[Who: Nebula]

[Where: Core Room]

[When: Now]

[[Ahahaha! Did you see that?]] My benefactor laughs hysterically in my mind, interrupting my ruminations. I’d had a very bizarre dream, or perhaps leftover memories, recently, and had wanted to sort through them. It was a difficult process, as the memories were slippery, refusing to stay solid in my mind for very long.

Fluid and hard to grasp, much like my current state of being. I’m just glad I’m not in that void anymore, or whatever that was. Yet, I get the feeling that all of that was quite real, or real enough in the same way that a memory is real.

It doesn’t make much sense, but then again, neither has anything else as of late.

[[Hm? See what?]] I glide my mass over to the pedestal upon which Miss Cherry sits. [[Nebula can’t see you, Miss Cherry, remember?]]

Gah! Why’d I just refer to myself like that? So embarrassing! Hopefully that was just a one time thing.

[[Oh no! That’s right!]] Her voice is much less fuzzy and glitchy than before. I have little trouble hearing her, though many audio artifacts remain. [[Ugh, I’m so sorry, Nebby, I’ve been focusing so hard on my new toys, and then a thing happened, and I-I-I got busy, and ugh. Here, touch my core again. Not core-to-core, this time! We don’t have any more need of that.]]

[[Nebby?]] I reel in surprise. A nickname, already?

[[Neb, or Nebby. Short for Nebula! Do you like it? Of course you do,]] she declares. [[Your emotions even say as much!]]

Hey! I’m not short! I’m just vertically challenged! [[Miss Cherry is reading emotions now too??]]

[[Ah, right. I’ve gotten much more powerful now that I’ve unblocked myself. Can’t do telekinesis quite yet, but I’m working on it! Gonna touch my core yet with your adorable little gooey mitts?]]

Hesitating for only a moment, I coat the star-shaped gem with my lovely lavender lusciousness. An electric shock runs through me, setting my jelly a-jiggle and my vision wobbling. It takes a little time for my vision to settle, and when it does, I can hardly believe my non-existent eyes.

Floating around the core are dozens of beige boxes; cathode ray tube monitors and keyboards, cables strung about or attached to computer towers and various accessories. Speakers, disk drives, a printer spewing perforated paper readouts. There’s even a little handheld radio, a little boxy thing with a spring-coiled cord ending in thin air.

[[How about now?]] I turn my focus towards her voice, and I catch a vanishing glimpse of glowing red eyes beneath an oversized pair of round frames. Unfocusing returns my vision to my more stretched out, less clear, all-over vision, with no trace of the owner of the eyes in sight.

I call the concentrated version of my sight my bubble vision, because that’s how everything appears when I use it. As though I’m looking through a magnifying bubble, with everything outside of that being blurry and unfocused.

[[Oh. Wow!]] Waving an ‘arm’ about, it passes through the monitors and attachments like they’re nothing. With the flickering, wavering, and graininess, I’m reminded of nothing more than an old VHS tape.

[[It’s a mental construct of my security system! I use this to keep an eye on my territory, Everything that BELONGS to ME, everything that is MINE, all visible on these little monitors! That’s mine, and that one is mine. Just like you are mine now; you belong to me. And I will do ANYTHING to protect and defend what is MINE.]]

Wait, what? Belong to her?? Before I can protest, my mind is flooded with emotions and information, nearly overwhelming and disorienting me.

[[MINE MINE MINE BUILD KEEP DEFEND GROW MINE

—et oven to 200 degrees Celsi—

MINE ALL MINE DEATH TO INTRUDERS KEEP CONSUME GROW BUILD EXPAND PROTECT CREATE

—ing treasure is hard work! Now, this little beaut is a lov—

SLICE MINE DICE MINE CHOP PURGE ALL MINE MINE MINE!!!]]

The usual pep in her voice is gone, replaced with a chilling iciness. [[YOU are MINE! And I will NOT let go of what is MINE, not without a fight! My territory, my domain, my land! My creations, my treasure, MY RULES. This land is myself, and I am the land and all that dwells within me! I am not just a shiny rock!

I keep what is mine, all that enters is mine, and those who come to take what is MINE will have to face ME, my security defenses, and MY creations and dwellers! I won’t make it easy for anyone to take what is MINE! Look, but don’t touch! Not you, of course, my dear Neb. You can touch all you want, and I KNOW you can’t hurt me. You are mine and me, after all.]] The usual perkiness in her voice is gone, replaced with deep seriousness

Emotions of greed, of love, protection, of belonging surround me, filling me. Through it all, runs an undercurrent of safety and attachment, of duty and responsibility. An invisible binding, connecting myself to her. Any thoughts I may have had of leaving are torn away, not that I would want to do so anyways.

[[If you don’t like it, I could just [Return] you. I’d be in a real pickle if I did, since that would hinder what I’ve spent so working towards, but you are important to me. I care for you, you’re a part of me now, and I’m a part of you now as well. It’d be painful, like amputating an arm, but I would do it, for you.]]

[[No, thank you,]] I tell her. I’d rather not go back into that mind-melting emptiness again, if I even end up there again. If I even make it out again. Besides, I want to help! I want to protect, to grow, to consume.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Especially to consume.

It may have been pure chance that brought me here, but it’s my choice to remain. I couldn’t leave even if I really wanted to. It’s like she said, our desires, our wills, they are one now. And what I want is to stay here.

With a start, I see that my slime is still wrapped around Cherry’s core crystal. I collect myself, withdrawing the pseudopod back into my mass. Honestly, I prefer this form much better than the one I had in the dream, as indistinct as it was. Who knows what I’d end up as if I were [Returned] and [Delivered] again, whatever those mean. If I didn’t fall apart first, of course.

With the removal of my ‘hand’, the monitors fade to near transparency. When I move my bubble of focus on where I know they were, they become only slightly more opaque.

I plop down at the base of my contractors pedestal, the crystals at what I’ve arbitrarily labeled as being ‘behind’ me. All that moving about has made me quite tired, as has dissolving all those bones and rusted metals, so I’d like to rest for a little while.

Stand-by mode, as it were. Being motionless, or as motionless as my dripping body will allow, conserves my energy. I’m sure there’s a better way to rest, but if there is, I haven’t found it yet.

Who knows, maybe someday I’ll figure out how to hibernate or sleep or something. Can I sleep? Is that even something that I can do? I don’t know. I barely even know anything about my form! Are there others like Nebu- I mean me? Other slimes, maybe?

A small cube suddenly appears at what used to be my feet. Wrapped in wax paper, the scent is alluring. And if it has a scent, I can eat it! In my experience, the only things I can smell are ones that give me energy when I dissolve them! Tasty, too!

Taking the material past my membrane and into my main mass, I start dissolving it. The paper is tasteless, of course, but the candy! It’s just plain saltwater taffy, yet I can feel my energy reserves being topped off.

[[Oh no! I totally forgot to show you what was so funny earlier! You don’t need to touch my core again, we just needed that for the initial calibration! Just… Hold still, and I’ll send it right over! It’s only a replay.]]

An analog CRT monitor appears in front of me, treating me to a grainy video feed of what I recognized as the cave I first woke up in. It appears to be a view from the back of the cave, facing towards the entrance.

A shadow blocks the light before stepping into the cave proper. Wait, is that a dinosaur? As in, the prehistoric ancestors of birds, those things?

[[Huh. I suppose it was. Isn’t that interesting!]]

Aren’t those things supposed to be extinct? What’s one of those doing here? Am I in the past? Or an alternate Earth? Is that why there’s no people around? They haven’t been invented yet or something? Just what year is it?

Sighing, Miss Cherry responds. [[I wish I knew, little one. I wish I knew. Alas, I have been here for so long that I’ve stopped bothering keeping track. Besides, you’ll find that both time and space are a malleable concept around here, so who knows what’s out there.]]

The image on the screen continues playing. I watch as the creature enters, striding cockily towards the center of the cave. To my pleasure, I note that it has a feathered coat.

To my surprise, three blobby things drop from the ceiling! They’re similar to me, but also unlike me. They appear to be simpler, yet somehow more organized.

For a start, they’re neat little balls, with cores to match. Unlike my own star-shaped core, theirs are little glowing marbles, lighting them up from within. They’ve also got nothing on my dripping gelatin, looking to be much more tightly held together.

Second, they appear to be working together. They move silently around the dinosaur, cleverly herding it deeper into the cave.

[[What’s up with these guys? Am I different? Oh gods, I hope I’m not defective! Please don’t [Return] Nebula!]]

[[Relax, relax! You are not defective, nor are you broken in any way! I like the way you are! Like I said, I won’t [Return] you if you don’t want me to! You are MINE, Nebby, remember? And I will do anything to protect you, and by extension, myself. You have nothing to worry about, my dear.]]

Her words comfort me, but I still have a few questions. [[Well then, just what is Nebu— I mean what am I? What makes them so different from me, even though we’re so alike?]]

She is silent for a moment, before answering. [[Hmm. I think it’s because you’re likely a related species, or perhaps a sub-species, to these guys.]]

[[Huh. So what are they, and what does that make Neb— me?]]

[[I’m pretty sure that you’re a [Stellar Slime]. I’m not sure what that is, or what makes that different from the [Standard Slimes] up there, but rest assured, you’re just fine in my care, dear. You are my bonded [Companion], and I need you, as you need me.]]

So there IS a difference between us! But apparently not enough of one to be an issue. That’s good to know. I’m curious to see what being a [Stellar Slime] entails, and why saying that term, or in my case, thinking it, feels so IMPORTANT.

Important, but also strange. As in, I don’t think it’s possible to refer to the concept of what I am otherwise. Almost as though there is an ontological power enforcing the terms used. I’ve noticed other concepts have a similar effect, such as [Delivery] and [Companion], the terms relaying a sense of intent and power within them.

It’s very weird. I ponder this as I watch the battle between the dinosaur and the… What did Miss Cherry call them? The [Standard Slimes], was it?

Anyways, I keep watching the two sides, fascinated by the slime’s apparent use of battle tactics. After a brief altercation, during which the slimes stick the raptor’s feet to the floor, I am shocked to see the thing appear to teleport out of their grasp!

[[Yeah, that surprised me as well! It didn’t actually teleport, you know. Here, watch this!]]

The video feed rewinds, before replaying the scene again, in slow motion this time. Frame by frame, the dinosaur simply runs over to where it had appeared to have teleported to in the back of the cave.

[[What the fudge was that? And why did I say fudge instead of fudge DANG IT! Fudge!!! Fudge, fudge, fudge!]]

[[Sugar! Son of a biscuit! It got you too, huh? I guess I should have expected that. I’m sorry, I’d fix that if I could.]]

Well, jam, that sucks. I mean, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but still! Just what kind of wacky world did I wake up into?

Internally sighing, I return my focus to the monitor. The dinosaur is now in the weird hallway section, dancing around for some reason. Before I know it, the floor has opened up below it, dropping it into a steaming vat of brown fluid.

In morbid fascination, I watch as the creature simultaneously drowns and boils to death. Shortly, the corpse begins to break apart, the flesh melting from the bones. I feel no sadness for the thing. It had tried to claim OUR home for itself, and had only gotten what it deserved.

The monitor fades away, and I express my regret that I couldn’t try a taste of the invader for myself. Its death had been gruesome, sure, but what a waste of good flesh! It still had fresh marrow in the bones, even, and I really wanted more squirming things to dissolve inside of me!

Besides, who else can say they ate fresh dinosaur with chocolate sauce? My scientific mind is burning with curiosity to see what it’s like! She’s right, though, that was pretty funny to watch.

Alarm suddenly shoots through me, startling me from my ruminations. What the fudge is going on? Danger! Danger!

[[Agh! Son of a biscuit! I haven’t even finished [Baking] anything past that first room! I’m in no condition for this to happen already! I was hoping we’d have more time before this happened!]] Miss Cherry sounds worried, which makes me worried.

Fear and hate fill my mind. Fear of the unknown and possible danger, and hate at whoever or whatever dares to cause this feeling. HATE HATE HATE, I scream in my mind.

What’s… going… on… I manage to think out, weak from the effort it takes to overpower the incredibly DELICIOUS emotions I’m currently going through.

[[Someone’s breached the place! Not an animal this time, we’ve got ourselves a PEOPLE! Brace yourself!]]