Chapter 96: More Nightly Troubles

Lecia Bowden breathes out as she steps out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her as the droplets of the day's volatility drips down to the floor below.

Her eyes draw to her phone by the sink. Knowing there's a lot to catch up as she was focused on reading Victor's publication, she picks up her phone, and swipes it open. Just an hour ago, "Vivi" replied with the suggestion to meet next weekend. Although that felt like a long ways off, Lecia agreed, only to allow herself and team more time to dig into the blonde. Further, if nothing spilled into communities about the blue flames or of their library meeting over the coming week, she'll feel better about the girl's witness and sense of discretion.

Although, that doesn't necessarily mean she's trustworthy.

Trying hard not to overthink consequences if something does blow up, Lecia scrolls through her unread messages, and locks onto a message from Mike.

Hey, I'm sorry for telling you off yesterday. Please, let's talk.

Speaking of blowing up, Lecia's heart tightens shamefully by the last call with her friend. She closes her eyes, brushing a hand through her wet bangs. There's no question it was wrong of her to blame his wife without evidence. She takes a moment to temper herself before dialing him, setting him on speaker to keep her phone dry from her head.

He picks up immediately. "Lecia?"

Smiling bitterly, she tries to hide with a light, professional tone. "Hey, Mike. I'm sorry for not reaching out sooner. I thought it might be better for us to cool down."

More like, when Victor happened, she couldn't focus on anything else.

"Lecia, I—"

"Most of all, I shouldn't have raised suspicion on Jessica," she cuts him quickly, taking a deep breath. "The last thing we need is to blame someone, and it was uncalled-for to place blame on your wife just because she gave you a lead. I hope you and Jessica can forgive me."

Her friend pauses briefly before sighing. She can imagine him rubbing his head. "It's alright, but I won't say you weren't wrong. In the end, I think we're both overwhelmed."

"Even so, I should've been more sensitive."

A few drops of water from the shower fill the coming silence between them. With nothing left to say, Mike chuckles as he takes the chance to move on.

"You could've waited until you were out of the bathroom."

Lecia snorts, her lips rising just a bit more. "Why? Is it giving you ideas?"

"Oh, please. Give me a break, will ya?"

The two share a short laugh, a nice reprieve from the mix of anxiety as they return to more friendlier exchanges. However, on that point, Lecia lowers her gaze.

"That said, Mike, I think it's best that I do give you a break from anything related to our strange work right now. Focus on your normal research, family, and yourself while we try to figure out what happened in Egypt."

He remains silent for a few seconds, then scoffs. "You know I can't do that. When there are threats and magical forces we have yet to understand, it calls for more diligence, not a time for relaxing."

"It's not relaxing, it's called keeping yourself low and safe. You're the one with the family."

"Even so, everyone agreed there may be risks when joining this endeavor into this strange book you dug up all those years ago. While it's expanded beyond what we all imagined, we can't let that prevent our discoveries into the truth to that book."

Lecia groans and slides a hand across her eyes. Admittedly, it was a long-shot to expect anyone, especially Mike, to back out.

"I can't stop you if plan to continue, but I'm also saying this because...well, I think it would be good for you and I to take a break from each other."

Another moment of silence passes.

Mike snorts. "That kinda hurts. Still, I could've told you that."

Dropping her head and stifling herself, Lecia breaks into a long hum. "Well, I guess you didn't tell me hard enough~"

She can imagine him shaking his head. Indeed, a sad breath escapes from his lips. "Clearly, I haven't enforced proper boundaries."

"It doesn't excuse that I've done you and Jessica wrong."

"Let's not go there right now. If anything, I've done her wrong. Lecia, I..."

He stops to collect himself, exhaling slowly. "Look, if you're trying to make it right by pushing me away, this is not it. We've come too far with the work we've done, and I can't just drop everything knowing what we've seen. This is bigger than any problems or feelings between you and me!"

Biting her lips, Lecia shuts her eyes, knowing it well.

"Lecia," Mike pleads, more firmly. "Let's continue to work through this as we've done. Has anything happened? I heard from our intel team that you met someone named 'Vivi'?"

Many things have happened since the last call with Mike, but Lecia can't disclose any of the strange encounters and magic that overwhelmed her senses.

She breathes in. "It...it was just a girl in the Keystone library who recognized me from my company. She was on the same chase as the whole internet about the meaning of the Al-Bali star's disappearance. I ended up humoring her, seeing whether I could gain anything from a common person digging into the star and anything on Layna Moore."

"Ah, that nutty book author. Well, maybe not so nutty anymore. What did you find with this stranger?"

"She was unexpectedly quite intuitive. There wasn't anything new, per se, but I was impressed how she connected history and dots."

It wasn't technically a lie. Sure, there was a magic fire that enveloped her, but they've seen it before in green. Regardless of the twisting of her experience, she doesn't feel bad about keeping it to herself.

Mike can get angry at her all he wants later.

"So you think she's worthy of being brought into our group?" He presses. "Is this really a good idea, especially now?"

Not really.

Lecia clears her throat. "I never claimed to be bringing her in. Look, there's unexplained change in the universe for the world to see, plus a group out there that is becoming aware of us and doesn't want us digging in. We're going to increasingly encounter more people who will know more than we do, so if someone reached out to me, should I ignore it?"

"It...depends."

"I will say, there's nothing the team has found immediately on this girl. It's suspicious, if anything, so that's why I asked to look into her more."

Mike inhales slowly. "I understand your reasoning, but just...be careful. This is not the time to expose yourself to risks."

Smiling weakly to herself, Lecia nods to the side. "Right back at you. Tell me, have you heard from any of our members from Egypt about who attacked them?"

"Sadly, only that they were masked. I haven't been able to learn much about them."

"I see..."

"With that said, I think we should start letting others know of what was happened in Egypt. Especially if we face more assaults, everyone should be on better alert."

Lecia shuts her eyes. Truthfully, she was hoping to delay it to avoid panic, but it's also irresponsible if not done in time.

"I don't like it, but you're right. Since you're most familiar with the situation, can you handle it?"

"That's not a problem."

"And one more thing, do you recall anything about our past research into any connections to Druids?"

"Only that it was too hard to find anything other than Roman records. Why?"

Lecia hesitates.

"If you can, I want you to try looking again into Druids, especially on literature related to Merlin."

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Back at his apartment and studio, Daniel enters his bedroom, changed and ready for much-needed sleep. Much to his chagrin, Anne is already in bed, naked under his sheets while bearing a sweet smile for her beloved son.

"This is not good for my heart, Mom."

Anne widens her eyes. "Wha—what do you mean? Mama won't do anything to you...that is, unless you want me to?"

"So you won't stick close to me?"

She gasps. "Bury the thought! You can't tell Mama not to hold her baby close!"

Daniel slumps with a dim smile, wondering why he even bothered asking. More so, is there any point in trying to have a normal sleep now?

He slips into bed with inevitability dragging his face while she feigns a cough. "You know, it's not my fault if you react to your mothers and have such a high libido."

"My libido was quite normal before you came into my life."

"Hehe, but isn't that good?" She grins. "If you don't like it, maybe Mama can spank you for having naughty thoughts~"

"Please, spare me," Daniel replies flatly. "Once was quite enough."

Anne titters before her eyes softens. She reaches out, cupping his cheek. "But really, sweetie, you're my pride and joy...or as Amy would say, you're my star. I know things can turn unexpected and out of your control, but don't ever forget we're here for you."

"Mom..."

Satisfied with his embarrassed, but welcoming smile, she removes her hand and clears herself. "Anyway, do you want to enter my dream world tonight?"

"I think I've had my fill from the last time. Besides, if I go in now, I'll probably just be wandering in that fog without...."

Daniel was about to say Mary, but when he thought of the British artist's new slimy overlay, his pupils contracts.

Sweat builds across his forehead.

"D—Daniel?" Anne calls, her brows furrowing.

Taking time to swallow, the artist opens his mouth slowly. "Hey, since...Mary is now coated in your mass, what happens when she falls asleep?"

Anne stiffens, her eyes equally widening. The two stare for a brief silence before Daniel jerks to reach his phone lying on the bed stand, swiping it active.

"C—call Vivi-Mama first! She'll always be awake like me," Anne advises, leaning forward.

Daniel nods, his heart picking up. Dialing and setting it to speaker, the elder slime takes the call after a couple of rings.

"Oh? Yes, child?"

"Mother, is Mary asleep already?" Daniel asks, keeping his voice leveled apart from his growing anxiety.

"She should be. I'm not in bed with her, since I figured it's a better use of my time to see where we can find another copy of Victor's book. Why do you ask?"

Daniel breathes in. "If she isn't asleep, she should separate from herself first. We don't know where she'll end up in her dreams while being covered with Mom's split."

"...Ah...Aah!"

It takes a bit, but Viviane catches up to the possibility with the squeak of her computer chair. Her footsteps patter through the apartment towards the British artist's bedroom. Not long, light snores spill from the speaker.

"She's asleep," Viviane whispers. "But she seems normal? Then again, it wasn't clear what the situation looked like while both of you were in that realm. Should I try waking her?"

'Great...'

Daniel rubs his forehead. While waking her would be the easiest, he doesn't want to disrupt her sleep if it turns out nothing.

"You know what? It's fine," he decides. "I wasn't planning on it, but I'll just visit the dream world again through Mom."

"Are you sure? She might not be there."

"At least we'll know that for sure."

The call goes silent. Despite worries, Viviane eventually hums through. "Please be careful, child."

"I will, Mother."

Daniel hangs up. As he turns to his slime mother next to him, he lurches back as she narrows her eyes close to him.

"Mama is going with you!"

The declaration leaves her son speechless for a second before he shakes his head. "H—hold on, that would mean you have to connect with me mentally!"

Anne huffs. "Mary's current state is my responsibility. Further, if you go in, and you're lost in that fog without her, you might need someone outside to help guide you out."

"But...you'd be sharing with me everything. I thought there were some classified discoveries from Amy you didn't want me to know about."

His slime mother wiggles her lips before lowering her gaze. "How can you be okay with that after everything you've seen? Aren't you more curious what she and I are hiding from you?"

Daniel blinks. "How? I guess I am a little curious, but more than that, I want to trust my mother and you."

Those words sting Anne more than anything. If she's to match that level of unconditional trust, why should she have to hide anything from her son?

She grips the sheets of the blanket more tightly as she makes up her mind, her eyes narrowing. 'I'm sorry, Amy, but...I can't let this be in the way anymore.'

"Again, Mom, you don't have to tell me anything Amy wanted to keep buried," Daniel reassures, waving his hands. "Just surround me like you've done. We shouldn't waste more time if Mary does happen to alone in there."

"No...I will join you, sweetie," she reaffirms, her eyes lifting back to him. "To be honest, it's less about what Amy discovered than what led to the worst wish she ever made."

The air is quiet.

Her son thins his lips, holding an idea with the pieces that were shared to him. In fact, perhaps it begets the real reason Amy never shared a would-be figure in his life.

"This is about my father, isn't it?"

Anne smiles bitterly. She doesn't say anything as she leans closer, pressing her lips to his. There's barely any time for Daniel to think as she soon overwhelms him, turning herself gooey as seconds pass by.

Shlick...

Kneading him into her.

Shlurp...Shlick...

And joining him into a most shameful tale.