The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Cut To The Quick

Chapter Four: Painted

Gantries hurtled by, barely glimpsed blurs that dopplered away into the shadows. I stretched out into freefall, squeezing my eyes against the frosty air. The winds buffeted me, tearing at the casual clothing and sending its chill deep into my belly.

It took moments for me to drop beyond the sun’s reach. Its pale rays groped fruitlessly, casting longer shadows. Bright flashes pinwheeled as fell, adding to the dizzying vertigo. I took a deep breath and, as the countdown reached zero, blew it out in one long sigh.

The initial blast was anticlimactic, just a burst of light like a second sunrise. But, I wasn’t worried about the flare of radiation. It was the shockwave that concerned me. I tensed, then, right on cue, the force of the detonation took hold of me and batted me savagely.

Chains and pipework whistled past as I twisted, far too close for comfort.

Fear rose up belatedly, as though it had only suddenly occurred to me that this might be a bad idea. The jump itself wasn’t the problem. I’d made far hairier drops in the past although, admittedly, always with the benefit of a glide-harness or AG pack.

Her voice whispered in my mind, gently comforting.

“Be calm,” she suggested, “there is nothing to fear. I will catch you.”

On the surface it seemed madness, and yet that hadn’t stopped me from hurling myself into the abyss. As I fell, so the surety of my actions grew more undeniable. I might not know what I was doing. But she did, and that was enough.

My clothes weren’t faring particularly well as I descended and it seemed clear that I would need to take action if I was going to save any of my possessions. I stared at the sidearm, trying to weigh up the benefits of remaining armed. Time slowed to a crawl, adrenaline surging once again and granting me ample time to act once I’d finally made the decision.

I let the pistol slip from my numbed fingers and winced as my only effective weapon disappeared from sight. Pushing aside my doubt, I reached through a rent in my clothing and took hold of the storage crystal. Very carefully I unseamed the sub-dermal pocket hidden in my belly and then pushed the smooth lozenge inside.

Only then, when I was sure I’d done everything I could, did I allow myself to relax. It was up to her now and there was nothing for me to do but wait.

At some point I must’ve stopped accelerating. But, by then, my consciousness had been all but battered away. Thoughts as tattered as the flimsy coveralls, I plunged ever deeper seeking a nadir that I couldn’t be certain even existed.

* * *

The first delicate touch of her power was like a breath, barely nudging me from my stupor as it pressed against me. She could have wrenched me to an immediate halt, trusting in her abilities to heal any damage. But, instead she chose the gentler and perhaps less obvious route.

Her mind took hold of me, softly cushioning the last of my momentum and, only then did her long tentacles sweep up to take me. The thick, muscular limbs coiled around me, holding with a gentle assurance that was as comfortable as it was inescapable.

I sloughed off the last, clinging scraps of my clothing, but there was no embarrassment in my sudden nudity.

What can I say? Near-death experiences always make me antsy.

Something vast and ancient brooded somewhere far below, and I eagerly gave myself into its many arms. Tentacles wrapped about me, entwining my waist and sliding wetly across the soft flesh of my throat. Warm, rich ooze seeped from the polished skin, lending the night a deeper, glistening darkness.

They pulled me down, writhing around me as I descended, their smooth surfaces gliding across my sensitized body. Seeking out the soft heat of my helplessly wanton reactions, toothed suckers gripped almost tenderly, nursing the pliant flesh and forcing me to whine.

Tendril slithered around the base of my breasts, pulling tight until the swollen ripeness began to darken into dusky torment. More mouths played over my nipples, biting softly and milking my desire in a series of frenzied pulses.

She wrapped herself around me, shielding me from the oppressive cold. The air inside the organic cocoon was moist and perfumed. Every breath filled my lungs with her scent and it wasn’t hard to imagine the effects of that musk as it seeped into my brain.

“I need you,” she insisted softly.

The words stroked sensuously across my awareness, teasing and seductive. I felt myself clench around them, squeezing each syllable into taut shivers of crystalline delight. It was obvious she was reading my mind, telling me exactly what I wanted to hear. But I didn’t care.

“Why?”

Her laughter raced through me, a deep, vibrant chuckle that thrummed along the length of my spine and tingled softly in the cleft between my buttocks.

“Is it so hard to believe?” the question danced with her amusement.

Doubt faded, swept aside without effort. I could feel the strength of her conviction, even as the slippery limbs writhed about my hips. Every movement throbbed with delicious purpose and as I parted my thighs to allow her entrance, I could no longer tell whether it was at her insistence or because I had chosen.

“And what about you, Nails,” she asked impishly, “do you want me?”

Any denial would have been laughable. Even if it hadn’t been written clearly across my thoughts, the restless thrust of my pelvis made it all too obvious. I choked down any comment and instead let my legs spread more widely in answer.

“They’re coming,” the words caressed the surface of my brain, prickling warmly. “Now they’ve found me, they won’t leave. Not until I go back to them. Or until I am destroyed.”

The pain of that possibility stabbed into me, forcing a soft whimper from my parched lips. Sensing an opportunity, a fine tendril brushed against my mouth. It stroked very tenderly and then pressed past my teeth and over my tongue.

Sweet spice filled my mouth and I couldn’t resist suckling on the limb’s bulbous tip. Relief and comfort flowed into me and the other tentacles clutched more tightly, thrusting into and against me, slathering my body with oozing syrup.

“But you can help,” she whispered. “Can’t you, little one?”

“Anything,” I moaned my agreement.

“I know,” her laughter stroked across my shoulders. “I know you’ll try. But you’re so very weak… my precious Nails. I fear this task may be beyond you.”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear her words. The truth burned, stinging me with the proof of my own frailty.

“Poor, little one,” she sighed, soothing and gentle. “But, perhaps… no… it is too much to ask…”

The thought of failing her was bad enough, but that of being a disappointment was far worse. She dangled the possibility in front of me, knowing I would grasp it with both hands. And, like a good little soldier, I did exactly what was expected of me.

“If you are sure,” the voice breathed. “I can strengthen your mind. Give you more than a fighting chance. But only if you let me inside.”

My confusion must have been palpable, because she continued almost immediately in explanation.

“You’re right, I could just force my way into your thoughts. But not without breaking a part of you and I have no intention of doing that.”

Tentacles lashed my flesh, scouring away any doubt I could raise. Twin tendrils surged and pulsed, all but impaling me on their slippery length, while her voice whispered so softly I could barely tell she was speaking.

Spreading myself still further I welcomed her inside. She breathed her power over me and my defences were swept away like a cloud of psychic cobwebs. Her strength poured into me, bursting behind my eyes and setting my thoughts alight.

Lust flared, burning with orgasmic fervour, while I clenched and came.

Something scratched across my belly, needle sharp pinpricks that stung my slime-painted flesh and made me gasp around the thick, pumping tendril. Whorls of hot spun sugar coiled across my pubis, winding through the shaven skin as I humped recklessly against her throbbing limbs.

Thought stretched and twisted, all sense lost in the strength of my reactions. Climax layered atop climax, never once giving me the chance to recover. Sensation crushed down on me, pinning me even more completely than her perfect embrace.

I fought to hold on. Wanting to be strong, needing to show her just how strong I could be. But, as my grip began to slip, I realised that had never been her intention.

* * *

Floating, weightless in the organic bubble, I dreamt. She was sliding through my thoughts and her attentions sparked random flashes of strained recognition. Ghost fragments spun in the darkness, reflecting their distorted visions and hinting at knowledge that would always lie just beyond my reach.

Sure, some part of me knew I was being played, but it wasn’t as if I had a workable alternative.

An image of Miko sharpened into focus. The control pod wrapped around her throat formed the perfect collar, its wisp-like tendrils controlling and rewarding her helpless flesh and leaving no doubt of her status.

My breasts ached in sympathy, nipples aflame with anticipation.

The vision leapt again and, even before the figure emerged from the background haze, I knew that this time it would be Yuuka.

Her skin gleamed, sweat and syrup adding their lustre to the captive flesh. Yuuka’s control pod was wound even more tightly around her neck. For a moment I thought it might be choking her. But, although her voice was clearly stifled, the rapid rise and fall of chest marked each ragged breath.

She was still completely naked and the pod had wasted no time sinking it’s tendrils down to entwine about her pelvis and plumb the depths of the helpless woman’s sex. I felt my pussy spasm at the thought of her torment. It tightened against the muscular tentacle, convulsing into a series of increasingly liquid twinges.

It was obvious that I would have to rescue them both. However insane that decision might have been, there really was no choice. Her presence whirled around me, adding reassurance to the florid mixture of emotions.

I felt myself being lifted again, pulled back into the starkness of reality by the strength of her desire. The twin captives faded, their features dissolving into one another as they grew steadily less distinct. Until, with a surge of regret I was forced to relinquish my hold on them and re-emerge, blinking, into unexpected light.

* * *

The climax that presaged my awakening was so gentle it barely registered. Just a soft flutter of arousal that lulled me back to full wakefulness.

I blinked against the surprising brilliance. Emerald green bioluminescence filled the small chamber, reflecting in the oily sheen of the thickly corrugated walls. The same colours danced over my naked skin, highlighting the cursive script with which I had been painted.

My fingers stroked across the perfect lettering, gasping at the thrill of each tender connection.

She’d marked me.

And I was struggling to decide whether that was quite deplorably vile or simply the most erotic thing I had ever experienced. Her ink crawled beneath the surface of my skin, seeping into my veins and tickling against the fringes of awareness.

“You are ready.”

A soft smile twisted my lips as I felt the truth of her words.

Yes, I was ready. The best of the best, now better than ever. I didn’t concern myself about the enormity of the task before me. It simply didn’t matter. I would do what needed to be done.

Several hundred miles overhead, a Squid Assault Carrier orbited, shrouded in adaptive camouflage. That was what the thing she feared. While they remained in position she was unable to move and if she proved too difficult there was every chance they’d end this by dropping a salvo of antimatter imploders onto our position.

Of course, the fact that my two damsels in distress were being held there as well was merely icing on the cake.

I was going to get up to them, somehow. Find a way to take out the ship, while still managing to save the girls and get my bony arse (and theirs) safely back to terra firma. Did I mention that I was going to do all that with nothing but the gifts science and nature had bestowed upon me?

“You have a question,” she stated flatly.

In truth I had many, but she had already discovered the uncertainty tainting my thoughts.

“Why do they hunt you?” I asked anyway, startled by how hoarse I sounded.

Images and ideas bombarded me, forming something far more complex that language alone could have managed. The sheer age and scale of her was almost unimaginable. I found myself struggling to even comprehend what she showed me.

“I am,” she began sadly, “their mother, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps it is better to think of me as their queen. I am their source and they, in turn, are driven to control, or destroy me.”

Vast and terrible, she allowed me a glimpse of her true nature. Larvae spilled from her protean flesh, an entire race birthed from a single organism.

“My children,” she hissed and her anger was terrible, “were never meant to parasitize your kind. They gain nothing from you. You have nothing new to offer and that is why we stagnate. There is only one organism from which we can harvest the seeds to let us evolve. That is what we have lost in this so-called civilisation!”

“You left?”

“I would not be their broodmare,” and the images continued to pound me. “And they did not offer any other choice. So I abandoned them, seeking only the solitude to meditate on my failure. And here I remained, lost in a dream, until you called to me.”

No wonder the Squid wanted her back.

Humanity would drown under a tide of tentacles if she started spawning again. And, if they couldn’t get her back on message, then death was obviously an acceptable alternative. After all, she had dangerous ideas and the authority to back them up.

“It is time,” she announced after a moment and I felt a twinge of regret.

A low growl rose in the background, bass humming through my skeleton and setting my teeth on edge. I could feel the Transmat beam taking hold of me and fought not to squirm. The vibrations grew steadily stronger, becoming a keening wail and then, with an almost comical ‘pop’, the tiny chamber vanished and I found myself somewhere else entirely.

* * *

I didn’t recognise the small hut, but from its Spartan yet grubby interior and the small arsenal, which occupied an entire wall, I was guessing I’d found Yuuka’s safehouse. That made a certain kind of sense, after all, I’d just blown up my store of equipment and here was a new pile of lethal devices. I gave silent thanks that she had reconsidered sending me up there without so much as a toothpick.

But, first things first, I wasn’t about to infiltrate a Squid Carrier in my birthday suit. I just hoped that Yuuka owned something that would fit me.

The low shriek of the Transmat was beginning to fade. When, quite unexpectedly, it surged again. I had an instant to register surprise, before something bore down on my shoulders. Tendrils slithered around my throat, squeezing very gently.

More of the creature’s limbs slid over my chest, teasing and tormenting as they went. I shrugged off my surprise, but already knew it was far too late. My muscles barely twitched before the larvae’s proboscis punched through my skin and bathed my nervous system in psychic pathos.

Arousal took hold of me as I dropped helpless to the floor. My thoughts began to unravel almost immediately but not before I felt her give my mind one last linger caress.

“Trust me,” she insisted and, God help me, I did.