Chapter 30: Mary-ly Transformation

"Wow..."

It's morning and with coffee in hand, Daniel takes a sip as he stares at Mary's underpainting which presents a more realistically pregnant Anne.

He never had time to fully appreciate his fellow artist's drawing last night with more emails from clients than expected, but he can now see special care given to capturing his slime mother.

"Don't we look nice together?" Anne asks as she pops behind him, smiling sweetly as ever.

"Er, that's one way to put it, but yes, it's really well drawn. I know Mary doesn't usually do these kinds of paintings, but it's clear she hasn't lost any touch. How long did it take her to complete this?"

"Around three hours, I think. It felt shorter though because we were talking so much!"

"And the smaller belly?"

The slime girl hums expectantly. "Yes, I asked Mary to draw me correctly since it would otherwise look ridiculous."

Daniel raises his eyebrows, surprised. "Why?"

She huffs at his disbelief over her common sense. "Mama's aware having a belly filled with an adult is unnatural! At the very least, I wanted something that represented my relationship with you..."

With that, she hugs him from behind and rubs her head against his back with a giggle. "That is, Daniel will always be mama's baby!"

The artist blushes but accepts the role as he places his free hand around hers. However, after feeling her breasts pushing against his back, he cannot help but escalate this small embrace.

He places his coffee on the stool near the easel and unravels his mother's hold. Before she can question, he turns around to kiss her.

Anne lets loose a muffled grunt before melting in delight. Wet noises fill the room before a trail of saliva falls between them as they break apart.

"Daniel~" the slime mother sings with joy.

Daniel takes a deep breath and tries not to go totally hard in his pants. He smiles back at her. "I'm not going to let you spoil me so one-sidedly, mom."

Unexpectedly, Anne's eyes twinkle in response. "Agreed! Mama deserves to be spoiled too! So on that note, are we doing anything fun?"

Daniel snorts and drops his head resignedly at how she manages to twist the topic.

"Well, Mary did text me last night and wanted to see if you'd like to visit her studio."

"Oh! I'd love that! We were talking about that yesterday, but I wasn't sure of your plans."

"Then, I'll let her know and drop you off. I know she's been dying to see your transformation ability."

"Huh, only me? What about you?"

"I'm going shopping to find a bigger bed for us. It's long overdue and I think I've found something that might fit my room with some rearrangements."

Anne sulks. "Do we really need one, though? Mama can be your new bed!"

"Yes, we do. Let's not even talk about me sticking to you. Having more room to shuffle is a must."

Even though she's aware, the slime feigns a sigh. "And here mama was willing to give you so many birthdays..."

"That shtick is going to grow old, mom."

Anne pouts. "Fine, get your boring bed. Is that all?"

"I'll be looking for a phone for you as well."

Anne lets in a sharp breath, much more excited about that prospect.

"You'll be getting mama a Blackberry?!"

The assumption catches Daniel off guard and suppresses him from spitting out. Although it appeared Anne had caught up on most stuff since Amy's last memories and knowledge, she still needed to catch up on the unfortunate fate of the phone.

"Mom, how to say this...that phone is dead."

"Huh? No, it's not! Mama knows it was declining in popularity when Amy was in the hospital, but surely they-"

Daniel shakes his head, stopping her right there. "No, the company doesn't make phones anymore. Gone is the era of small keyboards."

Some light fades in Anne's eyes as she shakes. "H-how will mama adapt then?"

Her concern is amusing yet baffling, considering he hasn't seen anyone as terrifyingly adaptable as she is.

"I think you'll do fine."

Anne droops. "Oh, alright. If it can't be helped."

Speaking of a phone, she remembers her call with Rachel. Her eyes shuffle away a bit.

"By the way, did you call back Rachel?

"Ah, yes...I did. She arrived into the city yesterday. At some point, she's going to visit. Did you...say anything strange?"

"Strange? I don't think so? I just introduced myself as your girlfriend."

Daniel flattens his lips and hums. He recalls her words to him later on during the night:

Send my apologies to your girlfriend for breaking up so suddenly. I...tripped a little on my way back home. In any case, I'm glad you found someone. She reminds me a lot of your mother, although I'm sure that's just me.

Daniel still sweats when he thinks about it. Rachel would know Amy better than he does in many ways. For that reason, he was hesitant on introducing her to Anne, but the cat's out of the bag, it seems.

Swallowing for a bit, he smiles nervously. "Just remember, you need to be more careful around her. You might know her well, but you can't act like it, understand?"

Anne huffs, curling her arms together resolutely. "I...I understand. I've already exposed myself to Mary, but it won't happen with her, I promise!"

Daniel smiles bitterly. He should trust his slime mother more, but the small pain in her voice makes him worried.

"Anne-love, welcome! I see you've lost your baby bump!"

At Mary's front entrance to her workshop, Daniel coughs as his ex smirks at him before she focusing her attention on the slime girl.

"Mary!" Anne wails, her eyes downcast. "It's so sad, isn't it? Aside from that, I'm so excited to see your place!"

Mary closes her eyes happily. "Of course! Now come in, both of you."

The slime girl beams as they enter the leased building. Unlike Daniel, who has combined his living space and work area, Mary opts to keep her work area separate from where she lives. While it's more expensive, she feels it essential that anyone can drop in and check out her gallery, even if they aren't interested in buying or commissioning from her.

This is the case as they enter her lobby, a physical showing of her portfolio. Daniel notices many new artworks and familiar ones she was working on before they split.

Speaking of...

"By the way Mary, your underpainting of Anne is beautiful. I owe you something since you gave your time to start it."

Mary shakes her hands quickly. "N-no, you don't have to owe me anything, love. I did it for her. Besides, I never did a portrait of a pregnant woman, so it was a good experience...although I know hers is not what you'd call natural."

That's an understatement.

Nonetheless, Daniel smiles appreciatively and wants to pay her back somehow. It's not just in the painting, but Mary has greatly supported him and Anne in such a short time.

His mind drifts back to her and Anne's conversation about him when he was in the dream world. Although it was only a tiny part of their talk, he can remember her complex expression when talking about their relationship. It's causing him to feel a little awkward.

He shakes his head. 'Just focus on the present, idiot. She's clearly happy where she is now and the same goes for me.'

"Would you two like some tea?" Mary asks.

Clearing his throat, Daniel stops moving further in. "Actually, Mary, I can't stay. I've got to start some errands of my own."

"Ah, yes. You mentioned that. Well, whenever you're done, call me. I'll probably take Anne out for lunch, so we might be gone depending on when you're done."

Daniel nods and is about to take his leave before Mary stops him. "Wait, one more thing."

Turning towards the slime mother, she smiles. "Anne, you can go further in and take a look. I'll be right with you!"

"Okay!"

While Anne walks in further, Mary leans closer to her ex with an uneasy stare.

"Love, I know we already discussed this, but I have to ask again: Are you okay?"

Daniel raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's all good. I know that seeing Anne in that state with me was a shocker...and I'm sorry for that."

"I'm just glad that you were able to breathe well inside of her. I...do want to ask something though."

"Hm?"

"Er, how did it feel? H-honestly speaking! I'm not teasing you this time, I swear!"

The male artist blinks before rubbing his neck, a little self-conscious. "Well, um...cozy. Anne can make parts of herself as soft or firm as she wants, so she was able to easily adjust to make it feel comfortable."

"Huh...interesting. Is there anything else?"

Daniel hesitates, unsure whether to tell her about the strange dream.

"No, that's all."

He decides that, until he's sure, he wouldn't make his ex worry unnecessarily. Clearing his throat to move on, he backs away.

"Don't go crazy with Anne, okay?"

Mary giggles. "No promises, love. Thanks for lending her to me."

Daniel snorts and looks down. "No, thank you for being a friend to her."

"I...no problem, love."

Mary waves back awkwardly as her ex leaves. She can't help but taste a trace of bitterness in her mouth before slowly breathing out and joining Anne.

The slime girl is examining a few easels holding some in-progress paintings. They're all abstract in some sense.

"Wow Mary! I'm curious, do you have any portraits like Daniel does?"

The artist tilts her head. "A few in a traditional sense, but nowadays, if anyone asks for a simple painting that you could just have a photo of, I'd just refer them to your son."

"Yes, I remember - you give him anything that you feel is boring!"

Mary snickers. "That's right!"

The two girls start chatting, continuing their conversation from yesterday. Although Anne avoids prodding over Mary and Daniel's former relationship any further, they talk about family, why Mary came to the United States, and exciting events the artist had with clients, dates, or anyone for that matter.

When the electric kettle beeps in the background and makes hissing noises, Mary stands up to prepare some tea for them. Even though she's aware the slime can't taste, she insists on making one for her.

"So your uncle inspired you to be an artist?" Anne asks by a small table as she waits for her cup.

"Well, he was a factor..."

Mary pauses as she looks into the mini fridge, then sees no more creamer.

"Drat. Out of heavy cream."

"Oh, let me help!"

"How can you-ah? That's right!"

Mary learned of Anne's odd ability only yesterday after recalling the slime girl's "bleeding". Curious about how she did it, Anne had little choice but to reveal details while Mary drew her.

Although the female artist was peeved that Daniel didn't disclose the ability from the get-go, she promised Anne not to bring it up with him. This is mainly out of Anne's fear that Daniel would withdraw from their intimate nursing routine out of embarrassment.

Anne giggles as she ejects a milk shot from the tip of her finger. "Actually, Daniel drank quite a lot from me yesterday. I was so happy!"

Mary gulps, smiling crookedly. "That's...quite hot, I'd imagine."

"The tea? Do you want me to add more?"

"That's not what I...nevermind."

Mary takes a sip, finding it doesn't taste any different. "So, you can replicate anything?"

"No, only of those that feel impactful. So color because I wanted to look human and milk because I wanted to nurse Daniel."

"Does that mean you can get pregnant after carrying him? I would figure that must've been impactful on you."

Anne flinches, nearly dropping her cup. "Er, that's..."

Mary remains silent, but after seeing the slime's face grow stiffer and suddenly panic at the idea, she hurriedly speaks up to reassure her.

"A-actually love! Th-that would be quite difficult, wouldn't it? I mean, only a human can birth a human!"

Anne giggles nervously. "R-right, right! Also, I must really want it. Carrying Daniel was just something I wanted to do for him, but having another child never crossed my mind!"

The main reason Anne is terrified by the proposition is thanks to the influence of Amy. That being, raising a child is hard. Sure, she might have experience thanks to Amy's memories of raising Daniel, but she also worries how he might feel and the consequences.

Would he abandon her just like his father did to Amy?

Anne shuts her eyes and shakes her head, deciding to quickly change the subject. "W-what were you going to say about your uncle?"

Mary hums as they move back to the table. "Right, my uncle, Marlin is...interesting. When I was young, he showed me all these various inscriptions on the wall and cool occult-like drawings. It was only later my parents forbid me from interacting with him, but seeing his strange hobby pushed me to want to draw peculiar things and concepts."

"Huh. So do you think magic is real?"

"No, but...well, you're existence is changing a lot on what I think."

"Yeah, I'm still wondering how I work or where I came from."

"Well, give it time, I suppose."

"Daniel said the same thing..."

Anne takes a sip of her tea, the liquid evaporating as soon as it hits her molecules. No taste, of course. Hiding her bitter disappointment, she fakes a cough before continuing. "So, you still haven't told me who you want me to transform into."

Mary rubs her head. "Well, I haven't thought of it that much. Daniel told me to avoid anything that would be a drastic change. Honestly, I just wanted to see what you could do in general, then come up with something interesting. Well, I suppose for starters you could just change into me?

"Really? That should be easy!"

Although the artist hadn't meant for her to transform immediately, she holds her breath as Anne's skin tone turns darker before her eyes. Her wavy hair straightens while becoming shorter, and her facial features adjust to perfectly match the stunned artist.

"Love, that's...incredible."

Both girls stand up and move closer to each other.

Anne giggles rather eerily. "It is, isn't it?"

"Y-you're even matching my voice!"

"Of course, love. I am you...and ready to replace you."

"R-replace?"

Mary shivers. Even though she recognizes that Anne is simply messing with her, she can't help consider the idea that the slime could really replace her. With her rate of learning, she'd be able to produce paintings with ease and nobody would be able to tell the difference. Further, she could also be with Daniel, coexisting with him better than she could.

She can be so many things.

'Shit, why am I suddenly thinking these insecure thoughts now?! Get a fucking grip!'

Anne relaxes, then returns to her normal voice with a titter. "Sorry, I couldn't resist! How do I look?"

Mary swallows, still feeling an unease in her stomach despite the slime's good intentions. Not wanting to let it drag her down, she tries to bury it swiftly and clears her throat.

"Accurate, but I never thought it would feel so...creepy!"

"Hehe, sorry! I'm only doing as you requested though!"

Mary takes some more time to calm her heart before moving around and examining her apparent twin. "I'm even more impressed how fast it took for you to change."

"Well, it helps that we spent a lot of time together. I can't just change into anyone off the bat. I have to study them and burn their appearance into my mind with enough clarity."

"Interesting."

The female artist's gaze lowers a bit. With Anne like this, an inevitable question comes to mind.

"Has...Daniel asked you to transform into me?"

"Actually, this is the first time!"

Mary gapes. "You mean, he's not even interested?"

Anne cocks her head. "Should...he?"

...

"Ahem, ignoring that jerk, this is perfect! Since I have my very twin, let's take start with a photo of us together. We can turn it up with more shots afterwards!"

"Ooh, yes! Um...but, 'turn it up'?"