Chapter 29 - On Conditioning: Chapter 28: Finale

On Conditioning
by Volpone

Chapter 28


          Mōko always enjoyed how the little blonde cried out. Perhaps it was the psychological similarity between his feline nature and a cat playing with its prey. Of course, only Mōko's head was feline. The rest of him was quite humanoid and enjoyed the same things other demonic males enjoyed, such as sex with a helpless victim.
          This particular blonde was so very responsive. She always struggled at first but then gave in and became the most delightfully responsive fuck toy. It was almost too bad she didn't try to fight him off longer because it was so much better to take what they hoped to deny him, but they were all the same in the end.
          He didn't bother to try to learn her name. They were all interchangeable to him. Blonde. Brunette. Black-haired. Pink-haired. Human. Elf. Japanese. American. Mortal. Infernal. It didn't matter who they had been or what name they'd had before. So long as they were part of the captives Black-sama knew nothing about, they were all available to Mōko any time he wanted them.
          It was by using these captives as reward for unwavering obedience that helped Oboro form her own faction within Black's empire without him even being aware. He'd been so focused on the Kiryuu episode that it had made it disappointingly easy for Oboro to capture the strike force without Black even getting wind of the episode. As a result, she had managed to secure the loyalty of almost half of Black's forces by allowing those who served her sexual use of the prisoners as reward. As the other Taimanin had been declared off-limits, this made it even easier for Oboro to gather the less honorable among their demonic organization to her cause since they had few remaining outlets for their lust.
          The damned Harukinu had even captured several of the females among Black's forces who might have willingly taken the role of sex partner for some of the demons like Kuris and Astaroth, but the males always badly outnumbered the females in their organization since brawn was preferred over brains among the foot soldiers in their ranks. Presently, the orcs almost always had to resort to going up to the surface and finding an unsuspecting human female who wandered down the wrong street to slake their lust since there were no female orcs.
          It was this scarcity that had given Oboro the idea of using sex as a lever to gain supporters in Black-sama's organization. And when the opportunity to capture this group had presented itself when Black was being distracted by Kiryuu's attempted coup, the chance had been too good to overlook.  Oboro even managed to justify it to herself in a way that didn't make her conditioning fight her actions since she was basically undermining her own boss.
          There were fourteen of the captives held apart from the rest of the Taimanin. Most had been captured a day or two after the others when the Fuuma Clan and the Americans had made another attempt to rescue the others. It hadn't been so much a rescue attempt as a fiasco for the women since Oboro had known exactly when and where the attempt was to come due to a traitor among the Fuuma... a minor lackey of the family who had sold the information to get revenge on the woman who had spurned his advances. It tickled the man to know that by refusing to have sex with him, the Fuuma shinobi had doomed herself to becoming a plaything of Black's forces and a possible competitor in the Chaos Arena.
          The pretty blonde Mōko had finished with finally stopped shaking, her orgasms leaving her exhausted, and when he released her, the shackles chaining her wrists to the wall above her were all that prevented her from sliding to the cold stone floor in a heap.
          As the tiger-headed demon left to prepare himself for the upcoming battle Oboro said was on its way, he looked around and was unsurprised to see every one of the captives occupied by another male demon, and many by more than one. This was their last chance at them before the coming clash, and Oboro wanted to remind them of what they were fighting for... free sexual use of captive anti-demon females.H mm... taking that into consideration, Mōko looked at the blue-skinned, elf-eared Fuuma sniper who had been “entertaining” two of his fellow demons. At that moment, the raptor-headed male finished pumping his load into the dazed-looking female's pussy, and as he moved off, Mōko thought, “I still have a few minutes...” and moved in to try the buxom Fuuma's ass as it looked less recently used...


          “Okay, folks... let's go home.”
          Quinn spoke easily, as if they were simply heading back to their local residence for the night rather than intending to leave not only the city behind but the planet and universe as well. He wanted to get Caballera and Vega out of here and into private where he could explain what was going on and get this mission over with. It had gone on far longer and involved far more personnel than had originally been intended by several times their original estimate. The number of qualified recruits justified the investment of time and money, but there were other missions that needed attention. 
          The money they'd spent was incidental, but this latest move of reneging on wagers was a clear sign that the opposition was done playing nice. Once word gets out the bookies are crooked, no one can trust them again, and wagers stop, making the entire operation dry up. 
          So they (those taking the bets) would naturally try to stop the word from getting out.
          Quinn kept Slapstick in hand and maintained a carefully neutral expression to prevent anyone from getting the idea they weren't ever coming back.
          Unfortunately, Black's minion was still there in the hall waiting, just beyond what would be the reach of Bushido's sword.
          “Harukinu-sama, Black-sama was most insistent that we reach an agreement on an acceptable price for the return of a member of his household.”
          Judging from the agitated state of the underling, Quinn had to assume either he knew this was a delaying tactic and was nervous about being the sacrificial goat if they twigged, or Black knew nothing about the refusal to pay the wagers on Caballera's match and had told him to return with Caballera or not return at all.
          I think it's time to discover if it's Oboro, Black, or both we're dealing with here, Quinn decided, not that the situation can't change.
          Stopping but not looking directly at the minion he was dealing with, he did his best to convey that his courtesy was hanging on by the thinnest of threads.
          “You may take this message back to Black-sama.
          “First, I have no interest in selling Caballera at any price. She is now a member of our household, and so is not a possession to be bargained over. If she should decide she wishes to return to his service, she is free to do so and I will do nothing to stop her, but she is not for sale.
          “Next, I no longer have any interest in seeking some accommodation with Black-sama since we can no longer trust his word. Wagers placed in good faith have been accepted but not paid and so the Chaos Arena already owes our organization a considerable sum. However, he may keep the money and we will consider our agreement at an end.”
          From the look on the messenger's face, this was news to him, but then Black was smart enough to not send a minion who knows he's going to be at Ground Zero when the opposition finds out they've been screwed.
          Quinn didn't pause long enough to allow the underling a chance to make excuses. He wanted Black to know that he'd made a mistake, either by thinking they were as concerned with money as he was or by trusting his lieutenant too far.
          “If this is Black-sama's normal method of negotiating... by holding money that is owed us as a bargaining chip in some attempt to force us into delivering a member of our team to him, you can assure him it will not work. We would happily give up the money owed and pay as much again to prevent Caballera returning to a household that has proven itself without honor.”
          Quinn knew this last was a thrown gauntlet in the situation. Fortunately, Quinn didn't give a damn about the money or maintaining a relationship with a villain, and Edwin Black was without doubt a villain for all his talk about honor. While the timing sucked, Quinn always intended to tell Black they were terminating their deal. Vega was the final piece that could be held over them, and now that she was safe, they were free to tell Black to stuff it and leave. He had nothing else they wanted, and if pushed, Quinn would see how much damage he could do to Black's operation before they left. Just passing on the information about bets not being honored would be enough to cripple the financial end of the arena. It might still survive as a diversion, but the profitability would never be the same once the word got out and gamblers stopped betting.
          The minion lost his professional demeanor and opened his mouth to object, no doubt to tell Harukinu-sama that such an accusation would be seen as a declaration of war, but before he could stammer out anything, he was cut off.
          Quinn was slow to anger, but he'd been holding himself in check since coming to this world, and he let his anger over the way all the Taimanin had been treated rise to the surface as he turned to address the messenger personally. The look on his face made the lackey realize that what he had assumed was an argument over money was indeed much more than that, and that the man he was sent to negotiate with was more than willing to go to war if Black wished it.
          “You may deliver my message to your master,” he said, (his tone unmistakably putting an end to the conversation while effectively saying, “I would not hesitate to kill you where you stand if I didn't need you to take word back to your boss. Argue with me and I'll worry about how to deliver my message another way.”)
          The lackey blanched, realizing he was faced with returning to his master both empty-handed and with more bad news, or he could press the point and die.
          Quinn could actually see the underling stop and consider if what Quinn would do to him was worse than what he knew Black was capable of. It might be preferable to be killed cleanly by these Harikinu people. At least it would stop his being punished by his master, and anyone who thought there was no fate worse than death had not served someone like Edwin Black.
          But he also knew that he was responsible to carry word to his master of a possible war, and to fail in doing so would be a far greater error than simply letting himself be killed.
          Duty won out, and the messenger set his face and, sketching a stiff bow, he turned, walking briskly to inform his master this latest news.
          Quinn held up a hand, signaling for the team to hold up.
          Miranda observed in a low voice so the retreating messenger couldn't overhear, “Did you intend to get us into a running battle before we could get back to HQ or was this some cunning plan that you've chosen not to share?” She said it in a kidding manner, but Quinn knew this was as close to Randy saying “Are you out of your fucking mind?” as she was likely to get.
          He responded in a similarly quiet way, “I just wanted to get the little putz out of here so we can beam out.  We're leaving and it will be easier if we have Collie transport us without witnesses.”
          Using the implant sharing his skull with his brain, he spoke with his smartship partner.
          ::Collie darling, would you be so kind as to get us the hell out of here. We're ready to blow this pop stand.::
          ::Of course, Quinn.:: she responded.
          About three seconds later, she was giving him the bad news.
          ::I'm sorry, but they seem to have some kind of barrier in place that's preventing me from being able to beam you out. Communications don't seem affected, and I can detect you just fine, but I can't get a transporter lock on you. It seems to be behaving like the barriers Borders and the team placed around the residence. You'll need to get out from under the warding before I can bring you all aboard.::
          ::Tell us where to go, bella. We need out because I just told Black to stick our agreement in a way that he's not likely to take well.::
          She was back inside his head quicker than he could begin explaining what was up to the rest.
          ::Quinn... in light of your recent conversation, I believe you may have another problem. I detect several groups of life forms that are concentrated at points along the paths you need to take to get back to the residence. Of course, most life signs I read are behind you in the arena and concentrated at the exits, indicating they are audience members. The groups I'm concerned with seem to be staying in place down both the branches of the corridor before they join the official underground network of the city. I checked and they are also protected by whatever interference is blocking my beaming you out.::
          ::So we have hostiles to deal with whichever way we go,:: he observed.
          ::It would appear so. There are roughly thirty in each group. The bad news is that once they know which route you're taking, the group guarding the other path can likely reach your location in minutes. It will put you caught between the two groups and given how many there are, you may lose more than a couple of people if they lack p.a. webs.::
          ::Just do what you can about finding us a route so we can beam out. Let us worry about anything happening down here.::
          Letting his partner far above the planet gather her information without him demanding her attention any further, Quinn turned to Doc.
          “Columbina says there's some kind of magical barrier stopping her from beaming us out. Do you think you can punch through it to give us an escape route?”
          The sorcerer wanted to know, “How much time do I have?”
          Quinn had to shrug.
          “I can't say. She says there are possible unfriendlies on both routes back to the main underground tunnel we take to the complex. They don't appear to be moving in, but that can change any moment.”
          Doc reached out with the sense that allowed him to feel what arcane energies were at play, and after about ten seconds, he seemed to return to himself.
          “Sorry. I could probably break the warding if I had a half-hour of quiet to concentrate on it, but I doubt they'll give us that long. If I could find the focus used to bind the barrier, I could certainly manage it a lot quicker, but without knowing where it's anchored...” He shook his head.
          “Well, it was worth asking,” Quinn admitted even though he had hoped for better news.
          To the group, he told them, “So that means we may be in for a fight. Both routes are blocked by what Columbina says may be about thirty hostiles. And once we're engaged, it won't take long for the other group to reach our position and pin us between them.”
          To everyone's surprise, Caballera spoke up.
          “Harukinu-sama, did you bring my dragon sword along?”
          Quinn realized this meant she was ready to fight on their side against her former teammates if given the chance. He knew she wouldn't ask unless that was her intention.
          Thinking back, he told her, “I'm afraid I was too focused on bringing you along. It's probably still off the stage in the arena.” He gave her a look that was so different from his public facade, she was thrown for a moment.
          “And friends call me Quinn,” he finished with a smile.
          It was so unlike what Black-sama might say, she was thrown, but then she realized his performances in the arena had been just that... performances. He had no desire for subservience from those around him. The realization made her realize just why every one of these people followed him. It was because he was a friend, not a “boss”... to each and every one of them. They followed him because he cared about them. Their loyalty to him was earned by his believing they deserved being treated as his equals, not as his followers. It was the piece of the puzzle that made the rest fall into place.
          “Will you permit me to go back for it?” she asked. “If there is to be a battle, I wish to be of help.”
          Before letting her go, he had to say, “I wasn't sure you'd want to stay with us once you understood you're free to leave.”
          If she had been hesitant before, this told her she was making the right decision.
          “Loyalty is not a one-way relationship. It is returned freely when it is shown to you. This has no influence on my decision,” she said, indicating the glowing tattoo over her womb.
          Nodding his understanding, he asked in a seeming non-sequiteur, “Who has one of our anti-magic talismans?”
          Spice responded, “Doc asked me to carry them.” She handed one of the blue stone plaques to Quinn, and he gave her a nod of thanks.
          “Give one to...” he considered who among them was most likely at risk, “... Mellie as well.” He would give Vega his once he was done using it, hopefully protecting the two most vulnerable to arcane magic at the moment.
          Turning back to the hell knight, he said, “Let's get rid of this, shall we?” and he indicated the
glowing pattern of the breeder's tattoo on her lower abdomen.
          One touch of the talisman and the glyph faded as if it had never been. No sign of ink... not even a change in her skin's color where it had been removed.
          He then shocked Caballera by admitting, “And I know it had no influence on your decision. It was just a drawing. The only magic it held was in making it glow. The rest was just... the power of suggestion.”
          Realizing the import of his words, she also understood all of her behavior in the arena after the match had been of her own free will. If she had even attempted to fight the “spell”, she would have realized it was a trick.
          Recalling a quote from The Art of War, she thought to herself, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” In the end, that was exactly how she was beaten... and glad to be.


          Elsewhere, Columbina was scanning as fast as she could, but she immediately discovered that the data received didn't tell her what she needed to know, namely how the barrier functioned and where the interference ended. It seemed that whatever magic was being used was able to stop her teleportation but didn't show up in wavelengths her scanners could detect. In the rare cases when this had happened in the past, Quinn had assured her it wasn't a failing on her part any more than it was his fault he couldn't see radio waves with his eyes. They simply had the wrong equipment for the job. In the end, all she could do was test by trial and error until she could confirm a transporter lock and direct Quinn and the team to that point for extraction.
          In spite of her being a computer, Columbina had never felt so slow.


          Down on the surface, Quinn was setting up a team to recover Caballera's dragon sword from the arena floor. Without it, the hell knight was good, but with it she was much more formidable, and they could use her strength in this case.
          Thinking of who was the fastest, he said, “Freedom... Troisieme... you're the only two who can keep up with her. The three of you get back to the box, down to the arena floor, retrieve the sword and get back here... preferably without being seen. Going back for her sword tells the opposition that Caballera's on our side now, and it could also warn them we know a fight's coming.”
          Freedom was the most used to leading a team, so she told Caballera, “Trois and I can stay with you to the entrance to the box, but after that we triple the chances of being spotted. Can you make it from there to the arena floor without being seen?”
          Caballera considered. If the route were straight and clear, certainly she could do it. But with the seats in the box and the stairs as they were, she knew she would need to change directions at least four times, and she would be momentarily visible each time her path altered.
          “I'll be visible briefly at each corner, but I'll only be seen if someone is looking in my direction when I change course.”
          Nodding, Freedom realized they all suffered the same weakness in this regard.
          So they would just have to make certain no one was looking at the box or the arena floor when she changed course.
          Explaining her plan, Freedom led the three as they flash-stepped to the entrance to the box but stayed in the dimmer lighting of the hall to avoid being seen by those in the arena. Quinn and the rest could see them in silhouette against the brighter light from their spot down the corridor, but lagging audience and arena “employees” wouldn't be able to pick them out where they were.
          Trois took up her position behind Caballera, ready to move in to support the hell knight if something went wrong. Freedom took the other side of the entrance.
          “Let's hope I still remember how to do this,” Freedom said jokingly. If she didn't remember, there was going to be an embarrassing lack of diversion.
          She looked at the woman about to make the dash for her weapon.
          “Ready?”
          Caballera nodded and prepared herself for the effort, grateful she'd had better than a half hour to recover from her bout versus Quinn.
          Freedom quietly went through the incantation of hadou number four, known as Pale Lightning.  She pointed to the lighting units over the stage and a bolt of electricity arced from her fingertip to the metallic framework supporting both the lighting and the jumbotrons. A blast of electrical sparks showered down onto the canvas below, an orc stagehand going about his job below slapping at the hot flecks as they rained around him. All the remaining audience still in the arena looked up to see what was happening.
          Caballera disappeared.
          Freedom craned her neck to see if she could spot where Caballera would have to stop briefly to get her sword, but it was just out of view from where she stood and she wasn't going to chance being seen just to satisfy her curiosity. They'd know soon enough if something went awry.
          Less than three seconds later, Caballera reappeared standing with them, but this time she was holding her sword.
          “Thank you,” the hell knight said, her relief at having her trusted weapon again clear to read on her face. “I felt naked without it.”
          Freedom teased their new teammate with a straight face, “No, we've seen you naked. This time you were only unarmed.”
          Caballera gave the former shinigami a look that was clearly trying to decide if Freedom was actually joking or serious and just dense. Just because the hell knight was normally stoic didn't mean she didn't recognize humor... if Freedom's comment could have been said to be humorous. But the comment did convey what the shinigami had meant.
          I wouldn't joke with an outsider this way. You're one of the team now, and you'll be treated as
one of us. Welcome.


          Down the passageway fifty meters away, Quinn and the rest of the team with him were holding a hushed consultation on how to proceed. Some felt the route to the right was the one they usually took and deviating from habit would let any enemies laying in wait know they were aware of the ambush.
          Several objected for that very reason, claiming that keeping to their usual route would be walking into a trap and anything that made the opposition wonder what was going on was good. A portion simply pointed out that while the left corridor was longer before it reached the official infrastructure tunnels of the city above, it did come out a couple of hundred meters closer to the residence and their backup.
          One reason he had always picked the right passageway was because it was straight for over a hundred meters before it intersected the city underground section, making an ambush harder to spring due to the visibility this gave them. The left direction had three turns and the final section was only a dozen or so meters from final corner to where the corridor met the city underground. This meant that the left hand group would have considerably less warning before the Harukinu members were on them.
          Just as he was about to lead them down the left, he heard Columbina inside his head once again.
          ::Quinn, the barrier preventing a transporter lock extends all the way to the main underground corridor. You'll hit one of the two groups before being in position to beam out.::
          That wasn't entirely unexpected. What good was a barrier if it gave your opponents an escape route?
          Quinn had admitted to Black that they were from a different universe and could travel freely between alternate universes. Fortunately, he had not admitted that they had matter teleportation to get from ship to surface and back again, so neither of the opposition leaders would know of this unless one of the Phoenix folk had blabbed to the wrong person. Considering how paranoid everyone had been about security and the lack of interaction between the sides, Quinn couldn't recall any way that Black or Oboro could have learned this important fact.
          ::That fits with what I've observed of Black's thinking, Collie. It don't believe it has anything to do with them intending to stop us beaming out. I think it's a warding placed over Black's underground empire here and is intended to protect from outside magic such as Kiryuu might have attempted, not science fiction tech. If they knew that we have transporter technology and they also knew how to block it, they'd have covered the whole way from the arena to our complex. I think we're trapped down here because Black thinks there are people out to get him. I'm certain he's correct in that, too. They just got lucky in blocking your evacuating us that way.::
          Then Collie dropped the other shoe.
          ::You should also know that I believe Black didn't admit to everyone he was holding prisoner for the arena. While scanning, I detected several concentrations of humans around the warren Black controls down there... all females. I'm afraid he may have more Taimanin captives than he told you about, and they're being held several levels down under the western side of the arena in what appear to be some natural caverns..::
          This was not news Quinn had wanted to hear.
          “Okay, folks,” he told the rest, “Collie just solved out dilemma but not in the way we would have preferred. She informs me that she's detected what appear to be more captives. Therefore, if we don't intend to abandon them to whatever lies in store once Black realizes we're gone for good, we need to bust them out so we can take them with us.” He smiled with false perkiness. “The good news is this means we don't pick which corridor to take since neither leads to the captives.”
          “Thank you, Mister Silver Lining,” Ninja replied sarcastically, the lovely psychic mutant reflecting the opinion most of them had thought to themselves.
          Quinn gave a whadda ya gonna do? kind of shrug, clearly indicating it wasn't his first choice either.
          There were two side passages that had intersected their private corridor just a short ways back from the entrance, but both had been closed off when Black had set aside the Harukinu team box for their exclusive use. Quinn led them back to these now to see if they might offer them another option to access the labyrinth of passages under the arena so they wouldn't need to be exposed to possible enemy view in their trying to get to these new hostages.
          He looked over the right hand barrier while Miranda did the same on the other side.
          He gave the new construction a couple of thumps with his fist to see what he could hear, but there was no hollow sound in response, leading Quinn to the conclusion that the blockage wasn't just a bit of drywall sheeting over a couple of boards. The sound was solid all across without a clear difference that might indicate space between uprights.
          Across the hall, Randy seemed to be finding similar results.
          “What do you think?” she asked him. “I don't think we can get through this side without making a lot of noise. It feels like they built it to withstand damage.”
          Quinn had to agree.
          “Same here. I'd guess solid lumber with a layer of plaster. Or I hope it's lumber. If it's metal, we may have to make some real noise getting out of this.”
          Caballera spoke up and said, “Black-sama had this built in less than a day after your original meeting with him. I know of no workers he has that could create a metal barrier in that little time.”
          Quinn appreciated her passing on that tidbit. He knew it must have been fast since they were ready in just over twenty-four hours, but Caballera volunteering the information reminded him that she might also be in possession of other useful facts.
          “Did you happen to overhear anything about Black's plans for tonight? Did he sound as if he were expecting trouble? Did he have any meetings with other subordinates who might be trusted with some kind of ambush?”
          But it seemed her information was limited.
          “I would not reveal any plans I overheard Black-sama making while I was his lieutenant since this would not be honorable, but as he made no plans within my hearing, I can say honestly I have no idea what is going on.” She paused a beat, then admitted, “I'm very disappointed if this is Black-sama. I didn't think him capable of such a deception... but I didn't think he would wait so long to move against Kiryuu when I was captive, either. Perhaps I do not know him as well as I thought.”
          “That's a big difference between our organizations,” he told her. “Everyone in Phoenix Group knows they can ask me anything and I'll answer them truthfully, unless answering might put someone at risk. Every one of our people knew this was likely our last night here. Many helped me plan and implement contingencies.”
          Miranda interjected, “Speaking of which, if we don't show up at either exit soon, whoever is responsible for our situation will send their forces looking for what's taking us so long.”
          Quinn gave her a look of gratitude for keeping him focused on the big picture, and agreed,
          “Speaking of which... excuse me a moment.”
          ::Columbina, sweetheart?::
          ::Yes, Quinn?::
          ::I know it will slow down your trying to get us out of here, but would you please put our backup plan into effect? Please get them as close as you can.::
          ::I was just waiting for the go-ahead.::
          About fifteen seconds later, he got confirmation that their contingency plan was in motion.
          Quinn gave a healthy sigh of relief.
          “Okay, folks... I just ordered Collie to pull the trigger on Plan B. That should keep our unwelcoming committees...” he gestured back down the corridor to indicate the forces blocking their way, “...temporarily occupied.”
          He gave Miranda a smile to convey his appreciation for her. Turning to the task at hand, he again looked at the blocked entrance to the cross-corridor and shook his head.
          “I can use Slapstick to get us through several ways, but they all involve noise, explosion, or plenty of smoke.”
          Doc spoke up, saying, “Give me a moment.” The sorcerer closed his eyes and reached out with his mind in that particular way, and then he was standing outside his own body. His astral projection moved to the barricade and then passed right through it.
          While they waited, Quinn placed Solstice as sentry a ways down the hallway in the direction of the residence and Freedom down the other way to guard the end where it opened into the team box. These two he knew could hold off most opponents long enough for the rest to get to their position.
          Doc opened his eyes, indicating he was again residing within his physical body.
          “The corridor on the other side is empty and curves to the left until it meets another hallway like this one. There are orcs and what may be audience members down there, but not many. There are also stairs that lead to other levels about half way down the curve, so we can reach them without being seen.”
          Nodding, Quinn said, “So we go that way.
          “Now... you wouldn't happen to have a magic spell to get us all to the other side without having to kick this thing down, would you?”
          Ideas were thrown about, but most were deemed to be impractical either in time or in the attention it would draw to them. When Mellie pointed out that it would be much simpler if they had a better ventilation so Quinn could burn through the barrier without the smoke causing someone from the arena to come investigating, he came up with an idea.
          Calling back Solstice, Quinn had the two women standing guard for them switch positions so their telekinetic was between their position and the entrance to the team box with the open space of the arena just beyond.
          “Can you manage it?” he asked.
          Nodding easily, she reminded him, “I can, but blocking the air flow will only make the smoke we're breathing worse.”
          “Then we stay low,” he commented, and aiming Slapstick at the spot the barrier met the corridor wall, he triggered a beam of coherent infrared radiation (much as a laser focused photons) and the point he was aiming at spouted flames.
          Smoke began filling the corridor, but in under a minute he had the barrier carved away from the wall it had been attached to.
          There was a cracking, tearing sound as the wood across the bottom of the barrier began to fail as the weight of the panel made it start to fall away from them.
          Quinn reacted quickly and shifted Slapstick from infrared laser to tractor beam, grabbing the barrier before it could crash to the floor. While the sound of splintering wood seemed incredibly loud in their enclosed space, it was far quieter than the result of several hundred pounds of wood and plaster would have hitting the ground. This let him slow the barrier's fall but Quinn realized smoke was now escaping down the hallway they were about to enter. How long it would take for someone to smell smoke from their vandalism was now simply a matter of time.
          As soon as the barrier was flat, he whispered, “Move fast. Down the hall and take the stairway going down. Watch for anyone who could raise an alarm. Remember... keep fatalities to a minimum but don't put yourself at risk. If it's a question of you or them...”
          All those who were familiar with Phoenix operations nodded understanding.
          “We'll take point,” Drusilla said, indicating herself and Spice, the lovely and exotic alien princess who had been a teammate of hers from a time before they had joined Phoenix Group. As they were both more than capable in a scrape and a good deal stronger physically than anyone else present in the team, Quinn gave them a smile and a nod, and the two superheroines ducked through the smoldering archway and headed down the corridor.
          Quinn gave Freedom a signal to join them and she flash-stepped to them in an instant.
          “I could hear something from down the corridor. I think Plan B is giving them something to worry about.”
          Just about that time, Quinn's hearing picked up the report of The Samaratan, Red's massive caliber handgun.
          “Yep,” he responded. “I'd have to agree with you on that.”


          “Plan B” was nothing particularly brilliant. It involved the rest of their Phoenix teammates who had remained back at their local headquarters to head towards the arena in order to join up with them, taking out any opposition they encountered on the way, and all of them beaming out once everyone was accounted for. Since this second group involved the six super-females who had been their original Team Harukinu representatives and the rescued Taimanin plus all their backup members who had been simply waiting for a chance to step up as well, they had a crew that was more than capable of handling any opponents they'd run into since arriving. He had no worries about them coming through safely, especially since they no longer needed to worry about appearing to be ordinary humans. The thing that made it a plan at all was that Columbina was beaming the Plan B team down almost on top of the opposition, giving them almost no time to react before being hit by several dozen fighters who had been pulling their punches for weeks now and were looking forward to cutting loose. The only change had been in the warding over Black's arena making their beam-in point a bit further out than anticipated.
          Verita was squad leader of the team, coordinating with Columbina directly by traditional communicator.
          “Columbina apologizes for having to set us down further away than planned,” she told the team as they gathered for their beam-out, “but there's interference preventing us getting any closer.
          “Also, our goal is no longer to join up with the arena team. They've discovered more hostages and are going to free them. Our goal is now to occupy and neutralize as many of the opposition as we can without taking casualties.”
          The dark-haired Amazon didn't bother to ask if there were questions since they had been over this many times in planning, everyone knowing their job and what to do when things went sideways. 
          With a final look around, she said into the comm unit, “Energize.”


          A ways across the arena complex, the arena team was being fairly lucky so far. They'd managed to avoid the majority of observers while the few they couldn't were orcs who they managed to take down quietly and were now secured by Doc's magic (something called the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak) in out of the way locations slightly off the beaten path where they were unable to raise an alarm. None they had met had been enough of a challenge to prolong the battle more than a moment or two, the orcs being dense enough to not think of raising an alarm before engaging the invaders.
          ::Sorry to interrupt, sweetheart, but which way now?::
          Columbina had managed to discover the extent of the interference preventing her from beaming the team out, but unfortunately Quinn and his group were moving away from the edge now rather than towards it. Before, she had been working on discovering the nearest extraction point, but now she was needing to track all the life signatures her scanners were picking up, and with over a thousand entities to keep track of from a distance of several thousand kilometers, the job was taking more of her attention than the genius smart-ship was used to needing to devote. Still, her warnings had already kept them from running head-long into several groups of locals.
          ::Another level down and back the way you came about fifty meters, Quinn. Depending on the route, you can be there in just a couple of minutes.::
          To the team, he told them, “Not too far now. Collie says just a couple of minutes.”
          They had almost reached the area where the captives were held when their luck finally ran out.
          A demon with a pig-head spotted Drusilla before she could get the orc she had knocked out back out of sight and triggered the steel bar portcullis to isolate the detainment area.
          Fortunately, Ravi wasn't far behind Dru and reacted before it had dropped very far.
          Reaching out with her metal bending, she strained and the descending gate warped towards them in the center, the edges complaining loudly as the smooth steel was bent until it could no longer slide freely down its tracks, leaving a gap of almost five feet from the floor.
          “Go!” cried Quinn, realizing that their presence was known to any within hearing and speed was more important than stealth.
          Ravi had to stop and catch her wind as her metal bending was always more taxing than any of her other talents, but Mellie assured Quinn, “I'll stick with her until she's recovered.”
          As much as he hated to, he gave her a quick nod before turning and vanishing, using his flash step just a fraction behind Freedom, Troisieme and Caballera. Those who were just barely slower arrived next while those who were limited to more normal speeds got to the opening last. 
          Half a dozen opponents were dispatched or rendered no threat in the first few moments, giving them a few moments to regroup.
          The captives were held in groups of two to four, all shackled to the raw stone wall forming the rear wall of the chamber, the stone forming small partitions that kept one group from seeing what was happening to the next, increasing the psychological torture from them having to hear what was being done to their fellow captives without seeing it, allowing their imaginations to fill in the horrifying details.
          All of Oboro's forces who had still been in with the prisoners were out of commission, fully half of them being taken out by Caballera, proving her changing sides more clearly than her earlier assurances ever could have.
          Quinn had assigned jobs before they had gotten near, the fastest getting in to protect the captives from being used as hostages while Dru and Spice split to each side of the entrance, taking up positions a short distance down and ready to engage and delay any local defenders who arrived as backup to the guards. He hoped this would give them long enough for the rest to close and help their teammates freeing the captives from getting trapped inside.
          “It's alright,” Quinn was reassuring the women who hadn't seen a friendly face since their abortive rescue attempt. “We're here to get you out.”
          It was fortunate that Vega was now with them, being all the proof any of the women who might need that these were the good guys, though Spice, Caballera and a couple of their less traditional members did cause a few suspicious glances.
          Chains were snapped, melted, or otherwise shattered and the fourteen captives were free in under two minutes.
          Near the end of this, Quinn felt a heavy rumble through his feet as he heard the sounds of collapsing cement and stone, but he had his hands full with rescuing the women they'd come for and couldn't go looking for what had caused what he assumed was a tunnel collapse.
          Instead, he was needing to deal with how few of the captives were in any shape to flee under their own power. Most were barely conscious. All of them were naked and unarmed.
          So Quinn was back to dealing with their transportation problem. Only six of the captives were capable of moving under their own power, and the rest were exhausted from the sexual abuse they'd undergone at the hands of their tormentors, needing to be carried.
          Boy, we sure could have used Nova, Adamantina and the rest to help carry victims, but you can't always get what you want. Not one of these gals can even manage a run for more than a few feet before they'd collapse. It would be nice to have Collie tell us she'd solved the teleporter problem about now.
          Fortunately, Solstice could manage six of the exhausted women (the ones least able to walk on their own) with her telekinesis, though Quinn hated that meant they'd lost their number one defensive option, namely the lovely psychic's shielding. She could have carried all of them including the rescue team, but asking too many things of her at once could lead to unpleasant complications such as dropped bodies hitting hard stone if someone rushed the gorgeous mutant or interfered with her control. Out in the open, Solstice was a force equal to most of them combined. Down here in cramped quarters where they were maneuvering around in hallways and corridors were less than ideal circumstances for her.
          Spice and Dru were each supporting a weak female under each arm while Miranda and Yum-Yum could assist one each, leaving just two needing help. Quinn could carry two but not while managing Slapstick and actively defending the group, and it was a simple fact he was one of the most versatile members they had, equally good at defense, close fighting and ranged offense.
          Fortunately, Troisieme solved their dilemma by transforming herself into her ibex counterpart and managed the final two though she'd be unable to fight while encumbered this way.
          Okay, that gives us Doc, Bushy, Caballera, Freedom, Ninja, Hippolyta and myself as combat troops. Seven against who-knows-how-many while providing cover for twenty-two non-combatants. Let's hope it's enough and we don't hit a major force of the opposition.
          At that moment, Mellie and Ravi arrived.
          “Sorry we missed all the fun,” the spectacular tech gal said. “We had a few troubles of our own.”
          One look at Ravi and Quinn knew she'd had little chance to recharge her bending skills since they'd separated several minutes before.
          “Good news,” reported the avatar. “We don't have any opponents following us now.”
          Mellie gave her girlfriend a look that said, Drop the other shoe.
          “Bad news... we can't go out the way we came.”
          Mellie explained, “She had to pull down the roof to block about a dozen gray-skinned uglies from breathing down our necks.”
          Quinn nodded since they'd only done what was needed to get out whole.
          Looking around at the group, he saw that they were as ready as they could expect.
          “Anyone have any support powers or magic that they can trigger in advance to help out?”
          Both Doc and Ninja responded with nods and while Quinn could feel something emanating from each of them, exactly what they had done was a mystery.
          “Let's move out.”
          Columbina coached them to keep them from running right into large pockets of opposition, but it was making their escape route longer and longer, taxing the former captives even more and slowing them further. The few stray enemies they encountered were taken out by Quinn with Slapstick's pressor beam aimed at their forehead, letting him take them down without leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake.
          Suddenly they came to a dead end and Quinn had thought Collie had misread her data.
          ::I'm sorry, Quinn, but through that wall is the only way out, and it takes you into the arena proper.::  
          He knew she wouldn't lead them here unless it was her best option.
          “Okay, folks... cover your ears,” he warned.


          The stage hand orcs were finishing up when all hell broke loose.
          The blast from the plasma cannon in Slapstick blew the wall outward in singed splinters and flying pieces of plaster, then over two dozen Harukinu and naked Taimanin poured through the opening this created.
          “Keep moving! Team box! Go! Go! Go!” Quinn urged, taking a place on the near edge of the dais, giving him a slightly superior vantage point. He hoped that he wouldn't need to use his favorite toy much more as Slapstick was down to under ten percent charge, and unless he found some way of recharging it, it would soon be exactly what it appeared to be... a well-crafted quarterstaff with no special powers other than its incredible durability.
          The orcs here all recognized the arena competitors instantly but were so mentally slow that they actually considered trying to stop the buzz-saw that was now moving across the arena floor.
          Quinn looked at the one nearest their path and pointed Slapstick at him.
          “Move aside and live longer.”
          The big humanoid reacted instinctively to being threatened and started to raise his arms to charge when his throat erupted green blood and he was engulfed in blue fire that flared and vanished, leaving behind nothing of the victim.
          “Heed your own advice,” Caballera told him.
          Quinn gave her a deep nod of agreement.
          Keep moving.
          Most of them were better than halfway across to the stairways leading up to the Harukinu box with it's white phoenix banner when the figure stepped out of the darkness of the corridor below the box. He was young looking, with light hair and a calm manner, wearing a purple long coat over fine clothes.
          Quinn wasn't fooled. He'd seen this form in the Records.
          “I wasn't sure you were involved in this, Black-sama.”
          “My involvement has been minimal, I assure you. Still, you have been a skilled opponent,
Harukinu-sama. I couldn't let you leave without a final chat.”
          The young man's form disappeared in a swirl of dark mist and reformed as Edwin Black.
          Quinn didn't turn his eyes from the vampire lord as the told the rest of the crew, “Keep going. Up to the box, out the back and don't slow down. I'll be there in a moment.”
          Literally every member of the Phoenix team had to stomp down a refusal to abandon their dear friend.
          To their surprise, it was Bushido who supported Quinn's order. He moved to the bottom of the
nearer stair, seized the aqua rune sword sticking out of the beam and wrenched it from its place with a
squeal of wood on metal.
          Handing his own sword to an unarmed Vega, the samurai held the rune-blade casually, looking
extremely at ease.
          “We have others to protect. Neither of them intend to die here,” he pointed out, referring to Black and Quinn.
          Black's expression didn't change, but he commented, “I envy you your servants. Would that my own were as intelligent.”
          “I have the advantage of many worlds from which to pick my friends,” Quinn responded.
          The vampire asked, “You would not be willing to share the secret which allows this?” It wasn't a threat unless you chose to take it that way.
          The leader of the zanni said quietly, “I told you before... those I answer to would not hesitate to terminate this universe rather than let that particular bit of information get out. You understand why, don't you?”
          “And what of my lieutenant, Caballera? Would you reconsider selling her to me?”
          There was no hesitation in the reply.
          “No. She is now a member of my house, and my people are not for sale.”
          The villain turned his attention to the exotic hell knight that had been his right hand for so long.
          “Caballera?”
          “Do not make me raise my sword against you, Black-sama,” she answered.
          Quinn's throat ached and he fought down his desire to go to the female who answered her former master this way for him and take her in his arms in thanks.
          Focus, asshole! None of us are out of danger yet.
          Then the voice Quinn could have really done without chimed in.
          “No, Black-sama! Do not let them go,” Oboro cried, her voice unamplified this time and coming from the entrance to their left. “We can beat them easily.”
          From behind her stepped two dozen denizens of the dark, all looking eager for a battle.
          When Black didn't respond immediately, she started to plead her case.
          “We can kill Harukinu and...”
          There was the sound of steel moving quickly, and Oboro's eyes went very wide as the point of Bushido's demon-slaying katana sprouted from her chest. It withdrew and the sound of steel sang again, this time her head tumbling in a graceful arc.
          Both head and body blossomed into blue flame and the sound of a soul wailing could be heard receding into the distance, fading out just as the flames vanished leaving nothing behind.
          Vega stood there panting, the mystic sword of her teammate gripped in both hands.
          Most present hadn't even seen her move. It appeared that in spite of Oboro's efforts, the Taimanin leader still retained a spark of the ninja within.
          “Ah, well...” said Black as he looked at the place his other lieutenant's physical form had been moments ago. “Now I shall just have to clone another. They seem to be growing troublesome more rapidly each time. Perhaps they remember too much of their last life. I must consider how to address the problem.”
          Without their mistress to give them a common cause, the rest of the demons who had been part of Oboro's secret army looked to Black for orders.
          Black looked at Harlequin and asked, “Will you be returning, or must I find myself some new diversion?”
          Quinn met the underlord's eyes and told him truthfully, “I guess that would depend on if you bring yourself to the attention of the Circle of Ouroboros or not. If you continue kidnapping victims for your arena, it's possible.
          “But they could care less if you pit demons and orcs and other minions of yours against each other. The Circle has enough to occupy themselves with preventing real problems from washing over too many people to bother micro-managing backwater continua like this. If you keep it to your own back yard, I see no reason to return.”
          Black nodded understanding.
          “Perhaps that is wisest.”
          Nova's voice was easily heard from the back of the team box. Most of the Plan B team were behind her, and while they looked as if they had been through a scrape, the looks on most of their faces told Quinn the good news.
          “What's taking you guys so long? We've been waiting for you forever.”
          Red moved into position behind her and seconded the motion.
          “Yeah. When're we gonna blow this pop stand?”
          Black turned at the voice and looked up, seeing the big reformed demon standing there with the perpetual cigar stub hanging from his lip.
          The vampire lord paused, then sketched a respectful bow to the entity he had never seen before but knew instantly.
          Red waved his big stone hand and went, “Yeah, yeah...” before walking back into the darkness of the passageway behind him.
          Looking after the huge red man with his filed-off horns, Black didn't turn to Quinn as he said, “I don't believe there will be any reason for you to return, Quinn-sama.” He turned to the man who had basically dismantled a big piece of his empire and said honestly, “It is odd, but I find that the prospect of your not returning... does not please me. You have been a worthy adversary.”
          “And I find myself in your debt, Black-sama,” he replied. “I normally must travel to a dozen worlds to find perhaps one or two I would trust with my cause... and you have brought so many to me.”
          Quinn gave the vampire lord a respectful bow.
          “I will take good care of both of them,” he assured Black. “Arigato gozaimasu.”
          To Quinn's surprise, the underworld boss gave the barest of smiles and told him, “If I did not already believe you would, we would indeed find out which of us is stronger.”
          And he turned and walked back into the dark tunnel from which he'd emerged.

*******

          “Iiiiiii-TAI!”
          Vega collapsed forward onto Quinn, unable to squirt any more. Honestly, she was barely able to move.
          Still, she enjoyed the feeling of him chuckling beneath her.
          “Relax, sweetheart. You wiped me out that time.”
          He kissed her brow affectionately and basked in the feeling of her wonderfully-endowed form against him.
          “Well,” said the voice from his left, “at least I didn't wait too long for my turn,” and the gorgeous hell knight reached out to run a hand along Quinn's shoulder, then continued up onto Vega's smoother, softer skin.
          Collie's voice said from nowhere in particular, “Quinn, you have visitors.”
          Looking over the two naked females sharing his bed, he asked, “Everyone descent?”
          Without waiting for anyone to put on clothes and without worrying about who it might be, he called out, “Come on in!”
          Spice and Dru stood in the gap as the door slid aside.
          “When's the time for the next virgin sacrifice?” the blonde Amazon wanted to know.
          Spice turned to her blonde teammate and asked, “You're a virgin?”
          Dru fired back at her alien comrade, “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”
          It was clearly a joke since Quinn had shared his bed with the two of them at least twice together and several times each separately. Neither of them were anything approaching a virgin. 
          In spite of enjoying watching them banter, he said from under the spectacularly beautiful ninja playing his blanket, “I'm sorry, gals... I'm done for the night.”
          They looked at one another as if this had never happened before.
          Before they could start in on him, he asked, “Rain check? Pretty please?”
          Solstice spoke up from behind the women in the doorway, “We put in our order much earlier and still haven't gotten our pound of flesh,” and her psychic partner Ninja agreed, making a whispered comment to Spice & Dru about which particular pound they had in mind.
          “Listen,” he assured them, “no one goes home before everyone is ready to go home. That's why we're taking the scenic route... to give everyone some time off before jumping back into missions and the rest. We've done great, and we deserve it.”
          He was being figurative about 'the scenic route' since Columbina could get them to Liberia or Tertius or any other location she had coordinates for in no time at all, that being the beauty of the Burroughs continua drive. But they were in orbit around a spectacular world and the magnificent nebula presently twenty degrees off their port side made it one of the most incredible sights any of them had witnessed.
          “Well, you're going to have to pick up the pace here, Quinn,” Dru told him. “Two a night and we'll never get back home because by the time you get to the last, the first will be impatient already.”
          “There are twelve other males on this ship,” he pointed out, indicating it was not his personal role to see to all of their sexual needs.
          “And fifty-nine females!” she responded. “Fourteen of them don't even know why there's a line outside your door.” Turning to the rest, she said resignedly, “Looks like the evening's over here, ladies. Anyone for a visit to the holo-deck?”
          The women who had hoped for a bit of time with their leader started wandering off, several joining Dru and Spice as they headed for the simulation chamber.
          Realizing how ridiculous the situation was becoming, Quinn looked up at Vega to say something on the subject, only to discover she was sound asleep.
          Turning to Caballera, he realized she too was just short of dropping off.
          “You're a popular man, Harukinu.” Closing her eyes, she told him, “I understand why now.”
          To the room, he said, “Collie, would you please keep the simul-Quinn program running in the holo-deck. Maybe if you set up the room with... four... pseudo-Quinns, we can keep the women around here happy.”
          Caballera chuckled and without opening her eyes said, “That won't do any good.”
          “Hmm?” Quinn was surprised. He thought she'd joined Vega in slumber.
          A new voice came from the doorway.
          “No matter how good Columbina is at duplicating you, it won't work. It's not about the sex.”
          Gemma stood there smiling at him.
          Without moving and disturbing his cuddly bed partners, he said, “Okay, I'll bite.”
          She moved nearer until she could sit on the edge of the bed.
          “Caballera is absolutely right. The sex is... incredible. But it's not why women want to be with you. Or at least not the foremost reason.”
          The dark-skinned trainee gave him a smile that made him very happy he'd chosen to recruit her, and she ran a finger down his face gently in a gesture of amazing tenderness.
          “It's because of how you make us feel about ourselves. Orgasms are wonderful, but they're not why we all want to be with you.”
          Leaning over, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
          “You make us feel we're worthy of your love. You can't help but make us feel it because it's part of who you are, and that's something no hologram can duplicate.”
          “I love you, too, Gemma,” he told her happily.
          Laughing quietly, she stood and as she reached the door, she turned and told him, “I know you do. We all know it. You're the one person who can't fake that because we can feel it when we're with you. Why do you think there's a line at your door?
          “Sleep well, love,” and she triggered the door so it closed behind her.


The End

