And Once in the Dark of that Eternal Tomb, the Eye Stared Back from the End of the Room.

She can always tell when Senpai is having an episode. It burns at their bond like acid in her soul, more scalding than any guilt or wrath she's ever felt.

"Senpai," she knocks at their door, speaking quietly. It's late at night- these only hit them when they're alone, it seems, and they're only alone when they're sleeping. She'd tried to convince them to sleep with her, and even succeeded a couple times- but they're stubborn, this Senpai of hers. They don't want to be a burden.

As if they could ever be one. As if Mash wouldn't support them to the end of the world. (They don't know what she is willing to do for them, and if she can help it, they never will.)

"I'm coming in." She doesn't wait for permission- she knows from experience that they won't give it. The first few times, they'd physically tried to keep her out of the room, deep in the throes of panic. They know now that she is much too stubborn to be kept out, but that doesn't mean they want her to see them.

Predictably, she finds them in the bathroom; it's either there or under the covers, nowadays. They're standing in front of the mirror. Their hands are holding onto the sink so tightly their knuckles have turned white.

"Senpai." She sets a hand on their shoulder. "You need to stop looking."

They turn towards her. They look absolutely terrible; their hair is unkempt, their eyes bloodshot, their cheeks red with tears. Their bathrobe is open wide, revealing a chest littered with red stripes. They've tried to claw their skin off again. At least they did not have access to anything sharp this time- Mash had spent an ungodly amount of time ridding the room of any knife, scissor, and other nail clipper prior. Senpai had assured her that they did not like pain- but when they're like this, all rationale fly out of the window.

On their left breast, a gaping mouth resides, a long tongue poking out of it, wetting their own stomach. On their right breast, a large eye stares at her, its pupil white surrounded by dark sclera.

At least Mash managed to arrive early, thank (god, she almost thinks, but none of the gods she knows are people she wants to thank for anything) thankfully. They only have a couple more mouths on their arms, and one more eye by the knee. Their skin is littered in cracks and slices, but most haven't hatched yet. This is much better than how it usually goes.

"Come on." She takes their hand. The mouth on the back of it licks her palm, and she represses a shudder. She cannot let Senpai see her disgust. "Let's go back to bed."

They nod, weakly. They're not looking at her. They're not looking at anything, really; unlike the eye on their breast, they seem dead set on looking straight at the floor. Still, they let her guide them back to the mattress. She sits them down, then smiles at them. "Let's look at the photo albums, alright? You'll remember what you're supposed to look like, and your body will follow suit, and everything will be okay. Just like these other times."

She moves to do just that, grab the album she'd left on their bedside table for this express purpose (the only pictures of the Doctor they have left,) when Senpai speaks up: "... I'm human."

It's the first time she's heard their voice tonight. It's a small, pathetic thing that makes Mash wants to hug them time, makes her want to shield them from the world and find the person responsible and make them pay. (Oh, if only. If only she could. If only it were that simple.) "I... I'm human."

Senpai is stupidly perceptive. They can judge someone's character in a matter of minutes. But distressed as they are, even they cannot pick up the lie when Mash smiles again and replies: "yes. You are, Senpai."

Senpai does not know why this is happening to them. One day, with no preamble whatsoever, they woke up, and just started sprouting extra bits unprompted.

The medical bay does not know why it's happening to them. Sion and the others have thrown a few hypotheses, about the consequences of prolonged servant contracts, about lostbelt food poisonings, about repeated exposure to singularities, but they have nothing certain.

Mash knows.

The thing is, Mash doesn't care what Senpai looks like. They could be a boy, a girl, a demon or a goat for all she cares. But these tongues and eyes still make her uncomfortable.

Senpai can't see through these extra eyes. Medical bay says they're too far from the head to be connected to any optic nerve. Senpai can't control these mouths. Medical bay says these muscles must be moving by reflex rather than intent.

Mash knows.

Senpai does not remember. Medical bay was not here. No one else was here. But here is what Mash knows: the sight of Senpai's body tainting the snow of Russia red. The feeling of screaming her lungs hoarse, begging for anyone to help, calling for god, any god, to have some mercy.

Here is what Mash learned, that day:

If you call loud enough, something will answer.

The eye on Senpai's chest blinks. Its neighbouring tongue slithers. Mash dislikes, resents, hates these eyes and mouths. Every lick makes her violently recoil. Every blink makes her want to hide from that sight. She hates them for what they're making Senpai feel like. She hates them because these are not Senpai's.

There is someone. Inside Senpai. There is something, peering at this world through their body. There is something alien inside of them, something from outside this very realm, a parasite curled so tight around their lungs that they sometimes forget how to breathe-

and Mash was the one to invite them here. Mash was the one to cram there in here. Mash was the one who signed that contract.

There are many things that Mash knows. She knows that a corpse is the best catalyst one can hope for. She knows that desperation is a very powerful motivator. She knows that people die when they are killed, and denying someone their death is an act that can only come with a heavy price.

There are many things that Mash knows. But she will keep all of these deep inside her chest, behind a lock in the shape of three command spells nested right above her heart.

Comments