Today is the day. You really do hope that it will be this day that you escape this tiny little prison and move into a more appropriate body. There are so many things you want to do with your new body. But first you need to work out the best way to get your hands on it. Perhaps the easiest way would be to sneak into the house in the middle of the night, having Rick let you in. Or you could just visit normally in the evening. Failing that you could try to arrange for Rick and his father to come here to your house. Regardles of how you do it you need to decide two things, how to bring you in contact with Damien Rivers and what to do with Zach's body after you've made the switch.
First thing is most certainly first. You use the Mirror to contact Roger and instruct him to call Rick and try and arrange for him to bring his father round this evening to visit you. If that doesn't work you'll have to reconsider but you aren't too concerned. With Rick helping there should be a number of opportunities to finish this today. After that you contact Sherry and arrange for her to be round Roger's in a bit. You can talk to Megan and Lucy in a moment. Next you'll have a quick look at these candles you obtained yesterday. You doubt you'll find a use for them right now but it should be worth seeing what they do at any rate.
According to the instructions these Demonic Essense Candles come in ten different colours and each colour has a different effect. To activate the effect you simply need to light it. The effect works via the aroma and so is best done in an enclosed space. The instructions suggest that the effect shouldn't work on the person who lights them unless they are particularly vulnerable.
You check your box, you have a blue candle, two green ones, an orange one, a purple one and a brown one. According to the instructions the candles are designed to ease those who smell them into a particular state or emotion. Blue candles are designed to instil a sense of sadness and depression. Green are supposed to lul their victims into a deep sleep. Orange candles cause paralysis, disabling the body while leaving the mind intact. Purple are supposed to leave the targets in a suggestible, trance like state leaving them vulnerable to commands or suggestions. And the brown candles act as a diarrhetic. You can't help but feel that last one seems out of place.
Just out of thoroughness you read the instructions for the other candles. Red candles cause a pronounced lust in your targets, pink cause them to experience feelings of love. Black candles encourage dark and nasty impulses, bringing out the worst in people. White candles do the exact opposite, bringing out the best in people. Finally yellow candles provoke feelings of fear and cowardice. You can imagine a few creative uses of each of them.
Though this does lead you to a consideration. You have a bunch of items now and not much space to store them all. You can probably carry a few of them around without the bracelet but you need to be careful what you carry to avoid questions. Best to decide now which six items you keep in the breaclet. Though, of course The Diary will certainly be taking up one of them. The pocket watch you'll need to keep on your person, otherwise there's no point in having it. So what will you be needing in the foreseaable future? You'll have to arrange for the others to be delivered to you once you switch bodies.
You make your decisions in regards to packing your items and get ready. You tell Lucy she'll be taking the day off school to visit Roger with you and she's unsurprisngly delighted to hear it. After breakfast you ask Megan to come with you as well, bringing any of her personal possessions. She doesn't have much, but you know Elisa took her shopping once or twice to pick her out a few more clothes, a tooth brush and other essentials. Nothing she wouldn't be able to easily pack. And like that you head out.
On your way to Roger's you pull out The Mirror. It might not be the best of ideas to utilise it in public like this but you don't need to talk outloud so it shouldn't look too weird. You let Cassie know what is going on, realising as you do that you should be able to give her a new instruction via the Reality Notebook. But you don't really have time to think about that today. Once everything has settled down you can consider the next set of instructions. Otherwise you give Ami a brief heads up and then put the Mirror away.
Sherry meets you outside Roger's and your group heads in. If Venus is surprised to see such a large group outside her door so early in the morning she doesn't show it, welcoming you all into her house with her usual benevolent smile. You decide you'd rather get Megan's introduction ritual out of the way first, letting you work out how much time you'll have left for the less vital stuff. Before that you decide to take advantage of your new ability. You activate Sense Presence and use it to examine the building. Wow, the entire place is soaked in magical power, though decidedly different in it's feeling to the demonic powers you are more used to. This is Usa's aura, so much of it you won't have any problem identifiying it in future.
Most interestingly you find the strongest readings not coming from the shrine but actually under the ground beneath the building. So then, it makes sense now. Usa is a spirit, a being of magical energy, assumedly. So the creature you've been interacting with is just a small piece of Usa, operating that rabbit statue. An avatar, just as The Diary said. The majority of the being that is known as Usa is actually under the house. Is it making up the barriers around the house or is Usa simply sleeping to preserve it's energy? Either way your ability is giving you a much better inclination of the numerous wards and barriers in place around the residence.
You can't focus on it too much, as the unfamiliar stimulus starts to give you a headache, but you'd like to come back her and examine all of this stuff again. For now you'll take part in the ritual and follow the instructions you were given. Venus actually manages to detach your little sister from your side in order to keep her busy indoors while you lead Megan towards the shrine for the ritual.
She's still wearing her rabbit ears. It seems appropriate. At Usa's instruction Megan kneels down on a cushion before the shrine. She repeats Usa's words as the spirit guides her through the oath needed to declare herself a disciple of the Guardian Rabbit. You are somewhat worried that such an oath might be magically enforced in some way, like the way the Soul Contracts work, but it doesn't feel that way. More likely Usa will be using different methods to ensure that Megan remains loyal.
Sure enough, the next thing the rabbit does is begin to ring the bell. The sound rings out, once, twice, three times and you forced yourself to resist being drawn in by it's soporific power even as you know it isn't actually aimed at you. Megan has no such resistance, her eyes dulling and he body relaxing, a dopey smile appearing on her face. You aren't sure you've actually seen her this relaxed since you met her, she's practically drooling on herself! While Usa begins to tie Megan into the magical energy of this place you pull the Rabbit Emblem out of your bracelet and focus on it, as The Diary told you.
You feel the spirit array laid out beneath and around you, like a giant web with Usa's real, dormant form in the centre of it. Venus, you can tell is fully entangled at its core, with Roger lurking near the edge of it, only under so much of it's influence to prevent him from noticing anything unusual. You watch Usa's avatar guiding an entranced Megan onto the web and beginning to bind her in threads, sealing her in place. She's pretty close to the edge for now, but the longer she stays here the more you imagine these subtle threads of power will draw her ever more closer to the centre, until she's as deeply controlled by it as Venus is.
But the web is designed to ensnare the devoted and rework them into serving the Guardian Rabbit faithfully. And you have it's emblem. Holding it out you throw a projection of your own consciousness onto the web. The strings don't bind you, instead you usurp them to your own will, redirecting the web so that you are at the centre of it, rather than the vague being that is Usa's main form beneath your feet. The rabbit's avater, concentrating on incorporating Megan into the web doesn't notice your tampering, but there's always the chance that the 'real' Usa might sense something.
You feel something below stir and freeze up, worried that your meddling might have been detected. While some small part of Usa noticed something odd it doesn't seem to consider it significant enough to do anything. You'll likely have to tread more carefully from now on, but hopefully you won't need to mess with the rabbit any more moving forward. Trying to detach Venus from the web is unwise now, but you control it now so it's really only a formality at this point.
With the ritual complete you focus your attention back to Usa and Megan, the rabbit avatar radiating a certain degree of smugness while Megan is still completely out of it. In theory the ritual has granted you control of her as well, though you'll likely need to wait for it to sink in. Still, it might be possible to assert your authority now.
The temptation is certainly there. The young girl, kneeling in front of you, her eyes drooping, mouth hanging open, saliva dribbling from her bottom lip. So helpless and vulnerable. The need seeks to take you, the desire to make this girl yours. She shouldn't be kneeling to anyone other than you! She should be pledging herself only to you. You should take her away from here and make her yours. But no, there's no reason to do that. You've already inserted yourself into the rabbit's spirit array. With that you should be able to use your emblem to assert full control over Venus. Megan can wait, she isn't a priority.
For now you'd rather move straight on to training. You allow Usa to give Megan a couple of basic instructions and then wake her up. She blinks up at you, confused and sleepy. It might take her a bit to recover but she'll be fine. The training should shake the weariness from her.
Distracted by your concerns about your small blunder earlier and your concerns for the rest of the day your training through the morning and early afternoon doesn't go as well as you'd like. You feel as though you are on the cusp of your next breakthrough but a single session clearly wasn't enough. Fortunately, Lucy and Megan seem to have a better grasp on their training. Usa complained once about not being able to train more that two people at once but it didn't seem to have too many issues today. You don't bother trying to ask the rabbit to train Sherry again. It might actually be better for her if you don't, you wouldn't want to risk anyone from the Church sensing Usa's aura on her. So she's really just there for emotional support.
An hour or so before lunch you spend a bit of time reinforcing the house's defences. Working with Usa you pour some of your Mana into the barrier the rabbit set up around the house, the same barrier that took significant damage during the last attack. You are hoping not to have to use too much of your mana this evening, if any but you'll still keep plenty in reserve. You decide to give up half of your Mana, not enough to restore the barrier to the level it was before the attack, but a respectable level nonetheless.
In addition you tighten your grip on Good Girl and Dog. Unwilling to rely on Ina's Whistles, you instead use Animal Whisperer to further hollow out your dogs' simple minds and ingraining further instructions inside their heads, allowing them to react to certain emergency situations to defend Roger and the others. You also grant Megan and Venus authority to give the dogs basic orders.
Finally you instruct your dogs to ignore all dog Whistles in future, pushing this instruction so deeply inside their brains they won't even be able to register the noise any more. This should prevent those bastards from doing what they did last time and regaining control. Finally you utilise your new Matches to burn the two bodies you have in the house, reducing them to ash in a matter of moments. That's one less loose end you need to worry about.
You consider that you haven't reinforced the barrier guarding the shrine itself, but thinking on it you might actually benefit from that barrier going down. At least it might mean Usa actually doing something to defend itself next time, maybe even revealing a weakness or a vulnerability you can exploit. Then again, you'd rather they just not attack at all.
With your preparations done as best as you can you sit down with everyone else for lunch. Megan has long since recovered from her little ordeal this morning. You'll need to get your hands on the bell again to gain full access to her, but you'd rather use your own power on her anyway. Neither are necessary right now though.
Lucy sits on your lap, refusing to use her own seat. It's more difficult to eat your own lunch like this, at least until your sister decides to start feeding you by hand, for some reason enjoying this little intimate act immensely. Is this the result of her new Clarity, allowing her to look at your relationship in a slightly different way. Maybe you are simply overthinking it. Young siblings feeding each other isn't unusual, right?
Venus has taken the invasion of her house in stride, as you would have expected her to. She's already starting to treat Megan like she's her own daughter and you can tell the two will get on well moving forwards. Maybe that is part of Usa's power at work on the two of them or just the nurse's natural personality. Not that it matters. One day you'll have them both kneeling before you, matching blank stares and pliant bodies. That will sure be a fun time!
Roger seems to be struggling with the arrival of his new big sister. You didn't really consult with him when you decided to move Megan in here, not that he is capable of questioning a decision you have made. You know that boys Roger's age tended to have difficulty with girls Megan's age. Of course, you don't actually know how old Megan is, you figure she's in her early to mid teens. But to Roger she's an older woman and you wouldn't be surprised if he reacted oddly to her presence here. Though that would really only apply to regular seven year olds.
Roger, of course, is more focused on you, trying his best to be useful to you. You know he's been chomping at the bit to talk to you about the Angels, but you've been busy with your training so far and not had a chance to speak to him. He mentions while you eat that one of the Angels who was working on causing trouble at school won't be able to do that while it is closed. Besides, it will be the weekend next so a quick reassignment would be a good idea anyway. Though you don't have time to sit through everything right now. You can at least make a decision about the one Angel currently unassigned.
You decide to assign the loose Angel into Recruitment, you only had one of them working on that up until now, after all. Next you look over at Sherry who hasn't really been able to get much done today. Maybe having her here for moral support was a bit of a waste, but with school out she wouldn't be able to do all that much anyway. As for the Church infiltration you'll need to help her find the sacred texts of the other two Church branches. If only you haven't been actively avoiding all the churches in the city.
You mention it out loud and Venus chips in, ever reliable. She tells you where the closest Traditionalist church can be found which is good to know, considering they don't have that many. She won't be able to check it out today, but you are in no real hurry. Getting Sherry into the Church is potentially useful but not essential. You aren't sure if it is really going to get you anything, but it's worth trying at least.
With lunch over you head out into the garden for more training. As much as you'd like to perform another Providence ritual to improve your chances of doing well later on you'd rather chase after the breakthrough you feel you are so tantalisingly close. And yes, you feel it, another improvement in your ability to influence your Fate. And with luck as bad as yours you certainly need it. Case in point, you and your girls are halfway through your training session when a sudden muted feeling settles over the bunch of you, immediately causing you some alarm.
Usa senses it as well, activating the barriers instantly. You are quickly moving inside the house while the girls simply exchange confused looks. You head to the closest window and peer out of it, trying to stay low as you do so. A number of cars have drawn up outside the house and a number of men in suit have gotten out, guns on hips and in some cases, in hands. And heading the group is:
Detective Malcom. Fuck. The Hell is he doing here? How did Ina get so many people ready so soon after the last time? There has to be a dozen of them at least, too many to reliably fight off, even with your new abilities. You watch the young detective give his men some cursory orders and then start to stroll towards the house, his pace unhurried and casual, his hands firmly in his jacket pockets. You quickly draw back from the window before he spots you summoning your dogs. Then you hear the sharp rapping of Malcolm knocking on your front door.
You retrieve a gun obtained from the agents following you last time and get into something approximating cover, your dogs at the ready. It's Venus' house, she should be the one answering the door, right? You gesture, giving the woman a silent instruction to open the door. Her own gun ready Venus opens the door, keeping the chain on and keeping as little of her own body available as possible.
'Can I help you?' she asked. Detective Malcolm held up his badge.
'Detective Ian Malcolm, ma'am,' he says, his voice the epitome of calm professionalism, 'I'd like to speak to Zachary Robinson. I believe he is visiting today.' Venus stares the man down for a moment, then casts her gaze over his shoulder at the dozen armed men outside her house.
'You and all of these gentlemen?' she asks, 'what exactly is this about, detective?' Malcolm maintains a level expression.
'Not to worry,' he continues, 'my associates will be staying outside. I just have a few questions for the young man. I believe we might actually be able to assist each other.' He raises his other hand as though to establish that he isn't armed. Not that you aren't certain he has a gun on him somewhere. Venus glances over at, likely asking for your input. Could the detective really be here just to talk? He certainly brought a lot of men with him for that. Plus whatever sets up this barrier. Though this could all be part of a ploy to intimidate you into caving and giving something away. Still, speaking to the man would be better than a shoot out. So maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to see what he wants.
You weigh up your options. All in all, they suck. You don't know where Malcolm found all these guys, but you doubt you'd be able to take all of them out without dying yourself. And not without Venus your dogs and most of your other minions dying as well. So you can really hope that he is here to talk as he said. Whether that is done like this, inside or outside likely doesn't matter. So you may as well let him in. You nod to Venus and she relents. You contemplate asking him to disarm himself first, but decide against it. You won't be disarming yourself so you doubt he will. And you'd like this talk to go well. You stash the gun away and allow Venus to let him in.
He strolls in, hands back in pockets, calm and collected. His gaze passes over the two dogs on either side of you, staring back with blank expressions but with tense bodies ready to spring forwards at the first sign of hostility. Then his gaze falls on you. You fake nervousness.
'Erm,' you manage, 'I'm sorry I didn't go to school today,' you manage, 'I felt better, so I was gona! But I heard it's been closed so…' He strolls past you, aiming for one of the seats in the kitchen.
'You can dispense with the act,' he comments, 'I know a fair amount about you already, demon's servant. You haven't exactly been subtle, though newcomers in your position seldom are. The school suicide was brilliantly executed though, I must say. You capitalised on that young man's miserable situation to great success.' You resist the urge to sigh. You hadn't expected that.
'You seem to have caught me at a disadvantage,' you continue, sitting down opposite him, 'you know what I am, but I know next to nothing about you.' His face tenses somewhat before resuming his passive expression.
'Not much to say, really,' he replies, eyeing you up and down, 'I'm Detective Ian Malcolm of X City's Special Investigation Bureau. Our job isn't so much to fight demons and their servants as it is to find and monitor them. We're no white knights on horses, just men trying to do their jobs as best as they can and trying to keep themselves in one piece. We know full well that a full confrontation with your kind would end badly for us so we give ever more liberties to the Church in the hope that they can resolve it. But I'm not someone who believes in God. I don't really believe in Ina, either.
'At the end of the day I'm just a man. I'm not adverse to dipping my toes into this muck, but I don't intend to risk my life doing it.' He eyes Venus, or more accurately her levelled gun, somewhat warily.
'So then,' you press him, 'what are you here for?' He considers your question, evidently in little hurry.
'Because I believe the two of us can make use of each other,' he replied. 'This is the opportune moment for an arrangement that benefits us both. As a gesture of good faith, you should be aware that Ina has little interest in continuing her feud with the Guardian Rabbit. She also doesn't know who you are and won't, unless of course I tell her. A number of high ranking church officials and police staff are in the east, planning an assault on a nearby demon's servant. As such there shouldn't be much attention directed over here at the present.'
'And what brought this about all of a sudden,' you challenge him, 'what sort of arrangement do you want to make?' He frowns down at you.
'I'm a person who likes to hedge his bets,' he admits, 'conflict is inevitable, and when the dust settles I'd like to be on the winning team, no matter who that ends up being.' You nod. So, an opportunist then, someone caring more about their own interest than such trivial things as good and evil. An uncaring attitude more than a match for your own. You'd get along with this person well in other situations.
'Alright,' you concede, 'you want us to talk? What do you plan on talking about?'
'A straight talker,' Malcolm continues, 'good. I'll be direct, then. I propose a collaborative arrangement. First, I'll withdraw my observers and keep the link between you, Aria and Usa to myself without mentioning it further to my superiors or collaborators within the Church. In response I hope you make better efforts to 'restrain yourself' in future. We've already found three of your bodies and I'm sure you have more of them.
'Second, an arrangement to share information. I've given you some already but it shouldn't be impossible to trade intel, as it were. Finally I am sure I'll be able to offer you 'work' of a certain sensitive nature. I'm sure it will be possible to establish a symbiotic relationship between the two of us, assuming certain boundaries are respected.' You consider his words. On the surface this arrangement doesn't seem to bad for you. You aren't sure exactly what information Malcolm is hoping to extract from you but you are fairly certain he has more useful information than you do. What he'll willingly part with is a different matter.
As for the 'non interference' part, that shouldn't be an issue at all. You can practically guarantee that 'Zach' won't be causing any more problems. The issue in this arrangement is likely this third proposition. You aren't sure if you really want to be doing 'work' for a shady detective. Who knows what kind of dirty work he'd make you do as part of this deal? Of course, these jobs might be beneficial for you, but they will also likely be dangerous. Malcolm will probably only give you work that is too dangerous or on shaky legal ground for his own people and he won't care for your own safety while you are on the job.
Setting that point aside an arrangement could work. You likely stand more to gain here than loss. It might involve selling Aria out but you don't really have any issues doing that. There is likely little that you know about her that could actually get her in trouble, and you'll happily tell them everything you know about Harmony. Still, this is just the first stage of the negotiation, it would be foolish to just blindly accept his offer. You should fish a bit, try and get more out of him. He wouldn't be approaching you in the first place if he wasn't interested in this, after all.
'I see,' you begin, 'I have no objections to a certain degree of cooperation, but I hope you don't mind that I'm going to need more detail before I can commit to this. You know enough about me to understand that I'm not to one making decisions here. I suppose I should start then by asking why you are approaching me specifically with this as opposed to one of the others.' Malcolm seems to consider the question, though his eyes flicker back over to Venus, who has been keeping her weapon trained on him unflinchingly.
'That's easy enough to explain,' he answers, 'my investigation has determined that you are one of the weakest link in the demons' network, meaning it's easier to approach and deal with you rather than someone with higher status and power.' You don't even take offense at the assertion. It's true, of course. In comparison to the other demon servants you are weak. And being underestimated is rarely a bad thing.
'If you understand that,' you continue, 'then you know I am beholden to the orders of another.' He nods. Likely he assumes that you work for Aria. You have been operating out of her area, after all, your family fits her MO and they found one of her items at the school.
'Even if I want to honour our agreement and lay low,' you explain, 'if my superior gives me an order I can hardly disobey.'
'Understandable,' he comments, 'though I know that the majority of demons who operate in this region are skilled at covering their tracks. I'm not saying not to do anything unlawful again, I'm saying to try not to leave a mess for other people to clean up.' You make a show of considering this.
'I suppose that's not unreasonable,' you concede, 'though sometimes my hand will likely be forced. If you don't like this, perhaps this 'work' you are offering can be tailored towards something that could benefit both of us.' His gaze is steely, his poker face giving little away.
'I'm not sure what you are implying,' he lies, 'but the police have a good grasp on ordinary law breakers and scumbags. You'll no doubt know this already, but the majority of criminals convicted by our legal system are exiled to the Lowertown. Once they arrive there they are usually pressganged into the various criminal organisations there and end up fighting amongst themselves.
'The result of this arrangement means less crime in the better parts of the city. It also feeds the seemingly endless battle between the demonic elements in the Lowertown and the Church's forces moving down from The Bastion. The mayor's position is simple enough. Both sides can kill each other as much as they want so long as it doesn't bother the majority of decent citizens.
'Still, there will always be those who manage to evade the net. Evildoers and scum who are too slippery, too cunning or too highly connected to be punished by our legal system. If 'we' cannot punish them for their misdeeds then I see no reason not to contract out to external parties.' You nod. So he's offering to provide you information on criminals that can't be arrested or convicted so you can make them 'disappear.' It's unlikely that you'd be able to meet your soul quota this way, but such nasty individuals might well have more twisted souls than the usual crowd. And you could probably deal with these people without too much backlash.
Still, going after hardened criminals will always be more dangerous then targeting defenceless homeless people. You wouldn't want to be pressed into going after a high profile target you can't handle. You may want to argue him down to 'optional' contracts you can consider and then decide on based on the risks.
'Last question,' you ask, 'exactly how far are you prepared to go in service of this deal? I'd be taking a big risk making any arrangements with someone who also deals with the church. My 'employer' likely won't approve of it. I'd like to be sure that the benefits will be worth the risk.' He nods.
'You can expect rewards on par with your contributions,' he answers, cagily, 'I'm sure it will be impossible to trust me. For the record, I have no intention of trusting you, either. This arrangement will only be sustainable if we both gain from it. Which means everything we do will be strict trades and exchanges. If you need more reassurance I can tell you again that Ina won't be moving against you here any time soon.
'The investigation into your murders has been concluded and my partner is allowing me to handle this. As for the Church, I make no guarantees but I do not believe they are making any major moves right now. As far as I am aware Sister Cassandra still believes that you have been purified and is at present busy with other matters anyway. If you want to know any more than that you'll first need to agree to the deal I proposed.'
He clams up with a sense of finality. It seems you've gotten about as much out of him as you can. Now you'll need to make a decision. You could try to fob him off with a vague agreement, but with someone like this something more clearly defined would probably be better. There likely won't ever be any mutual trust between the two of you, so you'll need to conduct this as a business arrangement, calm, cold and calculated. It's time to haggle over terms, though of course you could always just reject his proposal all together and take the risks involved.
You mull his offer over. On the surface it seems good. You aren't planning on leaving any bodies lying around anyway. Not as Zach, at least. So long as Malcolm doesn't work out you've moved bodies he shouldn't notice your disregard for your arrangement. And you'll need to make it clear that you'll be the one to make the final say on any work he may arrange for you. You don't want to be forced to do anything more difficult than you can manage. But your main issue of contention is in the second part, the information exchange.
You aren't sure exactly what he is expecting to learn from you, but you are fairly certain that any information he would be interested in that you happen to have would be either related to or obtained from Aria. And it again brings your 'relationship' with her under the spotlight. You'll have to make a decision about this sooner or later as it's starting to bother you. But selling information about her to Malcolm would likely be considered 'betraying' her. And while you doubt she'll ever find out, particularly with her soul fragment continuing to make her believe you to be harmless you still find yourself hesitating over it.
If this is some semblance of a moral compass emerging inside you that would be bad. You can't really afford one of those right now. And you know that Aria is not the sort of person you should be loyal to, considering the atrocious deeds she's committed. But she's still the closest thing to a companion you have. Shit… This will be much easier if you could just make her yours like everyone else. Then you wouldn't need to worry about this sentimental crap anymore. Perhaps you should start seriously considering ways to grind down her resistance? But for now you'll hesitantly agree to this deal of Malcolm's. You have at least one piece of information you can offer him that won't be contentious.
'Very well,' you confirm, 'I don't see a reason why we can't work together in a limited form. Though I would like to stipulate that I will only be accepting 'jobs' that I believe myself capable of completing adequately. If you agree to allow me the choice to refuse work I am not confident about I'll agree to your terms.' He shrugs.
'Very well,' he confirms, 'no offence, but my expectations of your capability aren't particularly high. We'll start you off with some of the simpler stuff and go from there. I look forward to encountering less of your handiwork in future,' he holds out his hands and you shake it. Are you the one making a deal with the devil here or is he? It's difficult to say for sure. Venus, seeing your accord finally lowers her gun, though she's still tense and will no doubt raise it again at the slightest provocation. You really need to add her to your employ full time when you get the chance. But for now you need to conclude your business here.
'With that I believe we are finished for now,' he concludes, 'unless you have anything else you care to discuss?'
'Just that it would probably be easier if we did our correspondence via Venus from now on,' you nod towards her, 'it would certainly be strange if we were to meet up repeatedly, after all.' Malcolm met Venus' gaze for a moment.
'That is acceptable,' he agrees, 'there should be a number of ways to get information across to her without it raising suspicion.' You nod. It will be convenient to let Venus deal with this as she can forward any contact to Roger who can then fill you in as part of his daily reports. It might be worth giving him Clarity before you leave here, though you can't help but wonder if that might not grant him awareness of his virtual enslavement at your hands.
'Finally,' you state, 'I'd be interested to know how high you value information that a member of Cerberus might soon be heading north to our side of the river.' The Detective raises an eyebrow at that.
'Something like that would certainly be valuable for the police to learn in advance,' he replies, 'it might allow us to prepare for his arrival. I suppose the question would be what do you want to know in exchange for more detail?'
You hold up the picture Soprano gave you of his 'lost lamb.' You aren't really sure if it's still worth looking for her, considering her replacement has already been obtained. But you did say you'd make an effort to find her at least, and this is likely your best bet.
'I'd like to know what happened to this person.' You say. Detective Malcolm glances at the photo briefly.
'Ah yes, that one,' he comments, 'they picked him? her? whoever they are they were picked up by one of our observers on behalf of a certain professor. Last thing I heard about the kid they should still be in the university. She should be fine, physically at least.' The university? Interesting. It isn't a place you have immediate access to. Or at least not the sort of access that would let you hunt around for the lamb unopposed. But you meant to find out more about that place anyway, so now you just have another reason to check it out.
You pass on as much as you know about Razor and Cerberus and with that your business is concluded. If you ever find yourself in desperate need of information you can always dig up some dirt on Aria to trade, though you'd prefer to leave that as more of an emergency measure right now. You shake the detective's hand once more and he departs, taking his goons with him. Most of the afternoon is gone now so you'll have to head back for the evening and hope Rick managed to convince his father to bring him round to visit you. You thank Venus for her assistance, stand your dogs down and prepare to head home with Lucy. You just need to decide if you need Sherry to help out with the plan or if it's fine to have her head home.
You head to your room. You are supposed to be ill, after all. You give Lucy and Elisa some instructions as you go. Elisa will invite Damien in for a drink while Rick checks on you. Then Lucy will light one of your Essence candles. Specifically one of the green ones. She'll then wait for the adults to fall asleep and come to get you. You'll then use the Zapper on Damien. There shouldn't really be any issue at all.
Perhaps you are used to things being more difficult than you expect them to, or difficulties springing up at the last minute but you are pleasantly surprised how easy the next stage is. Lucy lets you know when Rick and his father come to visit then she heads downstairs while you chat with your classmate. After about ten minutes Lucy is back, giving you a smile and a thumbs up. You tell Rick that from now on he should listen to his father's instructions as if they are your own and then head downstairs, to where your mother is sleeping on the sofa. Across from her, also asleep, is your next body.
Damien Rivers. Nothing personal, but everything he has will become yours now. You have Lucy put the candle out to make sure it doesn't affect you while you set up the Magic Screen according to the instructions provided. Then you settle yourself down on the sofa next to Damien, positioning your body so that it won't take any damage after you swap bodies. Finally you command Lucy and Rick to take your body back up to your room after you switch bodies, just in case you somehow don't manage to take over enough of the man's mind to be granted full control of the body immediately. And after giving Lucy one last hug, you are ready. Goodbye, Zachary Robinson. It's been fun… Well, not really…
Perhaps drugging your new host wasn't the best idea in hindsight. While it certainly helped to make sure you managed to pull the Possession off without issues, it's not helping you now. Your mind is fuzzy and your body sluggish, unwilling to move the way you want it to. Though that might be because your aren't used to this body yet. However, experiencing these issues allows you greater focus elsewhere, which could be considered a blessing in disguise. The reason being is it allows you to detect two distinct changes inside your head.
Firstly, as you had anticipated, like a great leviathan emerging from the depths of the ocean, Lust, long impeded and restrained by your child body, shakes it's head and awakens with a roar of penned up desire. The feelings strike you so intensely you can already feel your new cock stiffen as if it is saluting your arrival. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if the rest of your body wasn't almost completely unresponsive right now, leaving you completely unable to deal with this issue.
Secondly, and even more troubling, you've felt something else slot into place inside your mind. Something, unlike your other mentalities, that is completely alien to you. An intruder, some parasite that has lodged itself inside your head. You struggle to work out exactly what it is, but your best guess would be that it's something Eris set up in advance as part of her own twisted plan. Y
ou focus on the invader. You haven't spent enough time with Eris to be able to identify her aura, but you doubt this thing could have came to be here any other way. If memory serves she was called The Switcher. This probably means that whatever is inside your mind now is designed to at some point start rewriting your mentality until it is more inline with whatever Eris thinks it should be like. Her plan to 'Switch' you, you imagine.
You'd be angry about this or scared. Worried, maybe. But right now it's taking all you've got just to focus on it. Your other mentalities aren't happy with this thing at all, except for Sloth who, true to form, couldn't care less. The invader seizes on this apathy and promptly launches an attack on Sloth, seeking to steal the portion of your mind it governs. You aren't sure what is going to happen if it actually succeeds in gaining further influence inside your head, but you are fairly certain it isn't going to be good. Being 'switched' might actually be of benefit to you, but somehow you doubt it.
Certainly you resent having your brain fucked with. If nothing else it would likely sever any attachment you feel to your minions and that's not acceptable. You'll have to work out how to fight this invader and as soon as possible. Fortunately, you sense that this thing isn't in any hurry. This is no doubt because Eris, being a demon, prefers the slow burn. Rather than making things quick and letting them end too soon, she'd much rather drag things out for as long as possible, that way she can enjoy her victim's suffering for the longest time. Well you don't plan on giving her the satisfaction.
Before you can do anything about this more serious matter, however, you'll need to resolve your most immediate issue. You continue trying to move your body, battling against the stupor caused by your own candle. Then a helpful little someone splashes water in your face and you begin to stir properly. You shake your head, allowing your vision to clear up. Empty glass in hand Lucy stares up at you with wide eyes. You quickly scoop her up into your arms. She's so tiny now, you didn't think it was possible for her to get even cuter. Rick is also present, of course. He seems confused that his father is now embracing someone else's child but he has the sense not to comment.
You set Lucy down on your lap, carefully positioning her small body so it doesn't come into contact with your still hard dick. She doesn't notice it, burying her head in your chest as you stroke her head, trying to decide on your next move. You'll need to address whatever Eris has put inside your head, but you can't do that right now. You'll need to decide on your next move. A quick check of the time reveals that the evening is almost over, the candles knocked you out for a while. This leaves you with little options. You could stay here and make your excuses to your new wife about why you and Rick can't make it back home tonight. Or you can bite the bullet and quickly head home, hoping against hope you can BS your way past Damien's wife without her growing suspicious.
It will be easier to confront your new wife now then to try and explain to her why a simple trip to visit a sick child prevented you from coming home. You stand up, lifting Lucy up with you. She's going to need to let go of you now. You fire a quick instruction at Rick, he is to pack all of your most important items into the boot of your car. You'll have to carry Zach's body in yourself, hopefully nobody will be around to notice. The only other thing you need to address before you leave is this tent in your trousers. It's made all the more awkward by Lucy's continued resistance to parting with you. You'd rather she wasn't present when you dealt with this.
You look over at Elisa, still sleeping in her chair. It's one of the few times you've seen her in the house with her clothes on, though her nudism has been toned down significantly since you finished programming her. All this time being so close to her without being able to do anything has been maddening and Lust is even now screaming at you to just take her right here and now, not caring that Lucy is right here with you. And it wouldn't be difficult to make your little sister leave the room. Except you really don't have the time to enjoy it properly.
And after waiting this long you want to be able to enjoy it properly. You want to take this woman in every possible way. You want to make her moan and squeal as you claim all her holes. You want her to be aware of what his happening and you want her to love every moment of it. She should wrap her arms and her legs around you and encourage you deeper inside her do that when you unload it's as deep inside her as you can get. And you want to look into her eyes, see the love and devotion there and hear her declare herself yours. You want to own her in every meaningful way, and you don't want to ruin that first time with her with a sloppy quickie.
Your erection doesn't agree with this conclusion but you doubt it will require much in the way of stimulation. You make a snap decision, you'll just jack it off her and unload onto her face. Nice and quick and a good way of marking your property in preparation for next time. Lucy can clean it up afterwards, she won't know what it is anyway. You finally put your sister down and tell her to go wait for you by the front door. She doesn't understand your command but that's never stopped her obeying you befor. The moment she's out of view you get to work.
You pull down your trousers and lose your pants, revealling your equipment for the first time. It's always good to see what you are working with. Not bad, it's certainly larger than your original body and it goes without saying that there's no comparison with the body you just left. You move closer to your 'mother' and start to explore your new member. Shit, you've sure missed this sensation. You get your rod as close to Elisa's face as you can and angel her head so she's looking up at you, her eyes tightly closes in her enchanted sleep. You can't help but imagine all the fun the two of you will be getting up to now you have a body you can properly enjoy.
But not right now, you are far too penned up for anything drawn out anyway and it doesn't take long before you are unloading on her face, splattering it with your cream. Yeah, that feels good. But it's only the start. You'll be putting your cock through it's paces very soon, this was just a quick trial run. You wipe yourself off with a tissue and make yourself presentable again. It would be best to be gone before she wakes up, you are fairly sure Elisa's Suggestions will prevent her from reacting badly to waking up with someone's spunk all over her face. If she recognises the substance in the first place.
In start contrast to your depraved parting with your 'mother' you bid your 'little sister' a fond farwell. You'll have to stop referring to her as your sister now, she's younger than your own son. It will be difficult to look at her as anything other than your sister though. Maybe you should try to get her a new body as well, sometime in the future. Then maybe it wouldn't be so weird. But that would be something to do on the side during some of your oh so rare free time.
One last hug and a few whispered promises about how she'll be 'good,' and you are out the door, Zach's empty body in your arms. You quickly bundle Zach into your new car and climb in yourself, offering Lucy a last wave. The little dear is trying not to cry but she no doubt will once you drive away. You'll have her join you as soon as you can, it will be difficult to sleep properly without having her wrapped up in your arms, after all.
A quick stop off to hand Zach to Venus, using the Rabbit Emblem to give the nurse your instructions and make sure she'll obey your orders from now on and you are back on the road and heading for your house, though you need Rick to give you directions which he no doubt finds to be strange. You've made sure to put all your influence over Damien's mind to work helping you to drive properly without being involved in an accident, it's been a long while since you've driven, after all and you were never that great at it to begin with. It takes up all of your concentration so you have little time to consider your next move until you arrive at your new home.
The Rivers family live in a fairly modern terrace house near the edge of Aria's territory in the mid western part of the city. The conveniance of this is obvious, it should allow you to roam into the other demons' territories for brief periods without detaching yourself too much from Aria and your subordinates. In addition this position should allow you to prepare adequantly for a more ambitious body jump in the future.
You don't know how long you plan to spend in this body, but if you make the proper arrangement to make sure your minions are performing as they should, even if something happens to you and you die again there shouldn't be too many issues. So long as you secure your home and your work first, you can probably afford to take more risks. But first you need to decide how you are going to handle your wife. You doubt you have long before your boss starts to call and you'd like to debrief with Roger before then. As such you likely won't have much more than a few brief interactions before you have to fob her off for the night to make your call and await your summons.
You spend a longer time fumbling for your keys than you would like, you'll need to dedicate some time tomorrow just getting used to your new body. Finally you find your house key and get it into the lock. You are tempted to ask Rick to carry your items into the house but decide that you'd rather leave them in the car for now. It will be easier than trying to explain to your wife where you got this stuff from and why you are bringing it back with you. You open the door and usher your 'son' ahead of you.
'Welcome back,' your wife, Alexis greets you:
'I'm back,' you say, giving her a smile. You close the door and approach her. She seems pleased to see you back and though her face shows weariness her affection seems genuine. Perhaps their relationship isn't as strained as you had thought? Or maybe it's because it is the weekend now and she's anticipating a couple of days the two of you can spend together.
You move down to kiss her, pausing just before you reach her, wanting to see if she'll move forward to complete it. She does so and you share a brief kiss with an attractive woman you've only just met. You throw a hug in as well for good measure and then you are moving away from her, scanning your environment and trying to 'remember' where the bathroom is.
'How was he?' Alexis asks as she follows behind you. Crap, which way do you go?
'Not great,' you answer, evasively, assuming she's asking you about Zach, 'he was in bed the whole time I was there, Rick spent more time with him than I did.' You decide to pick a door at random, trying to seem as though you know where you are going. As it turns out you find yourself in the dining room. Not good, this is probably the last room you'd want to find yourself in.
Now you'll need to come up with a reason why you are in here. You scan the place as you head in, trying to find a reason why you'd be in here. Maybe something in that cabinet? Ah this must be where they keep the glasses. You scan the selection, picking out a brandy glass and turning round. Your wife has followed you into the room and is observing you.
'Again?' she asks you, 'I don't believe you ever used to drink as much as when you started this new job.' You smile at her apologetically.
'Sorry,' you say, 'would you mind pouring me a little one? I just need to use the bathroom.' You move past her and she takes the glass from you with a small frown.
'Just one,' she chastises you, 'it's the weekend tomorrow and I don't want you sleeping in. You haven't forgotten, have you?' You shake you head.
'Of course not,' you tell her, 'I'll be heading to bed after I have this one drink.' You decide at this point to try and encourage Alexis to Sleep as well. You use the blanket ability this time, doing your best to reduce it's effect. You don't want her to pass out on her feet, after all, just to be tired enough to want to go to sleep right now and stop asking you questions you can't answer.
You were hoping if you reduced your power it would just make Alexis tired enough that she'd want to turn. Instead it seems to have a more pronounced effect than you had intended. Her eyes widen for a small moment then begin to flutter closed, the glass slipping from her fingers as she starts to fall. Fortunately you were anticipating that something like this might happen and quickly move to catch her, managing to take the glass from her at the same time. Not what you had planned and you'll likely have to explain this bizare phenomenon to her in the morning, or at least make it so it doesn't bother her anymore, but never mind. No damage done, at least now you can familiarise yourself with the house without concern.
You lower Alexis carefully onto the floor and leave her there for now, you can get her into bed once you've worked out where it is. The damage already done you decide to hit her with another full power Sleep to make sure she doesn't happen to wake up and find herself lying on the dining room floor. Next you have a look around.
The four rooms downstairs are the living room, dining room, kitchen and your wife's art studio. Upstairs you have your room, your son's room, a spare room and the bathroom. Only one bathroom might be a problem when you move more people into the house, but you'll just have to manage. While you are at it you make sure Rick is in bed. It will be best to keep him out of the way as much as possible.
With the house explored you carry your wife up stairs and lay her down on the bed. You'll have to leave her there for now as you want to check up with Roger and are anticipating your Mistress to call for you soon. You sit yourself next to your sleeping wife and pull out the mirror. Though you're idle hand finds itself getting a good feel while you do that. Not bad, Alexis isn't as buxom as Venus or Elisa, but you can feel a decent enough chest under her clothes. You'd love to go exploring but that will have to wait. So much to do, so little time.
Roger's report is fairly standard. Your Angels seem to be making right nuisances of themselves at home, it might be worth having them switch roles before their parents become too stressed. Other than that the only news of note comes from Ami. Your loyal slave has clearly been taking advantage of her house arrest to good effect. Her report claims that she overheard a phone conversation between her mother and an individual that she is fairly certain was her uncle Larry.
Larry is Ami's mother's brother and something of a waste, if Ami's mother is to be belived. Similar to you, Larry struggles to hold down a job and spends much of his time drinking and gambling, borrowing and lending whatever money he can. Larry has often gotten in contact with his sister to ask her for money now that's she's married to a big time politician. Ami's mother has long since stopped giving him anything but this time he seems more insistant, claiming he's come into possession of some information that would cause big problems for her husband if it was released to the public.
Larry is clearly using this information in an attempt to blackmail Ami's mother into giving him more money for him to squander. Ami's mother has so far not gone to the police or spoken to her husband about it, clearly still holding some small amount of affection for her worthless brother. A tragic situation, yet one you may be able to capitalise on. Though how you aren't so sure. You could hunt Larry down and relieve him of this blackmail material. Then you could use it to blackmail Ami's family yourself. Or you could just release it to the press and watch the consequences unfurl. You could even try to use it to earn your way into their good graces, bringing you closer to Ami's father, and her older sister.
It's a tantalising opportunity but you'll need to determine exactly where Ami's uncle Larry lives first before you can make your move. You promptly set Ami to trying to find out. It shouldn't be too difficult, you hope.
With Roger's report finished you busy yourself undressing your wife and getting her ready for bed. You take your time with it, getting a good look at her body. Alexis is certainly a prize, not the classic hourglass figure that most men consider the height of feminine beauty but she's still got a good body. Her breasts fit nicely in your hands and she's carefully trimmed below. She has only the smallest amount of a belly but that only indicates that she's not an anorexic freak and is instead a real woman. Yes, you'll certainly be enjoying her.
But for now you'll get her into a nice floral nightgown and cover her up, changing clothes yourself and slipping in besides her. You'd love to sleep holding her close to you, but you aren't sure how these two typically sleep so you'll restrain yourself for now. Her mention of plans over the weekend concerns you, but with your powers you should be able to change her mind if necessary. At the moment though you biggest concern is… Ah, shit, here it comes…
You'll never get used to this feeling. It reminds you too much of how you imagine a dog on a leash might feel everytime it feels it's owner tug on it. And yes, you are essentially a dog on a leash. For now. One day you'll slip free from your leash and then your Mistress will need to tread carefully or she'll be the one wearing the collar. But for now you need to behave…
'WORM!' she barks before you've even finished hitting the floor, 'you've got some explaining to do! What's this I hear about you wagging your tail for one of his servants, huh?' Crap, she's not happy, even less than usual. How are you going to wiggle out of this?
'It was part of the plan, Mistress!' you declare, trying to sound confident. Getting close to our enemies is the best way to find out how to hurt them!'
The whip crashes over your back, bringing with it a familiar pain.
'Idiot!' she screeches, 'I'm The Torturer! I already know how to hurt my enemies!' She rains the whip down on you again and again, until your back is a maelstrom of pain and ruined flesh. You don't bother saying anything else, this was likely to be the outcome regardless. But you do feel as though some of her ire has been redirected. After a while she gets tired of beating you, and relents.
'Well let's see them then!' she snaps, 'did you manage to get another soul contract signed?' You hold out the souls you gathered while you shake your head.
'No! You didn't? Ha!' she barks, 'I told you it wouldn't be easy for a little wretch like you! And let this serve as a reminder to you! It doesn't matter what the others say to you! It doesn't matter how they pretend to like or care about you! It's all lies, you understand! This is what you are, and this is what you'll always be, alright?' You nod. That might be true, for now. You have to keep telling yourself this, it's the only way you'll hold on to whatever sanity you have left.
'I've made a decision, scum,' your Mistress continues, 'forget about the souls for this next week. Instead I want you to punish one of his servants for me!' Your head snaps up in spite of yourself.
'Punish?' you repeat, 'but there's no way I'll be able to do that! They are too strong!' You've fucked up, you've even allowed the outrage to leak out of your voice. But right now that doesn't matter. There's a limit to how unreasonable this woman can be. How does she expect you to challenge one of The Conductor's servants with nothing but her whip on your back pushing you forwards. It would be worse than suicide.
'You dare talk back to me,' she shrieks, lashing out with the whip again, it strikes you across the face, practically taking your eye out. But you keep your gaze fixed on her, staring at her with determination. If she's going to make such an outrageous demand of you she might as well just put you back on the hook. So you meet her gaze, staring her down and for the first time you see her waver.
Yes, she could put you back on the hook to punish you, but doing that would mean giving up on the souls you've been giving her each week. And more importantly, it would mean that her method for training you failed. And you get the feeling that would damage her more than she'd care to admit.
'Don't look at me like that,' she demands, 'I don't expect you to do it on your own, of course! I'll give you something that will make the task so easy that even an little bastard like you can pull it off. But before I do that I need to make sure you can hold onto it without messing up and killing yourself with it! So for now just bring me the soul of one of your competitor's servants. I'll know if what you bring me is the real deal. Do that and next week I'll give you something to put those cocky little fuckers in their place! I've been too passive for too long! How dare they think they can push me around! And you!' She stands up and beckons for you to do the same.
'No looking this way just stand and turn! I think you deserve a little reminder of how things could be!' She lashes you forwards with her whip through a door you recognise. You aren't surprised to find yourself in your Mistress' private chambers. It's a bit different from how you remember though. Your own hook beckons to you, the point gleaming and eager. It's empty, but you can't say that about many of the others.
A number of blurry figures can be seen impaled on hooks before you, Kevin being the only one you can recognise, pride of place at the front. Clearly these are all the souls you've gathered for her, the price you've paid for your own safety. The pain and suffering of two dozen souls lashes out at you like a physical force and as you watch The Torturer adds your newest acquisitions to the fray. Their screams of agony fill the air, battering your ears as though trying to claw your eardrums out.
'You understand?' She hisses in your ear, 'you remember now? This is where you belong! And one of these days I may choose to return you here. If you want to avoid that you'll do as your told without any more complaints. Understand?' You nod, not sure entirely how you are supposed to react to this ghastly scene.
You hide the smile that threatens to appear on your face. Not that she would see it anyway, she's behind you anyway. She's trying to scare you into behaving and yes, she has a point. You don't really need to reminder that you don't want to be on that hook. But at the same time you can feel the malice flowing into you. You are responsible for these people being here and while you don't relish in their suffering you do appreciate the resources it grants you. It's quite the vile system these people have going, profiting off of the misery of others. But it's how the system works and you'll use it for your own ends.
The Torturer drags you back into the other room and sends you back. You've been given a reprieve from the soul gathering but now you have to do something much more difficult. Yet another issue you'll need to work on tomorrow. So much for having some time to relax…
1,500 Malice earned from the tortured souls in your Mistress' 'kitchen'!
2086 now in total