Ronin twitched. A full body muscle spasm, which brought him to awareness. He blinked, opening his eyes, or at least tried to. They were covered with some kind of sticky liquid, and he couldn’t see anything. Ronin tried to lift his hands, to wipe away the offending fluid, but found they were restrained. Not only were they restrained, but he could feel more of the dense liquid sloshing around his arms, and legs as well, when he tried to move them.

Ronin wasn’t sure how much time passed, as he hung there, suspended in the thick slimy substance. His head was foggy, so it was hard to think, and his muscles would keep spasming rhythmically. First his entire body, then his fingers and toes, arms, and legs, he could even feel his organs constricting in his chest. It wasn’t painful, not exactly, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience either.

Gradually, his head cleared, and his body stopped twitching. Then, when he was just starting to consider how to break free of this dark prison, a dim light began emanating from the floor he was floating inches above. It was extremely faint, but gradually brightened until Ronin could make out his surroundings through the thick pink liquid, he was submerged in. The realization that he was breathing in the pink sludge caused him to momentarily panic. Thrashing about and trying to hold his breath, until he remembered he’d been breathing, whatever this was, just fine until he’d realized it, and he tried taking a tentative breath. Slouching back against his restraints in relief, Ronin was thankful he could breathe just as easily now as if he had been in the open air. The act of breathing itself might have been a little more work, having to draw in thick fluid instead of a gas like oxygen, but it was barely noticeable.

Blinking proved useless in clearing his vision, so Ronin just did his best to take in his surroundings, peering out through the thick pink fluid. At first, all he saw were tubes and hoses, connected to his body at various points, which disappeared up into the blackness where the light didn’t reach. Then, as his eyes adjusted, he saw further away. Blurry blobs floated all around him in the slime filled room. Each slowly becoming clearer in his eyes until he recognized the nearest blob as Elyria.

She was still unconscious, but she was going through whole body spasms, which had the thick fluid churning around her lithe body. The four wings so reminiscent of a dragonfly’s, twitched and bounced right along with the rest of her body. Ronin was happy to see the elytra hadn’t survived to her final body choice. The hard forewings were just too creepy. At least this way, he could picture her like a fairy from an adventure novel, instead of some weird bug/elf hybrid.

Looking at her, Ronin could get a better understanding of how he himself was being restrained. She had on what looked like a harness of thick ropy tentacles that branched off an even thicker arm. This arm rose from the floor and kept her from moving her torso, regardless of how much her limbs twitched and spasmed. In addition, there were several tubes and hoses connected to her body at various points, each looking to be pumping in, or sucking out something. Ronin couldn’t tell through the gloom and the thick, translucent, fluid. The sight of it made him queasy, and he just wanted to get out of… whatever he’d found himself in.

As he struggled, churning the liquid even further, the other blurry lumps that he knew were his people started to twitch. Now that he knew what to look for, Ronin recognized Karr and K3 a little further away. The rest of the bodies were too far, and to obscured, with the sloshing sludge for him to make out. Panic was setting in, when he heard a thunking noise, followed by a sucking sound, as the fluid formed a twister that buffeted Ronin and his people as the fluid drained away. Soon enough, Ronin found himself coughing up the last of the fluid as he gasped in a deep lungful of sterile air.

The restraining tentacles didn’t release him, but the arm did lower enough so that his feet were touching the ground. Ronin was almost thankful the living harness hadn’t let him go, with how weak he felt at that moment, he was sure he’d have face planted on the slime covered, biomechanical floor. A floor Ronin stared at, while he caught his breath, and stabilized his shaking legs.

It was still covered in the thick pink fluid, which was slowly oozing its way towards the floor drain. It was bumped and ridged, with tubes and pipes running throughout that looked very reminiscent of veins and arteries. What’s more, the surface was pulsating gently. Each throb reminded Ronin of the heartbeat of some vast beast. It was mirrored on the walls and could be felt through the soles of Ronin’s bare feet. Bare feet that nevertheless looked to be booted in heavy, spiked, chitin boots of deepest black with grey flames etched into their surfaces.

“I… Really didn’t… think… you would actually do your skin, like… that.” Elyria said, her voice coming out in ragged gasps as she too fought for breath. Ronin glared at her, though her bedraggled appearance made him rein in his agitation. Her face was covered in a mix of the thick sticky pink fluid, and her own spittle. Her long silver hair, normally worn braided for combat or loose in casual settings, was a matted mass, caked to her face and plastered to her scalp. Her wings were stuck together and hanging limply, covered in the slimy substance.

“I could say the same thing to you,” Ronin said with a smirk. Her translucent, dragonfly wings had been patterned in dark to light grey flames. The tips were so light they were almost white, but not the brilliant white of his own flame covered armor. He wondered at the sight of those wings. Not only had she permanently donned his colors, but she’d also stayed true to the syndicate’s brief tradition, of only Ronin’s flames being tipped with white. While his lieutenants had off-white flame tips and the regular members were grey.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Elyria said, her bedraggled face bordering on scorn. “It’s politics. The rest of your people have flames, so it would be abnormal if I didn’t. Plus, I’m your ‘escort.’ I should be viewed as one of yours to avoid unnecessary attention.”

“Uh-huh,” Ronin said, “and the colors?” He asked, looking pointedly at her.

“What?” Elyria said with a shrug, “the color puts me on a rank level with K3. A leader in the group. Again… your escort, why would I be a grunt?”

“Well… that’s just… hurtful.” Karr said, between coughing and gasping for air. Once he’d gotten his breathing under control, he thumped his carapace covered chest. “I’ve got just the lightest of grey tones. By syndicate standards that makes me a sergeant. But all my boys and girls, plus the scouts, even Sam, our pilot, are wearing grey flames. No good comes from calling those at your back a grunt, lady.”

“Forgive the slight, Sergeant Karr.” Elyria said with as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances. “It was a slight intended only for your lord. Not aimed at either you or your people.” She dipped her head in apology, causing a large sticky clump of hair to flop forward and bounce back into her face. Karr gave a weak chuckle at the show, before grunting in acknowledgement.

“Although it should be an even worse offence to insult my lord, even over my person. I know you and the White flame have a… special relationship, shall we say. So, no harm done miss.” Ronin was sure the pink tinge on the moon elf’s cheeks was just the residual slime still clinging to her face, because there was no way she’d blush over a comment like that.

Blinking away as much of the fluid as he could, Ronin took a moment to focus on the sergeant. He hadn’t worked with the man in several months and was curious to see how he fit his new body. Granted, as filthy and bound by living tentacles as he was, it might not be the best time for it. Still, Ronin couldn’t help but look him over. He was a nondescript man, short hair that could be either brown or blonde, eyes that could be grey, blue, or hazel depending on how they hit the light. He was of average height for a human man, standing a few inches under six feet. At any time, he could take his armor off and blend into any human crowd. He was so nondescript, Ronin had to wonder if he’d done it deliberately. Minus the leaves the man chewed religiously, that stained his teeth a deep red color.

Of course, that didn’t apply to this version of the man. His teeth were clean now, but apart from his head, he was nearly identical to Ronin. Since, each of the nine people under his command had copied Ronin’s armor, complete with retractable carapace helmet. The only difference between his body and there’s was a few inches of height here and there and the color of the flames that covered their bodies.

“The bosses love life aside,” K3 said unnecessarily, Ronin thought, as he tugged on the tentacle harness. "How are we going to get out of here?” The eight-foot tall kaldarr was easily the largest person in their group, and despite his considerable strength being applied to the task, he couldn’t budge the thick slime covered appendage at all.

“One of my kind will be along shortly to release us and explain the next steps to you, humans… and wow, can I just say how strange it is to have a body this small? I mean sure, I agreed to it since it was either this or stay locked up in the ship’s %&#@ storage while the lizards blew it up, but dang. It’s really weird.” Ronin didn’t even need to look to recognize that voice.

“Thank you, Jade,” he said with a sigh. “That is good to know. We’ll just wait for them then.” Ronin didn’t know why the beetle was so set on having a body, especially when it was only a fraction of the size of its original form. Yet the jade green beetle had spent a vast number of credits helping Ronin in his last battle, as well as getting a few extra concessions from the ship, to receive one.

No sooner had he said that the tentacles wrapped so tightly around his torso slackened. They unwound from his body slowly, curling in on themselves as the large arm like appendage retracted into the floor. Ronin, finally able to move his arms more than a few inches, immediately wiped his eyes to clear it of the liquid.

“Gahh,” he hissed in pain, as the blunted claws he wasn’t used to having, dug into the flesh of his face.

“Smooth,” Elyria said, fluttering her wings to clear them of slime. Subsequently flinging it all over Ronin and those closest to her. “…oh gosh… sorry about that.” She said in a tone that just dripped sincerity.

“My lord,” an unfamiliar voice said from Ronin’s elbow. Turning away from the wickedly grinning elf, Ronin took in the speaker. They were, in all respects, identical to Ronin. Apart from the sergeant grade flames that covered their armor, and the fact that their helmet was engaged. “Xerox here, reporting for duty.” They continued in the same voice that Ronin didn’t recognize at all.

Ronin stared blinking into the vaguely goat head shaped helmet, as he tried to figure out who this could be. He idly wondered if it had been too much, to shape the heads like that… then he remembered, even if this wasn’t the adventurer’s life he’d fantasized about, he could dang well customize his armor any way he wanted. That thought made him nod to himself in satisfaction.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Xerox?” Elyria said, still wiping the pink sludge from her body. “Aren’t you Owl two, what’s with the name change?” Oh, Ronin felt like slapping himself. Of course, it was Owl Two, there couldn’t be anyone here he didn’t ok to bring, and the android was being given a biological body. So, naturally Ronin wouldn’t recognize it.

“Lady Elyria,” the not-android said with a shallow bow. “I am the copy my original created of himself. He designated me Xerox, so our lord wouldn’t get us confused with his… so much on his mind.” Xerox finished, with zero subtlety.

“Oh,” Ronin said, absentmindedly wiping more fluid from his armor. “Why did he name you Xerox though? I’ve never heard that name before.”

“It’s not a name,” Elyria said with a snort. “It’s a synonym of the word copy… a little on the nose, but it sounds better than just naming you Copy I suppose.”

“Indeed… lady Elyria.” The biological version of Owl Two, Xerox, said with clear discontent in his voice. Ronin grinned, at last, he’d be able to get a handle on his assistant, turned head researcher’s, thought processes by his tones. Something he’d never been able to do with the synthesized monotone the android had been forced to use in his pocket world.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you formally, Xerox.” Ronin said with a dip of his head. “Now, can you give me an update on how we left the pocket world? Do you know how much time has passed out here? Anything else worthy of note going on, and what does your face look like?” Ronin was spit-balling questions, not sure what the biological computer would consider worthwhile, and what would be considered not worthy of mention.

“This is my face, lord Ronin.” Xerox said, bringing his blunted claw tipped finger up to touch the helmet that should have covered his face. “I deemed it unnecessary to provide such a weak point in my armor’s defenses. Since our diet is mostly liquid in nature, eating shouldn’t be a problem. Sadly, my computational abilities, as well as much of my memory storage has been denied me in this… crude… biological, body.” He all but spat the word ‘biological’ as if it was too dirty to keep in his mouth any longer than he had to. “Still, I know a few things from my conversations with the Jade crystallin beetle, and some of the preparations put into place before we left...”

“Well don’t keep me in suspense.” Ronin said, making a rolling motion with his hand to keep the man talking. Though he had to admit he was disappointed that he, once again, was denied the ability to see his researcher’s face… and what did he mean about liquid diet?

“It has been seven days since we disappeared from the white room. A corresponding number of years have passed in your ‘pocket world.’ Although I do not have anything to report on that elapsed time, I feel confident that my original will have compiled significant data on the research project you assigned him before we left.” Everything was said as matter-of-factly as Owl Two spoke, yet Ronin could now detect the notes of pride and superiority coming through clearly. It was so clear, in fact, that he almost missed something important.

“What?” He said with a yelp, moving forward and grabbing Xerox by the shoulders. “What do you mean it’s been a ‘corresponding number of years’ it should have only been one year and a few days. Seven years… what about the locusts, the ships in orbit? So many things could have happened in that long… how long did you set it to do that for?” He shook the man he still thought of as an android as he spoke, becoming increasingly frantic with each question.

“You clearly ordered me, or my original anyway, to gather the information about the ship at all costs. You had to know, and my original agreed completely, after sifting through the new data Jade supplied us. So, we did as ordered, and extended the duration of the time dilation. With monetary assistance from our crystallin beetle acquaintance. We need that information, my lord. Even if it costs us the entire undercity, because ‘all costs’ include that simulated world… I only extended the duration by ten days. Ten days for ten years of research. If my original can’t collect what you need in ten years, then I’m afraid it’s impossible to discover in any length of time.” The conviction in Xerox’s voice was unmistakable, he believed what he was saying. Hearing that tone, Ronin slumped back in defeat.

“I didn’t… Lily, she’s… I thought I could go back home…” Ronin was devastated at the news. He’d come to view the valley and its people as his home. He had only known them for a few months, but he’d felt comfortable there. Now, with seven years, soon to be ten, passing for them in there… he wouldn’t have a place to come back to, assuming he lived long enough to return at all, and he was going to be a father. He’d known, thanks to Owl Two. Yet he hadn’t said anything because Lily wasn’t sure how to bring it up. When he’d left, he thought he’d be back before the baby was old enough to know he was ever gone… but now. He was just like his own father. Abandoning his child to go adventuring in another world. The thought made him sick.

“Ten years? But, my sister… she must think I’m dead… my poor Sprout, she wasn’t a young sparrow, she’ll have died of old age by now… How could you do this, haven’t I lost enough?” Elyria was across the room and holding Xerox by the neck with her bare hands, squeezing for all she was worth. She’d moved so fast that Ronin hadn’t had time to react. Thankfully, Xerox was well armored, and Elyria hadn’t given herself any natural weapons. With her current strength, and no weapons, she couldn’t harm him at all.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Xerox said, not sounding sorry at all. “But a small clarification. I didn’t do anything; it was Owl Two who arranged this. A small distinction, I grant you, but a very real one. Now unhand me, Elyria of no house. Because, even if my lord doesn’t understand the oath you swore, I do.” A look of shock, and revulsion passed across the elf’s face, and for a moment, Ronin thought she would go berserk. Then, she let go of Xerox, and stepped back.

“What?” Ronin asked.

“It is of no consequence, my lord.” Xerox said, once Elyria had released him. “A matter of elven honor that I have no interest in, as long as I am left unmolested.” Ronin blinked at the clear threat in those words. Was that emotion Ronin heard in his voice? Perhaps being biological now was messing with the android’s normally composed demeanor.

“Very well,” Ronin said, after looking at Elyria and clearly seeing she didn’t want to talk about it. “How is everyone else doing? Any hiccups with the new bodies?” He asked the room at large, not forgetting for a moment the ten years he’d lost in his pocket world but knowing that now wasn’t the right time to grill Xerox over it. Not while everyone was still covered in this nasty slime, anyway.

“Mmnmmnmm… I’m doing great,” Jade said, as it scooped copious amounts of the slimy fluid into its mandibles. “Why isn’t anyone else eating the enhanced nutrient fluid? It’s been perfectly calibrated to provide the new body with everything it needs to function at full capacity…. Plus, mmnmm… it’s delicious.” Ronin almost gagged at the sight of the dog sized beetle gorging itself on the pink slime.

“Yea, there is no way.” Elyria said, covering her mouth with both her hands. Ronin was inclined to agree.

“Jade, are you telling me… this is the liquid diet Owl…Xerox was talking about?” He asked the happily slurping beetle.

“Yep.” It replied, apparently happy with that answer.

“Jade is correct my lord.” Xerox said, picking up the beetle’s explanation. “It is an enhanced and purified fluid derived from crystal tree sap. I suggest that we all eat as much of it as we can. It will give us an edge over those who do not consume any, since this enhanced version will jumpstart these bodies’ metabolism. Do not worry, my lord, the flavor will be palatable.” After he finished his explanation, a tube extended from the goat headed helmet, at about the mouth’s location, and sucked up the pink fluid. Ronin stared in fascinated horror, as Xerox fed, and the beetle munched away. He didn’t want to, but he really didn’t want to be weakened in front of Leo’s enemies.

“Here goes nothing,” he said, holding his breath as he licked the palm of his hand experimentally. He winced in anticipation but was pleasantly surprised at the flavor. The nutrient fluid had an herbal, minty flavor, mixed with sweet berries, and he found himself taking another lick. “Well guys,” he said, looking at his small troop of followers. “I won’t force anyone to eat this, but it really isn’t bad. I’m going to take Xerox and Jade’s word that this will be beneficial, however, and eat as much as I can before… whatever happens next.” Having given his first rousing speech in a real body, he set to eating the unappetizing looking, yet surprisingly tasty, slime.

He was timid at first, slowly licking portions of the fluid off his hands. Yet, with each mouthful, a feeling of warmth and vitality began circulating throughout his body. Hunger, he hadn’t realized he’d even been feeling flared up, and he found himself scooping the slime off the walls and slurping it down with just as much abandon as Jade was.

“Well,” K3 said, crouching down and scooping some of the pink fluid from the floor. “If it’s good enough for the boss, it’s good enough for me.” That got him eating the nutrient fluid as well. The giant setting about eating broke the dam, and all the rest of Ronin’s people started feasting on the rapidly draining fluid. Even Elyria tucked in, she’d done her best to be discreet about it, but Ronin smiled as he saw the hunger take her. Then she was scooping it in as fast as she could.

“Greetings, humans.” Said a bored sounding voice, and the roof peeled back to show a ruby colored crystallin beetle. It looked just like Jade, apart from the color… and the minor fact it was fifteen feet tall while on all six feet. “My name is Ruby,” it continued, as bored sounding as before. “I’ll be walking you through the clean up pro… sister? What the $*$#)$ %$*#(@)# $*$@.” It changed to the incomprehensible language that Jade used sometimes, and the pair of them started an animated conversation that Ronin couldn’t have hoped to follow. He just watched in confusion as they danced around and waved their limbs.

“Jade is explaining our agreement to the one calling itself Ruby.” Xerox said quietly at Ronin’s shoulder. Interpreting the strange noises and wild gesticulations. “She is convincing the big one that what we have offered is worth the risk of letting me and Samantha slip away into the ship with her.” Ronin frowned, looking sideways at this wildcard follower of his.

“You can understand them? Wait, what agreement?” He asked suspiciously, still eating as much nutrient fluid as he could scoop up. “I agreed to give her a body, that was it.” Though he honestly hadn’t known the beetle was female until now. “I hope you haven’t been plotting and making promises in my name again and why do you want Sam?” Ronin was already getting a bad feeling about this, just knowing Xerox wasn’t any different than Owl Two when it came to scheming.

“Yes, my lord, I can understand them. Not all my processing power has been lost to me, thankfully.” Xerox said, as he continued to eat as well. Ronin swore the stuff was addicting, but he couldn’t deny how good he felt with each additional mouthful. “As to the agreement, Jade and I came to an understanding. Do not worry my lord, I did not promise anything that we were not already prepared to do. I am merely taking advantage of the resources one of the original owners of this vessel can offer, in exchange for the opportunity to save some of the crystallin beetles. A pacifist species that your human leaders, my lord, have already sentenced to die when this ship is destroyed.”

Ronin let out a deep, frustrated sigh. The damn android was at it again. He knew exactly what buttons to push, to make Ronin putty in his hands. Still, those buttons always worked on Ronin because they were valid. He couldn’t just turn his back on a species who’d been imprisoned by his people for the last two hundred years… even if they did inadvertently cause the death of his planet.

“Fiiinnneee…” He said at last, dragging the word out into a groan. “What are we doing this time?” One of these days, the android was going to go too far, and Ronin or one of his followers, was going to put him down. Until he was prepared to do that, however, he’d just have to deal with the man’s mad schemes.

“Excellent decision my lord.” Xerox said, his voice now dripping with sarcasm, making Ronin miss the monotone. “It is simple, we are going to…”

“No way, sister.” Ruby said flinging its arms about wildly. “I’ll not do it, even for you. What you’re asking me to do risks my very freedom, a freedom I cherish so much that I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do than show these fleshy blobs to the metal cans that wash highly tasty nutrient fluid down the drain. Even though none of the fools ever consider eating the delicious… oh,” it said, finally looking at Ronin’s group for the first time, all of them stuffing their faces on the pink slime. “Well, at least this batch has their heads on the right way… they even covered themselves with proper carapace… Ok sister, I’ll do it… After you’re finished eating, humans, follow me to the ‘shower rooms’ where you will get all cleaned up. The gear you humans need to do, literally everything, is waiting for you there when you’re done too… and a… mind sharing?” It asked, already dipping its forelimbs into a remaining puddle of fluid.