by Neven Iliev
The Mimic thought long and hard while its minions waited with bated breath for the Rank Up process to start. This was the most important decision it had ever had to make in its life, and it needed to consider it carefully. Ultimately however, a decision was made, and an option was picked.
“I will be Ranking Up now,” it declared. “You all are to defend me at all costs!”
“Yes, Master!”
“You got it, boss!”
“Of course, darling!”
“You can count on me, Boxxy!”
“Arms and Snack – I forbid you from having any sex,” it ordered.
“Whaaaat?!”
Kora let out a strange, high-pitched scream as her face contorted with shock. She had clearly been looking forward to tapping that tight succubus ass morning and night, yet had been banned from doing so before she’d even gotten started. It was as though the Mimic had stolen her sweet roll, eaten it, pooped it back out and then smeared the poop all over the new sweet roll she’d had to get when the first one had disappeared. And then it had stolen that one, too.
“Understood, Master.”
Xera was much less disappointed than the sex-hungry fiend, to say the least. While it was true that she would sometimes shirk her guard duty to ‘take it up the old dirt road,’ as it were, this was different. Her beloved master would be left completely defenceless for days on end, and she had a solemn duty to carry out. To say that she was brimming with motivation would be massively understating matters. After all, the succubus’s desire to protect her master went well beyond orders or contracts. It was personal.
Boxxy did a few final checks, making sure everything was in order, then said the last words that it would ever speak as a mimic.
“Then I leave Snack in charge. See you when I wake up.”
It at last finalised its choice, going completely and utterly still.
“Is… did it start?” Fizzy asked, staring curiously.
*SNAP*
“Gah!” she screamed.
A noise like a twig snapping in half came from the creature currently sitting in the shape of a perfectly unassuming wooden chest, catching her off guard.
“I would think so, yes,” Xera noted with a bemused expression. “Now then, to our posts! We have a master to defend!”
“Ah hah,” chuckled Valeria. “Good luck with that.”
The lich turned transparent, rushing directly at the unconscious mimic. Her ethereal body glowed bright green as she disappeared somewhere inside the wooden box before either the golem or the two demons could react.
“What… just happened?” Fizzy asked, puzzled.
“I do believe our resident dead girl,” the succubus said in a surprisingly calm tone, “is currently trying to possess Master.”
Part Five
Valeria found herself in a strange, grey-coloured space. The ground upon which she was standing was composed of countless varying cubic shapes. Some were as small as rice grains while others were the size of buildings, with the majority appearing to be about half a metre on all sides. They rose and fell into and out of the ground all on their own, a few flying off into the distance while others came down from nowhere to take their places, slotting themselves into the floor.
And yet, despite the size differences, everything always fit together perfectly. It was as though a gigantic block-based puzzle was busy undoing, solving, and rearranging itself all at the same time. Looking into the similarly grey sky and horizon in the distance, Valeria realised that it was all crawling and shifting. Although she couldn’t be certain, she suspected that the ‘sky’ and ‘horizon’ were actually a ceiling and a wall, both of which were currently undergoing the same odd process as the floor. Which would mean that she was actually in a chamber large enough to encompass a whole city.
“Can’t say that something like this was unexpected,” she mused out loud, her words echoing slightly, “but this thing’s mind really is bland, huh?”
Valeria had used her Possession Skill to invade Boxxy’s mindscape, a sort of inner realm that all beings capable of thought possessed. Her mental avatar had assumed a form much like the lich’s physical body, except slightly more transparent and significantly greener. Her appearance greatly resembled what she had looked like as a banshee, in fact, aside from the spectral shackles and chains rattling around her.
The undead woman mumbled something about ‘finding the ego’ as she looked around warily. In order to succeed in her possession, she had to locate and chain down the representation of Boxxy’s consciousness, its inner self. Doing so would give her control of both the monster’s mind and body alike. It was something she’d done several times before, though this was her first attempt at possessing a halfway intelligent creature. If experience had taught her anything, though, it was that a sleeping or otherwise unconscious mind was most vulnerable to manipulation.
“… Over there, huh?”
Valeria spotted an arch-roofed golden structure in the distance. It was the only thing of note in the endlessly boring space, so it was most likely the place where she would find her objective. She approached it at a brisk walk, although the ever-shifting terrain slowed her progress somewhat. She couldn’t understand why the place looked so bizarre, though. The other creatures that she had possessed had all had mindscapes related to something important to them. The elf she had briefly inhabited had had a mental realm composed of a cozy abode with a crackling fireplace, while the wolf-monster’s mind had appeared to be a very small cave – most likely its den – with some half-eaten carcasses strewn about.
And yet the mimic’s mind was nothing more than a shapeless, indeterminate mass of blocks. In some ways it made perfect sense, but in most aspects, it was completely illogical. Then again, the same could be said of Boxxy T. Morningwood as a whole. The general barrenness of its mindscape suggested that it held very little in high regard, other than the odd structure towards which Valeria was headed. She had already guessed that the massive, barn-like building must be where the Mimic had hidden away all of its precious thoughts, needs and desires. If its ego was anywhere to be found, it would be in there, probably represented by something inane like a small child or a stack of meat.
When Valeria reached the larger-than-life golden building, she realised that it had neither door nor windows. The lack of an obvious entrance was vexing, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop her. After all, what sort of hostile takeover would this be if she had come completely unprepared? She thrust her ectoplasmic hands forward, intending to phase through the gilded wall in front of her, but her fingertips had barely touched the shiny surface before Boxxy’s subconscious let out an overwhelming screech.
*SKREEEEEOOOOOOOK*
The earsplitting noise assaulted Valeria’s mental avatar, forcing her to recoil away from the golden lump of thoughts.
“The fuck was that?!” she cursed in shock.
The Mimic was supposed to be completely incapacitated! Its Rank Up should have left it in a completely defenceless state, both physically and mentally. And yet somehow it had still sensed her presence and lashed out.
“Heh, of course it wouldn’t be that easy.”
Really though, she should have expected at least some resistance. After all, the Mimic was a Warlock capable of wielding Domination magic. This meant that not only did it have the Mental Fortitude (MNT) Attribute, but that it also had a lot more of it than she did. And judging from the intensity of its subconscious reaction, Boxxy’s mind would have almost certainly been able to crush her attempted possession in an instant had it been awake. Its mental strength was… surprisingly intimidating, to say the least.
However, this was also Valeria’s best chance to gain back her freedom, so she couldn’t give up so easily.
Despite appearances, the lich had never loved, nor even remotely liked Boxxy. As if something as superfluous as sex could overturn the grudge she held towards her murderer. The mere thought was laughable. The tentacle orgy had done nothing more than sate her unnat
ural lust, allowing her calm, calculating nature to resurface. That had been the reason for her changed appearance, not the Agent of Chaos Skill, as Boxxy had mistakenly assumed.
But while Valeria still wanted revenge on her murderer, she’d been unable to take it while her target was in a position of power over her. The awful creature had stolen her phylactery, meaning that it could snuff out her existence in an instant if she showed the slightest sign of rebellion. That was why she had silently decided to act the part of the suddenly-infatuated, madly-in-love little girl in order to gain the Mimic’s trust.
As it turned out, that had been a bad move. She should have known that such a tactic would never work on an inhuman monster like Boxxy. But really, she couldn’t exactly fault her past self for making that mistake. After all, not only was the Mimic surrounded by beautiful, scantily clad women, but its sexual technique was unlike anything even the undead deviant had experienced. There had been no doubt in her mind that it had been putting it to all three of its minions, especially considering how eager that succubus had been. It was the only explanation for its pointlessly-exceptional skill at intercourse.
Valeria’s assumptions, however, had been completely off the mark. The only reason for Boxxy’s ridiculous sexual prowess was that it had, through no desire of its own, been made witness to countless sessions of its familiars going at it. Not to mention that it possessed excellent anatomical knowledge of the human body, which translated well enough to a lich’s physical form. To say that it had been a virgin at the time would technically be correct, but to claim that it was ignorant of sex would very definitely be a mistake.
But of course, Valeria couldn’t have known that. She had been entirely convinced that the Mimic was a lecherous, perverted creature looking to add yet another slut to its harem. Acting the part had seemed like a good idea at the time. How was she supposed to know that the only reason that it knew its way around a woman’s body so well was because ‘mimics gotta mimic?’
However, she’d already been too invested in the lie to back out by the time she’d realised her miscalculation. She couldn’t have abandoned her infatuated persona without arousing suspicion, so she’d had to grin and bear it.
But it wasn’t as though she hadn’t benefited from her brief un-life of servitude. Not only had the Mimic scratched Valeria’s itch, its guidance had resulted in her rapidly gaining quite a lot of Levels. She’d even gotten the benefit of that +10 to all Attributes from the Grand Theft Arcana Perk.
Yet while she was certainly thrilled at becoming even more powerful, none of the benefits of the agreement had been able to even slightly dissuade her from her true purpose. All undead wanted to take vengeance upon the living in one way or another, and Valeria was hardly different. The only way that she could have forgiven Boxxy for murdering her in cold blood was if it were to willingly allow her to return the favor. Of course, it would never agree to that, especially while it still held Valeria’s existence in the palm of its… hand? Or was that tentacle? Tongue? Pancreas?
Confusing anatomy aside, the bottom line was that the lich had had to resort to feigning obedience until a good opportunity to enact her vengeance had presented itself.
That, however, had been easier said than done. Just calling the hateful thing ‘darling’ in order to maintain her cover had disgusted her so much that she would have violently vomited out her insides if her body hadn’t been freed from those pesky biological functions. At the very least, the daily dose of ‘shapeshifting practise’ had done wonders to alleviate her stress. After all, just because she was in a shitty situation didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy the little things. It was ironic that those sessions had been the only reason she’d been able to keep her cool for as long as she had. The stupid box really was too skilled for its own good.
But the cracks in her façade had nevertheless occasionally showed. Valeria had never possessed an abundance of self-control, so she’d been bound to slip up eventually. Thankfully, her target had been preparing for a Rank Up and had managed to achieve it before she’d blown things and exposed her true intentions. She was personally familiar with the Rank Up process, having undergone one herself a few months before. That was why she’d been certain that it would incapacitate the Mimic, leaving it vulnerable and offering the perfect chance to strike.
That said, the monstrous box had still had those leashed guard dogs at its beck and call. The fiend was a meathead around whom Valeria could run mental circles, so she’d hardly considered her a threat. The real problem had lain with the other two – the fire-spewing succubus and the pint-sized Paladin with knowledge of holy magic. The undead were weak to both of those elements, making their wielders extremely dangerous to her and her kind. She’d been confident that she could have taken either one of them in single combat, but they were sure to have attacked her together if she’d tried anything.
However, that was only if she gave them a chance to retaliate at all. All she had to do was gain control of the Mimic, order its familiars to turn that stupid golem into scrap and then forcibly dismiss the two demons. Once the nuisances had been taken care of, she could force the monster to kill itself, retrieve her phylactery from its corpse and carry on with her un-life. Ideally, she’d want to permanently keep control of its body in order to pleasure herself as often as she wanted, but Boxxy was bound to force her out eventually. Which meant that when the time came to strike, she would have to do so quickly and decisively.
And now that time, her time, had finally come.
Valeria’s mental avatar again tried to thrust her hands into the gigantic golden wall before her. The violent screech rang out again, but this time around she was expecting it. The ghostly lich gritted her teeth and attempted to force herself inside, only for the shriek to grow more and more intense. It didn’t take long before it had become unbearable, causing her to recoil once again.
“Damned monster!” she spat after her second failure. “Just how badly do you not want anyone to see what’s inside there?!”
“You have no idea, honey.”
The smooth, oddly melodic voice echoed around Valeria. She looked about wildly, panicking, but failed utterly to locate the source amidst the sea of wriggling grey cubes.
“Up here, idiot.”
Her gaze snapped upward, her jaw dropping in shock. The mindscape’s ceiling had rearranged itself into a slightly blocky version of Xera’s face. From Valeria’s perspective, the demon’s smugly smiling visage appeared hundreds of metres long.
“You?! How?!” the lich screamed.
“You underestimated a cerulean succubus, honey,” the gigantic Xera said gleefully. “Peeking inside other people’s heads while they’re out cold is one of my specialties.”
“But- How are you able to invade this thing’s mind?! Weren’t you demons forbidden from taking hostile action against your master?!”
“Oh my, invading? I would never do such a tasteless thing. Simply looking around never hurt anybody!”
Xera’s cheerful tone turned deadly serious.
“Besides, I am currently following Master’s orders. Which is to say I am protecting it from an upstart little cunt who doesn’t know her rightful place.”
“Humpf,” scoffed Valeria. “You’re out of your element, bitch! I’m capable of suffocating your precious master’s will completely, whereas the only thing you can do is toy with dreams and memory. None of that is going to affect me!”
“See, you have a point there,” Xera smirked. “Normally magical mind-fuckery does not work on the undead. However, there are ways to mind-fuck someone by proxy. Allow me to demonstrate.”
The huge grey room suddenly sprang to life. Thousands of cubes flew from the walls, floor and ceiling like a swarm of giant insects. They expertly began combining into various complex shapes, cycling through a multitude of colours as they did. Valeria suddenly found herself standing on the floor of a basement. It was oddly similar to the one in the tower where she had hidden her phylactery, albeit with
three major differences.
Firstly, this one was inhabited, if the well-stocked shelves and lit torches were any indication. Secondly, there were a total of three people on the scene – or at least, two people and a chest suspended inside a metal cage. And thirdly, her relatively tiny size made her feel like an ant, or maybe a mosquito. From her perspective, the cage, the chest, the grizzled old man and the woman with the black hair were all roughly the size of castles. The scene was so bizarre that the spectral lich didn’t even realise that the slightly misshapen building she’d been trying to break into had disappeared.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” Xera’s voice washed over her. “I’m sure this one will be a lot of fun. For me, that is.”
That was when the blocky scene around her began to move.
“Interesting,” said the titanic old man. “Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah bring it back to headquarters blah blah blah blah blah blah details blah. Blah blah blah blah blah Arcaneum blah blah.”
“What… is this?” Valeria mumbled, unable to comprehend what was happening.
The giant, man-shaped construct turned his attention to the woman standing next to him. Now that the lich was paying closer attention to the both of them, she noticed an odd discrepancy. The man’s face and body were perfectly constructed and entirely lifelike, yet the woman was… not. It was as though her body were composed of large bricks rather than skin and hair, making it difficult to determine her actual features.
“Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah. Zone, get rid of blah blah Jobs.”
“Blah blah blah blah Warlock Job blah?”
“Blah blah. Blah blah blah memory blah. Do it blah.”
The cubic woman stepped inside the cage holding the suspended chest. Numerous tentacles sprang from the Mimic and attempted to accost the woman, but to no avail. She placed a rectangular appendage that Valeria assumed was her hand onto the chest’s lid and spoke three words.
“Job Removal: Warlock.”
The scene turned a violent red. The entire mindscape began to vibrate, shuffling wildly as a sharp screech filled Valeria’s consciousness. Next thing she knew, she was on her hands and knees, panting heavily. The room around her had returned to its neutral grey state, and the barn-sized gold building had reappeared in front of her.