Grab it back

Blood runs cold in your whole body. Seeing Gladys with this all-powerful tool is a thing of nightmares. Who knows what such a girl could do with it? You don't think twice and get up from the sofa, jumping on her to grab the device back.

"Hey! What the hell? I'm just taking a look!" She yelps.

"Give it back, it's dangerous!" You retort.

As you battle, each grabbing a part of the camera, your finger accidentally pushes the button on top of it. You feel a familiar chill hitting you. No physical changes seemed to have occurred so you continue your fight, trying to put your hands in safer places.

"Stop, you're going to break it!" You plead.

"You stop! I took it first, you moron!"

You have the physical advantage, but you're also a lot more delicate, scared to break the only thing that might give you your life back. Gladys, on the other hand, doesn't seem so concerned.

As she yanks it more furiously, she hits the white button. You are now the witness to an incredible scene. It takes less than half a second for the petite and colorful Gladys to match you in size, wearing now Onyx's frightening face. The transformation is so quick it is hard for your eyes to perceive it, and her clothes are replaced at the same time.

Your grip on the camera weakens as the event stuns you. Meanwhile, Gladys, who doesn't seem to grasp the situation, uses her newfound strength to finally snatch it out of your hands.

"Ah-ha, I won!" she says triumphantly.

As a reenacting of your own experience, the lower voice she just spoke with seems to make her cogs turn. With her eyes wide, she starts by looking around her, then downward. In a recoil reflex, she drops the camera, just as you probably did. Thankfully, you're quick enough to catch it in the air. She touches her hands, arms, and shorter hair.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" She screams as she gropes her now bigger set.

You're waiting for panic, but instead, you see a grin slowly settling on Gladys, well, Onyx's face. Is she enjoying it? The doubt is confirmed as she starts laughing maniacally.

"Hoooohoohohohoho… I'M ONYX? ME!"

Your despair is quickly replaced with bewilderment. She continues palping her body for a moment and then darts from the living room in the direction of her bedroom. Not knowing what to do or how to react, you follow her inside. As you enter, she's already admiring herself in a floor mirror. Gladys' room is exactly how you imagined it. Very colorful, full of plushies and other cute decorations, walls covered in posters from a variety of boys' bands.

"OMG… this is gonna be soooo fun!" She says to her reflection, doing all kinds of funny faces.

Part of you just doesn't want to remind her of the bad news. "You get that you're stuck like that now, right?"

At the same moment, a third Onyx appears behind you, still wearing a towel around her.

"You guys HAVE to be kidding…"

"His fault." answers Gladys, still looking in the mirror.

"What? No it's not!" You quickly retort.

As you two bicker, retelling the events, Onyx's poker face is white and unmoving. She ends up walking to her room, slamming the door. You then hear her scream muffled in a pillow.

One hour passes, and you are eating pizzas as a set of triplets. You had time to enjoy a well-deserved shower, and so did Gladys. She complained the water was freezing but Onyx answered a cold shower might help her regain some senses. The three of you now wear different sets of pajamas, helping to differentiate each other. The original wears a large black tank top and gray sweatpants. You're wearing a white nightshirt and matching pants while Gladys took something from her own dressing: a colorful one-piece with a flower pattern. The robe is clearly too small for her new frame which Onyx tried to tell her unsuccessfully.

Despite being fully aware of her predicament, Gladys doesn't seem very bothered about it, quite the contrary, which her roommate seems exasperated about. A thick silence is resting on the living room, only broken by chewing sounds and humming from the newly transformed.

As you're tasting food as someone else for the first time, you've noticed that your favorite pizza flavor doesn't taste as good as usual. You should have guessed really: you have different taste buds now, after all. You eye at Onyx's own vegetarian pizza. You've always hated bell pepper, and the lack of meat doesn't do it for you. You're very curious to experience it right now, though.

"Hey, Onyx. Can I try a slice of your pizza?" You ask her casually.

She gives you a side look. "Don't you hate bell peppers?"

"Yeah but you know… I wanted to know if being you who'd give me your tastes."

"OH YEAH ME TOO ME TOO!" Screams Gladys too close to your ears.

"Sure, you guys go ahead, I'm not hungry anyway…" answers your gloomy friend.

Seeing how defeated she looks makes You feel a bit guilty as you take the slice slowly. Even Gladys seems to finally read the mood.

"Want one of mine in exchange? You might like it since I still do…" says the spunky girl a lot more delicately than she got you used to.

It seems to help Onyx gather herself up a bit as she esquisses a slight smile. "Damn, seeing myself act like Wall was already weird enough… don't bother Gladys, you know I don't eat fish." She responds as she looks at the mountain of tuna on her friend's pizza.

"Oh shoot! You're vegetarian! Is it dangerous for me and Wall to eat meat now?" She exclaims.

"I don't think it works that way, Gladys." you answer. Well, you do feel a bit weird now that you think about all the meat you just ate… is it psychological?

You take a bite of your vegetarian slice. Bell pepper does taste better than you remember. It's been so long since you've tried, maybe it's just you who grew up. Besides, better doesn't mean good. You still dislike it, which is strange when you think about it. Having Onyx's mouth should make her favorite foods taste good, right?

"Wow, vegetarian pizza is soooo good now," overreacts Gladys. "It must be because of your mouth, Onyx!"

Well, there's definitely something psychological behind it, you think as her reaction makes you chuckle.

After finishing your meal in a lighter mood, Onyx starts thinking.

"So now I must deal with not one, but two other me's… I swear to God, I won't survive a fourth. We must find a way to fix you guys, and fast. Our best lead is to check on the previous owner. Maybe his family will know something. So tomorrow, let's split: one of us will go investigate, another one must go to college in my stead and the third one can stay there in reinforcement, I guess. Maybe check the internet, who knows…"