[REND] B2. 10.2 - Monsters Make Friends

My craving for drama was the strongest force of all. It easily overcame my predatory hunger for my shimmering prey or the desire to become stronger.

But the choice to reveal myself wasn’t just for drama’s sake. I had seriously thought about this… for a few minutes. The entire time I was pinning Kelsey to the wall, pretending to stick a note on my corkboard, I weighed the pros and cons of my plan. And as I ate her limbs for the second time, I was settled on my possibly crazy decision.

Stepping forward, I said, “Kelsey, it’s me. Erind. Can you hear me?” Maybe I could elicit some reaction.

“She can’t,” Kelsey replied. “She continues to slumber deeply. In the corners of my mind, she curls up unto herself. You know that place. No amount of calling or pleading can awaken her. Your conversation is with me.”

“I bet I can reach the other you.” I raised my right hand and concentrated on summoning the mannequin mask. What name should I give this form? Should I ask Deen? She was the one who called me Blanchette, though I was the one who told her about the name.

Golden light filled Overdrive’s stupid dungeon-slash-storage room. This was where he had kept Teflon and the others, thinking that they offed one of his subordinates. I was the true culprit. Overdrive seemed like a run-of-the-mill drug-dealing gangster, but building a dungeon, complete with chains and shackles, was a bit too crazy. I should be cautious of him.

The golden blob turned silver and began to take shape.

I was confident that I could search around Adumbrae Kelsey’s mind with my link power. Successfully pulling out human Kelsey was a different thing. If I’d fail, then I’d just finish my midnight snack.

It’d be easier to coax out human Kelsey once she realized that I was her law school batchmate. Trust would be built on empathizing with each other, given that we were both building our future careers, only to be shattered by the seeding. At least that was how I assumed it’d work. I was far from an expert on empathy.

Also, it’d be difficult to make her trust a masked figure. Not that I’d be able to hide my identity for long if I worked on manipulating her. It was a super hassle, too, as proven by my time with Deen. This would be even more so.

More importantly, I needed Kelsey to know who I was so that I could blame her. This would be the dramatic reveal I’d build up toward—I’d tell Kelsey that it was because of her that I became an Adumbrae. I’d claim that I turned into one when I was kidnapped by the 2Ms looking for her. She’d be wracked by guilt, making her easily malleable. She’d do anything to make it up to me.

Possibility of betrayal? It was always there.

But Kelsey knowing my identity wouldn’t factor in much. Whether I kept my mask on or not, I couldn’t stop it if the Adumbrae inside her wanted round two. I doubted the Adumbrae would bother anonymously reporting me to the BID out of spite, if it were even capable of such emotion. Weirdly, Adumbrae Kelsey appeared to be thoroughly entertained by being dismembered.

“What is that?” she asked, nodding down at me. Her scales sparkled, catching the silver light. “A mask…”

“I noticed that you’re fond of answering yourself.”

“My experience in talking with others is but a minuscule moment compared to the entirety of my existence.”

Was the Adumbrae referring to herself living in another dimension? Interesting. But not useful to me. I didn’t particularly care about the backstories of characters who only showed up in one episode. This was where Adumbrae Kelsey would last appear.

Human Kelsey, I’m coming to save you, I thought, bringing the mask up.

Everything became dark as the mask covered my entire face. The first thing I noticed was losing my sense of smell. Gone were the musky odor of Overdrive’s dungeon and the gamey, earthy stench of Kelsey’s blood. I also noticed that I no longer felt the damp coldness of the underground.  

When I opened my eye, I was staring at my silver-coated arms and hands. Looking past my hands, I saw my cute and lovable Erind self sprawled on the floor, an inch away from the puddle of Kelsey’s blood.

I decided to leave my original body here instead of hiding it somewhere outside for a quicker reaction speed if things went awry. If Adumbrae Kelsey tried wriggling loose, I control my original body and rip off her growing limbs again. My base form was plenty strong. Add in my energy-steroid-injection whatever.   

I looked up at Adumbrae Kelsey, analyzing her with the weird eye on my forehead.

“A different sort of power, this time…” She smiled even wider.

“Yes,” I replied, wondering why Kelsey had a golden outline.

In contrast, my body on the floor was coated with light gray. The muted color probably meant that it was a soulless husk. I couldn’t recall what outline Deen had when I shot her; everything was super hectic that time. What could gold signify?

“The reddish item you held earlier was also a mask,” said Kelsey, beaming as she figured it out. Kind of weird to see someone with a limbless torso be happy.

I pointed my left index finger at my Erind body and fired. Thankfully, it did shoot out a thread. This was my first time trying the fingers in my left hand.

“Different masks,” Kelsey went on. “The previous one changed your body. This one formed you a different body.”

“That’s right,” I said, going along with her incorrect view of Blanchette. I pointed my right index finger at her head. And this would be my first time connecting to two different bodies.

“You left your body on the floor instead of hiding it from me. It must be related to your ability.”

“It sure is,” I said. The tip of my pointing finger opened and shot out an indestructible thread visible only to me.

“How is this possible?” asked Adumbrae Kelsey, raising a scaly brow at my finger with an open tip. She didn’t sense that we were already connected. “You easily return to your original body.”

I responded in her head. (I don’t know.)

Her eyes widened. The other end of my connection turned from a mush of murky thoughts that I was trying to make sense of into an absolute black hole. Nothing was coming from her end, as if someone had cut the connection. But I could still see the thread dangling from Kelsey’s forehead.

(That was quick.) I blared my thoughts as ‘loud’ as I could into Kelsey’s mind. I was also guarded in what I sent her way. The Adumbrae’s instantaneous clamping down of thoughts once she realized I was in her head disconcerted her a bit.

However, she was also no longer smiling. Did this confirm that I was making the right move?

(As I was saying,) I said, (I don’t know how my powers work. But the fact that I have them proves that I wasn’t lying—my other self, this truth whatever you kept mentioning, is helping me. That’s why I can change forms like wearing new clothes. Well, I’m actually wearing separate masks.) I turned talkative so my mind wouldn’t wander into thoughts I’d rather not share.

Adumbrae Kelsey kept her face passive and her mind blanked.

I wouldn’t be deterred. I visualized myself inside of her, worming my way deeper. Okay, that sounded wrong.

Not sure if it would work because I didn’t have an instruction manual, but I could sense my thoughts making headway into her mind. (Kelsey, are you listening?) I loudly thought. (I’m working with my other self. Your Adumbrae offered to help me save myself—I don’t need it. I’m saving myself quite well. Instead, I’m offering to help you. Yes, you, Kelsey.)

A spark, a small static. I didn’t know how to describe it, but there was… something.

(Kelsey! This is Erind from law school! Remember me?)  

I flooded the echoey cavern with my thoughts. Beyond just words, I added images of Cresthorne Law, the students and teachers, law books, and stuff. I tried to picture Kelsey in law school, but I didn’t have a strong memory of her. I switched to my memories of Myra.

(Your sister, Myra, is looking for you. We were looking for you. Now, I found you. Don’t be afraid to come out. Myra will accept you for whatever you are.)

I spouted the lines I recalled from My Dearest Daughter, a movie about a mother looking for her daughter who fled from their home after she was seeded and began to transform. It was a cheesy movie, but I still watched it because the trailer showed the daughter turn into a fucking cool monster.

Of course, the mother failed to save her daughter. Everyone knew that nothing could reverse a seeding. There was no cure. But I’d offer Kelsey exactly that.

(I can help you reverse your transformation! I’m proof of it. Did you see me return to my original body?) I transmitted my memories about removing my mask, in case Kelsey didn’t have access to the Adumbrae’s senses. I’d say that my offer to human Kelsey was pretty good and convincing.

More stirrings. Someone was in here in the darkness of Kelsey’s mind. Did I finally reach her human consciousness? I believed that it was still intact; otherwise, the Adumbrae wouldn’t be so defensive.

(You can talk to Myra again. Your sister wants to be with you. Reach out to me—only I can help you.)

Adumbrae Kelsey started to giggle. “Oh, how our positions have reversed once again. We’re repeating each other’s lines. It’s so delightful to talk to you compared to those who’ve imprisoned me.”

“I’m not talking to you,” I snapped. This bitch was trying to distract me. The bones of her upper arms and legs had regrown. Muscle fibers threaded themselves to cover bones.

One more attempt before tear off her limbs again.

I searched deep within me for the instincts on how to control the minds of others. I knew I could do it; I tried it with Deen back then; she freaked out and resisted me. My mind control, or rather, body control, wasn’t simply just a matter of my willpower. There should be something more, like how I had an internal energy to power Deen up into a balloon of muscles.  

My body should know how to do it. It was like how baby birds threw themselves off trees and just knew how to fly. I’ve been figuring out my abilities so far by doing and feeling things. Probably why Spooky Erind didn’t bother teaching me.

I’m going to control Kelsey’s body, I chanted in earnest to myself. My thoughts probably spilled over to her. But I didn’t really care.

My plan was to push the Adumbrae aside, completely take over the body, and search for Kelsey’s consciousness. With the Adumbrae shoved to a small corner, the human Kelsey should be unimpeded in surfacing. And then, we could talk.

Not much of a plan, but I couldn’t really find a guide online for this.

There… It’s working… Our connecting thread glowed gold as something simply clicked in my mind. It was like figuring out the answer to a difficult math question, and I fucking hated math. One moment, everything was clear. I pursued that path, funneling my concentration into it. The energy inside me that fueled jacked-up Deen was now powering a different kind of ability.

It was then that Adumbrae Kelsey decided that it was time to try escaping. She violently shook her body, twisting her torso against the wall to pull herself off it.

The pieces of metal skewering her started to bend. I could hear them coming loose from the wall.

(Stop moving!) I imposed my will on Kelsey.

She didn’t freeze, but her range of movement was minimized. Instead of trying to tear herself off the wall, it now looked like she was having ten seizures simultaneously as she fought my order. Her mind was a bunch of walls hemming in my probing thoughts. She had decided to stop hiding.

Just continue! I didn’t want to stop now and to trim Kelsey’s limbs. I was progressing a lot. Sensing hints of victory, or at least a chance of winning, I turned up the power of my body control. I pushed further into her mind while calling for Kelsey.

“A-and they sa-say that I-I’m taking o-over bo-bodies,” the Adumbrae belabouredly said with chattering teeth.

She vibrated so hard as if mimicking a hummingbird’s wings. There was an incessant drone of her back thumping against the concrete. Her wounds tore open wider as she strained against the metal bars. The puddle of blood on the floor reached my Erind body. That was another hoodie ruined.

“You did take over Kelsey’s body,” I said. “And I’m going to take it back. Well, it’s not really accurate to say ‘back’ because it was never mine. But I will control it just the same and look for her mind.”

(You’ll never find her.) Adumbrae Kelsey communicated thoughts for the first time. (I’ll be free before that.)

(I have all night to do this. I’ll keep nailing you to this wall and repeating our little tug-of-war until you give her up. She’s not your prisoner.) I had a mental giggle at how badass and heroic I sounded. Could I be considered an anti-hero? Did torturing a monster count as a bad thing done for the sake of good? It wasn’t something a goody two-shoes character would do, spouting about being better than the enemy.

In that case, I was better at torturing others than my enemy. Both mind and body. I’d eventually win. Let Overdrive and the gangsters wait outside for hours if need be. I’d be pissed if they didn’t spend their time stringing up banners to congratulate my victory.

As Kelsey reformed her elbows and knees, and past that, I weighed stopping. My Adumbrae bonsai tree needed some more pruning.

The Adumbrae must’ve sensed my moment of indecision because she swept over my thoughts and began pushing me back. Our connection flickered as tendrils of darkness entwined it, extending from Kelsey’s forehead.

(No, you don’t!) I directed more power to combat the Adumbrae’s thoughts, but she had hijacked our connection. The vines of shadows choked my golden thread and reached my finger before I could react.

I thought of calling for Spooky Erind when a bright light filled the small room. A kaleidoscope of colors! It came from the floor.

No. My chest. My original body’s chest—it was the artificial Core.

Golden sparks arced across my connection with my original body, entering my left index finger. And then, the thread coming out my right index finger glowed in disco lights, unraveling the shadowy ribbons of Adumbrae Kelsey. The light run across our connection and hit the monster’s forehead.

“Ahhh!” Shrieks of pain came out of Kelsey’s mouth. “It-it hurts so bad!”

The Adumbrae was bawling and yelling. Why was she bothered with pain now? Was this all an act?

Or not…

“Ke-Kelsey Fletcher?” I hesitantly asked.

(Author's Notes: There are many layers to this interaction. Erind doesn't know the truth of Keke and Kelsey's relationship. She assumes it was a “regular” Adumbrae takeover. Keke and Kelsey seem to have decided to hide the truth. On that note, we also don't know if Keke is actually a good Adumbrae (I haven't decided yet). This could just be Keke's ploy to get Kelsey's body, which she succeeded in doing. Conversely, Kelsey and Keke also misunderstood Erind, thinking that she had altruistic intentions. The corkboard is working overtime. And we have the Core coming in for the assist. Thanks for your support!)