Settling In - Spirals - Part 7

 Key: FD, FF, MC,

Description: Xander confronts Nadia while Brenda arrives to try and save Sara from Midnight.

    As the subliminal messages continued pumping through the nightclub, causing all sorts of wonderful changes in the oblivious patrons, things weren’t going quite as smoothly in the DJ booth. Tammy still sat at her workstation, completely oblivious to Celene who was passed out on the floor next to her. But what was more impressive was that she was also completely unaware of the screaming match taking place right next to her between Xander and Nadia.

    “You have no right to be here!” shouted Nadia angrily. “This was my gig! I was hand picked for it!”

    “So was I! I guess they didn’t have faith that you could handle the job!” Xander snapped back just as sharply. “Why do you even want this job? You’re always jumping from scheme to scheme and then running away, why do you want to do this again? You hated it the first time!”

    Nadia caught herself as a tear began to form in her eye and quickly shifted her expression back into one of solid resolve. “Why are you even here? Your failure at the last club is what made it go under and cost us all our jobs!”

    “I lost just about everything in my life!” Xander shouted, looking angrier than Nadia had ever seen. “I lost just about every friend I ever had! And then I found this place again…and it has people I know here. People that actually still give a damn about what happens to me. It’s a chance to try and rebuild my life from the ground up. So fuck you for trying to take that from me!” 

Among Us (N.C.U./Spirals) - Round 3

 Key: MC, FD, FF, Hypno

Description: With all fingers pointed at Midnight, the remaining girls need to figure out how to incapacitate the centuries old succubus. Is this the end of the game?

The Sitting Room
    Midnight had cast her vote for Rayne, even though she still wasn’t convinced that she was behind any of this. Jessy had also cast a much more nervous vote for Rayne…but, to Midnight’s surprise, Rayne, and Laura both raised their hands to vote against Midnight. And finally, a very nervous Abigail slowly raised her finger…and pointed it at Midnight. The succubus looked at the row of girls with a disbelieving smirk, raising her eyebrow. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She said, more to herself than the others.  

    Abigail cleared her throat. “I...I don’t think so. I guess it’s you, Midnight. I’m sorry”

    Midnight shook her head. “It’s alright, but now you have a very…interesting problem before you.” She said as her smirk turned into a devious grin. “How exactly…DO...four mortal women subdue a succubus?”

    “Get her!” Abigail shouted as she charged the much taller woman. Unfortunately for her, everyone else was too lost in their own thoughts or nervousness to notice Abigail’s call to arms. As a result, no one joined in and the amateur hypnotist ran face first into Midnight as she attempted to tackle her.

Settling In - Spirals - Part 6

 Key: FD, FF, MC,

Description: The subliminals in the club begin to push Midnight’s thoughts in a new direction. (Parts of this story were a requested commission).

    Midnight sat back and looked around the club with a smile. Across the room she could see Xander with his feet up, enjoying his hypnotic handiwork in the form of the three young women who were dancing sexily on stage. It was a quiet night…for a nightclub that was, by all accounts, in full swing. Her friend, Veo, had tasked her with ensuring that Xander survived his first night as manager of the club. As far as she could tell, he was doing just fine.

    And then something shifted in the music and a new track began to play in the background…a subliminal track. One that, from the sounds of it, was designed to bring out the more...dominant and submissive tendencies of everyone inside. Quite a naughty thing to do to a club full of young, nubile test subjects, but not unexpected for a nightclub that was dedicated to hypnosis.

    Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one to notice the subliminals. As she turned her head in Xander’s direction, she saw that he had already bolted to his feet and was running up the stairs. “Where is he going?” she thought to herself as she listened to the subliminals and smiled. She had always loved the tingling feeling that she got in the back of her mind when she listened to the commands hidden in the subliminal messages. The fact that she could hear them and willingly let them alter her thoughts, not to mention being able to understand what they were doing to her, made her feel twice as devious. It was like she was peeking behind the curtain to see what strings were being pulled. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine until she remembered she was supposed to be keeping an eye on Xander.

Settling In - Spirals - Part 5

 Key: FD, MD, FF, FM, MC

Description: With the night in full swing, Nadia makes her move.

    By all accounts, the grand re-opening of Spirals’ was, without a doubt, a success. The music was thumping, the dance floor was full, and three lovely ladies onstage were swaying their hypnotized bodies for the enjoyment of the crowd. Xander was relaxing at a nearby table, admiring his handiwork while Midnight kept a close eye on him from the shadows, ensuring that the incubus didn’t cause too much trouble.

    But on the entry level of the club, things were about to take a turn. Nadia watched the dancers onstage and couldn’t help but notice how smug Xander looked as he enjoyed their performance. “Two can play at this game…” she said, grinning deviously and strutting over to the DJ booth.

    Tammy was busy flipping through the list of songs on the computer screen and bouncing to the music that was playing in her headphones. She’d listen to a few seconds of a song and then slot it into the playlist before moving on to the next, it was a fantastically complex process that she had mastered years ago. Her job was to keep track of the audience’s mood and balance the pace of the songs to give them a break every now and again. Of course in doing this she still managed to keep them moving in the direction that the club wanted, high energy with just a hint of danger and the promise of sex. Just like any other nightclub. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t notice the door opening up behind her as Nadia snuck into the booth.

    The redheaded hypnotist smiled as she shook her head. “I should have known you’d be oblivious, you always were.” she said deviously as she reached into her pocket. “Lets see if we can’t put that level of focus to some good use.” Carefully and silently, she moved behind Tammy and dropped a crystal pendant in front of her eyes.

Settling In - Spirals - Part 4

 Key: MD, MC, Hypno

Description: Xander arrives for his first night of work at Spirals.  

    Xander walked into Spirals to find the party had already started, despite it being quite early in the evening. The music was going, and there were several people seated at the bar on the top floor, which was at street level. Numerous groups were seated in the tabled area on the second floor, and multiple people were on the dance floor at the lowest level. All three floors shared the same ceiling so you could see the dance floor from the main entrance even though it was two floors below.

    As he surveyed the club, he found Tammy bouncing to the music in the DJ booth while Celene leaned up against a wall in the corner, keeping a watchful eye. There was no sign of Nadia yet, but Xander could feel his skin crawling and knew she was around…somewhere. However, as he scanned the room he was pleasantly surprised to find Dr. Stacy on the dance floor, she appeared to have a friend with her but other than that the two were mostly alone.

    He made his way down the stairs to the edge of the floor and snuck up behind her. She was so focused on the music and her dancing that she never even noticed him there until he poked her in the sides. She let out a high pitched yelp and rapidly spun around, much to the surprise of her friend. “Xander!” she shouted as she wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. “How are you doing?” she asked.

    “I’m good.” he said, returning the hug. “Tonight’s my first night working here as…well, as manager I guess.” As he said this, he realized that he still wasn’t entirely clear on what his job duties were, other than being physically present.

    “Shouldn’t you know what your job is?” Stacy said, giving him a playful smile. 

Settling In - Spirals - Part 3

 Key: MD, MC, Hypno, Plot

Description: In an effort to calm his temper, Xander stops by a coffee shop and finds the perfect tool to get his revenge on Nadia.

    Xander was walking through the streets of New Chicago like a man on a mission…but in reality he had nowhere to go. He was just...angry. His encounter with Nadia at Spirals had put a completely opposite spin on what was supposed to be a fresh start for him. Now he was being asked to work with a woman who was instrumental in his ending up in a Depressor for ten years. A woman who, as far as he was concerned, was responsible for destroying his life.

    He took a few more steps and then stopped, balling up his fists and grunting through his teeth in frustration. It wasn’t really Nadia’s fault…not entirely, anyway. She did throw him under the bus, to save her own skin no less, but he had also let the Depressor win. She didn’t drive away the people in his  life…he did. And he knew it.

    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the tension and anger in his body and pushing it down into his chest. At least he could keep it stored there until he could safely punch something. Repeatedly.

    Finally, with his temper under control again, he continued down the street and began planning his next move. Revenge was such a costly endeavour, but so worthwhile in the end. But what was the best way to go about this? He pondered for a while until the simplest solution came to him. “The best revenge…is success,” he mused to himself with a smile. If the hypnotist wanted to go against him, he’d show her who was better at mind control. After all, he was an incubus.

Settling In - Spirals - Part 2

 Key: MC, Hypno

Description: Xander goes to start his first day of work at the Spirals Nightclub, only to find that a lot more surprises await him than he originally realized.

    Veo exited the elevator with a smile, a secret source had told her that Xander had finally found a place to live and it was her intention to surprise him. As she made her way toward his apartment she was surprised to see the door suddenly open as a young redhead walked out. “Oh…” she said, the surprise evident in her voice “Good morning, miss!”

    It was then that she noticed just how disheveled the young woman’s hair and clothes were, to say nothing of the blank expression on her face. It was topped off very nicely by a lovely pair of glassy, dilated eyes. “I had a wonderful evening…” Kathy said in a blank, flat tone. “I slept at home…I had a wonderful evening…I slept at home…” the woman kept repeating softly as she walked past the angel without even acknowledging her presence.

    Veo, noticing that the young woman was clearly still in a trance, moved out of her way and let her pass. “Oh, I’m sure you did!” she said with a proud smile, giggling and knocking on Xander’s apartment door.

    Xander opened the door with a confused expression on his face, clearly not expecting anyone to be knocking so early. “Helloooo Veo!” he said with a warm smile. “Come in!” he gestured as he moved out of the way for his angelic friend.