'Oh dear'? thought Dabbler furiously. What do you mean 'oh dear'?
Well, look at this, responded the virtual-Zorlond Original the true Original of Zorlond had implanted in his brain. I was expecting one of you would be encountering a BE Addventure scenario from my past, probably one I'd messed up on like the 'Jim's family' thread, but this--!
This, indeed. It was an Addventure scenario, all right. But hardly one from the current BE Addventure.
Dabbler stood looking at the scene, appalled. He was in an ordinary suburban living room, from the look of it, decked out for a child's birthday party. And there were children galore, but hardly children having that kind of party. Nor did the hired entertainment appear to be doing his proper job....
For his part, Landis the Great, professional if minor-league magician available for both public and private events, was too engrossed in his current depravity to have yet noticed the newcomer. After all, this was the sort of thing he had always fantasized about, and never actually dared try. Now, though, now that he had the power....
He wasn't going to hurt them, of course. He did have the power. The power to ensure all these children would remember nothing of this after it was all over. He was just planning to play a bit. Make up, in some small measure, for the years of professional humiliations, the years of repressing what he was, the years of--ah, who was he kidding? He was going to enjoy this!
He was naked, of course. He and everyone else in the room. And thanks to the power, his nude body was now that of a Greek god, while those of the children, formerly prepubescent, had been forced into early sexual maturity, to various extreme degrees. Esthetically, it was exquisite. Watching them all, in their newfound, uncontrolable lust, exploring their own and each other's flesh almost made him spend then and there. So innocent -- they didn't even really know what they were supposed to do. But they were finding out! He already had his eye on two or three of the prettier girls, whose education he would soon be furthering personally....
"Zorlond!" somebody shouted. "Great T, man, what are you doing?"
Now he saw the interloper. An older teen, fully clothed, with straw-colored, straight-cut hair, his face a mask of fury. He seemed ... familiar, somehow.
For a moment, panic stabbed through Landis' heart. Then he remembered. The power, I've got the power.... He laughed, uncertainly at first, then with increasing sureness. "Ah, who's this, an older brother to one of my little mice? But not too old, I'm happy to see. Join us, my young friend. Believe me, it will be like nothing you've ever before experienced." He waved a hand, casually, and watched the newcomer's clothing melt away, his eyes begin to glaze as he took a hesitant step forward--
--and halted, renewed anger flaring in his eyes. "Oh no you don't, Zorlond, you're not going to take me that easy. Come on, man, snap out of it, look at what you're doing--"
The disquiet returned. How does he know my new name? Landis wondered. How can he know of the Other, the powergiver? "W-who are you?" he demanded. His sudden fear made the question almost a squeak.
"Oh, you know me well enough," the teen retorted. "The question is, who are you? I know you, friend. I know both of you. Whatever your obsessions, your passions, you don't do this sort of thing. Not when you know it's people. Oh, you might write it, commit in fiction what you wouldn't in fact, but to do it in person, to real, living individuals? No, Zorlond. This ... filth ... just isn't your style."
Landis shot to his feet in a sudden fury. "Who are you to judge me?" he screamed. "How can you know all this and not know none of this is real? I'm not, you're not, none of these stupid little pawns! Only the Other, the one who's taken me, who's given me the Power! I see that, now!"
"Do you?" the stranger shot back. "But the Other isn't with you, now, Zorlond, remember? He's withdrawn. You can't put ... this on anyone else; there's only you, now. This is your sick dream you're playing out."
"No!" Landis screamed. "You're lying--!"
"Really? Look inside, then. Find your 'Other.' Prove it!"
"He's with me," Landis answered sullenly. "He's always with me. He gives me the Power. I'll show you...."
It was his first, his only mistake. He looked inside, just as the stranger had demanded. And he found ... only himself.
No, oh no, oh no no nononononononoooooooooo....
Now you've done it, the virtual-Zorlond informed Dabbler sourly.
Go back - Go to the parent episode.
Sun Sep 19 00:01:06 2004
Linking Enabled