Chapter 42: Terrifying Anne [Illustration]

Doom!

As Anne's darkened eyes pour through Daniel unlike anything he's experienced before, the freed artist shrinks in his seat. "Um...m-mom, please calm down."

"You...nursed...from her?"

The slime mother's broken voice sends shivers down the poor artist's spine. Nevertheless, he shakily raises his hands, bearing through an incredible pressure that makes it hard to breathe. "Y-yes, but you must understand! S-she's like, I don't know, a sister-of-sorts to you, I guess? Anyways, I didn't initially plan on letting her nurse me, but it just kind of..."

"Kind of what? Happened? Are you saying mama's milk is not good enough for you?"

Daniel's cheeks sink in a little. "N-no, your milk is the best! Ahaha..."

Anne cocks her head, unblinking. "Really? Then why did you nurse from her?"

"M-mom, please!" Daniel begs, shutting his eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, but there's a reason for it! D-don't be angry yet!"

…

The silence that arrives after his plea is arguably worse, but thankfully, the overbearing pressure fades. Taking that as a good sign, Daniel slowly opens one of his eyes.

He sees that the light has returned to his slime mother's eyes, but now her cheeks are puffed out with quivering lips. How she can go from terrifying to cute so abruptly is a mystery, but no matter, Daniel understands that he needs to reassure her.

"Mom, I-"

Anne stands up from her seat before her son can resume. With a huff, she stomps behind the kitchen counter, lowers her head into the sink, and turns the knob on.

Glug, glug, glug!

With a squeak from the knob, the running water ends. Then, still holding her pout, Anne returns to her seat at the table leaving Daniel stupefied.

Magically, tears trail down from his mother's eyes as she narrows with pain. "How could you do this to mama? You cheater!"

Daniel blinks a few times before slumping in his seat. He breathes out defeatedly with a strained smile. "Mom, I beg you...hear me out."

It takes a bit, but Anne finally settles down to listen further as Daniel relays his time with Viviane. Although upset hearing the fun her son had with this grand mysterious entity within, Anne recognizes her current fortune.

"So...if she hadn't thrown part of herself into that mysterious fire, I might not have existed?"

"To her, it appeared that way, but it's still hard to say for sure without knowing what happened. After all, she was engulfed by the flames too, so why would she be stuck in a different place?"

Anne wriggles her lips, uncertain how to feel if she were truly an accident. Part of her now wishes she hadn't held her baby so close so they might remain ignorant.

No...how could she not keep Daniel close? Unable to resolve such a conundrum, she grits her teeth.

"Even so, she dares to call herself 'mommy'?"

Daniel sweats again before swallowing. "F-for the record, I'm not calling her that."

Light returns once more to Anne's eyes as she harrumphs. "So what now? Is mama not enough for you to need two mothers?"

The artist widens his eyes and leans forward. "Hold on, that's not it at all! In fact, with you and Mary now, I'm not sure how much more I can handle! I just..."

As he trails off, Daniel furrows his brows. He takes a long breath to sort his thoughts out. Once done, he grabs his worried slime mother's hands and gazes firmly into her eyes.

"Mom, believe me, I wish it wasn't like this. You're definitely more than enough! However, you need to meet her to understand why I can't reject her. Just like you, she's assimilated Amy's life and memories. There's obviously more to her than that, but I can't dismiss her connection to you and Amy. If I did, what does that mean for us?"

Anne bites her lips. Even if unexpected, this Viviane is another extension of Amy. If their positions were reversed, she could've been trapped instead, forced to watch her son from afar. The slime mother doesn't want to imagine how it feels to be forever trapped, unable to be with her baby.

Daniel sighs as he takes her silence as understanding. Rubbing his forehead, he continues, "As awkward as it was, it's very clear that she wanted to be there for me like you are now."

"But couldn't," Anne adds, smiling bitterly. "Because I got to you first, right?"

Daniel hums, crossing his arms. "Obviously, I still have reservations on having another mother all of a sudden, but I can't ignore her feelings either."

"Urgh...alright, I get it. I may not like it, but what can we do to help her?"

"That I'm not sure of. For now, let's be mindful and go with the assumption that you're really part of her."

Anne recedes with a frown. "In other words, mama just got more complicated."

Daniel snorts, unable to help but smile a little as he squeezes her hands once more before letting go. "Yes, but I still love you."

Anne's lips curl crookedly to such reassuring words before closing her eyes and coughing. "V-very well, mama will accept your sweet manipulation."

"Ha, you've been far more manipulative."

"In any case!" Anne dismisses as she straightens up in her seat. "I'll reserve further judgment until I can also enter this dream land to meet her. Until then..."

She looks up at the ceiling and huffs. "Do you hear that, Viviane? Even if we're similar, Daniel is still my son! I won't let you have him that easily!"

The artist flinches at the unexpected declaration. He figures that the silver slime is listening somewhere but doesn't dare to imagine how she'd respond.

"Y-you don't have to look anywhere in particular. Just know she's aware of everything you see, hear, and speak."

"Oh...and my thoughts too?"

"Probably."

Anne gasps. "W-what a complete invasion of privacy! I hope not!"

Daniel chuckles. "We'll know for sure once I visit her next time."

"Still, this is quite frustrating," Anne grumbles. "Even if I keep you to myself, you'll end up drifting off to her. Maybe to meet with her, I have to fall asleep as well?"

"Maybe, but you haven't been able to sleep, right?"

"Sadly," Anne answers before shrugging. "But honestly, it isn't bad since I haven't felt tired."

"I am well aware."

The slime mother titters to her son's flat exasperation. "Then, what about Mary? Are you going to tell her about this?"

The artist leans back in his chair, curling his lips. "I planned on doing so after confirming this whole dream wasn't just me, but I'm still worried about getting her in too deep."

Not that she isn't already, especially within Anne.

"You shouldn't worry about that!" Anne growls. "She's not your ex anymore. You two need to start being more honest and open to each other!"

Daniel weakly nods. "You're right, I'm just worried for her. Speaking of, are her memories still fuzzy for you?"

Anne blinks before lifting her chin. "Actually, some memories are becoming clearer to me. This is related to those pools you mentioned?"

"Maybe. When I met her, Viviane was scouring through Mary's memories, but I'm not sure why. She said the lake was chaotic but it would calm down."

"In a way, that makes some sense. It took me a while to organize and process Amy's memories even after assimilating her. Hehe! Soon, you won't be able to hide your past relationship from me!"

"I'm sure you'll know more than that. Talk about an invasion of privacy."

"Hey!" Anne furrows at her son's smirk. "It's not like I knew I'd come away with a copy of her life. Besides, you mustn't hide from your dear mother~"

Daniel shakes his head. "Now that we're on the same page, let's try to focus today and work through more of our backlog, okay?"

Anne narrows her eyes, unwilling to start the day. "You know...I feel like you're not telling me something. What did I just say?"

Daniel sweats a little. "W-what do you mean?"

"Are you sure all she did was nurse you? You did cum inside me last night."

'Oh, shit.'

Daniel didn't mention Viviane's ability to split and the resulting act. God forbid his mother gets ideas and tries similarly. He's not ready to deal with two Annes.

"I-it did get a little murkier towards the end, but...I can't remember."

Anne hums suspiciously before raising her hands. "Fine, I'll give you pass for now, mister. As I said, you mustn't hide from me!"

"R-right."

"Less serious note, why am I the blue slime?" Anne grumbles, lightly tapping the table. "Being a silver slime sounds cool! It's almost like that liquid terminator in that movie you pleaded Amy to rent for you."

Daniel raises his brows. He's surprised he didn't remember to make the comparison. "Huh...you're right. I'm sure that fire was some sort of magic that could've...wait."

That reminds him of an important detail while Viviane held him. Didn't she mention the fire to be green from what she remembered?

Naturally, his mind wanders to the Stonehenge painting and Lecia's only specific constraint.

'No way...that's just a coincidence, right?'

"Daniel?"

The artist swallows slowly as Anne shakes him from his thoughts, then pivots. "Mom, when I started that Stonehenge painting, that's around when you heard Viviane being mentioned, right?"

"Yes, but by a hooded man specifically. Did you ask if she knew who he is?"

Daniel groans, slapping his head. "I forgot about that detail too!"

"Hehe, no worries! With so much more to know, I guess that means mama will have to tuck you in again for an extra long night!"

The artist nods to the side. "We'll see. Actually, there should be a delivery company arriving with our new bed."

"Oh! Do you think I can grow to my previous size and hold you inside?"

"Not a chance. It's not that big."

"Lame. Mama told you didn't need to get one. When exactly are they coming?"

Daniel checks his phone. "Well, they're supposed to-"

Bzzt!

"Oh, speak of the devil, that must be them!" Anne hops, standing up from the seat excitedly. "I'll go get the door!"

Daniel shuts his mouth as he lets her go. Strangely, he thought the movers said they'd text him before arrival. He keeps checking his texts to see if that's the case, but his eyes widen.

"Wait, Anne! That's-"

Daniel's warning comes too late as his slime mother opens the door. In an instant, her smile stiffens as her eyes reflect an old friend from memories deeply rooted within.

Sporting the same short hair but with more white and creases along her face, how could Anne not recognize her predecessor's partner in work and life?

"Rachel…"

As the slime mother breathes out the friend's name — one hard to disassociate with such fond memories and feelings, the said researcher blinks before smiling warmly.

"Oh! You must be...Anne, right?"