Chimera was sitting next to Lark, who was looking a lot different than she did before.
She still had her teenage body, that much hadn’t changed at all.
However.
Everything, from her hair to her eyes was tinted gold.
As a blob she was a deep yellow with a metallic finish, and it seemed to transfer over to her new body.
Chimera kept staring at her for a while, and Lark did the same, occasionally taking a look at her arms and legs.
“Woah…”
Chimera nodded, “weird right?”
Lark nodded, “everything's so… shifty? Malleable? I feel like I could switch my body with a thought.”
And she did, her gold tinted hair turning long and straight instead of her short cut.
“That is so trippy… how do you manage not to change at a thought?”
Chimera shrugged, “I had an idea for this template in my brain. I just imagined what I wanted it to look like and put a ‘name’ to it. This… is Teen Chimera.”
Chimera shifted to her child form, “this is kid Chimera.”
She shifted once more to a taller woman with beastial features, “this is Huntress!”
As Chimera shifted between her forms, she noticed Lark had taken inspiration, and started to do similar shifts.
From young to adult to old.
From different beasts and animals to anthro-amorphized versions.
“I think I’m getting it. It's all in the mind.”
“Yup, try moving your body around, give it a kick and a punch.”
Lark did, watching her limbs stretch and return after she launched a few.
“This is so awesome!”
“It is, right? Glad that you’re taking to it better than I did… I had to try to figure that out in a laboratory. Sarah’s memories helped with that though.”
Lark turned to her in horror, “you ate a person’s memories?!”
“No! Well Yes but it wasn’t by choice!”
Lark backed away from her.
“Let me handle this.”
Sarah jumped out of Chimera’s body and into her own as she adjusted her body to her old limits.
“W-What the fuck?!”
“Hello, I’m Sarah.”
Lark stared between Chimera and Sarah as she grew more and more confused.
“Look, she’s not great at explaining this, so let me tell you.”
Sarah proceeded to regale the origin of their story, and how in the end Sarah did get her life back even if she technically got ‘eaten’ by Chimera.
“...And after a copy of the power we got from an inmate in Blackrock, I was able to rebuild my conscious parts from Chimera’s information. For a while we kind of just shared a mind, but I came back after we met an old friend.”
“So it’s fine, I got better.”
Lark tired her head, “you got better, from dying?”
Sarah shrugged, “how else?”
Lark smiled, “so death’s off the menu?”
Sarah shook her head, “if you lose your fluids, or they’re destroyed, you can die still. Best to protect yourself with those gifts we gave you.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Chimera nodded, “and the perpetual energy generator, or PEG for short, should keep you from having to eat biological material. At least, unless you wanted to, I mean.”
Lark nodded, “so, powers, a blob body with the ability to shapeshift, and no need to eat people like some crazy horror movie.”
“Pretty much.”
“Yeah.”
Lark’s smile stretched as she hugged them both.
“Thank you so much! This is incredible!”
Sarah nodded while Chimera gave her a thumbs up.
“Alright, we got you powers and a new lease on life as a blob, can you help us track down Mr. Flesh now?”
Lark grabbed her arms, “I thought you could read my mind?”
Well yeah, until I found out that you were interested in me! Now it’s like I’m peeking in on someone I know who's naked!
“W-Well yeah i could… b-but I didn’t want to intrude on your thoughts and well…”
She left her sentence hanging there as she prayed the girl would just accept it.
She wasn't that lucky.
“Oh, could you not get a good connection because of the changes? I’m fine with you reading my thoughts if… you like.”
Omigodomigodomigodomigod.
Is She inviting me for that?
“W-Well, I’m okay with it if you are… are you okay with it?”
They moved closer as Sarah placed a hand on both of their shoulders.
“We need to move, and stop flirting. I already got the location.”
Chimera glared at Sarah incredulously, while Lark looked… disappointed?
Damnit! Sarah!!!!!
“You and I don’t have time for this. Once we save those scientists and find out where Pox is heading, then you two can have your weird teenage romance.”
I-Its not weird!
Y-Yeah!
Wait… is that you Lark?
Y-Yeah…
Chimera took Sarah’s hand off of her shoulder and started walking down the alleyway.
“W-Well, we bettergetgoingwhatareyouwaitingforSarahleadetheway?!”
Inside her mind Chimera was screaming, joined by the other clones in her mind.
We are such idiots, of course she was connected to us while we were touching!
It was cute though!
Stop, we’re liable to turn bright red if this keeps up!
But it was cute though!
AHHHHH!
…
Sarah smiled as her other self was panicking over the mind meld she accidentally did between the two of them.
Anything to get these two going, and with Chimera having a crisis about explaining their past to Glow, this distraction should help her forget for a bit.
Sarah moved ahead of them as she patterned out the best route to reach the shipyard, or rather, the real shipyard.
It was clever, the shipyard was a cover for the one built underneath the failed one, constructed by the dregs that called this place home.
Or the scum that did.
Sarah moved to jump as she heard the two other blobs catch up to her.
She grabbed them both and launched them into the air, a pair of wings spreading out behind her.
“WoooaaaahhhhhH!!!” Lark was enjoying herself it seemed
“Yeah!” and so was Chimera it seemed.
Sarah dived and swooped around the buildings as she got closer and closer to the entrance.
It was rather hard to spot, just a dumpster that was connected to what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
What was odd was that there was a middle section of wall behind it, that had just enough room for a hallway.
Magnifying her eyes to spot the entrance, along with a few hobos that guarded the place.
They had a glint of metal under their clothes, and Sarah recognized the Sifters as she landed on the dumpster.
Her wings turned into tendrils and shot out spines of quill pig laced with knock-out venom.
One blocked the spine, but the other three fell back in their seated position, sleeping.
All four tendrils turned to the man… no, the woman who blocked it with her chrome arm.
“Well, guess you know about what’s down there eh?”
Sarah nodded, “yes, and I mean to end it all today. Go home.”
The woman tore off her fake clothing to reveal a body of chrome underneath. It seemed that the only part of her that was still human was her torso and head.
“Sorry, can’t let you do that angel gal.”
The arms on the Sifter turned to a large angry blade with a red edge on the right, and a gun on the left arm with a glowing blue barrel.
Sarah opened the dumpster and threw both Chimera and Lark into the depths below, hearing them scream and bounce off of the walls of the staircase.
“Find him Chimera, and get those scientists!”
“Sarahhhaaaaaahhh!”
Her voice echoed down the hallway as Sarah turned to face the Sifter in front of her, the cannon aimed at her.
“Let's dance angel girl!”
…