Granblue Fantasy: A Skyfaring Were-shark in Auguste

Having witnessed Ursula recede into Meg’s arm and disappear as if she was never there in the first place, the crew realise they can’t just wait for answers regarding the pair’s condition to come to them, and decide to seek out professional opinions instead. They’re having little luck, however, as they’re unable to find a single doctor that can even begin to explain what’s going on.

 

The only thing the group discovers in their hours of searching is that Ursula is able to emerge from within Meg’s body at will, taking her usual spot on Meg’s left arm, but they’ve gotten no closer to finding out why the shark can suddenly do this in the first place, or why she still refuses to separate from Meg.

 

Now, later in the afternoon, having run out of medical professionals they can see on short notice, the crew have one last lead to follow. They’re visiting the Ocean Research Centre on the other side of the island to discuss the problem and see if they might have any ideas. But unfortunately, it seems that even they’re unable to help with this particular anomaly.

 

“Sorry, everyone.” Ellen, the oceanographer who has helped the crew out a few times in the past, says. “I really wish I could help, but we’re still struggling to learn anything about sharks at even a basic level after they all mutated. A shark disappearing inside a skydweller’s body is far beyond what we’re capable of explaining, and the existing situation with Meg’s shark particles is just another factor I’m not able to fully grasp. If you really want we could try running a few tests, but even if we do find anything strange, I don’t think any of us will know what to do with the data.”

 

Meg sighs dejectedly. “No, it’s okay… Thanks for hearing us out anyway.” She then groans as she puts a hand to her midsection. “Do you have any more of that food, Mari?”

 

Mari looks back apologetically. “Sorry Meg, you ate the last of it on the way over… We’ll have to get some more once we’re out of here.”

 

Meg takes on a concerned expression. “I really ate all that stuff already? Why in the skies am I so hungry today…?”

 

Ellen perks up. “Is an increased appetite a symptom of this issue regarding Ursula?”

 

“That’s putin’ it mildly, Meg’s been eatin’ a ton today!” Vyrn explains.

 

“Interesting, can you tell me how much Ursula normally eats?” The researcher asks, deep in thought.

 

Mari takes a moment to think. “She goes off on her own to feed most of the time, but she definitely eats a lot. She’s still a growing girl, after all.”

 

“And when you said she was hungry earlier, would you say she ate more than she would on her usual diet?”

 

“I… don’t think so?” Meg says as she thinks back to earlier this morning. “The hunger put her in a really bad mood, but I don’t think she ate any more than usual.”

 

“Well, this is just a theory, but it sounds to me like her appetite is linked to yours, Meg.”

 

“L-Linked? What does that mean?” Meg asks nervously.

 

“I see… That makes sense…” Vira says. “Since your bodies are connected to each other, you’re sharing the nutrients from whatever the two of you eat. When Ursula gets hungry, so does Meg.”

 

“Hold on just a second!” Mari says as a look of realisation flashes across her face. “You mean Meg’s… e-eating for two?” She gets oddly flustered as she says that last part.

 

Ellen nods. “Yes, and a shark’s caloric intake is much higher than what a human would be used to. So if you’re finding yourself getting hungry a lot since this started, that’s likely a sign that the two of you aren’t eating enough.” Ellen looks down as she processes this new fact. “It also implies that Ursula isn’t simply hiding within your body, but combining with it on a biological level, but I couldn’t tell you if that’s what’s stopping her from separating from you, or if that’s how it always worked when you two combined, and you just never remained that way long enough to feel the effects…”

 

Mari grabs Meg’s arm. “Well hey, we at least learnt something, didn’t we Meg?”

 

Meg weakly smiles. “Yeah, thanks for hearing us out, Ellen.”

 

“It’s the least I can do after everything the two of you have done for us, I just wish I could help more than this. I’ll let you know if I think of something, but good luck figuring out what’s going on.”

 

---

 

Ellen sees the crew off from the Ocean Research Centre, and they find themselves walking past a nearby marina on the way back to where they’re staying.

 

“Well, I’m all out of places that might be able to help…” Mari sighs. “There has to be something we can do to get to the bottom of this.”

 

“Yeah, I’m already starting to get sick of how hungry this is making me. I never realised just how much Ursula eats…” Meg says with a bit of a groan.

 

Vyrn turns to Djeeta and Lyria as he flies along. “Hey, didn’t you two used to do something similar to what Ursula’s doing now? Maybe that could help us figure out what’s goin’ on here!”

 

“Hmm?” Lyria tilts her head. “What do you mean?”

 

“I coulda sworn there were a couple times you disappeared inside Djeeta’s body, Lyria.”

 

“Sorry, I don’t remember doing anything like that…”

 

“Yeah, that’d be weird.” The captain casually adds.

 

“Huh, guess I musta dreamed that or something…” Vyrn shrugs. “Anyone else got any ideas?”

 

“Um… It might be nothing, but I did notice something strange today.” Lyria says.

 

Vira looks over to her. “By all means, Lyria. It’s not like we have any other leads to work with at the moment.”

 

“Well, it’s only weak, but I’ve still been able to sense a primal beast all day.”

 

“That’d be Ukupanipo, right?” Meg asks. “You said you could still feel him yesterday afternoon as well.”

 

“I thought it was him at first as well, but whatever it is I can sense today, it’s just as strong all the way over here. It hasn’t gotten any weaker at all, even though we’re on the other side of the island. It does feel very similar to Ukupanipo, but that wouldn’t make sense.”

 

Mari nods. “Yeah, we would have noticed if he broke out of that cave somehow. Ugh, I wouldn’t hear the end of it if he did…”

 

“You don’t think he could have spread his energy over the island after our fight, Lyria?” Vira asks.

 

“I don’t think so. Meg beat him up pretty bad yesterday, plus there’s that whole thing with a part of his core being missing. We don’t really know what he’s capable of, but he shouldn’t have the strength to do anything like that right now.”

 

Mari stops to think. “Sooooo… what does it mean then?”

 

“I think I’m sensing something else, not Ukupanipo himself. And since it feels the same no matter where we go, it could be something that’s spread across the island like Vira said, but it would have to be another primal beast doing that.”

 

“Nah, I doubt that’s what’s goin’ on.” Vyrn says. “Primal beasts usually like to wait their turn before causing problems, it’d be pretty rude if another one suddenly attacked while we’re still handlin’ whatever’s going on with our Big Boy shark.”

 

“Yeah, I agree it’s probably something related to Ukupanipo. But if it feels the same no matter where we go, it much be something that’s stayed close to us this whole time…”

 

Everyone turns to look at Meg.

 

“H-Huh? What do I have to do with it?” She nervously asks.

 

“You did say that Ursula was acting rather strange this morning, and this primal beast of ours clearly has something to do with sharks.” Vira points out.

 

“Yeah, but not primal beast strange. She just seemed a little sick, that’s all…”

 

“Do sharks even get sick?” Vyrn asks.

 

“I don’t know, but it’s not like she can just turn into a primal beast all of a sudden, that doesn’t make sense.”

 

Mari puts a hand on Meg’s shoulder. “We’re not saying that she’s suddenly become a monster or anything, but maybe she’s gotten herself mixed up in this Ukupanipo mess while she was on her own yesterday?”

 

“L-Look, I mean, maybe… it’s just…” Meg sighs. “This was already a lot to handle before bringing primals into the mix. Plus, if something did happen to Ursula to make her start giving off primal beast energy, and she’s refusing to separate, then…” She looks at her left hand with an anxious expression. “...isn’t that pretty dangerous for me?”

 

“It just means we need to stay vigilant, and make sure it’s not causing any problems for you.” Vira states calmly. “Are you still feeling okay?”

 

“Mostly, yeah. The headache from earlier isn’t as bad now, the only thing is that-” Meg’s interrupted by a dull pain in her stomach, and Ursula suddenly starting to emerge again.

 

“Sharrrrrk!” Ursula calls out, immediately getting rowdy. Meg does her best to hold her down as she steps back from the others.

 

“S-Sorry, I’m getting really hungry again...” Meg groans.

 

“Right, this is no time to stand around talking, let’s get you two some food!” Mari announces.

 

“No, I don’t want to trouble you all again like I did earlier, I think I’m just going to go for a dive and let Ursula find something to eat this time. She’s the one who needs to eat so much anyway, so it makes sense to try doing this her way.” Meg starts to walk over to the Marina.

 

“Are you sure Meg? The water’s going to be, like, really cold on a day like today.”

 

“It’ll be fine, Ursula does it all the time. I’ll be back as soon as she’s had her fill, okay?” Meg gives a thumbs up before jogging down one of the docks and diving in the water.

 

“Okay, I guess we’re waiting here for a bit before heading back, then.” Mari says to the remaining crew members.

 

“That’s fine with us, we were plannin’ on investigation’ this place at some point anyway.” Vyrn pulls out the placemat.

 

“Yeah! There’s a picture of this exact marina on here, it must be a clue!” Lyria excitedly explains.

 

“I think that’s just there for you to colour in…” Mari sighs.

 

“Only one way to find out!” The captain announces as the three of them run off, leaving just Mari and Vira waiting by the docks.

 

“You don’t have to wait here either if you want to keep inspecting the new district for Katalina or whatever.” Mari says. “Meg and I will probably just go home once she’s done here.”

 

Vira smiles. “Thank you, but I’m happy to wait here for the time being. As much as it pains me to have Lady Katalina’s comfort as anything other than my utmost priority, I can’t just leave a fellow crew member to deal with such an unpredictable situation on their own, and would prefer to make sure she’s feeling okay when she returns.”

 

“Well, thanks for that. It feels like we’re gonna need all the help we can get to figure out exactly what’s going on here.”

 

“Indeed. I’ll certainly be able to rest easier once we’re sure that whatever’s going on does not pose a threat to Meg, or anyone else for that matter.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Meg gets really worked up about this kind of thing a lot, but it always works out in the end.”

 

The two women sit down on a grassy slope facing the water, and just like yesterday they find themselves waiting for Meg while the sun starts to set, although the view isn’t nearly as nice today thanks to the heavy cloud cover. Every minute or so they see Meg briefly surface to breathe for a few moments before Ursula leads her back down in search for more fish. At one point Meg notices them watching and waves, to which Mari gleefully waves back.

 

“Mari, there is something I’d like to ask about, if you don’t mind.” Vira says after a while.

 

“Yeah, what’s up?”

 

“The two of you share quite the strong bond, don’t you?”

 

Mari breaks out into a giddy smile. “Yeah, hehehe… We’re sooooo in love with each other~! I’m really glad she didn’t turn into a zombie when I bit her that time, that would have been, like, super bad…”

 

Vira looks quite confused as she processes what Mari just said, before making a connection to a certain comment Meg made earlier in the day. “W-Well, regardless of whatever was going on with the biting, the two of you have discussed your relationship at some point, right?”

 

Mari shrugs. “What’s the point of that? Our feelings for each other are so strong that we don’t even need words for them! We could spend that time talking about other things instead, like how much I miss her every time she goes away, or what she’d like me to cook for her, or what sort of flowers we’ll decorate the wedding venue with…” The Erune lets out a deep, satisfied sigh. “She still has to propose to me before we can talk about that last one, though.”

 

Vira looks at her for a moment before speaking. “...And you’re certain that there’s a proposal in your near future?”

 

“I mean, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes, but you’ve seen how she’s been acting, right? She’s clearly trying to work herself up for it!” Mari then leans in and starts to whisper. “In fact, I’m pretty sure she was about to propose to me just this morning before this shark business happened.”

 

Vira’s eyes go wide, and she feels a nervous chill run down her spine, but does her best to put on a smile. “R-Really!? A… proposal… you say?”

 

“Oh, don’t look so surprised, Vira. I knew she’d work up the courage for it eventually, ahhhhh…” Mari sighs again.

 

I fear the situation may actually be much worse than I thought… I should have seen this coming when she mentioned marriage yesterday. Vira thinks to herself. I had planned on telling her outright that Meg hadn’t realised they were dating, but Mari has set her expectations even higher than I had anticipated, and my attempts to assist Meg have only raised them even further. I can’t imagine how disappointed and heartbroken she’d be if I were to tell her here, I’ll need to find another way for her to learn the truth. I do suppose she would be far less likely to get upset if she were to discuss this with Meg, instead…

 

“W-Well Mari, if Meg really is having that much trouble… proposing… to you, perhaps there’s something you could do to make it easier for her?”

 

“Oh, I’m way ahead of you on that one. You should have seen the romantic spot I took her to earlier, it would have been perfect if we didn’t get interrupted.”

 

“I’m sure it was very wonderful, but I’m referring more to something along the lines of… talking with her about what you both want. Thoughts, expectations, how you two presently view each other, that sort of thing really can help a lot, you know.”

 

“I mean, I see what you’re saying, but why try to make it easier now when she’s already almost done it? It’ll be so much more romantic if she manages to pop the question all on her own, without anyone helping her, won’t it?”

 

Vira sighs. If only she knew it’s a bit late for that… “Look, Mari. I really do think you should-”

 

“Oh look! Meg’s back!” Mari exclaims as she sees Meg climb up the end of one of the docks. “We can continue this later, Vira.” The Erune runs over to the dock, leaving Vira to stew in her frustration.

 

“Yes, Luminieria, I agree. It would be easier to just let them sort this out for themselves, but let’s be honest, I’m much too invested at this point to admit defeat. Besides, I’m worried that things could end rather poorly for the both of them if they don’t start properly communicating with each other soon. But, I suppose we’ll need to think of a new approach, expecting them to actually tell each other how they feel isn’t getting us anywhere…” She sighs before standing up and following Mari.

 

“Meeeg!” Mari calls out as she rushes over. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Much better! Ellen was right, Ursula eating all those fish made me less hungry as well.” Meg says with a smile. “And the water’s actually not that bad as long as you keep moving, even if Ursula was a little rough with how much she was pulling me along down there.”

 

Just as Mari has almost closed the distance between them, she suddenly stops in her tracks, and just looks at Meg with a puzzled expression.

 

“I-Is everything okay, Mari?” Meg asks in a worried tone.

 

“Meg, why are you taller?” Mari replies as Vira catches up.

 

Meg’s expression shifts to a mix of worry and confusion. “Huh? Taller?” 

 

Mari takes a step back and holds her hands out in front of her, forming a rectangle with her fingers to frame Meg in her vision. “Yeah, not by much, maybe like a centimetre or two, but I can tell. I definitely don’t mind or anything, but it is kinda strange.” She then turns back to Vira. “You see it too, right?”

 

Vira simply squints at Meg for a few moments. “...You know what? I think I’ll just have to trust your judgement on this one.”

 

“Just wait a second!” Meg yells. “This doesn’t make any sense! People don’t just get taller all of a sudden!”

 

She looks directly into Mari’s eyes. Meg’s always been slightly taller than her Erune friend, but she has to admit that something feels a little off about her current view of the other woman. Is she looking with a slightly steeper angle than usual in order to meet her gaze? 

 

“...Do they?” The anxiety starts to creep into her voice.

 

“Well, they certainly shouldn’t, not at your age at least. This is quite the unusual turn of events.” Vira says.

 

“Yeah, it… it really is, isn’t it?” Meg looks down with a cloudy expression. “Ursula, the primal beast thing, now this, how’s a girl like me meant to make any sense of it? It’s… It’s not normal…”

 

Meg can’t dwell on these thoughts for long, though, as a group of unwanted visitors suddenly bursts out of the water and flies right for the trio.

 

“Shaaaaaaark!”