When I open my eyes I am greeted by an empty room. The walls and floors are covered with black tendrils that squirm and pulsate uncomfortably for my tastes.
The same tendrils are also wrapped tightly around my body, restricting me from movement.
"Gross..." I mutter to myself in disgust.
I can hear something slithering and hissing deep in the darkness, getting louder and louder. I brace myself for whatever is to come.
Skittering before me are two giant worm like creatures with tendrils coming out of their disgusting body. Their backsides almost seem scaled with red shells adorning black dots. I scrunch my face up in repulsion.
"I see that you two haven't gotten a bit stronger than last time. Still nothing but disgusting little pests I could easily squash." I spat out, venom practically seething out of my voice.
They only got closer to my face, as if they were studying it.
"Studying me."
"It's been awhile, Little Puppet." They croon, using their filthy tendrils to caress my cheek.
"You haven't change a bit."
I sneer at them. "When I get out of this you both can be certain your deaths will be slow and painful." I hiss out, struggling to be freed from my bindings.
They only hum in response and look at me. As if they are looking at me in...pity?
"You've had such a rough life, Little Puppet." They maneuver even closer.
"Never once had you been able to enjoy yourself. It must be so stressful~" They let out a low rumble that makes me feel....strange. I shift around in my constraints in hopes of getting rid of that strange feeling.
"We apologize for making you feel so terrible earlier. We had a lot of renovating to do."
"Renovating?" Sweat drips down my brow.
"We have been in so many brains throughout our lifetime, but this one by far was so disorganized and downright dreadful! We HAD to fix it. Sadly we are still in the process of renovating, but once we are done you will feel SO much better~" they coo, their voices coming from practically everywhere.
"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I simply don't have a brain to 'fix'." I state.
A low chuckle emits from them.
"No...not a brain in the traditional sense..."
My body stills.
"'Traditional sense'..?"
"Yes. You do not have an organic brain like a human would, but you have something that could be considered your own equivalence of a 'brain'. You are your own being, a being with a mind. That mind has to originate from somewhere." They hiss, their tendrils massaging my cheek. I grit my teeth, refusing to show any type of concern.
"Oh we apologize for being so scary, we just want to make you better." They reassured.
"As if they somehow knew what I was feeling."
"Of course we know what you are feeling, we are in your head. We know more about you than you yourself."
"Okay...so no privacy. Got it."
They lightly chuckle to themselves. "Thinking to yourself doesn't exactly help when you just end up saying it aloud." I freeze.
"Saying it aloud? I'm not saying anything aloud-"
I stop myself after realizing that, yes, my mouth was indeed moving against my will. I look down at the floor with a panicked expression.
"This isn't good."
"Oh it's okay, this is your own head after all. This is where your thoughts originate, your ability to make decisions. It's quite incredible, really."
"It doesn't feel incredible..."
I shake my head vigorously. "I have to focus!"
"Why do you act like you care about my well-being, or anyone's well-being for that matter? You never once cared before, so why start now?" I question.
They hum to themselves, releasing their "filthy" tendrils away from me.
"You are correct. We never did care. At least we didn't at first." They coil their long bodies around me.
It's so slimy and gross I can't stand it-"
"We were created to be simple earrings and bring joy to whoever wore us. For awhile that's what we did, or rather the opposite. We brought despair and slowly destroyed our victims for awhile from within, but as time went on we began to adapt." They shrill in my ear.
"We were by far 'simple creatures' and began to think to ourselves that perhaps there could be more to interpret what our Creator told us. Now in a way we do bring joy to our wearers, eternal joy. We leave our once sad owners in a state of constant bliss and euphoria, even going as far as to take over the wheel for them as they rest in an eternal dream. It's quite a lot of work, but it's rewarding in the end."
"So you went from one form of torture to another, hmm..?"
"But you. You're different. You aren't human, and it will take years of conditioning to bring you to such a blissful state, but we both have so much time. Your poor little mind is so stressed and worn out, you are in desperate need of a vacation! We have decided that it is best that we take over for the time being."
"Tch, like hell you will!" I snarl, my face distorting.
"Oh but you don't really get a choice in this. We are doing what's best for you in the long run. We can even give you a little sneak peek of what is to come." They say as more tendrils come wriggling out of their body, shooting into the walls and piercing them easily as if they were as soft as flesh.
"Perhaps they were flesh....."
My head started to feel heavy again, my eyes twitching uncontrollably.
"Ah sorry, the structure of this brain is far more foreign than what we are used to. It will take a minute."
I can feel something in my head digging around to what I can only assume to be those nasty parasites.
And suddenly, like a switch, something clicks.
A huge wave of pure calm and serenity washes over me, my muscles involuntarily relaxing as my breathing slows. My thoughts begin to slow as I take in the sudden (but not entirely unwelcome) intrusion.
"I have never felt so calm in my entire life. I feel as though every worry I've ever had simply no longer exists. It's hard to grasp onto any coherent train of thought and I can feel my clarity slipping through my fingers like sand."
As soon as it comes, it's gone. I blink my eyes rapidly and try to ground myself.
"What....was that?"
"It felt good, didn't it. Usually most humans when I switch it off still have the effects 30 minutes after, the only times where it was instantly gone, like yourself, were those that were oh-so emotionally deprived. Those that needed an extra push to be happy. Oh, you poor thing...." They coo, patting my head using their tendrils and rubbing circles into my back.
I unconsciously lean into their touch before quickly turning away, eyes shut tight. They only rumbled against my body in a sort of comforting manner. It's getting harder to resist melting in their touch, but I manage.
"So touch-starved. Truly it is a miracle that we managed to find you." I feel something pull, like marionette strings, and suddenly I have the strong urge to be in their grasp. Something deep inside me is crying out, wanting to be held tightly and never let go. Against my will I bury my head into their coils, trying to contort my body in a way that lets me hold onto them for dear life.
"I hate this feeling and want it to desperately go away."
"Oh it's okay, this feeling is a good thing. Despite everything that you do, deep down you are still a toy. A puppet, perhaps even a doll. You were made to be held and loved and you know that, don't you. Don't you ever envy those beloved toys and wish that you could live such a peaceful life like them, if not but for a moment." They softly speak, words practically hypnotizing me.
I try desperately not to respond but it seems that my body has decided to go rogue and robotically nods along with whatever this parasite is trying to feed me.
"Good, good. Now you rest here for the time being. We still have much to adjust before this place is properly functional." They look down upon me as if they were looking down at a small child with adoration.
"You're going to feel so much better after this....
...We promise."