Chapter #77Kali-graphy by: imaj   "Yes," says the astral twin.
"And also no," finishes Jon.
The astral twin vanishes in a flash. Kali hesitates for a fraction of a second. It is more than long enough to doom her. By the time she reacts, all she can do is struggle against the binds of Frank's invisible fist. She tries to twist and turn, but is barely able to move a muscle. "Frank?" She must recognise the prodigy, for all the good it will do her "But you're supposed to be dead." Kali wilts as Jon pulls his hand from his pocket inhumanly fast and blows knockout powder into her face.
"Intense," sighs Jon. His hand whips up to his face and pulls the mask away, revealing Joe in his place. He stumbles for a few minutes before straightening himself. Joe looks at Kali warily. She hangs slack in the grasp of Frank's invisible fist. "She's sleeping. Let's do this."
You settle down on the ground, kneeling beside the dissection table. The new sigils you developed should simplify the procedure considerably. There's still a lot to do though, and you expect the process will leave you drained.
You start with Kali's disassembly. First Curt - Frank in disguise - places her on the metal sheeting. You wait for Joe to remove her clothes before you start. He works slowly and lovingly, carefully removing her charcoal grey skirt suit and purple silk blouse. Then you pull her apart. Green tinged lightning arcs from her into the bottles placed for her essentia. Another fills with her anima and her imago earths into a mask.
"Clear this away and set it up for Joe," you say, standing back up. Curt hauls the golem like substantia remains of Kali away as Joe removes the smaller items from the table. "Lie down Joe," you tell him when he is finished.
"This is safe, right," he asks, uncharacteristically nervous.
"I'm about to change the fundamental nature of your being," you deadpan. It doesn't quite come out right in Chelsea's voice. "What do you think." Joe makes a gulping sound. "Oh lie down before I come over there and make you lie down." He gets down quickly after that.
This is the most delicate part of the operation, using your most recently created sigil to fuse Joe's mental imago with the copy of your own anima within him. "Lie still," you shout as fetch the Libra, a blank mask and a voodoo doll from the storage shelves. You close your eyes and focus on the doll, establishing a connection to Joe.
His anima and imago appear in front of you, almost as if they are printed on the inside of your eyelids. Multiple thick blue lines connect them. Occasionally one pulses as a tiny fragment of imago is absorbed into the anima naturally. The first part of the spell is essentially a marking exercise, delineating the boundaries within Joe's imago between the physical and mental parts. It is tedious and repetitive work, identifying each connection between physical and mental. You attach a little spark of blue energy to each. Then move onto the next, and then the next and then the next.
You aren't aware of how much time passes but finally you reach the end and realise you've found all the connection. You relax and let your focus drift until you are looking at the whole of Joe's imago. It looks as if someone has built a fuzzy wall through the middle.
The final thing you have to do for this part is transfer the mental imago. Those little blue sparks you placed detonate like a row of dominoes falling down and the mental imago starts to drift. It floes down the connections to the anima, like debris carried on a river. As it goes, it carries the residual energy of the exploded blue sparks, creating a whole new set of connections between anima and imago.
"We'll take a break there," you say, opening your eyes.
"I don't feel any different," complains Joe.
"You won't," laughs Curt. "Even I know that."
"Because I'm still thinking with the same memories and experience, right," Joe asks you. "It's just they are part of my anima now."
You nod. "Get me a glass of water," you ask Joe. The process, and the exacting attention to detail required has left you drained. "Then I'll give you Kali's imago and essentia." Joe leaps to his feet. Of course, he's not been left weak by the whole process.
A few minutes later Joe returns with a water filled jug and an empty glass. There's even ice in the jug. It clinks as you pour yourself a drink. Joe lies on the dissection table and waits patiently as you drain a glassful, and then a second. "Frank, I need you to bring back Kali's essentia and imago. I need an empty mask too" You wait for Frank to return with items and then begin.
You start by ripping away Joes imago. You have no intention of letting him be able to switch between different faces like you can yourself. There would be too much temptation to use it, and get caught out as a consequence. Joe is going to be stuck with Kali's face and Kali's face only, whether he likes it or not.
Next, you prepare to give him Kali's essentia. You've done this before, when you granted yourself Eldibria and Glundandra. It's tricky and time consuming, but you craft a facsimile of the same skein of control you have rooted within yourself. That should provide space to hold Kali's ousiarchs without letting them touch Joe's own. The act of transferring the essentia to Joe is simple by comparison. It arcs into him, accompanied by a thunderous crashing noise.
You grunt. You're feeling tired all over now. Though your eyes are already closed to help you concentrate, you doubt you could open them fully again if you tried. Your body cries out for sleep. But you'll have to go on, because there is one last task to complete before your finish: Transplanting Kali's imago.
Luckily it's simple. Without any attached imago of its own, Joe's substantia is hungry for a new form. Kali's imago slips from the mask it was stored in and wraps itself into position. You only need to prod it a little into place before securing it.
That last task complete, you open your eyes again. Already, the new Kali is climbing gracefully to her feet. She modestly covers herself with her arms, trying to hide her nakedness. "It worked," you ask through parched lips. The smile that appears on the new Kali's face is an answer in itself - It belongs to Joe. Satisfied your operation has been a success, you allow sleep to take you
*****
Even in the dark of the room, you can make out the shadow of someone sitting on the bed beside you. You try to push yourself up a little, but your arms feel too weak to respond. The shadowy figure leans to the side and switches on a bedside lamp. You blink a couple of times to adjust to the sudden light.
Kali Valentine sits besides you, dressed in her purple blouse and charcoal grey skirt. She takes a copper coloured hand and strokes your hair gently with it. "Gracious child, you should still be sleeping." She smiles down at you warmly.
You try, and fail, to sit up. "I want to make sure everything worked. That's you in there Joe, right?"
"After a fashion child," she tells you. "I still remember everything about being Joe, and I also feel his excitement at being like this." For a moment the elegance vanishes and her face twists into a approximation of Joe's knowing expression. "And it feels fucking amazing," she says as she runs her hands over her body. Then the sense of Joe vanishes and you are talking to Kali again. "But I am now wholly and completely Kaliope Valentine, so completely that not even my own dear departed mother could tell the difference between myself and the Kali that walked in here several hours ago."
Hours ago! "What time is it," you ask in alarm. "My mom will be worried sick."
"It is alright child," replies Kali. She's talking in your voice! That's one of Joe's prodigies. "I phoned home for you and convinced your mother that you were staying at Maria's house."
"You worked out how to switch between essentia?"
"It was simple enough," replies Kali, speaking as herself again. "I admit it felt a little odd to switch between ousiarchs at first. I know that you read my story about Lucio Strigiotti, but you have to understand now that I remember experiencing it first hand. It seems amazing to the Kali part of me that you have succeeded where he has failed. I am eagerly anticipating starting your training child."
"I thought I'd been training with Frank and Joe."
"Gracious," exclaims Kali. "Oh you have child, you have, but you will learn significantly more with a proper teacher. But that can wait till tomorrow." She pushes you gently back down to the bed and strokes your forehead, "Goodnight Chelsea." With that she turns off the light and walks softly out the room.  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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