There Is That Audio Tape

You finger the wired earbuds attached to the cassette player as you sit on your bed, preparing to put them in after having explained everything to the two people in the room with you.

Viki is currently looking over the player itself as she sits in a chair near the bed. "I don't see or sense anything that looks like a trap," she says before handing it back to you.

"You sure you want JUST me to be the one holding you down if you do start acting funny and not get Amelia in on this too?" Liam asks, standing next to where Viki sits.

"Amelia needs some time alone," you and Viki say simultaneously.

"Right. I understand," Liam says in an I-don't-actually-understand-but-I'll-let-it-go tone of voice.

"And if it gets REALLY bad," you add, "I've given Tara permission to use a sleep spell to knock me out until one of you can get a nurse or something."

Tara, who is fluttering in the air near your head, gives you a small salute before suddenly zipping over to Viki and laying across the top of her left breast like it was a bean bag chair.

"H-Hey!" Viki exclaims, freezing in place as she looks down at the rather comfy looking Dragon Fairy.

"Tara! No!" you chide while Liam turns his head to the side to hide his snickering.

Tara leans her head back to give Viki a very wide-eyed, begging look. The purple-and-black haired girl sighs and looks back at you. "It's okay," Viki says, "If she's just going to rest there and not do anything weird... er."

"You heard her, Tara," you say with a mild finger wag, "You be as polite to that tit as you can be."

"Did you have to word it like THAT?" Viki grumbles as Tara gives you a thumbs up from her resting position before you place the earbuds in your ears, lay down on the bed, and hit Play on the cassette player.

The first thing you hear is the clattering sound of what you think might be someone adjusting a microphone and moving things into place to hide the recorder. After that, there is the sound of footsteps moving away before there is the soft squeal of a door opening, followed by it softly clicking closed. For a minute or so after that, you hear only the hiss of dead air before the door opens again and multiple sets of footsteps indicate the room is populated once more. You think you can pick out three distinct footfalls and when the door closes again, you hear a chair being pulled along the floor to what you have to assume is the middle of the room.

"Before we begin," the voice of Professor Schwartz says in the tone someone uses when saying something they have had to say many times over, "As the impartial observer, I am once more legally required to remind you that any information gathered under hypnotic interrogation is inadmissible in a court of law. In addition, any questions asked outside the purview of the subjects agreed upon beforehand by the hypnotized party are themselves crimes I must report should I witness them. This may result in fines or criminal prosecution, depending on the severity of the violation. Do you understand this warning as I have explained it, Professor Dove?"

"I do," Professor Dove responds.

A third speaker, their voice a meek whisper that makes it hard to identify at first, replies, "Will this really help, Professor?"

"Just stay calm, Parisa and follow my instructions to the letter," Dove says soothingly, "Remember, we're doing this to help you. Even if we can't use it directly, if this can fill in the gaps in your memory before the time the... event happened, we might know where to look to find clues we CAN use."

"I... I understand. Thank you so much for believing me, Professor."

"Alright," Schwartz says, "The wards placed on the door and windows should block any scrying spells, bar any familiars from entry, and disrupt any magical or digital objects that might attempt to record this session. We are ready to begin."

That explains why whoever made this tape used such an old media format, only an analog recording device would have a chance to go undetected and remain functional in that environment.

"Now start taking deep breaths iiiiiin...," Dove says before doing so herself and then blowing the air out again, "And ouuuuuuuut."

Parisa does as instructed, following the Professor's lead and the two repeat the process together a few times before Dove stops, letting Parisa continue to do so on her own. "Just like that," Dove says in a low, even tone, "Iiiin and ouuuut. Now look at this crystal. See how it sparkles in the light? See only that. Keep breathing. Keep looking. Now listen to my voice. Hear how deep and soothing it is. Focus on those three things and those three things alone. The breath in your lungs. The sparkling of the crystal. The sound of my voice. Breath. Crystal. Voice."

Even just listening to Professor Dove's voice, without the other elements and whatever actual magic she might be adding to it, is making you feel a little drowsy and you catch yourself starting to mimic the deep breathing exercise as well. Parisa would have stood no chance facing it directly, if she had any thoughts of resisting.

"You are in a clear place now," Dove continues in that same tone, "Filled with only your breath and my voice. It is a safe place. A place you can see into yourself as if you were looking into a crystal ball. Are you at that place, Parisa?"

"Uh huh," Parisa mutters in a sleepy voice.

"Good. Now I want you to look into that ball. Let it show you your memories of the day we were talking about ten minutes ago. Do you remember that day?"

"Yes," Parisa drones, "Invited... that guy... nice guy... to my room. Milk. Wanted him to have... good milk. My good milk. Make him... good."

"That's right. I want you to go back a little further. To when you first thought of the idea to give that boy your good milk."

"Okay..."

"Can you tell me why you wanted to give him your good milk? Why you wanted to make him good?"

There is a short pause and you think you can hear Parisa grunt, as if she were pushing against something before she manages to say, "Better... target."

Another pause, giving you the impression that Dove (and possibly Schwartz as well) is having a confused reaction to that answer. Perhaps you are simply projecting, but Professor Dove's voice does sound somewhat baffled. "Target?"

More grunting. "L-Little nerd... wouldn't... breed meher. IShe... TOLD him to... do it. Or... else. Thought... he understood... hismy plan for that... bitch. IShe needed... another target. Anyone would do. F-First person... to hit on herme will do. Marcus? Don't know who that is but Ishe think he's cute. A Dog... makes... a good... pet, anyway. It happening... at all would... make that... bitch, sad."

Parisa suddenly, and deeply, sobs. There is the sound of clattering, like chair legs banging against the floor as the person in the chair starts to shake. "But... he... was better. N-Nicer... and... I... liked him better. He liked him... too. Better. I'd... do what he wanted... and... get... someone... heI liked! Someone... for me. Something for me! Just one thing! One thing... FOR ME! LET ME HAVE ONE THING FOR MEEEEEEEEEE!"

You wince as Parisa's shriek turns into full on bawling and you completely agree with Professor Schwartz when he shouts, "I believe we should stop now, Professor!"

"Listen to my voice one last time, Parisa," Dove exclaims before taking a deep breath, "AND LEAVE THAT CLEAR PLACE!"

Parisa gasps as the hypnosis breaks, though her crying does not stop and you hear rustling cloth and soft shushing noises from Dove. You can easily imagine the Professor holding Parisa close, slowly stroking her hair and giving the confused and scared girl comfort after such an intense experience.

"I apologize if this seems insensitive to ask in your current state," Professor Schwartz says, "but I am afraid, to verify your psychological safety, this is also something I am required to do. Do you remember what you just said and the events those words were in relation to?"

"Y-Yes," Parisa responds between sniffles, "I-I'm... I'm a horrible person. Horrible horrible horrible."

"Do you believe you will need mental counseling as a result of this session? If so, we can have a licensed therapist for you here first thing in the morning."

It takes a few seconds for Parisa to gather herself up to answer and, for some reason, you have the mental image of Dove glaring at Schwartz while he shrugs helplessly.

"I... I think... I'm just... tired," Parisa says.

"Do you want to try yourself or do you want a sleeping aide?"

"C-Can I call you? If... If I need one?"

"Of course, dear," Professor Dove coos, "Professor Schwartz and I will be in my office for a little bit, so remember to try the blue emergency contact rune first before the red one if you need me."

"I-I will."

"Good night, Parisa," Professor Dove says, and it sounds like she and Professor Schwartz are moving back towards the door, "And thank you. It was very brave of you to allow us to do this and I think it may be a great help to the investigation."

Parisa says nothing as the door opens, two pairs of footsteps walk out through it, and then closes again with a surprisingly loud slam.

Once she is alone, Parisa starts crying again, muttering about how she is an awful, terrible, horrible person as she begins walking towards what you presume is whatever bed is in her room. For roughly two minutes she repeats those words until there is the sound of the door opening again. You hear Parisa gasp and she starts to say, "Huh?! Wh-Why are you--"

There is a soft thump, like a body collapsing onto a mattress and, fortunately, you hear the slow, steady breathing sounds of someone in a deep slumber. It is still concerning that something happened, but at least whoever this is just put her to sleep instead of doing something far worse.

The new footsteps move swiftly, the volume of them growing louder as they approach wherever the recording device has been stored. Then you hear the same clattering noises that started the recording before it cuts off. Just to be sure, you listen all the way to the end of the tape but there is nothing else until the player clicks off.

You sit up, pull the earbuds out and look at the others in the room with you. "What happened?" Viki asked, "Are... you okay?"

Tara has shifted around so that she is on her stomach, using her arms to prop up her chin as her legs and tail wag behind her. She seems quite curious about what happened. As does Liam, who leans forward expectantly.

"I don't know what I was expecting," you finally say, "but that was not it."