The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Reality

by asianpersuasion & J. Darksong

Bargain

“What did you say?” Kyle asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Bargain? For what? And why in the hell should we believe anything you have to say?”

Vale shrugged, spitting to the side, her saliva still red from blood. “Yeah. I’m not exactly the poster child for ‘honest and trustworthy’. I get that. I sort of went out of my way to promote my reputation as a merciless badass that cares for nothing and no one. But, well... as much as it pains me to say this... I need your help.”

“Our help?”

“Yes, you nimrod, your bloody freaking HELP!” Vale shouted, gritting her teeth. “Look at me, dammit! Do you think I woke up this morning and decided, ‘Oh, the battleworn look is just all the rage right now’ and just went with it? No... I’m being hunted!”

Serena chuckled dryly. “So. You finally pissed off someone and they’re after your head? Sorry if I don’t have any sympathy to share with you... no, wait, I’m actually not sorry!” She shook her head. “And why come to us anyway? Why not go crawling to your buddy Marion and the Suns to protect you?”

Vale glanced down to the side, rubbing her head lightly. “Um, yeah... that’s the thing. It’s actually my former guild members that I’m on the run from in the first place—”

“VALE!” A loud growling female voice called out from atop the hill, causing everyone to glance upwards. “There you are, you insufferable bitch!” Barena, followed by three dozen Viridian Suns stomped their way down towards the campsite, only to pause in surprise. “What the... Kyle Shadowchaser?!?” the dusky skinned savage exclaimed. “What the hell are YOU doing here? With her?”

“Actually, I’m wondering that myself,” Kyle replied stoically, gesturing idly for Leila and Serena to move back towards the tent. “Maybe you could explain what this is all about. Some sort of a rift, a minor disagreement between the Suns hierarchy?”

Barena scowled. “This has nothing to do with you, Shadowchaser,” she snapped, focusing on Vale. “Snowy there and I have business to attend to. We’re actually in the middle of a duel,” she stated, opening her menu, revealing the duel counter, showing active, “and I’d appreciate it if you simply left the area so I can end this once and for all.”

“A duel?” Vale spat back, still clutching Kyle’s arm. “More like an ambush or an execution!” She opened her menu, revealing her own duel counter, still active and counting down. “A duel to the death? Time remaining ‘sixteen hours and thirty-two minutes? As if I’d agree to such ridiculous stakes as these! The only reason I ‘accepted’ this is because I’d been attacked from behind, stunned, and had my menu opened and accepted against my will!”

Barena chuckled darkly. “Well, that doesn’t really matter at this point, does it, Vale? We’re in a duel. And you can try to run and hide all you want, but until the timer runs out, I’ll be able to find you wherever you go!” She withdrew Wildling’s Stabber, grinning savagely at her intended prey. “My spear’s gotten thirsty since the Otaru Desert... she needs more of your blood to quench her thirst. Tell you what—if you’re smart and surrender now, I promise to make it clean and painless.” Her smile faded. “But if you make me chase you around again I swear I’ll take my sweet time making you beg for me to finish you off!”

Vale growled, still clenching Kyle’s arm. “You wouldn’t be so smug if I hadn’t lost Killjoy back in the desert,” she grumbled. Turning to Kyle, she gave him her best pout. “C’mon, hero. Don’t tell me you’re gonna just stand by and let them execute a damsel in distress?” When he didn’t reply, she swallowed, starting to sweat. “C’mon now... do you want me to beg? Plead? I... I’m serious here! She’s going to kill me!”

“So?” Serena replied venomously, as she and Leila stepped up again, to Kyle’s left side. “It’s no worse than you deserve for all the lives you’ve taken.” She turned to Kyle. “Let’s let them deal with this themselves. It’s some stupid internal matter. It doesn’t concern us.” Vale’s head dropped low in defeat, and Barena chuckled, readying her spear.

“No.”

Everyone turned in surprise as Kyle stepped in front of Vale Stormsinger, and spread his arms wide, shielding her. “No,” he repeated. “I’m not just going to stand by and let this go down.” Barena and the Viridian Suns just gaped at him. Serena stared at him in shock. Even Vale seemed amazed that he’d stepped in. “Don’t misunderstand me,” he stated, as Leila handed him his sword, flipping it to the ready, “I agree with you fully. Vale is a snake, a completely low down and contemptible woman with no redeeming qualities whatsoever—”

“HEY!” Vale yelled, scowling. “I came to you for help, not to be insulted!”

“—but you and your lot ambushing her that way doesn’t make you much better,” he said, pointing his blade at Barena. “I could see it if it was a fair fight, just you and her... but she’s already badly injured, you brought an entire squad with you, and she doesn’t even have a weapon!” He shook his head. “No. Despite how I feel about her, I can’t let this go.”

Barena scowled at him, baring his teeth. “You’d defend her, after everything she’s done? Are you insane?” Snapping her fingers, her backup drew their weapons and moved to surround her. “If you want to be her sword and shield, fine! My men and I will carve you up alongside her! Mark my words. I am not leaving here without Vale’s head! You’re good, Shadowchaser...but you can’t beat us all by yourself!”

“Who said he was by himself?” Leila replied, drawing her own spear, as Serena unleashed her claws. A moment later, Honor, Anadriel, and Calypso joined them as well, returning from the water. Barena frowned, taking a step back at the sight of the others, especially the Sylvan Order Guildmistress. She was only slightly confident in taking on Shadowchaser with the backup she’d brought. By no means was she prepared to face a member of the Pantheon, or the others with her.

“So, it looks as if you’ll be heading back home empty handed after all,” Kyle replied with a shrug. “Feel free to go ahead and attack if you want. But remember—you’re also in duel mode right now. Any excess damage we do to you would be non-lethal, since only your challenger can deliver the final blow. But having the lot of us drain your HP to virtually nothing and then let Vale step in and finish you off would easy enough to accomplish.” The savage actually went pale, taking several steps back, before growling, and gesturing to her squad.

“Have it your way, Shadowchaser!” she barked, pulling a teleportation crystal from her pouch. “But this isn’t over! I’ll be back with reinforcements, so many men that you’ll be the one retreating next time!” With a final glare at the blonde Snow Elf, she and her companions vanished.

“YEAH! But you’re the one running with her tail between her legs this time, bitch!” Vale called after her, laughing gleefully, before turning back to Kyle.... and surprising everyone by wrapping her arms around him and giving him a big kiss. “Hehehe! My hero!” she said sardonically, making a show of looking him up and down, nodding appreciatively. “Damn! It sure was lucky running into you and your little group here on the beach this way. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be toast.”

“Yes, you would,” Kyle said simply, turning away. “Well, Barena isn’t one to make idle threats, so we’d better pack up our gear and head out. I don’t want to be here when a few thousand on Marion’s Finest shows up.” He gave Vale a backwards glance and a nod. “It’s been real. I’d suggest you get moving as well before she returns. Good luck.”

“What? Wait! WAIT!” Vale yelled, rushing after him, skidding to a stop as Honor and Serena blocked her off. “You can’t be serious about just leaving without me! I need your help—gaaah!”

“Shut up,” Honor snarled, slapping her hard across the cheek. “You should be grateful we don’t thrash you to within an inch of your life and leave you staked up on the side of the beach for Barena and her lot to return!”

Vale sighed deeply. “Okay. Fine. I screwed you guys over. I’m sorry! But... but I really do need your help now, okay? And... and I can help you in return!” she added desperately as they pulled out their teleport crystals, preparing to leave.

“Oh? Help us how, precisely?” Kyle asked, curious.

“I can give you information,” she said, sensing an opening. “I can tell you about everything Marion is planning.”

“We already know,” Calypso replied with a shrug. “We have our own sources of Intel. You’ll have to do better than that.”

“How about...” she said, glancing around, spying Anadriel. “What about helping you rescue the mage girl’s brat cousin?” she yelled out, causing Anadriel to go still. “Marion has her under his control, locked up tight in her little room next to his own. I know you miss your cousin, despite what happened earlier. And you must be just chomping at the bit for the chance to rescue her.” From the expression on the Wood Elf’s face, she knew she had her hooked. “I can help you with that. I know the location of a secret entrance to the castle. I know the timing and rotation of all the guards. I can even draw you a map of the layout and show you exactly where you can find her. All you have to do is hide me until this fucking duel timer runs down.”

Kyle glanced at Dri, her expression stricken. He knew how deeply Nora’s fate weighed on her heart. “Kyle... I,” she began, only to sigh and shake her head. “It’s... obviously a trick,” she said after a moment. “She’s just telling us what she knows we want to hear to get us to help her. Don’t fall for it.”

“Yeah, but, Dri,” Calypso said, rubbing the elf’s shoulder lightly, “it’s your cousin. We all know what this means to you. If there’s even a chance that she might be telling the truth—”

“But she’s not!” Honor insisted vehemently. “She’s a liar. Plain and simple. She lies, she cheats, she misleads. The only thing Vale Stormsinger cares about in this world is causing pain and misery to others!”

“Maybe so,” Leila chimed in, staring at the waiting Snow Elf, standing a few feet back anxiously, “but I bet there’s at least one thing she prizes even more than that. Herself. Those wounds she has are not superficial. She’s really injured. It wasn’t some staged fight for our benefit.” She sighed heavily. “Look, I’m not saying we should trust her at face value or anything. But I do think she will follow through and actually give us the information she has if it will save her life.”

Kyle closed his eyes, considering the options. On one hand, he had to agree that Vale was in rough shape. He couldn’t imagine Barena and Vale working together on a plan like this just to fool them, or that Vale would go around without any way to defend herself in duel mode for the next sixteen hours. On the other hand... she WAS very adept at deception, as she’d proven when she’d poisoned Honor in the middle of the Lynx’ celebration without anyone even noticing. Plus, she’s always been completely and utterly loyal to Marion, he mused. As much as they hate each other’s guys, I could see her dressing up as a maid and giving Barena a sponge bath if Marion ordered her to. So... what could possibly happen to make her betray her boss?

“I say we bring her with us,” Kyle said finally. “Yes, I know, we’re taking a big risk here, but we also have a chance to rescue Nora. And if trusting someone Vale is what it takes, then I’m willing to take that risk.” He glanced to Calypso. “But only if you agree,” he said to her gently. “Calypso, we’ll have to bring her to the cove. It’s the only place they won’t be able to track her ID and follow her. But if this IS some kind of trick, it could mean Marion and the system Admins discovering its location. So, we’ll only do this if—”

“Of course we can bring her in,” the mermaid replied, cutting him off. “Master,” she said gently, “I trust your judgment. If you think it is worth the risk then so do I.” She kissed him, then turned and kissed Anadriel as well. “And I know you, my Willowfang,” she said with a smirk. “You vowed that you would save Dri’s cousin, and this is your best chance to do so. All I ask is that you are careful... that no matter what that woman tells you, you do not act recklessly.”

Kyle nodded. “Well, it’s not exactly my forte, but I’ll give it my best.” Walking over to Vale, he nodded, holding up a teleport crystal in one hand, offering his free hand to her. “Okay. We talked it over, and you can come with us. Just understand from the very beginning, Vale... if this turns out to be some kind of ruse, or if you lie to us about anything involving rescuing Nora I will take you down. Do we understand each other?”

“Y-yeah, yeah, of course, you got it,” she said nodding vigorously. Geez... intense much? This guy’s almost as bad as Marion. They could practically be twins or something... With a sigh, she took his hand in her own.

“Oh, and Vale,” he said, glancing back at her. “One last little thing before we leave...”

“Yeah?”

Vdri!

* * *

Harold Thompson glanced up from his desk in surprise as the company owner and CEO Amanda Faraday strode into the Research and Development floor, dressed immaculately in her trademarked scarlet Valentino ensemble underneath a white lab coat, hardhat and goggles. Stumbling to his feet, he forced a smile on his face. “Ah, um, Ms. Faraday! What an... unexpected pleasure! I wasn’t expecting to see you here today! What can I, um, do for you—”

“You can prep the Emitter for a full battery of tests,” she said shortly, pulling the folder from underneath her underarm, opening it, and staring at the papers inside, ignoring the man completely. “Things are progressing faster than expected, and I want the Emitter fully functional and ready to go once I obtain the last of those frequencies.”

“Oh? I hadn’t heard there had been new progress on that front—” he began.

“Which is why I just informed you of it,” she stated curtly, frowning slightly. With a nod, she removed a paper from the folder, and handed it to the technician. “Here. I want the system prepped with his new configuration and set to transmit in twenty. I contacted the New Zealand office on the way in, and they are standing by with the test subjects to test its effectiveness.”

“New Zealand office?” Howard replied, blinking. “Test subjects? But... but ma’am, so far we’ve only managed success on subjects with direct exposure, and even then, only partial success at best!”

Lowering the folder, she finally favored the man with a direct glance, which caused him to take a step back. “And that is why we are using this new configuration that Dr. Edmonds devised,” she snapped, making him wince, “to see if we can boost the power output. He seems to think that power is the issue here, and I quite agree. Besides, having a frequency emitter that can’t be transmitted over wireless devices or through the currently existing media systems is next to useless! You can hardly expect me to invite the entire world into this lab to brainwash them all one by one, can you?”

“Um... n-no ma’am,” he said meekly, glancing down at his shoes, “I suppose not.” Taking a deep breath, he marshaled on, “Still, don’t you think we should perhaps wait until Dr. Edmonds himself arrives in an hour to run the experiment?” he asked, swallowing as she turned to glare at him again. “I mean, yes, I have the schematics and the procedure, but he’s the expert. I... I wouldn’t want to cause a system overload by mistake—”

“System test,” she growled. “Twenty minutes. Or you’re fired.” Turning on her heel, she made her way towards the main stairway leading to the upstairs observation room. “And if there IS a system overload and my equipment is damaged, then you’re also fired,” she added with a smirk.

“Yes, ma’am,” Howard replied wearily, waiting until she was out of earshot before adding “Bitch,” under his breath. To be honest, he almost wished the test failed, and the entire lab blew apart in the seams. Almost. Working for the ‘Dragon Lady’ as he and the other technical staff knew her was very trying. She demanded perfection, and asked for the impossible. And if you failed those expectations... well, there was hell to pay. The turnover rate for her employees was ridiculous, as she tended to fire a person on a whim rather than any legitimate reason. Still, those who managed to endure were paid well, and by Howard’s reckoning, if he lasted one more month at his current salary, he would be able to retire and live comfortably for the rest of his days at the age of thirty-two.

“Okay, gang,” he said loudly, calling the other technicians together. “Looks like we’re going to do another test run. We need to be prepped and ready to go in less than twenty minutes.” Several people groaned aloud, and Tessie, one of the younger techs, cursed aloud. “Yeah, I know. I wasn’t expecting such an early start, either, but our illustrious CEO Ms. Faraday has graced us with her appearance, and is expecting us to be ready.” Another round of groans sounded at that. “Here, Henry, you and Tess reconfigure the modulator to these new settings. Jack, you and Frank, go warm up the communications array and position the big antenna—we’ll be transmitting to the New Zealand station.”

“Um, Howard,” Anne, a senior physicist and energy specialist pulled him aside, “far be it for me to second guess you here, but how are we going to have enough power to transmit that solid a signal with no degradation without blowing the whole array?”

“From the schematics Dr. Edmonds sent to Ms. Faraday, it looks like we’ll be using a dual-yield power system,” Howard replied, frowning as he stared at the paper.

“Dual yield?!?” Anne replied, flabbergasted. “Is he crazy? There’s no way to properly regulate the power input with a double-blast of juice running through that array? Yeah, it should give it enough juice to transmit a signal to the moon... or blow the entire array sky high to deliver the signal to the man in the moon in person!”

“That’s my take as well,” Howard replied, irritation in his tone, “but that’s what Edmonds has written down. The new configuration is one I haven’t seen before, so MAYBE it can handle the influx of power. I don’t know. I’m just a lowly technician with a Master’s Degree. Dr. Edmonds is the PhD after all.” He sighed, gesturing to the observation room. “But do you want to be the one to point all this out to the company CEO, and tell her we should wait for Edmonds to arrive to supervise the procedure?”

Anne shuddered, ducking her head. “Point taken. C’mon. Let’s get this puppy hooked up.”

* * *

“Wake up.”

Vale blinked, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. For a moment there, she’d blanked out... and now they were... where?

“Where the hell are we?” she asked, glancing around in wonder at the multicolored crystal walls shining and shimmering with a soft inner glow. She found herself in what appeared to be a large cavern, or a system of caverns, with an actual wading pool at its center, leading off into the distance.

“You’re in Ker-Is,” Calypso stated walking over to the pool, shimmering slightly as her legs transformed into a mermaid’s fins at the water’s edge. “It is a private cove far in the middle of the wilderness, far from the reaches of normal travelers. It is also my home.” Diving down for a moment to rehydrate herself, she swam back up to the surface again. “You are welcome to rest here and recover your strength. However, I would suggest that you not wander too far. For your own safety, of course,” she added with a smirk. “There are plenty of wild and dangerous beasts about, as well as traps for the unenlightened.”

“Meh. Not a problem. I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon,” Vale replied, kicking off her boots, moving to the water’s edge to dip her feet in the water. “Hmmm... nice. After the desert, this feels like heaven.” She sighed deeply, removing her damaged armor as well, sliding completely naked into the water up to her chin. “Nice place you have her,” she stated, glancing around, “but we should probably head out soon. It’s just a matter of time before Barena and the good squad show up—”

“That won’t be a problem,” Anadriel replied, stepping up to meet them as well. “This cove is special. It’s hidden from any and all detection. No one will be able to track you as long as you are here.”

“Really? You don’t say?” Vale replied with a grin. “Well, that certainly explains how you lot have been able to stay under the radar for so long. It used to drive Marion nuts trying to figure out how you guys would disappear then pop up somewhere unexpectedly.”

“Bet you can’t wait to go back and tell all this to your boss, huh?” Honor asked, idly, kneeling at the water’s edge, making a show of using her dagger to clean her fingernails. But Vale merely sighed, floating up on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Honestly, if I thought it might get me back in his good graces, then yeah,” she admitted. “I’d rush back to him this instant, and lead him and his guys back here to this very spot. But, well... it’s a bit too late for that now. I burned my bridges with the Viridian Suns when I went to you for help and forced Barena to retreat.”

“Yes, about that,” Kyle said, moving in to join them at the water’s edge. “Maybe its time you explained exactly what the hell that was all about. Why was Barena trying to kill you? And why would Marion allow your personal feud to go that far?”

“Because... it wasn’t exactly a personal feud,” Vale stated, closing her eyes. “It was an assassination. Marion ordered her to kill me.”

“WHAT? But why? Why would he do that to his own lieutenant?”

Vale turned over and laughed, kicking her feet idly in the water before circling around to the water’s edge again. “Why? Because he’s Marion. Because he doesn’t tolerate those who aren’t useful to him. And I was already on his bad side, thanks to the lot of you.”

“Us?” Kyle asked, frowning. “What did we do to make you at odds with him?”

“The library,” she said wearily, making her way over in front of Kyle. “Your three flunkies were searching for information about the Dragon relics. And that’s exactly what Marion sent me there for as well.”

Kyle’s frown deepened. So, was that it? Did Marion figure out that Vale had been turned? Did he realize that I’d turned her into my spy with Dragonspeak, that she was a double agent? And how much does Vale know? Is she really here running from him, or is this an elaborate scheme to get revenge for being used? Vale’s next words eased his suspicions, however.

“When your bimb... er, companions,” she amended seeing the glare from the other girls, “caused such a ruckus, I had to run off. Er, a strategic retreat, that is,” she added, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “It’s not as if I couldn’t have taken them all in any other time... but I’d been sent on a fact finding mission, in a library of all places, so I hadn’t brought my weapon with me. Anyway... once they left, I went back and found the probable location of the next artifact.” She turned to glare at Kyle. “Of course, by then, your sluts had already given you that information, and you and your people had retrieved it before we even arrived on the scene!” She sighed, shaking her head. “And if there’s one thing Marion hates, it’s having his time wasted. He blamed ME for losing the relic, even though there’s no way I could have prevented it!”

“And that’s why he decided to have you killed?” Leila asked, curious.

“Well, not just then,” she admitted. “He was actually planning to turn me into a mindless little puppet just like that Healer bitch—”

“Her NAME is NORA!” Anadriel yelled, powering up with arcane magic. “And I dare you to insult her just one more fucking time—”

“Dri, please, calm down,” Kyle said gently, raising a hand towards her. “I know you’re upset about all of this.” He sighed. “Huh. You, and Honor and Serena, actually. Maybe you should all wait back in the back while I talk this out with Vale alone. Okay?”

Huffing and puffing, the Elven sorceress forced herself to calm down. “As you wish, Master,” she said curtly, giving Vale a withering glare, as she and the others turned to leave. “We’ll go... but we’ll still be close by if you need us,” she added.

Waiting until they’d walked out of earshot, Vale chuckled. “‘As you wish, Master.’ Hah!” she laughed. “Sounds like you have the whole group on a really short leash. Did you really use that Dragontalk mumbo jumbo on Miss Priss Guildmistress?”

Kyle scowled, reaching out suddenly to grab the blue skinned Snow Elf by the throat, pulling her out of the water. “That’s Lady Anadriel Shalandearl of the Sylvan Order!” he growled, squeezing tight enough to cut off her air, “and if you wish to continue living under our protection, you will show her and all the other girls here your goddamn respect! Do I make myself clear?”

Gasping for breath, dangling with her toes inches above the ground, she nodded. “Ye... yes... cr... crystal...” With a sigh, Kyle dropped her, letting her collapse at his feet on the sand covered shore. Gasping, she stared up at him for a long moment, chuckling. “Damn. That was... kind of... hot... I didn’t know you... had it in you,” she rasped, rubbing her throat. “I think I actually almost came from that.”

Kyle groaned inwardly, glancing away. “Just finish with your damn story,” he grumbled. “You were saying Marion was going to turn you into his thrall...”

“Oh! Yes, he was,” Vale said after a moment. “But I begged and groveled and convinced him to give me another chance.” She sighed heavily. “I thought it was okay, that once we found the next relic he would back off, that he’d be back to his own self again. But no. Every setback, every problem, every delay, he would glare at me, as if I was personally sabotaging the mission! On the way to the desert, I overheard him talking with Barena, saying that maybe it was time to just save himself the hassle, and convert me into his slave no matter how the mission ended.” She turned away, sullen. “He was planning to betray me from the get go. After everything I did for him! After all the blood and sweat and tears I shed! As if it all meant NOTHING to him!”

Kyle sighed softly. Vale was a certified psychopath, with almost nothing good about her. She lived for the suffering of others... took joy and delight at bloodshed and carnage. But, if she had one redeeming quality at all, it was loyalty. She’d followed Marion for years, serving his every whim, for all his schemes and machinations, his sometimes lover, sometimes punching bag, but always at his side. To simply be thought of as unneeded, replaceable, must have been devastating for her. Despite the monster she was, he actually found himself feeling sympathy for her.

“Anyway,” she said, sniffling slightly, “I knew my days were numbered. I played my part as a good little soldier, going above and beyond, trying to show him through actions that I was a valuable member of the team... that he needed me. ME, as myself, not as some walking shambling hollowed out version of myself like the little Healer girl.” She shuddered lightly. “But I could tell, I could see it in his face, in his eyes. He didn’t care. All he wanted was his little golden trinket, his prized relic. So when he and the others were busy patting themselves on the back, I ran,” she spat. “Besides... He didn’t need me anymore because he had his ‘beloved Nora’. But once he gets all seven relics, he won’t need her around anymore either.”

Kyle nodded grimly. “Well, no worries about that. The only way he’ll get all seven relics is by going through me,” he said, patting the pouch at his side. “In the meantime, however, there’s still the matter of rescuing her. I’m not going to just stand by and let her suffer any longer than she has to.”

Vale looked at him, nodding in admiration. “You know, I can see why the others fell for you so hard. You’re quite a man, Kyle Shadowchaser. I can’t imagine many people in this world or the fake one that would risk so much to help someone who’s practically a stranger. Yet, you seem to do it on a regular basis.” She shook her head. “I can’t even pretend to understand it. But, well, in my case at least, I’m glad you did.” Standing back up, she advanced towards Kyle, who blinked in surprise. “You saved my life, you know. And the way you stood up for your little girlfriends when I was badmouthing them... the way you were so... so... forceful,” she said with a shudder, causing her heavy blue breasts to jiggle enticingly against his chest. “I still owe you,” she purred seductively, wrapping her arms around his neck, giving him a smoldering look.

“O... owe me?” Kyle swallowed past the lump in his throat. Despite the situation, he had to admit that Vale Stormsinger was a very attractive woman. And when she wasn’t acting like a lunatic or a guttermouthed bitch, she was actually somewhat enjoyable to be around. Having shown her soft side, revealing the pain of Marion’s betrayal... he could almost forget her evil side and see her as just a woman.

“Yes. Owe you,” she said, kissing him deeply before dropping down to her knees at his feet again, reaching for his breeches. “Is this how you like it, Kyle?” she asked, archly, as she found and stroked his hardness, bringing it swiftly to fruition. “Is this how your little mind-controlled slave sluts serve you? On their knees like this?” Without warning, she suddenly engulfed his member, inhaling it to the back of her throat like a seasoned porn star. For several minutes she worked her magic, swirling, sucking, teasing and licking, doing her best to drive Kyle to the brink, before pulling back, smirking devilishly, letting him cool back down.

“So, how do I compare to your other girls, Kyle?” she asked, before inhaling him once again. “I’m a slut, yes,” she replied, swirling around the head, “but not a slave. I have my own will,” she added, running her tongue slowly down the length before tonguing his balls, gently inhaling them as well, causing Kyle to shudder. “I have my own desires... my own wants and needs. And even though I’m devoting them to you right now,” she added, drawing back again, making a show of licking her lips, “it’s not the ONLY thing on my agile little mind. So tell me... Master Kyle... how’s that for a little variety?”

“I think,” Kyle answered, voice raspy, hackles raised, “that if you can’t keep that mouth of yours focused on the task at hand,” grabbing her roughly by the waist before slamming her onto he soft sand, “then we need to go with another set of lips,” he growled, slamming into her from behind. Vale’s eyes widened, then rolled back, as Kyle began fucking her in earnest, ramming into her like a piston, relentlessly, forcefully, again and again, crushing her lithe thin body into the sand with each thrust.

“Aaaaahhhh! Fuuck! Yess... ohh gaawdd yeess!” she keened, throwing her head back in pleasure, using her remaining shred of control to milk his cock for everything she had. This was what she’d wanted, from the moment he’d stepped in front of Barena, declaring she was under his protection. She’d always been attracted to power, to strong and confident men. She’d thought no one in the world could ever compare to her beloved Marion... but the man... no, the animal plowing her so deliciously right now was making her re-evaluate everything she thought she knew.

Her orgasm struck with the force of a two by four to the back of the head, sending her reeling, but before she could even begin to focus on it, another climax slammed into her very core. Kyle wasn’t stopping, had only just begun to fuck, and with giddy anticipation, Vale realized she was stuck along for the ride, until HE decided he was done!

Ahhhh fuucck... I think I might just fall in love with this man, she thought dreamily just before another orgasm scattered her thoughts to the four winds...

* * *

Amanda sat primly in her leather recliner, studying the flat screen monitor in front of her. Her long, lacquered fingernails tapped impatiently on the desk as she waited, counting down the seconds in her head. Twenty minutes she thought to herself furiously. I gave them twenty minutes to have this test set up, and I’m still waiting! She glanced at the clock again, glaring. Twenty-two minutes and thirty seconds. Goddammit! I’m giving these incompetent cretins thirty more seconds, and then I’m firing the whole lot of them and replacing them with people who can FUCKING follow directions! Watching the seconds tick away, she stood up, preparing to move to the door when the intercom buzzed.

“Ms. Faraday, please forgive the delay. The emitter is set and ready to go,” Howard’s voice called out. Sighing deeply, she sat back down, hitting the intercom button on her desk.

“Understood. I’ll load the frequency transmissions into the main computer now,” she said, removing the scarlet flash drive from its box, having taken it out of the vault twenty minutes earlier. Bringing up the main program, she sighed softly as she inserted the drive into the USB port. “You know, I was just about to fire the lot of you,” she said idly, “but if you’ve done your jobs correctly and this test goes off without a hitch, then perhaps you can use your very substantial bonus to buy a new watch that keeps accurate time.”

A small pause later, he replied. “Uh, yes, ma’am. The sequence is keyed up and synched to your terminal. It’s all in your hands. You can transmit whenever you’re ready.”

“Excellent!” she said, a true smile finally shining on her lovely face. This was what she’d been waiting for. If this test went well, if the subjects in the New Zealand office were affected, then she’d be one step closer to her dream of world domination. She was already so close. It was all within her reach. If the emitter worked as she hoped it would, then the final step would be obtaining the last of the frequencies from her silent partner Marion.

Heh. Silent partner, she thought to herself, though not for much longer. Once I have all seven frequencies, I won’t have any need for him anymore. He can join all the rest of the mindless sheep in service to me. Though, considering all his hard work, I suppose I can reward him with a comfortable position in the new regime... maybe assign him a few slave sluts of his own to use and abuse...

Keying in the sequence, she inserted the frequency parameters as requested, then typed out the commands she wanted transmitted to her test subjects. Hitting ENTER, she sat back in her seat... only to frown as the computer sent back a reply. “Invalid selection? Please retype?” she read, scowling. “Stupid computer...it’s the exact same sequence I’ve input for the last sixteen trials!” Retyping, she hit ENTER again, only to blink in surprise at the displayed message:

“ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!”

“What the hell? Is... is this some kind of sick joke?” she yelled, tapping the keyboard and mouse, trying to change the screen, but getting no response. Confusion and frustration warred within her as the screen changed yet again, going completely blank save for a smiling skeleton’s skull floating in the center, as letters slowly appeared underneath, slowing spelling out the phrase:

”You’re Gonna Have A Bad Time...”

“Ms. Faraday! Ms. Faraday!” Howard’s voice came through the intercom, startling her. “We seem to be having a problem down here! The power regulators are starting to overheat! We need you to cancel the sequence and shut them down before it causes a system meltdown!”

“I... I can’t!” she yelled back, banging on the keyboard, trying to get the computer to respond. “My computer terminal has locked me out... some kind of computer virus or something! The damn thing won’t respond!”

“That... that’s not possible!” Howard protested. “That terminal is on a closed system. It’s not on a network. There’s no way a virus could have gotten into the system!”

“Can’t you shut off the power off manually there at the source?” she yelled back.

“We can’t! Severing the power couplings while they’re still active will only cause a power surge, and could make the whole thing blow panel! Ma’am, you’ve got to get control of the system and shut down the power from there!”

Amanda glanced down at the card in the USB slot. “SHIT!” she yelled, pulling the card from the slot. Immediately the screen filled with a series of red 9’s, and music began playing through the system speakers, sounding like a bastardization of the Looney Tunes theme. And one final message appeared, scrolling slowly across the screen: ”GEEEEEETTT DUNKED ON!”, before the monitor went black.

Downstairs, the plant’s lights began to flicker rapidly, and a loud hum began to sound from the emitter, accompanied by bright flashing arcs of electricity. “She’s gonna blow!” Tess yelled out to the others, who all began running for the exit. The alarm klaxons started blaring loudly as red warning lights began flashing.

“No! NO!” Amanda yelled out in vain, staring down at the room below from her booth. “This can’t be happening! Somebody... anybody... do something!” Then before her started gaze, a bright flash lit the room as the frequency emitter, the device instrumental for her takeover of the world, exploded in a blast of fire and metal...

* * *

“Serena?” Kyle said, prompting the dark haired girl to glance over at him. “What are you still doing here? I would have thought you’d logged off and gone to sleep by now. You didn’t get any rest earlier when Honor sent you off to get some sleep waiting for us to return.”

The weretigress gave a wan smile. “Sorry. I just... wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything before I left. I’ll go now, if you want,” she said, opening her menu, only to pause as Kyle took hold of her hand.

“Rini,” he said gently, turning her to face him. “There’s obviously something wrong. You stayed behind because you needed to talk to me, so please, feel free to say what’s on your mind. What’s bothering you?”

“What’s bothering me?” she said, laughing ruefully. “There’s a loaded question if ever there was one.” She sighed deeply, shaking her head. “But... since you asked... Kyle? What do I... mean to you?” Kyle blinked, not expecting the question. “What am I to you? I just... I don’t know where I stand,” she said, staring down at her sandaled feet. “We, um... started talking briefly back on the beach just before she showed up,” she stated, glancing back to the main cavern, “about what you expect of us. How we can best... serve you.”

Kyle nodded. “And I told you, that you don’t need to be useful to me in some special way. Rini, I love you simply for you being yourself. Just like I love Bonnie for being herself, and Patty for being herself. It’s not a contest, and I promise you, I’m not going to get rid of you just because you didn’t save the day in some heroic fashion.”

Serena nodded. That helped, a lot, but... “It’s not just that. It’s...well...” she sighed in exasperation. “Look. It’s not that I’m jealous. I’m not, I don’t think I even can BE jealous when it comes to a woman that you’re attracted to!” She sighed softly, a shiver running through her. “Anything that gives you pleasure, Master... gives me pleasure as well.” With an effort she forced the blissful smile off her lips. “But... that woman—”

Ah. “You mean Vale,” Kyle replied, barely managing to repress his grin. He knew that this was serious to Serena. “So, you’re not upset that I just had sex with her in the other room. You’re upset that that woman happened to be Vale Stormsinger.” Serena’s grunt of frustration was all the response he needed, and he pulled her into a tight embrace, waiting until she softened, then melted into him. “Rini,” she said gently, “I know how you feel. Remember, I was there with you when you were put on trial for Honor’s murder thanks to her. I haven’t forgotten.”

Serena pulled away to look up at him then, her eyes wet with tears. “Then... why?” she asked plaintively. “Why be with... with... HER, that way?” she asked.

Kyle sighed softly. “There’s an ancient proverb that I think works here: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Serena blinked. “I can’t say for certain yet whether or not this whole thing is an act, but I do know that she is using us. But that’s okay, because I’m using her as well, to get closer to Nora. That’s my only goal here. So yes, I’ll let Vale work her magic and get in my good graces. I’ll let her do what she wants as long as it gets me inside Marion’s compound. But, Rini, when this is all said and done, once we have Nora back... Vale is on her own. I have no plans to bring her into the fold.”

Visibly relaxing in his arms, Serena stared at him hopefully. “Is that a promise?”

“It’s a vow,” he replied resolutely. “I told you at the beach—I’m very particular about who I let into my harem. And your and Honor’s feelings are very important to me. I wouldn’t do that to you.” He frowned a moment, considering. “Serena. What is your name? Your real name?”

“My name? Um, it’s Kimberly, um, Kim Rhodes,” she said shyly.

Kyle nodded grinning. “So now I know Honor’s and Calypso’s, and now yours. And I’ll eventually learn Dri’s and Leila’s names as well. Because you’re all important to me.” He sighed softly. “At any rate, Kim, there is something that I need you to do for me. Something only you can do.” Serena perked up at that. “You’re really good at finding out information, right? Things that no one else knows about?”

“Ah, um, well, yes, I guess,” she said, blushing heatedly under his gaze. “I, um... have some contacts in the outside world... and yes, I could find out anything you need me to,”

“Good. Then see if you can get a detailed layout of Marion’s castle for me,” he said , glancing at the opening to the main chamber. “I know... that’s what Vale is supposed to be providing for us, the very reason we brought her here. But I don’t want Vale’s info to be the only thing we have to go on.” He shrugged. “I might be overthinking it, but I just want to be prepared in case the worst happens.”

Serena nodded. “Consider it done, Master. I’ll get it for you as soon as I log out—”

“No,” Kyle told her sternly, staring her down. “The first thing you will do when you log out is to tend to your bodily issues, then get a good night’s rest. I appreciate you going above and beyond for me, Rini, in everything you do... but I expect you to take care of your own needs with the same zeal that you take care of mine. Understand?”

She nodded. “Yes, Master. I understand.” Smiling again, she rose up on her tiptoes, kissing him again. “Now that you mention it... I’m exhausted. I’ll see you after I’ve grabbed a few hours of rest.” With that, she logged out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.