Chapter 79: A Slimy Matter of Existence

What does it mean to exist?

For Daniel, he likes how the famous philosopher, René Descartes, puts it:

"I think, therefore I am."

Beyond thinking, though, something about his current self feels...off.

Thus, blinking a few times, he attributes it to his sudden waking within Mary's studio.

'I'm certain I passed out after Mother and I defused, but then what?'

Unsure, Daniel recalls his heated exchange with Marianne in bed. One would expect he'd wake up in his apartment with them. Instead, he's sitting naked in front of Viviane and Mary; the latter of which is about to slap a ball of wet clay onto his face.

No time to question, Daniel catches his girlfriend's arm before she can smother him. In turn, she stiffens to his defense with wide eyes. Although his reaction should've been given, he's surprised how numb his hand feels against her dark skin.

He dismisses it as his blood requiring some time to flow, then snorts. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, Mary? Also, why are we in your studio? I thought we were...?"

He draws out, trying to piece together the events of Vida better before he might look stupid. Surely, they didn't drive him out of his apartment naked just to play a prank on him?

...

Actually, with Mary, that might be too optimistic.

Daniel waits for an answer or an excuse, but his doubtful counterpart swallows before laughing nervously towards his slime mother.

"Ha ha, very funny. You don't have to make your clone act too much like him. We'll never get anything done!"

Said "clone" furrows his brows. 'What?'

A glance at his slime mother reveals her face falling, dragging a suffocating silence down on them. Growing uneasy by such gravity, Daniel allows his impatience to flare.

"Okay, seriously!" he growls. "What the hell is going on with you two? Last I remember, Mother and I fused to become Vida, so how did I end up-"

"Mary, hold him down now," Viviane cuts, her firm voice breaking out of her stupor.

The order slaps Daniel, causing his eyes to swirl. 'H-huh?!'

"Ah, o-okay!" Mary follows, breaking away from her false boyfriend's grip. Only figuring things have truly gone awry, she buries her concern just as fast as lets her clay flop to the ground.

Daniel subsequently shakes as the dark artist's muddied hands press down on his shoulders from behind. Raising his own peacefully, he wiggles in his seat with a crooked smile. "H-hey, th-this isn't funny! What's up with...with...?"

Once more, his words fail him as the lack of weight occurs to him from Mary's hands. He didn't feel her arm before, and now, that seems to extend to the rest of himself.

What's wrong with him?

Shlick!

Sadly, he's not given time to fully process his state of being when his pale slime mother contacts a hand on his chest. Just like with Mary, he can't realize her touch; however, that's hardly the biggest problem.

He inhales sharply to see his skin crumbling into slime mother's hand. It's as if he's being stretched into spaghetti within a black hole.

There's oddly no pain or sensation, so it takes him a second for his mind to catch up before he jerks back, his eyes bowling out.

"HOLY SHIT! Mother, s-stop! What are you doing? STOP!"

His delayed outburst causes both girls to flinch. Despite that, his body continues to draw deeper into the elder slime's hand, whose gaze equally deepens with disbelief.

Cursing, Daniel can't afford to figure out what's going in the second slime mother's head. While rustling against Mary's hold from behind, he manages to grab her attached arm, then tries to push her back.

But it's futile.

Splip!

His gripping hands sink into her arm just as his slime mother shuts her eyes, turning her head away. Even if she wanted to stop, her frenzied mind only spurs her cells to continue the deed, pulling her split mass back where it belongs.

"N-no," she whispers, her voice strained. "You're...not my child. Y-you can't...be him."

Faced with his slime mother's denial, Daniel howls, jerking to his feet as the rest of his body thins and deforms.

From his struggles, the chair beneath him tips over. Unbalanced, Mary can't keep herself on the clone anymore as she backs away, cupping her mouth.

Her mind races, wondering if the elder slime should stop seeing there's more life to this clone than expected, and yet, it's far too late seeing how parts of her fake lover shifts into blue goo.

What's left of "Daniel" then becomes a blob stretching through his slime mother's arm and distributing out within. As he ceases to be, he manages one final call...

"Moth-"

Shlip!

...

Silence falls.

Viviane keeps her extended arm in place before stumbling back, staring at her hand that had done the collection. Despite resolving herself, her pupils shake wildly as an unimaginable weight adds to her own.

Breathing out, she grips her head.

"N-no...no..."

Unlike with a clone of herself, new memories pour through from the cloned Daniel, all revealing the thoughts of a confused young man. His scream replays more vividly, stabbing her many times over as he's assimilated without understanding why.

He was terrified.

He was terrified of her.

He was...real?

You will consume others as you have consumed me.

Amid Daniel's struggles, Merlin's warning echos, emptying her eyes further. With no recourse to her actions, her hands fall down in vain.

Had this been the wizard's warning?

Meanwhile, Mary releases a sharp breath after holding herself. Quivering, she stares at the fallen chair for a few seconds before removing her hands from her face.

'Daniel...'

Her thoughts naturally draw to her boyfriend, worried as if she's just watched his murder. Maybe she did, but the only thing that prevents her from screaming out is knowing that the clone she saw struggle couldn't be him.

It couldn't be.

Convincing herself of that, she takes another heavy breath and lifts her gaze back to the elder slime.

"Vi...!"

However, Mary flinches at the sheer distraught on her friend's face.

"What have I done? I..."

Hearing such self-blame, tears brim in Mary's eyes before she steps in to squeeze the limp elder slime close.

"N-no, please...s-stop that," the artist demands, feeling her own emotions about to burst. Despite it, she hangs on, pressing a hand to the back of Viviane's frozen silver head.

Another slow inhale, she hums to herself. "That wasn't Daniel, you understand?"

Viviane's eyes narrow with pain as she squeezes Mary back, her fingers digging into her friend's back.

"But I..." She chokes. "I...I felt him. His thoughts were added to me, unlike with myself! How can he not be-"

"Right now, Daniel is with Anne!" Mary shouts, pulling back and gripping her shoulders.

While hearing her boyfriend cry out and struggle was awful, they both know the human version couldn't have possibly transfer over. Moreover, having two Daniels would be problematic.

"Please, snap out of it," she urges with that in mind. "You did exactly what you needed to do, regardless of whether what we saw can be considered our son and lover."

Viviane's eyes remain darkened as she lowers them, unconvinced. "I..."

Closing her eyes, Mary draws a cool breath before taking out her phone. It's clear they both need more reassurance, so she dials Daniel.

Brrr...

Unsure what his boyfriend is doing, she might be catching him at a bad time. Regardless, this enough of an emergency to repeatedly ring him if needed. Thankfully, he picks up just towards the end.

"Oh, thank god," she breathes before clearing her throat. "H-hey, love. Um, are you okay?"

...

"Oh, you and Anne are out with Rachel? I see...well, er...something happened..."

...

Quickly, Mary waves her hand, sweating. "No, no! It's-fuck, look, I swear we weren't trying to experiment. Everything is fine, and you're fine as well. That's all that matters."

She thins her lips, continuing. "I'm really sorry, love. Just hang on for a little bit. I'm just going to pass the phone to Viviane. We'll talk more later, okay? Text me when you and Anne are in the clear."

Ignoring her true boyfriend's sounds of confusion, the artist hands out her cell to the elder slime with a reassuring smile.

Swallowing, Viviane hesitates, but takes her phone to her ear. "D-daniel?"

...

Immediately relaxing as his voice comes through, some light returns to her pupils. "Ah...y-yes, I'm fine, or...no, not really. I...I did something awful."

...

"N-no, it has nothing to do with Mary's physical! There's nothing wrong with her, so you're probably fine too, but..."

If only he knew what she did.

Ashamed, she lowers her gaze. "I'm sorry. My head is a bit messed up right now, but I just...I'm just glad to hear your voice. Anyway, we'll...!"

Gasping, Daniel's next words forces her eyes back up. After hanging her mouth open, she shuts her eyes tightly, nearly choking. "Yes, Mommy...loves you too. I love you...so, so much."

She really doesn't deserve him.

The call ends and Viviane lets the phone down. She extends it back to the dark artist, who grips her hands further in comfort.

"Better?"

Breathing slowly, Viviane nods, softening her gaze. "Yes...and thank you."

Mary hums, her own lips rising. She takes her device back and hugs the slime again. "It's okay to feel shitty. Still, I'm a hundred percent positive Daniel won't get upset just because you reabsorbed an unexpected clone of himself. He'll be concerned for sure, but he won't hate you."

The lake dweller wiggles her lips before burying her face into her shoulder. She's not so convinced, but her son's empathy is more than she expected.

"He...finally called me Mommy."

Like glass shattering, Mary perks up with bulging eyes. For a second, she stammers before breaking away.

"No fucking way! W-what about me? I'm just as shaken up by this, yet he..."

"You're more of his girlfriend, you know?"

Mary closes her eyes, growling. "Not fair! I'm his 'Mummy' too!"