Fascinating Day

The notification didn't seem to have a particular time limit so he simply ignored it for now and looked down at Alexis. She hadn't seemed to react to anything so he wasn't sure what was going on in her head. The notification definitely meant the parasite had taken hold but he honestly wasn't sure what the process was. Matt pulled up his status and saw a new section on the system called 'allies' which listed Alexis as one of them.

"Hey, Lexi, do you feel different?"

"Huh? No, I feel normal… Has it already…?"

"Yeah, seems like it."

Matt thought about when he first woke up and realized that he didn't know right away that he was the parasite. It wasn't until the system activated. Perhaps it is very difficult for a new host to take advantage of the parasites strengthening and abilities without the system. Looking at it objectively, if he had to blindly stumble around without the interface, he likely would not have gotten to where he was now. Therefore, he decided to go ahead with activating the system for her.

{Brace yourself because this might be a little weird at first.}

Before she had a chance to respond, Matt activated the Imposter Support System for Alexis. A few seconds after selecting yes, Alexis jumped a little. Fortunately, Matt gave her a warning so she was able to adapt quickly. She closed her eyes and seemed to be lost in thought. Matt realized how fortunate he was to have Perfect Mimicry even more. This allowed him to view his status without having an interruption in his façade.

{Mas—Matt I… think I figured… it out.}

Alexis sent a telepathic message without using the channel between them. It cut in and out but that would improve through practice. Matt leaned forward and placed his head on her shoulder. They were in this together now. Although he trusted her a lot and wanted to stay with her in this damned world, there was that paper-thin barrier between them that he could never cross.

{I'm glad. I really am.}

Matt utilized the direct mental communication that he had with Alexis now that she was successfully a host. He realized just how much better this direct line was than his telepathy. Not only did it send thoughts over in the owner's mental voice, it also carried the emotion and tone of regular speech. Alexis was able to feel the relief and happiness in Matt's message which made her feel warm.

They stayed together like that for a while longer but the bath was getting cold so they decided to clean up and head to dinner. Alexis hadn't mentioned anything about the system yet but he didn't push her. These changes were happening in her body so he understood the need to figure it out first. Matt decided to shave off the short beard he had grown these last few weeks. He wasn't sure why he suddenly decided to do that, but it seemed right.

As he left the bathroom, he spotted the toilet seat was up and instinctively put it down. When he walked out of the bathroom, he did a double take. Matt always forgot to put the seat down and Alexis never complained. Something felt off but before he could investigate anymore, Matt saw Alexis lying in their bed wearing a lingerie. She looked exceptionally pretty today. Her whole body was glowing.

Matt got on the bed and started to gently caress her body. She felt especially smooth and silky today because they recently bathed. Matt did a lot of service for her, finding every spot she liked and even bringing her to climax with his mouth and hands alone. Alexis had yet to do anything which was unlike her. She typically took the lead.

The last few hours Matt had spent quite a lot of mental energy on telepathy. Due to his mental resistance skill, he recovered fairly quickly. It was after the third round of servicing Alexis that his mental resistance finally kicked in and he sensed something like a pink aura around her. It was seeping into his mind and guiding his thoughts subtlety. He immediately broke the connection and then looked down at her with an evil smile.

"Ah, Matt, it works really well. Isn't that wonder—ful?" Alexis tried to play it off. She had been testing her Fascination skill on Matt to see how it worked. That was when she noticed he was fulfilling her wishes without her even saying anything. She wanted to see how far she could take it out of complete scientific curiosity, she told herself.

"We still have plenty of time before dinner. I guess I'll have to 'reward' you for mastering that skill so quickly…"

After they both got their rewards for an hour, they had to clean up again. This time they just took a quick shower and got dressed. Matt noticed that Alexis's closet was populated with more long dresses than before. Once they got ready in their standard issue attire, they made their way to the cafeteria hand in hand. They didn't say anything out loud but were having quite the war of wills from within their minds.

Matt was curious about the limits of their connection so he created a "battlefield" within their minds. They then engaged in various forms of combat against each other. Whatever they could imagine came into existence. Matt had no chance against Alexis in military skills and knowledge, but he naturally cheated. He created various weapons and powers from cartoons in his past life. That being said, Alexis had very good combat sense and managed to counter even an eternally burning flame.

The battle ended when Alexis started to have a migraine. She didn't have a mental resistance skill like Matt so in a battle of endurance he would obviously win. However, the main point of the mental battle was achieved. It seemed that their connection was almost to the level of being one mind. This must be what a hive collective feels like. Matt had no intention to control Alexis's every thought and feeling though.

{So, how is it?} Matt messaged her after her head stopped hurting.

{Ah, it's wonderful. I feel like I have more energy than ever before. It's probably because of this skill, here let me try something…}

[Host: Alexis Alexeyev

Master: Matthew O'Connely

Support Points (SP): 1

Status: Immature Parasite

Abilities: Growth, Infection, Fascination, Fatigue Resistance

Skills: None]

{Is that what you see?} Matt thought curiously.

{You look surprised, is yours different?}

{A bit different. What about the descriptions?}

{Ah, descriptions? I didn't think about that…}

Alexis closed off communication and began looking over her skills. Matt had to lead her by hand since she was distracted in her thoughts. They soon arrived at the cafeteria where the captain noticed them first. He called them over to his table and Matt had to nudge Alexis to have her come back to reality for now.

"Commander, Doctor, you two seem very happy this evening. I am looking forward to your wedding party. I'll bring my famous dish!"

That was when Matt realized he forgot to tell Alexis some things. However, now wasn't the time. He hoped she wouldn't freak out later. The two of them walked forward with bitter smiles and thanked the captain for his considerate offer.

"Oh-ho-ho, the Commander is getting married? In this day and age? I didn't know you were such a classic romantic."

"My great grandparents would always talk about how back in the day people would have ten or eleven marriages in a life time! It was truly a toxic system back then."

"Thank goodness we don't live in that era anymore."

"…"

The people at the table continued to talk about various matters concerning the antiquated practice of marriage in this era. It was commonly understood to only be used by those who fantasize of the old era. These people often felt that they were born in the wrong century and wished to go back to an older time. It wasn't bad to get married, just very rare.

After eating their meals, Alexis and Matt bid the captain goodbye and left. Matt wanted to bring Alexis to his lab to show her Martha. He had received an encrypted message from Willard telling him that his lab was secure again. There was no explanation to what happened previously, and the message destroyed itself before he could reply. Alexis was just happy to be with him so she didn't complain. They arrived at the lab and locked the door behind them.

"Well, we should be fine in here. Oh, I was meaning to tell you but it slipped my mind. I think the captain's sausages are made from humans. I'm not entirely sure, but it is my insti—"

"{WHAT!}" Alexis shouted with her mouth while also sending a powerful mental shout into his head causing his ears to start ringing. While Matt held his aching head, Alexis started dry heaving.