Chapter 3: I like slimes!

Chapter 3: I like slimes!

Welp, Morrison was dead!

I felt pretty bad about it. Or as close to feeling bad about it as my halted emotional development would permit. I mean, it wasnt really my fault. I dont really understand the concept of fault, anyway. Wasnt that just an excuse to feel bad about yourself when accidents happened? What was the point?

Still, Morrison had been a real pal. An irreplaceable part of me!

I'll never forget the time we spent out here in this darkened forest, sharing our hopes and fears, bonding over our hardships and dreams for the future, telling jokes and singing silly songs

I will treasure these memories in forever!

Goodbye, Morrison! Now Heaven has another precious soul up there, looking down on us! I mean, looking out for us! I know you wouldnt want me to waste my life wallowing in grief.

Dont be trapped in the past, Axe, youd probably say while throwing a comforting arm around my shoulder. Youve got a world out there to see, and a life that needs living! Dont worry about me, my friend

Well meet again someday

Morrison! We will! We really will! Keep a seat ready for me when that day comes, so we can sit together and laugh and tell stories about the old days! Ill carry you forever in my heart! I love you, man!

I love you!

You know, they probably don't have them here in this world, but do you know what would taste really good right now? Nacho Fries! Gosh, I could eat about a million of those! Why does Taco Bell make all the good menu items temporary? That wasn't fair.

Oh, you want to know how Morrison died? Why? You werent like, emotionally invested in that guy, were you? Because if Im being honest, I had a suspicion his story wasnt going to end well. Some people are just doomed by the narrative. It pains me to say this about a friend, but I dont think there was anything that could have been done to save him.

He was just one of those guys

Okay, fine, if you insist! Gosh, I just cant say no to you people.

It all started with the slimes

__

So, as we all know, when youre questing in a world of magic and monsters, slimes are a rite of passage for any fledgling adventurer. They were part of the basic package. Could you even imagine going to a new world and not killing some slimes? It just isnt done!

Thats why I was so excited when Morrison and I came across a clearing of them bobbling around in the sunlight. Slimes! The iconic symbol of adventure itself! The mascot of my favorite copyrighted console Japanese role-playing game series! Slimes! SLIMES!

Slimes, slimes, slimes!

I wanted to touch one to see how it felt!

I wanted to poke one and see if went all jiggly!

I wanted to kill a bunch and see if they evaporated when they died!

Slimes, slimes, slimes!

Morrison was much less enthusiastic about our discovery.

What are you doing? he asked as I guided us towards the adorable little critters. Hey, stop, Axe! Stop, damn it! Cant you see those are slimes?"

Of course, I can! I happily responded. Slimes are awesome! And now I get to chop some up! Isnt life wonderful?

They are not awesome! he shouted. Theyre dangerous! Theyll eat anything they encounter! Anything! Just look at the grass theyre wading through! Look at the grass, Axe!

Okay, I really didnt want to say this about him, but lately, Morrison was being a real pill. Like the medically prescribed kind they forced you to swallow to keep you from injuring the orderlies. These were just slimes, what was the big deal?

Although now that he had pointed it out, I did see that the grass the slimes were moving through had withered and turned brown. If I wasnt mistaken, it was even starting to smoke a little. All throughout the clearing were huge swathes of destroyed plants and blackened dirt.

See? Morrison said. Slimes are a pestilence from hell! Anything they touch, they kill. If they get into your fields, your land will never produce crops again! Theyve been the ruination of many a village!

Well, that was thoroughly untraditional! Slimes were supposed to be cute and fun, not all-consuming harbingers of the wasteland! This was the first time since my rebirth that Id ever felt disappointed in this new world. Destructive slimes? What was the point!

Now Id never get to meet one who said: Im not a bad slime!

Darn it.

Gosh, all right. I guess well have to leave them alone"

Turns out, slimes did evaporate after all. Neat!

Oh, but I was in no mood to celebrate. My steel was tarnished and chipped. Streaks of discoloration and dissolved metal were everywhere. I was a real mess! I was so tired; I couldnt even use Solar Absorption to heal myself! When I tried, exhaustion claimed me, and I passed out.

__

Cmon, Cmon, Cmon! I heard someone say.

Gosh, was I wasted! When I regained consciousness, I saw Morrison standing over me. He had a foot on top of me and was slowly pushing against me with it while he pulled with the arm that connected us. He was trying to pull me out of his body by the roots!

Morrison? I asked him in confusion.

Shut up! he yelled. You monster! You damnedmonster! Fighting that slime took a lot out of you, didnt it? I could feel it! I could feel it through that awful, disgusting connection you forced on me! I know how weak you are now! I know you cant stop me from breaking free!

Breaking free? But Morrison, were friends!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND! he howled with a maniacal glint in his eye. You killed my friends! You imprisoned me inside my own body! You wouldnt let me sleep, and you wouldnt stop singing! Im mutilated! Im a freak! III have endured so much!

But Morrison! Youre beautiful on the inside, and thats what really matters!

Shut up, shut up, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! I hate you! I hate you! I swear in the name of all creation itself, I FUCKING HATE YOU!

Do you really hate me, Morrison? Or are you just upset because Coach cut you from the team?

What the HELL are you even talking aboutNo. No, Im not letting you do this to me anymore. My suffering will end today. Do you know what Im going to do to you, Axe? Hmm? Im going to pull free of you. Then Im going to toss you into that field of slimes and watch them slowly devour you! Do you hear me, monster? Im going to watch you die!

Poor Morrison. The acid from the slime attack must have had an additional effect that had driven him bonkers! I was clearly immune to it, due to being an axe, but he had no such protection.

My poor buddy! I wanted to help him so much, but here I was, helpless as could be! Unable to prevent him from making this awful mistake!

I forgive you, Morrison! I know this isnt you!

Shut up, he growled.

I heard approaching footsteps. Well, I didnt actually hear them, since I dont have any ears, but whatever it was I used in place of ears let me know something was swiftly approaching us. Something big.

Uh, Morrison? Somethings coming"

Im not falling for your bloody tricks, Axe! Now just shut up and let me"

I think it was a troll. Im not sure, Ive never seen one in person before, it could have been an ogre, but I was leaning towards troll. Whatever it was, the darn thing had some height! It was a huge scaley looking mass of muscle, with a pointy nose, and a mouth filled with crocodile teeth. And it was standing right behind Morrison and smiling. Not a friendly smile, either.

I was going to call out another warning, but eh. Morrison was too far gone to listen, the poor fella. There was really nothing I could do. Besides, he looked so happy fantasizing about how he was going to kill me, that I really didnt have the heart to tell him it was too late to run. May as well just let him enjoy his last few moments of joy.

He jumped up, startled, when the monster breathed out over his neck.

What the hell was that? he demanded as he turned his head, before freezing. Ah..AH! AHHH! Troll! Troll! TROLL! he cried.

Oh, nice! It felt good to guess right.

Morrison wasn't feeling good, though. The troll grabbed him by his throat and lifted him into the air, all the while grinning at him with those big, scary teeth. In his panic, Morrison tried to swing me at the monster, but the big guy wasnt having any of that. He grabbed my handle in mid-swing, and tore me out of Morrisons hand, roots and all. I cant even describe the sound of it. It was justsquishy.

He tossed me away behind him. I landed on my side, atop some moss. Still too weak to intervene, all I could do was watch.

Naturally, Morrison started to scream in pain, again, but the troll wasnt having that either. He opened his mouth wide, like a snake with its jaw unhinged, and swallowed my buddy up, all the way to his torso. Then his teeth clacked down with the speed of a guillotine's blade, and bit him in half at the waist. Just like that, my pal was dead!

The troll chewed away, making awful crunching sounds as he did so. Then he lumbered away, leaving Morrison's lower half to rot on the ground.

Ah, Morrison! I swear Ill remember you as you were. A loyal and true friend whod do anything to help the people he cared about! You deserved better in life! You deserved a happy ending! You were one in a million!

Anyway, he was dead now, so I wasnt getting fed to any slimes. Thats not a bad exchange, right? Sure, a better deal would have been neither of us getting killed, but darn it, like I told that one fella tied up in the chair, you can choose your wife, or you can choose your daughter, but you dont get to choose both!

That having been said, I sure was bushed! The moss I was laying on was soft, and I heard crickets chirping gently in the background. There had been a lot to unpack today, a whole lot! Felt like a break was just what I needed. Yeah, I could save todays problems for tomorrow.

What I desired now was a good nap. A good, long nap.

I needed it too. Because when I woke up, I was going troll hunting!