Alex's heart pounded in her chest as she stared in horror at Ashe, slowly swaying in a deep trance. It was like the ground had opened up underneath her, leaving her falling hopelessly into despair. How could it have all gone so wrong so fast? Alex could see that Winter, standing next to Ashe, was still talking, but the blood pounding in Alex's ears was deafening. She was experiencing so many different feelings all at once. Fear. Confusion. Anger. Guilt. Despair. This was all her fault. If only she hadn't been late, Ashe wouldn't have had to face Winter alone. What she supposed to do now? Alex wanted to run, but she knew she'd never be able to forgive herself if she left Ashe in Winter's clutches. But if she stayed and fought, did she even have a chance? Ashe had succumbed to Winter's hypnotic skills, and Alex had no doubt that Ashe was stronger-willed than she was. Maybe Winter had just been toying with her, all along, like a cat playing with a captured mouse, able to sink its fangs in as deep as it liked whenever it grew bored. Maybe there was no hope.
But she had to try, Alex told herself. She wasn't going to run. She had to try and fight for Ashe, just like Ashe had fought for her. Still, that just begged the question: how? How was she supposed to fight? She and Ashe had only had one advantage going for them, the advantage of surprise, and now that was gone. After the way Winter had manipulated her for so long, Alex struggled to believe that she could outwit the cold-hearted, smirking goth girl. What did that leave? Alex looked down at herself, and then at Winter. Maybe there was a way. Maybe all these muscles Winter had made her build were good for something. Alex had never been in a fight in her life, but from all the exercise she'd done she knew her body could stand up to a reasonable amount of punishment. Compared to her, Winter looked incredibly small and fragile. Tapping into her own anger at everything Winter had done to her, Alex clenched her fists and started advancing down the corridor towards the goth girl.
"Not so fast," Winter said calmly. She took a step back, and Ashe stepped forward to place herself directly between Alex and Winter, her expression still completely blank. Alex tried to step to one side, and then the other, but Ashe carefully mirrored her movements to ensure she never had a clear shot at Winter. Alex let her fists unclench as she realized Winter had instructed Ashe to act as a bodyguard - or perhaps a human shield.
"Coward," Alex growled, her choler rising. "Why don't you fight your own battles?"
"I don't know what you mean," Winter answered smoothly. The amusement in her voice only made Alex more eager to punch her in the face. "If anyone saw us now, all they'd see is you assaulting me inside my own home, and my friend here bravely defending me."
"She's not your friend!" Alex yelled hysterically, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. "What have you done to her?"
"She and I simply had a small chat. She was so upset at first. So angry. But I managed to help her see things my way." Winter pressed her body against Ashe's back, and reached a possessive arm over her shoulder to caress the punk girl's limp, unresisting body. "Don't you think she looks happier this way?"
"Let her go!"
"Or what?" Winter rebutted immediately.
"Or I'll... I'll..." Through her near-panic, Alex thought as hard as she could to come up with some kind of credible threat. "I'll walk right out of here and I'll start telling people exactly what you are and what you've done!" It was a bluff, but Alex somehow managed to make it sound convincing.
Winter simply arched one of her eyebrows. "And you think anyone would believe you? Silly Lexi."
Alex bristled at being addressed by that name, but she resisted rising to the taunt. "I'll make them believe me." In truth, she had no idea how she could possibly hope to persuade anyone that her story was genuine, but she couldn't back down from her threat now.
"I doubt it," Winter retorted, but then the goth girl smiled. "But perhaps it doesn't need to come to that. How about we play a simple game? If you win, I'll happily let you and your friend go, and I give you my word that I will never cause you another moment's trouble."
Alex's eyes narrowed. Her first instinct was complete disbelief, but she couldn't detect any hint of dishonesty on the part of the goth girl. Her absolute confidence, however, was deeply unsettling. "And if I lose?"
"Then you will both be mine," Winter answered simply.
Filled with trepidation, Alex weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, her gut was telling her there was no way she should go along with anything Winter was suggesting. On the other hand, she didn't see that she had any other choice. She had no leverage, and no position from which to negotiate. She couldn't fight Winter, and if Winter called her on her bluff then she'd be even more screwed. Alex didn't trust Winter, but if there was even the slightest chance that Winter was being sincere, it might be the best chance she had. At worst, it would give her more time to think. Alex sighed. "What game?"
Winter's smile widened. "I'm so glad you've decided to play. It's really very simple. You have to try and wake Ashe here up, using only your words. No touching, only talking. If you wake her up, you win. If, however, you fall into trance first, you lose."
"First?" Alex asked, confused. "You mean, while I'm trying to wake her up, you'll be trying to hypnotize me? That's not fair!" Alex already feared what might happen if Winter whipped out the pocket watch she'd used to hypnotize her before.
"Oh no, not me." Winter's smile grew even wider. "I will simply be an innocent spectator in this little game. The one trying to hypnotize you will be Ashe."
Alex blinked. "What?" As far as she could tell, Ashe was just a mindless puppet right now. How could she possibly be capable of hypnosis?
"You heard me. I know she might seem a little slow-witted right now, but surely that's all the better for you? Unless, that is, you don't think you can win."
"I can win," Alex shot back immediately. She had to make herself believe it. She had to believe that she could reach Ashe.
"Good," Winter said approvingly. "For my part, I promise I will not interfere. I will neither attempt to hypnotize you, nor attempt to keep Ashe in trance. Do you agree to those terms?"
Alex couldn't shake the feeling she was being tricked somehow, but after a few long seconds of thought, all she ended up saying was: "Fine."
"Wonderful!" Winter clapped her hands once, excitedly. "Well then, go right ahead. I'll let you take the first shot."
Again, Winter's unshakable confidence had Alex doubting herself, but she thrust her doubts to one side in order to focus on the task at hand. She looked at Ashe. Her friend was just standing there, swaying slowly from side to side. Her arms were hanging limply at her sides, and there was no trace of personality or emotion in her face or her body language. It hurt Alex to look at her. It hurt her to know that her friend had been reduced to this, all because of her. But she knew there was no time for self-recrimination now. She needed to save her friend. How was she supposed to snap her out of trance? Alex didn't have the first idea. She was even more confused about how Ashe was supposed to try and hypnotize her. How was that possible? Alex wasn't sure Ashe could speak, let alone hypnotize anyone. There was clearly something about all this that Alex was missing. But she couldn't keep tying herself in mental knots forever. Winter was looking at her expectantly. She had to just give it her best shot.
"Ashe," Alex began uncertainly, doing her best to pretend Winter wasn't standing right behind her friend. "I'm sorry. I messed up. I shouldn't have been late. But it's OK, I'm gonna fix this. I'm gonna get us both out of this. Just like you did for me, OK? So just listen to me. You just need to, um, focus on my voice, and... um, can you even hear me?"
"Yes," Ashe replied, taking Alex by surprise. "I can hear you."
Alex hadn't really been expecting Ashe to say anything, but what really made her falter was Ashe's tone of voice. Whenever Alex had heard the punk girl speak before, she'd always seemed a little high-strung, or a little anxious about something. Now, it was as though all that tension and stress had simply vanished. Ashe sounded more relaxed than anyone Alex had ever heard in her life. There was such blissful ease to her voice her words were almost slurring together, and she was speaking at a slightly higher pitch than normal. She sounded like she was in heaven. The worst part was, Alex could remember all the times she'd spoken in a voice like that, when she'd been under Winter's control. Hearing it again, even from another person, made her body shiver uncomfortably.
"OK. Good." Alex tried not to let her discomfort show on her face. She didn't want Winter to know she was getting to her. But what was she meant to say next? Alex tried to remember the way Ashe had talked to her when their positions had been reversed yesterday. Out of automatic concern, Alex asked: "How are you? Did she... hurt you?"
"Oh no." To Alex's horror, a broad, vacant smile spread across Ashe's face. "I feel, like, totally amazing."
Alex's blood ran cold at hearing the all-too-familiar bimbo-speak come out of her friend's mouth. After another moment, Ashe let out a silly little giggle. It filled Alex with horror and put her on edge so bad it was taking everything she had not to turn tail and run. If Winter had managed to do all this Ashe in just a single morning, what hope did Alex have against her? All of a sudden, now that Ashe was smiling, the punk girl's face didn't seem so blank and empty anymore. It was worse than that. She was wearing the same dumb, airheaded bimbo expression that Alex knew best from seeing it on her own face in the mirror. It was as though seeing it on Ashe was pulling her back. All the memories of what it had been like came back in a rush. They were horrifying, but unfortunately for Alex, they were far more than that. They were exciting, carefree, happy, and incredibly, incredibly hot. It took Alex a long moment to find herself again. She wasn't going to run. She was going to fight. She was going to save her friend. As scared as she was, she was also angry. That was something she could hold on to.
"What the fuck have you done to her?" Alex snapped at Winter.
Winter laughed, her eyes sparkling with delight. "I'm sure you know exactly what I've done to her. Do you like it? Doesn't she seem happy this way? Of course, I didn't have time to give her the same makeover I had you get, so she doesn't exactly look the part. At least, not yet."
"Fuck you," Alex spat.
"I wonder, do you think she'll look good as a blonde?" Winter's voice turned sing-song and taunting, and she reached over to idly play with a strand of Ashe's hair. "I haven't decided on her name yet. 'Ashe' is out of the question, of course. I think 'Ashley' could work, but maybe we could go sluttier."
"You can't. You can't!"
