Chapter 4: The Transformation of Haruhi Suzumiya
Where was she?
It was dark, cold, lonely...She didn't like it. Not at all. Where were the others? Yuki, Koizumi, Mikuru, Kyon… the SOS Brigade were nowhere to be found. She wanted to speak, yet no words came, or perhaps she just couldn't hear herself speak. Maybe it was dark because she had been blinded? Had she been captured by some unknown enemy, like sometimes happened in her dreams, destined to fight back against evil and mysterious forces? That, or she was asleep. Her own thoughts just couldn't sit still, not with all the scenarios in the world converging upon her mind, lending no credence to one over the other, thanks to the hyperactivity of her own imagination. In truth, she was beginning to feel a little scared.
Everything is fine.
But yeah, everything would be fine. This was just a little setback, a minor inconvenience at best. She'd wake up, right? It was just some kind of dream, a little hallucination of hers that was getting out of hand. She had seen it happen in movies and on TV, so why shouldn't it happen to her? It could even be fun to try to piece things together. However, she had other duties to attend to, notably the best play in the universe that had to be prepared.
You are a genie.
That was exactly to be her role, yes. Powerful, mystical, sexy all at once, a being of desire that also granted the desires of others. She could already picture people in awe of her while playing the part, dressed beautifully, stealing the spotlight and all that. It would be great!
You are a genie.
But to play the part was to understand it, to perfect it. She had her own vision of the thing, but it had to be based on something. Genies were, by most accounts, slaves. Even the bad ones like in Wishmaster had the obligation to obey their master, just like the one in Aladdin or I Dream of Jeannie. Subservience, even as a trick, was key to the concept. She went on to move her hand to try to grasp at something, anything, but something was wrong. She couldn't feel her fingers...nor her hand...or even her arm. Wasn't she supposed to have those?
Everything is fine.
Things would be okay, though, because if she was a genie, that meant that she needed to think as if she truly were a being of smokeless fire. Which was weird because most tales and depictions always puffed out plenty of smoke when genies appeared. Still, that meant that in this dream, or illusion, or delusion, she was to be just like a genie. That meant that perhaps she could shape herself and the surroundings. That must be why it was so dark and cold.
You are a genie.
Damn right she was! With that thought firmly entrenched, she began to ponder upon how this truth could be translated to this weird place and thought of a room, a place in which a genie would feel at home. Which probably meant a bottle or a lamp… maybe a ring though? Maybe that's what this was: the inside of an object! That would make sense in this context. But why would a genie actually live like this when they had so much power? Couldn't they just make themselves comfortable?
You are a genie.
Indeed and it was high time that she acted like one, lived like one. She thought of a space, how to conjure it to serve here needs, and there it was: light. Red silken drape, flimsy in their thickness so as to allow light in through unseen windows, surrounded a circular room filled to the brim with pillowy cushions, each inlaid with intricate red, gold and purple patterns, little tassels trimming their extremities. Something comfy and definitely fitting her own luxurious vision of what a genie would like.
Everything is fine.
Now that there was light and warmth, things were indeed much better now. However, she looked upon herself and saw that she had no form as of yet. She was shapeless, weightless and that did not sit well with her. She couldn't be a good servant of this lamp/bottle/whatever if she didn't look the part too!
You are a genie.
Yes, and it was high time that she had the appearance of one too. Converging something toward herself, she took basic shape and began to think of all those genies she had seen in other mediums. Games, anime, movies and so forth, all of that combined together, along with two or three personal desires, and coalesced into purple flaming energy, a pyre in this little room that she had imagined into existence.
You are a genie.
That was the one thought that brought everything together as she shaped the flames pouring through her. First her body came back, her own form that she appreciated so much. Her precious face and head, with a serene calm in her eyes that was somewhat confounded by a smirk on her lips, followed by her beautiful brown hair...though she knew that genies looked better with long hair...in a ponytail. Yeah, the ponytail would be a very, very nice touch.
Everything is fine.
She went on to recreate the rest of her body from her neck to her legs, or lack of legs, as she had always appreciated the smoke tail sported by genies in art and on TV. Violet silken pantaloons wrapped around her thighs, dissolving and converging just above where her knees should be, forming the shape of her smokey new appendage. An extra layer of purple silk formed over her crotch, creating the simulacrum of clothes and modesty as she called a golden sash out of thin air, floating down to wrap itself low around her waist.
You are a genie.
More was needed, though, and now a skin-tight top enveloped itself around her chest, purple again being the color of choice here, supporting and uplifting her breasts, cut low to revealing a daring among of cleavage. She had to look tantalizing if she was to be the way she envisioned a good genie, an entity of pure temptation in many ways.
You are a genie.
Slowly her form began to shift, small waves rippling across her flesh. She had already possessed the physique of an athlete, but now her stomach gained just a little more definition, traces of fat washing away and muscles tightening, firming, all the better so she could perform and amaze, a perfect being, an avatar of sensual dance and desire. Subtly her breasts and hips swelled out, pushing gently against her new garments, even as her waist drew in and her buttocks firmed and roundened. Not radical changes, because she had never been in doubt of her beauty, but a loving polish, the final brushstrokes to complete a masterpiece.
You are a genie.
Silken sleeves adorned her arms, hugging and enhancing their toned contours, extending just a little further than her elbows, splitting to curve her lower forearms. In the other direction the sleeves climbed towards her shoulders, stretching across her upper back to form a minimalist, skintight, vest, one that by her own choice enhanced and accentuated her cleavage, permitting it to stay relevant and easily seen. She continued by adding a see-through facial veil, cut from the same transparent violet cloth as her leggings, as golden trim adorned her sleeves and her top, not cloth-of-gold but actual precious metal drawn out into threads. She needed no makeup for a finishing touche, for her complexion had gained a healthy, natura beauty, and the final enhancement was a golden collar that fastened securely about her neck, paired with golden bracelets around her wrists, signs of her function and form, a great power harnessed for a purpose.
Everything is fine.
But she knew she looked more than fine. She was splendid, a true genie, and smirking behind her veil she felt powerful and sexy, like a true wish-granting force, and felt at home in her new environment.
You are a genie.
She truly was, which meant that she could feel the power within her… and something else. A certain... attunement to something else that at first seemed bizarre, yet oh-so familiar all at once. The more she thought about it, the more she could feel something incredibly large, impossibly big, both surrounding her and a part of her.
You are a genie.
It was the universe. She was in communion with it, as if it spoke through her and she communicated through it. Feedback on a cosmic loop… which came with a certain comprehension. There was something to be understood here… knowledge to be found. But besides that distraction which pulled at her and demanded her attention, she knew simply of two things, two anchors to her particularly strange, yet utterly natural situation.
She was a genie and everything was fine.
The esper looked at the lamp and couldn't help but feel as if this was becoming all-too bizarre. Himself and three other espers, two from the Organisation, the third unaligned, acting on his plan, were whispering to this simple object, repeating the same things over and over again, two simple half-truths that would cement this new status quo.
You are a genie. Everything is fine.
They had studied the art of suggestions, of hypnosis, and it was perhaps the only weapon they had against Haruhi Suzumiya. The most potent force in this world was her own self, her own subconscious, so they had to make it work against her somehow. With that creepily-cheerful representative of the Data Overmind present to supervise the changes and the even-more disquieting girl from the Dominion documenting what was happening, they were suddenly joined on the scene by the foremost among the rebel time-travelers, just in time to witness the lamp release a burst of energy as it changed shape, cheap plastic becoming solid gold, the object's rarity and worth further enhanced by the addition of jewel, gems and intricate designs to its original, rather plain design.
"Seems like Suzumiya's really getting into the spirit of things," the smirking, sharp-faced time-traveller said, freshly returned from a jaunt into the past. "If she's in that lamp, that meant I played my part right in the store, yeah?"
"Oh yes!" giggled the Overmind interface, clapping her hands together in joy. It was strange to the esper how this unit had been coded with a functioning surface-personality, whereas the one within the SOS brigade was asocial and awkward. "Miss Suzumiya is executing her reformatting in the best way imaginable, and the energy spikes seem to be contained within the closed data-space of the lamp."
"If Ident:Overmind_unit's observations are accurate," observed the Dominion representative, monitoring and recording. "Likelihood of Ident:Data-Overmind detecting apotheosis in-utero: two to the power of 276,709 to one against." Unlike the impatient time-traveller, she had come back from the thrift store the long-way round, content to observe the entity identified as Suzumiya, Haruhi at close proximity whilst following her home. The fact that such behaviour classified as 'stalking', would have been of little comprehension to the Human Interface.
"Indeed!" The Overmind interface might have bridled at what could be taken as a dig at her observational skills, but she seemed to lack the ability to be anything less than chirpy. "And by the time the other aspects of the Data Overmind grow aware of what has happened to Miss Suzumiya, it will be too late, and they'll have to accept the actions of the Radical party, So much is going to change that I feel quite giddy!"
"Our friends still embedded in the Organisation also say nothing has set off any alarms on their end," the esper shared. "They can't keep in immediate contact lest their superiors get suspicious, but so far it's been very promising."
But despite those words and the positive signs he still felt on edge, half-expecting things to go south soon considering what he knew of Haruhi Suzumiya. "Some more conditioning and she'll absolutely believe that she's a genie, that she always has been and always will be, and that she serves the will of her masters and mistresses..." he left the words "whomever they may be" unspoken, but their presence could still be felt, a silent coda each party mentally addended to his statement.
"Great," said the time-traveler, for once genuine relief and thanks making itself shown on a face all-too accustomed to sneers and sarcastic smirks. "And then we'll finally be rid of her. Rid of her and free of her."
Still observed, the lamp pulsed with energy again, as if the cosmos itself was being attracted to it. Those reactions alone fueled more and more theories among them as to the nature of Haruhi Suzumiya, as to her power and her role in the universe, yet in-depth discussion could wait for later, here and now the brainwashing still needed reinforcement.
They simply could not fudge things, not so close to victory.
Failure was not an option.