POWER TRIP
…
SUMMARY: With Ahsoka hypnotized, Lux suddenly finds himself in a very powerful position of authority. (Revised) I felt as though I may have left much to be desired in the original, so I made a few minor tweaks. (Subject to change.)
Ahsoka was hypnotized.
Lux had been watching her carefully as he spoke to her, reciting the hypnotic incantation he had been rehearsing for the past week. He had watched her body sag comfortably into the cushions of her chair as he instructed her to breathe slowly and deeply. Watched her face grow smooth and slowly drain of expression as he counted down, from five to zero. Watched that small spark of intelligence in her sleepy, greyish-blue eyes wink out the moment he snapped his fingers. Her full, ripe mouth fell open as she gazed ahead in a mindless, drowsy-eyed stare.
Suffice to say, everything worked out perfectly.
He was still surprised. Dumbfounded, even. When the idea to hypnotize Ahsoka had first come to mind, when he had contemplated what he would if he succeeded, he was only half-certain it would work. Theoretically, anyone could be hypnotized, but not everyone succumbed to a trance so easily. So when her casually wise, inquisitive demeanor melted into something dull and empty, he just knew she was under. Knew that it had actually worked. It was almost hard to believe.
One way to be sure.
"Ahsoka, if you can hear me, say 'yes.'"
"Yss…" she murmured.
There was something about her voice, her monotone, that gave him a rather odd thrill. "Very good, now I want you to listen closely to everything I tell you," he said, mimicking the hypnotic voice that Jakub Azaari used at the charity event, when the Senator of Ryloth had been under his power. "You are now in a deep, deep trance; a deep, sleepy, dreamlike state. Your body may feel awake, energetic even, but your mind remains asleep—blank, thoughtless, and completely at peace. It is like a dream; a lucid, peaceful, and very blissful dream. Here, you have no worries, no fears, no anxieties, and that is because there are no dangers, no priorities, no urgencies. Here, in a trance, as long as you listen to my voice and follow my instructions, you are perfectly safe, perfectly happy, because you are under my power. Does that sound good to you?"
"Uh-huh…" she replied dreamily, her lips curling slightly at the edges.
"I'm glad you agree. Just continue to breathe smoothly, in and out, and allow your body and mind to relax completely and naturally as you listen to my voice." He monitored the slow rise and fall of her chest. "To my soft, soothing, voice. And as you do, feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed with each breath you take. Feel every ounce of worry, stress, burden and anxiety drifting further and further away until it is all gone. Until all you are aware of is how good you feel when you listen. When you do as I say. Does it feel good?"
"Yes…"
"Very good. Now, if you would please open your eyes…" Lux dangled the pendant in front of her again, watching her eyes widen as they locked onto it almost immediately. "Even with your eyes open, your mind remains fully asleep, dreaming this misty, blissful dream. A part of you may think or feel awake but know that so long as you are seeing the pendant, twirling and glinting in your mind's eye, you are still in a deep trance—deeply hypnotized, deeply under my care, my influence, my power. Do you understand?"
She nodded.
"Do you understand? You must answer the question aloud."
"Yes." Ahsoka husked out.
He slipped the pendant into his pocket. "You still see the pendant even now, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"The pendant is floating in front of you—flashing and spinning and glimmering before your eyes—isn't it? So beautiful and hypnotic that you simply cannot look away from it?" He asked, watching her eyes widen at his description as she stared ahead. "It holds your stare, holds you, in its grasp. In its beautiful, inexorable power. And no matter what, you cannot pull your gaze away from it. You do not even want to, because you love to stare at the beautiful pendant, to surrender all your senses to it, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"That's right, Ahsoka." He gently took her hand. "The pendant is beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes…"
"It is easy to agree that the pendant is beautiful—to agree to everything I am telling you—isn't it?" With her hand in his, he tenderly traced his thumb in slow, rhythmic circles along her palm. "And you feel very good whenever you agree with me. Whenever you listen and follow my instructions. Don't you?"
"Yes…" She sighed dreamily, her fingers curling in his hold.
"That's because you're in a trance, and a trance makes you feel good whenever you listen and agree to anything and everything I tell you, without even thinking about it. Just like right now. You're not thinking at all; you're just agreeing with everything I'm telling you, and it is so easy and effortless that it makes you feel good. Very good. So good that you don't even care. It doesn't matter what I'm telling you, whether what I say is true or not. All that matters to you is that you feel good whenever you agree with me. Whenever you do as I say. Isn't that right?"
"Mm… Yes…"
"You feel good because you're in a trance, because you're hypnotized. Aren't you?"
"Yesss…" Ahsoka purred, and Lux could not keep himself from grinning as he admired her quiet, tranquilized features. He could tell she was enjoying this too. It was in her body language—the way her back arched behind her, the way her legs seemed to press together, the way her breasts lifted and fell with each deep, husked breath. He just barely had enough decent sense to raise his own eyes back to her face, her mouth. She was chewing her bottom lip, a strange, almost eager look brimming in her blank gaze.
Oh, she was loving this. Much more than he could have expected.
"Ahsoka, stand at attention."
She did.
"Smile."
She did.
"Wider."
Her smile broadened—forming a big, dumb, dopey grin.
"Now tell me that you're my hypnotized minion."
"I am your hypnotized minion…" She monotoned, blank-eyed and smiling.
I think I'm going to enjoy this, he thought to himself, feeling like a giddy child with a new toy to play with. "Ahsoka, I want you to state that Lux is incredibly handsome."
"Lux is incredibly handsome."
"Very good. Now I want you to repeat that in a loop, over and over, until I tell you otherwise. And as you do, I want you to extend your arms before you and stroll around the room."
"Lux is incredibly handsome…" Ahsoka replied mechanically, her arms floating outward. She stared walking around the suite. "Lux is incredibly handsome…" Her movements were languid and machinelike, like a sleepwalker wandering through dreamscape. "Lux is incredibly handsome…"
He leaned back and watched her, listening to her babble on about how handsome he was. He threw in some additional lines for her: Lux is incredibly charming… Lux has amazing hair… Lux has beautiful eyes… She parroted them all, wearing that dumb, dazed expression the whole time. She was quite responsive in a trance, he noted, and very compliant.
After a while, he finally had her stop and stand at attention—and silent she stood, smiling and staring ahead, waiting. Like a doll, he mused. A beautiful, blank, obedient doll.
Or maybe a beautiful, blank, obedient dancing doll, he mused, recalling their conversation from earlier. "Drooling, belly-dancing zombie" were her exact words.
"Alright, Ahsoka—let's do something fun. For now, I want you to just relax and listen closely to everything I tell you," he said, curbing the eagerness in his voice as he collected the stereo remote. "In a moment, you will hear music playing, and then you are going to suddenly feel this strong, powerful urge to dance, to follow the sound and rhythm and beat of the music you hear. You already feel it; that undeniable, insatiable desire to obey my voice, and the incredible comfort and release it brings. Once you hear the music start playing, it will immediately feel like an irresistible command to dance for me. You won't be able to help yourself. You will feel the invisible threads of the music tugging at your arms and legs, tugging at your inner desire to dance, to obey, and then you will find yourself surrendering your entire body to the music, until all you want, all you can do, is dance. And once the music stops, you will immediately stop dancing. Do you understand, Ahsoka?"
"Yes…" She breathed, and Lux smiled. There was probably going to be a reckoning later, but that was hours away. Until then…
He cued the stereo.
Exotic music filled the apartment. At first, Ahsoka simply stood before him, silent and staring, unflinching and unmoving. Then he saw her hips start to sway, gyrating in a slow arc, her arms floating above her head, as she seemed to surrender herself to the music. Lux leaned back comfortably into the couch as he watched her dance, admiring the way her body moved like liquid, the way her arms intertwined above her head, the way her hips rocked side to side, her movements practically hypnotic. She was a natural dancer, it seems; and a truly exotic one at that.
He couldn't help but grin at the thought. Earlier, Ahsoka had doubted she could be hypnotized—doubted he could hold that form of power over her—and now here she was. Less than two feet from where he sat, dancing sexily for him. He found himself fantasizing, envisioning her dressed as a Hutt's harem slave girl, wearing only enough that left nothing to imagination—a single, silky strip of cloth draped over her petite breasts, an equally scandalous-looking slip hanging loosely from her narrow hips. If only he had such outfits for her. Not that they were necessarily needed; not when he could simply command her to disrobe…
Lux paused at the thought, realizing how tempting it was. Only ten minutes and already I'm on a power trip. That had been the deal, of course: whoever lost became the other's unquestioning servant, and whoever won earns the right to a power trip.
Still, that did not give him leave to take liberty—even if some part of her desired it. Hypnosis didn't technically force someone to act against their will. Not exactly. A volunteer does not jump onto the table and perform a belly dance in public unless that was what they wanted, or secretly desired. He had done his research, even interviewed the Mind Shuffler himself. Not that any of it was an excuse for now.
Although, something did now prompt his curiosity:
What exactly did Ahsoka secretly desire?
I do hope you enjoyed this one. Though I know some of you have been waiting patiently for another chapter, I'm afraid I have to cut it one here until the next chapter - once I know what to do then. I'm still open to suggestions, so don't be shy!
Later!
