Day 8: Imposter Syndrome

Mimic / Imposter

“It was her!”
The trim blonde woman in glittering blue dress and bodice pointed at the trim blonde woman in glittering blue dress and bodice, “She took the Emerald Eye of Truth! I saw it with my own eyes!”
“You mean the eyes you duplicated,” Said yet another trim blonde woman in glittering blue dress and bodice.
“Everyone, calm down.” A trim blonde woman in glittering blue bodice and dress stepped into the center of the feud, “This is what happens when you lot decide to transform into the same shape… Even if she does happen to be the most beautiful dashing woman in the room.”
All the other trim blonde women in glittering blue dress and bodice fell silent, staring at their own feet.
“Now please. How about everybody enter their true forms? Let's avoid making this more confusing than it has to be.”

They all let out a sigh of disappointment, but one by one they turned amorphous, changing their appearance by growing and twisting.
One of them turned into a black blob of writhing tentacles in the approximate shape of a beautiful woman in a maid outfit. Another turned into a woman made from blue slime could see right through to the other side, but with a blue tinge. She had long dark hair and a lowcut strapless dress that one could see through, along with her body, for it was positively drenched. Under all that muccus and wetness was a sense of stoic refinement.
In the end, only two of the blonde women remained. The one who had stepped up leered at her counterpart, crossing her arms, “You too, Natanya. Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”
“That’s my line, you cheap knock-off!" Her living reflection shouted back, "Stop fooling around and change back! Now!”
“But, Sonya… That form…”
“I don’t care! I said NOW!”

With a groan, the last remaining copycat slipped back into authenticity. She turned into a short, sleek woman with barely any curves, her unkempt hair covering parts of her drawn face. Her body slumped awkwardly in her dark wine-red dress, her arms glued to her sides.
“...wish I hadn’t shown up…” The awkward girl withdrew into the crowd, leaving the one true blonde to take center stage.

“All right.” Sonya started, “So the Emerald Eye of Truth was stolen. That’s bad news. If its power ever gets out into the open, we can wave goodbye to any idea that our shapeshifting powers can give us any kind of edge. However, there is good news as well. The thief must be someone here in this room. And whoever it is, the Eye is still somewhere in my estate.”
The watery slime raised her hand.
“Yes, Rie?”
“So… How exactly do you know for sure? She very well could have handed it to one of her accomplices outside? Then they’d be a thousand yards away already.”
“That’s… No!” Sonya pinched the ridge of her nose, “Did you forget that my manor is my own spirit realm? I’m a mimic, for crying out loud. I trap unsuspecting adventurers in a pocket dimension. No one can leave or enter without my letting them. So we still have a chance to prevent a catastrophe for all of shapeshifting-kind. Now… Rie? Cassandra?”

“Yes?” Said both slime girls in tandem.
“You both saw the perpetrator in action, didn’t you?”
“Correct.” The tentacly blob nodded, “I was present in the study, when the blonde woman appropriated the gem.”
“I saw her too…” The slime girl pointed out with a smile, “I saw her bolt down the stairs. Through the hallway. Then she vanished before I knew what was going on.”

“Great. Then we have confirmation. Unfortunately, you weren’t in the same room, so you cannot vouch for the alibi of one another. But if one of you is lying, it stands to reason that the other one is telling the truth. So that means that the one who did it looked just like me.”
“Hey… Sonya? Is that a confession?” Natanya said, cackling to herself.
“No. We all looked like me only a minute ago. Pay attention, please.” Sonya cleared her throat, pacing towards the last participant of the party, a kakuen in a green and gold qipao, at the moment preoccupied with devouring the cheese platter.

“Now, Mao?” Sonya started.
“Hmm?” The kakuen looked at her with her mouth stuffed, then swallowed, “”Yes, Sonny-girl?”
“The task of figuring out this case falls on you.” Sonya declared.
“Hah!?” Mao inadvertently swatted some crumbs of cheese with her tail, which got sucked into the carpet due to the self-cleaning feature of the manor, “You want me of all people to play detective? But... you were doing such a good job!”
“Yeah, Sonya…” Rie said, “We’re just handing the job over to dullest dimwit now?”
“As of now, we are unable to eliminate the possibility that I was the one responsible. Just as anyone else here. So unfortunately, the job falls on the one woman who lacks true shapeshifting powers. And, who is also not me.”

“Why does she even get to go on the Mimic Ball, if she can’t even shapeshift?” Natanya pointed out.
“Why does she even get to go on the Mimic Ball, if she can’t even shapeshift?” Mao answered, sounding exactly like Natanya did.
“Touche.” Natanya said, smirking.

“Everyone, please.” Sonya shouted, turning to face the lone kakuen, “We all rely on you. Under no circumstances can the Emerald Eye of Truth get out. It is far too adverse to us shapeshifters. Will you take up the case?”
Mao sighed, scratching the back of her head, “I suppose I’ll have to bail you guys out this time. Again.”
Rie scoffed, “Like, when have you ever…”
“Ssssh…” Cassandra interrupted.

Mao stepped into the room in thoughtful silence.
“Hm.” She looked around herself. Everyone there was her friend. How was she supposed to point any of them out as the guilty party?
“Hmm?” But then again, they were shapeshifters. Master of mimicry. Imposters by nature. Treachery ran in their blood. Honestly, it was a miracle she had hung around those circles for so long without anyone stabbing anyone else in the back.
“Hmmmmmmmm…” On the other hand, only one of them actually did it. And it was up to Mao to figure out who. But how was she supposed to do it? How could she outsmart someone who thrived and survived off of deception and confusion?
“HMMMMMMMMMM………” She turned her head towards the group.
“So… Did the perpetrator leave any clues?”
“Well...” Sonya cleared her throat, "There was a puddle by the floor..."
Mao's large ears perked up at that, and she smirked, "Aha! I know who it is!"
"Uhhh..." Sonya started, but was interrupted by the monkey.
"Every single shapeshifter has a tell! A weakness, if you will! Some pecculiarity or another which betrays their true nature, whether they like it or not! In this case, the clues relate that the guilty one has a leak! And that, ladies and gentlemen..."
She pointed dramatically at Rie, "Means she was a nureonago!"
Rie blinked, then smiled, "Ahaha. No."
"Yes!"
"No." Sonya concurred, folding her arms before her chest.
"Y-yes?" Mao stammered out, peering over her shoulder at the hostess.
"Yeah, no." Natanya stated with finality, shaking her head, "It's like, everyone present would obviously try and frame someone else. And Rie is just such an obvious client."
Rie nodded, "Mhmm. If it was me, then clearing the mess would have made me suspicious."

“Ah." Mao sighed, "I knew that! I was just testing to see if you knew it!"
The rest of them exchanged glances.
The monkey girl peered towards the two slime girls, “What else can you tell me about what you saw?”
“Well,” Rie started, “She was blonde…”
Cassandra nodded, “Yes. And trim.”
“Ah, and she had a blue dress!”
“And a blue bodice.” Cassandra added.
“Ah, so we’re making progress!” Mao exclaimed, punching her own palm.
“...We really are not.” Sonya sighed.

“Ah, come on guys!” Mao whined, “We’re just getting started over here! Give me a chance! I’ll have this mess sorted out yet!”
“As you wish, lady Mao.” Cassandra uttered.
“Yeah… Mao, just… Do what you can.” Sonya assured her, still tense.

Mao paced about the room. The gears in her head were turning like they’ve never been turning before. She scratched her hair. She bit her lip. She furrowed her brow and knocked on her skull.
Minutes grew into hours without so much as a word.
“Ah! I got it!” Mao yelled.

Everyone perked up after nearly falling asleep. Rie looked around in confusion.
“You got… What?” Natanya asked.
“This mystery!” Mao’s grin sharpened, “I know exactly how to solve it!”
Rie blinked, “Like, for real? For real for real?”
“Absolutely! It’s really quite simple. Honestly, I’m surprised no one thought of this before. All we gotta do…” The kakuen took a break to breathe, and to giggle a bit, “...Is to ask everyone if they did it!”

So loud was the smack on Natanya’s forehead when she slapped it, it’s incredible nothing was broken.
“Ahhh…. Yeah, leave it to the monkey…” Sonya shook her head.
“Mao, my dear friend…” said Rie, “I think you might be underestimating your adversary a tad.”
“Ah, come on! It’s worth a shot! Let’s go round the table, and ask everyone; did you steal the Emerald Eye of Truth? I mean, if we don’t at least try that, then can we really have said to have tried everything?”
“...Let’s just get this over with so we can get on our way with something else.” Sonya yawned.

“Great!” Mao pointed dramatically at Sonya, “DID YOU STEAL THE EYE?”
“I did not. No.” Sonya answered calmly.
“All right! One down, three to go.” Mao pointed next at Rie, “DID YOU STEAL THE GEM THINGY? Answer yes or no.”
“Nope.” Rie answered, shrugging lightly.
Mao pointed at the tentacly maid, “Answer me, Cassandra: DID YOU STEAL THE EMERALD EYE OF TRUTH?”
Cassandra looked up at the monkey girl. The monkey girl stared back. She clenched her fists tightly on her lap, looking down at the writhing mass where her feet should have been.
“...I did.”

…
…
…

“WHAT!?” Everyone yelled in unison.
Their faces were frozen in abject shock and surprise. Not that Cassandra turned out to be the culprit, but that she ended up by something as silly as being asked.

To think that Mao’s dumb plan turned out not to be so dumb after all.
“...You jackass!” Natanya shrieked, “You’re telling me after all you put us through, you’re gonna confess just because you were asked!”
“...I had ****.” Cassandra uttered.
“See!” Mao chuckled, “I told you I’d figure it out!”
Sonya looked at Mao, “How in all the flies of Pandemonium did you know that would work?”
“Oh, that?” Mao grabbed a fistful of cheese, “It all came down to the little feature of your self-cleaning manor.”
She clenched her fist, grinding them into crumbs that sailed down to the floor. There, they sank into the carpet and disappeared without a trace.

Rie cocked her head, “Yeah… I don’t follow.”
“Think about it!” Mao shrieked, “Anything left untidy in the mansion is automatically cleaned up and restored to its proper place! That means, ladies, that whoever stole it still has it on her person.”
“...Yeah? That means you can just ask them, and they tell you?” Natanya said skeptically.
“Then… Oh!” Epiphany glowed in Sonya’s eyes.
“That’s right, Natty! That’s the power of the Truth Stone! You gotta tell the truth! All night Cassandra had been avoiding questions. Skimping on the details. Sure, she made herself out as a witness, but she didn’t reveal anything that would incriminate herself! She’s a slime with a brain! I mean, in a manner of speaking.”

“Ah, but hang on… “ Rie raised her finger, “Couldn’t it have been, you know Sonya who did it? She’d be able to hide it in her own mansion.”
“Yeah, and then no one would say they took the gem, and then that would’ve meant it had to be Sonya! Once you eliminate the impossible, yadda yadda, go get’em!”
The girls looked between one another, before their eyes fell at Mao.

“Well… Sure looks like we underestimated you, Mao.” Natanya confessed.
Mao stood grinning with her massive chest jutting out, and hands on her hips, “But of course! No one escapes the long arm of the monkey-girl!”

“The only thing I wonder now is, Cassandra, why did you do it?” Sonya asked, looking back at the shoggoth, “Why go behind our backs and risk all that we have worked for so long?”
One of Cassandra’s black tentacles fished out from under the top of her dress a green shimmering stone the size of a fist, shaped like a snake’s eye.
“I did not wish anything ill to befall any of you,” Cassandra confessed, “I simply was left with no recourse. My master… I serve him with all the dedication of my heart. And yet, I feel he does not share with me all of his secret, most disturbing kinks. As such, I am not sure I can serve his needs to my full extent.”

“Ah, Cassandra… Is that all?” Natanya patted her on her shoulder, “...Maybe come to us next time, will you? We know exactly how to handle a situation like that. Don’t we, girls?”
Everyone in the group nodded and smiled eagerly and hungrily…

Peter Garland entered his bedroom at night. He hadn’t seen his shoggoth maid all day, and frankly he was relieved. He did not want the girl to overexert herself.
He closed the door and found himself immersed in the darkness. All alone.
Or so he thought.

The lamp on his nightstand lit up. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a hoard of monster girls in latex leotards. A woman in a chest. Two slimes. A grinning overgrown monkey. And a female version of himself. Each of them were armed with various paraphernalia used for BDSM. Collars. Whips. Chains. And for some reason a candy cane.
“Oh, hey there handsome." Natanya said between giggles, "We heard you had a hard time sharing your kinks.”
“Don’t worry, master. We will find out for ourselves. If we have to go through each and every one of them.”
“You don’t have to say a single word, bub!” Sonya said with a grin.
They closed in on him with grins of savage predators, all too eager to try out their favourite fetishes.
It was going to be a long night for Peter Garland.