"Hah..."

Mary's hitched breath tickles Daniel's face as his world switches. Stirred, the male artist tightens his eyes for a moment before seeing the close, flushed face of his counterpart.

While they remain inside Anne's gooey body, shouldn't he be behind her?

"...Mary?"

Said artist forces a strained smile in her own waking pleasure. Curled around her lover, she can feel his hardening cock stretch her pussy this time, and like before, there's little room to pull out.

Of course, she doesn't mind this at all.

"H-hey there again, love," she greets slowly, then stiffens. "P-pretty tight, isn't it?"

"Oh good, both of you are awake now!" The exuberant, muffled voice of Anne calls from outside.

They can imagine her grin as she continues, "Hehe, I took some liberty to shuffle you two. How is it?"

"How is it? Ngh, it's wonderfully tight. You're the best, Anne!" Mary praises, partially moaning as she wiggles against Daniel.

The rubbed male grunts in response, his body's excitement finally catching up to his mind as he feels the British woman's chest squish pleasantly against him. Although they had just come back from an exploration that needed to be shared, his hips are hard-pressed to continue other avenues.

"Oh, fuck it," he mutters, jiggling his slime mother's surroundings as he thrusts with what little room he can muster.

Mary gasps, her eyes rolling up a little. "Anh...e-easy, love. Mummy isn't going anywhere~"

Her crafted words spur him as he presses his lips to her own, locking them further into pleasure.

On the outside, Anne is still in her slime form as she titters to her enlarged belly, wobbling with their love. Sighing, she rubs Daniel's extruding head between her breasts. Tiny waves spread down as the pounding catches a rhythm.

"It seems I have some naughty babies...ah! Actually, Viviane, do you want to try holding them?" Anne asks, turning to her seated slime sister at her son's desk.

Distracted in her research as she took to Daniel's computer during the night, she now straightens and swivels to meet her slime sister's gaze.

She hums for a moment, twisting her lips before responding, "I'm tempted, but I shouldn't yet. I want to hold our son first, just like you had, before I consider more."

Anne tilts her head. "But haven't you already engulfed our son?"

"If you're referring to our joining as Vida, that's different. Anyway, I'm not in no ru-"

"Ungh...I'm cumming, Daniel!"

"I'm also...!"

Within Anne, the two artists interrupt in one final thrust, sending the encompassing slime mother to nearly bounce from the internal force. Giggling, she loosens her grip on her sweet guests as they grow limp together.

After some heavy breaths, the chamber of Anne becomes a series of loving moans and kisses, building down their afterglow.

As much as Anne wants to keep them together, she's feeling a little jealous of their continuing affection. Pouting, she allows her "belly" to open up, exposing them to the morning rays that cross their faces.

"Gah, mom!"

"T-too bright!"

Whistling, Anne slides away from them as they roll away from each other to cover their eyes. Not to take pleasure in her mischief for too long, she reforms by the bedside and clears herself.

"Look at you two being so lovey-dovey in your own world, despite Mama being such a hospitable host. I may as well be invisible, huh?"

Readjusting to daylight, Daniel forces a smile at his jelly mother. "N-nonsense, mom, you're great! Maybe harsh sometimes, but great!"

"What was the last part, mister?"

"N-nothing!"

Fully attentive now, Daniel stands to kiss his dear slime mother reassuringly, but she narrows her eyes suspiciously while accepting such lips. Eventually, she comes around and melts into his hold as he slides his hands over her hips.

After a few licks between them, Mary sits up from the bed, then raises her arms while motioning with her hands. "Love, me too, please~"

Daniel pulls away with a raised brow. "We already-"

"Not you; I meant your mother!"

The slime mother gasps, her figurative heart bursting at the invitation, "Aw, Mary!"

Eagerly jumping back to bed, the slime locks her lips with her fellow mother-in-arm. As the two girls embrace, Daniel shakes his head with a sigh.

'I really can't win.'

"So, child, how are you feeling?" Viviane asks, stepping closer to her deflated boy. Unlike everyone else, she seems to have dressed into a night gown after he and Mary fell asleep. Although Daniel questions the necessity when everyone else has been naked, he can't deny the allure of her chosen white fabric tugging at her pale curves.

Quickly, he averts his gaze away from her chest and clears his throat. "Surprisingly okay, considering I've been compacted against Mary for so long."

Viviane's eyes soften. "I'm glad. Mommy was a bit worried."

"Worried? Why would you-umph! Mmgh..."

More kissing goes around as his lips are taken unexpectedly, but Daniel accepts the elder slime's movement. Like with Anne, he holds her close and takes his time tasting her. When she pulls away first, she leaves her hands on her son's cheeks.

"I just held a thought of what would happen if you and Mary got trapped there, that's all."

The artist blinks before breathing easily. He cups her hand closer to his face. "It may be possible, but so far, we've been able to wake up fine."

Viviane sighs. "I know, but...anyway, it's just my reservation. So, what did you see in there?"

"Well...I guess you, for one."

"Me?"

Mary finishes cuddling squishy Anne on the bed, perking up to their conversation. Refocusing her attention on the two, she knits her brows.

"At least start from the beginning, love."

Daniel rubs his neck. "Right...well, the tear and change to night are the same, as far as Mary remembers. Then, there are two new areas for memories: One of them is mine as a lake-"

"You mean a cute pond," Mary corrects.

"Lake" Daniel maintains indignantly. "I didn't personally check it out, though. Instead, we found out that Mary can't re-trigger Merlin's message. There's nothing to note for me, either."

Viviane hums, placing a hand on her chin. "That might say the wizard left it only for me and Mary. How about the second lake? I'm guessing that would be mine, right?"

The artist thins his lips at such an assumption. "Well, not exactly. Before that, have you ever seen a fog when you were stuck there by the lakes?"

The elder slime frowns as bitter times unfolds in her head. "No, not in her realm. The only fog I've seen was one I was trapped in before being transferred to my sister."

"If you haven't seen it before, then it may have manifested itself after you shared your memories with Mom."

Even though Viviane doesn't need to breathe, she instinctively holds herself while her pupils shrink. "That's..."

Quickly, Daniel draws her hands back and firmly rubs her shoulders. "Mother, please. It's okay."

Swallowing, her eyes shift to Mary and Anne, who also smile back at their fellow mother. Feeling their concern for her, she lowers her gaze. "R-right...no, maybe...such feature has always been intended for me. Did you go inside?"

Daniel nods. "Just like the lakes, we found out we could see your memories if we thought about you, but unlike our lakes, they played as if you were really in front of us. I don't know...like a hologram? That's the only way I can compare."

"Really, love? I would say it was like seeing ghosts of the past. It just made the whole place eerier," Mary adds, shivering.

"Either way, it's not just a simple fog," Daniel continues, staring carefully into the lake dweller's eyes. "Within, we also nearly dropped into a large ditch, which looks like it held water once."

"Seriously..." Viviane mutters as she stumbles back, her face wrinkling. "I don't like any of what I'm hearing. Why am I the one so different?"

Daniel and Mary glance at each other, silently understanding to leave it at that for now. The biggest reveal of all is the cry of a baby, which may have been the same one that haunted the lake dweller for centuries. If that's really the case, it's unknown why they were able to find the source. Regardless, talking about it now might make the lake dweller more anxious.

"Let's take it easy for now," he insists on that note, burying his own concerns. "How about I make breakfast this time?"

Mary groans, lifting herself away from the bed. "That sounds good, but I have to get back to my studio to finish some work."

"As do I," Daniel agrees.

"Don't worry. Mama will help you, Daniel!" Anne declares, her body wobbling with motivation.

Seeing such unfair company and dedication to her boyfriend, Mary's face falls with bitter lips.

"Must be nice having such a cute, motherly assistant," she grumbles, then reaches over to grab her phone from the nightstand. She sours more, seeing how many emails were auto-responded to during these two days of break and now have to be properly addressed.

Feeling bad for the forlorn artist, Viviane smiles softly. "Mary, I'd be happy to come along and help. After all, everyone's combined knowledge of painting has been bestowed on me. Not only that, I remember all your current clients, so I'm confident I can assist with your communications."

The offer nearly smacks Mary as she inhales sharply. Clasping her hands together, her eyes shimmer at the elder slime. "My goddess!"

Daniel shakes his head, but has no problem letting his elder slime mother leave with Mary. It might even do her some good with a change in scenery.

Before that, though, he furrows. "By the way, did you learn anything more about that book and author...who was it, Layna Moore?"

Sighing, Viviane slumps. "I can't say anything has stood out to me so far. She just goes into more analysis of her grandfather's journals, but it's all mindless: Finger cutting, sacrifices, and values of the humanities that are rewarded by Isis. Yet, I can't seem to find much relevancy to what we've seen so far."

Exhaling out her frustration, she then narrows her eyes. "As for the author, there's very limited information about her except for other books she wrote, most of which are saner. A few says she passed away a few years ago, but nothing is substantiated online."

"So then...?"

"For now, I've read all I could," Viviane concludes. "Of course, I'll keep checking every now since more people are becoming aware of the book's claims and discussing them, but I will say, one person brought an interesting point: We should keep an open mind about what a flood means. To the Babylonians, floods were the bringer of death, but to the Egyptians, it was their life."

"I see what you mean. It's neither good nor bad; it just brings about some sort of change in the end."

"That's right," Viviane confirms, then looks back at Mary and her slime sister, worried.

She feels the same as she squeezes her son's hands. "The only change I want is to be able to live freely with you all."

══════════ ∴ ══════════

Miles out, Lecia is at a loss as she stares blankly ahead within her kitchen. She holds a phone to her left ear, where Mike's sad voice passes through, bearing unwelcome changes.

"...What? You're ending the investigation in Egypt?"

"..."

Slowly, the Sights Open president shuts her eyes tightly. "I get it. Please help arrange safe passage for them to come to the U.S. Still, how did two of them get attacked? These are members who are locals, so they know the area, unless..."

"..."

Digging her hand through her hair, Lecia shivers. "No, this...something is wrong here."

"..."

Lecia lowers her head, her eyes darkening as she slams her hand on her countertop, gritting her teeth. "I'm well aware there's been missteps, damn it! I don't need another lecture from you. Aside from things out of our control, however, your team's activity in Egypt should not have been noticed. If we're talking missteps, then this all started with a lead from your wife, who-"

Immediately, she pulls her phone away from her ear as Mike's voice rises. It's to be expected, but her heart may as well be ripped out.

Does her college friend really trust Jessica more than her? Even after all they've been through together?

Tears flood her eyes as she tries to keep her voice. "Mike, she can't be discounted just because you're married to her, and even if she's from academia! Please-"

The call drops, and shaking, Lecia slams the back of her phone onto the counter with an annoyed grunt. With it, tears drip down onto the floor tiles as she tries to steady herself amid her awful teeth-clenched expression.

Of course, any loving man would get angry with accusations against their wife, but isn't that unfair? It's not as if there haven't been risks to their members before, but this seems to have escalated at the wrong time.

Her phone rings again. It's her secretary.

"Fuck..."

Taking a deep breath, she rubs her eyes before clearing her throat and answering, "Yes?"

"..."

"Who? I'm not expecting anyone with that name. Please ask him to schedule an appointment after he goes through the proper channels with the sales team first if he wants to discuss-"

She halts herself, paling, as the secretary throws more information. "He wants to talk about...Isis?"