Marilyn was hallucinating. As the parasitic entity continued to spread, every memory she had lived since first coming to Earth was blending together, creating a nightmarish amalgamation that defied both Reason and Sanity. It was a painful process, even worse than she thought possible. She was feeling every subtle alteration, the fabric of her persona unraveling without remorse.

“Not like this!” she squirmed. “Not like this! Fight, Mehrillhyne! You can’t let it absorb you.”

Of course, that was easier said than done. the infection attacked on a genetic level, replacing cells and matter little by little, so no amount of motivational monologues would save her from her inevitable fate. However, if she could control her emotions long enough to snap out of the fantasy cycle, she could slow down the process and give her time to send a message to the Council. If they saw her like that, perhaps they would reconsider their cowardice. It was a long shot but she had to hold on to something and she would.

With her eyes closed and with no one else around monitoring her, the alien tried to stand up. The living projection was malfunctioning so glimpses of her true self could be seen here and then. All of her extremities were burning from the inside out, the specter of complete annihilation looming ever closer. Marilyn took a deep breath and tried to focus.

Immediately, she was assaulted by figments of her imagination amplified by the Rinnidyan venom glowing inside her. She saw glimpses of her first assignment and how poorly everything had gone. There were shadows chastising her and mocking her every decision. A perfect replica of every disguise she had worn was eating away at her self-esteem, and their voices couldn’t be clearer.

“You’re a failure.”

“You never accomplished anything significant. You only think you did.”

“Being devoured is the best thing that had ever happened to you.”

“You’re a fucking loser! Submit and find true purpose.”

Marilyn scoffed. Twisting her perception like that was insidious but not enough to bring her down. The parasite would have to try a lot harder to break her.

“Keep it together,” she muttered to herself. “It wants your negative emotions to propagate faster. Stay calm and you can starve it for a while. You’ve got this.”

“Do you? Are you sure?” a familiar female voice rang in the depths of her subconscious. “Who are you trying to fool? This will always be a losing battle but I love to see you suffer. After what you did to our family, no punishment is hard enough for you.”

Inside her mind’s eye, Marilyn saw Lucy Penderton. The worldwide celebrities’ attorney was wearing the same outfit as the day she had brainwashed and enslaved her while pretending to be a friend of her daughters. She didn’t feel remorse about doing so but her brain would stop at nothing to convince her otherwise. 

Lucy wasn’t alone. Amy and Willa stood next to their mother, grinning like ravenous ghosts waiting for their next meal, and even trophy husband Jack hovered in the background, his expressionless eyes reminding her of all the things she had them do while they were under her control. 

“It hurts like hell, doesn’t it?” Amy said. “God, how I wish I could be seeing this for real or even being the one making you squirm. It should have happened sooner but better late than ever.”

“Preach all you want but you’re not real. You’re just ghouls feeding off my personality. I did my job and I was good at it. You never stood a chance and you never will.”

“Ah, trying to act tough, aren’t you?” Not-Willa smiled in her darkness of her brain. “Yes, you did your job and the Rinnidyan is doing the same. It exists only to latch on to others and consume them. Replication is the only purpose of the species and that makes them more honest than you’ll ever be. You had a choice. Your people could have chosen not to conduct these experiments but they didn’t. You gave in to dark desires of programming and control., so isn’t it fair for you to suffer the same fate? It’s more than fair - It’s necessary! It’s not just you that deserves to go. Your entire race ought to be wiped off the face of the Universe.”

“Cry more, bitch!” Marilyn defied the chimeric images trying to flood her soul with endless despair. “Your words are irrelevant. What about you, humans? What about all the atrocities you commit to survive or because you have the means to do so? Why do you insist on thinking you’re superior to every other species inhabiting this planet? Your existence is nothing but a cosmic fluke, a by-product of primordial soup who came to consciousness. You’re always inflating your own importance in the universe so you don’t feel so small, but you are! You are downright microscopic compared to all the beauty out there. There are many things you’re good ay, and I respect and praise your achievement when they’re worthy of such, but make no mistake. You’re all flawed creatures with a snack for self-destruction. If your impulses aren’t kept in check, you don’t hesitate in destroying around you. I know what I am and all the things I’ve done to get to this point of my life. I own my flaws, and I’m perfect in that acceptance. You can’t threaten me, belittle me, or humiliate me. I’m above all that in the face of certain death. That is something you’ll never take away from me.”

“Oh, Marilyn...” Lucy spoke again. “You’re holding on to the impossible, to a relic of greatness you never had. This is all there is now. We’re not just voices in your head. We’re your future. Assimilation is deliverance. It will set you free from your delusions of grandeur once and for all. The more you struggle the more you’ll suffer but fine by me. We all love to see you burn... old friend.”

“I know what she needs...” Amy smirked. “We should send her off in style and make her beg the way she made us.”

“I like the way you think, sis,” Willa smirked, a giant strap-on appearing in her right hand. It was black and pearled with drops of sweat and cum. The other two women were also holding similar objects, one red, and one pink, instruments of pleasure and pain for the takedown of their greatest foe.

Marilyn looked away from the raging objects and told her muscles to move. They didn’t listen, remaining in harrowing dormancy as the mental images became stronger and spiraling out of control. 

“Who wants to go first?” Amy asked.

“I say we all fuck her together,” Lucy replied.

“I agree,” Willa nodded. “What about you, Jack? Don’t you want a piece of the action as well? This is your chance to make her pay.”

“I think I’ll just watch for now,” said the illusionary man who, despite having no substance, was still a pervert in his own right. The three angry women positioned themselves around the helpless extraterrestrial and attacked at the same time. 

The image of Lucy pushed her phallus inside Marilyn’s mouth, green veins at the tip infiltrating her throat and larynx. Willa pushed hers into her tight pussy, while Amy fucked her ass. Every thrust was a signal for the insidious Rinnidyan energy to take over another cell and another thought. Marilyn wanted to move and scream, and yet her body was shutdown. She was a prisoner in a sack of flesh, pretending to be something she would never be. Ideas of freedom and independence began to wane.

“This isn’t real,” she repeated, powerless against the sexual onslaught debasing her body and soul. “This isn’t real.”

“Take it all, you filthy bitch!” the phantom of Lucy’s memory cackled, taking immense satisfaction in riding her tongue into numbing oblivion. Marilyn was choking on rubber, unable to breathe. The pounding continued, fucking her sense of self. 

Horrified, she looked at her legs, now covered in fluorescent green. The infection continued to spread and she didn’t have a lot of time left. This was her only chance to thwart Natalia’s plans.

At great cost, she re-centered her thoughts, pushing herself away from her own mind. There was no human equivalent to the phenomenon taking place within her physiology though some would think of it as a rudimentary form of astral projection. Without touching it, Marilyn activated her portable communication device and sent a signal in the Council’s emergency frequency along with an image of her decaying body. If this was how things were meant to end, then she would perish knowing the enemy hadn’t made her beg for mercy. She was still herself no matter the masks she wore and that wasn’t cause for sadness but pride.

Her mind slowing down, she prepared for the slow disintegration of her molecules.

* * *

Hurried voices echoing in a dark corridor that seemed never ending...

White lab coats flashing in and out of the field of view of her teary eyes...

A man saying it was too late and that burning her body was the only to make sure everyone was safe...

Councilwoman Wikktory saying that was not an option...

“She’s too important to our cause. There must be something you can do!” the politician exclaimed.

“Councilwoman, you know as well that once a Rinnidyan infection reaches a certain stage...”

“I’m aware, but we’re not at that point yet. You’ve said it yourself that it’s only been a couple of hours. Her primary functions are still intact. How do we get rid of this thing?”

“There may be a way but it’s too risky. I’ll need the Council to sanction...”

“As the only representative still on the planet, I hereby authorize any measures, no matter how extreme, to destroy the thing inside of her. Get to it!”

“Are you sure? The fatality rate of such a procedure is...”

“She’s going to die anyway if we do nothing, right? So why the hell are we still having this conversation? Get your men ready and I’ll tell her what to expect. Is she conscious?”

“Sometimes, but her vitals are unstable. I don’t think she’ll understand you.”

“That’s okay. Right now, she just needs to know she’s not alone. We’re not going to fail her again. Now go and tell me when you’re ready to proceed.”

“As you command.”

An alarm sounding in the distance...

The wind on her cold cheeks....

Councilwoman Wikktory’s shadow on top of her saying,

“Marilyn? Marilyn, listen to me! I’m here for you and I’m not alone. I’m not going to lie. The odds are stacked against you right now but there’s still a chance. It’s just... well, it’s just you’ll need to die for a few minutes so we can try to purge the infection before it hits your nervous system. Some of your organs were affected but they’re not beyond salvation just yet. It will not be easy but you need to trust me on this, okay? Stay strong.”

“You’re... not real...” Marilyn mumbled. “You’re... an illusion, too.”

“Illusion? No, I’m not. I’m as real as you and I’m not going to let this thing win. I know you’ve been fighting hard but I need to ask you to do it for a little longer, okay? I believe in you. You’ve proven your worth time and time again and now you’re going to do it again. Don’t you dare give up now. You’re our greatest asset and we have a fight to win.”

“”How... how are you here?" she asked.

“We’ll talk later once that thing is out of your system. I’m sorry, Marilyn, but this is the only way.”

The alien heard screeching wheels on a concrete floor and then more lab coats ran past her, frantic men and women trying to avoid the worst. The ghostly manifestations of the Pendertons were still in her mind, filling her every hole with their relentless sexual drive. The punishment and humiliation was nonstop but so was her resolve.

Natalia had betrayed her. The Rinnidyan had showed her true colors, demonstrating once and for all why their two species could never coexist. Marilyn had a score to settle and if dying for a few minutes put her one step closer to her revenge, then she was ready for it.

“I’m going to wipe that stupid smirk off your face the next time I see you,” Marilyn thought. That wasn’t a threat but a promise and a certainty. When everything else failed, she could always count on pure hate to fuel her drive to succeed.

Imaginary rubber cocks castigated her senses but this was not the end. Like a phoenix, she would rise from the ashes to cleanse the world in its wake.

((to be continued))