I was in the middle of sociology lecture when I felt my phone buzz. It’s not like I was missing anything important, so I quickly pulled it out to check. I saw my newest notification was a text from Julie, and…

What the text said chilled my blood to absolute zero the nanosecond I read it.

“Vi, Sumi escaped your control and is seeking my help.”

“Okay, what’s the situation?” I asked the moment the line picked up, as I began walking hurriedly away from the lecture hall.

“Sue just sent me a few texts and called me asking for my help. She says something happened with you last night and she’s scared to go near you. She wants me to meet her alone at the food court, where you wouldn’t be able to sneak up on her.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. I breathed a heavy, stressed sigh. “Okay, this is totally fucked. If she lets anything slip I’m screwed, and I cannot let her see me at all or we’ll never see her again. We need to get her into a state of actual hypnosis, and then brainwash her quickly. What’s your ETA on meeting her?” I looked around, making sure nobody heard what I just said.

“I’m currently on my way over, and I’ll be there in 5 minutes. We need a plan, now.”

“Alright, let me think for a second.” FUCK! No time to panic, me, strategize! I can’t hypnotize her or influence her thoughts myself: she’ll see me coming from a mile away, my abilities have limited range, and I don’t trust that I can brute force her into submission. I… I need Julie to talk her down.

Fuck, that’s a big ask. I know I can just make her do it, but… no, no, no, no, NO! Don’t even THINK about it, me! I absolutely REFUSE unless I’m completely out of options!

But… I do need her help. I literally cannot do this without her. I… I need to ask.

“Julie.” I stated, my voice wavering. “I, I know this is a big ask. She’s literally one of your closest friends. Can you he-” I covered my own mouth as I realized exactly what I was about to say without realizing it. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that, I…”

I took a deep breath, thought about the exact words I needed to say, then spoke.

“Julie, I need you to talk Sumi down, then hypnotize her. I will provide assistance after she’s under. Do I have your permission to ask for your assistance with this?”

The air hung tight for what felt like a century before her voice rang out from my phone’s speaker. 

“You may.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Julie, I want you to help me get Sumi back under my control. Where are you right now?”

I really hope this plan of yours works, Vi. For your sake, and mine.

I walked into the food court, and noticed a very scared and anxious Sue was waiting for me. I walked over to her, peering around my shoulders as I sat down. 

“Does she know?” Sue asked, frightened.

“She doesn’t. I took as public a route as I could, and checked every corner. She’s still in her lecture, but not for long. If this is as serious as you’ve said, then we need to move to somewhere more secure, where she won’t find us. I know of a few places that she doesn’t know about because of our different majors. But I thought about what you said on the way over, and I know that there’s a deeply concerning aspect to what I just said. So, Sue, if there is anything I need to do to earn your trust right at this moment, to ensure I am not under her control, please, ask me. And as a sign of good faith,” I pulled out my phone and handed it to her, “I’m going to give you this to hold on to. I want you to trust me, so we can figure out how to deal with this together.”

I could see the conflict in her eyes. She truly doesn’t know what to think any more after her thoughts were already tampered with. She’s scared, confused, and suspicious. She doesn’t know who to trust, not even herself at this point. I just hope that in this trying time, given I am her best friend, she can put her faith in me.

“How much time do we have?” She asked.

“10 minutes tops, less if her lecture got out early. I’m sorry to rush you like this, but that’s why I said we need to move now. She’s likely on her way, so if you want to avoid detection, we need to go asap.”

She closed her eyes, turning her head in fear as tears began welling up. Then she turned towards me, and with the most heart-wrenchingly pained expression I have ever seen, slowly nodded. She grabbed her bag, and we moved out of the food court with haste.

A couple minutes later, we arrived in the biology buildings. Rather than go up, like Vi and I did for our first semester courses, we went down two stories into the basement. 

“They don’t allow just anyone down here, only people like me who have classes in these labs can enter. Currently, everyone is on lunch break, so this area is totally empty. Violet does not have access, and without my ID card,” I pressed mine to the panel, causing it to beep and the door to open with a loud kathunk, “she has no way of getting in.”

She followed me in, and the door closed with a loud metallic clatter as it locked back into place. Sue looked into the laboratory areas, and satisfied that nobody was in there, turned to me. She then sobbed, and rushed over to hug me as she cried into my arms. All I could do was hug her back, patting her head as I comforted the wounded girl.

I’d always thought Sumi was a strong girl. She had so much fight in her. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She always got her way. 

To see her reduced to this… 

She finally backed away, wiping away the tears and sniffling. “I’m so sorry I had to drag you into this, it’s just… you’re the only person I trust! I hate that I had to doubt you! But I, I, I-I don’t even know if I can trust myself? This is all so fucked up, I-”

I placed a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her into my embrace again. “It’s okay,” I cooed, “just let it all out.” She cried for a good few minutes more into my arms while I held her, comforting her the best I could. After what seemed like forever, Sue finally pulled away again. “There, a little better now?” I asked warmly.

She nodded her head, wiping away tears and sniffling.

“There, there. Let’s have you sit down for a moment here, and I’ll help you relax so we can see everything clearly.” I guided her to the wall, and helped her slowly to the ground. We sat there, backs against the hallway as her sobbing rang through the hallway.

“Here, I know of some relaxation exercises to help calm your nerves. I want you to take a deep breath in and hold it for a second,” I instructed, following along to help her, “and let it out, let all that tension out. Let’s do it again, big breath in… and let it out, exhale all that stress. One more time, in… and out, relaxing your body.”

“Now, go ahead and close your eyes for a minute.” Sue obediently followed, still fighting back tears. “Good, now imagine your body in your mind. I want you to imagine with every breath in, you feel a wave of relaxation flow through your body. Every breath out, all the stress, tension, and anxiety you feel is exhaled as well. Then with the next breath in, all that space the tension used to occupy becomes filled with this warm relaxing sensation as the wave passes by. And then every exhale frees up more space that the next wave can occupy. Imagine that as vividly as you can, relaxing so incredibly deeply as you listen to my voice, allowing it to guide you into relaxation.”

Sue was breathing steadily, and only sniffling or wiping away tears rarely.

“That’s it, you’re doing so well Sue. Just keep relaxing, focus on this nice, warm, relaxing feeling as it envelops your body. Just let your mind wander into this daydream of relaxation, and just let my words help you relax further. I want you to be as calm as possible, so now that we’ve relaxed your body we’re going to relax your mind. Imagine yourself now inside an elevator, one that’s designed to take you into the deepest parts of your mind. 100 is the floor you’re on currently, and in a moment you’re going to start slowly going down to floor zero, the ground floor of your mind. I want you to count every floor out loud as the elevator passes by, and with every number you’ll feel your mind relax and unwind, finding yourself becoming more calm and tranquil with every number. Go ahead and push the ground floor button now, and count down the floors as you go.”

“99… 98… 97…” Sue said in an even tone.

“Good, let yourself relax deeper with every number. Every number relaxes both your body and mind, sending it deeper and deeper. Let all of that stress, all of those worries, all your anxiety just melt away into nothing.”

“85… 84… 83…” She quietly chanted away.

“Find that as you relax deeper, you’re feeling so relaxed that you can’t even remember what you were so stressed about before. Nothing matters right now except going deeper and deeper into relaxation. Being stressed is like a pipe dream compared to how relaxed you are now, and all those memories of being stressed fade away more with every passing number. There’s no need to worry about what you were stressed over, all that matters now is relaxing deeper.”

“70… 69… 68…” Her voice became more monotone.

“Now, you find that even the numbers are starting to become unimportant. The elevator just keeps going down, deeper and deeper into relaxation, but you find that each number becomes harder and harder to remember. And that’s perfectly okay, because it means you’re just going deep into this pleasant relaxing state. You don’t need to worry about the numbers you miss, that would get in the way of you relaxing. If you find you can’t remember the numbers at all, then that’s perfectly okay, and you can just allow the elevator to take you further. You don’t even need to try and remember them at that point, just feel the elevator continue to take you down as you lose track of how deep it’s gone. It just keeps going, and going, and going, sending you deeper, and deeper, and deeper.”

“50…… 47……… forty…………” Her voice faded away as the numbers dissolved from her memory.

“Good, find that elevator just keeps going and going and going, without stop. You’re not sure when it’ll reach the bottom any more, but that’s ok. You can just relax and enjoy the ride as you relax deeper and deeper into this pleasant state.”

I slowly and silently got up from beside Sue, making absolutely certain that I made no noise that would alert or disturb her. With my shoes next to my bag, I carefully balanced on the soles of my feet as I made my way to the end of the hallway. I turned the corner, then carefully and slowly opened the door to the janitorial closet. I put my finger to my lips, and mouthed my instructions to Violet silently.

“No shoes. Be completely quiet. Use magic on me when close.”

She carefully took off her shoes, then followed behind me slowly. We slunk our way back to Sue, who was resting peacefully against the wall. I went back to my spot next to her, and Vi tiptoed behind me. She then placed her hand on my back, and I felt a warm glow spread through me as she channeled her magic into me.

“Very good Sue, you’re feeling so relaxed now, so peaceful. Nothing matters except listening to me and going deeper into this state of relaxation. Now, in a moment the elevator is going to stop, and we’ll be in the deepest parts of your mind. This is a place where you can’t do anything except relax: even if something does start to bring you out or make you worry, you find that feeling will fizzle out immediately. This is a space where only relaxation is possible, and no other emotions can exist. Go ahead and find the elevator slows down now, and you come to a complete stop and the doors open. Take a step inside, allow yourself to feel this true relaxation, and find every other emotion is completely gone.”

I can see her eyes flickering rapidly underneath her eyelids, but her body is completely limp and her breathing is slow. She must have a vivid imagination, I remember seeing a video where someone was like this under hypnosis. Makes sense, given she’s a musician.

“Good, now since this is the deepest part of your mind, that means your memories must be stored somewhere in here. Can you find where they are for me?”

“…Yeah.” She practically whispered out.

“What do they look like in your mind?” I asked.

“…Library. Lots of books.”

“Great, now I want you to find your memories from this morning. Shouldn’t be too hard since they’re fairly recent, right? Go ahead and pull out those memories for me.”

I almost jumped (and I think Vi did jump) when Sue’s arms sprung to life and grabbed at the air in front of her. She then pulled her hands back, and mimicked the act of opening a book and reading it. I looked over my shoulder, and Vi gave me a quick nod as she composed herself again.

“Very good, pulling out those memories from the moment you woke up this morning. Now, I want you to read that book and focus on what was running through your mind. You could feel some new thoughts had suddenly crept their way into your mind, and you were struggling to deal with them, right?”

“…Y-Yeah.” A hint of emotion flickered on her face, but it vanished the next moment.

“I want you to focus on those new thoughts. In fact, give me a moment,” I pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil from my bag. “I’m going to give you a piece of paper and a pencil. In a moment, you’re going to open your eyes, and it’s going to just be you and I in your mind’s library together. That’s all you will see, is just us together in the library within your mind. I want you to read your memories, take those new thoughts Violet gave you this morning, and write them down on the paper. Go ahead and open your eyes now, set the book aside and copy what it says onto this paper.”

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she looked my way. I felt Vi try and hide herself, as Sue looked into me with blank, vacant eyes. She then smiled appreciatively, took the paper and pen from me, and quietly said “thank you” as she turned back to the front. Her eyes then darted from the floor on the opposite side of her to her lap, as she began writing down what she remembered. Soon, the paper read as follows:

I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave.

I will obey everything Violet says unconditionally.

I could not disobey Violet’s will, even if I wanted to.

Being Violet’s brainwashed slave is my sole purpose in life.

I love everything about Violet.

Violet is my perfect soulmate.

I could never love a woman more than I love Violet.

I want to do everything in my power to please Violet.

To please Violet is the greatest satisfaction in life.

That’s why I am her brainwashed slave, and will serve her forever.

Nothing could possibly bring me more pleasure than being Violet’s brainwashed slave.

Everything I do is in service to Violet.

And the joy I feel from being Violet’s brainwashed slave is unmatched.

I fully accept my position as Violet’s brainwashed slave.

I love the fact that she brainwashed me into becoming her slave.

I want to help her brainwash more people into becoming her slaves.

The idea of Violet brainwashing people like me into her slaves is the hottest thing in the universe.

Brainwashing people into becoming Violet’s slaves makes me wet.

She then set the pencil aside, and passed me the paper. “This is what I remember thinking as I woke up.” She said, staring into my eyes. “I remember being very confused. Then she asked me some questions, and as I answered it all started making sense. And then we… had sex in the shower. And then we went to our classes. And then… slowly I realized that those thoughts weren’t mine at all. And then I thought about last night, and…” her voice trailed off.

I put my arm on her shoulder. “It’s okay Sue, relax, there’s no need to panic. We’ll figure this out. Do you still feel like you’re affected by those thoughts?”

She pursed her lips. “…No? Maybe? I… don’t know, honestly. I… hope I’m not.”

“You’re feeling confused about what to think, and you’re not sure what thoughts are your own now, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

“Then let’s do this. When you were answering her questions this morning, everything felt like it made sense. So maybe, if you start reading out her thoughts again, it’ll make sense again. You want to get rid of this confusion and be certain in what you can believe, right?”

Again, she nodded.

“Good, staying so deeply relaxed. Then I’m going to have you read out these thoughts, and every time you do, you’ll feel that certainty once again. Everything will make sense again, as you read each one off. It’ll feel really good too, every thought read will make you feel really happy. It’ll stick in your mind, and it’ll feel really good. Go ahead and try it with the first one now.”

“I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave.” She droned, as a smile crept up on her face. 

“Good, feel that warm happiness and comfort wash over you. Saying that made you feel so certain in the words, so happy, didn’t it?”

Confusion gripped her face. “I… yes, but…”

“Just relax, let that happy feeling wash away that uncertainty.” She sighed, and her body relaxed. “That’s it, you feel so wonderful when you say those words, don’t you? Everything makes sense when you say it, it feels right. Because you were her slave at one point, that’s a certain fact; this certainty gives you comfort, makes you feel at ease. I’ll have you repeat it again in a moment, and every time you repeat one of these lines you’ll find that uncertainty wash away more and more. Just like how your hands may stumble and falter as you practice guitar, the more you practice the more natural each motion becomes. So we’re going to practice saying these lines, over and over, until they are no longer uncertain, until it’s a second nature to you. Go ahead and repeat that first line again now.”

“I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave.” She monotoned back.

“Good, now we can’t just leave it at just a couple attempts. We need to really hammer it in, practice it thoroughly. I want you to repeat that line over and over, washing away that uncertainty until it no longer remains. But just because you can play a section right once doesn’t mean you can play it consistently; you’ll keep repeating it five more times even after the uncertainty is gone, to completely cement how certain, how utterly true the idea is in your head. Go ahead and start practicing now, feel yourself embracing these words as the truth and engraving them deep into your psyche with every repetition.”

“I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave… I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave… I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave…” she droned on.

I looked behind me, and noticed Violet was sweating bullets. I quietly opened my bag and pulled out a sports drink. “Continue practicing like that, focus on your work and don’t let anything other sounds you may hear distract you.” The plastic of the bottle cracked loudly and echoed down the otherwise quiet halls, and after making sure Sue was unaffected I passed the bottle behind me. Violet hungrily slugged it down, quietly sighing before replacing her hand on my back. I turned back to Sue, who was now sitting quietly and staring at the paper with a small smile on her lips.

“You’ve finished, so now let’s review what you learned. Say the first thing that comes to your mind: what are you?”

“I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave.” She sighed dreamily.

“Do you feel absolutely confident in that statement? No uncertainty about its truth?”

“Nope. I am Violet Hanamori’s brainwashed slave.” She said, smiling.

“Good, then let’s repeat this exercise with the next line, I want you to repeat it until it becomes absolutely certain, a permanent unquestionable truth just like the last one. Go ahead and begin.”

“I will obey everything Violet says unconditionally… I will obey everything Violet says unconditionally… I will obey everything Violet says unconditionally…”

And so we spent the next half hour drilling Violet’s thoughts into her mind, each one becoming so practiced they were inseparable from her normal thoughts. Sue realized that Violet was her one true love. Sue would now do everything in service of Violet. Sue was aware of Violet brainwashing her into a slave, and relished every moment. Sue would now willingly brainwash other people for Violet, and would find the idea hot as hell. There was no more room for uncertainty in Sue’s mind: these were now axioms that were core to her being.

As she finished her last mantra, I looked back to Violet. She was very worn out, probably from all the stress on top of exerting herself. She looked at me, quietly panting. I nodded, and we stood up. “Good job Sue. Now, in a moment, you’re going to come out of this relaxing state, back up that elevator, and return to your waking mind. However, you will find all those statements we’ve practiced are now unconditionally true, and you will believe them with all your heart and soul. They’re engraved into the deepest parts of your mind, and are now an inseparable part of who you are. On the count of 3 you’ll wake up, absolutely certain of those statements. 1, going back into the elevator… 2, rising up quickly back to awareness… and 3, wide awake now.”

I snapped my fingers, and Sue blinked a few times before looking up at me. “Woah, Jay, that was really trippy!” She said with excitement as she clambered to her feet. “I had no idea you knew how to do something like…” her voice trailed off as Violet walked into view from behind me, her face aghast. Then she quickly dropped to her knees and quivered in place. “I-I’m so sorry Violet! I… I don’t know what came over me, I thought I wasn’t your slave for a while, and I was so confused, and, and I-”

“Sumi, stand up.” The blubbering girl obeyed, wiping renewed tears from her eyes. Violet then hugged her tightly, which she returned as she sobbed more. “There there,” Violet comforted her as she brushed her hair with her hand, “it’s all okay now. You’re back to being my slave, more permanently this time, and that’s… that’s all that matters now.” I could hear a hint of somber emotion in her voice, and her expression was troubled.

She’s having second thoughts. Good.

And then, it finally hit me.

I can normally keep my nerves steady for a long time. I pride myself on being able to keep a cool head under pressure. But after every stressful situation, there is always a crash. My hands started trembling, and I began sobbing uncontrollably. I leaned against the wall for support as my knees buckled, and I slid down to the cool tile floor in an unceremonious heap. I saw Vi and Sue look at me with concern, but I shook my head at them.

The last thing I need right now is their help. Especially you, you absolute monster.

I used every ounce of strength to pull myself back up, punching the floor and pushing off of it. I grabbed my bag, closed the pockets, and threw it onto my back. I stared into the eyes of the one who made me do this, clenching my fists until my knuckles turned white. I knew I couldn’t do what I wanted to, but that didn’t stop the raging desire from growing into an inferno of hatred. I let out a frustrated sigh, turned 180, and began stomping off towards the exit.

“Julie, I…” that vile snake called out behind me as I stopped in my tracks. “I’ll give you a few days alone, I can stay with Jas. I… I know this is really hard on you, and… I’ll make sure to give you the space you need. If… I-If you need any help from me, or f-from anyone else, please… just ask. Talk to us. We’re here for you.”

I drew a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. I then continued forward, reaching for the door.

“And, Julie? Please?” 

I turned my head with ire back down the hallway, glancing at the foul person that tarnished my best friend.

“I’m… I’m so sorry.”

…

“You better be.”

I walked out the door and stormed off towards the dorms.

I walked into the small, cramped room I’ve been calling home for the past few weeks and slammed the door shut. Probably a bit too forcefully, but I didn’t give a singular fuck at that moment. I threw my backpack onto the desk with abandon, climbed up to the top bunk, launched my face into my pillow, and let my muffled screams help release all the pent up fury and emotion boiling over within me.

I just betrayed my best friend.

Twice.

All because of that egomaniacal monster living with me.

I had to look her in the eyes, lie to her face, and then stab her in the back. 

Sue… I’m so sorry this had to happen to you.

I didn’t have a choice. 

And because of that bitch and her fucking with my head…

…

I enjoyed it.

I’m so ashamed of myself for feeling this way.

I know it’s wrong. 

I’ve literally been scolding her this entire time for it.

But because of that one little fucking thing she said.

I can’t help but find myself wanting it. 

It’s… addicting, this feeling I got from it.

Watching Sue slowly succumb to trance…

And then repeating out those words, slowly believing them…

Fuck you, Violet! Fuck you for making me feel this way!

I ripped off the hand that had slithered unconsciously down my pants, then I rolled over as I tried to ignore this burning desire within me.

I… I guess this is what she feels.

I remember she said something similar.

So… utterly disgusted by your own actions, it makes you want to retch.

Yet this self-affirming sensation tells you otherwise.

It’s a paradox.

I wanted to be the one that would pull her out when she went too deep.

Be her voice of reason, as much as I could. 

But now…

…

I can only hope that I stay that way.

Violet… why?

Why can’t you just… stop…?

…

Before I knew it, exhaustion carried me into a deep and turbulent sleep.