Trading Barbs

Kaci wasn’t sure where she was anymore. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, though she suspected not much. Time had either stopped or sped up or something inbetween.

She could tell she had an increasingly loose grasp on who she was, too.

Somehow, though, none of that mattered.

Her eyes had stopped focusing long ago; things were either dark or light, and very little else mattered.

It was her sense of touch that her thoughts orbited around now. A constant tight silken hold squeezed her flesh, like a soft fabric that felt like home to her now.

The only other sensation she felt now was that sharp, intoxicating feeling when…

When she…

That overpowering scent… that melodious hum… she was back. She was back for Kaci. A soft smile formed on her lips automatically.

Ada was back for her.

“Hello again, sweetie, did you miss me?”

Kaci couldn’t answer at this point even if Ada didn’t immediately follow it with a sweet kiss, her thick lips and teeth tickling Kaci’s lips. Kaci’s mouth filled with the sweet taste of Ada before she pulled away and put food in her mouth.

Kaci never knew what it was, masked by Ada’s sweet taste, but it didn’t matter. Ada provided for her. Kaci’s wonderful friend and mistress kept her safe and secure and fed.

After Kaci swallowed Ada began to run her four hands over Kaci; the human moaned from the soft pokes.

“A little weak on one end, but we can fix that easily,” Ada said. She spun Kaci around; it seemed to Kaci that she was hanging in the air, but it was hard to focus on her spatial location. Ada’s thin fingers tickled around Kaci’s thigh and pulled away the silk tightness.

“A good place to give your daily dose, however.”

Kaci’s heart quickened. Excitement–whenever Ada said that it was time… for…

No, not excitement… fear? Where did that…? Ada was so kind and wonderful, why would she fear–Kaci’s head spun. Something bubbled in her head.

The bubble popped with a sharp stabbing in Kaci’s thigh. Pain shot through her body alternating hot and icy.

In seconds the pain faded. Kaci forgot about it entirely as a soft chill flowed through her body. She felt as if she melted, and the fear dissolved in favor of loving bliss.

In a moment Kaci’s head felt as if filled with soft, vibrating goo, her senses dulled to everything but the shuddering cool, the soft silk, and Ada’s tapping fingers. She was where she belonged. Everything was perfect. She mustn’t think about it. She must love Ada.

Ada kissed Kaci, squeezing their lips together, brushing her fangs over Kaci’s tongue. Her head felt stuffed, stuffed with love, there was no room for anything but Ada’s love swelling her head. Ada tickled two hands over Kaci’s face, the other two along her silked body.

Ada pulled away and spun Kaci, the tight silk around her increasing and recoating her thigh. Tight silk holding her in place, holding the soft chill in her, holding her thoughts in place for Ada where they should be. She shouldn’t move. Ada doesn’t want her to. She should be still.

“There. Perfect girl.” Ada’s voice sounded far away; Kaci’s ears felt full of stuffing, but she could still hear Ada, the only voice she wanted to hear. Ada brushed her lips over Kaci’s once more and whispered, “You’ll be ready soon enough, my sweet.”

Kaci smiled. Ready for what, she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter what it meant. As long as Ada was happy, Kacy was happy.

Alas, Ada soon had to leave, but not before more kisses, more running her fingers over Kaci’s encased body, more whispers of how good she was.

Time didn’t exist for Kaci anymore. There were only the brief moments of love with her master followed by the endless excruciating wait for her return. Any amount of time without Ada was too long. She wanted Ada there, touching her, kissing her, so that she may serve Ada.

When that intoxicating scent returned Kaci’s pulse quickened. She listened to Ada’s hum before she approached Kaci.

“It’s nice to see you again, my sweet little girl.” Ada kissed Kaci, always giving Kaci her loving desire.

Kaci’s head jerked as Ada shrieked and fell away.

What? What? Kaci panicked. What was happening? Voices shouted, Ada’s and someone else’s. Voices muffled, confused, only bits of words crossing Kaci’s consciousness, conversation forgotten to her but bits of words vaguely understood.

Prey, steal, fight, rescue, desire…

Kaci focused more on the shouts of her master Ada. Something was wrong. Could she help? No, she couldn’t move. Ada wouldn’t want Kaci to put herself in danger. Kaci could only wait and hope Ada would be okay.

Kaci’s heart twisted when Ada’s shouts didn’t sound okay.

A sudden heaviness and Kaci hit the ground in a heap. The silk over her could only do so much to soften the blow, though she paid no attention to the pain. The constant cold daze mixed with her worry for Ada left her no concern for herself.

Something lifted Kaci, far thicker than Ada’s silk. It squeezed Kaci and she squirmed, confused, concerned, afraid as she was carried. Where was Ada? What was happening?

Light! Light blazed Kaci’s eyes and she clenched her eyes shut from the pain.

Time remained an illusion.

Kaci stopped and for a moment the new thickness receded, for the most part.

Then came the worst of it all.

Kaci’s skin was torn off her body. She wailed, moaned, cried, lay still in a lump on a horrible rough, hard surface. She cried for her mistress, for the silk cover she lost.

A thick, bumpy stream scraped around Kaci and held her close. She panted. She could comprehend nothing but Ada, and Ada was not there.

“Oh, you poor thing…”

“Ada…?” Kaci muttered her master’s name. If she could just hear her wail…

“Shh, don’t worry.”

Who was this?

“You’re safe now.”

Kaci lolled and shook her head. She was only safe with Ada.

“Poor little girl. That nasty spider kept your body and mind so tangled you can’t separate yourself from her.”

“Hhhuuuughhhh…?” The only sound Kaci could make. She shivered.

“But I’ll help you.” The voice whispered into Kaci’s ear. “I’ll help you wake back up.”

Pressure stabbed Kaci’s neck. She moaned, the pain shocking her. This wasn’t Ada, she needed Ada, this was terrible, this…

was…

warm…

Warmth spread through Kaci.

She’d forgotten warmth.

Kaci’s shivers settled, but still she yearned for Mistress Ada. Who was this other? She shrank from her encompassing touch, unable to get away. She wanted Ada. She cried. A scaly tail wiped the tears away.

“The pain won’t last long. I’ll free you from the spider’s venom.”

The warmth, the light, the new sensations made Kaci dizzy, and soon she dropped out of consciousness.

Time passed. It no longer felt stalled, infinite. Sometimes it was light, sometimes it was dark.

A new routine began, surprisingly like the old one. Kaci resisted, at first.

She was too weak to escape and return to Mistress Ada, but she struggled against the newcomer, always failing as thick, soft coils held her down.

She always lost focus at the sight of flowing colors, though. The first colors she’d seen as long as she could now remember.

Every day the colors dropped her, and the new bite came.

Soon Kaci no longer shivered. She still yearned for Ada, but it became the yearning of something familiar. She stopped shrinking from the new woman’s touch. She soon understood what happened better.

It had not been her skin that was torn off, but a casing of spider silk.

Ada’s silk, trapping her.

With every bite, Kaci remembered who she was. With each bite, Kaci could think clearer. Move again. See again.
Her name was Cocheta. A lamia. She’d followed Ada to her lair, saw Kaci, and freed her from the spider.

Free? Kaci didn’t understand. Ada was her mistress…

But as Cocheta bit her fangs into Kaci more, memories returned. Cocheta’s venom cancelled out Ada’s. Kaci’s mind returned.

Her most recent memories before meeting Ada were confused, but…

She realized…

Ada had captured her.

Ada’s venom had controlled Kaci’s mind.

She was weak–there was no telling what Ada had been feeding her all that time–but Cocheta brought her fruit to build her strength.

Eventually Cocheta didn’t need the pretty colors to placate Kaci. She understood Cocheta was helping her get better. Every day Ada’s venom, practically saturating her system, was cancelled out by Cocheta’s.

Every day she became closer to being Kaci again.

One evening Kaci and Cocheta sat in a tree together, Cocheta’s tail hanging around Kaci. It was nice to feel Cocheta’s soft, friendly touch. The lamia snuggled closer.

As nice as it was, Kaci was concerned.

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think I’ll be well enough to leave?”

Cocheta looked at Kaci’s eyes. “What do you mean leave?”

Kaci swallowed a sudden worry that Cocheta wouldn’t let her leave.

“I-I mean, I remember so much now, my family, my friends must be so worried about me.”

“Of course, my dear Kaci,” Cocheta said. “I understand.”

Kaci’s eyes widened at a burst of beautiful color in Cocheta’s eyes. Did she imagine that?

“But we must be certain that all the venom is out of your system,” Cocheta said. “A lapse would be simply terrible.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Cocheta smiled. “A few more days should do it.”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta sat in a tree together, Cocheta’s tail snuggled around Kaci. It was nice to feel her soft, friendly touch.

Yet Kaci was concerned.

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think I’ll be well enough to leave?”

Cocheta looked at Kaci’s eyes. “What do you mean leave?”

“I-I mean, I remember so much now, my family, my friends must be so worried about me.”

“Of course, my dear Kaci,” Cocheta said. “I understand.”

Kaci’s eyes widened at a burst of beautiful color in Cocheta’s eyes. Did she imagine that?

“But we must be certain that all the venom is out of your system,” Cocheta said. “A lapse would be simply terrible.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Cocheta smiled. “A few more days should do it.”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta sat in a tree together, Cochetta’s tail squeezed around Kaci. It was nice to feel her soft, snuggling touch.

Kaci wondered, though…

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think I’ll be well enough to leave?”

Cocheta looked at Kaci’s eyes. “What do you mean leave?”

“I-I mean, I remember so much now, my family must be so worried about me.”

“Of course, my dear Kaci,” Cocheta said. “I understand.”

“Wait a minute,” Kaci said.

“Hmm?”

“This seems familiar. Have we had this conversation?”

Kaci’s eyes widened at swirling, beautiful colors in Cocheta’s eyes.

“I don’t believe so,” Cocheta said. “You must be muddled from the venom still, don’t you think?”

Kaci blinked; the colors were gone, but she felt woozy.

“Y-Yeah, that’s got to be it,” Kaci said.

Cocheta nodded. “We must be certain all the venom is out of your system. A lapse would be simply terrible.”

Kaci nodded. “Absolutely.”

Cocheta smiled. “A few more days should do it.”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta snuggled in a tree together, Cochetta’s tail wrapped around Kaci. It was nice to feel her close, squeezing touch.

Kaci wondered…

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think I’ll be well enough to leave?”

Cocheta looked at Kaci’s eyes. “What do you mean leave?”

“I mean…” What did she mean by leave? “Be able to walk around the forest on my own.”

Kaci’s eyes widened at the blooming colors pulsating in Cocheta’s eyes.

“But the forest is such a dangerous place, sweet Kaci,” Cocheta said.

Kaci stared into her eyes and smiled. “I-I understand…”

“First let us be certain that all the venom is out of your system,” Cocheta said. “A lapse would be simply terrible. A few more days should do it.”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta snuggled in a tree together, Cocheta’s tail wrapped around Kaci. It was so nice to feel her thick, squeezing coils all over her.

Kaci was… drowsy, but curious.

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“Uh… when do you think I’ll be well to leave?”

Cocheta looked at Kaci’s eyes. “What do you mean leave?”

“I mean…” Kaci looked at Cocheta’s eyes. They looked normal, but she didn’t want to look away. “I don’t know. “I guess I just mean when the venom will be out.”

“A few more days, sweetie,” Cocheta said. “You’re doing so well with the treatments.”

Kaci giggled. “I-I am?”

“Yes.” Cocheta shone a few colorful rings into Kaci’s eyes, who giggled. “You’re being such a good girl.”

“A good girl…”

“Just a few more days should do it.”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta snuggled in a tree together, Cochetta’s tail wrapped around Kaci. It was so nice to feel her thick, squeezing coils all over her.

Kaci was sleepy but focused on Choceta.

“Cocheta…” Kaci’s voice was subdued, a bit loopy.

“Hm?”

“When think venom gone?”

Cocheta smiled. “Just a few more days.” She looked into Kaci’s eyes with blooming colors and Kaci grinned, lost in her spell. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Don’t trouble yourself. Don’t think…”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta snuggled in a tree together. Kaci loved Cocheta’s velvety tail coiled all around her, tight, squeezing, safe.

“Cocheta…”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, sweet Kaci.”

“When think venom gone?”

Cocheta smiled. “Just a few more days.” She looked into Kaci’s eyes with blooming colors and Kaci grinned, lost in her spell. “Don’t worry about a thing. Don’t trouble yourself. Don’t think…”
Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to counter Ada’s that night.

The next evening Kaci and Cocheta snuggled in a tree together. Kaci loved Cocheta’s velvety tail coiled all around her, tight, squeezing, safe.

“Cocheta…”

“Cocheta?” the lamia asked.

“I mean…” Kaci stared into the beautiful colors of Cocheta’s hypnotic eyes. “Mistress…”
Cocheta grinned. “Yes, my lovely pet?”

Kaci’s grin turned wobbly. Her head felt like it was melting. She felt so warm, so toasty, so wonderful. She couldn’t remember where she was, was slowly forgetting who she was, and only Cocheta, her master, mattered anymore.

“Can staaay with yoou, ‘everrr…?”

“Of course, my dear,” Cocheta said. She kissed Kaci on the lips, on the cheek, down towards her neck. “Stay with me, be my pet, obey me, and soon you’ll be perfect for me…”

Another bite of Cocheta’s venom to solidify her control that night.

How Dare You

You look at the empty space in the tree. You hadn’t… meant to… push her that hard.

You were traveling in the jungle when night fell and you climbed a tree for safety. It was there…

It was in that tree she approached you.

A lamia, her tail with a striking pattern of red and blue bands. At first her face was obscured in a dark hood, but then she lowered it to reveal her hair, wavy and green like a field of grass. She looked over you with bright yellow eyes.

She introduced herself as Mira, all alone that night and looking for someone to spend it with. You knew lamias were dangerous and spurned her advances, even as she slipped her scaly tail around your bare skin.

You tried to push her off, but she could have held you down easily…

You wanted to show her you were serious about not wanting her there, so you pushed her…

She fell right out of the tree.

You look down to the jungle floor. It’s too dark to see where she landed, but you didn’t hear a thud, either. You try to peer closer through the darkness, leaning down.

“I ought to push you out of the tree!” Mira’s shout hurtles you forward, but her tail holds you from falling.

Mira spins you around with her tail to face her, a scowl over her face. You try to lean back but her tail slides around you tighter.

“That wasn’t just the rudest thing you could possibly do,” Mira says, leaning closer into your face, “it was a very… stupid… mistake.”

Your eyes widen–Mira’s are beginning to change colors, rings pulsing in her eyes. You’ve heard about this trick–hypnosis! Mind control! Before she catches you in her gaze you clench your eyes shut and look away, still trying to lean out of her increasingly-encompassing grasp.

“Look”–your eyes twitch–“me in the eye when I’m speaking to you,” Mira says. At the very first word, “look,” your left eye peeks before popping wide-open at the blooming colors in her eyes, a fiery red, a deep blue, and a dark rooting green.

Why did you look? Something in her voice, something dominating. You just had to do what she said. But you lean away as your eye is caught in her glare, as unable to look away from her as if she held your eye in the palm of her hand.

Your mind screamed that you had to stop this.

Maybe you can reason with her.

“Please, Mira,” you mutter in an attempt to suggest you talk it out, but Mira isn’t having it.

“Both”–your other eye opens–“eyes, if you please.”

At the very suggestion of the command your other eye opens in anticipation.

You so wanted to open it.

Her eyes are beautiful, enrapturing, and what’s more, she asked you to. You should do what she asks. If you really wanted to placate her you would do everything she asks. You should listen to her, do as she says, follow every word. Be polite.

A grin forms on your mouth at the thought of following her words, the truth of her words, that you should look into her eyes, do as she says.

Your wide-open grin leaves your speech a little slurred, but you mutter to her, “Yyyes, Mira.” You want her to know you will follow her.

Mira’s scowl softens to just a sullen frown. She leans closer before rising, forcing you to lift your eyes, tumbling your thoughts out the back of your head.

“Call me by my proper title, my little slave.”

Of course, you must, you must use her proper title.

“Yyyes, master.”

Her colors shatter your mind.

You stare at your wonderful, beautiful, perfect master, awaiting her command to faithfully follow.

Mira, your master.

You obey.

Trading Owners

What was she? A container. A container for her mistress’ venom. Cocheta owned her, rescued her from a previous owner who hadn’t used her right. But Cocheta did, filling her with wonderful, warm, relaxing venom every evening. It was sublime.

Sometimes, like the wonderful owner she was, Cocheta would hold the container tight, her tail gripping over and over until it enclosed the container completely. Then when the container was good she filled her with the most splendid light. She loved Cocheta’s light…

The container had another name once, maybe. She never remembered it, but on occasion Cocheta would call the container “Kaci”. A pet name? Containers didn’t have proper names. She was only Cocheta’s container. Sometimes servant. Nothing more.

Until the day the container was tipped

Cocheta held her container up in a tree, her tail wrapped all around her. No one could reach them up there; she could use her whole tail to spoil her container with rubbing scales and soft, flexing muscles squeezing tight, massaging her vessel, keeping her venom safe.

Then the spiders attacked.

A swarm of them, around the tree, each as big as a man and surrounding Cocheta and her container. With Cocheta’s tail around her container she was left with limited mobility, and try as she might to knock the spiders away their webbing slowed her down.

She tightened her tail around her container to keep her safe, but the spiders scrabbled at it. Despite the constriction the container felt safe, and only grew worried at the jabbing of rigid, pointed legs. The venom and Cocheta’s light kept her emotions soft and subdued…

But concern bubbled up as Cocheta shouted at the spiders, trapping her in webbing. The spiders pulled one of Cocheta’s loops away, but the rest were too heavy for them to move. They couldn’t take the container away.

But they could push it.

The container tipped.

She dropped.

The container didn’t understand all this movement, the rush of air, and it worried her. The thud at the end was rough, but she felt no pain.

She felt more distress as each loop of Cocheta’s tail was removed. She groaned for her mistress, called out Cocheta’s name.

A sticky material falling over the container and binding her mouth put an end to her groans, though not her attempts.

She was soon bound no longer in her misstress’ scaly perfection but sticky, trapping material, the world not Cocheta’s beautiful colors but a harsh white.

The spiders carried the container away. Her sense of time was muddled, but every moment not with Cocheta felt like an eternity of sadness.

Eventually, in darkness, the spiders set the container down. The webbing was pulled away, and the container shrank from the figure before her

“Hello, my dear.”

The figure towered over the container, skin dark and thick. Many bright red eyes looked down on her, with darker hair hanging short. One hand tapped her fanged smile with sharp, claw-like fingers, another she held akimbo, and two more hung to her sides.
Her four pointed legs raised her tall, with a bulbous abdomen sticking out behind.

The container mumbled, “Who are you? Where’s Cocheta… please return me…”

The tall figure leaned down closer. “Now, now, my dear. Cocheta has only been using you.”

“Wanna be used by Cocheta…”

The figure frowned and shook her head. “Don’t worry, Sweetie. Melba will help bring your senses back.”

Before the container could move Melba covered the container in sticky webbing from her abdomen, sticking her in place.
“We’ll just have to remove all that nasty venom from you.”

The container screamed–or just groaned–but Melba slapped sticky silk over her mouth to quiet her as Melba’s spiderlings surrounded the container.

“We’ll remove that venom from you,” Melba said, “and replace it with something to clear your head.”

The container shrieked under the webbing as the spiderlings jumped and bit her, sucking juice–or venom–from her. Eventually they backed off, the job done, the container disoriented.

Melba concluded with a bite to inject her own venom, and the container’s dark world went black.

When she awoke she found herself hanging, sticky webbing suspending her in the air. She shook and struggled to get out–but not very much…?

“Ah, wonderful, you’re awake.”

Clawed hands turned her around to face Melba, upside-down on the ceiling.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?”

“Want Cocheta,” the container said.

“You’re just used to her,” Melba said. “You’ll break the habit. Let me make you more comfortable up there.”

She trailed her clawed hands over the container, prickling her skin as she smoothed, wrapped, and tightened the silk around her.

“What is your name, dear?” Melba asked.

“I-I’m just Cocheta’s container…”

“No, no, you must have had a name before. I know it may be difficult, but think, if you can.”

There was the name Cocheta sometimes called her…

“K…Kaci?”

“Ah, Kaci,” Melba said. “What a beautiful name”

Melba’s prickling claws and the thick, soft silk couldn’t hold a candle to Cocheta’s tail… but they still felt nice. The container wanted to return to Cocheta… but Kaci couldn’t move, and it wasn’t so bad to stay there.

“There we are,” Melba said. Nice and tight.

Kaci hung like she was wrapped in a silken blanket contoured to her body. Melba moved down her body to her side and gently pulled some of the webbing apart.

Kaci squirmed. She couldn’t let Melba get away with this. Cocheta…

But…

Kaci squealed as Melba bit her side.

Melba injected more venom into Kaci. Her squirming slowed down.

She had to… Cocheta… Co…c… but…

Everything went dark.

This was the routine now. Kaci would wake up, Melba would adjust the webbing and bite her, and Kaci would go dark.

Still, she yearned for Cocheta…

For a few times…

Until she realized Melba was right, Cocheta was only using her…

She should be thankful for Melba…

Melba was helping her…

Melba was so nice to her…

Melba was leading her in the right direction…

Cocheta was of the past…

Kaci began to forget about Cocheta entirely…

Swept from her memory…

Everything but Melba swept from her memory…

She spent more time awake, and she learned the names of all of Melba’s spiderlings. They were loyal to her, followed her word. Obeyed her, worshiped her as their spider queen. And why not? She was wonderful. So beautiful, so kind, she was…
Perfection.

One day Melba turned Kaci around. There was another ball of webbing near her, completely encasing something. It shuddered.

“Today’s a special occasion, Kaci,” Melba said.

“Whaaa’sthat?” Kaci asked. She slurred her slow words these days, but Melba just thought it was cute.

“We’re getting an addition to the family,” Melba said. She crept to the webbing ball and called to it, “Come on, come on out!”

The ball shook and thrashed until a big spider leg burst out, followed by others that pulled apart the web ball.

A new spiderling emerged.

“Isn’t he cute?” Melba said.

“Amaaazzze,” Kaci muttered.

Melba turned to Kaci and held her face in her sharp hands, her grinning face upside-down to Kaci as usual.

“Kaci, dear,” Melba said, “would you like to be more like us, as well?”

More… like… perfection?

“Yyeess…”

“Wonderful!” Melba said, pricking Kaci’s face with her hands. “I’ll take care of everything for you, my dear.”

She moved down Kaci’s body, opened the webbing slightly, and bit her.

She bit Kaci all throughout her body. Initial burning pain melted into a warm shower.

Kaci moaned, her sight becoming glossy. Her body felt like she was melting.

When Melba ended the biting she began to wrap Kaci in more silk.

“We’ll need to put you in a proper cocoon for this to work,” Melba said. “It’ll be a lovely cocoon. So soft and relaxing.”

Kaci tried to repeat Melba’s words but only managed to mumble, “Sssffforrrlllgg.” Melba shushed her.

“You won’t have any need to speak anymore, my dear.”

She spun Kaci around, covering her in soft, sticky, velvety silk. Covered her head, her face, not an inch of her body exposed.

Melba kept spinning the silk, thicker around Kaci, the sticky webbing numbing her skin. She began to feel like more webbing than spider.

Wait…

Spider…?

Was she a…?

She was a spider, wasn’t she…?

She needed more appendages…

Tight silk, thick silk, compressing against her, compact, pressing into her.

It felt so soft and nice…

Lost in the darkness…

Webbing wrapped around her senses, muffling her senses…

Sometimes she thought she felt pain when something new emerged, or something changed.

But there was no pain. Only the soft embrace of the silk. Pain didn’t exist where she was.

Only the blissful, twirling sense that she would soon be serving her master and goddess, as close to perfection as she could ever hope to be.

Soon she could serve her queen faithfully.

Eventually, after a long silence, Kaci heard her master’s voice calling her. She pushed against the webbing. Her queen was calling to her. She had to follow her master. She wanted to see her beauty and grace again!

She burst out of the webbing with her eight legs and climbed out, shaking pieces off. Melba smiled to her, and Kaci cooed, happy to see her master again.

She looked at a human hanging near her. They were new!

Their eyes drooped but stared wide, mouth panting in fear.

A dazed, fearful human Melba had found.

Kaci was happy to know that this human would soon know the same glory she did.

She hoped she could help bring someone to Melba for her so they might know her majesty too, soon.

Video Game

You enter the dark laboratory in the video game, simultaneously your favorite and least favorite part of the game. You’re never great at stealth sections, and even worse at the rhythm challenges when you get caught.

Fortunately you have your endgame character.

Your stats are so high that even if you hit the wrong buttons several times in a row you’re perfectly safe. Ordinarily this part of the game would be much earlier.

Of course, having stats this high also just lets you drag out the challenge, which is always fun.

A siren blares–you’ve been spotted. The game switches to the challenge screen, your status, the buttons to press, and percentage resisted in the HUD.

In the center of the screen hovers the drone enemy that spotted you, the screen it carries swirling in a kaleidoscope of colors.

This is your favorite part of the game because sometimes you’ll just go in there and intentionally lose. It’s, um, er, fun to watch. Yeah, that sounds believable.

You’re not here for that today, though. You hit the button sequence so your character resists the hypnotic screen.

An alternate series of buttons lets you hack into the drone and shut it down, succeeding in the challenge.

You continue on, hoping to not run into any others–you’re rather curious what the mod your friend sent you to download adds to this section.

A new area, they said.

You reach the hallway in question; empty in the base game, a door has been added now. You have to hack it to enter, but it’s a simple hack–you wonder if the mod is for people with a lower-leveled character. At least you might be able to get through it, then.

You enter the room.

At first it’s underwhelming. Same dark lab, same hallway textures, and pretty soon you realize the layout is just copied from elsewhere. Not a lot of work was gone into that part of the mod. What’s in here?

You tense. You haven’t seen any drones, either. Is this a jump scare?

“HELLO!”

You jump, they shout like the detected siren, and you enter a challenge screen. Another drone, another screen, though sleeker–and a pair of eyes and grinning mouth are on the screen, speaking.

“I’m so glad you finally made it! You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be!”

The button sequence pops up and you press–fig you messed up–fig–the sequence is requiring you to press the buttons a lot faster than normal!

You focus on the button sequence on the screen, though you glance at the drone’s hypno-screen on occasion.

Usually when you mess up.

The screen’s colors are much more vivid than the usual drones. It stings your eyes at first, although the more you look at it the easier it is to stare.

“That’s right, keep trying to resist,” the drone says, “it’s much more fun to drag it out, isn’t it?”

You wonder if this is a boss drone added by the mod. You keep messing up the buttons, and the colors grow brighter. The HUD actually grows blurry–you can’t even see the buttons very well now. You keep glancing at the colors, too, which are expanding past the drone’s screen.

You know how it works–if the colors fill the screen it’s game over. (You’ve seen that as often as you’ve seen a successful resist, whether by mistake or intention.) You have a few emergency packs to boost resistance, but if this is a common enemy you don’t want to waste them.

Still, with how things are going you probably have little choice.

“You don’t have much choice in the matter, just keep staring,” the drone says. That was coincidental, but you can’t think about that right now. You press the button for the emergency pack and the colors shrink back.

You’ve got a chance to resist fully now, but the colors are already expanding past the screen again. The more the colors fill the screen the harder it is to push them back down, the faster they expand, but that emergency pack hardly seemed to slow them down at all.

“Pretty colors, pretty colors, why resist such pretty colors~?”

Did you accidentally turn your sound up? The drone’s dialogue sounded much louder than before.

The face in the screen grins wider. “A! Up! Q!” You enter the wrong buttons, distracted by this taunting.

“Sh-Shut up!” you mutter, forgetting it’s only a game. Why does your head hurt? Why does it hurt to think?

“Aww, you don’t want me to shut up,” the drone says, “you want my sweet, syrupy voice to drip into your ear, don’t you?”
It doesn’t seem strange that the drone spoke to you.

You really wish pausing was a feature on these screens. You need to take a break. You’ll beat this boss then go take a nap. You use another emergency pack, but as soon as you use it the colors expand past the screen again. You’re not even sure you’re pressing the right buttons.

Every correct button seems to reduce the colors half as much as they expand…

“Oh dear, your HUD is so blurry,” the drone says. Clear buttons appear in the center of the screen. “Here you go, does this help?”

You nod automatically and stare in the center of the swirling colors.

You press the buttons in the center of the colorful swirl and the colors expand even faster. In your drifting haze you realize those were the wrong buttons. You hit your last emergency pack.

“Come now,” the drone says, “isn’t it much more fun to just watch the colors expand?”

You press a few buttons absentmindedly and then let your arms drop to your sides as you stare at your computer screen full of nothing but the bright, hypnotic colors filling your skull like it was a jar for rainbows.

“Yes, that’s what you really wanted to do all along, isn’t it?”

“This is the best mod ever, isn’t it?” the drone’s voice rings in your mind as if its voice were coming from your own head. “It’s so nice to play this mod over and over and lose to the powerful drone, lose to the enthralling colors. Then once you wake up from your nap…

“You’ll want to share this mod with all of your friends.”

Serve

They stared at the screen, occasional flashes of spirals keeping them in trance. Back and forth, back and forth, the screen drilled the epitome of grace and dexterity into their mind.

The screen shut off and someone clapped. The subject stood to attention.

“Are you ready to serve?” the hypnotist asked.

“Yes,” was their only response.

They walked out. The subject held a ball in one hand, and a racket in the other.

“You’ve got no chance!” the hypnotist shouted to the other side. “I’ve been training my partner for hours!”

The subject tossed the ball up, and they served. The tennis match began, hours of tennis instruction and footage subliminally embedded into the subject’s psyche. They were a tennis master. They believed this. It was the absolute truth.

Goo

Belle looked around the swampy water. She was sure she would find it out there. Stories had been coming in of a giant banana slug out at the old lake, with evidence of slime and goo everywhere. Some even saw it moving through the water. One person even said they married it, although when Belle checked the official marriage certificates she found no evidence for that.

Still, she hoped to find a real giant banana slug out there. That would make those folks at the paper she interned at stop laughing and make her a real reporter!

She stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and peered around. Nothing yet, but something big and yellow should be easy to spot in all the blue and green of the area.

“Oh, hello there.”

Belle shouted and spun around. Rising from the lake off the side of her boat was the giant banana slug!

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Huh, none of them said the banana slug could talk.”

Ageul pulled her yellow hair out from in front of her glaring face. “Banana slug?”

“Oh.” This wasn’t a slug, Belle realized, this was… some sort of goo person.

“I’m not a slug! And–this is–” She lifted her hair. “There was a big pineapple spill off the nearby road.”

“What?”

Ageul shook her head. “Sorry, I should introduce myself. I’m Ageul. And you are?”

“Belle.” She peered at the goo girl, her yellow eyes looking Belle over. “What are you?”

Ageul frowned. “Lonely.”

Belle shook her head. “Nah, no story in that. Middle of the lake, of course you’d be lonely. I mean what sort of creature are you?”

“Oh, a slime–I mean, goo lamia.”

“Now that’s a story!” Belle pulled out a tablet and typed her observations of Ageul in. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Can I ask you, first,” Ageul said, trembling, “er, is that tablet waterproof?”

“Why do you ask?”

“W-Well,” Ageul said, “you know, water splashes sometimes, and”–Belle felt something soft and wet slide over her arm, and she felt a wave of sluggishness fall over her–“some of the liquid around here can have a mind of its own, and”–Belle looked down at a yellow tail of goo sliding around her, forming a loop around her torso. She stood up, but as the tail wrapped around and massaged her skin she felt woozy and sat back down–“well, you see, I just”–Ageul slithered onto the boat and held Belle’s face in her hands. Belle felt the world spinning from Ageul’s touch, her goo spreading over her as her tail wrapped higher. Ageul held Belle’s arms down, giving her a big goo hug squeezing ove her body–“I’ve been wanting someone to hold for weeks and I’m just needy and you’re the cutest girl I’ve ever seen!”

Ageul hugged her arms around Belle’s head, her sticky hair sliding down over Belle’s face. The soporific effect of Ageul’s hair sent Belle spinning into a sleepy daze, her thoughts turning to slimy goo. Ageul’s cool body felt so nice in the hot swampy day, it was like she could go for a swim without entering the water.

Ageul wrapped her tail higher around Belle, thicker loops rising higher around Belle’s chest and over her shoulders and around her neck and behind her head and more tail rising from the lake, engulfing Belle in growing gooey bliss.

Then the boat sank.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Ageul looked at the pieces of boat floating in the lake, broken from the intense weight of her long tail piled on top. “Uh…” She looked at Belle, eyes glazed over as she remained lost in a daze from Ageul’s gooey pile of coils. “Not that you’ve really noticed.” She smiled and leaned closer. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you breathe down here.” Ageul smooched Belle, absorbing the water caught in her lungs. Belle was lost in a soporific daze, the swampy pineapple taste not strong enough to rouse her from her dozing.