Planet Rock, 99 years after the Slimes fell...
Hiro was a young elven man, age 22. He had long, brunette hair, and bangs that covered one of his eyes. One afternoon, while the sky was orange, he was hunched over at a tree stump near his house, with an axe in hands. CHOP! He cut a log placed atop the stump in half. Then, he placed a new log on the stump, and cut that one too CHOP!
Hiro stopped his chopping to wipe some sweat from his forehead. He looked behind himself, over his shoulder, to a small pile of split logs. He had cut many while he was out here. "That should be enough.", he said to himself.
He retreated to his house, swinging the door open casually as he stepped inside.
Gathered around the living room with Hiro were two other elves. The first was Hiro's mother, Mavis, who sported long, blonde hair and an apron. The second was Hiro's grandfather, O'Brien, a bald old man with a hunched posture and a long, white beard.
"Have you found any work yet, Hiro?", asked Mavis, displeased.
The son shook his head.
Mavis sighed. "Taking care of the housework is fine and all, but it won't put food on the table. You need to keep searching for a job, sweetie."
"I know, mother.", Hiro said reluctantly, "It's just been very hard to find work for someone as inexperienced as me. Perhaps it's time I joined the military, like my father.".
"Hiro, we've been over this!", argued Mavis, "You're not going out into wars and getting yourself killed! I won't let you die like he did!".
Hiro was exhausted. "I'm sorry, mother. But there's just been no work for someone as green as me, not even in these new colonies."
"Well maybe you're not searching hard enough."
"You don't understand, mother."
O'Brien chimed into the conversation. "Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on your son, Mavis? He's doing the best he can."
"Don't you start, father-in-law.", said Mavis, "You're the one who keeps getting us further into debt. Your terrible poker luck has only made a bad situation worse.".
"Oh, and that reminds me..." O'Brien then changed the subject, looking over to Hiro. "Grandson, I have some urgent news to give you. Your little sister has run off again! She said she was going to play in those ancient ruins near our village."
"You need me to fetch her?", asked Hiro.
O'Brien nodded.
"Very well. I'll have her returned before dinner. Wish me luck!"
Hiro left the house to begin his search soon after. Alone, Mavis and O'Brien continued to speak.
"What's wrong with that girl of mine?", asked Mavis, "She knows the wilds outside the colonies are infested with monsters. Does she WANT to get herself mauled and eaten?".
"Hiro will find her before anything can happen. He always does."
Hiro stood in the middle of a forest, not too far from home. Before him was a small castle of yellowish-white stone. The castle had been broken in many places, and wrapped with vines and other overgrowth. It was nothing more than mere ruins now.
"Here we go again..."
Hiro stepped inside the ruined castle. The interior was just as decrepit and rotten as the exterior, if not more. It was a dark place, illuminated only by the sunlight seeping in through the cracks and holes.
He called out to his sister. "Haley! Haley, where are you?! You know you're not supposed to be here!"
At first, he didn't see anything. But he soon heard some loud, childish giggling. He followed the sounds, knowing they'd take him to her.
He ran through a dark hallway. "Haley! Haley!", he called out. He hoped for a response, but only got more giggling.
It was then that he found her, his younger sister Haley. Despite being siblings, there was a significant gap in their ages. Haley was a young teenager, only 13. But she shared the same brunette hair as Hiro himself.
"You came at a perfect time, Hiro!", Haley said, happily ignoring her brother's distress.
"Haley, our mom and granddad are worried about you. You should come back with me."
"But I just found a secret passageway!" She gestured to a doorway nearby, perpendicular to the hall they were in. The doorway was just as dark, with a flight of stairs seen going down, into the abyss below.
"I just had to press a certain brick, and the whole wall came open for me! Come on! Let's explore it!"
The elder brother looked at the doorway for a moment, and stared down the stairs. "I wouldn't do it. There could be monsters down there, or worse! We should just go home!"
But Haley ignored him and giggled. She eagerly ran down the stairs.
As Hiro followed Haley down the stairs, the musty smell of damp stone grew stronger with each step. The air grew thicker and heavier, and their footsteps echoed eerily in the unknown depths. Suddenly, the staircase ended, opening up into a large chamber. It was too small to be a dungeon, and was more akin to an underground bunker.
At the far wall of the room, there was a pedestal, with what looked like a giant egg on top of it. The egg was green, and had what looked like a spiral-shaped fin wrapping around it. The strange egg pulsated with a mysterious energy. It looked like it had been perfectly alive and well while this isolated underground.
"What is this place? And what is that... THING?", Hiro asked to himself.
"It looks like a secret treasure room!", Haley speculated, "I bet that thing is treasure! Think of how much it could be worth, Hiro! We could finally pay off granddad's debts!".
Hiro stepped curiously towards the egg. He held out his hand to it. "Could it really be treasure?", he wondered aloud.
He lightly touched the egg. Immediately, it began to glow a strange light from the top of it. Hiro withdrew his hand, unsure what he had just done. He watched as the egg "unfolded" itself, like a bud blooming into a flower. The lights became brighter and brighter.
When the lights had finally faded, the egg was gone. In its place was a white Slime creature, with beautiful eyes and a crown on top of it. The Slime's eyes were half-closed, as if it were just waking up from a nap.
Hiro and Haley stood in awe at the white slime creature before them. It just stood there on the pedestal, blinking its eyes and trying to wake itself up. Hiro instinctively moved away from it, but he couldn't take his eyes away.
"What is this creature?", Hiro asked with disbelief.
The slime soon became fully aware of its surroundings. It looked directly at Hiro, with slight confusion. "I could say the same thing about you.", the slime spoke. Its voice was female-sounding, and actually rather beautiful. "What are YOU?"
"It talked!", Hiro exclaimed with panic. He and Haley looked at each other, both were very surprised at this turn of events.
"I'll ask again...", said the white slime, "What are you?".
Hiro tried to gain his composure. "My name is Hiro, and this is my sister Haley. We are both elves. And you?"
"My name is Relda.", answered the slime, "Princess Relda. I am a Slime, but not just any Slime. I am a Royal Slime."
Relda continued to speak. "I feel a disturbance. What year is it?"
"The year?", said Hiro. He paused, then answered. "It's 3120, PE."
"3120?", asked Relda. She suddenly became distressed. "Oh no! I've awoken a year too early! The cocoon was supposed to undo itself in 3121!"
"My apologies.", said Hiro. It became clear to him that the slime was not some mindless beast, and that he could hold conversation with him. "If you don't mind me asking, how are you alive? I thought the slimes went extinct nearly a century ago."
Relda the white Slime paused for a moment. Her curious facial expression turned to one of sudden sadness. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. "You're right. I remember... something. Something happened to our kingdom, and we were almost wiped out."
"I know this may sound strange to you elves, but I was there when our kingdom fell. I don't remember what happened to us. I just remember that it was a disaster."
Hiro was even more intrigued. "You were there nearly a century ago? How have you lived for that long? And how did you survive where the other Slimes fell?"
Relda paused again. "My mother... she was the Slime Queen. She gave her life to protect me. She gave me her crown and sealed me in that cocoon. It's because of her that I was able to escape certain doom."
"So, does that mean... you're the last of your kind?", asked Hiro.
Relda sadly nodded. "I suppose that does."
"So you're not a princess anymore!", said Haley, unfittingly cheerful, "You're a queen now! You are Relda, the Slime Queen!".
Relda sighed. "You're right, elf girl. I am now the Slime Queen. I wear my mother's crown, but am a queen with no subjects."
"I have so many questions about this!", said Hiro, "What was the disaster that befell your people? What were you doing in these ancient ruins? I need answers!".
"Ancient ruins?", asked Relda with disbelief. She looked around. "Oh dear. I can see what you mean. This place is a mess."
"Where is this?"
"This USED to be the Slime Queen's castle. But I can see it's fallen into disrepair over the years. The castle has indeed become ruins."
The elves and the slime all stood there for a moment. None said a word. That was until Hiro and Haley heard a strange, high-pitched howling come from behind them. The elves turned around to find a pair of monsters greeting them.
The monsters were short reptillians, with large heads and only two limbs that serves as legs. And they seemed hungry for flesh.
"Monsters!", Hiro cried out with surprise.
Haley clung to her brother's side. Her giggling demeanor was gone when faced with real danger, and she hoped for her brother to do something.
Before Hiro could react, however, Relda jumped from the pedestal and charged towards the two reptillian specimen. The white Slime formed an appendage from her gooey body, and used it to deliver a strike to one of the creatures, akin to a punch. The creature was sent flying backwards, hitting a wall in the chamber.
This caught the ire of the second creature, who know perceived Relda as its main threat. The lizard whipped its tongue out at the Slime, to try to strike it. But Relda quickly evaded the strike by contorting her shape. She became taller and narrower, and the tongue missed her.
From there, Relda charged towards the second lizard and regrew the gooey appendage to punch this one too. The lizard was sent hurtling towards a wall as well.
Hiro and Haley observed the two lizard creatures, unconscious near the walls they struck, as Relda stood triumphant. "That was amazing!", said Hiro, "You're strong for a Slime!".
"I am not an ordinary Slime!", declared Relda, "I am Queen Relda III, a Royal Slime! We Royals are born stronger than our common brethren! Mere lizard-lings like those stand no chance against one like me!".
The Slime Queen approached the two unconscious creatures. "Now if you don't mind, elves, I'd like a bit of privacy while I eat."
"While you... eat?", asked Hiro, confused.
"I do apologize.", said Relda, "It's unbecoming of a newly-crowned Slime monarch to devour whole creatures. But do understand. I've been in that cocoon for nearly a century, and I am feeling rather hungry.".
Hiro smiled. "I get you. If it's a monster meal you want, then dig in, your majestic slimy-ness!" He then looked to his sister. "Speaking of meals, I promised to have Haley back home by dinner." He looked to his sister. "Let's go, shall we?"
Haley looked over to Relda. "This Slime just saved our lives. Could we at least invite her over to our house when she's finished... eating?"
Hiro then nodded. "That's actually a good idea." He looked back to Relda "We'll wait outside for you, okay?"
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