Chapter 10: An Unwelcome Awakening.

Jewel was surrounded in that familiar bastard of darkness again, that zone in which time took on mysterious and cruel qualities, simultaneously stretching seconds into millennia and crushing aeons into seconds like it was some meat to be canned. Faint splashes of images seemed to penetrate the miasma of darkness drenched water through which Jewel floated in stasis, all but a scant few sudden and incomprehensible.

What she did see was the blurry not-memory of her kissing Jaxx, stunning Jaxx. Those were the worst of these not-dreams, a horror show perpetuated by some malevolent part of her mind trying to torture her with the mere idea that this situation centered her? But how? She was a loyal child of Terra, damnit! She'd rather go down burning with a thousand Affini than even think of surrendering the fight.  She was in this fight to win, why would her mind torture herself like this? 

A brief moment, not a dream, hazy, barely comprehensible as she felt something with herself, her eyes opening to a blur of light and colour. Nothing could keep focus, nothing could hold a shape she could process except... Silver eyes. She tried to moan, to reach out to those familiar eyes, her only possible means of salvation. The eyes closed again and Jewel felt herself pulled back into the deep dark. 

Trapped in the prison of her own mind, Jewel could only just keep hold of three important facts. She'd been captured by the Affini, they had Jaxx, and she was probably weeks away at best from a lobotomy and puppetry at the hands of those fucking pot plants. Anything more and her mind couldn't hold onto it, slipping through her fingers just as she grasped the threads of comprehension. 

Jewel was surrounded by that familiar bastard of darkness again, that zone in which time took on mysterious and cruel qualities, simultaneously stretching seconds into millennia and crushing aeons into seconds like it was some meat to be canned. Faint splashes of images seemed to penetrate the miasma of darkness drenched water through which Jewel floated in stasis, all but a scant few sudden and incomprehensible.

No, no she thought, briefly realizing that everything had looped on itself again. Not again, please not again. Not these false memories the Affini were no doubt etching into her mind with high powered electrical shocks. She needed to resist these lies, these falsities perpetrated to destroy her. NO she was a loyal daughter of Terra and she would fight until her last bloody breath. 

New flashes of memory, papers, names familiar. What was that form? who was saying that? She couldn't hear herself as the winds of a great storm, muffled by the water yet still deafening and raw overwhelmed her. Alien comprehension that seemed to skim over her and render her cold and violated, like an ancient secret roused from its slumber by heathen looters. Vines. 

She didn't notice the encroaching vines at first, as the small ones wrapped around her feet. The sensation of larger ones suddenly winding their way up her body made themselves known with an abject terror, and a bloodcurdling calm. She could see them! Those fucking vines as they snaked their way up her legs, wrapping her tight, her blood turning to ice with their presence as they sucked the warmth from her and calcified her limbs. She tried to scream but the water and the maelstrom above drowned out all but the faintest squeak. 

The vines the fUCKING VINES kept creeping up, oh fuck oh stars is this it, are they making her plant food? Mummifying her like a spider does her prey before liquifying her in giant Venus fly traps? The vines tightened, and tightened as they consumed her torso, winding up her neck, holding it tight as they made their way up her face, her head and over her eyes. Images of billions of little needles inside the vines rushed through her mind, all of them ready to extend into her with brutal violence and suck her life from her, drinking her brain last. 

Jewel was surrounded by that familiar bastard of darkness again, that zone in which time took on mysterious and cruel qualities, simultaneously stretching seconds into millennia and crushing aeons into seconds like it was some meat to be canned. Fai- NO NO NO NO NO NO FUCK NO she screamed with the little energy she had left as she fought to gain mastery of her body once more.

NO! She wasn't going to lamely submit to her destruction, she was going to STAND AND SHE WAS GOING TO FIGHT AND SHE'D TEAR EVERY FUCKING Affini HOUSE PLANT MOTHERFUCKER LIMB FROM BLOODY LIMB. THEY WEREN'T GOING TO EAT HER SHE WAS GOING TO EAT THEM!

Moment by moment she fought against the vines entombing her mind, ripping them fistfuls at a time as she fought to break their grip and regain control. Thrashing and squirming she was able to tear the vines from her eyes. 

---

Jewel's eyes shot open, taking in the sudden bright light and the... oh no. 

She was covered in vines, an Affini right next to her, oh fuck oh stars oh fuck. Her heart picked up pace a little as she took in just how fucked her situation was. She was coated in vines, and so close to one of those daemonic plants. The Affini itself didn't seem to have noticed her, staring at a tablet it was leaning against the arm of the couch they were sitting on. The adrenaline hit a moment later with a jolt and she screamed. 

The ear piercing screech and rush of adrenaline gave her the impulse to fight her way out of the loose vines that surrounded her, bolting for the closest cover in the room. That being the 'coffee table' a meter from the couch. With the sudden burst of energy she dove underneath, preparing to keep going and run as fast as she could. 

"Oh" she heard coming from what could have only come from the Affini's infernal parody of a voice box. "Where are you going dear?" it asked. In a moment every side of the coffee table was surrounded by those fucking vines. "I promise I wasn't doing anything untoward there, just what you asked of me" it continued. Fuck that voice was familiar too, but without the obvious sense of malice from the last time they had a confrontation. Oh fuck she was chosen to be this one's plaything, wasn't she? 

"Fuck off" Jewel yelled, her throat raw from her scream just a moment ago, hugging the central pillar under the middle of the coffee table. "I'm not letting you take me to your fucking mind-wipe factories" she continued, the burst of adrenaline coming down just enough for her to realize that the cuffs on her wrists were beeping and flashing red. 

Breathe she said to herself, knowing that she was clearly on the knife edge before those damned things pumped her with starts knew what. 

"Oh my poor dear" the Affini said softly as one of the vines extended from the walls of plant matter that now surrounded Jewel's cover-turn-prison. Jewel slapped it as it came within arm's reach, the vine withdrawing sharply in surprise. "I see. I understand you are probably very confused and scared there dear. But I can assure you that none of those things are going to happen" it continued, some tone in its speech threatening to disarm Jewel against her will. She bit down on her lip and reminded herself it was probably some hypnotism ploy to lure her out. She wasn't going to let that happen if she was going to help it!

"No! Stay away" she replied, not yelling but with a very clearly raised voice as her body seemed to catch up with her mind, limbs shaking from fear and adrenaline. "I'm not falling for your trickery, I know you're going to grind me up into paste and feed me to some cabbages or fruit trees." she blurted. While she hadn't heard of anything like that specifically, well you never know with these blood thirsty bastards, they were probably planning at this moment just how they'd make her watch as they would implant her with those mind control devices they put in other captives. The image of a Terran, clearly perverted from her glazed eyes, her slow clumsy moment and slightly slurred speech by the Affini, who was broadcast on the Affini news channels, thundered in her mind. Proclaiming her regret at having resisted the Affini and her perverse love for the Affini bitch who now 'owned' her speaking poisoned words coated in honey about being allowed access to her lover, hormones, safety. If Jewel hadn't already known the true extent of what the Affini really were, she may have been swayed. Her hormone rations were basically non-existant before she'd been captured. But she knew the truth. She wasn't going to end up like that traitorous bitch!

"Dearest, you don't understand" she Affini replied "We won't harm you at all. We, i just want to see you as your best possible self. Come on now, no need to fight any more. I promise." the damned creature replied. 

"And if I refuse?" Jewel asked, her mind trying to flick through the options at her disposal. She could try burst through, but then what? She didn't know where she was or what resources she'd be able to find. For all she knew there was a squad of Affini through the next door, all with knives ready to carve her up like a prize ham. Fuck. 

"Well dear, you'll be brought out from under there. One way or the other~" the Affini stated, a lick of enjoyment permeating the last few words. 

Jewel thought for a moment, really truly thinking about her situation. She couldn't escape, she couldn't hide. That left her only one option and she hated herself for it. The last thing she wanted was for her to be pulled out undignified and drugged from under this table, probably violated by this xeno scum in the process. She needed to know more about what she was facing before she could act. She needed time to conduct reconnaissance, figure a plan, find Jaxx and rescue them, assuming the Affini hadn't already killed them first... If they had Jewel didn't know if she herself could continue to fight, continue to live. She shook her head. No. She was going to save Jaxx or die trying. And that meant Jewel had only only one course, as much as it brought bile to her throat. 

Feign compliance. The words were like vomit to her loyalty, it was clearly not the honorable thing, not the way she'd want to do anything; screaming cries of vengeance and fury as she eviscerated the Affini with a chainsaw was at the top of her preferences. Alas that didn't seem like a viable option right now, but she would keep an eye out, no she would have to feign surrender, and if she timed it just right she may just have a shot at it too. 

"What are you going to do if I come out willingly?" she asked, a part of her hating the fact that she was even going to attempt to do this rather than go out in a blaze of glory. 

"Check you over dear, make sure you haven't hurt yourself, give you some snacks and a drink. If you're good I'll even let you brush your teeth by yourself~" the Affini replied, that tone of clear enjoyment soaking her words. Jewel bit back her instinct to swear at the Affini. Spit and shit this is going to be hard. Swallowing her pride, Jewel cleared her throat.

"I'm coming out then" she said, hating every word of it. Stars above have mercy and give her any opening to get out of this situation. She slowly crawled towards one of the edges, vines withdrawing as she approached. "I'm coming out ok. I give up" she lied. Every letter of those words were oil coated lies, the first of fuck knows how many, she just hoped the Affini wouldn't see past it. 

"Good dear~" the Affini replied, reforming into its more humanoid shape, kneeling in front of Jewel as she stood up. Even kneeling the Affini was still significantly taller than her. Jewel bit her lip. "And since you've been so cooperative I'll let you know, if you continue to behave like the good girl you are" she said, ruffling Jewel's hair despite the Terran's attempt to dodge out of the way "I'll even let you wander out of the hab~" she said with a giggle. "But first, there's a few things that need to be done first" 

Jewel swallowed as the vines took her and pulled her against the Affini's torso a bit too tight.

---

June woke up very snugly in Rimu's lovely vines. She just smiled and cuddled more into them, even if for some reason her body felt some unknown discomfort, like when she'd get sore after very taxing shifts. It was odd but she didn't care, the Affini was so soft and comfortable. A chuckle seemed to buffer her as the Affini took notice.

"Well hello there dear '' Miss Rimu said softly. "I see you're waking up from my... overly enthusiastic hugging there~" she continued. June didn't bother to open her eyes to look at them, content to just smile a bit more broadly and wrap her arms around Rimu's torso.  A vine petted her head, eliciting a little sigh of contentment and pleasure from the adorable Terran's little mouth. "Oh my you are very adorable" Rimu continued, a chuckle rising "But my dear. It's time to get up." she said, booping June's nose. 

June opened her eyes slowly, letting out a smile as she saw the very pretty Affini smiling back down at her. June poked her tongue out as she was brought upright. Frankly though she was content enough to just be snuggled up in the Affini forever. She'd gladly take that any day over repairs. Yawning and stretching her arms, she looked around for Kauri, disappointment crossing her face as she realized xe wasn't here.

"Miss Rimu," she asked, looking up at the Affini. "Where did Kauri go?" she asked, her disappointment obvious. Rimu ruffled her hair, getting a little squeak out of the little sophont. 

"Xe is currently out doing some jobs little one" she said with a kind voice. "Xe has a lot of work trying to help us figure out how to shut down a few old Terran security systems and other computer networks, so it's just us here for the time being." June still looked disappointed but seemed to accept it for what it was. Everyone would always have somewhere to be. 

"So... what do I do then?" she asked, looking up to Rimu. Rimu smiled. 

"Well dear. As I am your medical professional and you are just the most adorable thing" she said , pinching June's cheek, "I was thinking of getting you set up with a tablet so you don't find yourself overcome with the heinous disease of boredom, and then a little experiment in some medicine that requires a bit of participation from you. Does that sound alright to you?" June considered it, she hadn't had any reason to distrust this Affini, and it was lovely to cuddle. 

"What... does" she started, giving a little sigh as another vine crossed her cheek. A deep rumbling chuckle coming from Rimu. "Not fair," she said, looking up, in the Affini's eyes. Another rumble, giving June a second to collect her thoughts. "What is it you're wanting to do... exactly miss Rimu?" she asked "is it going to be bad?" 

Rimu smiled and ruffled the little sophont's hair. Dirt but she was so adorable, she could only guess how cute Jewel would be when she finally calms down and finally takes a 'hill pill' as the Terrans say. Kneeling as if to look June at her eye level "Well dear, I really should ask, how much do you know of hypnosis?" she asked. June shrugged, thinking for a second. 

"wait... you're not going to get out a pocket watch and swing it back and forward in front of me, right?" she asked, surprisingly cautiously. "You're not going to like... I don't know, hypnotize me to do evil stuff, right? I remember seeing that in a movie once" Rimu just shook her head.

"No dear, nothing like that. It's just to help you with staying calm when things get scary and to help us help you deal with a few things." Rimu replied, ruffling her hair again. "Think of it like us..." she reached for a word "giving you a nice pillow for when things get overwhelming for you. Equip you with tools to help you deal with a few things." June nodded.

"So... nothing that like... You click your fingers and I like... go all silly and do whatever you tell me to do without thinking?" she asked, a weird feeling welling, not scary weird, but like a strange want. 

"Only if you want me to~" Rimu replied, enjoying  the sight as June's face made a very good impression of a tomato. The weird feeling June was having multiplied in seconds, confusing her and letting off a little thrill deeper inside of her. "For the time being though, little June, we'll just be working on getting you used to it, we won't have anything that isn't confined to each time you're under."

June thought, that feeling swirling around in her belly, there wasn't really anything she'd lose by trying, right? If these aliens had meant to do her any harm anyways they would have done so already. Another stroke from a vine. ...and it was always just so nice to be cuddled like this. And surely if this doctor thought that this was going to help her, why would she want to say no?

---

Rimu was a doctor, she thought this idea with hypnosis was going to help the lovely little sophont pluribus, why would anyone want to say no? 

That's the question she was staring down as she entered into Nectarios' office with her update on the wards under her care. Blight it'd be so much easier if she were their owner and they her florets. Still. They were still independent Terrans for at least the time being, and that brought with it the requirement that she treat them as any other patient, they still required consent, though Jewel was thoroughly in the camp of 'not in a reasonable mind to make her own decisions' with her continued feralism. Moreover it was the type of medicinal practice that Rimu knew could produce a bonding response, as much as a part of her definitely would like that. 

But they weren't her florets. And she had no idea how the frost she was going to handle that particular bridge when a part of her clearly wanted to smoosh them all against her body and collar them and... well what else would she need to do? She'd been around plenty of florets but that's when their owners had been with them or had popped out for a short time to do an errand. She didn't know if she had it in her to properly take care of those cute little things? Gah this is why she needed to talk to Nectarios, this was something she was entirely new at and she needed his nod so she could be confident that she wasn't doing anything off base. 

She reached his office door, which opened as she took a step to enter. The last week or so the place had smelt something rank, ever since the damned fool started consuming that Terran 'tobacco'. Rimu grimaced and suppressed her sense of smell as she took a seat opposite Nectarios's desk. The old bush and the Terran with him didn't seem to notice at first as they both poured over a few scans, conversing in some impenetrable medical shorthand that even Rimu couldn't decipher.

Giving them a moment, Rimu emulated the sound of a Terran coughing to grab their attention. Both Affini and Terran eyes looked up at her, both showing some surprise that somebody had entered and hadn't announced themselves. 

"Ah. Rimu" Nectarios said, forming into more of an upright looking bush than a flat blob type. "I assume you're here to report on your progress with your patient." he asked, the Terran meanwhile grabbing a pair of clipboards, handing one to the Affini and keeping the other for himself. 

"Your patient is a somewhat unusual one" the Terran continued as he flicked through a few pages.

"Indeed. Quite a diagnosis, though most of the sophonts in their... doctor what's the Terran term again?" Nectarios asked.

"We call them systems, doctor" the Terran replied. Everbloom almighty they even sounded close to each other in their gruff old voices. "Don't ask me for an epistemology on that, I'm not a linguist"

"Yes, doctor. Rimu can you confirm what you said before that two of the sophonts in this system are compliant?" he asked, his body reverberating as he picked up a pair of cigarettes from some tray full of cigarette butts and ashes, giving one to the Terran doctor. "is there anything more we need to be aware of?"

Rimu smiled, tensing her leg a little, dirt. "Doctor... Doctor" she said, looking to Nectarios and then the Terran, starting a little uneasily. "The thing is... I have a problem" she started. The others simply raised an eyebrow... their right eyebrows. Ok that was... surely she was just imagining that. She paused trying to think about what to say next.

"Well?" the Terran asked.

"We don't have all day" Nectarios continued, the two of them took in a drag of their cigarettes. Clod they were just doing this to show off, right? 

Rimu tensed up again and relaxed, opening her eyes to look between the two. "I would like to ask if there'd be any issues with putting one of the patients through a gentle hypnotic regimen. She's consented and there's nothing wrong in principle."

"Then what's the problem?" Nectarios started.

"You're going to need to tell us what's got you concerned," The Terran continued

"We're not psychics" they both said in unison.

Rimu couldn't even reply; she was just stunned. They were a perfect match for each other. She stammered over her words for a moment before finally collecting herself. "You see. The problem is... I don't know if I can be entirely objective with this and..." she trailed off, still struggling to find the words to convey everything. "Hypnosis could be a very important aspect of bringing them into stable coexistence, and I don't know why but I just want to touch base to see if I'm still operating within safe bounds and everything." she trailed off. 

The two looked at her, the Terran shrugged. "I don't see any problem with it. Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Nectarios asked. 

"I..." Rimu stuttered for a second "I-I a part of me... A part of me I think wants to take them as my florets. And I'm just so unsure about it all because I have no experience and I..."

Nectarios interrupted by raising a vine. "You'll do fine." he calmly said. "You've been a doctor for four blooms now. And given the way this 'Jewel' is behaving, we're probably approaching the point where we'll need to domesticate her at a minimum, she's a potential danger to everyone."

"And well. She's not my patient any more, we'll see if you'll do a better job of picking up on the obvious clues." 

"Doctor. Isn't one of your Terran sayings hindsight is plenty-plenty?" Nectarios said to the Terran. "Those clues are only obvious now because you're not on that bucket of bolts." he turned back to Rimu "Whatever you feel is best, you'll be in the clear for it unless it's something that will violate our medical ethics code."

"But that's not likely to happen."

"You're a big softie" the both of them said together again. Dirt and roots were they just going to be like this now? The look on their faces seemed to confirm that very thought. Especially the little mischievous twinkle in Nectarios’ eye. “Go on. Help your little patients”