Inkitt Link -- Which I strongly endorse while the website gets all the formatting issues worked out with the new v2.5.

For a long time, we sat and simply snuggled as Crystal’s last words rang in my mind. If she decided that she couldn’t handle going through what Mongo had underwent, what was I going to do? Technically, she was supposed to be sworn to me; my servant, or slave, or something! Honestly, I’d never checked into it too closely, and I wasn’t exactly certain what our legal relationship was, or what rights it gave me. Legally, I might very well be allowed to force her to undertake the process no matter what.

But it wasn’t just about what I could do; it was about what I would do. I was happy with Crystal and I valued her as a friend. I didn’t want to do or force anything that would harm that friendship. Yet, I needed to try and remove the taint from my soul, and I had no idea how else to do such a thing, besides the crazy plan I’m came up with already. Perhaps I could burn the darkness away, but I was afraid that’d simply burn a part of the soul away and leave it even weaker and more acceptable for the corruption to spread to afterwards.

I really needed Crystal to share her spirit with me. Yet I didn’t want to force the issue. But I needed to. But I didn’t want to. And round and round my thoughts went, in an endless spiral of need verse want; over what was right as a person – Who has a right to force themselves onto another’s very soul? – verses what was right for my very own soul.

Would I be able to rip apart someone else’s soul – especially someone’s that I was coming to care about --and cause them endless suffering, just to cleanse my own? Even if I did it and managed to prevent the darkness from corrupting my humanity, could I still call myself “human” after making such a choice?

I couldn’t help but wonder what others would do in my shoes. I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell I was going to end up eventually doing.

And, it was while I was lost in this endless circle of self-rationalization and self-doubt, that Tiffany awoke.

Stretching, she sat up, immediately giggled, and then groaned. “What the bloody damn hell hit me?” She talked slow and her speech pattern reminded me instantly of Mongo, and although it was rough and cracked, she definitely had a light feminine voice. Part of me was wondering if perhaps she was related to Mongo and that was part of his reason for going so far for her.

“I feel damn drunk. Stupid drunk.” Tiffany groaned slowly.

“Me too!” She half bounced and answered herself in a suddenly much more vibrant and chipper sounding voice.

“Where the hell are ya?” She asked, slow and gruff again.

“I don’t know! I think I’m blind. I can’t see!” She answered herself in that perky, light tone.

“What the hell?!” My jaw fell open and I stared at Crystal to see if she was seeing the same thing I was.

Wide eyed, she simply stared back at me, looking as dumbfounded as I felt. “I don’t know either, My Lord. What’s happened?”

“Whaa!!” Tiffany stopped moving and stared down at everyone laying scattered all around the ground. “Holy fuck! That’s me!” She pointed over to Mongo’s body and simply stared at it for a moment, before falling back to the ground in a faint.

I didn’t have a clue about how to process what I’d just witnessed. Slowly, I patted Crystal on her hips so she’d get up and move out of my lap, and then I started to ease over to check on Tiffany. All at once, she jerked upright once again, shouted, “Mongo!”, and then scurried over to work her magic on his body.

“Ummm….” I had no idea what to say, think, or do. For one of the first times in my entire life since being reborn, my mind was completely blank. “Are you certain you should be using your magic right now?” I didn’t know what to say, so I simply asked the first thing that popped into my head.

“I’m doing much better now,” Tiffany absent-mindedly answered, before screaming and scooting back as far into the corner as she could. “Who are you? What’s happened to us all? What’d you do to us? Where’s Drake? Ghost? Skeet?” She was jabbering non-stop, when Skeet came running into the room with both daggers pulled and ready for action.

“What ta ‘ell?” Skeet was staring at Tiffany’s panicked form, and glaring daggers at me, for some strange reason.

“I haven’t done anything!” Instinctively I held up both hands to show I was innocent. “She just work up and panicked!”

Skeet continued glaring suspiciously at me -- I suppose I couldn’t blame him; after what he’d witnessed earlier. Slowly, he sheathed both his blades and then walked over and wrapped his arms comfortingly around Tiffany and hugged her. For a brief moment she hugged him back, and then she gave him a shove away and punched him in the face!

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Skeet? I don’t swing that way!” Once again she was talking in the slow, rough voice, reminiscent of Mongo.

“Bloody ‘ell?” Skeet rubbed his nose lightly and blinked stupidly. “Since when ain’t ya liked ta hug ah man?”

“I’ve never wanted to hug another damn guy. I’m not like that, and you know it. You know I like Tiffany.” The slow speaking Tiffany was glaring at Skeet now, with her hands on her hips.

“Bloodly ‘ell! You done wents an broked ‘er!” Skeet glared at me, eyes wide with shock. “T’ain’t Tiff a’tall thar!”

Tiffany look confused for a moment, blinked a few times, and then giggled lightly. “Of course I’m me silly! Who else would I be?”

“Bloody ‘ell…” I imitated Skeet as well as I possibly could. “I think you’re Mongo. Or at least part-Mongo… Somehow, I think you’re both sharing the same body right now. I shared your souls, and umm…”

I trailed off. There really wasn’t anything I knew to say.

Finally, I simply shrugged and sat back down in the floor. “Sorry.” It was all I had to offer at the moment.