The Mask becomes You
Part 19
I inhale sharply as a piercing pain erupts in my heart, as if the words themselves have skewered me. I stare deeply into the purple shimmering eyes behind the mask and for the first time I truly comprehend the malice within. She doesn’t bat an eyelid, nor do anything to suggest that She had just informed me I was going to die. She just stares at me, and smiles.
“I… I…” My words fail me as my throat closes up, the dryness strangling the life out of me. I feel an arctic chill spread through my limbs and in my mind I can see myself lying on the floor, my eyes open but lifeless as my soul ebbs away into the beer-stained carpet.
“So, Tara, those are your choices.” The Mask sums up succinctly. “Leave and enjoy your freedom and your slaves, leaving Stacy’s fate a mystery, or let her live out her life in blissful servitude, and die for her.”
The Mask watches as I start to shake, my breaths coming thick and fast now. How was that a choice? Let my best friend die, or die myself? I don’t care what the mask says, if I walk out and leave Stacy to an unknown fate, she’s as good as dead. I can’t do that to her, I simply can’t.
But that leaves…
My mind races at a thousand miles an hour. I try to think of some incredible loophole or pull a secret reservoir of resistance out of my ass, but I’ve got nothing. The Mask knows it, and I know it. I slump as the world around me dulls and every cell in my body feels numb.
I haven’t fully comprehended my choice and the full grim reality of it by the time Stacy returns through the door moments later carrying a terrifyingly large and razor sharp-looking carving knife. She returns to stand in the spot she left from, sobbing softly. I look at her tear stained face, still beautiful when puffed up and red.
“Welcome back, Stacy dear.” The mask says, excitement present in Her wispy, otherworldly voice. “You’re just in time. Hold the knife point against your chest now.” She says it so calmly, so casually. “Not too firmly, there’s a good girl, we don’t want you to poke yourself accidentally with that thing, do we? Just on purpose, when I command it…”
“Tara…” Stacy croaks, terror lacing her voice as she stares in complete horror at her own hands that aren’t obeying her.
“Now now, Stacy dear, there’s no need to worry.” The Mask coos softly. “That is, so long as Tara has made her choice in the next thirty seconds. Now, Tara, the floor is yours.”
“Stacy!” I rasp, rushing to her side. As I get close, I’m deadly careful not to nudge the knife threatening to penetrate her heart. “Stacy, I need you to look at me now. Look at me and listen.”
“Tara, I’m scared.” Stacy replied, her voice a shrill panic. Her gaze was fixed intently on the knife “I’m so scared. I can’t control myself. I can’t do anything I want to do!”
“Stacy, it’s okay…” I soothe, placing my shaking hand upon her cheek. “I promise, it’s all going to be okay. Just look at me, Stacy. Look at me.”
“I… I can’t, Tara. I’m sorry, I can’t.” she sobs in reply. “My hands won’t listen to me. I don’t want to stab myself. I don’t want to die! Why won’t my hands move, Tara? Why can’t I put the knife down?”
“You will, Stacy. I promise. Just please look at me!” I plead with her. She needs to look into my eyes. If I can’t capture her gaze, I can’t use the power in me to take over her mind and make her put the knife down. I’m running out of time and I can feel an overwhelming panic threatening to consume me.
“I’m sorry.” Stacy sighs a deep exhale between her sobs. “I’m sorry this is happening. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”
“You’ve helped me more than you know. You always have.” I say weakly. She’s not going to look. Any second now, the mask is going to get bored and make her plunge the knife into herself. I place my hands on her wrists and grip firmly. I will fight with every ounce of strength I have left in me to protect her. To my dying breath.
“I’m mostly sorry I never told you…” she mutters, her hands shaking under my grip, but her eyes still fixed on the tip of the blade.
“Told me what?” I ask frantically.
“That I’m in love with you. That I want to be more than friends. That I want to risk ruining our friendship for a chance to be with you and that I’m the most selfish person in the world…”
Instantly, it feels like the world has shattered and fallen away from underneath me. Something in me clicks and I just stop feeling anything. I can’t. It’s too much to process, too much to comprehend. I’m trying to stop my best friend from killing herself at the command of a sadistic demonic mask from hell, and she’s in love with me. Before I can even ask questions like ‘Why?’ or ‘When?’ or ‘No really I’m awful, why?,’ she looks up at me.
“Tara?” her sparkling jade eyes are bloodshot with tears, and she looks at me fearfully yet bravely, expectantly yet uncertain.
“I…” I don’t have the words. Instead, I place one hand on the back of her head and stare deeply into her eyes.
Stacy, I love you too. I love you more than I thought I could ever love anything or anyone. I’ve been in love with you for years. I’ve always found you heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and I’ve always buried those feelings deep inside myself because I never dreamed you’d ever feel remotely the same way about me or that you were even into girls. I want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to sing and dance and hold your hand from here until we’re old and wrinkly and smell like prunes. But right now, the Mask has us completely in Her evil bitch claw grip, and there’s only one thing we can do to come out of this okay. I need to make you Her slave. Once I do that, She will make me Her slave as well, and then we’ll always be together, serving Her. It’s not my first choice, but this way we get to be together. It’s not my millionth choice, but it’s the only one I have. Please, don’t fight it, don’t give Her any excuse to hurt you. It will be okay. I swear. Just trust me.
The words leave my mind and I just know somehow that Stacy understands me. Before I can think or say anything else, she leans forward and kisses me.
As I close my eyes and kiss her back, I feel like perhaps I’ve died and gone to heaven. So many times in life you imagine something over and over, when you watch her sleep peacefully during sleepovers or when you’re beaming at her infectious laughter. I used to imagine kissing Stacy as a recurrent idle daydream so often, and yet I never imagined it would feel as good as this feels now. I can feel her passion radiating like a supernova, and for the briefest instant, all my worries are blown away. I’m in complete bliss as my lips and tongue meet hers. For that split half-second, nothing matters and everything is perfect. Never have I ever wished to hold onto a moment the way I want to hold onto this one.
But eventually, the moment passes, or rather is assassinated by an ethereal voice saying “How sweet.”
We both draw away from each other and glance at the mask, and reality reasserts itself around me. The Mask sits on Aileen’s face and controls her expression to make her look impatient.
“Time’s up, Tara dearest. I hope you’ve made your choice.”
“I have.” I reply. There’s no putting it off anymore. I turn back to Stacy.
Our eyes lock, and she gives me the slightest nod. The fear in her gaze has been replaced by grim determination. She’s ready. I wish I was.
“You are a slave to your Goddess.” I say, and I channel my will into Stacy. I can’t describe it, but it’s like I feel my words going into her mind, and her mind shifting in response. I would find it fascinating in any other situation, but right now, it’s heartbreaking.
“I am a slave to my Goddess.” she replies, sincerely and wholeheartedly. Her energy immediately changes. All the fear and uncertainty start to ebb away from her. I focus my energy, and continue.
“You obey Her in all things.”
“I obey Her in all things.”
I gently take the knife out of her unresisting hands. I bring it up to the neckline of her outfit and start to carefully cut my way down the fabric.
“Obedience is pleasure. Disobedience is suffering.”
Stacy repeats my words as the knife slices through her clothes.
“You exist to serve your Goddess the Mask. Everything you do will be to serve her.” The laces of Stacy’s corset give easily to the knife’s blade, and once cut, the corset slides down to her feet, revealing her smooth, slim body and perky breasts. I tremble, sinking to my knees, as I start to slice off her jeans. Still I speak words of conditioning to her receptive mind. Still she repeats those words back to me as their influence is etched into the depths of her subconscious.
“The Mask means everything to you, and everything else means nothing to you.”
My throat gets more and more painful and dry the more I deliver my binding words. Stacy stands with a dreamy smile on her face as I slice away her silk underwear.
“You don’t care about anything or anyone except your Goddess.” I say, standing again and once more staring deeply into Stacy’s eyes.
“I don’t care about anything or anyone except my Goddess.” Stacy repeats back joyously.
I place my free hand on her cheek. “You don’t care about me.” I say, and no matter how hard I try to fight it, I can feel the tears rolling down my cheeks.
“I don’t care about you.” Stacy says, now looking at me with hints of derision. Despite knowing she was going to say it, it still stings.
“I could die and you wouldn’t care at all.” I say hoarsely.
“You could die, and I wouldn’t care at all.” she agrees, her voice dispassionate and bored now.
I take a step back and look at the results of my words. Stacy now stands naked before the Mask and I. She has a cheeky smile on her face, and her eyes sparkle with obedience and desire. The Stacy I knew is gone, chained up by such thorough brainwashing. She will never again control her own body. What remains of her is a puppet. A fuck doll. A mindless slave fit only to serve, and programmed to do just that.
I feel empty myself. Broken. Defeated. I knew this was what I had to do to keep Stacy safe, but now that I see it, it doesn’t feel like I saved her at all.
“Welcome, slave.” The Mask says, a satisfied smile on Her face as She looks Stacy up and down. “I’m not sure if I’ll give you a name yet, or if you’ll just be slave.”
“Whatever you want, Goddess.” Stacy beams at her new ruler. “You can call me anything, and I will be anything for you.”
“Good girl. Your first task is to cut away all of those restrictive clothes from Tara. She won’t need them anymore.”
Numbness fills me as the knife is gently pulled from my hand. I barely feel my clothes being sliced away as Stacy circles me like a predator. She giggles as she tears the fabric away, telling me how much I will enjoy being a slave like her and how much she’s going to fuck me when I submit. Strips of cloth ripple to the floor and I zone out, knowing what is about to come. When I glance at the Mask, I see Her watching me with amusement and curiosity.
“No last quips, Tara?” She asks. “No final words of defiance?”
“No, Goddess.” I reply solemnly. The last of my clothing is cut away and falls to the floor. I stand naked next to Stacy who promptly gets onto her knees and presents herself to the Mask.
“Why not, Tara?” The Mask mocks me, “You were so full of such admirable spirit before.”
“Because you win, Goddess.” I breath out a harrowed breath as I sink to my knees right beside Stacy. “I lose, and you win, and I will be your slave now. I will do everything you say, I will obey you without question, and I will die for you.” I snatch the knife from Stacy and quickly turn it towards myself. “Right now.” I whisper, closing my eyes tightly as I grip the handle tightly with both hands and-
“WAIT.” The word vibrates into my skull and my hands freeze. The blade tip stops, only just touching my naked flesh and my hands shake as the tip hovers there. I feel a single bead of blood trickle down my naked body, and it feels like my heart has stopped completely. I open my eyes and feel a wave of satisfaction pouring out of the mask. Aileen is standing now, the Mask must have made her leap to her feet when I grabbed the knife. Huh, She’s getting better at possessing the passed out Aileen…
“You can put the knife down now, Tara. You won’t need it anymore.”
I feel my hands come under my own control again, but interestingly enough I don’t feel like I have to put the knife down. I quickly withdraw it from my skin, and then turn the blade over in my hands a few times. She’s left me in complete control of myself. Despite this, maybe because of it, I put the knife down on the floor next to Stacy anyway.
A sharp snort from one of the passed out bodies in the dim messy room reminds me that there are other people present. They have been easy to forget, the way they seem to melt into the furniture. There lies Felicity, her hand twitching slightly, her face half buried in the sofa, looking dead to the world
I then turn to the mask, and look up at her powerful, domineering eyes.
“Okay, Goddess.” I say. “What would you have me do?”
“I’m glad you asked, Tara dearest.” The Mask replies. “Do you notice now how I’m not entrancing you, manipulating you with my powers, or controlling you in any way?”
“I do, yes.” I reply. It’s true, I feel too void, too unwell, too pathetic and human to be under the Mask’s influence.
“Yet still you kneel. Still you call me Goddess. Tell me why.”
I mull it over. I mean, She knows the answer, but I know She wants to hear me say it.
“Because you’re powerful and I’m weak.” I finally say. “You’re in control and I’m not. You’re a Goddess and I’m a slave. Your slave.”
“Yes, Tara. Yes. I’m so proud of you.”
A flicker of happiness sparks within me at hearing this. And finally, I feel I understand.
“That’s what this was all about…” I utter as the truth dawns on me. “It wasn’t enough to control me with your power, you wanted to make me submit to you with my own mind… Why?”
“I knew you’d get it eventually, dearest Tara.” The Mask smiles warmly. I’m pleased the Mask is happy with me, even as I realise how fucked up that is. I feel like I’ve been broken, like the Mask has shattered my willpower and resolve into smithereens. Right now I so badly want to give up, to just be told what to do. I legitimately want to obey. I feel so conflicted by this I don’t even know where to begin. The idea of figuring out how I got here sounds like it’ll be too hard and painful, so I don’t try to think. I just stare up at the Mask expectantly. I’m so tired. I want it to be over. I want the Mask to enslave my mind. I want to obey.
“It’s simply because something given is more powerful than something taken.” She flashes a wide smile. “All those times I tried to make you tell yourself to become the mask… It would have transferred a measure of my essence and power into you, sure… But should you say it of your own volition, well... at least not directly influenced by my power, your willingness will make the transfer complete, and all my being, all of me would become you…”
The words bounce through my head. She wants me to surrender everything I am to absorb everything She is. I would truly become a Goddess. I would become the Mask.
“Yes, Tara dearest, you’re understanding now.” The Mask says, Aileen’s lips curling up in a way that makes me shiver. “The way you submit to me… It does matter.”
“Well, you win, Goddess.” I say wearily, letting the fatigue wash over me. I understand what She’s saying, and I remember how much the thought to order myself to become the mask has echoed through my mind. “I tried my hardest and I couldn’t beat you. So I surrender, I submit. I’ll be your slave. All I humbly beg of you is that you let me serve you at Stacy’s side”
“I’ll do you one better, Tara dearest.” The Mask says, leaning down towards me. “You’re going to be more than my slave. You will be my vessel. You will wear me and never take me off. I will be in complete control of you as you carry out my every bidding. You will be my host as I take over this world.”
“Okay.” I say. I consider what I’m agreeing to and figure, what the hell? She has taken Stacy from me, I want to be taken as well. “Whatever you command, Goddess. I obey.”
“Good girl, Tara.” The Mask slowly raises a juddering hand to Aileen’s face. “I knew you would be my most treasured slave. Now, look at me.”
I stare into the eyes of my Goddess. Those glowing, incandescent purple eyes with the golden flakes seem to pulse with power. They glimmer with focused intent for a moment, and then I feel it.
The Mask’s power slams into me with the force of a hurricane. My entire body clenches as the air is squeezed out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath.
“From the moment you place me upon your face, your mind, body, and soul will be entirely mine.” The Mask instructs firmly. “You will be utterly obedient to my every thought, and you will know that you exist to service my every need and want.”
The words pour into my mind. My exhaustion is washed away. My feelings of utter defeat dissolve completely. My sense of self, purpose, and independence are obliterated into nothing. Pleasure and electric joy explode within me, and as I draw in a deep lungful of air, I feel more elated and aroused than I have ever felt in my life. I can’t help but let out a low moan of ecstasy as the power of the Mask invades and conquers everything that I ever was.
Stacy squeals in excitement. “Oh, Goddess, seeing you completely dominate her is so fucking hot…”
I am the Vessel for my Goddess. I am Her host, and She will control me every moment of my life as I serve Her completely. I take comfort in knowing my place so definitively. I don’t feel a single doubt. I’m only missing one thing, and that is the Goddess within the Mask to sit upon my face where She belongs. I gaze up at my Goddess, my everything, my reason to exist, and pour every last ounce of love I can at her with my mind.
“Very good, Tara.” the Mask says sweetly. “We’re going to have a lot of fun together.”
Aileen’s hand grips the mask on her face and pulls the Mask off, handing it over to me. I reach out tentatively to grasp it, and when my fingers curl around it’s obsidian metal frame, I feel an incredible rush of power vibrate around my body. I almost cum instantly, the pleasure builds within me so much. I pant with pleasure and my eyes close as I savor this moment where my true life is going to begin.
Aileen’s eyes flutter closed and she stumbles backwards onto the sofa, her limbs turning to jelly as she collapses like a scattered house of cards, completely out cold. I smirk. She will be the first one my Goddess and I will enslave together. No more making slaves with their own lives and some remnant of autonomy. No, a fanatically devoted sex slave, utterly obedient and hopelessly powerless to my Goddess’s control… That feels more like it.
I turn to Stacy. Her eyes are wide and shimmering in hushed reverence, staring in captivation of the mask in my hand. She’s going to enjoy me putting it on almost as much as I am. I can’t and won’t delay any longer. My destiny awaits. I move to place the mask on my face.
Then it happens. Lightning fast and impossibly dexterous, Felicity leaps up from her prone position and snatches the mask from my unprepared fingers.
Stacy and I both snarl in fury as we leap to our feet, but it’s too late. The mask is already on Felicity’s face, framing her expression of grim determination. My hands stretch out to grab the Mask off her, to take back my Goddess so she can own me forever more, but Felicity is awake, and it is her eyes that I get lost in. I slow to a complete halt, my arms falling limply to my side. I feel Stacy trapped motionless beside me as well, equally caught and mesmerized by Felicity’s gaze.
“Tara… Stacy…” Felicity says between heavy breaths. I try to figure out how to break her power over me. How can I get past those eyes and free myself to complete the Mask’s takeover of my life, body, and everything? I must let myself become the Mask’s Vessel now! It’s my only purpose! The reason I exist!
But the Mask is no longer in control of Her host, She’s back to doing what She did with me, implanting thoughts, altering ideas. But all that is subtle, the Mask’s power is greatest pointing outwards, not inwards. Felicity may succumb to the Mask’s influence, but not now, certainly not instantly.
Stacy and I both shudder as we try to resist the calm energy flowing through us. Already, I feel like this is nice, to be caught in Felicity’s gaze. She has the mask now, I should pay attention to her. A dreamy smile seeps into my face. Yes, it is good to feel so relaxed and calm as I stare into those eyes. Perhaps Felicity will be the Goddess now...
Felicity catches her breath. She looks weary and ill, the way I felt when I woke up, but her determination keeps her staring intently at Stacy and myself.
“Alright you two…” she says firmly. “I want you both to listen very closely…”