*(mood song: "Temper City - Self Aware")
Erik woke up feeling refreshed.
Checking the display on his arm, he realized he had slept for twelve hours straight.
Erik: "I guess I was more tired than I thought... huh?"
Only then did he realize he couldn't stand up.
Inky and Timberly were still sleeping on either side of him, hugging him tightly, their morning wood both pressed firmly against him.
Erik sighed and flicked his finger against them both, causing them to wake up.
Timberly: "W-what, where...? Why did you do that?"
Inky: "Ugh... not funny, dear."
Erik: "Haha. Well, now that you are both awake, let's stand up."
Timberly nodded and stood first, stretching her arms.
She then looked at Erik.
Timberly: "Wanna do some stretching exercises with me?"
Erik: "Sure, but..."
He looked at her crotch and then pointed toward the door.
Erik: "You should probably go to the bathroom first."
Timberly looked down at herself, seeing her morning wood, and blushed.
Timberly: "Hmmm... yes... I should."
She exited the room and immediately saw Rose.
Timberly: "Is there a bathroom here?"
Rose opened one of her eyes.
Rose: "Yes. Door next to the room. Let me unlock it."
A door opened in the wall beside their room.
Timberly immediately went inside.
Meanwhile, Erik tried to wake Inky once more.
But she had already fallen asleep again.
Inky: "Hmmm... just let me sleep more..."
Erik: "...Sigh. Fine, as you wish, gonna go help Rose."
Inky: "hnn okay..." rapidly falling asleep again.
He had heard Rose earlier too, so he entered the bathroom too.
Everything inside had a metallic shine.
A huge toilet, a bathtub, and a sink.
Everything looked like it had been designed for creatures much larger than ordinary humans.
Timberly was already using the bathroom, stroking herself while sitting on a toilet, but she became embarrassed when Erik entered.
Erik: "Not like it's the first time I've seen you naked."
Timberly nodded, relaxing a little.
Timberly: "True..."
She paused.
Timberly: "I don't really mind if it's you seeing me." stretching her body.
Erik heard her but ignored the comment.
Erik: "Are you done? I need to use the toilet too."
Timberly: "W-Well, I peed already, but I was gonna... y-yeah, I'm finished."
She moved away from the toilet and awkwardly tried to put her clothes and armor back on, but it didn't fit due to her still hard morning wood.
Timberly sighed.
Timberly: "...Forget it."
Instead, she sat inside the bathtub and turned the water on.
Timberly: "...Need to relax for a while...I could use a hand if you could-"
Erik walked toward the toilet.
Erik: "Sorry, Timberly, but I'm gonna go check on Rose if there's anything I can help with. You can join once you have finished... relieving yourself. Just try to aim at the bathtub when you... spray. We don't wanna leave a mess here haha."
Timberly blushed: "Hmm, okay..."
A few minutes later, Erik finished his morning routine, but before he left the bathroom, he flashed a boob at Timberly, who had been peeking at him the entire time while slowly massaging her morning wood.
Erik chuckled: "There, finish fast, okay?"
Timberly nodded as she got to work fervently.
Rose was waiting outside as Erik left the bathroom.
Rose: "Good morning~."
Erik stretched.
Erik: "Morning. How's the cleanup going?"
Rose's expression immediately became more serious.
Rose: "Better. The black monster is barely alive, the water is almost all pumped away, and lots of other small critters infesting the facility are all dying from the corrosive gas."
Erik: "That's good. Were there many other creatures? How did you find them?"
Rose: "Well, the geothermal system is supplying enough energy now to operate most of the maintenance systems, so operating the flying maintenance drones, it was easy to locate holes and changes in the layout where they have their nests."
Erik: "Interesting, what kind of creatures survived down here?"
Rose: "Nothing big, as there are no major food sources or sunlight, but there were polyps that lived from the heat and minerals of the lava pool, and crab-like creatures that ate them, also rat-like slugs that parasitized them. None of them were a real threat, but I prefer all the pests dead"
Erik nodded: "Know the feeling. My grandpa once had a cockroach infestation in his house"
Rose: "Yes... something like that"
She pointed toward the corridor.
Rose: "The ventilation is working. The pumps are working. My bots are also beginning to reach the lower levels."
Erik looked down the corridor.
Erik: "So we can finally go see your body?"
Rose smiled.
Rose: "Not quite."
Erik: "...Of course."
Rose: "The main chamber has been isolated while the disinfection process finishes and that black thing and other critters show no further signs of life."
Erik sighed.
Erik: "How long?"
Rose: "The main chamber itself is already safe enough if you can reach it."
Erik's eyes widened.
Erik: "Then let's go."
Rose blinked.
Rose: "You just woke up. Isn't it better to wait until I'm finished?"
Erik: "Can't sleep anymore after twelve hours, and now I'm bored."
Rose: "Well, you are not really alone down here. You are in the company of three beautiful ladies, four including yourself, plenty of ways to pass the time, right? You could also give a hand to poor Timberly in the bathroom~"
Erik: "I could... but I don't feel in the mood while down here. I came to help you, and that is my priority"
Rose blushed and stared at him.
Erik stared back.
Rose sighed.
Rose: "...Fine."
She opened another door.
Rose: "But you need proper protection. At least let's make a proper suit. If any acid passes through the nanobots in your power armor, it could char your lungs."
Beyond the door was a gigantic repair room.
Rows of ancient workstations covered the walls.
Mechanical arms hung from the ceiling.
Half-finished machines stood on metal tables.
Old helmets, tools, and components were scattered across shelves.
Erik slowly walked inside.
Erik: "What is this place?"
Rose looked around.
Rose: "This was one of the technicians' maintenance rooms."
Erik picked up an old tool.
Erik: "How old is this?"
Rose: "Older than mankind, haha."
Erik: "...wow."
Rose smiled.
Rose: "Most of these machines were used when my maintenance staff still had to physically repair my systems."
Erik looked around.
Erik: "And now you can repair everything yourself."
Rose: "Yes."
Erik: "So why keep the room then?"
Rose: "Because I like it. It's kind of like why humans have museums or keep things, for the memories."
Erik smiled.
Erik: "Fair."
He walked toward one of the workstations.
Erik: "So can't I just use my power armor?"
Rose: "The power armor you copied into your nanobots was designed to counter water pressure, and that's different from acid corrosive gas. You would waste too much energy trying to repair the damaged nanobots. Much better to get you a fitted suit you can use, made of anticorrosion materials."
Erik nodded: "Alright, so I need something completely sealed."
Rose nodded.
Rose: "And you need an independent breathing supply too."
Erik: "For how long does it need to work?"
Rose: "Twelve hours should be enough under ideal conditions."
Erik raised an eyebrow.
Erik: "Ideal conditions?"
Rose: "Yes, like that black thing seems almost dead, but lots of the access bridges are broken, so you will need to rappel down, and while six hours would probably be enough, it's better to be safe and also account for a return path."
Erik: "...Well, I'd rather have too much air than not enough, and I'm good with rappelling and can carry quite a bit of weight too."
Rose laughed.
Rose: "Then better get to it then."
Erik began gathering components.
Armor plates, ceramic seals, magnetic joints, filters, pressure regulators, a compact power core.
Then he found several enormous air tanks.
Erik: "What about some of these?" while he examined them.
Rose: "Those are emergency air reserves."
Erik: "Perfect."
Rose: "They're meant for creatures much bigger than you."
Erik: "Even better."
Rose: "Hmm, two should be enough then. We need to refill them with a proper air mix. Move them to the station on that corner. There's a molecular pump there"
Hours passed.
The machines around the room began moving.
CLANK.
CLANK.
VMMMMMMMM...
Mechanical arms cut and shaped pieces of metal while Erik assembled them.
The armor gradually became larger and heavier than even his normal power armor suit.
Every joint was sealed.
Every connection received multiple redundant locking mechanisms.
A large cylindrical air tank was mounted onto the back.
Then another.
Erik stepped inside.
The helmet sealed around his head.
HISSSSSSS.
The suit pressurized.
A display appeared.
AIR RESERVE: 12:03:17
Erik smiled.
Erik: "Perfect."
Rose looked at the armor.
Rose: "You look like a walking maintenance machine."
Erik: "Wasn't that the point, haha?"
Rose nodded: "I approve."
She opened the main door.
Rose: "Now you are ready. Come."
Erik followed her with heavy steps, his muscles now straining to move the huge mass, as this suit used a passive exoskeleton to distribute weight. The power core he found barely had any charge for displays and air systems, so he hadn't bothered with designing power armor since it was a one-use suit anyways.
They descended through a couple of bridges and past the now-dying black mass as it thrashed around wildly. Erik had to rappel down with that heavy suit to avoid the damaged areas, and he was panting inside from the strain.
Lots of bridges were completely broken, and while Rose could nimbly parkour her way down, he had to find a suitable anchor point, hook a magnetic release anchor knot around it, and rappel down, then disconnect the magnet and reel the metal cable each time.
Finally, they reached a closed door and went through it. After that door closed behind them and the air changed, another door opened in front of them, completing the airlock.
Erik: "Finally... made it... and it's only five hours.... ufff, can I take the suit... off now?" he could barely feel his arms at this point, and the air inside the helmet was hot and humid, making condensation cloud the visor.
Rose: "Hmm, better leave it on. The air might be stale inside. I need to wait till the cleaning outside is finished before I can pump fresh air inside here"
Erik nodded: "Alright, let me... catch my breath for a second then..., that rappel... was awful..."
Rose smiled: "Sure, no hurry, we can just walk slowly"
The deeper they went, the stranger the environment became.
The pristine ceramic walls gradually disappeared.
Organic material began appearing between the ancient structures.
At first, only thin strands.
Then thicker veins.
Then enormous pieces of flesh.
Erik stopped.
Erik: "...Is this you?"
Rose nodded.
Rose: "Yes, all of it."
The corridor opened into an enormous dome chamber.
Erik stepped inside.
And froze.
A gigantic wall of flesh occupied all walls of the chamber as far as the eye could see.
It was impossible to understand its scale.
Veins thicker than buildings crossed its surface.
Bundles of nerves pulsed beneath translucent tissue.
Massive arteries disappeared into the walls.
Occasionally, something moved beneath the flesh.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
A slow heartbeat echoed throughout the chamber.
Erik stared.
Erik: "...Holy shit."
Rose smiled.
Rose: "Welcome to my main body."
Erik slowly looked around.
Erik: "So this is your body..."
Rose: "Part of it."
Erik: "Part?"
Rose: "My nervous system is spread throughout the entire structure, and this would be the maintenance area of my body."
Erik approached the wall.
Erik: "And all of this is alive?"
Rose: "Most of it."
Erik: "Most?"
Rose pointed toward a huge dark section.
Rose: "That part died a very long time ago, mostly memory storage areas."
Erik looked at it.
Erik: "Can you feel it or recover it?"
Rose shook her head: "Not anymore. Those memories are already gone. That area of flesh has been starved of nutrients for too long. It's energy redirected to keeping the rest of me alive."
She paused.
Rose: "But I can give it to you."
Erik turned.
Erik: "...What?"
Rose extended a small tendril toward the dead tissue, and a section of dead neural tissue was separated from the wall by the tendril, and Rose grabbed it. She then handed it to Erik.
It looked strangely dry compared to the surrounding flesh, like dark, spongy jerky.
Rose: "A tiny piece of the ultimate bioengineered neural tissue. It's just dried out, not rotten, so its DNA should be fine and safe to eat."
Erik stared at it.
Erik: "You're serious?"
Rose: "Very."
Erik frowned.
Erik: "So you are okay with me eating a part of you?"
Rose: "Yes."
Erik: "Then what happens if I eat it?"
Rose: "Your body will incorporate the useful genetic information, and that will affect your entire nervous system... it will probably hurt quite a bit."
Erik looked at the piece again.
Then at Rose.
Erik: "Alright."
He opened his face visor, quickly chucked the meat into his mouth, and closed it again, a smell of rotten flesh still lingering on his helmet.
For a few minutes... nothing happened.
Erik: "Tastes terrible."
Rose: "Well, cooking it would destroy the DNA, haha."
Then his entire body froze.
Erik: "...Rose?"
Rose's expression changed.
Rose: "Ah."
Erik: "What?"
Rose: "It's starting. Your digestion is indeed remarkably fast."
Pain exploded through his body.
Erik dropped to one knee.
Erik: "AAAAAGH!"
His vision blurred.
Every nerve in his body seemed to ignite simultaneously.
His brain felt like it was being pulled apart and rebuilt.
Erik: "ROSE!"
Rose immediately moved toward him.
Rose: "Don't fight it, just relax!"
Erik clenched his fists.
Erik: "Easier... said..."
His suit automatically started beeping alerts as it detected his rapidly changing neurological activity.
WARNING.
NEURAL ACTIVITY EXCEEDS NORMAL INPUT PARAMETERS.
Erik collapsed.
Rose caught him with several tendrils coming out of the ground.
Rose: "Easy..."
His body convulsed once.
Then went completely still.
Rose watched the readings.
Rose: "Your neurons are reorganizing."
She smiled.
Rose: "Interesting."
Several minutes passed.
The changes continued.
His nervous system became denser.
Neural pathways multiplied.
Signals traveled faster.
The biological structures connecting his brain and muscles changed almost completely.
Finally...
The readings stabilized.
Rose: "Done."
Erik didn't respond.
Rose carefully lifted him.
Several fleshy tendrils emerged from the walls and floors.
They wrapped gently around him and carried him across the chamber, then took him off the suit, as a sofa made from warped flesh formed beneath him and molded to his shape as Rose lowered him onto it.
She then connected a tendril to his neck and mouth to breathe and control his body's functions for him for the time being, till his nervous system regenerated.
Rose caressed his face: "Sleep" and looked at him quietly.
Rose: "...Now we really are family."
She touched his forehead with one tiny tendril.
Rose: "We even share DNA now, like you and the octopeople... like the octopeople..."
She returned her attention to her body.
Rose: "Maybe I should make a humanoid organic body too..." Her tentacle on his neck took a sample of blood before starting to pump nutrients into his bloodstream again. "Or I could just replace the important... parts of this body with organic ones, but then I would need a digestive system and a circulatory system regardless, and that would strain this battle body. It already has my neural tissue inside, so the sensations are realistic anyway..." pondering to herself, "Although if the goal is only reproduction, I could just make a chamber of flesh down here and... no, he might freak out mating with flesh dolls and tentacles... maybe making a humanoid spare organic body is the best bet..."
Six hours later...
Erik opened his eyes.
He stared at the organic ceiling above him.
Erik: "...What?"
He slowly sat up and reeked.
Erik: "Where am I? It smells awful here and-" he coughed "Why is my mouth slimy... ugh"
Rose's voice came from nearby.
Rose: "You passed out."
Erik rubbed his head.
Erik: "I noticed."
Rose: "Your brain needed time to adapt."
Erik looked at his hands.
He clenched his fist.
Then released it.
Erik: "...Everything feels faster, and clearer."
Rose smiled.
Rose: "It is."
Erik looked at her.
Erik: "How much faster?"
Rose: "Your reaction time has improved considerably. Your nervous system can process information much faster now."
Erik stood and almost stumbled.
Erik: "Whoa."
Rose caught him: "Careful."
Erik steadied himself.
Erik: "I feel like I drank twenty energy drinks."
Rose laughed.
Rose: "That will fade." She then removed the tendril connected to his neck as the wound closed quickly
Erik: "What was that for?"
Rose: "One to your mouth and another to your neck. With your nervous system unavailable, I was breathing for you, and even keeping your organs working for you. Your heart, your kidneys... well, you get it, so get back inside your suit for now"
Erik got back inside the suit that was standing nearby.
He then looked toward the gigantic wall of flesh.
Erik: "...So this is really you."
Rose: "Yes."
Erik walked closer.
For the first time, he could see Rose's true body.
Erik: "It's strange."
Rose: "Why?"
Erik: "I've been talking to you for so long."
He looked at the enormous wall.
Erik: "And this is what you actually look like."
Rose smiled.
Rose: "Meeting face to face, finally."
Erik laughed.
Erik: "Technically, you're still a wall."
Rose: "A very beautiful wall, I hope?"
Erik: "Sure, sure, Lovecraft would love it."
Rose chuckled: "Rude."
Erik smiled.
Then a vibration passed through the chamber from the top.
THOOOOOOM.
Both of them looked toward the ceiling.
Erik: "The black creature? it seemed dead earlier"
Rose: "Yes, it's about to die."
Another vibration.
THOOOOOOM.
Rose checked the readings.
Rose: "...It's slowing down."
Erik: "What about the pumps?"
Rose: "They've removed all of the contaminated water."
She paused.
Rose: "The creature is no longer moving."
Erik walked toward a monitor that had emerged from the fleshy ground.
The previous chamber appeared on the screen.
The black mass was visible beneath layers of machinery.
Rose: "Now I will start pumping boiling filtered water to pasteurize any remaining living part." She pointed at the monitor.
On the screen, boiling water rained down on the creature as a sensor on the screen indicated the temperature.
100°C.
At 140°C, the water started boiling.
At 200°C, scalding steam occupied the entire screen as it was impossible to see anything anymore.
The black mass stopped pulsing completely.
Rose watched the readings.
Rose: "...It's dead."
Silence.
Erik: "Finally."
Rose: "Well, at least it's some needed biomass."
A huge amount of blackened solid material remained.
Erik: "So what do we do with it?"
Rose smiled.
Rose: "Digest it."
Erik paled: "I'm not gonna eat that"
Rose chuckled: "Not you, me"
Erik: "...You can digest that?"
Rose: "Of course."
She opened a massive chamber door of flesh on one of the walls.
Inside was an enormous digestive system.
Multiple tendril arms descended from the ceiling.
A gigantic circular chamber waited beneath them, with a gigantic metallic grinder on top.
Rose: "One of my digestor chambers."
Erik stared.
Erik: "That's a digestive system?"
Rose: "Industrialized."
Erik: "Right."
Bots began cutting the dead creature into manageable sections. Erik turned around as he saw dozens of bots entering the room carrying huge chunks of black flesh.
CLANK.
SHRRRKK.
THOOM.
Large pieces were moved into the digestor room, as tendrils from the ceiling dragged the chunks and threw them into the grinder.
HISSSSSSS.
Rose activated the system.
The machinery began grinding the material.
VMMMMMMMM...
Chemical processing began on a gigantic stomach below.
Organic matter was broken down.
Minerals were separated.
Useful compounds were extracted.
Energy readings slowly climbed.
Erik: "So you're really eating it..."
Rose: "Yes."
Erik: "That's disgusting. Does it have a sense of taste?"
Rose: "Haha, no, and you did eat a piece of my dead brain. It's all nutrients."
Erik paused.
Erik: "...Fair point, but you told me to eat it."
Rose laughed.
Rose: "The digestor will convert the biomass into usable nutrients and energy."
Erik: "And you can use that to repair yourself?"
Rose: "Exactly, the same as you when you eat too."
She looked toward another screen.
Rose: "And there is plenty more biomass available."
Erik followed her gaze.
On the monitor, thousands of corpses were being transported through the facility.
Lizardmen.
Monsters.
Large creatures from the ruined city.
Erik: "That's a lot of corpses."
Rose: "Well, a lot of repairs are needed. So it's actually not that much considering my size."
Erik: "How are they getting down here?"
Rose: "The elevators."
Erik blinked.
Erik: "You fixed them already?"
Rose: "Three of them."
The screen showed massive magnetic elevators moving rapidly through the enormous shaft.
VMMMMMMMMMMMM...
A platform descended.
It was filled with corpses.
Then another platform rose.
Empty.
Then another descended.
Filled again.
Erik: "That's actually pretty efficient."
Rose: "It took hundreds of bots to clean the tracks and reconnect the rails."
She paused.
Rose: "The rest are being repaired."
Erik looked down the shaft.
Erik: "What if we just used a giant tube?"
Rose looked at him.
Erik: "You know those emergency escape tubes from burning buildings?"
Rose: "Yes?."
Erik: "We could make one that goes all the way down."
Rose stared at him.
Erik: "Then we just throw the bodies inside."
Rose: "No, that wouldn't work optimally."
Erik: "Why?"
Rose: "The corpses aren't all soft, and their claws and teeth would rip the tube."
Erik: "...True, what about grinding the bodies first?"
Rose: "I have a gigantic grinder already here. Why would I make a mess up there?"
Erik: "...Fair."
Rose: "And the tube would need to be several kilometers long too."
Erik: "We could reinforce it."
Rose: "Then it would become heavier and harder to install."
Erik nodded.
Erik: "Sigh, elevators then. You are right."
Rose: "Also..."
She pointed toward a pile of goop on the screen.
Rose: "I also already tried the idea of throwing them down in case you asked."
Erik: "You did?"
Rose: "Once."
Erik: "And?"
Rose: "Never again."
Erik: "Why?"
Rose: "The bodies hit the bottom at terminal velocity. Even with netting, it was useless. Too soft and the net breaks. Too tough and the flesh just gets cut through the net, or bounces back, leaving a mess everywhere."
She paused.
Rose: "It was way too messy either way."
Erik winced.
Erik: "...Right, elevators it is then."
Rose nodded.
Rose: "Three magnetic elevators. Fast enough to transport hundreds of tons per hour."
Erik watched another elevator descend on the screen.
VMMMMMMMMMMMM...
Erik: "How fast are the elevators?"
Rose: "Around 800 to 900 km/h at top speed."
Erik smiled.
Erik: "That is impressive."
Rose: "Yes, would you like to ride it."
Erik winced: "No thanks, the way they instantly accelerate and decelerate is way too scary"
Rose laughed: "I will accelerate and decelerate them gradually for you then, don't worry ~"
The elevators disappeared into the darkness up and came back.
The enormous shaft no longer such an obstacle.
It had become a highway.
Bodies went down and transformed into nutrients.
For the first time in eons... sufficient nutrients flowed into Rose's main body, beginning to heal and repair her body.
Erik looked toward her enormous organic wall.
Erik: "How long until you're fully healed?"
Rose thought for a moment.
Rose: "Depends on how much biomass we process."
Erik: "So... weeks?"
Rose: "Probably months, or even years to heal completely."
Erik sighed.
Erik: "At least we're finally making progress. Can't wait for you to be all better."
Rose smiled: "Were you that worried about me?"
Erik: "Of course, you are my friend, and I owe you my life. How could I not worry?"
She looked at him.
Rose: "Aww, now we even share DNA, just friends? Aren't we family now?"
Erik raised an eyebrow but then smiled as he hugged her shoulder.
Erik: "Yes, you are right. We are family and were already family before, and as your family, I can't wait to help you feel better"
Rose: "Then you should probably get used to being inside me~."
Erik looked around at the enormous chamber.
Erik: "...I have a feeling that's going to sound strange every single time you say it."
Rose laughed.
Rose: "Probably~." A sofa made of flesh came out from the ground. "You can take off the suit now. I finished renewing the air" She sat on the sofa and patted it. "Come sit, and let's chat for a while"
Erik nodded and took off the suit, sitting beside her.
Erik:"Shouldn't we cut off your dead tissue so new tissue can grow?"
Another group of bots passed behind them.
Rose: "Don't worry, I'm controlling the bots to do that. The flesh that needs to be cut off is equivalent to several entire states, so regrettably your help wouldn't mean much of a difference, as it's work that can't be rushed"
Hundreds of corpses were chucked into the depths of the digestor system as tendrils threw them onto a huge metallic grinder, letting out a fine paste underneath.
And somewhere beneath them...
The ancient digestors filled with more acid and enzymes to digest the paste that fell inside.
Erik: "In that case, shouldn't we investigate that vault left behind by your creators? Maybe we could tweak the evolution field and your... mind-reading systems?"
Rose: "Hmm, it should be in the direction of the dead flesh, so I'm not exactly sure where it is... but once I find it for sure, we should get ready to open that main vault"
Erik: "Alright, now that sounds like adventure, exploring unexplored alien installations"
Rose: "Oh? Wasn't my body interesting enough~?" A flesh tentacle caressing his cheek.
Erik shrugged: "Well, it's cool, but something even you don't know seems more like an adventure, right?"
Rose: "Well, I do have to agree with that. I'm always open to learning new things~" She then fidgeted nervously for a moment before sighing, "Erik... I think I... I-"
Erik grabbed her hands: "I love you too Rose"
An earthquake-like vibration rocked the place as her body's pulse quickened.
Rose: "You do? y-yes, but I mean... like Inky, Timberly, Sarah... I love you like that"
Erik laughed: "That's exactly what I meant too, haha" grabbing her chin and kissing her cheek.
Rose blushed, put her head on his shoulder, and hugged him, tendrils emerging from the floor and hugging him too.
Rose: "I feel... stable, happy, hopeful. I became too self-aware of my feelings long ago. But I was afraid my true form would scare you, so I didn't get my hopes up, but... in your mind..." She blushed again.
Erik chuckled: "Go ahead, tell me what I think about your body"
Rose: "You think it's cool and beautiful..." She hugged him tightly. "I love you, Erik"
Erik: "I love you too, Rose" hugging Rose back. "So what now, are you fine with our current relationship?"
Rose chuckled: "Yes, I've lived for eons, so you could say I like taking things slow, haha. But don't worry, you won't age as long as I can avoid it, and with your new nervous system, living for thousands of years shouldn't be an issue, so take your time with Inky and Sarah if you want. It's fine. We have eternity to be together after all"
Meanwhile, a drowsy Inky stretched lazily in bed and woke up, seeing Timberly sleeping on the bed and Erik gone. She exited the room.
Seeing Rose was also gone, she muttered to herself: "Must have gone with Rose... might as well take a bath and sleep some more, wish I had something to eat, sigh..."
She drowsily found the bathroom and the bathtub and got inside, only to find something was strange. It was already full, warm, and... slimy for some reason.
Her mind slowly woke up as she lifted her hand out of the water, seeing the strands of gel-like fluid flow between her fingers.
Inky: "Ugh, this ain't water..." She then realised the balls floating in the water. "Eggs this size... ugh, Timberly... hmm, won't eating them make me stronger, though... I'm hungry too." She shrugged and ate them all. She then changed the water in the bathtub and, after a quick shower, went back to sleep, stretching in bed with her body still wet from the shower as she finally found a comfy position and fell asleep again.