# chapters

path: 111231221212
author_id: seuzz
title: Wait to use the mask on Dylan
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"We can get you a new mask by Saturday," Caleb says. You'd momentarily forgotten he was going to make a new one. "If you want to take the, uh, the golem now ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Saturday's soon enough," Dylan says. "Besides, I have to set a few things up first." The three of you shake hands all around on the deal.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Friday afternoon you tell Caleb you have some errands to run, which is true enough, but you don't tell him where. You find Dylan's address online in the university computer system, and you find him at home when you get there.<br/>
<br/>
He's surprised but not displeased to see you when he lets you in. It's a small apartment in a converted house: living room and kitchen all in one, with what looks like a bedroom behind another door. You'd expected the place to be spotless, and are startled to discover that Dylan is a bit of a slob. <br/>
<br/>
"It's Friday, and I brought you the mask of Eva," you explain as he lets you in.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh!" he exclaims. "I was just going to wait until Saturday, but ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, you're paying for Friday <i>and</i> Saturday with it," you say. But it's the new mask you draw from your backpack.<br/>
<br/>
He accepts it without looking at it and tosses it onto a very messy couch. "Thanks. How's the rest of it going?"<br/>
<br/>
"It'll be ready by tomorrow afternoon. We'll give you a call. Um—" You scratch your ear. "Maybe it would be a good idea if you tried that mask now?"<br/>
<br/>
"How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well ... After the other day, when it turned out to be a slave ... Maybe we'd better make sure it doesn't do the same thing to you?"<br/>
<br/>
He looks at it, and gives you a guarded glance. "Uh huh?"<br/>
<br/>
"What I mean is, maybe you should try it on, and we'll see if you have to do what I say."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm pretty sure it's just the body that is the slave, not the mask," he says crossly.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you want to make sure?"<br/>
<br/>
He looks very closely at you. Without taking his eyes off you he crosses over to the couch and picks it up. The way he's holding it, either he finds it very hot or very heavy. Then he sits down and gingerly puts it to his face.<br/>
<br/>
After he passes out you pull the real Eva mask from your backpack and wait for the blank to reappear. When it does, you snatch it up, shove it into your backpack, and drop the Eva mask onto Dylan's face before he can wake up.<br/>
<br/>
She gives you a strange look when he comes to, and your heart jumps: Does he know what you did? "Suck my cock, Eva," you order.<br/>
<br/>
"Whatever you say, Will," she says breathlessly, and leans in toward your crotch. You leap away, and she breaks out in a sneer. "Yeah, I don't think so, Prescott," she says. "Whatever you were hoping."<br/>
<br/>
"I was hoping you <i>wouldn't</i>," you retort. "I know what you look like under that thing."<br/>
<br/>
She makes a face and grabs at her much-too-tight shirt. "Then I guess it's a relief for both of us. Jesus, these things are inconvenient," she mutters as she grapples with her breasts. With an exasperated sigh she rips the mask off. "Well, all joking aside, thanks for bringing it over. I was going to stay in tonight, but now—"<br/>
<br/>
"Have fun, but keep me out of the loop." You both say quick and slightly frosty goodbyes. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Back in the clubhouse you take a deep breath and slip the mask of Dylan on. You might be a little happier with just a memory strip of him, but it seemed safer to use a whole mask, as you could fool him into trying it on. But either way, you're about the plunge into the mind of someone you're not real fond of.<br/>
<br/>
You sit up with a start after the mask takes effect. The hell are you doing here? You were just getting ready to take a shower, and then Prescott showed up with a mask. Now— Oh, right ...<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head clear of the fake memories, which quickly retreat to become something like a very vivid but remembered dream. You concentrate: You don't want to do a whole lot of snooping, just enough to find out what Dylan plans to do with the golem.<br/>
<br/>
Well, tonight he's gonna go out and have some drinks, maybe do some heavy flirting, get some company if he can. Tomorrow ... <i>Oh my.</i> So <i>that's</i> what he's going to try to pull.<br/>
<br/>
A "chance" meeting with one of the frat guys he screwed last weekend, which should get him an entrée into a particular house where he can snuggle up close to—and hopefully get into bed with—one of the occupants. Hardly matters which, they're all crazy-rich fucks, but Jonathan Tillman would be his first choice. Slip a blank mask onto him, and after he's asleep lift his wallet. Score a fuckload of cash from his bank account and use it to pay for the second golem and mask. Use that one to make a duplicate of himself, to take his classes and handle his job. Use the first golem to ... <br/>
<br/>
<i>Oh God, no, he's not really planning to do that, is he?</i><br/>
<br/>
You're breathing heavily by this point. He hasn't yet decided <i>who</i> he might murder and replace with a golem-slave. One of those rich fucks? Someone at the health club? That gorgeous French Lit prof? <br/>
<br/>
So many delectable choices. You find his excitement infectious. Too bad you can't take all of them. But Caleb and that idiot friend of his probably won't sell you a third golem. Prescott is already suspicious or something. Maybe the smart play is to use your spare golem to secure your supply by—<br/>
<br/>
You shake yourself again and fight the urge to vomit. You are in such a state of shock that you can barely react when the door opens and Caleb comes in.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312212121
author_id: seuzz
title: Explain everything to Caleb.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Naturally, he is surprised to find his cousin down here. Before he can speak, though, you raise a warning hand. "Don't freak out on me, okay?" He looks puzzled. "I'm serious," you warn him. "Do. Not. Freak. Out." He still just stares at you. "Promise?"<br/>
<br/>
"Alright already," he says. "What is the big fucking deal?"<br/>
<br/>
You rip the mask from your face.<br/>
<br/>
There's a silence so profound you think you can hear a clock ticking across the street. Then Caleb shouts and swings a fist at your head. <br/>
<br/>
You duck. "I told you not to freak, you freak!"<br/>
<br/>
"Over <i>this?</i> Fuck yeah, I'm gonna freak!"<br/>
<br/>
You finally grab him around the torso and wrestle him to the ground, where you sit on him. Eventually he stops fighting and just glares at you. <br/>
<br/>
"You have to put it on. That mask, you have to put it on."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck you!"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not fucking with you, dude! Put it on and you'll know why!"<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus! You had no right to—"<br/>
<br/>
This isn't going anywhere good. Luckily, the Dylan mask is close by your hand, so you grab it and jam it down onto his face. He goes limp, and then his face is replaced with Dylan's.<br/>
<br/>
You take a chance on him being calmer when he comes to, so you get off his chest. With a groan he sits up. "You son of a bitch," he snarls as he catches your breath.<br/>
<br/>
"We'll deal with that later. Right now you need to use Dylan's head. Just answer some questions for me, like you're Dylan." The fake Dylan glares at you. "This is super important, and you'll thank me later. And If I'm wrong I'll let you punch me in the balls. Repeatedly."<br/>
<br/>
His nostrils flare, but he says and does nothing more.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay," you say, "what is Dylan going to do tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
He thinks a bit. "Going out as Eva. Probably gonna call one of the Crows."<br/>
<br/>
"And then?"<br/>
<br/>
"Try to hit a party over at ... this one house he knows."<br/>
<br/>
"And?"<br/>
<br/>
His gaze turns inward, and he is very quiet for several minutes. When he speaks you can't hear him. "I <i>said,</i>" he repeats in a louder and angrier tone when you ask him to repeat it, "he's gonna copy one of the guys there and then steal a bunch of money off him."<br/>
<br/>
"And that doesn't bother you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, <i>we</i> thought about doing something like that, with Eva."<br/>
<br/>
"But we didn't."<br/>
<br/>
"And anyway, how is that worse than jumping my cousin and stealing his memories so you can snoop around in them?" he snarls.<br/>
<br/>
"Because I didn't trust the guy. I could tell he was up to something." You wave off his interruption. "Look, just keep going. And then what's he going to do?"<br/>
<br/>
He sighs. "Pay for the second golem and mask?"<br/>
<br/>
"And what's he going to do with them?"<br/>
<br/>
He thinks awhile, then shrugs. "He doesn't know yet. Something."<br/>
<br/>
You blink. "Don't cover up for him, Caleb. I know he's your cousin, but—"<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, so he's going to copy someone and then turn the golem into his live-in sex-slave. That's what <i>we're</i> going to do!"<br/>
<br/>
"And the original? What's he going to do with them?"<br/>
<br/>
He looks confused. "Nothing."<br/>
<br/>
"I said don't cover up for him! What's he going to do to them?"<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing!"<br/>
<br/>
You feel your face turning red. "He's not going to replace that person with the fake?"<br/>
<br/>
Now it's his turn to redden. "Are you on crack? No!"<br/>
<br/>
"He's not going to try getting a supply of golems by replacing <i>us</i>?!"<br/>
<br/>
He raises his hands. "Dude, you are totally fucked in the head. That's just paranoid!"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not the one fucked in the head," you shout. You point at his head and then yours. "I was in there, so don't bullshit me! Don't pretend you don't see and hear the same stuff!"<br/>
<br/>
He stares. "Will, whatever the stuff is you're on, lay off it."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Technically, you and Caleb are still on speaking terms after he takes the mask off, but it is very hard to find words for each other. He refuses point blank to let you try the Dylan mask back on, and says he's going to take it and destroy it if he can. He accuses you of inventing paranoid fantasies about his cousin in order to ruin him. He doesn't actually say it, but he comes real close to threatening to take the book from you. <br/>
<br/>
For your part ... Well, you're bewildered. You know exactly what you heard inside Dylan's head while wearing the mask. But you can't believe Caleb would pretend he hadn't heard the same stuff. So what is going on? You spend Friday night and Saturday pondering it. You come to no firm conclusions, but maybe ... Well, maybe Caleb's right and you were being paranoid. Maybe it was really <i>you</i> having those thoughts: believing the worst of Dylan, maybe you invented all those thoughts for him to have. Maybe it is all going to be okay.<br/>
<br/>
The air is tense on Saturday afternoon when Dylan and Caleb come by to pick up the golem and the blank mask Caleb had made for him. You're not happy to have Dylan back in the basement, but you are polite to both of them. Your temper is strained, though, when Dylan insists on looking at the next spell, and when Caleb, with a dirty look in your direction, ostentatiously opens the book and gives it to him. Dylan gives you a sly, sidelong glance of amusement at your evident discomfort.<br/>
<br/>
Well, fine. Let him look it over. You wander around the basement pulling at furniture and trying to make your displeasure very audible. It makes no difference. After about twenty minutes, Dylan and Caleb have determined that they have all the ingredients for the new spell right on hand. "I suppose the book owner should be the one to make the sigil," Dylan says. "Probably ought to be his hair, too."<br/>
<br/>
You briefly think about refusing to cooperate, but then figure that Dylan would just take over. To keep some measure of control, you wordlessly take out a penknife and dig the new sigil into another section of the conference table and snip off some of your own hair. Caleb is very quick about mixing up the other magical ingredients, and you pour all of them into the sigil. "And now," says Dylan. "We just need a volunteer."<br/>
<br/>
That gets your attention, and you hurry over to examine the book. Caleb points to the line: a living man, it says (though you assume a woman would do just as well). Three pairs of eyes exchange glances.<br/>
<br/>
"We don't know what it does," you point out. "It could do something very bad to the victim."<br/>
<br/>
"It could do something very good," Dylan retorts. <br/>
<br/>
"But if it's bad we can't try it on ourselves."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, if it's bad we can't try it on anyone else, can we" Dylans says. His smile is nasty. "Or were planning on kidnapping someone and trying it out on them?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fine," you say. "Try it on me." You start to get up on the table, but Dylan restrains you. "You don't like me, do you, Prescott," he says. "That's okay. I don't care. But you're right. It could be dangerous. I'm willing to take that risk, though, if you finally let me join. Make me an official partner in this little club, and I'll let you cast this spell on me."</span></div></div>


path: 11123122121211
author_id: seuzz
title: Volunteer yourself.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Don't take this the wrong way," you reply. "But fuck off. It's my book and my spell." You clamber into the middle of the sigil, lay back, and clasp your  hands over your chest.<br/>
<br/>
No one says or does anything until you snarl at them to get on with it. Then there are some quiet murmurs and you feel dirt being sprinkled over you. Then some liquid is splashed over you. That doesn't seem right, and when Caleb leans in to ask, in a quiet voice, if you really want to go through with it, you come very close to chickening out. But then you catch sight of Dylan smirking at you. You clench your jaw and tell him to finish the spell.<br/>
<br/>
Probably you should have studied it more closely, because you yelp in surprise when the lit match lands on your torso. Everything turns very purple and then very dark.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You not only feel but hear an audible "click" when you open your eyes. You feel stiff—incredibly stiff, as though you've been asleep with heavy weights on all your limbs and joints. You grunt and with a great strain lift yourself into a sitting position. There's a creaking sound as you turn your head. Dylan and Caleb are staring at you slack-jawed. "What the hell happened," you mutter. The noise comes from deep in your chest; it feels like stone blocks are grinding against each other.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb swallows hard. "You can move? And<i>talk</i>?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think so." Actually, it's a bit of a strain. You drop off the table. Everything is stiff and it takes a lot of concentration to move. You shuffle over to the other two. "So, what happened?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb opens his mouth, but Dylan speaks first. "Suck my cock, Prescott," he orders in a commanding voice.<br/>
<br/>
You blink—another clicking sound—and swing a fist at him. You didn't mean to hit him hard, but the blow lifts him off both feet and sends him flying back. He curls into a fetal position and clutches his jaw. "The fuck is going on here," you ask Caleb. You are beginning to get very angry.<br/>
<br/>
He gestures you over to the mirror and points.<br/>
<br/>
At first you think you must have fallen into a sack of flour, for your body (though not your clothes) are a grayish white, from your hair down to your finger tips. And then you notice that even your eyeballs are the same color. You look just like a statue.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm a golem," you murmur. Your breath becomes to come very fast. "It turned me into a golem! The fucking spell turned him into a fucking golem!"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, that's why I asked you to suck my cock," Dylan says in a slurred voice. He stumbles up behind you. "Like yesterday. I wanted to see if you were a real golem or just ... made up like one."<br/>
<br/>
You'd like to faint, but your knees don't easily bend, so you stand rooted to the spot. "I'm fucked," you say. "I can't go home like this."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe if you put on a mask," Caleb suggests. <br/>
<br/>
"Who have we got?" you ask, grasping at any chance.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb hurries over to the supply cabinet. "Jeremy Richards," he says as he returns. "Dylan has Eva, and—" He breaks off.<br/>
<br/>
You place the mask over your face. It may be a side-effect of the golemizing spell, but you don't pass out. Instead, you see the world grow slightly smaller as you unbend to Jeremy's full height. Of course, you don't have his memories recorded in this mask, but you are once again limber. The main problem at the moment is that all your clothes are now much too small and tight.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, at least you can now pass for human," Caleb says with relief. "Now if we can just make a mask of <i>you</i>—  Oooohhh!" <br/>
<br/>
Yeah. Actually, the word you want to use is "Shit." Or "fuck." <br/>
<br/>
"We have to reverse this." You feel yourself begin to shake. "We don't have a mask of me. We have to reverse it. I mean, what do I tell my folks?"<br/>
<br/>
"You can't go home like that," Caleb says. "I mean, <i>period</i>."<br/>
<br/>
Dylan, who has been listening to all this silently, impatiently slaps the book against your chest, holds it there, and when he takes it away he turns the next page. The three of you sit close and try to puzzle out the next spell.<br/>
<br/>
"It's just another mask," Caleb says. He flips between the new spell and the previous spell. "See? It calls for a mask and then you just ... well, it looks like you do golem-type stuff to it."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe it reverses the golem effects of this spell?" you ask hopefully.<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno," says Caleb. "It says you need to use a mask that already has a memory strip in it, plus an image. If it's just a reversal spell, why does it need that stuff?"<br/>
<br/>
"There's nothing else to do but try it," Dylan points out. "If it doesn't work, you're no worse off than you are now. Well, probably you won't be worse off," he has to grudgingly add as an afterthought. "So, what do we use for a mask on this guy?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb takes a deep breath. "I've got the blank mask I made up for Dylan here," he says. He clears his throat of the quaver. "I'll use it on myself."<br/>
<br/>
It's a nice gesture, but you and Dylan exchange skeptical looks. "Can't you use the mask you're wearing now?" he asks you.<br/>
<br/>
"It hasn't got a memory strip," you reply. And that reminds you. You look over at the storage cupboard, where there is a memory strip of Lisa's. <br/>
</span></div></div>


path: 111231221212111
author_id: seuzz
title: Too Many Twins
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You silence Dylan with a stony glance as Caleb drops the blank mask onto his own face; and after that you coat its inner surface with the magic mix—including a hank of Caleb's hair—prescribed by the new spell. You light it and let it burn, and then when you dust off the light layer of ash you find that the interior of the mask has turned the color of a golem's skin. "That's not promising," you mutter.<br/>
<br/>
"I still want to be part of this club," Dylan says. He raises the mask to his face.<br/>
<br/>
You  block him. "No need for that," you point out, gesturing at the book. A mark has appeared, showing that making the mask has been enough to unseal the page. You turn the page, and between the three of you soon have the instructions translated as "to disguise another as another." "How is that different from what the other masks do?" Caleb wonders aloud.<br/>
<br/>
"I repeat, I want to be part of this club." This time you can't stop Dylan before he has put the mask to his face.<br/>
<br/>
You and Caleb look at each other skeptically, and then there is a second Caleb you can share a skeptical glance with. "So where's Dylan," the new Caleb asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be a smartass," you snap. "Take it off." He cocks an eyebrow and shoots a querying glance at your friend. "What're you looking at <i>him</i> for?"<br/>
<br/>
"Do I have to take it off?" he asks Caleb. The latter nods, and with a shrug the new Caleb tries to comply. But the mask won't come off.<br/>
<br/>
"Quit horsing around," you say. "You know how it works."<br/>
<br/>
"I know how it works, but I don't think golems can work magic," he grumbles.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not a golem."<br/>
<br/>
He shrugs. "If you say so, but I'm pretty sure I am.<br/>
<br/>
That's the start of a long and frustrating conversation, but it ends with the three of you deciding that the new Caleb <i>is</i> in fact a golem, and that Dylan has been completely obscured by the new personality. "No worries," the golem sourly remarks. "I still have that mask of Dylan you made out in my car, if you want him back."<br/>
<br/>
"I know a better way," Caleb says, and leans over to rip the mask off. A minute later, Dylan is blinking up at you, and you have to give him the whole story—he has no memory of what happened after putting on the mask of his cousin.<br/>
<br/>
"Intellectually, it's fascinating," you grumble. "But it doesn't help me."<br/>
<br/>
"That's a matter of opinion," Caleb retorts. "The world would be a better place if there were more of me and fewer of you." You flip him the bird.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
As there is no mask to put on his new golem, there is no reason for Dylan to take the golem home, so he leaves without taking it with him. "So, what do we do now," Caleb asks you with a sigh.<br/>
<br/>
You look at the book, and your despair mounts as you examine the book and discover that you are now completely stuck. The page for the next spell is neatly torn across the middle; the top gives a list of ingredients, but the part that tells you how to put them together is completely gone. And though you can glimpse the next spell beneath it, the magic operates to make the words completely illegible: they seem to shift and dance like a TV picture that refuses to come into focus. And with no way to complete the next spell, there is no way to get any further in the book.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm fucked," you say gloomily.<br/>
<br/>
"We can find you a new identity," Caleb points out. "Make you a new mask—"<br/>
<br/>
"And what happens to Will Prescott?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb bites his lip and shrugs. "I guess he disappears."<br/>
<br/>
It's a grim fate, but there's not much else to be done. "I guess I can stay here until we can make up a new mask."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb shakes his head. "I've got that Dylan mask still. You can put it on and stay at my place."<br/>
<br/>
You grimace, but it would be nicer than the alternative. You clean up the basement as best you can, then lock it up for the night.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next day is Sunday, and you spend it at Caleb's. Disaster is only narrowly averted when Dylan shows up unannounced. Luckily, Caleb's mom had left to run some errands, so there was no confusion when Dylan—supposedly staying at the house—shows up at the front door; and you're able to dash back into the bathroom and change into the spare Caleb mask before he can catch sight of you. He is still very bitchy when finds two Calebs at home. "What did Aunt Sarah say when she found out she'd given birth to twins?" he asks without bothering to muffle the snark.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, bite me," Caleb snarls at him. You do a double take, and stifle a grin when you realize Caleb is pretending to be you pretending to be him. "It sucks being made out of rock so I put this on after his mom left."<br/>
<br/>
"Ignore him," you tell Dylan. "He's been acting like an asshole ever since yesterday."<br/>
<br/>
"You're totally gay for each other," Caleb sneers. "I'm gonna get something to drink." He stomps into the kitchen.<br/>
<br/>
Dylan makes a sour face at his back, but then leans in close to you. "I don't blame him, you know," he says in a low voice. "I'd offer to let him stay at my place, but he'd just tell me to go fuck myself."<br/>
<br/>
You blink in surprise at his sympathetic tone, and it occurs to you that maybe Dylan has been such an ass only because you've been being an ass to him. "I'll mention it to him," you say cautiously. "But he gets in these moods."<br/>
<br/>
Dylan shrugs. "Anyway, why does he have to dress up like you? Why not use the mask of that beanpole?"<br/>
<br/>
"We left it back at the elementary school," you say. "It seemed easiest." You try to wave off his look of incredulity. "My mom hasn't been around much today."<br/>
<br/>
"I <i>can</i> take him off your hands," Dylan repeats.<br/>
<br/>
"No, you're right, we should use that mask of Jeremy while he's here," you say. "I'll go pick it up. You and him should try to make nice while I'm gone." Caleb returns, slurping on a Coke, and you tell him you're running back over to the school. "Don't be an asshole while I'm gone," you growl to him.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's an uneventful trip (except for this one asshole driver who you swear was trying to force you off the road). Dylan has gone in the meantime, and Caleb's mom returns shortly thereafter, but you've changed into Jeremy by that point. And then it's another sleepover.<br/>
<br/>
"You could take Richards' place," Caleb suggests from his bed after the lights are out. <br/>
<br/>
"And what do we do with the real Jeremy?" Silence. "Yeah, you see the problem."<br/>
<br/>
He shifts in his bed. "That new spell. It lets you hide people under other masks and puts them under your control. So, you could disguise Jeremy as someone else."<br/>
<br/>
"And who do we disguise that other person as?"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe as someone new?" he says. "Like, get an image of someone who isn't in the school, someone we don't have to replace?"<br/>
<br/>
"I could just be that person and leave Jeremy out of it."<br/>
<br/>
"Or, you could replace someone else in the school, like Javits or—"<br/>
<br/>
"I said, I could just pretend to be that other person."<br/>
<br/>
"I know," he sighs. "But it would be nicer to have you close by."<br/>
<br/>
"I love you too, man," you say dryly.<br/>
<br/>
"Dylan would be the one to help out with finding someone new for you," Caleb observes. "Now that you two have stopped fighting." You'd told him about your brief conversation with his cousin.<br/>
<br/>
"I think it should be someone who doesn't live in Saratoga Falls," you say. "Of course, I'd have to figure out how to make up a new identity for myself. You know, Social Security cards and shit like that."<br/>
<br/>
You talk over possibilities. And then Caleb hushes you. "Listen."<br/>
<br/>
There's silence, but then you think you hear it. Rustling from outside. It comes near the window. You sit up and stare. A shadow flashes briefly past the curtain. Then there's another rustling. But that is followed by unbroken silence. "Probably just some asshole cutting across the yard," Caleb sourly concludes.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You drop Caleb off at school the next morning (so you will have some wheels) and then go off to the clubhouse. You look through the book some more, but find nothing that previous examinations had missed. You are soon restless.<br/>
<br/>
And then, about an hour before school is let out, your cell phone rings. It's Caleb. "What's up?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
He breathes heavily for a moment, and then when he speaks the words come in a rush. "Run," he says. "Run far, run fast, and don't stop running." The line goes dead.<br/>
<br/>
You blink and stare at the phone. <i>What the hell?</i><br/>
<br/>
You have the book, all the masks and supplies, and his car. You can go to the school and try to find him, or go back to his place. But he sounded serious. Very serious.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe you should go find Dylan.</span></div></div>


path: 111231221212112
author_id: seuzz
title: The Hermaphrodite
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>It's quick work, which doesn't make it any less nerve-racking to complete: Attaching the mind strip of Lisa to the mask of Jeremy and then coating the inside with a goop made from a variant of the golem recipe. There is some momentary doubt about whose hair to use in the formula; of course you would rather use yours, but that is out of the question, so you use Caleb's instead.  You have to set fire to the mask, but it takes almost no time to burn, and polishing it takes little time as well. But even before it's done, you can tell it is not going to solve your problem.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh God, this feels funny," you say, squirming uncomfortably after you've got the mask on. The word "horrifying" might be closer to the mark. No sooner had you pressed it to your face than you felt Lisa's mind and personality erupting inside yours. That was weird enough, but then she started screaming, and even after you had shut her up and reasserted your own control and sense of being you still felt her sense of disorientation and self-loathing as you looked down at Jeremy's body. You didn't even want your arms touching the sides of your body; and when you spread your thighs so they wouldn't rub against each other ... Well, that only made you more acutely conscious of your male package.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't seem <i>gay,</i> do I?" you ask in what even to you sounds like a bit of a whine.<br/>
<br/>
The other two look shifty. "I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Dylan says through gritted teeth.<br/>
<br/>
"This isn't gonna do anything," you say. "I'm taking it off."<br/>
<br/>
"No, leave it on," says Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"Why?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just leave it on. Maybe something will happen."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck you, it isn't going soak into me," you say crossly. "And if it did, boy would I be fucked up then."<br/>
<br/>
"I said don't take—Oh, fine." You've already ripped the mask off, and a quick glance down confirms that you are still a dull, white, stony color.<br/>
<br/>
"What does that spell even do?" Dylan murmurs in that nasally, passive-aggressive voice. "So you put some of that golem stuff inside the mask. So what?"<br/>
<br/>
Something about the words "golem" and "inside the mask" click inside your head, and as he turns the mask over to frown at it, you suddenly punch him in such a way as to knock the mask onto his face. He staggers back and collapses.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck was that for," Caleb starts, but you silence him with a finger. After Jeremy appears, you slap him awake. Most satisfying, it is.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh God, I was hoping it was just a dream," he mutters as blinks around. "Wait, what happened?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Why should I?" The person on the floor doesn't seem surprised to be here, but he does look around with a vexed expression on its face. "Is someone missing?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who are you?" you ask him.<br/>
<br/>
Jeremy makes a face. "Don't ask me questions I don't want to answer."<br/>
<br/>
"Come on, answer." It only sighs sullenly.<br/>
<br/>
"Answer him. It's important," Caleb says.<br/>
<br/>
Jeremy gives him a resentful glance. "Everything in my head wants to say that I'm Lisa Yarborough, and I want to know how I got from the movie theater to this—" He looks around. "This junk yard. But I know it has something to do with you and—" He cocks his head and blanches as he looks at you. "With Will here," he says slowly. "Wasn't I standing where he was just a moment ago, and wasn't I--?" He swallows. "Wasn't I thinking his thoughts?"<br/>
<br/>
"Where's Dylan?" Caleb asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Who? Oh—" Jeremy's gaze grows even more puzzled. "That was that other guy, right?" His expression turns inward, and then he gives Caleb a piercing glance. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, boss, but if I had to make a guess ..." He lightly presses his hand to his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"It makes the person disappear," you say, turning to Caleb. "Like, if you want to get rid of the original while you take his place. Or, you know, if you just want to get rid of someone because he's fucking annoying."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb gives you a look and removes the mask from Dylan.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Your little stunt costs you what little good will you still had with Caleb's cousin. Not that you'd mind, but he is very churlish and insists on taking and keeping the golem and blank mask that you'd made for him, even though you and Caleb ask him to leave them with you. "It's all right with me," you grumpily tell Caleb afterward. "This thing has been a disaster ever since he showed up."<br/>
<br/>
Well, naturally that provokes your friend into making a sharp retort, to which you make a sharper retort, and things escalate from there; and even your trump card—you point out that you've been turned into a <i>goddamned golem</i>—doesn't impress Caleb, who reminds you that you were the one who did it to himself. But nothing gets broken in the fight, and though the air between you is, at best, only grim and business-like, Caleb agrees to an improvised plan of action. "I'll park your truck in a handicapped spot or something," he says before he goes. "That way it gets towed and impounded by the cops instead of being stolen or trashed."<br/>
<br/>
"What'll you tell my folks?"<br/>
<br/>
"That I haven't seen you since you left school yesterday. Duh."<br/>
<br/>
Only afterward do you wonder at the fact that he locked you in the basement when he left. You are a prisoner until someone takes the padlock off the door.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
And so you pass the night in the dimly lit basement (after moving some tables around to screen the light from the windows). You have the Lisa-Jeremy hybrid mask, but after your short dip into it you've no wish to put it back on. You were inside it long enough to know there is nothing there that would make you feel good about your relationship with her.<br/>
<br/>
Instead you concentrate on the book. You and Caleb fell into a fight so fast that you didn't talk about the difference between your reaction to the Lisa-Jeremy mask and Dylan's: you still felt yourself to be yourself while wearing it, while Dylan himself completely disappeared. Your non-existent grasp of Latin is certainly not enough to glean an explanation from the book; you can only guess it has something to do with your being a golem.<br/>
<br/>
Nor is there anything new in the book that could help you. The page for the next spell is damaged; the top half only discloses a list of ingredients, while the bottom half—that would tell how to put them together—has been ripped wholly from the tome. With no way to complete the spell, you have no way to progress in the book. <br/>
<br/>
The terrible conviction that you are stuck in your new form, and that you will have to find a new existence under a new identity, settles over you.<br/>
<br/>
And then the door to the basement opens.<br/>
<br/>
Actually, the first thing you hear is the sound of the padlock coming off. You look up in surprise—it's nearly three in the morning—but it's neither Dylan nor Caleb who comes charging through the door. As near as you can tell, to your shock and chagrin, it's the cops.<br/>
<br/>
There are two of them, and they're decked out in dark clothes—black pants and long-sleeve shirts and ski masks—and they have guns out. They sweep quickly but professionally around the room, checking its corners and behind and under its furniture, muttering cryptically to each other in muffled tones. And the entire time they ignore you; and since you've no desire to provoke them, you don't move. Let them think you are a highly detailed statue.<br/>
<br/>
Their words grow louder and more distinct as their search continues, and their tone grows more querulous. Before long—<br/>
<br/>
"Beats me, Frank," one says from behind you. "The compass pointed here."<br/>
<br/>
"Where here?"<br/>
<br/>
"I can't get a more precise reading. You know that. Nothing better than a fifty-foot radius, which is pretty fucking precise—"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't cuss at me, Joe."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not cussing at you, Frank. I'm just saying—"<br/>
<br/>
"I know what you're saying. And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten pissed off. I'm just nervous."<br/>
<br/>
"I am too. He's got to be around here someplace."<br/>
<br/>
Who are they talking about? You?<br/>
<br/>
"At least we know we've got the right address." Out of the corner of your eye you see a hand pick up the book. "The <i>Libra Personae</i>," the voice says softly. "After five hundred years it finally turns up."<br/>
<br/>
"It's a damnable thing."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuckin' amen to that, bro. But it's only loot. We need to find the cocksucker who's been using it as a home-and-garden guide to making lawn gnomes."<br/>
<br/>
You don't realize he's referring to you until his partner walks around to peer into your face; his brilliant blue eyes, visible through the eyeholes of the ski mask, are pools of pity and horror. "Poor kid," he mutters through his ski mask. "I wonder what his name was."<br/>
<br/>
Even if you don't know how to reverse the spell that golemized you, you can't let the police—or whoever these guys are—make off with the book.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122121212
author_id: seuzz
title: Let Dylan volunteer.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You look over at Caleb. His face is pale. You raise an eyebrow. He shrugs helplessly.<br/>
<br/>
You grimace as you turn toward Dylan. You don't like this guy, and you still don't trust him, and you don't want him on your "team." But it takes balls to volunteer this way. You step back and extend a hand. "Okay. Welcome aboard."<br/>
<br/>
He gives you a lopsided smile as returns you a soft handshake and climbs into the sigil. You turn to help Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
The rest of the spell involves covering Dylan with graveyard dirt and fuel, and then— You swallow hard. "Are you sure you want us to set you on fire?" you ask him incredulously.<br/>
<br/>
"No pain, no gain," he says. "And I'll thank you to spare me the 'flamer' puns," he adds acidly. <br/>
<br/>
You're feeling a little green as you pour the liquid over him, and you can't bring yourself to actually light the match. Trembling, you hand it to Caleb. He wobbles on his feet and licks his lips.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh for fuck's sake, give it here," Dylan yells. He snatches the match from Caleb, strikes it against the side of the matchbox, and drops it onto himself.<br/>
<br/>
There is a purple flash and a quick hot wave of air blooms through the room. You and Caleb dive to the ground. "We have to get something to put it out," you yell. The two of you scramble across the floor, looking for some kind of sheet or tarpaulin, but there's nothing but lots of wood and metal. Caleb finally croaks something about the seat covers in his car, but just as he staggers to his feet, the light dies out.<br/>
<br/>
You hurry over to the table, terrified that you'll find a charred corpse. <br/>
<br/>
What you find is worse. It's a golem. <br/>
<br/>
It looks just like Dylan, except everything, from the skin and hair to the open, staring eyes, is now made of the same clay-like golem flesh. Only his clothes are unchanged. You and Caleb prod and poke at him and call his name, but he is completely unresponsive. Finally, exhausted of ideas, you tell Caleb to fetch a mask.<br/>
<br/>
"What good will that do?" he demands.<br/>
<br/>
"It'll show whether he's a golem or just a ... a slab of dry cement. Who do we have?"<br/>
<br/>
"We've got Jeremy in the cupboard, but he hasn't got a memory strip. We've got the blank mask I made for ... for Dylan." Caleb swallows hard.<br/>
<br/>
"What about the mask I made," you ask. "You know, the—"<br/>
<br/>
"The one of him, you mean." Caleb's voice is hard. He glares at you. "Yeah, I've still got it. I can't find a hammer strong enough to break it."<br/>
<br/>
"Can you get it?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's in my car. Under the passenger seat."<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, who looks for stuff under car seats? Nothing but old gum and grease and rotten sandwiches, usually."<br/>
<br/>
"Just get it." <br/>
<br/>
He still seems to be mad when he returns, and he won't let you touch it. Instead, he places it himself on the new golem.<br/>
<br/>
As with the first golem, it sinks without a trace into the grayish mass, and almost instantly it turns a healthy flesh color. It blinks its eyes rapidly and sits up. "Okay, so what did I miss?" it asks.<br/>
<br/>
"We turned you into a golem," Caleb blurts out.<br/>
<br/>
It blinks. "Uh-huh," it says noncommittally. <br/>
<br/>
"You dropped the match and burst into flame, and when it went out—" Caleb begins blinking furiously; he's obviously trying to fight back tears.<br/>
<br/>
The golem leans forward, and in that snide, talking-to-kindergartner tones says, "You assholes are going to try turning me back to normal, aren't you?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb nods, but there's something in the thing's tone that strikes you as odd. You smack Caleb in the arm. "Dude, go get my cell phone out of my car."<br/>
<br/>
"What?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just do it. I need to make a call, but I need to think first."<br/>
<br/>
He stares at you, then trots away. Once he's gone you wheel on the Dylan golem. "Suck my cock," you order.<br/>
<br/>
It rolls its eyes. "We're not going through that shit again, are we?"<br/>
<br/>
"I said suck my cock, you fag," you repeat in a hard voice.<br/>
<br/>
With vast reluctance it hops to the ground and starts to tug at your zipper. You slap it away.<br/>
<br/>
"Never mind. Just so we're clear that you're my slave.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course I am," it says. "Didn't you learn anything from the—"<br/>
<br/>
You're not listening; you have a wild idea. If you can convince Caleb that this thing is not really a golem but the resurrected Dylan, then you will have turned his cousin—who you still don't trust—into a secret slave. This would make you feel a lot better.<br/>
<br/>
And in some ways it would make you feel worse, since you would have more or less killed the original.</span></div></div>


path: 111231221212121
author_id: seuzz
title: Pretend the golem is the real Dylan.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Now listen very carefully," you tell it, glancing over your shoulder to make sure you're alone. "When Caleb is around, do <i>not</i> follow my orders. Argue, resist, call me names, but do not do what I tell you to do."<br/>
<br/>
"Does that include not following your order to not follow your orders," it insolently asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't get smart with me. This is magic, not computer programming, so you know what I mean. When he's not around, you have to do exactly what I say, but when he <i>is</i> around, just argue with me."<br/>
<br/>
"Gladly," it says. Its lip curls.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb runs back in a few moments later. "I can't find it. Where is it?"<br/>
<br/>
You pat your pockets. "Oops, sorry, here it is. I coulda sworn—" Caleb makes a face as you dial your dad's old disconnected office number. <br/>
<br/>
"The fuck are you calling, Prescott," Dylan asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up," you retort.<br/>
<br/>
"You shut up," it says. "I asked you a question, so give me a fucking answer."<br/>
<br/>
You drop the phone in pretended shock. Your mouth open, you look over at Caleb. But he doesn't seem the least bit perturbed, so you turn back to the golem. "Give me a blow job, Dylan," you say in a commanding tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Bite me. You may <i>be</i> a big dick, but that's not the same thing as having one."<br/>
<br/>
You slug Caleb in the shoulder, and he turns on you with a scowl. "You know what this means?"<br/>
<br/>
"That he's seen you naked?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, you jerkface. He's not a golem. Look, he's not following my orders." You turn back to Dylan. "Take off your clothes."<br/>
<br/>
"Go fuck yourself."<br/>
<br/>
You and Caleb look at each other. "Dude, I think the mask did the trick. That's the real Dylan," you say in a low voice.<br/>
<br/>
"But it's just a golem wearing a mask of him."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. But listen to him. He's acting like the real Dylan, isn't he?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't answer that, Caleb," the golem interrupts.<br/>
<br/>
"And it's not doing what I order it to. Let's look at the book again."<br/>
<br/>
Ten minutes later, Caleb is still a reluctant hold out. "We didn't follow the directions exactly," you try to explain. "It must be because he lit himself on fire."<br/>
<br/>
"But it's your hair inside him."<br/>
<br/>
"But he's not following my orders."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb bites his lip and looks over at Dylan, who is sitting beside him. "Do you feel normal?"<br/>
<br/>
Dylan shrugs. "About the same, I guess," it replies; a nicely ambiguous answer.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb turns back to you. "I still think it's just the mask and golem."<br/>
<br/>
"Or maybe it's because we put a Dylan mask on a golem made out of, well, made out of Dylan," you suggest, still searching for some pseudo-explanation that will satisfy your friend. "It counteracted the golem-making spell."<br/>
<br/>
He chews on his lip and eyes you dubiously. "What were we talking about on the way over here," he asks, turning toward Dylan.<br/>
<br/>
You hold your breath as the golem struggles to come up with a plausible answer. "Answer him," you tell it in a rough voice.<br/>
<br/>
Dylan shoves a middle finger in your face. "Fuck you. Fuck both of you. Just go ahead and leave me this way." It jumps to its feet and stalks down to the other side of the room.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb starts to follow, but you restrain him. "Look, we'll go through the book, try to find a cure or something. But if we don't ... I really do think it's him." Caleb hangs his head sadly.<br/>
<br/>
The atmosphere in the clubhouse continues to be fraught as the fake Dylan starts demanding that you load up the first golem for delivery and give him the blank mask. "What are you going to use them for," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"None of your fucking business," it retorts. "I'll test out that boobie-girl mask when I get home. But even if I can't use them anymore, I can use <i>this</i> stuff to get me that roommate."<br/>
<br/>
It's getting dark by this point, so there's not much chance of being seen as the three of you carry the first golem out and put it in the back of your truck. You tell Caleb that you'll just take Dylan home; the fake opens its mouth to argue, but something in your bearing tells it that this isn't the time for playacting, and it accepts your request.<br/>
<br/>
"Good job," you tell it when you're both in the cab. "Now hit yourself in the face."<br/>
<br/>
"I did what you told me to," it says miserably, but complies.<br/>
<br/>
"Just making sure you understand where we are. Now, what are you going to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Keep acting like I'm Dylan, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"I mean about the golem back there, and this new mask."<br/>
<br/>
"Isn't that for you to decide for me?"<br/>
<br/>
"What would you do with them if I didn't give you orders?"<br/>
<br/>
It gives you a sidelong glance. "Total freedom?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, freedom to act like Dylan."<br/>
<br/>
It thinks a moment. "Use it to copy one of the frat boys or something. Get me a boyfriend I normally couldn't have."<br/>
<br/>
That's promising. If you could convince Caleb that his cousin is up to no good, then he'll give up his desire to reverse the spell, which you feel would be the safest thing to do. But it won't be enough if "Dylan" just copies a new boyfriend; Caleb was thinking about copying himself a secret girlfriend. No, if you're going to frame Dylan good and hard, you're going to have to order him to try for something pretty heinous—the sort of thing you yourself wanted to stop him from doing.</span></div></div>


path: 111231221212122
author_id: seuzz
title: Admit it's a golem.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I can't find your phone," Caleb says when he returns.<br/>
<br/>
"Doesn't matter," you say. "This thing really is a golem."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb blinks. "What do you mean 'really is'?"<br/>
<br/>
"What I said. No use letting it give <i>us</i> orders. <i>We</i> give <i>it</i> orders. Take off all your clothes, Dylan," you say, and it reluctantly complies. Then you rip the mask off, turning it back into a Dylan-shaped grayish mass.<br/>
<br/>
Now Caleb is himself almost as gray as a golem. "We are going to fix it, right?" he says, and it isn't a question.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course." Though truth to tell you aren't completely displeased by this turn of events. "Let's see if the next spell reverses it."<br/>
<br/>
It doesn't sound promising. It requires a sealed mind-body mask and not much more of the materials you already have on hand. None of the masks you have on hand are really suitable for experimentation: Caleb's just-made mask is blank; the golem will need the Dylan mask in order to take his original's place if things don't work out; the Jeremy mask has no mind attached to it. Caleb suggests melding the Jeremy mask and the Lisa mind-band ("It's just an experiment, so let's get rid of that junk") but that sounds too weird. Finally, as owner of the book, you issue a decision. <br/>
<br/>
"We'll use your blank mask on me. Your cousin was stupid enough to volunteer his body for the last experiment. The least I can do is volunteer my image for this one. Besides," you add. "I want you to put it on, so you can see how sincere I am about all this."<br/>
<br/>
Your argument suitably impresses Caleb, so that's what you do.<br/>
<br/>
The rest is simple: drop some of your hair, some graveyard dirt, the magic mix, and fuel into the concave side of the mask and set it on fire. The flame burns only briefly, and when it goes out the inside of the mask is the color of a golem's skin. Both of you swallow hard when you look at it. "That ain't a nice color," Caleb says.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Okay, change of plans. I'm gonna try it on myself."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you nuts?" Caleb says, grabbing your hand. "What if it turns you into something like Dylan?"<br/>
<br/>
"Then I get my just deserts." <br/>
<br/>
He snatches the mask away. "This is the last time I play Igor, but it's your fucking book and you need to be the one to fix it if things don't work out," he snarls. "And you <i>better</i> fucking fix things if they don't work out for me."<br/>
<br/>
He is too quick for you to stop him, and shoves the mask onto his face. The mask sinks out of sight and his form ripples. When it settles, it is no longer Caleb's face but your own.<br/>
<br/>
You prod your new twin awake, and it sits up and looks around. "So what did I miss? Where's Caleb?"<br/>
<br/>
You must have misheard. "Where's who?"<br/>
<br/>
"Caleb. Wasn't he supposed to try out this new mask? Or did you guys have a fight after you made it?"<br/>
<br/>
You stare. "Who are you?"<br/>
<br/>
It laughs. "Well, that's kind of hard to answer, isn't it? I guess I'm you, but not really, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Aren't you Caleb?"<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Me?</i>" It holds up its hands. "Don't go freaky on me, boss. I don't think I'm allowed to hit you."<br/>
<br/>
"Stop bullshitting me, man, this isn't funny."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not trying to be funny. What makes you think I'm Caleb?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because Caleb put the mask on ... and here you are!"<br/>
<br/>
It looks down and notices it is wearing Caleb's clothes. It pales. "Jesus. No, nothing up here but your ... our ... memories and stuff." It strains to think, and you wince to see how comical you look when you concentrate. "Nope, nothing about Caleb except what we already know."<br/>
<br/>
"You're a golem?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, it sure seems like it."<br/>
<br/>
"Christ, that mask better come off." The thing flinches as you reach for its forehead, saying the secret words and ripping the mask off. Caleb reappears and topples back onto the floor.<br/>
<br/>
No time for gags: you slap him awake. "Fuck," he says, nursing his stinging cheek. "What happened?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you remember?"<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't turn into a werewolf, did I?"<br/>
<br/>
"You turned into me." He gives you a blank look. "We argued for, like, a couple of minutes. You were pretending you didn't know who you were."<br/>
<br/>
He stares back, and there is no lie in his eye. "The last thing I remember," he says, "is putting the mask to my face. I got very lightheaded, and then you were slapping me. So what happened?"<br/>
<br/>
You tell him. He listens in silence, then purses his lips. "This is just getting weird," he says. "How about the next spell?"<br/>
<br/>
It seems like the best thing to do, so you retrieve the book. With the new mask you are able to turn the page—<br/>
<br/>
--and discover that the page for the next spell is torn. The bottom half is completely ripped away. All that remains is a list of ingredients. With no way to finish the spell, there is also no way unlock the rest of the book. Even the page that comes after, part of which is visible, is unreadable: its letters swim in and out of focus.<br/>
<br/>
Both of you fiddle with the book, trying to find some way to fix it or get past the ruined page. Nothing works. And then Caleb leaps to his feet. "Fuck it," he says. "It's like you've been planning all this."<br/>
<br/>
Your mouth drops, and you turn red. "The fuck do you mean, asshole? How could I have planned it?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's your book," he retorts. "How can you not know how it works?"<br/>
<br/>
"I know I can't get to a new spell until I finish an old one. You know that too. Or do you think I somehow found a way to magically rip a page I couldn't get to?"<br/>
<br/>
"I wouldn't put it past you," he says in an accusing tone. "Ever since Dylan came in you've been trying to get rid of him. Well, it looks like you've succeeded."<br/>
<br/>
"And who had the bright idea to sacrifice himself for that new golem spell? Who's the one who lit the match?"<br/>
<br/>
"That fucking thing is full of mind-warp stuff," he says. "You could have found a way to make him do it."<br/>
<br/>
You are trembling all over you are so mad. You hurl the book at him. "Go fuck yourself. Take the fucking book and <i>you</i> figure out how I did all that shit. Then <i>you</i> do it to <i>me!</i> I don't fucking care any more. Keep all this shit and <i>you</i> see how you like being a fucking magician." You storm out.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The night is awful. You can't sleep, and when you doze off your dreams—which you can't remember—are disturbing. You wake early, too, and drag yourself through the preliminaries for church. Just before you go, your phone rings. "Hey," an unfamiliar voice says. "I need your help. Meet me at the clubhouse?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who is this?"<br/>
<br/>
"Caleb, you doofus. I know, I sound funny. That's how come I have to meet you."<br/>
<br/>
Your heart skips. What has that moron done to himself?<br/>
<br/>
You tell your mom you have to skip church, but she refuses. Desperately, you tell her you need to run an errand and will catch up there. Your dad jumps in to say there will be hell to pay (so to speak) if you're ass isn't in a pew by the time services start. You promise you'll be there.<br/>
<br/>
You get to the school in record time and wait impatiently for what seems like forever before Caleb's car pulls into the lot. <br/>
<br/>
But it's your twin who gets out.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck is going on?" you shout.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, that's what I need help with," this other Will Prescott says cheerfully. "And I thought you'd want an excuse to get out of church anyway," he adds, eyeing your Sunday duds with amusement. <br/>
<br/>
"Make it fast, because I can't miss and I'm late. Are you Caleb?"<br/>
<br/>
"Beats me. All I know is I woke up twenty minutes ago in his bed. Didn't know what to do but call you."<br/>
<br/>
You have no time for this bullshit, and rip the mask off its face, catching the now-visible Caleb as he topples forward. Again, you slap him into consciousness. "Jesus, you enjoy that," he snaps when he's awake.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck are you doing?"<br/>
<br/>
"It was a little test," he says. "I wanted to see what you'd do if I turned myself into your slave."<br/>
<br/>
"What would that have proved?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, if you rescued me, it would prove that you really were my friend."<br/>
<br/>
You stare, and then slap the mask against his face. "Swap clothes with me," you tell your reborn twin. "Time for you to get religion."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done," you tell Caleb after he returns from church and you've restored him.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess. I mean, if you hadn't rescued me from that mask—"<br/>
<br/>
"No, it was stupid because it was insulting and tasteless. <i>Of course</i> I was going to rescue you, and fuck you for thinking I might not. That's the reason I got so pissed at you last night. Because you were thinking the worst of me."<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, you made your point." He sounds abashed. "So what now?"<br/>
<br/>
That's why you sent him to church in your place. So you could think.<br/>
<br/>
You see two possibilities. The first is to do nothing. The book has proven itself too dangerous; the more you try to reverse the spell that changed Dylan, the more trouble you might get into.<br/>
<br/>
The second, though, is to engage in really deep research outside the book to find a cure for Dylan. That would mean leaving school—or, rather, leaving your duplicate behind to take your place. And since you don't want to endanger Caleb, it would mean leaving him behind without telling him what you're doing.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312212122
author_id: seuzz
title: Pretend to be Dylan.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Hey, what are you doing here?" Caleb asks bluntly.<br/>
<br/>
"I came down to check on things, see how they were going. You got my mask done yet?"<br/>
<br/>
He takes it out of his backpack. "I didn't see your car out front."<br/>
<br/>
"Your friend picked me up," you say, thinking quickly. "He brought me the mask of that girl for tonight. You know, so I could have a night out with the boys again." You grin at him. "Did you have fun reliving my adventures with her?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb just gives you a look. "So where's Will?"<br/>
<br/>
"Had to run back over to his place."<br/>
<br/>
"His truck's still here."<br/>
<br/>
"I said he <i>ran</i> back over, didn't I?" you sigh.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't pull that shit on me," he tells you bluntly. For a moment your heart skips—has he seen through the disguise? "That clever passive-aggressive attitude gets real thin real fast. Will's already sick of it, I can tell."<br/>
<br/>
You start to say something cutting back, but stop yourself. You must be doing a good imitation. You catch your reflection in the mirror, and wince to remember that you're still wearing your own clothes. If Caleb notices ...<br/>
<br/>
"How about you go over and pick him up," you suggest. "I want to get this shit back to my place. Does he live far away?"<br/>
<br/>
"Half a mile, I guess." Caleb shrugs. He turns to go, but pauses in the door. His glance back is a little odd, as though he's trying to remember something, but he gives up and leaves.<br/>
<br/>
The instant he's gone you start pacing in a tight, fast circle, trying to think. You just wanted to get him away, and you have no idea what to do next. He'll soon find you're not at home, and then ... <br/>
<br/>
You need a decoy ...<br/>
<br/>
Of course! The golem!<br/>
<br/>
Hardly pausing to think things through to the next stage, you tear off the Dylan mask and are about to slap it onto the golem when you realize you don't have any clothes for it. You chew your lip. Inspiration, when it comes, arrives with flop sweat. You jam Caleb's newly made mask to your own face, fighting to remain conscious. You don't succeed, but when you open your eyes you do feel like you've not been passed out long. You put drop the new mask of yourself onto the golem and return Dylan's mask to your own face. The golem is staring at you skeptically when you wake again. "You are so fucked," it says dryly.<br/>
<br/>
"So are you, asshole," you retort. "Get dressed. Not these, you retard," you yell, slapping its hands from your shirt. "The gym clothes in my bag." Thank God you chose today as your semi-annual washing day for them. <br/>
<br/>
It's just finished changing when Caleb walks back in. "There you are!" he exclaims. "I've been driving up and down trying to find you."<br/>
<br/>
"He got back just after you left," you say. "I couldn't find my cell phone or I'd have called you."<br/>
<br/>
"Where's your phone," Caleb asks the golem who is pretending to be you.<br/>
<br/>
It's in your back pocket, actually, and the golem looks at you. "Yeah, where's your cell phone, Prescott," you ask him impatiently. <br/>
<br/>
It looks from you to Caleb and back, and turns very red. "Fuck you guys," it says. "Go fuck each other. You're totally gay for each other anyway." It pushes angrily past Caleb, pulling away from his grasp and going out the door.<br/>
<br/>
"Must be that time of the month," you smirk.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb punches you in the mouth—not hard enough to push you back, but hard enough to smart badly—and glares at you. <br/>
<br/>
You seize on this, the perfect chance to make a breach between Caleb and his cousin. "You know what, you and your lame little buddy can fuck off," you say. "I was going to help you guys. Get you a couple of rich frat boys you could replace—get you money, looks, muscles, all the good stuff you two are so desperately missing. Help you take over their lives." Caleb looks startled. "But you know what, you can just try to do it without me. Keep your golem and your book. I'll be keeping those masks you made for me, though. Replace one of those fratboys myself. And don't try calling me to say you're sorry, dipshit, because your apologies aren't wanted." You brush past him haughtily and follow your golem out the door.<br/>
<br/>
It's lurking near your truck, hands in its pockets. "Get his phone away from him," you mutter to it as you brush past. "Make sure he can't send or get any calls." The golem nods. "Pick me up at the laundromat on Hausmann when you get away from him." You stalk off down the street. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Luckily—or unluckily as the case may be—Dylan has a devious and unscrupulous mind, so as you walk toward your rendezvous point it's not hard to come up with a couple of plans to keep him away from Caleb for the next few days. Not all are easy or foolproof. The easiest course would be to just call and tell him something went wrong with the new mask, and to put off the handover until the following weekend. But Dylan would probably call anyway to pester Caleb for updates. <br/>
<br/>
Almost certainly Dylan will be out for the evening, and as "Eva" he won't be taking any of his ID with him. With his mask, it would be quite easy for you to break into his apartment, steal all his plastic, and sabotage his life. Disconnect his power and phone service, shut down his utilities, drain his bank account, maybe even commit a few minor crimes as part of a frame-up to get him out of the way.<br/>
<br/>
The last possibility is to get him out of the way on a pleasure trip of some kind with one of his fuckbuddies—Kevin Miller, perhaps. You'd have to go over to Kevin's place and pretend to be in a frisky mood; spend the night; talk him into skipping school and taking a road trip. It would be a tricky moment when Kevin went to see the real Dylan the next day, but if you called Dylan with bad news about the mask, he might just ignore the weirder aspects of Kevin's approach and go off.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222
author_id: seuzz
title: Banking on Your New Disguise
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Business before pleasure, dude," you reply, and push him away. He growls, and you can't resist making a flirty face at him. "Come on, let's take a look at the new spell."<br/>
<br/>
You are still wearing Eva's form, but you struggle back into your clothes—you like the feel of your now too-tight shirt against her bulbous breasts—and you and Caleb (still as Jeremy) settle down to look over the spell you've just unlocked. It requires a lot of new material, and a lot of it. You wince, and not just because of the way Caleb has put an arm around your shoulders and keeps rubbing up against you. <br/>
<br/>
"Look at this," you say, pointing to the browser window you opened for a search on prices. "We're going to need $200 for this amount of fuel, and that's just for the fuel."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh," he says distractedly. "So?"<br/>
<br/>
"So do you have $200 to spend?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. I think I've got about $75."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I don't even have that. I blew the rest of my savings to get what we have here."<br/>
<br/>
"It was worth it." His forearm brushes against the side of your breast.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. But— Stop it! Or I take the mask off! But we need more cash."<br/>
<br/>
"So borrow some."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't. I've maxed out my credit line with my dad. Can you borrow some?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," he replies, and his tone turns peevish. "If you'd only talked to your dad in time about that job at his work, I'd have an income for us."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh shut up and deal with the loss. You know," you say, then break off after noticing that you're chewing a thumbnail. It's not one of your habits, so it must be one of Eva's. "There is <i>one</i> way of getting the cash." You explain your idea to Caleb. You are a little aghast at what you've come up with, but he's entirely for it.<br/>
<br/>
"But we still have to deal with <i>this</i> little problem," he says after you've agreed to your idea. He taps the book. "Four hundred pounds of earth. That's not going to be fun to get."<br/>
<br/>
"We'll just go to a greenhouse."<br/>
<br/>
He shakes his head. "Read the rest of what it says." You type the Latin words into your online translator, and gulp at the result it kicks back. "We're going to have to break in at night," you tell him, your eyes widening. "No other way we can sneak four hundreds pounds of dirt out of a graveyard."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Late the next afternoon you walk into a certain bank office branch, wearing a cheap pink sweatsuit and some flipflops that you picked up at a thrift store. You don't have any of Eva's plastic or checks, but she knows her checking account number. You fill out a withdrawal slip, sign her name to it, and wait until a certain clerk has finished with a customer.<br/>
<br/>
Eva's Aunt Meg raises her eyebrows a little when she sees the amount you've put down, but she knows better than to say anything other than, "And if I could see some ID?"<br/>
<br/>
You pat at your pockets and then turn as pink as your suit. "Oh my God, I think I left it at home!"<br/>
<br/>
"You didn't drive here, did you?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, I'm with friends. So, I guess I'll ..." You look up at her hopefully.<br/>
<br/>
She rolls her eyes and scribbles in the corner of the withdrawal slip. You shift nervously from foot to foot as she gets your cash and counts out a stack of twenties. "Don't spend it all in one place, sweetheart," she says with a trace of acid as you take it up.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks, Aunt Meg. Are you still coming over for supper on Saturday?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's the plan. You want me to bring anything special, child?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just you," you dimple. "Unless maybe it's some ... frosted pecans?" You nibble on your thumbnail in that way she finds so adorable in her niece.<br/>
<br/>
"You and Jessica share some with your brother this time," she says, but smiles back.<br/>
<br/>
"Marc hogs them all if we let him have any," you retort. "Anyway, thanks so much." You wave bye-bye to her and leave the bank $500 richer than when you went in.<br/>
<br/>
Outside, you have almost reached the car where Caleb (not in disguise) is waiting when you hear someone shout your name. Except, of course, it's Eva's name. You turn and wave. "Shit," you mutter as you lean in through the open passenger-side window of his car and hand Caleb the cash. "It's Mindy and Scott. If they see me with you—"<br/>
<br/>
"So climb in."<br/>
<br/>
"Too late, they've spotted me."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, get rid of 'em. We've got supplies to buy."<br/>
<br/>
"Wait. Hang on." You think a moment.<br/>
<br/>
Scott Bickelmeir may like to hang out with Mindy McAdams, but they're not going together; and you know (or, rather, Eva knows) that he's got a thing for Eva and her sister. With a little wheedling and flirting, you might be able to borrow another fifty or so bucks off him in Eva's name.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221
author_id: seuzz
title: The First Day of the Rest of the Project
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You trot over to Scott and Mindy, who were just coming out of the post office, which is next to the bank, when they called to you. "Hi," you greet them brightly. <br/>
<br/>
"Dressing kind of casual, huh?" Mindy's a catty one.<br/>
<br/>
You make a face. "I could, like, so kill my mom, you know? She made me come over here to mail a package? And she couldn't wait for me to finish changing my clothes?" You roll your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
They both laugh, but Scott looks over your head to the Caleb's car. "Is that Johansson? What were you talking to him for?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, he's been bugging me about Lisa. You know how she dumped Will Prescott? Like, finally! It was so embarrassing seeing them together." You twinge and twist inside, but the expressions of contempt flow out of you very easily. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you guys later. Wait, hang on. Scott?" Your tone turns wheedling.<br/>
<br/>
"I was supposed to get some stamps, too," you continue, "but my mom didn't give me enough money, and I left my purse at home?" You look up at him from under your lashes. "Could you, like, loan me ten dollars?"<br/>
<br/>
Mindy rolls her eyes, but Scott laughs and pulls two crisp new fives from his wallet. You take them and playfully fiddle with the buttons on the front of his shirt.<br/>
<br/>
You go into the post office and lurk near the front until the coast is clear, then hurry back out to the car. "God, that sucked," you say as you duck into the passenger seat. "But I scored us some extra cash, <i>and</i> Scott and Eva are gonna be pissed at each other in a day or two." You snigger. "Now let's get out of here before anyone else spots me."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Over the next few days you acquire the rest of the supplies for the new spell. Sure enough, digging up four hundred pounds of dirt from the cemetery is not any fun, especially since you have to get it from the middle of the lot in the dead of night so no one will see you. But you get it and the other stuff back to the "clubhouse." By Thursday you are ready to proceed.<br/>
<br/>
In the basement, you carve the large sigil onto the top of the conference table and—since you, not Caleb, are the owner of the book—it's a hank of your hair that you place in the middle of it. Then you cover it with a large, berm-like mound of dirt taken from the cemetery. You soak it in the mixture of fluids and fuels and put a match to it. Purple flames that give off no heat briefly erupt and then die down into a low, dim, steady aurora. <br/>
<br/>
"This is to burn away the impurities," Caleb says, reading over the spell. "When they die out, we have to set it alight again. Keep repeating until it no longer catches on fire." He squints down at the book. "Christ, I think this is going to take a couple of days."<br/>
<br/>
"We can't stay down here for a couple of days!"<br/>
<br/>
"Then we just have to let it do its thing while we're not around."<br/>
<br/>
"And if we burn down the school?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb sticks his hand into the aurora. "It's not hot. It's not going to set anything on fire."<br/>
<br/>
"Still! I mean, what if someone comes down here?"<br/>
<br/>
"They haven't yet. But—" He cocks his head. "Help me pile up some of this furniture." Together, you quickly erect a barricade against the window to hide the ghostly glow.<br/>
<br/>
"So what do we do now?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
He frowns. "I wish we knew what this spell did. It could help us prepare for when it's done." He looks back over at your other supplies. "You know, we still have that band with that copy of Lisa's brain."<br/>
<br/>
"You haven't tried that out yet, have you?"<br/>
<br/>
He makes a face. "Dude, I don't want to know what she was thinking and feeling when she was kissing you. But we could make a mask of her, maybe, to go with Eva."<br/>
<br/>
"Survey says no."<br/>
<br/>
"Copy Jeremy's brain?" He gestures at the Jeremy mask.<br/>
<br/>
That had been the original reason for copying Eva, so he has a point. But you also feel like you've past that point. Maybe you should do something else.<br/>
</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212
author_id: seuzz
title: The Drama Hits the Fan
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"We could probably do something else with these things later," you say, indicating the band and the mask. "We still have some leftovers from making them. Maybe we should prep some blank masks and bands, in case we can't use these with the ... with whatever this new spell is making."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb agrees, and you scissor-paper-rock the division of labor: He'll make a new mind band, and you'll make up and polish a new mask. You part for the evening after getting the basic mask and band made.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The days that follow pass slowly. The fire in the clubhouse burns out sometime Friday night, and you relight it on Saturday morning; you have to relight it again Sunday afternoon and then again on Monday afternoon. Each time, you find that the berm has gotten smaller and more compact and is changing into something that is clay-like in color and texture. <br/>
<br/>
There is some interesting gossip on Monday. You learn that Eva has indeed had a fight with Scott about some money he claims she owes him. But the crap doesn't hit the fan until Tuesday, when word spreads early that she's been in the bathroom bawling her head off. You run into Yumi Saito in the hall before third period and ask her what's up. She's also one of the cheerleaders, and is one the few nice ones who will talk to someone like you.<br/>
<br/>
"Someone stole a bunch of money out of Eva's checking account," she tells you. "She's been accusing Jessica of doing it because, you know, the two of them look so much alike."<br/>
<br/>
The news electrifies you, and you insist on hearing the details, to the point that you follow Yumi to her class and so are late to your own. But from her you learn that someone who looks just like Eva withdrew a bunch of money from her checking account, and even fooled her aunt into thinking it was her. Naturally, everyone in her family thinks that Eva is lying and that she withdrew the money herself. Scott and Mindy aren't helping matters, because they're saying they ran into Eva at the time she supposedly wasn't near the bank, and that she took some money off of him. Her friends are trying to support her and believe her, but ...<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that is the sweetest thing ever!" Caleb exults when you tell him about it that afternoon when you meet at the clubhouse. "I heard she was doing some drama queen shit, but I didn't know it was because of us!"<br/>
<br/>
You feel kind of sick. "I wasn't really thinking that we stole a bunch of money from her," you say as you unlock the basement door.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, fuck, what did you think we were doing?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno. Borrowing it? We could always pay it back. We've got the mask still, so it'd be easy to make a deposit."<br/>
<br/>
"You want to throw your own money away on that cunt? Shoot me in the fucking face first, okay?"<br/>
<br/>
Inside the basement you find that the aurora has gone out again, but when you refuel it and relight it, it stays out. The two of you exchange excited glances and run for the book. <br/>
<br/>
"Shit, it says we have to polish it," Caleb says after examining and translating the spell. He glances over ruefully at the monstrous slab. "That's gonna take, like, two years!" Luckily, he's way off. The thing you've made, which is now much smaller and very solid, only needs a quick all-over buff with a cloth in order to get loose dust off it. <br/>
<br/>
It takes you a bit of thinking to figure out how to use the thing to unlock the next page of the spell book, but eventually by resting the book on it you get the next page turns. You and Caleb huddle together and read the rest of the spell.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a golem," Caleb mutters at last. (He is better at Latin than you.) He traces his finger under some of the lines and consults the online translator. "We put a mask on it, and it will take the form of that person, and it will be our slave."<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Our</i> slave?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, your slave, I guess, on account of we used your hair in it." He makes face. "Suddenly, I'm jealous."<br/>
<br/>
You look around. "So what do we put on it? The Jeremy mask?"<br/>
<br/>
"I think it needs to be a mask that has a mind attached, like—"<br/>
<br/>
"Like the Eva mask?"<br/>
<br/>
You look at each other excitedly. "Oh, fuck, she's gonna be your slave, too!" Caleb cries. "You just remember who helped you make her, and who wants a piece of her too!"<br/>
<br/>
You start to snatch up the Eva mask, but then you pause. You have the newly polished mask you made, and the mind band that Caleb made—both of you finished up with them last night. "Hang on," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"What?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, I'm just thinking ... What if I didn't want to go to school anymore? What if I wanted to send my slave to school for me?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb looks intrigued for a moment, and then his face falls. "Oh, you're not going to waste this on a clone of yourself, are you? I don't care if it does do what you order it, I don't want <i>your</i> mouth slurping on my balls, I want <i>hers!"</i></span></div></div>


path: 111231222122
author_id: seuzz
title: Clone Show
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I dunno," you say. "I feel bad enough taking $500 off her. Asking her clone to—"<br/>
<br/>
"Let me cum on her face?"<br/>
<br/>
You punch him in the arm. "I feel like we've taken enough advantage of her. I'm going to try this on myself."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb doesn't just groan, he goes off in a corner and sulks. "You wanna come see this?" you call to him an hour later when you've got the mask all prepared, and you've clambered up next to the golem.<br/>
<br/>
"Why should I? I've seen you naked."<br/>
<br/>
You make a face and drop the mask onto one end of the golem-mass.<br/>
<br/>
It's like dropping a large rock into a pond, and the mask disappears without a trace. Despite what he had said, Caleb hurries over to have a look, and scoots up next to you just in time to see the golem suddenly shrink down and acquire a human form. <br/>
<br/>
It's you.<br/>
<br/>
You and Caleb take a step back as the thing opens its eyes. It takes a deep breath, then stretches its arms. It turns its head and rests an alert eye on you. Then it tilts its chin in greeting. "S'up, fellas?" it says.<br/>
<br/>
You swallow and start to stammer, but then fall silent as it hops off the table and approaches, to stare at you openly and curiously. "Huh," it says.<br/>
<br/>
It circles around you, looking you up and down. When it comes back in front of you, it looks you boldly in the eye, then reaches out tentatively and gives your cheek a light pinch. This seems to break the spell it's cast over you.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck are you doing?" you exclaim. "Who are you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm Will Prescott," it says. "You know that. I know you're not a retard because I know everything you know."<br/>
<br/>
A chill runs through you, but you also feel your face turning red. "Look, you're supposed to be my slave—"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course I'm your slave," it retorts, and it isn't the least bit polite about it. "I'm totally your slave and will do whatever the fuck you want me to. But don't be a moron. I'm supposed to be just like you, and I am. Whaddaya want, a zombie going out to take your place at school?"<br/>
<br/>
"He's got a point," says Caleb. <br/>
<br/>
"Fuck yeah," says your clone. He seems to notice Caleb for the first time, and his eyes narrow. He jerks his head at your friend. "You want me to hold him down while you pound all the shit out of this asshole?" he asks you. "It'll take awhile, but I'm game for a round of Pin the Ears Back on the Cocksucker."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb's jaw drops, but you guffaw. "I kinda like this guy," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"Is this what you think of me?" Caleb cries.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, don't mind me," says your clone. "We're just pissed because you wouldn't help out. Isn't that right, O my master?" His last words to you drip with sarcasm.<br/>
<br/>
This has all happened so fast it's kind of hard to take in. "You'll go to school for me if I ask you to?" you say.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't have to ask," it replies. "You can order me to."<br/>
<br/>
"And you'll do anything I tell you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm your slave."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb nudges you in the rib. "Will you suck his cock if he asks you to?"<br/>
<br/>
You jump, and your clone makes a face. "If he orders me," it mutters. Then a glint comes into its eye. "Actually, it might kind of fun. It'd be interesting to see what's it's like to suck ourselves off." It reaches for your zipper, and you slap its hand away hard. "Oh come on," it says. "It's not like you're not curious too."<br/>
<br/>
You pull Caleb aside. "Is there an off switch for this thing?"<br/>
<br/>
"You got me. I didn't finish reading all of the spell."<br/>
<br/>
"Yo, slave boy," you shout over your shoulder. "Any way to turn you off?"<br/>
<br/>
It looks up from some stacked furniture that it's pulling at in a bored kind of way. "If you don't know how I work, how the hell should I?"<br/>
<br/>
"We can't let it break out of here," you tell Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"So order it to stay here. But I thought you were sending it school for you."<br/>
<br/>
"I think it's broken."<br/>
<br/>
"It's acting just like you."<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up, or I <i>will</i> ask it to hold you down."<br/>
<br/>
There's a crash from behind, and you jump. Desks have toppled over in a great heap, burying the table you'd used to make the golem. It looks up guiltily. "I didn't do it!" it protests.<br/>
<br/>
"No, I'm leaving it here until we figure out what the fuck to do with it!"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb says he'll take the book home and figure out the rest of the spell; you order the golem to remain hidden in the basement. At school the next day, Caleb tells you he thinks he knows how to deactivate it, and asks you to meet him at the clubhouse at five. "Why so late?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"I've got some stuff to do first."<br/>
<br/>
"So I'll meet you earlier and help out."<br/>
<br/>
He shakes his head. "I don't want to waste your time. But you could help by doing my math homework for me." You reluctantly agree.<br/>
<br/>
Later, at your house you get a snack and watch a little TV, and are about to go upstairs to get started when it hits you: Why do your homework (and Caleb's) when you've got a clone who can do it for you? It'll be another hour before Caleb shows up, but you hurry over to the clubhouse anyway.<br/>
<br/>
You're surprised to see the lock off the door when you arrive, and your heart starts to thump hard. Suppose the maintenance man finally found your clubhouse. Worse, suppose he found it and inside was a guy who looks like you and answers to your name? You're almost shitting yourself as you push open the door. <br/>
<br/>
As you creep in, you hear a groan and a gasp, and you peek around the corner. There you see the last thing you'd expect: Eva Garner kneeling in front of a naked and ecstatic duplicate of yourself and sucking on its cock.<br/>
<br/>
You yelp, and both figures nearly ricochet off the ceiling. "Eva!" you gasp. "What—? How—?" And then you notice: she's wearing the same pink sweatsuit that you wore when you pretended to be her at the bank.<br/>
<br/>
It all becomes clear in a flash. "Caleb!" you shout at her. "You're sucking me off?!" You don't know whether to be horrified or delighted at this unexpected perversity in your friend.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not sucking off anybody!" your double roars. <br/>
<br/>
You do a double take, your head swinging wildly between your twin and Eva. "Caleb? Which one are you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm here," says the guy who looks like you. <br/>
<br/>
"Then who—?" You point to Eva. <br/>
<br/>
"That's the golem. I put the Eva mask on it."<br/>
<br/>
"But how—?"<br/>
<br/>
"I came over to test the spell out," he says. "The mask is removable. It turns back into a pile of clay or whatever, and then you can put a different mask on it. I got the, uh, 'Will Prescott' mask off it, and then I thought, what the hell, I'll put the Eva mask on it, just to see. And then I thought—"<br/>
<br/>
"You thought you'd pretend to be me and order my golem to suck you off. Jesus!"<br/>
<br/>
"Do you blame me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Give me that!" You jump at him.<br/>
<br/>
"You should both just, like, chill," says the Eva clone, and you both wheel on her in surprise. "It's not like I didn't know it wasn't you. But I was also, like, whatever. There's nothing else to do down here."<br/>
<br/>
You gape. "Do you remember being me? Like, yesterday and today?"<br/>
<br/>
She shakes her head. "I only remember what is, like, in those things." She points to the mask. "But I also know what I am and I could guess what you guys wanted to do with me. So, like, sure, I guess I'll suck your friend's cock if he asks." <br/>
<br/>
"Sweet," your twin exclaims.<br/>
<br/>
"She won't if I tell her not to!" you remind him.<br/>
<br/>
The Eva clone sticks her chin out. "By the way, are you gonna give Eva her money back? Because if you're not, you could use some of it to get me some decent clothes." She regards the sweatsuit distastefully.<br/>
<br/>
"What business is that of—?" you start, and then catch yourself. "How do you know about that? Eva didn't know it was us!"<br/>
<br/>
The clone rolls her eyes. "It's, like, in the mask, you dorkface. Everything you do is, like, recorded in here or something. I dunno." Like the clone yesterday, she starts to wander around the basement in a distracted manner.<br/>
<br/>
You look at Caleb, and he nods. "And if you put the mask back on the person you copied," he says, "it will record all the memories and stuff that happened since you last made it." He points to his face, which is yours. "I think we can also update it with the memories of what you've been doing since you made it. Like, if I took it off and put it on you, it would copy all your memories, including the ones you have of what you did today."<br/>
<br/>
"Like punching you in the balls?"<br/>
<br/>
"When did you—? Oh, ha ha. Sure. But also," he adds, "it will give <i>you</i> the memories that mask absorbed while I was being it. Or—"<br/>
<br/>
"Wait wait wait!" You hold up a hand and try to think things through.<br/>
<br/>
"You mean," you say when you're done, "I could put that mask onto the golem over there and send it out to do stuff. Then when it got back, I could put the mask onto my own face, and I would get the memories of what it did?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's what I was trying to say."<br/>
<br/>
You give a low whistle of appreciation. "You know what this means?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb nods. "You can send the golem out to be you while you're doing something else, and afterward you can pick up all the stuff that you missed."<br/>
</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221
author_id: seuzz
title: Send in the Clone
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Caleb asks what you're going to do with the golem, but you just tell him you'll have to think about it. You do, and the next morning you stop at the clubhouse before going to school.<br/>
<br/>
Your clone, once it's activated, looks with amusement at the clothes you've brought along. "So, I'm to live the first day of the rest of your life for you," it says. "I suppose you're going to ask me to ace your pop quizzes. It would be too much to hope you'd ask me to do something easy like flunk them."<br/>
<br/>
"Just pretend to be me," you tell it as it dresses. "That includes when you're with Caleb."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't tell him who I am?" You shake your head emphatically. "That's brilliant," it grins. "I love it. What are you gonna do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Study up on this new spell. I'm tired of Caleb being a step ahead of me. Yesterday was pretty creepy. You keep him away from here, but bring me something to eat around suppertime."<br/>
<br/>
"You're staying here that late?"<br/>
<br/>
"Probably. I'll talk to you then about tonight and tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"We won't have to talk," it points out as it picks up your backpack. "You just have to my face onto you."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next spell, you discover, requires the same set of materials as the last, including earth from the graveyard. You make a face at that, but at least it only requires forty pounds this time instead of four hundred. The really weird thing is that this spell requires you to put a person in the middle of the sigil. You spend several hours trying out various ways of translating the bad Latin, but it all seems to come back to the same thing: Someone has to lay down in the middle of the sigil and have dirt sprinkled all over them. <br/>
<br/>
This really bothers you. You've mostly avoided experimenting on yourself, and it has all turned out right even for your victims—well, except for Eva and her $500—but you still vaguely intend to make it up to her. This doesn't sound like something you want to try out on yourself, and you have a bad feeling it won't turn out so well for the victim.<br/>
<br/>
You're still mulling over this when you're startled by a scratching at the door. You quickly hide, but then come out when a familiar voice calls. It's your golem.<br/>
<br/>
"So, how'd it go?" you ask as you settle back down. It has thoughtfully brought you a snack to hold you until dinner. <br/>
<br/>
"Awesome," it says with a laugh. "I spent the whole day arguing with Caleb and giving him shit, messing up his plans. He was pretty pissed by the end, especially since I didn't help him out."<br/>
<br/>
"That's brilliant," you say. "Asshole deserves to— Wait, help him out with what?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that reminds me," it says, reaching into his jacket pocket. "I snagged this off him for you. He threatened to punch me out, but I pulled rank on him as the book owner." <br/>
<br/>
It's a mind band he gives you, and the name "JEREMY THADDEUS RICHARDS" float above it. Your jaw drops. "Where did he get this?"<br/>
<br/>
"Off Richards, of course," says the golem. "He used the Eva mask to get close to him and—"<br/>
<br/>
"Wait, how did he get the Eva mask?" You look around wildly.<br/>
<br/>
The golem shrugs. "Apparently he lifted it yesterday when no one was looking. Anyway, that's the plan I didn't help out with. Eva didn't show up for school—Jessica and Marc didn't either—so before last period he snuck into the girls room, changed into her—he had that sweatsuit too—and then joined class for last period, pretending to be all snuffling and crying. Insisted on going off with Jeremy, and got this off him. So, you know, it can go with the Jeremy mask. Gives us—you guys, I mean—a complete Eva and a complete Jeremy to play with."<br/>
<br/>
"You should've stopped him!"<br/>
<br/>
"I argued, but he wouldn't listen. Oh, I got one more thing to show you." From his pocket he pulls a piece of notebook paper and unfolds it. With a grin he holds it up in front of his chest. In huge letters it says, PSYCH! I'M REALLY CALEB!<br/>
<br/>
It takes you a moment to process the confession, then—<br/>
<br/>
"Son of a bitch!" You swing a fist at him. He deflects it with a laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, calm down. It's your own damn fault for trying to trick me," he gloats. "I knew you were going to try something like that. The golem did a pretty good imitation of you, though. If I hadn't been sure you were up to something, I would've been fooled."<br/>
<br/>
"Where is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Out in the car, buffing its nails."<br/>
<br/>
"Buffing it's—?"<br/>
<br/>
"I put the Eva mask on it. I guess I should tell it to come in."<br/>
<br/>
"Wait, how did you get into my mask?"<br/>
<br/>
"I insisted on coming out here with it. It kept arguing and arguing, and when I got here it finally confessed to being the golem. That's when I made it switch with me so I could prank you."<br/>
<br/>
"Bastard."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I know. But you'll get me one of these days."<br/>
<br/>
The fake Eva comes in, looking very resentful and ill-treated (though she doesn't remember a thing from the day, except a brief makeout session with Jeremy), and then Caleb asks you to bring him up to speed. You explain what you've got of the new spell, and he checks your work. <br/>
<br/>
"Mm-hmm," he says. "Yeah, it looks like we need an unwilling victim for this. So, who's it gonna be, Eva or Jeremy? They're the ones we can replace if something goes wrong."<br/>
<br/>
You goggle. "You're not serious, are you? We're going to do it?"<br/>
<br/>
"You wanna stop now?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't we have enough? I mean, we can make copies of ourselves, we can make ourselves up as others, even with their memories—"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but what else could there be? I'm dying to know."<br/>
<br/>
"This is getting really creepy!"<br/>
<br/>
"It got creepy a long time ago, Will."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh heavily. You don't like where this is going, and you don't like that Caleb seems so firmly in the driver's seat. But it seems like the only way to exercise even a little bit of control is to go along and hope to restrain him from the worst.<br/>
<br/>
You just hope that what comes next isn't too bad, and that it's the worst it can possibly get.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211
author_id: seuzz
title: Target: Eva Garner
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You suppose there is some small chance that whatever happens might rebound to the benefit of the person you're going to grab, so you insist that Eva—the most wronged of your victims—be the one. You also insist on the being the one to grab her. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's clear, when she comes to the front door, that she's been crying hard for a long time. But she is glad to see you. "Oh, Jeremy," she says, and without any further word tightly hugs your long, lean torso. You hug her back.<br/>
<br/>
There is some small blossoming affection between Eva and Jeremy—thanks to your improvised interventions—so she's willing to go off with you when you suggest a drive. "This isn't your car," she frowns as you lead her out to your truck, and you cover the fact that you're not in Jeremy's vehicle by telling her that it is in the shop and that this is your aunt and uncle's.<br/>
<br/>
Mention of "aunt" sets her to blubbering all over again. Drib by drab the story comes out as you drive off:<br/>
<br/>
Everyone is pissed at her. It's not that they think she stole anything. It's her money that disappeared from the checking account. It's that they think either she's trying to trick someone into giving her $500 to replace the money that was "stolen" or that she's just pretending in order to get some attention. And the harder she insists that <i>it wasn't her who took the money, or met and talked to Scott and Mindy</i> the more pissed off people get. By now her own sister and brother aren't speaking to her; her dad just glowers when she appears; and her mother looks very tired. Aunt Meg isn't talking to anyone, but she knows that Aunt Meg is also insisting it was Eva who showed up with a deposit slip and took the money. Today, finally, her mother insisted that the entire family go see a counselor, who of course took their side, and took Eva aside to tell her that she needed to confess. She feels like she's going crazy.<br/>
<br/>
You tell her that you believe her, but you also admit you're totally at a loss to explain what is going on. By this time you've arrived at the clubhouse; it's well past eight o'clock, and it is totally dark, but you can see Caleb's car nearby, which means he was real quick at the graveyard getting the dirt. But you're not in a hurry—you are feeling increasingly reluctant to go through with the plan—so you put your arm around her and lean in to nuzzle her. She nuzzles back and strokes your chest. "You feel so good," she murmurs. "You smell so good, too. I like it when you come out of PE and you haven't showered. I like sitting behind you then, in Goretsky's class."<br/>
<br/>
You're getting excited by this point, and are pleased that she doesn't fight when you squeeze her breast. Instead, she gives a sharp little moan and grips the side of your hip. You shift sideways and pull her onto your lap. She tries straddling you, then gives up and lunges at your face. You have to grip the bottom of the seat to keep from falling into the floorboards, and your hand touches the mask that is tucked under there. You push it further under the seat to concentrate on her.<br/>
<br/>
And then a cell phone chirps. She breaks off. "That's mine," she says.<br/>
<br/>
"Ignore it, it's just someone you don't want to talk to. Like your sister."<br/>
<br/>
In the dark you see her wince, but she still takes it out and looks at the ID. She frowns. "It's <i>your </i>cell phone."<br/>
<br/>
Swiftly, you reach down and pull out the mask with one hand, and with the other hand brace the back of her head as you smash it against her face. She shrieks and then sags. The mask glows, then sinks into her. It's the mask of her own face, and for the next few minutes she will be comatose while it sucks up her new memories.<br/>
<br/>
During that time you struggle out of the cab of your truck and carry her down the steps; Caleb opens the door when you kick at it. Except for the dim light of a muffled lamp, it is completely dark.<br/>
<br/>
"All set up?" you hiss.<br/>
<br/>
He nods. You set Eva down in the middle of the sigil, which is already covered in magic mix and a tuft of your hair. Caleb quickly covers her with the cemetery dirt. You've just finished when the mask reappears on her face. You lift it off, and calculate that you've only a quarter minute before she comes to.<br/>
<br/>
Even in the very dim light you can see that Caleb is pale as he pours a scoop of fuel over Eva and tosses in a match. You <i>really</i> hope that this doesn't set anything on fire.<br/>
<br/>
There is bright flash, and the aurora appears. But instead of dying down to a low flame, it swells and blooms, and a swift, searing heat whips off it. "Oh, Christ!" someone shouts, and you turn to see your own golem, staring in horror at what is happening. As you gape at it and it gapes past you, the light vanishes, leaving only afterimages to play in the dark.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb is as blind as you, but he finds the lamp first and brings it up near the table. He raises a shutter, and beam gleams down on the thing that you have made.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus Oh Jesus," you repeat until even you feel yourself becoming hysterical. <br/>
<br/>
Caleb grabs and shakes you. "Will you control yourself! Someone will hear you, and then we <i>will</i> be in trouble."<br/>
<br/>
"And we're not in trouble now?" Your voice is a squeak.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think so," he says. He turns the lamp back toward the table. "All it's done is turn her into a golem."<br/>
<br/>
"That's all?! Turned her into a golem?" You start to giggle uncontrollably, interrupted by equally uncontrollable hiccups. <br/>
<br/>
"Well, I don't think it's killed her," Caleb says. "Look, she's breathing."<br/>
<br/>
Slowly you master yourself and lean in over the figure. It looks just like Eva, it's even still wearing her unchanged clothes, but her skin and hair and even her open eyes are the color of cold granite. When you touch her, she is yielding, but like stiff clay, not like flesh. But Caleb is right: she is still breathing.<br/>
<br/>
You put your head down close to your knees and take a deep breath. "Good. Then maybe we can reverse it."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe we can," he agrees. "But until then—" He drops the book onto her chest, and the next page easily turns. In the dim light you trace the words. Even in Latin they are familiar, and you do a quick comparison: It's the same continuation as with the first golem spell. That means ...<br/>
<br/>
Caleb picks the Eva mask up off the floor, where you had dropped it and gives it a quick once-over for damage. Then, with a glance at you, he drops it onto the new golem's face.  It vanishes, and every trace of grayness in her skin is replaced with color. She is still for a moment, and then she opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. You're not sure what to hope for: the appearance of the real Eva, even though it will spell certain doom, or—<br/>
<br/>
"Where's Jeremy?" she asks, and sits up. She looks at Caleb, and at your own golem (lurking nearby), and at you, and—<br/>
<br/>
"Oh," she says with a strong note of disappointment. "I get it. Very clever. Well, now that you've got two of us—" she indicates your first golem "—like, what are you going to do with us?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
She doesn't turn and wave from her front step after you and Caleb drop her off, even though you sit in the truck and watch her go. Caleb said you should put on the Jeremy mask and walk her to her door, but you'd demurred. The whole thing was too weird.<br/>
<br/>
He turns to you afterward, and his laugh is ragged, possibly from relief, possibly from excitement, possibly from both. "Well, we've got our own fake Eva Garner. How cool is that?"<br/>
<br/>
"I still want to reverse the spell," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"But you also know there's only one way to do that, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," you glumly reply. "Keep doing spells until we unlock an antidote. If there <i>is</i> one."<br/>
<br/>
"And until then— Oh, man, think of the possibilities!" he exults.<br/>
<br/>
But the possibilities seem murkier the next day at school, when you discover that the fake Eva can be just as snotty as the real one. Snottier, even. When you were dating Lisa she was at least polite, and even after the break up she seemed to go out of her way to be gentle and to talk to you (in a cool and distant kind of way) when you tried. Now, since the switch, she just seems pissed off.<br/>
<br/>
"Could be overcompensation," Caleb speculates at lunch. "She gave you the money, right?"<br/>
<br/>
You nod. To test out her "obedience" you'd cornered her after second period and demanded half of her cash. She'd made a face but handed it over. "Maybe that's why she's being so vicious."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, tell her to come by the clubhouse after school," he says. "We need to talk about the next step."<br/>
<br/>
"The next step is making the next spell so we can maybe reverse this disaster. And why does she need to be there?"<br/>
<br/>
"So she can tell us who she can get close to."<br/>
<br/>
You give him a puzzled look, and then the penny drops. "Jesus, you're planning on making more duplicates!"<br/>
<br/>
"Copies, not golems," he says hurriedly. "I didn't get a chance to play with her boobs from the inside. If she can get us a copy of her sister—"<br/>
<br/>
"Fucking pervert."<br/>
<br/>
He gives you a hooded glance. "You know, you have a duplicate of your own you can send to school. And instead of hiding out in that greasy old basement, you could come to school too."<br/>
<br/>
Yes, you've thought about it, but you haven't said anything. Caleb says it for you.<br/>
<br/>
"After school, how about you go home as Eva. See how the other half lives."<br/>
<br/>
* Non-canonical: "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/111231222122112" target="_top" title="Interactive Story Chapter in Item # 2236945">Let the golem continue playing the part.</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/111231222122112" target="_blank" title="Open in new window."><img border="0" height="12" loading="lazy" onmouseout="$(this).css('opacity', '.4');" onmouseover="$(this).css('opacity', '1');" src="https://www.Writing.Com/nw.gif" style="opacity:.4;" width="12"/></a></span></div></div>


path: 111231222122111
author_id: seuzz
title: Take Eva's place.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>It's probably a very bad thing to do, but let's be frank: you've already been doing some pretty bad things. Anyway, if you take over Eva's life for a little bit, maybe you can fix it up for her so she returns to an existence that's a little less fucked up. <br/>
<br/>
She's a little late showing up at the clubhouse, and grumbles about having to miss a date. "You won't miss it," you tell the Eva golem. "Take off your clothes."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh God, not with you," she whines as she strips off her tank top. <br/>
<br/>
"No, I'll be going on that date <i>as</i> you," you retort as you take off your own shirt.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, don't fuck it up, you loser," she pouts.<br/>
<br/>
"And how am I going to do that when I've got your memories and personality?" you chortle.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Two hours later you're fighting back the tears as Scott Bickelmeir roars off in his truck. <i>Stupid!</i> You don't drop coy hints about going down on a guy by casually mentioning that you've given blow jobs to some of his teammates. <i>Stupid, stupid!</i> When he asks, you don't tell him who it was you blew, either! <i>Stupid, stupid, stupid!</i> And you especially don't tell him when the teammate in question, Erik Carstairs, is now banging said guy's ex-girlfriend, who dumped him for that teammate! <i>Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!</i><br/>
<br/>
You grab your hair in a fury and stomp into the house. "I don't want to talk about it!" you holler at Marc as you pass him on the couch. "I'm taking supper in my room and I'm not hungry besides!" you yell at Mrs. Garner as you go up the stairs. "I'll punch you in the face if you say one word!" you growl at Jessica as you barge past her and into your bedroom. You throw yourself on the bed and bawl.<br/>
<br/>
Not that you're really upset about having blown your chance to blow Scott (so to speak). Even with Eva's own lusts and affections nipping and snapping at you, the idea isn't very appealing. But Eva is a girl who feels everything deeply, and sinking into her moods—even her negative ones—is like slipping into a very hot and soapy bath. As you cry, you grind your crotch and bust into the bed and weep ever more deeply, until you've got yourself worked up good and excited so that when you plunge your fingers into your cunny the explosion leaves you weak and gasping and sobbing for mercy from yourself. <br/>
<br/>
Shortly afterward there's a soft knock at the door, and Jessica comes in to find you cuddled up with Eva's favorite childhood doll, Mrs. Pookie. "Are you finished," she asks guardedly. You sniff and wipe the tears off your cheeks and shrug. She sits on the bed and the two of you have a long and intimate talk of the kind that only twin sisters can have, about boys and brothers and parents and the other bitches on the cheerleading squad. <br/>
<br/>
So the next day you are feeling very chipper as you get up very early and do aerobics and then put on makeup and try out different sets of clothes. It's supposed to be unseasonably warm for late September—probably the last summer-like day of the year—so you settle on a tank top with an exposed midriff and a short skirt. That'll teach Scott Bickelmeir, especially when you flirt with all the other boys at school but give him the cold shoulder!<br/>
<br/>
But your special excitement is reserved for first period, which is one of the cheerleading practice sessions. You're going to get a first-hand look at the girls' locker room and at the other cheerleaders in various states of undress: Yumi Saito, Gloria Rea, Lin Pol, Kendra Saunders, Maria Vasquez, and the uber-bitch who rules the school social scene, the head cheerleader, Chelsea Cooper. Of course, Eva's own memories tell you what you are going to see, but to see it in real time: "Omigod!" you squeal out loud.<br/>
<br/>
"What?" Jessica asks you as you cross the gym floor.<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing," you say, shaking your head but smiling to yourself. "Just a thought, that's all."<br/>
<br/>
Most of the other girls are already dressed out and on the floor, and Chelsea brushes past you as you enter the dressing area. "I left some of that money I owe you in your locker," she says as she passes. <i>Money? What money?</i><br/>
<br/>
You and Jessica both stop dead when you come up to your lockers. A single bill of Monopoly money—$500—has been taped to the door of your locker. Tears well up in your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Jessica tears it off and stuffs it into her pocket. "Forget it, Eva. She doesn't mean it. It's just a joke." <br/>
<br/>
"Everything's a joke to Chelsea!" you yell, and rush off toward the toilet stalls.<br/>
<br/>
You get control of yourself pretty quickly—of course, you're not really upset, you just have to indulge the emotions the mask hits you with—but the locker room is empty when you re-emerge. But you are still fuming as you change. It doesn't matter that <i>you</i> are to blame for Eva's misfortunes—more misfortunes than her sister or family or friends (or rivals) can possibly guess—but that still doesn't give Chelsea—<i>that cunt!</i>—the right to ...<br/>
<br/>
You freeze, and a nasty smile comes to your face. If you had a mask of Chelsea, you could get her back good and hard. Learn her locker combination, steal her ID or even her credit card out from it during school, go on a shopping binge while looking just like her... That would teach the little cockroach what it is like to have one's identity stolen!</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221112
author_id: rugal
title: Let it go.
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You eventually decide against stealing her identity.  Whereas Eva is just very emotional, Chelsea is a master manipulator, able to have people eating out of the palm of her hand and believing whatever bullshit she feeds them.  If you stole her identity and money, there's no doubt she'd be able to cook up something that would give her maximum sympathy.  Hell, she could probably set up a "Donate To Chelsea Cooper" fund and get half of the school to hand over their money.  There's always kicking her ass, something you could do very easily with Eva's body and memories, but again, she'd get the sympathy and you--no, Eva--would be the bad guy.<br/>
<br/>
No, you realize.  If you want to do something about Queen Chelsea, you're going to have to come up with another way.  Something that would absolutely ruin her and perhaps teach her some humility.  But mostly ruin her.  It's a thought that you find exciting and for a moment you stop and wonder why.  Chelsea was a bitch sure, even to you the few times you crossed paths, but you're not sure why the thought of messing with her is so enjoyable.  Well whatever, she deserves it you think as you head off to practice.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
Cheerleading practice more or less goes off without a hitch.  Although of course Chelsea has to make continuous, thinly veiled references towards Eva and her situation.  Constant little jabs like singling you out for what she thought was a poor performance (and emphasizing the word "poor"); stuff that her giggling friends like Gloria, Kendra and Maria laughed along with.  You just grinned through it though as spending time with the cheerleaders made you realize just how fragile and precarious Chelsea's little perch above everything really was.<br/>
<br/>
Kendra was scheming, a snake who went along with Chelsea but was waiting for her to slip up.  She felt that she should be the queen bee of the school, not Chelsea, and when the time came she'd take her rightful place at the top.  But for now she was content to play the role of Chelsea's lackey.  Chelsea herself knew this but it was like a chess game with these two, one waiting for the other to make a wrong move so they could crush them.<br/>
<br/>
Gloria was simply a follower; she was basically a female Jeremy in that she used to be quite geeky and hang out with you and Caleb.  In fact, her and Jeremy even went out briefly in middle school.  And like Jeremy, she eventually changed her image, becoming good looking and popular in the process while abandoning her old friends.<br/>
<br/>
Maria, on the other hand, was one huge act.  She was gorgeous, the most stunning girl in the school (it had even been informally voted on and everything) but also had a reputation for being the world's biggest airhead and perhaps a bit promiscuous.  They were lies, however, born from insecurity.  She had confided in Eva once that she wasn't as dumb as she let on.  In fact her report card indicated that she did pretty well which was a surprise given that most of her classes were AP classes (most students believed her dad, a school board member, had been pulling strings for her).  Even the sex stuff was a lie as she had, in fact, never had sex.<br/>
<br/>
Eva had soon deduced that Chelsea, knowing these and feeling Maria could be a threat to her position, manipulated her, making her believe that people would be too "intimidated" by a girl who was both smart and beautiful.  She preyed upon the girl's insecurities to keep her spot.<br/>
<br/>
If her kingdom is that close to coming down, you think, maybe you should start sacking Rome.  With a mask of the right person, you could put this plan into motion.  The problem was choosing the right person for the job.  Gloria wouldn't work and Kendra... she would be as bad as Chelsea.  Maria, however... she was a fundamentally nice girl, you realize, just easily manipulated.  Take her place, however, and you could maneuver her out from under Chelsea's thumb and make her known for being more than a "brainless slut."<br/>
<br/>
But what about the other cheerleaders?  The rest of them weren't so bad.  Yumi, you know, could easily be more popular than Chelsea if she tried to be; she was cute and her overall nice, friendly nature gave her many secret admirers.  She hung out with the likes of James Lamont, Carson Ioeger and Jenny Ashton as well, people who generally weren't that much more popular than yourself.<br/>
<br/>
Going through the day, you continued going over possibilities of who you could use for your plan.  Near the end of the day, however, a wrench was thrown in when you were confronted by Kim Walsh, student council president and most likely valedictorian.  She was a little bit on the nerdy side but in a way that was attractive.  Breasts that were a bit on the small side but lustorous, long red hair and hip glasses.  Her legs were, today anyway, hidden by a knee length skirt and her dark blue blouse was covered by a short denim jacket.  Apparently "smart" extended to her dress style as well.<br/>
<br/>
"Eva, hello!" she comes up to you with a wave.  "It's good to finally see you back, everyone's missed you!"<br/>
<br/>
You glare at her, "Everyone?  Funny because I've heard the opposite Kim.  I've already had to deal with Chelsea's crap."<br/>
<br/>
Her face scrunches up a bit, it's actually kind of cute you think.  "Hmm, well <i>I'm</i> glad to see you back." she finally says, "What you're going through is awful and... ugh, look at me bringing it up.  I know you don't really want to talk about it or anything although if you do..." she trails off a bit, leaving that thought hanging.<br/>
<br/>
"Look Kim, I appreciate the kind words.  Really." you say, not falling for her opening, "But right now, I don't want to be bothered about that.  At all.  And you're a nice, pretty girl." you add, "So I'd really hate to see what would happen to you if you decided to push it, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
Kim is taken aback, shock present on her face, but she gets the idea and backs off.  "Right right yeah.  I get it." she says disappointed, "But I mean, if you ever want to talk I'm here."<br/>
<br/>
As she leaves you get to thinking.  Kim is a girl that holds a position of influence.  She's also attractive in her way and her kindness, whether genuine or shrewd, has given her a level of charisma that few students can match.  Using her, it would probably be easy to turn people against Chelsea.  As the final bell rings an hour later, you head to the clubhouse.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"So what do you think?" you ask, you and Caleb laying on the floor.  You're both naked and your arm is draped over his chest.  Eva's feelings and hormones got the better of you and, after telling him to put on the Jeremy mask, the two of you got to work on relieving those feelings.  "We just need to figure out which one is better and how to get them out of the way for a bit."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know." he replies while wiping off some sweat, "I mean you already threw your mask on the golem and set him to work making a new mask. So that should hopefully be done tomorrow.  As for the other stuff, well..."<br/>
<br/>
You notice a weird tone in his voice as you go to put your clothes back on.  "You know something?  That was a little suspicious the way you said that." you say.<br/>
<br/>
He also goes to throw his clothes back on.  "Yeah, actually I looked at the book before you got here."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, because you decided to ditch." you shoot at him.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb just rolls his eyes and continues.  "Anyway, the next spell requires a mask with an image, a spoonful of graveyard dirt and fuel.  You light it like with the golems and, I guess, whoever you slap it on becomes a golem.  You can order them around and shit, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh!  More golems?  I don't want to get rid of anyone PERMANENTLY." you protest.<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's the thing;" he explains, "The mask is removable.  So make a slave mask, throw it on whoever, take their place for a bit, then put them back.  The question is what mask to use."<br/>
<br/>
"The one you're wearing right now." you say without hesitation.  "I don't want anyone else wearing mine."<br/>
<br/>
"What?!  What about the Eva mask?" Caleb asks.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head.  "No way.  I need this to get close to Maria or Kim.  I'm not going to waste it."<br/>
<br/>
"But I like this mask..." Caleb whines, although looking at you he realizes it's pointless arguing.  "Alright fine, geez.  Okay so if you're gonna pull this off who's it gonna be?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno." you shrug, "Maria is, sort of, Chelsea's best friend and her deposing Chelsea would be the most satisfying.  Yumi would be a good backup or second to bring in just in case you want to get involved."  You start to smirk, "Kim though... she's a natural leader.  Her brain, her looks, her power... I'd have the easiest time crushing Chelsea from her."<br/>
<br/>
You're so caught up in your revenge fantasies, and you suspect that's due to the strong emotions associated with Eva, that you don't notice Caleb is taken a little aback by how callous you seem.  You don't care though.  Two great candidates to get you to your ultimate goal... this should be satisfying.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211122
author_id: rugal
title: Make a Kim mask
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So, you figure out who it's gonna be?" Caleb asks as he finishes up a mind band.  It's about an hour later and you've just finished up modifying the Jeremy mask yourself.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think so." you nod as you look over the mask.  "When do you think it'll be done?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"The mask?" asks Caleb as he looks up at you, "I dunno, I had both golems working on two of them until you came in and took th Jeremy mask off of one of them." he looks a bit annoyed when he says that.  "The one that's actually getting worked on though... maybe tomorrow morning before school hopefully."<br/>
<br/>
"Great!" you exclaim, "Means I can probably call her up tonight or something and tell her to meet me here tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"Whoa, wait." Caleb says as he stops working, "You're bringing someone DOWN HERE?  Are you nuts?!"<br/>
<br/>
You smirk and brush off his worries.  "Look, I bring them down here, copy their image on the blank mask, throw on a memory band, solder it onto the mask, throw the Jeremy mask on, then take their place.  It's simple."<br/>
<br/>
"Simple.  Really." is all Caleb says in response.<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes, "Look, getting the band on the mask isn't hard, you know that.  Just involves holding it on and chanting the words and the magic does the rest.  Anyway, I figure I keep them down here working on a mask and send my golem and the Eva golem to school."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb grunts and you can tell he's not exactly down with your plan but he doesn't actually say anything to protest it.  "Anyway, who is it?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Who's what?  Oh..." you say, then smile.  "You'll find that out tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
It's later in the evening and you've decided to call up Kim in order to hang out.  You figure it's best to build up some kind of rapport between her and Eva so she's more inclined to listen to you when you tell her to meet you at the elementary school.  So now here you are at the mall with her, hanging out at the food court after doing a bit of window shopping.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, so, thanks for hanging out with me." you say inbetween a few french fries.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, no problem." Kim replies smiling, "You just really seem like you needed someone to actually listen to you and I figure why not me?  I mean, I sort of took the student council position to help the students right?"<br/>
<br/>
"So that means playing the role of therapist too?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Kim makes a face, "I'm not trying to be a therapist, just a friend.  You kind of need it right now I think." she says.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I know what you're getting at." you say with a scowl, "And I told you earlier, I'm not talking about it.  I'll work it out on my own."<br/>
<br/>
"What?  But I wasn't..." she starts, "Well, I'll try to avoid bringing it up."<br/>
<br/>
"Good." you state, "So what about you?  What's going on in the world of Kim Walsh?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, well... nothing exciting unfortunately." she winces, "Just trying to keep my grades up you know?  I'm also trying to come up with some extracurricular activities we can do.  Reading to children or something.  It's stuff that will make our school look better and look good on college applications."<br/>
<br/>
"Well..." you begin with a knowing smirk, "I was thinking more your personal life.  Do you have a boyfriend?  Or is there even anybody you like?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
You can see a bit of a dejected look on her face before she shakes her head.  "No, I don't have a boyfriend.  I mean, I guess there are some people I like but I don't..." she pauses and you can tell by her tone and expression that whatever she's going to say isn't going to be the truth, "I don't have the time."<br/>
<br/>
"But you <i>do</i> like someone." you say, "So who is it?  Anyone I know?"<br/>
<br/>
Kim shakes her head.  "No, he goes to Eastman.  His name's Geoff Dunholm."<br/>
<br/>
"Damn, Eastman huh?" you say with your eyes widening in surprise.  "How do you know him?"<br/>
<br/>
"He's a member of their debate team so they've come over here to go against our team a few times." she explains, "I've met him a couple of times and he's just... he's very nice.  And cute."  You can see her blush at that and you smile, your opening has just presented itself.<br/>
<br/>
"Well hey, meet me at that abandoned elementary school tomorrow morning before school starts." you state, "There's a basement there that's really hidden and this kind of stuff, romantic stuff, this should be private."<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?" Kim asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Well," you flash her a warm smile, "I want to help you out.  Jessica and I store some stuff down there that'd probably be useful so I want to go over some stuff before school."<br/>
<br/>
With a bit of persuasion, Kim agrees to meet you at the school.  You couldn't be any happier as your plan is going along perfectly.  You're on a roll and it seems like nothing can really stop you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
After meeting her at the school, you lead her down into the basement while making idle small talk.  You had arrived a little bit earlier to prepare: checking with the golem to make sure the new mask was ready as well as grabbing the mind band and seeing if the Jeremy mask was on the table where you left it.  Everything was in place and as the two of you entered the basement, you pulled out the mind band and placed it on Kim's head.<br/>
<br/>
As the magic did it's thing with the band, you removed the Eva mask.  To your surprise, you don't pass out when removing it.  You get woozy and have to brace yourself but you never actually black out.  Perhaps you're getting used to the magic and the more you use it or longer you use it, the more used to it you get?  Well it's unimportant right now, you have to make sure everything goes off without a hitch you think as you place the mask on the table.<br/>
<br/>
You look back towards Kim and see the mind band reappearing on her head, her name etched into it now.  You quickly remove it and before she has a chance to recover, you remove her glasses, grab the blank mask and place it on her face.  As she lays there in that weird semi-unconscious state, you begin removing both your clothes as well as her's: a pair of dark blue jeans, wedge boots, a maroon blouse with a black belt around the stomach and her underwear.<br/>
<br/>
As you finish this, the mask reappears, an image of Kim now appearing on it.  Quickly you remove it, grab the first mask you feel off of the table and place it on her face.  You then get to work, fusing the mind band to the new Kim Walsh mask with the right chant.  Then, taking a breath you place it on your own face.  Once more, you merely get woozy and lightheaded instead of actually passing out.  As the changes finish, you then grab her clothes and put them on, finishing up with the glasses (as your eyesight definitely suffers without them now).<br/>
<br/>
"Man, that was... intense." you say to yourself in your new voice.  "It's gonna be so worth it though.  Right <i>Jeremy</i>?" you ask, emphasizing the name.<br/>
<br/>
You turn towards where the slave Jeremy should be and are greeted by the surprise of a lifetime.  There, naked and staring out herself in amazement is Eva Garner!  But wait, that means...  "Oh shit." you say to yourself.  When grabbing a mask, you weren't paying too much attention, you were too busy rushing to make sure everything got done in time.  You must have grabbed the Eva mask by mistake and threw it on Kim.<br/>
<br/>
As she checks herself out, unbelieving, she looks up and stars right at, well, herself.  Her old self anyway.  She gasps in surprise and then understanding seems to wash over her face.  You come to a realization as well.  The memories are in that mask, including things you've done as Eva so far.  That means the fact you're the one who took Eva's money she knows.  The shit Chelsea pulled.  The fact you had sex with "Jeremy".  The plan you discussed with Caleb...<br/>
<br/>
She looks at you, her face in complete surprise and as she stares at her doppelganger, she says two simple words which send chills down your spine.  "I know..."</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112
author_id: seuzz
title: New Spell, Same as the Old Spell?
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You feel guilty enough as it is, so you reject Caleb's suggestion. "Well, then, can I take her for a spin?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"How are you gonna explain <i>your</i> disappearance?"<br/>
<br/>
"It'll only be for a day. Or, um, we could make a mask of me. Because, you know, we've got two golems ... golemi ... golemuses ..."<br/>
<br/>
You groan and look away. You need to start working on the new spell, to see if there's some way of reversing the last one. And this pervert wants to—<br/>
<br/>
"Hang on," you say. "The new spell. It requires a mask. A full copy of someone, right?" Caleb nods. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll help you make a mask of yourself, and I'll let you take Eva. But we have to use that mask we make for the new spell. Deal?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb hesitates, then sticks out his hand. "Deal."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
To keep him focused on the task, you refuse him permission to use the Eva mask just yet. Technically, he doesn't need your permission, since he knows how to get it off the golem, but he agrees to abide by your demand. A few days later, your little gang is putting the finishing touches on the new mask: Caleb is carving the runes into the metal band, and your own clone (who you gave the thankless task of polishing) is buffing the mask to a fine shine. You're looking over the spell again.<br/>
<br/>
"We have any leftover graveyard dirt?" you ask Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"How much does it call for?"<br/>
<br/>
"A spoonful. I dunno. I got a bad feeling about this. It might just make another golem, and I'm sick of those. No offense," you tell your clone.<br/>
<br/>
"None taken," it says, still rubbing away. "But if you really loved me you'd ask me to polish my cock instead of this shit."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't suppose these things can breed, do you?" you ask Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"When Eva gets here, why don't you order us to find out," your clone says. Its tone is sarcastic, but you can hear the frustrated ardor behind it. <br/>
<br/>
"Speaking of which," you say. You take the mask from your clone and examine it; your double has done a good job and you toss it over to Caleb. "You close to being done? I should call Eva if you are."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb nods, so you text her: "Cum slrp my balz." That should put her in a fun mood.<br/>
<br/>
Actually, she's very sweet and interested in affection when she arrives, and coos over you, petting and pinching and tweaking you, and making girly squealing noises. You can't tell if she's being ironical or if she interpreted your text as an actual "order" from her master. Either way, it kind of creeps you out, so you tell her to stop. Your own clone gives her a sidelong glance and goes into a sulk when she ignores him.<br/>
<br/>
You wake Caleb after he has imprinted his form onto the new mask, and he leaps up excitedly. "Sweet," he says, and points at Eva. "If you need me I'll be over there."<br/>
<br/>
"Hang on, we need to try out the spell."<br/>
<br/>
"So how come we can't try it out while I'm playing with my new boobs?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, fine," you say. You turn your back and concentrate on finishing the spell up.<br/>
<br/>
It doesn't take much to do: some graveyard dirt and fuel, fired over the sigil in the book. It burns brightly but without heat—a good sign, you hope—for a minute before winking out. This makes a black paste that you paint onto the inside of Caleb's mask. Then you clip off a bit of your hair, drop it into the mask, and set fire to it again.<br/>
<br/>
The inside of the mask is an ashy gray when it's done, like the skin of a golem. You glance down at the book: a symbol to unlock the page has appeared. <br/>
<br/>
You've been concentrating so hard on the spell that you jump when you feel a hand on your side. You look around: Eva is looking up mischievously at you. She laughs.<br/>
<br/>
You look over her head, and see your clone (looking very wan) and the ashy-gray Eva golem, laying on its back, like a stone. Caleb's clothes are lying nearby. So ... "Dude, don't distract me!"<br/>
<br/>
She simpers. "No fun for Will and his wee widdle willy?"<br/>
<br/>
You push her away. "Don't be sick."<br/>
<br/>
"I know, but I couldn't resist." She cups and lifts her breasts. "God, I could kiss these puppies until they turn blue."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, don't do it in front of me!"<br/>
<br/>
"This doesn't turn you on," she asks, making a "sexy" face at you.<br/>
<br/>
"I may vomit," you retort. "Do it at home."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay," she dimples, and runs to pick up her things. "You gonna send my new clone to my house?"<br/>
<br/>
"You're not gonna stay and finish up with the new spell?" you ask. She shakes her head as she pulls her panties on. "Fine. Just don't blame me if—" You don't know how to finish that sentence, and Caleb isn't paying attention anyway. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You discover bad news and worse news when you unlock and turn the page. The bad news (which you find out second) is that the spell you've just completed requires a new victim: you are to set the new mask onto the face of another person. "Christ," you mutter to yourself. You're beginning to know how Jack the Ripper must have felt.<br/>
<br/>
The worst news, which you noticed as soon as you turned the new page, is that the book is damaged.<br/>
<br/>
The page for the next spell is torn right across the middle, and the entire bottom of the page is gone. This means that you only have the list of ingredients and the first instruction for the new spell. Worse, since you have no idea how to complete that spell, you can't unlock the spell that comes afterward. Of course, you can make out some of the writing for the spell that follows (because it is not obscured by the bottom of the previous page) but the book's magic interferes even here: The letters are blurry and seem to wander around the page; though you can see the writing, whenever you focus on a spot on the page, all you can see is white space and the blur of a letter just next to it.<br/>
<br/>
With a sigh, you toss the book aside and glare at the wall of the basement. Your clone says nothing. You sit like this, stewing impotently for what seems like hours.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
After supper, you sprawl out on your bed and open the book again. After reading it through again, you decide the new spell might not be a disaster. The modified mask still works like a disguise, and there is also an unmasking command, which suggests the silly thing is reversible, at least. The instructions for using are a little hard to decipher, but it seems promise that the wearer of the mask will obey the will of he whose hair was used to cast the spell.<br/>
<br/>
You hear some shouting from downstairs, and then running feet; your brother dashes by and the door to his room slams. You roll your eyes, and your glance falls on the mask that you and Caleb had just finished making. There's a clicking noise inside your brain.<br/>
<br/>
You leap to your feet before you can change your mind.<br/>
<br/>
Robert looks up at you from his bed when you open his door. "The fuck do you want?" he demands. You say nothing but just leap on him, pressing the mask down on his face. He struggles and goes limp as the mask vanishes into him. You close his door, but the transformation is very quick. An instant later, it's Caleb is lying on the bed, but still wearing Robert's clothes. His eyes pop open and he winces hard before popping his shoes off.<br/>
<br/>
Then he looks around in puzzlement. "What happened?"<br/>
<br/>
"What happened what?" Your tone is guarded.<br/>
<br/>
"What happened what what?" he retorts. This could go on forever. "Dude, are we in your house?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't we know where we are?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. Is this—? What the fuck?" He looks down and grabs at his too-tight t-shirt. "The hell am I wearing?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who are you?" you demand.<br/>
<br/>
He stares up at you. "I'm your friend, Caleb. Remember?" he replies, as though addressing a retarded person. <br/>
<br/>
"Are you my slave?"<br/>
<br/>
He boggled at you, then blinks hard.<br/>
<br/>
"Shit," he says. "What did you do to me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Are you my slave?" you repeat.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes," he says through gritted teeth. "The fuck did you—?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just answer my questions. How old is my brother?"<br/>
<br/>
"How old is—? The fuck should I know?"<br/>
<br/>
You push him back on the bed, grasp at his forehead, say the magic words, and rip the mask away. Robert, unconscious, reappears. You return to your room to await the inevitable fireworks, but twenty minutes later he hasn't busted in, so you knock on his door. He looks a little confused when he answers, but it's clear he doesn't remember anything.<br/>
<br/>
Well, it's better than transforming people into golems, but you're still not sure you want Caleb knowing about this new spell.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121
author_id: seuzz
title: Twins in Unexpected Places
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You're reluctant enough to share your discovery with Caleb that you don't call him up instantly. But he's not at school the next day, in either his own scraggly form or as the more voluptuous Eva. Fears about what he might be up to start to prey on you. He'll surely be at the clubhouse after school, but you're worried enough that you text him when class lets out. You are so engrossed that you don't watch where you're going as you round the corner of one of the wings—<br/>
<br/>
"Oof." You bounce backwards, and look up to apologize to whoever you bumped into. And you pale. David Kirkham turns slowly to regard you with that reptilian gaze of his. "Hey, man, sorry about that," you murmur. You grin weakly.<br/>
<br/>
"You will apologize, douchebag," he says slowly.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I said I'm sorry. Head in the clouds. Brain, like, totally elsewhere."<br/>
<br/>
"I said, apologize." He rolls the toothpick from one cheek into the other.<br/>
<br/>
You lick your lips. It's never easy with Kirkham. You briefly calculate the odds that you can out-sprint him, but he's in shorts and you're in jeans. "Uh ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh ..." He mocks back. "You know how to apologize, cocksucker?"<br/>
<br/>
"You can't believe how sorry I am." You swallow.<br/>
<br/>
"You just can't help making it worse for yourself, can you?" His tone smolders. "Let me explain how it works. To apologize properly to me, you say, 'Fuck you.'"<br/>
<br/>
"What?"<br/>
<br/>
"Deaf <i>and</i> retarded," he marvels. "I said, you say 'Fuck you. Eat my shit and die.' That's what you say." Again, he rolls the toothpick, and he also rolls a shoulder. "If I have to tell you a third time ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Um ..." You gulp. "F-- Fuck you? Eat my shit and ... die?" The last word dies on your lips.<br/>
<br/>
He starts. "What did you say, faggot?" His voice is lot rougher.<br/>
<br/>
"I said ... Fuck you?"<br/>
<br/>
He strikes like a snake, seize you by the short hairs on the top of your head. No mean feat, that, as he is almost half a head shorter than you. You gasp and your knees bend. "Where the <i>fuck</i> do you get off talking to me like that, asshole?" he hisses. "I'm gonna punch your face in so hard you'll hafta fuck yourself up the ass with your own toothbrush just to clean your teeth." He pulls his fist back.<br/>
<br/>
You're saved by the last person you'd expect: Lester the Molester. Out of the corner of your eye he materializes to catch Kirkham's arm and swing him around. Kirkham bounces off the wall.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't fuck with my friends," Lester snarls. "Prescott's my little buddy. Ain't ya, Prescott?" He leers at you. <br/>
<br/>
Kirkham glowers. But though he's meaner and scrappier than Pozniak, he judges it more expedient to stand down. "Fucker touched me," he mutters.<br/>
<br/>
Pozniak wheels on you. "You been puttin' out for others, my little bitch?" He grabs you by the neck and locks you tightly in the crook of his arm. "I thought we had something special."<br/>
<br/>
"Urfk— Ghkk—" <br/>
<br/>
"I mean a lot to him," you hear Lester say. "Watch this, Kirkham." His hot, rancid breath envelops your scalp. "Kiss my man titty." He pulls up his t-shirt to expose his torso. "Suck on it. Make it hard." You snort and blow. "I told you to suck on it. Suck on it and I'll give you two fingers up your pussy, make you happy." He squeezes tighter. The world starts to go black.<br/>
<br/>
"Is there a problem here, gentleman?" <i>Oh, great.</i> It's Mr. Gelding. With your luck, the science teacher will demand a blow job.<br/>
<br/>
Pozniak releases you. "No sir," he says sullenly. <br/>
<br/>
"Good." Gelding regards you with hard eyes as you blink hard and catch your breath. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Prescott?" You duck your head and scamper off. If he has anything to say to the bullies, he saves it until you are well away.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb is waiting inside the clubhouse when you arrive. "Jesus, where were you today?" you growl. And then you do a double-take, because on closer inspection you see it's not Eva who has turned to smile impishly at you. It's her sister, Jessica. Your heart briefly stops.<br/>
<br/>
"Turns out it's the little differences that make the big differences," she smirks. She puts her foot up on a sawhorse and rubs a hand along a toned leg. "Turns out Jessica, but not Eva, has a little spot, right about <i>here</i>--" She pinches a place about halfway up the inside of her thigh, and gasps. "Oh God." She sucks her upper lip. "Can't play with it too much, or it kind of goes numb, but it makes everything up inside tingle and quiver like electrified jello." <br/>
<br/>
"Where the fuck did you get—?"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, I confess, I've been cheating." She stands aside and gestures at the blank golem. "I've been sneaking in here and getting some extra work out of the golems. I had our clones polishing up new masks."<br/>
<br/>
"You did <i>what?</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"I said—"<br/>
<br/>
"Whatever," you wave her off before she can explain further. "Are Eva and Jessica alright?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, Eva's not, but you know all about that."<br/>
<br/>
"I mean—!"<br/>
<br/>
"Yes. There's still people who look like them at their house. The real Jessica and our version of Eva. But I had Eva secretly working nights on masks too. And I slipped into her place last night—told my mom I was over at Keith's—and scored a copy of Jessica. We've got three other ones besides, because I was busy too!" She conjures three masks out of her backpack. <br/>
<br/>
"Christ Almighty!" you exclaim. <br/>
<br/>
"Well, I wouldn't aspire to that degree of dignity," she says smugly, "but I appreciate the compliment."<br/>
<br/>
A sudden thought hits you. "Were you playing Pozniak this afternoon?" You grab up one of the masks and examine the inside, but it is blank.<br/>
<br/>
"Was I what?"<br/>
<br/>
"The Molester. Did you grab his image, pretend to be him after school?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. Why?" The other masks are similarly blank. You tell him about your misadventure. She clucks sympathetically. "We could do something about him, you know." She nods her head at her masks.<br/>
<br/>
"You know, you're not the only one with news," you retort, feeling irked at the way your friend is hogging the glory. "I checked out that new spell last night." She looks up, and you tell her about your experiment. Her eyes grow wide with excitement.<br/>
<br/>
"This is awesome," she exclaims, grabbing fistfuls of hair and dancing in delight. "Oh my God!"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's definitely interesting."<br/>
<br/>
"Interesting?" she cries. "You say that Robert had no idea who he was while he had my mask on?" You nod. "He was your slave? <i>Like a golem.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Hang on. What are you thinking?"<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't decided yet." Her eyes shine as she looks around the room. You can actually see thoughts form on her face. "You know, I had to skip school today 'cos I couldn't wait to go off and pretend to be Jessica," she says.<br/>
<br/>
"Much to everyone's relief."<br/>
<br/>
"But if I'd put that mask of me on Jessica, she could have gone into school me ... and I could have gone into school as her ... and no one would have known the difference!" <br/>
<br/>
You blink.<br/>
<br/>
"That's always been the problem, right?" Jessica exclaims as she grabs your arm. "We couldn't let Jeremy out in case the real Jeremy spotted him! We always worried that our folks would miss us. But now!" She actually does a somersault. "Now we can actually <i>replace</i> people! We can take over their lives and let <i>them</i> step in for us!"<br/>
<br/>
"Whoa, hold on there! You know, I came <i>this close</i> to not telling you about the new spell because I knew you'd want to do something horrible--"<br/>
<br/>
"What's so horrible about it? You said Robert snapped back to normal when you took the mask off him."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but he didn't remember anything."<br/>
<br/>
"Which makes it perfect. It's like the new spell lets us make temporary golems without, you know, actually hurting anyone."<br/>
<br/>
"I think stealing their lives counts as 'hurting'!"<br/>
<br/>
She makes a face. "But we're not killing them or turning them into golems permanently. And don't pretend you think you've got the best life in town. I know I don't."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but still—"<br/>
<br/>
"In fact, it's not even like we're changing anything. We'd just be, well, shifting the people who are inside the lives. And it's not like they would know. What they don't know can't hurt them."<br/>
<br/>
That seems an arguable proposition at best. And yet, given how much you've already done to screw with people, it seems hard to finger where Caleb has gone too far.<br/>
<br/>
He apparently takes your silence as conditional assent. "We could move out of Westside, if you're feeling squeamish. Move over to Eastman. Or up the university. It might be fun not having to go to school anymore."<br/>
<br/>
"Or we could go to Hollywood," you sarcastically say. "Take over the world."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be stupid," she retorts.<br/>
<br/>
"It's all the same thing."<br/>
<br/>
"No it isn't," she says. "One is just moving someplace new. The other is—" Her gaze turns hooded. "You know what really sucks about being on the bottom tier at school? It isn't even the A-list bullies who pick on us. It's C-listers like the Molester."<br/>
<br/>
"You want to be kicked around by a better class of bully?"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe I want to <i>be</i> a better class of bully," she says quietly. "You know who keeps the Molester in his place, don't you?" She arranges the three masks on a table top in a short pyramid. "We don't have to take over the world, Will. I'd be happy just taking over <i>our little corner of it.</i>"</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211211
author_id: rugal
title: Abandon Westside
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Eastman..." you say in a pondering tone before looking over at Jessica, "What do you think of it?"<br/>
<br/>
Jessica gives you a quizzical look, not quite sure how to process the question. "What do you mean 'what do I think of it'?" she asks, "How would I know anything about it?"<br/>
<br/>
You sigh, "Look, don't act dumb.  We've always heard whispers through the grapevine about what kind of place Eastman is." you say, "It's supposed to be a lot nicer... like the student body. The cliques aren't as rigidly enforced and such."<br/>
<br/>
Jessica nods her head, "Oh yeah, right. I think I, well Jessica, once dated someone from Eastman. A basketball player or something like that." she looked thoughtful for a moment, "Their jocks are a whole lot nicer... and better looking too. Not as meatheaded as the assholes here." she smiles.<br/>
<br/>
"Didn't really need to know that." you say rolling your eyes, "But see that's what I mean. Even if we were Chelsea and Gordon we'd still have a balancing act to maintain." you explain, "We've got the masks but how many golems can we make? We can't golemize everyone; that's way too many people to keep track of. And even just getting a few people we'd have to manage so many egos with both the dicks and the cunts that it could be easy to get overwhelmed."<br/>
<br/>
Jessica begins chewing her thumb nail, something she tends to do when deeply contemplating something (and thus it's something anyone's rarely seen), and you're guessing Caleb must have picked it up from her. "I get you." she finally says focusing on you, "I mean I don't think Eastman is perfect but it's better than here, right? We wouldn't even really know what the hell we're doing would we?" she asks, "It's easy to talk big but... I dunno."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah but just think, that's another benefit of Eastman." you say, your eyes lighting up and an excited tone coming into your voice indicating you're onto something, "Eastman's a more chill place in general right? Less egos or at least egos that are already being kept in check. Half the work's already done for us. So we can look at Eastman as like... like..."<br/>
<br/>
"A testing ground?" Jessica replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, exactly!" you grin, "We can get used to the idea of running the social structure in a 'safer' environment, how to juggle the egos and keep the machine well-oiled."<br/>
<br/>
"So you want to abandon Westside?" asks Jessica looking down at herself, "I'm just starting to finally appreciate this place..."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "No not.. abandon. That sounds like we're running from the place or something. Think of it as..." you pause and drum your fingers against your chin trying to think of the appropriate phrase, "...a retreat. We're going to Eastman partly for vacation but partly to hammer out the ins and outs of running a school."<br/>
<br/>
"You weren't that excited about the prospect of taking over the school five minutes ago." stated Jessica.<br/>
<br/>
"That was before I really thought about it." you counter, "Hashing it out like this is getting me, I don't know, excited over the possibilities."<br/>
<br/>
"One thing though if we're gonna do this." says Jessica, "Maybe one of us should go to Eastman first. Get a day or so to scout it out."<br/>
<br/>
You look thoughtful for a moment, "That... makes sense." you say, "But how do we determine who goes?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
You grumble to yourself as you walk down the hall after the final bell signifying the school day was over. Fucking rock-paper-scissors, why'd you agree to it? You were predictable and Caleb always won and so after your inevitable defeat he had you drop him off at a library close to Eastman that a lot of students there used after school for study or tutoring purposes or even just to hang out for a bit, both in and outside of the building, after school. He really didn't care who he had (within reasonable standards of course) just so long as he had a foot into the school.<br/>
<br/>
Your day, meanwhile, had gone just swimmingly. Run-ins with the Molester and Pozniak left you with bruises both on your physical being as well as your ego. Worse yet, you had made a mask of Caleb and golemized it but he needed it to replace his target so he was gone. Caleb's absence meant that you had only the company of Tilley and, well... Tilley was a great guy. He was nice and his heart was always in the right place but he thought with his dick more than his brain (or maybe his brain was also a dick) and so he wasn't always the best at giving advice in having to deal with things. Especially if a hot piece like Maria Vasquez or Mindy McAdams would walk past.<br/>
<br/>
Worse yet for you, worse than the physical and mental beatings, however was a run-in with Lisa. Well run-in was perhaps overstating things but it was still awkward and a bit hurtful all the same when you spied her making out rather passionately with that asshole Mansfield. It hurt, you weren't going to lie, and it further solidified your desire to get the fuck out of this place at least for the time being. And so you were all too quick to dash to your car when you got a text telling you to meet Caleb (in his new guise) at the John Blair Library.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
At the library you're surprised when a very pretty hispanic girl, her dyed light brown hair framing her pretty features, approaches your truck smiling as you get out. "Will, hey! Glad you could make it!" she exclaims excitedly, her voice pretty heavily accented. She seems to notice you staring out her and composes herself, "Oh right, this lilttle thing." she says gesturing to herself, "You like?"<br/>
<br/>
"Um, yeah... I guess." you say nervously.<br/>
<br/>
"Well she's 15 so be careful." the girl answers with a smile. "Her name's Sara Alvarez. Came here with her family from Honduras about 3 years ago."<br/>
<br/>
"That's nice and all but you wanted me out here pretty fast." you state trying to ignore him.<br/>
<br/>
"You're no fun." Sara pouts, "But yeah there are two good candidates here that you could get. You brought the stuff right?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You nod an affirmative, "You know it would've been nice if you had sent your golem counterpart back to school instead of to the clubhouse by the way." you add in with a small hint of bitterness.<br/>
<br/>
Sara just shrugs, "Didn't think of it. Besides, it'd be better to have the golems working on things right?" she answered leading you into the library. Once in the library she directs your attention towards two people on opposite sides of the library: one an absolutely stunning African-American girl with dark skin, what appeared to be a very toned and athletic body and a dazzling smile. The other a pretty strawberry blonde wearing a sleeveless dark red shirt, matching skirt and a short denim jacket, her hair pushed back with a hairband.<br/>
<br/>
"That," Sara says pointing towards the black girl, "is Rhianna Miller. Cheerleader, one of the most popular girls in school and one of the most desired."<br/>
<br/>
"I can see why." you say, barely able to keep your jaw from dropping on the floor.<br/>
<br/>
"She's good friends with Alyssa Randall who kind of runs things at Eastman. And speaking of Alyssa..." Sara then points towards the strawberry blonde, "That's Tina Branson. She's part of Alyssa's little group. They're called the Rumoratti or something like that and kinda control the flow of information in the school. Can raise or lower a person's social standing just like that. Tina's the 'nice girl' member of the group and is generally well-liked by a lot of people because of it."<br/>
<br/>
"So I take one of these girls... what about you?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Well I'm just a freshman." Sara explains, "So I don't know that much about the groups. So you grab one of them and then scout candidates for someone in their circle. I don't wanna take Alyssa just yet, we're still feeling things out." She then gives you a smirk, "Not that I'll mind having to spend some extra time as Sara though."<br/>
<br/>
You look from Rhianna to Tina, Tina to Rhianna, and weigh your options. Rhianna's a cheerleader and drop dead gorgeous: one of the A-list at Eastman and one of the desirables. You can wield a lot of influence as her. The same could be said for Tina though who, as a gossipmonger, is plugged in everywhere and having that much control of information would undoubtedly give you a great headstart on things at Eastman. Tina overall might be a bit more useful but there's an undeniable lust there with Rhianna... one that's mighty tempting.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212
author_id: seuzz
title: Rise of the Puppet Masters
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You wince. <br/>
<br/>
"Take over the school?" you tell Caleb. "Sounds like a great dream. But, uh, it makes me think of the dog that caught the car. What are you going to do with it after you have it?"<br/>
<br/>
"We could clean it up for a start," Caleb-being-Jessica says.<br/>
<br/>
"You mean get a job as the janitor?"<br/>
<br/>
"You know what I'm talking about," she retorts. <br/>
<br/>
"I'm asking what you mean by 'cleaning up the school.' And will you take that thing off? Jessica looks really scary with that expression on her face."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb ignores you. "I'm talking about making it a better place. Westside sucks if you're not one of the power people." He flashes a sloppy grin. "Or maybe I'm just talking about having fun running the place after <i>becoming</i> one of the power people."<br/>
<br/>
"Taking over the world, one school at a time," you mutter.<br/>
<br/>
"Well," he goes on, ignoring you, "even if 'cleaning up the school' doesn't make sense right now, ideas will come after we get all our chess pieces in place."<br/>
<br/>
"Chess pieces?"<br/>
<br/>
"The key people. Duplicate and replace them with our pawns. Jesus, stop pretending to be so dense."<br/>
<br/>
You give up and lean back with arms folded, to see where this is going.<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea Cooper is the one who really runs things." He begins to pace "Gordon and his guys are just her enforcers. Replace Chelsea for a start. Or maybe her lieutenants. They're the ones who feed her information. We'll need spies of our own. Spread our own espionage net. Kim Walsh should be a priority. Hartlein, too."<br/>
<br/>
"Should we be making up new golems?"<br/>
<br/>
"What for? We don't need to, not with the new spell." She gestures at the masks. "We get copies of, say, Chelsea and Kim, slather that new stuff on the inside, and put the Chelsea mask on Kim and the Kim mask on Chelsea. If it works the way you say it works, then we'd have a Chelsea-slave and a Kim-slave."<br/>
<br/>
"And where will <i>we</i> be?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno. Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe we actually stay ourselves. Wouldn't it be a kick if we secretly ran things from down at the bottom?" He snickers. "Or from some other hiding place? After we make some replacements we'll have a better idea of where we should sit and pull the strings."<br/>
<br/>
"Gonna be a hell of a trick getting people to come out here so we can jump them," you observe. Caleb just grunts and his gaze grows distant. "Think we should bring Keith in on it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe later. We can get Javits off his back, though," he adds. "That'll be a good deed."<br/>
<br/>
"If you call what you're suggesting a 'good deed'," you grumble.<br/>
<br/>
But Caleb is ignoring you. Instead, he grabs up a nearby mask and slaps it on the golem. Jeremy appears. He blinks, and then leans around Jessica to nod a curt greeting at you. "Hey," he mumbles. "Nice to be back," he growls down at Jessica.<br/>
<br/>
"Have you ever been up in the fuck room?" she asks him.<br/>
<br/>
"The what room?" His brow furrows briefly, then clearly. "Oh, that place. Heh." A lop-sided grin appears on his face. "Nah, that's like VIP only."<br/>
<br/>
A chill runs through you.<br/>
<br/>
The "fuck room" is fabled at Westside. It's a loft above the gym where the top-of-the-top kids at Westside can hang out at any hour. In practice, because the keys are bestowed by the coaches, it always goes to the top athletes at the school. There they can hang out, eat, entertain themselves or guests ... And it is presumed that by "entertainment" is meant—<br/>
<br/>
"It'd be the perfect headquarters for us," Caleb goes on. "Right there on school property. If we can get control of the guys who have that room, we can just crook our fingers and people will flock up there. They already pass out access like a private favor. Like, if you've been their good little bitch, they'll let you inside for a private session." <br/>
<br/>
"And you know this because—"<br/>
<br/>
"Come on, Will, everyone knows this. Jessica knows this." <br/>
<br/>
Caleb mimes a provocative pose and grins in a way that makes you shiver. "And when it's us with the keys ... Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly. And once inside—" He mimes slapping a mask onto your face. "Now go back down and send your friend up so we can add <i>him</i> to the collective too!"<br/>
<br/>
You shiver again. But whether it's more from anticipation or horror you're not sure. "So, who would we need to nab?"<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon," he says. "Steve Patterson. I'm pretty sure Lynch also has access. Chelsea can get in there, naturally. But it's a boys thing mostly, I hear."<br/>
<br/>
"That's striking pretty high," you caution him.<br/>
<br/>
"We're almost there already. We've already got Eva. Jessica and Jeremy are also just sitting there, waiting to be collected. So that's two cheerleaders and a basketball player we already control."<br/>
<br/>
You swallow and look at Jeremy. He was once your friend.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, let's say I'm on board with doing this stuff to Black and them," you say, and your stomach does a little flip-flop. "I guess I can live with that."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sure you'd be fine with living <i>as</i> them too," Caleb hoots.<br/>
<br/>
"But I dunno about using Jeremy. Sure, he's turned into one of the douchebags, but ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, Jeremy," he says, turning to the golem. "If you weren't our slave, what would you do to us? Right now."<br/>
<br/>
"Ask what you want me to do," he says sullenly.<br/>
<br/>
"If you <i>weren't</i> our slave. God, even the copy is as dumb as the original."<br/>
<br/>
He flushes. "I'd haul your asses to the top of a tall building and push you off."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb turns to you with a triumphant look.<br/>
<br/>
"That's just the golem talking," you retort. "He's pissed because we've been working him so hard." You lock eyes with him. "How does <i>Jeremy</i> feel about us?"<br/>
<br/>
The golem's eyes fall. He shrugs and rubs his bicep uncertainly. "Not much, I guess. I mean, I—" He makes a face. "I think the original kind of misses hanging out with you guys. But, you know, he has to be part of the group, do what they expect ..." He trails off.<br/>
<br/>
"See, he's not bad," you tell Caleb. "It's those guys who are making him act like an asshole."<br/>
<br/>
"I wonder who makes Chelsea do the awful things <i>she</i> does."<br/>
<br/>
You have to shrug.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb waves you off. "I knew her in grade school. Or Jessica did. She was a pushy little bitch even back when she was seven."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, so Chelsea deserves what's coming to her." <i>I guess that's been decided,</i> you reflect. "But Jeremy? Even Jessica and Eva aren't awful."<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, so we deal with the people who deserve it. We make their replacements start acting like better people. Let Jeremy hang out with us, or our clones, so he's happy again." He shrugs. "Maybe we can even bring him into our little group later on, with Tilley."<br/>
<br/>
"So how <i>do</i> we get ahold of Chelsea and Gordon?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb throws his hands up in exasperation. "That's why we need to replace <i>someone else.</i> Someone who can get us close to them."<br/>
<br/>
You think a bit, and Caleb lets you, watching as you pace with your hands clasped behind your head. "We could use our friend here to lure Javits into a trap," you say. Jeremy is friends with Seth Javits, who is almost at the same level as Chelsea and her gang.<br/>
<br/>
"And with Javits we could get one of the big three."<br/>
<br/>
"Or we could use Eva to get Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"No, use her to get Maria. She's Chelsea's best friend."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll take your word for it. Right now," you add, locking your eyes on your friend's bosom, "you look like someone who knows what she's talking about."<br/>
<br/>
"Of course I do," Caleb snaps. "And that's why we shouldn't fuck around with these extra steps. Don't waste these copies we've already got. Put them in for the originals."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh and rub your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"Will," Jessica says softly, and she grasps your arms. You flinch a little, but your eyes go up to hers. They are soft and beautiful and very persuasive, damn it. "Will, we have to do this together, as a team, so I'll go along with whatever you decide." She rubs your arms. "You pick the first step. I'm sure it'll be alright once we get started. You'll see."<br/>
<br/>
Her lips part, and her breath is shallow. Knowing full well that you're being manipulated, but unable to resist, you lean down and kiss your best friend full on the mouth.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121
author_id: seuzz
title: A Brief Imposture
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Okay, you're right." The words are hard to say, and your breath comes out raggedly as you say them.  "It's stupid to waste resources." You nod at the golem. "Looks like you'll get to show your ugly face in public," you tell it.<br/>
<br/>
A gleam comes into its eye. "It's what I was designed for, isn't it?"<br/>
<br/>
"How do we get your original down here?" Caleb asks him.<br/>
<br/>
"It's no use asking him nicely while you're looking like jerkface there," he says, tilting his chin at you. His eyes shift to your fellow conspirator. "You'd stand a better chance, but Eva is your best bet."<br/>
<br/>
"We should get Jessica out of the way first, though," says her twin. Before you can intervene, she takes out a phone. <br/>
<br/>
"Hey sis," she chirps into it. "This is Jess. Am I there at the house with you?" She frowns at the answer. "Don't be a cunt, Eva. You know what I mean." She listens again. "Look, get her to come out to the clubhouse. You know, the elementary school where you had that life-changing experience."<br/>
<br/>
"How long with this take?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
She shushes you. "As soon as you can," she says into the phone. "Any excuse. Text Will or Caleb when you leave." She closes the line. "We should get everything ready now in case things start happening fast."<br/>
<br/>
You watch with bemusement as she gets to work. Caleb starts by undressing—a pleasant sight—and pulling the Jessica mask off. You shake him awake, so as not to waste time. <br/>
<br/>
He's groggy as he sits up, and puts his hand on you'd made of him. He blinks at it. "What'll happen if I put this on?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Might turn you into my slave," you suggest. "Then <i>I'd</i> be left to run things." His eyes narrow, but you shrug. "Typically, when you put a mask on the original it just copies their latest memories. There's at least a fifty-fifty chance that's what'll happen."<br/>
<br/>
"What are the chances you'd let me out if it enslaves me?"<br/>
<br/>
"About a hundred," you sigh. "Though I'm sure I'd regret it."<br/>
<br/>
He makes a face but puts it on. It disappears, but he remains standing. He blinks stupidly then glances over at you. He pales and swallows. "The fuck?"<br/>
<br/>
"What?" You catch your breath. "Oh, don't tell me," you grin evilly. "Who's my little bitch now?"<br/>
<br/>
"I will fuck you up so badly if you make me do something gay."<br/>
<br/>
"How're you going to do that when you're my slave?" you gloat. "Come here."<br/>
<br/>
He totters over. You put your arms around him. "Did you like that kiss we shared earlier?" you murmur. "You wanna do it again?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not really," he gasps.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, me neither." You reach up, mutter the magic words, and rip the mask from him. He sags against you, and almost drags you down as he slips to the floor.<br/>
<br/>
Again, you have to shake him awake, and he's in even worse shape. "What happened?" he asks after he's finished bitching about the headache he's got.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you remember?"<br/>
<br/>
He thinks a bit, then says he doesn't. "Then I guess it works on you the same way it did on Robert," you tell him. "It was like you suddenly had to do everything I told you."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not sure I like that," he says. "What happens if <i>you</i> put it on?"<br/>
<br/>
There's only one way to find out. Caleb only watches with an expression of curiosity as you lift the mask to your face.<br/>
<br/>
All goes dark as it covers you. Then a black, churning surf engulfs you. But it's not composed of water. It's composed of <i>tentacles.</i><br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
A familiar face is peering closely at yours when your eyes open. You suck your breath in sharply and try to scramble back. "Will you take that fucking thing off?" you shout. "Jesus, don't be a pervert!"<br/>
<br/>
"The hell are you talking about?" Caleb says.<br/>
<br/>
You swing your fist and connect. With a grunt, he falls back onto his ass.<br/>
<br/>
His naked ass. You feel your face flush. "God damn it, what were you planning on doing?" He just holds his jaw and works it carefully. "Where the fuck are your clothes, dude?" You look around and spot a pile of them next to Jeremy, who is grinning like a madman as he watches you. You snatch up the cargo shorts before it hits you: these are <i>your</i> clothes. You look down at yourself. The hell are you doing wearing Prescott's shit?<br/>
<br/>
You put your hands to your face and scalp. It feels like your hair, not Will's: short and curly instead of long and floppy. Your hands are your own too. You look back over at him. Well, never mind. You need to get that mask off him and onto the golem before Jessica and Eva show up.<br/>
<br/>
He bats at you as you try grabbing his face. "Just take it <i>off</i>, man," you snarl. "We can talk about whatever faggot plans you had for me after we get things ready for the girls."<br/>
<br/>
"Will! Will!" he shouts. "Stop it! Calm down." You glare at him, and he glares at you. "I'm not wearing a mask! <i>You're</i> wearing a mask!"<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck are you talking about?"<br/>
<br/>
"You're wearing my mask. <i>You</i> need to take <i>it</i> off!"<br/>
<br/>
You stare at him. "I know who I am, Will. So don't try to mindfuck me."<br/>
<br/>
"When's your birthday?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck you. July 2."<br/>
<br/>
"No, that's <i>my—</i>" His face goes slack, and a look of fear and loathing washes over it. <br/>
<br/>
<i>Oh my God,</i> you think. <i>He's really into—</i> "Get the fuck out of my head," you growl. "Get that mask off and get out of my head. It's private property!"<br/>
<br/>
"I could say the same thing to you," he spits. "But <i>you're</i> the one who needs to concentrate. What do you know about Prescott? That you shouldn't know? What's his birthday?"<br/>
<br/>
"December 30." You feel much more certain about that than you should.<br/>
<br/>
"What's his mother's maiden name?"<br/>
<br/>
"Wertham." You feel an internal spasm. <br/>
<br/>
"Are you still a virgin?" Your mind flashes back to that church camp two years ago. The girl from Mountridge. The argument about whether oral sex was sex. <i>Wait, you've never been to a church camp. So you couldn't have told ... Couldn't have told </i>who? You never told Caleb about it  ...<br/>
<br/>
You're swept by vertigo, but it clears up real fast, and when it's gone you are yourself again. Albeit with Caleb's mind and memories draped around your own, like a set of comfortable clothes. "Jesus, dude," you groan, "you've got a powerful psyche or something."<br/>
<br/>
"Just take it off," he says through gritted teeth.<br/>
<br/>
"No, wait, hang on." You release him and sit back on your haunches. "Don't worry, I'm not surfing for porn," you reassure him. "Just trying to figure things out."<br/>
<br/>
"Like what?"<br/>
<br/>
"Like how come your mask hit me so bad. It wasn't like this when I— I mean, when either of us put on the other masks. You could feel the other personality coming on, but not nearly that strong. You s'pose it has something to do with the new spell?"<br/>
<br/>
"It is like there's a golem inside the mask," he says cautiously. "Maybe it amplifies the effect of the mask."<br/>
<br/>
"It's something we need to watch for," you say. "First rule is that neither of us puts on one of these golem-mask hybrids without the other around. Or maybe we don't even use them."<br/>
<br/>
"Just stay ourselves?" he asks. "Fuck that."<br/>
<br/>
"I know." Your look of disgust surely mirrors his own. "But we might have to, for a little while. Okay, back to getting ready." You turn to Jeremy, who still leans quietly and nakedly against the wall, then pause at a noise. "Is that a phone? Yours or mine?"<br/>
<br/>
"Mine, in every sense of the word," Caleb says. He scrambles over to his clothes. "Shit," he says as he scans it. "Missed text message. Better—"<br/>
<br/>
The door opens. Eva and Jessica Garner come in. They freeze at the sight of double Calebs—one of them naked.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"I can't believe she fell for that 'he's my cousin' gag," Caleb marvels as he strips Jessica's panties off her.<br/>
<br/>
"I can't believe she let us get so close to her with the mask." You hoist her up and fiddle with the bra.<br/>
<br/>
"I think it's because she was concentrating on Jeremy," Eva says from the corner. The latter chortles and strikes a bodybuilder's pose.<br/>
<br/>
"Is that mask coming back out?" Caleb asks. You shake your head. "Do we have time to make up some more of that mask-golem gunk?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. We'll have to put her mask on the golem and put your face on her."<br/>
<br/>
"What will we do with me? I'll have to wear her face."<br/>
<br/>
"You could wear mine. Turnabout is fair play."<br/>
<br/>
"I wanna play with boobs, not cock. Speaking of which, how about you come home with me as Eva? We should plot."</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211
author_id: seuzz
title: Girls Going Wild
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Clothes off." You snap your fingers at Eva. She sticks her tongue out at you, but starts unbuttoning her blouse. "Jeremy, over here." The golem lumbers over and rolls his eyes as you tear the mask off.<br/>
<br/>
"Jessica's ready," Caleb says, and you turn in time to see a second Caleb materialize where Eva's sister had been lying. Your friend helps his doppelganger to its feet. "Phew, you're gonna need a shower, buddy," he tells it.<br/>
<br/>
"Something I was too polite to mention," you grin. Eva drops the last of her scanties to the floor, and you twitch the mask from her, revealing her golemized original. "Oy, toss me that mask of me," you call to Caleb, but he's already on his back, lowering a mask to his face, so you snatch up your own mask and hang it on Eva. Then it's your turn to change into someone else.<br/>
<br/>
You brace as you put the Eva mask to your brow—<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
—but when she comes she is soft and docile. The only odd part is getting used to the weight redistribution after you have waked and staggered onto your new feet.<br/>
<br/>
"Remember when we used to play dress up?" Jessica—your twin sister—is zipping up her skirt and taking up her own blouse. You kind of wish Caleb hadn't been so quick to get into her clothes, but then you look down to appreciatively goggle the rosy tips of your new boobs. They prickle in the cool air.<br/>
<br/>
"Mmm. We should give each other a makeover when we get home."<br/>
<br/>
"Can't," she says. "I have a paper to finish up in English."<br/>
<br/>
"I thought we were gonna, you know, 'plot'." You fish your panties off the floor. They are soft and tight and hug your legs as you pull them on.<br/>
<br/>
"We can do that while we work. Don't <i>you</i> have any homework?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Stupid Calculus."<br/>
<br/>
You grunt, concentrating on getting the bra on. You glance up to see your own golem chewing his lower lip hungrily. "Close your eyes, you pervert!" you yell at him. He sighs but complies. "And get dressed!" He feels for his clothes without opening his eyes, and topples over in a heap. "God, you are such a moron!"<br/>
<br/>
"Something I've been saying for years," Jessica giggles. <br/>
<br/>
Eventually, everyone is dressed, and the four of you stand in a tight circle, looking at each other. The two boys grin dopily. <br/>
<br/>
"Alright, you guys go home, be normal, go to school. Be the idiots you're supposed to be," you tell them.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure thing, boss-lady," Caleb says, snapping off a two-fingered salute.<br/>
<br/>
"And don't do anything stupid," Jessica adds.<br/>
<br/>
"Who, us?" That's Prescott. He shoves Caleb, who shoves him back.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, what's up with you guys?" you demand. While you'd finished dressing they'd huddled off in a corner, to whisper and smirk and shoot excited glances at you and your bosom mate.<br/>
<br/>
"Whaddaya think is up?" Caleb asks. He smoothes the front of his shorts so that his boner becomes clearly visible.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, <i>gross!</i>" Jessica shrieks. "What are you <i>thinking?</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"We're gonna get lucky, aren't we?" Will asks. He winks at you. "You're dying to know what it's like to have a little, uh, 'will power' inside you, eh?"<br/>
<br/>
Your cheeks flame. "Uh, I don't <i>think</i> so!" You grab Jessica by the elbow and the two of you practically run out the door. "Lock up when you leave, morons!"<br/>
<br/>
At the car you glance back. Your former selves are wedged in the doorway, watching you with a mix of unbridled lust and forlorn disappointment. Inside the car, though, Jessica squirms and fondles her breasts. She giggles. When you ask her what's up, she giggles again. "Oh, I wasn't going to say anything in front of those idiots, but actually ... Who knew it would feel so <i>good</i> to have Caleb Johansson inside me?"<br/>
<br/>
You feel a sympathetic flash of excitement. You adjust the rear view mirror, smile at yourself, and laugh with your friend—who is now your twin sister.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The two of you actually do a little "plotting" that night: you get through Eva's homework pretty quickly and take up Jessica's English paper while your fellow conspirator breaks out a spreadsheet. But after quickly filling in four slots—Jeremy Richards; Gordon Black, captain of the basketball team and chief jock/bully; his best friend, Steve Patterson; and Gordon's girlfriend, the queen of the school, head cheerleader Chelsea Cooper—things get bogged down. "You know," you finally sigh, "we should just wait until we get Chelsea. She'll have better ideas than us."<br/>
<br/>
"True. Okay, so what do we do about Jeremy?"<br/>
<br/>
"We'll take him tomorrow. I'll make a date or something with him. You brought his mask, right?" He nods. "Slop some golem stuff on its insides."<br/>
<br/>
"I forgot to bring it with us."<br/>
<br/>
"Moron. You can go pick it up yourself then tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, we need more supplies if we're going to make more masks," he says. "I'll pick some up tomorrow after school."<br/>
<br/>
"So get some after school tomorrow. Use your own money. I'm still out five hundred, remember?" You can't help flinching all the shit Eva is going through on account of that money you stole. <i>A good reason to get out of this identity and into another one,</i> you think. Aloud, you ask, "Oh, and are you taking a bath tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
"I could."<br/>
<br/>
"Then step out of Jessica long enough to cut off a bit of your own hair. We'll use <i>your</i> shit in the mix this time. I've got two golems of my own—three if we count the Johansson mask. Let's keep it balanced."<br/>
<br/>
He hugs you. "You're the best sister a boy-pretending-to-be-a-girl could have," he simpers in Jessica's voice.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next morning you're glad you did that planning session, not because it got you closer to your goal but because it makes it easier to deal with Chelsea. She works the team hard all practice, both mentally and physically, and you take grim comfort in thinking <i>You'll get yours, bitch</i> when she caps one string of abuse by rolling her eyes at you and Jessica and loudly remarking, "Twins creep me out."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The cheerleaders don't make it a point of always watching the boys' practice sessions; in fact, there seems a tacit understanding that the best way to "manage" the boys is by making only rare appearances during their workouts. But the day's plans require one. So you and Cindy Vredenburg—who is dating Seth Javits—perch in the bleachers after school, she to cheer and whistle while you watch more quietly. When it is over, you go down to catch Seth and Jeremy, who are buddies off the court, before they can disappear into the changing rooms. Seth and Cindy are naturally affectionate; you and Jeremy more coolly polite to each other. Cindy winds up smoothing the way for you when she suggests the four of you get together in the evening; you tweak the plan to your advantage by asking Jeremy to pick you up. <br/>
<br/>
He's cleaned up nicely—pressed Levis and a white button-down shirt—when he rings your doorbell later that evening, though he becomes more awkward and nervous when you pull him inside. "Just five minutes with my dad," you mutter to him, "and then I'll rescue you." He has a ghastly look on his face as you scamper upstairs to the bedroom you share with Jessica.<br/>
<br/>
"You got that stuff ready?" you ask Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"Almost," he says from the window seat. "Is Marc around?"<br/>
<br/>
"I think he's out in the garage."<br/>
<br/>
"I just don't want our dear brother fucking things up." He lights the interior of the mask, which burns for only a few moments. "Okay, send him up."<br/>
<br/>
Not right away, though. You put on some more eye shadow, then call to Jeremy from the landing. "Not so bad?" you ask him when he comes up. He shrugs. "Well, I got a surprise for you up here." He looks at you curiously as you push him along the hall. Jeremy is standing just inside the doorway as he walks into the bedroom, and Jeremy barely has time to see the mask before it's on his face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"That was fun," you say as Jeremy walks you back up to your door after the double date. He just grunts. "What's wrong? You were quiet the whole time."<br/>
<br/>
"Just preoccupied."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, we want you acting normal. Don't make me bring Caleb down to give you orders or anything." He sighs through his nose. "You wanna give me a kiss, make it look good?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sure." He gives you a quick peck on the cheek. "See you tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb steps out the front door as soon as he's gone. "Is he gonna be a problem?"<br/>
<br/>
"I can't tell," you admit. "I don't know what's going on with him. Even before we captured him, he would get weird when he and Eva got close together."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, as long as he performs tomorrow. You decide yet on your preferences?"<br/>
<br/>
That afternoon you and Caleb had decided to split the school by gender, with one of you concentrating on boys (with a smattering of girls) while the other would make a web of girls (with a smattering of boys). He'd professed no strong preference and said he'd take whichever set you didn't pick.'</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111
author_id: seuzz
title: The Taking of Gordon Black
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You hang out near the gym before class the next day, laughing and talking with a clutch of no-name girls until the doors fly open and with a burst of testosterone the ballplayers swagger out of morning practice. You catch Jeremy's eye, and he swings away to meet you; out of the corner of your eye, you notice both a couple of the other players giving you peculiar glances.<br/>
<br/>
"What's up with Gordon and Steve," you quietly ask Jeremy as you lead him away. "They were giving me, like, the fish eye or something."<br/>
<br/>
"Were they? I dunno." He glances over his shoulder. "You'd know better than me, but I sometimes have the impression I'm not supposed to be hanging out with you."<br/>
<br/>
"How come? Oh, wait, never mind. We'll find out tonight. It's Gordon's turn to get a makeover. Think you can manage to get him alone?"<br/>
<br/>
"Pfft," he sighs. "We don't hang out."<br/>
<br/>
"Can you get him alone in the locker room?"<br/>
<br/>
He grunts. "Too many guys going in and out, and it'd look gay if I asked him to meet me there."<br/>
<br/>
"How about asking him out for a session of one-on-one? Ask him for, I dunno, tips or pointers?" The ghastly look Richards gives you is enough to tell you that won't work. "Don't you have any kind of connection with him?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not really. When he's not a big group, I think he's just with Patterson and Lynch. Oh, and Chelsea, of course. Isn't <i>she</i> on your 'to fuck over' list?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but we're working on boys first. None of your business. Look, think about it today, how you could get to him. It also has to be some way that it would make sense that Jessica or me is there too." He rolls his eyes. "Just think about it. For me." You rub his belt buckle with your fingertip.<br/>
<br/>
"If you're adding boys, any chance you could add Seth?"<br/>
<br/>
You look up in surprise. His eyes are dead, his gaze hooded. "How come? Need a friend or something?"<br/>
<br/>
"Misery loves company."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"He was always kind of a drip," Jessica says in the library during second period when you recount the conversation. It's her study hall, and you're skipping AP Calculus to meet with her. "He'd bitch about anything. He'd bitch about the clouds when he was trying to get a tan and he'd bitch about the sun when it was too hot." She carefully applies another layer of fingernail polish and blows.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't suppose it really <i>is</i> Jeremy, do you?" you ask cautiously. "I mean, not just a—" There are people around, including Carson Ioeger just a few table away, so you only mouth the world "golem." Jessica shrugs without looking up. "What was it like for you when you put on the mask we made of you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, I don't remember. I remember when the mask went on and when it came off. Nothing in between."<br/>
<br/>
"So then it can't be <i>Jeremy</i> who's being a drip. It's the golem.<br/>
<br/>
She shushes you to lower your voice. "They're the same," she murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Are they?</i> you think. Is the golem really unhappy about being a golem? What is it like for them?<br/>
<br/>
"You should have a better idea of that," Jessica tells you. "Eva spent a couple of days being a golem, same as Jeremy. Can you remember what it was like for her?"<br/>
<br/>
You try with a frown, but you're searching for a feeling, and those don't make much of an impression. With a shrug, you end up telling Caleb that you're having a hard time remembering what it was like for someone else when it wasn't you being that person.<br/>
<br/>
"I wish I had the same problem," she says as she frowns at the new shade of polish. "Right now, for instance, I'm having a real hard time <i>not</i> remembering the time I gave Adrian Semple a blow job. It feels exactly like something I really did do."<br/>
<br/>
You gasp. "No way! You told me you just felt each other up!"<br/>
<br/>
"I did," she murmurs. "I felt his cock up with my mouth."<br/>
<br/>
"I wasn't out of the room for more than five minutes!" <br/>
<br/>
She shrugs. "Shouldn't have dared me earlier that day. Anyway, I did it, though I didn't tell you I did it, because I didn't want you thinking your baby sister is a slut."<br/>
<br/>
"You're twenty minutes older than me, and I already think you're a slut."<br/>
<br/>
"Speaking of whom— Hey Kendra!" She smiles brilliantly as your fellow cheerleader as she goes waltzing in through the door.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Here's what I came up with," Jeremy says. It's after practice, and he's still sweaty as he hunches over on the bleacher, his hands folded and elbows resting on his knees. He looks everywhere but at you and Jessica.<br/>
<br/>
"I go see Gordon tonight," he says. He glances at you. "You're with me, but, I dunno, maybe you stay out in the car. Anyway, I ask him if I can talk to him. Alone, just for a bit, out in the yard. If there's no one with him, maybe you can get him in the dark."<br/>
<br/>
You and Jessica look at each other. "Not much of a plan," she says. "Where will I be?"<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck does that matter?" he says. "Can't your, uh, sister here slap him with a mask just as easily?"<br/>
<br/>
She looks at you. "Can you get a mask off him and golemize it before he comes round again?" she asks skeptically.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. Ack, but maybe not, especially in the dark."<br/>
<br/>
"That's why I'm thinking I need to be there. Me, not Jessica," she adds. "I should be there with Jessica's mask already golemized so we can slap it directly on Gordon after we've copied him."<br/>
<br/>
"But why do <i>you</i> have to be there?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, someone would need to play Gordon afterward. I thought he was going to be one of my puppets anyway."<br/>
<br/>
"Puppet, not persona. Oh hell, why am I arguing? You can do what you like."<br/>
<br/>
"Worried you're going to miss your baby sister?" she teases. You all turn as male voices start to echo loudly. Black himself and Patterson appear from the locker rooms, jeering each other. <br/>
<br/>
The latter catches sight of your trio. "Hey Richards," he shouts. "Praying for a boner?" He leers at his teammate, who is still leaning over with his hands clasped. "If <i>they</i> don't give you one, you <i>are</i> queer."<br/>
<br/>
Jessica turns back to you with a knowing expression. "You were gonna take a guy or two, right? Take Patterson and we can still be close. I bet he gives Gordon hand jobs when Chelsea isn't putting out."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's impossible to see anything. The twilight has faded to nocturnal blackness, and the porch light is off. Only a dim glow from a distant street light illuminates the scene, and by it you can barely make out their movements as Richards and Black turn their heads this way and that.<br/>
<br/>
"I should be out there," Caleb fumes. He is back to his old self, in his old clothes, crouched in the back seat of Richards' car. "He's gonna fuck it up. I should be out there."<br/>
<br/>
"What would be your excuse, you and Richards coming to visit Gordon?"<br/>
<br/>
"Then you should be out there."<br/>
<br/>
"He said I was the excuse he'd give for being there. He wants to talk to Gordon about me, find out if people are talking smack about us. I can't be standing there next to him."<br/>
<br/>
"Sure you could. You could be sniffing and crying and saying ugly things about Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon can't be on the defensive— Is that the signal? No, he's still up. He can't be on the defensive or Jeremy won't be able to get the mask on him."<br/>
<br/>
"He won't get it on him period," Caleb grumbles. "The original was a pussy and the duplicate is just as wet."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh shut up. I think I'm love with him."<br/>
<br/>
"Dude!"<br/>
<br/>
"Just kidding!" You turn to waggle a finger at him, but he's hurled the door open and flung himself out.<br/>
<br/>
"Dude, come on, that was the signal! He's down!"<br/>
<br/>
You jump out to join him, and sure enough Gordon Black has slumped to the ground. You cluster around. "How long do we have?" Caleb asks.<br/>
<br/>
"We never timed it, but there's a lot of meat to copy." Two hundred-plus pounds, at least. The seconds pass anxiously. Then with a dim glow the mask reappears. Caleb makes an exchange, and a few second later the small figure groans.<br/>
<br/>
"What the--? Oh, hi sis, everyone. Where are we?" Jessica shifts. "It's all dark. Does this mean--" She paws at her t-shirt. "I'm wearing stinky workout clothes that are many many many sizes too big for me. Great. That means Gordon Black is somewhere near by."<br/>
<br/>
"Come on, let's get you out of those," Caleb says, and he pulls her to her feet and over to the car, leaving you and Richards.<br/>
<br/>
"So," you ask him, for lack of a better topic. "Was it hard?"<br/>
<br/>
"Was what hard? Betraying my team captain to a couple of lowlife body-snatchers? Felt kind of good, actually. He was an asshole." He shrugs. "But he's got issues. Caleb'll figure that out soon enough."<br/>
<br/>
"What kind of issues?" you ask, but Richards just maintains an inscrutable silence.<br/>
<br/>
Twenty minutes pass before a tall, hulking figure looms back into view. "Yo, Richards, we done here?" Gordon Black asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure, I guess, unless you wanna shoot the shit a little longer."<br/>
<br/>
Black ignores him to turn to you.<br/>
<br/>
"I'd like it if you moved too," he says. "My girlfriend's got a vacancy sign hanging over her head, you know. Patterson's also available. Hand jobs are welcome but not part of the job description."<br/>
<br/>
* Take Patterson (non-canonical): "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/111231222122112121112" target="_top" title="Interactive Story Chapter in Item # 2236945">The Seduction of Steve Patterson</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/111231222122112121112" target="_blank" title="Open in new window."><img border="0" height="12" loading="lazy" onmouseout="$(this).css('opacity', '.4');" onmouseover="$(this).css('opacity', '1');" src="https://www.Writing.Com/nw.gif" style="opacity:.4;" width="12"/></a></span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111
author_id: seuzz
title: The Queen Is Dead! Long Live the Queen!
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"The sooner we get Chelsea the sooner we can plan out the rest of our moves," you reflect. "Can you get her over here tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno." He nods at Richards. "I'll relay a message through this fucker telling you when and where."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The ride back is quiet. Jeremy drives while you huddle in the back with Jessica's replacement. "You have any special requests for after I move into Chelsea?" you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
She turns an inscrutable face toward you. Then she looks away. She shifts in her seat. "You know, I don't totally understand what's going on," she blurts out. "I mean, I can kind-of follow based on ... on what's been said. But a lot of it doesn't make sense."<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?" you ask in some alarm.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I know you and ... Caleb ... are going around, like, replacing people with duplicates. I know I'm one of them. But don't ask me what your friend has planned." She shrugs.<br/>
<br/>
"But you were there," you frown. "All the time we prepared. Don't you remember?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, I remember talking and what I said. But don't ask me what I was thinking. Someone else was doing that, and he didn't leave anything behind."<br/>
<br/>
You stare at her, and you stare at the back of Jeremy's head. "You guys know you're not supposed to tell anyone about what's going on, right?" you tell them emphatically.<br/>
<br/>
"We're not stupid," Jeremy rumbles. "Anything happens and our originals get out, it's the end of us. We're not stupid," he adds, redundantly.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay. Just try to have fun," you insist. "You guys have great lives--" You give Jessica's arm a tight, sisterly squeeze. "And they're yours now."<br/>
<br/>
"Whatever," Jeremy sighs.<br/>
<br/>
"You said you're taking over Chelsea?" Jessica asks in a guarded tone. She squeezes your arm in a way that seems affectionate.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Jessica is still rather moody that night and the next morning, but comes to life as soon as you hit school. It's almost as if a switch gets flipped, and she is chatty and giggly and full of secret confidences for you and everyone else. At practice she even stands up to Chelsea, arguing and yelling and not backing down even when the captain gets purple in face. In fact, her impudence leaves Chelsea speechless, which is almost a one-of-its-kind occurrence. She gets surreptitious congratulations from Lin Pol and Yumi Saito; and cold, dark stares from Gloria Rea and Kendra Saunders. <br/>
<br/>
Ripples from that argument spread, apparently, for at lunch Jeremy intercepts you outside the cafeteria. "Let's just go off by ourselves," he says. "You don't want to be next to Chelsea, and besides, I've got a message for you."<br/>
<br/>
"From Gordon?"<br/>
<br/>
"Directly, yes," he says. "Indirectly, from Chelsea. We've been invited over to her place after school. Gordon'll be there too."<br/>
<br/>
"Perfect place for a switch," you murmur, "though it <i>is</i> probably Chelsea's idea. You heard about what happened at practice this morning?" <br/>
<br/>
He nods. "Gordon did too."<br/>
<br/>
"How's he treating you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon? The same. Rode me hard at practice, but he wasn't nasty about it."<br/>
<br/>
Lunch together is pleasant, and even a little affectionate.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You squeeze Jeremy's hand as the door to Casa Chelsea opens, but it's Gordon who answers it. "You got the stuff?" he asks quietly  as he ushers you in.<br/>
<br/>
You pat your over-size purse. "I also rigged up Eva's face, so we can put it directly on her when we have a chance."<br/>
<br/>
"Gonna be a little tricky," he says. "Her mom and brother are here. We'll have to use a bathroom, probably."<br/>
<br/>
"We won't be in her bedroom?"<br/>
<br/>
He smiles grimly. "Oh, she's got it <i>arranged.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
It's arranged on the back patio, by the pool. It is now too cool to swim, but the early October sun is still warm, and Chelsea is relaxing on a chair under an umbrella. It's the only shade, and the other chairs are arranged in front of her, in such a way that you and Jeremy have to squint into the lowering sun to even look at her. She, on the other hand, has on shades. Gordon stands behind her, arms folded.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey," she says with fake sincerity, "so great to see you here. You look really good, Eva. I don't know why you don't wear that outfit to school."<br/>
<br/>
You bite your tongue and refrain from mentioning that it's one of your more usual sartorial choices.<br/>
<br/>
"You were really good at practice this morning," she says, and starts buffing her nails. "You're really level-headed and you give 100%. Well, 95%, but I ask too much. Don't I, honey?" She reaches up to take Gordon's hand. <br/>
<br/>
"It's what makes a great captain," he says. "I push my guys just as hard."<br/>
<br/>
"And we're a team too, Gordon and me," she says. "We push each other and tell each other when we've been screwing up, even with our teams. It's hard to be tough, you know, with our friends, because we don't want to hurt their feelings. And you guys <i>are</i> our friends, you know."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh?" You stifle a smile, for Gordon has started pulling comical faces behind Chelsea's back.<br/>
<br/>
But she doesn't notice. "For instance," she continues with steely sweetness, "I don't think Gordon has told Jeremy, <i>honestly,</i> what a disappointment he's been." <br/>
<br/>
"Oh?" Jeremy says in a guarded tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, he tells <i>me.</i> It's all he talks about, how you've got so much <i>talent,</i> Jeremy, but you just won't <i>work.</i> How you let Seth and Ryan and the others do the work and then try to pick up the rewards." <br/>
<br/>
She glances up at Gordon, but he's uncrossed his eyes and returned his tongue to his mouth. "Ninety-five percent isn't good enough for a Westside cheerleader, Eva," he tells you. "Burn the extra effort or Chelsea's gonna burn you."<br/>
<br/>
You set your purse down next to Gordon's feet. "I understand, Chelsea," you say evenly. "Do you have a message for my sister?"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea pauses at her nail-buffing. "I haven't got anything to say to Jessica," she says coolly. "She won't listen. She made that totally clear at practice today." She resumes buffing. "<i>You're</i> the one I'm concerned about."<br/>
<br/>
"Can I use your bathroom?" you ask. That catches her off guard, but she nods. You excuse yourself and retreat into the house. The guest bath on the first floor is free. You're inside for only a few moments and are undressed when there's a soft knock. It's Gordon.<br/>
<br/>
"Mask is on her," he says as he peeks inside. "You ready?"<br/>
<br/>
"Half a sec." <br/>
<br/>
You drop to the floor, put your hand to your brow and chant a phrase. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Gordon and the mask are gone when you wake. You lock the bathroom door.<br/>
<br/>
You stare into the mirror while waiting. The unshaven face of Will Prescott is a little green, and your eyes shine brightly. Your gaze drifts down to take in your cavernous chest and stick arms and slight, unmuscled belly. Armpit hair sticks out like straw from a badly stuffed scarecrow. After being inside Eva--and after a day of watching Chelsea--you are thoroughly repulsed by how ugly you look. You rub the small cluster of zits that disfigure your nose.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," you call tentatively when there's another knock, and open the door to peep out. It's Eva, albeit an Eva dressed in Chelsea's things. You let her in and she hands you a mask. CHELSEA COURTNEY COOPER it says in blazing letters on its inside. Eva undresses quickly and quietly, then gets into her own clothes. You let her finish and leave before turning to the things she left behind. They make a very inviting pile, and you fight a momentary urge to jack off over them before putting them on.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<i>Oh, that's </i>much<i> better,</i> you smile to yourself as you regard your new form. Great fistfuls of golden hair tumbling down in loose curls around your pert face. Where's that scrunchy? <i>Oh, there it is.</i> You pull your hair back, but not so tight that it loses body. You lightly rub a spot on your nose where that troublesome zit had been. It's a cute button nose, much nicer after that light surgery to get rid of the hint of pug. <i>Though Gordon said he missed it.</i> Boy did he regret saying that.<br/>
<br/>
As you dress your thoughts go back out to the company by the pool. The plan had been to force Eva and Jeremy to break up "for the good of the teams." You're not sure that's a good idea now. There are now other ways of reasserting Chelsea's--<i>your</i>--control over the squad. Besides, Cindy has also been getting uppity. Maybe it would be better to use the "force a boyfriend breakup" on her and Seth. <br/>
<br/>
On the other hand ... The glint in your eye grows sharper as you ponder the possibilities ... Letting it fester could encourage bigger intrigues that would be more satisfying to stamp out ... and there's no danger now that they could grow into serious threats.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Your first decision as Chelsea Cooper ..</i><br/>
<br/>
You force yourself to relax; worrying will just cause your complexion to splotch. You slip on the flip-flops, give yourself one last shakedown so things hang comfortably, and exit.<br/>
<br/>
Three pairs of eyes turn expectantly toward you as you pad back out to the pool and lean back in the chair. You smile at them.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111
author_id: seuzz
title: Of Cheerleaders and Splits
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"We're all on the same team, you know," you say after you're settled back in the lounge chair with the others standing before you. You smile at Jeremy and Eva. "So I know that you guys know I'm only looking out for our best interests. And I think it's best, guys—" <br/>
<br/>
You pause to draw the delicious moment out.<br/>
<br/>
"If you two don't see quite so much of each other any more," you conclude.<br/>
<br/>
Neither Jeremy nor Eva moves, but you feel Gordon shift his weight. <br/>
<br/>
"You need to focus, and that means no distractions. Eva," you tell her. "I don't want you going on any dates with Jeremy, or seeing him alone, either at school or outside of school." That takes care of the girl that is under your control, and you glance up expectantly at Gordon.<br/>
<br/>
He hesitates a moment, then speaks to Jeremy. "Same goes for you, Richards. Steer clear of Eva."<br/>
<br/>
"And if anyone asks," you add, "tell them that it's because you've decided it's best to keep all your energy and concentration on your schoolwork and athletics. Also, be sure to tell everyone that you talked about this with me and Gordon, and we agreed." <i>That'll</i> make it clear whose idea this was.<br/>
<br/>
They mumble their agreement, and turn to leave. Eva looks vexed, but Jeremy seems surprisingly content with the decision. He lingers a moment. "So does this mean I don't give Eva a ride home?"<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon'll take her home," you interject before he can reply. "Eva, sweetie, stay here a bit longer?" She winces but turns to face you again as Jeremy lopes away.<br/>
<br/>
Gordon sits in a nearby chair, to gaze at you stonily as you scoot up to Eva. <br/>
<br/>
"I also want you to keep your ears open for what people say," you tell her. "Be natural. Be angry with me. Get them to talk about me. And every night write it down in a report and email it to me."<br/>
<br/>
She nods. "Does that include what Jessica says about you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Jessica will be sending me her own reports. Isn't that right, Gordon?" He grunts. You smile wickedly at Eva. "Don't be so gloomy, Eva. It's like spy work. You're a secret agent, a double agent for me! It'll be exciting!" <br/>
<br/>
She blinks, and then a little smile appears on her face. "Yeah, I guess it will be," she says. A glint comes into her eyes. "Should I stir up trouble?"<br/>
<br/>
<i>Hmmm.</i> "No, don't make trouble on your own. Just keep me informed. Now go get yourself something to eat while Gordon and me talk. Then he'll take you home." She nods and trots into the house.<br/>
<br/>
Gordon leans back after she's gone. "Damn, girl, you are <i>cold.</i> I can't believe you went through with it."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't believe it either," you confess. "There's so much going on up in here, though—" You grab fistfuls of hair and shake it out "—that I just thought it best to go with the flow until I could get it sorted out."<br/>
<br/>
He gives you a curious look, as though puzzled, then hooks his foot with yours. "You got a whole lot going on lower down, too. This kind of shit usually gets you horny."<br/>
<br/>
"Mm-mm." You shake your head and pull back. "Remember who you're really talking to, dude." <br/>
<br/>
"I could make you scream." His jaws clench. "Gordon's done it before."<br/>
<br/>
"And Chelsea wasn't always faking it," you tease. "But let's save it for a special occasion. Right now I think my social media is backing up." You pick up the cell phone from your elbow and tune him out. He rises with a groan and leaves.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The Garner twins glare at you darkly at practice the next morning. Jessica tries picking a fight with you, but you ignore her and focus all your ire on Eva. She can't do anything right as far as you're concerned. You mock her back flips. You belittle her form. You tell her she could get herself higher off the ground if she just lost that extra weight. <br/>
<br/>
Toward Cindy Vredenburg, though, you are all smiles and encouragement. "You can just tell when a girl is in a really great relationship," you enthuse to the squad near the end. "She just feels lighter and wants to bounce higher." You do a somersault, and the effect of your speech is somewhat ruined by the way you tumble awkwardly at the end and pitch forward onto your hands and knees. No one dares laugh, though. <br/>
<br/>
Still, you feel your face redden even as you try to brush it off with a joke. "Seth must really have Cindy doing her somersaults for him. That's it for today." You suppress a tremble of rage and humiliation as you summon Kendra, Maria, and Gloria into a huddle while the others dutifully troop off to the changing room.<br/>
<br/>
"I know I was really rough on Eva today," you tell them, "but you saw how much better she was. Jeremy was totally fucking with her head. This morning, on the way to school, Gordon let slip a little secret about him." Kendra and Gloria lean in eagerly, but you keep quiet, frowning at Maria until she too comes closer. "He and Steve offered to let Jeremy use the special room. You know." You tilt your head toward the "fuck room"—the loft where the top jocks take their dates. Gloria and Kendra grin. "And you know what? <i>He turned them down!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Ohmigod!" Kendra gasps and covers her mouth. Gloria titters. But Maria frowns. "Didn't he have someone he could take?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You cast her a withering glance. "Of course, Maria. He could have taken <i>Eva.</i> But don't you see? He didn't <i>want</i> to."<br/>
<br/>
"I wonder why not," she murmurs, and wafts back into Cloud Cuckoo Land.<br/>
<br/>
"Totally fucking with her," Gloria says. Kendra nods, adding, "He's so awkward."<br/>
<br/>
"I know, it's like he's still fourteen," you roll your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"I thought you said Gordon lost his virginity when <i>he</i> was fourteen," Maria says, suddenly returning.<br/>
<br/>
You crimson. "There's a reason I don't tell you <i>everything,</i> Maria," you snap. "It's because you always get things mixed up." The Official Story, of course, is that Chelsea and Gordon have always been together and never with anyone else. "Don't spread what I told you about Jeremy around," you tell the girls. "I don't want to, you know, cause them any more embarrassment." <br/>
<br/>
With luck, it should be all over school before tomorrow.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Lunch in the cafeteria is a little strained, naturally. Eva and Jessica sit at the far end of the AAA table; Jeremy sits at the other. You and Gordon take the middle; he holds you close, and you cuddle up and kiss him wetly whenever you can, letting Chelsea's persona do the work. Talk, though, is about the absent Jason Lynch, who is finally in trouble over an altercation.<br/>
<br/>
"It was Hartlein's fault," Seth seethes. "I heard the fucker and woulda punched him myself, but Jason got in first."<br/>
<br/>
"Did he really call Jason a faggot?" Cindy asks.<br/>
<br/>
"So what if he did?" Steve Patterson snorts. He drains his chocolate milk. "I call him a faggot all the time."<br/>
<br/>
"You're not president of the drama club, and you don't say 'Bee-oop, there goes my gaydar again' when Jason goes by," Seth retorts.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure he wasn't talking about you?" Dalton Douglas chortles.<br/>
<br/>
"Fucker knows he's untouchable," Gordon growls. "School doesn't want a lawsuit."<br/>
<br/>
"What's gonna happen to Jason, honey?" you ask. He shrugs. "Maybe you could talk to him, change his mind?"<br/>
<br/>
"Wouldn't do any good. Steve, we gettin' together tonight?" He turns to his best friend.<br/>
<br/>
"What time?"<br/>
<br/>
"Six? The usual place, then head out from there?" Steve nods at Gordon, who then looks down at you. "Wanna come?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll have to see. Oh, I got something to leave in your locker." That'll be the mask supplies. Whether you are along or not, by this evening Patterson will have been converted.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Instead, after lunch you go looking for Kim Walsh, the student council president. You shouldn't be surprised—and you aren't—when you find that she has been looking for you.<br/>
<br/>
"Can we talk about Eva Garner?" she asks. "And Jeremy Richards?" she adds meaningfully.<br/>
<br/>
You turn placid, innocent eyes on her. "Sure. I guess you heard how they broke up." Her lips compress as she nods curtly. "You're such a good person, Kim," you say, squeezing her arm. "I think I know what this is about. I was pretty sure you'd hear about it and want to talk to me. Can you come out to my house tonight? Like, around five-thirty?"<br/>
<br/>
She actually looks relieved. "Yeah. Um, I don't want me to think I'm second-guessing you ..."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't worry about it," you tell her cheerfully. "If I can't change your mind, I'll let you change mine!"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Instead of hanging out with friends you go home to prepare for Kim's visit, mixing up the varnish and magical powder and getting everything in order. You then follow it up by composing extensive notes to yourself based upon what you've learned and pondered since taking over Chelsea. It's a nice, long list of names, and you review it approvingly. Hartein should be an especially useful recruit.<br/>
<br/>
The doorbell rings, which brings you back to the present. You don't need to run Chelsea to have the benefits of controlling her; and Caleb would probably appreciate the quality time that a golemized Chelsea would be more willing to give him. Also, you'd have a better sense of what Kim knows and thinks from inside her. <br/>
<br/>
... And yet, you reflect, as you catch sight of your face in the mirror over your desk, Chelsea is so much more attractive.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111111
author_id: seuzz
title: Kim in Charge
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You feel your eyes light up when you open the bedroom door for Kim. She is just so adorable, with a pert little red bob over a lightly freckled face. You give her a slightly lingering hug after pulling her in. "Thanks so much for coming over," you gush. <br/>
<br/>
"What's this all about, Chelsea?" she asks in a guarded tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, you'll see," you reply carelessly. "But can you hang on a moment? I have to get something ready."<br/>
<br/>
Now that it's come to the point, you realize that the switch is going to be tricky: getting the mask on her and getting Chelsea's mask off yourself and onto her before she wakes up. So, with a quick apology you step into Chelsea's personal bathroom. It's all soft and colored with apricot--a shade that nicely highlights her own golden hue--and you almost change your mind about the switch as you watch yourself in the mirror as you disrobe. Shorts and top and bra and panties slip off, leaving only Chelsea's own smooth skin and form. With a sigh you slip your finger in and out of your pussy and suck on it as a delicious vibration goes through you. Oh, but Kim has got to be almost as good. <i>Almost, but certainly not,</i> Chelsea's own mind quickly adds. You lay down on the rug and pull the mask off.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You fight to stay awake, but you don't succeed, though you think that you've probably not been out long. You put your ear to the door and hear Kim rustling around, so she's not panicking or anything over your absence. With a quick smirk you pull on Chelsea's own bathrobe--which is quite short, and barely covers your nakedness--before stepping out.<br/>
<br/>
Kim does a comical double take and her jaw falls open. "W-- Will?" she squeaks.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah!" you grin. "Didn't Chelsea tell you she's cheating on Gordon with me? Now, where's the-- Oh, there it is." Kim is so dumbstruck she can't react as you snatch up the blank mask and jam it onto her face. She falls back onto the bed.<br/>
<br/>
While she's out, you lock the bedroom door and retrieve Chelsea's mask from the bathroom and coat its inside with the golemization mix. You have just finished burning a bit of your hair into it as the mask comes out of Kim; a moment later Chelsea Cooper sits up on her bed with a frown on her face. "Oh God," she cries. "What are you doing in my--?"<br/>
<br/>
"Shhh! Just go get changed while I finish this up. Your stuff is--" You jerk your head toward the bathroom.<br/>
<br/>
"I <i>know</i> where it is," she growls, and quickly disappears into the bathroom. You hear the click of the lock on the door. Like that could keep you out if you told her to open up!<br/>
<br/>
She discovers the uselessness of the lock fifteen minutes later, after you've woken with Kim's form draped around your own. You spend a few minutes running your new hands up and down your slim legs and stomach and fondling your small, pear-shaped breasts. You feel smaller as Kim than you did as Chelsea, even though Kim probably has an inch or two on her. Probably it's because Kim hasn't got Chelsea's bursting aggression and self-confidence.<br/>
<br/>
You knock softly on the door. "Come on out, Chelsea," you call. "I need my clothes." The door opens, and Chelsea glares at you as she shoves a rude pile of clothing at you. With a loud huff she pushes past and crosses over to her desk to sit at her laptop, turning her back on you. You let her sulk as you slip into Kim's cotton panties and jeans, and button up her floral-patterned top. You then spend a few minutes studying yourself in the mirror as you brush and pat things into place. Kim's serious expression gazes back at you. You feel disinclined to talk to Chelsea, and it's with a feeling of reluctance that you turn back to her. "Well, that's all finally done," you say. "Now, I guess we have to talk."<br/>
<br/>
"About what?" Chelsea says without turning toward you.<br/>
<br/>
"Giving you your orders," you say, and your lip curls into a half smile. "Going to be a little strange for you, isn't it?" She shoots you a dirty look. <br/>
<br/>
"First  of all, keep Gordon happy," you say, thinking of what Caleb will want from his "girlfriend." "Think about who would be a good recruit. You know, because we're replacing people with our own puppets." Her expression turns hooded. "If you need to talk to me, pass a message along through one of the Garner twins. It'll look less weird than if <i>we're</i> talking. Oh, but I guess--" You snap your fingers. "Crap. I'm late. I'm supposed to be meeting with Amanda at the city library."<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea's eyes light up. "Really? What about?"<br/>
<br/>
Her hunger for gossip is palpable, and Kim's own spirit flares within you. "Don't tell me what to do, Chelsea," you snap. "Don't ever tell me what to do." You grab up your purse and with a feeling of relief quit the Cooper residence.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Amanda Ferguson accepts your apology for being late with only a grunt, and her eyes narrow when--against your better instincts--you volunteer that you'd been delayed by a visit to Chelsea Cooper's. "Oh God, what took you over there?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, you know Chelsea," you say as you pull out your notebook. "She was fishing for news." You avoid Amanda's gaze by flipping through the spiral pad, and you're momentarily startled by the smooth girly loops. This is <i>your</i> handwriting now. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" you have to stammer after Amanda speaks.<br/>
<br/>
"I asked what she was fishing for." <br/>
<br/>
"Oh. Kelsey and Karl Hennepin," you say, thinking quickly. Those two are at the forefront of Kim's thoughts this evening. You look up to see Amanda visibly bristle. "I didn't tell her anything," you hurriedly add.<br/>
<br/>
"It's bad enough if she's heard about them," Amanda says, and angrily clicks her pen. "It's bad news all around."<br/>
<br/>
"What's your opinion about all that?" you cautiously ask.<br/>
<br/>
She darts you a sharp look, as though weighing whether you are to be trusted, given that you've spoken to Chelsea. "Kelsey can do what she likes. And she will."<br/>
<br/>
"They don't seem well matched, frankly," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"Opposites attract," she snorts.<br/>
<br/>
"Then why doesn't she try hooking up with Justin Roth? I'm not serious," you quickly add. "And I don't mean 'hooking up' like, like--"<br/>
<br/>
"Like she did with Karl this weekend?"<br/>
<br/>
You gasp. "She <i>didn't!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"It must be the hat," Amanda says, referring to the battered felt fedora Karl likes to jam down over his mop of curly blonde hair. She takes her iPhone out and flicks a finger across the screen. "You want to know what Kelsey is in for? This." She turns the screen toward you.<br/>
<br/>
It takes you a moment to interpret the picture, but it shows Kelsey Blankenship, asleep with her tousled head on a pillow. Karl, who was obviously holding the phone as he snapped the photo, is leaning over her and grinning into the lens. Though little but their faces are visible, it is obvious that neither one is wearing a top.<br/>
<br/>
"How did you get this?" you cry. "You didn't-- You didn't--"<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't do anything," Amanda snaps, "except find that someone had sent it to me. Karl--or his friends--are sending it around."<br/>
<br/>
"And Kelsey doesn't know?" you squeal.<br/>
<br/>
"Not yet," she says, and puts the phone away. "And it's not cool. Is it, Kim?"<br/>
<br/>
"Definitely not. And if Chelsea knew or got that picture--"<br/>
<br/>
You bite your lip. It hardly matters whether Chelsea gets news of this or not. She'll do exactly and only what you want  her to do.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"You know, I moved out of Chelsea so you'd have a clear field with her," you say as you slap Caleb's hand away from your breast. "Not so you could have a new set of boobs to fondle. And when did you move into Steve?"<br/>
<br/>
It <i>is</i> Steve Patterson--the disguised Caleb--who is leaning over you in the fuck loft and breathing heavily on you. "Last night, after I got him," he replies. "Gordon has issues, you know, so it seemed like a good idea."<br/>
<br/>
"And how did you know I'd be inside Kim?" He'd come calling at your locker between periods, and only a subsequent text from Chelsea had alerted you as to Caleb's changed location. "That was fucking sick." You stumble a little over a curse word that Kim is unaccustomed to using.<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't know it was you," he laughs. "Kim was looking perky, and I figured why the fuck not? Besides," he adds, and roughly strokes the side of your neck. "I knew you'd be getting Kim eventually. If she didn't say yes today, she'd say yes tomorrow." He leers in what is plainly supposed to be a sexy manner.<br/>
<br/>
"Try it on Chelsea," you say, and push him away again. "I'll tell her to put out for Steve." He guffaws appreciatively. "Oh, speaking of which--" You tell him all about Kelsey and Karl, and about how Jessica came to you after lunch with the same photo on her phone and a message from Chelsea: "What are we going to do about this?" You chatter on, even though Caleb is plainly not paying attention. "So," you ask by way of winding up. "Do you think Kelsey and Amanda and them are worth taking? You know, as puppets?"<br/>
<br/>
"If you want," he shrugs. "Leave me out of it. I don't want any of those AP dipshits. But you should send Kelsey to me if you get her." He groans and leans back, and lets his cock tent in his shorts. "I swear she wants me, but she's being coy."</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111111
author_id: seuzz
title: Le Cameleon et Le Corbeau (1)
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Caleb seems more interested in molesting you than in sharing ideas about how to proceed, so you flee the scene before he can get even randier.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Kim!" Mrs. Goretsky claps her hands together excitedly and beams at you as you stick your head into her classroom at the start of fourth period. <br/>
<br/>
This would normally be your art class, but you've skipped and gone looking for Kelsey instead. (Amanda told you that you could find her here.) And sure enough, she's in the corner of the mostly empty classroom, sitting at a table with her head bent over a stack of papers. She looks up only briefly at the sound of your name.<br/>
<br/>
"Are you thinking of helping out with the creative writing journal too?" Mrs. Goretsky continues, and you have to turn back to her. You blink before you can get straight on her question. <i>Oh, that's right--in addition to teaching sophomore English, Mrs. Goretsky teaches creative writing and oversees the creative writing anthology the school publishes every year. She's asked Kim to help out before ...</i><br/>
<br/>
"Oh, er," you stammer. "I was looking for Kelsey--" At the sound of her own name, Kelsey looks up again, and there's no mistaking the darkly suspicious look in her eye. She hunches and shifts in a way that almost turns her back on you without quite being ostentatious about it. You do a quick calculation of the sort that Kim is good at, and deduce that she has heard about the photo making the rounds, and assumes you are here to be "supportive" of her.<br/>
<br/>
"--because yeah, I was thinking of volunteering to help out," you say, quickly swerving your plans onto a parallel track. Although you feel the tug of Kim's native desire to snoop, really, you don't care much about Kelsey's tribulations. (Which, truthfully, you could make go away pretty easily just by giving Chelsea the word.) You just need an excuse to get close to her, and the journal is as good as any.<br/>
<br/>
Mrs. Goretsky beams, and the heavily caked makeup she uses to try to make herself appear ten years younger cracks along her laugh lines.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that is so good to hear," she says, and claps her hands again. "Kelsey also showed up today, saying she wanted to help. She was one of the editors last year, you know, and she can help set you up." Although the table is only a few yards away, Mrs. Goretsky takes your arm in hers and leads you to it. "We have another volunteer for you!"<br/>
<br/>
Kelsey looks up yet a third time, and now forces a smile to her face. She listens patiently as Mrs. Goretsky describes the journal's operation and the sorts of things that have to be done; you shift uncomfortably on your feet. Finally, the teacher wraps things up with another impossible smile and the declaration that things are wonderful--just wonderful!--and breezes out of the room.<br/>
<br/>
Kelsey's smile falls from her face, and with her foot she kicks out a chair for you to sit in. Your skin prickles at the nearly electric unfriendliness that surges off her, but you take the seat. "So this is what you do fourth period," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"This is what I do fourth period <i>today,</i>" she snorts. "Normally--" She shuts her mouth with a snap. <i>Normally she'd be hanging out with her friends during a free period, but today she's hiding with shame and humiliation.</i><br/>
<br/>
"So what do you want me to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"You heard Mrs. Goretsky. Get to reading." She pulls a sheaf of papers from the bottom of her stack and hurls it in front of you. "These things. On the cover sheet put your initials in the 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe' columns. If you're feeling ambitious, put a few words in explaining why you vote the way you do."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay. But--"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, can you read without moving your lips? Try." Again, she turns in her chair, presenting a bare and frigid shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
Well, this isn't going to work for getting close to Kelsey so you can copy and replace her. But you're stuck, now that you've volunteered, so dutifully you bend over your new assignments.<br/>
<br/>
The first few are some rather garbagy lyrical poems about love or about God, and there's something that is either a prose poem describing a state of extreme drunkenness or an exercise in random typing, and you sink lower and lower in your chair. It would help if you had some idea of what the standards are for the journal, so you won't grade too high or too low, but you don't dare speak to Kelsey again.<br/>
<br/>
And then you come to the short story. You can immediately tell it's going to be bad news for <i>someone</i>, and probably lots of someones, just from the first few lines. Surreptitiously you glance up at Kelsey, wondering if she's seen it; but then, if she had, she'd certainly have taken it off to burn. You bend over it and start to read:<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</div><br/>
Kelsey was the most stuck-up bitch in the high school, which was probably one reason she didn't have a boyfriend. Probably it was also because she wanted Gordon, the captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend, but he was dating Chelsea, who was stupid but the head cheerleader, so she was a lot more popular than Kelsey. Kelsey hated Chelsea, but had to be nice to her because Chelsea basically ran the social scene, even though Kelsey thought she should be running it.<br/>
<br/>
And then one day, while on her way to the school library, Kelsey saw Gordon walking toward her. "Looking good, Kelsey," he grinned at her. She blushed. He stopped in front of her and grabbed her hand. "You're looking really good."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, oh," she gasped.<br/>
<br/>
He leaned in close. "Chelsea's in class but I'm skipping. Wanna hang out with me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sure, Gordon," she said.<br/>
<br/>
He held her hand and pulled her to the gym, where there was a secret closet where he and his friends liked to hang out. "I've been watching you for a long time," he said as he stroked her shoulders. "I know you like me, and I like you too. I've been thinking about dumping Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
Kelsey gasped and squealed, and she started to shiver as Gordon unbuttoned her blouse and jeans. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his t-shirt and shorts. "Oh my God, it's so big," Kelsey said as he penis rose to meet her. Gordon leaned back against the wall and fondled her hair as she dropped to her knees and began to suck him off. "It tastes so good, too," she said after he came, and she swallowed it.<br/>
<br/>
"You're a lot better than Chelsea," Gordon said as they got dressed again. "I'll dump her tonight. Come talk to me tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
Kelsey nodded eagerly because she totally believed him. She then left and went on to the library.<br/>
<br/>
But after she left Gordon began to change, and it was more than his clothes. He shrank until he was about average height, and he became very slim. His face blurred and shifted, and when it was solid again he looked a little bit like a guy but also a little bit like a girl. But he didn't look like Gordon anymore. In fact, he didn't look like anyone who went to school. The person who had looked like Gordon then put on some new clothes and followed Kelsey to the library, where he sat at a table close to her, where she was talking to her friend Amanda.<br/>
<br/>
"That is so incredible," Amanda was saying. "But are you sure he's really serious about you? Maybe he just wanted a blow job, and you gave him what he wanted."<br/>
<br/>
"He wouldn't have promised me if he wasn't serious," Kelsey said. "You know Gordon. He would have just laughed at me."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess maybe you're right," Amanda said. "So what do you do now?"<br/>
<br/>
"Keep it quiet," Kelsey says. "I'm only telling you for now. Tomorrow, after Gordon dumps Chelsea, then everyone can know." <br/>
<br/>
While they kept talking, the person at the next table took out his iPhone and sent a text message. A second later, Kelsey's phone chimed, and she jumped when she read the message. "Oh wow, it turns out my dental appointment got moved up. I have to leave school early." She hugged Amanda and ran off.<br/>
<br/>
After she had gone, the person at the next table also left, but he went into the girls' bathroom and locked himself in a stall. (Because he looked kind of like a girl anyway, it didn't look like a boy had crashed the bathroom.) From his bag he took out a top and some jeans shorts like Kelsey had been wearing and changed into them. Again, his face began to change, turning longer and bonier, and the eyes got narrow. His chest rose into a bust, but not a very big one, and his hips stayed narrow. His short, tightly curled hair loosed and lengthened and turned a mousy brown. When the changes had settled, the person who now looked like Kelsey stepped back into the bathroom and studied herself in the mirror. "Oh, Gordon," she moaned, "it tastes so good." Then she smiled, and stuck her chin out in a haughty way and went back into the school, where classes were beginning to let out for the change in period. <br/>
<br/>
She ignored Gordon as he passed her, and he ignored her. Instead she went to find Amanda. "I had a thought before I took off," she said, leaning in close and whispering to Kelsey's best friend. "I think we <i>should</i> tell everyone, and start telling them now," she said. "That way we box Gordon in and he won't be able to change his mind."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you sure," Amanda said.<br/>
<br/>
"Absolutely," the girl who looked like Kelsey said.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111112
author_id: seuzz
title: Le Cameleon et Le Corbeau (2)
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You swallow hard and glance back up again at Kelsey, but she seems totally absorbed in the papers that she is reading, and you decide against saying anything to her. <br/>
<br/>
You look down at the first page to see who wrote it: "by Francine Adams," it says. Kim has a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of who is who at the school, and you don't recognize the name. Obviously, it must be a pseudonym. That's no surprise. It's pretty clear that whoever submitted the story didn't intend for it to be published. They were just spreading trouble.<br/>
<br/>
You suck on your pen, trying to think of who "Francine Adams" might be. It's someone who has it in for Kelsey; probably they have it in for Gordon and Chelsea too. Of course, that doesn't narrow the list of suspects down.<br/>
<br/>
You ponder. Does Kelsey really, secretly have a crush on Gordon? Or, at least, does she actually nurse an ambition to take him away from Chelsea? If so, that would probably mean it's by someone who knows Kelsey pretty well. You blanch: Maybe it was actually written by one of her own friends, someone who is really mad at her for some reason. Or maybe it's just someone who thinks that writing about Kelsey chasing Gordon would be a mean thing to do.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head to clear it. Best thing to do is finish the story. There might be additional clues in it.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</div><br/>
Kelsey--not the real one, the person who was looking like Kelsey--went to her next class and pretended that nothing was going on. But after that class she went to find Deanna. "Oh my God, I am going to kill Amanda," she said.<br/>
<br/>
"What's wrong?" Deanna asked. It wasn't unusual for Kelsey to be in a bad mood, and she was often complaining about Amanda behind her back.<br/>
<br/>
"I told her a totally secret thing," Kelsey said. "About a dream I had last night, and now she's blabbing it all over school. Haven't you heard?"<br/>
<br/>
Deanna shook her head, and leaned in expectantly. She was a huge gossip, and really wanted to hear what all this was about.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it was a dream about me and Gordon," Kelsey said. "And now Amanda is telling other people, and they're treating it like it's true, like it <i>really happened!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"What was the dream?" Deanna asked. She thought the idea of Kelsey and Gordon together was very interesting.<br/>
<br/>
"Never mind," Kelsey said. "But Amanda's got the details all mixed up anyway. You just tell everyone not to believe any stories that they've heard about me and Gordon. I've already yelled at Amanda, so don't say anything to her."<br/>
<br/>
"This all sounds terrible," Deanna said. "It's really too bad. You and Amanda are such good friends."<br/>
<br/>
"Not really that much," Kelsey said. "Amanda can be a real snake. I wouldn't put it past her that she did all this on purpose."<br/>
<br/>
Deanna turned white and stuttered something, and that's the way Kelsey left her. And since Kelsey was supposed to be gone from school on a dental appointment, this girl also left school early before Amanda could see her in the hallway.<br/>
<br/>
She drove out to the mall, where she bought some slacks and a polo shirt and a ball cap, and then in the changing room she changed again. She shrank a few more inches, and her chest and shoulders got big, and she also got kind of a big butt. All that was so that she turned into the twin of Jason, who was captain of the baseball team and one of Gordon's best friends. He grinned into a mirror--the way Jason was always grinning into mirrors he passed--as he sauntered back out of the store and drove off to Chelsea's house. He parked around the corner, though, because his car didn't look anything like Jason's own truck.<br/>
<br/>
"How are you and Gordon doing?" he asked Chelsea after he met her, and had made sure that Gordon wasn't around. "Have you given him a b. j. lately?"<br/>
<br/>
"You're so disgusting," Chelsea yelled at him.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not trying to be disgusting," the guy who looked like Jason said. "I just want to know if you guys are okay. Because Gordon was telling me and Steve that he got a blow job from Kelsey this afternoon."<br/>
<br/>
"What?" Chelsea shrieked. Her face turned splotchy with red and purple, and a zit popped out from under her makeup.<br/>
<br/>
"And, like, he's saying it was a hell of a lot better than any he ever got from you," Jason said.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't believe it," Chelsea screamed. "You're lying, Jason!"<br/>
<br/>
"How about you call Kelsey, then?" Jason said. "I heard it from Gordon himself, but if it happened then Kelsey will confirm it."<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea whipped out her iPhone--which she was never without--and instantly called Kelsey. "Hi Kelsey," she said in that sweet tone she always used when she was getting ready to stab someone. "Did you give my boyfriend a blow job this afternoon?" Her mouth fell open and she turned totally white. "I'll kill you for this, Kelsey," she said. "You and Gordon both!"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry about all this," Jason said as Chelsea sobbed and wailed. "But I figured you ought to know." <br/>
<br/>
He left before she could call Gordon, and drove back out to the school. The parking lot was mostly empty, so no one was around to see as he changed into a pair of skimpy running shorts and a tight exercise top. The next bit was going to be fun, and he took a long time while letting the slow changes occur. His boobs got bigger and plumper and tighter until they filled the cups, and they tingled as he supported them with his hands. He threw his head back and gasped and wriggled in the seat as his hips widened, and he pressed a palm to his crotch until it became moist. He sucked on lips that became bigger and darker, and brushed a cheek that turned brown. He ran fingers through long, loose locks of dark hair. And when the changes were through, the new girl tucked her feet into dainty little running shoes bought specially for this part of the plan. Then she sat back and watched, waiting.<br/>
<br/>
It wasn't long before the car appeared, and she watched as Gordon got out and walked angrily toward the gym. He had a special key and let himself in. Then she followed him.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, hi Maria," he said after she'd called to him. "What are you doing here?"<br/>
<br/>
"I thought I'd find you here," she said. "I heard from Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you going to scream at me too?" he said. "I didn't do anything with Kelsey!"<br/>
<br/>
The girl who looked like Maria just shrugged. "I just thought you'd probably like to see a friend. It was Jason who told Chelsea, right?"<br/>
<br/>
Gordon punched a wall. And then since there was no place else to go, he went into the closet where Kelsey and someone who had looked like him had gone earlier in the day. Maria followed him.<br/>
<br/>
They talked a little bit, and then Maria touched him, and started to stroke his arm, and Gordon slumped to the floor, and Maria sat on his lap, and then they were kissing. Maria was Chelsea's best friend and was always hanging around with her and Gordon, so this girl figured Gordon probably had a thing for her. She was right, and soon she was sliding up and down on Gordon's dick, which was actually much smaller than a lot of people probably thought it would be.<br/>
<br/>
When they were done they cuddled for a bit and then walked back out into the parking lot.<br/>
<br/>
And that's when lots of people got a huge surprise. Because in the parking lot were Chelsea and Kelsey and Jason and Amanda. They were all walking toward the gym. The girl who looked like Maria smirked, because she thought this would be a perfect opportunity for some more mischief. But then she froze.<br/>
<br/>
Maria--the real Maria--was also with the others.<br/>
<br/>
Everyone stopped and stared. "That's-- That's me!" the real Maria squealed.<br/>
<br/>
The fake Maria dropped Gordon's hand and ran off faster than anyone at the school had ever run before, and no one could catch her. <br/>
<br/>
So everyone pretended to forgive everyone else, because it was obvious that it had all been the work of a shapeshifter. But no one quite trusted anyone else after that.<br/>
<br/>
Which was good, because the shapeshifter was still there. It was one of their friends, and it listened to their stories about what had happened, and pretended to be shocked just like them. And like them, it went around the school and looked at people suspiciously, because maybe those people were really the shapeshifter in disguise.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Nothing good will come of having this story show up, so you quietly tuck it away in your bag when Kelsey isn't looking. But you wonder if it would be worth tracking the author down.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111111121
author_id: seuzz
title: A Mystery Solved?
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Caleb looks bored as he flips through the pages of the mysterious story; and since he is wearing Steve Patterson's face, looking bored also means looking a little dopey. He's also reading quickly--you can tell because he turns the pages so fast--and keeps looking up to glance around the mall's food court, where you are meeting. He's got the hood of a grey sweatshirt pulled up over his head, too, as though he doesn't want to be spotted by anyone.<br/>
<br/>
He finally pushes it back toward you with a grunt. "And why should I care about this?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's kind of fishy, isn't it?" you say. "I mean, this sounds like one of Kelsey's friends is trying to stir up trouble in their group. Chelsea's group, too."<br/>
<br/>
"And what do we care?" he asks. "We've got Chelsea and Gordon and Steve--" He leans back in his seat and stretches his legs, forcing you to draw back as they touch your own. "And I thought you were going to be getting Kelsey."<br/>
<br/>
"But it's still trouble for them."<br/>
<br/>
"God, you really are talking like Kim," he grumbles.<br/>
<br/>
"And you're talking like Steve," you retort. "Come on, use your own head. Get out of his, at least a little bit."<br/>
<br/>
He glares at you. "Fine. Explain to me why <i>Caleb Johansson and Will Prescott</i> should care about this." His tone is sullen.<br/>
<br/>
"Because someone is trying to make trouble for the people we're taking over!"<br/>
<br/>
"So we'll find out who it is and stomp 'em," he says. "If it's a guy, me and Gordon will take him out behind the portables and give his orthodontist a nice little project to work on. And if it's a girl, Chelsea and Kelsey will-- I dunno, put bubble gum in her hair."<br/>
<br/>
Now <i>you</i> settle back and fold your arms. That's not the kind of thing you were thinking of. But you don't have a reply, and squirm in your seat instead. <br/>
<br/>
But maybe Caleb is right: Kim--sweet Kim; nice Kim; do-gooder Kim--would be intensely bothered by all this, and maybe you're letting her head get too far inside yours. You fumble with the pages as you struggle with yourself. Kim wouldn't know what to do, except find the author and find out why they're being so mean to their friends. <i>You</i>, on the other hand--<br/>
<br/>
"It's kind of funny, don't you think," you say, "that someone wrote a story about a shapeshifter screwing around with our classmates? Like we're kind of doing?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb's eyebrows shoot up. "You think someone has figured out there's something funny going on, figured out what we're doing?"<br/>
<br/>
"God, I hope not! And that's not what I meant. Anyway, how would they?"<br/>
<br/>
He shrugs. "I dunno. I thought that's what you were saying."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it wasn't. But this person-- Look, why are we doing what we're doing? I mean, why are we pretending to be--" Your voice drops. "Why are we pretending to be other people? Like--" You tap the story with Kim's nicely manicured fingers.<br/>
<br/>
"To get laid," he gruffly replies, and reaches under the table to adjust his shorts. "At least, that's what I'm interested in. And by the way, you forgot to tell Chelsea to put  out for me."<br/>
<br/>
"You can switch back into Gordon for that," you retort; and when he glares at that you add a mollifying, "But I'll talk to her. Anyway--"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't talk to her, <i>tell</i> her."<br/>
<br/>
"--I thought we were talking about cleaning up the school. Make it run nicer."<br/>
<br/>
"It runs nice right now. At least, from where I'm sitting."<br/>
<br/>
You snort. "So it sounds like the person who wrote this story wants kind of the same thing. Or, at least, to use disguises to screw with people like-- Like Kelsey and Chelsea and them."<br/>
<br/>
"Doesn't surprise me. They need straightening out."<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Stop thinking like Steve.</i> For a minute at least. This person is kind of like us, right? Like before we found that book?" You hesitate before voicing your next thought, since you're not sure you'd endorse it yourself. "We were thinking about adding some confederates. Weren't we?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh yeah," he nods. "I had an idea there. Something for Keith."<br/>
<br/>
"You think he could handle this?" After seeing what being Patterson has done to Caleb, you have to wonder about your other close friend.<br/>
<br/>
"That's what we'll find out." He grins in a way you don't like. "We pull him aside, show him the masks and what they do, and make him go get masks of people for us."<br/>
<br/>
"So, basically, just have him join."<br/>
<br/>
"Nah, he wouldn't know it was us. Not the real us. He'd think it was Steve and-- Well, you should switch back into Chelsea if we do this. Anyway, we show him the stuff, and make him sweat. Tell him he has to get us, like, five copies of people--hot girls--and then he can join our team, start wearing masks. And if he doesn't, we'll replace him with a duplicate."<br/>
<br/>
Your eyes nearly pop out of your head. "Are you fucking kidding me?" you exclaim, and the very un-Kim-like obscenity slides out easily.<br/>
<br/>
"It'll be fun," he protests. "Make him really scared. But he'll do it. And when it's done, we'll tell him who we really are and we'll all have a good laugh."<br/>
<br/>
"He'd kill us!"<br/>
<br/>
"Not fucking likely." He plucks boastfully at his sweatshirt. "We can let him be Seth Javits when he's made his quota. He'd like that."<br/>
<br/>
"That's a really messed up idea. And what if he fucks up? Like, loses a mask, or someone catches him?"<br/>
<br/>
"What if someone catches <i>us?</i>" he retorts. He sighs as you continue to glare skeptically at him. "Okay, we'll only make him grab three people. And each time he gets someone, we'll let him get it on with one of the golems we already have. With Eva or Jessica." The side of his mouth goes up in a leer. "Or Kim, if you've switched into Kelsey or back into Chelsea by that point. Stick <i>and</i> carrot for him."<br/>
<br/>
Again, you sigh. "We'll talk about it later. Right now-- Well, what about letting this other person join?" Again, you tap the story.<br/>
<br/>
"We don't even know who it is."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll find out."<br/>
<br/>
"You were going to find out anyway, weren't you, <i>Kim?</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, <i>Steve,</i> I was." You sweep your things back into your bag, but pause before leaving. "If it seems like a good person to have join, maybe we can do your plan on <i>them.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. Anyway, I'll have some new masks all made up for you tomorrow," he says, and rises as you do. "I figured out a way to make them real fast. And talk to Chelsea for me, okay?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's who I was going to see."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Chelsea reads the story twice, with a burning intensity, and says nothing the whole time. You watch her carefully, and it's not hard to see the wheels turning and the pistons churning inside her head. When she's done, she looks up at you with a dark glance. "I didn't write it," you say, feeling daunted even though she is your slave.<br/>
<br/>
"I know you didn't," she says. "Though you <i>would,</i> wouldn't you? Whoever you really are."<br/>
<br/>
"Do you know who might have written it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Laura MacGregor," she says firmly.<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Laura,</i>" you gasp. "How do you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"I <i>know,</i>" she says. "Francine Adams, psht! She's so obvious."<br/>
<br/>
The answer just bewilders you. "But how do you know that Francine Adams is Laura?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's a name she uses online," Chelsea says. "Some game or other. She thinks it's, like, a <i>secret</i> or something. " She rolls her eyes, and then her expression turns hooded and thoughtful. "I wonder if she's got some other aliases." She glances over at her computer. "Eh, probably not, if she's stupid enough to put 'Francine Adams' on <i>this.</i>" Still, she moves from her bed over to her desk and wakes up the laptop.<br/>
<br/>
But you're not paying close attention to her anymore. You know Laura. Not well, not these days. But back in middle school you shared lots of classes with her and sat next to her, and you even had a bit of a crush on her at one point. She isn't a great beauty--her features, though regular, are a little sharp, and she could do little with her mousy brown hair but keep it trimmed to fall just below her jawline. But she had a wicked sense of humor and a way of glancing at you that made you feel like you weren't wearing any clothes; and that she liked what she saw.<br/>
<br/>
Yes, despite your initial wonderment, now that you think of it, you can picture Laura writing a story like this, and getting great pleasure from stirring up an ants' nest. She's not one of <i>the</i> AP girls, like Kelsey or Amanda, but she <i>would</i> think Kelsey was stuck-up.<br/>
<br/>
You're drawn out of your thoughts by the clack of typing. "What are you doing," you ask Chelsea. Then: "Stop it! Don't tell anyone about this!"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh?" she pouts. "What <i>are</i> we going to do about the little bitch?"<br/>
<br/>
Well, that's a question, isn't it?<br/>
<br/>
And then you're seized by a sudden desire to bring her into your company. You could never share a secret like the masks with Lisa, your old girlfriend. But Laura ... She would laugh at the wickedness of it all and have fun with it. She'd be different company than Caleb; and with him being so Steve-like, she'd be more fun too, probably.<br/>
<br/>
But how to approach her? Not as Kim. You'd want to approach her as yourself. Or--<br/>
<br/>
You blink and stare at Chelsea, who's still pouting darkly. What was Caleb's plan, about a "stick-and-carrot" approach to new recruits? He suggested you switch back as Chelsea anyway. Maybe you could stick-and-carrot Laura into getting masks for you.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111111211
author_id: seuzz
title: Back to Normal
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You study Chelsea, who is staring back confidently at you: masterful, aggressive, pouty. You remember the thrill you had while being her, having your fingers twined around all the strings at school. And she's so desirable physically, too: those breasts, those thighs ...<br/>
<br/>
And that brings you up short: You'd promised Caleb that she would put out for him. With a grunt you put away the thought of switching back into her.<br/>
<br/>
"Just keep quiet about all this," you order her. "No emails, no texts, no gossip, no hints. It's our secret for now." She frowns, but acquiesces, like a good golem. "Also, if Steve calls and tells you to meet him in the VIP room, meet him and do whatever he wants.<br/>
<br/>
<i>That</i> causes her to flinch. "Oh God," she moans. "Do I have to?" You tell her firmly that she does. "Fine," she grumbles. "But I won't enjoy it."<br/>
<br/>
Your mouth twitches into a smile. "You don't have to. In fact, you can complain all you want." It doesn't make her any happier, but you grin to yourself as you leave, thinking of what she'll put Caleb through.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You have mild regrets about your decision as you park in front of your next destination: the Prescott house. It's going to be a let down, at the very least, returning even briefly to your old life. You hope nothing bad has happened while you've been away.<br/>
<br/>
Your mother doesn't know Kim, and greets you with cheerful inquisitiveness. You can tell she's fishing to find out who Kim is and how she knows her son, and you deflect her with an excuse about a study session. The thing that is pretending to be you nods casually when it appears in the living room and obediently follows you back out to the car for that "study session." Thankfully, it didn't argue that it didn't know what you were talking about.<br/>
<br/>
"Surprised to see me like this?" you ask it as you get in the car. You're very conscious of how daintily you move, and redden slightly at the kind of things that "Will Prescott" would think or even say to a dude who was moving and twitching as girlishly as you are. So preoccupied are you, in fact, that Kim's own instincts briefly take over, and you blush when you catch yourself in the act of checking your makeup in the rearview mirror.<br/>
<br/>
But the fake Prescott just shrugs. "I know it's you, boss," it says. "I can feel it when you're close." He looks over slyly at you. "You were being Chelsea a few days ago."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't know you saw me."<br/>
<br/>
"I always know when Chelsea's around," he sniggers. "You didn't pay any attention to me, of course. You were all wrapped up with Gordon."<br/>
<br/>
Your blush deepens. "Shut up. Besides, that wasn't Gordon. It was Caleb." As per your order, the golem says nothing, but can't suppress a bark of laughter.<br/>
<br/>
It gives you a querying glance when you pull up at the old elementary school, and fishes the keys from its pockets when you demand them. Inside the basement you feel yourself pressed between a reluctance to make the switch and a desire to just get it over with. Your discomfort isn't alleviated as you clumsily disrobe and order the golem to do likewise. <br/>
<br/>
After you've got Kim's mask off, you take the mask off "Will." You're momentarily startled to see the golemized Eva again--you'd forgotten who was under that mask, and reflect that lots of people are now hidden in lots of places. Quickly you put Kim's mask onto her, and when the new Kim appears, her eyes widen and fall at finding herself--still naked--with you. She moves off into a corner to get dressed again, and moved by some gentlemanly impulse you turn your back on her as you get dressed yourself. When the changes are done, you send her on her way with orders to keep quiet and carry on normally, then put your own mask back on so as to retrieve the memories of the life you've temporarily stepped out of.<br/>
<br/>
Nothing has changed, really. Your dad is still being a hard-ass and your brother is still being annoying. The only surprise, as such, is to catch up with what "fake-you" and "fake-Caleb" have been doing. Not much, it turns out, but they have been speculating about what the real versions of themselves have been doing. Silently, they've been watching the two of you and tracking your shifts from the Garners to Chelsea and Gordon and thence to Kim and Steve. Fake-Caleb has been having the better of it, and you flush furiously to recall his ribald speculations about how "he" has been giving "you" lots of romantic attentions and bringing you to many feminine climaxes.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"I don't think he's even getting any," you tell "Caleb" hotly. "Unless it's from Jessica. Or Jeremy."<br/>
<br/>
"What kind of a pal are you?" the golem asks with a grin. "Not even a hand job for your best friend?" You stare daggers at him. "That's how come you switched back into being yourself, right? To catch a break?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just shut up about it," you order him. "I'm only back for a little while, and I shouldn't have even told you it was <i>me.</i> It's none of your business anyway."<br/>
<br/>
He opens his mouth to reply, but you nudge him, for Keith is sauntering up to join you at propping up the school wall during lunch break. "Dudes," he says, and turns his cap backwards.<br/>
<br/>
"What have <i>you</i> got to smile about," you snarl at him. "I saw Javits giving you a visit after second period."<br/>
<br/>
"That's what I've got to smile about," he replies serenely. "Got it out of the way early. It's Friday, and I won't have to worry about that asshole again until Monday at least." Seth Javits is Keith's personal bully.<br/>
<br/>
You feel a stab of apprehension, and can't stop from looking around. Mention of Javits has reminded you that you've not had a run-in with your own bully--Lester Pozniak--for a few days, which means you're overdue. But he's nowhere in sight, luckily. Apparently reading your thoughts, Caleb says, "The Molester is in the cafeteria."<br/>
<br/>
"I wasn't looking for <i>him,</i>" you retort, though the lie feels transparent. "You guys seen Laura MacGregor around?" They stare at you dumbly, and shake their heads. "I have to talk to her about something."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb's eyes screw up with mirth. "Oh? Something to do with that 'project' we're working on?"<br/>
<br/>
"What project?" Keith demands.<br/>
<br/>
You glare past him at the blabbermouth golem. "Never mind. You two slackers can just jerk each other off. I'm gonna go find--"<br/>
<br/>
And then you stop, for Steve Patterson has just come out of C wing, and after glancing around, has spotted the three of you and is coming your way. You hold your breath: Is Caleb actually going to put that plan of his into action? Without getting final clearance from you?<br/>
<br/>
You stare with mounting apprehension as he comes closer. His eyes briefly rake over your face, but there's no trace of recognition or interest. There wouldn't be: as far as  he knows, you're just the stupid "Will Prescott" golem. Instead, he turns the full force of his icy glance down on Tilley, standing close over him with hands in his pockets. "Are you the fucking moron who's been giving Javits lip?" he quietly demands.<br/>
<br/>
Keith swallows, and it makes a clicking noise in the back of his throat. Javits is bad enough; Patterson is a AAA-class force that has never deigned to notice anyone in your group before. Keith can only turn very white.<br/>
<br/>
Patterson repeats the question, and when Keith doesn't answer puts a strong arm around his neck. "You answer to the description. Let's you and me conference."<br/>
<br/>
You find your voice. "Don't do this, dude," and your voice comes out as a bleat.<br/>
<br/>
Quick as a serpent, Patterson strikes you hard in the shoulder, and pain shoots all up and down your frame. "This is none of your business," he hisses, but there is still no recognition in his eyes. "This between me and this sad little douchebag." He pulls Keith away, and the two disappear off around another wing as you watch helplessly.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck is this about?" the Caleb-golem asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Figure it out yourself," you retort, and feel yourself turning pale. "It's <i>your</i> idea, I think."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
There's not much time left during the lunch break, but you use it to find Laura. She's in the library with friends. You slide into a seat next to her, and to your chagrin you have to interrupt the conversation to get her to notice you. "Can we go talk someplace," you ask her bluntly.<br/>
<br/>
She turns that satirical glance on you, and her smile, though it isn't mean, is sharp. "I don't know anything about what's going on with Lisa," she says.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Jesus,</i> you mutter to yourself. Have you been such a monomaniac on the subject of your failed relationship that people can only assume that's what you've got on your mind?<br/>
<br/>
"This is about something else," you insist. There are glances around the table from people you don't know, and even a few small smirks, but Laura shrugs and follows you over to a couple of chairs in the corner. You take that short story from your bag and hand it to her without explanation.<br/>
<br/>
She studies it without evident recognition and reads the first page before looking back up at you. "So?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Did you write that?"<br/>
<br/>
"No."<br/>
<br/>
You wouldn't have expected an immediate confession, but you'd expect her to be a little more flustered. "But the name. 'Francine Adams.'"<br/>
<br/>
She looks back down at the page, and now her expression turns a little furtive. "That's not me," she insists.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111112
author_id: seuzz
title: Kim Implausible
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Your mother calls from downstairs: "Chelsea! You have a visitor!" <br/>
<br/>
You shout back and hurriedly set up the mask and the golemization mix, which is all ready to put inside it once Kim's mask is finished.<br/>
<br/>
She is halfway up the stairs when you step out into the hallway, and you greet her cheerily. Her smile is more subdued, which doesn't dissuade you from giving her a hug. She is a short, pert redhead, and though she hasn't many curves, she feels very nice in your arms, and you briefly reconsider your decision to stay as Chelsea before recommitting yourself to your current guise. You take her hand in yours and lead her into the bedroom.<br/>
<br/>
"Before we start, I just <i>have</i> to show you something," you exclaim, and snatch up the mask. "Isn't it the most incredible thing?" <br/>
<br/>
She cocks her head. "What is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's a mask. Duh! I found it in this old flea market, you know, down on Powell Street? And oh my God!" You clutch her arm. "It was only five dollars! Can you believe it?" You press it into her hands.<br/>
<br/>
"It's pretty neat," she says. She does seem intrigued by it, even if she doesn't sound enthusiastic. She turns it over and over. "What's it made out of?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know. But the old woman who was selling it? She said it was, like, made by a famous artist or something. I don't remember the name."<br/>
<br/>
"And she was selling it for only five dollars?" Her skepticism is no less withering for being so lightly couched.<br/>
<br/>
You shrug at her query. "I just thought it was really pretty. Probably I'll hang on my wall someplace." You glance around thoughtfully, as though trying to pick out a spot. "First, though, I think I'll turn it into a Halloween costume. Wear it as a mask. Oh my God!" You clap your hands. "Can you imagine? Like, I'll get this white or silver shawl? What do you think would be best, white or silver? Maybe some bangles. And then get like a cape? And then a top that's cut, you know--" You indicate a plunging neckline and a bare midriff. "And some shorts and boots? And I can be a sexy Grim Reaper." You laugh with delight. Actually, now that you've improvised the idea, you have to admit it sounds really nifty.<br/>
<br/>
"But there aren't any eyeholes," Kim points out. <br/>
<br/>
<i>She is so practical,</i> you think to yourself. "Well, I'll just punch some in it. Here, hold it up to your face, so I can see if there's room." <br/>
<br/>
She reluctantly accedes to your prompting, and you gently push it closer to her face. It vanishes into her, and she topples back onto the bed. You cluck your tongue. "You're so gullible, Kim. I guess that why everyone trusts you with all their problems."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You get the mask off her, seal it with the new paste, and return it before she can recover. The new Kim--a golem version of the girl, sitting atop her original--sits up with a puzzled look on her face. "Kim," you say in a soft but imperious voice as you stand before her with your hands on your hips. "You have to do what I say. Don't you?"<br/>
<br/>
Her eyes widen, then fall, and she glances around. Then she swallows and nods. <br/>
<br/>
"You know why, don't you?"<br/>
<br/>
She shakes her head, and turns very pale.<br/>
<br/>
You sit down next to her on the bed and put your arm around her shoulders. "It's because there's now a little bit of <i>me</i> right <i>here</i>, inside you." You touch her forehead with your fingertip. "So, we're really like the same person." You put your face close to hers. "And since we're the same person, you want what I want. You want to do what I want to do." You squeeze her. "We're more than best friends. We're more than sisters. We are <i>the same person.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
Her eyes clear, but there is still nothing like understanding in them. "But I don't know what you want."<br/>
<br/>
"That's okay. I'm going to tell you." You take her hand in yours and caress it. "I want you just to be yourself. You can do that, can't you?" You give her a smile with a side of deep dimples. "But, I also want you to keep your ears open. Listen to what people are saying. All the things that you hear about at the school. And every day, you write them down in an email and send them to me. Here, I'll show you." <br/>
<br/>
You lead her to the computer and open up the mail browser.<br/>
<br/>
"I already have the email account set up for you, so no one will know what you're doing. Because this is a secret. Like, you're a secret agent for me?" She smiles and nods. "The account name is kimchelsea, one word. Isn't that clever? The password is 'chelsea is my boss'. No capitals." You figure maybe typing that password in every day will reinforce your hold on her. "Just send the email to yourself, and I'll log in every day and read it. Isn't that clever?" She murmurs her agreement, and you peer down at her. She's being very quiet. "You had something you wanted to talk about with me?"<br/>
<br/>
She stares at you blankly a moment, and then shakes herself. "Oh, yeah. It's about Jeremy and Eva."<br/>
<br/>
"What about them?" you ask with feigned innocence.<br/>
<br/>
She gets a rather pained look. "Um ... I just heard that they've broken up."<br/>
<br/>
"I've heard they were never really going together. But go on, tell me what you've heard."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I also heard that ... <i>you</i> pushed them apart."<br/>
<br/>
"It was for their own good," you tell her in a very serious voice. "They only thought they liked each other. Jeremy is very shy and awkward with girls. He wasn't really interested in Eva. He just thought he needed a girlfriend. It wasn't fair to Eva, and it really wasn't fair to him. When the right girl comes along, he'll be much happier."<br/>
<br/>
She looks thoughtful, and bites her lip.<br/>
<br/>
You lean forward and touch her knee. "You believe what I've told you, and you agree with me, Kim."<br/>
<br/>
That causes her to perk up. "Oh, of course. It makes total sense, Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
You smile. "I knew you'd see it my way. You should tell everyone that too. But, you know, be nice and diplomatic about it. You're <i>always</i> so nice and diplomatic, Kim. It's why people love you." <i>And why you'll be such a perfect puppet,</i> you think to yourself as you show her to the door.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
After that you call Gordon, looking for Caleb. Gordon says Caleb isn't there. You ask where he is. Gordon says he doesn't know. You sigh. "Did you get together with Steve and do something with a mask?" The dumb guy says he did. So Caleb must have switched into Steve.<br/>
<br/>
Confirmation comes when you call Patterson. "I knew you'd find me," he says when you ask why he didn't call to tell you of the switch. "Chelsea has a brain."<br/>
<br/>
You snort. "Well, I just got Kim, so we're out of masks."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm on it. I'm up in the fuck room, making more. God, it stinks."<br/>
<br/>
"What if Jason busts in on you? We need to get him too."<br/>
<br/>
"He hasn't got a key. Gordon lets him in, and I told Gordon that Jason isn't welcome anymore."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, we still need to get him."<br/>
<br/>
"Why? He's an asshole and he already does what we tell him."<br/>
<br/>
"Fine. I'll scratch him off the list." You open up your database. "I guess we'll get Charles Hartlein next. He can be yours, and that will make us even with five each."<br/>
<br/>
"Remind me again who we've got."<br/>
<br/>
You rattle off the list. His complement includes Steve, Gordon, Jeremy and Jessica. You've got Chelsea, Eva, Kim, and the golems for yourself and Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"How about you let me have myself back," he says. "Not that I don't trust you, even though my old self is sexy and I know Chelsea can't resist me." You make a gagging noise. "You let me have myself back, and you take Charles. He's practically a girl anyway."<br/>
<br/>
You start to argue, but stop: Chelsea, Kim and Charles would make a good matched set. "You'll have to be the one to get him," you tell Caleb. "You and Gordon can hustle him up into the VIP room."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll do that tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
You're still staring at the database. "This is all too confusing, too many people under the wrong-- Wait, are you going to get a mask polished by <i>tomorrow</i>?"<br/>
<br/>
"Trust me, I figured out a way to get it done."<br/>
<br/>
"Really? Well, if you say so. Anyway, let's call everyone up to the VIP room tomorrow after school and get masks swapped around so we know where all the originals are. It'll be easier than having to keep looking at this dumb spreadsheet."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next morning you pass along a bit of your own hair to Gordon--and giggle and push him away when he gets grabby with you--so he can pass it to Caleb, then spend the rest of the day relaxing as Chelsea. Mostly that means huddling with Kendra and Gloria. They have some juicy news about Kelsey Blankenship and Karl Hennepin, and you make a mental note to have Kim sniff out more details. You also have fun sneering at the loser boys you find near your locker or sitting next to you in class. The class of "losers" also includes Caleb Johansson and Will Prescott, and you mix their insults with the order to report to the fuck room after school. The same message goes to Kim and Eva.<br/>
<br/>
Everyone is there after school, including a very truculent Charles Hartlein. Steve proudly displays  a set of four newly polished masks. He also says he has a new plan for spreading your influence more deeply through the school.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111121
author_id: seuzz
title: Caleb's New Plan
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I thought we had a plan," you say. You give Caleb only a brief glance as you set up your laptop and open the database. You count off the names in the database against the eight golems in the VIP room, confirming they are all present. "I thought we were just going to keep making golems. I've got a list of people here, and Kim and Charles will be helping me add to it."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't see much point in that," Caleb replies. "We got the people who count. Steve--" He points to himself. "Gordon and Chelsea. Kim and Charles if we want information. The rest of them are just candy." He gestures at Jessica and draws her over. He caresses the side of her head and fluffs her bosom. "People to fuck."<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes. "Okay, so we've turned ourselves into the assholes and got what they got. I thought we were gonna clean the school up."<br/>
<br/>
"School's already cleaned up, as far as I'm concerned. We run it as these guys, and right now it suits us just fine."<br/>
<br/>
"Is it?" you snort. "So let's make a new mask so that idiot over there--" You point to the golem-Caleb. "--so he's your guy instead of mine. And while you're outside of Steve's mask and being yourself, trying telling me again how nice Westside is."<br/>
<br/>
He snorts in turn but complies, stretching his very long frame out on the floor and taking Steve's mask off. You drop one of the new blanks onto his face, and while he's unconscious you reflect that it would be very easy to put the golem-Caleb mask on him and turn him into your slave. <i>Oh, but then all of his golems wouldn't be under your control. And you wouldn't double-cross him.</i><br/>
<br/>
You kick him awake after the new mask appears, and continue the talk with him--in his original form--while you paint a golem shell inside it. "You still think this new plan is a hot idea?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, just listen to it," he says crossly. He jogs the side of his head with the heel of his hand. "It's mostly Patterson's, but that doesn't make it bad. Just kind of evil in a neat way."<br/>
<br/>
You almost make a sharp retort to that, but catch yourself in time: a lot of your ideas are probably Chelsea's, which probably would also count as "evil in a neat way." You just ask him to continue.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, between Patterson and Black and Chelsea we run the school. And what do we want? I'll tell you what I want, and that's pussy." He picks up Patterson's mask and fingers it. "Well, that's what Patterson wants, and I want it too. I can get it as him."<br/>
<br/>
"But if we turn people into golems--"<br/>
<br/>
"Are you really so keen to turn people into zombie slaves?" he asks, and you frown. <i>Why is he getting moral all of a sudden.</i> "Here's the way I figure it," he continues. "We've still got that old golem we made. You know, before we made Eva." He shoots her a glance. "We bring it up here. We get masks of lots of people. Girls, I guess. Hot girls. And we put the masks on the golem and have fun with them when we want."<br/>
<br/>
"That doesn't help clean up the school."<br/>
<br/>
"It doesn't make zombies, either. No one gets hurt."<br/>
<br/>
"I'd still like to do something about--"<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, fine. You can switch into Kim and make the school run nice. Make lots of slaves for yourself. I'll beat up the Molester and score pussy. We'll both be happy."<br/>
<br/>
"That's not what I-- Are you going to stick to being Steve?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. His home life is a lot less fucked up than Gordon's."<br/>
<br/>
"Mm. Okay then. Where's the real--? Make Gordon lay down. You, Caleb!" You snap your fingers at the golem, and he stupidly points to himself. "Yes, you. And Jessica. Lay down next to each other." The three golems comply. (Caleb also lays down, and returns Steve's mask to his face.) You pull the masks off Gordon, Jessica, and the fake Caleb, then put Caleb's new mask onto Steve, put Gordon's mask onto the original muscle head, and Jessica's onto herself. Clothes distend, and you order them to change while you wake Steve back up. <br/>
<br/>
"Okay, that's three golems switched around," you say. "Now we know where their originals are just by looking at them."<br/>
<br/>
Steve grunts and sits up. "And I'm back to being Patterson. A good thing, too, because he's got another idea."<br/>
<br/>
You groan.<br/>
<br/>
"Just listen to it," he says peevishly. "It'll help you get what you want, and what I want."<br/>
<br/>
While he speaks, you continue to switch masks around, putting Chelsea under your mask and her own face onto the golemized Eva.<br/>
<br/>
"We recruit a team," Caleb says. "Like, three or four or five losers. We tell them about the book and show them how it works. And we make them get masks for us. Masks of all the girls we want to have copies of. They do all the work, and we collect the rewards."<br/>
<br/>
"That's stupid. Why can't we just get these masks ourselves?"<br/>
<br/>
"We can get some of them. You can get copies of the cheerleaders. I can get copies of some of the girls I score with. But the losers can get us some of the ones that it would be hard for us to get."<br/>
<br/>
"I still don't see the point. And couldn't you and Gordon just hustle anyone up here we want to copy?"<br/>
<br/>
"Might be hard to do that with guys like Delacroix."<br/>
<br/>
"We could just invite him."<br/>
<br/>
"And Cameron Huber."<br/>
<br/>
<i>True,</i> you think as you make a face. Huber is the quarterback, and he and Gordon hate each other.<br/>
<br/>
"But my idea," Caleb continues, "would be like having a secret society inside a secret society. Those guys, the ones we recruit, they'd think they're actually using the book, kind of like the way we were planning to use it. But actually, we'd be running <i>their</i> secret society and giving <i>them</i> orders."<br/>
<br/>
"That sounds really complicated."<br/>
<br/>
"It's like a pyramid scheme. Here's what we'd do. You and me, we each recruit three people. We tell them about the book and show them how the masks work. We tell them that if they each get, like, five masks, then they can all share them with a golem. And when they get their five masks, then they can switch with one of the people they get, like you and me switched with Steve and Chelsea. That's the prize that keeps them interested."<br/>
<br/>
"So why not just bring them all together and make one big group, with all of us working together?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because then it would be too big. They'd all want to vote and stuff. You and me wouldn't be running it any more. Here--" <br/>
<br/>
He grasps your arm.<br/>
<br/>
"You could try your scheme for changing the school using your three recruits. You wouldn't have to turn anyone into a zombie. You'd just tell your guys that you have these masks, and that you want to change the school. Give them the names of three people they can switch with, people who you can work with to change the school. They'll do what you tell them to do, which is to get five masks each, in order to get that prize. At the end, you'll have three guys, like employees, helping you to do your thing, and you won't have to zombify anyone. And you'll have fifteen new masks, without having to do any work, that we can all have fun with." He shrugs. "I'll do the same with mine."<br/>
<br/>
You turn the idea over in your head. It is quite complex, but you have to admit it would <i>seem</i> to give you what you want, and without having to keep making these puppets. But--<br/>
<br/>
"They wouldn't believe it if Steve and Chelsea went to them and said 'I want to fix the school'."<br/>
<br/>
"So, we don't go to them as Steve and Chelsea. We go as ourselves. Or we go as one of <i>their</i> friends. We secretly swap into one of their friends, and we pretend like we're that person and we found the book. Like you found it."<br/>
<br/>
You ponder this further, and then you catch sight of all the golems standing around, listening. "Everyone go home," you tell them. "Except Kim. And Charles. And Gordon. You go downstairs and stop Jason from coming up here." <br/>
<br/>
Your boyfriend glances at Steve, who nods. "We could use this scheme to take care of Lynch," he points out. "Hold him out as a possible prize."<br/>
<br/>
"Jason is no prize."<br/>
<br/>
"But it sounds like you're more less on board with this idea?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who are some of these 'loser' people you're talking about using? Keith?"<br/>
<br/>
He shakes his head, then cocks it. "Eh. Maybe. What about Lamont and Ioeger?"<br/>
<br/>
Your brow darkens as Chelsea's thoughts briefly take over: They're always mocking you and your friends behind your backs, and pranking them. "Maybe. But I like them. This scheme of yours sounds a little too much like abuse."<br/>
<br/>
"It doesn't have to be. Remember, you could pitch them the idea as 'cleaning up the school'."<br/>
<br/>
"Hmm." Your eye falls on Hartlein. "Charles, who are some guys who--? Wait, did Karl Hennepin and Kelsey Blankenship go off and find a motel room last weekend?"<br/>
<br/>
He sniggers. "Karl and his magic fedora. Yeah, I heard they did, and I also heard from lots of people that <i>no one</i> knows that they did it."<br/>
<br/>
"Some of <i>those</i> guys would probably be really open to the idea of ... switching around," you muse aloud. "And cleaning up the school."<br/>
<br/>
"You're not friends with them," Caleb points out. "Chelsea definitely isn't, and Will Prescott isn't either."<br/>
<br/>
"So I would switch with one of them." Your nostrils flare. <i>Andrea Varnsworth.</i><br/>
<br/>
Caleb doesn't notice. "Let's keep our two groups separate. I think it would be fun to hang out with James and Carson and Jenny while scoring masks. I could find a way to get close to some of the musicians, too. Jelena Petrovic!" He waggles his eyebrows, and you wonder if Andrea's name has just crossed his mind as well. "This scheme was my idea, so I'll let you pick your teammates."<br/>
<br/>
* Pick Andrea Varnsworth and her friends (non-canonical): "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/1112312221221121211111212" target="_top" title="Interactive Story Chapter in Item # 2236945">A Monopoly of Three</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/1112312221221121211111212" target="_blank" title="Open in new window."><img border="0" height="12" loading="lazy" onmouseout="$(this).css('opacity', '.4');" onmouseover="$(this).css('opacity', '1');" src="https://www.Writing.Com/nw.gif" style="opacity:.4;" width="12"/></a> </span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111211
author_id: rugal
title: Shell Games
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>The idea of going with Andrea's friends sounds temping. Very tempting. Or rather, the idea of going with <i>Andrea</i> does. But at the same time James and his group are friends; friends that you haven't quite spent enough time with over the last few months. It's something you should probably rectify, you figure, so going with them would probably be the easiest and best solution. "I'll take James' crew." you say after a period of rumination.<br/>
<br/>
"I figured that's what you'd go with." Patterson states. "That's good, though, I wanted Jelena's group anyway."<br/>
<br/>
You cock an eyebrow. "Any reason why?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"She knows some hot chicks." he replies simply, "Fatima's cute. Sienna's kinda hot even if she's a cunt. Andrea and through Andrea the swim team..." he trails off for a moment before looking back at you with a grin, "Lots of great pieces of tail."<br/>
<br/>
You just snort and roll your eyes. "You're probably gonna have to be Charles for a bit you know." you say attempting to dampen his mood a bit, "He's in with all of that little scene. Hope you like images of giant cocks and pretty boy twinks running through your mind for a day."<br/>
<br/>
"Well as long as I don't suck 37 dicks I'll be fine." responds Patterson, completely unfazed though with a bit of an edge to his voice. "And how are you going to approach your group?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"As myself?"<br/>
<br/>
It's his turn to snort, "You think they'll listen to <i>you</i>? You're their pal but getting them to do what you want as yourself is gonna be a hard sell." he states, "You've gotta approach them in a way, as a person, that'll make the sell far easier."<br/>
<br/>
Easier sell, huh? You assumed that just going as yourself would be enough but maybe Caleb is right. You're not the most convincing person ever; you're too much of a spaz for that. And thinking about it, that's less fun too. You're going to sell them on the masks while being yourself? Kind of a bit hypocritical as well you think. Who would they listen to, though, that would sell them on wanting change? Someone who could enact that change but who they'd trust? It certainly wouldn't be Chelsea... and that's when inspiration strikes you: of course! You wish your partner in crime luck as you leave and grab a blank mask, pulling out a phone, making a call, and grabbing some stuff to golemize the mask you're wearing as you do.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Mrs. Saito, how are you?" you ask with a smile as you step into the Saito household.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a pleasure to see you, Chelsea." replies Yumi's mother. "Yumi told me to send you up to her room."<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you." you reply courteously, turning on the charm is far too easy. You make your way up the stairs, passing by Yumi's middle school age sister doing some homework at the dining room table. She doesn't make any indication that she's noticed you. Likewise you pass by Yumi's older brother as he steps out of his room to go downstairs. You give him a bit of a charming greeting but are met by a simple "yeah". God, he's such a jerk whenever you're here... but he's also kind of hot. Like one of those guys from the Korean boy bands Maria gushes over. Finally you make it to Yumi's room at the end of the hall and give a polite knock.<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea." she states plainly as you step into her room.<br/>
<br/>
"You really should tell your brother about me some time." you smile as you sit down on the computer chair in front of her desk.<br/>
<br/>
"I already have. And besides, you have a boyfriend."<br/>
<br/>
You want to narrow your eyes in disdain but stop yourself. "Aaaanyway, like I told you on the phone there are some things coming up with the squad that I need to talk to you about one on one."<br/>
<br/>
She's a bit taken aback by this. "Look, if you're gonna kick me off don't give me--"<br/>
<br/>
"Co-captain to co-captain."<br/>
<br/>
"--the nice girl routine." she finishes before processing what you said. "Uh, what?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh yes, you're quite popular Yumi. It's something I really can't deny anymore, you know. So I figure it's time to give you a little acknowledgment."<br/>
<br/>
She eyes you curiously. "What's your angle?"<br/>
<br/>
"No angle." you ask, "Although... can I use your bathroom? Haven't gone all day." After getting an affirmative you add, "Alright, give me a few minutes then I'll make everything clear."<br/>
<br/>
Once in the bathroom you strip out of Chelsea's clothes, giving yourself one last look before removing the mask. You made sure to golemize it before coming here so it's just a matter of gathering up Chelsea's clothes and then grabbing a towel that's been hanging to dry and wrapping it around your waist as well as taking the blank out of Chelsea's purse. As you exit the bathroom, hoping to hell nobody sees you (it's something you could've planned a little better but no going back now), you knock on Yumi's door once more. She's certainly in for the surprise of a lifetime when she opens it but before she can so much as gasp the mask is on her face. As she goes limp you grab her and place her down gently onto the floor, closing and locking the door behind you as you do so to make sure you have all the privacy you need.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Who's the most athletic?" you ask as lean back into a bridge.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck off." Chelsea replies.<br/>
<br/>
"I want you to tell me that I'm the most athletic member of the squad." you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"You're the most athletic member of the squad." Chelsea states, "Happy?"<br/>
<br/>
"Tell me how you really feel." you say.<br/>
<br/>
"I hate you. I can't stand you. I want to bury you so far under the social ground that Gracie McGraw will look like a prom queen compared to you." she growls.<br/>
<br/>
As you sit next to her on the bed you shake your head. "Chelsea, this won't do. We're co-captains, remember? You're going to announce it tomorrow at morning practice aren't you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yes. Of course." she grumbles.<br/>
<br/>
"And you're going to treat me better. You're going to be nice to me." you smirk, "You're going to like me, aren't you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I... I guess." replies Chelsea, the venom in her voice gone.<br/>
<br/>
"No, not just like me. You're going to <i>really</i> like me." you order, "You're going to love me. You're going to admire me. You're going to want me." You place a hand on her thigh, rubbing it, "How do you feel about me, Chelsea?"<br/>
<br/>
"You're... really great. You're pretty, you're cool, you're smart, athletic. God, I can't... why'd you do this to me, fuck!" she explains trying to reconcile the extreme commands you've given her with her nature.<br/>
<br/>
"Kiss me. A romantic, loving kiss." you command. And with that she grabs your face, pulls you in close, and lays a kiss right on your lips. Her tongue works its way into your mouth, wrestling with your own. It's deep, slow, and simply incredible. "Good girl." you smirk after she pulls away, "When we're with other people it's business as usual but with you being nicer to me. When it's just the two of us, well, we'll figure that out." You grab her car keys off the desk and hand them to her, "Now get going. You have to get ready for your big announcement tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
After Chelsea is gone you reflect on what just happened. You practically want to lay back and start going at yourself right there. A Chelsea Cooper all for you, to do what you want her to do. You don't really plan on turning her and Yumi into secret lesbians and you'll rescind those more extreme commands tomorrow. But as a test? A bonafide success. Having Chelsea do what SHE wants is something Yumi's dreamed of. To knock her off of her pedestal, to make her experience what she's made others. Especially Jenny. Jenny should be more popular but Chelsea keeps her down simply to cut you off and you can't stand it. She's an amazing girl... one of a handful you know. Like Dana and Sarah.<br/>
<br/>
An idea hits you: Dana and Sarah Pak are Yumi's cousins. Both nice, great, pretty girls. Yumi and them have a good relationship and see each other quite often so why not bring them in as well? You wonder if it's something you should bring up to Caleb tomorrow. He wants girls so bad, there's more to be had at Eastman and through Dana and Sarah you could definitely get them. The cousins would be separate from the trio you're going to be working with. Then again this plan is already complicated and there's probably no need to complicate it with two groups to juggle for now.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111112111
author_id: rugal
title: About Cousins
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Is that you, Will?" Jelena asks as you enter the fuck room. She takes a drag of her cigarette and then gets wide-eyed. "Yeah, that'll work." she says, her eyes gleaming and her face not even bothering to hide her interest of your new home. "That'll work wonderfully."<br/>
<br/>
"That didn't take long." you reply to her in kind, "I figured you wouldn't be able to get her until tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"It was just a matter of calling Jelena up. She knows Charles has problems with Lynch." She shoots you a smile, "It was just a matter of having her meet up at his place so he could vent. Easy peasy."<br/>
<br/>
"So what's it like being in there?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
She gives a snort. "I could ask you the same question but I'm sure Yumi's body feels wonderful." she replies coolly. You sigh and shake your head. "That's not on Caleb... mostly. It's been a while since I've been with someone; I'm feeling a bit undersexed."<br/>
<br/>
"Well you're not getting anything from me." you shoot back, "I'm not into the whole girl's club routine. Yumi isn't rather."<br/>
<br/>
"Too bad. Last Asian girl I was with was really nice." she leans back against some of the boxes taking another drag, "College girl. Really pretty. We were both trashed at a show. Fun times. What was her name...?" she thinks for a moment and then you see a light bulb go off above her head. She simply gives a glance in your direction and snickers a bit. She notices you giving her a look that tells her you're curious. "No, it's just funny because... I can't remember. Must've been more trashed than I thought." she shrugs. "So what's up? I doubt you came out here to ask me about my love life."<br/>
<br/>
You nod, "Right. Actually there was something I wanted to talk to you about."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm listening."<br/>
<br/>
"I've got two cousins, Dana and Sarah Pak. I was thinking about bringing them in." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"Pak? That sounds Korean." Jelena points out.<br/>
<br/>
"They're mixed; my mom and their mom are Japanese. She married a Korean guy." You whip out your phone and look for a picture thinking that it'll help your chances. "Here," you say handing the phone to Jelena after finding a picture of the three of you. You can tell she's impressed as she hands it back.<br/>
<br/>
"And you want to bring them in?" she asks. "Don't you already have a group?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'd have two." you say and you can tell that disgruntles her a bit. "I'm not trying to pull one over on you if that's what you think." you say defending yourself from unlevied accusations, "They go to Eastman: Dana's a senior and Sarah's a freshman. I kind of lucked into this and thought 'why limit ourselves if we've got an opportunity sitting right in our laps?' We'd get a foothold into Eastman we could duck into every so often when our groups are more set." Jelena just stares straight ahead so for the final push you add, "We'd have more girls. More masks of them."<br/>
<br/>
"We'd have your cousins too?" Jelena asks finally speaking up. It's not really a question. "We'll give it a shot, why not? If things go south though we're golemizing their masks. We cannot have people running around with knowledge of what we're doing if they're not all in. Same goes with James, Carson, and Jenny. Same goes with my group."<br/>
<br/>
It's cold; stone cold. But you realize that it's also very reasonable and logical. You agree to it and tell her that since they're family and there's only two of them you'll work on getting them set up before working on the trio. "Heh, god it was a pain getting out here. I had to come up with a story about going out to eat with some friends. It took longer than you'd think to convince her that I wouldn't be out too late." you sigh as you flop down on one of the mat piles.<br/>
<br/>
"Luckily I don't live with my parents." she says, you can see a flash of pain on her face. Not a physical pain but an emotional one. "They sucked, the environment was toxic, and no you're not getting more than that. I live out by Keyserling with my sister and the rest of our band."<br/>
<br/>
You let things stew unsure of what to say before finally blurting out the first thing that pops into your head. "So getting drunk and sleeping with girls you can't remember the names of. Doesn't sound like the healthiest of lifestyles." you say, "No girlfriend or anyone you love?"<br/>
<br/>
"There's someone I like, yeah, but..." she looks down and sighs. "Aurum shines more brightly than any man, yet my hopes are burnt or turn to rust." She looks up and gives you a smirk, "And that's all you're getting on that. Piece it together yourself."<br/>
<br/>
And until you realize that you should probably get going so your mother doesn't get on your case the two of you spend time chatting mostly as an excuse to get more into the heads of the roles your occupying in ways that would give you more clarity and understanding than simply pulling up a memory. You make sure to get the book and other materials as well before you leave.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
School the next day is full of lots of cries of "congratulations" and "good job" and other similar things. As you met Chelsea in the morning you followed through on your vow to rescind the extreme orders simply telling her to treat you nicer. Not so much that it would cause suspicion but just enough to project a good image. A changing image. A level of begrudging respect. And not once do you talk to the trio, the group you were going with originally, much like you told Caleb. In fact you couldn't even if you wanted to as you're pulled in this direction and that. And there is already whispers of jealousy among some of the girls and of Yumi's desirability among the guys skyrocketing.<br/>
<br/>
After school you head across town to the Pak residence thankful that both of your cousins are indeed home. You head up to Dana's room and explain to them that what you're about to show them and tell them does not leave this circle. That they are not to tell anyone about any of this. They seem to take a bit of an amused tone but promise you that they definitely won't tell anybody. Afterwards you hand them each a blank mask.<br/>
<br/>
"Put them." you tell them, "Just press them against your face."<br/>
<br/>
They give each other a look but do as they're told and both are out as the masks absorb their images. Once they've finished but while both sisters are still out you grab the mind bands and shove them onto their foreheads. Once their memories, their personalities, and such have been copied you wait for them to come to. Both are confused but you tell them to sit patiently as you have to do a few things with these. In the bathroom you seal the masks, combine them with the bands, the usual. Then you strip out of Yumi's clothes and, sitting on the ground, remove the Yumi mask.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, how do I look?" you ask as you step back into Dana's room. Both of them are absolutely stunned by what they see as you close the door: it's Dana Pak only dressed in Yumi's outfit.<br/>
<br/>
"Wha... but.." is all Dana can sputter.<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi?" Sarah asks nervously, "Dana? Wha-what's going on?"<br/>
<br/>
You can tell both girls are freaked out. "Don't worry, it's still me. This is what I wanted to show you: this book, these masks... they're magic." you smile, something that unnerves the both of them. Both want to call BS but the evidence before them means they can't. "These masks copy a person's appearance; bands copy their mind. With them you can simply put on a mask and become a whole new person. Anyone you want."<br/>
<br/>
"And you're showing us this... why?" Dana asks still not sure what to make of anything.<br/>
<br/>
"Because you're my cousins AND my friends and I want to share it with you guys." you reply, "I want you guys to copy people with these masks... just a fun little thing. It'll be like a secret clubhouse: something only we know about."<br/>
<br/>
"And what do you want us to do with them?" asks Dana.<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing untoward, honest. It'd just be fun to have, mess around with them here. Spend some time as other people and learn things without ever leaving the house." you explain. You look at their faces: they're not sold. They're unsure. And then you're surprised at what Sarah says.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll do it." she says quietly and you both turn to her in surprise. "It sounds... neat. I'll do it but, and Dana please don't get mad, but I want to be Dana."<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah!" Dana exclaims.<br/>
<br/>
"Only for a day or two!" she exclaims, "I want to see how it is. I want to see how it feels. I can be Dana and she can be me. Just give us that and then we can tell you if we want to do it or not."<br/>
<br/>
"Dana?" you ask turning to her, "How does that sound?"<br/>
<br/>
"I... I don't know. It's weird. It's kind of messed up." she looks over at her sister, probably the one person she cares for more than anybody. You admire the closeness they share. "But if she wants to do it I'll go along with it."<br/>
<br/>
Sarah brightens up a bit at that. "Oh my god." she says quietly, "So... you'll do it right Yumi?" her tone is practically one of pleading. "You'll let me and Dana switch for a couple of days?"</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111121111
author_id: rugal
title: The Best Laid Plains (Are Sometimes Changed)
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You look at the freshman girl as she tries her best to hide an expectant, hopeful look. "Now why would I want to do that?" you ask, "Maybe <i>I</i> want to be Dana for a few days." and at that you see Sarah wilt a bit and Dana look a smidgen annoyed.<br/>
<br/>
Dana's memories tell you of Sarah's not so secret crush on David Johnson, the brother of her best friend Joanna. You infer, as well as general admiration for her older sister, that this is probably a big reason why she wants to switch. The opportunity to spend some time with someone you who sends your heart fluttering is something you can understand. If you had a mask of him you'd probably spend a couple of days as Mansfield yourself. You were going to go along with it anyway but wanted to have some fun teasing the sisters first. You realize that you can't really do that to Sarah.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, fine." you say with a fake sigh, "I guess I have no choice if I want your cooperation, huh?" With that you head back into the bathroom with the excuse that you like a little privacy when you take these things off or put them on. Once you've switched back to Yumi you re-enter the room. "Here you go!" you say with a bit of pep in your voice as you hand the Dana mask to Sarah; Sarah's is still sitting on the floor. "A couple things before you guys put those on: first, one day." you hold up one finger as emphasis, "I'll be back over tomorrow evening to take the masks back so make the most out of a day as one another. Second," two fingers this time, "I want a mask by the time I come. One of you grab a mask of Joanna, I don't care which one, and give it to me too when I come."<br/>
<br/>
"Joanna...?" Sarah mutters taken aback.<br/>
<br/>
"What the hell, Yumi, what are you being so bossy for?" asks Dana.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I'm not trying to be mean but like I showed you these things are magic. Real magic not 'pull a rabbit out of my hat' sleight of hand." you explain, "You can have fun with these things but you also have to show you're serious. I just want to see that you're taking things seriously that's all." The tone is stern yet gentle, almost motherly. It's something Yumi's quite good at. There seems to be no more counterpoints so you look at both of them, "So which one of you is going first?" Sarah volunteers by raising her hand. "Then take your clothes off." If either of them been drinking something it'd probably be all over you by now. "Dana's a little bigger than you. If you're becoming someone bigger it's best to get out of your clothes so you don't stretch them out or rip them or otherwise ruin them." You see that they're still eying you a bit queerly. "Look if you don't want to do it in front of me you can go in the bathroom or your own room to change."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think I'll do that." Sarah says as she stands up. You tell Dana to give her some clothes and she hands her a pair of sweat pants and a tank top; simple lounging around clothes. A short time later you're greeted by a second Dana, Sarah under the mask this time, stepping into the room. "This is... this is so..." her face is a mixture of joy and astonishment, "Oh my God!"<br/>
<br/>
"Try thinking like her. Letting the memories that the band copied into the mask open up to you." you tell her. "What do you see?"<br/>
<br/>
"I see... I'm looking at Dana and Sarah. They're both shocked." At that point you fidget a bit; you hadn't thought about YOUR memories while wearing the mask. "I know it's from when you had the mask on, Yumi, but they're just like... memories floating in a void. Like they belong to the mask itself." You let out a sigh at that. "And I see... two months ago. Shawn Gregory talked to me after last period. He wanted to get some of my notes from Matheson's biology class but him talking to me felt so good that I went home and then..." Her eyes go wide and she blushes while looking over at the real Dana.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, that's enough!" Dana grumbles as she marches into Sarah's room.<br/>
<br/>
With that you gather up your things but hand the one other blank mask and strip you have to Sarah... well Dana now. "Alright, I think you guys have an idea of how this works so I'm gonna get out of here." you say. You explain the process of the mask, the strips, and combining them and then give one last reminder to have a mask of Joanna by tomorrow. You tell her to pass what you said onto her sister and then you head out. Home that evening is spent getting accustomed to every bit of Yumi Saito's body. Well, more accustomed than you did the night before because Jelena's right: being in this body does feel good.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Did you get masks of your cousins?" Jelena asks as you hang around school waiting for the bell for first period to ring.<br/>
<br/>
"I did." you reply not looking at her, you're on the lookout to make sure nobody's eavesdropping, "But they want to spend a day as one another as a test run. I gave it to them."<br/>
<br/>
"And you think that's a good idea?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Can't hurt." you shrug, "I need to show them I'm on the up and up after all. Sarah fell right into it though. Dana took some convincing but I don't know if she's fully there yet. In fact, I'm gonna put off James, Carson, and Jenny until I know what's what with those two."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena grunts, "Don't fuck it up, remember that."<br/>
<br/>
You turn to her and give her a smile, "Don't worry." you say, "We've got contingencies, remember?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"You girls did good." you beam as you sit in Dana's room later that evening inside a mask of Joanna Johnson to ensure that they did everything correctly. Joanna's memories and thoughts filling your head tell you they did. "Especially you, Dana. Guess being her best friend made it easy, huh?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I guess so." Dana replies crossing her arms. Both girls are back to being themselves.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't seem very excited." you observe.<br/>
<br/>
"That's because I'm not." she states.<br/>
<br/>
"Why not? I could give you Joanna's mask and then you could use that to get close to Sarah." you state, "Then you could get close to Shawn." You hope bringing up her crush will be enough to persuade her.<br/>
<br/>
For her part Dana flinches but regains herself. "Look, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this." she says as the crossed arms turn into clasping herself.<br/>
<br/>
"But Dana...!" Sarah begins protesting.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't worry about it, Sarah." you say holding a hand up, "If she doesn't feel comfortable then she doesn't feel comfortable." You then turn to look at Sarah directly, "Just give me and Dana a little privacy to work this out, okay?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"But..."<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah, please." it's Dana's voice who cuts in this time, "Yumi and me need to talk."<br/>
<br/>
She's not happy about it but eventually Sarah does make her way across the hall and into her own room. You close the door and make sure it's locked. "So you're really not comfortable with it?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Dana shakes her head, "I don't know what to think. You come over here with these masks, these magic masks, and you tell us we can become other people. Then you want us to use these masks on others." she draws her knees up under her chin, "I mean it's magic. Real life, honest to god, magic. Like Lord of the Rings magic. I don't know <i>what</i> to think. My head's swimming right now." she lowers her legs so they hang off of the bed and looks you dead in the eyes, "I was my sister. I had the appearance of my own sister. I had her thoughts, I had her feelings. It was neat but..." she sighs, "But it felt wrong. Like I was invading her privacy. Like I was snooping through her diary. And you're asking me to do that with other people. Like you're doing right now with Joanna."<br/>
<br/>
"And you don't want to?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think I do, no." Dana responds, "I don't think Sarah should either. I don't think <i>you</i> should."<br/>
<br/>
Your face falls a bit, "Why not?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because it's magic!" Dana exclaims, "Who knows what kind of consequences this could have, or what it's already had! Look at you, Yumi: you're telling us to do these things. You're wearing Joanna's body. You're you but you're not. You're different. This stuff has changed you." she says, a worried tone in her voice. Then in a lower, darker tone she adds "I think it's corrupted you."<br/>
<br/>
You give a laugh, "I guess I could see how you could think that but I'm fine, honest." you state. "And if Sarah wants to do it she should be able to. I gave you guys a choice after all. If <i>you</i> don't want to do it you don't have to."<br/>
<br/>
You knew Dana would have doubts but you thought she would cave in at the end. This is a problem. You look down at the masks on the ground: one of Dana, one of Sarah, and one of Yumi. After getting them back you made sure to take all three into the bathroom and golemize them. Yumi's if you wanted to be someone else and the sisters' in case they refused. Like you and Caleb agreed: if someone doesn't want to do it you slap a golem mask onto them to make sure they stay in line. You could do that right now but you look at Dana's mask. You've got a link to Eastman so why not forget James, Carson, and Jenny work there while letting Caleb have Westside? All you have to do is step in for Dana, say you agreed to do it and Yumi put you in charge of yourself and Sarah.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't have to do it." you say as you look at Dana out of the corner of your eye, "But you have to promise not to tell anyone about this."</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111211111
author_id: rugal
title: Going Too Far?
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You make your decision. Your hand reaches down and picks up Dana's mask. You stretch it out towards her. "Here," you say, your hand outstretched expectantly, "put it on." Dana eyes you with confusion. But it's not a more innocent, befuddled expression but a look that's asking you if you're serious. After all she's said you're still going to go on like nothing it was nothing? You try to reassure her. "I just want to charge it up with your memories." you tell her, "When I get home I want to put it on. I want to experience first hand how you're feeling about this. I want to understand you better."<br/>
<br/>
Dana looks from mask to mask: the one in your hand and the one you wear. The mask of her sister's best friend; the mask of faux-sincerity that adorns Joanna's face. "And what happens when you do?" she finally asks.<br/>
<br/>
"It depends." you state, "If it affects me enough then I'll drop it. I won't bother you about it and I'll tell Sarah that this is a no-go."<br/>
<br/>
"If it affects you enough?!" the tone in Dana's voice is very incredulous.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "I didn't mean it in that kind of a way. It's hard to explain. It's a feeling deep down inside like if your soul and your conscience had a child."<br/>
<br/>
Dana eyes you unsure of how to take things but finally she grabs the mask from your hand. "Fine, I'll do it. Because I know you'll see whatever it is you're looking for and I know you'll make the right choice." she states. Then she takes the mask and puts it to her face.<br/>
<br/>
"Dana?" you ask as she comes to, "Hey Dana. You have to listen to me right?" She nods though looks a bit unhappy about it. "Good, then go tell your sister what I said I was going to go home and think on things and that tomorrow I'll give you guys an answer. Keep her a bit because I need to change." Dana then gets up to leave, "Oh and if I'm gone before you're done... tell her Yumi says goodbye." you add.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
After leaving you decide that you've still got time before Mrs. Saito gets on your case so you decide to send a text to Caleb asking if he's at the loft. When the "yeah" reply comes you toss your phone into your purse and head on over. As you open the door you call out, "Hello?! You there?!" And then you see it: four sets of eyes turning right to your direction.<br/>
<br/>
"Will?" Jelena starts before catching herself, "Will you get out of here?! What are you doing?!"<br/>
<br/>
"I... I came to talk for a bit but I didn't know you had other people here." you stammer.<br/>
<br/>
"I texted you telling you not to come <i>because</i> I had other people here." she claims, "Didn't you get it?"<br/>
<br/>
You pull your phone out of your purse and sure enough Jelena's message is there. "I threw it in my purse and never realized I got another one, sorry." you apologize.<br/>
<br/>
"Let her stay, Yell." Andrea Varnsworth proclaims, "It'll be interesting to have her perspective on things. You <i>are</i> involved in this aren't you?" she quickly adds that last part.<br/>
<br/>
You reply with a simple "I am."<br/>
<br/>
"Great, because I've always wanted to know what life is like up on Mt. Olympus." Sienna Goldman replies rolling her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"If you think I'm anything like Chelsea and her gang you're wrong." you insist. "She treats me like crap, just as much as she does anyone else. Probably moreso because she sees me as a rival."<br/>
<br/>
"And what do you do about it?" Andrea asks, "You're in a better position to do something."<br/>
<br/>
"And what would that be?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno, run her face into a locker?" Sienna asks with a shrug.<br/>
<br/>
Fatima Zahedi turns in shock to her friend, "She can't do that." she claims, "I don't think she'd want to do that."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not that easy." you state hanging your head, "Lin and Eva are bitchy but they're good people. Jessica's a good person. But..."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena perks up at that, "But there's a split in the cheerleaders, isn't there?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You nod, "Yeah, I guess if you want to call it that. There's the four of us but Chelsea has Michelle, Maria, Kendra, and Gloria. We're outnumbered." You look around at the expectant faces assembled before you, "Michelle is a simpering yes girl. Maria's an airhead who can't think for herself. Kendra and Gloria are her goons."<br/>
<br/>
"And she's got the Gordon and the basketball team." she points out.<br/>
<br/>
"And that's why we're here." Jelena states simply.<br/>
<br/>
"Actually, how <i>are</i> we here?" Fatima asks, "I thought that it was only the basketball players that came up here."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena just smirks, "People are clumsy and some times drop their keys. Some times they go missing. Some times you find them and then make a copy."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuckin' ace!" Sienna exclaims as she takes a sip of her beer. She offers some to you but you politely decline. "That's one way to get back at these pricks. Stupid meat head mother fuckers."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, but like I said that's why we're here. We recognize things are messed up here and that they need to be fixed." Jelena says getting things on track.<br/>
<br/>
"But I don't know if this is the best way to do it." Fatima protests, "These masks, replacing people... something about it seems wrong."<br/>
<br/>
"They might be a little wrong but at the same time we don't have any choice, do we?" you retort.<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi's right." Jelena says in the most reassuring tone she can muster, "These masks... they're tools. And when you're working on a project you use the tools that you have at your disposal."<br/>
<br/>
"But some times those tools are dangerous. Some times it's not just a wrench but a chainsaw." Andrea states, "I'm in, mind you, but I'm coming at it from Fatima's point of view."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah but, like, it's not the tool's fault if someone gets their head lopped off because they were a fucking idiot." It's Sienna's turn to chime in, "I'm still neutral by the way. I'll do it if the rest of you are... maybe just to keep you all honest."<br/>
<br/>
Fatima looks down, "I know, I know. But it just sounds like an invasion of privacy. Or like we're doing things which could have bad consequences." she crosses her arms, "And you know that whole thing about absolute power."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's a debate that continues for about twenty minutes before Fatima is finally convinced that these things won't be abused. That if stuff looks like it's getting out of hand then everyone backs out. She still seems a bit uncomfortable about things though so you take the initiative to change the conversation. "So, this is the first time I've really met any of you besides Jelena." you start, you're not quite sure what to change it to but you remember that discussion of her home life is what prompted a longer general one so you start by asking them about how things are at home for each of them.<br/>
<br/>
"Diane's a cunt." Sienna states, "Fuck, not even a cunt. A turbo cunt."<br/>
<br/>
"Diane?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"My dad's girlfriend." Sienna answers, you can already see the disgust building on her face. "Some weathered bar skank who's going to squeeze every last dime out of him and then try and get high and mighty with me. She's not my mom but even if she was my mom sucked so fuck her. Fuck her right in her dumb whore face."<br/>
<br/>
"What about your dad?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck, my dad's great. Mom was a bitch. Cheated on my dad forever then ran off when I was six. That's why you don't try and tame a groupie I guess." she says with a wry grin, "Dad played in a band when he was younger. Never were the biggest but they did good in the area. He introduced me to all kinds of music. All this real hardcore punk shit that he was into when he was my age. It's awesome. He's awesome. I just wish he'd stop letting dried out, Pacific wide pussy control his life."<br/>
<br/>
"Guess I'll go next." Andrea says as if this was group therapy. "We're doing the full Breakfast Club thing, right?" she smiles. "God I love that movie... Anyway, yeah. My parents aren't rich but they do alright. I dunno, I live on my own in a small house. It's a rental property they own that they've never been able to get any takers for so they gave it to me for half-off on rent when I turned eighteen. That was my birthday gift, I guess. Outside of that... I dunno, it's not that interesting I guess. I live a pretty spartan lifestyle. I don't need cable or any of that, just internet and whatever movies I can find."<br/>
<br/>
"What about you, Fatima?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
She just shrugs. "My parents are muslim but they're not, like, strict about it or anything. I never really got into it. We tried the whole hijab thing for a while and it didn't work out. I think they decided that as long as I stayed out of trouble and was good to others that'd be good enough. It's a pretty bland home life, I guess."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Hanging out with Jelena's circle, or the ones Caleb gathered, is genuinely enjoyable and by the time you realize it it's close to ten. The conversations leave you reflecting though. Fatima's hesitance reminded you a lot of Dana's. The rest of you convincing her... well you tried that too. And maybe it was like when you had her put that mask on so you could control her. Is that what you should be doing? Should you really be getting Yumi's cousins involved in this and then force it on them if they don't accept? Maybe it's best to turn down Sarah and take the mask off of Dana; apologize and make them promise that they'll never speak of it to anyone again and hope they remain trustworthy.<br/>
<br/>
Or maybe you should just leave things how they are. Concerns are concerns but you, and Caleb, have enough presence of mind to know when you've crossed a line... right?</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111211112
author_id: rugal
title: Stepping In and Stepping Out
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Nothing is said between the two of you for a moment. The tension is palpable and making you a bit uncomfortable and you're not really sure if Dana will let you get out of this. Finally you decide to speak up, "Look, why don't you put on my mask." you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
She eyes you queerly. "Your mask?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You pick up the Yumi mask off the floor. "My mask. I made it when I first started figuring out the book that let me do this. Sort of like a testing bed I guess." you explain.<br/>
<br/>
"And you want me to put this on?"<br/>
<br/>
You hand the mask to her and reluctantly she takes it. "It's got all of my thoughts and feelings in it." you state, "I figure if you put it on you could get a sense of where I'm coming from." You pause and let a thoughtful look appear on your face. "Maybe you and me could switch off for a day like you and Sarah did."<br/>
<br/>
Dana looks up at you still not sure how to take everything. "You want us to switch? Why? Don't you want to be in charge?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I want to share this with you guys." you tell her putting a bit of a wishful tone in your voice. "And I want the both of us to be on the same page."<br/>
<br/>
"And you want us to do that... how?" Dana asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Like I said, we switch for a day." you tell her, "We spend a day as one another and by the time we meet tomorrow we'll have a better idea of where the other is coming from and we can make a final decision then."<br/>
<br/>
Dana's eyes look down at the mask for a moment and then back up at you. "There's more to it." she says, "Isn't there."<br/>
<br/>
You put your hands on the ground behind you and lean back. "Sort of." you say and breath in deeply. "I really admire the relationship you and Sarah have. Mokichi's so moody when he's at home. Chiho's so quiet and studious. But you and Sarah are tight and I kind of want to experience that if only for a day."<br/>
<br/>
Dana takes another look at the mask of Yumi that's resting in her hands. Another moment of silence falls over the room as she studies it and mulls over what to do. Finally, however, she speaks up. "I'll do it." she states, "For one day."<br/>
<br/>
And as she slowly brings the mask to her face you push yourself back into a normal sitting position. "Thanks Dana." you say with a smile, "I know you'll be just fine with it.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You give yourself a quick look over in the rear view mirror one last time. Dana Pak's face peers back at you as if examining you and judging your actions. She most likely wasn't going to go along with any idea you had that much is certain now that you've settled into her for more than a quick demonstration of what the masks can do. It was an idea that made her uncomfortable, you knew that, but looking at it from her perspective is enough to stop you for a brief second as you realize just how futile your efforts probably would've been. You give it a little mental shrug however because what's done is done.<br/>
<br/>
You look at the two masks still in your possession and sitting in the passenger seat of Dana's car, Sarah's and Joanna's; one golemized and the other not. You ponder walking in as one of them instead but decide against that as well. Maybe you'll give your partner in crime a show later but for now you flash a smile, gather things up, and exit the car eventually going to the fuck room and knocking. "Who is it?" comes a voice with a soft, slightly ethereal sound to it.<br/>
<br/>
"It's me, open up!" you exclaim in response.<br/>
<br/>
"'Me' who?"<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes and groan, "God, it's me Will alright? Just let me in!"<br/>
<br/>
A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Jelena who eyes you skeptically. "You're not Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"It's Dana, the older cousin." you state wearily as you shove your way past her into the loft and plop down on a pile of old gym mats. "I just texted you from Yumi's phone before I sent her off. I'm gonna need your number by the way." You notice a mask on the floor besides you and pick it up. "Who's this?" you ask as you turn it over to reveal the name "SIENNA JOAN GOLDMAN".<br/>
<br/>
"Sienna Goldman." Jelena replies gliding over to your position, "Though I guess you just figured that out huh? She's the only one I've been able to recruit so far. Haven't had the chance to talk to Drea one on one and Fatima... is going to be a hard sell. She'll take some convincing."<br/>
<br/>
"Tell me about it." you sigh and prop yourself up against the wall behind you, "That's why I'm here and not in Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"I thought you were just going to slap a mask on them if they gave you trouble?" Jelena asked.<br/>
<br/>
"Well Sarah wasn't the problem. She was all for it." you say as you hold up Sarah's mask, "Hell she even got me her best friend." you tell her as you next hold up Joanna's, "But Dana... not so lucky there, kind of like Fatima. Ethics and whatnot." you say and snort, "Not that I can blame her I guess. Not when I'm looking at things from her perspective. But we're kind of in too deep at this point to just drop everything right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Is that why you're doing this?" Jelena asks picking up Sarah's mask, "Because you think we can't go back?"<br/>
<br/>
"A little I guess." you admit, "But I'm enjoying it. I'd rather be where I am now than go back to where I was. Don't put that one on by the way, it's golemized. If you want to be my little sister so bad I'll get another mask of her."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena just snorts and puts the mask back down. "Still doesn't tell me why you just didn't slap your cousin's mask onto her so you didn't have to worry about it." she says.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know, I guess I figured if managing two girls was going to be this much of a pain then managing five people across two schools would be unbearable." you explain. "That's what I came here to talk to you about actually. I think I'm gonna drop James' group."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena walks over to a cooler and grabs a beer out of it. "So you're going to give me control of Westside?" she asks opening it.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess. You take Westside, I'll find two more people for Eastman." you tell her as you shake your head and decline her offer of a beer. "If you can't get Fatima or Andrea I'm sure you could get some people from James' group easy enough though. Or some unpopular girls or guys."<br/>
<br/>
"And who are you gonna choose over there?" Jelena asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno." you say with a shrug, "I've got all weekend to think about it though.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Turns out you don't have quite as much time as you thought however as the next day, a Saturday, you're walking around the mall with Sarah when she suddenly stops you. "Hey, Dana? I... kind of screwed up." she says and when you look over at her you can see her cringing. Before you left to talk to Caleb last night you had told Sarah that Yumi decided to leave you in charge of things at Eastman and she'll just "check up" on you every so often.<br/>
<br/>
"Screwed up how?" you ask her as you head off a bit away from the crowd, close to the restrooms, so it'll be harder for people to overhear.<br/>
<br/>
"After I got the mask on Jo right? She woke up and wanted to know what happened and... I... kindatoldherI'msorryIdidn'tmeantobut--" the last few words come out as a damn near unintelligible bundle of sounds but you're able to make out what she's saying and reassuringly you put an arm around her.<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah, calm down don't worry." you say trying to ease her worries, "Look, Yumi wanted three people doing this at Eastman okay? So if Joanna knows then we just bring her in."<br/>
<br/>
You see Sarah's eyes light up at that. Having her best friend to do this with will hopefully calm her down and leave her a little less excitable. "Just one catch: I'm gonna need to get a new mask of you since Yumi's got ours. Consider it your punishment." With that matter settled you're ready to go back to window shopping when you suddenly hear two voices.<br/>
<br/>
"--please just get out of my hair for once?" comes a smokier and sharper female voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Not that you have much hair to begin with." says a male voice, much more teasing and laid back.<br/>
<br/>
"Get fucked." says the girl.<br/>
<br/>
"I do, plenty, but you know I want something more solid and based on understanding." replies the guy.<br/>
<br/>
"The only understanding you're going to get is my fist and your goddamn arm." the girl shoots back. A few seconds later you hear a loud yelp from the guy that turns into laughter.<br/>
<br/>
You look in the direction of the voices and have your suspicions confirmed when you see Chris Yves standing outside a music store not too far from where you are and looking more than a bit irritated and a smiling Adam Karter rubbing his arm. You're struck by an idea: you need a third person for Eastman. Originally you were just going to use one of Dana's friends or maybe David Johnson, he'd go along with anything Dana said out of a desire to be close to her, to help fill those voids. However Sarah's loose lips have made half of that task a moot point and now?<br/>
<br/>
You try to stare in the direction of Chris and Adam without trying to be conspicuous. Why not use one of them instead? They'd be interesting and perhaps eager additions to what you've got going on. Chris, for all of her rough edge, has a heart of gold and desperately wants to promote more unity among the various social cliques. With her it's selling her on the ability to use the masks to experience different views, different lives, to better understand these groups and perhaps nudge them in the right direction. Karter, though, he's just a horn dog who will fuck anything with a vagina. With him it's just a matter of telling him he'll have access to POD, Pussy on Demand, with the masks, golems, and being able to fool around with any girl's body he wants. You can even dangle the carrot of Westside girls in front of him.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Sarah," you say to her grabbing her attention, "I've gotta use the bathroom so go on without me alright? We'll meet back up later." With a bit of reluctance she heads off and you're left looking over at Chris and Karter wondering which would be the better choice.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111121112
author_id: rugal
title: Mamma Mia!
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Not happening Sarah, sorry." you tell her with a shake of your head.<br/>
<br/>
"What?! But why not?!"<br/>
<br/>
You're a bit surprised by how adamant about doing this she seems to be. For a second you almost want to go back but stand strong. "Look, you can't play around with these things. At least not yet. These masks are magic, <i>real</i> magic, and I need you to show me that I can trust you." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"You showed us all of this and now you're backing out?" asks Dana sounding more than a little irritated by the whole thing.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not backing out." you state perfectly mirroring Dana's expression. "What I'm doing is making sure you can follow instructions and that you can use these things without screwing up. To get masks you're going to have to be other people, replace them long enough to get close to others. I need to see that you can do it that's all."<br/>
<br/>
"That sounds really cold." Dana replies, still trying to keep a strong tone to her voice.<br/>
<br/>
"It does but we have to be serious with these. We can't just do things halfway." another copy of Dana, that tone this time, and you can tell that it's seriously weirding out Sarah so you soften it. "Look if we screw up, if people catch us... who knows what could happen? People will freak out, they'll avoid us, or maybe we'll attract the wrong kinds of attention as rumors spread about those Asian witches."<br/>
<br/>
"I just think it sounds neat." Sarah says quietly, "I just want to try it. Just once."<br/>
<br/>
You look at her, Dana's memories and personality making you feel a large wave of compassion for the younger sister. "Here, take this." you say taking the one extra blank and band out of your purse and putting it onto the floor in front of the sisters. "Use this to get a copy of someone. Whoever you want, just go for someone easy. I'll be back tomorrow to pick it up and if you pull it off with no problems then you can get a day or two as each other."<br/>
<br/>
"You promise, right?" asks Sarah.<br/>
<br/>
"One hundred percent." you reply, "Just get someone copied and we'll talk."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Goodbyes are said and you leave, not bothering to change out of Dana's mask yet, and head out to Yumi's car. You're surprised, then, when a hand grabs your shoulder and you turn to see it belongs to Dana herself. "What's up?" you ask trying to sound as good natured as possible.<br/>
<br/>
"You know what's up." she says and you can feel her staring daggers right through you. "You've got that mask of me on so you know <i>exactly</i> what's up, don't you?"<br/>
<br/>
You stare back coolly. "This isn't a good idea. We don't know what we're messing with and things could get real bad real quick." you reply.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm only doing this because it's something Sarah wants to try." she replies thereby confirming what you just said, "I'm her sister and I have to keep an eye on her. If something happened I couldn't..."<br/>
<br/>
"Live with myself." you say finishing her thought for her.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not me." she states, "In fact I don't know who you are, Yumi's never been like this. Maybe that book is influencing you or maybe it's evil and you're really some creature from Hell running around in my cousin's body."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh, "I've been acting weird, I know, and I'm sorry. It's just..." you trail off trying to find the words, "I put up with so much garbage from Chelsea Cooper because she thinks I'm a threat to her. I see my best friend lumped in as an 'undesirable' simply because she hangs out with some dorky guys and because Chelsea knows it'll get to me. Lin, the Garner twins, and myself, Chelsea's got it out bad for all of us." you look at her, a bit of a pleading expression on your face, "I like being a cheerleader, I like the exercise, I like the camaraderie I've developed with a few members. And this... this <i>bitch</i> wants to ruin things because she's arrogant and self-centered. So with this book and these masks I can get back at her, or I can get away from her for a bit."<br/>
<br/>
"Then why come to us?" Dana asks, "Why rope me and my sister into this?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because you guys are my friends as well as being my cousins." you say. "I just thought it'd be cool to share in this together. I've got you in my head right now and I know that some times the daily grind gets to you and that you want to get away from it every so often. Well, you can! You can be someone else for a few days and take a break from yourself! I just want to help you guys out and have a little fun, that's it."<br/>
<br/>
Dana continues to eye you though the more contemptuous nature of her gaze has mostly faded, albeit replaced with a more wary one. "Fine. I'll take your word for it for now. I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us all in the ass, especially Sarah."<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks." you reply with a genuinely grateful tone. With things now softened you explain to her the process of combining the mask and band and sealing it up. You tell her to pass the news on to her sister and then exchange another set of goodbyes with her.<br/>
<br/>
With that done you drive out until you get to a parking lot, one that doesn't look crowded. Then it's a scramble into the backseat to lay down and remove Dana's mask before putting Yumi's back on. Once you've finished with that you get back into the driver's seat and as you put the car back into gear you call up Jelena's number. "What's up?" comes the voice on the other end.<br/>
<br/>
"They're in." you say. "Sarah was easy, Dana took some convincing, but they're in."<br/>
<br/>
"That's good. So when are you gonna get to your first group?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno, I'm thinking of dropping that." you tell her, "Shit's complicated enough as is without one of us trying to run two groups. I think I'll try and keep Eastside as my territory."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you sure you want to do that?" asks Jelena.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. I can stay as Yumi and help you out if you want but for a group I'll just use Yumi's cousins." you explain, "I can recruit another person too if I have to. Maybe I'll find someone there to switch with to make things easier."<br/>
<br/>
There's a moment of silence on the other end before Jelena's voice breaks in, "Alright. Have fun."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll get you your girly masks, don't worry." you tease.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You stand in the bathroom, door locked, of the Pak residence the next evening, newly acquired mask in hand while Yumi's lays on the sink. You didn't ask who they managed to get, you want to be surprised, only confirmed that they got it. Thankfully they pulled through with Sarah commenting that it was surprisingly easy. So with a curiosity you sit down, back against the wall, and raise the mask to your face.<br/>
<br/>
Coming to you're struck by how different you feel. Your weight is distributed a little differently, your hips wider, your breasts a bit less firm... it's definitely a girl they got but different from being Yumi or Dana. In fact you feel older. You raise yourself off the floor and look into the mirror and are quite shocked by what you see as the copied mind opens up to you. The person they copied, the person you now are, is Kaori Pak: their own mother. You look at your face; it's a face that's aged well though there are a few lines here and there. Nothing that can't be covered up though.<br/>
<br/>
And you feel older because, well, you <i>are</i> older. A recently turned forty-four in fact. You take a look at your close cropped dark hair. Hands paw at your breasts with a slight sag to them. Hands caress hips that are wider than either of the female ones you've had. For over forty Mrs. Pak keeps herself looking good; regular exercise, even if it's just running on the treadmill or going for a walk, helps.<br/>
<br/>
And as her mind opens up to you you're able to learn things: like the fact she's the news director at one of the local stations. Well isn't this just peachy? With her position getting masks of some of the more attractive anchors and reporters at the station would be a cinch. You would definitely be able to get some of various local celebrities and even the rare larger one that makes their way through. Becoming Kaori Pak sounds quite tantalizing though thinking of how to do the switch might be tricky. After all the sisters would be expecting Yumi and likewise if you told them what you plan to do they might not be so keen on it. You'd have to tread carefully if you want to make this switch.<br/>
<br/>
Of course the easier solution would be to just switch into one of the sisters. That's going to involve having to spend at least a day as Sarah before ultimately deciding which one to go with. Dana's skepticism and uneasiness could cause a problem so switching into her is the obvious solution but you know  how strong her love for her sister is. If you stayed as Sarah you might be able to use that to your advantage as she might be willing to cut Sarah slack that she otherwise wouldn't give to Yumi, though the problems that come from being a freshman are obvious; mainly transportation if you need to see Caleb.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111112112
author_id: rugal
title: James Lamont's Request
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Congratulations!" Jenny says as she gives you a sisterly hug at lunch the next day.<br/>
<br/>
You give her a hug back and take a seat next to her. "You're like the fiftieth person to say that today but it's appreciated all the same."<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi Saito, co-captain of the Westside High School cheerleading squad. Who woulda thunk it?" Carson adds in.<br/>
<br/>
"Definitely not me." you answer as you poke at the sloppy so-called salisbury steak that the school is serving today; in your excitement you'd forgotten to pack something healthy. "But I talked to Chelsea yesterday and she just said that she wanted to do it. That she really couldn't fight my popularity anymore."<br/>
<br/>
"I think she's trying to use that to protect herself." Jenny says after taking a sip of her soda.<br/>
<br/>
Carson nods, "Yeah, like I'm not all up on the social hierarchy jazz but I know enough to know that you're too popular. She kicks you off and half the cheerleaders revolt. Half the student body revolts. She becomes an even bigger tin-pot dictator than she already is."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe that's why she made you co-captain though." says James, "It's kind of ingenious if you really think about it. If you're co-captain that comes with increased responsibilities. So maybe she wants to have your life more absorbed in the squad either until you're so overwhelmed that you just quit. You're gone and her hands are clean."<br/>
<br/>
You give a small laugh and the three look at you. "And what's so funny about that?" asks Carson.<br/>
<br/>
"No, it's just... those are great guesses. Really great guesses. But that's all they are." you reply with a small smile. "I actually do know why she promoted me: because I told her to make me co-captain."<br/>
<br/>
They continue giving you funny looks. "Are you sure you're alright, Yumi?" asks Jenny, "I didn't think power would go to your head so quickly that you'd become all delusional and stuff."<br/>
<br/>
"No it's not delusions." you say with a shake of your head, "Trust me, I didn't believe it at first either but afterwards,,, well..."<br/>
<br/>
James raises an eyebrow, "You're really not making any sense, Yumi, you know that right?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, it's hard to explain, especially here. But Jenny, you're dad's still out of town right?" you ask referring to the fact that Jenny is often left home by herself for days at a time due to living with a father who often has to go out of town on business trips. She gives you an affirmative reply. "Alright so then we'll meet up after school at your place and I can show you exactly what it is that changed Chelsea's mind."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Jesus fuck!" Jenny exclaims as she paws at her chest.<br/>
<br/>
"Get your, my, your... whoever's hands off of there!" exclaims James defensively as he smacks Jenny's hands.<br/>
<br/>
"Sorry but, like, tits!" she continues, "Even if it's your tits, tits are tits and I've got them right here on my chest what the fuck did you expect me to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not to grab at my chest like an animal!" James shoots back, "I swear to god Carson, I don't know why I let you do this."<br/>
<br/>
"Because James didn't want to be you." replies Jenny, "Probably thought we'd think he was weird after that incident with the clothes and shit."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck off, Ioeger." Carson replies while flipping Jenny the bird, "Maybe I didn't want Jenny to be stuck inside your body. You think about that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Guys, please!" you raise your hands in a 'stop' motion, "I know it's weird as hell but I need you all to calm down. Everyone settled? Good. So yeah as you can see I've got this book that lets you make masks of other people. You put the mask on and presto change-o you're them."<br/>
<br/>
"Where'd you even get it?" James asks.<br/>
<br/>
You shrug, "Arnholm's. I went in there to browse a little bit a while back and came across it. I was..." you're trying to think of a plausible excuse, "I was too freaked out by it at first to use it but I kind of... I got over it. There's a spell in there, it's like these masks but you put your hair and a little bit of goop in it and if you stick it on that person they become whoever the mask's copied but under your control."<br/>
<br/>
"So Chelsea is... not Chelsea? Just someone under a Chelsea mask under your control?" asks Jenny.<br/>
<br/>
"Mmm, sort of. She's Chelsea under a Chelsea mask under my control." you reply. "But that's what I want to talk to you guys about. I did that to Chelsea and... well she's going to be a lot nicer. Not just to me, I'm going to tell her to be nicer in general."<br/>
<br/>
"So we could take over the school with this." Carson says and there's a bit of awe, and trepidation, in his voice. "We could have the basketball players, the cheerleaders, all the people under our control."<br/>
<br/>
"We could, and we will. I'm glad you're picking up quick." you smile, "But I don't just want to put all the cheerleaders and basketball players under masks of themselves. I want to make things better for you guys too."<br/>
<br/>
"And you think having the school under our thumb wouldn't make it better?" Jenny asks crossing her arms. You briefly wonder if she's doing it as a quick way to feel her chest.<br/>
<br/>
"Well it would but I want you guys to have a little fun with this too." you state, "Think about it, you can be anyone right? So why not do that?" You turn to Jenny, "Say you want to be a guy who can get any girl you want? Or maybe you just want to be a girl and play with your chest? You can do that." You then turn to James, "Or you could be someone with..."<br/>
<br/>
Your voice trails off but he completes your thought for you. "With a real family, yeah I know you don't have to sugarcoat it." he says. "What about you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Me?" you ask with a smile. "I'm happy where I am. The only really niggling thing was getting Chelsea out of my hair and I've done that. This is for the benefit of you three, not me. Mostly not me."<br/>
<br/>
You had only copied their faces into the mask for your little demonstration so you have them remove the masks. You then take the mindbands and place them on each of their heads before combining the masks and bands. After they've agreed to go along with your idea you then give each one another blank mask and a mind band before golemizing their masks. You then tell them that you want them to show up back here tomorrow after school in a new guise, whoever they want, with the golems of themselves in tow.<br/>
<br/>
You then part but James, the real James, looks at you a little uncertainly before asking if the two of you can drive out to the parking lot of the abandoned elementary school to talk privately.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So what'd you want to talk about?" you ask after the two of you have parked your cars. You're now both sitting on the hood of is looking at the buildings and lights.<br/>
<br/>
He shifts a bit, "It's... it's about these masks." he says.<br/>
<br/>
You cock an eyebrow, "I thought I was pretty clear on what they do and all that."<br/>
<br/>
"No, you were." he nods, "It's just... who are you?"<br/>
<br/>
You're taken aback a bit by that. "I... don't know what you're talking about." you say, "I'm Yumi. Who else would I be?"<br/>
<br/>
"Someone underneath a Yumi mask, playing her role." he replies, "You had them fooled but when you gave that excuse about not using the masks yourself? For someone like me that was a bit of a tip off." He then looks at you, more sternly and seriously. "So who are you? Who are you really? Who's hiding under that mask?"<br/>
<br/>
You laugh a bit, a friendly laugh. "Alright, yeah you got me. I wasn't sure if I should tell you guys anyway but... I'm Prescott under here. I needed a way to show you the book, to get you guys on board, and I doubt you would've listened to me. But you guys would listen to Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"Where's the real Yumi?" asks James.<br/>
<br/>
"Under a golemized mask of Chelsea." you answer, "Don't ask. It's a big complicated chain of events I don't feel like explaining. You're not mad are you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Mad? Nah." he says with a dismissive motion, "But Jenny would be if she found out. And she won't. Not if you do something for me."<br/>
<br/>
You eye him. What is he getting at? "I think I'm helping you a lot already." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"Not the way I want to be helped though." he says, "All of us, we've got our own little secrets. Let me take you back, the incident with the clothes? Where I proposed it'd be cool if we could become other people by wearing their clothes? You remember?" You nod at that, "Let me go on a little side road here then. Like I said we've all got our own little secrets. Take Carson: I know that, deep down, he's in love with Jenny only he does nothing because I'm his best friend and he doesn't want to dick me over."<br/>
<br/>
"That's interesting and all but where is it going? You like Jenny?" you ask. "Yeah, well, no. Well I do but it's... it's complicated. Let me put it to you like this. Carson and I would both want in Jenny's pants. Only we'd want into them in completely different ways, if you get my drift."<br/>
<br/>
You eye him for a moment before realization sets in. "Wait a minute, you don't mean..."<br/>
<br/>
He nods. "Yeah, I do. Prescott, I want to be a girl. I want to use this mask to make that happen. And I have a very specific person in mind."<br/>
<br/>
"Who's that?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"This'll probably piss you off but... Lisa Yarborough." he says and you are surprised by that.<br/>
<br/>
"Why should I help you get my ex-girlfriend? I want you guys to do this on your own."<br/>
<br/>
James shifts, "Because if you get me Lisa I'll get masks of the entire AP group. That's what you really want, right? Masks of different people?" His expression then becomes more serious, "And if you don't help me, I'll tell Jenny you're parading around as her best friend."<br/>
<br/>
You don't know if it's a bluff or not. Jenny would flip if she found out you were Yumi. You wanted them to do it on their own but... well, what's the harm in helping James? You're not comfortable with it being Lisa though... so maybe you should try calling his bluff.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111121121
author_id: nirxor
title: Like Lisa, Lisa like
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Lisa isn't exactly an old wound, she is still festering, its a barely healed wound to your heart. To Will she's still the girl who could have been, and in some way still is, but having an outside view, shows the whole picture. Lisa talked to Garner twins, of course they pointed her to Geoff, Yumi had heard about how Lisa was meeting up with Will and seeing Geoff in private, but Yumi held her to a higher standard than that. Lisa was no longer on Yumi's good list, she toyed with Will until she made certain Geoff was ready for her. In Yumi's judgement, Will was an indefinitely better person that Geoff, a man who tried his damnedest to get into your pants. A strong pet-pevee of Yumi is two timing, she has seen it happen to Jenny, and will burn a lot of bridges to make sure it doesn't happen again. The influence of Yumi's mind, or as she has been suggesting, is to let it go. She could have told you how it was going to go, but she doesn't have the heart to be that cruel. Through her eyes, Lisa is another face to be worn over, to be bargained for, she made her bed. She didn't need to drop Will like that, but Geoff's obsession with his image isn't healthy, as is his try hard lady killer image. <br/>
<br/>
"All right, I'll do it." You say as James literally, jumps and nears laughs. He looks a little unsure, but you do have a mask ready for him. He quickly slaps it over his face, the blank mask making pass out, he doesn't even stop to think about it, you have to catch him before he falls over. Yumi is rather happy to help him, but she seems to be happier to have Jenny in the magician's circle, a little club from thier childhood memories. Jenny never admitted it, but you knew she was still into magic and such, still your happy to have her along for the journey, both as Will and Yumi. It doesn't take long, but eventually james is up, and your plan is on track.<br/>
<br/>
********************************************<br/>
<br/>
The next day the biggest library study room, quietly tucked away in the far back, is commandeered, by your trap. The guest of honor, sprawled out in her glory, was an easy target. All Yumi had to do is ask to meet Lisa in the back with James in tow, the rest was easy. The girl you loved and the man who will become her, James apparently was a closet crossdresser. He had shown you yesterday clothes of the feminine variety, in great quantities. He looked great in dresses and loved stockings, but was sad he couldn't actually expirence it, his family was highly devout in their beliefs, but you held the key to his dream, well to his ideal body. You're relieved that the idea of him betraying you is cast out the window, but insurance is never a bad idea, so you prepared a lock of your original hair for the mask of James' golem. It's already dressed and acting like he would, you give it's orders and send it outside to keep watch. The James who would be, is stirring in her sleep, in a sudden gasp, the Lisa on the table is awoken, she grabs her chest, looking almost shocked, in a very quick un-Lisa movement, she's in front of the room's oddly placed full body mirror. The look on face is pure shock, Lisa is shaking, but not with fear, with pure ecstasy. Her face has changed into expressions you have never before seen, the way Lisa explores her new body, her eyes gleaming with child like wonder, and, unbridled excitement, as she holds herself, comfortably, for what looks like the first time ever.<br/>
<br/>
"OH MY GOD...... Am her, am the girl I always wanted to be...... Needed to be." James mutters under his new breath, the visage of lisa soon placing on her glasses, with a broad smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi! No, Will, thank you! And, well how did you not share this with me? Or when did you find this?" The new Lisa speaks, she's almost perfect, but the nudity needs to change, or well maybe, James isn't completely aware of how a lady is supposed to be.<br/>
<br/>
"Lisa, you're going to need to get dressed before anything." You say as you hand her her clothes. James just giggles like she would, holding her clothes close to her. Carefully the new Lisa prepares herself for the life she always wanted, and in a few mintues, Lisa is ready. She looks back at the mirror, admiring the same ass you admired, covered with black leggings that enhance her shapely lower body. The shirt is a yellow one, with a white over shirt. Buttoned up to show off a modest amount of chest. James is dancing in Lisa's body, pawing at his new chest, the dreams of being a woman finally his to live out. The hair she plays with is being brushed and styled into double braids, a style James wanted to try on Lisa. Its easy for Yumi to do it, she has helped her cousins and sister do it before, the memories of them being so close surfaces, bringing a warm smile to your lips. <br/>
<br/>
"Oh wow! She, I mean 'I' look good like this!" Lisa's new lose braids draped over her shoulders, the thick glasses on her cute face, it's no wonder you liked her, but with James. You could do more than just admire her. You could be the boyfriend, it's tempting, <b>very</b> tempting, but it's not your end game. Caleb and you have a very strict set of rules you have to play by, since he's playing as Jelena and your playing as Yumi, you have to try and keep the faces up. Act like they would, get people like they would, live like they would. The time you have lived as Yumi as only drawn one conclusion; living Yumi's life, doesn't disappoint. People like her, boys love her, she gets respect, gives respect, girls trust her, if it wasn't for Chelsea, maybe Yumi would have been the head cheerleader. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"That cunt, just because she got rep from being the youngest on the team from a few years ago. Well, that's not much of an issue anymore, maybe the rest of the gang has already chosen some faces near the top, if not, we can definitely steer it in that direction."</i><br/>
<br/>
You mind ponders as James is done admiring his prefect replacement of Lisa. <br/>
<br/>
"Yumi? Can we have a girl's day out after this? I mean, I know am rushing into things, but I feel so..... Complete right now, I want to go out and live like a girl. I have a date with Geoff after school and something to finish, but that's all I can remember, so maybe Friday?" Lisa begs, she has hugged you and isn't letting go, the simple act of granting James wish might have been the best move you could have done, another piece secured for your game. <br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I'd like to get my nails done too, tell me how your date goes when we get to the salon!" You say as she lets go of your body, but before she goes, the new Lisa looks at you once more, almost longing, but she smiles and then leaves with a new look in life. As you part ways your phones buzzes, a text from Jelena<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Yo! Yummy girl! Meet up at the usual base?"</i><br/>
<br/>
Caleb asks, sending a photo of Jelena in nothing but her oversized shirt and panties. <br/>
<br/>
********************************************<br/>
<br/>
"<b>No Fucking Way!!!</b> You serious? James swings that way?" Jelena, struck by the news gasps. "I got naked with that dude at the river! Well Caleb did, Jelena isn't straight either, but still, kinda nice to hear actually, makes us respect him a bit more." She says as she sits like Caleb, legs spread out, chewing on some jerky, but with addition of a few beers. <br/>
<br/>
"Right? It worked in my favor, Lisa has a new filling and my group is taking on some of the more problematic people in the school. How's yours going?" <br/>
<br/>
Jelena just gives you a shit eating grin, the guy inside her obviously enjoying being her.<br/>
<br/>
 "Well about that, they want to go and get the top dogs fucked up, so we already got a mole on the inside, and I got a very nice prize." Casually, she tosses you a mask, the name of it looking akwaradly out of place, especially with the way your plans are unfolding.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Lin Pol</i><br/>
<br/>
Is all it says. "Holy fucking shit! How!?!?" You ask, almost shocked by the name, even by Yumi's memorise don't recall Lin being in the same circle as Jelena, they don't even remotely inhabit the same world, the mystery is deepened by the ever widening grin on Jelena's face. <br/>
<br/>
"Well, turns out, Jelena, loves Asians chicks, hell me and her got a lot in common, if Caleb would drool over Yumi, Jelena drools over Yumi, even when am not in control, it gets hard to tell who I am sometimes, like am getting to wrapped up in it." She says looking at your body with increasing lust, her eyes, almost resembling Caleb's when he first saw Yumi on full display for himself, but this time it's not as sick, or Yumi isn't really in control, it's Will, and he likes the attention. "Tell you what Will, since I got a top pick, I'll make you a trade. Let me, Jelena, have some steamy hot love, here and now, and I'll trade you Lin, it's just her mask, I haven't even used it or sealed it. Or, let me choose somebody new and I'll let you control both groups." She offers.<br/>
<br/>
"What? You're bailing on me?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, course not, it's just Jell wants to get some other chick, well we want to get her. It's super weird. I think me and her are the same person, maybe." He says, almost confused by who he is. The offer isn't bad, but something is bothering you about Caleb, it's almost like Jelena is overriding his mind.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh, hang on let me think about it, I just want to make sure you're okay." You say as you get closer. Caleb let's you inspect him, but it's not perfect, maybe being inside that masks is bad for people, you don't know how, but maybe it's affecting him. He's healthy in Jelena, but something about how he can't tell the difference doesn't sound right.</span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111211211
author_id: nirxor
title: Trying out a little Liar
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>The basement isn't the place Lin would ever wake up in, especially with people like William Prescott, Caleb Johansson, Jelena, or, even Yumi. She's irritable, angry about being here, and, pissed that she was robbed of her own body at a party nobody knew about. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"that's the last time I smoke anything with one of Roth's shitty friends, couldn't even bring the good stuff, let alone clean stuff."</i> She thought as you steadied your new body. Unlike Yumi, Lin is built for sex! She's compact, small and tight ass, with a rack bigger than any of girls in school, it looks a little silly on her, but Lin likes the attention. <i>"Guys just can't stop staring, and girls just get pissed there's someone better."</i> She thinks as she takes. Inventory of her body, the mirror Caleb brought down let's you examine her in close detail. She has curves that you always have watched, legs shaped from her workouts, and, a very tight pussy, you test it out slowly inserting a finger in. "Fuuuuuck........ That's what I need........ A <b>good</b>, <b>hard</b>, and, very <b>long</b> lay........" She muses as you take in her memories. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"Last night was a dissapointment, shit weed, bad beer, no good guys. Even the women were subpar, not a single decent looking girl. That guy wasn't even good enough to last half an hour, who fucking needs breaks every ten minutes? Gordon doesn't, seth can go all night long, Patterson is only good in bed, David is great at foreplay, and Philp Fairfax? He's probably got the biggest cock out of all of them! God I want him to finally fuck me!"</i><br/>
<br/>
The whole of Lin's yesterday is taking over, through it, one thing is clear; Lin loves getting laid. Her mind even shows who she can count on, more surprisingly, how many guys have cheated on their girlfriends just to have a single night with her! A very guilty pleasure for her, no........ It's her turn on...... Even taking girls from their boyfriends! It's all addictive pleasure to her, However, no normal woman can compare to a  decent man. Unless they are very good with their assests, her mind flashes, recalling the few girls from Eastman she has enjoyed enough to call up for sex. "Fucking hell." She thinks, as you let her full content wash over your mind. The sensations from the ladies who loved her and the men who had their way with her, all flowing into your body. You watch your new body twist and turn, but it ends when you see her. You glance in the mirror, seeing Jelena, the bitch who probably sold you out, you don't even need to think twice. In a second you're already upon her, delivering a crashing slap to the lesbian. She was fingering herself while you checked up on your body! <br/>
<br/>
"You goddamned whore!!! Get me out of here, or else I'll fuck you up so bad the little lesbian you found is goinng to be licking my cunt clean while you pick up your teeth off the fucking ground!!" You scream at her, as you grab the bitch by the hair, giving her a deathly glare, something you have personally expirenced from her, it's cold enough to stop anyone, even Lester doesn't go after Lin, he know better than to try. Jelena just cracks a smile, like the one a virgin gets when he sees a girl wearing panties, "dumb whore probably just wet herself", you think as you close your hand into a fist.<br/>
<br/>
"Damn Will!!! She's a fucking fighter for sure, but am a lover!! Come on Lin!! I'll give ya a good fuck! Your gonna love it! I'll make it good for you!" She calls out, the words suddenly pulling Will out from the subconscious of Lin. <br/>
<br/>
"Oh my God.... Am so sorry........ she just........" You stutter as you realize how quickly you attacked Caleb, Lin already taking her life back.<br/>
<br/>
"Naw it's fine, Jelena like fire in her girls, besides, we all know how much of a bitch she is." She says as she removes her shirt, the breasts flopping free, she takes a hand on each one, rubbing them gently.<br/>
"Besides! I heard she wasn't happy with the dude she took up stairs! Since am here to fix that, why don't you let me try?" He says wearing that classic Caleb grin. Lin doesn't worry too much about the details, you exhale a spiteful breath, cursing in her native tongue, you give Jelena a hand. You pull her up with utmost care, letting her try her magic on you. There is no direct kissing, she just nips on your shoulders and neck, caresses the nipples and plays skillfully with the right amount of push and pull. <br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, this good....." You say unimpressed, you let her dive deeper into your flesh. Lin isn't happy with Jelena, but she knows, beggers aren't choosers. She also knows that Jelena can't say a damn thing about who she sleeps with, especially if values her current life. Caleb comes up once again, looking you in the eyes, no smile, but in a very serious tone of voice, with a hint of sexy playfulness asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Is this good enough?"<br/>
<br/>
The thoughts of Will are wanting more, beging for it, Lin however, doesn't like such things from men. She wants to be ravished, or to be scarred into their minds. Seeing how Jelena is asking, you don't give her the answer she wants, you push her back, walking to a pile of sheets and blankets, spreading your legs open, you give her a smile. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"She's not bad, not bad at all, and I really do need this, if she can't deliver, I can fuck up her social life."</i><br/>
<br/>
You think to yourself as she gets to get in closer, before she can even try anything you push her down, making her eat your pussy. The licks, nibbles, and, suck are enough for you to really feel it. Jelena understands pleasure, especially for women, she's doing everything just the way Lin likes. And that's when it you. You want to expirence Lin as she was ment to be, a sensational woman of many talents in bed! Lover to men and women! Good girl and innocent during the day! Naughty, sly, and sexy at night! Lin isn't just a a woman, she is <b>the woman</b>!!!!! All of the guys she sneaks out with, and girls she steals, she loves slumming it up too, as Jelena works her magic, you feel Lin's body begin to really get into it.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"<b>DAMN!!!</b>This bitch can suck and clean! I got to see how well she can take it!!! Maybe having Jelena a fuck buddy wouldn't be bad!"</i><br/>
<br/>
Lin was ready for a good time, she needed it, and Jelena is delivering on the promise. Soon she has you moaning, your grabbing the sheets and holding it in best you can, but it doesn't last. Your head sparks, lights flash, your breaths are steaming, and in momment you're finished, the afterglow of a great fuck. Your gasping, barely able to breath right, you feel a cold object touch your arm, a water bottle. You take it, quickly sloshing it down your hatch, as Jelena stretches. <br/>
<br/>
"Weeeeeeeeeell, I guess that's all I need to do for today!" She says as she starts to out on her clothes, but Lin, doesn't let it happen. Quickly you look at Yumi's cellphone. It read five thirty, enough time in the day to knock out a long fuck, them the Will inside of you calls out.<br/>
<br/>
"The real Lin Pol is out there, we can make it last longer." <br/>
<br/>
You say, loud enough for Jelena to hear it, before you grab her and assult her twice as hard as she did you. Caleb isn't fighting, but he is shocked by the sudden change, you can't fight it, Lin is taking over, no you want her to show you this, and, she wants to show Jelena how "hungry" Lin really is.... <br/>
<br/>
*****************************************************<br/>
<br/>
It's late, the phone has several missed messages, and your covered in sweat, not that Lin is complaining, she likes to be exhausted like this, basking in the afterglow, with Yumi barely able to move. Your arm is holding her, she's sleeping hard on your body, Caleb wanted to swap half way through it once he realized what a beast Lin was in bed. Jelena was sufficiently broken in, along with Yumi. A part of Will is interested in seeing how Yumi will react to being dominated by Lin, Lin wants to ask about Yumi wanting a secret relationship.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Yeah, let her get a boyfriend, then fuck him and cuck him, maybe even let him see us going hard at it"</i><br/>
<br/>
It's hot, but that's for later, now your satisfied, the messages from your circle can be answered later, except the one from your parents, send a message saying you fell asleep at Lin's, something they would believe, Yumi's parents trust her. Pulling the mask off Caleb and leaving him in the sheets naked, you remove your new mask, he's still sleeping when you completely change into Yumi. Being Yumi, and since he's <b>her friend of a friend</b>, you gently place Jelena's mask on his face, smiling as she stirs a bit. Quietly you exit the basement, walking to your car, as you open it up, the sensations rush to you. All of the time you spent with Lin, Yumi is very unsure of the new relationship with Lin, but Will keeps her calm, the stress relief is worth it! In the seat of your car, you basically turn into jelly at the legs, still twitching from the rough sex. It's amazing, to feel how Yumi's body is so different from Lin's, if Lin is like a raging inferno, Yumi is a strong, yet gentle waves, maybe next time, you'll change faces mid sex. You don't even need to touch yourself tonight, you turn the keys and head home, happy with your new mask, and secretly excited to see who Caleb picks. </span></div></div>


path: 1112312221221121211111212
author_id: seuzz
title: A Monopoly of Three
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I'll take Jelena's group," you say softly. "Three people?" Steve nods. "I'll know better who the three should be after--" You glance at Charles, and grimace softly. "You should get out of here," you tell Caleb. "I don't want to see you after I change."<br/>
<br/>
His eyes flick with amusement between Charles and Kim. "One is sexy and one is gay. Which one don't you want me to see you as?"<br/>
<br/>
"<i>I'm</i> sexy," you say, turning on him with a frown. "I'm the sexiest girl in school, and either one is a step down for me. So you just get out of here. Take Gordon with you."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but where are you going to be? In case I need to get in touch with you."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll let you know when I'm in place. Where are you going to be?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll be Caleb." He sighs. "Oh well. We were talking about running the school from the shadows anyway. I can take the book, hook up with James and them tonight."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh uh. Make it tomorrow. I need the book to make up some stuff for my own switch."<br/>
<br/>
He shrugs and leaves. You call Will Prescott, telling him to come back to the school. After getting the golems sorted out, you're not going to let them get messed up again. Then--<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, Charles," you say as you start to undress. "This is going to disgust me a lot more than it's going to disgust you."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You wake up with a deep sigh, and gaze up at the ceiling. <i>So this is what it's like being gay,</i> you think. <i>Doesn't feel any different.</i> You glance down, to find Kim Walsh, Chelsea Cooper, and Will Prescott gazing down coolly at you. "Get an eyeful, why don't you?" you snap at them. "Prescott, you can go home. Same with you, Chels. Oh, leave the key to this place." You sit up. If Jason Lynch caught you up here-- You snicker. Charles thinks: <i>Guy's so deep in the closet he can't even find the door.</i><br/>
<br/>
Kim remains as you dress in slacks and loafers and a button-down shirt. <i>Where's that ballcap?</i> Oh, there it is. The finishing ironic touch. "Kim, do you mind driving? Of course you don't. Let me just see if the coast is clear." You dial Andrea. "Drea, I know you know it's me," you say when she answers. "Is your mom's tip drawer full? I'm bored, so I'm gonna come over and play Monopoly for real stakes."<br/>
<br/>
"Can you cover your losses," she lazily asks. You try to will your cock into stirring, but there's a major impediment.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't ask silly questions, Drea. You know I won't have to. Is your mom there?"<br/>
<br/>
"She's got a late shift."<br/>
<br/>
"Good. Maybe we can go for double or nothing. I'll be over in thirty minutes. Set out the top hat for me, and go ahead and give me Oriental. I'm going to be rolling sevens all night." You turn to the book and start putting together some sealant.<br/>
<br/>
Kim shifts on her feet. "Am I going too?"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course. I told you, you're driving. You'll stay too. We're going to gossip about Karl and Kelsey. It'll piss off Drea."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Andrea Varnsworth is a portrait in loveliness when she answers to the door: a tank top that exposes her midriff; harem pants; bare feet. "You didn't have to dress up for me, Drea," you say, and give her a peck on the cheek. "It's not strip Monopoly. Not this time. Oh, Kim drove me out here. Come in, Kim." You gesture and she follows. "Have you eaten yet, Drea? I'm mooching off everyone tonight."<br/>
<br/>
"I was going to fix couscous. Hi Kim."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll go Greek too, then." You unbutton your shirt down to your belt buckle, exposing a shallow but hairy chest. "Need any help?"<br/>
<br/>
"It only takes one to fix. I was planning on it only being one to eat, too."<br/>
<br/>
"You should never leave me out of your plans. I was just being polite anyway. I don't have any intention of helping you." You sit on the futon and pat the seat beside you. "I brought Kim along for entertainment while you did the work."<br/>
<br/>
Andrea flicks an amused eyebrow at you and returns to the kitchen. You watch her mane of tawny hair as it swings between her shoulder blades, and sigh: At the moment you've only an intellectual interest in her.<br/>
<br/>
You put your arm around Kim. "You and I should get married. We'd make a cute couple, especially in a place like this." You look around. Andrea and her mom live in a very small house in one of the pokier parts of town. The living room is spare to the point of being Spartan: Besides the futon, there's only a desk and chair in one corner and a bookcase on one of the walls. There's no TV, only an old-style boom box and a stack of CDs. <br/>
<br/>
"It's cozy," Kim allows.<br/>
<br/>
"No it isn't," you retort. "But it's low maintenance. I could leave my underwear all over the place and it would only take you two minutes to clean up. Drea?" you call. "Do you mind if I put some music on? I am in <i>dire</i> need of stimulation." She yells back something that sounds waspish. You don't pay any attention and go over to the boom box to flip through the collection. "You have such <i>cute</i> tastes, Drea. Or is it your mom? I think you told me once, but I wasn't paying attention. Oh, <i>The Breakfast Club!</i> I'll be Emilio Estevez, and you can be Molly Ringwald, Kim." You pull her to her feet and spend ten minutes dancing.<br/>
<br/>
You decide to eat before doing anything with Andrea, and then you decide to play a little of that real-money Monopoly--with pennies for ones and fives for five hundreds--with her and Kim. The three of you sit cross-legged on the floor. You wait until Andrea has triumphantly completed the yellow and orange groups before snorting in disgust. "I'm going to win," she tells you with just the barest hint of gloating in her voice.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm letting you win. I'll give you an IOU."<br/>
<br/>
"No you won't. I'm not letting you leave until you pay me."<br/>
<br/>
"Ooh, my fake gay act finally pays off. Are we going to sleep together?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be snotty. I'll pay you minimum wage for cleaning up the place."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll have to dirty it up first. Can I use your bathroom, or should I just use the corner?" She gives you a look and doesn't reply.<br/>
<br/>
You run the water in the sink and glance around. My my, so many grooming products for a girl who affects such an unencumbered look. <i>It takes a lot of chemicals to keep a girl looking like a natural beauty.</i> You take the blank mask from your bag.<br/>
<br/>
The bathroom door creaks as you step back out, but Andrea's back is to you, and she doesn't turn around as you step behind her, kneel, and put the mask to her face.<br/>
<br/>
Andrea isn't a heavy girl, but she is muscular and hence heavy for her size. You have to drag her back into her bedroom and throw her roughly onto the bed. You undress and lay next to her, and pull Charles's mask off. It's a relief--and an arousing one--to wake next to Andrea, even though her face is obscured by the mask. You sigh: no time to undress her yourself. You put Charles's mask onto her--a temporary arrangement until tomorrow--and turn away to seal up her mask while the new golem changes clothes.<br/>
<br/>
And then, with hands trembling slightly from excitement, you put Andea's mask to your face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You lay on the bed for almost ten minutes after opening your eyes. You spend the first moments enjoying the feeling of firm and heavy breasts weighing on your chest as you draw in deep and satisfying breaths. Only when that pleasure palls do you run a palm down a taut stomach that has been sculpted by lots of swimming into a smooth pedestal. Your bellybutton is shaped like a long, shallow oval, and you run a finger tip over it. You raise a leg and rub the side of the thigh and calf; you can bend it back so far you can also caress the side of your foot. You do the same with the other leg. You'll save further exploration for tonight, in a hot bath.<br/>
<br/>
Now feeling invigorated, you rise and pull on fresh panties from the drawer, and cover them with the silk harem pants. You call Charles in from the other room, and stare at yourself in the mirror as he clasps the bra onto you. You pull on a fresh tank top, one that's even shorter, so that it falls off your breasts like a sheet of water over a precipice. "See if you can do anything with my hair," you order him, and brush it back so he can play with it. You gesture at some clasps and clips on the dresser.<br/>
<br/>
"I've been dying to play hairdresser for you, Drea," he says dryly. He fumbles with various possible arrangements, until you dismiss him and just let it falls about your face. It's a narrow face, still dark from the summer, with a pointed chin and high cheekbones and eyes that settle easily into a daunting and skeptical glance. You disdain the sandals as you return to the living room.<br/>
<br/>
"Earn your keep, Charles," you tell him. "Clean up this mess." He snorts and picks up the game and the bowls. In the kitchen he scrubs the pans and dinnerware. You put <i>The Breakfast Club</i> back in the boom box and dance with Kim. She <i>is</i> cute. But Chelsea is lovelier.<br/>
<br/>
Still, you have business to consider, and your mind runs over possible recruits from among Andrea's friends. The boys she knows would be easier to daunt and manipulate. But the girls would be more fun to hang out with.</span></div></div>


path: 11123122212211212111112121
author_id: seuzz
title: The Queen and Her Court
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>When Charles is done cleaning up, you send him and Kim home with orders to be available for errands. You then call Caleb, trying Steve Patterson's number first. "I'm looking for Caleb," you tell him.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you want to talk to <i>me</i>?" he asks with an unmistakable leer in his voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Only if you're Caleb," you reply, feeling tired out after only ten seconds with him.<br/>
<br/>
"I can pretend to be him," he says. "<i>I'm a fucking dipshit, and I--</i>"<br/>
<br/>
You hang up and call Caleb's number. "Tell me this is the real you."<br/>
<br/>
"And how would you tell the difference?" He gives a short sigh. "Andrea Varnsworth. Fuck, man, why didn't you tell me that's where you were going?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because I just got through talking to Patterson, and he acted just like I knew <i>you</i> would."<br/>
<br/>
He groans softly. "I've never been so turned on when talking to you. Even when you were being Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"You have a better chance with Chelsea." You bend over and touch your toes; the stretch in your hamstrings feels wonderful. "I can get you a list of girls I'd be willing to do it with you as."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you serious? She's--?" he gasps. "Hang on, lemme get a piece of paper."<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up. I just called to let you know where I am. You can take a cold shower when we're done talking. I'll be taking a hot bath." His reply is indecipherable through the strangling sounds. "I'll have Eva or Jessica to pass the book along to you." You click the phone off before he can try any more lame flirtations.<br/>
<br/>
You do take a hot bath. The girl is like a mermaid, totally at home in the water, and much of it splashes over the lip of the tub and onto the tile after you've shuddered through a long and delicious climax.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next day, at school, you make a point of stopping briefly by Chelsea's locker. She does a double take when she sees you, and gasps. You smile enigmatically back. Of course the golem has recognized you under the mask--and can guess what kind of ideas you have for you and her, now that you are <i>Andrea Varnsworth.</i> That's fine; let it <i>anticipate.</i><br/>
<br/>
Otherwise you spend the day with your new set of friends--who of course now feel like old friends. At lunch that means sitting on the grass out by the library and listening with hooded and amused interest to Jelena "Yell" Petrovic, Sienna Goldman, Zach Reynolds, Fatima Goldman, and Jamie Lockerbie. Adrian Semple would be with you, but he's off commiserating with Charles: who for the second day is the main topic of conversation.<br/>
<br/>
"If Sagansky had any fucking guts he'd expel Jason," Sienna is fuming while plucking the same string she was plucking yesterday.<br/>
<br/>
"If anyone had any fucking guts, they'd stand up to Jason," Jelena cynically ripostes. <br/>
<br/>
"I'd kick him in the baseballs," Sienna says.<br/>
<br/>
"Like you did with Steve Patterson last year," you can't stop yourself from teasing. She turns red at the memory of being chased down the halls by Steve and Barry Lochner (a since-graduated basketball player) when she made the mistake of snarling back at their wolf whistles. <br/>
<br/>
She mutters something back, but you're distracted by Fatima, who is craning her neck. You follow her glance, and smile to yourself when you see who she's looking at. <i>That could be useful.</i><br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<i>Two days later.</i> Caleb has passed the book back to you along with three polished masks. You are sitting on the living room floor, carefully inscribing runes onto three mind bands, while Charles prepares dinner for you in the kitchen. "Don't think I don't love you, Drea," he says when he comes in with the bowls of pasta, zucchini, and fennel (one of your mom's recipes). "But this isn't the natural order of things."<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing about this is natural, Charles," you murmur back without looking up. "Just tell me what's going on with DeMarcus."<br/>
<br/>
He clucks his tongue. "You're so boring. Fatima is boring. DeMarcus Simmons is boring. Not that the idea of him chasing Molly Shaw isn't hilarious," he snickers. "But I thought a lot better of him when he was pretending to be interested in Fatima."<br/>
<br/>
"Molly Shaw," you muse. "I don't know much about her."<br/>
<br/>
"Not much to know, though you can learn a lot by getting her talk, which isn't hard." He picks at his food. "If you're not going to eat, I'm not either. But Victoria Rodriguez and Joe Ysleta are the interesting couple in <i>that</i> group." He snickers again, with more malice.<br/>
<br/>
"You're reminding me why I never listen to you, Charles. Just tell me how serious DeMarcus is about Molly."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, well, he's not serious about anything except getting laid, and after <i>Fatima</i> gave in--"<br/>
<br/>
"Fatima slept with him?" You look up sharply.<br/>
<br/>
He gives you a pitying look. "Now <i>you're</i> reminding <i>me</i> how come I have to tell you everything three times before you ever hear it. Oh, that reminds me." He snaps his fingers. "Kelsey and Karl did it in a cheap motel room. Kelsey and Karl did it in a cheap motel room. Kelsey and Karl did it in a cheap motel room." He grins. "There, I've told you three times, so it's finally gotten through. Once for each time they did it that night."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"How long have you had this thing," Fatima demands. She is shrinking back from the book that is sitting on the floor in the midst of you and your friends.<br/>
<br/>
Except it isn't Fatima. It's Jelena, looking for all the world like Fatima, except for the rather hard expression on her face. Jelena, by contrast, is looking uncharacteristically pale--a consequence, surely, of it being Fatima wearing her friend's face. Sienna is laying on her back, apparently asleep, as a third mask absorbs her image.<br/>
<br/>
"Long enough to make these things up," you coolly reply. "And to think about what we might do with them."<br/>
<br/>
"We shouldn't do anything with them," Fatima-as-Jelena says in a voice hoarse with horror. "We should get rid of them."<br/>
<br/>
"Why? You guys look so adorable done up as each other." You caress her face, and she flinches.<br/>
<br/>
"What are you thinking about, Andrea," Jelena-as-Fatima asks. She only calls you "Andrea" when she is being skeptical--which is, admittedly, rather often. "Giving each other really clever makeovers?"<br/>
<br/>
"We could go around pretending to be other people," you suggest. "Wouldn't that be fun."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think I could imitate Jelena," Fatima says. "Even looking like her."<br/>
<br/>
"Funny, I don't think I could have any trouble imitating <i>you,</i>" Jelena snorts, then gives an elaborate little gasp.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, stop it, Yell," you say. "Anyway, there's a way around that. With these things." The mask has reappeared on Sienna, and you remove it and shake her awake. "How were your dreams," you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
"Give me some fucking coffee," she grumbles, and rubs her forehead. "I feel like I've been asleep for a week."<br/>
<br/>
"Shake the cobwebs out. I'm just getting ready to tell you guys the sequel." Sienna blinks stupidly as you set a mind band out in front of each of them. "Those mask things? According to the book they just copy a person's body. But <i>these</i> things, they copy your mind. All your memories. All your talents. All your personality." Eyebrows go up (on Jelena) and down (on Sienna and Fatima). "Then, if you put on someone else's little strip, you get a copy of their mind inside yours. You'll remember everything that they remember and be able to act just like them. I guess maybe you have to concentrate." You reach over and behind to scratch a troublesome spot in the middle of your back, and it feels good being so limber as to do that. "So if you put on someone's mask, and a copy of their mind, you'd be able to imitate them perfectly." You smile at Fatima.<br/>
<br/>
She doesn't look especially pleased by the idea. "That's sick," she says. "That's, like, mind rape."<br/>
<br/>
You let a half smile creep up the side of your face, and turn to look at the other two. "Maybe. But whether it's sick depends on who's getting mind raped, doesn't it? Can't we all think of one or two people whose minds it would fun to explore?"<br/>
<br/>
There are furtive glances all around.<br/>
<br/>
"And as for imitating people," you continue, "we could use them for spreading a little mischief."<br/>
<br/>
"Like how?" Sienna asks darkly.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, imagine we got one of these masks and one of these bands onto Kendra Saunders." You look around carefully again. Not one girl here doesn't despise Kendra. "We'd know what's going on inside that scheming little brain of hers. We could use it to our own advantage. And if one of us put the mask and the band on afterwards, and put on clothes like hers, and went to Chelsea and said things that would get Kendra in a lot of trouble with her--"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, fuck!" Sienna exclaims. Jelena bounces up off the floor and crosses her legs. Fatima's eyes widen, and she stares at the floor. "But if we got caught--!"<br/>
<br/>
"That's not the problem," Fatima says. "The problem is that this would all be really wrong."<br/>
<br/>
Fatima is now getting thoroughly on your nerves. You knew she would be the most reluctant one of the bunch. You could try to bring her along with the idea of using the masks only to spy on people. Or you could pull out your trump card (DeMarcus Simmons), even though it would involve telling people about golems.</span></div></div>


path: 111231222122112121111121211
author_id: seuzz
title: The Seduction of Sienna
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"There's nothing <i>wrong</i> with anything I've told you," you tell Fatima in a teasing voice. "You want to know what would be wrong? <i>This</i> would be wrong."<br/>
<br/>
You flip to the page that gives the golem-in-a-mask spell; the others, despite some dark looks, crowd around.<br/>
<br/>
"This spell here would be <i>wrong.</i> What we do--" You take Sienna's mask from her. "What we do is put some special stuff in your mask, Fatima. Then we take a new mask, a blank mask, and we go find Molly Shaw." She stiffens. "We make a copy of Molly in the new mask. You put it on, so that you become Molly. Then we put <i>your</i> mask on her, and she changes into you. You get to be her. Everyone thinks you're her, and they treat you like her. Her friends treat you like you're her. DeMarcus treats you like you're her." <br/>
<br/>
Fatima's mouth splits into a tight, horrified smile.<br/>
<br/>
"And meanwhile Molly gets to be Fatima and fuck up her life," Sienna retorts. "That's a shitty plan, Andrea, even if it weren't wrong."<br/>
<br/>
"But she doesn't fuck up Fatima's life," you reply, turning to her with a smile. "Remember, I said we put this special stuff inside Fatima's mask." You tap the page. "According to the spell, the special stuff puts Molly to sleep. She's asleep under there, doesn't have any idea what's going on. But the mask, it makes her act just like Fatima. She does what Fatima would do. No one would notice that Fatima was missing. And the new Fatima would have to do whatever the real Fatima--" You nudge your friend. "Whatever the real Fatima tells her to do."<br/>
<br/>
The explanation seems to confuse them, so you have to repeat it again, more carefully, and with a few more details. It leaves Jelena and Sienna staring. Fatima jumps to her feet and paces the room angrily, then charges into the kitchen. You hear the back door open and slam shut.<br/>
<br/>
"This isn't cool, Andrea," Jelena says.<br/>
<br/>
"It's very cool," you reply. "It's just wrong. That's what Fatima said, and I wasn't arguing."<br/>
<br/>
"You should get rid of these things. And that book," Sienna says, pushing the book back with her fingertip.<br/>
<br/>
You shrug. "Then you should keep those masks. Put them someplace safe. Hide them."<br/>
<br/>
"And the book?"<br/>
<br/>
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't show it to you?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's not what I asked. What are you going to do with it?"<br/>
<br/>
"If it's such a bad thing, maybe I'd better keep it so no one else gets ahold of it." They stir uneasily. You smile again. "I promise that I won't use it. I don't want to use it." You shrug, and then fall back onto the floor. "I like who I am. Why would I want to be anyone else? I just wanted to show this to you guys in case <i>you</i> wanted to do something with it."<br/>
<br/>
"You think we don't like who we are?" Jelena asks. Her tone sounds dangerous.<br/>
<br/>
You turn and give her an ingenuous stare. "I'm sure you like who you are, Yell. I like who you are. Same with you, Sienna. But don't you ever want to take a vacation? I don't," you add before they can turn the question on you. "That's what I have the swimming pool for." You raise a leg and point a toe at the ceiling. "But other people like to take vacations. And as I said, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't show you this stuff?" <br/>
<br/>
They are silent for a bit. Then Jelena stirs. "Someone should go talk to Fatima."<br/>
<br/>
"I will," you say, and leap lightly to your feet. "I should apologize." You leave them to talk quietly with each other.<br/>
<br/>
You turn on the back porch light, which brightly illuminates the tiny backyard, which is made even tinier by the large vegetable garden that runs along the back wall. It's cool under the dark sky, and Fatima is hugging her bare arms. You put an arm around her. "I'm sorry," you say. "I didn't mean to tease you."<br/>
<br/>
"Then what <i>did</i> you mean to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, maybe I did mean to tease you. A little bit. To be totally honest with you, Fatima," you sigh, "I'm getting more than a little tired of you moping over DeMarcus. Either he's not worth it, or he's worth doing something about."<br/>
<br/>
"He's not interested in me anymore, which is why I broke up with him."<br/>
<br/>
"But you're interested in him. And when I say he's worth doing something about, I mean he's worth <i>doing something to.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
She looks over at you. "I thought you were talking about <i>Molly</i> with that-- That thing!"<br/>
<br/>
"No, I was talking about DeMarcus. Molly doesn't have to come into it, and we don't have to do anything to or with Molly or anyone else. Not to hurt them. Just use their faces with DeMarcus."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't want to be <i>them</i> with DeMarcus. I want to be <i>myself</i> with him."<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, I get that. But what if Molly or one of them started doing to DeMarcus what he did to you? What if she was really sweet and attentive to him one day, and then totally blew him off the next?"<br/>
<br/>
"But that would be--"<br/>
<br/>
"You're not listening. We don't do that 'replacement' thing. I told you, that would be wrong. But you could do yourself up as Molly, and go hang out with him while we kept the real Molly occupied. The next time he saw Molly, of course, she wouldn't know what was going on, and would blow him off or something. Like he did with you. And then you go back to him as Molly. Screw with his head."<br/>
<br/>
She shivers. "That would be awful."<br/>
<br/>
"Like he was awful with you."<br/>
<br/>
She thinks for a very long time, and you let her as you listen to the last crickets of the season. "But Molly <i>is</i> interested in him," she mutters. "I think."<br/>
<br/>
"So be someone else. Someone who <i>isn't</i> interested in him, but it would excite him if she was."<br/>
<br/>
Again, she thinks for a long time. Then she turns back toward the house. You follow.<br/>
<br/>
Inside, Jelena and Sienna look up with pale and vexed expressions. Fatima flops to the floor with a frown and picks up Sienna's mask. "Kendra Saunders," she says. "She would be perfect."<br/>
<br/>
Jelena and Sienna exchange glances. "For what?" the latter asks, sounding aghast.<br/>
<br/>
"For fucking with DeMarcus," Fatima says fiercely.<br/>
<br/>
You explain the idea to them, and amplify it to your own ends. Not only would Kendra be a perfect disguise for Fatima, she would be a good catch for your group as a spy.<br/>
<br/>
And with Fatima on board, the rest of the pieces fall rapidly into place. "I don't think any of us can get to Kendra," you say as you thoughtfully stroke your throat. "But what about Kelsey? Sienna, you talk to Kelsey. Think you could get a mask of her? Then we use that face to get to Kendra."<br/>
<br/>
"If you want to know what's going on with Kelsey and Karl--" Jelena starts.<br/>
<br/>
"I've got Charles for that," you retort. "In the meantime, Yell, how about you see if you can get Shep Tsosie's face."<br/>
<br/>
That elicits a sharp gasp. "How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"To get to Jason, of course. You want to do something about him. So do all of us. For Charles's sake, right?" Three pairs of eyes shoot around the circle. "Shep gets to Jason. We get a copy of Jason." You laugh. "How much fun would it be for Jason to get caught in a seriously compromising position?"<br/>
<br/>
The first fish was hard to score. The other two came with their own barrels.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You call Caleb afterward to report your progress and hear about his. "James, Carson and Paul," he tells you with a chortle. "And boy have I got them shitting in their pants."<br/>
<br/>
"How is that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Never mind, but it's brilliant. You should talk to Steve about it, though. He's in charge. Come to think of it, that's where you'll find the real me."<br/>
<br/>
You curse the golem out good and hard before hanging up. And you don't call Patterson. Instead, you just text him, saying you'll need three masks, and that you'll be returning the book to him tomorrow via the Garners.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"You're not acting like Shep," you tell Jelena in a reproving tone as you walk toward the mall. It's Saturday. You didn't have a mask for her, but you did have a mind strip, which she'd taken with her to school on Friday. She called you last night to say she'd gotten close to him in Fernandez's History class (where he usually slept) and gotten it onto and off him without anyone noticing.<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't put it on yet," she says. "I'm not looking forward to it."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, if we're going to get you a wardrobe to go with the face, you'd better get it on. I don't want to waste time in the wrong stores." You steer her over to a bench in front of the entrance and push her onto it. With a grimace, she puts the band to her forehead.<br/>
<br/>
You sit next to her with an arm around her shoulder. It's too bad she isn't your type. You're too much alike in terms of personality to really mesh, and her style--black clothes and librarian glasses; a smoker and a drinker--is a turn off. You like them cuddly. Like Chelsea. You kick yourself for not following up on that yet.<br/>
<br/>
She sits up with a start and looks around with a dark look. "Yell," you carefully ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," she grunts, and kneads her forehead. "Shit. It's as nasty as I thought it would be." She snorts. "Actually, it's kind of fun." She paws herself.<br/>
<br/>
"Stop that."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay. But we're at the wrong place. He gets his stuff at the second-hand shops."<br/>
<br/>
You start to rise, but she sits back with a startled look on her face. "Lynch," she says hollowly. "Someone else can make those masks. They got a copy of him!"</span></div></div>


