
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/6409042.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Ai_no_Kusabi
  Relationship:
      Iason_Mink/Riki, Katze/Iason_Mink, Iason_Mink/Mimea, Raoul_Am/Iason_Mink,
      Mimea/Riki_(Ai_no_Kusabi)
  Additional Tags:
      Rare_Pairing, Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological_Abuse
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-03-30 Updated: 2017-12-31 Chapters: 11/? Words: 95066
****** Star-Crossed ******
by KimiDoll
Summary
     Six months after letting Riki go, our favourite Blondie decides it’s
     time to finally do something about it and attempt to return his
     beloved mongrel to his side. And as we all know, no unforeseen
     methods or dirty tricks are beyond Iason Mink once he has set his
     sights on his prey. Mainly slow-burn Iason/Riki, but also Iason/Mimea
     and Iason/Raoul.
***** Friend or Foe *****
Chapter Summary
     Six months after letting Riki go, our favourite Blondie decides it’s
     time to finally do something about it and attempt to return his
     beloved mongrel to his side. And as we all know, no unforeseen
     methods or dirty tricks are beyond Iason Mink once he has set his
     sights on his prey. Mainly Iason/Riki but will feature other pairings
     as well.
Author’s_notes:
Hi everyone!:D I’m back with yet another AnK fanfic :) I think more canon and
less “original” than my other fic, but of course I’m just not gonna be able to
help myself and it’s gonna feature all sorts of less likely, scandalous stuff
;)
I know, I know, I haven’t even properly begun writing on “Crossing the Bridge”
yet and here I am starting another fic, but I just felt inspired for this all
of a sudden and I figured that practising on how to write a more canon version
of Iason in this fic could not hurt ;)
Anyways, I’m not entirely sure yet where I’m going with this, but it starts off
six months after Iason has set Riki free and he’s basically plotting to get
Riki back (duhuh ;) ) and a bunch of other canon characters get involved in it.
But I’m also planning on including other pairings in this well, I felt like
Iason and Riki’s temporary separation, misunderstandings and the sense of
loneliness in this could create opportunities for other interesting pairings
for Iason and possibly Riki as well (although I’ve never really been a big fan
of Riki/Guy so I’m not sure if I’m gonna include that). But main focus is of
course gonna be our favourite star-crossed lovers Iason/Riki ;)
First chapters should prove to be interesting, as it’s gonna include a pairing
that to me seems to make sense at this point in the story, yet I have not read
it in ANY other fic, ever!:S Maybe I’m being too original in this, but it just
seems a shame that no one has attempted anything with this pairing as of yet ;)
So I hope you’ll all enjoy this first chapter, please review and let me know
what you think so far!:D
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
                                        
                           Alphaville – Big in Japan
                                        
 Neon on my naked skin, passing silhouettes of strange illuminated mannequins
 Shall I stay here at the zoo, or should I go and change my point-of-view for
                               other ugly scenes
                                        
              You did what you did to me, now it’s history I see
                     Here’s my comeback on the road again
    Things will happen while they can, I will wait here for my man tonight
                      It’s easy when you’re big in Japan
                                        
                     Aah when you’re big inJapan , tonight
                            Big inJapan , be tight
                  Big inJapan , ooh the eastern sea’s so blue
                            Big inJapan , all right
                       Pay then I’ll sleep by your side
                   Things are easy when you’re big in Japan
                                        
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
 
As the bright red sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon and spread her
last rays across the glass and metal city landscape like a fallen seductress,
Midas’ redlight district came alive with bright, gaudy neon and the buzzing of
the crowd, consisting out of both Midas citizens and tourists. All of them
eager to sell their souls in exchange for the fleeting, false sense of
satisfaction that the pleasure city used to subdue its prey and smother them in
her sweet, lethal embrace. Deep within one of the seediest and shadiest of
neighbourhoods the infamous district had to offer, another fallen seductress
briefly fluttered her full eyelashes while mentally preparing for another day
in what appeared to be a never-ending hell.
 
Yet not once did the thought occur to her that she had acted carelessly in any
way, she did not regret the crime that had condemned her to this degrading,
painful and without a doubt short-lived existence. Not even for a second.
Better to be alive for one second than to live an eternity in death. A thought
that displayed a philosophical and emotional awareness that could have never
possibly existed in her mind prior to the turbulent events that had brought her
to this fate. In a way similar to one readying herself for her execution, the
miserable small creature reluctantly rolled out of the small comfort of the
threadbare, filthy blanket that covered her naked, abused form. Her swollen
eyes still remained closed. As long as they were, she could pretend that it was
all just a nightmare, that it was not real, that she was not really there but
safely in her Master’s comfortable home in Eos Tower.
 
Although no doubt she could feel easily enough that her body was covered in
bruises. Not to mention she could not shut her nose to that rank, putrid smell
of vomit, piss and fear that accompanied the small, dingy room that was now the
only home she knew. She would happily give an arm just to be allowed a brief
wisp of the outside air, even if she had never really been on the outside.
Truth be told she had never felt any need to venture outside, even in thought,
while she had still been bathing in oblivious luxury in Eos. Not until the day
she met him, he who changed her very essence and brought her heart to life,
only to see it crushed shortly afterwards. Riki. Despite all the hardship that
he had caused her, that mongrel was still at the epicentre of her every
thought, just the hope of seeing him one more time was what kept her going day
after day in this dreadful dump of a brothel.
 
It was all a lie. At least this is real. She often focussed on the pain, she
even welcomed it, although she dared not cross the line where she inflicted it
upon herself. She still could not bring herself to damage her Master’s creation
by her own hand, even if said Master had betrayed her without the slightest
hesitation. And all for being guilty of the crime that was called love. She
used to not understand at all why some perfect, academy-bred Pets would risk
their wonderful lives in Eos for the sake of such an empty, practically non-
existent notion. She still did not understand, but that hardly mattered. The
unthinkable had happened, she had fallen in love. And not with just anyone, no,
she just had to go and choose a mongrel from Ceres. And not just any mongrel,
his mongrel. He, the only one above her Master’s social station, and the only
one he would not hesitate to obey in any matter.
 
She had barely been able to crawl off of the stained, old mattress that served
as her bed and open her eyes, when her “manager” barged into the room without
even bothering to knock while shouting like a madman. His greasy, unkempt hair
hung alongside his grey-ish face and he was wearing a crumpled, bright-orange
blazer that only served to further emphasize his oversized belly. The thing
about being constantly shouted at was that after some time you developed a kind
of immunity to it. Therefore he had been shouting for five minutes before she
even realised that something out of the ordinary was going on and this was not
a part of his usual Friday evening “time to score big, baby” ritual.
 
“Hurry up now, Mimi, we’ve got a big client on the way!!! This is the making of
this establishment, I tell you, all our advertising and the spreading of good
publicity through our clientele is finally paying off! This will put us on the
map for good, and he asked specifically for you! Of all the girls, it was you
he was after! I just knew the day was coming when you would finally make me
some real cash, and now my investment is being returned to me at last!” Her
pimp was practically ecstatic while he was dancing up and down the room. Her
big, genetically enhanced orange eyes gawked in silence, not having ever seen
him in such a mood before and unsure of whether it boded well for her or not.
 
“Oh, holy Jupiter! Look at the state of you! This will not do at all, hurry,
girl, you’re in the suite tonight, I’ll ask Tamara to help get you into shape…
And clothes, you’ll need clothes for this occasion! …” He did not stop talking
for the entire way to the suite, which unfortunately for her was up three
flights of stairs seeing as how the elevator still wasn’t working. She could
hardly feel her skinny, bruised legs anymore by the time she got up to the best
room of the brothel, which they called “the suite”. Not that the room in
anything even remotely resembled what a Tanaguran would associate with the
term. The room was slightly bigger than any of the other rooms and had a
substantial amount of furniture in it, and even a mirrored ceiling. However it
was in no way cleaner than any of the other rooms, it just looked somewhat
fancier at first glance, if one did not look too closely. The room was full of
hookers and a couple of the bartenders who normally worked in the bar
downstairs, and who she had thus never laid eyes upon seeing as how she had
been virtually locked up in that filthy room on the third floor ever since her
arrival six months ago. Or had it been longer? It was hard to tell at times,
being locked up in a room without daylight while only catching a couple of
hours of sleep during the day. What was most unusual was that all of the people
in the room were apparently attempting to clean it, not that they were
succeeding for some stains on the old carpet had become virtually irremovable
and it would take more than simply opening the windows for half an hour to waft
out the smell of decades of sexual activities of a more lowly sort.
 
She was quickly escorted to the small bathroom by three other girls who chirped
excitedly at her while they were putting her in the shower and attempting to
comb the knots out of her now shoulder-length hair. As the non-too-hot spray of
the water hit her she could not help but hiss out in pleasure, for it was a
luxury she had not known in a very long time. It felt as if the water was
washing off more than just dirt, it was washing off all of the traumatic
experiences that she’d had to undergo at the underworld establishment, it was
washing off all of the sins she had been subjected to by her various “clients”.
After being properly lathered in cheap soap and rinsed until the water had gone
ice-cold, she was even granted the privilege of wearing clothes, or what passed
as clothes for one of her class. She wore a pair of shine-through red panties
with a print of purple flowers and a matching bra, the red being nearly the
same shade as her straight, now glossy hair. Having to wear stilettos after
such a long time without shoes was making it feel as if her feet were on fire,
yet she felt as if by wearing them a sense of her former dignity was returned
to her. But no amount of make-up could possibly camouflage the bruises on her
body or the purple bags underneath her eyes caused by countless days of
sleeplessness because of both physical and mental duress. At least she was
clean and she was treated with some semblance of kindness since her arrival at
one of the most run-down brothels in Midas.
 
After all of the nervous hustle-and-bustle of last-minute preparations to both
the girl and the room, and contradictory instructions from all sides which she
could barely understand in the chaotic myriad of excited voices, the grand
finale was upon them: the guest of honour had arrived.
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
                                        
It had not taken Katze any time at all to find out what Midas brothel exactly
the former Pet had been sold to, for it had been known to him already that she
had been sold to the worst of the worst. A place even the strictly professional
and merciless Black Market boss felt reluctant to supply with fresh, living
goods. Not that he would ever refuse if there was an obvious profit to be made,
but with the poor pay-checks such an establishment could afford to offer, one
of importance in business rarely crossed paths with anyone associated with “The
Red Lotus”, as the dump of a whorehouse deceivingly called itself.
 
But what was it exactly he was hoping to accomplish by going to such a lowly
place and facing the object of his long-term hatred and jealousy? Even he
himself was at a loss, he only knew that if this horrid sense of emptiness and
lack of fulfilment continued any longer he would not be able to keep it out of
his work and his obligated social life any longer. Because the truth of the
matter was that none of them understood what he was going through, it was
simply incomprehensible for one who had not experienced it for himself. He
himself could not have even imagined that it was possible for him to feel this
way only several years ago. But she understood. The same madness undoubtedly
still had her in its grasp. He had witnessed her irrational impulses first-
hand, seen the most improbable change that had occurred in her behaviour. The
sudden fire that had appeared to erupt from her formerly meek and docile
manner. And somehow this caused him to see her for the first time, even if it
was in a most negative light. It was as if her madness had made her a living
person with a will of her own where before there had only been an aesthetically
pleasing thing. Yet even at that time he had not fully realised that he had
been infected by the same forbidden disease, that all of his actions concerning
the matter had clearly demonstrated this to any who had eyes to see.
 
Even after six months each and every single thought went back to the dark,
fiery object of his obsession. Riki.
 
So now the madness had brought him here, to the place he had condemned the
other sufferer of the same disease to. The flickering, partially broken neon
sign above the nearly ruinous, graffiti-sprayed building read “The Red Lotus”.
How absurd. There is not even such a thing as red lotuses. Then again there is
no such thing as an Elite in love either.
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
                                        
By the time their apparently extremely well-to-do client had made his
appearance, the red-haired little whore had become increasingly agitated, both
out of impending fear and out of curious impatience. She hardly ever got
excited or truly frightened by anything these days, it was as if the first
month of this life had rendered her numb to any feeling, she had simply
existedfrom one day to the next. But somehow she already sensed that this day
had the potential to change things for her. She did not dare to hope that she
would ever be even temporarily restored to her former glory as one of the
highest-regarded Pets of Tanagura, but anything was to be preferred above her
current predicament. Not to mention that leaving this place was a necessity if
she ever wanted to see the one her broken heart still yearned for again.
 
As she was nervously glancing out the window at the chaos of colours in the
busy street below, absent in thoughts about the impending encounter, she had
not even heard the nearly soundless footsteps approach her. What she did notice
almost immediately however was the scent. For it was a scent that was familiar
and did not belong in that lowly place at all. It was fresh, synthetic, sweet
yet not nauseatingly so, expensive and both subtle and strong. It filled her
heart with memories of long-forgotten times in a careless existence of
indulgence, luxury and purpose. But simultaneously it also filled her heart
with a sense of dread and made ice-cold fear shiver down her spine.
 
“Hello again, Mimea”, came the well-known smooth, icily sharp voice.
 
She did not even have to turn around to see who it was that stood there in all
his divine splendour and might, but turn around she did because she could not
believe her own ears. After having recovered from the initial shock she
instinctively started to lower her gaze … but then thought the better of it and
stared into those arctic bright-blue orbs as if in an unspoken challenge. She
had nothing left to fear, nothing left this man could take from her but her
life, and that in and of itself was not worth anything anymore these days. To
have an end to this miserable non-existence would be a blessing. As soon as she
regained her voice she responded, her voice unsteady and hoarse yet also louder
and clearer than it had ever been.
 
“Hello again, Iason Mink.”
 
Orange met bright-blue and the air around them appeared to become charged with
invisible electric sparks, like a chemical reaction between two opposing agents
brought together.
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
 
Somehow he had expected that living in these harsh conditions for six months
after having been pampered and protected all her life would have drained the
fight out of this feeble creature and would have at least made it feign
repentance for its actions. But there was no such surrender or regret in the
cat-like, orange eyes that looked right at him. Oh, he could see the fear in
those eyes without a doubt, but he could also see the challenge there: she was
not going to back down, even if he were to threaten to rain down hell upon her.
He had already done his worst to the insignificant slave that had had the
audacity to touch what was his and only his. Therefore the only thing he could
do now, was lessen that worst of conditions. After all, at this rate she could
prove to be as diverting as the very mongrel their enmity had been about.
 
“Have you come to finish me off at last? Or have you come to gloat at my
misery?”, she almost looked like the whore of Babylon in the way she
dramatically approached him with outstretched arms, as if welcoming whatever
fate it was he had in store for her while daring him to go ahead and do his
worst.
 
“Neither. If there is no end to my misery, there shall certainly be none to
yours”, the blond Elite spoke wistfully, his voice uncharacteristically soft
and serene.
 
This unexpected comment caught her off-guard to the extent that she lowered her
arms and remained standing at approximately a metre from his imposing, grand
figure. “I do not think anything you could do to me could possibly be any worse
than what others have already done. And even if so, I would welcome any form of
attention from anyone properly bathed and mannered at this point, even from
you”, it sounded as if that last word was meant to be an insult.
 
“If it had been my intent to personally punish you for your indiscretions I
would have done so at the time your offence was discovered”, the strikingly
beautiful Elite responded calmly while gracefully sitting down on the only sofa
in the room, which was not exactly clean despite everyone’s best efforts.
 
Even while he was seated and she was still standing, wearing ridiculously high
heels, Mimea was still several inches shorter than her nemesis. Yet she
straightened up, deciding to make the best out of her temporarily increased
height, even if physical height would never overcome the social divide between
them. “Then by all means, my Lordship, what is your intent?”, she half-
mockingly hissed, sounding almost like a cornered rattle snake: frightened out
of her wits and ready to strike even if it was hopeless.
 
Iason paid no heed to the offensive tone the inferior former Pet was using with
him and instead indicated for her to sit down on the chair opposite him. After
a long hesitation, Mimea reluctantly sat down, but only because she was so
exhausted due to malnutrition and abuse that she could not possibly have
remained standing for much longer. And there was no way she would give this
bastard any opportunity to degrade her any further. She had to force herself to
remain silent and wait for him to speak again, for she was immensely curious
and rather worried about what had been Riki’s fate. Was he still in the
Blondie’s possession? If so in what state of mind was he? Fear quenched her
heart at the thought of the Elite having succeeded in crushing Riki’s spirit
and subduing him to his own sick inclinations. After what appeared to be a very
long and torturous silence for Mimea, he finally spoke again.
 
“I have come across a problem it appears I cannot solve on my own. And
ironically enough the only person I know of that could help me solve it, is
you”, his piercing unnaturally blue gaze remained fixed upon her even after he
had spoken, as if studying her in an attempt to figure out what she was
thinking. That unsettlingly cold gaze made her feel like a butterfly under a
microscope, about to be pinned down. She felt grateful that in the past he had
never bothered to rest his eyes upon her any longer than politeness towards
Lord Am required.
 
Mimea remained waiting for him to elaborate further on that statement, but as
an uncomfortable amount of time passed, she realised that he was expecting her
to respond first. She was slightly inclined to purposely keep him waiting just
to annoy him, when her worry and surprise got the better of her. “I do not
think it is within my intellectual skill set to help you out with a problem of
any kind. And to be honest I don’t feel very inclined to help you either way”,
she eventually answered, trying to keep her voice as steady and unfriendly as
possible.
 
“While such a reaction is understandable it is far from wise, for one in your
position. I could change your living conditions in the blink of an eye if I so
choose, for better … or for worse”, the deadly glare he gave her while he spoke
those final words made it very clear that he could think of quite a few places
he could sell her to that were even worse than The Red Lotus.
 
She was unable to hold back any longer, damn her embarrassment to hell, she had
to know! “Just tell me if he is all right … Riki, he is all right, isn’t he? My
thoughtless actions did not cause him any … permanent trouble?”, her voice
cracked and she was grateful that she was already seated or else the
overwhelming whirlwind of emotions that came over her would have surely knocked
her to the ground. Even if it was six months ago she still had no idea what
kind of punishment Riki had been submitted to after she had been sold off, and
she still had nightmares about it on a regular basis. For the rage, even if
subdued, she had seen on the fearful Elite’s face that day had made it very
clear to her just how furious he had been with the mongrel. It had struck her
as highly unusual at the time, to her knowledge no Elite had ever shown such
fury over something so trifle as the misconduct of a mere Pet.
 
“Your questions further demonstrate that you and I have the same problem. Yet
no one else in Tanagura appears to have problems of this sort. Therefore it is
only logical that we would attempt to solve our mutual problem together”, he
stated matter-of-factly. Then seeing confusion appear on her still-attractive
but slightly discoloured features, he continued: “Or am I mistaken in assuming
you have strong feelings for Riki as well? Knowing your personality, your
actions towards my Pet were very much out-of-character. One with your training
ought to think twice about committing crimes that could condemn you.”
 
Mimea was momentarily gob-smacked, needing some time to process the information
that was slowly sinking in. Or am I mistaken in assuming you have strong
feelings for Riki as well? As well. Which suggested that he, Iason Mink,
Jupiter’s favourite, with an impeccable record and a reputation for cruelty,
felt strongly for a mongrel. He was not supposed to feelanything for anybody.
But he had felt livid when he had confronted Mimea and Riki with their
transgressions, that much Mimea had been able to make out of his facial
expressions on that day. At the time she had been too worried about her and
Riki’s fate to think about it, but now it struck her as very strange. Why did
he get so worked-up over something like that? Why did he get worked-up over
anything at all?
 
When realisation finally struck her, she got up as if in an automatism, extreme
shock and grief appearing on her small, perfectly symmetrical face. With wide
eyes she stared at the Elite in front of her for a couple of seconds, then she
dropped down on her knees in front of him as in a swoon, overcome by a
hurricane of suffering, anger and sadness at the injustice of it all. All her
hostility evaporated like snow in the sun, and only left a feeling of
hopelessness and … compassion. A sudden sense of solidarity had come over her.
I am not alone in my feelings. It is not because of a fault of mine.
 
Jupiter’s most perfect creation was not entirely sure how he had expected the
stealing whore to react, but this surprised even him, although of course it did
not show on his face, his expression as distant and untouched as usual. “I …
I’m so sorry! I didn’t know … I’m so sorry!” She continued to cry at his feet,
while now also clutching his knees in her small hands. He noticed that she had
small cuts and scrapes all over her shaking hands and that her nails were
cracked and unclean, dirt of an indistinguishable nature caked under them. She
looked truly horrendous and incredibly distraught and fragile.
 
Suddenly he was overcome by an impulse he had never had towards anyone except
perhaps Riki. It had been his habit to suppress and ignore the impulse then,
but now that he had not seen Riki in months he felt he was less capable of
doing so now. It had been unbelievably lonely during those months, and it felt
all the worse for one who had never experienced anything akin to loneliness
before. The entire situation with the mongrel had first merely left him
puzzled, but as time progressed it had made him feel frustrated for the first
time in his life. The blonde had failed at obtaining what it was he truly
wanted from the mongrel and it had left him with a bitter taste of hopelessness
in the aftermath of that failure.
 
Unable and in truth unwilling to fight these rising feelings any longer, Iason
moved forward slightly and clutched her hands in his while simultaneously
sliding down from his seat and elegantly perching in front of her kneeling,
shivering form. “That’s quite all right, Mimea. It was not your fault, how were
you to know when even I did not?” Apparently his comment did not have the
intended effect, as a new series of even more violent tremors shook the small
body in front of him. Before he had even fully realised what he was doing, he
had locked his arms around her trembling, exposed back and pressed her warm,
fragile body against his larger one.
 
Amazement pierced through the haze of Mimea’s miserable sobbing, as she felt
the Elite’s strong body surround her own. She was truly surprised at his high
body temperature, somehow she had always expected an artificial body would feel
cold, especially Lord Mink’s. Of course she’d had no way of knowing that,
seeing as how she had never been touched by an Elite, other than those few
times that Lord Am had briefly petted her when she had performed exceptionally
well. But then her Master had always kept on his gloves, virtually blocking out
all sensation and disabling any opportunity for a link between them. And for an
Elite to hug a Pet, or even another Elite, as Iason was doing right now was
unthinkable. Did he touch Riki like this too? The sudden feeling of peaceful
comfort and connection that filled her only caused her tears to flow more
quickly and abundantly, and soon Iason’s right shoulder pad was nearly soaked
through. But apparently that did not bother him, for he kept holding on to her,
tightly but not tightly enough to further abuse her already tortured skin.
 
The Elite was unsure as to how long he had sat there, on the ground, clutching
the hopelessly hiccupping mess that was the ex-Pet Mimea. He felt almost like a
bystander, observing his own incomprehensible actions as if they were those of
a stranger. “Whe… where is Riki? Is he angry? Does he hate me? … Did he … Did
he run away?”, she asked while trying to dry her red, sticky eyes. Iason
briefly glanced at the bed, considering it as an alternative seating
arrangement, but then decided that the floor was probably more sanitary. “No.
But he tried. So I let him go”, Iason spoke, his monotonous voice betraying
none of the emotions he was experiencing. “Wh… what? Why?” Why would he let him
go if he cares for him like I do?
 
Iason continued to stare blankly ahead while petting her naked back and
threading his gloved fingers through Mimea’s hair, it had grown considerably
longer over the last months, reaching until just past her narrow shoulders. “It
was the only way. He would have withered and died in Eos, like a picked
flower.” The childish girl nodded her pretty head in understanding, her big,
inchoate eyes still moist. “You would rather he were away from you and happy
than with you and unhappy?”
 
“I consider it more to be a matter of health than of “happiness”, but yes. Riki
was not made for the life of a Pet, nor does it do his intelligence and his
lively spirit any justice. Because of this it appears I have reached an
impasse, which I know not how to overcome”, the handsome Elite spoke softly
while still caressing Mimea’s back and shoulders. The former Pet felt an
unusual feeling of safety going through her, despite these attentions being
given by the one she ought to fear. “Perhaps I can help? I am not a mongrel but
… I have been in a similar position and even for someone like me it is not
always easy. To constantly look for approval and to blame yourself for your
expectations if you do not get it.”
 
“What more attention could he possibly yearn for? I have given him everything I
had to give, and more than I should have. I have made it exceedingly clear
numerous times that I wanted nobody else and that I would keep him
indefinitely. He had far more comfort in Eos than he could have ever even
imagined in the slums of Area 9. I truly wonder who, in all of Midas and
Tanagura, could have offered him more?”, despite his frustrations finally
getting the better of him now that he had found an outlet for them, none of
that was evident from his tone or facial expressions.
 
“Mongrels are different, I think. To me it always seemed like Riki did not care
about things, about material comforts. So perhaps to him all those luxuries
have no meaning?”
 
“Oh, I have given him a great deal more than just material comforts. Don’t you
Pets know all about that then?”, the Elite teasingly implied, knowing full-well
what kind of gossip had been circulating concerning him and Riki among the
other Pets at Eos. He heard a soft gasp of disbelief come from the other one.
Just being held like this by an Elite was already more than she could have ever
dreamed of, it already felt so surreal … The thought of there being more of
that, of there being actual sexual contact with one’s Master … It was a desire
of the deepest kind, the fulfilment of which would be far higher than the
highest aim a Pet could ever have. “If that is true, he must be truly insane to
have tried to escape. I cannot imagine what could …”, she stopped mid-sentence
when the memory of the first time she had met the fierce, wild mongrel entered
her mind.
 
“And what is it that you want, huh?! You come to make fun of me? Had a nice bet
with your cowardly friends over there, huh? I swear, if you come any closer,
I’ll beat that smile straight off your pretty lil’ face, bitch!”
 
At first she had been utterly shocked, and the words angrily shouted at her
that day had almost made her turn on her heel and leave never to return to him.
But then she thought of how mean everyone had been to him since his arrival in
Eos, how every time he would come out the other Pets would be waiting to mock
him and call him names. And then it had occurred to her that he had
misunderstood her intentions when she approached him: apparently he had thought
that she was going to him not to be nice to him but to laugh at and humiliate
him.
 
“Maybe … maybe he thought you were trying to laugh at him? I mean, to humiliate
him, put him in his place. If he wanted to leave you I think he did not know
how you feel about him.” To her great regret Mimea felt how Iason’s big, warm
hands left her back and his strong arms were removed from around her. She felt
a bit unsettled when those arctic sky-blue eyes captured hers once more, an
Elite had seldom looked straight at her like that, acknowledging her existence
as another intelligent being. “Do you think if I were to tell him more
explicitly what my motivations are for keeping him, he would return to me
willingly?”
 
“I’m not sure. Riki is very different from me, from everyone in Tanagura I
think. But like that, somehow it makes him seem more …”, as she spoke of him
Mimea’s eyes started sparkling with a lustre that the other had seldom seen,
even in the eyes of healthy, successful Pets at the height of their career. She
still felt very strongly for Riki and the mere thought of him made her live up
again despite her sincerely weakened state.
 
“More real”, Iason finished her sentence as if in an automatism. And that very
lust for life that the mongrel possessed was apparently infectious, for Iason
could now no longer go through the dull, mindless routines of everyday life in
Tanagura any more. He felt like his life needed more purpose, more colour, than
that. Now that it had come into existence, his heart yearned for that fire that
only Riki could awaken in it.
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
 
Jacco, the owner of The Red Lotus, had waited anxiously next to the door of the
suite in the mean time and he had even laid his ear against the door at times
to listen, but the only things he heard had been occasional sobbing and the
soft murmur of voices yet he had been unable to make out what was being said.
He was surprised that the girl was apparently crying and not making any of the
lewd moans one would expect from a proper Pet show. The man was an Elite from
Tanagura, the kind of audience an Academy-bred A-class Pet like her was used
to, she should have been jumping at the opportunity to perform for one such as
Lord Mink, if only for the lack of physical discomfort on her own behalf. But
judging from the sounds coming from the room, she was making a complete mess of
things. If I don’t get paid I swear to Jupiter I will chuck that bitch right
out, straight into the gutter!
 
After what had seemed like hours and hours of waiting, the door finally opened
and His Excellency exited the room. Jacco was right on top of him immediately:
“I am so sorry for any inconvenience to you, my Lord! I swear to you this is
our very best girl and we’ve never had any complaints about her, none
whatsoever, nothing but high praise, I assure you! I’ve no idea what’s come
over her, maybe she’s overdone it a bit last night, or she’s fallen ill, it
happens you know. Perhaps I could send in one of the other girls? Or maybe one
of the boys, we have a brand-new very nice A-class boy, just came in two days
ago, fresh as a …” Iason only had to hold up his hand, without even glancing
slightly in the direction of the man, to make him stop his endless rant mid-
sentence. In the few seconds before Iason spoke, the sound of Jacco swallowing
nervously could clearly be heard. “There is no need for you to exert yourself
to such a degree, Mr … “Jacco” … my encounter with your employee was most
satisfactory, I assure you.”
 
The trembling, cowardly pimp’s mouth fell open when he heard that his client
was apparently happy about Mimi’s crying and he just stood there gaping with
his mouth open, like a fish on dry land. “In fact I find that I am pleased to
the degree that I would like to purchase this Pet from you, I do hope that is a
possibility?”
 
It took Jacco at least five minutes to grasp the meaning of what it was that
his filthy rich client was suggesting. “Why… why yes, of course! I mean, it is
a tad unusual in an establishment such as this but… but I’d be most happy to
accommodate you, Lord Mink!”, the little man rattled on in a rather annoyingly
high-pitched voice that was reminiscent of a hyena’s laughter.
 
“Excellent, I am most glad to hear it”, Iason said while reaching for his
credit card, still not even sparing the other man a glance. “Would 15 million
cover your future expectations of her performances here?” The greasy pimp’s
mouth fell open even further than seemed humanly possible and again he was
momentarily dumb-struck. The Elite could have bought the entire complex and
everyone in it for that sum.
 
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
 
                               To Be Continued …
                                        
                     ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
                                        
                          Please leave a review!!! :D
 
***** Coming Home *****
Chapter Summary
     Mimea is taken back to Eos and is given a most unusual proposal by
     her nemesis, her answer to which will determine both her and Riki's
     fate ...
Author’s notes:
Hi everyone :D So here I am with the next chapter already, I figured I wouldn’t
keep you in suspense for too long :)
I hope my Mimea doesn’t get too out-of-character, but then again this is a
character we know very little about from the novels, so anything’s possible
really ;) Only thing we know about her is that she’s very spirited and brave
for a Pet, that she’s madly in love with Riki, that Iason made Raoul send her
off to some terrible whorehouse in Midas and that Riki betrayed her feelings by
not saying anything when Iason confronted them … Sounds like the ingredients
for a truly poisonous concoction, right?;)
Oh, I’m again also making use of lyrics, I hope that’s not bothering anyone? I
just kinda felt that this song matched the events in this chapter :)
I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter and don’t hold back on those reviews
please!;) 
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
                             CellDweller – Tainted
                                        
                   Standing out there alone completely naked
                Another secret’s been kept and left her tainted
                                        
            There’s nothing more she can do to make them change it
                She does the best that she can to rearrange it
           There’s still the question of how she’s grown so tainted
               A tattered canvas unfolds, watch as they paint it
                                        
                        She’s at the edge of the world
                          She’s there standing alone
                           She’s the loneliest girl
               And now she finally feels like she’s coming home
                                        
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
Orange eyes remained fixed upon the cityscape unfolded before them, a
kaleidoscope of coloured lights against the backdrop of the now ink-black
night, containing both a frightening chaos and a fascinating beauty and
implying both hierarchical unity and desolate isolation. The last of which was
not unknown to the physically girlish, mentally adult unlooker. Somehow order
had lost its appeal to her in favour of the chaos of life, which had led to her
life changing from certainty and security to uncertainty and danger in the
blink of an eye. And now that eye could never unsee the ugliness, the
inhumanity, the loneliness that made up the seemingly divine order of Tanagura,
it was all just a matter of perspective really. That beautiful, glorious place
of prosperity, progress and luxury of her youth had merely been a figment of
her imagination, and now a corrupt system that caged personality and
exterminated innocence had taken its place forever. Once one became an adult,
one could never become a child again. And in this world, one could better grow
up quickly or be left to pick up the pieces of shattered childhood dreams.
 
“Is it any better than the view from the Am household? I suppose higher does
not necessarily imply better”, the soft yet firm voice rather forcefully shook
her from her reverie, as she had not even heard his approach.
 
There was no telling how long the motionless Elite had stood only one metre
from her without her noticing, as Elite were capable of remaining completely
still for a seemingly endless duration of time. It was almost as if time did
not exist in Tanagura: no one there ever had to even think about the future,
either because their future was endless or because they had no future. Moreover
Jupiter regulated everything perfectly, so there was no need to concern
yourself with doing something so redundant as organising your own future.
 
“It looks very different from what it did before … but I think that is because
I am different now, not because the view itself is”, Mimea responded after
regaining her composure from the shock of Iason Mink’s sudden, brilliant
appearance. There was no getting used to his presence like there had been to
the presence of Master Am. When you noticed Lord Mink it was as if you were
facing the sun, blinded by its golden brightness and burned by its merciless
rays.
 
“Ah. Well, they always say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, do they not?”,
the radiant blonde spoke again, his voice as frosty as always, if not slightly
more so. There was no way to tell at all that he had seemingly melted only
hours before, no way to tell but her memory of it. Mimea could not help but
think the phrase somehow applied to Riki, he had not been beautiful at all in
the eyes of most beholders, but he had managed to steal both her heart and
apparently that of the android standing next to her. She would have never
guessed one such as him even had a heart.
 
“If I may be so bold, what is it that you see when you look at it? Has that
changed at all?”, the fallen Pet responded, keeping her stance respectfully
bowed and her voice soft. But it did not sound like it had before, it sounded
hoarser now, probably due to many nights of screaming and crying at that sickly
brothel until her voice had become raw.
 
An uncomfortably long silence followed, uninterrupted by the cacophony of noise
below, which could not reach that high or pierce to the thick glass that
separated them from the rest of the world.
 
“I used to see something despicable, something wild and animalistic that had to
be kept under control, or otherwise pure chaos would erupt. It was not
something I associated at all with myself, not something I thought I required
or was even capable of.” The blonde, imposing figure did not continue his
speech but his meaning had already been clearly imparted.
 
The prettily fragile, red-haired creature beside him pursed her full lips
before replying, all the while not even glancing in his direction. “I used to
think it looked rather attractive, all of those bright lights. But now that I
have flown into that light, it’s not so appealing anymore. Then again now that
I have had a taste of reallife I don’t think the synthetic version will ever be
truly satisfying again. It’s hard to explain, it’s … a terrible place. But it’s
also a beautiful place because it offers something more somehow, it offers
opportunities to …”
 
“Make your own choices”, it was unclear whether that was a question or an
affirmative statement. Even for one of Iason’s high social standard and
esteemed position it had become very clear that the Tanaguran system did not
allow for true choice, and that him choosing Riki had proven to be very
difficult because of that.
 
A strange sense of understanding began to form between the two very different
creatures standing there, gazing out the window. The system had made them to be
different: socially, physically, intellectually. Yet in their souls, that part
the system had not intended for, they had in fact become very similar.
 
“Yes. But it’s not true, is it? Except for them, the mongrels, they are the
only ones who are truly free. Perhaps that’s why I did what I did, that I
wanted to do something because I chose to do it, just to taste freedom for once
in my life”, the now retired prostitute said, still unable to keep a tinge of
hope from her voice. Despite having been beaten down so harshly because of her
foolish emotions, she still continued to worship them on the altar of her
heart.
 
“I suppose that is what I wanted as well, what I stillwant”, Jupiter’s
representative mused while noiselessly turning his head in his interlocutor’s
direction, now studying the former Pet rather than the cityscape. “And I always
get what I want”, he added icily and rather ferociously, as if a wild ocean was
just below his serene, pristinely white surface.
 
As she slowly turned her head towards him in surprise, the look of his glacier
eyes only served to further enhance that disturbing effect. Strangely
fascinated, the small humanoid continued to stare, like a doe caught in
headlights. Or a moth drawn to a flame, once more ignorant of its ability to
burn. Iason Mink’s blue flame appeared to be something very different from the
cheap neon that was displayed far below. Despite all his distance – his gloves,
his expressionless mask, his ever-present façade of propriety, his rarely
disturbed calm composure, his cruelly emotionless gaze – he had never lied to
her.
 
But then the moment of odd, mutual fascination was disturbed by the arrival of
Lord Mink’s latest Furniture, a young boy called Cal who despite his shy
nervousness was proving to be a very promising addition to the household. Even
while keeping his gaze aimed at the floor, as was expected of Furniture when
facing their superior, he could not help but notice the presence of the unknown
exotic-looking Pet standing beside his Master. He did not see her clearly
enough to distinguish the many bruises and scraps on her otherwise flawless
skin.
 
“Ah, Cal, I was just about to call you. This is Mimea, starting from today she
will be a part of this household. Show her to her room and bathe her before
dinner, which she will be having with me in the dining room.” Even the sudden
use of his now flatly instructing voice could not break the spell he had cast
over the small female next to him entirely. But as soon as the meaning of the
words spoken to the Furniture penetrated her still-dazed mind, she snapped back
to reality with a surprising snap.
 
“I will be … staying here?” She was not sure what she had been expecting, but
last of all that she would be rescued from that dreadful brothel by the nemesis
that had put her there in the first place and that he would then make her a
part of his household. She had assumed when he had taken her away from The Red
Lotus it had merely been his intention to speak to her in a more private
setting, or possibly to resell her for a profit. But apparently he was not
planning on taking her back to the Lotus or anywhere else for that matter, and
she was to remain at his own penthouse, several floors up from the household
she had been a part of during her golden years, or rather months.
 
“Of course. You might come in very handy in my attempt at reclaiming what is
mine, so naturally I cannot have you die on me in some derelict establishment
in downtown Midas”, and as if those rapidly spoken, supposedly rational words
explained everything, he graciously turned away from Mimea and the Furniture
and walked straight out the door in a matter of seconds. Strange how Elite
could remain so still for such a long time, and then move away so quickly and
unexpectedly.
 
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
Mimea shook her confused head in an attempt to clear the fog in there and to
try and come to terms with both her new position at the Mink household and her
apparently altered relationship with the elusive Master of said household.
Looks like I am a Pet once more, only this time with a former enemy for a
Master.
 
Cal only now dared to face her and could not suppress a soft gasp at seeing the
state she was in, he had never seen any Pet looking quite like this, even those
that had been cruelly beaten by their Masters as punishment. A Master would
never beat his Pet in places where it showed to such an extent, especially in
the face. And the slightly gray undertone of her skin and skeleton quality of
her limbs implied malnutrition for a longer period of time.
 
“Hi … I’m Mimea, what’s your name?” It sounded rather hollow and matter-of-
fact, not at all the sweet, cheerful sing-song that one would expect from an
Academy Pet. Looking at the boy staring at her, she could tell straight away
that he had not been a Furniture for very long and that he had never seen
anyone badly beaten or mistreated before.
 
“I … I’m Cal. I should … I should probably take a look at your injuries”, Cal
nervously indicated, while bowing his head all over again after being stared at
rather directly, the haunting sorrowful quality in her eyes frightening him.
 
“Don’t worry, Cal. It’s not as bad as it looks.” It’s worse. No physical pain
could ever come close to the mental pain she had experienced over the last
couple of months. But now was the time to look at the future, now it seemed
like she had one again. She was painfully aware now, where she had not been in
her younger years, that that future depended on the whims of an Elite. And not
just any Elite, the most cruel and unpredictable of all the Blondies, and also
the one she had managed to seriously piss off in the past.
 
After having followed the nervous Furniture into one of the gigantic, white-
marble bathrooms and meekly sitting down at the edge of the enormous ground-
level tub, allowing Cal to undress her and examine her wounds, Mimea felt the
unusual urge to establish some kind of connection with the boy. She had never
even considered befriending a Furniture before, seeing them as mere appliances
to use when she saw fit. But now as she gazed upon the nervous, slightly clumsy
boy in front of her, she could not help but see a kindred spirit. Lost,
confused, frightened. Just like she had been, still was to a great extent.
 
“So what is it like, living at this household? What is the Master like, is he
very demanding?”, she attempted to start a conversation, having a feeling that
a lot of input from her would be required to get Cal to speak out of his own
volition. She tried to keep her voice light and conversational, her eyes-lashes
soothingly fluttering and it actually hurt to smile even slightly, maybe
because of the bruises or due to not having used those muscles in a long time.
 
Cal hesitantly looked up from gently rubbing disinfectant on her many scraps
and cuts, surprised at the questions and unsure as to how to respond. Master
Mink had not had any Pets since his arrival so he had no experience in dealing
with them. Was he even allowed to talk to her? But surely he could not refuse
to answer her questions when she aimed them directly at him? But to share his
opinion on the Master with her … surely it was not his place to do so?
 
She immediately recognised the cause of his hesitation. “I mean, do you like it
here? What does a normal day look like? Many parties, many evening activities?”
If he would continue to respond, she suddenly felt she would go out of her mind
with boredom. How strange, it never used to bother me while at the Am
household.
 
“Ergh … Yes, I do like it here. I mean, of course I do, this is the most
esteemed household in all of Tanagura. Well, there does not appear to be that
much going on. I mean the Master organises social events in his home every now
and then of course, but on a day-to-day basis he seems to prefer his privacy.
It struck me as a bit unusual that a household of this size would not have any
Pets … I mean, not that it should have! Of course it’s not up to me to say
anything about it … I’ll just be quiet now!” He clumsily attempted to open a
tube of moisturizing lotion to apply to Mimea’s purple and yellow bruises, but
because of his shaking hands he only ended up making himself even more
terrified.
 
All of a sudden her small, elegant hands were there, clutching his and
effectively ending the incessant shaking, gently taking the tube from his hands
and opening it for him. When he looked up in utter shock, she smiled
reassuringly at him, her beauty clearly shining through now, despite all the
visible damage to her frail body. “It’s all right. We’re just talking, Cal,
there is no need to be so worried about what you say”, she said in her most
soothing tone, imagining she was addressing a frightened little bunny. The
analogy even managed to briefly paint a genuine smile on her face, that was
already beginning to look more like its former self.
 
When Cal appeared to have calmed down again and was carefully applying the
relaxing, fragrant cream to her pale skin, she attempted to continue their
talk. “I know why. Why the Master has kept no Pets for the last six months.”
She experimentally waited until he would urge her to tell him. A part of him
had to be curious about the fact, or else he would not have stated it in his
babbling attack. Yet he continued to silently apply the cream to her skin and
then proceeded to cut and file her long, broken nails. As he was beginning to
comb through her hair, she tried again. “Would you like me to tell you why that
is? Why Lord Mink has not taken a new Pet until now?” The boy blushed slightly,
he had been hoping she would just forget about it. But it appeared as if he
would be forced to inquire about something that was in fact none of his
business. “If you would like to tell me, I cannot stop you.” That was probably
as close as this Furniture was going to get to “Tell me now!”, so Mimea
responded. “It is because no Pet could ever replace the last one he’s had. I
assume you know about the one called Riki?”
 
Cal shook his head, he had never heard of anyone by that name in Eos. Or there
had been this legend about a certain Riki the Dark back in Guardian, but that
seemed like a different lifetime now, of which he was not allowed to talk to
anyone. And without a doubt the Pet she was referring to shared nothing
whatsoever with that legendary figure except for the name.
 
“Are you serious? Don’t Furniture ever gossip then? Truly everyone I knew was
talking about it only six months ago …” But then again to the Pets of Eos six
months ago seemed like a lifetime ago. An entire generation of Pets could have
retired and another entire generation of new Pets could have debuted in such a
short period of time. Seeing that Cal would not take the initiative to say
anything to her if not explicitly probed by a question, she proceeded. “The
reason why Riki’s arrival in Eos caused such a major disturbance is that he is
in fact a mongrel from Ceres.”
 
Cal immediately seized the motion of removing Mimea’s make-up and in his
complete shock he could not help but down-right stare at her in amazement.
Surely it could not be the same Riki he had heard about in Guardian? Because
that was the kind of personality that would never ever fit in here. And why
would an Elite, especially one in a position as high as His Excellency’s, be
even remotely interested in a mongrel?
 
“Yeah, I know! It was quite a stir … I can’t imagine what kind of scandal it
must have been when it was discovered that I had slept with him, without our
Masters’ permission.” She might just as well tell the kid everything, seeing as
how they were going to be each other’s only company during the day. Cal’s mouth
fell open at that, not believing what he was hearing. Was this Pet just pulling
his chain? Was telling him all of these incredible falsehoods a way for her to
amuse herself in her Master’s absence perhaps?
 
“What, you don’t believe me? I got kicked out of Eos for it, sent to this
terrible place in Midas … I’d rather not talk about that, if you don’t mind.
But I think it was worth it. Everyone hated Riki because he was a mongrel but …
he is actually one of the nicest people I have ever met. There is something
real about him, something genuine, he would not laugh in your face and then
stab you in the back. And he never gossiped about anyone, when he had something
to say he just told you straight to your face. And he was brave, with such
passion! He kept on talking about how he was going to escape Eos, how he was
going to get back his freedom. It was so inspiring that at some point I even
imagined what it would be like to run away together with him, to meet his
friends in Ceres, to spend time with him outside of these walls … It’s silly, I
know, but somehow he infected me with his fire.”
 
It was rather tiresome to have a conversation with someone who did not respond
in the slightest, but by looking at Cal’s expression she could tell that he was
anxious to hear more. He is interested in mongrels from Ceres? How strange for
a Furniture.
 
“Has the Master explicitly forbidden you to speak to me, Cal?” In order to have
any kind of decent conversation with this boy she would have to somehow
convince him that it was OK with the Master. The young Furniture shook his
head, but she could tell from how wide his brown eyes still were that he was
not yet convinced. “Listen, if you were to speak to me and it would turn out
that the Master did not want that … then I promise you I will take the full
blame for it. I will tell him that it was entirely my fault, that I was
demanding that you answered me and that you were just telling me what I wanted
to hear, so anything inappropriate you might say would be my fault then.”
 
But it turned out that approach had been a grave mistake, for Cal immediately
jumped up while shaking his head even more vehemently. He was not the kind of
person to let someone else take the blame or risk anything on his behalf. “OK,
OK! I’ll just tell him it is all yourfault regardless, is that better?”, she
laughed with a wink, hoping that perhaps humour would be able to make him open
up slightly. At least he appeared to understand that it was said in jest, for
he kneeled down again and started pouring contents of priceless, high-quality
bottles into the already-steaming bath water.
 
“I have heard of this Riki you describe. He is dark-skinned with pitch-black
hair, right? I would have never guessed someone like that would end up here.
How did that come about? I mean, how did Master Mink even get the idea to
purchase him?”, he finally said while helping Mimea lower her punished,
sensitive body into the hot, foaming water. She moaned in pleasure at the
comforting heat of the water, despite the slight sting it also caused where her
skin had been broken. When Cal started massaging sweet-smelling shampoo into
her hair, her state of complete peace and relaxation was complete. How come she
had never realised what a rare blissful pleasure this was before? A deep sense
of gratitude filled her at the thought of those months spent in that filthy
whorehouse and its drunk, abusive customers.
 
“The way he told me, Riki was never really purchased by Lord Mink. Apparently
he had just been stealing credit cards from tourists in Midas when he came
across Lord Mink, who prevented him from being apprehended by the police. And
then Riki followed him, demanding to do something for him in return. And from
what I understood Riki was simply taken from the street and brought here by
Lord Mink several months after that.” When she thought about it like that it
really sounded like an unbelievable, highly unlikely turn of events. But then
again so was her taking a liking to a mongrel and vice versa. Who would have
thought there could have been such an understanding between people from such
very different social and genetic backgrounds?
 
“So what you’re saying is … Lord Mink fell in love with Riki?” Mimea gasped in
surprise, he had been remarkably quick in jumping to that conclusion. In the
beginning no Pet in Eos would have ever thought that an Elite was even capable
of falling in love, least of all with a mongrel. Even if said Elite had decided
to take a mongrel for a Pet, that did not mean in the slightest that he had
personal feelings of any sort for the creature. Staring at his face, she
realised that he knew nothing whatsoever about the matter. To him it had just
seemed like a perfectly normal conclusion to draw from what she had just told
him. She had never given the intelligence and ways of thinking of Furniture any
thought, but she was definitely interested now. It was almost like speaking to
an alien all over again, as if Cal came from an entirely different world just
as Riki had.
 
“Well, yes, that’s true. But I only know that because Lord Mink has told me so
himself, I would have never even guessed at the time. How did you know that?”
Her new friend was proving to be more and more mysterious by the minute. Good
thing she had managed to get him to finally talk. Apparently she had not lost
all of her charms just yet.
 
“Doesn’t it make perfect sense? I mean, why else would he go to such lengths? I
can’t imagine taking a mongrel as a Pet would be easy, probably lots of red
tape and it’s without a doubt a huge social risk to take, I very much doubt an
Elite in a lower position could have pulled it off. So what happened? Was he
forced to give Riki up? Or did Riki somehow escape?” Another very unlikely
conclusion. No Pet would have ever even thought it possible to escape Eos, or
even understand where a desire to do so could originate from.
 
“No. I mean he tried to escape but he was caught, shortly after our tryst was
discovered and I was sent to Midas. But no, the Master actually let him go.” A
fact that up to this point she could not entirely wrap her head around. Surely,
to a human his reasoning made sense, but it was not the kind of selfless,
uncalculated way of reasoning that an Elite would use.
 
“Why would he do that? Go through all that trouble to obtain him, only to let
him go?” Cal could not understand it either, because he knew – probably even
better than any Pet – the way in which the cold, purely mathematical minds of
the Elite functioned. An Elite would never even considers a human being’s
feelings in any matter, and they would definitely never disregard their own
wishes on behalf of those of a mere human.
 
“He did it because he noticed that Riki was unhappy here, that he would die
from boredom and despair if he remained locked up in a cage. Cause that’s what
love really is: the ultimate sacrifice.” Cal was equally as amazed at Mimea’s
sharp perceptiveness as she was at his mongrel ways of jumping to conclusions.
Yet he had always felt that becoming a Furniture was “the ultimate sacrifice”.
But seeing as how love was apparently the same thing, he wasn’t missing out on
anything.
 
It was with good reason that any alliances between Pets and Furniture were
subtly discouraged in Tanagura. It was not so much that the Pets lacked the
actual intelligence or will-power to rebel, but they did not possess the
necessary knowledge, skills and experience to do so. And the Furniture by
themselves were too isolated from everyone else and too conditioned to obey to
even consider any rebellious plans. But if somehow those two factions were to
combine their talents in a mutual cause …
 
“That’s … that’s a very touching story. I would have never guessed that an
Elite could care so deeply about anyone, especially a human, and a mongrel at
that.” Cal had always felt that his Master treated him fairly, more so than
some other Masters he had heard his fellow Furniture speak of. But his
admiration had never gone any further than this professional respect. Now that
he had heard this amazing story of his Master’s love for Ceres’ very own Riki
the Dark, his Master had risen far higher in his personal esteem. He had the
capacity to care for human beings, at least for one particular human being.
Somehow it made Cal feel less alone in the world, the fact that there was
someone so close who cared and from whom he would have never expected it …
 
“So did you love him too? Riki, I mean?” The Furniture continued their
conversation, while now helping her stand up so he could gently lather her body
with pink foam that smelled of raspberries. “Yes, I did. And I still do. But I
don’t … There is this unspoken rule among us Pets, that the first person to
claim someone has priority over anyone else in the future. So if the Master was
the first to claim Riki, I would not dream about standing in his way,
regardless of his station. It is so strange, to talk with the Master about
Riki, it always makes us seem … not quite like equals, but as if we actually
have something in common”, the Pet mused while she absently moved her long
fingers through her wet, vibrant locks, unknowingly making herself look even
more alluring.
 
All of a sudden Cal dropped the washing sponge into the bath water and suddenly
stared at her. “But when Pets say “claim”, they mean … physically claim?” When
Mimea started nodding, his eyes became as big as saucers and his mouth formed
the shape of an O. “That’s why there was so much gossip about Riki. Not just
because he’s a mongrel Pet, but also because we could see the signs that
someone had claimed him on his body. Yet we also knew that he had not been a
part of any performance and that there were at the time no other Pets in the
Mink household, so there was only one person left who could have left those
marks on him: the Master himself.” Cal continued to stare at her in disbelief.
So the Master did not just care for Riki’s well-being, but he had also lowered
himself to such a base, human act as sex?
 
This was not exactly a subject Cal had any experience in, yet his interest was
piqued and his old curious streak got the better of him. “But you said … marks,
like hickeys? Surely you don’t think they … that they went … all the way?”
Having bathed the Master and thus seen him naked, and knowing that according to
the stories Riki had been rather slight in build for a mongrel, such a thing
simply did not appear feasible in his mind. Not without inflicting a great deal
of pain.
 
“Well of course they did! I mean, why leave anything visible on him and risk
exposure while not going for the complete prize? Besides, Riki more or less
confirmed it himself, although I could tell it was something he was embarrassed
about. Imagine that, embarrassed about being bedded by the greatest blonde
Elite that has ever lived, the very representative of Jupiter herself! If it
were me I would have been extremely honoured and proud. That’s also why so many
Pets were mean to Riki, because they were insanely jealous of course!”
 
“But … but …”, Cal stammered, while taking in Mimea’s petite form, which was
considerably smaller than Riki’s even. She was apparently very willing to
suffer torturous pains for the sake of showing off to other Pets. A part of Cal
admired her immense bravery, also for daring to have an affair with a Pet who
she knew was being taken by his very Master. “But surely such a thing must be
extremely painful?”, he eventually blurted out when Mimea continued to stare at
him questioningly.
 
A look of pure surprise appeared on Mimea’s pretty, doll-like face. Was it
possible that her little brain had not even thought of the physical
implications of such a joining? Then it dawned on him: Pets were not supposed
to see any Elite naked, only Furniture were allowed to. “You know, Elite are
ergh … very … ergh very … well, you know!”, he frustratedly exclaimed why he
was making surprisingly accurate measuring gesticulations with his hands.
 
At that very moment they were both shaken by the Master’s voice, booming
through the hall-way all the way to the bathroom: “CAL! You were supposed to
serve dinner over fifteen minutes ago!” Both Cal and Mimea had completely
forgotten about the tight schedule they were on while engaging in a gossipy
conversation on such tasty subjects.
 
Both silently stared at each other for a few seconds, wondering if the other
one was also thinking very hard about just how far Elite hearing could stretch
…
 
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
Eventually dinner was served - only half an hour late - and Mimea surprised
herself by appreciatively thanking Cal when he served her food unto her plate
for her. No Pet had ever bothered to thank a Furniture before, as they were
simply doing their job and they were not sentient beings after all. Iason
looked up briefly at the words, but did not otherwise say anything about it,
apparently not bothered by Mimea’s unusual behaviour.
 
And her behaviour was not the only unusual thing about her, also her appearance
was unusual. For Cal had been instructed to put her into a dark red dress for
the occasion, admittedly a rather short dress with a low cleavage and an open
back, but a dress nonetheless. This was an item of clothing that was rarely
worn by Pets in Eos, even for ex-Pets working in Midas it was rather unusual to
wear something that covered their bodies to such an extent. Mimea could only
assume that it was because her new Master did not wish to have to look upon her
many imperfections, caused by the harsh treatment at the brothel. Yet why ask
her to dine with him at all, if he did not wish to gaze upon her? It only
happened very rarely that an Elite would dine together with a Pet. And then
there was the fact that upon arrival, he had indicated for her to sit in the
chair opposite him. Pets were not supposed to sit in chairs, at the same dinner
table of their Master. They were always asked to sit at their Master’s feet, if
they were asked to eat together with their Master at all.
 
Apparently the surprise at all of this showed on Mimea’s face, for seemingly
out-of-the-blue the blonde inquired about it. “You are probably wondering why
you’re even here.” Here? As in dining together with him, in a chair? Or here as
in a Pet at his household? Or here, back in Eos, after having been sold off to
The Red Lotus? As far as Mimea knew, there was no other Pet that had ever
crawled its way back up the waterfall to Tanagura after a fall to Midas.
 
When he kept on waiting as if expecting her to confirm his statement, she
shakingly replied at last. “Ergh … Y … yes, I am wondering about that. I mean,
I … I disobeyed my former Master, I broke the law, and I shamed you, my Lord …
and I ergh … I …”, she was not quite able to spit out the words “hurt you”,
seeing as how that would imply that she, a worthless whore, had some kind of
influence over him, the Head of the Syndicate.
 
Fortunately for her, he calmly held up his hand for her to stop her ramblings,
while thoughtfully sipping some of his expensive, imported wine from an even
more expensive crystal, design glass. Of course she shut her mouth straight
away, no hair on her head would think to disobey or interrupt him. She may have
spoken out in a most unbecoming way after her deceit with Riki had been
discovered and earlier at the brothel, yet those words were spoken in a
situation in which she thought she would receive the worst possible punishment
either way. She may have become more feisty than most Pets after her
acquaintance with the wild mongrel, but a very large part of her still sought
the approval of a Master and longed for a life of luxury such as the one she
was currently living again.
 
“I am not keeping you here for any of the qualities you have just described
yourself to be clearly lacking in, despite your upbringing as an Academy Pet. I
am not keeping you here because you are pleasing to look at, even if in time
those bruises would disappear and you would grow some more flesh on those
bones, you would still be damaged goods. Not to mention nearly too old to be
considered as a worthwhile investment. Also females are not to my tastes at
all, especially red-haired, skinny ones. And of course, as I am sure even one
of your low IQ can comprehend, I am most definitely not keeping you here
because of anything you have done in the past to please me or show me your
undying loyalty”, despite the calm soft-spoken voice he was using, the icily
cutting reproaches were clearly audible in his speech. And all the while he did
not even glance in her direction, as if she was not worthy of his attention at
all. Moreover he had an almost mocking small smile on his face that implied
that perhaps he had purchased her merely for the sake of making her pay for her
crimes against him.
 
                          Slowly fading and decaying
                       Please ignore what they’re saying
 
As Mimea remained silent and kept her eyes fixed firmly on her plate, he
continued his onslaught after a long silence during which she could almost feel
his sharp eyes cut through her like icy daggers. “Honestly I cannot imagine
what that man - Iago, Jacques, whatever his name was – even saw in you in the
first place. That he would consider one so scrawny and feeble-looking,
momentarily not including your psychological instability for the moment, to be
the best worker he had, I find that very hard to believe. In fact I am positive
that someone was paying him to do so because it would mean bad publicity …” And
so it went on and on, with long, meaningful intermezzos that in and of
themselves seemed to sting even worse than the words spoken after them.
 
                          Slowly fading and decaying
                      Please ignore what they’re saying!
 
Mimea just sat there and let it all wash over her like an ice-cold tsunami that
was both assaulting her violently while simultaneously making its freezing cold
soak into her very bones. After nearly fifteen minutes her eyes were watering,
her food stuck in her throat and her fingers were curling around the edge of
the table, grateful for at least something to hold unto for she felt like she
was being slowly but surely blown away by a merciless blizzard.
 
                          Slowly fading and decaying
                      Please ignore what they’re saying!!
 
“And like I said earlier, one that has fallen as low as you have ought to be
considered damaged goods on all levels. The idea of a stranger laying hands on
one’s Pet is of course bad enough in and of itself”, a meaningful pause
accompanied by an accusatory, stabbing stare was added to this before he
continued. “But to have the merchandise having been fucked, licked, beaten,
scratched, bit, spat on, probably even urinated and bled on, by an endless
hoard of uncivilised, unwashed, diseased, lowly characters of the most
despicable nature imaginable …”, he went on and on while his voice remained
just as calm as ever yet had a cruel, mean, humiliating undercurrent that cut
straight through Mimea’s poor, shivering body to torment its very core.
 
                She fought them bravely until defences caved in
              Pressing their teeth to her neck until she gave in
             Now there’s no question this girl is well acquainted
               With suffering in a world that’s left her tainted
 
And as he was describing the things that were done to her, it was as if she was
vividly living them again, in detail, and humiliated by them even more so by
the way his voice implied that it was what she deserved, all she was good for.
And then there was the suggestion that these things had irrevocably damaged and
fouled her, that there was no hope whatsoever for her to crawl out of that
stinking pit of despair ever again to see the daylight or to breathe the clean
air. That it would have been best for her if she had just crumbled and died at
the very bottom of that pit, buried in filth, to be forgotten, to have meant
absolutely nothing in the world.
 
                          Slowly fading and decaying
                     Please ignore what they’re saying!!!
 
It was just too much, she could not possibly take any more of it. It was simply
too cruel and too menacing. Without even fully realising what it was her limbs
were doing, she was suddenly up on her feet in a matter of seconds, her chair
slamming into the ground by the force exercised upon it by her deceivingly
strong, small body. Her voice was yelling at him while staring straight at him
in an almost threatening way, seething with rage, without her even spending one
conscious thought on it before acting.
 
After a few seconds she realised that it were in fact meaningful words she was
screaming out, almost like a wild animal: “Yes, and it is YOUR fault for making
it so, it is ALL your FAULT!!! It’s hardly surprising that SOMEONE came along
and took Riki away from you, seeing as how you’d made it abundantly clear to
him that you clearly did not GIVE A SHIT about him, not in a million years! Oh
no, you could never come down from your high throne to even ATTEMPT to have a
decent conversation with the likes of us lowly people down here!!! So you went
and KIDNAPPED the poor boy, against his will, and then LOCKED HIM UP in a cage,
HUMILIATED him and then BEAT HIM into a pulp for no sensible REASON at all!!!
And then you’re surprised he came to ME?!! He came to me because I’m actually a
HUMAN being, capable of EMOTION, like COMPASSION and LOVE, something YOU are
clearly NOT capable of!!!!” He just sat there in all his blonde, cold beauty
and grace and said nothing, apparently waiting for her finish before reacting
in any way. Yet his blue eyes were upon her, and within their calm depths there
was apparently the silence before the storm.
 
                        She’s at the edge of the world
                          She’s there standing alone
                           She’s the loneliest girl
 
She stopped, only for a moment, to briefly catch her breath and reach the
conclusion of her high-pitched, yet very loud, tantrum. “So even if I’m mortal,
and damaged, and filthy, and disgusting, and willing to degrade myself through
carnal acts, and humiliated beyond all repair, and stupid, and naïve… I have
something that you will NEVER have, and that is HUMANITY!!! So I’m not ashamed,
I’m not sorry for existing or for caring about someone, not one bit, but you
ought to be!”, and she ended her shrieking speech by slamming her small fist
into the table, breaking her porcelain, antique plate in the process and
cutting her hand on the glass until it bled on the priceless, pristinely white,
silk tablecloth.
 
               And now she finally feels like she’s coming home
 
Her new Master was silent for at least five minutes after she had exploded like
that. And five minutes was a very long time to prepare for your impending
death, especially as it gave you time to think very long and hard about how
exactly you had dug your own grave without even thinking twice about it. As if
your eminent doom and end was the only goal your life had ever really had.
Mimea remained standing during the full duration of those five minutes, even if
she was rather shaky on her legs and had to lean on the table for support. She
would not back down before the end, she would stand by what she said, even if
it meant an even more painful death. That heartless bastard had deserved to
hear those words for a very long time, for Riki’s sake.
 
She was completely astounded when the Elite opposite the table started clapping
his hands in applause, after which he gestured to Cal – who had been frozen to
the ground as if paralysed throughout the entire event – to clean up the mess
Mimea had made. Cal was shaking so bad the entire table was shaking with him as
soon as he attempted to clear away the porcelain shards from the table, cutting
his own fingers on them in the process. After which he tried to wrap a napkin
around Mimea’s bleeding hand while at the same time trying to avoid any more
blood staining the tablecloth.
 
“Bravo. I must say I had my doubts about you, and I surely did not expect a
performance of quite such a calibre. It is truly remarkable, isn’t it? Seeing
you debut as Raoul’s Pet last year I could have never guessed that it was even
remotely possible for you to develop in this way. The treatment at that
disgusting establishment should have broken you as if you were made out of
glass. Yet you reacted more like a stone statue, shards broke off yet you did
not shatter completely. Moreover I would say you have come out stronger than
you were ever made to be.”
 
As sudden realisation dawned on Mimea’s face, she sank down into the chair
again, exhausted by her attack, who could have guessed that it would be so
tiresome to get angry? “You wanted me to react in that way … You were purposely
egging me on … But why? If you knew I would react in such a way, then why bring
me back here at all? I am not fit anymore to be anyone’s Pet!” She realised
this with a sickening feeling of finality. She had changed.
 
“Ah, but that’s the beauty of it. You are not fit to be anyone else’s Pet
anymore, but you are now very much fit to be my Pet, Mimea. I had never figured
that any Pet that could possibly interest me could ever come out of one of
Raoul’s labs, and I always assumed that it was because your genetic make-up
simply did not allow for anything even remotely interesting in your
personalities, or rather lack thereof. But now I wonder whether it was not the
nature, but in fact the nurture that made you into what you are. It appears to
be the only explanation as to why a harmless, boring Pet can turn into a wild
mongrel-like creature overnight, given the right circumstances.”
 
Urged on by courage she did not even know she had within her frail chest, she
responded again, be it that her voice was somewhat trembling and still sore
from the shouting. “I am not the only one who’s changed. And that’s why you
want me, isn’t it? You want to study the effect Riki has had on me in order to
understand the same effect within yourself better. But you can’t study yourself
objectively, therefore you have to study me instead.”
 
“Indeed, that was my initial intent for purchasing you and bringing you here.
However now I have observed something even more remarkable in you: you have not
merely changed through your encounters with Riki, you have become more likehim.
I can see it clearly now, the raging fire in your expression, the anger in your
incoherent movements, the way in which you lash out and act completely outside
of your own interest. Of course a Pet does not have the same kind of self-
restraint one such as myself would have, yet to act in such an uncontrolled
manner as you just did would be utterly unthinkable for any Pet I have ever
heard of. Except for my own, of course”, the blonde spoke in the same bored
tone as always while nonchalantly nipping from his glass, however there was a
slight spark of amusement detectable in his usually empty gaze.
 
“Apparently your self-restraint is not as perfect as you thought, since you
could not restrain yourself from bringing a mongrel here and fornicating with
him”, Mimea mockingly went on. She did it almost without conscious thought, for
a relentless urge to put the other in his place hade made itself master of her.
Perhaps she was just testing the waters, but it seemed more as if she was
plunging head-long into their very depths.
 
“You sound as if you disapprove? My my, that is a very hypocritical thing to
say for you, isn’t it, Mimea? Seeing as how you were not too hesitant yourself
to fornicate with said mongrel, without anyone’s permission”, the Elite
sneeringly pointed out, no longer bothering to mask any of the imperfect
jealousy and possessiveness that shone through in his perfectly symmetrical
features.
 
“I don’t disapprove, for love needs no permission. In fact … in fact it gives
me a better opinion of you. I can see now that I am not the only one who
changed”, the girl with the fiery hair responded, as she began eating her soup
with rather ill-mannered, large scoops. Regardless of any immediate danger she
was still in, she had not had a decent meal in six months and was not about to
waste this opportunity. This must have been what Riki had felt like all his
life. Hungry. Hurt. Cold. Cast out.
 
“Yes, but is the change for better or for worse, I wonder?” The cold-hearted
Elite wondered while slightly rising his elegant, fair eyebrows. In the mean
time the timid Furniture had carefully approached the unpredictable Pet once
more, this time armed with a medical kit to take care of the shallow cuts she
had inflicted upon herself.
 
“Whether you’d want to be stupid and naively happy, or knowing and truthfully
unhappy? Doesn’t sound like a very difficult choice to me. I’d prefer someone
who truly hated me over someone who pretended to love me any day”, the formerly
innocent girl responded, realising full well that true hate was in all
probability what Riki now felt for her, after his indiscretions with her had
undoubtedly caused him to be punished severely by the unrelentingly vicious
android she was currently having a semi-civilised conversation with.
 
“Ah, yes. The blissful ignorance of all those spellbound by Tanagura’s
splendour and magnificence. I suppose that knowing exactly how said system
functions on all levels, does not exclude one from falling under its spell
himself. Let us say that I was apparently waiting in blissfulboredom until such
an opportunity as Riki the Dark presented itself to me”, Iason spoke with an
inhuman attachment that was highly unusual when considering that the statement
was in fact of a very personal nature to him. “I must admit that I had always
considered this recent endeavour of mine to defy the Tanaguran system to be a
solo-operation, simply because no one else here seems to understand the appeal
Riki has to me. They’re all too busy being “stupid” and “naively happy”, as
you’ve so accurately put it. But not you. You and I have something in common in
that way, do we not?”
 
“Desiring the same lover is not usually a common cause that results in
friendship, is it?” The former Pet gestured to Cal to fill her plate once more,
better to take advantage of the situation while it lasted. But she was not
about to voice any sentiment she did not feel, regardless.
 
“We both know there is no such thing as friendship in Tanagura. But a mutual
agreement could go a long way for one in your current predicament”, her
malevolent host added, now attempting to keep the rancorous undercurrent out of
his voice. There was no rational reason for those feelings, as they belonged to
the past and did not serve his purposes at the moment. Even if he had been
recently blessed with the ability to feel something for someone, he still
thought like a calculating, unfeeling Elite: rational, practical, patient,
mathematical.
 
“So what is it you want me to do? Not fornicate again with Riki? Never gaze
upon his face again? That shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish when I’m locked
up in here and he’s roaming the streets out there. And I haven’t forgotten how
he betrayed me. I’m not a fool, I know he does not feel for me as I do for him.
I know now that he was just using me to make you jealous. So in the end you’ve
nothing to worry about: it’s always been all about you, even for him.”
 
“That’s exactly the thing. You do not wish to feel for him anymore, as it is
clearly disastrous for you. But it does not work that way, does it? You can’t
just turn it off when it does not suit your purpose anymore.”
 
“It is not because I still feel something that I ought to act on it when I see
him. If you want me to promise you not to, I will, because I was not planning
on acting in that way anyhow.”
 
“No. In fact I was hoping you would do exactly that, for this time it would in
fact be to the advantage of both of us.” The reintroduced Pet raised a freshly
epilated eyebrow at that, her unnaturally bright eyes widening slightly. The
blonde synthetic looked right at her as he continued to speak, entirely in
control of his facial mimicry once more while spinning an intricate web to
catch that ever-evasive prey that was Riki.
 
“You see, you are right. The reason he went to you willingly and not to me is
because he does not feel threatened by you, he thinks he can handle you because
you are too innocent, too dumb to do him any harm. And you were. But thanks to
his own efforts, you are not so now. How far are you willing to go to make your
position in this household permanent and to see the object of your affections
on a day-by-day basis again, perhaps to do even more than just gazing upon
him?”, the fallen angel said in one of his most seductively silky but
simultaneously threateningly harsh tones.
 
If she agreed she could get everything that one of her standing had ever
desired, and maybe even part of what it was she now truly desired, if she would
be willing to compromise on the mongrel’s devotion. But if she disagreed, The
Red Lotus would seem like a harmless bee-sting compared to the next place she
would be sold off to. At least they had left her in one piece at least
physically in there, and they had not botched up her memories or sense of self
with drugs or chirurgical interventions of any sort.
 
                     She’s just done what she’s been told
                         Her heart is turning to stone
 
Mimea remained quietly picking at her dessert for some time after that final
question, the very climax this entire confrontation with the icy devil had
doubtlessly been leading up to. How she responded now would determine how she
spent the rest of her life and how long that life was going to be. Everything
depended on this moment, her uncertain future was dangling on a mere thread.
But of course as long as she lived in Tanagura it would always be that way, but
she figured it would be preferable that thread were made out of steel rather
than silk. She was aware that said thread could also suffocate her in its web,
but she would definitely choose that over a certain fall once her own silk
thread snapped. It was only a matter of time, and an Elite as powerful as Iason
Mink could buy her as much time as she could ever get in this place. So the
only question that remained was: could she betray the one she loved and hand
him over to the competition?
 
“I have but one question to ask before I make up my mind, Lord Mink”, she said
in her softest, most alluring voice but in her eyes there burned a dangerous
flame, fuelled by both heartbreak and ambition. She might be damaged goods but
she had not lost all of her natural charms, in fact from Iason Mink’s
perspective her brush with reality had helped her gain charms rather than lose
them.
 
                         Here at the end of this girl
                                        
“Which is?”, he inquired, not adding any more words than were necessary at this
point, for he could already sense that he had snared at least this prey
already. What they were discussing now was merely how high the price was going
to be.
 
“Do you truly love him?” And as she finally spilled out the words she had been
dying to speak ever since she had laid eyes upon her icy competitor, she could
not help but smile.
                                        
              This time she finally feels like she’s coming home
                                        
A wicked, gleeful smile that expressed an ominous satisfaction in the knowledge
that the other did have a weakness, an imperfection, and a very significant one
at that. Yes, they were negotiating terms here. But they were doing so as
equals, because both had access to something that the other needed like air to
breathe.
 
                            Like she’s coming home
                                        
A disturbingly similar yet more distantly regulated smile appeared on the
Elite’s divinely inhuman, purely white face. He had been right about her …
 
                              She’s coming home.
 
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
                               To Be Continued …
                                        
                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
                                        
                             Thnx for reading! :D
           Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! ;)
                                        
***** Out on the Town *****
Chapter Summary
     Riki and his gang are cruising through Midas, just out for kicks and
     some quick cash. But when they have a run-in with the Dark Men, Riki
     is rescued by an old acquaintance. But not all is what it seems ...
Author’s notes:
Hi everyone :) First of all I’d like to thank the people who have already left
reviews for their kind words and encouragement!:D It’s very interesting to
discuss this fic and the AnK storyworld in general with fellow fans :)
I’ve been feeling really inspired for this fic, so I’ve gone and written the
next chapter already late last night, just couldn’t help myself :) Riki’s
making an appearance here, so naturally there’s more action in this one ;) Not
yet any real smut, but no worries, I’m getting there ;)
So I hope you’ll all enjoy reading this next chapter!:D And pls leave a comment
so I know what I’m doing right or wrong here and what your expectations are for
the rest of this fic ;)
 
******************************************************************************************************
                                        
                   soundtrack: Starship – We Built This City
                                        
******************************************************************************************************
 
        Here's your favorite radio station, in your favorite radio city
     The city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps
 
It was just another Sunday night in the city that never slept and continuously
kept up its flirtatious games with the night. Its bright lights were winking to
any potential lovers whose wallet could afford it and extravagantly dressed
worshippers of decadence were crowding its streets in a never-ending mass of
movement. In the air resounded a fragmentary collection of sounds, each
competing with the other both in volume and spectacularity. All in an effort to
sell their products through auditory advertisements or to lure customers to
their establishment using enticing music.
 
            We built this city, we built this city on rock an’ roll
            We built this city, we built this city on rock an’ roll
 
And that glitter and glamour did not only lure those who were eager to spend
their cash but also those who were eager to steal it. Not that they would ever
admit that they needed anything at all from the deceitful seductress of the
night to survive. They just considered it good sport and entertainment to
illegally cruise the streets of Midas, just another “fuck you” in the pompous
face of Tanagura and a way to show off their unrestricted freedom of movement
to the virtually caged citizens of Midas. Never would the supposed scum from
Ceres allow anyone to forget that they still existed. That even if Tanagura had
managed to beat them down and humiliate them, it would never be able to break
their spirit or exterminate them completely. The mongrels knew full well that
their very presence was an eye-sore to that whole system, which was exactly why
they flaunted themselves at every opportunity they got.
  
                  Someone's always playing corporation games
              Who cares they're always changing corporation names
              We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage
               They call us irresponsible, write us off the page
                                        
It was on this night that the infamous leader of Bison had decided to fly out
with his gang and rub it in some more for good measure: Ceres was never gonna
back down. And definitely not under the watch of Riki the Dark. When he
returned to Ceres after nearly two years spent in Iason Mink’s gilded cage,
he’d initially encountered some difficulties to re-establish both himself and
his gang to their former glory. But in the end those difficulties had helped
him to become even more feared and awe-inspiring than he had been before, for
he knew better than ever the importance of what it was he was fighting for:
freedom. His hatred for the tyranny that Tanagura exerted over not only its own
citizens but those of Midas as well, had never burned more strongly. They would
be acknowledged eventually, because they would make both Tanagura and Midas
notice them!
 
“Hey Riki? Y’wanna check out Sasan? I hear it’s real crowded with tourists this
time o’ year! We could sneak in and out, grab some cash, and no one’ll even
notice!” Sid yelled at the top of his lungs as he was speeding right behind the
gang’s leader, closely followed by Norris, then Luke, and Guy closed the
hoverbike formation. This sequence was in no way indicative of what was
happening relationship-wise between Riki and Guy, as it was the regular
formation of a Ceresian gang: leader up front, second-in-command at the rear.
No pun intended.
 
Riki hesitated for only a second, but long enough for the gang members he had
grown up with to notice it. Sasan was the place where he had first met the
object of both his burning hatred and his secret desire: the icy perfection
that was Iason Mink. Misunderstanding his leader’s hesitation, Sid added:
“Unless ya think there’s better cash to collect elsewhere tonight?” Since Riki
had regained his authority over Bison and had brutally subdued the new rival
gangs that had popped up, no one in the gang dared to out-right question his
decisions.
 
“Nah, ‘s fine. Extra Dark Men ain’t gonna be a problem if there’s as much of a
crowd as you say. We’ll have to ditch the bikes somewhere and go in on foot
though”, the dark-haired mongrel shouted towards his back, his voice sounding
rough and not a single tremble vibrating in it. Damn had he gotten good at
hiding his true feelings after some time spent in the company of that sick
blonde bastard. While he was swiftly and agilily steering his bike into one of
the less-frequented alleys at the edge of the popular area known as Sasan, Riki
was unconsciously playing with his key chain.
 
“Y’know you never told me where ya got that? Looks like something worth
sellin’…”,  Guy said as he approached his former pairing partner, while the
other gang members were securing the parked bikes as best as they could. Any
excuse to try and start a conversation with his friend had to be exploited
these days, for conversations with Riki had been few as of late.
 
“What the fuck’s it to you, huh?!”, Riki hissed out more aggressively than he
had intended. He immediately regretted it, because he had been looking for a
way to get closer to his former pairing partner and best friend again. But it
wasn’t proving easy, as everytime he tried to reconnect Guy saw it as an
invitation to make out. And he just wasn’t sure if he was ready for that yet.
Especially since the first time Guy had kissed him after his return to Ceres,
memories of the extreme ecstacy that he had experienced with Iason had flashed
through his head. How was he supposed to make love to Guy while he was still
thinking about that psychotic maniac from Tanagura? Would Guy – or anyone else
for that matter – be able to truly satisfy him ever again now that he’d had a
taste of the android’s eroticism?
 
“Shit… Guy, wait, OK…”, Riki said as he was checking whether he still had his
pocket knife tucked inside of his boot and trying to see if the other gang
members were still within hearing distance. Guy momentarily glanced in the same
direction, and then returned on his steps, not sure what to expect. Riki had
not exactly been forthcoming since his return and Guy had a feeling that maybe
his old pairing partner wasn’t interested in getting together again. He just
couldn’t figure out what it was he had done to make it so.
 
“Fuck, Guy, it’s not you… it’s me… I’m just… I never talk about it but… I’ve
been through some pretty crazy shit, some very sick shit, while I was away… I
just wanna make sure I don’t get you involved in that mess as well, y’know what
I’m sayin’?” Riki did not quite have the guts to look his friend in the eye
while he spoke. Guy had been able to tell for several months now that Riki was
clearly struggling with something. But he had no idea what that something was,
so as long as Riki wasn’t willing to talk about it all he could do was wait.
 
“Yeah… yeah I figured there was somethin’… Crap, Riki, y’know you can always
tell me anything, right? That’s what friends are for, and I’m always gonna be
your friend, even if nothin’ more”, the other said, that old familiar caring
sentiment shining in his light brown eyes. It was the same look that had made
Riki approach him on the day they’d met, all those years ago. Guy hadn’t
changed one bit, and it felt as if Riki’s very heart was being janked out of
his chest at the thought of shutting out his friend or lying to him. But there
was just no way he could ever make Guy understand what it had been like for
him, up in that terrible marble palace of terror.
 
“Knowing about that shit… it changes a person, man… and I don’t wanna do that,
I don’t want you to become as fucked-up as I am…”, Riki finally said, unable to
look Guy in the eye for fear of him noticing the unshed tears in there. When he
noticed he was still fumbling with the Aurora coin, he angrily shoved it back
into his pocket. He could not even keep the memories out of his thoughts by
day, and even less by night. Guy had often heard Riki move uneasily and mumble
in his sleep, but Riki had never been willing to share what his nightmares had
been about. One time he had even woken up the entire gang by crying out in the
middle of the night, they had thought he was being murdered in his sleep by a
member of a rival gang.
 
“The cops torture you or something like that? Hey man, I don’t wanna make you
talk about anything you don’t wanna talk about… But not talking about
something, it don’t change nothing, it still happened, y’know?” At that Riki
finally did look up and into the other’s eyes, and Guy was too shocked by what
he saw there to react straight away. He had never seen such raw suffering and
fear on the brave mongrel’s face before. Nor such inner turmoil and indecision.
 
“Hey ladies!!! You comin’ or what?! Before they run out of the good cards!”,
Norris yelled at them with a big, fat grin on his face. He loved robbing folks
more than anything, and he hadn’t had an opportunity to hone those skills of
his in weeks. At first he’d thought that the end of Riki’s relationship with
Guy could mean a possible intro for him. But he only needed to throw one look
at Riki’s face while he was watching Guy, and he could tell straight away that
Riki still had strong feelings for his best friend. What he couldn’t wrap his
head around, was why they weren’t pairing partners no more then? Cause it sure
as hell didn’t look as if Guy wasn’t interested anymore.
 
“Who the fuck you’re calling a lady, huh?! Just you wait till I catch you, ya
motherfucker, I’ll show you who’s the lady here!” Guy was relieved when he
heard Riki yell back at Norris with his same-old don’t-you-dare-mess-with-me!
attitude. They decided that splitting up and meeting back at the bikes would be
the best course of action. As large groups of mongrels tended to attract the
attention of Dark Men or cops more quickly, and they’d probably get separated
in the crowd anyways.
 
                    Who counts the money underneath the bar
                 Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars
                                        
Riki decided to finally cut his old partner some slack, so he paired up with
Guy but also asked Sid to join their group. Having Guy alone would’ve made
further questioning inevitable and he really didn’t feel like talking about it,
especially while he was supposed to be paying attention to his surroundings.
“All right, fellas, let’s go kick some rich motherfucker asses!”, their leader
shouted, to which the others responded with equal enthusiasm. This was gonna be
their night.
 
Pretty soon Riki, Guy and Sid were walking down the main street and into the
square that held the most prominent casino’s and bars, close to the Sasan city-
gates where the tourists usually landed. So far they had seen no sign of Dark
Men, but then again the bastards had a way of showing up unexpectedly. After
only a couple of minutes of prospecting potential prey, they had picked out a
middle-aged man with a bald head, who was apparently out on the town all by
himself and was literally waving around his fat wallet while greedily staring
at the casino’s he intended to visit. The three mongrels got into the usual
formation: one right on his tail with another following farther behind under
the cover of the crowd, and a third one slightly in front of the victim’s
trajectory path. One of the most lucrative techniques in this formation was for
the mongrel in the front to create some kind of distraction, while the one
following closely behind took the victim’s wallet while he was occupied by the
diversion. The third mongrel following slightly behind was mostly meant to keep
a look-out or to lead cops away in another direction in case the victim of the
robbery screamed for help.
 
However the bald man slightly upset their scheme by turning into an alley on
the side, that was still relatively crowded yet did not offer the density of
people that worked best for the execution of their intended plan. Too spread
apart now to change their strategy, they simply continued to follow their
victim while trying to remain inconspicuous. But the twisting and bending of
the street and the presence of many stalls blocking most of the road, made it
difficult for Sid - who was on the look-out - to clearly oversee the situation.
 
                It's just another Sunday, in a tired old street
                                        
However just as Guy was about to make his move and create a disturbance in
front of the victim, Riki saw two Dark Men come from behind a stall smack right
in the path of Guy and the tourist. Riki just froze, he could tell even from
this distance that Guy clearly wasn’t looking in the direction of the Dark Men,
expecting Sid to sound the alarm in case of their appearance. But the Dark Men
were standing so close that if he screamed to warn Guy, they would turn and see
Guy in the middle of his diversion. Dammit, we should’ve just let him slip and
chosen another one in the square!
 
Unknowing of the danger close-by, Guy made his appearance and ran straight
towards the man while loudly asking the man if he could please burrow his
phone. You see his bike had broken down unexpectedly closeby and he’d been
unable to reach a mechanic because someone had stolen his phone. Despite Guy’s
tattered clothes being clearly identifiable as those of a mongrel by citizens
of Midas, it would not be so obvious to a tourist. Therefore the man was
initially not suspicious at all and was already reaching for his phone. At that
time the two Dark Men had noticed that something was going on and had just
turned around, while standing only a couple of feet away from Guy and the
tourist.

        Police have got the choke hold, oh, then we just lost the beat
                                        
There was simply no other way to avoid that the Dark Men would notice Guy.
“HEY!!!!!!! HEY OVER HERE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!”, Riki yelled at the top of his
lungs while waving his arms above his head in the hopes of momentarily
distracting the Dark Men from Guy’s presence. Fortunately for Guy, his plan
worked, and as soon as they heard the yelling and saw Riki they were on his
tail, brushing right past Guy in their hurry to get to the mongrel who they had
spotted right away. Oh shit now they’re after me, hadn’t thought of that!
 
Riki ran as quickly as he could, manoeuvring in between passing people like an
acrobat. He knew that he could turn the fact that the street was less crowded
to his advantage. If he could only gain speed and put some space between
himself and his pursuers before disappearing into the big crowd at the square …
However the way in which the stalls had been scattered all across the street
made that difficult, and all the people in the area had become unmoving
obstacles as soon as they had heard that something was going on. He had almost
reached the square, almost there. He risked a quick glance behind him and his
heart stuck in his throat: he wasn’t going to make it!
 
Just then Sid started shouting and jumping up and down like a madman some
distance beyind the Dark Men, which created a momentary distraction when they
looked around. But Sid was standing far enough to get away safely, and the only
thing their hesitation did was give Riki a few extra seconds to dive into the
mass of people. But contrary to what he’d been expecting, he only managed to
shake one of the Dark Men in the crowd. The other one had risen a lasergun and
had started randomly shooting up into the air to get the crowd to part straight
away upon his approach. Shit! Since when do these fuckers use techniques that
are risky to the crowd’s safety?
 
He was right behind Riki, and armed, there was no way Riki would be able to
beat him in a head-on fight if he had the advantage of a lasergun. Seeing no
other way out of the situation, Riki ran into one of the casino’s, hoping the
security there would not notice him until he had made his way out the back
door. Assuming there was a back door, that is. The entrance of the casino was
so crowdy that people barely noticed it when Riki dashed inside. But once
inside the main playing hall, he slowed down his pace not to draw attention to
himself. For once he was grateful that he’d been wearing a new set of clothes
when Mink had set him free. For it was the very quality of the material they
were made out of, that made the people who saw him hesitant to assume anything.
True, he was dressed in the style preferred by the inhabitants of Ceres, yet
most inhabitants of that place could not afford that kind of quality. That
slight hesitation was all Riki needed to charm his way into the crowd, combined
with the pretense that he belonged there and wasn’t doing anything wrong. It
was truly amazing sometimes what you could get away with just by pretending you
belonged.
 
But just as he was beginning to think he had pulled it off and the Dark Men
were no longer on his trail, they burst in through the very same back door that
Riki had been eye-ing as his exit. Holy motherfucker! Riki quickly spun around
to go back out the way he came in, only to see that the other fucker had caught
up with his colleague and was now blocking the main entrance, already informing
the security men there of the situation by the looks of it. There was no other
way to go now but up the flight of neon-decorated stairs into the VIP-section
of the casino. Maybe he could pull off a roof exit or hide somewhere upstairs
until they gave up. Riki swiftly but silently flew up the stairs while staying
close to the walls on the side, and by some miracle the Dark Men and the
security men weren’t looking high enough to see him.
 
The mongrel kept on sneaking around upstairs, staying close to the walls,
peering around the corner and into the upstairs game-room. He had to admit it
looked pretty classy: crystal chandeliers, gilded Louis XV furniture, velvet
upholstery, printed wallpaper and some neo-classicist paintings. Which would be
problematic if he were seen cause in that kind of setting he just stuck out
like a sore thumb. Only one of the rich dandy snobs in that room had to call
security and he would be royally fucked, and not in a good way.
 
All of a sudden he was awoken from his contemplations by a soft, feminine hand
on his arm accompanied by a waft of sweet, expensive-smelling perfume. Probably
Chanel or some shit, judging by the multi-layered depth of the scent. As he
turned around, ready to physically throw off whoever it was who was attempting
to apprehend him, his mouth fell open in surprise at the sight before him.
 
**************************************************************************************************************************************************
                                        
The familiar girl in front of him had straight, full, glossy dark-red hair that
reached until right above her narrow, frail shoulders. Her skin was of the
purest white yet he could detect a faint gray-ish undertone upon closer
inspection, but for the rest it was entirely unblemished, like a doll’s. The
eyes were big, wide and bright which gave the face the appearance of a childish
innocence, but at the same time the deep orange colour of the eyes and the
sharpness of the jawline rendered it a rather feline, almost predatory quality.
The lips were still full, and adorned with bright-red lipstick, whereas the
rest of the face was narrower and less filled-out than he remembered. Also her
body appeared to be skinnier, although possibly that only added to the elegance
and fragility that radiated from it. And best of all, she was currently wearing
more clothes than he had ever seen her in, although the fact that the dress was
made out of a golden, glittering fabric did not make her any less conspicuous.
 
“M.. Mimea! What… what are you doing here?”, Riki eventually blurted out,
completely caught off-guard, as he had not been expecting to see the girl there
in a million years, nor anywhere else for that matter.
 
“I work here. But I think the bigger question here is: what are you doing here,
Riki?”, the young former Pet responded with a wink and an uncharacteristically
cheeky smile. Just then they heard voices behind them and the sound of several
men hurrying up the stairs. Oh oh.
 
Mimea pressed a manicured finger to her shiny lips and indicated for Riki to
follow her, after quickly pulling off her heels for those would certainly alert
the approaching men to someone’s presence. Riki hastily followed her red and
golden figure across the exaggeratedly decorated rococo-style landing, mentally
comparing her graciously swinging form to a burning flame. Just after Riki had
followed Mimea into a small room containing some spare furniture and cleaning
materials and shut the door, he could hear the security men pass right outside
the door. For a few moments they were standing there, close to each other in
the darkness, not speaking for fear of the men outside overhearing them.
 
After five minutes Mimea decided that it was safe by whispering: “This room
requires an access code, so I don’t think they’ll be checking this one. But
just in case, there’s a personnel stairway behind that curtain over there, that
leads into the kitchen.” Despite the dim lighting in the room, Riki could still
clearly make out the vibrant red of her hair and even her shining orange eyes
could be made out in the darkness. As she was softly explaining the lay-out of
the building, it became apparent to Riki that she was standing close enough to
kiss, as her lips almost moved against his face when she spoke. He was not even
sure if she was doing it on purpose. Probably not, he sure as hell wouldn’t
want to kiss anyone who’d pulled such a stunt on him as he did on Mimea. But
then again he surely would not consider risking his job at a posh place like
this for the mere sake of aiding a person who had cheated him so.
 
“Mimea, ergh… not that I’m not grateful that you’re helping me out here or
anything but… Why are you helping me?” The mongrel inside of him realised this
was terrible timing on his behalf, but the man inside could not simply accept
this girl’s assistence without even mentioning the wrong that he had done her
in the past. She had been right, he had been a coward. But he wasn’t about to
be now.
 
“Why? Well, that’s what friends are for, right?”, she responded with a beaming
smile as she was pulling the curtain aside, revealing the run-down staircase
she had been referring to. They clearly didn’t bother with the same décor back-
stage, typically Midas: a fancy façade with ugliness behind it. Was that all he
was too, in the end? A brave face with the heart of a coward to back it up?
 
“I wasn’t acting in the way a friend should, the last time we saw each other.
So you’ve no reason to treat me as such anymore.”
 
Momentarily overcome by apparent surprise, Mimea stared at him for a few
seconds, her pretty mouth slightly open now, revealing her pristinely white
teeth and giving her face an extra cute expression. “Oh, Riki! None of that was
your fault! I know you did not mean to hurt me, and how were you to know that
Lord Mink would overreact like that?”, she said comfortingly while she gently
brushed a stray lock of wild, black hair from his face. She kept on smiling but
the look in her eyes betrayed regret and … compassion? Great, now even an ex-
Pet feels sorry for me. Get your act together already, Riki!
 
“No, no, Mimea, it was my fault. OK, perhaps I didn’t know the fucker was gonna
freak out like he did. But still the point is that I misled you into believing
I had feelings for you that I didn’t.” When the beautiful creature was
attempting to open her little mouth again, he raised a hand to indicate that
she ought to let him finish before responding. “I mean, not that I don’t like
you, I like you very much, but as a friend, you know? But I pretended otherwise
because… the truth is I wanted to make him jealous. I just wanted to do
something to him, something that would hit him where it hurt.”
 
“I think you have succeeded there, Riki.” Was that a hint of sarcasm that he
detected in her melodious voice? Could Pets even understandsuch a concept? He
must have imagined it.
 
“Yeah, look what good it did the both of us. Shit, I’m sorry! Dammit, I
shouldn’t have done it… I just couldn’t stand feeling so bloody helpless!” Riki
finally burst out, unable to stop the emerging flood of guilt and frustration
that he had been suppressing ever since that day that the blonde psycho had
found out about him and Mimea.
 
“It’s all right, Riki”, she soothingly whispered in a rather husky,
intoxicating voice. She had gotten even closer to him and was now blowing warm,
perfumed air into his ear with every word she said. “I understand very well
what it’s like to feel helpless.” With that last sentence she slightly bended
her head and let her moving, slightly moist lips make a path along his neck.
Considering all the hurt he had caused her, he did not have the strength to
pull away from her caresses. But when she laid one hand on his shoulder and the
other on his hip, he had to react.
 
Mimea responded with a startled gasp of disappointment when he pulled away so
abrusquely. “Have I… displeased you in some way, that you pull away from me
like that? Am I… disgusting to you perhaps?” Riki experienced the forlorn
expression appearing on her face and the slight watering of her eyes as a knock
right to his heart. Not because he was in love with her, but because he could
not bear the thought of causing this innocent girl any more pain because of his
stupidity.
 
“No, no! Of course not, you could never displease me, Mimea. But I don’t want
to take advantage of you, ever again. I don’t want to be selfish like that, I
don’t want to treat you like you’re some kind of thing without emotions!”
Realising that he was perhaps contradicting the point he was trying to make by
using such a loud voice, Riki smiled reassuringly and added on a more gentler
note. “To me you’ll always be a person, so you don’t have to do that, OK?”
 
“You can’t betray me like that again, Riki. Things are different now, if we
were to seek pleasure in each other, there would not be any consequences, even
if someone found out”, she whispered rather seductively, as she started leading
the way down the old, dusty staircase. There were no lights in the stairway
either so the same soft, hazy atmosphere of darkness remained. “Or maybe you’re
not like me in that way? Maybe you are more loyal, in that you seek pleasure
with only one other person?”
 
It took Riki a couple of seconds to figure out that those two last sentences
conveyed two meanings, for he wasn’t generally expecting a lot of underlying
meanings in Mimea’s words. The first being that she had slept with at least one
other person out of her own free will since the last time they had seen each
other. The second that she thought that he refused her out of a sense of
loyalty to someone else, whom he truly loved, as more than a friend. He was
just about to respond when he realised something: he had never told her about
Guy. Which meant she had to be referring to… No freakin’ way!
 
He could not have possibly reacted to it in any other way but a violent way.
But with her it was different, she was so sweet and innocent, and she had just
saved his butt. It would not do for him to get angry with her now over a wrong
assumption she had made without intending any harm.
 
“Ergh… I’m not gonna judge you Mimea, if it’s just your way to connect to
people I get that. And as far as I am concerned, I’m single and I don’t mind
staying that way. At least until I’ve had some time to figure things out”, he
had added that last part while thinking about the problems he had been
experiencing with Guy, momentarily so caught up in his own thoughts that he had
forgotten that Mimea did not know about that.
 
“You mean with Guy?”, she went and made her first mistake. When Riki had made
his last statement she had understood very well that he must have been talking
about the mongrel called Guy, the one who was also a part of his gang. But in
realising this she had automatically reacted in her own childish mind-set:
assuming that everyone knew the same things she did and that she was supposed
to know all the things that she knew.
 
The mistake was hardly surprising, considering that she had no experience
whatsoever in lying about factual information. Sure, she could deceive others
into believing she liked or desired them even if that was not really the case.
But her knowledge had always been of the most rudimentary sort, she had simply
never obtained any information that needed hiding before. If she realised her
mistake, it did not show in her facial expressions, as she continued to gently
smile. If I keep on pretending that everything is fine, perhaps he will do the
same.
 
“Yeah… yeah, but how did you know that? How would you know about Guy?”, Riki
asked, astonishment evident in his voice but not yet suspicion.
 
What explanation to give? The fact in and of itself that he immediately asked
these questions indicated that he recalled that he had not told her anything
about Guy. So claiming that he had told her so himself would only prove her to
be a liar.
 
Stay as close to the truth as possible. Do not mention any unnecessary
falsehoods.
 
Who else knew about Guy? Who else could have known? She could make something up
about a customer at the brothel, but then she would not be sticking close to
the truth. Who did Lord Mink tell about Guy?
 
“I overheard a mongrel talking about him, at Mistral Park”, she answered while
keeping her voice calm and matter-of-factly, looking him straight in the eye
while fluttering her purple eyelashes to avoid any suspicion. Purposely she did
not mention what she had been doing at Mistral Park, she only thought of how it
was a place were Blondies and lower-class citizens could meet without any
eyebrows being raised. And she knew it was the place where Iason Mink had met
the former member of Bison known as Kiri. And the two of them had discussed
Guy.
 
“What? A mongrel at Mistral Park? Who was this mongrel, what did he look
like?”, he already had a sickening suspicion at the back of his mind about any
mongrel who would have the audacity to show himself in a place like Mistral
Park.
 
Mimea smiled sweetly while giving a very accurate description of the one Riki
had immediately suspected: Kiri. Of course she had only ever seen pictures of
Kiri. But Riki didn’t know that and he assumed that her very accurate
description meant that she was speaking the truth about where she had heard
about Guy and Riki’s relationship. The accurateness of Kiri’s description and
the curiosity as to whom in Mistral Park he would be discussing him and Guy
with, made Riki completely forget about asking the obvious question: what had
Mimea been doing at Mistral Park?
 
“You’ve got to be shitting me! Kiri, that stupid kid! Have you heard anything
else? Who was he discussing this with?”, Riki demanded as he grabbed unto
Mimea’s shoulders rather harshly, his momentary rage at the kid’s devil-may-
care attitude at the expense of others getting the better of him.
 
And of course it could not hurt to make him think that his precious friends
could be in danger, even if I see no more direct need to resort to such
measures now.
 
“With Lord Mink. Which is why I know very little about it, as soon as I saw
them I ran outside to avoid any kind of uncomfortable confrontation”, her need
to explain herself had now unfortunately reminded Riki of another strange
aspect of this story. What had she been doing there?
 
“What were you doing up at Mistral Park anyways? I mean, what happened to you
after you were sent away from Tanagura?”, he had often thought about that at
night as well, when he was unable to sleep. What had become of that poor girl
after his stupid mistake?
 
“Back then I worked at a… pleasure-house. But they had some clients that wanted
to remain unknown, so I was sometimes brought to places in a hovercar. But then
I was bought by the owner of this casino and three days later I was sent here
to work.” All of that was actually true. However no hovercar had ever brought
her to Mistral Park, as The Red Lotus did not usually deal with such rich
clients, unless they presented themselves at the door while waving money. And
the casino happened to be owned by Iason Mink, and Mimea had been working there
starting from the third day after he had bought her, but that had been only one
week ago.
 
Wrecked by guilt at listening to her words, Riki did not even notice how she
was nervously twisting her hands while they were still standing in the dark,
abandoned hallway the staircase had descended into. “Oh crap, Mimea, I’m so
sorry! I hope that first place you worked at wasn’t too bad?” If they sent
their whores to Mistral Park in a hovercar it had to have a pretty high-class
clientele at least.
 
“It was very unpleasant. But it’s in the past now, Riki, don’t worry. My new
Master treats me much better, and I am quite sure he will continue to do so as
long as I do the work he gives me to the best of my abilities”, she said with a
radiant smile, which made her rather hollow cheeks fill out a bit more,
partially due to the effect of the subtle blush she was wearing. If she wanted
to give the impression that she had been working at a high-class pleasure house
that sent call-girls to Mistral Park, it would not do if he would be able to
detect the still slightly present signs of malnutrition.
 
He also grinned reassuringly at that, knowing that his angry scowl had upset
Mimea in the past, thinking that it had been directed at her. “I’m glad that
you’ve found a place with someone who treats you well, doing a more decent job
than… well, you know. It’s no fun being hooked up with random people without
having any say in the matter, huh?”
 
Seeing as how her new “job” required for her to hook up with him, the very man
she was still in love with, there really was no arguing there. She nodded
enthusiastically and her bright eyes sparkled with genuine mirth and relief:
“Oh yes, I am very pleased myself. I had never expected that anyone decent
would still buy me after I had worked at a pleasure house. Neither had I
expected to ever meet you again, Riki. I am so glad we ran into each other
here, I’ve really missed talking to you.”
 
“You know… If it’s possible for you, and if you want to… Maybe we could hook up
sometime? As friends, I mean. You know, just to talk or do something fun
together… Like shop…”, Riki started, in an unusually hesitant manner for one as
bold and confident as him.
 
“Shop-lifting?”, the Pet interrupted the mongrel with a knowing, humourous
smile. “Sounds like fun. It’s a date, Riki!”, she cheerfully exclaimed as she
led him through a kitchen where no one was paying any attention to them, and
straight out a back door that opened with her access code. “This is where I
have to leave you, Riki. You’d better go before the Dark Men decide they want
to search this area further.”
 
“Sweet exit, thanks a bunch, you really saved my ass out there today. Yeah,
sure, it’s a date, I’m sure they won’t even notice that I’m robbing them if
I’ve got you with me to distract them”, Riki laughed as he accepted Mimea’s
extended arms and gave her a hug. The kind of nonchalant bear-hug that you
would give a friend, yet somehow Mimea managed to add several lovers’ caresses
and a sticky kiss to the throat to it. Pets will be Pets I guess.
 
She stood waving at the door until he had left the alley, in search of Sid and
Guy, they had to be worried shitless by now! After that she immediately took
out her new phone while remaining standing in the relative privacy of the back
alley.
 
“Hi, it’s me, I think I’ve got him”, she said while restlessly walking up and
down the alley with clicking golden heels, desperately trying to keep the
excitement out of her voice. Better to be safe than sorry. Even if minimal
contact was allowed, minimal satisfaction because of it probably wasn’t.
 
“Excellent. You can tell me all about it over dinner tomorrow night. La Deésse,
8 pm. Don’t be late.”, the cold voice spoke with delighted wickedness that
chilled her to the very bone. Before Mimea had a chance to respond, there
followed a decisive click that indicated he had hung up the phone already.
 
**************************************************************************************************************************************************
  
                               To Be Continued …
                                        
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                 Thnx for reading and please leave a review!:D
                                         
                                        
***** In the Lion's Denn *****
Chapter Summary
     Mimea is settling in again at Eos Tower and is trying to adapt to her
     new life as Iason Mink’s Pet.
Author’s notes:
 Hi everyone! :D So here I FINALLY am again, with the next chapter of this fic!
I apologize for the terribly loooooong wait but you know how it is, there’s
always something going on that needs doing first ;) Anyway, I hope anyone’s
still reading this fic at this point, but just in case you are: here is the
next chapter! :)
Some very unexpected plot twists ahead I think, I’m not gonna say any more,
that’d ruin the surprise :P I hope canon-lovers will not beat me on the head
with a stick for this…
Also I’ve used both an opening and an ending theme in this chapter, I hope you
guys don’t think that’s a bit over the top? Whose point-of-view the ending
theme is supposed to relate to is kind of double, so I leave it up to your own
personal interpretations ;)
Enjoy! :D
                                        
                         *****************************
                                        
                       Opening theme: Bastille – Pompeii
                                        
                         *****************************
                                        
But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
 
When the beautiful, damaged young woman began to awake from her slumber she was
momentarily confused about her whereabouts. Rather than the ratty, foul-
smelling old blankets covering her there was the feel of silk, high-quality
sheets that smelled of fresh lavender. Rather than the traffic noise and the
obscene grunting of some drunk lower-class Midas citizen peeking on an overdose
of Viagra next door, there was the blessed silence of a Tanaguran high
skyscraper and the nearly inaudible gentle hum of classical music that seemed
to float in from beyond the airy bedroom.
 
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
 
Don’t open your eyes. Not yet, allow the lovely illusion to comfort you for at
least another five minutes. Honestly, it probably made no difference for half
of her vulgar clients whether or not she was even conscious during their
encounters. Dreams of better days and bygone glory were about the only way one
could keep oneself slightly sane in the kind of unlife the coquettish, auburn-
haired love doll had been dealt. A card that would continue to leave a dull
tang to the bad flavour of the rest of her – probably extremely short –
existence.
 
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
 
Had it been worth it? Was being in charge of one’s own life for one second
truly worth the sacrifice of the rest of it? Yes, it most definitely was. For
living without even the freedom to choose your own lover is not living at all,
she firmly believed that, and she would continue to do so regardless of the
dark nature of her current predicament.
 
Many days fell away with nothing to show
 
She waited. And waited. For some unignorable sign of her harsh reality to
dispel the notion of a quiet bedroom and a luxurious, comfortable bed. But it
simply didn’t happen. As one minute after another passed without interruption
of her inner musings, Mimea began to feel more and more anxious. The longer she
was kept waiting for that terrible moment of disillusionment, the more afraid
she became of it. It was strange how she could still feel so frightened, even
now that the worst possible outcome had already come to pass. It was probably
something innate to Pets, that fearful anticipation.
 
And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
 
Unintelligent as they were, unfortunately they were not stupid enough not to
realise the brevity of their qualities and thus their usefulness and the
privileges that came with them. Like crumbling walls that would eventually fall
down, their youthful, flawless appearances would fade away with time.
 
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above
 
And with this fading the utopian city of Tanagura would appear to change, like
clouds darkening the skies after a mere instant of sunshine. The question
remained which of Tanagura’s faces was the true one, the sunny one or the shady
one? Perhaps they were simply two sides of the same coin. After all there could
never be perfection without the merciless removal of everything imperfect. And
as long as you were perfect Tanagura was a utopian heaven. But from the moment
the slightest imperfection became apparent – in appearance and maybe more
importantly in mind – it became a dystopian hell.
 
We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
In your pose as the dust settled around us
 
Like all things imperfect, Mimea had been tossed out. The only unusual fact
about that was that the reason for the tossing had been psychological rather
than physical, extremely rare in Pets but not very much so in Furniture. At
first it had felt as if she were an angel thrown down from heaven into what
appeared to be hell. But then - after the dust of the fall had cleared - hell
turned out to be earth and heaven turned out to be hell, as the former star
academy Pet now perceived it to be.
 
Oh, where do we begin? The rubble or our sins?
 
The question of course remained where the fault lay. With the system or with
the cast out individuals? And was that still relevant at all, after having been
thrown out like garbage? The fact that Mimea was no longer a part of that
system might be the very reason it appeared to be at fault to her, whereas to
the individuals operating within the system it seemed as if the exiles were the
ones at fault. Or were they?
 
After having contemplated these matters for a while, Mimea decided it was time
to stop living in the past. Figuring out who or what was at fault was not
something a former Pet turned cheap hooker was supposed to concern herself
with. So why did it bother her so much? She never used to ponder anything of
the sort, she never used to doubt the system. But that had all changed the
moment the dark outsider had walked in.
 
“Riki”. After having spoken out loud there was no way she could keep up the
wishful dreams of her former pampered life of luxury. So she eventually opened
her eyes … But was then momentarily blinded by the sunny sight of the
pristinely white marble that greeted her once more. Only now that her eyes had
become accustomed to darkness it came across as even more bright, almost
painfully so. A brightness of the sort that was so unnatural it simply hadto be
lethal to anything natural after a longer period of exposure. But despite the
bright light, Mimea felt a smile crawl its way unto her face, as if from beyond
her own facial control, as if it was being stuck on with glue by some outside
force.
 
“I am most satisfied that you have not forgotten the reason you have returned
here after all,” an icy, frighteningly familiar voice spoke from somewhere
beyond the bright light, probably at the very centre of it. She might be able
to shut her eyes against the light, but she would never be able to shut her
ears against that voice. The voice that had been both her condemnation and her
salvation. If Mimea could be compared to the mythical figure of Icarus, then
Iason Mink surely could be compared to the sun that had burned his waxen wings,
leading to his downfall. Yet the sun was also the source of all life, and right
now Mimea was basking in it like a revived flower.
 
As he continued to speak in that same silky, cutting tone – like diamond shards
with a veneer of velvet – Mimea’s new master made his way closer to the bed and
within her line of vision. “With the many hours you have spent sleeping I can
only conclude it is the only time you are capable of using that inferior brain
of yours, Pet” The last word could have been spoken as either an insult or a
term of endearment, for the lack of emotion in Iason Mink’s words always made
it extremely difficult to decipher his true intent. Did he himself even know
what his true intent was, Mimea often wondered?
 
She had been a resident in the Mink household for several months now. Yet every
time she went to sleep she forgot all about her return to her privileged
position. Or rather her promotion from the prestigious Am household to the even
more prestigious Mink household. Perhaps it was a survival trick of her
primitive brain. A way to make sure she did not become accustomed to Tanaguran
comforts again, in case she would be thrown out into the jungle again. She
could not allow herself to grow soft, she had to maintain the tougher hide she
had grown during her years in the Midas brothel.
 
Mimea had always perceived Iason Mink as a divine statue of perfection.
Beautiful, impeccably intelligent, successful, unapproachable, merciless. She
had not attached any personal feelings to this image other than perhaps
admiration, but that was more due to the fact that she knew her former Master –
Raoul Am – admired him so. But then after the affair with Riki everything had
changed. Iason Mink had become the enemy she could not possibly hope to resist
in any way, but not because of her disobedience or her insulting behaviour
towards his household, as she realised now. After he had come to rescue her
from the horrors of the Midas redlight district, her feelings towards him had
become rather mixed. Part of her still hated him for what he did to her, and
more especially what he did to Riki. But another part of her grew to understand
him and a strange form of mutual fascination seemed to have come into existence
over time. More specifically their conversation about Riki at “La Déesse” had
contributed to this.
 
A few weeks earlier, at restaurant “La Deésse” inMistral Park…
 
“Now, tell me all about your meeting with mymongrel. And I warn you, if you
leave anything out for your own convenience I willknow”, the Elite warned with
a calmly threatening glare at the girl sitting across from him at a reserved
table in the VIP section of the famous top-notch restaurant.
 
“It did not require any effort on my behalf, actually, he just walked in all of
a sudden, and he happened to be in need of help”, the young escort began with a
trembling voice and a slight blush on her pretty face. “See he was being chased
by the Dark Men, so of course I helped him escape. I tried to use my charm on
him, but I’m not sure if it worked. I think his feelings of guilt towards me
could be a better way to influence him. When we said goodbye it seemed like he
wanted to see me again, but not in a sexual way. It is strange, how he just
seems to laugh away all social differences between us.” Mimea continued to
fumble with her napkin as she appeared to tell Lord Mink’s wine glass about
what had transpired a couple of evenings before, when she’d had her chance
meeting with Riki the Dark at the Royal Casino in Sasan.
 
“Yes, that is exactly how he is with me as well, although I’d say you have more
of a benefit of the doubt with him at the moment. So his interest in you is no
longer sexual then? I wonder why that is… unless his interest in you was never
sexual in the first place. But no matter, as long as you can fulfil your
assignment of gathering information and luring him back in, I honestly do not
care what methods you use, as I said before”, His Excellency responded while
gesturing for her to eat her soup. The farcical occurrence of a Syndicate
member and a former Eos Pet eating at the same table at a public place had
attracted a lot of attention, even in the relative seclusion of the VIP
section. However Iason Mink ignored theses prying stares, apparently he did not
care much for gossip or unspoken social conventions. A curious fact that was
not missed by the unusually perceptible Academy Pet sitting across from him.
 
“Erghm… with all due respect, it seems to make very little sense to me that
Riki would not have had sexual interest at me at any point, seeing as how he…
we…”, Mimea started stammering, already regretting how she was questioning
Mink’s words and suggesting that Riki cared about someone other than him in
such a way.
 
“Well, I am not saying that there wasn’t any attraction, or otherwise sexual
contact between the two of you would hardly have been possible without the use
of aphrodisiacs. However I do not think Riki has any preference for your
gender, your class, or you in particular. Looking at the situation in
perspective it is my estimation that Riki having intercourse with you was all
about his sexual feelings for me. For what better way would there be to make me
feel bad? What better way to have at least a form of vengeance for me invoking
these unwanted desires that go against his mongrel pride? What better way even
to convince himself that he did not long for me with every breath he took? You
were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. But arguably you were the
right person, for I do not think many other Pets would have been eager for one
from the slums.”
 
“To make you… feel bad? I’m sure nobody of such low social standing as a Pet or
a mongrel could do that.” She was even sure nobody at all could do that. Making
the infamous Head of the Syndicate feel anything was an impossibility, least of
all to make him feel bad. Because feeling bad was something human, something
Mimea could relate to all too well. But Iason Mink was not human, therefore a
meaningless human such as herself could not possibly relate to him.
 
“As it turns out you are mistaken in that assumption, although it is
understandable – even socially expected – that you should make it. Do you
seriously think I would risk the relation I have with Lord Am over such a minor
transgression as unsanctioned interaction between Pets, by demanding the worst
possible punishment for his favourite creation?” Indeed Iason did not perceive
such a tryst as hardly an offence at all. He never had been one to punish where
he did not feel it was absolutely necessary. And punishing Pets to do the very
thing they were bred to do seemed illogical to him, rules or no rules. That was
not the true reason he had demanded the worst from his old friend.
 
“If I were his favourite creation I don’t think I would’ve ended up at that
place…”, the degraded and abandoned Pet whispered, her voice full of unspoken
sadness and regret. She did not know why the pricking of tears behind her eyes
was simultaneously making her feel so angry or why she was so determined to
hold them back. She would not cry in front of this man, this Elite, that had
destroyed both her life and the life of the one she loved. How low she had
fallen, now that she was willing to betray that very same one only to give in
to that selfish need to have him near her. She supposed it was what a powerful
emotion like obsessive love did to a person, it changed them into something
they themselves hardly recognised.
 
“I am positive that hurting my feelings was probably the only way you could
have managed to do that”, the Elite responded with a semblance of mirth while
swirling his expensive wine around in its crystal glass.
 
Mimea blinked in surprise, not even noticing how it caused some of the tears
she had tried so hard to keep to come rolling over her carefully powdered
cheeks, making two imperfect tracks appear on her otherwise perfectly made-up
dollface. Hurt his feelings. She had hurt his feelings. His! Iason Mink’s!
Iason Mink had feelings! She wasn’t the only one who had gone utterly insane at
the sight of that mongrel. I’m not alone in this.
 
Several weeks later inEos Tower, in a bedroom in the Mink household …
 
“Do you know what sex by association is, Mimea?” He only called her “Pet” when
he wanted to remind her of her mental inferiority to himself, but otherwise
that term was Riki’s and Riki’s alone. Iason did not mind the girl’s cockiness
but he did not hesitate to remind her of this fact. He had the brains behind
the operation, she only followed his orders. As long as she did not stray from
that, they would eventually succeed in bringing Riki back to them.
 
“Isn’t that what Pet performances are all about? Isn’t the sex between us a
replacement for the lack of sex between Elite?” She was remarkably clever for a
Pet.
 
“I believe that to be an accurate interpretation of the use of Pets, yes.
Although I do not think that many Elite would agree with me. I also believe its
effects to be rather unsatisfactory, as it appears to be no valid substitute
for the real experience. However such methods might be more effective if actual
intercourse is involved. Pray tell, youhave had sex with Riki, have you not?”
 
Mimea was momentarily speechless, as even her former Master – who bred sex toys
for a living – never spoke of sexuality so openly. It was strange how it
appeared to be a taboo subject for some classes in an oversexed society. Mimea
had always assumed that it was because of a lack of interest on behalf of the
Elite, but clearly her new Master was an exception to that rule.
 
She did not like how the conversation went back to her own past transgression,
the one that had apparently doomed her. The incident that had sparked a
wildfire of jealousy to erupt from the usually stoic Elite currently sitting on
the side of her bed. Only now that his glacier blue gaze rested on her, the
young girl became aware of her own nudity. The stare caused an unusual feeling
of self-consciousness to come over her, unusual because as a Pet she had been
trained not to feel any such awareness and therefore she never had. But
something had changed, she could almost taste it in the air. The presence of a
sexual predator.
 
“Answer the question, Mimea”, and even the quality of his voice had changed. It
had become smoother, more sensual, more intense somehow. Seductive. She was
afraid to even glance in his direction now, as she could feel the rising
tension the electronic demi-god was currently radiating. The female got out of
the bed and instinctually started to back away, never taking her eyes off of
the blond.
 
“Ehm, yes, I had sex with Riki… but you already know that and I know you don’t
like it, so why do you ask again?”, she asked while desperately trying to keep
the tremors from her voice.
 
“It might be momentarily beneficial… to both our interests. Seeing as how the
object of both our obsessions is currently unavailable”, as he spoke he began
to slowly stalk her. “With all the time you have spent spying for me during the
last couple of weeks, surely your metabolism must be craving sexual release by
now?”, he purred while he deliberately drove her into a corner.
 
Mimea was still walking backwards while she was involuntarily drawn into his
piercing eyes, but hadn’t noticed that there was a sofa right behind her… A
chilling sensation of danger came over her, making her clumsy as she began to
panic.
 
“I… I d… I don’t understand!”, she exclaimed, as if hoping that the volume of
her exclamation might snap the approaching android out of whatever trance it
was that had come over him and was making him imply such irrational things. He
was a superhuman Elite, she was a subhuman Pet. Both of them had feelings for
someone else. He hated her, enough to bother to demand another Elite to punish
her with illogical severity.
 
Her simple reasoning might have worked, if the back of her legs had not
suddenly hit the sofa, making her fall unto it on her back. As she lay there
wide-eyed and wildly moving her limbs in a desperate attempt to get up, like a
ladybug on its back, he pounced.
 
Her shriek echoed loudly through the high-ceilinged, marble room but was
quickly cut off when her nemesis expertly put his mouth on hers.
 
…………
 
“St… stop! This doesn’t make any sense!” Tiny, porcelain hands feebly pressed
against his synthetic chest but did not slow him down in the slightest. It was
almost comical, her utterly pointless attempts to push him away. Was she really
that unintelligent that she did not realise the futility of her actions?
 
“By Jupiter, stop this madness! No matter how much you may hate me, it is not
worth the degradation of lowering yourself by associating with the likes of me!
I’m just a thrown-away, outdated toy! I’m a cheap hooker!” Yet she proved him
wrong again, for even in her desperation she was smart. Could it possibly be
catching, this wild spirit the mongrel had brought into their midst?
 
“Do you seriously think that mere hate could motivate me in this way?”, he
replied in a surprisingly steady, calm tone. He slowed down his attack for a
moment and brushed her firy-red bangles out of her face with a gesture that
could be interpreted as gentle. Riki had aided in the damnation of this Pet,
therefore according to his mongrel logic a debt of guilt tied him to her
forever. Therefore all he had to do to tie his Riki to him, was to tie her to
him first.
 
“I don’t see what else could”, she whispered while turning her head away from
him, not wanting him to see the burning tears in her orange eyes. She felt them
draw paths into the make-up on her face, like molten lava in rock. The rocky
layer flaking off and revealing what lay beneath. Her weakness. Her humanity.
Her beauty.
 
“You have become a fascinating creature, Mimea. Almost as fascinating as the
one who made you so. But you know when the fight is futile, do you not? You
know the limits of what is humanly possible and the endless benefits of what is
superhuman. Fight me and you will be miserable beyond recognition, but work
with me and there is nothing you cannot have.”
 
He felt her petite frame still shaking under his robotic body, but when she
looked up the look in her eyes had changed significantly. She had smelled
possibility. Ambition had overcome fear. And Pets were ambitious, if nothing
else. Yet this one had something he wanted. This one had fire and endurance,
this one had become truly human.
 
“There’s only one thing I want”, she spat defiantly, trying to ignore the voice
in her head that tried to press her on. There is nothing you cannot have. No!
This Elite had ruined her life! And he could be the one to fix it. Make it even
better than before.
 
“Ah, but now there are two. I will make sure of it. For they say once you get a
taste of the divine, you shall be addicted to it for the rest of your life. I
know how to make you mine.” The unforgivingly cold glare left no doubt in her
of his determination. The mortal who eats the food of the gods can never leave
the underworld again.
 
Why did it hurt so much to know he was right? That she was powerless against
his seduction? Mimea did not even realise the hurt emotion rushing through her
in this moment was pride. Pets were not supposed to have any pride. Or any
will-power for that matter. Without noticing it herself, she had surpassed what
Tanagura had deemed the limits of emotional intelligence for Pets.
 
“Why do you want me to work with you? What difference does it even make to
you?” Her words were unnecessary, merely postponing the inevitable. She had
already made up her mind. She could never be strong, this world would not allow
it. It was only a matter of time before this harsh environment chewed her up,
swallowed her and digested her entirely. Only through symbiosis with something
stronger could she survive.
 
“Separately we may not be able to achieve our ultimate goal, yet together I am
sure we will be successful at bringing him back. I need you with me, therefore
I need to bind you to me indefinitely. Mind and body.” To her breed they were
one and the same after all, a Pet could only ignore its physical needs for so
long. Despite the numbing fear that coursed through her veins, her lab-bred
body was willing and ready. Unable as it was to distinguish between fear and
anticipation. For fear was just another form of aiming to please.
 
“But why do you need me willing? I do not understand. You are Elite. You want,
you take.” Mimea was fearfully trying to postpone the inevitable, for she knew
that as soon as he touched her she would be lost to the lust that was innate to
her kind. However unbeknownst to her, those questions and doubts only fortified
his attraction to her.
 
“Do you not know, little one? You cannot own one’s mind if one is not willing.
And now that you have a mind, I must own it.” He could afford to wait for her
full compliance, his need was not uncontrollable around her. Not like how it
was around his beloved mongrel. Yet he was interested in the other Pet as well.
The house-cat that had turned wild upon release.
 
The girl had ceased to struggle physically but still refused to submit
mentally. He could detect her need with his superior olfactory sensors, she
smelled like a cat in heat. Her will must have grown exponentially to be able
to still resist at all by this point, for he was emitting unusually high levels
of synthetic pheromones.
 
Her hormones were driving her crazy, but she could not simply give into those
needs. They had compromised her safety before, she would not allow them to do
so again. She had to be sure. And unlike Riki, she knew there was a very simple
way to be sure. For she knew about Tanagura and she knew about its Elite. More
specifically she knew of their inability to lie.
 
“Will you betray me? Answer me and I’ll cooperate.”
 
“I have no need to betray you, Mimea. You are no threat to me, I see that now.
There is no need for you to disappear if I can make the both of you mine.”
 
“Answer me. A straight-forward answer.” Otherwise she knew he could outsmart
her effortlessly through his wordplays, which would leave him free to betray
her as he saw fit at any later point in time. There was no reason why he would
not, Elite always preferred to keep all options open.
 
He bent down his head and brought his lips towards hers while carefully tilting
up her head by the chin. His gigantic, metal-enhanced body loomed over her,
contrasting heavily with the silky brush of his gorgeous hair. She was awed by
both the gentle precision of his grasp and the raw strength she could feel
behind it. “No”, he breathed erotically into her open mouth. “I will not betray
you. Not now, not ever.”
 
Tears of relief sprang from her eyes as she allowed her body to rise up and
meet his. He was willing to secure her future on the mere chance that she could
help him return his Riki to his side. He too had gone beyond his class’
emotional limits.
 
The Pet wrapped her arms around his powerful, incredibly broad shoulders and
moved her lips in sync with his. She did not know how to be a passive
participant, nor did she want to be. And apparently neither did her new Master,
for he reacted rather enthusiastically to her participation, cupping one of her
breasts in his large hand and moving his thumb along her nipple. She cried out
her delight and tied her arms around his neck in what would have been a choke-
hold if he had been human. Pets were not physically as strong as natural-born
humans, however when in a lustful frenzy their aggression more than made up for
that.
 
Mimea started to moan loudly as the blond Elite continued his ministrations to
her chest with his lips and tongue. Her small but greedy hands found their way
into his golden tresses and she wildly clawed through them, the soft material
as unyielding as the thread of a spider’s web. Indestructible beauty. Having
sex with Iason Mink was like having sex with divine power itself. How did Riki
ever resist this for such long periods of time?
 
When he lowered his cool, smooth lips along her abdomen and then placed them on
her sex, she screamed like a banshee. The sensory input was nearly making her
black out. Her body shook almost as if she was about to have a seizure. Too
much, it was too much. But then the mercilessly delicious suction stopped and
she felt his fingers threading softly through her hair. “Ssshhhh, it’s all
right. There is no need to over-exert yourself, my little doll. The evening is
still young, after all.” She’d had no idea his tone could be so soothing while
his voice was still so frosty and unfeeling. It reminded her of her former
Master’s warmer, more honeyed vocalisations. All of a sudden there were tears
streaming from her eyes again, this time with abundance for she was not holding
them back anymore. She had surrendered her body and mind to her new Master
utterly.
 
She blinked and stared up at Iason’s azure depths, catching a shimmer of
sadness, not knowing whether it was a mere mirroring of her own or something
more. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” Unknowingly she had spoken out
loud what had been on his mind continuously ever since the mongrel had left
Tanagura. “Never. I shall never leave you. And you will never leave me, for as
long as you live.” She kissed him with an amount of feeling that surprised them
both. A fluttering warm glow appeared to spread itself throughout her body.
“I’m sorry for how I made you feel.” And that time she actually meant it.
 
“How about you make me feel something else, hmm?”, he purred seductively, as he
lifted up her right leg as if it weighed nothing and grinded his hips against
hers, the movement also causing his large hardness to rub against the sensitive
inside of her thigh. She gasped and willingly wrapped her slender legs around
his waist. “With pleasure”, came the husky reply.
 
The tip pressed against her entrance and she opened like a flower in bloom, her
breath speeding up against his shoulder as she hugged him close. “This will not
be without pain”, he warned, wrapping her waist and back into the iron-strong
grip of his arms. A gesture that could be interpreted both as an affectionate
reassurance or as a way to prevent her escape.
 
She blinked, momentarily not understanding. As a Pet, she had been manufactured
for the very purpose of taking pleasure in the act of mating. Moreover she had
been made to mate with other Pets, all of around roughly the same size. A size
which was proportionally slightly larger than a normal human’s, which had led
her encounters with Riki and her clients at the brothel in Midas to be
virtually painless despite the fact that most human men were taller than any of
the male Pets in Eos. Surely there had been pain at the whorehouse, but that
pain had been due to the beatings she had been given during the intercourse,
not the act itself.
 
Sex could be painful? That was unexpected. Just how painful would it be? She
could feel the cold tendrils of fear sneaking up on her again, making a shiver
run down her spine. Her limbs cramped around his body almost as if in a death-
grip. “Don’t worry, you’ll forget about the pain soon enough. I simply wanted
to give you some warning. Just relax and all will be well.”
 
At least he’d never had to bother with this with Riki, for he had been of a
much tougher breed. Truth be told, he’d much rather not deal with this at all.
Psychological management was Raoul’s department, not his. But he did not wish
for the girl to be traumatized or anything of the sort, that would simply not
suit his agenda. He needed her willing. He needed her mentally healthy. And
most of all he needed her to become enamoured with himas much as with Riki. It
was the only way to make it impossible for her to become a liability after she
had done her part in bringing Riki back to his arms. Not to mention she could
momentarily aid him to relieve some of his pent-up desire for said mongrel.
 
“Pl… please hold me”, she said with a slight trembling in her voice again. She
was already relying on him, trusting his embrace would protect her. “Please, I…
I feel so alone…” She risked a glance at the perfect features of his face,
pleading with him almost as if he were another Pet or a Furniture. As if he
were a human rather than a machine.
 
“As am I, Mimea. I understand.” It was only after he had spoken those words
that he realised the truth of them. By Jupiter, how low he had fallen. The
emotional schemes he used on humans would work all too well on he himself now.
His enemies must never find out about his attachment to his human from the
slums, for it would be his undoing.
 
“Oh, I know. I know you understand.” Could his momentary shock of five seconds
ago have possibly shown on his face? If not, then how did she know? She did not
know, she could not know. She was only a Pet.
 
“I see you, Lord Mink.” Perhaps it would be best to get rid of her after all.
“And I see that you are more beautiful than those others now.” More beautiful?
She thought human weakness made him more beautiful? He had always associated
his beauty with his power. So how could such weakness as loneliness be
beautiful? She obviously knew something about human emotions that he did not.
She was worth keeping around, even if she also knew his secret. For no one
would ever believe such a thing about their perfect Head of the Syndicate,
especially not from the mouth of a silly, degraded Pet.
 
She knew his secret, he needed her utmost loyalty. He kissed her with enough
force to leave her breathless but not enough to bruise, while he slipped into
the folds of her wetness. She briefly cried out in pain, followed by sobs into
his hair. He caressed her back and whispered words of comfort while he pushed
deeper inside of her. Like a hawk sinking its claws into its prey.
 
Sex with her was more pleasurable than he had imagined. Not only because of the
feel of a warm, living creature around him, but also because of her ability to
fight her own instincts. Pain was bad, a Pet would do whatever it had to do to
escape it. Yet she did not try to escape him, she stubbornly refused to allow
her bodily needs to overrule her completely.
 
Some time after he had started to move in and out of her at a more steady pace,
he began to observe the tell-tale signs of her increasing enjoyment. She was
moving out of the realm of pain and into the realm of pleasure. She rocked her
body along with his and moaned in abandonment. How could something that felt so
painful only a moment ago feel so wonderful now? The friction and the feeling
of fullness were far more delicious than anything she had ever felt, even sex
with Riki had not been this good.
 
Not long after she had began to moan, Iason decided to move things up a notch.
He detached her arms and upper body from his and kept her down on the bed while
restraining both of her hands next to the side of her body with his.
Surprisingly she even went along in this restraining, immediately folding her
fingers into his. In this position he could take the Pet more effectively and
more deeply, while being provided with better visual input of the effect his
actions were having on her. Mimea did not fight the Elite in this and tilted
back her head in rapture, not even attempting to hide her passionate reactions,
for as a Pet she felt no shame of her bodily responses.
 
“Ah! Ah, Master!... Yes! Yes, take me!”, Mimea practically yelled at the top of
her lungs. She had not expected sex with her enemy to feel this heavenly. She
held unto his hands for dear life, not wanting him to ever let her go. She
realised that he did not have meaningless sex, that he considered some element
of her to be worthy of him. For he did not sleep around with anyone like a Pet
would, he was an Elite and Elite were not even supposed to have intercourse at
all.
 
After keeping her at that same level of pleasure for a while, the android began
to accurately hit her sensitive spot with every thrust while gradually
increasing the strength and depth of his thrusts. When she was close to her
release he kept her there on the edge for as long as possible, curious to see
how she would react to being denied fulfilment.
 
“Hah! Ha…”, she was so breathless that she could hardly yell anymore, instead
she issued noises that sounded more like the mewling of a kitten. “Please…
Please, Master…” He was getting close to reaching his objective, he could tell
by the gleaming in the little Pet’s eyes. What was one more sacrifice of his
dignity, if it could help him get Riki back? “Call me Iason.”
 
I feel like such a fool
There's nothing I can do
I'm such a fool for you
 
Her eyes flew wide open and her folds deliciously tightened around him. “A..ha…
Ia…son”, she gasped without hardly making any noise. She was so overcome by her
blissful release that she no longer had any breath left.
 
I can't take it
What am I waiting for?
 
After her release she was exhausted and slumped against him. He pulled her into
an embrace and softly kissed her shoulder while she captured her breath. Almost
there now. Just a little bit more.

My heart's still breaking
I miss you even more
 
When she had come somewhat down to Amoy, she pulled out of his embrace to gaze
upon his beautiful face. “Ia… Iason? Was… was that OK for you?”, not having
received any applause in this kind of context she was unsure if he had been
satisfied with her performance, even if it had been under his lead. Could it
still even be called a performance? It had seemed too real for that somehow.
 
And I can't fake it
The way I could before
 
He was momentarily silent. Then he gently grabbed a hold of her face - his
fingers caressing her skin in the process - and kissed her. Not violently, not
forcefully, not even passionately. But very softly, sweetly, almost lovingly.
 
I hate you but I love you
I can't stop thinking of you
 
He could tell from the way both her breathing and heartbeat picked up their
pace and from the dazed, wide-pupilled stare that he had successfully fulfilled
his goal. She was now completely and unconditionally in love with him.
 
It's true 
I'm stuck on you
 
                         *****************************
                                        
                      Ending theme: Stacie Orrico – Stuck
                                        
                         *****************************
     
Author’s notes:
 
Yep, I did it again, I completely derailed from any of the fics I’ve ever read
and threw in one hell of a rare pairing (I think?). For better or for worse,
only your reviews will tell :) Not to worry though, the main pairing of this
fic IS gonna be Iason/Riki , duhuh! ;) Cause clearly Iason/Mimea is all about
Riki… or is it? :P
 
Please review !!! Thanks! :D
 
   *************************************************************************
  
                               To Be Continued …
                                        
   *************************************************************************
                                         
                                         
***** Back in Business *****
Chapter Summary
     Due to an increase in patrolls in Midas, the Bisons are facing
     starvation, which leads to a dispute within the gang. Desperate for a
     way to secure nourishment and to keep his gang from falling apart,
     Riki seeks to be re-hired in the Black Market. However what he
     doesn't know is that Katze may have ulterior motives for doing so,
     again.
 
Author’s notes:
So here’s the next chapter, it’s not that long and there isn’t anything too
shocking happening, but I decided it was best not to wait too long to update ;)
I also want to thank everyone for their nice reviews, cause those reviews are
so important to keep going as a writer, so please keep them coming :D Also if
you’ve got ways for me to improve my writing, let me know! ;) I hope you enjoy
this chapter, even if it’s mostly plot development :)
                                        
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
                                        
                     soundtrack: Demi Lovato – Neon Lights
                                        
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
   
The sun was already beginning to set as he stepped unto the balcony, the chill
evening breeze caressing his naked skin as it snuck underneath the silky fabric
of his bathrobe. He watched how slowly but surely all of the rooftops of Midas
were rendered surreal by the almost magical play of sunlight accompanied by the
slowly emerging neon. The natural light gradually being replaced by the
artificial, to the point where it was becoming unclear which was the real thing
and which the fake.
 
However from the moment he stretched out his hand to catch the fading rays of
sunlight, he could clearly register the difference. Neon did not contain that
same kind of warmth, that same kind of quality that all living things required
to survive. If kept away from sunlight for longer periods of time, certain
kinds of plants would wither and die. The mystery of this had occupied his
friend’s brilliant mind for many years and had led him to start one experiment
after another, using several types of artificial light and several species of
plants in the process. But it would appear that sometimes nature flatly refused
to have her mysteries unravelled by the scientists of Tanagura, as even after
decades of these experiments Raoul Am was not one step closer to figuring it
out. Or so he made it appear as he talked for hours on end about the subject.
 
“I cannot move forward unless I can discover the truth of the light, the true
meaning of photosynthesis!”, Raoul exclaimed as he kept on walking from left to
right and then from right to left again in front of the ottoman Iason was
seated on, his legs artfully crossed and his face as tranquil as his friend’s
was expressive.
 
“But honestly, my friend, what kind of difference does it make? Sunlight is
readily available on Amoy for an average of 9 hours per day, and will continue
to be so for as long as Amoy remains habitable.” There was no point to the
statement, for the scientist pacing up and down his living room already knew
this all too well. Rather the point was to point out that his exaggerated
worries had no point. Sometimes Raoul Am could be dreadfully impractical.
 
“That’s not the point, Iason! The point is that I have to figure out a way to
make it possible in the controlled environment of my laboratories!” While he
was speaking the scientist was wildly gesticulating with his arms in a way that
reminded Iason of a fish that had stranded on dry land, desperately trying to
survive in an environment it was simply not adapted to.
 
“Why do you “have to” achieve this, if I may ask? Will there be some kind of
apocalyptic disaster in the future after which all of Tanagura will rely on
your controlled plant-growing skills for their survival? I daresay I have no
desire to continue living in a world where there is not even any sunlight”,
Iason spoke in a definite tone, as if that settled the matter once and for all.
 
Raoul was momentarily gobsmacked and remained standing in the same place in
silence for several entire minutes. “But Iason, Elite do not require sunlight
or even living plants. We already know how to artificially create oxygen,
therefore we do not depend on a natural atmosphere or on any form of plantlife
for our continued survival…”
 
“There is the point exactly. I do not wish to survive, Raoul, I wish to live.”
 
“But Iason there is no difference! Surviving simply means to keep on living
through the use of innate talents that are suited to a certain environment.
Would you honestly… Suppose an unexpected catastrophic event takes place
tomorrow, say the planet is hit by a gigantic meteorite and is pushed off-
course and moves further away from the sun. You say you are not interested in
living under those circumstances, but what if this by chance took place during
your lifetime? I mean, Tanagura would not simply cease to be, Jupiter would
activate the forcefield and the artificial life-support systems…”
 
“As the Head of Informatics and Intelligence I believe myself quite capable
enough to hack my own systems, Raoul, in case an event such as you have just
described were to take place during my lifetime.”
 
“But that would be… Iason, this is not even remotely funny! To hack into your
systems to put an end to your own life would be… would be… would simply be
unnatural!”, he eventually cried out in desperation, throwing up his arms and
whipping around his long curls, only realising moments later that his final
argument had actually supported the point Iason had been trying to make all
along.
 
As Midas’ lights started coming on one by one as if they were part of one
massive tidal wave, Iason’s gaze was automatically held by that one spot that
did not become a part of that sea of light. That one rock surrounded by
breaking waves that stubbornly refused to surrender to the current. Ceres.
   
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
                                        
Staring at the tidal wave of lights switching on over in Midas, Riki’s eyes
were automatically drawn to the place beyond that was already bathing in
artificial light. Tanagura. And at its very heart was the silver and white
beacon of Eos Tower. Its top sparkling like a diamond star in the sky, shining
so brightly that it even drowned out the light of all natural stars.
 
Baby, when they look up at the sky
We'll be shooting stars just passing by
 
“So you just gonna keep staring at it, or try to get your fill of it, huh?”
Riki was startled out of his momentary reverie and turned to look at the
speaker. “A smart hunter observes before striking, Sid.”
 
“That what you call it? Freaking “observing”? More like spacing out if you ask
me, for real man, why you walking around with your head in the clouds this much
lately?”, his fellow gang member continued, and despite his teasing tone Riki
could hear that part of him was worried. After growing up in the slums together
you developed a sixth sense when it came to knowing your gang.
 
“And what’s it to you, huh? Some of us space out, others get high or drunk,
what’s the fucking difference?” But he knew it was true. He never used to think
about things much in the past, he just did what he wanted when he wanted it.
He’d only think about the danger of their nightly robberies in Midas when that
danger presented itself directly, but not in advance. And he sure as hell would
not be thinking about how comfortable the bedsheets were and how well-stocked
the kitchen was over at Eos Tower’s penthouse.
 
You'll be coming home with me tonight
We'll be burning up like neon lights
 
“The difference is that we’re gonna have to score real big and soon. I dunno
how much longer I can keep going on an empty stomach, man. Stout can only make
a guy last for so long”, Sid contradicted him with a friendly patting on the
shoulder. Sid was not one to complain quickly, therefore Riki knew that when
this was coming from him the gang was facing some pretty shitty times.
 
“That’s what I’m talking about! We gotta hit Sasan! There’s nothing to be had
nowadays in any of the other districts…”, Guy started, relieved that someone
else had finally brought it up so he could have his say without appearing to
challenge Riki’s authority.
 
“I’d rather go hungry than commit suicide, Guy. I already told you, you wanna
hit Sasan, fine, be my guest, but leave me the hell out of it.”
 
“Y’know, that’s fine by me, let’s just do it. But don’t be expecting any share
in the booty, Riki”, Luke added his own little say into the mix of protesting
voices. Of all the Bisons Luke had been the one who had lost confidence in
Riki’s leadership abilities most after his return to Ceres a couple of months
ago. He’d already contradicted him on several occasions and Riki knew he’d have
to keep on eye on him if he wanted to stay in control of the gang.
 
“Shit, Luke, that ain’t how Bison works! We either all go together, or none of
us go. It’s as simple as that. If Riki says it ain’t a go, then it ain’t a go!”
There Guy went again, defending Riki even while fully knowing that Riki’s
decisions as a leader were going to lead their entire gang to disaster sooner
rather than later.
 
“I never said we weren’t going to do anything to fix the problem, dammit! I’m
just saying that with Sasan crawling with cops it’s not the best idea. But if
you guys wanna get your asses thrown into prison and be skinned alive by those
bastard Dark Men I won’t stop you. Just don’t expect me to risk my own skin
tryin’ to bust you out.”
 
“I get that, Riki, I do. But what choice do we have?”, Sid said. He still
believed in Riki and did not want to contradict him, but he was also very
hungry.
 
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out”, Riki responded as he turned away to
continue staring at Eos Tower, as if hoping an answer would come falling from
the sky.
 
“You figuring ain’t gonna fill my stomach! I’ve had just about enough of your
bullshit, Riki! You ain’t acting like a leader should, you’re acting like a
coward who’s just waiting to die!”, Luke saw his opportunity to speak up. The
entire gang was ravenous, so anyone coming up with a plan to provide them with
food as quickly as possible would be sure to get the support of the majority of
the gang members. With or without the agreement of their formerly infamous gang
leader.
 
“If that’s how you feel then perhaps you should go find yourself another gang,
Luke.” If they thought he was going to keep quiet with this insurrection going
on he would show them not to mess with him!
 
“How about YOU find yourself another gang, Riki?! I ain’t the only one who’s
fed up with your weakness! Ever since you came back you’ve been a total push-
over!”, Luke challenged as he got closer and closer to Riki, ending up waving
his fist in his face.
 
That did it for Riki. In seconds he was on top of Luke, beating the shit out of
him. Luke had gotten used to the more passive, new version of Riki and had not
seen his violent reaction coming at all. So he was thrown back unto the ground
and did not react fast enough to prevent Riki from landing one after another
mind-blowing punch, leaving him too dizzy to defend himself. One half of the
Bisons was screaming for Riki to stop while the other half was cheering him on,
in the chaos it was unclear to make out which half was actually doing what.
 
“Holy fuck! Riki, stop it, man! You’re killing him!”
 
“One less mouth to feed! Ain’t that what you motherfuckers are worried about,
huh?! You want me to fix the problem?! How about I fix it right now! That what
you want, huh?!! THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!”, he roared as he continued to hit and
kick Luke’s already-battered body. His nose breaking with a satisfactory crack.
His face all bruised and one of his eyes already black.
 
“Shit, Riki, just stop already!!! This ain’t gonna fix anything! He’s just
drunk, man!”
 
“Not” He kicked Luke’s stomach while he was lying down. “My” He kicked him
against his chin. “Fucking” He kicked him against the head, making him moan as
apparently he was no longer able to scream out. “Problem!” He was just about to
hit Luke’s unconscious body with a broken bottle when Guy intervened, grabbing
Riki’s wrist.
 
“Riki, this isn’t you, dammit! Shit man, we’re all having a hard time here!
People act up when they’re hungry, you know that!” If anyone but Guy had dared
to interrupt Riki while he was giving a rebellious gang member a well-deserved
beating he would have probably received a beating himself. But despite the fact
that they no longer slept together, Guy still had a special place in Riki’s
heart.
 
Riki threw the bottle against the far wall of their hide-out in frustration.
Guy was right. Killing off his own gang members wasn’t going to make things
better for anyone. But hell giving someone a beating would surely make him feel
better!
 
“Yeah, people act up! That’s what I’m doing, idiot, acting up! But apparently
I’m the only one here with half a brain, so it’s always me who has to keep my
shit together!” Everyone was staring at Riki’s tantrum in desperation. Had
their leader finally lost it for real? Who would they turn to, if not the
fearless Riki?
 
“Oh crap, don’t look at me like that! I told you, I’ll figure something out!
Can’t any of you morons just wait? I’ll let you know when I need you”, he
addressed his gang and then walked out of the derelict building they had taken
refuge in, kicking his bike to life and racing off without even knowing where
he was going. They were right about one thing. Sometimes you just had to act,
even if you didn’t know what the outcome was going to be.
 
As he made his way into Midas, his eyes kept on straying from the road up to
the glittering lights of Tanagura. Simultaneously his thoughts strayed from the
famine at hand to blue eyes brighter than any neon and long hair the colour of
starlight. As thoughts of Iason started filling his head his treacherous heart
started beating faster in his chest.
 
Be still, my heart cause it's freaking out, it's freaking out, right now
Shining like stars cause we're beautiful, we're beautiful, right now
 
Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. He was thinking too much like the
old Riki. But he couldn’t ask Iason Mink for help, because there’d be no way
he’d help him out. Besides, he’d kicked him out, it was a done matter. And even
if by some miracle Mink still had an interest in him, he would not do it for
free. Wasn’t there some other way to get his hands on some cash? Mimea perhaps?
She worked at a casino after all. But no, he’d already caused the young girl
enough trouble as it was.
 
As he turned unto Orange Road in an old automatism he’d developed while working
for the Black Market - the red rays of the setting sun making his black form
look as if it was ablaze - the answer to his predicament struck him. Katze.
 
Even if the Black Market boss had initially only offered Riki a job because
Iason wanted him to spy on the Bison leader, Riki had clearly shown his
particular talent for the job. There was no reason why Katze wouldn’t wish to
hire him again if Riki offered. And no reason for Riki not to offer, other than
his betrayed pride. But even mongrels could put their pride aside if their
stomachs were rumbling loudly enough.
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
  
As Katze was going through some files concerning a new player in the market,
his most trusted associate and bodyguard walked into his office. “What is it
now? Can’t you see I’m busy?”, the broker said without even bothering to look
at his co-worker. Things were busier than ever and again he’d had to fire
several of his employees today, the youngsters had simply not been cut out for
the job. So now he was not only busy but also short on staff.
 
“There’s a mongrel here, sir. I’ve tried to send him away, but he claims that
he knows you personally and that you’ll be interested in seeing him.”
 
Katze looked up from his screen, his cunning honey-coloured eyes squeezing
together in thought. “A mongrel, you say? What did he say his name was?”
 
“Riki. Said he’s the leader of a gang called Bison. Very dark complexion, black
hair.”
 
“Send him in”, Katze said as he filed and closed what he’d been working on and
got up from his desk chair.
 
“Boss?”
 
“Don’t make me tell you twice.” He wasn’t shouting but then he hardly ever did.
After a while of working for him his employees learned to tell by the subtle
changes in his tone when he was threatening them.
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
  
When the big, muscular bloke approached him with a somewhat stunned look on his
face, Riki put out his cigarette in one of the potted plants in the hallway.
“Told you he’d wanna see me. You’ve just wasted your time in searching me and
making me wait. Not very effective, pall.”
 
Full of confidence, Riki burst into the office, not bothering to wait for the
bodyguard to open the door for him or to even knock. “Found yourself your very
own housekeeper, did you? He sure doesn’t mind making his hands dirty when
searching mongrels”, he said as he strode straight up to Katze’s desk with a
nonchalant swagger, determined to bluff his way through any obstacles the Black
Market boss might put in his way.
 
It took Katze several moments before recognition flashed unto his face. If he
hadn’t already known who was currently bursting into his office in such a bold,
impolite manner he would have surely pulled his gun. Because other than his
attitude and dark looks there was very little in the physical apparition that
reminded Katze of the young boy that had once caught his Master’s eye.
 
“Riki the Dark. Well, I see you haven’t forgotten how to make an opening.
Please take a seat. Brandy or bourbon?”, Katze calmly spoke, nothing but the
momentary widening of his eyes showing his astonishment at the other’s altered
appearance.
 
“Stout, but you don’t have that, so let’s just go for whatever’s stronger”,
Riki said as he sagged down on the chair and put his dirty boots up on Katze’s
desk.
 
“You don’t need to impress me, Riki. I’m fully aware of your skill-set and of
what you can do for me. With that said, please move your feet off of my desk
before I feel myself obliged to remove them.” It was unclear whether he meant
he would remove Riki’s feet from the desk or from his legs.
 
After waiting for another stubborn five seconds, Riki reluctantly put his feet
back on the ground, accepting the glass Katze handed him and gulping it down in
one go. The stuff smelled expensive but it burned even more than stout while
going down, so Riki wasn’t complaining.
 
“You’ve grown”, the dealer said while eyeing Riki’s increased height and
musculature.
  
“I didn’t know size was an issue in the market”, the mongrel responded cheekily
while pointing at Katze’s crotch, or as he was well-aware of the lack thereof.
  
“People sure as hell didn’t like messing with you before. I don’t think they’d
even consider it now. Nice haircut too by the way, Guy’s idea?”, Katze said as
he took in Riki’s shoulder-length black locks, the blackness of his hair being
stressed even more by the increased volume of it. It also looked like he hadn’t
combed it for just about as long as he hadn’t cut it.
  
“It’s not a cut, more like I did notcut it. And no, this was my own idea. I
ain’t that person no more, Katze, so there’s no point in trying to look like
him any longer.” Riki’s voice took on an almost wistful quality in that moment,
the kind of quality people’s voices get when they are talking of bygone glory.
  
“Is that what you tell yourself? I don’t look like a Furniture, but that
doesn’t mean I’m not.” People didn’t change, not really, that much Katze’s
years of experience had taught him.
  
“That your way of saying you’re planning on screwing me over again, huh?”
  
“Technically I didn’t screw you over, Riki, seeing as how that was my plan all
along.”
  
Riki got out of the chair that quickly that it tumbled over behind him. “Forget
it, I’m outta here. I ain't gonna trip over the same bloody stone twice. Dunno
what I was thinking.”
  
“You’re right. But that also means you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t in
serious need, Riki. No shame there, all of Ceres is in big shit with the
increased patrols everywhere as of late. The thing is more patrols also mean
trouble for me, it means lousy couriers don’t stand a chance anymore, so I had
to let all the lousy ones go earlier today.” Katze got up from the desk and
approached Riki, who already had his hand on the doorknob. “I got something you
need. You got something I need. As you well know, there are no other
considerations when doing business.”
  
“Aren’t there? Have you no shame, Katze? Don’t you feel even the slightest
remorse when selling out people who trusted you?” For he had trusted Katze, for
the first time in his life he had felt like he was truly being appreciated for
who he was. But that had all changed when Katze had handed him over to Mink,
because it showed he would never have even considered Riki as an employee if it
hadn’t been for his Master’s obsession.
  
“It doesn’t matter what I feel”, Katze tried to explain. He’d genuinely liked
the kid, he wouldn’t have betrayed him if there’d been any other way. “All that
matters is…”
  
“Well it fucking matters to me! So if you want me to clean up your shit for
you, you’re going to fucking mind me!!!” Riki came at him and yelled only
inches away from his face while grabbing unto his professionally-starched
lapels.
  
Katze’s bodyguard burst into the room only moments later, a fully-charged
lasergun ready in each hand. “Everything all right, boss?”
  
“Yeah. Folks from Ceres are simply a bit more vocal. Right, Riki?” The implied
double meaning behind that smug grin could not possibly be misunderstood. But
despite the hostile feelings he still harboured for the Furniture, Riki could
not help but see the humour in the situation. Here was a man who understood
every aspect of his life, both in Ceres and in Tanagura. Well, almost every
aspect.
  
“You betray me again, Katze, I won’t forgive you”, the mongrel hissed as a
murderous glow lit up the dark depths of his eyes. The threat already showed
that Katze had won him over, for there would be no need for it if the mongrel
had truly decided to walk out.
  
“What makes you think I care about your forgiveness? I can’t afford anything
like that in my kind of business.” Katze tried to brush it off while he pushed
Riki’s hands off of his shoulders and turned around, heading back towards his
desk.
  
“I ain’t talking about your goddamn business!”, the mongrel spat again while
following Katze almost as if he was readying himself to strike the back of the
dealer’s head.
  
“Sir, should I remove him?”, the bodyguard started, already lifting his guns
towards the offending assailant.
  
“No, leave us.” The bodyguard didn’t move, thinking he must have misunderstood.
Surely the boss would not want to risk his own safety with that wild creature’s
outbursts? “I said leave us! Must I say everything twice?! Get out!”
  
Wordlessly the redhead poured both himself and Riki another glass of vodka. He
himself hardly ever touched the stuff, considering it too base a liquor for his
tastes. But if he knew something it was that drinking together meant sharing
the same bitterness. Riki grabbed the glass but didn’t sit down again, he felt
too agitated and didn’t want to give Katze the advantage of height.
  
“Shit, you know I wouldn’t want any reminders or take any chances, not if I
could help it. But like you said, Midas is under lock and key, it’s like
they’re trying to starve us out. I tried going over there a couple of times on
my own, but I had to make a run for it every freakin’ time.” He gulped down the
entirety of the contents of his glass again and simply grabbed the rest of the
bottle.
  
“Say, if I were to work for you again…”, he uncorked the bottle and took a
couple of big gulps out of it, slightly coughing as the burn was multiplied.
“You could get me a pass, right?”
  
“With a Black Market steady income you wouldn’t nééd a pass, Riki. And neither
would your friends.” Of course Katze realised that Riki must already know that.
If he insisted on a pass, it had to mean he needed it for something other than
pick-pocketing. But what else could there possibly be for a mongrel in Midas?
  
“That’s not what I mean.” The mongrel seemed hesitant all of a sudden, as if he
were reminded of something unpleasant, something he’d done that he was ashamed
of. “I owe someone something. And there ain’t no way for me to make it up if I
can’t get into Sasan.”
  
“Must be a huge deal for you to take the risk of venturing into Sasan at a time
like this. Care to share?”, the dealer said as he poured the mongrel another
drink, hoping it would help to loosen up his tongue as well as calm his nerves.
  
“Ain’t none ov ya… godam buness, Kaze…”, Riki answered, his voice already
slurred because of the rapid consumption of heavy liquor.
  
“If you want to work for me again, it is my business. If it’s a liability of
some sort, I need to know about it”, Katze demanded, while keeping the vodka
coming. Apparently alcohol was the way to go when it came to getting mongrels
to talk.
  
“Shit, she ain’t no lialility, fo fuck’sake!” Riki exclaimed, tripping over his
chair. He would have fallen down face-first if Katze hadn’t caught him. Damn,
he’d become heavy! Katze realised that without his gun, he as an ex-Furniture
would be no match for a grown man of Riki’s stature. Even if he was still
skinny and his build whippy, he had grown tall and the muscle in strategic
places combined with his aggression and fearlessness would make him an opponent
to be reckoned with.
  
“She?”, Katze questioned, realisation beginning to dawn on him. Riki had a
girlfriend in Sasan.
  
“Allight, allight! Mimea… I met er… at a casno.. casino…” Katze must already
know, he always knew everything. There was no use in keeping it from him. After
all, what was it to the dealer anyways whether or not Riki still saw an ex-
Pet ?
  
“Mimea, you say? Lord Am’s former Pet? The one you slept with?” It had to be
that one, it was not a common name and Katze very much doubted many other
females would be interested in seeing a slumdog from Ceres.
  
“Yeah.. the brothel.. brothel sold er…to a casino…”
  
Katze was not a specialist when it came to the re-distribution of ex-Pets, but
he knew for a fact that Pets were never transferred from brothels to casino’s.
Especially a low-level brothel like the one he knew Mimea had been placed in,
such a place was simply meant to be the end of the line. And no casino in Sasan
would want to hire a damaged ex-Pet from a place like that. Something wasn’t
right about this. Of course Riki had no way of knowing that.
  
All of a sudden something occurred to Katze. The idea was crazy, but one began
to expect crazy things in his trade. “It wasn’t the Royal Casino by any chance,
was it?”
  
“Hah!! Hah, how d’ya… howdya know that?” Katze was about to think of an evasive
response that did not show he was lying, when Riki fell over and started
snoring only moments later. Perfect. Now he had a drunk as his main courier. Of
course drinking vodka on an empty stomach was never a good idea.
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
  
After having put Riki on the sofa in a nearby office to sleep it off, Katze
began to pace through his office. What was he supposed to do? Get involved, not
get involved? Hire Riki, don’t hire him? Give him a pass? There was no way to
tell what was really going on other than his own wild speculations. The whole
thing could just be a strange coincidence. There was only one way to make sure
he took the right course of action here.
  
As he sat down in his office chair, his fingers automatically formed the number
on his phone. He had not dialled it in a while but there was no way he could
ever forget it. “It’s me, something’s come up and it’s something of a rather
sensitive nature, so I thought I’d check with you first before taking action”,
Katze began, unsure of what to presume and what not. The market had not been
doing great as of late, so he knew there wasn’t a lot of room for error. He’d
have to tread very carefully.
  
“What appears to be the problem, Katze?”, the icy voice at the other end of the
line spoke after just enough time for Katze to start worrying about the
appropriateness of his calling at such a late hour.
  
“It’s not a problem per se. You’ll never guess who walked into my office
today.” Katze was buying some time so he could pick and choose his following
words more carefully. Perhaps this entire call was a mistake, the kind that
would make his Master lose patience with him.
  
“Something tells me I’m about to find out.” Apparently he was in a good enough
mood to be amused by the ex-Furniture’s stalling, despite the state the Black
Market was currently in. What on Amoy could have accomplished that? Ever since
letting Riki go free his Master had been more merciless than ever, and at times
even the Black Market boss had found himself on the receiving end of his
destructive rage.
  
“Riki the Dark. I would have hardly recognised him, if it hadn’t been for his
unchanged arrogance.” It couldn’t hurt to give the Master some warning, for
sometimes Elite forgot that people actually aged.
  
“Is there a particular reason why you are informing me of this, Katze?” Iason
decided to play dumb for now, if only to see how far his former Furniture would
risk going for the sake of sating his own, deep-seated curiosity.
  
“Why I don’t know… is there a particular reason Mimea is all of a sudden
working at the Royal Casino?” He was risking his hide by even mentioning the
fallen Pet and his Master’s casino in the same breath. Not to mention the
audacity of implying his Master was purposely keeping something from him.
  
After a prolonged silence, Katze was seriously beginning to regret his bold
questioning and thinking of which pills he ought to take to make the pain
bearable. But then he was surprised when he heard laughter on the other end of
the line, even if very briefly.
  
“Honestly, Katze, sometimes it is a mystery even to me where you get your
information.” What were the chances of Riki walking into Katze’s office and
telling him about Mimea? If he played his cards right, he could have an agent
manipulating his mongrel’s moves from two sides.
  
“You forget that drunk mongrels are not particularly good at hiding secrets.
After about half a bottle of vodka and demanding a pass for Sasan, he told me
everything.” Katze didn’t mention how it had been mostly Riki’s own
determination to drink that had led to that outcome, and made it appear as if
it had been his intention to get the mongrel drunk all along.
  
“He still trusts you. Interesting.” Riki would rather die from starvation than
walk into the office of someone he did not at least give the benefit of the
doubt. There might be hope for Katze yet when it came to luring Riki back to
his arms.
  
“He doesn’t trust me, he told me as much, he just got drunk. So he’s back in
the game, is he? What’s this thing with Lord Am’s former Pet all about, if I
may ask? How can I be of assistance?” Of course he had to stress how he was
only asking so he could better serve his Master. But to be honest his curiosity
was seriously picked by this. The whole affair had been unlikely enough back
when the mongrel was but a boy. But now that he had shown how much he detested
Iason and how very unsuitable he was to the life in Eos it became even more
unlikely that an Elite of Iason Mink’s stature would be even remotely
interested in a creature such as that. Not to mention he was now a fully-grown,
adult man. Nowhere near anything that could be used as Pet-material, physically
as well as mentally.
  
“Give him the job, he’ll need to be fed anyhow. And give him the pass.” It was
the perfect way to both take care of and spy on his Riki, without him being
aware of it. After all, it had been on his own accord that he’d gone to Katze
for a job. The circumstances could not possibly be any more beneficial to his
cause.
  
“Am I supposed to aid him in contacting the Pet?” He had to be mistaken, his
Master hated that Pet, if he was still interested in the mongrel he would never
want him even near her.
  
“Yes, but not so much that he suspects that is your intent. For now you just
make sure he’s fed and watch his back.”
  
“I don’t understand.” If he wanted to succeed in achieving whatever goal it was
his Master had in mind, he simply needed more information. It was just so
illogical, so unlike his Master, that Katze did not know what to make of it.
Anticipating his Master’s desires had never been an issue for Katze, unless
when it came to Riki.
  
“You underestimate the power of guilt, Katze. These mongrels have a sense of
honour so strong that they’d be willing to do anything to get even with someone
they feel they owe something to. Riki no longer owes me or you anything, Katze,
rather in his eyes we are the ones who owe him. But that is not true for this
Pet, therefore she is the key to getting him back.”
  
“So we are getting him back?”, Katze spoke as he got up, lit a cigarette and
went for the vodka bottle. He was not sure how much more of this Riki-related
madness his nerves could take, after all he wasn’t getting any younger. “I’m
not sure he fits into that box anymore, he’s very noticeably grown.”
  
“Then we’ll simply have to fit him into a bigger box, won’t we?”
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
  
As he lay sleeping it off on the sofa, Riki couldn’t help how his thoughts
would stray from Katze and Mimea to that one person who tied them all together.
As usual his alcohol-induced dreams were full of images of golden hair and icy
touches that made his spine tingle and his blood boil. They were never about
the many excruciating whippings that the blond had subjected him to, for that
was not what he feared most. Instead the dreams were about their many
passionate encounters in the bedroom, about that luxurious bed covered in silky
sheets where Riki had at long last discovered his own feelings.
  
You are mine, Riki, for always and forever.
  
Riki moved uneasily in his sleep, desperately trying to fight his growing
excitement at the mere presence of his former Master.
  
You can never escape me.
  
The lingering feeling in the pit of his stomach made it feel as if he did not
want to escape him. Not really. For now that he had finally escaped all he
could think about was Iason. He was caught even more in Iason’s golden web now
than he had ever been.
  
Mine forever.
  
With a shout Riki fell from the sofa and unto the floor, grateful when the fall
finally awoke him from his nightmare. As he scanned the room around him, he
remembered where he was. Way to go, Riki, get drunk with the guy who sold you
out the last time!
  
He quickly jumped up and made his exit, not bothering to let Katze know he was
leaving. Once outside he felt a weight fall from his shoulders and jumped unto
his hoverbike. The speed of the bike felt reassuring, as if Riki could convince
himself that he could escape Iason Mink with it. But the truth of the matter
was that the frosty Elite had become a part of him, he was inside Riki’s head
and therefore Riki would never be able to escape him.
  
As he turned on Orange Road he kept looking back, as if expecting someone to
follow him. When he felt sure that nobody was following him, he kept on looking
inside any hoverlimo’s he would pass, half expecting to spot Iason. Then all of
a sudden he almost rammed his own bike into a passing transport. As he managed
to pull up his bike at the last second and prevent a head-on collision, he
looked back only to see long blonde hair and a pale, perfect face through the
open window of a nearby hovercar.
  
You're all I see in all these places
You're all I see in all these faces
  
He nearly had a heart attack before he realised that it was not Iason but one
of his Elite brethren. What was that one’s name again, Guideon? Not that it
mattered. Riki turned his bike away from Orange Road and headed for Ceres,
laughing at his own paranoid stupidity. If he were to face Iason by accident
somewhere, the blond would probably not even recognise him, let along show any
interest in him. After all, he had kicked Riki out, hadn’t he? Elite were like
that, they had fleeting fancies. Shit, who am I kidding? There’s no way he’d
come after me again. At least he had finally found a way of putting some food
on the table for Bison.
  
Little could Riki know that he was in fact living on borrowed time. It had
never been Iason’s intention to let go of him for good, he was merely trying to
give his mongrel some breathing space while trying to find new ways of making
Riki his, in every sense of the word this time.
  
So let's pretend we're running out of time
Of time
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
  
Ending his phone call with Katze, Iason could hardly keep the satisfied smile
off his face. Everything was going according to plan, even better now that
Katze had accidentally also managed to get a hold of Riki again. He stepped
back unto the balcony to enjoy the view of the Amoyan night-sky, as the final
rays of the burning sun had surrendered themselves to the night’s relentless
embrace.
  
The twin moons were clearly visible now, one slightly bigger and higher in the
sky than the other. As he gazed upon their lights, he was reminded of an
ancient myth according to which the moons had originally been lovers who had
been forbidden from being together. Yet the burning light of their love had
been so strong that they had been able to rise high above the rest of society,
free from its rules and prohibitions, forever locked in each other’s embrace
for the whole world to see.
  
Baby, when they look up at the sky
We'll be shooting stars just passing by
  
Where was his beloved mongrel? Could his love ever be strong enough to overcome
all the obstacles that Amoyan society had placed between the two of them? Could
he truly bring his Riki home again?
  
You'll be coming home with me tonight
And we'll be burning up like neon lights
  
Possible or impossible made no difference. He was Iason Mink, he was one of
those gods who could make anything possible. He could take on the odds and win.
Jupiter might have the ultimate power when it came to Tanagura’s virtual
network and electronics, but her right hand was the one who reigned over the
people who made up society. Truth be told, Iason had already risen above
society. Now it was simply a matter of making Riki join him on that level.
  
Neon lights
Neon lights
Neon lights
  
Like neon lights, oh
Like neon lights, oh
  
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
                                        
                               To Be Continued …
                                        
                     …………………………………………………………………………………………………
                                          
                          Please leave a review!!! :D
                                         
***** Rebirth of a Phoenix *****
Chapter Summary
     Mimea further explores her altered self and her changed relationship
     with Iason Mink, who in turn dispells the utopian illusion that is
     Tanaguran society.
 
Author’s notes:
And she’s back!:D Sorry for being such a lousy updater, I was preoccupied with
writing my master’s thesis and graduation, but now I’m back ;) I know there’s
already been quite a bit of Iason/Mimea interaction in this fic so far, but I
just feel that any trust between these two would require a lot of time to fully
establish itself, even if Mimea now fancies him. My original idea for this
chapter was to first have some brief interaction between Iason and Mimea, and
then to have Mimea meet Riki, but it turned out longer so I’ve decided to
simply post this as a chapter in its own right, and then to have a meeting with
Riki in the next chapter, so I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping you all in
suspense here ;)
   
Soundtracks:
Conchita Wurst – Rise Like a Phoenix
Stream of Passion – Out in the Real World
   
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
                                         
Checking her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror of her luxurious bedroom
she was genuinely surprised to find that she actually liked what she saw. It
was as if the incredibly unlikely activities of the night before had somehow
rejuvenated her over night, erasing her past wrongs and resurrecting her as a
newborn individual. Not just a juxtaposition of glued together pieces of a
shattered life, but an entirely new person that was truly whole again. A better
person. A person who would last longer. A person capable of defending herself.
A person with a mind of her own. A real person.
Waking in the rubble
Walking over glass
In the bright light of the morning sun that scattered through the full-glass
eastern wall of the room, illuminating everything in its yellow-tinged
vibrancy, it was easy to think that none of it had been real. Just part of
another Tanaguran utopian illusion meant to draw her in only to ditch her as
soon as she was no longer needed. It had happened before, therefore it could
happen again.
Peering from the mirror
No, that isn't me
But glancing back at the mirror she could tell that something had definitely
changed in her. And such a change that altered one’s appearance so
significantly did not occur because of a mere dream. Her eyes had become much
brighter, where her irises had been the dull colour of leaves in autumn –
fallen, just like she had – they were now the bright orange of a wild tiger’s
fur. She could have sworn that they had never been that bright a colour, even
back in the high days of her Pet existence in the Am household.
Stranger getting nearer
Who can this person be
Next to her eyes, the shade of her hair and the complexion of her sharp
features were most definitely altered as well. During and right after her days
at the Lotus the tint of her hair had decreased to a dead chestnut brown and
her skin had looked sallow and even grey-ish. The old bright red of her hair
had not quite returned but the hair had taken on a darker, deeper burgundy
tinge. The colour of blood spilled. Her skin was still pale but more like the
ivory whiteness of a marble statue than of a corpse or someone who was
terminally ill. The bright white of immortality rather than the pallor of
death. Without a doubt the combination of still hardly any sunlight but a far
better diet could explain her altered complexion.
You wouldn’t know me at all today
Yet this bright radiance appeared to be something spiritual rather than
something merely physical. Had she truly improved this much in such a short
period of time? Lifting up the hem of her short, lacey nightgown she revealed
that the scars and cigarette burn marks that had been inflicted upon her at the
brothel were still there, but those were old scars and there were no longer any
signs of bruising. Somehow Mimea thought she looked better than she ever did,
even in her younger years. Her face was no longer heart-shaped, her cheeks were
no longer round like a baby’s and her eyes appeared to be narrower and deeper
set within her skull. Where her face had been cute before because of its
roundness and softness, it had now become beautiful and had even taken on an
air of mystery through its sharp angles and its more serious appearance. The
face of an adult, not that of a child.
She had no idea what it meant to grow up, for creatures like her were never
supposed to last that long. She had been prematurely cast out of her household
and been submitted to a treatment so harsh that it had burned all childish
innocence from her mind just as much as the cigarettes had burned through the
flawless perfection of her lab-grown skin and the malnutrition had burned
through the fat reserves of her earlier pampered life. It was as if her old,
voluptuous body had needed to die before her new, athletic one could be born.
Could she possibly have come out of such hardship looking better than she had
before? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Since when had that become the
first thing on her mind whenever she thought she was perceiving changes in
herself or in her environment?
Mimea went into her private suite and opened the taps of the massive, marble
bath tub, setting the temperature of the water and selecting some high-quality
bath salts that smelled of lilies and amber. She did not feel she had any right
to still call for the Furniture at this time of day, it was probably already
noon and the boy would be preoccupied while preparing dinner. Either way she
did not like the way he looked at her, as if she was a bizarre collection of
scars and bones sticking out. No matter how much she would eat her flesh never
fully regained its previous fullness and pliancy. When she touched her upper
arms they felt wiry, all muscle and hardly any fat. He doesn’t seem to mind.
Well, he wouldn’t, he’s practically made out of metal. My body must still be
like a pillow compared to his.
Mongrels were more muscled as well, weren’t they? Little food, lots of cheap
liquor and much bodily exercise while scavenging and getting into scrapes with
other gangs or the authorities would do that to your body. But in her case it
was not for lack of eating, some days she felt it was all she ever did in
Iason’s absence. Food had been scarce at the whorehouse, if the grey stuff they
were given could even be called food. Iason. Since when had she started calling
him that in her head? Probably since last night, as he gave her permission to
do so then, not that he had implied that she would be allowed to call him that
at all times. In fact he had not said or done anything that implied that he
wished for a continuation of their erotic interaction.
I still can’t believe it actually happened. But even if her mind couldn’t, her
body sure could. Remarkably the soreness limited itself to her lower regions
and she had not in fact been visibly harmed anywhere. How did one contain such
strength in a passionate situation like that? It would take an immense amount
of self-control, Mimea couldn’t even fathom the kind of self-restraint
required. To be so in control of one’s body meant to surpass its limitations,
to become ethereal. Mimea could never hope to strive for anything so divine but
strangely enough she wanted to get as close to such a state as she could. For
the first time in her life she felt like she was in control, like she had a
genuine influence.
After taking a bath in water she herself had poured and drying her body with
her own two hands, she went back into the bathroom while still nude, enjoying
the feeling of the soft Persian rug beneath her toes as she walked over to her
wardrobe, walking with the solid steps of an adult woman instead of with the
light thread of a young girl. Standing right in the sea of light permeating
through the glass doors unto her private terrace, her red hair appeared to be
ablaze and her slender, hardened body took on the sunlight’s red-yellow light
almost as if her skin were translucent.
From the fading light I fly
“Like a phoenix newly risen from its ashes”, a deep rich voice sounded,
simultaneously soft and powerful.
Rise like a phoenix
Out of the ashes
Seeking rather than vengeance
Retribution
You were warned
Once I'm transformed
Once I'm reborn
She jumped up, dropped the hanger she had just taken out of the closet and hit
her head against the closet door in an instinctual  attempt to get away from
the unexpected sound of an unknown intruder. “Goddamnit, argh!” And since when
had she started shouting those curses out loud rather than just thinking them?
Perhaps she had already been conversing with Riki the Dark for too long and had
already been infected with the cursing virus he undoubtedly carried.
“I see you’re still doing your best to shatter whatever illusions I might have
concerning your intellect, elegance and sense of propriety”, her new Master’s
tone was not derogatory but more like indulgent. Grabbing unto her now
throbbing, fiery head she turned around to look at him, immediately regretting
it, as she would still get dazzled and be momentarily incapable of forming
coherent sounds whenever she laid eyes on Iason Mink’s glorious form. Where the
sunlight on her had allowed for the illusion of a mythical creature, it now
transformed Lord Mink into a true deity, with golden light radiating from his
long blonde tresses.
You know I will rise like a phoenix
But you're my flame
The Elite took advantage of her temporary state of paralysis to approach her
and to turn her face towards him by gently lifting up her chin, mimicking the
exact gesture he had used in their foreplay the night before. It immediately
had the desired effect, with the petite form of his most recent acquisition
visibly swooning in reaction to his slight touch.
Notably she did recover quickly from his onslaught, her eyes fluttering open
and closed a couple of times and a slight shaking of her head accompanied by a
small step backwards but not quite enough to disconnect her chin from his
fingers. “I thought you would have left for work hours ago…”, she trailed off
when she felt the cold-hot burning of his blue eyes on her skin as surely as
she did the sunlight.
“I apologize for my tardiness, I did not realize you would be in need of my
services this morning… or rather, this afternoon”, she was quick to correct.
How she hated herself for this weakness! Show them weakness or consideration
and the beating will surely be worse. But no, that was not the case now, if he
had wanted to beat her he would have done so already. Unless he was toying with
her, hoping that psychological suffering would be worse than physical pain,
still out to get revenge for the heartache she’d caused him? Sometimes she felt
even that admission of his had been something spun out of her own thoughts
rather than real events.
“Why, you do recuperate quickly, my dear, I must give you that. Already so
eager again, so early in the… afternoon”, he daftly responded with a dazzling
smile. Was he mocking her?
“A… again so soon? I mean, not that I’d mind… it’s not like it’s my place to
mind… Or are you mocking me?” Strange how her Pet training would take over
automatically at times, only to be interrupted by her newly acquired resistance
and straightforwardness. Sometimes she felt as if she had two different
personalities, constantly battling each other in the maze of her mind.
“Would it be your place to mind my mockery then?” She could still not tell when
he was serious and when he was playing with her. Perhaps his utterances always
contained a trace of both, he himself still unsure how he wanted her to
respond. How could a mind that was supposed to be so calculated be so entirely
unpredictable?
“H.. huh?” It seemed impossible to get her mind to work properly while those
glacier eyes were taking her in, almost as if absorbing her sanity and
shattering her very soul into a thousand-and-one incoherent fragments with the
sharpness of their gaze.
She contemplated tearing her feline eyes away from his but did not dare to with
his hand still so close to her throat. Not that it would have made a difference
how far away from him she was standing if he’d decide to strangle her. She felt
like a mouse being played with by a cat, without knowing just how hungry the
creature was. Yet she trusted that the Elite would honour their pact. For if
the word of the head of intelligence himself could not be believed, what could?
 “Say I were mocking you, would it be your place to mind?” He finally let go of
her chin and allowed her some private space, turning away from her to stare out
the window, the sun causing a tantalizing pattern of golden shimmers in his
hair.
“I suppose it would always be my place to mind, but perhaps not to voice that I
mind”, she spoke softly, fully aware that he would hear her anyhow. She simply
had an instinctive inclination not to speak too loudly while being stalked by a
predator.
“Perhaps not?” It took her a couple of seconds to gather from his expectant
stare that it was a question, for it was hard to gather from his unchanging
tone.
“Unless you would want me to voice my thoughts”, she spoke knowingly,
gracefully following his steps towards the window with seemingly no effort from
her narrow limbs. She even moved differently now, not to be heard and noticed
but rather not to be, which made her bearing much more subtle and refined.
“I’d say your thoughts are that you don’t mind a bit”, he attempted to stare
her down again by turning his face towards her while she was standing close
once more. But she was unfazed this time, more prepared for the brilliance of
those icy eyes.
“It didn’t seem like you yourself minded so much last night… Master”, she
purposely emphasized that final word, hoping to get some kind of a rise out of
him perhaps, carefully checking his expressions for any signs of how he was
affected by her seduction or her boldness.
 “Indeed it did not seem so, did it? Curious, most curious. Why do you suppose
that is…Pet?”, he chose that exact moment to grab hold of her upper arm, and
not too gently either, but she could tell it was a calculated move nonetheless.
“I’m your connection to him. And I’ve become more like him. I’m not begging to
be your little slave anymore. I’m not soft and cuddly anymore but used-up and
hardened. I’m so different that you no longer know what to make of me or how I
will react, I’m like a rubik’s cube you just can’t figure out”, she tugged on
her arm and to her great surprise managed to pull it from his grasp. There had
been hardly a fraction of his true strength behind that grip, he had purposely
made it so that she could pull herself loose if she used her full strength to
do so.
Cause you wouldn't know me at all today
And you have got to see
To believe
“Well, if you are not begging to be my slave, than what was all this begging
last night about, I wonder?” He let her pull away her wrist without attempting
to regain or reacting in any other way to what would be considered most
unacceptable rebellious behavior from a Pet.
“And here I thought I was quite clear. I was begging for you to fuck me,
obviously”, she spat back, staring straight into his face, demonstrating that
she felt no shame or regret at all over her pleas from before. After all there
was no point in feeling shame over a physical manifestation of their newfound
relationship, in fact it made the rational connection more real to the former
Pet, as she was more experienced in sexual dealings than she was in verbal
ones.
“I see. So in your mind there is a difference between your subjugation to me in
a sexual situation and your subjugation to me in the capacity of my Pet? What a
most intriguing interpretation of our relationship”, a rather smug expression
appeared on his otherwise emotionless face, as if to him any form of submission
from the ex-Pet in front of him was immensely satisfactory because of how she
was refusing to submit to him in all senses of the word.
“I do not consider sex as a subjugation of any sort, Lord Mink, but rather as a
coming together of two individuals in a mutual show of trust. I agreed to help
you get back Riki’s affections and in exchange you agreed to make me a part of
this household and to have access to some of those affections as well. That
sounds more like a deal between equal partners – who both have something the
other wants – than an agreement to submission”, she spoke out, gathering all of
her mental strength and courage to look him right in the eye when she stated
this, keeping her feminine voice at least loud and clear if she could not make
it steady and firm.
“Ah, so you have chosen to interpret our physical joining as a confirmation of
a business deal of sorts, rather than as a confirmation of the submission
between Master and Pet. However I recall making you a part of this household by
purchasing you as a Pet from the Lotus establishment. Therefore – regardless of
any personalarrangements between us – you are still legally my possession,
Pet”, the Head of the Syndicate craftily countered his new Pet’s implication of
their equality. Could his interactions with her on the previous night have had
a different effect on their relationship than he had anticipated?
She openly laughed at his perfectly rational, well-thought out formulation of
that line of thought. “Yes, but sex between a Master and his Pet can never be a
confirmation of their legal relationship, can it? For there is nothing legal
about an Elite having intercourse with a Pet. Even if you are the great Iason
Mink, favourite of Jupiter, you cannot hope to alter those fundamental legal
regulations for your own advantage”, she sweetly responded without even the
slightest hesitation. If the bastard thought she would be so easily
outmanoeuvred through logical argumentation he was sadly mistaken!
The superior Blondie momentarily felt beaten at his own game – and by an
Academy-bred Pet at that! – but of course this sentiment could not possibly be
derived from his impeccably emotionless facial façade. Perhaps there was more
to the mind of a Pet than he had given that race credit for, provided the right
stimuli and conditioning were applied. If a Pet were to be thrown into Guardian
at birth and into Ceres when it came of age, would it even be mentally
distinguishable from a mongrel? Could a bred pet possibly become wild again
when released in the wilderness and left to fend for itself there? Without a
doubt many pets would die in those circumstances, but could those that survived
come out stronger perhaps?
He would have to inquire about the matter the next time he spoke with Raoul,
although he was unsure of how his friend would react to his purchase of the
same prized Pet he had demanded would be sold to the worst of whorehouses in
Midas. Mimea had been Raoul’s favourite creation – his child rather than his
Pet – and as such the sale had caused a noticeable rift in their relationship
and had further enhanced Raoul’s disapproval of Iason’s mongrel Perhaps by
buying her back, he could attempt to make amends? But it also meant that the
geneticist would at some point be confronted with the considerable physical and
mental damage done to his beloved masterpiece. Even if Iason felt she was much
improved both physically and mentally, he was aware that other Elite would
consider Mimea damaged goods, thus making Mimea a part of the Mink household
surely brought it no more glory than making Riki a part of it did.
“Rationally speaking I have literally nothing to gain from your presence here,
Mimea, and everything to lose. That is the truth of the matter. After several
years in a renowned brothel such as the one you were placed in you are of no
economical value whatsoever, not to mention the strain your presence here will
put on my relationship with your former Master”, Iason replied, unsure of why
the new Pet was stressing to illegality of their previous sexual interaction.
Did she wish to discourage him from initiating such interaction in future
perhaps, similarly to how Riki did? If such it only confirmed his earlier
statement that it had put her to shame through submission, did it not?
“That’s my point exactly, Iason, neither one of us wishes for any legal or
rational relationship here. But how come I put a strain on your relationship
with Lord Am?” She did not want to be Lord Mink’s Pet, she was not even sure if
she wanted to be a Petat all anymore. And last of all she wanted no reminder of
her former status as Lord Am’s Pet, he who had sold her out and in doing so had
sealed her terrible fate.
“Given the nature of Lord Am’s attachment to you, I do not expect that he will
forgive the hypocrisy of my initial demand to remove you combined with my later
purchasing you easily”, the Elite wondered how the little Pet could have become
so insightful when it came to some matters but at the same time remain so
clueless when it came to her own relationship with her former Master.
“The nature of his attachment to me? He sold me to one of the worst whorehouses
in all of Midas, I’d say that says plenty about the absent nature of his bloody
attachment!”, she suddenly yelled, unexpectedly transforming into a scalding
furnace of hellfire in a matter of seconds, even having the audacity to step
closer to her Elite Master to better direct her fury.
“On the contrary, it says nothing whatsoever about his attachment to you and
everything about his attachment to me, as I was the one who demanded the sale
after your transgression with Riki. I daresay I was the only person who could
have possibly persuaded him to sell you to such a shameful enterprise, if at
all”, the blond calmly spoke – not in the least perturbed by her unexpected
rage – and reached out and touched the girl’s cheek with surprising tenderness.
She backed away, anger and sadness over the past betrayal of the man she had
considered a father making her act on instinct.
“But all of that is in the past, so I suppose the both of you will simply have
to accept that there is no altering it and therefore no valid reason to
continue down the path of stubborn rejection”, Iason continued, countering her
backwards move by swiftly moving forward and grabbing her by both shoulders to
hold her still. Her natural inclination was to struggle, but somewhere in the
back of her mind she recalled that was not appropriate behavior for a Pet and
attempted to calm herself by slowing down her breathing and counting to ten in
her head. Once she was over the violent wave of emotion she had experienced
when recalling past cruelties and the rush of fear that accompanied the Elite’s
act of grabbing her by the shoulders just hard enough to let her know he could
break her bones with ease if he chose, she considered his recent utterance.
“What makes you think I wish to reject you? I do not reject you, not when it
comes to our deal concerning Riki and… and not when it comes to any personal
offers of friendship. If I had thought I could be with Riki by asking a friend
to send someone I hardly knew to a whorehouse, I probably would have done the
same”, she replied silently, staring at the floor and unthinkingly observing
the contrast between her small, naked feet and his bigger, fancily-booted ones.
The android was not sure which implication of her statement he found more
astounding. The implication that he was afraid of rejection. The implication
that he wanted to be her friend, putting them on equal grounds. Or the
implication that he – Elite, Blondie, Head of the Syndicate – would need her
forgiveness – she who was an ex-pet, a former cheap whore, a damaged piece of
property.
A number of uncertain seconds later a wicked smile appeared on that perfect,
usually detached marble-white face. She was just like Riki in her assumption of
equality with her interlocutor, only this Riki had apparently forgiven his
supposed wrongs and wanted to be his friend. How remarkable, possibly her
knowledge on the workings of the Tanaguran social system combined with her
experience when it came to matters of the heart had led to this most fortunate
outcome.
When she finally dared to look up after her silent confession, she was nearly
as surprised as the creature opposite her had been after said confession only
minutes ago when she witnessed his unusual facial expression. Admittedly he did
not look friendly in the least – rather what currently graced his divine
features was a mild representation of profound amusement and curiosity at the
encounter of something utterly incomprehensible – yet it entirely transformed
his face, from that of a beautiful God to that of an even more beautiful man. A
devilishly beautiful man with the strength and intellect of an artificial
creation of Jupiter.
“Not in a million years would I have thought that I would want to be your
friend, Mimea.” Rethinking the offensive, highly inappropriate implications of
her confession, the former Pet gasped for breath when she became aware of the
danger she had put herself in. But when her Lord and Master raised his hand to
put a halt to any plea she could have made, she frightfully remained silent,
her orange eyes wide open and her pupils enlarged, like a pretty doe in
merciless headlights. “Therefore it is truly astounding that you seem to have
figured that out, my dear, whereas I myself was completely unaware of it.”
She was at a loss for words for several endless minutes after the realization
that indeed, the dazzlingly beautiful, blonde Elite did want to be her friend.
“Er… in your defense, Lord Mink, it was probably never Jupiter’s intention that
you would become friends with a disobedient ex-Pet, so there was no way for you
to foresee that.” As there should have been no way for her to foresee it, but
at some point in their earlier lovemaking she had considered the possibility
that loneliness could be a motivation to initiate sexual contact with a former
enemy.
“Well, it was probably even more unforeseeable that I would want to become the
lover of a mongrel, so if you consider that becoming friends with an ex-Pet is
in fact much more likely”, the blond answered in good humour, although of
course with an Elite – like with a force of nature – you could never tell when
the tides would turn. Apparently Mimea was one of those who was willing to take
that chance in order to experience the exhilaration of surfing those
magnificent, lethal waves.
“Besides, I do not like to repeat myself”, her Master added in a stern voice,
“and I am quite sure that I have already told you yesterday to call me Iason”,
her mouth fell open and for a moment she looked like a pretty gold-fish thrown
unto land and gasping for breath, “when we are alone, naturally.”
“I… I am… willing to do so… if you in turn call me Mimea… rather than Pet”, she
knew she was terribly pushing her luck but she could not help herself. For now
she had spied a treasure box she simply had to dig through its contents to see
if more gold could be obtained. Absently her small, porcelain hand moved
towards the shimmering gold that was currently bewitching her and proceeded by
combing through those long strings of gold, feeling the weight of their
dauntingly high value.
Her condition that he would further lower himself by calling her by her name as
well as allowing her to call him by name miraculously came across as less
offensive through the gesture of the love-doll’s fragile hand and her seeming
fascination with his hair, the symbol of his superior status. What was a name
when he would always have the upperhand both legally and physically? This frail
creature that was his to do with as he pleased could hardly ever be a real
threat to him. But through his failures with Riki he had come to realize that
despite the power he had over a human, he could never force one to be his
friend, for that it would have to be willing.
“Do I not do so already, Mimea? And if anything you are a Pet just as surely as
I am an Elite. What harm could there be in me calling you such?”, he asked
innocently, attempting to keep up as much of his snotty air of knowingness as
possible.
“Oh, I know you already call me by my name most of the time. Except when you
want to degrade me and remind me of my inferiority. If you continue to do so, I
fear we can never be friends, Elite. Friends do not degrade each other any more
than they sell each other.” The little red-headed nymph was doing more than
being friends with him, she was teaching him how to be friends with someone.
“Because friendship requires a sense of equality? An impression that I break
when I remind you of your place on Tanagura’s social ladder”, the older man
spoke as he removed his large hands from the girl’s shoulders and seated
himself on the sofa, removing the reminders of both their inequality in
strength and in height.
“You’re a quick study, Iason”, his young teacher observed, unable to keep the
surprise at his  progress in the understanding of human psychology out of her
voice. She became painfully aware of how she was in fact slightly taller than
he while he was seated. Grateful that she was bare-foot in this situation, and
not wearing her usual high heels, she slowly moved towards the couch, trying to
keep her body-language as non-threatening as possible. The young woman was
actually relieved once she was seated next to the formidable Elite, having
removed the threat of a Pet trying to look down upon an Elite. It was truly
unbelievable what kind of thing the Elite could take offense to – mercurious,
proud creatures as they were – therefore Mimea would have to walk on eggshells.
He quietly observed her through his golden lashes for a while – possibly trying
to gage the sincerity of her remark – before responding. “As are you, Mimea.
Indeed Elite do not like it when someone is taller than they are.”
“I’m not. It only appeared that way”, she reminded him, afterwards painfully
aware that through her assurance of his superior height she might have offended
his intellect by stating the obvious. How was she ever going to get through any
conversation on supposedly equal grounds with the king of Elites without
evoking his infamous wrath?
“Ah, but therein is the great power of Tanagura: appearances. It is all we
have, therefore it must be maintained at all costs. This entire society is one
big performance, fake dolls dancing on a stage, playing that they are alive.
But we, Mimea, we have become truly alive, through our affections for a real,
living, breathing creature, capable of survival out in the real world”, Iason
observed, his expression still as lifeless as that of the dolls of which he
spoke.
Out in the real world
you are waiting to hear my call
through a river of illusions
you saw me fall
“Is that what you hope to achieve through your relationship with Riki, a
connection to the outside world? Riki is influenced by the system just as much
as we are, even if officially he falls outside of it”, Mimea rather accurately
mentioned. She had never understood how in being forced to live such a harsh
life of chaos in the slums mongrels had managed to maintain their pride as
human beings better than any of the pampered, disciplined and educated
creatures in Tanagura.
Out in the real world
you are waiting to take my hand
“That is very true indeed, however despite the fact that he is living in the
illusionary web that is Midas, he himself is real in his reactions. I imagine
the early settlers of Amoy would have reacted to imprisonment and slavery in a
very similar way, as such the inhabitants of Ceres have remained much closer to
their heritage than we Tanagurans have, we who have forgotten the meaning of
freedom”, Iason continued in an almost wistful tone.
I'll be looking for an answer
that leads me back
outside, back in your arms
At hearing this, the girl pulled her legs under her body on the couch and went
to move closer to where the enchanting, inhuman creature was seated. “Iason, do
you mean to say that you want to learn from Riki how to be real, how to be
free?”, Mimea asked eagerly, her voice high with excitement and hope, because
now this Elite with whom she had such an unlikely alliance described the very
thing she had been secretly coveting ever since she met Riki.
“I do not believe I could ever be real or free, Mimea. Perhaps you could
someday, you genetically belong to the human species at least. But I shall
never escape this place and I shall never have a human body. A relationship
with one that is the very definition of freedom and humanity is the only way in
which I can experience these things, for I have never felt free or human before
until my first night with Riki”, Iason continued, sounding serene yet sad, now
realizing that he had been the true prisoner long before he ever developed the
idea to abduct the mongrel or to lay with him, such had been merely methods to
get closer to that which he himself could never obtain.
I've hidden wishes for so long
buried deep inside
“And before I met you, Mimea, I had never encountered anyone who understood
these feelings, who would be willing to die for them. The others in this place
– Raoul, your former Pet friends – they could never understand such sentiments.
Therefore you must promise me, my dear, that you will never tell anyone about
any of the things we have spoken of”, the statuesk android now urged the warm-
blooded girl, seizing her soft flesh in his hands of stone.
keeping them secret from a world
that'll never realize
the way I dream
She had to use every bit of her willpower in order not to struggle against the
painfully unbreakable hold of the dangerous artificial next to her. “O.. of
course not, Iason! I would never betray your secret, it would be like betraying
my own!”, she reassured him with a slightly trembling voice.
“You may come to regret your decision to side with me in this matter, at which
time you might be inclined to sacrifice me in order to save yourself. Rest
assured that if this ever were to pass, I will find some way to make said
sacrifice be in vain, do not underestimate my influence with the system or my
resourcefulness on how to manipulate it”, he icily threatened, the softer
nuances of his earlier contemplations completely gone.
Her fear evaporated as quickly as it had gotten a hold of her the moment she
understood why he thought it necessary to threaten her. Iason Mink was
absolutely terrified.
She carefully pulled one of her hands free from where it had been pressed
against her ribs in his unnaturally strong grasp and lifted it up towards his
face in the way you would to console a frightened child, as he had probably
never felt fear before. She was amazed when he allowed her to not only release
her hand but to stroke his face and hair in a comforting manner. The material
seemed surreal in how it felt both dead and alive, like she was caressing a
Greek marble statue that had an electrical current. How come Riki had never
been fascinated by this marvelous creature? Little did she know that Riki’s
aversion was because of his fascination.
“It is all right, Iason. I will not betray you, there is nothing to be afraid
of. Besides, there is an old saying that fear makes you know you’re still
alive. So even if you cannot be free or human, through fear of death you can be
alive.”
“How can one go through daily events rationally when filled with such dread?”,
the top Elite wondered, suddenly having developed a profound respect for human
beings. Who would have ever thought that vessels so small and breakable could
contain such an unstable mixture of powerful emotions? With such a storm of
irrational urges contained within them, humans were practically walking time-
bombs. When one took that into consideration it was hardly surprising that
self-control was an issue for them.
“You don’t. All you can do is pretend that the day you stop existing will never
come.” Yet her meeting Riki had made her want to have a life that was more than
that, she had seen Riki as a true opportunity for an actual future.
“You misunderstand, Mimea. I do not fear the day I will perish”, the robotic
demi-god responded. She gazed upon his face in confusion. Was he denying his
new-found fear? Or had she misinterpreted the reason for his threats?
“I fear the day Riki will perish.”
  
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As she was descending in one of the many transparent, high-tech elevators in
Eos Tower, Mimea began to feel more and more restless, her breathing and
heartbeat speeding up. It took every ounce of her self-control not to start
banging on the glass walls to be let out of the small space that contained her.
She closed her eyes and started counting in her head to pass the time it took
for the device to reach the ground level of the building. Only when she heard
the bell-like sound that indicated she had reached her destined level did she
open them again.
No matter how hard it may seem
Just breathe. Focus. Do not show your disgust with this place and everything it
stands for. Just a few more minutes and you will be out of here. You are not a
caged animal, not anymore.
we should never hide
the little things that make us real
Honestly Mimea did not know how much longer she could keep up this pretense,
now that she knew Tanagura for what it really was. How does he stand it? Not
only staying confined within these walls night and day, but also having to play
the part of the greatest representative of Tanagura’s delusions, Jupiter’s
chosen one. Or perhaps she was the one being played here? At times it was hard
to tell, as she had no experience with the extent of the acting skills of an
Elite. Yet she had observed her own Master and several other Elite on a daily
basis back when she was a Pet here and she had never encountered any of the
ideas expressed by Iason Mink during their last meeting in other Elites’
behaviour. They did not doubt the system, it was perfect and as it had created
them, so were they and therefore none had any right to question them. They did
not feel anything, feeling was irrational, an emotional human weakness. And
lastly no Elite would ever care for a human’s life to the point where the
thought of a human’s unavoidable future demise would frighten him.
If only someone could wake everyone living in this supposed heaven on earth and
make them aware of how they were in fact living in a white, perfect hell. They
were created for one purpose and one purpose only, having no choice in the
matter and not even being allowed any personality to speak of. An expiration
date was always hanging over their heads like a dark cloud, they seemed to be
merely waiting to be disposed of, without anyone wondering where they went or
even speaking of them ever again. There was always the aim to please, to
perform, only to postpone their unavoidable expiration date. This was not
living, this was waiting to die. And Mimea wasn’t dead yet.
Show them who we truly are
we will in time
As the outer doors of the tower finally opened it was like a breeze of fresh
air after having been nearly suffocated to death. Mimea stopped right outside
of the doors for a moment to breathe deeply. As Lord Am’s Pet she had never
even left this building and she still felt a sense of exhilaration everytime
she would pass this threshold after having reported to Lord Mink. Iason, his
name was Iason now. Smoldering orange eyes looked out across the big square in
front of the immense, esteemed skyscraper that had been a prison of illusions
for most of her life. How could she ever have thought there was anything even
remotely worth living for in that fake place of artificial splendour? Stepping
out of the tower’s shadow, Mimea felt the sunlight caressing her skin, as if
beckoning her south, towards Midas and further south Ceres. A place of freedom
and humanity, in spite of its poverty and violence.
Out in the real world
you are waiting to hear my call
through a river of illusions
you saw me fall
Riki. Was he the only one who had ever truly cared for her, truly wanted to be
her friend? The thought of the terrible heartache his supposed betrayal of her
had caused him made her feel uneasy. No Pet would have ever felt such remorse
for the harm they had caused another, especially if it had been unintentional.
The fact that the mongrel even remembered her, after all these years, in and of
itself was already remarkable for Tanaguran standards.
Out in the real world
you are waiting to take my hand
Mimea went up the steps to the monorail platform just as the hovertrain heading
out of Tanagura with several stops in Midas arrived. She scanned her pass at
the automatic doors – the one Iason had given her – and the doors opened with a
slightly hissing sound. It was strange how the enclosed space of the train only
made her nervous on the way to Eos but never had that effect on the way back to
Midas. Mimea sat down, the doors closed with another hiss and the vehicle
started moving. Perhaps Riki truly was the answer to all of their problems in
Tanagura. One who could put an end to their prison of ignorance simply by
waltzing through it and undoing all of its workings with just one biting
remark. What the fuck is this shit?! You people are freakin’ insane!
I'll be looking for an answer
that leads me back
As she was contemplating the true purpose of what had started out as a
relatively straight-forward plan to seduce the mongrel, the gates of Tanagura
were coming ever closer. Mimea was already able to peer through them and spot
the highest buildings of Mistral Park on the other side. The moment she had
passed through those gates it felt as if the weight of the world had just
fallen off of her shoulders, making her light as a feather and free as a bird
once more.
Outside, back in your arms

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                               To Be Continued …
                                        
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Author’s notes:
I know, I know, still about Iason/Mimea, still no Iason/Riki, but I’m getting
there, I promise ;) Next chapter will have Riki/Mimea and I was thinking of
maybe having Raoul confront Iason in the chapter after that.
 
And please review!!! :D
  
***** A Game of Give and Take *****
Chapter Summary
     Riki meets up with Mimea in Midas and Iason's attempts to re-
     establish good relations with Raoul take an unexpected turn ...
Author’s notes:
I want to thank the readers who have posted a review for the previous chapter,
I hope you’ll continue to enjoy reading this fic! :D I haven’t had many reviews
yet for that chapter though, but I guess I’ll just attribute that to the fact
that I have posted it not too long ago, so I’ve still got high hopes for future
reviews there ;) I hope you’ll all like this next chapter! :)
 
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opening theme: Daft Punk - Derezzed
 
It was a Friday night and the beginning of a planetary holiday, as such it was
to be expected that Sasan would be a real centre of life and activity. People
of all origins and social backgrounds were pushing and pulling their way
through the immense crowds of the night-time Mecca, all eager to get their fill
of the many exotic delights that the satellite city of Midas had for sale.
There was only one person in the main square of the pleasure quarters that did
not seem so bent on losing both money and sanity in the pursuit of high-quality
drugs, pricey booz and manufactured ass. Even in the immense sea of moving
bodies of every perceivable kind, this one stood out like a black wolf in a
flock of white sheep. Leaning against one of the many obscene fountains –
featuring naked nymphs and satyrs – was a mongrel from Ceres. Smoking a home-
made cigarette, dressed all in black leather and worn denim, defying Midas’
nexus of capitalist glitter and glamour by his very presence. He did not play
the game by the same rules as the citizens of Midas did, bound as they were by
their PAM chips. In fact he had no rules to play by but his own.
Look at them, they’re like fucking ants in a nest. As usual, Riki the Dark was
appalled by the ignorance, egocentrism and susceptibility to manipulation and
bribery of the middle-class masses. Stupid ants who are not even aware they’re
locked up in a bloody glass box. After a while of studying the many kitschily-
dressed snobs, who in turn gave him dirty looks of disgust and slight fear, he
began to get seriously bored. He’d been contemplating robbing some of these
rich folks to stave off the infinite boredom that a place like this posed to
any self-respecting human being with half a brain, but opted not to. It
wouldn’t do to be arrested and beaten the living daylights out of him before
his date for the evening had even arrived. Or at least he thought he was
supposed to consider it a date, as it was a get-together with a female.
 
“Sorry I’ve kept you waiting”, a melodically chiming voice sounded right next
to him, “Riki.” With all the noisy people walking all over the square he had
not even heard her approach. The mongrel turned towards the speaker and
silently observed her mature beauty for a moment. She was dressed in a blood-
red elegantly cut dress decorated with dazzling gold embroidery. The skirt of
the garment came down to her thin ankle on one side but came as high as a snowy
upper thigh on the other side. The dress did not exactly have a cleavage but
the sheer tightness of the fit made even her small breasts stand out. At the
back the dress only consisted out of a skirt, revealing her shapely shoulder
blades and a whole plain of milky-white skin. Her hair was a slightly darker
tint of red and was wavy like blazing fire, but artfully gathered and somewhat
contained on the left side of her head with real gold hairpins.
“Mimea” He immediately felt seriously underdressed in his old jeans and dusty
biker jacket, but then again mongrels did not usually own a suitable wardrobe
for this kind of occasion in downtown Midas. “You look…”
“Cheap, skinny and old? Practically naked? Exaggeratedly bright?”, she inquired
matter-of-factly as she bent forward to hug and timidly kiss him on the cheek,
attempting to hide her insecurity about her new looks.
“I was gonna say classy and chic, but you know, whatever works for you”, the
cheeky mongrel replied with a grin, sensing her unease and using Ceresian
offensive humour to put her more at ease. No reason to be serious about beauty
standards with a mongrel like him.
She smiled, her professional lab-grown teeth appearing less inhumanly white due
to her choice of bright-red lipstick. Similarly her eyes were made to look less
wide by the use of black eyeliner and subtle soft-gold eyeshade. She looked
very nice, but not like a big-eyed, round-faced Pet. “Oh, Riki, you always know
how to make me smile, don’t you?”
“No shit, I hardly have to do anything to please you. I can just be myself,
it’s why I like spending time with you”, he said truthfully. “So… what’d’ya
wanna do, girl?” He was silently praying she did not have anything too lame or
ridiculous in mind, she was an ex-Pet after all.
“I was thinking we could walk around a bit and just talk” If anything she’d
missed the easy communication between herself and Riki. There wasn’t anything
you couldn’t tell him, he didn’t judge. Well, perhaps she could not tell him
everything this time around.
“Just hang? I’d agree, but I dunno if this is the right kind of scenery for
being left in peace…”, Riki responded as he eyed the small group of onlookers
that was rapidly forming around them. It was not everyday that the residents of
Sasan saw a mongrel from Ceres and a former Pet from Tanagura having a
conversation.
“Oh. How about we go to my workplace then and play some games? I’m sure my boss
won’t mind, as an employee me and my friends can play for free”, the red-head
enthusiastically proposed, imagining that Riki was probably very talented at
card games that involved bluffing. Not to mention he could probably cheat his
way out of any situation.
“Some boss you have. But it’s gonna be kind of obvious that I’m a mongrel and
I’m guessing he wasn’t expecting that when he told you to bring over some
friends?” Surely no one in Midas would ever anticipate such a friendship? Ex-
pets and mongrels were still on opposite sides of the scales, even if they
encountered each other in Midas on occasion a former Pet would never want
anything to do with anybody from Ceres. Until now.
“He has been most kind to me, much more so than I deserve. And he already knows
about my friendship with you, we don’t keep secrets from each other”, she mused
as they started walking the short distance to the Royal Casino, as if still
unsure if that was truly the case.
“Wow. So you and the boss are like… y’know… intimate?” His lips had tightened
and a slight crease had appeared in his dark forehead, he did not like the idea
of Mimea whoring herself to her new boss in exchange for certain privileges.
Was she truly a willing partner in those intimacies? Or was she not given a
choice in the matter?
“I don’t know about that. But we’ve become friends, yes. Perhaps friends with
benefits” Coming to think of it she did not know to what extent her sexual
interaction with her new Master had helped to establish the recent trust
between them. But she definitely felt that their conversations about Riki and
about the flawed lifestyle of Tanagura had demonstrated that a common ground
existed between them, if nothing else.
“I’m happy for you. I mean… unless it was something you were forced into?” Riki
was aware how Mimea might be in a situation in which she had to rely on
personal favours of patrons to maintain a decent lifestyle and steer clear of
the brothels. He could understand that, back in his younger years in Ceres he’d
had to rely on sexual favours as well to get food. But there was a difference
between making such a rational choice and truly being forced into a sexual
relationship, as he had learnt all too well after he’d crossed paths with Iason
Mink ...
“It may have started out that way, but I’m glad it did. I don’t think he has
anybody to talk to, really, everyone’s always looking for some kind of favour…”
Did he even have any friends? Arguably friendships between Elite were
superficial at best, however Lord Mink had not established his reputation as
the unyielding Ice King by befriending other Elite. Of course he socialised on
public events, as befitted one of his station and as was undoubtedly necessary
to function as the head of the intelligence department. But the only true
friend he’d had privately – the one he had known from childhood – might be the
very one Mimea’s insolent behaviour had made relations so difficult with. She
felt a stab of guilt at that thought, as if an icicle had pierced straight
through her very heart.
“Tell me about it. Back in Ceres everyone’s always pretending to be my friend
too, until I refuse to give them what they want and then they try to back-stab
me…” Riki could tell she was more affected by her own words than she would have
been if she were merely doing a favour for a superior to solidify her own
position. Apparently she had truly managed to befriend her current owner, a
feat not impossible in Midas yet still extremely rare.
“Exactly like that, yes. You are so empathic, Riki, you’re always considering
other people’s emotions. You’re nothing like those selfish pricks back in Eos”,
while venting her anger she no longer even considered how unbecoming cursing
was for an Academy-bred class A. She was no longer angry with Iason Mink, but
she was angry with the system that had doomed him to an inhumanly lonely
existence.
“Now look who’s cursing, huh!”, the mongrel said with a wink. “You’ve been
around there recently then? I wonder if Eos is still the same, just with
different pampered fuckers?”
“There’s one pampered fucker who has returned to Eos”, the ex-Pet remarked with
a slight smile, as if she was not sure yet whether or not she was happy about
that.
“Wait… Mimea, are you living in Eos again? How is that even possible?”
“I am. And I know, it’s supposed to be impossible, to return to Eos from the
brothels of Midas but against all odds...”
“Hold on a second... You’ve been in the brothels then? Holy crap! Shit, Mimea,
for how long? I’m so sorry... I’m such an idiot! I never meant for you to get
hurt, I just wasn’t thinking straight, I was so angry and so lonely...” He was
yelling rather loudly while walking around in an agitated manner, fisting his
hands and kicking pieces of garbage.
“I haven’t exactly been counting the days, but I suspect I was at the Lotus for
about two years or so.” At hearing his worst fears confirmed the other clasped
a tanned hand in front of his mouth. “Oh Riki, please, don’t feel guilty! I
know it was never your intention to hurt me, and if anything I can understand
anger at Tanaguran suppression and the loneliness of being a Pet with a mind of
its own”, Mimea spoke, grasping both of Riki’s hands in her own smaller,
porcelain ones and gazing upon him with a look of pure serenity and adoration.
“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Riki, I mean that. You
have made me see that life can be so much more than just bondage and sex. You
have shown me that Tanaguran boundaries are there to be broken, that I cannot
allow them to dictate my life. If not for that, I could never have gotten where
I am now.”
At hearing this, Riki calmed down somewhat, regaining his awareness that the
touristic centre of Midas might not be the best place for him to draw attention
to himself through aggression. Accepting one of Mimea’s outstretched hands he
started walking down the busy street more quickly, guiding her along while
spying the environment for Dark Men or potential snitches. “What d’ya mean you
could’ve never gotten where you are now? Making you aware of your own
individuality as a human being, I must have made life that much harder for
you...”
“Perhaps. But you have also made my life far more gratifying and complete in so
many ways! Don’t you understand the effect one as free and honest as yourself
has on people from Tanagura? You make us want to be free, like you”, her smile
was bright and genuine now, far more lively than Riki had ever seen it in fact.
She must have suffered so much in that whorehouse, yet here she was like a
resurrected angel of the revolution.
“Is that why you get along with your new boss so well? Does he have similar
ideals?” It was a known fact that not all Midasian businessmen of influence
were behind the Tanaguran control of its satellite city, but rumour had it that
most of them agreed to let matters be in exchange for fat pay-offs.
“Indeed. We talk about such things often. It may be the only thing we have in
common, but it has proven to be a very strong glue that binds us together even
if we are very different.” It felt like a relief to be able to talk to someone
she knew and trusted about her budding relationship with the unpredictable,
distant Elite. But how much could she tell Riki without taking the risk of him
finding out the truth? Then again the truth was that unlikely that she could
probably tell him everything except her new Master’s name and rank without
arising suspicion. “Actually we also talk of you, you are more famous than you
know, Riki. I think you’ve been a great inspiration to many.”
Hearing such high praise from one he had condemned to two years of hell in
Midas’ red-light district was unexpected and in his surprise Riki was not
capable of suppressing his emotions. He could feel hot tears stinging his eyes
and not much later burrowing their way through his dark cheeks, like molten
lava through stone, the ashen darkness of his eyes further adding to the
effect. “Shit.... shit, Mimea... I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything, Riki. There is no bad blood between us, there
never was”, the petite girl spoke as she squeezed his big, tanned hand in
reassurance. Walking next to him she could see clearly how much he had grown
and matured. Similarly his Ceresian bravado and pride often made room for his
newly-developed emotional awareness. But perhaps that was because he knew her
and felt she deserved to see his true feelings. In some ways Riki and Iason
were not that different, both hiding their true selves behind façades built by
the harsh environments they had adapted to.
After walking together in silence – their fingers intertwined now, ghastly
white alternating with dusky bronze – for a while they had reached the doors of
the infamous Royal Casino. Countless tourists were gathered at the door,
pushing and pulling as they were queuing to get through passport controls, each
anxious to get his turn at the reknown paradise of chance. Just as he was
wondering how the fuck they were supposed to get through that chaotic crowd,
Riki was gently pulled backwards by Mimea, as she moved her red lips close to
his ears – barely touching his earshell – and erotically whispered: “This way.”
Following Mimea into an alley right next to the grand entrance of the casino,
Riki’s heart started pounding in his ears while a confusing collection of
emotions welled up inside of him. Guilt. Surprise. Gratitude. Admiration.
Protectiveness. Attraction. He had no idea what to make of the female in front
of him now. He knew what she had been before, kind and open-minded as she was
she had thought just like many other Pets back then. Sexuality was the only way
in which she knew how to express herself. But she had just proven how she was
very capable of expressing herself verbally now. So was her current flirtatious
behaviour Riki’s imagination or was she just messing with him? Years and years
of communicating through sex had undoubtedly made eroticism a second nature to
her. Perhaps she was not even aware that she was doing it and Riki was just
looking for something where there was nothing out of the ordinary? Even while
contemplating all this Riki had a hard time keeping his eyes away from Mimea’s
swaying hips and the way in which the plunging backline of her dress drew
attention to her small but well-defined ass.
“Here we are”, just as he had begun to study her behind in more detail, she
briskly turned around and beamed at him with such vivacity that he was sure she
had been very aware of what he had been doing just now. Riki forced himself to
pull his eyes away from the appealing sight before him and turned his gaze
towards the side-door Mimea had just pushed open. “After you, Mr Dark”, she
added with a meaningful, sexy wink. She had been messing with him all right!
“Yeah, that might be best”, the mongrel responded, his tough attitude unable to
mask the slight blush that had made its way unto his cheeks. “Seriously, Mimea,
just how sharp did you get while I was away, huh?”
“It depends. How sharp do you want me?”, she giggled as she shut the door
behind them, shimmering neon lights attached to the walls coming on
automatically.
“You been taking lessons on how to intimidate people or something? Nah, I don’t
mind the banter, just wondering where you’d learn an attitude like that. Or is
it something they teach you at this casino, huh? So you can keep your own in a
game and get customers to put in all their money?”, he asked as he followed her
through a long, shady corridor and up a metal flight of stairs while also
wondering how a place that chic could look so plain behind the scenes. This
corridor could have been situated anywhere from the Black Market territory in
Midas to the slums of Ceres.
“I guess it comes with experience and age. But yeah, I suppose I’ve had a few
lessons from my boss. He has a way of making each and every conversation feel
like a dangerous game of wits.” She threw open another door, another corridor,
more stairs. Was that a security cam, gleaming at the top of the staircase?
Mimea probably didn’t consider that being seen in a place like this could get a
mongrel like him in serious trouble.
“Has he, now? Then how do you know he’s not just messing with you, huh? I hate
to break it to ya, but not a lot of Midas folk consider ex-Pets potential
buddies.” After spying the camera actually moving and appearing to zoom in on
him, Riki did not feel safe here at all anymore. Just who was this new boss of
Mimea’s that he would buy an ex-Pet from such a scum establishment as the Lotus
– which had a lowly reputation even among mongrels – and be OK with said new
acquisition being friends with a mongrel and bringing him along to work? H.is
gut feeling told him something wasn’t right here, but his feelings for Mimea
prevented him from bolting straight away. If she was being played, he saw it as
his responsibility to get her out of this
“I’d say he’s pretty serious about our relationship. It started out as a
business deal of sorts and I know for a fact that he’s honest when it comes to
such deals. Not to mention he’s not the sort of guy who sleeps around with just
anyone for just any reason ...”, she trailed off as she followed Riki’s line of
sight towards one of the camera’s in the stairwell. “Oh, and apparently he’s a
bit of a stalker who likes to watch videos of people walking up and down
stairs!”, she now shouted in the direction of the camera.
“Are there audio-feeds as well then?” Just great, not only was this a public
place at the heart of Midas’ nightlife and tourist industry, it was also bugged
from top to bottom. If he stayed here for one minute longer he was gonna be
royally screwed at this Royal Casino.
“Probably. What can I say, the boss likes to know what’s going on in his
establishment. But don’t worry, he knows what you look like and how highly I
think of you, so you’re quite safe here”, the former prostitute assured him as
she opened a door that led to one of the inner playrooms of the casino. The
crowd was big and versatile but Riki was pretty sure he was gonna stick out
like a sore thumb.
“You put an immense amount of trust in people for someone who has been so
fundamentally betrayed in the past”, Riki argued, as he remained in the
darkness of the corridor while Mimea had already stepped into the dazzling
light of the playroom, her red dress fully coming to its right in that setting.
“And you put very little trust into people who have forgiven you crimes that
others would have killed you for and for whose company others would kill.” It
actually took him a couple of seconds to process the meaning of that dubious
sentence. Boy, had that Pet’s linguistic aptness increased or what! Did Midas
rich folks like her boss even speak like that?
Oh, what the hell! What was the worst that could happen if he stepped through
that door? This was Mimea for fuck’s sake, she had neither the personality nor
the brain to betray anybody.
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
“Strike! Got you again, bitch!” Practically everybody in the room was staring
at the mongrel who was currently jumping around the pool table with his cue
held high above his head like it was some kind of trophy. “Thanks, asshole.
Maybe we should try another game?”, the fiery-haired siren responded with a sly
smile. Riki burst out laughing at Mimea’s choice of words,  pronounced in that
Tanaguran accent she still had.
“Sure. How about strip poker?”, he gauded her, not truly willing to carry out
that plan himself with all the dandy perverts in the room. Not that he was
expecting to lose, but he did not want them gawking at Mimea any more than they
already were.
“Let’s just make it poker. This isn’t that sort of establishment, neither does
it want the reputation of such”, Mimea said, sounding very much like the owner
of the casino rather than a former Pet-turned-employee.
“Fine. But poker ain’t half as fun if you’ve got nothing to lose”, Riki
attempted to negotiate. Life was a game of give and take, if you wanted to get
some you had to give some.
“Who says I’ve got nothing to lose?”, she innocently cooed as she catwalked her
way to the poker table and placed a neat, substantial stack of chips on the
table.
“What? Your boss’ money? As an employee here you ought to know: the house
always wins.” Riki flunked his muscular butt down on the nearest satin-
upholstered, gold-leafed chair.
“If I win, you’ll have to join a club I’ve recently become a member of, no
questions asked. If you win, you can have whatever it is you want. Deal?” Mimea
went to sit down more elegantly than her playing partner, using the cover of
the long, luxurious table cloth to toe off those insufferable gold heels. If
she was going to win this, she could not have any distractions. However Riki
was particularly cunning and experienced at Ceresian equivalents of this game,
such as gigolo, therefore he could do with a distraction. To that end Mimea
leaned forward far more than was necessary to receive her cards, revealing more
of her desirable cleavage.
“A club? Well, how bad could that be, as long as they’ll have me. OK, if I win
I want you to come on a robbing spree with me”, the naughty mongrel said with a
smug grin, confident in his victory and already imagining the many benefits of
having an attractive Academy Pet aid him in his pick-pocketing ventures.
In the mean time a small audience had gathered around the poker table, curious
to see the outcome of a poker game between the sexy, dark mongrel and the
gorgeous, spirited ex-Pet. It was not every day that they could witness a
spectacle such as this, and at a high-class casino no less! Unheard of! Some
customers who had been coming here all their lives and had shares in the Royal
themselves were wondering why the Blondie who owned and monitored the casino
would allow a mongrel to proceed undisturbed in such a manner? It had to be
some kind of marketing champagne, meant to draw in more customers. Well, it was
definitely working, as more and more people started streaming into the room and
apparently none them even thought of calling the police or alerting the Dark
Men patrolling right outside. Flaunting the rules of the game that was the
social hierarchy, the unlikely pair began to play another game as their cards
were dealt.
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
As the end of the game approached, there was nothing in Riki’s expressions that
betrayed his satisfactory excitement. Bluffing had been a big part of both
survival in the slums and his job in the Black Market, therefore he had no
difficulties with it now. Never show your hand. That had been one of Katze’s
golden rules.
Surprisingly there wasn’t a whole lot Riki could go on in Mimea’s expressions
either. Not because of a lack of emotion but rather because of an excess in
emotions. At one time she would look as if she was deeply depressed, yet at
other times she would look as if she was absolutely euphoric. Riki could not
make heads nor tails of it, he just could not tell when she was acting and when
she wasn’t. It was in fact a bit troublesome for him to reach the conclusion
that if Mimea wanted to fool him she could easily do so.
But two could play that game. Anybody in the Black Market could tell you that
Riki the Dark was a natural pokerface. The slumdog hid his true feelings behind
an impressive, impenetrable wall of challenging toughness and a dare-devil, no-
care attitude. Looking at how he was seated and his body language alone he gave
the impression that he was bored out of his skull with the game.
When it was finally time for him to show his hand, Riki no longer contained his
smugness and flashed Mimea a bright, predatory smile as he turned his cards
painstakingly slowly. “Straight Flush. I gotta give it to ya, Mimea, you were a
far more worthy adversary than I’d thought. But there ain’t a lot of people who
can beat me at my own game.”
“Really? I suppose I have met my match then, Riki. For there aren’t a lot of
people who can beat me at this game either”, the young woman smiled in a
subdued manner as she hesitantly reached out a small, fragile hand to turn the
cards that would seal her fate. “In fact – as it now turns out – my Master has
taught me so well that I can beat even you at your own game.” As she turned the
final card and completed her Royal Flush, her blood-red smile turned devilish
and triumphant laughter sounded from her swan-like throat.
“Royal Fucking Flush! No way! How the hell have you managed to hide that all
this time?! Shit man, I thought...”, the pokerface of Ceres was at a loss for
coherent words at this down-right humiliating defeat. The infamous leader of
the most feared gang of Ceres had lost against a freakin’ ex-Pet from Eos! All
of a sudden Mimea’s red hair and orange eyes reminded Riki of the picture of a
fox he had once seen in one of Iason’s books while bored at the penthouse. The
animal had struck Riki as very lovely with soft fur, yet in the description of
the animal it had said that foxes were predators known for their slyness.
“You thought wrong? Obviously you did, Riki the Dark”, she teased him sweetly
as she got up from her chair like a flaming victor out of a war chariot.
“Though I have to say, you were far from easy to read yourself. Unfortunately
for you there was not much you could do, with your fate quite literally in my
hand.”
“Holy fuck! How can you act so frightened and inferior when you know you’ve got
me? Those last five minutes, I was so sure you had a low hand!”, the mongrel
exclaimed, more alarmed by what had just happened than he cared to admit. How
well did he truly know this girl? How much could she possibly have changed in
such a short period of time? Then again he knew he had changed significantly
during his two years in Iason’s household.
“Don’t worry, Riki. If your fate ever were truly in my hands, I would do with
it what I felt was best for you. I could never do anything to you that you
could not handle”, she promised with a look of devotion in her eyes as she
approached him again, closing the space that had been between them during the
game with an air of relief. It was in that moment that Riki realized that she
was as much in love with him as she had ever been, if not more so. But little
could he know that such love could work to his disadvantage just as easily as
it could work to his advantage.
“Yeah, I know. I just wanna protect you, y’know. It’s your goddamn right after
what I’ve pulled on you before...”, he started again, hating how he had not
managed to do anything so far that might have righted that immense wrong.
Surely the day would come that she would ask him for a favour worthy of her
forgiveness?
“Ssshhhh! That’s quite all right, Riki, there is nothing to forgive. How about
we go to the bar on the next floor and have a well-deserved drink?” She was
smiling again, a genuine smile this time. Then again if it wasn’t, would he be
able to tell?
 
intermediary ending theme: CellDweller – G4m3 0V3R
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Back in his penthouse in Eos, Iason Mink was playing his very own game.
Frequently checking his wrist com, he was carefully monitoring his little
phoenix’ progress in attempting to coil his run-away mongrel around her pretty
finger. After a while Raoul began to notice that his friend’s thoughts were
elsewhere, even though he was still winning the game of chess they were
currently playing, as usual. If a lousy conversationalist at the moment, Raoul
acknowledged that Iason was a true Master when it came to winning games.
“Pray tell what is it that occupies your attention in such a way that you
cannot even thoroughly enjoy what little time we have together nowadays,
Iason?”, the green-eyed geneticist inquired with a sneer, not even bothering to
hide his disapproval at Iason’s neglect. Things had not been going well between
them for a while now. It started when Iason had finally gotten rid of that
filthy mongrel... Or did it already start after Iason had demanded that he got
rid of his prized Mimea for that very same mongrel’s benefit?  Thinking about
it now, it still enraged him.
“If you continue to hold your queen that tightly, Raoul, she will surely be
pulverised”, Iason spoke calmly, not even taking his coldly penetrating eyes
away from the screen of his wrist com.
“What are you even talking about?!”, the scientist exclaimed, unable to contain
his rage any longer, his honey-coloured curls moving about like waves in a
storm.
“Your queen? The chess piece you are clutching so desperately? I would
apologize, but it is truly not my fault that you have not succeeded in
defeating me at this game even once throughout all the time we have known each
other”, the pale-haired Blondie responded, now bothering to look his
interlocutor in the face only to throw him a smug, utterly unperturbed look. As
if it was the most normal thing in the world that the other Blondie was raging
like a wild lion.
“Isn’t it, now?” All of a sudden Raoul got up from his seat rather abruptly,
knocking over both the table and the chess board that was on it, effectively
putting an end to the game.
“If you cannot accept your loss, Raoul, perhaps you ought to not have agreed to
play this game in the first place?” It was unclear whether the observant head
of Intelligence had already guessed the reason for his friend’s sudden outburst
and was talking about his disposal of Mimea or if he was still referring to the
game of chess they had been playing. At the very least he was attempting to
feign like he had no idea what the other was talking about by formulating his
answer in game terminology, or so it seemed in Raoul’s current logic.
“It’s you! You can get anyone to agree to anything, you... egocentric devil!”
As if knocking it over was not offence enough to his host, Raoul grabbed the
turned-over table and hurled it  across the room, where it rather
unceremoniously landed in the koi pond with a loud splatter that ruined the
Persian rugs next to it.
“Raoul, you are behaving like a madman. What in Jupiter’s name is the matter
with you?” He’d genuinely liked that rug. But no matter, he had gotten used to
the damages of priceless goods and the bother of replacing them during the
years that Riki had lived in the penthouse.
“Mimea! My perfect, darling Mimea!” Raoul lamented as he was now dramatically
pacing about the room with his hands in his stunning, shimmering hair.
“Mimea? Oh, yes, I had intended to speak to you on that matter. Although of
course I am in no way lawfully obliged to do so, as your friend of many years I
feel like I should”, Iason responded, still calmly seated in his sofa as if the
other Blondie had not just jumped up and violently thrown his furniture around.
Was there truly nothing that could break this man’s cool demeanor?
“And all because of that disgusting mongrel, that filthy mutt of yours!”
“You mean Riki? Well, I very much doubt that he needed to put a lot of effort
into seducing your all-too-willing Pet. After all you yourself had trained her
to be the perfect slut.” He pronounced the final word no differently than he
had the rest of his sentence, knowing that would enrage Mimea’s supposed father
even further.
“How dare you! How dare you speak of her in that way! I cared for her, you know
I did! And yet you had me send her away to that god-awful place! All because
you had this depraved attraction to that animal!” For the life of him, he could
still not understand how the mighty Iason Mink, Jupiter’s golden boy and the
best Head of the Syndicate of all times, could have fallen so low.
“Indeed perhaps my “depraved attraction” - as you so accurately put it - did
cause my judgement of the girl to be unnecessary harsh. I agree with you on
that entirely.”
Not having expected for Iason to actually agree with him, Raoul was momentarily
at a loss for words. His mouth fell open in a striking similarity to one of the
koi that had been thrown out of the pond and was gasping for air on the ruined
carpet.
“In fact – after some due consideration – I find myself entirely submitting to
your view of your esteemed creation’s positive attributes. Therefore I had
decided that it might be better for her to return to Eos, as that is an
environment that is better adapted to the requirements of her finer breeding.”
“P... positive attributes? What do you mean, you had decided?” The feline-
looking Elite pounced and was nearly literally on his host in seconds, clasping
his hands with enough strength to break each and every single bone in a human
hand. “Iason, for Jupiter’s sake, I beseech you! Show me some compassion for
once in your life and bring my beloved Mimea back to me!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Raoul”, the icy Elite replied, entirely unaffected
by his friend’s desperate pleas.
“But.. but you said....!”, Raoul was so upset that he was having difficulties
speaking. Of all of Jupiter’s creations, he was the only one who was able to
allow his emotions to take him over so completely, probably due to a flaw in
his genetic make-up that he himself had managed to cover up effectively. It was
the reason why Iason had decided to befriend him, even after having already
decided at an early age not to have any friends, as none of the other Elite
could be trusted.
“I cannot do that because she has already been purchased by another Tanaguran
household, Raoul. I am truly sorry for your loss”, his arctic eyes looked
directly into the other’s, intently studying them and attempting to distinguish
singular emotions in that whirlwind of green. The colour reminded him of a
storm at sea, or possibly a hurricane raging through a forest.
“Don’t tell me the matter is out of your hands now! Don’t tell me that you have
no way of retrieving her! Like I said, you can get anyone to do anything,
manipulation is your game, Iason Mink!”
“Indeed that is true. But I believe that in this particular case, there is no
manipulation of any kind that could persuade Mimea’s current owner to part with
her.”
“Nonsense! There is nothing that your influence could not achieve in Eos!”
“Ah, yes. But the question then of course is whether or not I would be willing
to use that influence to bring her back to your household. And as a matter of
fact I cannot, I am sorry.”
Raoul fell down on his knees then, not as a further means to beg Iason for his
assistance but as an involuntarily expression of defeat. By Jupiter, I have
befriended a monster that will stop at nothing to see me suffer!
“However if you would like to see her on occasion, that could be arranged. How
does once every three days sound?”
“W... what? But how...” Surely if he could persuade the owner to lend someone
his Pet every three days he could also persuade him to sell her altogether?
“For the love of Jupiter, Raoul, get up. It is truly unbecoming for an Elite to
crawl on the floor like that. Then again, who am I to pass judgement on what
behaviour is unsuitable, if crawling on my floor brings you gratification I
will not stop you.”
Even before Iason had finished his sentence, Raoul reared up just as suddenly
as he had gone down and was effectively grabbing Iason’s shoulders while coming
much closer than Tanaguran politeness standards would allow even for an Elite
of the same rank. “You have her? You have my Mimea! Oh, Iason, why did you keep
this from me? How long has she been here? How is she, is she badly injured? Oh,
by Jupiter, what they must have done to her over in that shabby place!”
Patiently allowing Raoul to finish his passionate speech, Iason used the
opportunity to slowly and deeply inhale the sweet smell of his long hair. It
smelled of pine trees and of eastern spices.
“Honestly, Raoul, one would expect that after several decades of acquaintance
with me you would have learned to tell when I am leading you on”, Iason
breathed, still lost in the magical forest of Raoul’s overwhelming presence.
“Well how am I supposed to tell the difference when you are always leading me
on!”, he emphasized his words by giving Iason a gentle shove on the shoulders,
an action that ended up bringing the other blond’s face even closer to his
chest, enabling him to get a close-up view of the gold-and-green velvet pattern
of Raoul’s refined attire.
A brief but exquisite smile appeared on Iason’s usually-stoic, handsome face
for a moment. “Am I now?” He did not even attempt to move away from the rude
invasion of his personal space. It even appeared as if he was leaning slightly
closer, carefully listening to the beating of Raoul’s electronic heart. How he
managed to by-pass all of his safety protocols and get it to beat that quickly
was still a mystery to Iason.
“What has gotten you in such a playful mood, if I may ask?”, the golden-haired
romantic asked as he went and sat back down, still so distraught that he sat
down next to Iason instead of in his own sofa, as was expected of an Elite.
“I believe I may have found a way to get my own Pet back as well. I’m sure you
can understand that much, what with your unseemly behaviour on behalf of Mimea
just now?”
“Your own Pet back? Iason, you haven’t had a Pet in ages, even after I have
offered you one for free on numerous sales... Oh no. No, Iason! You cannot mean
the mongrel! For goodness’ sake, Iason! Don’t you ever learn?” While trying to
bring some sense into his friend, Raoul moved towards him until their legs were
slightly touching and had again grabbed the other’s hands, not even noticing
that the other had secretly taken off his gloves while he wasn’t looking.
“I am trying to learn. And your Mimea has proven a great help in that respect,
therefore I owe you my gratitude. I hope that with Mimea back here we can put
our quarrels behind us”, Iason spoke from his frozen heart, grabbing unto the
offered hands more tightly, savouring the warmth and softness of Raoul’s gloved
hands beneath his bare skin.
Raoul, only now realizing that Iason’s gloves had apparently disappeared, did
not have the audacity to pull back his hands even if he had now become aware of
the inappropriateness of the situation. “But of course, Iason. You know that
your friendship is very dear to me. I am sorry if I have made you think
otherwise as of late. But you should know that Mimea is more than just a Pet to
me, she is my finest creation, my child ... in a way ...”
“Then you understand why I must have my Riki”, Iason stated firmly, while
putting an ungloved hand on the other Elite’s leg, the warmth of it easily
seeping through the thin fabric of Raoul’s silk trousers.
“I am not sure that I do. I have created Mimea myself, I know every fibre in
her body, every detail I have calculated according to my own preferences and
expertise. But this mongrel from the slums, you know absolutely nothing about
that creature! Therefore its behaviour is entirely unpredictable, its attitude
makes it unmanageable. It is like a wild animal, even you cannot hope to truly
tame it, Iason.” He was considering carefully prying Iason’s fingers from his
leg but opted not to, seeing as how they were trying to rekindle their
friendship this might not be the best time for such a distancing action.
“And that is exactly why I want him.” The strong fingers grasped the material
of the trousers more firmly, like a predator sinking its claws into its prey’s
fur. “I like how he is unpredictable, it brings an element of surprise into my
life that I feel I could not live without anymore. Truth be told, it is not my
intention to truly tame him. I merely want him to be loyal and return to me
when I ask it.”
“I suppose that does make some kind of sense. Your job is to gather data and
categorize it in order to make new information. Something you cannot understand
is not an inconvenience to you, but more like a challenge. Like a science
project or a breeding program is to me, which is why I like Mimea so much, she
embodies my own area of expertise”, the other was desperately trying to
rationalize an increasingly irrational encounter.
“I have to warn you, Raoul, you may find her much changed. I find the change to
be for the better, but you might not agree with me on that.” Was it Raoul’s
imagination, or was Iason’s face tilted more towards him than it had been only
seconds ago? He could smell the fresh but powerful perfume of his long,
glistening hair. It always reminded Raoul of moonlight rather than sunlight,
which also befitted Iason’s cold composure.
“Why yes, after one has been repeatedly subjected to such humiliating, sexual
abuse it is perfectly natural that one would be significantly altered. But what
a strange idea that such alteration could be beneficial in any way, Iason.” He
had mustered the courage to put his own hand – still appropriately gloved – on
top of Iason’s but he had not yet reached the point where he could remove his
trousers from its grasp.
“It is truly not so strange an idea to be appreciative of the unexpectedness
and spontaneity that is life, Raoul, not once you come to accept it and ravel
in it”, Iason said with a down-right seductive smile as he put his other hand
right on top of Raoul’s, sealing it in between both of his own hands, as if
making Raoul an accomplice in his crime of putting his hand on the other’s leg.
“You see, life is full of passionate, it’s what makes it worth living. I
believe you to be a rather passionate individual yourself in fact, but the
rules of Tanaguran conduct have made you averse to your very own nature, my
friend. Let me show you how liberating it can be to let go of all those
regulations and limitations.” As he said those words, Iason had started gently
kneading Raoul’s legs through his trousers.
“By Jupiter, Iason! What are you doing?! Please cease this madness this
instance! Iason, I am warning you! I will notbe a participant in this!”
“But you already are, Raoul, my beautiful”, Iason said as he cupped Raoul’s
cheek, carefully brushing aside his shiny curls. “You compare my interest in
Riki with your interest in Mimea, but both of us know there is a much better
comparison to be had. After being enamoured with Riki myself, it became quite
evident that you harbour similar feelings for me, Raoul.”
“Iason, I swear to you, I would never...!” As Raoul was on the verge of tears –
somehow he also knew how to override the protocols for his tear ducts – Iason
bent over his neck to shower it with butterfly kisses, at the same time combing
through the rich, soft mass of the other’s hair with his free hand.
“Act on those feelings? Oh, I suspected as much. But you’ll be glad to know
that I fully intend to act on those feelings of yours myself.” While he was now
shamelessly licking and nibbling on his friend’s throat, his hand on Raoul’s
leg now began to caress its way upwards.
“NO! Iason, stop this! For the love of our friendship do not treat me in this
manner!”, Raoul started screaming while trying to pull himself away from the
onslaught, only managing to fall down flat on his back on the couch, which
allowed Iason to easily straddle him and continue his ministrations.
“It is for the love of our friendship that I am doing this, Raoul. You will
understand soon enough”, after stating this Iason moved his hand over Raoul’s
hip and started exploring his chest, reaching for the buttons of his expensive
satin shirt.
Raoul openly started crying now, tears streaming down his face like rivers
through a beautiful meadow. In spite of his fear he was still able to vaguely
wonder how he was actually capable of crying without any fluid in his synthetic
eyes, before his utter horror took over again. “Iason, please! Please, don’t do
this! What did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this?!”
“Ssssssh, it’s all right, Raoul, I am not angry with you”, Iason comforted him
as he continued removing the satin shirt and touching his hair ever so gently.
“It is not my intention to hurt you, in fact I am positive I will not. But then
again with you the very thought of pain might make you experience it”, but he
sounded as if he was fascinated with that prospect rather than dreading it.
This horrible nightmare had to end somehow! He had to get through to Iason, he
had to! Getting his hands free from underneath’s Iason’s body – that was
somewhat heavier than his own, making him unable to lift the weight off of him
– Raoul put his hands on either side of Iason’s face, pulling it away from his
own neck and forcing his assailant to look him in the eye. “Iason, listen! I
swore to myself I would never burden you with this knowledge of my own flawed
nature, but I see no other way to get through to you in this moment.”
When hearing Raoul was about to share information on his own flaws with him,
Iason paused his lovemaking and gazed upon Raoul’s green orbs expectantly. “I
have always cared deeply for you, Iason, ever since we were children. Before
you were the Head of the Syndicate, or the head of the Intelligence department,
or much of anything really. Sometimes this feeling is so great that I do not
know what to do with it, sometimes I feel as if it might drown me or drive me
insane. But the truth is, Iason, that I care more for you than I do for myself
or anything else. I would die for you. I would kill for you. I would leave
Tanagura forever if I thought it was necessary for your well-being. Because to
me you are like the sun, you are the centre of my existence, nothing else truly
matters but you.”
Raoul waited for a response and with every second of Iason’s silence his dread
grew. What if Iason did not want anything to do with him anymore, now that he
knew that he was flawed? Moreover that the flaw was connected to him
specifically. He would have to kill himself. But how was a Blondie supposed to
do that? They were made to be indestructible! He would be stuck in this life,
forever doomed to ponder Iason’s rejection and disgust.
“Raoul, why do you suppose I am doing this? What you have just said, I have
known for a long time, probably before even you did. It was never my intention
to befriend anybody, but when faced with such undying devotion on your behalf,
what choice did I have?”, Iason spoke, his face serious and as unfeeling as
usual, but a snow storm in his eyes.
Raoul stared at his friend in complete surprise. Iason had known all this time?
And it was actually the reason he had befriended him? “So all this time you
have been pretending to be my friend so you could make me pay for my
inappropriate feelings?”
“By Jupiter, how can one of your creations be thus utterly dense? I am not
making you pay, Raoul, I am doing this to helpyou. Because deep down, it is
what you yourself truly want”, Iason said decisively, as if that explained
everything, and continued to unbutton Raoul’s shirt while caressing the side of
his face. He often reminded Iason of a painting by Botticelli, in which Venus
was born from the foam of the ocean’s waves. In many ways Raoul was like the
god of love, for he was the one who manufactured the Pets and of course he was
a hopeless romantic with all his interest in poetry and art. His undulating
hair was like the waves of the ocean while his eyes were green like the sea. If
Iason had not already been in love with his soulmate, Riki, he would have
easily fallen for Raoul. Strangely enough the burden of taking the initiative
in any intercourse with him now lay with Iason, as he was the only one brave
enough to break the chains that Jupiter had put on love.
“But, Iason, I care about you! I could never hurt or abandon you, never! So
please don’t torment me! Please, it hurts already because it is you doing it!
It is you, the one I cannot be without! Please stop, Iason, you destroy me from
within!” He was not even struggling anymore at this point, unable to push the
object of his affections away even if it was torturing him. His emerald eyes
were alive and wet like the seas Iason felt they represented. He wondered if
they would also taste salty.
After hearing Raoul’s declaration of love – which ironically enough was
formulated as a plea for his release from Iason’s lovemaking – Iason had
received as much confirmation as he needed to continue his attack. He
resolutely removed Raoul’s shirt entirely and started vehemently kissing him on
the mouth.
  
I wanna kiss you
   
“Nooooo! Iason, I beg of you, please do not torment me so!”
“For Jupiter’s sake! Raoul, you claim you have such devotion for me, yet you do
not trust me! Trust in me, trust that I will not hurt you.”
“B... but Iason, you degrade me with these unsavoury actions...”, the other
Blondie protested, still not understanding why he was being subjected to such
abuse from someone who was supposed to be his friend.
“Trust me, they are not as unsavoury as you think. Nor are they meant to
humiliate or torture you, quite the contrary”, Iason assured, looking Raoul in
the eye with as calming a look as he could achieve in his current state of
arousal. “Now, just lay back and try to relax, yes?”
“Re... relax? How am I supposed to relax when you are doing these terrible
things to me!”, Raoul panicked again.
“They’re not so terrible when you’re watching them in a Pet show, are they?”,
Iason pointed out, while idly toying with Raoul’s perfect golden ringlets.
“But I am not a Pet, Iason! What a Pet deems to be pleasurable is horrible to
an Elite!”, the prey protested as he tried to pull the predator’s claws out of
his hair.
 
But if I do then I might miss you, babe
  
“That is a lie Jupiter has told us because she wants us all to herself. I can
tell you that I found it immensely pleasurable to do these things with Riki”,
the sapphire-eyed creature promised with an erotic stare that would have made
the mongrel he spoke of climax on the spot.
“You mean you have done this before? With a mongrel no less?!” Unfortunately
the Elite in front of him was not so easily turned on as his mongrel. But no
matter, Iason liked a challenge.
“I have. Surely if it can be pleasurable with a mongrel, it can be pleasurable
with me, don’t you agree? Or do you perhaps doubt my ability in this particular
area, Raoul?”
“But I am not a mongrel either, Iason!” What would it take for Iason to
understand that this kind of animalistic behaviour was simply not proper for
one of their class?
“Yet you are human, like a Pet and like a mongrel. Both of us are.”
“Wh... what do you mean I am human? We are androids, Iason!” Had their
unorthodox Head of the Syndicate truly lost it for real this time?
 “Not entirely, not where it counts”, Iason said as he pointed towards his
head. “Believe me when I say that you are human, Raoul, you are alive, you are
biological. You yourself are a part of your own research field.” As if to prove
his partner’s humanity, Iason set to the task of sliding down his cream-
coloured silk pants over his shapely hips.
“It may be true that our minds are organic in nature, Iason, and without a
doubt this affects the way in which we think to a certain extent. But there is
nothing human or alive about our bodies, Iason! Therefore I cannot possibly
derive any enjoyment from what it is you are doing! You might as well try to
have intercourse with a machine! Even if I have the ability to understand what
you’re trying to do in theory, I could never truly experience it, even if I
wanted to.”
   
It’s complicated and stupid
   
“You underestimate the power of the mind, Raoul. These bodies may be robotic
but they are under the control of our human brains, in other words whatever it
is that we want them to feel they will”, Iason spoke matter-of-factly while
looking up from between the other blond’s legs with erotically hooded eyes. He
then slid back upwards, brushing along the entire length of his victim’s body
like a snake, and whispered right against his lips: “So all you have to do for
this to feel absolutely delicious.... is towant it and to surrender yourself to
me.”
“What if I try to do so and it does not work? Will you stop?” He knew from
indirect experience through several of his experiments that the line between
pain and pleasure was a very fine one that at times had more to do with
personal perception than with actual stimuli. Therefore, theoretically
speaking, what was heaven for one person could be hell for another. He needed
some kind of fail safe if he was expected to go through with this, some kind of
insurance that no prolonged pain would befall him if Iason’s experiment failed.
 “It worked for me, therefore it will work for you.” Apparently the head of
Intelligence’s confidence in his own assessment of the interaction with a
mongrel was absolute. Then again Iason did not think like a scientist but like
a politician. Unlike Raoul – who doubted everything and always considered the
possibility of error – Iason made a decision based on the data he had and
followed it through. Shoot first, ask questions later.
   
Got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid
   
“Yes, but will you stop if it doesn’t?” If Iason was so convinced this would
work, what harm could it possibly do to give his friend at least some form of
certainty in that?
“Truthfully I think that you will only succeed in giving in to your desires if
I leave you no other choice.” Why were all of his sex partners so determined to
deny themselves at each and every turn? Well, perhaps not Mimea, but as a Pet
this was what she did for a living.
  
Guess he wants to play, wants to play
   
 “By all that is holy, Iason, you are scaring me! Just stop and we can talk
about this like civilized people”, the scientist tried to argue rationally. But
once Iason Mink had set his sights on something there was no changing his mind.
Like an alligator he was simply incapable of releasing anything once he had
clamped his jaws shut.
After Iason had quickly and efficiently peeled off Raoul’s gloves, boots and
underwear he was left completely exposed on the satin canapé. Iason took a
moment to bask in the glory of the other’s nude perfection, admiring the
flawlessly sculpted, divine body in front of him. For Raoul it felt unusual for
his skin to be in such direct contact with both the rich material of the
cushions and Iason’s clothes, as if all of his senses had suddenly become
heightened. One of the first readings that stood out were how Iason’s
breathing, heartbeat and body temperature had risen considerably when compared
to approximately half an hour ago. His synthetic body had to be attempting to
mimic the biological signs of excitement.
  
A love game, a love game
   
After having sated his scientific curiosity through a brief analysis of all of
these abnormal readings, Raoul’s own bodily state of panic began to reassert
itself. When Iason pulled away to begin removing his own clothes, Raoul saw an
opportunity to escape the confines of the couch and began to flee in the
direction of the penthouse’s exit. Yet as he approached said exit with
superhuman speed, he contemplated how he could impossibly run down the halls of
Eos Tower while naked, at least not without anyone finding out that Iason had
gone insane.
Realizing the error of his haste, Raoul doubled back to the living room and
brushed right past Iason’s quickly-moving body on his way there. It was only
once Raoul had retrieved his clothing that he noticed that Iason’s now
partially naked body was currently blocking the only doorway out of the room.
“I believe you might be even more trouble than Riki is, Raoul. You protest as
much as he does and you try to run away from me.” He briefly entertained the
notion of whether or not physical punishment might be an effective method to
condition Raoul as well.
“You are not my Master, Iason Mink, you do not tell me what to do! I merely
tried to leave as a final solution to this argument, my apologies if you did
not exactly provide me with the opportunity to do so in a more polite manner!”
This was utterly unthinkable! How could Iason honestly expect that he would
stay here for even another second while he was being treated in such an
extremely rude manner, with not the slightest consideration shown for his
thoughts on the matter! As he was trying to process the very audacity and
impossibility of what was occurring, Raoul was slowly but surely being backed
into a corner of the room by Iason’s hungry gaze alone.
“But I am and I do, for is that not what you have said about halfway through
this supposed argument? That you cared for me deeply, that there was nothing
you would not do for me? Or were you insincere when you spoke those words?”
Perhaps that was all that this so-called friendship was, just an oral show of
loyalty with no real actions to back it up. Were truly all Elite that shallow
and untruthful, even the emotionally expressive Raoul? And then they wondered
why he would lower himself to a mongrel. Why there was simply nothing else to
be had in Tanagura!
 “You know that I am never insincere, Iason, especially not to you. However I
believed that perhaps you shared those feelings to a certain extent. But
apparently you do not as you are intent on making me suffer!” How could his
friend even make such demands from him if he offered no thoughtfulness or
affection whatsoever in return? Having been entirely backed into the corner
now, there was nothing between Raoul and the impenetrable thick wall behind him
but a sturdy-looking chest of drawers. Before he could even flinch his naked
buttocks were pushed into it abruptly as his assailant grabbed his hips and
started ravishing his victim’s mouth once more.
   
Hold me and love me
   
“Is sex with me truly that horrifying that everyone associates it with dreadful
suffering and lack of affection on my side?”, the enticing sapphire-eyed blond
whispered in between kisses, the sad undercurrent in his voice only adding to
his irresistibility. Jupiter’s chosen one was becoming more agitated by the
minute. Why did they always run from him? What had he done to deserve being
left alone by those he loved? From a mongrel he took no offense, for they did
not know the first thing about manners, but from another Elite – his best and
only friend at that – he was beginning to take seriousoffense! The anger made
the strength of his plundering kisses increase and the clenching of Raoul’s
hips rougher.
   
Just wanna touch you for a minute
   
Iason’s sadness and frustration must have struck a chord with Raoul, for he
stopped backing away from his friend – who kept on approaching either way – and
allowed Iason to place him unto the piece of furniture behind him while
proceeding with his oral molestations. “I do not find you horrifying at all,
Iason. Rather I... find the prospect of sexual activities for one of my
station... and physical limitations horrifying... even if it would be with the
one I care for”, Raoul managed to convey while gasping for breath, his
biological instinct of fear stronger than the knowledge that his android body
could go without oxygen for several hours before his organic brain had depleted
its reserves.
   
Baby three seconds is enough for my heart to quit
  
 “In order for you to move forward as a human being, Raoul, I will need to ask
you for what appears to be the ultimate sacrifice to you. I am willing to
sacrifice quite a bit for your well-being, even your friendship. Therefore I
give you this ultimatum: trust me now and surrender yourself completely, or
leave and never come back”, Iason said resolutely, no longer interested in
fooling around if all it could lead to would be yet another disappointment. He
needed his brother to be a willing participant in this, for he was tired of
having to force himself unto his loved ones.
   
Let’s play a love game, play a love game
Do you want love, or you want fame
Are you in the game ? Dans le love game
   
Was that truly the kind of game Iason wished to play here? What could he
possibly be trying to prove so desperately by such an ultimatum? It was almost
as if the top Elite was on some kind of social suicide mission for the sake of
sexual gratification.
  
I’m on a mission
And it involves some heavy touching you
  
If so then two could play that game. For even if Raoul had never succeeded in
winning a single game from the icy Elite across from him, he had also never
turned down a challenge for a game. As a matter of fact – knowledgeable on the
subject of sexual interaction as Dr Am was – this might be the one game he was
finally going to beat Iason Mink at. Seeing as how the doctor had never had the
opportunity for first-hand experience of the subject he had been studying for
the bigger part of his life, it would be a lie to state that he wasn’t at least
a little bit curious. And he had to admit that the burning intensity of his
friend’s passion made him want to submit on some deep, primal level.
   
I’m educated in sex, yes
Now I want it bad, want it bad
A love game, a love game
   
“Very well then, Iason. I shall allow you to lead me down this path of
depravity. But do not hold me responsible for what it may make me become”, the
love expert reluctantly agreed, suspecting that one so skilled in the
manufacturing of the living, breathing definitions of sex appeal could easily
become just as skilled in the art of love making itself. Therefore his
reluctance to let Iason have his way was not for lack of curiosity in his own
speciality, but rather for fear of either an inability to express his affection
for the radiant deviant in front of him to the extent he wanted to, or the risk
of developing too much of an obsession with the biological act of sex itself.
    
Let’s play a love game, play a love game
Do you want love, or you want fame
Are you in the game ? Dans le love game
   
Having succeeded in his persuasion of the innocent creation by inciting not its
lust for sex but rather its lust for knowledge, the serpent’s only response was
a sinful smile that was both satanic and tempting at the same time. The game
master had included yet another player in his game of lust and anarchy. This
was bound to get interesting. Very interesting.
    
Dans le love game
   
ending theme: Lady Gaga – Love Game
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Author’s notes:
OMG cliffhanger!!! :O Do I know how to “torment” my readers, or what? ;) You
know what they say, fine line between pleasure and pain :P Nah, it just seemed
to me that Raoul would not go down without a fight, and I wanted to be able to
devote another chapter on this and this one was already turning out rather long
so... ;) But I’ll try my best to update soon :)
All right, I admit that I’ve got absolutely NO idea how poker is played (or
pool or chess for that matter)  :P I just know what hands are worth more at the
end, that players are bluffing and that they’re usually playing for money :P So
please forgive any gaps or inaccuracies in respect to the pokergame ;)
The beginning of the conversation between Iason and Raoul was more or less
inspired by a conversation between Mr and Mrs Bennett in Pride and Prejudice :
P Although of course the end of that encounter is nothing like what we can read
in Austen’s works ;)
I apologize to the Iason/Riki fans out there to keep you all waiting, but the
Iason/Raoul more or less rolled into this fic rather unexpectedly, similar to
how the Iason/Mimea did :P Let’s face it: Iason has no idea how to express
emotion other than through sex ;) And he wants as many Tanaguran accomplices as
he can if he wants any kind of change to ever happen there...
I hope you’ve enjoyed this chapter and please review soon!!! :D
   
***** Connection *****
Chapter Summary
     Raoul has agreed to participate in Iason's experiment and the two of
     them finally get down to it, with Raoul attempting to instruct Iason
     along the way.
Author’s_notes:
So here it is, the next chapter in this story ;) It’s the beginning of the
holidays, so I should be able to update more quickly over the next couple of
months. I hope I did not shatter anybody’s dreams by my interpretation of the
Iason/Raoul pairing in this chapter (or the very presence of said pairing in a
story that’s going towards Iason/Riki) and I hope that you’ll all enjoy reading
this chapter :) My apologies to those of you who are not fond of lyric fics,
but the insertion of lyrics in this chapter is very limited so ;)
 
Soundtrack: Scandroid – Connection
 
I'm always looking back in time
 
Looking back at the early beginnings of his relationship with the ethereal
being in front of him, it was truly miraculous how things had turned towards
this unexpected outcome. For truly, apart from belonging to the same social
rank and station, they had absolutely nothing in common at first glance. In the
freedom and ignorance of their relatively carefree youth, said opposites had
amplified rather than subdued their budding friendship. Yet now such a word
could not even begin to describe the depth and multi-layered nature of how
their lives had intertwined over the years.
 
Memories of all the things
That I have left behind
 
Where Iason had been the rational and socially apt one, Raoul had been
passionate and socially awkward. Where Iason had focussed his efforts on what
was expected of him by society – careful never to give any more of his personal
self than was required – Raoul had always spread his efforts over all areas
that had sparked his personal interests and utterly devoted himself to those
areas on all levels. Where Iason was coldheartedly calculating and conniving,
Raoul was direct and honest to an almost-emotional degree.
 
And sometimes all this is too much
 
Yet as they had aged and pursued entirely different careers, the very opposites
that had initially attracted them to one another had slowly but surely driven
them apart more and more. Society had given them different predestined roles to
play and the brotherhood of their young years no longer served any purpose in
said society. One of them had watered down to an apolitical man of science
specialised in human biology and the other had ascended to the most powerful
political figure in the history of Amoy. One represented humanity in all of its
depraved, flawed nature and the other represented the perfection of the
technological divinity that was Jupiter. One had grown to fear all things
emotional and living, whereas the other had come to detest all things
informatical and dead.
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Over many decades the virtual immortal harmony in Tanagura had remained
unchanged. Safe, perfect, predictable, carefully calculated structures built to
withstand the ages. Doomed to spend an eternity of certainty and boredom, an
existence not worthy of the term life for it had never truly allowed itself to
live.
Resigning himself to the marble grandeur he had been etched into, Iason Mink
had accumulated power through solidifying and expanding the system in place,
perfecting and assuring his own vast influence and superior status in the
process. Not for one second had he asked himself the question if this was truly
the life he had wanted for himself. For rationally speaking there was no point
in wondering about things that could never come to pass.
 
I’d gladly trade in virtual
For someone I can touch
 
But then in one unexpected encounter, one unexpected colliding of entirely
opposite existences that should have never been allowed to touch, all of that
had changed. Like a blind suddenly realising what it truly meant to see and
what he had been missing out on, Iason had regarded the raw, wild, living force
in the dark eyes of a creature condemned as redundant and flawed by society yet
rendered fierce and beautiful by its juxtaposition to the perfectly dead
surroundings of that very same society.
Something in the sight of the glorious imperfection of the mongrel in front of
him had captivated the blond electronic deity and made him desire things he had
never even known were desirable in the slightest. Made him long for human
things no words in the Tanaguran language could even come close to defining.
Riki had shown him a way to escape the rigid confines of the inhuman system he
himself had become the nerve centre of. Yet his heart had never been a part of
that system, for such a system had no place for a heart. More than ever he had
wished he could simply deactivate his robotic half and undo his virtual purity
by staining it with forbidden physical acts of sexual perversity with that
filthy creature from the gutter.
Suddenly he had come to realise that his privileged existence as the top Elite
was not at all what he would wish for in life. He had become as cold, heartless
and inhuman as the society he had been made to govern, unfeeling and cruel in
his dealings with  humanity in Tanagura and Midas alike. His interactions with
the mongrel had made him see himself through its eyes and he had not liked what
he saw one little bit.
His inability to alter himself and his Elitist, domineering ways had eventually
forced him to let the mongrel go for fear of destroying that very fire that he
loved so much about the human. For a long time he had assumed that his only
hope of regaining the brilliant feeling of what they had shared had been to
regain the mongrel itself. But little by little alternative paths to that end
had revealed themselves. Although the strong contrast between Riki and the
world of Jupiter had initially alerted Iason to the wrongs of Tanagura, with
time he had come to see that even in Tanagura itself there had been such
deviations. The unexpected behaviour and extreme transformation of the red-
haired Pet girl had alerted him to their existence and usefulness. As Iason was
now Riki would still not be able to accept him, yet Mimea accepted him for she
understood the Tanaguran system much better than Riki did. She had seen his
potential for humanity where the mongrel had not. But all along there had been
another closeby that could understand him much better than even the loyal
female did. One that had spent the last century or so practically begging him
to be allowed to do just that. By Jupiter, how could I have been so blind for
so long?
While he had been so desperately searching for long-term, far-fetched ways of
bringing his mongrel back to his side, another more powerful potential ally for
obtaining the humanity his maker had never intended for him to have, had been
right next to him all along. And now the time had come to bind said ally to
himself through strong, primal connections that could never be broken by any
logic or informatics.
 
Let's escape
Deactivate
Forget about perfection tonight
 
Come with me
And let's go see
If we can make connection tonight
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Having finally resigned himself to his fate and thus refraining himself from
struggling any further against his friend’s determination, he felt fear run
like wildfire throughout his entire body. Even if his nerve system was no
longer biological in nature, there were apparently no limits to the resourceful
ways in which his biological brain managed to transmit its primitive, emotional
responses, even while making use of the non-biological nerves in his android
body.
Now that his reptilian brain had been activated, he knew that it was futile to
try and stop his body’s natural reactions. He also knew that it was equally
futile to try and stop the apex predator currently staring at him with intense,
sky blue eyes from noticing said reactions.
He could feel his pupils widening without any change in the lighting of the
room. He could feel his breathing and heartbeat pick up the pace even after he
had decided not to fight or flee. He could feel absolutely useless tremors
running through the entirety of his body. His blood rushing to the surface of
his skin, invisibly increasing his body heath for his robotic tissues could not
possibly be penetrated by the colour of his clear, artificial blood. As usual
when he was truly agitated, he was entirely powerless to stop the unfolding
chaos that was his own brain chemistry. The computer chips embedded in his
brain for the very purpose of controlling its still-present emotional
tendencies malfunctioned once again. What was it about Iason Mink that always
got him worked-up to the point where such disastrous malfunctions occurred that
he often feared he would be decommissioned if Jupiter were ever to discover
them?
 
It's always burning in my mind
 
Fortunately, as the head of the biological department, he himself was the one
who ran, processed and transmitted the results of the tests meant to insure
that the human origins of the Elite’s biological brains were in no way a
hindrance or threat to the smooth running of the operations in Tanagura. In
fact he and Iason were among a select group of but very few Elite who even
realised that their brains had such human origins. Of course such a
responsibility could not be left in the hands of one single person, which was
why his current attacker was tasked with checking these lab results every
couple of months. Remarkably enough, the Head of the Syndicate never noticed
anything out of the ordinary in neither his own nor doctor Am’s brain chemistry
tests.
 
Memories are getting lost
Beneath the sands of time
 
It had been such a long time since his brother had even glanced at him in any
way that could be described as more than politely distant. Moreover Raoul’s
fear for Iason’s safety when faced with his reckless behaviour in connection to
the mongrel, had led to an animosity that had put even more distance between
them. But if the remnants of his friendship with Iason had to be destroyed in
the process of saving his life, then so be it. If Raoul hadn’t been the one to
take the tests, he probably would have been as clueless about Iason’s
drastically altered emotional state as the other members of the Syndicate were.
For Iason had long ago ceased to discuss such things of personal importance
with him, instead never straying from superficial conversations regarding one
or the other’s professional life or the general Tanaguran state of affairs.
Alas, the game that was Syndicate politics had made it a risk and a distraction
for the Head to have any personal conversations at all, let alone with one so
incapable of self-restraint as Raoul Am when it came to keeping personal
relationships out of the public picture. In fact, many Elite wondered if there
was anything other than the force of habit still tying Lords Am and Mink
together.
 
And sometimes I'm trapped inside the game
I'd gladly disconnect from it with someone who feels the same
 
When a strong, white-gloved hand tenderly but determinedly touched the
shimmering golden curls of the shaking scientist, he was finally awoken from
his internal reverie and regarded his stalker with wide, humid, jungle green
eyes.
Iason smiled in that sly, cold way that only he could and that in the current
circumstances made Raoul shiver in spite of his boiling body temperature. The
way those deep, icy pools were reverently sizing him up made the green-eyed
beauty feel like a very precious bug under a magnifying glass, burning up in
that blue intensity.
“I see you still haven’t lost your talent for dramatic bodily manifestations
when the situation asks for it, my dearest friend”, his voice was chill and
smooth like a mountain stream, gentle and soothing but capable of turning into
a raging, all-consuming waterfall in a matter of seconds, as the glacier
undercurrent in his arctic eyes betrayed.
“I’d hate to disappoint you but said manifestations are not of my own making,
as you are well-aware of”, Raoul miraculously managed to bring out without his
trembling voice betraying his verbal intelligence. Yet.
“Indeed I am well-aware of that, but is that not the case for the talents of
all great artists?”, Iason spoke as he began to move his fingers through the
other’s golden tresses like so many spiders moving towards flies caught in
their webs. “A true artist does not aspire to become great, he just is. Often
at his own expense.” The searching, greedy fingers now moved from hair to face
and dared to experimentally prod dewy, rose-bud lips that trembled sweetly at
his determined invasion.
“Need... needless to say that according to your... definition of a great
artists there a... are no great artists in Midas.” He was unsure whether to
feel relief or disappointment when the probing satin fingers were removed.
“Oh, but there are. They are simply very well-hidden. Regardless, I shall revel
in the challenge of finding and luring them out”, the favourite son of Jupiter
spoke soundly as he swiftly and efficiently removed his gloves and moved his
hand back in the direction of his victim’s gorgeous face.
After mapping all of the other’s nymph-like countenance, the naked fingers
continued their exploration to his tender neck, then began to move in the
direction of one pink nipple that was already hardened with anticipation.
“Iason, wait!”
“For the love of Jupiter, Raoul, have you no resolve whatsoever to stick to
your decisions?”, his assailant interrupted him, feigning irritation while
simultaneously transmitting humour.
“I... am I... am I some kind of experiment to you?” He would not abort the
proceedings now, but he had to know if they could ever surmount to anything
more than merely his own thirst for knowledge and his brother’s thirst for
power.
The other blonde laughed, a crystalline sound that cut like knives in its
piercing sharpness. “I suppose I should not be surprised that you would put
things in such scientific terms. I prefer to think of you as an uncertain
investment of sorts.”
“As in... a long-term investment?”, hope sparkled in those feline eyes as they
hesitantly regarded him from underneath the foliage of wild curls.
“As in a mystery that can never be solved and as such is only certain to gift
me surprises at every turn, which in and of itself is my reward.” After those
words were said, Iason looked away from the other’s pleading eyes and gently
yet surely began to move the tip of his index finger in circles around his
partner’s right nipple. The flesh was as sensitive and yielding to his conquest
as he had been hoping for, maybe even more so.
“As in a... Ah!.... a never-ending experiment that one wishes to solve but...
at the same time knows one never can?”, Raoul responded breathlessly. The
movement of Iason’s fingertips suddenly stopped and his gaze went upwards
again, rendering Raoul speechless due to the burning of the blue embers in its
depths.
“Is that what humanity is to you, Raoul?” Iason asked, true curiosity
shimmering in his sapphire eyes, warming their usual iciness to a white-hot
furnace.
“No... no, it is... it is whatyou are to me, Iason...” He suddenly realised
that he wanted Iason to continue, against all reason and self-preservation. He
wanted him to continue because he loved him. He always had.
At that his friend grinned, revealing the perfection of teeth that had an
inhuman whiteness and sharpness. “And how far are you willing to go for the
sake of this experiment of yours?” As one of his questing hands continued to
assault Raoul’s chest, coaxing soft moans out of his lovely throat, the other
ventured lower down.
“A... all... all the way.”
“I was hoping you would say that, for truly I do not wish to force you. But I
would if I thought there was no other way.” Raoul could hear in the ruthless
conviction of his ice-sharp voice that he meant what he said.
The idea of Iason forcibly subduing him and submitting him to Jupiter-knows-
what sexual sins both terrified and excited him. He suddenly realised that the
emotional, the human part of him wanted this, had wanted this from the moment
he had laid eyes on the unyielding conviction that was Iason Mink.
He was grateful to himself that he had chosen the path of no resistance, for he
did not think his heart would have survived a confrontation with the cruel side
he knew Iason’s passion could take if it was denied. His heart could not bear
to be treated so ruthlessly by the one he had secretly loved all his life. Yet
somehow his body was turned-on by the prospect.
“I... I...could not...” One of the powerful fingers that had previously
caressed his erogenous zones now pushed itself back against peachy, lush lips.
“Sssssh. Raoul, you mustn’t always express yourself through words, my love. I
know how you feel, even if you do not explicitly tell me.”
Did Iason really know how he felt? How could he possibly know such a thing?
“Please, Iason. Please, I...” Such longing combined with such dread made it
difficult for even Raoul himself to figure out what it was he was actually
pleading for.
“Ssssssh”, Iason shushed his distraught friend as he repeated the gesture with
his finger, only now also softly prying those delicious lips apart to caress
the insides of Raoul’s mouth, knowingly mimicking what he wanted to do with his
fingers elsewhere. Raoul’s breathing became even more erratic and Iason very
much doubted he would be capable of speech now even if he wished it, which of
course had been his own exact intent.
When Iason’s other hand went on its downwards path again with the fingers in
his mouth continuing their ministrations as well, Raoul gasped for unneeded air
and felt as if his heart would dance right out of his chest any minute now. By
Jupiter, this is really happening. He’s really going to... “Ah, Iason!! Aaaah!”
Iason’s hand on his lower belly had suddenly dipped down and firmly taken hold
of Raoul’s virgin shaft. He had never been touched by anyone in that place, not
even by his Furniture or by himself.
As the hand on his privates began to stroke him with erotic slowness and
precision, bliss and desperation were warring with each other in the
biologist’s mind. There would be no turning back from this, if he allowed his
brother to pull him into this pit of depravity there would be no way for him to
ever climb out of it again. The slopes of that pit were as slippery as the hand
that was now dragging him down there, slick by his own excited submission to
the object of his infatuation.
“Ias... Iason, please! I’m begging you...”, his new lover spoke desperately,
his stunning forest green eyes full of tears that were running down his
exquisite face in rivers.
“Pray tell, my sweet, what is it you are begging me for? Do you wish for me to
slow down perhaps?”, Iason cooed in a sugar-coated tone while speeding up his
movements below but squeezing hard enough to prevent the other from reaching
completion.
When his questions were met with nothing but loud whimpers, he maliciously
added. “Or do you wish for me to get on with it, throw you unto my bed face-
first and have my way with you? Would you like that, hmm?”
“Gah... gah!... Iason... please...” To add to his torment, Iason’s other hand
was possessively caressing his torso, sides and lower back.
“Would you like me to bend you over and ride you hard? Shall I hold you down as
I fuck you?”, the blue-eyed fiend breathed hotly into his ear. Raoul was amazed
at how effortlessly his closest brother used such crude language and even more
amazed at the arousing effect it was actually having on him.
“N... no...” No, absolutely not! He may have agreed to this, but on his own
terms. He was no Pet or whore to be used and toyed with! Although apparently a
part of his treacherous human brain was unaware of that fact.
“No? Why, darling, that’s not the word I like to hear, especially in a
situation such as the one we are currently in”, Iason whispered in a harsh,
warning tone, moving his devouring lips and sharp teeth to his partner’s
sensitive earshell and seductively nibbling it.
“I... I mean... ahah!... that’s not... what I wanted to say!” And I do not care
what you do or do not like to hear!
“I see. So you do want me to push you down and fuck you hard, but you do not
want to say so?” He proceeded by blowing hot air unto Raoul’s neck now,
teasingly slowly making his way down his marvellously sculpted chest.
“N... no!” And how in Jupiter’s name did he even know that was – at least
partially – true?
“Honestly, Raoul, if you did not wish for me to have intercourse with you, then
why did you agree to this? Don’t you want me to take you?”, delicious lips blew
against the moist skin of his abdomen.
“Yes!... I mean, no!...” It was difficult to form coherent sentences with
Iason’s wet, hungry lips moving along his lower belly. Having removed Raoul’s
organ from his vice-like grip Iason now used both hands to hold his hips
secure.
“You are apparently very much undecided on the subject. Are you sure that even
you yourself know what it is you want, hmm?” He was now teasingly licking
Raoul’s lower stomach, then hovering over his shaft – his devious mouth nearly
touching it – only to move to the side and touch the inside of a soft, perfect
thigh with his lips and tongue.
Grateful for the sturdy chest-of-drawers he was currently propped unto, Raoul
held on for dear life as he tried to retain some form of control over the
unfolding scenario.
“I mean.... yes, but not like that!...” For some inexplicable reason the
terrifying vision of Iason inconsiderately plundering his virginal insides like
the both of them had often witnessed overly-enthusiastic Pets doing on soirees
began to sound more appealing by the minute.
“Not like what?”, Iason asked with a leer, feigning ignorance while blowing hot
air right over the tip of Raoul’s excitement, approvingly noticing a drop of
translucent liquid already there. Raoul’s android body mimicked the human
biological processes as well as his did, if not better.
“Not like I’m your property!” Anger suddenly enabled him to speak where before
he was too breathless and overcome by sensations to do so. “Not like I’m some
Pet that needs to be taught its place!”
“How can I have intercourse with you as the dominant partner without treating
you as such?”, Iason asked while nuzzling a golden abundance of pubic hair,
intending it as a rhetorical question to the fevered ramblings of one lost in
sexual sensory overload.
Unexpectedly, Iason felt the grip of Raoul’s hands on his shoulders increase to
its full capacity as Raoul used all of his robotic strength to pull Iason from
his crouching position up to his full body length. His powerful hands then
moved from his shoulders to the sides of his head to pull it towards his own
face. Burning emeralds met Iason’s surprised look with a passion and devotion
that burned perhaps even more brightly than Iason’s own desire did. Before
Iason had any opportunity to speak or otherwise defend himself, emerald eyes
closed and plump peachy lips were sweetly yet solidly pushed against his own.
Iason was amazed by the dazing sensations that washed over him as soon as those
lips made contact with his. He had never felt anything like this before, not
even when he reached completion while making love to his Riki. How on Amoy
could he make a mere kiss feel this heavenly without even using his tongue?
Seeing as how neither of them really needed to breathe – the oxygen delivery to
their brains being entirely automatic – the kiss lasted for about half an hour.
Halfway through said time Iason felt the strange urge to close his eyes and to
wrap his arms around Raoul’s neck, which he did. When the kiss was over at
last, Iason was at a loss for words even as millions of questions were popping
up in his mind.
“Now that is how you treat a lover, Iason Mink!”
“I... he never did that to me”, the sexual predator sounded almost sad in that
sentence.
“What, the mongrel? Of course he didn’t, it took every ounce of strength I had
to do so! So the mongrel could not have possibly subdued you enough during your
sex-crazed frenzy to even attempt to kiss you!”
“You mean to say you think he wants to kiss me?”, renewed desire made a hopeful
blue light appear in those frighteningly intelligent eyes.
“As much as I am loath to admit it, the nasty little creature was obviously in
love with you.”
“Why would he need to kiss me if he were in love with me?” Under any other
circumstances, the child-like ignorance of the head of intelligence’s question
would have been hilarious.
“Because it is what humans do to show affection. Just sex is not enough for one
who is in love, one needs to feel not only desired physically but also loved
and cherished mentally.”
“Then all Pets I have ever witnessed performing were in love with each other?”
“Of course not, you idiot! They are taught to kiss before initiating any other
sexual acts to create the illusion of love. It makes them more psychologically
stable to continuously switch partners if they are made to believe that each
partner cares for them on a personal level. If not the constant switching
between partners would lead to emotional confusion and possibly depression”,
Raoul shared his expertise on the complex mating behaviour of humans.
“So you are not in love with me? You are merely creating the illusion of love
to... what, educate me?” He had expected to be able to glean some information
from sexual interactions with his Elite friend, but he had not expected him to
actively educate him in the matter.
“Do I look like I continuously switch sex partners and have an IQ that is low
enough to be deceived by such tricks? I would never have kissed you if I did
not truly love you! By Jupiter, Iason, how can you be so stupid?!” Did Iason
still not realise how he felt about him and how it hurt him to have Iason act
as if their interactions meant absolutely nothing?
“Not all of us have devoted our lives to understanding the strange workings of
the human mind”, Iason spoke defensively while curiously touching his recently-
kissed lips, intrigued by how such a simple, almost innocent touch had stirred
such powerful feelings within him.
“Never in a million years did I imagine it would one day help me understand the
workings of not just my own mind but yours as well”, with a sigh Raoul used the
remainder of the electrical strength he had produced in his limbs to physically
overcome Iason once more in order to push him away and get out of his
uncomfortable position against the wall and on top of the chest of drawers.
“Where are you going?”, the still-fully-dressed Elite asked, thinking the other
was backing out of their deal after all.
“Where could I possibly be going while naked and in this state?”, Raoul snapped
while pointing at his obvious arousal, his irritation at Iason’s sheer
emotional cluelessness reaching its boiling point. “I’m going to your bedroom,
of course! And don’t even think about pushing me down face-first on the bed or
I swear to Jupiter I will rip your head off!”
All of a sudden Raoul was beginning to sound very much like Riki. Angry at him
despite his obvious attraction to him. But unlike Riki Raoul had said that he
loved him, had physically overcome him and had kissed him. So whatever anger he
was experiencing was not caused by the sexual interaction being unwanted. Then
what was it aimed at? The fact that Iason had not kissed him before stimulating
him in other ways? The fact that Iason had asked him if he wanted to be
sexually subdued? As he followed the naked form of Raoul’s voluptuous body and
bouncing golden curls into the bedroom, Iason still had many doubts about what
could have made the scientist so angry in the middle of their sexual
interactions.
When he had reached the foot of the bed, Raoul turned around and looked
expectantly at Iason. So he was not opposed to Iason taking the lead? Then what
was he opposed to? As he approached the bed, Iason began to efficiently remove
his clothes while Raoul was staring at him. Then the other’s hands came up and
pushed against Iason’s chest to put a halt to his approach. “Stop. You’re going
too fast.”
“I’m not even doing anything yet, Raoul. And why waste any time?”
“Anticipation is half the pleasure. If you’re going to undress in front of me,
you should do it slowly and while standing some distance away from me.”
“You speak as if I am putting on a performance for you, Raoul.”
“Because you are. There are always two active partners in sexual intercourse.
There is not one who passively watches and another who acts. Neither is there
one who puts on a show and another who does not. Both partners have to be
equally involved in the process.”
“So we should both act like Pets?”, Iason asked incredulously, raising a pale
eyebrow at the idea of it.
“Many aspects of the way in which Pets act during a performance are a mimicry
of how humans act when they are mating. Thus it is not unusual at all that if
the both of us were to act on our human inclinations, we would proceed in a
similar way”, Raoul informed Iason while regarding his striptease, which was
amazingly well-executed, especially for one who had never bothered with it
before.
Iason smirked as he continued to undress, teasingly slowly and daringly this
time. “And here I thought I was the expert.”
“Practically speaking perhaps you are. But in the theoretical sense I am the
expert, not you”, the head of the biological department reminded him rather
smugly.
“You did not seem like much of an expert just now: trembling, almost unable to
speak and begging like a bitch in heat”, Iason pointed out mockingly, disliking
the way in which Raoul asserted himself as knowledgeable and therefore implying
that Iason was ignorant.
“I am simply not used to being in a state of arousal and therefore find it hard
to maintain full control of my bodily functions. And please do refrain from
offending me at every turn, Iason, it is definitely not a turn-on.”
“Riki always liked it”, Iason interjected as he removed the last of his
clothing, now standing before Raoul like a gloriously naked Roman god.
“Did...” Raoul averted his eyes from the splendid sight before him to be able
to find his train of thought again. “Did he now? Well, I suppose as a mongrel
he would be used to swearing. But in my experience the residents of Ceres have
a sense of pride nearly as strong as ours, therefore they would probably not
allow their partners to offend them to such an extent”, when Iason stepped
towards him in his nakedness, Raoul averted his gaze once more and held up a
hand to stop him in his tracks. “Perhaps he liked it because it is atypical
behaviour for an Elite. Because it could help him forget that you were Elite
and therefore his enemy.”
“You know, when you are not trying to convince me not to be sexually active,
your advice is actually very useful, Raoul. Unfortunately you do not seem able
to speak and participate in intercourse at the same time. Perhaps you can give
me your analysis and remarks afterwards.” As if to conclude their verbal
communication, Iason confidently pushed his hips and impressive hardness
against Raoul’s behind while snaking his full arms around his waist in a strong
hold and pressing wet butterfly kisses against his neck in reassurance.
“And have... oh!... have you go on while doing numerous things that... gah!...
I do not like one bit? No, thank... you, that is most definitely not what I
signed up for.”
“What in particular is it you do not like one bit then?”, Iason asked in
between kisses and licks directed at the other’s throat.
“You’re too straight-forward and m.... much too possessive. Like now your hold
is meant to keep me from moving of my own accord. And... aah!!... hah...” Iason
had purposely begun to pump his hips against Raoul’s voluminous mounds, making
it impossible for him to suppress his pleasured moans.
“And? What were you going to say, my sweet little leopard?”
“And...aah...this thrusting of yours is meant to.... to speed up the
encounter... because all you can think about is... oh!... your own climax...
you are a selfish lover.”
At these last words Iason ceased his onslaught and allowed his Elite brother to
turn around and explain further.
“If you weren’t such a skilled lover in the physical sense, I very much doubt
you would have been able to bring a human any satisfaction. Simply put it is a
miracle that Riki enjoyed sex with you at all seeing as how your attitude made
the whole process unnecessarily rough and extremely painful for him.”
Iason, who had been completely unaware of any of this for the duration of his
time spent with Riki, was absolutely gobsmacked at hearing such a condemnation
from his friend of many years.
“Don’t misunderstand me, Iason, I am sure both your affection for the mongrel
and for me is genuine and far more than merely a fulfilment of your own lust.
However you allow your body to run ahead of things and act only in its own
interest. You must try to maintain more control and take more care to address
the needs of your lover. Which does not mean torment, mock and offend them but
which means express your affection in ways that make it obvious that you want
your lover to enjoy this as much as you do.”
“Do you mean to say that this encounter is not enjoyable to you?”, Iason asked
with clear disbelief in his voice. Surely he could not have misinterpreted both
Riki’s and Raoul’s sounds and body language to such an extent?
“No. I mean that this is only enjoyable on a physical level, not on an
emotional one. In fact it is very unenjoyable on an emotional level, which is
undoubtedly one of the reasons the mongrel hated you so much and fought you
every step of the way. The lack of his own emotional involvement in the
interactions would have made him interpret sex with you as a sexual attack, as
rape.”
“But how can a sexual interaction be considered rape if both partners are
attracted to each other?”, Iason wondered, absolutely astounded by how Raoul
apparently understood so much about Riki that he did not.
“I’m not saying that the mongrel did not wish to have sex with you. What I mean
is that he wanted to have sex with you for more reasons than just to find
sexual release and he found it hurtful that you did not want it for those
reasons as well.”
“That is not true! If I was only interested in finding release I could have any
human I wanted, I could even have another Elite if I chose so, as you yourself
now demonstrate. Why would I ever lower myself to a mongrel from the slums if I
was not interested in him specifically? If I was not interested in him for
other reasons?”
“Yes, I know this, Iason! But he doesn’t! He probably doesn’t even know that it
is forbidden for Elite to have intercourse. He probably thinks that you have
chosen him specifically as an offense to Ceres, a way to show him and his
people how worthless you think they are. For that is what Tanagurans generally
do when it comes to their interactions with mongrels.”
“How do you even know any of this? How could you possibly know what Riki
thinks?”
“It’s called psychology, you should open a book on it sometime”, Raoul offered,
unable to keep the slightly ironical undertone out of his voice.
“Psychology? I did not realise this was one of your areas of expertise”, Iason
mused as he went to sit down on the bed in favour of walking around the room
naked.
“How could it not be?”, Raoul explained as he sat down at the foot of the bed
as well, at a safe distance from Iason’s selfish body. “The workings of the
human mind have an undeniable influence on how they function in their everyday
lives. If I did not know psychology and apply treatment for psychological
disasters at every turn, no human in Tanagura could possibly function normally
with all the unnatural situations they are put in here.”
“Can’t you treat Riki as well then? Make him forget that my reactions are...
unnatural”, Iason wondered wistfully, staring ahead into nothing, distracted
from even his own sexual need at that moment.
“All humans in Tanagura were either born here or conditioned at a very young
age. For a human to have lived in a different, more natural environment for a
time of several years – especially one that fosters individual resourcefulness
and strength of character as much as Ceres does – would  make such a human
impossible to condition on the long term without making him go insane.”
“So I cannot bend him to my will without destroying him. I had begun to suspect
as much when I sent him away. In the end he wouldn’t do anything: he wouldn’t
eat, he wouldn’t sleep, he wouldn’t listen. Even sex no longer brought him any
fulfilment. It was as if he was already dead while still living. It... hurt
me... to see him like that.” Iason had never even dreamed of admitting any of
this to anyone. To be admitting it to another Elite, an equal at that, was
unthinkable. Yet it was what he needed to do to give Raoul any chance at
helping him regain Riki’s affection, if that was even possible. Raoul’s
insights had made even him, the great Iason Mink, doubt his ability to do so.
“Indeed it is simply impossible for one such as Riki to be made into a Pet.
However that does not mean that you could not have a relationship with him”,
Raoul reassured his friend.
Iason looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. “How could I possibly have
a relationship with him other than the relationship between a Master and a
Pet?”
“You could make him your lover or pairing partner and have a relationship more
similar to that between Pets among themselves, as he would expect from one who
loves him. Such a relationship he could understand and respond positively to.”
Seeing the shocked look in Iason’s eyes at the suggestion Raoul sighed and
threw his arms into the air dramatically. “Iason, you have already broken all
Tanaguran social taboos and disgraced yourself beyond repair by bringing him
into your household and into your bed! There are no more social conventions you
can break with that mongrel other than your own.”
“Will you help me get him back, Raoul? I am willing to consider and try
everything you suggest, no matter how absurd. For I feel as if I shall die
without his affection.”
Touched by the emotional sincerity of Iason’s confession and very much able to
relate to such feelings of suppressed and unrequited love, Raoul went to sit
closer to Iason and took hold of his hand, lovingly squeezing it, making Iason
gasp at the unexpectedness of the gesture. “I will help you to the best of my
ability, Iason. If you can only promise me one thing.”
“Anything”, Iason spoke with resolve as he turned his head to stare into the
other’s eyes with ice-cold determination.
“That you will not toss me aside when you’re done”, Raoul said softly, his
voice more subdued and uncertain now.
“I have always considered you my one and only friend, Raoul, I would never
abandon you”, Iason insured as he strengthened his own grip on the other
blonde’s hand.
“I do not mean merely in the capacity of a friend. You may have always regarded
me as  nothing more, but I surely have regarded you as far more.”
“Raoul, I cannot make myself have feelings I do not have. I like you as a
friend, a good friend. And although I may feel attracted to you physically as
well, I do not feel for you as I do for Riki.”
“I understand that. But if we go through with this now and all of it ends
because your aim of recapturing the mongrel is achieved, I am quite sure my own
psychological well-being shall be threatened.”
Then Iason understood what he meant and chuckled. “I am quite sure I am capable
of sustaining both you and Riki. I shall even do so at the same time if you
want”, he added with a mischievous wink.
“Well, preferably not at the same time, as I still do not particularly enjoy
the mongrel’s company in any way imaginable”, the golden blonde objected, a
slight sneer destroying the symmetry of his divinely-made face.
“I suppose with you involved now as well, I shall have to begin my own sex
club”, Iason offered, having already made all the arrangements for such a
secret society.
“What do you mean with me involved as well?”, Raoul asked suspiciously.
“I do hope you will not hold it against me, my friend. But it appears I have
found new ways of taking advantage of your beloved Pet daughter.”
“What, Mimea? You are... having intercourse with her as well... for the very
same reason you are having intercourse with me! By Jupiter, Iason, if anyone
were ever to find out about this...!”
“What kind of difference does it make if I have transgressed with one partner
or with multiple partners? The end result stays the same, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but the chances of being caught increase drastically!”
“Would either you or Mimea ever tell on me then?”
“I do not think neither of us would do so willingly, no. But Jupiter has ways
of obtaining information that nobody, not even an Elite such as I, could
withstand!”
“Jupiter will not use such methods if she does not see serious cause for it.
And without anyone telling her about this, there is simply no reason for her to
ever suspect me of such a crime. I have an unusual interest in a mongrel, yes.
But many an Elite have an unusual interest of some for or other in a human. Yet
that does not mean that they are sexually active.”
“She connects to your very mind every time you see her. How have you succeeded
in hiding a transgression of such a magnitude from her so far?”
“It is simple, really. I do not feel any guilt nor do I see any harm in it.
Therefore Jupiter has no cause whatsoever to delve deeper,” Iason explained
while possessively tightening the hold he still had on Raoul’s slightly smaller
hand. “But now that we have those bothersome practicalities out of the way,
shall we resume our previous activities?”
 
Let's escape
Deactivate
Forget about perfection tonight
 
Come with me
And let's go see
If we can make connection tonight
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Before Raoul even had time to process the meaning of Iason’s last sentence,
Iason’s body was pressed up against his again and Iason’s mouth was ravishing
his with abandon. During the lengthy kiss, Iason’s fingers caressed down his
lower back and slipped between his buttocks. Only then did Raoul notice that
those fingers were covered in copious amounts of lubricant. When did he...?
Just as Iason finished the kiss and started nibbling on the side of his neck
instead and Raoul meant to ask when he had seen opportunity to lubricate his
fingers without him noticing it, Iason’s index finger slipped further and
pressed against his virginal entrance. “Aaah! Ah, Iason... wait...”
“This is what you wanted me to do to you for a very long time, isn’t it?”,
Iason whispered against the sensitive skin of his neck in an erotically-charged
silky voice, as his finger started to push more strongly to breach Raoul.
“Yes, but...” Raoul let out another moan as Iason unexpectedly pulled out his
finger, pressed his partner’s body down on the bed (back-first) and started
kissing the insides of his thighs, making Raoul grab unto the silken sheets
while revelling in the wonderful sensations caused by Iason’s actions.
When Iason finally put his mouth on his length, Raoul threw back his head – his
hair sprawled out all over the pillow like the spilled golden coins of an
oriental treasure – and cried out in ecstasy. He would never be able to speak
to his brother ever again without being reminded of what more those thin,
pretty lips could do.
“Ahah! Aaah, Iason... yes!.... Yes, aah!” Come to think of it, Raoul was even
louder than Riki in the bedroom. Possibly because his artificial voicebox could
not overexert itself through overuse. Moreover Iason had to use all of the
strength in his hands to hold Raoul still and stop him from thrashing about
wildly.
“By Jupiter! Please.... Iason, please!....please....”, he sobbed hopelessly,
knitting his hands into Iason’s silky, long hair and stroking his head
affectionately, which formed a strange contrast to the wild movements of the
rest of his body.
“Ssssh. Patience, my friend, all good things come to those who wait”, Iason
smiled before tenderly licking him, first his tip, then along his length, and
finally sliding his tongue further backwards and briefly licking his opening.
Raoul moaned wantonly at this and lifted his legs to give Iason easier access
to his most intimate regions. His hands began to thread through the long
silver-gold tresses more urgently, pleading for his lover to take things a step
further. “Please, my love”, he gasped desperately, emerald pools pulling in
Iason’s gaze as soon as he had lifted his head to look at his partner.
After briefly pausing to study the mixed distress and pleasure of the angelic
creature currently lying on the luxurious sheets of his bed, Iason dipped down
his head again and began to suck and twirl his powerful tongue around the
other’s member. Not hard enough to stop him from climaxing but hard enough to
have bruised a mortal man. The renewed, rougher suction combined with the
caress of Iason’s trailing long hair all over his thighs and belly made Raoul
reach his peak in seconds. He mewled like a wild cat and tears ran down his
face while his hands were passionately stroking Iason’s hair and ears. To
Iason’s surprise, Raoul’s climax lasted almost an entire five minutes. During
which he continuously made pleasured sounds and towards the end of his
completion pulled up Iason and kissed him with an all-consuming fire.
“Oh... oh, Iason. That was the most amazing thing I have ever felt... I love
you... I love you with all my heart. I’ll love you till my dying breath”, he
said as he kissed Iason’s pearly-stained lips once more.
Iason was at a loss at how to react to his fellow Elite being in such a
feverish, sentimental state. He knew Raoul was more emotional and more romantic
than any Elite had any right to be, but he had not been expecting anything as
extreme as this. A confession of eternal love after a mere blow-job, as Riki
called it? It was just Iason’s luck that the expert on sexual interactions and
human psychology was incidentally also a hopeless romantic who was head-over-
heels in love with him.
“Ssssh, Raoul, just relax. There really is no need for you to profess your love
in such a way only because I made you climax...”, Iason started to explain,
unsure if Raoul’s overly-emotional exclamations were caused by observation of
exaggerated responses conditioned in Pets.
“I love you, Iason, you are so beautiful and mighty, I could forever revel in
your divine magnificence. My heart and body are yours to do with as you please
till the end of time”, Raoul finished his latest declaration by kissing Iason
fiercely and raising one of his legs to put it around his waist, as if urging
Iason to take him.
In spite of the absurdity of an Elite behaving so intensely romantic, Iason
felt a very compelling attraction to his old friend in that moment, barely able
to stop himself from pushing into his velvet depths right then and there.
Even if Raoul was an Elite and his body thus unbreakable, Iason now knew that
he would still be hurt emotionally if Iason did not show consideration and
prepared him thoroughly. Enticing as the Botticellian Venus in front of him
was, Iason treaded with care and kissed him before gently slipping a moist
finger inside of him. Raoul whined at the intrusion. “Ah!!! Aah, Iason!”
“It’s all right, my sweet, I am here. You are perfectly safe, I promise you”,
Iason reassured him, unable to make out if his urgent cries were of distress or
of pleasure.
“I... I know, Iason. I trust you, I am yours completely.... Please. Please, I
love you. Please take me! Make me yours in every way...”, Raoul sang as his
bewitching green eyes hypnotised Iason and his loving hands softly caressed his
face as if they were magical.
 
Let's close our eyes
And make distractions all subside
 
Lost in the appeal of a green and deep ocean of passion and desperation, Iason
ceased his preparations and carefully pulled his fingers free of Raoul’s wet
heat. He began to kiss Raoul’s full, fruity lips while shivers of pleasure
rocked his body.
He had just started to oil his manhood when he felt Raoul’s burning-hot hands
around his. “Please, allow me.” As Raoul’s amazingly skilled hands made him
warm, hard and slick with oil, Iason himself could not suppress a soft moan.
“Yes, my love, that’s it. Make it as long and as thick as you can. I want all
of you inside of me”, his honey-haired lover coaxed eagerly.
He wrapped his other leg around Iason’s waist as well and pulled him closely
against his own hot body, kissing his shoulder with abandon and seductively
whispering words of encouragement.
Iason pushed his large tip against the other’s welcomingly-slick entrance. His
new lover was shivering in his embrace, causing his portal to deliciously
quiver against his thickness.
“Please, Iason. Please, I love you, make me yours”, Raoul incited desperately,
longing for such an intimate connection with his beloved but simultaneously
still feeling an instinctive fear of the unknown and of being submissively open
to pain in every one of his nerve endings. For he knew he would not be able to
shut down his pain receptors when his brain was this far gone in its biological
madness. Whatever pain would be there, would be clearly registered in alarming
detail by his sophisticated, android nerves.
Iason managed to momentarily stop himself, suspecting that the other’s body was
hopelessly subdued by his overactive human brain. “Raoul, my friend, I do not
want to hurt you.”
“Then take me. Take me like you mean it! Iason, please!” His perfect hands were
shaking as they desperately grabbed unto Iason’s shoulders, as were his legs
that were still locked around Iason’s waist.
“You can’t shut them down when you’re this excited, can you? Your nerve
endings?”, Iason inquired, his inhuman patience and self-control making it
possible for him to pause right before piercing through his lover’s final
defences.
Raoul’s silence and slightly increased trembling and raspy breathing gave him a
clear enough answer. “Does that mean you register sensations as humans do when
you are like this? How do you even manage such a thing?”
“For the love of Jupiter, Iason, are you suggesting that you would want to copy
the greatest flaw ever made in Elite bionics? To answer your question: no, I do
not register sensations as humans do, for my android nerves are far more
precise and are incapable of short-circuiting. In other words: I feel much more
strongly now than any human ever could.”
“I do not understand, your android body cannot be damaged, then what would be
the purpose of such intrinsic pain transmissions?”
“Indeed my android body cannot be damaged, but my human brain does not know
this. Therefore it will send and receive signals in a way that makes me
register unlimited amounts of damage that are, of course, not truly there.”
“I have never understood what it was that Riki enjoyed about pain. But
apparently you seem to enjoy it as well...”
“I most certainly do not enjoy it, yet I cannot allow it to prevent me from
doing what I want.”
“You are willing to suffer through unnaturally high pain levels in order to
have coitus with me?”, Iason asked in genuine surprise, seriously re-evaluating
Raoul’s willingness to participate in this sexual experiment of his.
“Have you truly no idea of how overwhelmingly desirable you are, Iason?”, Raoul
wondered disbelievingly, using the opportunity of Iason’s stillness to slightly
readjust his body so things would slide as smoothly as they could.
“Apparently the one that I desire has no idea of this either”, Iason spoke
wryly.
“Of course he does! I am convinced that he is as much in love with you as I am.
But undoubtedly his Ceresian, resistant ways make it difficult for him to
accept his own feelings. Now can we stop talking about that mutt from Ceres and
my malfunctioning bionic nerve systems and just get on with this?”
So impatient for a lowly, forbidden act that will bring him unspeakable pain.
All for that strange feeling called love.
Unable to resist the temptation before him any longer, Iason slid inside of the
humid hotness of Raoul’s inner sanctum and hummed in pleasure at the way in
which his inner walls massaged his hardness, as if trying to pull it in even
deeper.
 
And let's defect and disconnect
From everything outside
 
Raoul braced himself, gritted his teeth and did his hardest best not to cry.
But failed miserably and was soon reduced to a glorious mess of spasms and
blood-curdling screams. Iason felt how two robotically strong hands gripped his
shoulders, supernaturally sharp nails sliding through his skin and into his
artificial flesh.
When he eventually reached his pained, blissful peak, Raoul closed his hot
inner walls around Iason in a vice-like grip, threw back his head – golden
curls flying through the air in imitation of an angel’s aureole – and let out a
high-pitched scream that pierced through the air and made every glass object in
the vicinity explode into a million tiny pieces.
But Iason did not stop his thrusts after that first completion, showing his
peer’s blazing nerve endings no mercy. For several hours the entire penthouse
shook as if there were an earthquake and loud, shrill sounds echoed through the
corridors of the penthouse regularly. The Furniture of the Mink household had
no idea whatsoever of what was going on, but recalled that their Master had
asked them not to disturb him that night, not under any circumstances. And
being so close to the source of the noise, their Master had to undoubtedly be
aware of it and its source. Therefore they just trembled in fear and
uncertainty but did nothing but glance at the doors to the Master bedroom,
where horrible, secret events were apparently unfolding at present.
 
Let's escape
Deactivate
Forget about perfection tonight
 
Come with me
And let's go see
If we can make connection tonight
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Several hours later – a long night of no sleep or mental rest for any of the
inhabitants of the household – the thrashing that rocked the entire top floor
of the building and the ear-piercing, screeching noises finally came to an end.
Iason fell down on the bed, truly sated for the first time since Riki’s
departure from the penthouse.
“Aaah... ah, Iason, that... was quite the performance...”, Raoul succeeded in
sighing after he had regained his breath for several minutes, his organic brain
still unaware of the fact that he did not actually need to breathe. A grimace
appeared on his face as he stretched what his brain thought were abused limbs.
In addition he felt like he had all the fires of hell combined burning inside
of his bowels and the fruit of his lover’s fulfilment felt like molten lava
dripping out of him.
Slowly Iason turned his head and arctic blue met tropical green. “Indeed it
was. I suppose there must be a reason why several of my Furniture call me the
Master of Pain.” That was just typical of Iason. No situation was ever too dire
to be rectified through the use of dry humour.
“For the sake of whatever remains of your dignity, I do hope you apply
different methods when it comes to the correction of your Furniture, Iason?”,
Raoul smirked as he propped himself up on his elbows in an attempt to lift some
of the pressure from his sensitive bum.
“Now there’s an idea. Seeing as how Furniture are physically incapable of
experiencing any sexual gratification, the very act itself ought to be pure
torture to them, I suppose?”
“I’d assume that it would be. Unless of course said Furniture would be utterly
infatuated with you, which would make the encounter physical torture and mental
heaven at the same time. But nothing as extreme as my own predicament, I am
sure.”
Iason shook his head in good humour. “Surely if any of my Furniture were
infatuated with me, as you so discretely put it, I would have noticed by now?”
“You’d be surprised at how close-minded and subtle some Furniture can be. Some
of them act almost like Elite when it comes to safe-guarding their emotions.”
“How about you? Did your mental health survive my torturous love-making, my
sweet?”
“Barely, but do not worry, I’ll live never to tell the tale. This body could be
fucked with a chainsaw and survive the ordeal.”
Iason burst out laughing. “Seriously, Raoul, where did you pick up such foul
expressions?”
Raoul lifted his shoulders in mock apology. “You’d be shocked at what some
young Furniture trainees shout at me when I am relieving them of their
unrequired parts.”
“Hmmm, I can imagine. Fortunately for me Riki’s uncouth behaviour has kept him
far away from such purposes, as I am sure he does not lack the intelligence for
it. Well, our unorthodox encounter has definitely given me much food for
thought on how to resolve that issue...”
 “If you want to have any hope of ever winning back that mongrel after the
complete mess you’ve undoubtedly caused during your last series of attempts,
you will need the kind of long-term instruction and guidance that only I am in
a position to give you”, the golden-haired fae next to him interrupted with a
fervent heat that allowed for no protest.
“Why, doctor Am, it’s almost as if you are trying to convince me that I cannot
possibly go on without filling up your intoxicatingly sweet rectum on a regular
basis”, Iason replied naughtily in his low sex tone as he grabbed the
recuperating sex god’s leg and started pulling the gorgeous body towards him.
 
Connection
 
“I will help you regain the mongrel’s affection, if ever you had it before you
threw it in his face. But I do not work for free”, Raoul reminded him, as he
pulled his leg out of the other’s clutches with some effort and bent over
Iason’s resting body until Iason could smell the sweet freshness of his breath
and could feel the softness of his full, golden hair trailing along his face.
Leaning down and gazing intensely at him with smoky green eyes he continued.
“You know what my price is, Iason Mink. And I expect to be paid thoroughly and
regularly. Do we understand each other?”
 
Connection
 
“Oh, we do. It would appear as if your chosen form of payment would make my
enterprise twice as profitable as I had originally intended”, Iason responded
with a devilishly charming smile while his arms slipped around the other’s
waist and his large hand firmly grabbed Raoul’s butt cheek and squeezed until
he could not prevent a mewl from breaking through his lips. Pushing up his hips
to let the other Elite feel him grow to his full capacity in a matter of
seconds, Iason added with a cheeky grin. “In fact I am ready to pay you again
right now, with your permission.” Raoul laughed in an unsuppressed, human way
that Iason found most endearing. “Only if you kiss me first.”
 
Connection
 
  ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
                                        
                            To Be Continued ......
                                        
   ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
                Please do not forget to review, thank you!!! :)
                                         
***** Caught *****
Chapter Summary
     Riki learns something shocking about Mimea's new patron, Guy learns
     something shocking about Riki and Riki runs away once again ...
Author's_notes:
And here it finally is, the next chapter! :D Sorry for keeping you in suspense
for so long, it took me a while to find some inspiration again, but then this
chapter came out and the next chapter is also going smoothly so shouldn't be
too far behind this one :) For those of you who would like to see an update for
Crossing the Bridge: hold on! I'm working on that chapter but it's taking
longer than I was expecting, probably because it's also getting a lot longer
than I was expecting ;) So quite a bit of drama in this chapter, a couple of
revelations and some violence, but otherwise nothing too shocking I think... I
hope you all enjoy this chapter and please give me some more reviews!! ;)
  
===============================================================================
 
   
Soundtracks: Kraftwerk – The Model
                      Nickelback – How You Remind Me
   
As the numbers of the digital clock projected high above the Grand Plaza in
downtown Sasan switched from 18:59 to 19:00 the square began to buzz with life.
It was the end of another long, repetitive work week for most citizens and the
beginning of another long, extravagant weekend for the countless tourists and
local snobs that were streaming in from the nearest subway exit. Overwhelmed by
the colourful, projected wonders of the beating heart of the notorious city of
decadence, newcomers and regulars alike did not know where to turn their eyes
first.
Until all of a sudden everyone’s attention was attracted by a subtle,
profoundly enticing presence, elegantly making its way down the marble steps of
the Royal Casino. Dressed in a classy black silk dress and pretty flat sandals,
the girl was rather modestly adorned for Midasian standards. Nonetheless to the
onlookers who bothered to pay attention to the details it soon became evident
that the dress was a one-of-a-kind design by Vernetti and the leather sandals
were adorned with small, genuine diamonds.
 
She's a model and she's looking good
 
In spite of her classy choice of garments, the girl’s flawlessly symmetrical
and perfectly proportioned beauty was clearly the product of one of the test
tubes of Tanagura’s Pet breeding facilities. As such she was obviously not in
Sasan in the capacity of a citizen or a tourist and was therefore available,
for the right price.

I'd like to take her home that's understood
 
As she walked on by she paid no heed whatsoever to the countless men who were
beckoning her, some of them even yelling  how much they were offering, as if
they were bidding on an esteemed piece at an auction. She pretended not to
notice that the bidding was aimed at her and simply kept on walking, an
attractive smile appearing on her gorgeous face as she thought of the meeting
ahead.

She plays hard to get, she smiles from time to time
 
Noticing how one of the security camera’s right ahead turned towards her upon
her approach, Mimea looked up and straight into the lens. It didn’t take a
genius to know who was watching her on the other side of that camera. As of
late her new Master had become rather protective, tracing her every move
whenever she left the penthouse in Tanagura. Being the head of intelligence,
Iason Mink had immediate and constant access to all camera footage in both
Tanagura and Midas. It was therefore no great difficulty for him to keep track
of his latest prized possession on a regular basis. The red light on the camera
flickered once while she was staring at it. Only now realising the entourage
she had drawn while crossing the densely packed square, Mimea giggled. Usually
she just ignored strangers who were hoping to buy her services, unaware that
those services were not for sale because she had a personal owner, even at her
later age. But as the camera flickered once again, Mimea recognised an unspoken
challenge.

It only takes a camera to change her mind
  

Tracing back some of her own steps the young woman walked as closely to some of
her interested buyers as she could without actually touching them, throwing
them furtive glances from beneath her thick, black lashes as she gave them a
good look into her cleavage. Knowing they would follow suit, Mimea entered a
nearby club and went to sit on a high stool at the bar, making sure that the
skirt of her nearly knee-length dress rode up to mid thigh in the process of
seating herself. The bartender – a recently retired Furniture by the look of it
– approached her with a look of slight surprise, not used to female clients at
the respectable club.
“Excuse me, miss, but it is forbidden to sell goods of any kind inside this
establishment”, the young man spoke while averting his eyes, impeccably polite
even while requesting her to leave.
“It’s a good thing then that I’m here to buy, not to sell. One flute of pink
champagne if you please, make it a good brand”, she spoke, not bothering to
look the waiter in the eye while speaking to him but studying her long, red-
painted nails instead.

She's going out tonight, loves drinking just champagne
 
“Ah, I’m sorry, miss, but I will have to insist. My patron wishes to keep this
establishment free of all... other distractions, if you understand my meaning.”
“Pray tell, boy, what is the eventual goal of this establishment? What is the
whole point of the existence of this bar?”, the pertinent little Pet asked,
taking a bright pink file out of her little gold purse and beginning to do her
nails with it, apparently unable to recognise her cue to leave.
“Ergh... ?”, the former Furniture was at a loss for words. Not only because no
Pet had ever called him a boy before, but also because he was used to blindly
obeying orders without thinking about the purpose or workings of a whole.
“To make money, that is correct. Therefore, if I were to order, say, a round of
your most expensive brand of champagne for everyone in here... that would make
your patron... how much money exactly?”, the red-head asked sweetly, turning to
look at the waiter while putting on her best innocent face. He did not look
anything like what she had expected based on the rather unpleasant, impatiently
pressuring tone he was using with her. Both his hair and eyes were an unusually
dark shade of brown and he was handsome in that particularly striking way that
almost made him too attractive to be a Furniture. She slowly ran her burning,
orange eyes up and down his body in an approving manner. She would have never
gazed upon a Furniture in such a way in the past, but after having observed her
new Master assessing his Black Market overseer in a similar manner, she had
come to see the appeal. She was a deeply sensual creature after all, a
characteristic she unexpectedly shared with her possessive owner.
 
And she has been checking nearly all the men
 
“That would come down to approximately 6 million credits, miss, as our most
expensive brand of champagne is Golden Empress and at least three bottles would
be required to serve all current customers”, a small but decidedly smug grin
appeared on his face, ruining the positive effect of her earlier assessment
entirely and snuffing out any sympathy she might have had for him.
“Well, then you have my order. I’d like to pay by card”, the pretty Pet said as
she held up an unlimited credit card, the gold sparkling enough to draw the
attention of several onlookers seated at the bar.

She's playing her game and you can hear them say
 
Caught off-guard by the entirely unexpected direction this encounter had taken,
the boy momentarily slipped, allowing his thoughts to reach his lips without
being sufficiently filtered. “Where...?”
“Did I get an unlimited credit card? Why, where do you imagine? Any fool in
Midas knows that only members of the Tanaguran Syndicate have them. I suppose
there is some truth after all to the cliché that pretty boys have no brains to
speak of.”
As anger began to show through his otherwise perfectly composed façade, making
his brows frown in a way that was most unbecoming, the waiter spoke again. “Of
course I know that only Syndicate members have them. The question rather is
where a... girl like you... got one.” It could not have been more insulting if
he had used the word whore outright.
“Oh? Some of us are actually good at our jobs, good enough to get a promotion
of sorts. My beloved Master, Lord Mink – have you heard of him? – has lent me
his card in exchange for excellent personal services rendered to him.”

She is looking good, for beauty we will pay
 
“I was unaware that the Elite of Tanagura now pay their Pets in actual money,
isn’t the honour of serving one as great as a Blondie payment enough?”
“Dude, you’ve clearly never been on the receiving end of one of those blond
bastards before, or you wouldn’t be spitting out total crap like that...”, a
low, vulgar voice with a trace of masochistic humour rudely interrupted.
“Riki!” The fiery beauty at the bar was off her chair and in the arms of the
leather-clad mongrel in seconds, kissing both of his rough cheeks in welcome.
“You’re early, I wasn’t expecting you until later...”
Damn it! How long has he been listening?! She wasn’t usually one to flaunt her
new-found connection to the Mink household, but of course the only one who was
not to find out about it just happened to waltz in seconds after she’d
mentioned Iason Mink’s name!
After taking in the picture-perfect vision in front of him – never quite
knowing how it was possible he had actually become friends with such a stunning
looker –, the infamous Bison leader threw off his worn biker jacket and sat
down, ignoring the disapproving glares thrown his way from all over the bar.
“That why you told this pompous asshole your mystery benefactor is a Blondie?”
Thank Jupiter! He didn’t hear!
Mimea sighed, snapping her manicured fingers at the now even more astonished
bartender to hurry up with their champagne and gracefully perching on top of
the stool next to Riki. “I’m sorry, I know I should’ve told you sooner... but I
just didn’t want you to be upset or worried.”
“I’d say you’ve failed miserably at that... Why on Amoy would you trust a
Blondie ever again after all the shit that went down before?” The gang leader
leaned back on his metal stool in order to look the shorter female in the eye,
giving her a black, incredulous stare. What the hell had Mimea gotten herself
into now? Perhaps he was wrong to assume that he’d been the only party
responsible for her earlier fall from grace. Could there be such a thing as a
bred class A Pet with a talent for trouble?
“I just... he’s different, once you get to know him...”, the girl tried to
explain. The whole thing would have sounded unbelievable to her as well only a
couple of months ago. So how could she possibly present it in a credible manner
to Riki now, without mentioning that her new Master was in fact his own former
tormentor? The mongrel wasn’t born yesterday, she’d have to tread very
carefully. “I know it sounds crazy but I feel as if he understands me, as if
he’s a kindred soul of sorts...”
“You feel a Blondie is your kindred soul? Bloody hell, Mimea, how many drinks
have you already had in here?”, the mongrel said with a look of astounded
disbelief, downing the entire contents of his champagne flute in one go.
“We don’t know them, nobody does, not really.... Usually they don’t want to be
known, but he does. I think he’s terribly lonely and confused about himself,
about his human feelings...”, she continued in a softer voice, looking at him
with slightly humid doe eyes, trying to appeal to his conscience and sympathy.
For someone used to living in the gutter and minding his own business, Riki’s
Ceresian sense of honour was remarkable enough to sometimes make him defend the
rights of those he felt were victimised by Tanagura’s tyranny.
“He’s got feelings then? Sure he’s not just bored and messin’ with ya just for
the hell of it?” The young rebel couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran icily
down his back as he recalled how Iason’s mind games would mess with his
emotions. At times he himself had become convinced that the blond robotic deity
genuinely cared for him and was chasing after him because he respected his
pride and strength of will. But after experiencing the Elite’s determination to
utterly destroy his resolve and his very soul, there was no way that could be
the case. The pampered prick had been toying with him all along! First ordering
him to degrade himself in public and then giving him a kiss every once in a
while to confuse him and throw him off-guard, only to strike hard again at a
later time. There was just no way he was gonna let that happen to Mimea!
“Oh, I’m sure. The truth is we didn’t exactly hit it off the first time we met,
but it gradually grew over time. It’s almost as if the more reason I gave him
to dislike me, the more he came to like me. Isn’t that strange?”
“Guess not. It’s sorta what happened with me and Iason too, right?” The louder
Riki would refuse him and cry bloody murder, the more he seemed to enjoy
breaking his body and spirit.
“Uhu... I don’t think it’s quite the same though. If anything it’s... even more
intimate. More like we’re partners in crime.” Maybe she could keep them both at
the end of the game. The mongrel and the Blondie.
The Black Market courier lifted a handsome dark eyebrow at that. Partners in
crime? What crime of an Elite’s could Mimea possibly be involved in? Or did she
think she was being a bad girl by letting some golden psycho bang her? “You
partners in sex too?” Mimea nearly choked on the liquid gold she was sipping.
“No offence, but that’s kinda your game, right?”
“t Is more his game than mine, trust me. I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s
manipulating me at the same time I’m manipulating him.” Holy motherfucker. That
sounded as if she was in way over her head, caught in a web of crossing and
double-crossing.
“Why do they even bother with it, I wonder? I mean, they can have anybody do
anything they damn well please anyways! So why the deceit, why the mind-
fucking?” And why do people just keep on taking their shit over and over
again?!
“Perhaps our minds aren’t the only ones being fucked with. Perhaps their divine
Mother in her infinite wisdom fucks with their minds as much as they fuck with
ours.” Truth be told, the entirety of the Tanaguran system could not be blamed
solely on the Elite that enforced it. Through her close relationship with
Iason, Mimea had come to realise that the Elite were tied to Jupiter’s system
as well, probably even more so than regular Midas citizens.
“Are you sayin’ you think they’re victims as much as perpetrators? I’m finding
that a little hard to believe...” As the snobby waiter brought their second
bottle of champagne, Riki snatched it from his hands and vented some of his
frustrations by smashing its head off against the bar, pouring nearly as much
champagne on the bar and the floor as he was in their glasses.
Pretending not to be disturbed in the slightest by her mongrel friend’s rather
violent display, the pretty ex-Pet took up her crystal glass again and
continued in a civilised tone: “The two of us have had many things happen to us
that were a little hard to believe. That doesn’t change the fact that they did
actually happen.”
“So you would explain the Blondies’ interest in us, how exactly?”, as his
irritation with the girl’s stupidity reached its peek, Riki smashed his glass
down hard enough to break it to pieces. “What, they’re lonely? They want us to
be friends? They’re in love with us?” Riki burst out loud in bitter laughter at
that last sentence. The very idea of it was absolutely ludicrous! An Elite in
love, right!
“To many the very notion of a Pet falling in love with a mongrel would be
ridiculous as well. But those people do not know Pets, they do not know that we
feel just as strongly as other people do, if not more so”, as she put down her
flute it was also with more force than strictly necessary and her voice had
become slightly higher-pitched.
“Shit...”, Riki cursed as he realised that Mimea was misinterpreting at whom
his anger was directed. “Shit, Mimea, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Of
course I didn’t mean you...”
“You gave me the benefit of the doubt. Can you give my new Blondie friend the
benefit of the doubt as well?”
The proud Bison leader slumped down in defeat at that and downed the rest of
the bottle of pricy booz in a matter of seconds. “All right then, you got me.
But I swear! If he lays even a finger on you...”
“He wouldn’t, our relationship isn’t like that. He knows that if he wants me to
be his confidante and adviser he needs to treat me like an equal. Regardless,
there is no need for physical violence or threats, as I know all too well he
could control every aspect of my life if he chose to do so.”
“You’re not gonna tell me who it is, are you?” Not that Riki knew all the
Blondies by name, but part of him just hated not knowing which one of those
cocksuckers exactly had Mimea in his grasp.
“I promised him not to, for understandable reasons.” Even if Lord Mink’s
unusual relationship with his mongrel Pet had been a public secret, no-one had
ever explicitly spoken of it and his status as Head of the Syndicate and
representative of Jupiter herself had protected him. It was only reasonable
that an Elite of that standing would demand utter secrecy from his Pet.
“Holy smokes, you and one of those blond high ‘n mighty bastards. Makes you
wonder, huh? What else is out there.” Was Iason’s infatuation with him truly
that unusual? He sure as hell had never heard of any such disregard of social
standards, but then again the inhabitants of Tanagura had become masters of
deception and discretion. There was truly no telling how many similar scandals
might have been covered up in the past. You could take the humans out of a
humane world but you could never really take the humanity out of the humans.
“Maybe they’ve got it all wrong. Maybe we don’t know anything about the way of
the world at all, maybe we never could and never will know anything”, the dark-
skinned man mused as he was randomly moving pieces of broken crystal around the
top surface of the bar, almost as if expecting that if he only pushed them
around long enough they’d end up forming a semblance of a glass again. In the
years right after the revolution it had often been stated by Tanagurans and
Midasians alike that it wouldn’t be long before Ceres was ruined entirely and
all its inhabitants had perished. Indeed Ceres had been ruined on all levels,
but somehow the mongrels had pushed through. Somehow they had adapted to the
loss of their human rights without ever really losing the core of their human
beliefs.
“I do know one thing for sure”, she said, pushing a stray piece of Riki’s glass
towards his hands. For a moment, her powdery-white doll hands were lying right
next to his dark strong and grimy ones. Only while carefully comparing the
seemingly mismatched set of hands in front of him did Riki notice that Mimea’s
red and gold nails resembled tiny flames.
The mongrel snapped out of his inner reverie and turned his face towards his
unlikely Tanaguran ally. “And what’s that?”
“That I love you, and always will”, she said and kissed him.
 
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankaknaknaknankankankankankankankankankank
                                        
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn’t cut it as a poor man stealing
 
He just couldn’t believe what he was seeing in front of his very eyes! All this
time he had thought that it was because of something he had done, never once
considering the possibility that the other party was to blame. The betrayal
stung so bad it made his eyes water and his teeth clench. His hands curled into
fists of their own volition, dirty fingernails cutting into the dark flesh of
his palms, blood dripping from his fingertips and being soaked up by the greedy
soil he was standing on.
 
Tired of living like a blind man
 
It wasn’t the fact that his soul mate wanted to sleep with some Tanaguran Pet
that hurt the most, it was that he had lied about it. Just how dense did his
childhood friend think he was? Did he seriously think he’d never find out about
this? Ever since Riki got back from wherever it was he went for years on end
without notice, he had acted differently. Perhaps it had been less obvious to
certain other gang members, but to him – who had known the old Riki through and
through – it had been clear from the start that something was wrong and that
Riki was keeping things from all of them, especially from him.
  
I’m sick of sight without a sense of feeling
 
Guy got down from the trash container he had climbed on top of in order to be
able to peer over the wall of a back alley that gave him a good view of those
seated at the bar of the pub across the street. Having seen more than he would
have liked to and more than enough to confirm his suspicions, he got unto his
bike and sped through the backstreets of central Midas, soon heading the
surrounding red light districts and drug lord territories surrounding the
centre.
 
And this is how you remind me
 
Transforming his building rage into break-neck speed to get out of that blasted
city of depravity and deceit, Guy felt tears stinging his eyes. Riki was the
last person from whom he would have expected such a betrayal to come. That
Kirie would sell out all of his fellow gang members in exchange for a chance at
a better life in Midas, was a well-known fact to all. But Riki? It just went
entirely against everything he thought he knew about the proud gang leader’s
integrity. The Riki he knew would die before ever lowering himself to even beg
for Midas’ scrapes and he had definitely not shown any interest in Pets or
females before.
  
This is how you remind me of what I really am
 
As the back alleys of Midas’ periphery passed by in a flash, Guy thought back
to all those times Riki had told him he loved him or had otherwise shown it
through his actions. Could he really have thrown all that away for a quick fuck
with some Tanaguran-bred Pet? Why?!
Could he possibly have misinterpreted the situation somehow? But no matter how
much he pained his mind about it, there was no logical explanation for Guy.
What other reason could Riki have to meet a Pet in a bar and then allow it to
kiss him, other than the obvious? What was Riki even doing inside a Midasian
high society bar anyways, weren’t those forbidden territory for mere mongrels?
And where the hell did he get the money to buy even a single drink in a posh
place like that? Something wasn’t right about it, too many loose ends and
inexplicable factors.
 
This is how you remind me of what I really am
 
As Guy’s speeding bike neared Bison’s hide-out in Ceres, passing the familiar
slum landscape that consisted out of several derelict grey-brown buildings and
burned-out hovercars, he decided not to say anything to the other gang members
just yet. He’d wait for Riki to come home, get him alone and then confront him
about it, just in case there was some other explanation for his atypical
behaviour. Even if his own hazel eyes had seen it, his loyal heart still
couldn’t believe it.
 
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankaknaknaknankankankankankankankankankank
                                        
As one liquid petal after another fell down from the dark heavens and was glued
unto the transparent barrier made up by the windowpane, the young woman’s
vision of her departing black-haired friend and desired lover became less and
less clear. Until eventually she was watching a black figure with vague
contours speeding off into the night, soon to be swallowed by the all-
encompassing brightness of the traffic lights. If only she could have been one
of those raindrops that were swept up by the wind and blown far and wide into
the night. But she wasn’t, she was one of those drops that were doomed to stick
to the window in their downwards slide to oblivion. One of those drops that
would stick together until one could no longer tell where one ended and another
began, for they all became part of the bigger sheet of water that stuck to the
cold, reflective surface.
Yet the copper-haired girl knew that come winter, the drops would at times act
differently, some of them taking on the shape of stars as they would harden up
against the window, putting a momentary halt to their descent, at least until
the thaw. But could she ever hope to be icy enough to become one of those
crystals? And was not the fate of such a long-lasting ice flower chained to the
window far worse than that of the short-lived raindrop that was blown into
oblivion by the winds of freedom?
Mimea was suddenly awakened from her window-gazing reverie when the hypermodern
communication device in her small glitter purse began to pulsate with enough
force to make the porcelain coffee cup on the table shake dangerously. Quickly
and efficiently pulling the zipper on the purse, she was fast to retrieve the
buzzing device and to hit the respond button. There was no need to even check
who was on the other side of the line, for there was only one person who even
knew of the existence of the sophisticated, silver phone. “Yeah?”
“Did he leave already?”
“Yeah, he did, you wouldn’t be calling me if he hadn’t.”
“Why?”
“I guess because you wouldn’t want to risk him overhearing us and figuring out
that we were working together.”
An impatient sigh could just be made out on the other side of the line.
“Honestly, Mimea, sometimes I feel as if I am giving your intellect far more
credit than it deserves. I mean why did he leave so soon?”
“He was in here talking to me for an hour, what makes you think that is only a
small thing?”
“The last time the two of you met you were together for one hour and fifteen
minutes. The time before you spoke for one hour and a half. The time before
that for nearly two hours. Do you see what I mean?”
“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”
“That is an easy statement to make when it is the quantity that is apparently
lacking in your performance.”
  
This is how you remind me of what I really am
 
She grabbed her coffee cup hard enough for her knuckles to turn white. Her
patron’s choice of the word “performance” was no coincidence, it was a word he
always used when he wanted to degrade her by reminding her of what she
officially – truly – was.
“Well, sometimes the easy statement is incidentally also the right statement.”
She put her cup down on the table with a little bit more force than was
strictly necessary, eliciting the disapproving gazes of the nearest waiter and
several customers at a nearby table. “I told you I would get him to trust me in
all things, and I’m well on my way to doing just that. But this can only be
achieved over a longer period of time, meaning many short interactions have a
far greater effect than few long ones.”
“Pray tell, Pet, if you felt you were failing in your assignment, would you
tell me as much?”
  
This is how you remind me of what I really am
  
“I do not feel I am failing in my assignment, not at all.”
“Just answer the question.”
Taking a great gulp of coffee to give herself courage through caffeine, she
responded. “Yes, I would tell you as much. Of course I would! Is that not what
we agreed on, that we would trust each other?”
  
It’s not like you didn’t know that
 
“Indeed, that was part of our mutual agreement.”
“Well, then you will simply have to trust that I know what’s best when it comes
to luring him in. You tried it your way and it failed rather miserably.”
“Mimea,” that one word was sharp enough for fear to start to race through her
veins right away. Swallowing her apprehension, she began her counterattack
nonetheless.
“What, do you deny it? Despite all the interaction time you had put into it,
all your attempts to sway Riki were in vain. Whereas where I had spoken to him
only a few times, he was willing to risk everything for me. As much as it may
pain you to hear it, my Lord, this is something I know how to do and you do
not.”
“Perhaps you are right about that, my dove. But do not forget that you are only
to use your influence to bring him to me, not to you.”
“You. Me. What’s the difference? We’re all the same player now. Besides, you
are the one he fell in love with, not me. In spite of your absolutely
disastrous attempts to seduce him, he still ended up falling for you, he
probably already had the moment he first laid eyes on you. And everything you
have done since has merely served to push him away.”
“Is there a reason – other than a subconscious desire to be punished by my hand
– that drives you to speak to me in such an offensive manner?”
Sighing, she put another sugar cube into her cup, wondering how someone with
the intellect of a deity could be so idiotic when it came to the basics of
human emotion.
“What I’m saying is that you treated him like utter shit and he actually likes
you that much that he still feels attracted to you in spite of your shitty
treatment. It is not a question of making the guy fall in love with you – as he
obviously already is madly in love with you – but rather it is a question of
making him perceive you as a person tolerable enough for him to consider as a
lover.”
“And do you believe yourself capable of making him perceive me as such a ...
tolerable person?”
“That shouldn’t be too hard, seeing as howI already perceive you as such,
Iason.”
  
I said I love you and I swear I still do
 
“What makes you believe that your perceptions are of any importance to me?”
“Because my perceptions are precisely the tools I need to alter Riki’s
perceptions, not to mention they make me more motivated to do so.”
“If you were to – for whatever reason – fail in your assignment, Mimea, you
would be worth nothing to me, in addition to already being worth nothing to
anybody else of any consequence. I daresay there is more than enough motivation
in that, wouldn’t you agree?”
At this barely-concealed threat the former Pet was shaking so much that she
almost dropped the small portable phone she had pressed to her ear. Covering
the mouth piece, she took a couple of deep breaths and counted to ten in her
head.
  
Cause living with him must have damn near killed you
 
“You know, that is exactly the shitty treatment that I am referring to. Why are
you so terrified of someone actually liking you that youhave to discourage them
from doing so at each and every turn? You wish for Riki to come to you freely,
do you not?”
There was a brief silence at the other end of the communication line.
“Yes. Yes, very much so.”
“Then let a human solve that human matter.”
  
And this is how you remind me of what I really am
 
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankaknaknaknankankankankankankankankankank
 
Riding his bike through the downpour that had started right after he left the
bar, Riki let his thoughts loose on the unlikely things he had learned from his
conversation with the ex-Pet. The rain that fell from the neon sky in buckets
made everything around him appear foreign, vague and confusing, even if the
route he travelled was well-known to the mongrel. The water appeared to create
a multicoloured, magnifying sheet between him and everyone else in the busy
streets, casting everything in a variety of different lights and thus creating
strange illuminated shapes.
Who exactly was Mimea’s mysterious blond protector? And why on Amoy would a
member of the Syndicate lower himself to show any concern for someone else’s
discarded Pet? Could it be that not all Elite were the same cold-hearted,
selfish bastards? That some of them actually cared about someone other than
themselves, even someone who was not deemed a person by the rest of society?
Nearing his gang’s shelter at the outer border of Ceres, Riki almost wished
that the other Bisons would not be there. He had too much stuff to think about
that they couldn’t understand, memories of his own time in Tanagura plaguing
his mind once more. Least of all he wished for Guy’s presence, as the two of
them had barely spoken a meaningful word since his return several months ago.
Not telling Guy that there had been someone else and that he therefore he was
no longer interested felt like lying to him.
But how could Riki possibly tell him the truth without branding himself a
traitor in his eyes? Moreover if it were known that Riki had been an Elite’s
Pet for years he would become an outcast in Ceres, never allowed to set foot
there again on pain of death. Nobody would even stop to wonder if he had become
a Pet willingly, for all mongrels detested both Pets and Furniture because they
envied them their comfortable lives in Tanagura, not realising how heavy the
price for that moment’s comfort truly was.
Spotting Guy’s bike among the usual bikes at the entrance, Riki couldn’t
suppress a sigh as he pushed his bike under the make-shift awning to prevent it
from rusting prematurely. Not that it made much difference, for the awning was
old and practically a sieve. Casually sliding a hand through his wet, messy
hair, Riki entered the shelter, not bothering to kick off his muddy boots for
the floor inside was probably even filthier than the ground outside. On days
like this he seriously missed the comforts of Mink’s warm, dry penthouse and
all the commodities therein. He would just about die for a hot shower, a mug of
cacao and one of those clean fluffy bathrobes right about now.
“The prince of Ceres finally returns!!”, a positively wasted Sid got up from
the wobbly crate he was seated on and stumbled in Riki’s direction while
grabbing the walls of their rundown shelter for support. Deftly avoiding the
other’s wildly waving arms, Riki continued in the direction of the campfire the
other mongrels were seated around, spotting Guy straight away. Why is he
avoiding my gaze? Usually Guy would be the first one to greet Riki when he came
in. He must have gotten sick of being ignored by me, my bad.
“Hi guys. Man, can you believe this weather?”, the Bison leader said as he sat
down on the only real chair in the hide-out – upholstery sticking out of the
plastic back – and accepted the dusty bottle of stout offered to him by Norris.
“What I can’t believe is how long it took you to get your ass back here, Riki”,
Luke said. “And without anything to show for it either? That’s unlike you.”
“Maybe Riki was otherwise engaged on his little fieldtrip, Luke”, Guy’s low
voice sounded from the other side of the fire, his eyes finally lifting to meet
Riki’s, full of accusation.
“What the fuck’s that’s supposed to mean, Guy? What, I can’t go for a spin in
the rain just cause I feel like it?”, the other mongrel joked, while knowing
full well by the look in Guy’s eyes that whatever his problem was, it was no
laughing matter.
  
It’s not like you to say sorry
 
“Oh, it’s not the spin that’s got me worried, rather it’s the direction you
spun into. I didn’t know they even served mongrels at the bars in downtown
Midas, but then again maybe it had something to do with the company you were
in, huh?”
For a moment Riki was utterly speechless, a thousand thoughts running through
his head in one big jumbled-up mess. “Guy, whatever you heard...”, he began.
“What I saw, with my own eyes”, Guy spoke, his voice loud enough now to alarm
the rest of the gang.
“Whatever you saw, it’s not what you think...”
“So you weren’t sticking your tongue down a red-haired female Pet’s throat in
some fancy bar called Ecstasia?”
 “No, I wasn’t! She kissed me, not the other way around, and it wasn’t that
sort of kiss!” Riki felt a wave of anger washing over him so strongly that it
made him nauseous. Not anger at Guy, for with what little information he had he
was right to be pissed, but anger at the whole injustice of the situation he
now found himself in. He’d known it would only be a matter of time before even
the wide social distance between Ceres and Eos could no longer protect him from
the truth getting out, he’d just hoped he would have had a little more time.
  
I was waiting on a different story
 
“I didn’t realise there were different sorts of kisses to receive from a
whore?”, Guy laughed, but not with mirth.
“She ain’t no whore!”, at this Riki jumped out of the chair, willing to beat up
anybody who had the guts to offend his friend, Bison or no Bison.
“That almost sounds as if you know here”, Guy smirked in a decidedly derogatory
way.
“Cause I do know her, OK! What, you think I was there buying me some random
piece of ass, huh?! You ought to know I’m not interested in getting laid that
way!”
 
This time I’m mistaken
 
“Oh yeah? Then why were you there with that female without telling anybody
about it, huh? Just how stupid do you think I am, Riki?!” Guy also jumped up in
a sudden fit of rage, knocking over his crate and throwing his stout bottle
into the fire, creating a rather frightening fireball right above it, but Riki
wasn’t impressed.
 
For handing you a heart worth breaking
 
“She’s just a friend, all right! I didn’t tell you cause I knew you’d react
like this, I knew you wouldn’t understand...” If he had seen Guy in a similar
way only a few years ago he would have probably reacted in the same – no, an
even worse – way.
“Just a friend?! What, you go to pick up a Pet cause you wanna be friends with
her? Oh, come on! Why would you even be interested in being friends with an
empty-headed spoiled little bitch like that...”
 “If you had even the slightest idea of what she had to go through, you
wouldn’t ever dare to call her spoiled! And she’s got a whole lot more brains
than many folk that I know from around here.”
 
And I’ve been wrong
 
“What she had to go through? And what’s that, huh? Getting her freakin’ nails
done by some castrated traitor punk while she’s sipping lemonade? Moaning loud
enough for her Master’s pleasure while some pretty boy’s riding her slutty
ass?”
 “Shit, you’ve got no idea what it’s like up there, do you? Never mind! If I
can’t even get some fucking respect around here anymore and have people mind
their own bloody business, I really can’t see the benefits of livin’ in a dump
like this!” After screaming those words at Guy loud enough to nearly take his
head off, the infamous Riki the Dark turned on his heels and strode out of the
derelict warehouse. I gotta get out of here before I fucking kill someone!
 
I’ve been down
 
“Hey!!”, Guy chased Riki outside into the rain while the other Bisons just
stood there gaping, unsure what to do or whose side to choose. “Where the hell
do you think you’re going, you cheating scumbag?! First making up excuses for
whores, and now you’re just running off like some coward?!”
“What, you’d rather I give you a good beating before I go, huh?!! Is that it?!
Let’s hear how you moan while I bash in your miserable face!”, as Riki came at
Guy armed with a broken stout bottle, Luke and Sid decided it was time to
intervene, only allowing Riki to take one hit before they pulled him off of his
former pairing partner.
  
Into the bottom of every bottle
 
Getting back on his feet and wiping his bloody face, Guy simply yelled on with
fists swinging, Norris now getting involved as well, blocking his path.“It sure
would be the first time you’d make me moan since you got back! What, am I not
good enough for you anymore?! Cause you’ve got some A-Class pampered slut to
bang now?!”
 
These five words in my head
 
 “I’ve had it with this fucking jealousy thing!! If I wanna talk to the girl,
if I wanna kiss the girl... hell, if I wanna fuck the girl, then I will! It’s
my business! And not you, not anybody, is gonna tell me what to do, you hear
me?!”
  
Scream “Are we having fun yet?”
  
The other gang members exchanged a few surprised glances. Since when had Guy
ever shown any signs of jealousy before today? If nothing else, Guy had been an
example of the patient, understanding boyfriend since Riki got back, never even
asking why Riki didn’t want to have sex with him and was being so distant. It
was only natural that he’d react in this way after catching their leader in the
act of cheating, and with a female at that.
 “Fuck this shit, I’m gettin’ outta here, good luck scraping it together by
yourselves from now on, ya bunch of ungrateful assholes...”, Riki hissed
angrily, getting on his bike and starting it up with a loud bang before flying
off into the night, the cool rain spattering on his face actually feeling like
a relief now.
 
Yeah, yeah
 
Switching the bike into full gear, Riki left the ramshackle huts, tents and
abandoned, burned-out buildings of Ceres behind him, heading unto Orange Road,
that was as busy as ever even at that time of night. Driving like a maniac,
Riki could barely avoid colliding with several vehicles, not even bothering to
look behind him while dismayed drivers and passengers got out of their cars to
call him names. As the dreadful weather beat down on him and soaked him to the
bone, Riki could feel hot streams running down his face. Grateful for the rain
hiding his unusual emotional display of weakness, Riki focussed on the road
ahead in order to keep thoughts of what had just transpired at Bison
headquarters at bay. He couldn’t deal with all that crap, he just had to get
away from it all.
  
No, no
  
After driving down most of the main road at dangerous velocity, Riki realised
what direction he had been instinctively going in as the gigantic towers of
white stone and glittering glass doomed up ahead. Right in front of him, only
surpassed in height and grandeur by Jupiter Tower itself, was Eos Tower, its
many lights making it appear like a star in the sky, visible from light years
away.
 
Yeah, yeah
 
Both awed and frightened by the path his body had taken him in his moment of
doubt, Riki made a narrow turn, heading into the district of Diego rather than
Mistral Park. Finally he was able to stop and shut down the bike at a wharf
further down the side of the road, not that the open building offered him much
shelter from the storm currently raging.
 
No, nooo
  
Parking his bike and leaning against one of the great concrete pillars
supporting the dark, abandoned place, Riki finally sank down in a muddy puddle
and cried his heart out. How were things supposed to go back to normal from
here on out? Had he not done everything humanly possible to get back to his
gang and to get things back on track with them? Then why did he feel like he
was failing miserably? Just how much misfortune could one person – no matter
how tough – take?
 
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                              To Be Continued ...
                     Bring on those reviews, please!!! :)
                                        
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***** Nowhere to Run *****
Chapter Summary
     Having run away from his gang, Riki finds himself in dire need of a
     place to stay and turns to Katze for help. But can Iason's former
     Furniture really be trusted? And what if Riki's destined path leads
     him back towards his old Master regardless?
Author’s_notes: 
So here it is, as promised, the next chapter! It still took longer than I had
anticipated cause I just kept adding to it, especially to the ending, but in my
defence I do have a much longer chapter to post now :) As I’m sure you’ve
noticed this fic is slow-burn as far as Riki/Iason is concerned, but Riki’s
definitely taking a couple of steps closer to Iason in this chapter ;)
Now all I gotta do is finally continue writing the next chapter for Crossing
the Bridge, which is still moving, steadily but slowly :P
 
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Soundtracks: Nightcrawler – Bloodrage
                      Galantis – Runaway (U & I)
  
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Opening theme: Nightcrawler – Bloodrage (instrumental)
 
After sitting there in the cold rain and darkness for a while – he had no idea
whether it had been minutes or hours or all night long – Riki could suddenly
discern footsteps heading in his direction. “Hello? Anybody in here?”, a rough,
deep voice sounded. As Riki looked up, he could just make out a bulky figure
approaching him. The mongrel scrambled up and prepared to make a run for it,
but a familiar voice said: “Riki? That you? What the fuck you doin’ in here,
kid?”
As the big man stepped up close and into a beam of light falling down a hole in
the ceiling, Riki finally recognised him. “Hector? It’s been like forever, man,
how’ve you been?” He was honestly surprised that he managed to keep the despair
and heartache out of his voice, for the most part.
“Yeah, been way too long. I’ve been good, y’know, just getting jobs done and
minding my own business. You’ll be wanting the boss, yeah? Here, let me put
that away for ya, all that stuff gets stolen round here...”, the heavy Black
Market man said as he took care of Riki’s bike, pushing it through the wharf
and out a back door, chaining it to the wall there. It was only now that Riki
realised he had incidentally stumbled into one of Katze’s illegal warehouses,
recognising the building behind the warehouse and the metal stairs leading up
to Katze’s unofficial office. “You’re in luck, as it so happens the boss is
here today, just up the stairs, head on in, he shouldn’t be too busy...”
Beginning to shake almost uncontrollably after having spent the whole night
outside while soaked to the bone, Riki merely nodded his thanks and headed up
the stairs as fast as his nearly-frozen legs would carry him, the denim
sticking unpleasantly to his wet skin. It was only when he stood in front of
Katze’s office door that he wondered what the hell he was doing there. What the
fuck was he gonna tell Katze? Was it even wise to be asking help from a guy who
had proven himself to be unworthy of his trust in the past? But what choice did
he have, if he wanted a place to stay where Guy wouldn’t bother him?
Just as Riki had mustered up the courage to knock on the door anyways, get warm
and possibly get some liquor in his belly if nothing else, the door opened for
him, revealing a clearly overworked, almost ill-looking red-head. Obviously
surprised to see his occasional field agent there – and in such a dishevelled,
miserable state at that – Katze gestured for him to follow him back into the
office. “Riki... I wasn’t expecting you, not that I’d have bothered to try and
make this place any less of a mess for the likes of you”, the former Furniture
said as he indicated for Riki to sit down at an unusually cluttered desk. For
Katze not to make time to clean up his office, he had to have been impossibly
busy. “Damn, you look like you’ve been caught in a blizzard, want a towel?”
“Yeah, thanks man. You wouldn’t send a dog out in this weather”, Riki said, as
he gratefully accepted the clean towel Katze offered him, drying his unruly
hair and peeling his cold, wet shirt off. The towel absorbed the water quickly
and was pleasantly soft to the touch, it was the same brand of towels that were
used at the Mink household, if Riki remembered correctly.
“Looks like someone’s sent you out in it though”, the Black Market boss
remarked, setting a cup of freshly-brewed quality coffee in front of the
shivering mongrel, the aroma wafting from it already making him feel much
better.
“Hmmm, I kinda sent myself out...”, he began, taking the cup but nursing it in
his hands to savour its warmth rather than its contents. “Listen, Katze. I’ve
run into a bit of a problem... Is there any way I could get an advance on my
paychecks?”
Surprised at this request, Katze donned his business-face and sat down in the
high-backed chair at the other side of the desk, steepling his fingers in that
way that always reminded Riki of Iason. “Well, like I told you when you first
started working for me, Riki, that’s not usually the way I operate.”
Sighing, Riki took a sip of the invitingly-hot coffee, burning his tongue in
the process. “Ah, shit, that’s hot! I know, man, but I’ve had it... with Guy,
with the gang, with everything... I want – no – I need something else to do
with my life. And from where I’m sitting there’s not a whole lotta options,
other than the market I mean.”
“Are you saying that you’d want to work as my permanent employee rather than as
an occasional freelancer from now on?” Amber, feline eyes now scrutinized him
in a more calculating manner, as if trying to appraise the value of an asset.
“If you’ll have me,” blowing on his coffee in a way Katze thought his Master
would have found decidedly adorable, he attempted to take another sip of the
steaming liquid.
“Shit, kid, you’ve gotta be one of the most devious minds I’ve ever
encountered, in Ceres or elsewhere. Of course I’m having you, there’s always
room for the pro street smarts that a man like yourself brings, and I mean
that. But I’m worried that this might just be a temporary phase you’re going
through... You see, I can’t hire people for a permanent position and have them
run off on me the next week, you understand?”
“I ain’t gonna run off on you. Hell, I can’t even if I wanted to! What am I
gonna live off if I do? And there’s no fucking way I’m going back to Bison,
Guy’s screwed things over with me real good... Anyhow, by the time my pride
would allow me to go back, I ain’t gonna be wanted there no more anyways.”
“So what happened? Not... that it’s any of my business, but I’d like to get a
better perspective on the situation... to determine how likely it is that
you’re serious about the job, that’s all.”
“Yeah, right. I ain’t stupid, Katze, I dunno what other idiotic slum scum
you’ve got workin’ for ya, but I know exactly what you’re thinking”, the former
gangleader said and resolutely put down his cup and pushing it towards Katze
across the desk, distancing himself from the warmth and comfort it so
deceivingly provided.
This was the overseer of the entire Black Market network he was dealing with
here, not to mention a man who hadn’t hesitated to sell him out before, in
order to improve his own position with the Tanaguran Head of the Syndicate and
his former Master. Riki simply couldn’t afford to make any mistakes now, even
if he felt like he’d be needing the other man’s help to survive on his own from
now on. If anything, Katze would know what it meant to climb your way up out of
the gutter: the many sacrifices it required, the childhood connections and
inbred ideals that were destroyed forever in that trying ascent.
“You do then? Well, I’m listening, what am I thinking?”, the seasoned criminal
mastermind asked with a sly expression, daring the other to be the first to
outright mention what both of them were undoubtedly thinking.
“Just how am I gonna get the most out of Riki’s unfortunate set-back, that’s
what you’re thinking.”
“Any man working in a permanent capacity for the market can tell you that I’m
nothing but fair in my dealings with my personnel...”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it! There’s only one thing in the world
you care about more than making money in the market, and that’s....” Pleasing
your Master.
Holding up a pale hand to silence him, Katze got out of his chair, opened the
office door, glancing left and right, and then closed it again.
“I have something to tell you, Riki, and I’d like you to listen and not
interrupt me as I do.”
“Kay”, Riki sulked, leaning back further in his chair and crossing his arms in
a nonchalant but also defensive posture.
“Like I said before, I’d be glad to have you in the market on a more permanent
basis. However, as you well know, the work is not without risk and the risk
increases drastically the moment one becomes a regular in the business. I’m
just gonna be straight with you, Riki: I can’t have your death on my hands. And
in order for you to make enough money in the market to sustain yourself outside
of Ceres, I would have to risk your life.”
Riki opened his mouth to protest but was stopped again by Katze’s hand gesture.
Unknowingly Riki reacted to it automatically because it had been the very same
gesture that Iason had used when he was being serious.
“But you being unwilling to go back to Guy could definitely work to my
advantage, there’s no mistaking that, therefore I wouldn’t mind investing in
your well-being. So here’s the deal: you work for me part time and I’ll pick
out some relatively safe jobs for you, in exchange I’ll provide you with an
apartment here in Diego and a decent allowance to live off.”
“That sounds... more than fair. But it’s you paying this allowance, right?”
There was no way he was taking charity from the very same Elite who’d ruined
his relationship with Guy and his gang in the first place.
“Of course, the market’s running smoothly, I could afford a great deal more
than the maintenance of one lousy little mongrel. You can trust me, Riki, I
will not speak of this arrangement between us, unless specifically questioned
on the matter of course.”
“No fucking way I trust you, I could never trust you again after what you
pulled on me back in the day. But the way things stand, I haven’t really got
much of a choice. Until I can figure out something else, I’m fine with your
proposal. But I’m gonna need your word that you’ll let me go when I ask.”
Katze sat down in the office chair again, undoing the height difference he had
so expertly been using during his speech, spread out his sinewy, pale arms and
said with a grin: “How am I gonna stop you from going anywhere?”
 
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After signing all of the required paperwork for Riki’s new job as a courier and
intelligence officer – which was semi-official and came with a temporary
residency pass for several Midas areas – Katze offered to drive his employee to
the living accommodations that came with the job.
“Thanks, but what about my bike? It’s parked out-back and it’s literally the
only possession I have so...”
“Don’t worry, I can fit it into the trunk if I push down the back seats. Go get
your bike, I’ll bring the car round”, the former Furniture said, walking down
the stairs with his usual efficiency but with less of a confident swagger than
Riki was used to when he was in his Black Market persona. Katze was probably
more exhausted than he was letting on, or maybe he simply didn’t bother with it
seeing as how Riki already knew who he truly was underneath all that mob boss
attitude.
Unchaining his bike and pushing it across the courtyard and around the front of
the building, Riki wondered if he had made the right decision taking a job from
Katze. But honestly, what other choice did he have at the moment? He couldn’t
go back to Bison, and he sure as hell wasn’t going back to Iason! He didn’t
even know if the Blondie would want him back, after all he had sent Riki away,
and the mongrel didn’t see how there could have been any other reason for that
than the powerful Elite’s momentary fancy having come to an abrupt end.
“Here, let me take that for you...”, Katze said as he reached for Riki’s
hoverbike when he got to the sleek, black car’s trunk.
“Nah, it’s fine, I ain’t starved to the point where I can’t lift my own bike no
more...”, the mongrel said stubbornly, turning away from the other’s extended
hands and sliding his bike inside the trunk in a nearly-Herculean effort,
biceps bulging slightly under his dark skin.
“I wasn’t offering cause I thought you couldn’t do it yourself. I just figured
you could use a hand, life’s more bearable that way”, the red-head said,
opening the passenger door for him with practised ease before he could protest
again. Riki decided not to start an argument with his employer this early in
the game and just got into the car without comment. Once seated in the car, he
could barely suppress a sigh of contentment as he felt the softness of the seat
cushions and breathed in the scent of leather upholstery. Studying the posh
dashboard with the many flickering lights and displays, Riki wondered at the
unfairness of the way in which wealth was divided in Midas.
“Damn, it’s weird, at times you’re just like any other mongrel, and then at
other times... not so much.”
“Really? How so?”, Katze wondered, turning around the car in a series of
smooth, well-coordinated moves before gliding off with graceful speed.
“First off there’s the way you talk, you’re always switching between slang and
an uptown accent. Then there’s this weird need to assist people, like just now
with the towel and the bike. And of course there’s the choice of car...”
“I fail to see how owning an expensive car is atypical for the boss of a
criminal organisation on such a grand scale.”
“I’m not talking about its price, I’m talking about its appearance. It’s just
too subtle, this is what someone classy would pick, not what an uprooted
slumdog would choose.”
“So you’d choose a bright-red convertible with tigerprint upholstery and purple
tail lights?”, Katze joked, turning unto one of the busier streets that led out
of the back neighbourhoods and towards the centre of Midas.
“Not exactly, although I’m sure Ceres is full of tasteless morons who would.
But I’d have chosen shiny black leather upholstery instead, and I’d at least
include some personal clutter in here, like a nice metal pendant on this mirror
here, and a fancy built-in ashtray...”
All of a sudden Katze interrupted Riki’s thoughts on the decoration of his
imaginary car’s interior with a fit of laughter.
“What?! Why are you laughing? Are my suggestions really that ridiculous?”, Riki
asked, trying to sound indignant at the other’s mockery but failing miserably,
as he was having serious difficulties not to burst out in laughter himself.
“OK, here we are, you’ll be housed in this block”, Katze informed him, the hint
of a smile still present on his usually-stoic face when he parked in front of a
modest but clearly decent block of flats on the outskirts of Diego, bordering
on the residential areas of central Midas. “Feel free to decorate the apartment
any way you see fit, as long as the fixtures that come with the place stay
attached to it.”
“That depends, are these fixtures you’re talking about covered in freakin’ gold
veneer or some posh shit like that?”
“Of course not, this is still Diego, they don’t do those kinds of fixtures
here, even if the building is owned by yours truly. Here’s your key”, he said,
holding out a small metal plaque on a keychain. “It’s connected to the
registration on your residency pass, so if you ever were to lose it you’d be
locked out of your own place so watch out.”
“I will, thanks for the warning”, the mongrel said, a weary look appearing on
his attractive face as he accepted his key, holding it in front of the sensor
next to the main entrance of the building. A couple of seconds later the red
light on the sensor turned green, the force fields across the façade went down
and the automatic glass doors opened into a relatively spacious and well-
maintained hallway, leading up to a single elevator.
Katze didn’t waste any time and went straight for the elevator, Riki following
him in silence, casting careful glances about him, taking in his new
environment. He was relieved that there was no classical music or pleasant
chime of any kind playing in the elevator, that had always annoyed the hell out
of him back in Eos Tower. Having grown up only a block away from the vast
wilderness of the Amoyan deserts, Riki was used to silence and did not feel
unnerved by it in the slightest. Listening carefully, Riki briefly wondered why
his own breathing was that much louder than the other’s. It was probably just
some kind of ingrained Furniture training, cause breathing that quietly could
not possibly come natural.
The elevator announced the arrival at their destined floor with a soft ping.
Allowing Katze to take the lead again, Riki went out of the elevator behind
him. The red-head stopped at a door that was only a few paces away from the
elevator, gesturing for Riki to hold his key to the sensor. A moment later they
walked into a modest, sparsely decorated apartment that was probably bigger
than the entire space Riki had shared with Bison and about the size of one of
the Mink household’s smaller reception areas, bedroom and bathroom included.
The main living area had a couch on one end and a set of dining table and
chairs next to a big window overlooking most of Diego on one side and the
residential area of Janus on the other. Riki also noticed that this building
was higher up than most in the immediate area, it had to be the most
sophisticated block of flats in this area of Midas. Off to the side of the
living area there was a small kitchen island, containing a sink, furnace,
microwave oven, fridge and several cupboards, compactly arranged into one
single unit.
“The kitchen comes with all the basic appliances, dishes and cutlery”, the
former Furniture said, opening the cupboards to show Riki where what materials
were stored. “Obviously there are no abundant luxuries, but I don’t suppose
you’d be needing any of those for the kind of cooking you’ll be doing in here.
You’ll have to do some grocery shopping to be properly set up though, there’s a
convenience store just down the street that’s open twenty-four seven that
should have everything you need.”
“All right, I’m used to making do with a fire to cook over so this is probably
more than I need already”, Riki murmured, moving his hand across the stainless
steel of the small refrigerator and then experimentally switching the buttons
on the electric furnace. It had enough space for two cooking pots but Riki
usually put everything into a single pot anyways.
“Come on, let me show you the bed- and bathroom, right this way”, Katze
indicated for Riki to enter the small bedroom first, ever the perfect host.
There was no furniture in the bedroom other than a medium-sized bed but there
was actually a small window in the room, which made Riki feel more at ease and
less like he was locked up in a cardboard box. Another door in the bedroom led
into a small bathroom that housed a washbasin, a toilet and a shower separated
from the rest of the room by a shoulder-high, white-tiled wall. It was surely
nothing luxurious or ultra-modern, but for someone who had made do without a
bathroom or even a toilet for most of his life, it didn’t look half bad.
“There are some towels in the cupboard underneath the basin, but anything else
you’ll have to buy for yourself”, Katze remarked, noticing how Riki’s eyes were
automatically searching for a window that wasn’t there as soon as they’d
entered the smaller space.
“Those be the same towels you use in your office?”, Riki asked, trying to act
casual about it and keeping his voice as steady as was possible for him.
Katze glanced at the mongrel in surprise, not having expected him to pay any
attention to such details as the origins of a towel. Shaking his head, he said:
“Nah, I just kept those around for a special occasion. But if you want some,
I’ve got access to heaps of them.”
“They sure are very nice towels. But I ain’t no nice kind of guy, so you can
keep ‘em.”
“They’re just towels, Riki.”
“Nothing’s just what it looks like, Katze. That ain’t the kind of world we’re
living in, especially on this side of the border.”
“You’re all right with accepting this entire apartment from me but not with
accepting a single towel from Iason?” There. He’d said it, the dreaded name.
The waiting was over. An uncomfortably long moment of silence followed, both of
them not looking at each other.
“Keep talking like that and I might change my mind about the whole job thing”,
Riki finally threatened half-heartedly, distrusting the other man but
absolutely clueless as to what other path he could take now.
“Now why would you want to do that for? The market’s as good a place as any for
someone from the slums, and you know I’ve a great personal interest in keeping
you alive and well.”
At this comment Riki rolled his eyes, turning away from Katze and heading back
into the bedroom. But Katze’s soft, nuanced voice followed him into the other
room: “Not to mention I genuinely like you, you remind me of myself when I was
younger. A bit louder and more aggressive perhaps, but decidedly not less
headstrong or cunning.”
“You sell out all your friends to sex-crazed psychopaths then, do you?”, Riki
snapped, throwing himself unto the bed and testing its resilience.
It was a rather Spartan single but it was decidedly good quality, almost as
soft as Iason’s bed but not quite. Also there were no silk sheets and extra
cushions, neither did it smell of flowers the way the beds in the penthouse did
when they were freshly made.
“In my defence, I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter. And it’s just the
one sex-crazed psychopath, I would have never even considered it were it any
other person, no matter how wealthy or influential, you should know that.”
“That’s just what you Tanagurans don’t get, Katze”, Riki said as he bounced up
from the bed, shaking off the fluffy comfort it had given him. “There’s always
a choice in the matter, you just have to keep fighting for what you believe
in.”
“I’m trying to do just that by hiring you, Riki. Don’t think I fail to
understand the concept of free will or the importance of it”, the ex-Furniture
said, his golden eyes conveying more emotion in that single moment than Riki
had ever seen in them before.
“Oh? So you hiring me is actually your choice, is it? You don’t have a secret
agenda of some sort? And you’re not planning on telling your beloved Master
about it then?”
“You know I’ll have to. At any rate he still asks about you regularly, so even
if I failed to mention it of my own accord, I’d be forced to admit it soon
enough.”
“But you won’t wait for that moment, will you?”, the mongrel accused.
“There would simply be no point, the only difference being that I would
undoubtedly be punished severely for holding back the information, especially
since it concerns you”, Katze tried to reason.
“Yeah, there would be a point. The point being that you wouldn’t have betrayed
my trust and that you would’ve held on to at least some dignity and self-
respect”, the other young man spoke with conviction.
Katze sighed as he led Riki back into the open plan living space. “If it means
that much to you... and if it can help me earn back your trust... then I will
not mention hiring you until he specifically asks me about what you’ve been up
to as of late. But as you well know, I’ll suffer the consequences for it,
however insignificant an offence it may be.”
“Yeah, I know. But if you want me to work for you, if you want me to trust you,
you have to give me something to prove that you’re on my side.”
“I’m sure I’ll have sufficient markings to show you as evidence of just that.
Now, I suggest you come along to my place, it’s too early to go grocery
shopping and I’m sure you must be both exhausted and famished by now.”
“Oh no, Katze, I couldn’t. But I’ll make do, no worries”, Riki said, trying to
get out of it. There was something about accepting charity and especially
comfort or camaraderie from the man that just didn’t sit well with him at all.
It was all a little bit too convenient, a little bit too good to be true.
“I insist. I can’t have my new employee faint on his first day of work”, with
that Katze turned around and headed out of the apartment in a confident stride
that practically commanded Riki to follow him, so he did.
Perhaps he ought to give Katze the benefit of the doubt, after all Riki knew he
had been a mongrel too in a distant past, just trying to get ahead and escape a
life of hardship, crime and an early death. And if he was willing to endure a
punishment at Iason Mink’s wrathful hands just to prove that he meant it, there
simply had to be some truth to his statement that he actually liked Riki.
When Katze got to his own apartment, which was apparently just down the hall
from Riki’s, he offered Riki a cold beer and then immediately went to work in
the kitchen.
“So... you actually live in one of these yourself, huh?” The apartment hardly
looked any more decorated or personalised than Riki’s blank canvas did,
suggesting that Katze didn’t truly live in it but only went there to sleep. All
the furniture looked roughly the same, possibly the materials they were made
out of were of better quality, but there was no artwork or personal
paraphernalia anywhere in sight.
“It’s close to work and I don’t need anything more”, Katze explained as he was
whisking some eggs in a bowl while pre-heating a pan on the furnace. “I hardly
spend any time in here as it is, it wouldn’t make any sense to acquire anything
fancier.”
“Listen, you don’t have to do anything special, man, it’s just me, whatever you
fix or heat up is fine.”
“No, I like doing it. There’s hardly any reason for me to bother with cooking
these days, as it’s only me and I hardly have regular meal times. But to be
honest I miss it sometimes, just the simplicity of it, I guess. While I’m in
the kitchen I can just forget about everything else, at least for a while.”
“I... never really looked at it that way. But you’re right, it’s like your own
little protective bubble. I guess Furniture must be living just as much in a
bubble as Pets are.”
“You forgot Elite, their bubbles tend to be the thickest of all”, Katze
remarked, as he poured the eggs into the pan and set it on the furnace, moving
on to cut up some defrosted vegetables. Of course he wouldn’t keep around fresh
ingredients if he was hardly ever at home, but Riki did notice how perfectly
organized his hybrid fridge-freezer looked, all the containers neatly stacked
and labelled.
Riki laughed at Katze’s last remark, a genuine laugh that lightened the mood
straight away. “You’re definitely right about that, I’ve never met anyone more
thick-headed than those motherfuckers up there in Eos Tower.”
It felt like such a great relief to be able to talk about his time in Tanagura
with someone, even if it was someone he couldn’t trust in a million years. Of
course there was Mimea, but with her being a female and his own guilt complex
Riki was always worried that he’d say something to upset her, so they hardly
ever discussed their past in Eos.
“Neither did I, and I’ve actually met quite a few dignitaries from other city
states and even other planets”, Katze chuckled, adding vegetables to what
looked like a super-deluxe omelette in the making.
“Hey, you need me to do anything? I’m not a complete idiot when it comes to
cooking, y’know, I’m just not used to using fancy materials and machinery.”
“I figured. Here, you can peel and cook these potatoes. If anything Ceres makes
one creative when it comes to gathering ingredients and attempting to make them
semi-digestable and remotely palatable.”
“Yeah, I recall this time when I’d actually prepared rat and managed to
convince everyone else that it was stolen rabbit”, Riki snickered while
grabbing a knife to peel the potatoes, but then fell silent when he realised
he’d probably never cook for Bison again.
“Strictly speaking there isn’t in fact a whole lot of difference between a rat
and a rabbit, the only difference is in the way people perceive them,
associating rats with filth and disease”, Katze reasoned, his facial expression
even so Riki didn’t know for sure if he could be implying something more than
what he was saying.
“Something tells me we’re not talking about rats and rabbits anymore... Am I
right?”, Riki replied in a more serious tone.
“You think I don’t see what’s wrong with this world, this system, simply
because I have become a part of it and in some ways am thriving off it. But if
anything, I’ve never seen its flaws more clearly than I do now, having seen
both sides of the spectrum. And I know you see them just as clearly as I do, if
not more so. Unfortunately I’m not in a position to do much about it, I can
only influence my own existence, but not that of others”, the ex-Furniture
spoke, his voice suddenly taking on an almost wistful quality.
“That’s just the way everyone thinks, every man for himself while the big shots
continue to boss everyone around”, Riki tried to assure the other. He’d learned
from childhood that it was a dog eat dog world and that in the end the only
person anybody could truly help was oneself.
Yet he had truly cared about several people at many times in his difficult
life, even sharing his hard-earned food and liquor with them. Cause living on
your own just didn’t feel like much of a life. But although he had held genuine
affection for most members of his gang, Riki had never forgotten that when push
came to shove he was alone. If anything the events with Iason Mink and the more
recent argument with Guy had reminded Riki of that cruel fact. If Bison somehow
learned of what Riki had been doing those years when he’d been away from Ceres,
he would be on his own. Hell, he was already on his own just for defending a
Pet! If Guy were to ever find out that he’d actually been one himself...
“Divide and conquer”, Katze interrupted Riki’s inner worries.
“Exactly! That’s nicely put, how’d’you come up with that so quickly just now?”,
he wondered. How many years did it actually take to go from sounding like a
mongrel fresh out of Guardian to sounding like an Elite yourself half of the
time? To what extent could any regular guy from Ceres be moulded and
transformed into the perfect Tanaguran lackey? Riki shivered at the thought of
what more time spent in Mink’s company might have turned him into.
“I wasn’t the one who came up with it, a Roman ruler called Julius Caesar did,
back on Earth about three thousand years ago.”
“No shit. Well, he was right, it still is that way on Amoy today. Every man for
himself and Jupiter on top”, Riki said with a shrug, merely stating fact,
neither agreeing nor disagreeing with it.
“These things tend to change over time. At times people allow themselves to be
governed by nobility, but at other times people have risen up to such tyranny
and have taken their rights into their own hands. History is one big repetition
of such revolutions and changes in political organisation”, Katze suggested
not-too-subtly, appearing far more focussed on his kitchen tasks now, his body
taking on a more tense stance of concentration.
“Well, my ancestors tried to do just that by making Ceres an independent state,
and you see what that has brought us”, the former gang leader replied rather
pessimistically. It had brought Ceres nothing but misery, that was the truth of
it, even if no mongrel alive would ever admit it.
“Most revolutions fail, but that doesn’t mean some can’t succeed”, the cunning
young man countered. “Usually a successful revolution requires some insider
knowledge, some help from within the existing power structure. When Ceres
rebelled they were relying on Midas to give them that support, but the
Midasians chickened out cause Tanagura still held power over them.”
Riki listened carefully while cooking the potatoes, pricking them with a fork
to see if they were ready yet. “So you’re saying that what they needed was some
back-up in Tanagura itself? How the hell were they supposed to pull that off,
huh? Tanagura is the very enemy they were trying to fight.”
“You speak as if Tanagura is but one single organism, while many thousands of
people live and work there.”
“Yeah, but you and I both know that there’s only twelve actually running the
show. The whole place is just one hierarchical pyramid, with the Syndicate at
the highest level and Jupiter as the pinnacle.”
“That’s not exactly an accurate assessment, Riki. I would argue that Jupiter
doesn’t count, because she’s not human. Also there is one person above even the
Syndicate that you’ve failed to mention”, Katze subtly corrected, indicating
that the potatoes were ready.
Looking up in confusion as he went to drain the water from the potato pot, Riki
thought for a moment. “You mean... Iason, right?” Again the feared name entered
the conversation, making Riki feel far more nervous than he was letting on.
“Exactly, the Head of the Syndicate, Iason Mink. If for some reason there would
be a power shortage in Tanagura, Jupiter would shut down, leaving him – one
single person – at the very top of the entire Tanaguran – and by extension
Midasian – hierarchy.”
“Why do you make that sound like it’d be a good thing? Why on Amoy would Iason
wanna support a new Ceresian revolution?” Riki began slicing up the cooked
potatoes as if he was trying to kill them, every movement suddenly fuelled by
aggression at the thought of how much the blond bastard had to hate mongrels to
have gone through all that trouble just to torture him.
“I hear personal motivation is often decisive in these matters,” the red-head
pointed out, taking Riki’s plate of sliced potatoes and placing them into a
frying pan filled with oil mixed with some spices and herbs.
“Personal motivation? Katze, what the fuck are you on about here? Cause you’ve
lost me ...”
Katze sighed in exasperation at the mongrel’s utter denseness when it came to
Tanaguran subtleness. He was going to have to state the obvious on every single
little thing, wasn’t he?
“You, Riki! I’m talking about you.”
“Me? What about me? I’m his ex-Pet, big deal!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you know full well you’re much more than that.”
Opening one of the top cupboards, Katze took out a wine glass. If he was going
to attempt to explain things to this mongrel, he was going to require a certain
amount of alcohol in his system.
“I know this? How the hell do I know this?! The guy just grabbed me off the
street, imprisoned me, humiliated me, tortured me, raped me, never listened to
a word I said and then just threw me back out into the street when he got tired
of me. You tell me where the fuck in this story does it become evident that I’m
more than just a sex-toy, a temporary distraction to torture the living
daylights out of?!”
“He didn’t let you go because he got tired of you. He let you go to save your
spirit, for he came to realise that you would go insane if you were kept
imprisoned in Eos against your will for much longer. But he still cares greatly
for you, trust me, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to get you back.”
Pulling out a bottle of high-quality red wine from its hiding place underneath
the sink, Katze filled up his glass and took a large gulp. If only he could
make Riki understand just how atypical the great Blondie’s attitude towards him
was and how significantly he had altered the infamous ice king’s behaviour.
“You’re just messing with me, trying to get me to agree to go back to him,”
Riki accused, his body suddenly beginning to shake. He instinctively began to
move backwards, away from his would-be assailant but never taking his eyes off
him, scanning the room for possible weapons but only spotting the knife he’d
used to peel the potatoes, now somehow securely in Katze’s grasp.
“You don’t seriously think I’d have to come up with a far-fetched, heretical
story like that in order to bring you back to him?”, Katze said, cleaning the
knife and then putting it into a drawer, while maintaining a perfectly calm
composure. “I could be terminated just for talking about these sorts of things
at all, regardless of what my reasons for doing so may be.”
“Holy shit ... You actually believe what you’re saying, don’t you?”, Riki
gasped, turning his back to Katze and beginning to pace distraughtly around the
small living area.“What, you think an Elite could develop like... genuine
feelings for a person? Don’t be ridiculous! You of all people should know
that’s impossible, you’ve been around those android freaks all your life!”
But inwardly he couldn’t help but wonder if there could be any truth to Katze’s
claims. Could Iason possibly harbour any kind of special feelings for him,
which could explain his unusual behaviour? For Riki knew for a fact that no
known Elite had ever taken any kind of interest in a mongrel before and that
Lord Mink keeping one as a Pet was frowned upon by everyone in Eos.
“Which is exactly why I do know, Riki! Nobody else could even guess the truth
of it, but I suspected it all along. Like you said, I’ve been around Mink my
whole life, I’ve learned how to read him, down to the smallest signs. Although
it’s common belief that the Blondies are incapable of emotion, I’ve learned
that it’s rather that their bodily control is perfect enough for them to hide
all traces of feeling.”
“So you’re saying he does have feelings, but he’s just an expert at hiding
them? Well, you might be on the right track there. Cause with all the shit he’s
done to me, he has gotto seriously hate my guts, but I sure as hell could never
see any sign of it on that robotic face of his.” Returning to the kitchen isle,
Riki snatched the bottle of wine from the counter and downed nearly half of its
contents in one go.
“You are mistaken, Riki”, Katze began in an unusually gentle voice, carefully
pulling the wine bottle from his grasp before he drank all of it. It wouldn’t
do to have the mongrel drunk for the conversation he had in mind. “Although
perhaps his interest in you may have started out of a sense of superiority or
disgust, that is definitely not what it grew into over time. Damn, you should
see him now, sometimes I think your absence might drive him insane.”
“Well, his presence is what drives me insane! So there’s no way I’m going back,
not for you, not to start the next revolution, not to save all of Amoy would I
ever set foot near that cocksucking sadist ever again!”
“I wasn’t advising you to go back, Riki. I was merely pointing out how perhaps
there are some benefits to be had, when you’re forced to go back eventually”,
Katze said calmly, his body relaxed now, his head bowed and his palms opened
outward, appearing non-threatening. If anything working as the Black Market
boss for most of the last decade had taught him how to talk down a wild mongrel
going into a violent ramble.
“What... what the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”, Riki asked hesitantly, fear
filling his dark eyes and making them glisten like black onyx gems.
“You heard me the first time. It’s not a question of if you go back there, it’s
a question of when, and you know it.”
“When I go back?! I just told you, I ain’t going back! Ever!”, allowing his
fear to take him over completely, Riki jumped past the taller man’s body and
made straight for the door, only to find it locked. What the hell?! How could
he not have noticed that the other had locked it after they’d come in?! The
panic really setting in now, Riki started banging on the locked metal door like
a madman. “LET ME OUT!!”
“It locks automatically after half an hour, just a necessary security measure
for one in my business”, the eunuch spoke in a calm voice, picking up his wine
glass again and patiently sipping it while leaning against the counter in a
carefree pose.
“Goddammit, you dickless freak, just let me go!!” The mongrel previously
abusing Katze’s front door turned around, now directing his unreasonable rage
at the former household servant.
“Oh, I’ll let you go, not to worry. But first hear me out”, Katze answered
politely, hospitably gesturing his guest to sit down in the living room area.
“Fine then!”, Riki snapped in exasperation as he slumped down on Katze’s grey
couch impatiently. “What is it? Spit it out already!”
“Of course, you’re free to make your own choices, Riki, indeed your status as a
non-citizen gives you that right. However in my experience there are two kinds
of people in life who run.”
“If this has a point to get to, do fast-forward to it”, the now sulking young
man on the couch interrupted.
Pretending not to even have heard the other’s rude interruption, Katze
continued completely unfazed by the other’s inappropriate display of
discontent. “The first kind spend their whole lives running away from things,
always afraid and looking over their shoulders. The second kind... also run,
but they do not run from the things they fear rather they run towards the
things they desire, always trying to get ahead in life even if they have to run
against the natural flow of the world.”
As understanding dawned on the angry mongrel’s handsome face, there was no need
for further words. Sighing, Riki allowed his body to relax back into the
comfortable cushions of the leather couch. Although he absolutely hated to
admit it, Katze was right. All his life he’d been forced to run away. First
from Guardian (although technically he hadn’t been given much choice in the
matter), then from older mongrels who had sought to beat up or rape him, then
from the Dark Men in Midas, from shopkeepers he had been stealing from, from
the police, from Iason Mink... and now even from his own gang members and Guy.
In truth when he had been running from Iason in a way he had been running from
himself, from who he had become during his time in Eos. The reason why he had
felt like running from Ceres almost as soon as he’d gotten back now became
clear to him: he didn’t belong there anymore. But then the question remained:
where did he belong, if not Ceres?
There remained but two things he knew for sure about himself at this point. One
was that he was sick and tired of running, he may be many despicable things,
but a coward sure as hell wasn’t one of them! The second was the reality that
staying in Ceres would have most definitely meant eventual discovery, if not
his own eventual demise.
Suddenly feeling a cool hand resting gently yet firmly on his shoulder, Riki
was shaken out of his own thoughts and looked up to see Katze standing there,
staring at him with what couldn’t be described as anything other than sympathy
and understanding. The old Riki would have broken his nose for daring to show
him any sympathy or mercy, that was only reserved for cowards and babies. But
the new Riki felt a profound sense of relief when seeing those caring emotions
in the eyes of another human being. There was no point in lying to Katze, for
he already knew the worst of everything that had happened to Riki, and no doubt
he also knew from experience what kind of change that brought in a man.
“Come on now, Riki. The food’s ready, let’s eat before it gets cold.”
 
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Later – after what could only be described as the most delicious and wholesome
meal he’d had in a long time and after he’d gotten back home to his new
spacious apartment – Riki got out unto the balcony, clutching Katze’s parting-
gift: a package of Dark Baccalia’s. Seeing as how it was only six o’clock in
the morning, it was still dark out and Riki sighed in pleasure and relief as
the first wave of high-quality, undiluted nicotine hit his nervous system.
Putting up the collar of his worn jacket to ward off the chilling breeze, it
didn’t occur to him why he was even stepping outside to smoke, for the
apartment was his to do with or smoke in as he pleased. Blowing out smoke into
the night as his stomach rumbled pleasantly in fulfilment, Riki’s obsidian eyes
were immediately drawn to the dark area beyond the nearby lights of Orange
Road: the slums of Ceres.
It was strange how the few months since his return from Eos had managed to
completely alter all of his ingrained perceptions, leaving nothing but a
complete cacophony of chaos and confusion. He had always associated Ceres and
his status as a mongrel with freedom, therefore during his imprisonment in
Tanagura the hope of returning there had been the only thing keeping him sane.
But now that he was back, the slums appeared to have lost all their appeal to
him and he had come to see things quite differently than his fellow mongrels
back at Bison did.
In truth he had reached the conclusion that Ceres was nothing but a death trap,
a place the scum of society was dumped like so many mangled corpses left to
fester on a pile of stinking garbage. They were free, sure, they were free.
Free to make all the same mistakes their ancestors had made. Free to fight,
gamble, sniff and drink themselves into oblivion. Free to throw away their
young lives prematurely. Free to despair and free to die, as was every
mongrel’s fate well before his natural time.
Yet Ceres was also where his heart had always been. It was where his past was,
where his friends had been, where his whole person had developed. It was where
he had gained his fighting skills and street wits, his first love with Guy, his
undeniable sense of pride and his reputation as the infamous gang leader of
Bison.
But there was no denying that it was also the place that had murdered all his
dreams and hopes for a better life. When Riki had walked out of Guardian as a
teenager, he had been full of hope, it had been the thing that had drawn others
to him and that had made them look up to him. Because Riki had a sense of
honour and purpose. Riki knew how to put his talents and what little resources
he had to good use. Riki knew what he wanted in life and would stop at nothing
to get it. Full of ambition and youthful ignorance, he had told anyone who
would listen about his great plans for the future. He was going to get out of
the slums one day, he was going to prove that it was possible for a mongrel to
go far in life.
Riki could no longer deny that the environment that had fostered his strength
and that had made him into the man he was, was also the very environment that
was now holding him back, chaining him to a sinking block of concrete. As a
non-citizen he did not have the official status that was required to ever get
beyond the position of a messenger boy for the market or perhaps an
unregistered temp worker at a factory. Moreover his life in the slums had bred
in him a sense of self-sufficiency, criticism and pride that made it impossible
for him to function as part of the perfectly organised, utilitarian system that
controlled all of Tanagura and Midas alike. All of those attributes that had
made him such an expert at surviving and even thriving in Ceres had been
exactly those characteristics that had made it impossible for him to succeed at
being a Pet in Tanagura. No doubt they would also prevent him from ever making
a proper citizen of Midas, even if his status would have allowed it.
More importantly his Ceresian personality had prevented him from seducing
Iason, which had been his plan when he had so foolishly chased after the blond
that fateful day in Sasan. What an idiot he had been, he should’ve guessed that
a Blondie from Tanagura would have never been able to see anything beyond the
pathetic slumdog society had assigned him to be. From would-be seducer to
worthless slave in an instant, way to go, Riki!
Now turning his eyes towards the distant sparkling spires of the famous city of
the Elite, he remembered how as a kid he’d stare at it for hours on end,
fantasizing about what it would be like there and about ways to go there
himself. They had been the ridiculous, uninformed delusions of a child who felt
unwanted where he was and had nothing better to do with his time. For even back
in Guardian his dark complexion and black hair had made it obvious to everyone
that he could never possibly be anything other than slum material, so none of
the personnel at Guardian had even taken his education seriously. Of course
Riki himself had taken his own education very seriously at the time, secretly
hoping that his efforts would enable him to be one of those chosen to serve in
Tanagura, then not yet knowing the terror that becoming Furniture entailed.
Remarkably, Riki had demonstrated a great deal of talent at the time,
especially with computers, however his dark looks had made becoming Furniture
an impossibility from the start.
So what had started out as optimistic, hopeful gazing at the bright steel and
glass city in the distance – sparkling like a splendid sea of countless
diamonds – had become desperate, angry glaring at what he could never hope to
have. He would never climb the many metal staircases – for back then he did not
even realise there was such a thing as an elevator and that it would take
someone days to climb all the way to the top of those towers – and he would
never step out unto the roof of the highest skyscraper, surrounded by nothing
but heavenly blue and endless possibilities. He would be doomed to forever
scramble around in the mud, down below in the slums of Ceres. Ironically, Riki
now realised that his favourite tower to gawk at as a kid was in fact the very
same tower that he had been kept prisoner in by that Elite asshole.
Thus the young man had now reached an impasse, an unbridgeable gap as it were,
between what he could do as a mongrel and what he had always craved to do as a
man. For truthfully he had always wanted something more from life, something
more than simple survival from one day to the next. No, he wanted his life to
actually mean something, he wanted to achieve something that nobody else could,
he wanted something for people to remember him by for all times. But it
appeared that – in spite of his many talents and his firm determination – the
society he had been born into would make that entirely impossible for him.
Deeply indignant at the injustice of it all, Riki tossed what little remained
of his nearly burned-out cigarette down the railing, shifting his gaze from the
alluring sight in the distance to the quick descent of the still-burning, used-
up stick of poison, unable to tell where exactly it had landed in the dirty,
littered gutter below.
Without even consciously thinking about what he was doing, Riki then climbed on
top of the railing of the balcony around the same time his thoughts had taken a
dark turn, and now he found himself up there, arms outstretched on both sides
in an instinctual effort to keep his balance. As the wind picked up, he allowed
his thin body to swing along on its rhythm, his feet now only resting on the
cold, metal railing by their heels. But the defeated mongrel hardly paid any
attention to his own rapidly developing peril, his black eyes still fixated on
that sparkling edifice, thinking about all the distance between him and it.
As another, stronger gust of wind came rushing in from the direction of
Tanagura, Riki’s balance began to falter ...
 
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Think I can fly
 
As he was standing there, ready to leap straight off the railing to be swept
away by Tanaguran winds, the mongrel couldn’t help but contemplate just how
ridiculous he had to look, standing there like a young bird readying itself for
its first flight. Unfortunately, he wasn’t nearly as stupid enough to think
that he could actually fly. Or could he?
 
Think I can fly when I’m with you
 
After all, he had already managed to fly all the way up to Eos Tower, hadn’t
he? Admittedly, not exactly in the way he had imagined that he would back when
he was a kid, but still. He had actually been there. He had stood right there
on the front balcony of the top floor, surrounded by all the luxurious glamour
and glitter of the highest mountain top of Amoyan society.
Holy shit.
 
My arms are wide
Catching fire as the wind blows
 
Tearing his eyes away from said balcony, Riki turned to watch the rising sun,
coming up from the far-away ocean in the east and shedding its bright orange
light on the mongrel’s slight but strong form. The many particles of warm light
bounced against and reflected off of the shiny leather jacket the youngster was
wearing, making it appear as if his arms and torso were set ablaze by the
blowing wind.
HOLY SHIT!
Why the hell am I standing here feeling bad about never being able to go
there?!
 I’ve already freaking been there! For fuck’s sake, I’m such an idiot!
I fucking did it!! I actually got up there!!!
 
I know that I’m rich enough for pride
I see a billion dollars in your eyes
 
So what if he’d had some help? Socially speaking there had been no reason
whatsoever for Iason Mink to take any interest in him, for he was just a
mongrel, a piece of scum not worth the attention and time of such an ethereal
creature. Somehow in that one moment, those divine heavenly-blue eyes had seen
him. Those glistening sapphires had seen his value as a human being regardless
of his mongrel status and had determined that the price of risking Tanagura’s
displeasure had been worth paying.
 
Even if we’re strangers till we die
 
So what if Iason Mink didn’t act like any man Riki had ever met? So what if he
was fiercely proud, immensely arrogant, icily unapproachable, calculatingly
rational, abusively domineering and insanely possessive? It was to be expected,
for he was an Elite and not just any Elite at that. He was a Blondie. He was
the Head of the Syndicate. He was the favourite son of Jupiter. And even if
those social and official rankings meant absolutely nothing to Riki, for they
said nothing about the innate qualities of the man, said qualities in and of
themselves were undeniably present.
Also the blond was smack-bang gorgeous, he was so unearthly beautiful that it
was angelic. In addition he was divinely graceful, his limbs moving like
weightless flower petals in the wind.
 
I wanna run away
 
He was probably the smartest living creature ever to come into existence, his
sheer intelligence and unforgiving calculation at times down-right frightening.
 
I wanna run away
 
He was also the richest motherfucker ever to walk Amoy, having already
accumulated more wealth than any of his brethren or predecessors.
 
Anywhere out this place
 
Even his extreme jealousy had its perks: here was a man who was willing to
fight and kill any and all competition in his path, daring to defy even Jupiter
herself so that she would allow him to keep his illegal mongrel Pet.
 
I wanna run away
 
And last but not least the man was smoking hot and nothing short of a freaking
sex god, giving Riki numerous surreal pleasure and literally heart-stopping
orgasms, ensuring that the young mongrel couldn’t thoroughly enjoy sex with a
lesser man ever again. What other potential lover that Riki had ever
encountered could even begin to compete with so much eroticism and
desirability?
 
Just you and I
 
Riki then turned around on his heels with feline ease, jumped down from the
railing, headed back into the living area of his small apartment and ran
straight for the front door. Racing through the corridor as fast as his feet
could carry him, he made his way to the elevator in record time. After having
hit the button to call the elevator to his floor numerous times, Riki decided
that it was taking too long and threw open the door to the stairwell, taking
two steps at a time and turning around the turns fast enough to make his head
spin.
 
You and I, I, I, I, I
 
When he had almost reached the ground floor, he jumped down the final five
steps but got down on all fours with practised ease, already bursting through
the door into the hallway in the same movement. Shooting across the modest
hallway as fast as a bullet out of an old-fashioned gun, Riki was quick to hop
unto his hoverbike out front and was flying down the street only moments later.
 
You and I, I, I, I, I
 
Hovering down a series of smaller streets with an alarming velocity the mongrel
finally got unto Orange Road again, shielding his eyes with his bronze hand
against the brightness of the rising sun, momentarily blinded by it even if he
sped towards that light. Pushing his bike to its limits – possibly even beyond
its limits – Riki raced on while his environment and the traffic around him
turned to an undefined chaos of random colours, making him believe that he and
his destination were the only existing things in the world, all else lost in
the blur of his determined speed. Out of that whole spectrum of colour, the
orange sunlight the road owed its very name to shone brightest of all, natural
light overcoming artificial neon. Due to the sheer broadness of the road and
the lack of buildings in that area, Riki was nearly as exposed to the elements
here as he had been near his headquarters right outside of Ceres, the desert
wind making his black tresses whip wildly around his head.
 
You and I, I, I, I, I
 
Then taking the last turn right before Mistral Park, his right boot scraped the
surface of the road as his hoverbike turned and flattened entirely with the
force of the sudden turn. His destination now in sight, Riki nearly slammed his
bike into the frontal stairs of the edifice he was aiming for, jumping off the
bike and letting it fall where it may as his feet were rushing up the stairs.
Having reached the top of the well-known panorama viewpoint just outside of
Mistral Park, Riki made his way to the telescope perched on an elevation at the
top of the monument. Turning the device towards the top floor of Eos Tower and
adjusting some of the settings, Riki turned what had been a vague image of
glitter and glamour seen with the naked eye into a far more precise and
realistic image perceived with the aid of the electronic magnifying glass.
 
Just you and I
                                        
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
 
Gazing out across the vast urban cityscape of Midas, Iason Mink’s sky-blue eyes
were immediately drawn to the black stain on an endless carpet of brightness.
In such darkness as there was in the mostly unlit area of Ceres, even the
Elite’s android eyes could barely make out the general shape of buildings.
Somewhere in that dark, unknown jungle was the one his human half yearned for
beyond all else, the black wild creature that had conquered his heart. My Riki.
Where are you now, I wonder? At the thought of the mongrel and how much he
missed him, Iason could barely suppress the burning need to run to Ceres as
fast as his android body could carry him there and to reclaim the exotic, black
beauty as his own.
 
I wanna run
 
Opening the big glass sliding doors, the Blondie stepped unto the front balcony
of his penthouse in order to have a more direct line of vision. Not that it
would make any difference, for he knew he wouldn’t be able to discern any
people inside the unlit wilderness of Ceres anyway. But as the morning sun
began to conquer more and more of the night time city of Midas, he would soon
be able to discern at least the block of buildings towards the outer edges of
the area, the place Katze had told him Riki’s gang’s headquarters were located.
 
Chase the morning sun when I’m with you
 
To leave all the power and glory of Tanagura behind would be a small price to
pay to be reunited with the one he had now come to realise he loved. In truth
Jupiter’s favourite son had been bored of it all for a long time, and when he
met Riki it all became even more meaningless in comparison to how he felt about
the mongrel. Those human emotions had lifted him up from the well-structured
routines of Tanaguran daily life and into an entirely different plane of
existence, a plane in which everything was strange but anything was possible.
 
Give it all away
 
As a sudden breeze came drifting in from over Orange Road, his long perfect
hair was blown up around his head in what looked like a halo of sorts. In
addition the smooth, golden strings caught the rays of the rising sun in a way
that appeared to turn him into a radiant god of enlightenment.
 
Catching fire as the wind blows
 
Why the mongrel had been so determined to run away from him, the head of the
Intelligence department was still absolutely clueless about. Had he not given
Riki everything that was in his power to give? He had met his Pet’s every
possible need and desire, inviting him to live in the palacial penthouse that
was Eos Tower’s most prized residence, feeding him the most delicious and
fulfilling dishes available, having his chains customised out of the finest
gold that money could buy, allowing him to sleep in the very silken sheets that
were supposed to be reserved only for the Elite themselves, even giving him a
taste of the forbidden fruit of paradise that per Jupiter’s decree nobody
should ever be allowed to ever taste: sexual intercourse with a Blondie. But
none of all that had been enough, apparently, to keep his beloved by his side
by his own free will.
  
I know that I’m rich enough for pride
  
None of it had been able to buy the love and devotion of the one person he
truly wished it from. For no money in the world could ever buy that what truly
mattered, that which no price could possibly be put on, that which was per
definition priceless: Riki’s love.
  
I see a billion dollars in your eyes
  
At this point he simply did not care anymore what he had to do, for he would do
just about anything to bring the object of his affection back into his arms.
Even if he could never justify the torture he had unknowingly submitted the
young man to in the past, even if he could never make Riki understand how he
truly felt about him and how much he was willing to sacrifice on his behalf,
just having him close would be enough.
  
Even if we’re strangers till we die
  
But how to go about it without driving the proud Ceresian to depression and
near-insanity again? Staring out across the slowly-illuminated landscape in
front of him, as if hoping to finally find the answer to this burning question
somewhere out there, Iason’s supernaturally perceptive android eyes suddenly
detected something unusual near the outskirts of Mistral Park.
  
I wanna run away
  
From one of the highest points in Midas, he had caught the tell-tale shimmer of
reflected light that indicated that someone had to be looking right at him with
a telescopic device of some kind. Knowing that looking at the balcony of a
private home in Tanagura was an offence punishable by death, the Head of the
Syndicate wondered who would be stupid enough to risk his life only to catch a
glimpse of him.
  
I wanna run away
  
Turning his all-seeing, strikingly bright eyes towards the offender, Lord Mink
tried to make out the shape of the person watching him in between the blinding
shimmers of light reflecting off of the surface of the distant telescope, his
curiosity preventing him from contacting the authorities in that area of Midas
straight away.
  
Anywhere out this place
  
Utter surprise and complete shock struck him as he managed to make out what the
figure spying him through the looking glass was doing with the hand he had put
up high in the air. The middle finger was stretched out as the rest of the
fingers were still curled into a fist, forming the universal sign for what was
bluntly known as “fuck you”.
  
I wanna run away
  
There was only one person alive on Amoy who would have the audacity to dare and
offend the most powerful person on the planet – and probably beyond – in such a
shameful, lowly manner. Uncharacteristically, the cold and untouchable Elite
felt a small but definite smile light up his tanned face as he realised who he
was currently looking at across a distance of many miles and social layers of
society.
  
Just you and I, I, I, I, I
  
“Why hello there, Riki. What are you doing, going through so much trouble to
stare at your hated captor and tormentor?”, he whispered in a husky-low tone.
Even if the feisty little thing could clearly not answer him, Iason’s
imagination had no difficulties conjuring up a series of possible rude
responses, one more insulting than another but all equally endearing to him.
Half-tempted to rush out and meet his mongrel, Iason was only prevented from
doing so by the knowledge that by the time he got there the handsome young man
would have surely gone. For undoubtedly Riki knew all too well that he was
playing with fire by gawking at his Master so openly, as if daring the Elite to
come after him.
  
You and I, I, I, I, I
  
“Not to worry, my darling Pet. We will be reunited sooner than you think”, the
blond stated in a deep voice of smooth velvet. The emptiness of the room did
not speaking against it and thus appeared to confirm the statement by its lack
of response. Soon the disagreeing voice of the human he secretly admired would
return to where it belonged, disagreeing with his every sentence and
questioning all of the decisions that he made. All of the carefully
orchestrated arrangements that the cunning android had constructed in coalition
with his recently-required supporters – be they Elite, Furniture or Pet – would
soon bear fruit.
  
You and I, I, I, I, I
  
Peering at the far-off balcony through the lens, Riki was amazed at how
accurate and detailed the image it showed him was. For a second he even
believed that he was back there on that balcony again, smoking Dark Baccalia’s
and turning from the impressive cityscape only to come face to face with the
even more impressive object of both his utter dread and his complete longing.
Gasping at the slight shock of the unexpected sight, Riki altered the settings
of the scope with trembling fingers and was granted an even more intimate view
of his former Master’s attractive form. The mongrel couldn’t help but marvel at
his luck: “No shit, what are the chances of him being out on that balcony just
as I decide to have a peek?”
  
You and I, I, I, I, I
  
When the perfectly sculpted body in the focus of his viewing lens unexpectedly
turned in his direction and looked straight at him, Riki nearly fell off the
top step of the small elevation the scope was mounted on. What the hell, the
bastard knows that I’m watching him!
After a couple of seconds he then realised just how absolutely ridiculous that
idea was. Of course the Blondie couldn’t possibly know that it was Riki
watching him! Maybe he saw the scope’s reflection and simply thought someone
was watching him from that direction?
Sighing in relief, the former slum dog turned back to the scope and peeped back
through the viewing tube, only to have that simultaneously anxious and
delicious shock fill him to the brim once more! For now a slight but clearly-
present, terrible smile had appeared on those pleasing pale features, rendering
their abstract beauty even more malevolent because of the raw, predatory
emotions they now displayed so powerfully.
Holy smokes! He really is watching me as much as I’m watching him! How can this
be?!
Temporarily unsure of how to respond, Riki settled on reacting in a way that
probably hid his fear well enough but was decidedly far too bold for his own
good. Stepping away from the scope and standing in full view of one of the
bright street lanterns of the panorama setting, Riki lifted up a fist and then
stretched his middle finger upwards in a universally offensive challenge.
That’ll teach you to smile at me, psychotic motherfucking creep!
   
Just you and I
   
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
   
                              To Be Continued ...
                                         
                      Please don’t forget to review!!! :)
                                         
ankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankankank
                                         
 
***** Falling Snow *CHRISTMAS SPECIAL* *****
Chapter Summary
     CHRISTMAS SPECIAL in which Mimea somewhat wistfully ponders the
     meaning of winter, Iason is merrily plotting yet another scheme and
     Riki has a very unexpected chance encounter with someone from his
     past.
Author’s notes:
And here’s a late Christmas present for all of you: the long-expected next
chapter of this fanfic!!! :D I was planning on finishing this first seasonal
chapter by Christmas but unfortunately my writer’s block had other plans... But
better late than never I guess, so here it is, I hope you’ll all enjoy it! :
) This is the first of two Christmas Special chapters that I had planned, so
you can expect at least another merry chapter, hopefully still at some point
during the holidays, to keep things more or less in the seasonal mood ;)
It’s sort of a sequel to my Christmas fanfic from a couple of years back,
Amoyan ChristMass, but you don’t need to have read that fic to understand most
of what’s going on in this chapter.
    
Soundtracks:
Opening theme: The Birthday Massacre – Shiver (Tyurru’s nightcore cover) https:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBic6JyhXQ
Ending theme: Jan Wayne – Christmas Time
  
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
    

Winter always reminded her of falling.
Gazing out the window, warm eyes beheld frosty diamonds falling from the sky,
their sparkle even more alluring because of their transient evanescence. For
once caught they would perish quickly, their sparkling wonder melting into
nothingness. It was impossible to own a snowflake without destroying it, so one
could only glance at their beauty from a distance. Like fragile flowers that
would shrivel away soon after picking. In a way snowflakes were the very
definition of everything living.
When sufficiently low temperatures were reached, winter also offered the
possibility of ice skating. Although initially captivated by the elegance of
the ice dancers, she soon learned that in order to gain the skill of ice
skating one was required to fall. Again. And again. And yet again. The more she
fell, the more painful it became. Yet somehow getting up seemed to get easier
every time. She had always admired skills that could only be learned through
pain and determination. Somehow a skill that was easily acquired didn’t seem
like much of a skill at all. If it came without any effort then what was the
point of it? How could one be proud of something one never needed to do
anything for? To her, beauty was not about her own skill but about her maker
and Master’s. If she wanted any talent of her own to be proud of, she would
need to make an effort.
Skating round and round the circular limits of the ice rink, as in a repetitive
loop she would see the onlookers’ expressionless faces. Big bright eyes, always
watching. Perfectly blank canvases, unaffected by her efforts.
A painting for every face
Every time she lost her balance while practicing and fell down again, they
would simply continue to stare at her, their faces unreadable. Like masks with
nothing but emptiness behind them. None of those observers ever attempted to
help her up, from nothing in their reaction did it become evident that they had
even noticed her fall.
No correction, just cover up
If anything it often seemed as if the crowd took a twisted kind of pleasure in
witnessing her pain. So in response she set out to become the very best at ice
skating, through many chilly afternoons spent bruising her delicate behind on
the mercilessly hard surface of the ice and shivering in her skimpy outfits
until she felt numb to the bone.
She can’t afford to come off
Hard cause she’s too cold to shiver
She had read in the transcript of an old book that falling stars were often
associated with this time of year as well. Apparently when one witnessed a
falling star, one could make a wish. Unfortunately she had never seen a falling
star and therefore had always kept her wishes to herself, forever silently
locked inside her heart. Never finding the courage to voice those thoughts that
she feared her cold world would never allow her to have.
Too cold to shiver
Too cold to shiver
In this cold
She’s too cold to shiver
Another book had mentioned that long ago at this time of year angels had come
down from the heavens to bear witness to the birth of the Son of God. This had
surprised her, for she had always assumed that the festivities were in honour
of Jupiter herself rather than in honour of her Children. It had never even
occurred to her that perhaps the book referred to a time long before Jupiter
and her Elite. For what else but the wonders of technology and informatics
could possibly be divine?
The passage had reminded her of another tale of angels, particularly a tale of
one such angel who had rebelled against his god. Yes, the treacherous angel had
been cast out of heaven and had thus fallen down to earth. His name was
Lucifer, bringer of light.
Nobody understood the meaning of falling and more particularly falling from
grace better than she did. She knew all too well that once one had crossed that
threshold, one was utterly and completely alone on the long way down.
All the hands along the wall
Taking time to break her fall
However the fallen angel didn’t despair for long, for soon he appeared in the
paradise that was called the garden of Eden to tempt man to join him in his
rebellion. But man did not yield, having not yet learned of the domineering
nature of his Creator and the wrathful shadows He could bring.
Minds divide the heart in two
Empty as the shadows walking over you
Until Lucifer dared them to search for knowledge their tyrannical god had
deemed them unfit to possess, after which they too were cruelly punished but
still given a chance to redeem themselves. The fear instilled in their hearts
sufficient to keep them in line for generations to come. The divide constructed
between man and woman sufficient to keep another rebellion from stirring.
Over you
She’s walking over you
Breaking her fall over you
Even when she was but a young girl, she had often felt as if her entire life
was basically one long fall towards oblivion. The life ahead observed as if
from the top of a cliff, gazing down into the dark depths of the abyss.
Moreover said life wasn’t even truly hers, and apparently everybody who looked
upon her wanted a piece of her. Every hungry stare in her direction another
piece of her heart snatched away, until eventually there would be nothing left.
Every glance in the mirror another piece of her soul lost forever, the focus on
her physical form’s perfection condemning the very notion of spiritual beauty.
Always wanting
Watching
Minds divide the heart in two
For you
Every picture taken adding to the gradual disintegration of her humanity,
rendering her more monstrously selfish and vain. Like Dorian Grey’s painting
disintegrating in the attic while his attractive body never aged. Only she
didn’t even get that form of compensation for her shattered spirit and lack of
genuine social interactions. Always her reputation to think of, always the
charade to perform.
Pictures for every place
No affection
Every smile rendering the words from her mouth more and more obsolete. Who
cared what she said? She was a desirable Pet, a true artwork of beauty. Such a
painting did not require any music to accompany it, if anything a less than
perfect melody would only serve to break down its splendid aura. Her words
often deemed inappropriately intelligent or critical, she soon learned to keep
quiet.
Just shut her up
She can’t afford to come off
Hard cause she’s too cold to shiver
Her eyes being drawn back outside the window, she contemplated how very
appropriate the cold weather was in an environment as lonely and as unforgiving
as Tanagura.
Too cold to shiver
Too cold to shiver
Thinking back on her own eventual fall through the thin ice she had to conclude
that it had simply been inevitable. Her magically enchanting dance across the
ice of the Tanaguran winter wonderland had simply come to an end sooner than it
did for most others. As if in a dream she vaguely recalled her utter
astonishment when she saw the smooth ground beneath her very feet crackle and
break into a thousand pieces, the heavy weight on her shoulders quickly pulled
beneath the shifting ice by merciless gravity. Reality hitting her full force,
like the shock of icy waters closing overhead and surrounding her in cold,
liquid black.
In this cold
She’s too cold to shiver
What did she care that everyone she knew had loudly gossiped of the terrible
shame of her transgression as she was led out of that cursed, white palace of
glitter and glamour called Eos Tower? They were all just glad that it wasn’t
them, all shifting negative attentions to someone else to better cover their
own short-comings. Always looking for someone lower on the food chain to bully
to make themselves feel better, to momentarily forget about the ever-present
fear of old age and their Master’s displeasure or boredom.
All the eyes behind the wall
Taking time to watch her crawl
The irony of it was that all those things they fought so hard to keep and were
so terrified to lose, weren’t things worth having at all. If one looked close
enough, one saw no real prospects whatsoever in that fake place, only deceit,
betrayal and unavoidable execution. No human connection or friendship was ever
genuine there, it was all just part of the ongoing show of deception.
Broken hearts are never true
Empty as the shadows walking over you
Everyone so busily obsessing over their own pile of shiny wrappers that they
didn’t even notice that those wrappers were empty. That they were carefully,
individually wrapped pieces of nothingness. Nothing but smoke and mirrors. They
were sacrificing their humanity for nothing but lies and they couldn’t even see
it.
Over you
She’s walking over you
Watching her crawl over you
After what had seemed like an everlasting banishment beneath the icy surface,
without anyone throwing her a lifeline, she finally learned how to swim. To
swim through the freezing darkness and back into the light, her lungs hurting
as air filled them once again. Burning pain in her frozen limbs when they had
to readjust to the warmth. Yet she could never forget that the fluffy,
sparkling snow was nothing but a thin layer covering the hard, slippery surface
of swallowing depths.
Always wanting
Broken hearts are never true
Waiting
For you
 
“And what – if I may enquire – are you reading with such a deep frown upon your
pretty face, my dear?”, a voice as clear as the chiming of bells awakened her,
like the bright light of day pulling her from below the surface of her dark
reveries.
Looking up from her window seat – now noticing that the snow outside had
finally stopped falling – said pretty face lit up with a smile as Mimea held up
the cover of the volume she had been reading.
“Paradise Lost by John Milton? An excellent choice, as usual. If you keep up
this industrious reading of high literature you may one day become a brilliant
politician yourself”, Iason Mink subtly praised her, as he gracefully folded
down his long limbs on the opposite side of the window seat and looked upon his
friend’s slight form with well-concealed affection.
“You’re just flattering me, Iason”, the young woman responded with a knowing
chuckle. “It’s only a fictional tale to pass the time while being stuck here.”
“Many a historian since Milton’s time has confirmed that this supposedly
fictional tale of tyranny and rebellion spoke of very real political oppression
and Milton’s own struggle against it. Some even go as far as to claim that
Milton’s work lay the very foundations of the political system that later
became known as democracy”, the Head of the Syndicate informed subtly, not in
the least implying that the two of them ought to start a similar revolution of
their own.
Mimea raised one of her finely-trimmed eyebrows in surprise. “I had no idea
this book was that old! In fact I was convinced that the author was referring
to Jupiter’s reign, Ceres’ rebellion and Midas’ betrayal of said rebellion...”,
she trailed off, slightly disappointed that it meant one less person was of the
same opinion as she. One less supporter in their cause against the Tanaguran
system.
“Hmm, it is strange indeed how sometimes the oldest of tales turn out to still
be so relevant at present. But pray tell what did you mean by your comment on
‘being stuck here’?”, the blond asked, without even a trace of concern in his
steel-laced voice.
“I merely meant stuck inside, because of that dreadful weather out there”,
Mimea assured, only now realising how it might have sounded to the lonesome
Elite. No wonder he had abandonment issues. During the months they’d spent
together the former Pet had learned to read him better than everyone else.
Well, perhaps not better than Katze, his old faithful Furniture. But still, she
knew enough to tell that the icier his demeanour became, the more emotionally
involved he was.
“Nonsense, a little bit of winter chill is no reason to remain indoors during
the busiest and most festive time of year”, her Master chided good-naturedly.
Apparently he was in a far better mood now than he had been over the last few
months, impatience and a faint shadow of jealousy adding to his ever higher
demands of his new Pet.
Mimea wondered why he was all of a sudden so cheerful – well, not exactly
cheerful, of course the detached Elite’s mood could never be described as such.
But how could this terrible weather and all that bother with organising
festivities and all that came with it possibly make any improvements in the
Blondie’s mood? Unless of course one thought he was very dedicated to his cyber
goddess and thus immensely excited to prepare a celebration in her honour, but
Mimea knew better than that.
“That’s easy for you to say, as you’re actually allowed to wear proper
clothing”, the revealingly-clad Pet pointed out, looking at his long-sleeved
attire with envy.
“No one but me has the authority to determine what you can and cannot wear,
Mimea. And I will not have you feel like a prisoner in here or have you get
pneumonia from going outside without proper attire. Your mental well-being and
physical health is my responsibility after all”, he pointed out. Always
rationalising away any personal motivation for his actions.
“It’s OK, Iason, you don’t need to explain yourself with me. I’m truly touched
by your concern, thank you. The only problem is that I do not currently own
anything that is even remotely warm enough to tackle this blizzard in.”
“It’s hardly a blizzard, Mimea, there hasn’t been an actual storm within the
perimeter of Tanagura in centuries, not since the installation of our weather
control technology. And as for your lack of clothing, I have already
anticipated and remedied that problem”, Lord Mink vaguely gestured in the
direction of his until-then-unnoticeable Furniture, who had been excellently
concealed right behind one of the decorative pillars in the main lounge area.
“When did you get this optimistic? No offence, but I wasn’t expecting any of
this Jupiter Mass hypocritical bullshit to actually improve your state of
mind”, Mimea couldn’t help but curiously question. She wasn’t worried at all
about his reaction to her use of the term ‘hypocritical bullshit’ or her
impudent prying for that matter. For she knew that when her Master and partner
in crime was in a good mood he couldn’t care less about Tanaguran propriety, in
fact she had even become convinced that he even liked her occasional bluntness
and Ceresian-style cursing.
Cal quickly but subtly approached, holding out a white box decorated with an
artfully arranged golden bow. Iason took the box without even acknowledging the
young boy’s presence and personally handed it over to his surprised Pet,
continuing to thrust it upon her until after several long seconds her slim,
manicured fingers closed over it.
“A Mass offering? Seriously, Iason, the concept never did particularly appeal
to me, although of course I realise that it’s an honour hardly ever bestowed
upon my class.”
A rare, delicate smile appeared on the other’s artificially perfect face,
completely ruining its aesthetic balance but working miracles for the humanity
of its countenance. “This is no Mass offering, Mimea. It’s a Christmas
present.”
“A what?”, she asked, the surprised expression on her face somehow rendering it
even more appealing, for a perfect face without any expression was after all
just another boringly perfect face.
“Until last year I too did not realise this intriguing origin of the Mass
offering. But apparently a long time ago on Earth – long before Jupiter’s
creation or the exodus to Amoy – this celebration already existed and was
called Christmas.”
“Christ Mass? I think I read about someone called Christ in one of your books
once, although I can’t recall exactly...”, she started uncertainly, absolutely
clueless as to where the mercurious Elite was going with this. The look on his
face appeared to suggest that this effort was meant to reward her, yet she
couldn’t for the life of her understand how handing her an offering would
achieve this purpose.
“Indeed, originally the celebration was meant to remember the birth of an
important religious figure called Christ. From what I understand he was a
benevolent demigod destined to save the human race. Hence the celebration of
Christmas itself was associated with caring for others and establishing
peaceful relations. More specifically, it became a time to share with others
through an exchange of so-called presents or gifts”, the Elite’s encyclopaedic
explanation sounded.
“Sharing? Presents or gifts?”, the fire-haired siren asked, all those concepts
completely foreign to her Tanaguran-bred mind.
“Throughout the centuries the concept has been forgotten in Tanagura and Midas,
however it apparently still persists in Ceres. A present or gift is simply
something – usually a material possession – that you give away to someone else
without expecting anything in return. A kind of trade without a profit, meant
to show someone that you like him or her.”
“So you just.... give something... to someone else, but for no apparent reason?
Simply because you feel like it, because you want to show that you like them?”,
Mimea asked, her warm smoky eyes now glued to the box in her hands as if it had
suddenly taken on magical proportions, oozing a mysterious atmosphere from
ancient times.
“A most unusual and down-right puzzling idea, isn’t it? Ever since I learned of
the existence of this exchange I have found it most intriguing.”
“But wait... Then why did Riki feel like he was indebted to you after you saved
his ass from the cops? Why didn’t he interpret it as a present from you, to
show him you were interested?”
“I suppose he wasn’t used to applying the concept to unfamiliar persons,
especially those outside of Ceres. Also I have been told that the exchanging of
gifts often occurs at specific times, for example on Christmas or on the day
one was born.”
“Maybe it’s because your present wasn’t a material possession wrapped up in
this manner? You should try again, only like this!”, jumping up from her seat
the girl excitedly danced through the room while holding up her present to
better inspect it.
Smiling almost unnoticeably at the young Pet’s enthusiasm, Iason said:
“Actually I already did, at Christmas last year, when I first learned of this
tradition.”
“For real?!”, Mimea shrieked and turned around as swiftly and elegantly as a
pro ballerina twirling on the top of her toes. “What did you give him? Iason,
you must tell me right away!”
Seeing how the Elite raised one of his fair eyebrows at her commanding manner
of speech, she quickly added: “Please?”
For a moment he hesitated. So far he had told his newfound companion everything
and anything that related to his feelings for Riki. However what he had shared
with Riki on last year’s Jupiter Mass Eve was personal. Very personal.
Revealing those events to Mimea might undo whatever remained of his authority
over her. Not that he was afraid she would talk, for even if she did nobody
would ever believe her. Yet he was afraid of losing her respect if he revealed
too much weakness. Not a single blond hair on his head would have thought of
revealing said information to Raoul, but somehow Mimea’s understanding of his
recently awakened emotional side combined with her social non-existence gave
her a reassuring and non-threatening air. Especially the way she was staring at
him now, throwing all of her cutesy charm into her efforts.
“I gave him a ring”, he purposely teased, giving her just enough information to
arouse her but not nearly enough to sate her.
“A ring? What, like a Pet ring? I thought he hated that?”, the curious nymph
questioned eagerly.
“No, more like a Master ring”, the blond devil smiled mysteriously as he held
up the ring on his finger for her to see.
“You gave him yourMaster ring?! Whatever for?”, she continued to pry
ceaselessly, her extreme disbelief undoing the effect of her carefully-applied
dark make-up and emphasizing the round largeness of her genetically-engineered
doll’s eyes.
“To set us on an equal footing, if only for one night”, Iason finally admitted,
masterfully hiding his insecurity at revealing such a thing to a mere discarded
Pet.
“What do you mean on an equal footing?  Wait, you don’t mean... By Jupiter,
Iason!!!!”, she gasped, nearly choking as she fell right out of her chair and
lay there on the floor, panting in shocked disbelief like a red koi fish on dry
land. Sitting up and spreading out her arms like an angel in prayer, she
continued: “Don’t tell me this ‘equal footing’ extended to the bedroom?! For
then he would have to be some kind of idiot to run off again!!”
“I believe the problem with the deal was that it was only for one night, for he
left no sooner than the break of dawn, while he thought I was still asleep”,
the android responded in a perfectly even voice, yet the wistful depths of his
blue gaze were as tumultuous as a storm at sea. “But if it’s any consolation to
you, his manner of leaving was rather hesitant and undecided.”
“Rather hesitant and undecided?! Honestly, what more does he expect you to
do?!”, his match-making co-conspirator cried out in exasperation.
“That, my little firebird, is what I hope you can extract from him with your
sly, gentle, little fingers. Now, how about you open your present now, you will
be needing it to go out and participate in my latest scheme”, he cunningly
changed the subject.
Mimea’s orange eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous spark. “Your latest
scheme? And what exactly does this scheme entail?”, the red-haired imp asked
with an almost evil grin as she started impatiently fiddling with the golden
ribbon around her present.
“Better not to share the details of it in advance, as to allow you to play your
part even better. All you need to know is that I need you in your apartment in
Midas and ready to answer Riki’s call.”
 
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
 
Excitedly exiting the penthouse, Mimea had to refrain herself from racing down
the corridor, her footwear actually being practical enough to allow it now.
Apparently the only way for a female with miniature feet to get decent flat
shoes on Amoy was to have them customised using the Mink name. Shiny, flawless
black leather boots without even the hint of a heel now adorned said tiny feet
and slender calves, practically begging their wearer to dance her way to the
elevator.
The cheerful, newly-attired girl had bounced halfway there when she became
instinctively aware of another person walking in the vicinity with a soft,
decisive footfall. Still too loud to be a Furniture. Far too heavy to be a Pet.
Yet altogether too pronounced and too subtle to be any other Elite but one.
Fixating her eyes on the shiny glass door of the elevator ahead she urged
herself to look at and think about nothing but her goal.
You can do this, Mimea. He means absolutely nothing to you now, so you might as
well act as if he is nothing.
Thus ignoring her former Master and creator entirely, she brusquely walked
right past him, not even glancing in his direction but making sure to daringly
flaunt the mink fur of her brand new winter coat in his face, in doing so
emphasizing her connection to the Mink household.
Take a long, hard look at what doesn’t belong to you anymore, you selfish
prick.
Just as she was about to step into the elevator, the old familiar voice called
out softly. Ever such a caring and gentle voice, like honey poured over velvet.
“Mimea”
After taking a second to get over the nauseating nostalgia brought on by that
sweet spicy timbre, the petite woman turned around, red hair swaying
aggressively as she looked her adversary straight in the eye. An endless jungle
of bright green, moist and passively waiting regarded her quietly. Like a
seemingly dazing big cat, in reality waiting to pounce.
Not wishing to wait and give him the opportunity to be the first to say
anything, she announced in a chipper, mocking tone accompanied by a down-right
evil, sweet smile: “Strange, isn’t it? How people can surprise you and turn out
to be so very different than how you first perceived them to be. For example
those you believed to be most loyal to you can be the very same ones to stab
you in the back on a whim, another’s whim at that. Yet those you believed had
most reason to detest you can later be revealed to be those who sympathise most
of all.”
After a long pause that  did absolutely nothing to hide his shock at the way
his former Pet had just addressed him, he responded, voice annoyingly serene,
belying his own uncertainty in how to approach her. “If you believe that
earning Iason Mink’s sympathy might be anything but a burden, you clearly
haven’t been around him for very long, my de...”
“Don’t you DARE to have the audacity to call me that! Not anymore!”, she
snapped, like the jaws of a crocodile suddenly snapping shut over an
unsuspecting prey. Pointing her accusing, manicured finger at him almost as if
it were a weapon of mass destruction, she continued her assault at full force:
“Not ever again may you call me that! You lost that right when you just sold me
off to that hellhole as if I meant absolutely nothing to you! Like the idiot I
was I trusted you, for you were my Master, even more than that, you were my
father! Yet that didn’t stop you! That didn’t make you stand up for me and
protect me like you promised, did it?!”
“I’m sure in time you too will be driven mad by his random whims and impossible
demands”, the scientist calmly tried to reason with her. It was this almost
resigned kind of calmness that now did drive her mad, mad with rage aimed at
her former Master.
Staring at him momentarily she then laughed cruelly, the shrill sound echoing
through the empty hallways of Eos. “You don’t honestly think that he has even
an ounce of respect for those that just follow his every command and simply
give him what he wants? For what he truly wants is someone who knows when to
refuse him. Tell me, is there a spine somewhere within that metal framework of
yours? Or do you just bend over like a good little pussy cat whenever he asks?”
“You may believe yourself to be in a position of privilege now, but as your
maker I must warn you that both you and your new Master are heading down a very
dangerous road. One that I would hate to see you fall victim to as well, my
daughter.”
“If you would really ‘hate’ that so much, then why don’t you join us and make
sure we don’t take a wrong turn, hmm? But wait, I almost forgot, it’s not quite
that you don’t know what’s wrong with this fucked-up society – oh, you do, you
probably realised even long before Iason did – but you’re simply too much of a
coward to do anything about it”, then putting all of the rage she had
suppressed for years into one single movement, she hit the elevator button for
the ground floor with a loud slap and watched Raoul Am’s astounded face for
several long seconds before the elevator doors closed with a sense of finality.
                                        
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
                                        
Having worked as a fulltime hacker-in-training and occasional courier for the
Black Market for several months now, Riki the Dark was really beginning to get
reacquainted with the job, which wasn’t so surprising seeing as how he was
learning the ropes from the very best: Katze himself. After taking a few days
off following his last risky but successful assignment, he was now on his way
to the crime boss’ office for what sounded like another promising thrill during
their earlier short telephone conversation. Apparently an opportunity to gather
precious, hard-to-come-by intel from one of the market’s main competitors had
finally presented itself, and Katze wanted none other than his latest but so-
far very best trainee to execute the already carefully-planned job.
Honoured that Katze had chosen him for what was obviously a crucial job – not
that he would ever admit as much of course – Riki was in a hurry to get to the
red-head’s lair. But unfortunately it was the time of year during which the
weather often had other ideas, with snow beginning to fall down heavily from
the heavens once more, as if the gods themselves were thwarting the small
figure of the black-clad tough mongrel on his racing bike on the slippery road
down below.
“Jupiter be damned to hell!!! Can nothing ever go right this bloody time of
year?!”, the young man cursed as Dustbiter finally succumbed to the
impossibility of the circumstances, the bike had fought hard and bravely all
the way to Orange Road but now refused to budge beyond that point. Not that an
awful lot of budging would have been possible, for from where Riki was standing
he could clearly see that the entire traffic artery was jammed up for miles on
end.
Spotting an up-class vehicle just up ahead that was undoubtedly the property of
an Elite, the mischievous mongrel shook with laughter when the driver’s
vehement klaxon blowing did nothing to remove the piles of melted and
subsequently refrozen sludge blocking its path. Apparently the weather also had
a way of evening out the playing field, with the more expensive and therefore
heavier, more sensitive models of hovercars being the first to be
incapacitated.
Crouching down next to his bike, the former gang leader attempted to detect the
exact nature of the problem. Putting his ear right next to the part of the bike
that housed its engine, Riki tried to run the bike once again and listened
carefully. Yep, there was definitely something stuck and frozen up in there.
Knowing that putting further stress on the bike now could risk it being
irreversibly damaged, there remained nothing to be done but to simply heat up
the bike somewhere and wait. The question then remained: how was he gonna get
the bike home when he was already streets away from his apartment?
Getting up and looking around while stretching his cold-numbed limbs, Riki
could see the Mass lights of a nearby store. It wouldn’t be too hard to get his
vehicle over there, but the businesses on Orange Road were usually posh enough
not to allow a mongrel access, let alone one who wanted to put an old, rusty
bike inside as well. Not seeing any other option at the moment and starting to
lose all feeling in the tips of his strong but bare fingers, the mongrel
started pushing the heavy, snow-laden bike in the direction of the bright
lights regardless. Damn, how could a bike that was built to withstand desert
sands be so ill-equipped when it came to dealing with snow? There had to be at
least a ton of the stuff sucked into the rear accelerator to weigh down the
bike like this!
He artfully concealed his bike behind some pine branches out of sight of the
store window – thank Ceres for those ridiculous Mass decorations – and went for
the door, pulling out his temporary citizen pass and hoping that the Black
Market still had some influence in the area the establishment was located.
Upon entering the small store, there was apparently no one on the premises to
greet Riki. Wonderful, perhaps he could hide his bike in a less-frequented part
of the store without even being noticed. Then detecting a security camera that
was already homing in on him, those thoughts soon left his mind. Was there
really no such thing as good luck for a mongrel – like ever– in this blasted
shit society?
Just as he figured it would probably be best to bail and find somewhere else to
defreeze his mode of transportation, a shop assistant appeared out of seemingly
nowhere, making Riki nearly jump up all the way up to the ceiling!
Motherfucking noiseless ex-Furniture!
“Could I possibly be of service to you, dear Sir?”, a well-mannered, alto voice
sounded even before Riki had even seen there was anybody there.
“Whoaa!! Holy shit man, you scared the crap outta me! Do you guys have like a
freakin’ invisibility mode to sneak up on people or something?!”, Riki cursed,
thinking there was no way to sweet-talk his way into the shop assistant’s good
graces anyways, not if he had the discipline of a former Furniture.
“My sincerest apologies, it was not my intention to startle you, sir!”, the
mouse-like young man began to apologise, appearing to hide behind a light-
brown, half-long bob of hair and wringing his fragile hands nervously, only now
looking at his customer’s face. “I simply... Riki? Is that you?”
“Shit, kid, no need to apologise to the likes of...”, Riki began – sick and
tired of poor, castrated young lads feeling the need to grovel in the dust even
when faced with their social minors – only to become as near to ghostly pale as
was possible for one of such a dark skin tone. “Wait a minute! I know you...
Daryl?! What the fuck, man!!! I thought you were dead! I saw you executed on
television!”
“So people keep telling me, those ill-fated enough to fall down this low that
is. To be honest I was most surprised myself at discovering that I was not to
be executed after such a serious offense as mine”, Daryl admitted, still
tensely fidgeting with his hands even after he’d discovered that his latest
client was actually an old friend.
“Such a serious offense? You just opened a gate for a desperate kid who was
about to kill himself just to get outta that goddamn death trap! You should’ve
gotten a freakin’ medal for that, not an execution warrant!”, still not
believing his eyes, Riki surged forward like a fire storm, snatched the former
Furniture’s skinny form right off the polished floor and nearly crushed him to
death in what could only be described as a bear hug.
“Ugh! Riki... glad to see... you too... Please don’t.... carry out that
sentence.... after all... by choking me to death!”, the smaller man protested
while being squeezed with more force than he remembered the mongrel to be
capable of.
“S... sorry! Shit, how come you stayed this small? You must be like... What?...
Twenty-four now?”
“Twenty-five actually, practically ancient, I know. I told the store manager
that I was only twenty-two and somehow he bought it...”
“Wait, couldn’t he tell from your record then? But how come you’re not dead?!”,
Riki exclaimed again, now grabbing both of the former Furniture’s thin wrists
in a slightly too-powerful grip.
“That’s just it, I am dead. At least officially, the record I’m using now is an
illegally manufactured one”, the other revealed, selfless enough not to point
out that the now much bigger, adult version of Riki was hurting him again.
“How on Amoy did you pull that off? Escaping execution in Tanagura, faking your
ID... ?!”
That kind of stuff would not even have sounded likely if it had been Katze
they’d been talking about, so it seemed entirely impossible that honest, sweet
Daryl would have managed such a feat.
“Actually Katze is the one who created my new ID, on the orders of Mas... I
mean, on Lord Mink’s orders.”
“Whohoho! Mink knew about this?!”, Riki asked in total amazement, his dark eyes
nearly bulging out of their sockets in an almost comical way.
“Oh, didn’t you know? It is thanks to the good graces of Lord Mink that I am
alive today, he knew that a hacking offense at such a level meant that my
execution would be inevitable, therefore he came up with the idea to stage my
execution and to smuggle me out of Tanagura”, Daryl explained with an immensely
grateful expression and a benevolent smile.
“No shit, the bastard never said anything to me! He must have known I’d think
you were dead...”, Riki wondered.
“Probably he reasoned that the less people knew about it, the less risk at
being discovered?”
“As if anyone in Eos would have even stopped to listen to a word I said...
Besides, I would’ve been the last person to do anything to endanger your life!”
“Perhaps he was trying to prevent you from being involved to make sure that no
guilt could fall to you? Because in Tanagura knowing that a felony was
committed and not coming forward is enough to make one an accomplice in the
eyes of the law...”
“Seriously? Holy shit, Tanagura is even more horrible than I knew!”
“But how about you, Riki? How come you are here, did you somehow succeed in
escaping Eos after all then?”
“Gah! If only... No, the bastard must have gotten bored with me, cause one day
he just let me go. Took off my Pet ring and sent me running back to Ceres, not
that I have any complaints about that... Hell, I don’t think I ever ran that
fast!”
“Then it is a most advantageous outcome that Lord Mink has helped both of us
get out of Eos safely”, Daryl said with another smile, the genuine gratitude in
his eyes preventing even a tough slumdog like Riki from uttering any of the
acidic, snappy replies that came to mind.
“Ergh... Yeah, most advantageous indeed, I guess... So you’ve been working here
all that time, huh? And how’re you liking the job, I mean... It’s quite
something else than what you were used to...”, Riki expertly changed the
subject and tried to start an actual conversation, for he knew for a fact that
the shy former Furniture wouldn’t, at least not by himself.
Damn, had he ever even had a half-decent conversation with the poor guy before?
Probably not, all he ever really gave the kid was a load of smart-mouthing and
a lot of trouble. If not an outright physical attack or destructive effort at
ruining all of his hard work.
“Oh, my boss is a most generous employer, and he didn’t ask too many questions
about my past. But what is it that brings you here today, Riki? I don’t wish to
come across as judgmental, but I wasn’t expecting to see you here...”
“No problem, I wouldn’t expect to see me here either. But hey, I’d expect to
see me even less in Eos, yet I was there, wasn’t I? Desperate times call for
desperate measures, my bike crashed right before I could queue up on Orange
Road...”
“Oh dear! You were in an accident?! Were you injured anywhere? Shall I call you
a medic?!”, Daryl got into his usual panic, apparently forgetting that the
mongrel was no longer his charge and that nobody was going to punish him for
not tending to any potential wounds straight away. Or perhaps a part of him
would always consider the charming dark mongrel his charge, regardless of what
any laws or regulations said.
“No, no accident, no worries... I mean that my bike broke down, y’know, the
engine just stopped working. I reckon it’s the cold and the snow, those models
were built for daylight desert conditions so it’s not really all that strange I
s’pose...”
“Would you like me to call a tow service or a mechanic for you?”, Daryl offered
kindly.
“What? Nah, I just figured the problem’d fix itself once I got the bike warmed
up a little bit... But I don’t want to get you into trouble with your boss, so
I’ll just see if I can drag it somewhere else...”, Riki said as he already
started moving backwards to the exit. The last thing he wanted to do was to get
the kid he owed so much in trouble again.
“Nonsense, the manager isn’t even in tonight and he won’t be until morning.
I’ll just put your hoverbike next to the radiator in the backroom for you”, the
ex-Furniture said and peered out of the front window trying to decipher the
bike’s position so he could drag it in himself.
“OK, thanks a lot, kid! Dunno how I’m ever gonna pay you back for all you’ve
done for me... Cud you jus’ keep the door open for me? Thanks, man!”, the
mongrel cunningly gave the boy something other to do than dragging in the heavy
bike, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to resist a direct request.
 
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
 
A couple of hours and a lot of cups of hot coffee later, Dustbiter was finally
heated into working order again and Riki got up from his chair at the small
table in the cosy backroom of the store.
“Well, it was very nice to see you again, Riki! I wish you all the best for the
new year! And if you’re ever in need of assistance of whatever kind, or if you
simply wish to converse...”
“Yeah, likewise. It’s easy, talking to you, you don’t judge. I guess I’m
actually not a bad dude when I’m not thrashing the place and shouting in your
face, huh?”, Riki winked jokingly as he went outside and hopped back unto his
now defrosted bike.
“Yes, that is very true indeed. But at least one never gets bored with you and
your spirited personality in the vicinity. Moreover one does not need to go
through the trouble of finding appropriate topics of conversation”, the former
Furniture replied with good humour.
Then Riki kicked his bike back to life and was greeted by the old, familiar
roaring of his faithful companion’s engine. He turned to wave at Daryl, who was
watching him take off through the store window. As he did so, his gaze was
suddenly drawn towards one of the sparkling decorations in front of said
window.
On Christmas night
You always have been on my mind
The tiny white figurine dangled in front of the frosted glass windowpane
innocently enough, the Mass lights illuminating it magnificently and the wind
blowing it about making it seem as if the angel’s small, feathery wings could
really make it fly. But it were the fine, golden threads of long hair that
trailed from the figure’s head that had first attracted Riki’s attention to it.
Of Christmas night
I’m dreaming for so long
 
The cold light of dawn was already creeping through the luxurious curtains of
the master bedroom in the Mink household, when the mongrel under the pristinely
white, silk sheets began to stir. The pure colour – or lack thereof – made for
a stark, unusual contrast against the mongrel’s dark skin and night-black hair.
The previous night had exhausted him but somehow he knew - as if by some long-
forgotten instinct - that dawn was upon him. Probably this was also due to the
fact that it was the agreed time starting from which he would go back to being
an inferior rather than an equal, and would thus be at risk once again.
But before his instincts of self-preservation kicked in entirely, he turned to
look once more at his lover from the previous night: the divinely beautiful and
coldly distanced Iason Mink, still on display there in all his blonde
splendour. Fortunately he was apparently still asleep and therefore there was
no need for Riki to rush his exit before being apprehended. Riki took the time
to study his nemesis – or had he become his real lover overnight? – in more
detail while he was still in Morpheus’ arms. Not that Riki hadn’t been given
ample opportunity for looking at each and every delicious part of the blonde
angel the night before, yet while asleep Iason possessed an entirely different
aura from when he was awake. It was as if an aura of sweetness and innocence
surrounded him in sleep, making him appear like a normal, feeling human being
rather than an inhuman, unfeeling Elite. Although an exquisitely alluring human
being.
 
Oh Christmas time
The peace on Earth we hope to find
Cursing under his breath, the mongrel shut down his bike’s engine once more and
walked back up to the front door of the store. Opening the door and hurrying
outside, Daryl asked anxiously: “Has the problem with your bike not been fixed
after all then?”
Oh Christmas time
We’re waiting for so long
 “What? Nah, bike’s fine. It’s just... Do you still hear from him sometimes?”
 “Him?”, Daryl asked, confused about who his friend was referring to.
“Iason. Do you still hear from Iason sometimes?” There it was again. That name,
hated and desired in equal parts. Iason.
“Why no... I wouldn’t see why I would. I mean, even if he so graciously decided
to spare my life, I have failed him in every possible way.”
“Or it would be a risk to your life whenever he did... Cause the authorities
could discover that you weren’t really dead...”, Riki wondered aloud, suddenly
rethinking the way in which he so far had tried to discover the Blondie’s
motives for all that he did.
Perhaps he had been mistaken more than once in his conclusions. After all he
would have never even dared to think that the Elite’s utter silence when it
came to Daryl’s demise was because Daryl was actually still alive and the
number of people who knew had to be kept limited for his own protection.
“Oh, I never thought of that explanation... Although I don’t think Lord Mink
would have any reason to contact me. But you on the other hand, I am sure Lord
Mink would love to hear how you’re doing! If you’d like I could pass on your
contact information, I’ve still got a phone number he gave me, in case of
emergency...”, Daryl said hurriedly, his enthusiasm at the thought of reuniting
his former Master and Pet making him forget all about his Furniture-bred calm
demeanour.
“Nah, that’s OK. I mean, I’m working for Katze again in the Black Market, so
I’m sure I’d have no trouble if I wanted to call him or something. Y’know....”,
he hesitated to think of whether or not it was wise to share this rather
shaming information with anyone. But he just couldn’t take the lonely silence
anymore, with nobody but him even suspecting how he truly started to feel
towards his old tormentor. “Y’know, this time last year, something weird
happened, between me and Iason....”
“You mean to say that you saw Lord Mink again last year? How was he doing? And
how did such a meeting come about, if I may be so bold?”, Daryl inquired
uncharacteristically.
“You know you can be bold all you want with me, Daryl, there’s not a lot that
could shock me”, Riki laughed nervously. “Well, I figure he was doing all
right, he was in the middle of some fancy Mass party with a bunch of big-shots
when I walked in and interrupted them so rudely... But in my defence, he did
invite me to come... Not sure if he intended to have an audience when I went up
and kissed him though, but I’m sure the kinky devil kicks on that sorta scandal
anyways...”, he rattled on, somehow hoping that adding more to the story could
make the other forget about the kissing part. But no such luck.
“You kissedMaster in front of an entire audience?!”, Daryl asked in surprise,
hardly believing what Riki was telling him but at the same time knowing that it
wasn’t like the proud mongrel to lie about such a thing.
“It was sort of like a spur of the moment thing, OK! You can’t ask someone to
come with you to a more private setting when you’re so full offire you don’t
even know what you’re doing anymore!”
“And how did Lord Mink react to this? Was he very angry with you? Oh, dear
Jupiter, I do hope you didn’t have another one of those terrible arguments?”,
the ex-Furniture cowered, already frightened when imagining his former Master’s
ire.
“No argument, he just sent the whole crowd home straight away to continue
undisturbed...”
“He did?!”, Daryl squeaked, knowing from experience that only the highest
placed and most revered Elite in Tanagura attended Lord Mink’s Mass parties.
For him to send away such esteemed guests for a mere mongrel...
“Yeah. Perhaps he was bored with the whole thing, or he just figured he could
torment me better without those other yuppie fags around....”
“No, Riki, that’s not true! You can make excuses for it all you want, but the
truth is...”, suddenly realising how loud he was shouting in the middle of the
store – even if there were no customers there at present – Daryl lowered his
voice and then continued with a certain air of conspiracy. “The truth is that
you are very dear to Lord Mink. I believe that there is nothing that he
wouldn’t do for you, Riki. You say he sent you away because he grew tired of
you, but I cannot believe that. Not after all the trouble and social judgement
he went through to keep you close to him. No, I think that he finally saw what
I did earlier, that to remain in chains in Eos would destroy you. Therefore he
would rather not see you anymore at all than see you thus!”
“You know, Daryl, you’re the second ex-Furniture from the Mink household to
tell me this in only a couple of months’ time. Of course I can’t trust a single
word Katze says, as Iason is undoubtedly still pulling his strings. But from
what you’ve just told me, there’s no way that he’s pulling yours, right?”
“Not that I know of. Of course I still consider myself loyal to the Mink
household first and foremost, especially after everything Master has done to
me. But like I said, he has not been in contact with me ever since my so-called
execution.”
Knowing that regardless of what his Master commanded him, poor Daryl was simply
incapable of lying, Riki knew he had to be speaking the truth, at least as he
knew it.
“Shit. Shit, OK, maybe there is... something. Something between Iason and
myself, something weird and... totally out-of-line”, Riki admitted, allowing
himself to think once again about all the things that didn’t add up, not since
their last face-to-face encounter. “The way he was with me last Christime – I
mean, last Jupiter Mass – that was not the way I remembered him from my time in
Eos at all. It was... for the first time he did something selfless. Admittedly,
he succeeded in luring me to him, which undoubtedly was his intention all
along, but he was willing to sacrifice himself to do it...”
“Master sacrificed himself? Oh no, did he hurt himself?!”, Daryl asked
worriedly, his face painted in absolute horror at the thought of his former
Master being hurt.
“No, no, nothing like that. At least, I think it didn’t hurt... He’s an Elite
after all, they can’t be hurt, right? Especially not through sex, I mean, I’m
pretty sure they’re pretty much built for it...”
“I know that Elite bodies are regenerative and that there is hardly anything
that can seriously injure them. However I do not know if that means that they
never feel any pain. The Elite built for sex? I don’t think that is possible,
Riki, because they are forbidden to have coitus by Jupiter’s decree”, Daryl
droned in an encyclopaedic manner. “Wait, did you just say that you possibly
hurt Master through sex?!”
“Well, I don’t know! I mean, if what you say about sex being forbidden for
Elite is true, then... Holy smokes, he must have been a virgin! But does that
actually mean anything for an Elite? Oh shit, I must be the world’s stupidest
asshole!”
And I believe at Christmas I’m in love again
“What do you mean, Riki?”
“To think it didn’t... it couldn’t... mean anything!”, the mongrel now defended
himself desperately. “But if it’s forbidden for them to have sex, then... Then
it must have meant even more than it would have for a human! I just assumed...
cause sex in Eos means nothing! It means nothing with a Pet... But he’s an
Elite so... I should’ve guessed there would’ve been different standards for
different classes! Argh, I’m such an idiot! I was just so focussed on myself
and howI felt that I... Never even thought that maybe he felt something too!”
And I believe there’s someone there for me
“Indeed it is hard to imagine that an Elite would, especially Master Iason, for
he is widely-known for his perfect demeanour and his ability to show no
emotional weakness whatsoever. But as his Furniture of several years, I
personally think he is most definitely capable of emotion. Not in his words or
facial expressions perhaps, but I’d say it is very strongly there in his
actions towards those who depend on him. What he did for me went against the
law...”
“And what he did for Katze.And what he did for me. Shit, I’m such a dumb
moron!”, Riki yelled in exasperation, his dark eyes inadvertently moving up the
familiar sparkling tower in the distance, easy to make out even through the
falling snow. He could have sworn he could hear the snow flakes bouncing right
off of that incorruptible surface of pristine, icy crystal. How could he have
been so blind?!
And far away we hear the bells go ding ding dong
“Oh no, Sir Riki, you are no such thing!”, Daryl tried to reassure him, using
the old appellation endearingly without even realising it.
“Quit pulling my leg with the ‘Sir’ already, ya cheeky lil’ twit!”, Riki
accused, a broad grin making its way unto his tan, attractive features.
“Oh no, Si... I mean, Riki! I would never purposely taunt you in such a way, I
swear!”, the other pleaded in alarm.
Laughing like a madman – his seasonal spirit much improved -  Riki smacked his
newfound friend’s shoulder a bit more roughly than was his intention, expecting
there to be more muscle to lessen the blow.
Oh Christmas time
“Nah, it’s me who’s pulling yourleg, kid! Don’t worry about it, jus’ my fucked-
up sense o’ humour. Gotta go talk to my boss now or he’ll have my head for
being late without the excuse of the snow drift”, the attractive young man said
with a glance at the now snow-free sky before jumping unto his old bike – lean
as a gutter cat – and racing off mongrel style.
On Christmas night
Please wait for me
 
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
 
                              To Be Continued ...
                 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!!!!!!!
 
   And please leave me a little present as well in the form of a review! :-)
 
       xmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmasxmas
 
Author’s note:
In case any of you are wondering about the references to “last year’s Jupiter
Mass Eve” or “this time last year” in this chapter, those are references to my
earlier Christmas fanfic Amoyan ChristMass (more specifically to the chapter
Under the Mistletoe). I guess you could consider these next two chapters as a
sequel of sorts, with the events in Amoyan ChristMass taking place somewhere
after the point at which Iason set Riki free yet before the beginning of Star-
Crossed.
 
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