Trade: Slime Sisters (Part 3)

Summary: Following the events of A Giga-Sized Glow-Up, Celes wakes up with powers she has difficulties controlling,  coinciding with terrible, otherworldly visions. She meets more strange slime girls like Feza, but are they friends or foes?

A trade with MRGIllusion45, who provided the illustrations; story is written by me; characters belong to their respective creators.

[Story Listing]

[First Part]

[Previous Part]

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At Celes' size, it was hardly a problem for her to lose the battleship, surging over and beyond the horizon. She had slowed her pace once she had made sure no one was following her.

She kept this torrid pace up for some time. It had been a long, awful day. Weariness was certainly showing on her face.

Do you even know where you're going?

"Shut up, you." Celes growled, responding to the voice in the head that wasn't her own. Clasping the yellow slime woman Astra in both of her palms, she shifted her thumb to smoosh her head. "Had enough of you for one day. As soon as I find a spit of land I'm dropping you there."

Where do you even plan to go? You're too big to go home, y'know.

"I-" Celes cut herself off. She pouted, puffed her cheeks in a huff. She looked over her colossal stature; though some part of her slime composition had eroded away to the ocean, it didn't seem to make much of a difference whatsoever. What was shaving a couple feet off from hundreds?

"I-I'll figure something out..." Celes murmured, before raising her head. "One thing at a time, just need to find landfall..."

Ugh, just let me take over, you clearly have NO idea what you're doing.

As Astra spoke in Celes' mind, ropey tendrils slipped out through Celes' fingers, swivelling upwards like vines; they extended towards Celes' surprised expression... one which quickly soured.

"Rggh, such a pest! Give it up already!" Celes squeezed Astra between her fingers, like she was just putty in her hands. The strength in the tendrils disappeared as they drooped, slumping along Celes' clenched fingers. Yellow slime oozed out between her clenched fists momentarily,  before sinking back in.

Auu... A whiny voice croaked out in her head. Celes' eyebrows furrowed.

"Quit your whining. It's your brilliant thinking that dragged us out to the middle of nowhere." Celes grumbled. "It's not like I want to hurt you, but you're making it really hard not to! What with your bad attitude, and your predilection with taking over innocent people's-"

SQUAWK! SQUAAAAAWK!

Celes' irritated rant trailed off as she looked upwards and over to the horizon. Off in the distance, she saw a flock of birds! Seagulls, maybe? She hadn't seen seagulls that were blue like that. She blessed her stars there were clouds in the sky, or they'd perhaps blend in with the sky.

Her eyes lit up, raising her hands to her chest.

"Birds! Over there, see!?" Celes shifted her thumbs, allowing Astra to wriggle out head first and peer out.

...Huh... is that...?

"Seagulls! I think." Celes turned Astra to face her. "Whatever they are, they mean land isn't far off! Omigosh, I can finally take a load off! Civilization hoooooo!~"

...W-whoa!

Astra winced as Celes surged forward at a rapid pace! She glanced over the side, towards the waves that Celes was kicking up.

...Yes, let's go. 'Full speed ahead', was it?

"Aaaaaa I can't wait to get home. I need to kick up my legs for a spell..." Celes panted, following the retreating flock of bright blue gulls.

You haven't had legs for the whole time I've seen you- URK!

"Quiet you." Celes growled again, punitively squeezing Astra in her hands. She stared off to the horizon, eyes expectantly watching for something, anything to appear.

"Something's coming up!!" Celes cheered with glee! "O-oh no, I should slow down, I shouldn't cause a... tidal wave..."

Soon, she could make out cresting hills and mountains, blanketed in foliage. Palm trees, coconuts, sand too. Celes paused, her expression going pale.

"Wait. This... th-this isn't..." Celes stammered, feeling her body growing weak. She loomed forward, her body tilting forward slowly.

Celes?? What are you doing? You're going to- uh, uwah!?

Astra panicked as, seemingly in slow motion, Celes topped over, her upper body crashing onto the shoreline. Enormous waves crashed upwards and away, the tidal waves crashing deep into the jungle foliage; the beach sand seemed to depress underneath her massive size, her lower body still sinking into the ocean behind her. It was shallower here, though.

Celes buried her face in her arms as she sprawled out over the spit of land. Her entire body wobbled with her loud sobs. Astra, for all she could do, wriggled out from between Celes' clenched fingers and hobbled out onto the beach; she irritatedly dusted the sand off of her.

Astra turned to Celes, expression contorting into a silent rage as she extended her body upwards and over. Celes really was a mountain of a woman—her head alone compared to the full head of some of the fully-grown palms nearby. It was quite a struggle for Astra to stretch her arms up and high enough to clamber up to the back of Celes' head. Her body tingled slightly with the contact, a mental link reestablished, but Celes didn't seem to care.

What're you blubbering about now!? Give me a WARNING before you flop around like that!

"W-w-we're stranded... on a deserted island..." Celes whimpered. "I-I don't know where to go... I don't know what to doooooo..."

Oh, don't be so dramatic! I was inside your head you know, I know you were craving a tropical vacation.

"Not like this!!" Celes wailed. "I'm taller than a skyscraper! People were scared of me! I'm scared of me!!"

As Celes sobbed loudly, she remained oblivious to the flocks of bright blue birds perched along the treetops, all silently looking towards the giant slime woman writhe and shake. Astra paid them no mind, focusing on the bigger picture.

Is that's what this is about? She placed her hands on her hips. Just shrink back, it's not hard!

"I CAN'T!! I'M STUCK LIKE THIS!!" Celes shouted, grunting as she pulled herself up and out of the water.

You haven't even tried, you dense woman! Ughhh, you're exhausting... you better be worth the trouble.

"I never asked for this..." Celes flopped onto the ground; her seaweed form dress was rather torn up from the whole ordeal coming over the shoal, currents of green, yellow and purple slime mixing within. "I just wanted to live a normal life, settle down in my little shop, making cute little outfits..."

Celes, you need to calm down. Listen to me-

"Why should I listen to you!?" Celes snarled. "You brainwashed me, then tried to kidnap me and whisk me away to-"

QUIET!

Astra's ropey tendrils emerged one again, plunging into Celes' head and back. Celes hiccupped, and her feelings of hurt, pain, sadness, seemed to ebb away in an instant. She felt cold and emotionless... even though the rational part of her brain understood exactly what was going on.

...Celes felt Astra's essence within her, but the flow and influence seemed to stop just short. Celes hadn't lost full control of her mind, or of her body. She just... calmed down. As if a faucet had been turned off.

"You're still doing it." Celes muttered in a monotone. "Treating me like one of your possessions."

I can't control you anymore. You and I both feel that. But you need to calm down. Let me explain.

"..."

Celes sat up, turning her body to face the beach. Astra's ropey tendrils relaxed, slipping out of Celes and back into her body; the yellow slime woman slide down to rest on Celes' shoulder, her eyes following Celes' nostalgic gaze over the ocean.

"I wanna go home, Astra." Celes sighed. "I wanna go back to my normal life."

I can't stop you from going home. But you can't go back to your normal life, not now.

Celes grimaced. Astra was right about that much, as much as Celes didn't want to admit it. She tried to go about her routine, even at her scale. But she couldn't hack it; the fear of the people around her, her own nervousness about causing property damage by just existing there... it was too much.

"It wasn't like this until that giant woman... that Feza came along." Celes hugged herself. "I was making a dress for her, for her condition, and..."

And when you touched, you grew to her size.

"...Yes." Celes blinked. She turned to Astra. "How did you-"

I scoured your memories while we were connected. You absorbed her essence, and some of her memories too. I think you took on some of her powers.

"Powers?" Celes' eyes widened.

The one who grows. To grow without end. To overtake an entire planet. That's her Unique

"A-an entire..." Celes gasped. She glanced around nervously, feeling trepidation about the scale of the island beneath her.

"...Wait, what's a Unique?" Celes glanced at Astra.

All slime women have Uniques. A power they wield that only they can. Feza can grow hundreds, thousands of feet in a matter of moments... and I can control people, things. I'm the one who sings.

"...But... but I sang too..." Celes' eyebrows furrowed. "At the ship, I- I sang, and entranced the sailors. Just like you did to me..."

I think that might be your Unique. You can absorb the abilities of other slime women, and use them as your own.

Celes took this in quietly. She looked over her dress, now swirling with streaks of yellow along with the green and purple.

"Feza's... s-slime is helping to hold this dress together." Celes grimaced. Her body was retaining the essence, and her outfit provided a connection to Feza. She had half a mind to rip it off, but hesitated. She felt like enough of a monster, she didn't want to shed her clothes too.

She guessed that, since Astra didn't have such a power, she couldn't grow colossally like Feza either. But Celes could not only grow to a colossal size... she could control the minds of crowds of people with those awful, ropey tendrils. The memory of her extending her hand, ropey purple tendrils connecting with some dozen sailors, rending their wills to reflect her own... the vivid memory chilled her.

"God... I am a monster..." Celes admitted sombrely.

It wasn't always like this, was it? You used to be human.

"...It's not nice to prod around memories without their knowing, Astra." Celes' eyes narrowed.

When I saw you in the city, I didn't know a thing about you. I ambushed you like that to get to know you better. Survey how much of a threat you are... take you someplace discreet.

This didn't seem to make Celes feel much better. Astra recognized this.

...Sorry. Astra added hurriedly.

Celes sighed. She folded her arms.

"It's true. I used to be like any other girl." Celes slumped forward. "But our family was poor, and fell on hard times. I was desperate and stupid, and got a job with the medical company. I trusted them, because they made the medicine for my mom to help her feel better, but they... used me, injected me with something, and I woke up one day like this."

Celes explained quietly. She sniffled a bit at the end, rubbing her eyes. Astra had half a mind to remind Celes that she had already leafed through her memories, and picked up that much, but it didn't seem to be the right time. And Astra didn't want to get smashed into the trunk of a palm tree.

...Astra really did want to get to the root of Celes' condition, and she had some theories, but Celes' memory was too foggy to work with. Instead, another idea came to mind.

I think I know what your problem is. And... I might be able to help.

"...Huh?" Celes turned to Astra.

You used to be human, and then you were turned into a slime. Into one of us. You have INCREDIBLE power, but you don't know how to use it worth a damn. You never had to. You weren't BORN with it.

"...It... it's always been a struggle." Celes murmured. "I have to try so hard, all the time, just to pass for a normal person. But as soon as my focus lapses, it's just..."

Celes raspberried. She paused, trailing off... but in a moment, her eyes lit up, and she turned to Astra.

"Wait, can you help me shrink back down??" Celes' eyes widened. "You were controlling my body before, can't you just... hack into my brain, and tell my body to shrink??"

It doesn't work like that. I can control your mind, and read your memories... but if YOU don't know how to shrink, how would I?

"...Ohhhh..." Celes' shoulders drooped. She really thought she was onto something.

You also don't have a brain for me to hack into, y'know. You're not human.

"Yeah yeah, rub it in..." Celes grumbled.

I think I can teach you how to control your powers. Tap into a part of yourself you didn't know was there.

"...You want to... coach me?" Celes blinked. "You can coach people on that?"

You're a -very- special case. But I dragged you out this far, so... I guess I owe it to you, or something... as a favour.

Celes silently processed this. She was feeling better about the situation now; if she could learn to control her powers, she could make herself normal again, and return to her life in the city. She could have her life back again. And maybe she'd look back fondly on this whole sordid exercise as just a... a very eccentric vacation.

Celes smiled at Astra. "Aw, Astra..."

Astra froze up as Celes reached forward to grasp her.

Huh?? What are you doing!?

"You talk all tough, but I've been in your head too, y'know." Celes cooed. "And I think you're actually a big softie~"

Wait, don't!

Astra squeaked as Celes drew her in for a tight squeeze of a hug. This giant slime woman didn't fully appreciate her own strength, and Astra writhed as she was literally flattened, pressed against Celes' chest... any more of this and she'd slip through the seams of her dress!

OKAY WE'RE GOOD HERE

Astra's ropey tendrils slithered out between Celes' fingers and shot up towards her head, sinking into her face, planting like roots; Celes froze up at once, her mind overflowing with thoughts and information. It felt like a hyper compressed anxiety attack.

"Ah, uwah... haaannnnh..." Celes' eyelids fluttered, her vision growing foggier as strength faded from her body. She teetered over once again, this time towards the jungle foliage.

The bright blue birds scattered from the treetops as Celes collapsed in a jungle clearing; her eyes closed as she entered a deep sleep.

Astra managed to catch herself on a palm tree just in time, oozing down the trunk and back to the ground as she observed Celes' prone body. Her head rested on her hands, dozing away so peacefully.

That'll shut her up for a while. Astra remarked—mentally, of course, for she had no mouth with which to quip. There was the problem of actually hiding Celes in any capacity; the giant purple slime woman certainly made their nondescript deserted island a lot more noticeable.

But Astra was feeling too lazy to do anything in particular about it... And besides that, there was movement in the corner of her eye.

"CAW! CAW!" One of the bright blue birds flew down before Astra, perching on a nearby branch. Astra's eyes lit up, and extended her hand. The bright blue bird hopped down onto her finger.

...Curiously, upon closer inspection, the bird seemed to have a slime-like texture to its body. Streams of yellow ooze flowed from Astra through the bird's legs, sinking into its body. In a matter of moments, the bird shuddered, tinges of yellow mingling with its blue body. It blinked its now yellowed eyes.

In a matter of moments, the bird's mind had linked with Astra's.

"FEZA! FEZA!" The bird called out in hoarse, high-pitched vocalizations.

No, not Feza. Though your intelligence WAS on point, I was a little late. I did pick up a consolation prize~

Astra spoke to the bird in their mind, much like they did with Celes.

"PRIZE??" The bird replied, tilting its head. Other blue birds in the flock were very interested in the collapsed slime giantess. Some had even perched on her body, her head and her backside...

Glorp. The small birds didn't last long. Some got away in time, but Celes' slime body seemed to pull in some dozen birds at once into her, despite their panicked escape attempts.

Reduced to blue slime, they sunk into her body, and flowed inside of her. Her dress picked up ribbons of blue, to go with all the other slime colours she had melded with to this point. Celes blissfully continued to sleep, only stirring slightly, her body tingling as if experiencing a pleasant dream.

"CAW!?" The blue bird perched on Astra flapped its wings in surprise and irritation, almost gesturing towards the scattering flock above.

Aha, you catch on quickly. Yes, this is Celes. She has a rather potent Unique, wouldn't you say?

"CELES!?" The blue bird tilted his head.

Yes, dear sister. You'll get to meet her soon enough. But she's positively exhausted from her trans-oceanic journey. You must've seen her earlier, yes?

"ONE OF US! ONE OF US! CAW CAW!" The bird flapped its wings excitedly. Astra's shoulders bounced in a silent chicken as she oozed deeper into the jungle, continuing her mute tête-à-tête with the rather conversational blue bird. Astra had lots to report, after all.

Celes, oblivious to everything going on around her, continued to drift deeper into her dreams...