guiltily flicking water behind her.
``Um, maybe..."
>The kaiju trailed off, massive form freezing in place.
>The sea of swaying, twinkling lights around her suddenly ducked below the water with a whoosh.
>''Something wrong with your tail?''
>The kaiju turned her head side to side, searching for something.
>The pair of drooping antennae opened their petals, exposing glowing cores.
>The man looked between them in confusion while the equine monstrosity scanned the lapping waves.
>"Orchid?"
>A visible shiver ran down her body.
>He started to step backwards as her eyes roved over him without stopping like he wasn't even there.
>''What?s wrong?''
>There came a rumble, deep and coursing.
>The hallmark of tons of moving water.
>An alien current slipped between her dangling tail strands.
>She ducked her head below the water, searching in the darkened chamber until her projected searchlight fell across a strange object lurking in the waves.
>She was staring at a ball floating just under the surface, trying to make sense of its deep, shimmering blue.
>Slipping around its edges were confusing visions of the rest of the chamber that surrounded it.
>The edges rippled and wavered with every passing second, like it was struggling to maintain its composure.
>She could feel a pull coming from it.
>Curious, she reached forward.
>A flurry of bubbles escaped her jaws in a watery yelp as suction gripped at her hoof and part of the attached foreleg.
>Suppressing the instinct to instantly pull back, her eyes widened further.
>It wasn?t the suddenness that shocked her but what was inside the hole.
>Besides the water rushing over her missing forehoof was nothing but a cool breeze and a tingling sensation.
>She waved the limb around to find something solid to touch.
>"Orchid!"
>The domesticated kaiju snapped her view upwards to where a voice was calling over the water.
>"Get away, it?s another breach!"
>The many strands of her tail wound together, splitting and flattening out at the end into a fluke.
>The mock whale?s tail beat up and down and the kaiju tore herself away.
>Having lost its prize, the sphere started to fluctuate.
>Pieces of it flared outwards like a miniature star.
>The water stopped flowing as it spun out on its own and disappeared.
>A tingle ran along her antennae as they jolted upright.
>She followed them with a turn of her head.
>Another void rested on the water.
>This one was bigger.
>Much bigger.
``Uh oh,'' the kaiju squeaked, and the water roared around her, sweeping her inside the mysterious ball.
>As she sank, she kicked with everything she had.
>Her tail thrashed, bringing her ear just high enough to hear over the rapidly forming whirlpool.
>''Breach! Breach in the den!''
>The designated kaiju keeper turned away from the intercom and locked eyes with her.
>Orchid reached a hoof outwards towards the figure, distorted by the turbulent water, her voice mixing with equal parts air and water as she gave one last cry.
>She was dragged into it, swallowed up by the swirling mass.
>The orb dissipated, spinning out into a cloud of bubbles without a trace of the kaiju creature.
>The only sound that remained were siren claxons and a lone figure staring into the depths as the water gradually resettled.
