Maternal Slime

Chapter 146: Welcoming Party [Illustration]

[ Anne's Dream Realm - Viviane's Fog ]

VRMMMMM!

"M-mother, slow down!" Daniel shouts, tugging the edge of his door for his dear life. The suspension squeaks equally in protest as the car hits the ground after a tumble down a small bump in the plains.

Their foggy destination grows wider, and within, the ruins of a city rise higher. At this speed, what took Mary and Daniel twenty minutes on foot to enter, they would arrive in less than five.

"Oh, stop whining, child," Viviane hushes, the corner of lips lifting. Her grip tightens on the wheel, silver eyes ablaze as she searches for the best entry point between the shadows of the looming buildings. "There's no law here to stop us from speeding, is there?"

"There's me!" Daniel counters. "You guys might not feel anything, but I do!"

"Ehh... Didn't Mary fall from a tree before she woke up? Worst case, you just go back to the real world, probably somewhere in our gooey bodies."

"Do we really want to test that!?"

Giggling, Anne leans forward from the backseat and wraps an arm around their jittery son. "Don't worry, sweetie! If we end up crashing, Mama and Mommy will be your special airbags and soften all the blows~"

Daniel spills a weak laugh, just short of a cry of despair. "That is soooo reassuring, mom."

While Anne titters, Viviane eases up on the gas with a snort. "Fine, I'll slow down for the baby. It's no wonder we have to breastfeed you."

"Yeah, yeah," Daniel dismisses, slumping. "Excuse me for being human."

"Hehe, you're excused."

Wooooo~

The air thickens around them as they reach the beginning of the fog, its white dressing the wheels of the car.

Daniel breathes out. "Here we go. Back to the spooky area where hazy memories, shadowy corruptions, and now our literal dreams come to life."

He feels his slime mother from behind flinch before pulling away. "Um, there shouldn't be any corruptions here like the ones you saw in Viviane, right?" I mean, we haven't seen any within me, at least."

Viviane briefly locks to her sister from the rearview mirror. "Just because you got lucky doesn't mean there isn't any, especially now that we're all together in this mesh of a network."

"Uuuuu..." Anne drops her head to a whimper. "Daniel, help me~ Your Mommy broke my realm, and now is tainting your precious Mama~"

Daniel only sighs, shutting his eyes. "Real or not, you guys are awfully relaxed when Mary might be in danger."

"Child, let's not forget she has her own remnant. Plus, didn't you say she was found by the good guys."

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure on that."

Ba-dump!

A sudden bump buries thoughts of the British artist as the car levels more solidly on the ground. Everyone perks, catching the first wisp of a muddy building passing to their right. In the center, faint yellow streaks can be seen near the headlights, markers that would be otherwise hidden by the fog.

"Wow..." Viviane breathes. "A city really did manifest here."

"A post apocalyptic city," Daniel corrects. To that end, he looks out to his window, catching the various silhouettes. While the fog makes it hard, he catches bent stop signs, broken traffic lights, shattered glass, and many, many cracks around.

"It fits the ambiance of the fog, at least," he adds.

Viviane hums, tapping the wheel. "Problem is now, I have no idea where to go from here."

PHWEEET!

VROOM! VROOM!

A whistle answers. Following that, motorized pops break the air. Daniel and his slime mothers twist, holding their breaths to see shadows of some sort trailing from behind.

"Yaaaahoooo!"

Spoiler

[collapse]

The shadows soon solidify until one biker spikes through the visible fog, wisps of the gray air trailing behind. Like the outlaw stereotype, his head equally spikes with the classic mohawk, piercings, and a black jacket marked with sharp metal edges across the seams. More engines pop as his friends fade through, bouncing revs between them.

Viviane grits her teeth. "Great, a welcoming party. Of course, we'd be noticed as soon as we came in."

Daniel shuffles. "Just to be sure, none of us are thinking about biker gangs and manifesting them, right?"

"Of course not." Viviane raises a brow. "Or at least, definitely not with that kind of look."

"Maybe we can ask them for direction?" Anne asks.

"Heeeeeey!" One guy screams with another whistle. "Where ya headed? Pretty blue thing you got there, buddy~!"

Their cackles echo, warped by the bustle of their engines.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if that's wise," Daniel follows.

VRROOOOO!

One of the more shadowed entities suddenly speeds up, their bike passing the group and lifting partially from the ground, a show of unnecessary dominance before wheeling its way to the left. Viviane snaps to her speed dial, finding she's already at hitting the limit despite her push on the pedal.

"You've got to be kidding me. There's no gas to worry about, yet of all things, the speed of this car has to be realistic?"

Regardless of her complaints, the spike-head slides his way to Viviane's side, his colors revealing better a foot away. With annoyingly green spiky hair and a wide grin, he taps Viviane's window.

The elder slime narrows her eyes for a moment. After a second of consideration, she rolls down the window.

Daniel flinches. "Huh? Mother, what are you—"

"Shh! Let me try something," she urges before preparing a smile to the biker. "Ahem, can I help... you?"

However, her smile ends stiffly. In fact, the rest also stare blankly as they notice this guy has no eyes. At first, Viviane thought it might be the fog blurring details, but up this close, his would-be sockets seem severely shadowed for no reason.

"Oooohoohoo! Look at this bastard, hauling two beauties for himself!" the biker clacks toward Daniel. "So, you think you can waltz into our territory without sharing your mothers?"

'Wait... They can tell?!' Daniel opens his mouth, but Viviane cuts in, growling. "Buddy, eyes...uh, I mean, I'm the driver here. You talk to me, not my son," she demands.

By now the rest of the gang has closed in, showing up less murkily with various sinister smiles and notable lack of proper gazes.

"Oooh, a feisty one!" The biker licks his lips. "I like them spicy!"

In the background, Anne leans forward as her son winces. "Hey, the actual movie didn't have dialogue like this, did it?"

"I don't know," Daniel whispers, then frowns. "Maybe it was worse than I thought."

Viviane scoffs. "Just answer me, whose territory are we in?" She looks ahead. "Also, why is this road incredibly straight for how long we've been talking?"

"You're in Glador's territory, babe!" He answers, ignoring the second part. "Now, pull over, unless..." He holds out a semi-rifle by his side. "You want to get really feisty with us?"

"Oh, Glador, you say?" Viviane tilts to Daniel. "That's the leader's name we heard, wasn't it? Does that mean we're close?"

Daniel thins his lips. "Maybe, but we still don't know how close the resistance is. I mean, if we're to assume she's being taken there."

"Hey, stop ignoring me! You think we're a joke?!" The biker growls. He aims the rifle at Daniel. "Look here, you bitch! I'll blast your son if you don't—"

SHLIP!

Viviane's eyes sharpen in an instant. Before he can even finish his next words, her left hand releases the wheel, snapping out to twist the rifle up.

A bullet fires up in that second, just barely scratching the surface of the car ceiling. Sparks fly across, and before the next one could flash, Viviane's hand melts, spreading her slime across the gun.

The biker barely registers the inhuman existence he messed with. However, a bigger mess does register from his trigger finger, twisting as the slime covers him hand in a snap.

"...pull—EYAAAAAH!"

The weapon wails equally its next round into the air before Viviane rotates it away, her slime receding and folding it into her grasp. Aimed neatly back, her reformed finger locks the trigger as biker begins to drift away in pain.

Bat-at-at!

After a few shots, his screams end. His motorcycle wobbles before being swallowed by the lower fog, then a churning crunch.

Anne and Daniel watch, their eyes wide as Viviane clicks her tongue. Refocusing on the road again, she passes the rifle to her son.

"Hold this," she orders.

Daniel fumbles against the rifle, his pupils spiraling. "Mother...?"

"Dream or not, I'm not going to take threats against my son." Viviane's eyes narrow to the mirror, watching the rest of the gang reflect behind silently. 'Now... What will you do?'

"GET THEM!"

'Of course.' Viviane glances at the maxed speed dial again, grimacing. She lets go of the wheel. "It can't be helped. Anne, take over!"

"What?!" the slime mother squeaks.

"Just drive and be on the lookout for any exits!" Viviane doesn't elaborate further than that, her body thinning into its composing blue gel. Flowing out, her scrubs fall to the side as she slips out of the window, rising to the car ceiling.

"Damn it!" Anne grunts before she also loosens a little, spilling partially into the driver seat with her clothes on. As she solidifies, her foot slams the pedal to resume speeding, but the car maintains its suburban limits.

"Ack! I take back everything I said, this thing sucks!"

Clearly, there are limits to nostalgia.

"Mother, what are you doing?!" Daniel calls upward, his mind unable to keep up as the motorcycles boom closer.

"Just keep driving!" Viviane shouts, reforming naked on top in a crouch. Her silver hair and pale body bends against the wind, blurring amid the unending fog. With the speed of the car and dead buildings around, she looks ahead to incoming bikers.

A vortex of mayhem reflects.

"You're dead, bitch!"

They're not questioning her slimy form, perhaps blind, literally, to the reality of this realm. She doesn't have time to ponder such mysteries.

VROOO!

The second biker arrives with a chain, its links sparking against the cracked road he hounds with madness. Just before can try whipping it at the car, Viviane arm sharpens into a blue blade, extending it forward.

SPLICK!

The fog is cut through in a whirl. Before long, the biker's chain falls from his hand, his head rolls, body tumbling.

Two more zip around the crashing corpse, hollering. Viviane slices through both of them with her own whip. One falls like the first, but the other slows just enough for his mohawk to be cut instead. He dips into the fog and pulls out a rifle, firing.

"Fuck!"

One bullet bounces off the edge of the car before Viviane slams forward, her hands combining into a slimy wall that spreads along the back of the car. She has no idea whether she can provide cover, but wills her cells to be as dense as they can be.

Bata-ta-ta!

Fortunately, the bullets bounce off her gel wall, loosing their energy as clatter to the road.

"This fucking movie!" she cries as many more engines rumble in the distance.

A few try to pass her gelatinous barrier. Viviane's eyes snap to her left side first, mustering all the focus she can. An appendage breaks through her back with a sharpened edge, whipping through two like a kabob. Their bodies lift from the bikes as they scream before being tossed away.

Her eyes snap to the right side as one slips past her line.

'Daniel!

Ba-ta-ta!

The artist grunts, one eye shut as he fires away on his side with the stolen rifle. A few shots zip past before the biker screams, whirling into a building before he can fire back. Dust blows out from the crash, fading quickly within the fog.

His hand shakes, heart pumping. "I... I shot someone."

"Are you alright?" Viviane calls.

"Y-yes! Don't worry about me!"

'How can I not?' The elder slime frowns. Dream or not, she doesn't want her family to ever put their lives in danger. Yet, even in dreams, the bikers' war-cries in the distance shows how difficult that will be.

More slice through, their guns chattering. Bullets whip past and bounce against her as Viviane returns to the rear onslaught. Daniel picks himself up and supports.

'Just how many are there?! Although Viviane has no heart, it doesn't stop her slimy mass from shaking like one. 'What the hell... They're not the least bit afraid despite seeing how I can slice through them like butter.'

Then again, why would they be when they're products of their dreams—their experiences?

"Wait, I see an intersection!" Anne alerts. Having to focus amid the gunfire and fear of her son getting hurt, she's been desperately looking for some change by the linear road. There's no mistaking the absence of incoming buildings on the side, along with the silhouette of an intact stop light.

Viviane twists forward, eyes widening. "Make the turn! I'll cover..."

Her words falter.

Time slows. In the corner of her eye, a knight stands near a building. Her head turns as she tracks the thinly veiled armor, and... a smile.

'Bedivere?'

Hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze pierces through the fog. Once a distant memory, now present.

"There's one thing I know, my lady."

Although he doesn't open his mouth, his voice travels through her mind, so clearly.

"The loss of our kingdom, our lord, has made you vulnerable. You believe your sword has dulled."

Ba-ta-ta!

"Then, you must find a new blade. One that is stronger than ever. One to aid in your future. Your hope, my timeless friend."

'My...sword?'

Ba-ta-ta-ta-ta!

Viviane gelatinous mass jitters as time resumes. The last knight—remnant of a forgotten kingdom—fades as gunfire rings between Daniel and the gang members. Forcing a breath, she grits her teeth as more appendages shoot out of her, splitting nearby men.

'What sword would even help?'

Isn't she, one who can forge herself as she does right now, already a sword? Or, is there more to it, just like how Nimue can literally steel herself?

"You bastards can't do anything without me! Out of the way!"

A new voice ends Viviane's thoughts, silencing the cries of Glador's men. She perks up, watching as a bulkier outline fades in behind the bikes.

BRRRR!

A rusted Humvee breaks through the ranks, chugging along with a man at the top. Suddenly, the first non-mohawk gang member rises from the top, a smile spreading through his square face. His short, black hair flutters with the wind while goggles hides his eager eyes. There's no obvious reason for his excitement except for the large barrel mounted across his shoulder.

Daniel momentarily stops firing, his pupils shrinking. "Oh... That's an RPG."

The intersection arrives.

"I'm making the turn!" Anne calls.

"Hurry!" Both Daniel and Viviane snap.

The goggle-man locks in just as Anne leans all of her weight into the right of her wheel. As the car skids around, Viviane's lower half melts to grip the sides, tightening her cells along the metal to keep standing. Her silver eyes meet the holder of the RPG, who laughs.

"Bang, motherfucker!"

PTOO!

The grenade launches, powering through the gray. Only halfway to turning and no time, Viviane yells, throwing her arms out. She wills as much of her armed mass to extend out, desperation to throw the rocket off course.

A sword?

No, she needs a better shield.

TOK!