By the time the airship made it back to Angel Island my stomach was back to its usual shape. Too chubby to be called flat, but not bulging out with three bickering birds anymore. I rubbed over my tummy not noticing the blue cube I'd been canoodling with was practically vibrating with glowing energy by this point as I pressing it down on my squishy middle. "Settled in nice and cozy? Hope so because this is permanent. You will never be separate from me again~" I teased giggling to myself at the dominant rush and feeling a ripple of reaction from the surface of my paunch. "Glad you're enjoying your new home." I added with a chuckle, grunting as I pushed up to my feet and walked back through the ship with an extra jiggle on my hips.

Making it back to the cargo hold with the Master Emerald sitting in wait to be returned home, I searched about before finding a switch to open the bottom bay doors of the blimp floor. Pushing down a prickle of unease at being so high up I looked over the side to ensure Angel Island was down below, resting in the ocean after being devoid of the Master Emerald's power. Nodding to myself I pushed against the giant green jewel to shove it over the side, bracing the glowing blue cube treasure against it as well and causing a vibrating reaction. I was too focused on scooting the emerald out the pod-bay doors and sending it tumbling down out of the ship, falling through the sky to (hopefully) land safely back onto Angel Island and bring it back skyborn.

I didn't have time to watch and ensure that's what happened though, as once the Emerald was out of the ship and falling out of sight, I finally noticed the cube going nuts in my hand. I held it out and regarded it with concern. "Uhh...?" Was all I managed to squeak out before the treasure exploded into a blinding flash of reality warping light, and I felt the dizzy sensation of being flung through the veil of reality for the second time in as many days!

Once the cacophony of intradimensional travel wore off I shook my head and wobbled dizzily, staggering sideways out of the open bay doors of the airship and tripped into a confused heap. Once I got my head on  straight I looked to see the airship was toppled over onto its side and smoking in a heap against a checkerboard pillar background. I looked around to assess my surroundings and found a landscape that would have fit into the frame of an M.C. Escher painting, twisting with non-euclidean shapes and twisting hallways.

Once I was able to figure out what I was even looking at, game gear tinted memories came rushing in and I realized where I was and what being here meant! I gasped aloud and jumped up to my feet, ignoring the wreckage of the blimp and not paying mind to how the magical little cube that had apparently brought me here was now missing. Instead running off aimlessly letting luck and my bottomless appetite guide my way! After a short but confusing and trip filled trek I managed to find what I was looking for.

Peeking over, or perhaps under, an overlook I could see a blue and yellow colored all purpose craft. And sitting in the drivers seat with his hat dipped over his eyes snoozing away was Fang the Sniper snoozing lackadaisically. Throwing caution to the wind I tilted over the side of the ledge and fell down towards him, landing on the hood of the vehicle right in front of him and causing an impact that knocked him awake on the spot, making him jump in his seat and flail about in a surprised startle. He caught his breath from the unexpected shock an expression of adorable concern on his face, while I just grinned hungrily at him as a hungry rumble growled in my belly just from looking at him.

"Whozzit!? Wha?" He barked out, trying to regain composure while regarding me with suspicion. It's been a while since he had a visitor in his little special zone here after all so I didn't blame him. "How'd you get here?" He asked once he got a bit more confident but still side eyed me with curious concern.

"I'm hearing that a lot today." I replied playfully, scooting up along the hood of the craft towards him, causing him to rear back onto his springy tail to flinch away from me. "Not sure how I got here, or how I'm going to get out either... but things have just sort of been working out for me so far, so I'm sure after I'm done swallowing you whole it'll turn out for the best one way or another." I answered casually, rolling my way into the cockpit of the vessel while Fang started scrambling back nearly onto the headrest of the seat to get further away from me.

"What kind of answer is that!? You can't just swallow me, you think I'm just gonna let you eat me?" He growled, reaching for his cork gun only to fumble and bouncing it out of its holster and between either hand before he managed to wield it properly and point it at me. I didn't react to it, too focused on the morsel before me to pay attention to anything but cramming him into my belly where he belong, a brick wall between us wouldn't have stopped me. "You ain't gobbling me up, creep!"

"Why not?" I asked with faux sincerity cocking my head to the side acting as if there couldn't be any possible reason in the world someone would have a problem with being eaten by me. "Not like you're doing anything here. Must be super boring. I think being my meal would be the best outcome for a forgotten character like you." His expression twisted into a mix of offense and confusion at being regarded in such a way, but I just continued. "Besides my belly is nice and warm, a perfect cozy place for you to spend the rest of your life~!" I opened my maw wide to prove the claim, a hot steaming humid abyss of raw hunger looming for Fang to see in its entirety with a deep rumbling growl echoing at the depths of my yawning gullet calling out for him.

Despite himself, Fang was transfixed by the view of my yawning maw, the deep hungry abyss of my gullet pulsing with undulation and dripping before his eyes. Nearly in a trance his expression softened into fascination and he leaned in closer to peer into the depths, seeing into my waiting stomach at the very bottom of my esophagus, from which he'd never return. He might have tilted forward enough to unintentionally start feeding himself to me. But while smiling open mouthed a rumble emanated from my core and the gust of a dry hungry belch blasted out and right into his face, the gust causing him to tumble backwards and flinch. He shook his head from the dizzy of the gas and scowled at me through a blush.

"Y-yeeah thanks but no thanks. I've got better things to do than digest in your gut until the cows come home." He rebuked, brushing himself off and adjusting his hat. In spite of his refusal his eyes kept darting back to stare at my mouth and the soft chub of my belly while it growled hungrily.

I grinned coyly and my eyes half lidded while looking down at him. "Like what?" I pressed, looking around at the mind twisting nothingness all around. He perked up with the start of a response, but then paused slightly deflated and looked off to the side trying to think of something. I chuckled at the show while scooting off the hood and into the drivers seat alongside him, wrapping an arm around to pull him against the side of my paunch.

That caused him to fluster and scramble aside. "Well this joint is just my hideout, per say! If I catch wind of a proper heist, I can just hit this gizmo here and this baby will open up a worm hole to a dimension full of suckers to rob!" He pointed to a button on the dashboard of his craft and then beamed with pride at how he totally refuted my insinuation that he didn't have any excuse for not getting in my belly like the food he was. I did coo and lean in to look closer at the button with sincere interest though.

"So just hit that button and it'll take us out of the special stage and back to the regular world?" I asked for clarification, smiling and tail flicking behind me. Things just kept lining up for me to keep this feast of mine going without a hiccup!

"Well, A regular world, but yessir!" He confirmed, nodding and smirked cute little fang on full display. I nodded appreciatively and then without another word turned to more properly face him, grabbed the jerboa by the shoulders, and crammed him headfirst into my open mouth. He yelped out a muffle of surprise down my throat as I swallowed him down with ease, his springy tail wrapping around my arm in desperation while I gripped him by the hips and fed him down with deep full bodies swallows that stole him away from the outside world. Finally after tugging his boots off with my hands and slurping down his feet, I sucked his tail up like a noodle, sending him to land down into my waiting belly all at once and curl up to fit in the snug organic prison.

I sighed aloud, the emission punctuated by a sudden deep wet belch that sent Fangs hat flying out of my maw and fluttering to land on my bulging belly. I chuckled and picked it up to inspect it playfully while my stomach churned around its inhabitant, my prey trying to squirm around but the confines were too cramped and tight to allow for any real movement. After trying the hat on myself and snickering I settled into the seat of the vehicle and then lazily pushed at the dimension hopping button without a second thought. I felt the craft vibrate like an engine was starting up, and then right in front of the nose of the blueyellow driveable a portal split open. Without really looking to inspect what the sights on the otherside of the rip in spacetime looked like, I pushed forward on the steering stick and drove right on through feeling a turbulence of wind as I passed from special stage and into regular reality once again.

Gravity yanked hard on the craft and I yelped out with that internal-organ-free-fall feeling of going down a roller coaster, and then suddenly the craft crashed into the splashing waves of ocean below the impact causing me to almost bounce right out of the drivers seat. I groaned in recovery and rubbed at my belly, feeling Fang was also knocked for a loop after the hard landing since he wasn't even trying to move anymore. At least until things settled and I sat up to look around, and felt my stomach quivering with attempted struggle once again. 

I looked around to see ocean as far as the eye could see, rolling calm blue waves in every direction with white clouds and blue sky above. Probably shouldn't have been a surprise since something like 70% of the planet was water. After a few moments I felt a heavy rumbling in my stomach; the bumpy ride must have worked up quite a lot of gastric activity, and I erupted into a gargantuan belch that sent ripples across the water surface in every direction! "BUUUUUUURRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPP!!!"

I sighed and lounged back in the drivers seat, patting my belly contently. "Well I do have some digesting to do so I'll just let the waves take me where they will for a bit. You getting settled in in there, Fang? Enjoying being food?" I asked teasingly, jostling my belly with both hands and giggling at the muffled complaints I heard from inside. "Just go back to napping like you were when I found you, and you won't notice anything's different. Except it's a lot warmer and cozier in my belly than it was in your crazy little special zone home."

Whatever my prey muffled in response I couldn't make out, and it didn't matter anyway. He was food, my food, and always would be from now on. I smiled and rested my hands behind my head, feeling my stomach churning over its meal while enjoying the calming sounds of waves lapping against the floating craft while it lazily drifted along on the current.