New Place, Familiar Vibes

"Welcome to BetaApril. What can we help you with?"
"Thanks for welcoming me... Eh...? Do you have a bathroom?" What a way to say hi to someone, Tasyah.
"At the end of the hall, you'll find a door and stairs. Take that door. That's the toilet."
"Thanks."

I never thought I would see Tasyah like that. I mean, I get it. We never eat canned food. This was probably her first time feeling unwell from eating it.

"Eh... do you guys have a drug that deals with stomachache?"
"The drug shelf is over there to the right."
"Thanks."

I might want to stock up on these for Tasyah. She might need it for her stomach later. I knew how devastating canned food can be for the tummy.

"MY Goodness me. That was a nightmare."
"You're feeling better?"
"Not really, but... It's still better than before."

I showed her the tablet I decided to buy for her, "Can you handle this?"
"Yeah... Wait, you're not deciding to buy those, right?"

I had already given my debit card to the clerk. "Huh?"
"YOU IDIOT!"

She approached me and smacked my butt, "OW, what was that for?!"
"We're saving money! Don't buy expensive stuff without telling Harold or Wiwin."
"But this is for your own good."
"I'M FIVE YEARS BEHIND YOU! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"

Because of Tasyah's tantrum, we got kicked out. We didn't get to buy the drug.

Me: "Nice job, doofus."
Tasyah: "Shut up, dwerp."

...

We came back to the RV. Seiza was playing with Popo, Harold was on his Haxtrocin, and Wiwin was doing the dishes.

Wiwin looked at us, "Oh, Tasyah! Sorry about earlier! I didn't know you had allergies to canned food. I apologize deeply."

Tasyah gave her hand and said, "I didn't know either. It's okay, Wiwin."
"Knowing this, I will buy some fresh food from the garden moving forward."
"Thanks, Wiwin."

... Wiwin got to take care of her, while I'm not? The hypocrisy.

"How long have you known me?"
"Ehh... ehmm... seven... years?"
"Two weeks!"
"... No...?!"
"Yes. You've just UNDERSTOOD me for two weeks. Wiwin was the one who knew me for seven years."

... Was this even a competition? I was trying to be a good leader, you know?

"Don't take it too seriously, Zeed. Tasyah just wasn't thinking you needed to take care of her", Harold talked while also focusing on his Haxtrocin. He could multitask...? I didn't know he could do that.
"So, you're saying... I didn't need to be a better leader?"
"Not at all. I was just saying, Wiwin knew Tasyah better than you. She felt comfortable with Wiwin, the one who took care of her."

... I guess that made sense.

"Why not join Seiza and Popo? They probably wanted a third player to play their game."
"Yeah, you might be right. I need a little bit of relaxation."

Seiza...
She was the last person to join the group. Five years. She has been with us for five years, and she has changed a lot, minus the Aura seed that Jordan planted inside her. She did open up to me and felt... the world matters to her. She looked happier and didn't feel like a dead person inside.

"Hey, what are you guys playing?"
Seiza answered, "We're playing catch, and I also trained Popo to shapeshift into many different animals."

Seiza threw a stick, and Popo ran. I looked at where the stick was heading. Wait? Did Seiza just throw it over the cliff? Popo could jump off and couldn't climb back up, couldn't he?

"POPO! Eagle!"

In an instant, he turned into a big eagle and caught the stick.

"Wow!" I was in awe. Popo transformed into an eagle majestically. That was when I wondered.

"Whenever you were scared and/or mad, Popo would turn into a monster, right? Have you trained him to do that without you having that emotion?"
"Yes! But... I'm not that creative on that..."

Popo came back and gave the stick... to me?

"Ah... He wanted you to throw it now!"
"Ow... Eh... okay."

At first, I was happy, but then I grabbed the stick.

"Eugh! Why is this stick sticky?"
"YAP!"

Seiza translated Popo, "Oh, he said that's his glob bob."
"Glob what now?"
"Glob bob."

... What?

"Eh... Hey, Popo. What do you call me?"
"YAP!"
Seiza translated again, "He said... Deez."

I pointed at Harold, "How about him?"
"YAAAP!"
Seiza translated and was shocked, "Ronald????!!!"

Seiza and I faced each other in shock.

Seiza was the first to comment, "He has my habits of calling you guys different names?!"
I continued, "And naming things that don't make sense."
"... Wait, I did that?"
"Yes! That's why I was surprised Popo said glob bob. That has your habits all over him."

I could tell she was embarrassed. She asked, "What... things did I call weird?"
"Thightop, Zappy Girl, SquakMug, Leatherwear, Burncoal..."
"OKAY! Enough, enough! Stop embarrassing me!"

So... that means Popo was Seiza's former self? Was that possible because of Jordan's Aura seed? Did Tasyah know about this?

Speaking of the devil, she heard Seiza's scream; not just her, actually, the three others also heard that.

Wiwin immediately went for a hug with Seiza and said, "What happened, Seiza? Are you hurt? Are you sick?"
Harold sustained the conversation, "I heard you scream... my 'name'. What happened? Did you go back to your former self?"

Tasyah was there just observing.

I answered both questions, "She's alright, Win. She was shocked... as well as I was."

Tasyah asked, "Why are you both shocked?"

I asked Tasyah directly, "Have you ever recorded a phenomenon where a... being that was created from a Slimefy user turned into the user's former self?"
"... No?"
"Well then, this is the first time you've seen it. Popo just called his spit, glob bob. He called me Deez and Harold, Ronald."

Tasyah's eyes sparkled, and she approached Popo. She stretched her arms and looked like a scientist hungry for knowledge. Popo looked scared and ran away. Tasyah pursued him. Never thought I would see Tasyah look like a kid today. I knew she was faster in the group, but I never thought she would be faster than Popo, because right now, she was actually matching his speed.

"GOTCHA! Come on, Popo. We need to investigate you! EVEN MORE!"
"EKKK, YAAAAAAPPPP!!!!"

I didn't need a translator for that. I could hear him screaming for help.