Baddest Bish

As the flames engulfed the inn, the gnome emerged from the crowd, his face twisted with anguish as he tried to reason with his enraged husband. "Please, my love, this is not you," he pleaded, his voice trembling with emotion. "This has to be the influence of that imp my love. You are not like this."

But the enraged Catheo paid no heed to his words, his fur ablaze in some areas, his body badly burned but still fueled by fury. With a loud howl, he lunged forward, his claws bared and his eyes blazing with an unquenchable rage.

Just as all hope seemed lost, a sudden barrage of hot rocks rained down upon the beast, halting him in his tracks. He turned around, his gaze falling upon the source of the unexpected attack.

And there she stood, amidst the wreckage of the collapsed area, a figure shrouded in darkness and illuminated by a radiant glow. Her purple and pink hair cascaded around her shoulders in wild waves, starkly contrasting the chaos around her.

As tendrils of black and crimson substance coiled around her, she transformed any the onlookers had ever witnessed. Her once-human appearance began to shift and change, her body contorting and reshaping itself into something altogether otherworldly.

With each passing moment, her features became more pronounced, her bust revealed as the fabric of her outfit seemed to melt away, leaving her clad in nothing but a bikini-like ensemble with shorts. Her thick curves and ample proportions were accentuated by the form-fitting attire, drawing the eyes of all who beheld her.

Despite the flames licking hungrily at her heels, she remained unscathed, her skin glowing with an ethereal light that seemed to defy the laws of nature. Her outfit, no longer mere clothing, appeared to be a living creature of its own, with eyes and mouths scattered across its surface, watching and whispering in silent reverence.

With each step she took, the ground trembled beneath her feet, the very earth bending to her will as she emerged from the inferno unscathed. Her black heels clicked against the scorched earth, a stark contrast to the chaos and destruction surrounding her.

Atop her head, a black crown adorned with intricate designs gleamed in the firelight, a symbol of her newfound power and authority. And as she gazed out at the onlookers with eyes ablaze with determination.

"We feel...Different," they murmured, their voice a harmonious blend of two entities.

"More stable... This... time," they continued, their words punctuated by a sense of certainty.

"We are not as stable as we need to be. We should finish him while we can," they reasoned, their tone tinged with urgency.

"No... He is of our kind. We can free him," they countered, their compassion evident in their voice.

"We will hurt him... He may wish he was finished," they acknowledged, their resolve unwavering.

"We will indeed hurt him, this is true, so why not leave him a gift too?" they suggested, their words tinged with mischief.

The voices danced in harmony, their tones blending and intertwining in a unique symphony of thought. It was a conversation unlike any other, as if speaking to multiple personalities at once, each voice distinct yet unified in purpose. But amidst the cacophony of their shared consciousness, the enraged Catheo remained deaf to their words, consumed by fury and aggression.

With a swift movement, they extended their hand, a mouth forming from the black substance of their crown. The mouth spat forth a viscous black substance, blinding the Catheo and leaving him momentarily disoriented.

As the Catheo stumbled, they seized the opportunity to strike. Their entire suit seemed to come alive, shifting and morphing into a living weapon. Bolas formed in their hand, crafted from the same black substance that adorned their attire. With practiced precision, they hurled the bolas toward the Catheo, aiming to ensnare and bind him in place.

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The voices spoke with a somber tone, their personalities melding together through the fusion. "We have little time left," they muttered, stabilizing themselves as the village guards approached.

"About time," they snapped, their focus shifting to the Enraged Catheo who was now restrained by the bola bindings. With a deft movement, they manipulated the larger ball ends of the bolas, linking them together and effectively immobilizing the Catheo.

As the guards closed in, a piece of the black and red substance from the bola climbed into Catheo's ear, attempting to take control of his mind. But before it could succeed, the bolas sent a tentacle back to the crown, draining the Catheo's energy and weakening his resistance.

"Halt! Hero! Identify yourself," demanded one of the guards.

"We are no hero," they replied, their voice tinged with exhaustion. "Our name?"

"Isn't it Aria?" interjected the gnome wife of the enraged Catheon, her voice filled with concern. "Is he okay?"

"He is fine," they explained, their breaths coming in ragged pants as they struggled to maintain control.

The gnome looked puzzled. "Aren't you that priestess?"

"No, we are not the Priestess," they clarified, their voice carrying a note of solemnity. The confusion on the guard's face was evident as he questioned their use of the plural pronoun.

"The priestess died fighting the imp on the other side," they explained, gesturing toward the direction of the previous confrontation. They turned their gaze to the gnome, a sense of empathy in their eyes. "Let your husband know it was always the imp, not him."

With those final words, they began to slowly melt into a black and red liquid, their form dissolving before the astonished eyes of the villagers. As the villagers rushed to put out the fires that still raged around them, the black bola returned to its source, releasing the Enraged Catheo from its grasp.

The Catheo returned to his normal state, the rage and fury that had consumed him fading away like a distant memory. The gnome, overcome with relief, ran to embrace her husband, tears of joy streaming down her face as she held him close.

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  The Ride North

As the fusion came undone, the suit faded into ashes, revealing the exhausted slug resting on Aria's chest. 

They knew what they had to do: get out of this village. Luckily, there was a way out—a carriage driver heading to a northern city, a one-day journey away. As they settled into the carriage, the driver called out from the front, asking if everything was alright.

Aria cuddled the slime close, a mix of emotions swirling within her. "Why did you make us do that?" she asked in amazement.

The tired slug replied, "What? Fuse? Hell, it was that or die. What the hell did you think I was gonna pick? Plan C failed. So D it was."

"No, you idiot," Aria corrected, "I mean about my death. I would have never... we would have never..." Her voice trailed off, unable to fully articulate her thoughts.

The slug sighed, its tired voice tinged with regret. "You don't quite understand why you know or why you kind of get why I did it, but you don't know why I did it? It's a byproduct of the meld. We were essentially one super hive mind... Every cell in your body was a part of me, and I was a part of you. After living in a willing host, I normally leave them woozy like this."

Aria's brow furrowed in confusion. "And what do you mean I was Plan D? What was C?"

"C was simple," the slug explained. "Take over the Enraged Catheo and have a nice vessel..." Aria's anger flared at the revelation. "Then why even bother faking my death for me?" she demanded.

"Because I have been a part of you," the slug replied solemnly. "And you didn't deserve what happened. As long as you are believed to be dead, you will not have to face that fate again."

Aria's eyes welled up with tears, a mixture of anger and sorrow coursing through her. "What gives you the right to read my mind and my memories?" she cried out.

The slug paused, considering her question carefully. "Your cells are your life, your memories are in your cells. I had no choice. But if it makes you feel better, I did not read your memories. I became one with your cells and lived your life."

Aria sat in the carriage, her breath coming in heavy, ragged gasps as she tried to calm her racing heart. Despite her best efforts, she still felt slightly annoyed, her frustration evident in the way she bit down on her bottom lip. "I hate you so much, you know. And I don't even know your name," she muttered under her breath, her words tinged with resentment.

The tired slug nestled on her chest, its presence a constant reminder of the strange circumstances they found themselves in. It couldn't help but mull over Aria's words. "Curious humans are hard to please," it thought to itself, its thoughts blending with hers in the fusion they shared.

The slug shifted uncomfortably, sensing the tension in the air. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know," it responded meekly, its voice tinged with remorse. Aria sighed, feeling a pang of guilt for lashing out. She realized that she hadn't even bothered to ask the slug for its name.

"It's never had one. Or if I did I do not remember. So many lives and never truly becoming a human in any of them. Never needed a name other than just me." the slug admitted, its voice filled with resignation. Aria was taken aback by this revelation, her curiosity piqued. "But... everyone deserves a name," she mused aloud, her thoughts turning to the slug's unique existence.

The slug shrugged, its form shimmering faintly in the dim light of the carriage. "To be fair, I often take host bodies, or I merge with them," it explained, its words weighted with a sense of inevitability. "And in those cases, names mean little when you die so soon."

Aria considered this for a moment before an idea struck her. "Then how about Twisty?" she suggested, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. "It's simple, but it suits you."

"Twisty?" the slug echoed, its tone laced with uncertainty. Aria nodded eagerly, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.