Chapter 33: Fusion of Love [Illustration]

Bzzz!

'Why am I like this? His portrait is beautiful! Why did I say boring?'

Bzzz!

'Hi there, love! You're up early!'

Bzzz!

'Mary, I really do love you, but...sometimes, your insistence on me 'expanding my horizons' drives me insane. Is it so wrong that I like to paint more grounded stuff?'

Bzzz!

'Uncle Marlin! Can I draw like you do?'

'Ha ha, I don't think your parents would approve, Mary.'

Bzzz!

'Am I wrong? Shouldn't an artist strive to try new things?'

Bzzz!

'Mama loves you so much, Daniel. Thank you for accepting me.'

Bzzz!

'Daniel, are you sure this is the path you want to take? I may be harsh sometimes, but I want to make sure you live happily without regrets. No matter what, I'll always support you.'

Bzzz!

'You...want to break up? I...yes, that...may be for the best.'

Bzzz...click!

"Haah...D-daniel?"

...

"Lunch? No, we were just about to leave. We thought it might be fun to cook together instead of eating out."

...

"I sound off? Well, we...did a lot. In any case, since you're done, why don't you come over?"

...

"Hehe, I'm so glad~ Yes, we'll see you there!"

The call ends, and while literally oozing excitement across the planks of the studio, the new woman shivers, barely able to remain standing. There's so much memories filling her head: a star-loving mother raising her child, a slime girl continuing said mother's love with increased passion and curiosity, and a British artist full of imagination and heart.

"Daniel..." she breathes out before nodding to herself. "Yes, I'm his mother and more. So...so much more."

Her role is clear, but...who is she?

Ignoring Amy who is already apart of Anne, that leaves the loving slime girl and ex-girlfriend. Both of them care for the male artist and want to be by his side. It's clear as she is now, she can fulfill that role.

"Marianne...yes, it's quite the fitting name. I should smooth out my appearance though."

On that note, the fusion's skin ripples and turns a tad lighter than Mary's skin. Along with facial changes, her lips twist delightfully as she extends her hair longer, slowly transforming into the best of the two that compose her.

It's all for her baby...her love.

"Rachel, you didn't need to come out here."

The astronomer's chest tightens as she stands next to Lecia, staring at the gravestone of her dear friend.

She bites her lips. "How could I not come after hearing what your test revealed! I just...I don't understand. Why is this happening?"

Lecia's face scrunches. "I'm...sorry. Even the rescan cofnrims that the casket completely empty. Are you sure that-"

"Yes," Rachel cuts through sharply, her shoulders shaking. "Like I said, I was with Daniel when Amy was put into the casket and then lowered into the ground. It doesn't make any sense that this casket is empty among everyone laid to rest! Even older bodies around have skeletons, so why...why is my friend just gone?"

Lecia's gaze lowers. "You'd think that what we...no, what I released would've left its mark on ground, but I can't even find that."

Rachel closes her hands. "I'm not blaming you, Lecia."

"The decision to perform the ritual fell on me, so-"

"Even so," Rachel interrupts again, placing her face into her hands. "There's no evidence that her disappearance was related to the creature. I wonder, did the casket get switched out at some point? Sure, Amy and I knew stuff from our research that were under wraps, but would a government need to remove a body related to our findings? No, it still doesn't make any sense."

Lecia sighs, wishing she had answers.

"Does the cemetery owners know?" Rachel asks, removing her hands.

"Not yet, but we're obligated to share our results to them in return for using their grounds for testing. That said, we don't need to point out anything specific for them. It's likely they won't notice much out of hundreds of graves from the images we'll give them."

The astronomer scoffs. "It's not like anything will be done. They'll be reluctant on digging up a grave that's already in a dense section like this."

"That's true. Then, Rachel, if I'm frank, this is the only major mystery to go on. Do you think Daniel is aware?"

"How could he? D-don't try to involve him in this!"

The president raises her hands in defense, carefully picking her words. "I'm not saying to, but outside of our secrets, he ought to know about the grave, right?"

Rachel remains silent, but knows Lecia is right. But how could she explain such a disappearance? For some reason, the words of Daniel's girlfriends repeats in her mind.

'...even the brightest stars fade and leave some form of remnant behind.'

Lecia raises an eyebrow at her friend's silence, but before questioning, the astronomer comes out of her thoughts with a sigh. "I'm due to visit him anyways, so I'll figure out how to address it. In any case, you don't need to mention anything about this. You're just his client."

Lecia closes her eyes and nods. "I won't say anything about this matter since it's personal, but...please let me know if anything does come up, okay?"

Rachel hums in response, staring at what should've been her astronomer friend's final resting place.

Not having enough to comfort her better, Lecia smiles bitterly and presses her hand on her colleague's shoulder before taking her leave to check on the rest of her engineering team's progress,

Now alone, the grey-haired woman bends over and touches the stone. "Oh Amy, just what kind of coincidence is this for you to just be...gone? That's not how great stars disappear. What am I supposed to tell your son?"

Her eyes draw down to the pot in the ground, where she can see Daniel's wilted flowers. This seems unusual to her.

'Has he not visited recently? Even if he gets busy, he usually...'

Rachel stops her line of thought, not wanting to draw any conclusions. Especially since it's been too long thanks to her work life, she decides that being there for him is the least she must do.

Daniel shuffles awkwardly as he approaches Mary's apartment, not far from her studio building. In his hand is a gift bag for Anne containing her new phone. He also decided to pick something up for Mary as thanks for her support so far.

Besides the small items, he expected finding a bed to take the most time, but surprisingly, he found a decent-sized one that would fit into his bedroom with some rearrangement. All in all, he's happy to be finished in time to join them for lunch, but he's a bit worried.

'Mary sounded strange on the phone.'

His stomach churns, not because he's hungry but because his gut is telling him something must have happened while he was away. He may be overthinking it, but considering Anne would've been transforming for Mary, he's concerned about what sort of antics might be at play.

He shakes his head, his thoughts pushing him into unnecessary anxiety. Now standing at her front door, he empties his throat and knocks.

"Mary? Anne?"

"Door's unlocked, love! Come in!"

With permission, Daniel grabs the handle and enters. A compact space with a joined living room plus a kitchen is revealed to him. It only has two doors that seem to lead into a bedroom and bathroom; otherwise, it's a small living space.

It makes sense considering she spends most of her time in her studio.

That said, this is the first time he's visiting her apartment. With interest, he drops his shopping bag at a nearby corner table, then scans around.

Anne or Mary don't appear to be anywhere in the main body, but he figures they're in one of the rooms. In any case, he checks around.

'Pretty modern. Lots of shaped decoration. That's very much like her.'

He smiles, reminiscing about the days when he and Mary would shop together to decorate their once-shared apartment. Planning a homely presentation alone is never exciting, but it was fun with Mary. She's the kind of person who just could imagine how things might mesh so effortlessly.

Turning towards the kitchen, he sees something cooking in a pot at a simmer. Who was leading the lunch: Mary or Anne?

He creeps closer and takes a peek. His brows rise as he sees a stew cooking with potatoes, zucchini, and peas. The scent of various herbs and a little garlic fills his nostrils, making him actually hungry.

'Yeah, it has to be mom. Knowing her, she probably insisted.'

"Does it look good? I'm trying something new."

Hearing the British artist's voice from behind him, he recognizes a lighter tone than she usually has. Not thinking much about it at first, he turns around.

"Oh, so you made...this...?"

This is an old design. If you want to see a newer design of this character, see: https://itaku.ee/images/933796

As his words slow down to confusion, the new girl smiles sweetly.

"Hey there, love~"

Despite hearing his ex's usual addressing habit, the girl in front of him can't be her. A cousin, perhaps? Daniel knows Mary has no other siblings, but it may be someone more distant.

"Erm, are you a relative?"

As he asks, his eyes lower, then snap open. He stumbles back, seeing this stranger is only wearing an apron with nothing underneath. At any moment, it looks like her chest might slip out from the sides!

She giggles. "Surprised? I've been cooking for us, so I had to dress appropriately, don't you think?"

"T-this is...appropriate? Um...er, wh-who are you again?"

"If I tell you, that wouldn't be fun! Come on Daniel, am I not the least recognizable?"

"I..."

The artist stammers, trying to knock his brain while trying hard not to stare at her curves.

Could he have met a weird relative or maybe a friend of hers?

Gulping, he stares into her eyes, then noticing her olive-colored pupils are the same as Anne's. Further, she shares exact features such as nose and lips like...his mother!

"W-wait, mom?!"

Of course, only Anne would pull something off like this with her ability to transform. He feels silly for not assuming earlier the moment she approached him near-naked.

The fusion's eyes close happily. "Hehe, yes! I am indeed your mama, well...a newer mama! But you seem to be forgetting someone, despite me inviting you for lunch in my home."

"Your home? This isn't..."

Daniel speech falters as he stares at the fusion more, then gets an almost complete picture.

He relaxes for a moment and chuckles nervously. "I get it, so you've transformed into a hybrid between you and Mary, huh? No, but seriously, where is Mary?"

The hybrid mother shakes her head and sighs. "Oh love, it really is that simple."

Without warning, she pulls her hand up to cup her son's cheeks, then her eyes soften. "What's important is that now, I can...finally feel you! We can feel you!"

As her words rest in Daniel's mind, he finds his supposed mother's touch more shocking than anything.

Warmth.

Anne is always cool to the touch, unable to emit any heat of her own. Upon recognizing this change, Daniel's throat dries, not wanting to believe it.

"A-anne..." he addresses more gravely, "What...happened?"

The fusion leans closer, sliding her hand down his neck. "We merged, Daniel. I'm the result of two...no, three women who have always loved you."

Daniel inhales and tries to back away, but finds himself hitting the counter near the stove. "W-wait, this is too sudden! A-anne...or Mary? J-just hold up! What do you-ugh!"

The fusion giggles, pressing her body against him and wrapping her arms around his back. As much as it would do good to explain more, she's held herself back long enough. She needs to touch him; to reconnect with him in a meaningful way.

"It's Marianne, love."

Daniel isn't given time to understand the new mother's identity as she presses her lips, sealing herself against him. While receiving this kiss, bubbles rise faster from the pot behind him...and so does a particular tent below.