An Alien World

There was very little that a slime from the Far, Far Range could do on its own. All slimes ever could do is eat and look cute, but that often depended on what breed of slime they were. Pink slimes were the most abundant slime of the Far, Far Range, and their bright red hue was due in part to the pigment they absorbed from the native coral of their homeworld.

There was one slime in particular that contained a human consciousness, but had their body transformed into a slime. Or perhaps they were reborn as a slime? Such semantics bothered this slime to a great degree. However, the slime was also concerned with other matters.

The slime looked down at the ground with wide eyes. "Okay Brent. Just... Just stay calm. Yeah. There's... There's no need to cry out in fear. I can... I can... Oh chutes and ladders, what can I do? Maybe... Maybe I should try and remember how I got here? Yeah. Yeah, that's a start."

Brent, the newly transformed pink slime, slid toward a nearby trunk of a tree to begin remembering his recent past. His mind tried to focus on the blobs of disorganized memory that was in his mind, but found little to decipher. He remembered... Being inside of a building? No. It was... It was outdoors, perhaps? He remembered going through a portal. ... Or a teleporter gate of some kind? There was yelling. Brent saw something within the teleporter's gate. It looked like something, or someone, he knew? He tried to grab them. There was a flash of pain, followed by the next thing he had woken up to, suffocating darkness and hunger.

However, his mind was too muddled to make any sense with. Brent wasn't even sure if he still even had a mind at all. From what he learned of slimes during his stay on the Far, Far Range, slimes were exceedingly simple creatures. To Brent, they were described as a complex multicellular mass that acted in unison as a single celled organism, sometimes bearing certain abilities if it was a certain breed of slime.

Brent shook his head, or a pink slime equivalent. "Guh. Head is too congested to think straight. I need to find some help. Find some people that can get me back to civilization. ... Why am I talking to myself so much?"

Brent's mind was reminded of that red building he saw earlier. It was jagged in appearance, but smoke usually means a building had life residing within it. Yes, that seemed to make sense to Brent. If he went to that building and knocked on its door, he would then be one step closer to leaving this beachside forest and finding civilization. He was convinced that he would find humanity and rejoin it once more, and perhaps find a way to turn back into a human again.

Brent the Pink Slime slid past various trees and traveled along the shore of the beach, determined to meet the owner of the red jagged building. It seemed to be early in the morning as the sun was rising over the horizon of the ocean. That would mean he was somewhere on the east side of an island. Or it could have been late afternoon, and he was on the west side of an island. Since Brent could 'somehow' feel the cool air on the surface of his... slime... he assumed that it was morning.

Thinking about it, Brent realized that moving around as a slime was much different compared to walking as a human. For one, humans usually kept themselves balanced and upright as they used two legs to repeatedly step in any horizontal direction in rhythmic motion. But as a slime, it was more akin to... How would Brent put it? ... Moving forward on a slug foot? Or perhaps it was more like his entire lower torso was suddenly turned into an omnidirectional treadmill that moved himself around his environment. He could turn, move forward, backwards, and even strafe in circles with ease. Rather than exert force with bipedal legs, he could 'will' himself to move along the ground in this new form of his. Any small obstical, like a rock or twig, would simply be crawled, slithered, and slipped over without any fuss. Certain inclines might make it impossible for any slime to navigate, since their liquid-smooth bodies would make them slide downhill.

After some time had passed, Brent finally approached the red jagged structure. Up close, Brent could see that the building was much less a building, but more an amalgamation of junk and metal that was welded into the shape of a makeshift building. If Brent had to guess, it functioned as either a fishing shack, or a lighthouse. He could see a pile of fishing nets next to a pile of empty crab cages, and buckets that once contained bait, while various fishing poles and fishing hooks were lain messily on the side of the building. Also, it had a door frame that was enormous in size. It made Brent become self-conscious of his new smaller height. To add another detail to Brent's list of observations, he couldn't help but feel an ominous sensation emanating from the giant red door. He could almost hear a deep grumbling coming from within the structure itself, but Brent couldn't tell what it is.

After some hesitation, Brent approached the door. ... ... ... He then remembered he didn't have hands to knock with.

Brent sighed as he laid his head onto the door, defeated. A human's best tools were their hands. A well-designed prosthetic appendage had the capacity to create tools, and even more prosthetic appendages, but without any hands to create the appendages in the first place, there was no way to manipulate the environment or create useful tools.

... But this lack of hands didn't stop Brent for long, or deter his motivation to find help.

He decided to jump onto the door, using his own small body in an attempt to attract the attention of any inhabitants inside the building. He also began to shout to the inhabitants that may be within. "Hey! Anybody inside?! My name is Investigator Brent Stormford and... Well, it's hard to explain, but I need help getting back to civilization! Preferably to any building of the 7Zee Corporation Far, Far Range Branches! There's been a terrible accident, and I need to find a representative from the corporation! Please! I would like your assistance!"

"OI! 'OO IZ OUT 'DER?"

The heavy red door swung open suddenly and violently, which knocked into Brent and launched him into the fishing net pile. Brent felt he sustained no injuries from the giant door, though he was disoriented somewhat. However, through the net he landed in, he saw something that terrified him beyond belief.

Prelude 2

Brent Stormford was brought into a room that had walls painted in a laboratory white color, its halls filled with different kinds of technology. All of the devices, tools and gizmos he could see were quite alien to him and were attended by a scientist, researcher, or inventor. He wasn't very savvy when it comes to this new-age technology, despite that the most popular name for this technology in particular is often referred as 'slime science'. However, it was the technology used by the 7Zee Corporation, and the Corporation made the greatest leaps and bounds of technological progress when they unlocked Warp Tech.

The reason why it was called 'slime science' in the first place was due to slime plorts being applied to their technology and sciences. After extensively researching the slime plorts, and using some human ingenuity, they discovered a way to combine the plorts together to create specialized gadgets capable of fulfilling certain functions that served useful purposes.

But creating gadgets wasn't the only use for the plorts. Apparently, the slime plorts were also used for a plethora of other applications. Brent was quite surprised when he heard that certain types of plorts were used for creating special metal alloys, which were forged and molded into the armored hulls of spaceships!

"Follow me this way, Brent. As I understand, it is quite easy to get lost in this building." Ryan McDougutt said, leading the way and gesturing for Brent to follow.

Brent turned away from a Super Hydro Turret that was being tested. It was firing at a moving scareslime target. He nodded and smiled bashfully. "Sorry. I seem to forget how easily distracting these gadget tests are." Brent said before following Ryan again.

Ryan smiled. "Oh I understand. I heard that last time you were here, you spent an hour watching our coworkers playing basketball with a slimeball hoop gadget."

Brent chuckled. "Yeah, that made for an interesting game, what with the hoops turning around and moving up and down!"

As Ryan and Brent traveled through the gadget testing facility, they met upon some guards guarding a door. Once Ryan had given them his credentials and explained that Brent was allowed through, the guards parted to let them pass. Ryan and Brent went down hallway after hallway with every corner they took, giving Brent the impression that they were passing by laboratories that was conducting tests, either in their early development stages or were secret projects that the 7Zee Corporation haven't revealed yet. Brent would assume the latter.

Once they reached down one final hallway, Ryan opened a door that lead to a particularly large chamber that contained a large circular device in the direct center of the room. It was huge, and easily the size of a small house. Brent's eyes looked it up and down several times before pointing at it. "... Let me guess. Is that the uh..."

"Transcosmic Teleporter? Yes." Ryan answered, gazing up at the large device with a proud smile. "It actually happens to be one of our best prototypes to date. I expect that in the next year, we'll be able to shrink it down into a more compact size. By our calculations, the Transcosmic Teleporter will cut down fuel costs for space travel, and enable a seamless transition of resources from the Far, Far Range to Earth." Ryan then turned to Brent. "However, this will be the first time in our corporation's history that we would transport a human earthing to the Far, Far Range nigh instantaneously."

Brent looked up at the large device again and whistled. "Would definitely beat sleeping in a pod for a year, that's for sure."

Ryan then turned around to look at Brent. "So? When do you want to depart? The teleporter can deliver you to the Far, Far Range right now."

Brent faced Ryan with wide eyes. "... Right now? I haven't even packed my toothbrush yet!"

Ryan chuckled as he gestured to Brent. "That's alright. We can wait until you can get your affairs in order. However, the Transcosmic Teleporter eats up a lot of energy as it connects to its sister device on the Far, Far Range. Thankfully, with a healthy supply of rad plorts, quantum plorts, and strange diamonds powering up the device on our end, we'll be able to keep the teleporter open for about six hours before we need close it again. We can just as easily get in contact with our man on the other side at any time to arrange a time to meet and introduce you to the Far, Far Range. When do you think you can leave Earth?"

Brent hummed to himself for a few seconds before giving his answer. "I think the earliest I can leave is tomorrow morning."

Ryan smiled broadly. "Excellent! I'll inform our contact to expect your arrival in his lab in the Far, Far Range after the teleporter is activated. He shall expect you to arrive on the other side of the Transcosmic Teleporter tomorrow."

Brent smiled back. "Right. Should be a pretty exciting moment when you open that door, yeah?"

Ryan's expression then became flat as he pointed at Brent. "But remember! No one is supposed to know about the Transcosmic Teleporter. Which reminds me." Ryan then brought out a electrical pad and showed Brent some unsigned legal agreement. "I will need you to sign this waver before you leave this facility."

Brent stopped smiling. "Ah. The waver thing. Why do I need to sign it anyway?"

"It's just a formality." Ryan explained simply.

"Care to extrapolate on that?" Brent asked.

Ryan sighed. "Oh it's just a liability claim. This waver just explains that if you divulge any information of the Transcosmic Teleporter to public knowledge, then we would legally have to decline any further services you would provide to us."

"Ah. Which is just a fancy way of saying I won't get paid if I don't go along with this, or if I snitched and told anyone or everyone about that thing." Brent bluntly put it, pointing at the large teleporter in the center of the chamber.

"Precisely." Ryan said.

Brent sighed as he signed the waver. "Right. I guess I'll see you tomorrow... When?"

Ryan smiled. "Come by anytime between six o'clock and eleven thirty in the morning. The Transcosmic Teleporter will be open when you arrive."

Later

There was once a time undersea labs were viewed as lairs for villainous mad scientists in some cheesy B-rated movies. Such movies either included action films with secret agents that thwarted their mad scientist adversaries, or horror films where the villain in question created an invincible creature that proceeded to destroy a port city. However, there is one undersea lab, located underneath a rather slimy sea, that housed a brilliant scientist. Perhaps a scientist that had eclectic quirks that might make him stand out amongst the crowd, but he was brilliant nonetheless.

Some time ago, this scientist paid a fortune to build his workshop under the sea, that acted as both laboratory and slime ranch. Its plots of land were often used to house slimes or produce crops that fed said slimes, though the scientist was much more focused on understanding the nature and evolution of the slimes themselves. Another fortune was spent in building the greatest gem in his undersea lab, which he used to predict and calculate the evolution of the slimes of the Far, Far Range.

However, his time was divided between researching the slimes' mounting aggression and cooperating with the 7Zee Corporation. A house-sized teleporter sat in the center of his workshop, which had forced him to deactivate his light-bridge for the time being. However, in order to activating this enormous machine, his other research projects would have to be temporarily deactivated just to enable this device to be turned on. Compared to his other projects, the Transcosmic Teleporter was a masterwork of his design, which he believed would no doubt accelerate the advances of Slime Science to new dizzying heights.

The Transcosmic Teleporter issued a series of beeps, telling the scientist that lived in this undersea laboratory that the executives of the 7Zee Corporation branch on Earth wished to connect their teleporters together. Just as well. At least the scientist agreed to activate the teleporter on his end at the allotted time. His mind was immersed into several calculations, which helped to connect the Transcosmic Teleporter in his lab to its sister on Earth.

The large device hummed with life. Once the teleporter was bridged to another device similar to itself across a distance of a thousand light-years, a figure passed through it shortly after. This newcomer appeared to wore a brown coat and a deer hat, carrying a large travel bag on his back. He looked around studiously as he materialized from the mouth of the teleporter. "... So this is the Far, Far Range? I expected it to be more... slimier than this."

The scientist walked up to his new guest. "GREETINGS!"

The newcomer flinched with a shrill yelp, obviously startled from the presence of the scientist.

"I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING YOU. THE 7ZEE CORPORATION HAS MESSAGED ME THAT THEY WOULD BE SENDING SOMEONE THROUGH THE TRANSCOSMIC TELEPORTER AT THIS AGREED TIME. YOU MUST BE BRENT STORMFORD. ALLOW ME TO GREET MYSELF. I AM- ..."

An awkward pause passed between Brent and this scientist.

"... WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME LIKE...?" The scientist then realized his error. "OH!" He reached up to his neck.

Brent was surprised to see a face being revealed right before him once the green bubble around the scientist's head vanished. After another awkward pause, Brent gestured to the scientist. "... I guess you must be one of the contacts I'm supposed to meet? I'm afraid that the co-exec on Earth failed to tell me about you."

"Sorry. I often forget my immersion field can dissuade most people. But it is useful at times when I'm busy with my research. My name is Viktor Humphries." He said, reaching out a hand for a polite handshake.

Brent cautiously took the offered handshake. Brent noted that this man had golden-brown skin with brown hair styled in spiked dreads. He couldn't see his eyes well, since green goggles covered them, which were designed to have horizontal pupils. He was adorned in a stylistic laboratory suit which had a raised neck collar, which had a handheld device hanging from his chest. Brent weakly smiled at Viktor. "Apology accepted. However, I too might have to apologize for inconveniencing you like this. What with using your Transcosmic Teleporter to get to here from Earth in record time."

Viktor chuckled. "Yes, I'm certain a lot of people would jump at the chance to use a teleporter, instead of choosing to be at the mercy of a stasis pod for a year!" Viktor's expression suddenly softened. "But I am curious. Are you here to investigate the disappearance of a Beatrix LeBeau?"

Brent's face hardened slightly. "Yes I am. Do you know her?"

Viktor nodded. "Before she disappeared, she helped me with researching some flaws I detected in my holographic recreation of the Far, Far Range. It was a sort of slime simulation. a 'Slimeulation', if you will."

Brent hummed and nodded in acknowledgement. "Clever wordplay aside, I would like to ask you a few questions about Ms. LeBeau. If you have the time to spare, that is."

Viktor sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry to inconvenience your investigation, Investigator Stormford, but a teleporter gate has been activated. I have a short window of time to conduct business with the representatives of the 7Zee Corporation's corporate branch on Earth. That, and I believe there are people on this world that are willing to meet your acquaintance."

Brent slowly nodded at Viktor. "I see. Well, if there is a point in time you are free, I'd like to meet you again and ask some questions about Ms. LeBeau and how you came to know her."

Viktor's smile softened into a frown. "... Perhaps later. You can come by after I have finished my business here. However, I do have a little time to elucidate a few things about her. Do you have a minute?"

Brent paused, but then gestured at Viktor. "Alright. I have a minute."

Viktor looked at the ground in thought. "... Miss LeBeau was a very spirited rancher among us. When she assisted me in my research, my initial expectations of her were... completely unfounded. Even when we made exchanges from time to time, she eventually made me realize that the universe is capable of surprising you. Though her contribution to my research made me rethink ways to upgrade my slime simulation, I believed there was academic value to the bug reports she collected for me. In my personal opinion as her friend, she held a spark that has the power to enlighten people, and make them open up to others."

Brent nodded. "You make it sound like she means a lot to you."

Viktor chuckled. "That's the thing, Investigator Stormford. Our mutual business just turned into a friendship as time went on." Viktor's expression then became serious. "However, I also fear for Beatrix's well being. The slimes of the Far, Far Range have became increasingly aggressive, and I worry the thought of her being caught someplace where the Automated Rancher Recovery Robots cannot reach." Viktor then sighed. "I believe that is all the time I can spare. I need to get back to my prior business." Viktor then pointed behind himself. "My personal teleporter with take you to the Dry Reef Ranch, which belongs to Beatrix. I believe your investigation team is waiting for you there."

Brent nodded at Viktor and waved goodbye. "Good to hear. I'll see if I can come back at another time. Thank you for bringing me here."

Viktor waved goodbye back at Brent as he left. Once Brent had left, Viktor turned his attention to the Transcosmic Teleporter. As he gazed on the device, he looked at the power supply on a terminal connecting to the Transcosmic Teleporter.

His expression turned to shock. "What?! What happened to the energy reserves?! I thought I had six hours of time, but my display says I now have 3 hours?! Wait... Two hours?! ... Wait... No... These aren't hours. These are... These are minutes?!"

Viktor looked up at the Transcosmic Teleporter in horror. Apparently, the universe had another surprise in store.

A/N: Well of course I wrote Viktor having the other Transcosmic Teleporter. He had the energy to power the Slimeulation, so it makes a modicum of sense that he could use the same energy to connect Earth to the Far, Far Range.