The sky looked clear, and anyone who glanced up could see it was filled with stars. They were almost perfectly clear, almost unnaturally so. But then, that was the point. The school's planetarium was designed to be very good. There were several rows of seats arranged in a circular pattern around the large central projector. The dome that it projected the stars against was actually several stories high. It appeared that even though this school was designed as a trap, a lot of thought and effort went into at least some of their equipment. Perhaps it was to put into the brochures? Perhaps someone on the island actually liked to look at the sky without the distraction of meteorological phenomena?

To the girl who lay naked against one of the chairs, it didn't matter. She merely stared up blankly at the fake night, looking at the constellations that appeared so clearly, and the bright lights that looked oh so much like the real stars. Her clothes were in tatters, scattered in pieces along the ground, over and under chairs. As for the girl herself, she was in a rather poor condition. She looked exhausted as she breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling, her breasts glistening with sweat. Below, her hips rose, as though with a mind of their own, as a slender tentacle moved in and out at a slow but steady pace.

"Please... please stop." She said it quietly, almost a whisper. "W...what? I don't understand... no, that isn't right. Don't do that, I... nng... ahh!" Her orgasm interrupted her words. But the strangest thing was that, to anyone listening in, there was nobody talking to her. She was alone with silent tentacles, and that was all.

Her body convulsed, shuddering and spasming, as she pulled her entire body higher and higher as though taking in the pleasure with everything she could. And then, finally, she collapsed again against the chair, her eyes closed. The girl was unconscious. And the monster that had taken her would wait. For there was another human coming, it could sense it. What better to use as bait than another helpless human?

"Bah," I muttered, making my way to the astrophysics lab. It was kind of funny, what kids loved for the stars and planets, college students used to watch coronal mass ejections, gamma ray bursts, and the life and death of galaxies play out before their eyes. It was a great way to really see the abstract things they studied. And it was fascinating to me. But I wasn't an astrophysicist.

Why was I here, then? Because someone told me I had to prove myself to the administration. And that was something I didn't take well. Then again, the idea of proving myself was one I was quite accustomed to. So I was here doing rounds that weren't mine to do. I also was doing them in plain clothes. Screw the sash, after all. It wasn't what I wanted in life, it was a means to an end.

I unlocked the lab - not strange that it was locked in the evening. But what was strange was a voice coming from the other side of the door. I couldn't tell what it was saying, but it made me wince: someone was getting basemented for this. I'd been down there more often than I cared to admit, and I hated sending other people there. I walked in, prepared to do some scolding.

And I was remarkably surprised. A girl, in direct line of sight, being fucked rather silly by a tentacle of some sort. I blinked a couple times in surprise and called out, "Sorry to disturb you, carry on." Somehow I doubted this would work, but the girl seemed to be passed out by the time I arrived in the room, so it wasn't like I could have helped much anyway.

The door behind her closed, as though moving by itself. Now, without the beam of light from outside, one could see the planetarium as intended, with a stunning array of stars up above. Because for some reason it was active, and the quiet humming of machinery was the only sound in the room, other than the labored breathing of the unconscious, used girl. The tentacle that had been inside the girl pulled out, eliciting a small moan from the girl, and disappeared into the easily accessible darkness. And so, for one brief moment, it seemed as though the two of them were alone underneath a stunning nighttime sky.

This did not last long.

"If it is not too great an offense, let me say that you are not disturbing anything at all. In fact, you are quite welcome. Though I expect you already knew that."

What's this, then? No sudden attack. No cruel laughter. Just a calm voice coming from -from nowhere. There was no source to the voice. In fact, an acute listener would realize that it wasn't a sound at all. The voice didn't come from the air, it did not enter through the ears. It was a purely mental voice, like the one which always speaks inside a person's head.

"I imagine my reputation proceeds me, then," which wasn't an uncommon thing. I walked across the room toward the passed-out girl. Would I provoke it? Would it matter? It didn't particularly concern me, "She's unharmed, I trust. Aside from the obvious." Might as well police them, for all the good it would do me. It was pretty obvious to me the way this was going to happen from here on out.

Though a smile did tug its way across my lips. He gave her a view. How romantic. I looked from her up to the night sky. I wasn't sure who I was dealing with just yet, but the familiar notion of telepathy, the treatment, the tentacle... it didn't narrow things down all that much, but at least a little. Perhaps this one had its reputation proceed it as well.

Indeed, the view was spectacular. The stars swam in the sky, slowly moving as they would throughout the day. If one chose to, this particular planetarium could indeed show even more impressive sights. It was special. Perhaps it used technology that wasn't normally available on Earth? Regardless, with the press of a button one could see a close up of Jupiter as seen from the orbit of Ganymede. One could see a far-off galaxy with such clear resolution you could spot the individual stars. It was a thing of wonders, truly. But wonders were not the only thing on the menu tonight.

"I know who you are, Linnis. I even know without looking into your mind. As for the girl, she is unharmed, as you say. You need not worry about her. She shall be returned to her room quite comfortably. As will you, when I am done with you. I hope know that."

It was not exactly a comfort. Oh look, it seemed to be saying, when I am done raping you I shall give you a ride home! In such bald terms, it was not a very attractive offer, and the fact that it's tone was so matter-of-fact about it was troubling... though also, perhaps, a hint to the identity of this creature.

"Ah, but what room?" I was even conflicted in my heart on what room to return to. Still, I kept the conversation going. At the very least it helped me in my assessment of the situation. Not that I could get out of it, I knew my place in this game, but more to figure out which of any number of creatures I was dealing with, and truncating the sentence by appealing to things it liked or disliked to shorten my stay under the starry sky.

I looked down at the girl, since there was nothing else appealing save the stars above. Perhaps a direct approach would serve me well, "There's a small list of possible people you might be, then. Assuming, that is, that your reputation is as well-known as my own. What should I call you?" If it said something pretentious like "Master", it would at least narrow it down, and serve to fuel me with ammunition to assail it's ego, though this one didn't seem the sort to do that.

The silence of her mind was quickly broken again, as it responded. It sounded... amused. "Ahh, I see. Assuming my reputation is as well-known as your own? Well, let us assume that that is so. And let us assume, as well, that one of your guesses is correct. If you go by those two assumptions, as well as by my actions so far, which being would you guess, dear Linnis?"

He seemed to enjoy chatting. He hadn't directly assaulted her, though is she tried to run the story might be different. The girl on the ground seemed unharmed, and he was no longer molesting her now that she was unconscious. In fact, however, if she looked, something strange could be seen. Several pieces of clothing were moving. The way one could tell was that their light color reflected the dim lighting better, even if the tentacles moving them were nearly invisible in the dark. There was also one other thing. A small metal pitcher appeared from the shadows, and moved to the unconscious girl's face. It tilted against her mouth, and she stirred slightly, taking a small drink of whatever substance was within the pitcher.

"I would speak more... but I am truly curious. Can you guess who I am?"

"Cagnossi would not care to 'water' the 'crops' of this island as you seem to be doing now. He also wouldn't be as amused by banter, I think. Dendrite is quite the probable choice, except I know him well, and he would be far more familiar with me," I paused. There were some others. I poured over thoughts as I watched the clothes shift in the pale faux starlight, "Antipode?"

The guess was strightforward enough. A name I'd heard but never encountered, matched at least some of what I saw. Was it the name of this being? I didn't know. Or care all that much. We were talking. If I was right, I didn't know enough to really say one way or another how to shorten my span here, but it wasn't like I was convinced that would work anyway.

So I decided to play up my own reputation, "Rather than sending this one to her dorm, leave her in my care. I'm sure I can help her with this whole ordeal. And get some use from her besides." The monsters knew me as one almost as much of a hunter as they, and there was no reason to change this image. It was the closest thing to 'respect' I had ever seen one of them show.

She may have been uncertain whether her final guess was correct, but when the voice appeared once more in her head, the tone was all she needed to hear to know she had guessed right. "Ha! Quite the bit of deduction there, Linnis. Indeed I am the one called Antipode. I am quite curious where you heard my name. I am also curious what exactly you have heard of me, then."

So there was a little bit of vanity there. It would be a surprise for a monster with the power that Antipode possessed to not have a little vanity, here and there. However, as the entity watched the young woman, and listened to her gambit in regards to its previous prey, its amusement grew. Linnis had plans for her as well, did she? Well now, that was amusing. Deeply amusing.

"Leave her in your care? So that you may molest her at your will? Why on earth should I be so irresponsible as to leave this little hen with the hungry fox?" For a moment he was silent. He couldn't possibly be serious... "I joke, of course. I suppose that wouldn't be any trouble. Though you will be in no better condition than she is now when I'm done with you. Perhaps I'll just leave her in your dorm room when I'm done with you."

"I trust I can handle myself better than she can. But if nothing else, it benefits us both to wake up with a beautiful naked woman in our company," I responded, a somewhat devilish grin directed up at the starry sky. I was rather proud of myself. Like I said, this was the closest to respect they seemed capable of holding humanity in. That thought didn't surprise me nearly as much as it ought.

It wanted me to stroke its ego, but I imagined I'd be stroking enough things this evening, so I let that point linger a little longer than was called for. I addressed it second, and even then after a pause designed to make the creature a little more on-edge, eager to hear of itself, and its exploits, "People have come to me," I started to walk, not letting the girl out of my sight while doing so, but trying to display a discontentment with standing still, and therein with the status quo, "They do after these things. They told me. I listened. Your name likely doesn't come up as often as you'd like, but certainly often enough."

It quietly listened to her, and watched her walk along the room. It was interesting to see this young woman act this way. There was no fear, no struggle. Merely an entertaining self-confidence from the girl who would very soon be taken by an endless array of tentacles. It was refreshing. As Antipode listened, tentacles began their movements. They were silent, and they hid in the shadows, but still they moved towards her, around her. If she looked closely, she might see a bit of movement behind the seats. She might see a star disappear for the briefest second. Her foot might brush up against something with a slightly different texture than the floor or the chairs. In other words, as she spoke Antipode was making his presence clear.

"I suppose what you say makes sense. And I do give girls my name. I also make very clear what my demands are. What I want from them. Do you know, Linnis? Do you know what it is, precisely, that I want from you? Why I am going to rape you until you scream in pleasure? Why this girl is lying here exhausted after a long hard fuck? I know you want to make it as quick as possible. If that is true, I want you to remove your clothes. And then, you will take a seat."

Now he was giving her orders. Now he was teasing her with his words. The tentacles did not stop appearing, for the briefest moments, so near to her. He wanted her aware. He wanted her to know that he could grab her this very instant, but instead he wasn't. He was going to savor this.

"Doesn't that make it less fun for you?" I countered. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't an idiot, but I figured a little taunting might at least preserve dignity. Especially considering as I spoke I was unbuttoning my blouse. I cast it casually aside, no point in making a deal of it, and exposed my meager and bare chest to wherever the 'eyes' of the creature were, "Personally, I find it hot when she leaves her skirt on." Saying that, I wiggled out of mine.

I took a seat beside the other girl, looking closely at her. My compliance was somewhat complete, though if he had wanted to inspire some emotional reaction from it, he'd failed. Physical resistance was long since pointless, that was a fact I learned all too well. But mental resistance, resisting the emotions they desired to inspire, was far more effective. I didn't lose an ounce of my confidence, "Why is it, again, that you do what you do?" I asked, partially feigning ignorance, but mostly just seeking clarification. I hadn't ever asked, but I had gotten impressions from those I talked to.

It was funny. Most times in my encounters here I had done things all the differently. A lot of people had. Fear, running, some fighting. But none of them ever had anything to show for it. So I sat here, naked, beneath electronic stars, and put forth the only fight that mattered, the emotional and mental battle.

The monster saw what it did, then. The naked Linnis sitting in a chair, near the still unconscious girl he had so recently violated. And though she acted with total compliance, her posture, her actions, her tone of voice, all showed that she was not afraid, or upset. It showed that she was still free, and uncontrolled. He might say that he did not truly wish to dominate her heart, or make her feel fear or other emotions. But that simply wasn't true. And he was going to explain to her exactly why that wasn't true.

"Now, begin to pleasure yourself. Spread your legs, and use your fingers to stroke yourself." He waited a moment. Long enough for her to start. Then, he spoke. "The sensations you feel. Those physical reactions in your brain. The dopamine swimming in your blood. Just as I can read your surface thoughts, and beam words into your mind in your own language, I can feel your sensations. And for me, the pleasure you feel is something... indescribable. If I were the sort of being who was aroused by the sight of a human girl wearing nothing but her skirt, then yes, it would make it less fun for me. Alas, I am not actually here for the sight of your body. I am here to taste your pleasure as you experience it. That is my desire."

I complied. Why? Because what the hell else was I going to do. In for a penny, in for a pound. I leaned back against the really rather comfortable chair and began to delicately, ever so gently, run fingers along my folds, all but teasing myself. I closed my eyes, and when I did I heard it's voice in my mind.

I didn't react outwardly, but knew that that didn't matter. I felt surprised, a little cheated of my sense of victory, and quickly let anything else I felt be buried under my otherwise confident demeanor, "Amazing, I'm here for the pleasure too. It's astounding you resort to rape when you could just as easily absorb emotion from my room on any given evening." I smiled a little, letting the gentle bits of delight touch my mind as I kept my tone one of utter calm, "The skirt isn't about the appearance, Anti, it's about the thrill. Skirts are easy access, easier without panties. The entire point is to play to that. Maybe there's something to be said for the spectacle, but try it sometime. Hell, the more clothes the better. The vulnerability isn't from nudity, quite the opposite. It's from the fact that nudity doesn't matter."

He had, thus far, extracted no vulnerability from me.

If he had extracted no vulnerability, then so be it. In truth, it was not merely pleasure that interested him. Humans were lovely things to play with, and their various reactions were worth seeing in their own right. Linnis reacted differently. He liked that. He enjoyed the novelty of her confident demeanor. He also noticed how she had felt cheated. Still...

"Resort to this? That's a funny way of putting it. Should I have instead offered you flowers and used a pick-up line? No, taking you and making you feel what I want you to feel is much easier." And here was shown just how different from humans Antipode really was. It was truly lucky that human pain did not interest him. This was because if it was, he probably wouldn't care. For he had no real sense of right and wrong when it came to humans. They were merely interesting specimen. They were merely toys to play with. If it had been pain that made him feel all tingly inside, he would have acted the same way. Polite, persistent, and without any concern for the morality of it.

"You give some good advice, however. I shall keep that in mind in the future. But you are the one who spoke of vulnerability, not me. So tell me. Is feeling vulnerable something you enjoy, at times like this?"

At that moment, several tendrils brushed against her feet. They were there around her, waiting to strike. But he was perhaps having too much fun playing with his meal. But perhaps it was nearly time for him to start eating in earnest.