After all the action from last night you are reluctant to properly wake up this morning. It's never easy with the warmth of another human being to snuggle against, it's especially difficult when you've had a busy night. This time it's a warmth you don't immediatley recognise. Sleepily you explore the body of the person in bed with you. Female, certainly. Good, you wouldn't want to wake up to find a man in bed with you.
Adult, with a good figure, nice breasts but not massively large. Not Cassie then, you've aquainted yourself with the feel of her breasts already. This must be Venus, unless another adult woman arrived while you were asleep. You can only assume she slipped into bed with you last night. Damn… makes your vow to get into bed with her one day seem a bit silly now. Nevermind. Idly you consider exactly how much of last night she remembers. Certainly you rather hope she doesn't remember watching a man be savaged to death by her dogs and you finishing him off with your Diary. Hopefully she does still remember your captive, it would be embarassing to find out she let him escape overnight because she forgot he existed.
You leave Venus to sleep and climb out of bed. As much as you'd like to play with the older woman some more you have more pressing needs. The discovery of your tail last night has changed your schedule around a bit. You are supposed to be heading to Soprano's this morning and next morning, but neither visits will likely be necessary at this point. This morning will likely be spent 'interrogating' the prisoner to find out what he knows. After that you are supposed to be spending the day with Lucy and Sherry.
Still, you are already here at Roger's so maybe it's worth inviting them both round here and spending the day here instead. Maybe you can convince Usa to work with Sherry this time, maybe you can give Lucy some training while you are working on Sherry. Maybe it's worth bringing Megan here with a pair of bunny ears to see if that affects the rabbit's mood. There's a lot worth considering this morning.
Well you are already here, so there's really no reason not to stick around. You can do what you planned to do today just as easily from here as from home. In fact, if you invite Lucy and Sherry over for the afternoon you could have whichever one you aren't working on at the time training with Usa.
Then it occurs to you that both Lucy and Sherry will need to take a day off from school in order to achieve this. Just because you are pretending to be ill doesn't mean you can have everyone else bail. Or maybe you could? Lucy lives with you so would it really be so difficult to believe that she caught the same bug as you? Sherry would be a harder sell but Maria wasn't at school yesterday so Sherry could act as though she caught whatever bug Maria had? It would mean sacrificing their malice aquisition for the day but training with Usa might be more valuable, assuming the rabbit actually agrees to train Sherry.
You ponder this, realising the error of your grand plan. Your schedule only took into consideration your own availability and not that of your minions. It was the same with Ami yesterday, you are getting used to people falling in lockstep with you and forgetting that they have their own situations and lives you need to pay attention to. Though at the moment that's only largely because you aren't strong enough to properly impose your will upon the world. So, what to do…
In frustration you change your plans again! It isn't worth the risk! Sherry and Lucy are best left where they are, you can do what you need with them another time. So then, a complete rethink of today's plan is necessary. Geez, what a pain! To think being a self-absorbed bastard would cause so many problems! Nevermind, it isn't a major problem. It just means moving things around. Megan certainly isn't doing anything, you can spend the day preparing her and move Sherry and Lucy to evening slots. Hell, you could invite Sherry round this evening, you expect Aria will be visiting soon and having Sherry there at the same time would be worthwhile. Your rabbit themed party will have to wait for another time…
You'll need to check on Ami as well but a simple conversation via your Mirror will be sufficient for that. First priority will be checking on the prisoner. You find him and an exhausted looking Cassie in the basement. Venus has tied the man to a chair and instructed the dogs to watch over him. The pair have assumedly been sitting in place watching the man with their dull vacant eyes this entire time. You still intend to reinforce their programing as part of your efforts to secure this place against future attacks but that was part of your Friday plan and you currently have no reason to change that.
Cassie blinks wearily up at you, looking decidedly miffed.
'Oh, you're here,' she groans, 'I've been up all night thanks to your orders! I know I can't do anything about it but you could try to be a bit cosiderate! You did say you'd look after me, didn't you?' You consider this. You remember telling Cassie you'd look after her and you meant it. A single night without sleep isn't going to kill her. She can just sleep now and take the day off of work. She probably won't be working there much longer anyway, you'd rather she spent more time working on improving her image as a 'model.' She shouldn't have issues with finances, especially if you chip in to help support her.
But now you should probably respond to her irritation. It's not necessary, of course, she can't disobey you so you can treat her however you like. But you did say you'd treat her well and a tool does work best while being properly maintained and lookd after. Your 'eagerly' instruction once in place should adjust her attitude towards your orders but a few nice words in the meantime aren't likely to go amiss.
She's right of course, though it bristles you to be chided by one of your minions. At some point you'll need to take a step back and decide what kind of superior you want to be. You don't want to be the sort of person who treats his subordinates like shit, same as your current Mistress does. Though at the same time you were fine using Sherry as a piece of furniture the other day. She didn't mind though so you don't really feel bad about it.
So then, is that the important distinction? You want your slaves to enjoy being beneath you and carrying out your whims? Quite possibly, you've never been the sort of person to enjoy the suffering or discomfort of others even if you accept that it's necessary. Casting a quick glance at the prisoner and what you will likely be doing to him shortly is proof enough of that.
'I'm sorry,' you say to her, seeming to catch her by surprise, 'you are right, I was caught up in the moment last night and spoke without thinking. Thank you for the hard work, you've been a good girl and I'll certainly make time to reward you for this when I can.' To your left your female dog glances over at you, clearly recognising her name. Crap, that's a tad awkward. That was a pretty stupid name, though possibly less stupid than just Dog. Still, back to Cassie, who has gone rather red in the face, unsure how to respond, legs rubbing together with obvious arousal.
'Has he said much?' you ask her, gesturing to the prisoner. Cassie shakes her head, composing herself.
'The silver haired lady earlier spoke to him but I wasn't here for that. I've just been watching him here, like you told me to.' She looks worried.
'This is going to be trouble isn't it?' she asks.You shake your head.
'Not for you,' you correct her, 'I'll handle this. You should take the day off and get some rest. And that's not an order, just a suggestion.' She nods, smiling down at you.
'I'll take you up on that 'suggestion,' she teases, moving past you. She's a little worked up from her trigger so she might need a bit of time to herself. But she'll be fine. You allow her to leave, you wouldn't want her here for this next bit anyway.
You begin your work on the prisoner. He's stubborn, perhaps his pride was damaged to be bested so by a child and some women. That suits you just fine. You'll keep cutting him until he tells you what you need to know. He'll be the one to determine when the pain stops. Until then you can enjoy the influx of malice. You are careful though, keeping him gagged while you are cutting him to muffle his screams, and only removing it to allow him to answer a question. When he doesn't answer you put the gag back and cut him again. You keep going until he's told you what he knows, which isn't really all that much.
It turns out that the man was a private investigator, having been contacted by Detective Malcolm to help him check out a lead. He doesn't know anything about Ina or demons or really anything supernatural. From what you can tell he's just an ordinary guy. This would lead you to believe that whatever Malcolm was thinking by setting this guys on your trail he was acting on his own, without support from Ina.
That just leads to why he would do such a thing. He determined you were likely connected to Ina's first agent disappearing but wasn't part of the attack on the house. Is he trying to link Usa with Aria? Sister Cassandra may still believe that Aria had a hand in your corruption and the corruption of your family but maybe Malcolm is trying to see if there is more to it. The notion that the Guardian Rabbit would be spending time with someone carrying a demon's taint may well alarm someone working with the Guardian Dog.
That still doesn't explain why he would use regular, clueless humans to follow you. Maybe they were just bait, and by killing them you've tipped the man off. But at the same time the Detective would have drawn his own conclusions from your own bizare behaviour so you aren't too upset about this. Still, Detective Malcolm may well prove to be another loose end you need to tie up before moving on. You should probably talk to Aria about him this evening.
370 Malice obtained from this encounter and the one last night
807 currently in total
Sense Presence has been unlocked! You will now be able to sense supernatural auras in your surrounding area by concentrating. The more familiar you are with these auras the easier it will be for you to sense them. The immediate upside of this is that it will be impossible for anyone to impersonate any of your closest subordinates in future unless they are able to perfectly replicate your own demonic aura.
An added bonus is that it will now improve your ability to find The Merchant when you go in search of him. This bonus will improve the more times you interact with him.
Having finished with the prisoner you wash your hands and recall your dogs. You'll be using them to help you dispose of the body. You really do need a better way to do this though, you should try to remember to ask The Merchant for something the next time you speak with him. For now, however, you'll have to make do. Removing the flesh and then hiding the bones sort of worked the first time, but you'll eventually run out of closets to hide skeletons in. A more feasible solution is needed.
On your way back upstairs you run into Venus. She looks at you with a serious expression.
'I didn't say anything last night,' she begins, 'but we need to have a real talk about what happened.' You nod.
'We are in complete agreement,' you say, holding up your rabbit emblem, 'recognise this? Can you follow the rabbit for me?' Venus' eyes fix on it and she reacts immediately, falling back into her trance, the light in her eyes fading and a dreamy smile appearing on her face.
'What is your desire, My Lord?' she drawls, wobbling unsteadily on her feet. If only you could reveal to her your real desire, but no… not yet…Soon…
'I want you to take the dead body in the basement upstairs into the spare room where the dogs live,' you command her, 'after that you aren't allowed to venture inside that room again until I give you permission. Then you need to completely forget about the body, and everything that happened last night involving me and those men. As far as you will be aware you spent the night quietly at home with your son as normal. Understand?' She beams dizzily at you.
'As you command, Lord,' she responds, immediately moving to obey your instructions. Having to utilise Usa's power to order her around is annoying, but maybe soon you'll have more leverage.
Before you have Megan come round though you decide to check up on Ami. Pulling out the Mirror you use it and focus on Ami. It doesn't take long before you feel her.
'What do you require, Instructor?' she greets you, her tone level. You cannot help but frown. Didn't it work?
'Is that how you are supposed to address me?' you ask her, making your displeasure known through your own tone. She gasps and her attitude changes quickly.
'My apologies, Master, your slave is foolish and requires more training,' she pleads, clearly excited, 'please continue to teach this worthless slave until she is ready to serve her Master as he desires.' You nod, it looks like your work on Ami is fully complete. You have one more test though.
'And do you like the present I gave you?' You ask her.
'It is wonderful, Master,' Ami gushes, 'it is my greatest pleasure to be marked as yours for the world to see! I shall never take it off!' Your 'present' for her yesterday had been one of the lace chokers you'd purchased from The Merchant. Something she can wear around her neck as proof of her new position but is not likely to raise too many eyebrows, except from people that haven't known her to wear them before. Even so, the thought of the girl spending the rest of her days wearing proof of her enslavement to you is too delicious an image to pass up on.
'And what is your current situation?' You ask her, mainly enquiring about her mother. Ami sighs.
'Not advantageous, Master,' she responds, 'this slave's ignorant mother has decreed that I be confined to my room for the next two weeks. It is unacceptable for your slave to be restricted from serving her Master in this way. Please give me permission to take appropriate steps. I am sure I can…
'No,' you cut her off harshly, 'it is not yet time for your true purpose to be revealled. Continue as normal and only take specific actions when I tell you to. Understand?' You can almost hear Ami nodding eagerly.
'If that is what my Master wants then your slave will obey!' she declares. You bases covered now it might be a good idea to give Ami a further instruction to get her started in making herself useful for you. The question will be what can she do, especially stuck inside all day?
'Start investigating your family,' you command her, 'act like you normally do but try to find out as much as you can about your father and sister's jobs, their friends and associates, anything you can.'
'Understood, Master,' Ami confirms, 'I shall begin as soon as possible.'
'Good girl,' you praise her, 'with dedication like this you'll make an excellent slave for your Master. You can coordinate with Roger when you find anything out.' With your main business settled you disconnect from Ami and appraise the Mirror again. This thing really is stupidly useful, it's a suprise that Baritone would hand something like this out so easily. Aria and Soprano's rewards weren't bad, but this feels like a step above that. From someone who didn't seem to care about the Concert or about the poker game this reward seems strangely good.
Does Baritone care more than he was letting on or did he have some other plan in mind when he handed you this? It's difficult to say. None of the demons are easy to read, after all, and he might be the one you know the least about. But that will need to be a problem for next time. For now you need to invite Megan round and start preparing for her to meet the rabbit. You'll just use a regular phone for this. But before she arrives you'll need to come up with a plan of what to do with her.
You remember the plan you came up with before. You'd allow Usa to 'borrow' Megan as a new worshipper. The rabbit will likely use whatever power it has used on Venus, though maybe it will permit Megan to actually be aware of it, like you are. You hope that Usa will then train Megan, making her more useful for when you reclaim her. That's all well and good, but it doesn't really give you much to focus on in terms of securing her loyalty to you.
Though maybe that is fine, you don't need to have a specific route you drag your minions down, after all. Venus and Erikson both had routes and you'll likely be changing them now. So maybe not worrying about all that is for the best. It wouldn't be too late to adjust her in a specific way once she's back with you. What would be best?
Hmm, it's probably best to hold off on making a decision for now. As much as you'd love to turn Megan into your adorable little pet, eating her food out of a bowl on the floor, walking on all fours and crouching at your feet looking up at with big loving eyes, you would rather not risk your instructions clashing with whatever Usa would do to her. No, there will be plenty of time to do whatever you'd like with her afterwards. So just a standard obedience and loyalty enforcement for now, just to make sure she knows who she really serves.
But there's also the problem of her awareness. In order to do what you need to do you'll need to explain at the very least Usa's existence to her. At which point she'll know that you aren't a normal kid anymore. The question will be what story you present to her and how far you push things.
A fairly straightforward plan emerges. In order to reclaim Megan after lending her to Usa you'll need to fill her in on who you really are. But telling her about The Torturer and all the shitty things you've been doing trying to get out from under her thumb won't help you. So you'll play yourself off as Aria's servant instead and drastically play down her personality so that it is at least palatable to her.
You'll explain that Harmony attacked you the night she arrived and you are considering moving her in here with a friend of yours. Your relationship with Megan will likely take a hit after this reveal but it's probably necessary looking to the future. Once you are certain Harmony is no threat you'll recover Megan and bring her back to where ever you happen to be at the time. At least that will be the story you tell her. What you do with her after that is still up in the air, though hopefully she'll have learnt some useful skills by then.
You call home and ask Megan if she can help you out with something. All too happy to be given a proper chance to repay you she agrees to come over. You make a peculiar request of her as part of the favour. She's embarrassed by it but complies easily enough.
Hmm, that's a very different image to the other bunny girls you've seen and pictured. Yes, Megan is certainly more on the 'cute' side of the spectrum. That's fine, her and Venus will likely balance each other out. You activate your Trust Aura, safe in the knowledge that Roger isn't here and that Venus probably won't react too badly to your Aura. Thinking you'd best give the Aura some time to sink in you spend a bit of time getting to know Megan a bit more while pretending to have asked her to help out around the garden.
Megan is an only child, surprise surprise, and wanted to be an idol when she grew up. She loved to sing and dance but never had the confidence to actually try out for any auditions. She was bullied at school and didn't have any real friends, spending most of her time at home listening to music or watching rehersals or performances on television. Other than that she's fairly unremarkable. You might be able to make use of her natural singing and dancing talents, though that would likely be something Soprano would be better off guiding her through, assuming he agreed to work with an actual girl.
Once you've given the Aura time to take hold a bit you call her back into the house and sit her down in Roger's room, there to give her your big reveal. You confess that you are actually one of Aria's servants, deposited in this child's body and forced to work for her. While you play down most of Aria's more negative traits, completely skipping over the whole turning children into dolls thing, you also aim to play yourself off as something as a victim, forced by Aria to do as she says without any recourse or means to disobey. You'll hit her with a Suggestion to try and enforce this idea, but first you'll need to gauge her reaction.
Megan frowns somewhat at the news, but she doesn't look horrified or betrayed like you feared. Just to make sure though you hit her with the Suggestion:
'Even if he is demon it doesn't change what he has done for me. I should feel the same gratitude for him as you I did for 'Zach"
Megan blinks, barely resisting the Suggestion at all. It's a good thing she already trusts you a lot. She nods.
'Alright,' she concludes, 'I think I understand. I'm upset that you didn't tell me the truth but I think I understand why you wouldn't. But I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to repay you if I live here.' It's adorable that she's still thinking about that right now.
'I know,' you say, sagely, 'but your safety comes first. Once the immediate problem is resolved you can make it up to me as much as you like. Maybe Usa and Venus can even teach you a few things that might let you repay me better.' At that she seems eager, nodding quickly with a smile on her face.
'Yes!' she says, 'if you think this is the best idea I'll do it! I just hope your friend likes me.' You consider replying that you aren't sure who wouldn't like her, but you suppose there will always be some. For now though you should introduce Megan to Usa and hope for the best.
With Megan having accepted the situation as best as you could hope your next fear is how Usa will react to you suddenly thrusting a new acolyte on it. You would hope that it will be grateful for the extra help but you can never be sure. So you approach the shrine with a certain degree of anxiety. If Usa doesn't agree to your proposal you'll have to rethink your whole approach. Megan at your side you call forth the Guardian Rabbit:
'Ah ha so it is you, young helper I had been wondering when next you would visit me. Have you brought some other lost waif in need of my guidance it really is troublesome for you to keep doing this you know. I may not look like it but I am actually very busy and it is terribly troublesome to have to drop everything I'm doing to help you and your friends find enlightenment. Though I suppose I do owe you for your help that one time it was frightfully good that you happened to be around to help and you have potential far beyond your meagre frame it truly is impressive but even so that doesn't mean…'
Ah, fuck you haven't missed this. The creature continues to rant on and you glance at Megan, trying to determine her reaction. She's surprised, of course, who wouldn't be shocked at seeing a talking rabbit. Though it shouldn't be any more frightening than anything else she's encountered so…
Suddenly Megan lets out a squeal and jumps forwards, scooping Usa up in her arms.
'He's soooooooooo cute!' she cries, crushing the animal against her chest. Oh dear, that's probably not the best way to appeal to a centuries old guardian spirit.
'Ah, what?' Usa rambles, 'what is this shrill, fluffy little creature? A rabbit worshipper? You've actually managed to find a rabbit worshipper so soon after parting ways with me you really are ooof!' Megan gives the rabbit a particularly tight squeeze, cutting it off mid rant. As amusing and potentially disasterous as this is it raises a question. This creature is supposed to be a spirit, right? If so how can Megan pick it up like that? She shouldn't be able to, right? You were led to believe a spirit was something incorporeal, like a gas or like some sort of sentient energy. Maybe you could ask The Diary about it?
Fortunately, it seems that Megan's mistaken identity as a 'rabbit worshiper' is enough to earn Usa's approval pretty much on the spot. Not only does the rabbit agree to train Megan, it also agrees to take her on as a live-in disciple, going as far as to offer that she start today. Usa also mentions she'll need to undergo a 'ritual' tomorrow to cement her position as a rabbit disciple.
You assume that whatever ritual is necessary will likely involve Usa using some power on Megan to assure her obedience. If that is the case you would certainly prefer to be present to witness it and possibly understand how it works. That could let you tamper with it as you like, possibly finally allowing you to claim Venus as your own.
So as beneficial as it might be to allow Megan to start training immediately, you'd rather make things official on Friday when you actually have time to take part. For now then you'll head back home with Megan in tow, still gushing about how cute the rabbit was. You aren't sure she really understands what's going on but she doesn't really need to.
Something tells you that Aria will be making one of her unscheduled visits tonight. This is pretty good, there's a lot you could do with discussing with her. Detective Malcolm, the Church, Harmony, your impending move to another body and likely a dozen other things that may or may not occur to you at the time. You'll need to make sure it actually is Aria, of course otherwise you might be in for a nasty surprise. Fucking shapeshifters. Hopefully your new Sense Presence will help you determine that your visitor is indeed the real Aria, though you will still have to explain to the real Aria how you know she's the real Aria in case she tries to test you again. Asking her something only she should know the answer to is probably the best option.
For now you need to decide who you want on hand. Lucy is here by default and you decide to keep her here, Aria has always had a soft spot for your sister, though you can't help but be worried she'll try to take Lucy from you one of these days. Sherry will be useful to have around in case you want to discuss infiltrating the Church with Aria and so that you can use your puppet as bait to keep the pedo off of your sister. As for Megan, you don't think she's ready to meet Aria yet. So you'll have her hide upstairs when Aria visits. You'll likely need to explain to Aria that Megan is here and the cover story you've arranged but that should be it.
Against your better judgement you choose to leave Sherry in her regular mode when she arrives. You know Aria would certainly prefer to play with the puppet version, but it might be easier to help prep Sherry for Church infiltration if she is actually conscious for the conversation. Plus you are still fairly sure that Aria would actually prefer a doll that plays back but is still struggling against her true nature. What you stand to gain by having her confront that nature you aren't sure, but nevermind.
As you had anticipated Aria arrives unannounced shortly after dinner in her 'big sister' form.
'I'm here!' is her greeting. You allow her to embrace you, getting a good feel for her rump in exchange, then allow her to feel up your little sister before rescuing Lucy and leading her towards Sherry again. Immediately she begins to pout.
'Really?' she complains, 'I thought I said you should switch her off first! She'd be way more fun to play with that way!' You raise an eyebrow. Well she knows about Sherry's puppet mode, so that's a good start. Nobody else should know that unless they are able to detect your trigger inside Sherry's head. You utilize your Sense Presence, just to check. It certainly feels like the real Aria. Maybe you should fire a quick question at her, just in case.
'Hey,' you prompt Aria, 'could you describe the underwear I've stolen for you up until this point?' Aria's eye's light up, immediately interested.
'A game?' she asks, 'sounds fun! Well then, let's see! There was an adorable bunny pattern pair, a simple purple pattern pair, the oh so cute little kiddie pair belonging to this little treasure I assume,' she gestures to Lucy who, suddenly embarrassed, hides behind you, 'then there was a more mature pair from an adult lady, not really my thing but they have their uses and finally the elaborate flower pattern pair from the little dear at the casino. Well, did I pass?' Her eyes sparkle with mischief as you nod. Maybe she understood from the beginning why you were asking the question.
The four of you settle down, Aria reluctantly taking Sherry into her arms and sitting down on one side of the living room, you and your little sister on the other. Lucy has never really gotten used to Aria, she'll let the demon hug and fondle her at your request but other than that she'd much rather press herself up against you as though hoping you can protect her. You aren't really convinced you can, if Aria wanted to take Lucy, she would. Though you still have full control over your sister's soul so even if Aria did take Lucy she wouldn't be able to corrupt her. At least that's what you hope.
Still Aria is an ally and something approaching a friend so you hope you can rely on her for a while yet. In addition she has a piece of her soul whispering to her that you are harmless and she can pay less attention around you so that should hopefully lessen the threat she poses. You'd better talk to her about Megan before you do anything else. Aria doesn't sound massively surprised as you tell her.
'So you grabbed that lost little lamb?' she comments, 'I guess that means you have my Doll now? Meh, she wouldn't have known what to do with it anyway. Try to look after it now!' She waggles a finger at you, her other hand busy tugging at Sherry's clothes. You'd best start the conversation proper before she gets too distracted.
You explain your current plan to Aria, including the lazer pointer you were given by Eris. She frowns at your explanation and at the mention of the supervisor's name. At your side Lucy stares up at you in wide eyed horror and you realise that this is the first time you are mentioning it to her as well. You quickly pull her into an embrace, it's really unfortunate but you won't be able to bring her with you. At least not initially.
Maybe once you have full control of Damien and his wife you can smuggle Lucy into their house with you. With Elisa under your control you could have her give any number of excuses. Or hell you could just have Lucy travel to and from school from Rick's house. It can't be too much more out of the way. Her school isn't far from yours, after all. You feel your chest grow wet as your sister tries and fails to fight back tears. Shit, this isn't supposed to happen. You are a fucking bad ass murdering, mind broken, borderline schizo, demon corrupted maniac, surely you aren't going to get emotional over a little girl crying? You try to comfort Lucy as you bring your attention back to Aria.
'That's certainly strange,' she comments, 'not that you are moving on, necessarily, I knew it was a possibility, it's how I detected you in the first place, after all. But I somehow got used to our little meetings here and forgot our first encounter. It's fine though, you'll still be in my turf so you won't be able to escape me that easily. Still, I am concerned about The Switcher being involved. You understand why she's called that, right?' You shake your head. You could probably make a good guess but you'd rather learn more about her from Aria.
'Well she's called The Switcher,' Aria explains, 'because she likes 'switching' people. Sounds obvious but it is important. The issue is always how she switches people. Most often she'll take a person's most defining or redeeming character trait and turn it against them, switching it until it's the exact opposite of what it was.' You consider this. So if Eris 'switched' Aria your pseudo companion might actually become a decent person? Or would she end up with a fetish for old geezers instead? Now that's not a pleasant thing to imagine.
You don't believe you have any defining character features, other than being an unlucky waste of space loser. You'd be more than happy if Eris switched you into someone happy and successful and well adjusted. Though you get the impression it wouldn't be so conveniant. She's a demon, after all, there has to be suffering or unpleasantness involved or it wouldn't be worth her time.
'The big concern,' Aria continues, 'is that she often switches 'two people' with each other.' You mull this over. So she might be contemplating fucking over your Mistress by 'switching' the two of you? Make you into the big bad supervisor and her into the slave? You can understand how that would be satisfying to pull off! That could only be helpful and indeed she did force her assistance onto you. But still, you'll never trust a demon and there's no way you'll believe Eris forced that gift on you for any reason other than because she thought it would be of benefit to her.
'Be careful,' Aria warns, 'she may want to hurt your Mistress through you. I don't know too much about the other Supervisors but I do know they don't get on well. As for your 'move' I have no issues with it, though you might want to get yourself a Magic Screen to cover it up. With something that power people are likely to take notice, just as I noticed you switching bodies back then.' You nod, you have no idea what a Magic Screen is but you hope The Merchant will have one. You weren't planning on visiting him again before the move but you might still be able to incorporate a visit to him with other matters.
Trying to console an ever more upset Lucy you talk next to Aria about that little psycho bitch, Harmony, describing the stunt she pulled that night and the little test she left in Megan's head. Unwilling to explain how you really got rid of it, you describe to Aria how you used a series of Suggestions to significantly reduce it's effectiveness, to the point of being worthless. Aria simply nods.
'She is like that,' she explains, as though a response like that is sufficient, 'of all the Orchestra, Harmony is the most chaotic and hard to predict. You thought she might have impersonated me when I visited?' you nod. Aria winks at you.
'We'll have to devise a code phrase then,' she continues, 'something we change each time just in case. Next time I come to visit I'll start by saying 'Flowers, bunnies and frilly lace' and you can reply back with 'would you like me to fetch you strawberries next?' She giggles at her own idea. You shake your head. She really does give you the impression that she hasn't grown up sometimes. You repeat the two parts of the code back to her and she smiles at you. Then she frowns.
'Unfortunately I cannot really help you with Harmony,' she admits, 'we are both under the same Supervisor, after all, and I know full well that Master keeps Harmony on a very long leash. She can pretty much do what she wants so long as she still attends the Concerts and resonds promptly to her summons. Her territory isn't the best place to live in, I imagine. But you should be alright, she's devious, vindictive and petty but she isn't stupid.
So long as she doesn't find out you change bodies when you die she won't try to kill you out of fear of what your boss would do to her. Though that won't stop her fucking with you a bunch of other ways! I will say that as much as she may dislike you and I, it's nothing compared with the hatred she has for the neighbour on her other side. They've been close to coming to blows for a long time. If you really want to keep Harmony off your back for a while, provoking a confrontation between her and Kali would be the easiest way I feel.'
As much as you'd like Aria to ellaborate on this crucial sounding point she waves you away, clearly having decided she's done with this topic. She really doesn't like Harmony, huh? Then again you can't imagine there are many out there who do. It's annoying but perhaps you can try to find our more about this Kali person on your own? Of course it will have to wait until after your big move and subesquent life reajustment, but anything that could ruin Harmony's day sounds worth looking into!
Next you ask Aria to put Sherry's clothes back on for a moment so the three of you can cover the bases for her preparation towards the Church infiltration. Aria makes it clear that, no matter which branch you intend to infiltrate basic knowledge of the specific practices of all three branches and the various differences between them is important. As such it's important that Sherry study the sacred texts of all three branches and familiarises her self with them.
She'll also need a bit of modification to her regular programing to prevent her lack of negative emotions from being detected by any more in depth searches. You work on that now, Aria using her fire to bring Sherry's subconscious to the surface so you can make some tweaks and adjustments.
Now, to an outside observer it should seem less like Sherry has a wedge inside her mind cutting off her emotions and more as though she's just a naturally calm and benevolent soul who rarely if ever finds cause to raise her voice or express displeasure. It should be a mentality now similar to the Sisters themselves, though you do give Sherry a few situations and scenarios where she can now feign negative emotions to help her blend in. It isn't perfect but it should pass muster, provided there's no emergencies.
Though Sherry is still far from being ready for her mission, the most difficult part is over and she should be able to manage without your or Aria's direct involvement from now on. She'll have to read up on the three sacred texts for the branches and improve her knowledge, but she can do that on her own, for the most part. Getting her a couple of helpers in the form of some Little Angels wouldn't hurt though. You'll need to speak to Roger about that later.
Finally you try something a bit riskier. You try to get Aria talking about herself. You've avoided this for the longest time, terrified that she'll suspect you of probing her for weaknesses and clam up. But you've developed a fairly solid relationship with her and with the soul fragment dulling her sense of danger you feel like it's worth taking the chance. You start off with a few harmless topics of conversation, asking her why she's so interested in having you collect underwear for her instead of simply buying them from a store like everyone else does.
Her answer is confusing and somewhat disturbing, something about a person's possessions containing a small piece of their essence, so that she can reimagine that person's being through the item in question and use it to craft her dolls, at least those that she doesn't actully make out of real children. So you assume that means Aria has already created artificial dolls of Lucy, Sherry, Ami and the girl in the kimono for her own twisted amusement back at her home. Weird, but you suppose that's better than making the actual girls themselves into dolls.
It might be creepy but you've got her talking, now you just need to decide what you want to find out about her.
You manage to get Aria to talk about her childhood. She reveals that she was born and raised in the demon world, though you remember her soul fragment telling you much the same. She tells you that her particular breed of demon is known as the rakshasi, a breed of shapeshifters proficient in swordplay. The most distinctive feature of her race was the drastic difference between the genders.
While the females of her species tended to shift into mainly beautiful and attractive human forms, the males, the rakshasa were almost always humanoid in their forms, adopting beast like features such as fur, claws and even full animal faces and bodies. They were also typically canabalistic and would often kill and devour each other in the pursuit of a female. Aria found herself hating almost all of them. Her brothers were all animals, fierce, barbaric, always fighting and tearing into each other and the other males, their forms shifting constantly as they sought to gain advantage over each other. Her mother was more gentle but resigned, having accepted her way of life as it was.
Aria hated all of them, all except her father. He seemed to understand how much she disliked how everyone around her was always shifting and always changing, never settling on the same form for long so that it gave her a headache to look at them. So he brought her things to play with that didn't do that. Dolls remained the same no matter what happend. They didn't change, they didn't move. They remained fixed and constant. And Aria found herself enjoying her time spent with them far more than trying to keep track of her fellow demons, always changing their forms in some vain attempt to impress her. So she spent her days indoors with her dolls and her toys and her father.
You couldn't help but notice her description of her childhood was fairly clear, with the exception of when she spoke of her father. She remembered that he was unlike the other rakshasa, being a half breed. She knew that he hid his origin like it was his most important secret, and she knew that he was in someway different from all the other men she met back at home and even any men she's met since. But her specific memories of him are vague and fuzzy. It's difficult to get anything more out of her in this regard.
At least from what she tells you you can extrapolate that she's never dated and has little interest in it. Men in general don't seem to be her thing, though she has on occasion been known to make a doll out of a male child. Still, females tend to be her preference and female children in particular are her favourites, though she doesn't usually 'play' with them while they are conscious, Sherry being the recent exception.
It's when you try to lead her into talking about her name when she was at home that she starts to clam up. It's difficult to determine exactly why she is suddenly reluctant to speak on this matter. You do know that names are important in the demon world and one of the reason why most demons go by their titles rather than their real names is to obfuscate.
But here it feels a little different, as though you've triggered some reaction inside Aria that she doesn't even quite understand. Regardless, she seems adamant that the conversation is over for now and you know better than to push your luck, leaving her to find what pleasure she can with Sherry before the end of the evening.
Your evening with Aria ends on a rather sour note, having killed the conversation a little and Aria not finding Sherry to be particularly satisfying, insisting that you puppet her next time if you want Sherry to entertain her. You remark that you'll probably be in your new home the next time she visits and she comments that she might visit anyway, jokingly teasing you about how she'll have unrestricted access to your sister while you are away. Lucy is still upset about the prospect of you leaving so you don't respond to Aria's joke, simply bidding her farewell and thanking her for the help.
Then she departs, leaving an awkward sort of tension behind her. You don't think your relationship with her was affected in any meaningful way but you do feel as though this push back she's having isn't natural. Perhaps she was made to feel this way. Not that there's anyway for you to know this for sure. It would make sense though. Perhaps you just need a better way to encourage her to push back against this weird mindset she has. Or you could just forget it, unsure if there is a compelling reason why changing Aria's opinion in this matter is worth pursuing. All you know for sure is you have more information now and it's time to get ready for bed. Hopefully Lucy will have cheered up once she's had a good night's sleep.
Dream Invasion has now been upgraded! You can now dive deeper and tamper more freely! Please fuck with people's hopes and dreams irresponsibly! The Special ability Dream Prison is now available to unlock!
The latest chapter of Kairos' diary involves him actually doing the job he's supposed to be doing for once. His boss, The Genie assigns him a responsibilty to help sort souls in the demon world, siphoning off all the negative emotions and cleaning them so they can be recycled and reborn back in the mortal world. Unsurprisngly, Karios grows bored of this very quickly, resolving himself to climbing the ladder of the demonic hierachy in order to make sure he never has to do this kind of tedious work ever again. How inspiring to know that the Demon Lord's motivation was so deep and meaningful…