First Shift of the New Year For VeronicaFoxx By Draconicon
Working in Latexia’s bar was different than anything else that Gemini had ever done. Yes, it had done mundane work before. Yes, it had spent time in numerous establishments across various different worlds. Yes, it had been part of numerous celebrations for various different reasons, but this one was different. It felt…more complete, if a great deal more confusing.
The pink goo-blob sat in the middle of the bar, staring up at the ceiling as it rose higher and higher above it. Currently in the form of a four-legged dog, Gemini cocked its head to the side as its friend changed the shape of the building. The flat roof rose upwards, higher and higher into a dome that was transparent in a way that it had never been before. The goo-dog could just make out the stars through it, as well as the surprisingly-silent explosions of fireworks in the distance.
“What is this for?” Gemini asked.
The roof stopped rising, a shimmering black face pushing free and looking down at it. Latexia chuckled.
“Well, it is New Year. Might as well try something different.”
“Why?”
“Because nothing needs to stay the same.”
Gemini whimpered slightly, looking down at the ground. It was vaguely aware of the ceiling growing pillars that ran from the top of the building to the ground before Latexia stood at its side.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing stays the same?”
“Well, nothing has to stay the same.”
The goo-dog shook its head, dissolving into a puddle. Before it could retreat, however, the black goo of its friend wrapped around it, pulling the pink goo into a small sphere inside of a bigger black one.
“Uh-uh. You’re not just running off; what’s wrong?”
“Mmmph…”
“Talk with me. Words, Gemini. What’s going on?”
“Don’t want this to change. Want this to stay the same.”
It felt the black orb around its body squeeze down a bit tighter. If it wasn’t for the fact that Gemini knew that it was Latexia’s way to be close, it might have felt a bit threatened from the pressure around it. As it was, the little goo-ball pressed itself against the pressure, trying to ‘hug’ back.
The goo spheres vibrated softly against each other, almost like a touch-coo rather than an audible one. The bigger one squeezed Gemini once more before loosening its grip, sliding back and taking on a solid form once more.
Gemini, on the other hand, just rolled forward, keeping itself in a ball in the hippo’s lap. It accepted the small pets.
“Need to be more careful with my words, I guess,” Latexia muttered. “You thought I wanted to change everything?”
“New Year,” it burbled. “Wanted things to stay the same, you want them to change.”
“No. That wasn’t what I said.”
“Mmph.”
Gemini rippled, flowing down the hippo’s legs to the floor much like the clocks in the piece of art it had seen in one of the billboards around the city. Sure, it thought. Sure. Latexia didn’t want things to change. She had just said –
“Hey.”
More black goo, this time a stretched-out finger, poked right into the middle of Gemini’s body. The pink goo jumped, freezing as its body flowed around the digit, forming multiple eyes on stalks to look up at the hippo.
“Are you gonna sulk, hon, or are you going to listen to me?”
“…Listening.”
“I said that nothing has to stay the same. That doesn’t mean that it is going to change, just that it can.”
“…Just…don’t want to lose a friend.”
“You won’t. Heh. Not unless you keep acting like this.”
“…Why change, though?” Gemini asked, rolling its body around the finger and coiling up it in various tendrils. It formed a smaller face that rolled upside-down over the hippo’s hand. “Why now?”
“Well, New Year. Last year’s over and dead, so it’s the perfect time to try something new.”
“But not everything new?”
“Nah, just the building. I’ve been thinking of making a dome for a while. Keeps the noise down. See?”
The hippo pointed up, and Gemini followed the gesture. The sky was filled with the sparkling explosions of fireworks, each one playing off the last, and the semi-transparent black ceiling made the sparkles flicker and coruscate along the semi-solid material, making it look almost magical.
Gemini had seen fireworks before, of course, but this was the first time that it had seen them without the explosions that came with them. No ripples of sound, no sudden explosions that threatened its body with the vibrations that could split it into different pieces. Just…light. Beautiful flickers of light.
Gemini settled down in a series of waving eyes and tendrils, looking everywhere so that it didn’t have to miss a thing. It felt Latexia set it down, heard the mutter about being ready for work later. It filed that away, just putting that information in the back of its brain. It would be ready to work, later…but for now, it wanted to just enjoy the beautiful show and think about what Latexia had said.
Something new…
The goo-creature had never had much choice in what it did. People told it to do things, and it did them. People told it what form to take, and it took them. Even here, it kept waiting for Latexia to tell it how to do something rather than just to do something. So far, the hippo hadn’t done anything of the sort, but even so, Gemini kept expecting the rug to be pulled out from under its gooey body.
But…
New Year…
Maybe it was time to see just how far Latexia would let Gemini go.
#
Midnight passed, and the party rolled on, drunken patrons and flirting supers passing back and forth across the blackened floor. Party treats were being passed between people, and latex tendrils kept the worst of the troublemakers from doing more than shouting at each other.
For Gemini’s part, the pink goo-creature stayed behind the bar for the most part, though it occasionally sent puppy runners through the crowd to bring drinks and treats to those that ordered them. Behind the bar, Gemini extended slippery limb after slippery limb, carrying shiny cannisters of its own making to cup and shaker and mixer alike, each one carefully manipulated to give exactly what was asked for, no more, no less.
It was surprisingly soothing not keeping a solid shape for once, as if pressure had been taken off of it. Without the self-imposed need to keep to a set of shapes, Gemini felt…free, in a way, almost like its body had been expanded and improved like the building had. Like it didn’t feel constrained anymore.
“Two beers!” someone called.
Gemini didn’t have a head to nod, but it formed a tendril into a circle of understanding, and then a lasso to pull the bottles off the wall. With a twist and fling, it tossed the bottles away, part of its consciousness following in a piece of pink goo that held tight to the necks of the beers. It felt the piece spread into a parachute at the last second, slowing the descent, and knew that its detached part would wait for money before coming back to the main body.
In the meantime, it flowed off the floor and onto the bar, rolling through the empty cups and bottles like a tidal wave, collecting the trash and pulling it along to the far end and the recycling hole. Anything that still had liquid in it was left behind, a trick that Gemini had perfected after a few failed attempts that had sent glasses down to a hastily-softened floor before the work shift had started.
It had the trick down now, though, and Gemini received a round of applause from the crowd. It bowed its blobby body to the sound, then dropped behind the bar again.
They like me…just playing around…
It was a strange feeling. Gemini was so used to being pushed around and kept away if it wasn’t fulfilling someone else’s purpose that, despite everything Latexia had done, it fully expected to still be hated, looked down on…despised, even, it was surprised to realize. So much time has passed since it had been given any credit, any appreciation for what it did, that it had forgotten what it felt like to be wanted.
It’s good. This is good.
Gemini smiled, deciding to try something else. It spat lines of pink goo across the black bar, pulling itself up into a trampoline of sorts. The pink ball rolled around the web-lines that it had created, putting on a show as it continued to fill drink orders, pulling down bottles and glasses, pouring shots on high-g turns, sending orders across the counter at such high speed that even some speedsters struggled to catch them in time.
In short…it was having fun.
The crowd cheered for it, calling out requests once they figured out that it could transform. The first few times, Gemini did exactly what they asked, following old instincts, but as they kept going, kept cheering, it started trying different things.
When one person asked for a Black Widow, Gemini transformed into a black lab dressed in a widow’s gown. The crowd exploded with laughter.
When another person asked for a tiger, Gemini transformed into a dog with a tag that read ‘Tiger’ on the end. More laughter, more teasing, more good humor.
And all the while, they kept clapping, calling for drinks, keeping the goo-creature busy. Gemini rushed from one side of the bar to the other to keep filling drink orders, keep the baskets topped up with pretzels and snacks, and through it all, there was a strange, growing feeling of happiness.
Happiness that seemed mirrored on the ceiling, where its friend lingered. Latexia and Gemini shared grins on the rare slow moments, and in those moments, Gemini felt that it had a great year to look forward to.
Part three of the stories involving Gemini and Latexia, this one explores a bit of the pain that the poor little goo creature is going through. Finally finding something good, it feels horrified and hurt about the idea that New Year might change that. But what if it's the opportunity to change something for the better?
Commissioned by VeronicaFoxx
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