The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Her grandmother would have been appalled. But that was why Mom had left home, anyway.

Looking around, though, she couldn’t imagine that Athena’s parents would be happy to see their daughter running around in a pink lace bra, or that Mother Collins would be all that thrilled to see her older daughter in her plain white brassiere or her younger daughter pantsless and with a smiling cartoon sun on her ass.

Fatin shook her head and smiled, taking her place alongside Sam and Annie, feeling a bit self-conscious with her own state, even though her grey sports bra covered more than most two-piece tops; she was certainly closer to public acceptability than the other three who were on her team. And her grandmother wasn’t about to see it, so why worry?

Sunny, standing beside her, didn’t seem to share her embarrassment, apparently revelling in the opportunity to have eyes on her small bum and cute panties. Certainly the way she’d wiggled a moment ago, or walked across the floor, or bent down to re-tie her shoes, showed little in the way of reluctance, and much in the subtle curves of her body. . “Capture the Flag, huh? So... two territories, each side has something the other side needs to steal...”

Tanya, their instructor, nodded. “That’s right. So, the rules.” She pointed to a symbol on the wall. Fatin recognized it as the sigil for the last round’s powerups. “There aren’t any buffs in this one, so this is your flag. If someone on the other team tags it, you’ll get an alert on your HUD. Their zapper and tagger are disabled, and if they make it back into their team’s territory without getting captured, they get a point. Simple, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“The arena’s divided into three territories. Red, Blue, White. Home base for the two teams and neutral ground in between. The walls are lit with the territory colours, and there are lines on the floor to show exactly where the areas start and stop.

“Equipment. Your zapper is good for a three-second stun, no matter where the target is. Anyone in enemy territory, or on neutral ground and carrying the flag, can be tapped with the tagger and sent to jail, stunned or not.”

“Sent to jail? They just... willingly go there?” Chere, across the room, asked skeptically.

Fatin tapped her headset, felt a smile on her lips. “We’ve been Altered. Of course it’ll be,” she made large quotation marks with her fingers, “’willing.’”

Tanya grinned. “Right, Fatin, if you didn’t go to jail, it would be against the rules, and none of you want to break the rules. Trust me.” She gave an evil little chuckle. “Anyway, there’s only one jail, and it’s in neutral territory.”

Laine’s hand shot up. “What if your whole team is in jail?”

“Point to the other team. So, yes, that means there are two ways to score points, although taking the flag is way easier.” The hostess shrugged. “Any time a team scores a point, the other team goes free from jail. You can also free your team with a powerup marker in the back of the jail, but if you get shot while you’re in there you’ll wind up staying like if you got tagged on enemy ground.

“One last thing,” Tanya finished. “Limited ammunition, can’t just blast away like your last round. Your zapper holds ten shots. You reload just by being in your home territory and not shooting for a bit.”

“If my zapper’s out and I try to shoot?” Sunny asked.

Tanya smiled. “If your zapper’s out, you won’t try to shoot, don’t worry.”

Although Athena was across the room, Fatin swore she could see the tall Greek shiver and bite her lip. Hm.

“If there are no questions...” Tanya paused a moment to see if anyone would ask anything. No one did. “To your doors, teams. Let’s get this started.”

Fatin was first in the tiny waiting room. At least this time she wasn’t the only veteran on her team. In fact, between her, Sam and Annie, there was only Scarlett on the other team who had been here before today. She did a quick scan of the details on her HUD.

Sam’s Bachelorette Party! Match 2!

Standard 4v4 Capture the Flag

10 minute time limit

Friendly fire is OFF

Powerups are OFF

Sudden Death is ON

Looked like a pretty straightforward game. Fatin smiled. She’d never done a CTF match, but it had always looked like fun.

“Well, Sam,” Sunny asked as the other three red team members walked in, “is this what you wanted for your big party?”

Fatin couldn’t help but notice Sam’s eyes dip down over Sunny’s legs, then flick back up over her own bare torso. She didn’t feel as embarrassed or awkward as she thought she might. Curious.

“Countdown’s started,” Annie said before Sam could answer. “Do we have a strategy?”

“Get more points than the blue team,” Sunny said with a shrug.

Fatin rolled her eyes. “I’ll go get the flag. Who wants to guard ours?”

“I’ll do it,” Annie said as the timer ticked down. “Sam, Sunny,” the doors opened, “just do something useful.”

Fatin heard Sam’s laughter as she bolted into the red-colored walls, pistol in hand. She started making a mental map as she wandered their territory. Her eyes flicked across the HUD again as she walked.

In the upper-left corner of her vision was a directional indicator, which she knew, somehow, would lead her to their flag. It wasn’t radar, it didn’t show her the direction; instead it was a pathfinder, and if she followed it, it would take her to location of the flag—or to whoever had taken it—by the fastest route.

Next, top-center, was a score counter. Zero-zero, of course. And directly underneath it, the number of jailed teammates, also zero. Beside that, on the right of the display, was the timer. Below the timer, in the bottom right corner, was her ammo count, ten shots.

That was it. Plain, simple, minimalistic. Fatin liked it. The free-for-alls and team deathmatches she was used to often had so much information that it could be hard for a first-timer to know what to ignore.

She stepped across the line into neutral territory.

The pathfinder changed subtly, no longer showing the flag, instead pointing along the most direct path to the jail, in case she was there to free someone. Arrows on the white-colored walls pointed the way to both the red and blue bases. Fatin cautiously followed blue arrows, hoping a surprise assault might...

Her visor flashed. All the information on it went blank, replaced with a large ‘3.’

She couldn’t move.

Someone had shot her. She couldn’t move.

The ‘3’ became a ‘2’.

Even her eyes wouldn’t move. She just stared at the wall. She felt like it would be impossible to make herself blink. She knew that the feeling of not breathing was a mental illusion, but that didn’t make it any less powerful.

‘2’ ticked over to ‘1’.

She wondered who had shot her, and from where, and if she had time to duck for cover before getting hit again.

The HUD reappeared, and Fatin dashed around a corner. She still hadn’t seen or heard anyone. Maybe it was just an opponent passing by on her way to try and get their flag.

She rounded another corner, trying to get back on track and move towards blue base, and nearly ran full on in to Athena. Fatin raised her pistol, but realized that the Greek girl didn’t have the standard red glow of an enemy that she would have expected, nor the green of an ally, but instead a neutral yellow light emanated from her form through Fatin’s visor.

“Prisoners go to jail,” Athena muttered, walking past her muslim friend as if she couldn’t even see her. And then, again, “Prisoners go to jail.”

So ‘Theen had been tagged. Fatin paused a moment to watch her wander off. She swore she heard her say, “Prisoners go to jail” a third time as she ambled away.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

Renewed in her mission, Fatin followed the blue arrows, and stepped over the line into enemy territory.

The pathfinding arrow realigned itself again, showing her the way to the enemy flag. That would be useful, but she wanted to make a little mental map of the blue base, much like she had of her own, so she didn’t rush straight for the flag.

They’d probably set a guard, anyway. Even down one member, blue team was still a force to be reckoned with: Chere was small and quick like her twin, Scarlett was a stellar athlete, and Laine was a great shot. She didn’t think she could to get the flag, not right then, so she needed to get info for the next move, and then the next. This was a game of moments, of inches, of little victories leading to bigger...

Fatin fired, more on instinct than anything, then ran as Scarlett froze in place, half-turned towards her. Nine shots left. Got to make ’em count.

She followed her pathfinding arrow, further away from home, deeper into enemy territory. Change of plans.

Someone was coming, Fatin could hear them talking. She ducked down a side path.

Sunny’s voice followed her.

“Prisoners go to jail.”

Sunny’s voice passed by, still muttering its mindless refrain.

Rescue? she thought briefly. Annie should still be guarding the flag, but Sam might...

She was walking again. Following the pathfinder, knowing that Sunny just came from that direction, that Scarlett was behind her, that she might be trapped between two, maybe three opposing players. The indicator for her jailed teammates switched over from zero to one.

Fatin rounded a corner and waited; sure enough, Scarlett followed behind her and was again frozen. Eight shots left, and no time to waste. A little sprint forward, a quick dash to the left, a deliberate turn away from the direction of the flag, hiding in a dead end.

Fatin waited. She held her breath. Five seconds. Ten. She heard Scarlett say something. Someone, it sounded like Chere, replied, but the discussion was too quiet for her to catch.

The pathfinder arrow twitched and turned. Chere and Scarlett’s voices quickly faded. It took Fatin a second to realize that someone else, probably Sam, had grabbed the blue flag.

She darted in the direction of the arrow, thinking that she might offer an assist, maybe escort Sam or...

The arrow suddenly swung back in the other direction. What was happening?

And then Sam approached. A blank look on her face. “Prisoners go to jail.”

Shit.

Alright, that meant they needed a rescue. Flag plans on hold, Fatin started moving back towards neutral ground. Sam could lead her, of course, but Sam wasn’t exactly moving quickly, and the constant repetitive buzz of those four words would be a distraction.

Fatin’s visor lit up. “Red flag taken!” it said, the words blinking across the bottom of her screen. The guiding arrow pointed now in a completely different direction, presumably directly at Laine; Scarlett and Chere were, after all, still somewhere behind her in blue base, and Athena was probably still in jail.

If Laine had already got past Annie, it was possible that Fatin was the last chance to prevent the point. She picked up the pace. As she turned a corner, a red blast passed just in front of her, and she turned back and fired twice, again managing to stun Scarlett. She didn’t pause to revel in the joy of it. It just meant that she wasn’t going to get stunned, at least not from there, as she went to intercept the flag-stealer.

All this in... her eyes flicked to the timer. Less than two minutes of game so far. She would have to play this one more often.

Just follow the arrow, it’s the fastest way to get to Laine. Her eyes flicked from the labyrinth to the display and back again as she slipped into the white-colored neutral ground. Turn, sprint, turn, jog, turn, and...

Fire.

Laine, about three steps from safety, stopped moving. Fatin didn’t hesitate, dashing forward and tagging her friend with her left hand. Laine immediately straightened, and the flashing text alarm on the HUD vanished.

“Prisoners go to jail,” Laine said, flushed from the exertion of her quick march back toward safe ground, grey eyes wide and staring. She turned aside and started walking away.

Fatin grinned and took a breath herself. The pathfinding arrow followed Laine, which made sense as it pointed the way to the jail, and that’s where the captured girl was heading. After a moment’s hesitation, Fatin followed and breezed past Laine, going to rescue her two imprisoned teammates.

The prison was just a dead end in the middle of the neutral area, about the size and shape of the small rooms that led into the maze from the lobby. Athena, Sunny and Sam were milling about inside, chatting quite casually.

“Can’t leave,” Athena said. “It would be against the rules. Why don’t you go, Sunny?“

The younger twin giggled. “Are you kidding? You guys are here! Why would I want to be out there, all alone?”

Sam was leaning on a wall, listening to them, smiling blissfully, breathing slow and easy, looking for all the world like she was high.

“Need a rescue?” Fatin asked, slipping into the small space. A little warning appeared on her HUD to let her know that if she got shot while in here, she would be counted as captured.

“Nah,” Sam replied. “It’s so calm in here.”

“You can’t rescue me, we’re not on the same team,” Athena explained.

“Only if you’ll stay with me the whole time,” Sunny said.

Fatin placed her tagger on the indicator at the corner of the dead end. Sunny and Sam gasped and shook their heads.

“Thanks, Fatin,” Sunny said with a little wiggle. “Seeya later, ’Theen!”

“I’ll stay here. I can’t leave until I’m rescued, it’d be against the rules,” Athena said in response.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Right. Okay. What’s the plan?”

“Get out of the prison before we get shot and stuck back in here,” Fatin said, leading them out just as Laine was arriving.

“Whoa,” Sunny said as the chubby blonde approached, muttering her four-word mantra. “Is that what we looked like when...” She swallowed. Fatin nodded.

“What now?” Sam asked as they moved further from the jail.

“There are only two of them, and three of us here, and Annie’s still back at home. I have five shots left. We rush the flag.” Without waiting for her teammates to object or offer support, Fatin started moving back towards team blue’s territory. She heard them fall in line behind her.

“Two shots left,” Sam said.

“Four,” Sunny added. “Should be enough.”

The three of them crossed the blue line on the floor where Fatin (and Sam, although she wouldn’t remember it) had left the blue base for the prison earlier. Fatin pointed down a side path, the way she’d first taken to get there, and Sunny ducked into the passage while Sam stuck with her.

Fatin stopped. “You take the lead. I have more shots.” Sam slipped past her with a nod and the two of them headed straight for the flag.

... but as they followed the path, the base seemed deserted. No sign of Scarlett or Chere. Sunny slipped in to the flag-bearing corridor from the other side.

“See anyone?” Fatin asked. Sunny shook her head.

“Alright. Sam, you’re still the least armed, so you take it.” Sam nodded and put her hand to the wall. “Sunny, let’s protect her and get her home.”

“Aye aye, cap’n!” she saluted with a grin, and the three of them took off.

But, of course, just when they were leaving enemy ground, Fatin’s visor lit up again with the warning that their flag had been taken. “Shit,” she said. “Sunny, you want to take care of that?

“I’m on it. Get back safe, guys.” Sunny peeled off in the direction of the pathfinder arrow. Sam led Fatin back towards the red base.

A moment later, Scarlett stepped around the corner and fired. Acting on instinct, Fatin pushed Sam aside and took the blast full on, standing helpless as her HUD switched over to the large countdown and her body simply refused to move. Sam, ever aware, sprinted away. Scarlett followed; Fatin heard her mutter as she ran by, “Figures, my last shot...”

Fatin hoped that they were close to home; none of them would be able to outpace Scarlett in a sprint.

Her hope wasn’t in vain. The moment her body unlocked and her HUD returned to normal, the score counter ticked up one for red team.

And then one for blue team.

Five shots left. She knew that the only thing that could be between her and the blue flag was Chere, but she would still have to go quickly.

So she did. She was starting to feel her leg muscles burn, but there was no way she would give up now. She’d just take a shift on guard duty and relax a while afterwards.

Into blue territory. Retracing her steps again. Hand to the wall, to the glowing circle that hummed with approval. Her ammo counter vanished, being replaced with the icon of a flag, and her arrow pointed the fastest way home.

She ran.

Back into the stretch of white. A blast from her left went just wide, and she diverted from the fastest path to head through a more winding road, hopefully preventing anyone from getting a clear shot before she was safe.

There had been no one between her and the flag. That meant that everyone was between her and red base.

Two blasts cut through the air in front of her at the next intersection, and Annie’s head popped in to view. “Fatin?”

“I’ve got the flag!”

Annie immediately turned away and fired again. “Laine’s right here, I’ll keep her frozen. You’re almost th...”

Another shot, just as Fatin came to the intersection, cut the wiry black girl off. Fatin didn’t look, she just turned on the speed, dashing past her teammate, letting the arrow guide her in.

There it was, the red line on the floor. And then Athena stepped around the corner in front of her.

Athena raised her pistol, she was running forward, finger at the trigger.

Fatin leapt. Dove.

The blast could stun her body, but it couldn’t change physics. Momentum and gravity would still win over Alteration.

Her visor went blank, all information on it replaced with a number. The red line sliced her in half, running straight through her bare belly as she hit the floor. She felt the blow—curiously, she could still roll some, reducing the pain of the impact—and then a tag on her shoulder as Athena tried to save the point.

Nothing changed. The stun timer ticked down to ‘1’.

Athena laughed with admiration. “Great dive, Fatin.” She fired again, and the clock on Fatin’s visor reset to three.

Fatin heard her run off, heard other footsteps approaching.

“You okay?” Annie’s low voice asked.

Fatin took a sharp breath as her countdown timer reached zero and rolled onto her back. “Fine, just a little sore,” she said.

Annie extended a hand. “What happened?”

“I got the point.” Fatin clasped her friend’s hand and let Annie help her up. “I think I need to take guard duty for a bit.”

“You need a break? Should we call the guide?”

Fatin shook her head. “Just walk me to the flag. I’ll keep it safe.”

The ammo counter in the bottom corner of Fatin’s visor counted up from five to six. The score read two to one. She leaned on Annie’s shoulder. The ammo counter clicked up once a second, to seven, to eight...

Sunny popped up around the next corner. “Hey, got another point! Was that you?”

Fatin nodded. “Saw my chance. I need a break, I’m taking guard duty.”

Sunny smiled. “We can play defense, we’re in the lead. I’ll give you a hand.”

“Good idea,” Annie replied, unable to hide a note of concern. “Besides, I want a chance to go after the flag, too.”

“Take Sam, go, get us another point.” Fatin grinned. “We got this.”

“Almost six minutes left. Lots can happen,” Sunny noted as they rounded the corner to their own flag’s corridor.

Fatin took her arm from Annie’s shoulder. “I’m good. Go go go!”

Annie hesitated just a moment before running off.

Sunny stood facing Fatin, hands on her hips. “Alright, girl, how did you get the road rash?”

“The what?”

Sunny pointed at Fatin’s stomach, where contact with the soft floor in her dive had rubbed off layers of skin.

“Oh. I, uh, I had to dive to score the point.”

Sunny’s eyes went wide. “Shit, seriously? Flying through the air and all that?”

Fatin nodded, and couldn’t resist a little grin. It helped to compensate for the growing sting in her midriff.

“Wow, you’re committed, huh.”

Fatin gave a short laugh, before settling in to a position where she could lean on the wall and watch one entrance to the flag’s corridor. “So, what’s jail like?”

“Oh it’s... um...” Sunny stammered a little as she took up a similar position to watch the other side of the hallway. “It’s... interesting.”

Fatin watched her post and remained silent, waiting for Sunny to continue.

“So I remember getting zapped, just as I was getting close to the blue flag. My sister’s hand on my shoulder. And then I just... woke up in jail.”

“Nothing in between?”

Fatin heard Sunny’s breath hitch a little. “Nothing. I was just... there. ’Theen was there, too. As soon as I saw her...”

There was a pause.

“Yes?”

“As soon as I saw her, I knew I didn’t want to be alone. I just wanted to stay by her side. Like, forever.”

“Oh.”

“I-it wasn’t anything like... I wasn’t in love with her or anything,” Sunny added quickly. She sounded embarrassed. “It was just... I didn’t want to be alone. And ’Theen wouldn’t leave ’cause it was against the rules or something. Then Sam showed up, and I was even less alone, and it was so great. And Sam was just... I dunno, blissful or something. Too calm to go anywhere.”

Under the score, still showing the two-to-one lead for Team Red, Fatin (and Sunny, surely) could see that one of their teammates wound up in jail. Fatin wondered idly what experience that Sam or Annie was having at the moment. She shifted from leg to leg, working out the soreness and tiredness. At five minutes exactly remaining, that number slipped back down to zero.

“Fatin,” Sunny said.

“Yes?”

There was no answer.

The “Red flag taken!” warning lit up.

Fatin couldn’t even manage turning around before her HUD information was replaced with a big ‘3’, and her body refused her brain’s directions.

Shit, she thought.

She felt a hand—and a pistol—on her shoulder. Her countdown flipped from ‘1’ back to ‘3’.

“I’ll just keep you right here.” Scarlett’s voice in her ear. “I think I’ll take a little revenge.”

‘2’ ... ‘1’ ... ‘3’ ... damnit

“’Theen’s doing the same to Sunny, and Laine’s taking the flag home,”

‘1’... ‘3’...

“And we should be able to get away as soon as we score the point,”

‘1’... ‘3’... Ugh, again?

“And even if you catch me, Laine’s too far away.”

The timer rolled back again.

“I have to admit, this is lots of fun,”

Another reset. Was that six, or seven?

“Especially after you’ve shot me, what, four times already?”

And the next rollback.

“And robbed me of my chance to stop Sam.”

Another rollback. If she could have, she’d have sighed.

“So I prisoners go to jail,” Scarlett said.

The timer blipped down to zero.

“Prisoners go to jail,” Scarlett repeated, her voice drained of the gleeful animation it had just had a moment before.

The zapper left her shoulder, as did Scarlett’s hand. Fatin turned to see Sam there, and Scarlett walking off in a daze.

“Sorry, Fatin,” Sunny said. “I turned away for a second...”

Fatin shook her head, smiling. “Just a game. What happened?”

“They got me, then Annie saved me, and then the flag was being taken,” Sam explained.

“Couldn’t stop it,” Annie said grimly from the other side of the corridor.

“So we’re pretty much back to the start of the match,” Fatin said, bending down to touch the floor, stretching her back and rolling up. “Except that we’ve lost five minutes.”

“Except you’re hurt,” Sunny pointed out.

“Except two of them are on their way to jail,” Sam added.

Fatin nodded. “Right, the perfect time to move. There are three entrances, I think, to each team’s base. If you each take one, we might be able to get a couple points quick. I’ll guard the jail entrance, see if I can keep them from freeing ’Theen and Scar.” She started to move, wishing it was a bigger game and they could leave a couple people on flag defense, too, but this would work.

The others followed split off, and Sunny travelled with her. “I’m really sorry, Fatin, I just looked away...”

Fatin waved her to silence. “Just a game, Sunny. And they outnumbered us, even if you were looking, even if we’re both looking, probably winds up the same anyway.”

It’s just a game, her thoughts echoed... but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking about how Scarlett had pressed close, how helpless she’d been, how... her hand subconsciously went to the reddened patch on her belly. How exposed she had been.

Fatin watched as Sunny turned and continued down a separate path, unable to keep her eyes off the younger twin’s bare legs. Exposed. Her hand idly played around her navel as she made her way to the holding cell. By the end of the day, people would be even more exposed.

After this game, she and Sunny might be.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

She heard Scarlett’s voice. “I can’t even see out there. It’s all foggy. I should just stay here.”

“It’s okay, leaving would be against the rules, anyway.” That was Athena, of course.

“I don’t see why you need rules when it’s all just fog. This place is so much safer.”

“The rules keep us safe. That’s why we shouldn’t leave.”

Fatin smiled, half-listening to the two of them talk in circles as she looked for a reasonably secure spot to stake out the jail entrance. There really wasn’t one, but if she kept a bit of a patrol, she should have pretty good odds of zapping someone before she got zapped herself.

She considered hiding out in the jail, waiting in ambush for someone else to come in, pretending to be imprisoned, but the glow on the blue team’s HUDs would have given her away immediately, and then she would have been imprisoned. At least out here the worst she had to worry about was a three-second stun.

Idly pacing, Fatin let herself consider the clever construction of the maze as she glanced around every branching path and blind corner. The flags were both in corridors that were tricky to defend, the jail was similarly difficult to stake out. All designed to force a faster-paced, more aggressive game.

Fatin heard a noise and turned quickly, pistol at the ready, but held her fire when she saw it was Annie walking towards her, a blank expression on her face. “Prisoners go to jail,” she said calmly.

Well, I’m here. Might as well set her free, when she gets in there.

“Hi Annie,” Athena said as the shorter girl slipped in to the jail. “The rules say you have to stay here, so you should stay.”

“Not like you can see anything out there anyway,” Scarlett added.

Fatin watched as Annie put her hands against the wall. “Doesn’t matter, can’t go anywhere with my hands stuck like this.”

Athena and Scarlett both looked at where Annie’s palms were pressed against the barrier, nodding sagely.

“That’s probably so you don’t break the rules.”

“Or so you don’t wander away and get lost.”

Fatin couldn’t help but snicker as she slipped in to the jail. “Hey Annie, in a bit of a jam?”

“Oh, hi, Fatin. Yeah, my hands are...” the wiry woman leaned back, struggling a little, as though she was trying to get away from the wall. “... stuck.”

“Hey, that’s pretty rough, want me to help you out?” Fatin slipped deeper in to the jail.

“Just play fair, you guys.”

“Don’t get mixed up out there.”

Fatin activated the release trigger for the second time, and Annie stumbled back from the wall with a little surprised cry. She looked a bit embarrassed as she waved her thanks to her teammate and charged back into the maze.

“How are you two?” Fatin asked, walking back.

“It’s safe here,” Scarlett answered, casually leaning against the wall. “I’ll stick around a while.”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Athena nodded. “I’ll wait for my own team to rescue me. Or maybe you guys could free us by scoring a point.”

“Nah, they won’t do that,” came another voice, very familiar. One of the twins. Unfortunately for Fatin, it was topless Chere, not bottomless Sunny.

Fatin realized, too late, that she was still in the jail, still in danger.

Chere’s zapper flashed.

Fatin’s legs were aching. It would be nice to have a sit down, she thought. Just out of the way, in the corner here. There was a flurry of activity around her, but she didn’t pay it any mind. I’ll just take a little break. She yawned and stretched, leaning against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

Then she was alone. But that was alright, it was quiet. She leaned over, grabbed her feet, held her position for... well, there was a convenient timer on her visor. Five, four, three, two, one, and release, lean back. And again, watching the seconds tick down as she held the stretch, feeling tense muscles come loose.

Her team scored a point. That was nice. She arched her back away from the wall, digging her shoulders in, feeling a satisfying pop along her spinal column. The three minutes left in the game was more than enough time to get a little exercise done, work out those sore spots. She’d pushed herself pretty hard. It was good to get a rest.

Sunny wandered in. “Heya Fatin, mind if I join you?”

Fatin looked up at her teammate. “Not here to rescue me?”

The younger Collins twin shook her head. “Nah, I just got tired of being alone out there. No one to talk to, you know?” She sat down beside Fatin. “Whatcha doin’?”

Fatin lifted her arms over her head, lacing her fingers together, pressing her palms against the empty air, inhaling deeply through her nose. “Just stretching out.”

Sunny watched her, idly bouncing her heels on the soft floor, her bare legs wiggling. “Think we’re gonna win?”

“Hm?” Oh, right, the game. “Oh. I dunno, we’re ahead, so that’s good.” Fatin let her arms come down to her sides, resting her hands in her lap. She lifted her right leg and started rotating her foot, feeling ligaments pull in her ankle. It felt nice.

“Yeah, it is.” Sunny watched for a moment, then shifted closer. “I hope we win.”

“Why not go help out, then?” Fatin asked, switching feet. Exercising her left ankle felt almost as good as the right.

“Cuz I don’t wanna be alone.” Sunny sighed. “How about you, do you hope we win?”

Fatin thought about the question as she finished her ankle rolls. Did she really hope to win? Winning was good, in theory, sure, and it was the point of the game, and she liked the idea of getting revenge on Scarlett. And losing meant having to take off more clothes. She pulled her left arm across her chest, holding it with her right, stretching out the shoulder. She wanted to keep her clothes on, after all.

Didn’t she?

“Of course I hope we win,” she said with a certainty she didn’t feel. She switched arms as Sunny edged closer still, nearly coming shoulder-to-bare-shoulder—and bare-leg-to-leg—with her teammate. Fatin sudden felt a wave of relief that she had chosen to wear track pants instead of the walking shorts she had originally planned. Or perhaps not relief, perhaps... disappointment? Regret?

She rolled her neck to hide her confusion.

Sunny seemed about to say something when the blue team’s score ticked up from two to three, and her intake of breath turned to a gasp. Fatin registered the change an instant later, jumping quickly to her feet.

“Oh no you don’t!” Chere said, rounding the corner quickly.

Fatin grabbed her zapper and fired. Chere locked in place, but she’d already taken her shot; Sunny had been starting to scramble to her feet, but sat back down. Fatin did a quick calculation; could she make it to the release trigger before Chere came unstunned?

She could fire more than once, of course, and keep Chere locked down. She took aim, fired again, turned to find the prison release, keeping careful count of the three Mississippis on a quiet whisper. Tagger to the wall, she turned back and fired a third time.

Sunny started scrambling back to her feet. “Thanks, Fatin. I’m going back to base, need to recharge.” She took off at a run.

Fatin nodded, zapping Chere again to reset the stun timer, walking out of the jail area, before shooting Chere again. Five shots left. Return to base, or make a run at the flag?

Make a run. She had two allies out there somewhere; if they were in any position to help, it’d be easy to grab another point.

Fatin’s feet were already moving before the thought was complete. A little more than two minutes left in the match, that’s enough time for five points, let alone one, if we just work at it. She traced her path back to the blue base. Besides, I’ve got five shots here for with Scarlett’s name on them...

She moved slowly, carefully, preserving energy, hoping she was being something near stealthy. Her minute-long workout, and the rest that went with it, had done wonders for her aches, but she wasn’t keen to push herself again like she had earlier, at least not right away.

The blue line loomed. Sam approached, blank look on her face, muttering that familiar, “Prisoners go to jail” refrain. Poor Sam. Fatin shook her head, wary for whoever might have tagged her teammate.

Fatin very deliberately stepped into blue territory, and just as deliberately did not follow her directional indicator, heading down a different path, trying to stay off the main route where any members of the opposing team would likely be moving. One minute, fifty seconds left. Lots of time.

She felt a cold touch on her lower back. There was a moment of curiosity: was this a friend, a teammate signalling her presence? Her visor glittered. Her eyes jumped around to the sparkles. If the touch activated the visor, then that was a sensor, and one that had to belong to

Sam was standing in the corner, staring at the wall, a silly smile on her face. Annie had her palms out against the opposite surface, wearing a frustrated look. Fatin stood roughly halfway between them, reaching her hands up toward the ceiling. That stretch felt good. Legs, hips, back, arms and fingers all immediately felt nice and loose.

Her timer had jumped. Maybe it was malfunctioning. A moment ago it had read 1:40, and now it showed 1:20.

“Either of you want to join me in a stretch?” Fatin asked politely. She twisted at the waist, left first, then right, waiting for an answer.

Sam giggled and ignored her.

“Could be good, but my hands are stuck,” Annie replied. “And my nose fuckin’ itches.”

Fatin bent over and put her palms on the floor. “Sounds like that sucks, Annie.”

“It does, thanks.” She was looking at the floor, but Fatin could still hear Annie’s eyeroll in her voice. “Kinda hate it.”

Sam giggled again, at nothing in particular.

Fatin crouched down. “Why not just go, then?”

“What part of ‘stuck’ is so difficult, here?” Annie barked.

“Alright, alright, sorry, sheesh.”

Annie sighed. “Sorry, Fatin, didn’t mean to snap. Just annoyed at this.”

Fatin stood and walked over to where Annie was braced against the wall. “Why, Annie, is it because you can’t stop me from doing this?” She rubbed the other woman’s shaved head with a grin.

“Hey!” Despite herself, despite her tone, Annie smirked.

“Or from doing this?” Fatin continued, dropping her hands to Annie’s sides and tickling her ribs.

“Stoppit!” Without pulling her hands from the wall, Annie twisted away from Fatin’s fingers, squealing. Her giggles were echoed by Sam, although it wasn’t clear if Sam had any idea what she was laughing at.

Fatin stepped closer, reaching around to lightly dig her fingers into her victim’s belly. Annie responded with howls, her hands firmly locked in place as the rest of her body writhed.

“Guys,” Sam said softly, spacily. “We just got a point.”

Annie calmed down as Fatin stopped actively tickling her, taking a deep breath. “Seriously?” she said. “Sunny got one by herself?”

Fatin released Annie, looked at the score on her visor, managed to remember that there was a game going on. It had been a tie, now it was four to three. “Wow. That’s impressive.” And it was, she recalled. There were four players on blue team, while Sunny was out there by herself.

“She could’ve come here to let us out instead,” Annie said with a good-natured grumble, taking a couple deep breaths.

“... to jail, oh hey guys,” came a new voice from the entryway. Laine stood there, looking confused and a little out-of-breath. “What’s this place?”

“Jail,” Annie replied. “My hands are stuck to the wall, before you ask why I don’t leave.”

“Why would you want to leave?” the nerdy girl said, giving a twirl that sent her long skirt flaring up to her knees. “It looks like an amazing place!”

Sam snickered.

“Really?” Fatin asked, incredulous. “It’s a dead-end corridor in a plain maze.” She stood next to Annie, mirrored her pose, and pushed against the wall.

“Well, if it’s so dull, why are you guys here?“

“Hands. Stuck. Jesus.”

“It’s a good spot to relax and do my exercises.”

A wordless titter emerged from the corner.

“Sure, sure,” Laine said, walking to the end of the little hallway where the release trigger was. She crouched down to look in the corner, where the wall met with the floor. “Can’t believe you jerks kept this place a secret from me,” she muttered, fingers running along the bottom of the wall.

Fatin shifted her legs, pressed close to the wall, stretching out her calves, first one, then the other. It was easy to forget about the complaints and just revel in the warmth of action. It kept her mind off of distractions. Like how last time she was here, her brain had kept drifting back to what Sunny would look like without...

No. Focus. Push away from the wall. Work those arms. Don’t think about the three girls in here who were seeing her in her bra, or how much she might enjoy showing a little...

She flushed, pretending it was from exertion alone. Laine seemed determined to examine every square inch of the wall, bit by bit. Sam was standing in the corner, randomly giggling. Annie was alternating between frustration and resignation, either trying to pull away from the wall or trying to find a comfortable way to stand.

No one was paying attention to her.

And that was just fine. She didn’t need or want more eyes on her as she rose on her tiptoes and stretched out as tall as she could. It was just fine.

Besides, they were ahead, and Sunny seemed to be doing a great job. It was four to three. All she had to do was not give up a point for forty-five seconds and they would win.

But if she did, well...

Sam laughed quietly, covering her mouth. She looks so happy, Fatin thought, sitting down beside Annie. If we lose, I wonder what she’ll...

At that moment, Fatin’s thoughts were mercifully distracted by Athena walking into the jail, mumbling to herself, followed by...

Sunny.

Fatin jumped to her feet. All four red team members were here. She checked her HUD. Sure enough, blue team had scored. Annie pulled away from wall. Sam’s eyes cleared with a suddenness that was near audible.

Thirty seconds left, and a tie game.

“Shit!” Sunny swore. “I had the flag and everything!”

Fatin stepped out of the jail. “Don’t worry about it. How’s our ammo? I’ve got five.”

“Two,” said Sam.

“Eight,” Annie replied.

“None.” That was Sunny. “I’ve been out for a while.”

“Annie, can you make sure these two don’t get out of jail? Sam, Sunny, push for the flag, I’m going to...”

Their visors lit with a warning. Their flag was taken.

“Sunny, who tagged you?”

“My sister.”

Fatin set her jaw. “I’ll keep Scarlett from scoring that point. You three try and get us one.”

Revenge would be sweet. The four of them split off, Fatin following the pathfinding arrow.

Twenty-five seconds. She moved. Not quite sprinting—didn’t want to miss a turn or take a fall—but close. Twenty seconds. The arrow swung back. Scarlett must have known that the red team was coming from the jail to stop her. She was swinging as wide away from there as possible.

Fatin saw a flash of red pass by in front of her and she broke in to a sprint. Fifteen seconds now. Her earlier pacing of the space paid off, knowing where Scarlett would have to go next; she couldn’t outdistance her, but she could get in front and have her revenge.

She wouldn’t be on the losing side this time. She wouldn’t be losing any more clothing this time.

That’s what Fatin wanted. She was sure that’s what she wanted.

That’s probably what she wanted, anyway. And... and her team, they would be disappointed...

The team that she’d sent off to try and claim the winning point. She was alone.

She was the only one who could stop Scarlett. And she knew how. She just had to shoot her a couple times, delay her long enough that the game ended in a tie, that they went to sudden death.

Sunny was clearly skilled enough to get around their whole team for a while. Annie and Sam were no slouches, either. They’d have the advantage. It wasn’t a guarantee that they’d win, but she gave it much better than 50/50 odds.

Or she could just... not. She could follow behind Scarlett, instead of cutting her off, never catch her, and lose by a dramatic last-moment point.

Fatin thought about the eyes that had been on her as she pulled off her shirt. She thought about Sunny sitting close to her in the jail, and that bright cartoonish sun on her bottom. Sam, dazed and giddy in the corner, as she playfully tortured Annie.

She had to decide, was it better to make Scarlett and Laine lose their first bit of clothing, and Chere and Athena lose their second?

Or was it more fun to lose a little more herself?

Fatin couldn’t believe that she was even thinking about that. Not just throwing a game (or, she justified to herself, just not doing everything possible to win; that’s not “throwing” the game, not really) but doing so so that she had a reason to pay the penalty. But it was the penalty that was so intriguing in the first place.

She made her decision, using everything she could to get into position before the time expired. She knew the path to take; she blocked out the pathfinder, the score, her ammo count, everything, and just focused on the maze, moving as quickly as she could, waiting for that perfect, clear shot...

The HUD shut down. Time was up. Lights went on, and arrows on walls and floor to guide the players back to the pre-game room. Fatin leaned on the wall to catch her breath. She could hear the others moving through the maze, talking excitedly about the game.

It had been a fun match. Several very close calls. Lots of stories to tell. Even the losing team didn’t seem upset at all.

It was, after all, just a game. And they were all friends.

Scarlett walked up to her. “Hey Fatin, you alright?”

Fatin nodded. “Yeah, doing fine, just need to catch my breath.” She stood up straight. “You’re fucking fast, you know?“

The basketball player laughed. “You should’ve seen Sunny dodging around. I can go fast, sure, but she’s quick. And I hear you slid into home like a real slugger.“

Fatin’s hand went to her scraped belly and she winced dramatically. “Well, you know, I play hard. And about that, I owe you a few shots, I think.”

“Oooh, got me a friendly rival, huh?” Scarlett laughed again as the two of them started back, following the arrows. “You can bet I’ll be on your tail, every time you turn around...”

Fatin laughed with her. “I’m not the one that stood behind you and kept resetting your stun counter.”

The two of them passed into the preparation room where the other six, and Tanya, were waiting, chattering excitedly. Fatin started to pull off her visor. “Sorry, guys, I have to head to the washroom.” She hung up her pistol and tagger, leaving the group behind.

She sat for a while, thinking, wondering what exactly had come over her, why she had even considered giving in, where these little exhibitionist intentions had come from. She left her stall, washed her hands, stood in front of the mirror. Looked in the mirror. Watched herself watching herself in the mirror. Waited for an answer.

There wasn’t one.

It was just her. It was just who she was, or at least who she was under a couple layers of Altering and a friend’s weird bachelorette party.

And honestly? She wanted to embrace it. Sunny was having fun. Athena and Chere definitely didn’t seem to mind.

She hadn’t even tried to cut Scarlett off. She had followed behind her, knowing there was almost no chance of catching up. Maybe she would have to reckon with that at some point.

She turned a little, looking at her sides. She took good care of herself, and she wasn’t in the least ashamed of her body. She wasn’t curvy like Athena, or athletic and muscular like Scarlett. She didn’t have Sam’s slender frame, or the almost childlike smallness of the twins. But her body was hers, and there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with it.

Her friends were beautiful, and she fit right in with them.

One more moment’s hesitation before she made her decision. She pulled her arms in, slipped her bra over her head, and looked at her topless form in the mirror.

Sunny would surely be taking off her shirt; she couldn’t imagine that those panties would be coming off, if she had the option. Sam and Annie were losing their first piece of clothing each. She would be the only one so... exposed. The only one baring anything private, at least, for the time being.

There was something exhilarating about that.

She looked, really looked at herself in the mirror, trying several poses, running hands down her sides, lifting her arms overhead, checking the view from the side, from the front... She tried an experimental caress, shivered at the sensation, her nipple stiffening.

She closed her eyes, imagining the look on the others’ faces, the stares, the looks passed between them, the words they would say when she wasn’t listening. She could still take this back, she was still in the bathroom, the bra was sitting right there on the counter.

She looked at the door. She looked at herself in the mirror, again. She picked up the bra. She took a deep breath.

She walked through the door.

As Fatin walked back to the lobby, eight sets of eyes turned. “What’s up next?” she asked.

Eight sets of eyes stared. Sunny, as predicted, had stripped off her shirt; her powder-blue bra matched the base color of her panties. No real surprises there. Sam had lost her black t-shirt, revealing her bright red bra in its place. Annie still had her shirt on, which meant... Fatin couldn’t see her friend’s legs, but she admitted a sense of curiosity. She wanted to know...

Tanya, the professional, recovered her composure first. “Well, since you were away for a bit, Sam ordered everyone a soda, and since I didn’t want to explain the rules twice, we were waiting for you to get back.”

“Lime, right?” Sam asked. She seemed unsure of where her eyes should go.

“Lime’s great,” Fatin replied, moving to the unclaimed drink on the table. She took a sip. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. She took a bigger drink.

Laine let a giggle slip. “What’s the matter, Fatin?” Her tone was light, teasing. “Wearing embarrassing panties?”

Fatin laughed along with her. “Nah, I just...” She shook her head. “I lost twice, you know? Figured I’d get it over with, before we lose the next round and I have to.” She smiled. It’s just a game, her voice said in her mind. I know, she answered it, and I’m having fun.

Athena grinned. “You just wanted to distract from the rug burn.” She put her hand on Fatin’s shoulder. “If you keep playing like you did, you’ll start winning. That dive was amazing.”

The others all added their voices in support, comfort and friendship. Fatin started to feel a bit sheepish due to the encouragement, more even than at her state of dress. She walked over to the shelf where her shirt was resting and added her bra to the pile. “Okay, okay, everyone. I get it, I’m amazing.” She laughed, blushing. “Give me a minute to get my gear back on, and let’s get to it!”

“Great!” Tanya inserted herself into the conversation. “Once everyone’s ready, we’ll move on to a round of Red Rover.”