[Who: Sprigg Greenleaf]

[Where: Stuck In A Wall, Probably]

[When: A Few Minutes Prior]

Darkness surrounds me, awareness hitting me like a brick. Ow.. Well, that sucked.

Unable to move, I can only sense that I am in a fetal position inside of something hard and round, that swaddles me tightly enough to almost hurt. Strange sensations course through my body, no longer in the excruciating pain of before.

Did I die? Remind me not to do that next time, PAGe.

Page?

Well, great. PAGe isn’t here either. Of course not. Just me, and whatever has me pinned down.

I think I’m still alive. Not really by choice, exactly, but I’m alive. What in the world happened? Why didn't that monster kill me? It had the opportunity, but it didn't. Why did it save me? What could it want from me?

For some sick experiment? To eat later? Oh, gods, I bet that's it, isn't it? It hollowed me out, ate my insides, healed me, tied me up and stuck me in a hole in the ground, ready for it to do it all over again!

There go my dreams! No grimoire, no graduating. No more being able to prove anyone wrong. Just me, stuck as some mutated slime’s personal pantry.

They were right! I'm just a glorified plant! Why couldn't my ancestors have merged with something less embarrassing? I don't even have any thorns or toxins, let alone the ability to control plants like so many other plantmin can do.

I kept hoping I'd get something, anything, really, when my powers came in, but I never got any.

My magic isn’t even mine! It’s just reading from a book that anyone can buy at any chain magic store!

So, I’d long settled for the life of a Minor Mage, or if I got lucky, as a Private Eye. Realistically, I’d be doomed to serve as a corporate drone doing spreadsheets. At best, I’d be stuck supporting a team of supers from the background, or doing independent detective work. Everybody wants people with flashy powers on their teams, and that… I lack.

Sure, I can read spells from a book real good, but that’s about it. That, and the more mundane plant abilities. Photosynthesis, a tough, barky outside, and sometimes flowers and branches grow out of my head.

Purely decorative, mind you. Not even good for making someone sneeze from the pollen.

Now, even my spellbook has abandoned me. If I ever made it back to the city, I’d be pulverized by the first street thug I met.

That’s why I invested heavily in knowledge and intel gathering. The more I knew, the more valuable a member of a team I would be. And the more valuable I am, the more they relied on me, the more secure I could be in their protection. Recon, spycraft, and the forensic sciences. If they didn’t want me out on the field, I would analyze it from afar.

White breaks the darkness, interrupting my thoughts and piercing my eyes. A hole has opened in my restraints, temporarily blinding me with the brightness of it. Whatever force was immobilizing me vanishes, and suddenly, I’m no longer fighting my restraints, but thin air. My fist, now unbound, strikes me in the face. The pain grounds me, reminding me of my situation.

Without warning, an enticing smell wafts through to me, sending pangs of hunger that nearly threaten to overwhelm me. I stumble just a bit from the force, surprising even myself at how badly I want the source.

Surprised at my own surprise, my own body betrays me, acting entirely on its own without my input!

With a snap, my arm shoots through the crack, stretching longer, much longer than it has any reason to be, and it just.

Keeps.

Going.

Finally, I feel myself latch onto something cold, and my arm snaps back like a rubber band. The extra length coils into my body somehow, but it doesn’t stay still. It merely shifts around, restless, just waiting to come out again.

Unable to control myself, I watch in horror as I feel my torso rip open, and my arm tosses the object within. My insides close up again, and twist, hard, tearing the thing apart. It’s only cold on the outside, as I quickly find out, turning wonderfully warm and wet inside of me.

Ecstasy! Delight! What little remains of my mind vanishes as I revel in the joy of it.

And then it’s over.

The hunger vanishes as quickly as it came, and my senses return to me.

Shaken, I stand there for a few moments, realizing for the first time that I am, in fact, standing now. Was that what I think it was?

I think it was! I think I’ve gotten ur-powers!

Took long enough! Hoho, that slime is in for it now!

Hesitant, I take a few steps forward into the light, my feet moving in an unfamiliar way, my body feeling strangely off. I stop just short of leaving my imprisonment, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing does. I even reach my hand out and tap the ground a few times to see if anyone was watching. Just silence.

Why? Does this mean I’m not getting eaten?

Is it just releasing me? Or is this just another part of the slime’s twisted plan? It was clearly intelligent enough to form one. Slimes are usually mindless things, but not this one, not with the way I felt it move around inside of me.

Another step, and I’m out of my containment. Still nothing happens. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the brightness, and I scan my surroundings for danger.

First and foremost, there’s that accursed slime, weird core and all. It’s next to that strange pillar in the center of the room that I didn’t get a good chance to really look at earlier, and it seems to be watching me with idle curiosity. It… No.

That purple slime isn’t an it. Too smart for that. I get the distinct impression that there is a sense of self there, a way to refer to itself. No… Themself.

It… no, they (how do I know this? Where is this information coming from?!) are just idling there. In a far corner, on the opposite side of the pillar, are two unfamiliar Urmin, apparently cowering in fear of something. Probably the monsters.

One, covered in spikes, and the other, with what looks to be a gun sticking out of the helmet on his head. They look to be adventurers or rogue heroes of a sort, their usually-flashy outfits covered in grime.

Next to the pillar and the slime, is a large humanoid. Dark brown, with splotches of lighter brown and white over its lumpy body. Rough chunks of whatever substance it’s made of float, independent of gravity. Somehow it gives off the appearance of thick muscles, making it look kind of like a burly weightlifter, of a sort. If one really squinted, maybe.

The head is round, with an underbite showing off large teeth set below a thick brow, no nose in between. I suppose a nose wouldn’t be necessary for the creature, would it? It… No, he, (again with this?) grins at me, giving an encouraging wave.

What in the world… He, and the two Urmin and the slime, watch me, seemingly waiting for me to do something. The Urmin in fear, for some reason, and the monsters out of what appears to be curiosity.

The room itself is pentagonal, large metal doors on each wall. Lines on the concrete and tile floor converge to create a star pattern, with the pillar in the middle. Atop the pillar, which I can see even at my modest height, now that I’m no longer prone on the floor, is a white star gem in a crown of copper pipes.

This whole place is giving me the creeps.

Speaking of the floor, there’s a pile of ice-covered lumps next to the object I’d emerged from. Vines, moss, and roots form a rough ball, with a large crack in the middle, and even as I watch, my prior containment breaks apart into glittering particles that rapidly fade away.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

It leaves behind a leather bound tome, which would have fallen down had my arm not once again stretched unnaturally far and snatched it up before it could. I hold PAGe close to my chest, afraid to lose her again.

The icy objects, on the other hand, give me an ominous familiar feeling, and with a start, I recognize what it is.

I’d eaten one, earlier. Worse, I recognize what’s inside of them. The smell from before.

Clowns. Living ones, still struggling under the slowly-thawing ice coating them.

The more concerning issue was that I wanted to eat another one.

And finally, that leads me to the matter I’ve been ignoring. My body. It clearly feels different, and a quick glance and pat down confirms it.

What the fudging sugar is this? I don’t remember looking like this. And why did I say fudge instead of fudged? What?

Oh no. This is bad. Rationally speaking, this is really bad. But why do I feel so at ease about it? Logically, I should be panicking! Running around like a headless chicken, absolutely terrified out of my mind!

With that strange calm detachment, I paid my surroundings absolutely no heed whatsoever as I perform a quick body scan, feeling for the extent of the changes.

First things first. My arms are no longer the delicate hands of a young Urmin woman, but a number of thick flexible vines covered in rose-like thorns, the ends of which split into fingers. It reminds me of a cat's paws, with thorns for claws and vines for fingers. Manipulating the strange tangle was as simple as photosynthesizing, allowing me total control over each vine.

They lead into my torso, which has become a shifting mass of the vines that cover me like a robe. Under me, supporting my weight, are not the legs I expected, but four stalks of tangled roots. The way everything moves is unfamiliar, but instinctual.

It feels wrong on so many levels, but also so right on so many others.

My hands, or the bundle of vines that resembles them, pat my face, relieved to find that it hasn’t changed there all that much. A lot rounder, perhaps, maybe more mossy than I remember, but intact.

My leaves are still there, bouncing away. They feel stickier than usual, but I chalk that one up to my prior containment. Two sharp, squat branches curve back a little from just above my forehead, reminding me of horns, almost. Still decorative, but better than nothing, I suppose.

The most worrying part is that I no longer have a neck, leaving my head to float freely above my torso, allowing me to turn my head in all directions around me.

Upside down, backwards, it was all causing my head to spin. Literally.

Body check done, I turn back to my captors, the slime and the new one, intending to rip them a new one with the help of my newly recovered PAGe. How dare they do this to me? I mean, sure, it looks like I’ve got powers now, powers I can barely control, but I’m sure they could have gone about it less roughly!

Even in this changed body, I still have no voice, so I can’t exactly yell at them. That’s what PAGe is for, why I sprung for such a high-end model with the personality chip and thought-to-speech module.

I’ve got just the right spell for this. I’ll have to let it recharge after I use it, of course, but it’s worth it if I can give these things even a piece of my mind. They healed me up in the most painful way possible, transformed my body without my consent, fed me dubious food, and now they’re just sitting there, ripe for the kill.

Those Urmin in the corner seem useless to fight as well, appearing to be too terrified to do so. No matter. It just means it’s up to me, instead. Those monsters will regret what they did to me! I open the oddly silent PAGe, intending to use the biggest fireball spell I’ve got.

And something stops me before I can tap the page and activate it, a great invisible hand that holds me tightly in a painful grip. I squirm under its grasp, leading me to drop PAGe, and the force vanishes.

That’s when it hits me. The one thing I forgot. The thing they put inside of me. I can feel it in my torso somewhere, still aching from the pressure the force was applying to keep me still.

The replica of the slime’s core, it’s still there, deep within me. I sense it there as I continue my internal probing of my new anatomy, and it probes me back. It warns me, with a sense of dire urgency, that I must keep it safe, free from harm. That if it were to be damaged, so too would my mind and my body.

That sounded really bad. Like, really really dangerously bad, and now that there was one floating around somewhere inside me. At first I think of tearing it out, but a jolt of pain stops me each time I move to do so.

I pick up PAGe again, intending to ask her what was going on. I don’t know how her thought-to-speech module does it, but she can understand what I want to communicate.

PAGe, what the fudging sugar balls is going on?

“Ah. Was wondering when ya would get to that. Hello, User Sprigg Greenleaf! Welcome to the world of the waking, and all that. I’m sure you’ve noticed a few… changes. For one, you are no longer an Urmin of the Plantmin race. You’ve been… how do I say this delicately… made into a monster,” said PAGe, in the most tactless tone of voice ever.

What.

Again I say… WHAT.

“Like I said, you’re not Urmin anymore. You’ve had a monster core implanted into you. It saved your life, but it also bound you, changed you.”

I get the changed part, but what do you mean by me being ‘bound’?

“There’s no easy way ta say this. But I’ll try anyways. Ahem,” said PAGe, clearing a throat she didn’t have for effect. “First: the good news! You’ve got powers now! Yay! Bad news: you’re a slave to the whims of a greedy ghost.”

WHAT.

Don’t you fudgin’ mess with me, you overgrown notebook! And what the sugar happened to all my cusses! I had some real good ones, now they're gone, replaced with inoffensive pastries!

The book squirms in my hand… Claws… paws. I'm just gonna call them paws.

“They can hear you, you know,” she says.

What? Who's ‘they’? What do mean, hear me? I'm mute! No voicebox! You know this, PAGe, that's why you're my voice in the first place!

[[I suppose introductions are in order, aren't they, Sprigg Greenleaf?]]

The feminine voice that breaks into my head is distant, rough and scratchy, like it's coming through an old ham radio. Nevertheless, it comes in fairly clear, despite the audio interference. I look around frantically for the source, and fail to find it.

Who said that? Where are you?

[[Why, I'm all around you! I'm that ‘greedy ghost’ your book mentioned. The name is Cherry Maraschino, and you belong to me now. That little purple kid over there, that's Nebula. They're my bonded [Companion]. And that's Ceetee, the big lovable giant that he is, he's new. Say hi, Ceetee!]]

The brown elemental floats a hand up and waves at me again, a toothy grin on his face.

[[Nebby, you too! Try using your telepathy, I know you've been practicing!]]

The purple slime turns their weird core towards me, and I hear a different voice in my head. It's soft, if a touch pitchy, and gurgles a little as my tormentor speaks. Young-sounding and androgynous, as well.

[[H-hi! You woke up! It's nice to finally be able to speak to you! I'm Nebula, but you can call me Nebby!]]

[[Don’t forget to wave!]]

Nebula waves an extension, and I can’t help but wave back.

Oookay… first I get transformed, now slimes are talking to me? And there’s a… ghost claiming to… own me??

It's official, I've lost my mind. This is all just hallucinations of my dying brain as I bleed out my life sap in the forest, isn't it?

“Afraid not, User Sprigg. This is real. Unprecedented, bizarre maybe, but real.”

Lies! I'm dead, aren't I? I died and I'm in hell, being tortured by impossible things! Slimes don't talk and ghosts aren't real! Thanks for the heals and all, but I’m outta here! I’ve got things to do! If I escape, and find out where I am, I could probably make it back before the deadline!

“Um, excuse me, I hate to be a bother, really, but who or what is that PAGe unit talking to?” asks one of the Urmin adventurers, who I’d totally ignored up until now.

Can’t they hear the slime and the girl who claims to be a ghost? What did she mean, I'm hers now?

Overwhelmed, I shake PAGe with anger.

“Okay, okay, calm down, User Sprigg! There's no need to be so rough and violent!”

Ugh. She's right, of course. She always is.

“Take a seat, and just sit down by the pillar over there. Yes. Next to the monsters. They won't hurt you, User Sprigg. They can’t. Sit down, and good ol’ Auntie PAGe will explain it all.”

Unwilling to do so, my feet… sorry, roots, my roots don’t budge a centimeter.

[[Sprigg, play nice! Go sit with your new friends!]]

Once again, my body moves of its own volition, and I find myself sitting as directed.

Well, more like raising my legs into my torso somehow, making it so that my cloak-vines meet the ground. It feels strange like this, sitting in an unfamiliar-yet-natural way that… actually feels kinda nice, come to think of it.

The two Urmin hesitate for a moment, looking unsure. They give each other a glance, silently communicating between themselves, before seating themselves opposite the monsters and myself.

[[Now where was I? Oh, yes, I remember now!]]

Something red and sticky oozes through cracks in the floor, rising up to form letters in the rapidly chilling air.

RUN AND HIDE.

SEEK AND FIND.

GO BACK TO WHENCE YE CAME

LEAVE NOW, NEVER TO RETURN

UNLESS HER HEART YOU’VE GAINED

SATE THE SPIRIT

OR BE ONE WITH THE SUGAR

The words simply float there, and the longer I stare at it, the more they etch themselves into my mind. The wind picks up drastically, despite there being no obvious source of it, and the temperature drops rapidly to match.

Eh? What’s happening now? Don’t tell me my revenge’s been cut off short!

I don’t have long to ponder, because the next thing I know, the world is turning literally inside out, upside down, all in a high-definition mass of solid black and white.

Oh no, is the last reasonable thought I have, before my faculties shut down from the sensory overload.