You and Caleb stare dumbfounded. How could a blank mask work? It's blank, and Cassie seems to be a golem that needs an imprinted mask. But then a regular golem has no shape, memories or personality underneath whereas Cassie does. All sorts of questions and possibilities run through your head continuing to leave you silent.
"Well, I guess it didn't," Cassie says half jokingly in her cutest way.
"You're alive," you finally mumble.
"Well, duh. does that mean it didn't work? Did you intend o kill me?" Cassie now looks quite a bit concerned flashing back and forth between the two of you.
"No. No, no no. It's just ..." you begin but can't figure how to explain what happened. "Do you feel OK?"
"I feel fine. The last I remember is your ..." she trails off and blushes deeply. "Then waking up just now."
"What was it like?" Caleb throws out while you stand next to her also blushing and at a loss for words.
"Ah, it felt like my head was spinning with my whole life then everything went dark and I couldn't hear or feel anything. It was like I was suspended waiting for something after being kissed." The last came out quiet and sent her face back to red Then she felt her face and adds, "What happened to that mask I put on?"
"That's part of the trick." You nervously chuckle. "Here, let me try something."
You put your fingers to her brow, say the release phrase and pull. Instantly, Cassie is stone again, and you hold the blank in your hand.
You stare at it turning it over twice to confirm it is completely blank while you pace across the room then state the obvious, "It's definitely blank. Still blank."
Caleb is absorbed in the Libras again rechecking it with your and Cassie's translations of the pieces. After several minutes he shakes his head.
"It just says use mask as before or some such implying one we've imprinted and sealed. However, there's enough ambiguity in this that it could be implying "release" or "rise" and "original" for mask. It's like a riddle more than specific instructions. I assume that a regular sealed mask will have the usual results, though."
"OK, let's give it a try," you say and push a mask to her stone face and step back behind her as the transformation takes place.
"What the fuck have you done to me now, Johannson?" Jeremy Richards looks down at his body and pulls at Cassie's clothes stretched tightly on him. His loud voice sounds more confused than angry. "Why am I in these with ... a bra underneath? You got me cross-dressed like I could be a fucking queer or something." He looks at Caleb and walks towards him.
"Will, why'd you use that mask again?" Caleb shoots you an evil look as he tries to back away. Unfortunately, Richards is much too quick for him.
Jeremy swings up beside him and throws an arm over his shoulder. As his elbow bends round Caleb's neck, he asks, "We going out on a date or something? You didn't dress me all pretty just to fool around down here. I'm really not that kind of a guy."
His smile and giggling during this is ridiculous but obviously he's still treating Caleb nicely like you told him but with a hint of typical Richard's teasing. You chuckle yourself as you watch Caleb push Jeremy's arm back off and stomp over towards you.
"Not funny, Prescott," Caleb spits then turns back to Jeremy, "or you either."
"You've got some real learning to do to show someone a good time cause this definitely ain't it." Jeremy rebukes him with a pouty, high pitched voice.
"Now cut that out," Caleb lashes back.
Jeremy is just about to keep going when you shake your head and say, "That's enough."
"I still don't get why I'm dressed like this."
"And you haven't answered why you used that mask?"
"You're suppose to be the smart scientist," you reply. "It's a test. We need to find out if she is aware underneath that."
"She who? Underneath what?" Jeremy questions sticking his hand in the blouse and scratching his pecks under the bra.
"Don't play with yourself like that."
"OK, but it itches."
"Jeremy, think deep and look in your mind, can you sense anyone else?" you ask.
"What the fuck do you mean. That's as dumb as Johannson. There's no split personality in here."
"OK. Hold still again." You pull the Jeremy mask and watch him shrink back to stone Cassie.
"Now we try her mask to compare," you tell Caleb as you start to put it on her.
"Her mask?" Caleb asks.
"Yes, her mask."
"Which her mask?"
"Witcher mask?"
"Yeah. Which Cassie mask?"
"The Cassie Cassie mask."
"The sealed Cassie mask, then."
"Right. Her mask," you emphasize.
"OK. Not the blank mask."
"That blank is blank not hers."
"But blank makes her her, so it's a her mask."
"No that's ..." and suddenly you think to say, "Third base," but don't and just nod as Cassie comes to life but looking around confused.
"Did it work?" she finally asks.
Not what you had expected. This is her, too, so why didn't she just come back at the point the blank was removed.
Again when you don't answer, "Well, I guess it didn't," Cassie jokes with a cute smile.
"No. Ah, I mean yes. It worked. Are you OK?" you say.
"I feel fine. The last I remember is your ..." she trails off and blushes deeply. "Then waking up just now."
"What was it like?" Caleb interjects as if caught in the same time warp conversation.
"Ah, like my head spinning showing my whole life then everything was dark. I couldn't hear or feel anything as if I was waiting for something after being kissed." The last came out quiet and sent her face back to red again, just as this dialog under the blank mask. She then adds feeling her face, "What happened to the mask I put on?"
"That's part of the trick," you chuckle. This is getting too deja vu, so you try to lead this somewhere else. "I want to try some things just to make sure, ah, ... you're really OK. OK?"
"Sure. Whatever you want," she says then looks confused again and asks, "Did you do some sort of hypnosis? I know I was sitting over there but woke standing over here."
Avoiding that you ask, "So you don't remember anything since you put the mask on?"
"No," she affirms as she shakes her clothes around a bit. "You aren't using me, like stripping and stuff, are you Will?" She gets very agitated and her eyes go wide as she glances to the door which you are in her path to escape.
"Relax, Cassie. We wouldn't do that."
Instantly, her demeanor changes and she appears calm. At first you're confused at this but then remember that golems obey a master's command, and you told her to relax. You decide to test that further.
"Trust me, Cassie. I just want you to tell me the truth, OK?"
"Whatever you say. I trust you."
"So why are you here?"
"I like you and figured maybe if I could be around you more, you'd get to like me, too." she says very matter-of-factually.
Again, not what you expected, although Lisa did tell you Cassie had a crush on you. Also, Cassie is very emotional, and the way she answers is flat - like a real golem!
"So it wasn't because Lisa convinced you to help with the translation?"
"Not at all. I'm sure she would rather help you."
Loosing track that your asking to understand this corpse golem with different masks, your interest in Lisa takes over.
"Why do you say that?"
Cassie giggles and says, "She likes doing stuff with you, although you become really annoying very quickly."
That's you alright, but it's the first part that intrigues you to ask, "If she likes me, why is she dating Mansfield?"
"Dude, what's with th ..." Caleb starts but stops when you give him a nasty look and wave him off, although he's actually right, but Cassie speaks before you say not to.
"Geoff has class and sophistication, good dresser, plus he's into sports and school academic activities. Someone more mature with good future prospects. Also, you never really came on to her to be a serious boyfriend, just a friend. She's looking for the future and not juvenile games and jokes."
Ug! That hurt. Caleb gives you an I-told-you-so look and shakes his head. You just stand stunned. Cassie eventually sighs and asks, "Are you OK?"
"Yeah," you breath quietly as you reach out and take the mask.
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