Action Pack 11: Two-Timing Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. contained within this story all belong to paetrasslave and may not be used in other media without express permission. Why anyone would want to, she's not sure. This story is incredibly sexual in nature with many preferences and depictions on display that will probably offend many people. Anyone under 18 or possessed of an easily offended mindset should leave now. For everyone else, that's probably all the reason you need to stay. ------ Synopsis: While spending the day with her sisters in turn, Jein finds out a little about her father and her father's followers, before an adventure explodes into the same room as her. No hand touched it, but a piece slid slowly across the board before coming to rest in the middle. Both players stared at it. Both players hid their unease with decades of practiced skill. "At last they've decided to join us. How gracious," he said without inflection. "And here I was thinking they were still mad at us," she said, cupping her chin in her palm with that infuriating smile on her face as always. He growled deep in his throat. "Must you insist on bringing these juvenile--" He was interrupted by her tinkling laugh. "The centuries probably would've been a lot easier if you'd ever grown a sense of humor." "And you could've accomplished so much more with your time if you hadn't dedicated so much of it to...what you do. Are we trying to settle this with mockery or strategy?" "Shows what you know if you think they're mutually exclusive," she fired back. "But you're right, it's my move." "Splendid." She moved a piece. "Ah, that one. How like you." "You're simplifying me again. I'd think you of all people would have learned better." She slid her piece forward. ------- *SLICE* "Nnnngggh!" Damn it...why was every other part of this experience so awesome? Why was this giving her so much trouble? Hadn't she been doing this for a little while anyway, sort of? A little thing like- *SLICE* "Rrgghrnnnngghh!" "Jein, are you okay in there? You sound like...you're not having a good time." "I'm fine!" "Maybe I should come in and, um...supervise?" "Relax, Jasami. I'm just shaving my damn legs." "Aunt Namiel would yell at you if she heard you talking that like around me," Jasami giggled from outside the bathroom door. "And she'd yell at you for laughing at her yelling at me." "Hmph!" Jein climbed out of the tub, satisfied with how smooth her legs were even if she did have to use a good seven bandages. Then she grabbed her bathrobe and called out, "Jasami, are you still there?" "...what else have I got to do? You tell me to leave work for the other servants." "Well, tell you what. Go put a cute outfit on and we'll go out. On a date." "REALLY?!?" "SHHHHHHHHH!" "Sorry," Jasami's voice dropped. "I'll be right back." "Don't hurry too much, I have to get dressed too," Jein reminded her. "I could help you pick something," Jasami reminded right back. Jein stepped out of the bathroom and patted her baby sister on the head with a wry smile. "If I let you, you'd just pick my birthday suit and we'd never get out of the house." Jasami huffed. "I MIGHT not!" Jein walked past Jasami, to the room she shared with her other sister. "Go get changed. I'll be right back. Wear something cute. And something you could wear outside." "Stupid awesome sister not leaving me any loopholes," Jasami muttered as she shut the door of her own bedroom. It looked like she'd have to wait a while to get to the best part, but still...finally! Time alone with her big sister! And no Cathallis to ruin things! She threw off her dress and started rummaging through her drawers until suddenly she had a thought, and crept over to Jein's door in her underwear. She knocked. "Cath isn't coming, right?" "No. She hasn't come out of the library for days, has she? Wonder what she's doing...maybe I should check," Jein answered. "NO!! No Cath! I'll be right back!" Jasami flew back to her room and within seconds had assembled the outfit she'd been waiting to use for just such an occasion. A pale pink romper with oversized matching bows around her pigtails. Took a good three years off her age. The bright red button-fastened shoes and a purse with Penny Penguin's face on the front were good for at least another. Jasami opened the door and examined herself from all angles in her mirror again. Needed a little something, still. A little rouge for the lips, a little something to make her eyelashes look especially vibrant. Not enough to shatter the cultivated illusion of innocence she was going for, but enough to provide an intriguing contrast. "Jasami? Are you ready yet?" Jein asked as she walked down the hall. "And what'd I tell you about changing with the door--" She peered in, saw her little sister, and stopped mid-sentence. Jasami batted her eyelashes and smiled. The silence thickened. This was exactly the reaction Jasami had been hoping for. Not that Jein's own look didn't draw an appraising stare from Jasami. She had on a white skirt and a purple belly top, underneath a short-sleeved white jacket. Her legs were covered in black leggings with dark purple flats on her feet. Underneath her tight garments hints of sleek muscle were visible, if one looked hard enough, and Jasami did. Her lips were colored a rich purple. Jein had even gone out and gotten her ears pierced, and from each dangled an earring shaped like a rose. "I'm ready! Let's go let's go let's go!" Jasami exclaimed and grabbed her sister by the wrist and started barreling downstairs to the front door. Jein staggered behind, afraid she might lose her arm if she couldn't keep up. They hurried out to the garage to the hover car Jein was leasing. It had a burnt orange paint job like "muscle cars" she said she'd seen back on Earth. Whatever those were. It seemed plenty fast, Jein said, but she hadn't dared to really open it up inside city limits. Which was the only driving she'd been doing lately. Hopefully that would be chaning soon. Whatever the case, it was the only vehicle in a garage large enough for four. "Jein?" Jasami asked as her big sister started up the car. "Yeah?" "How come you're the only one in the whole family who drives?" The garage door retracted back and Jein pulled out on the drive, and the gate slid back to let them glide out into the street. "She's afraid of driving, Adren told me. Whenever she wants a new outfit or something she has somebody else bring it to the house. She doesn't even want Adren to drive, so he never learned how." "But she's okay with it if you kill yourself in a car accident?" Jein laughed out loud. "You are such a freaking kid, you know that? Nobody else would say something that way." Jasami screwed up her face in indignation. "I am not a kid!" Jein ruffled her little sister's hair a little, prompting Jasami to pull out a comb and immediately brush it back into place in the vanity mirror. When she looked back at Jein again, there was a crimson tint to her cheeks. "Seriously," Jein said, "I think she's trying to look out for us, but she knew mom a little too well to think she could stop us if we were serious about it. And after your little adventure with Jeer, I think I can safely say I'm not the only one in this little unit of ours looking for any stupid reason to get out of the house." "Getting to be with my big sister isn't stupid." "You might not think so if you heard where I thought we'd go today." Jasami looked up at her sister in bemusement. "Where could we possibly be going that I wouldn't want to go with you?" "It's not really the where as much as the why," explained Jein. "Da--, I mean, somebody told me to look up someone named Kaneska Brynn, and I thought today might be a good day to do that." "Who's that?" "Well, assuming the internet wasn't lying to me, she's the head of the Shining Sisterhood of Amoril here in Zenith." -------- "There it is there it is there it is!!!" In spite of what she'd told her sister, that had been the reaction Jein'd expected. Jasami had been holding in squeals and bouncing in her seat for the entire drive when she heard they were going to the temple of the goddess of love. Even if Jein hadn't yet decided how, or even when, she was going to explain to her youngest sister Amoril's relation to them. Jasami started pumping the latch on her door as soon as Jein turned the corner and the tall gray building came into view. On its buttresses were statues of men and women in flowing but clinging robes. And a pair of scowling people were standing outside the front door. Cautiously, Jein parked on the curb outside the temple. Jasami immediately jumped out, but Jein slid across the hood of the car to get onto the other side in a hurry and grabbed her little sister by the hand. She didn't like the pointed looks of the two middle-aged ladies standing on the sidewalk. Slowly she led Jasami between them, and when the sisters got up to the door, one of them barked at Jein, "Whores!" Jein raised her free hand, and raised her middle finger in the women's direction. "Park it right here, bitch!" And then added, "Touch my car while I'm in here and I'll break your damn wrists. Don't think I can't find you." She pushed open the doors and went inside. As soon as the doors had swung closed again, Jasami gasped, "Wow!" "What? I've had people say meaner things to me than that. Usually before they tried to rape me..." "Can I help you?" asked a girl about Jein's age who seemed to melt out of the shadows. She wore hooded purple robes and while the look on her face was cordial, it wasn't exactly the glowing look of welcome Jein was expecting. "We were sort of wondering if we could see the place and what kinds of things are done here," Jein replied, then leaned in and whispered, "And confidentially, I was told to tell Kaneska Brynn that a friend says hi." "Hmmm," the girl said. "Contrary to popular opinion, the temple is in fact selective in who we accept as members. And the Mother Superior is very busy today." The side of Jein's neck suddenly seemed to itch. "Would it change anything if I said our mother was Angele Devyre, who I understand was a big member of this temple? And...this?" She craned her neck to show the untarnished kiss-mark that served as a reminder of the day spent with her father, the object of the temple's adulation. The girl looked at it, then mumbled something and a tiny dome of light formed in the palm of her hand. She held it up to Jein's neck, and her eyes went wide. She whispered, "On second thought, maybe you two should come in." They walked through the anteroom, down a hall with doors leading off it every few feet, and into a room full of thick magenta upholstery with rows of pews three wide from wall to wall. "Please wait here," their guide requested. "I'll let the Mother Superior know about you." Then she hiked up her robes in the front and hurried out of the room. Jasami tugged on her sister's skirt, and peered under it until Jein looked back at her. Purple with black lace. Mmmm. "Where is this, Jein?" "Well...it looks like the main place of worship. That must be Amoril up there," she pointed to a statue of a shapely naked woman. Jein stared hard at the statue. The curve of the hips, size and shape of the breasts, the casual stance of the walk, and the hair seemingly being wafted on an unseen breeze... That was definitely the strange woman who'd claimed to be her father. Jasami let out a wistful sigh. "She's beautiful. And you know something? She has the exact same boobs you do." "Jasami," Jein said quietly, thinking more of the worshippers than the source of the icon itself, "I don't think you're supposed to say things like that about a goddess in her own temple." "Why? Look, it's true!" Jasami grabbed Jein's top and yanked it up, and her bra was halfway up too before Jein had the presence of mind to try stop her. Jein struggled and pulled down on her clothes at the same time Jasami was trying to push Jein's breasts up into her face. "See? See?? They're exactly the same!" "Jasami, let go!" Jein said as firmly but as quietly as she can. "Sorry Jein," Jasami apologized as she stopped trying to shove Jein's breasts into face, but then started to grope and stroke at the soft flesh. "Sorry, can't stop now." Jein tried to pull away but Jasami suddenly ran toward her, jumped and then wrapped her legs around Jein's waist. She jammed her face into her sister's breasts and wrapped her arms around the outside of them. Jein flailed and landed hard on her butt. She could feel Jasami's tongue teasing at her cleavage. Calm, measured footsteps sounded on the stone floor out in the hall. Then another woman in a hooded purple robe stepped into the room. She looked to be getting into her later 30's, but her face was smooth and her gray eyes were bright and alert. "Just what's going on here?" she demanded. "I don't think you really want to hear the answer to that," Jein said, and clapped a hand over Jasami's mouth when she popped up to answer for her sister. "I don't think I would've asked if that were true, young lady." She sighed, then answered, "My sister wanted to compare my breasts to the statue's. I mean, the goddess's." "I see," the woman nodded. "Usually, we're not in favor of being so overt. Tends to create an image we don't like being associated with. But I'm to understand this isn't exactly usual." She muttered the same words the girl at the door hand, her palm glowed as before and she passed it over the side of Jein's neck. "Interesting...would you please come with me, Jein?" "When did I tell you my name?" "You didn't. I was there," the woman answered. "Where?" "At the palace. When you and Cathallis were born. Your mother was, after all, one of our most devoted members." "You don't know the half of it," Jein mumbled, but then looked up to meet the woman's eyes, and the seriousness in them told Jein she probably did after all, with the way everyone was reacting to the kiss mark. "Am I to assume I'm addressing Kaneska Brynn?" The woman smiled and nodded once. "Come, child." Her chambers actually abutted the main worship area, and Jein followed her next door while Jasami still clung to her sister's torso for dear life. The room wasn't opulent at all, with a small desk, two chairs, a plain bed and small shelf mounted on one wall. Jein heavily took a seat in a chair in front of the desk. She'd been thinking a lot about her conversations with Amoril since finding out who Kaneska Brynn was, and was seriously hoping that here was someone she could tell her strange story. And more than that, maybe giver her some idea of what to do next. Which wasn't something she felt entirely comfortable doing in front of her baby sister. Brynn caught Jein's eye, and nodded. She reached into a small recess in the wall beside her desk, and pulled out three mugs and a pair of bottles full of green liquid. "Perhaps some refreshments?" she asked. "That'd be great. Something not too sweet for my sister," Jein replied. "I'm not a little kid!" Jasami grumbled. "No, you're not. But you don't want to ruin your perfect smile, do you?" Jein suggested. The aforementioned smile erupted at the sound of her older sister's praise. Brynn walked over and offered each of them a mug. "Quibo juice, girls?" "Thanks," Jein replied and took one and sipped at the contents. It had a light, slightly sweet taste. Jasami took a full gulp of hers. Then, a bleary look in her eyes, took another one. "Heeey, Jein," she slurred. With even less restraint than usual she wrapped her lips around her sister's right nipple and gave it a long, hard lick. "Seeee? I toooold you your boobs were just like the staatuuuuue's..." Then Jasami stood up in the chair and planted a wet kiss on her older sister, running her tongue lewdly over Jein's lips. She hiccupped and looped her arms around Jein's neck to steady herself, then looked at Jein with an unsteady smile. Then she popped open the top button on her romper. "Jasami...we're not exactly alone." "Sooooo??" Jaami looked back over a naked shoulder Brynn. "She doesn't mind, I bet!" Without saying anything, Brynn stood up, and pulled her hood back, revealing a long plait of dark golden hair. Then she slid it past her shoulders and all the way to the floor, and Jein gulped. Underneath Brynn had a soft, wonderfully curvaceous figure, swathed in a dark purple bikini with intricate golden trim. Her skin was tattooed with elaborate scenes of clouds, mountains, and oceans, but upon closer inspection Jein saw the puffs in the clouds, and the edges of the cliffs were actually people, all engaged with pressing their mouths, hands and privates with anyone near to them. A depiction of a gigantic orgy masquerading as a landscape. In the rough center, over Brynn's abs, was a glowing white female figure standing resplendent amidst all the amorous patterning. It took not time at all to recognize the image. It was Amoril, her pink hair being tossed on a breeze, one arm across her chest, deliberately just underneath her breasts to hide nothing from sight. As Jein looked at the tattoo of her father, she could've sworn one eye closed for just a second in a wink. "Oh no," Jein chuckled and groaned at the same time. "She does that all the time," Jasami said over her shoulder to Brynn and kissed a line across her sister's jaw. "Don't pay any attention to her." Jein squirmed, and Jasami pressed harder against her in response. "What was in that stuff you gave her??" With a light tug Brynn had Jasami's romper down around her ankles, only her panties protecting what little modesty she had. Red that tay, with pink lilies. Jein's amorous instincts took over, and she pressed her palms down on Jasami's nipples and rubbed them at the pert nubs in small circles. Within a few rotations the nips were hardened from arousal and jabbing into Jein's palms. The younger sister groaned and smiled before slumping against Jein's chest. "Yeah...just like that. You know what I like, Jein..." "There's a lot of things you like," Jein reminded her. "And you know every single one," Jasami giggled, a little drunkenly. She pressed her crotch against the curve of Jein's arm and started to grind back and forth. Already the fabric was wet and it left a glistening trail on Jein's skin where it went. Brynn started massaging Jasami's back. Her nails dug lightly into the girl's skin as she ran them down to Jasami's waist, and then she teased her thumbs lightly at the base of Jasami's spine. The girl tensed and quivered lightly, and sighed happily. The nun played her hands over the seat of Jasami's panties, and her thumb swept down the outline of the girl's crevice. "Careful," Jein whispered. "You'll spoil her, and I can't be coming back here all the time for more sessions." "Awww..." Jasami moaned, then squealed and giggled at another prod at her asshole. Enthusiastically she continued grinding her cunt against the curve of Jein's arm and groaned out. "Your workouts are starting to show, Jeiny..." she breathed. Jein flexed her bicep and the next pass of her sister's cunt over it elicited a shuddering moan. She lunged in suddenly and silenced her moans with a kiss against Jein's mouth. Then the girl's eyes shut all the way, and she slumped against her older sister and started to snore. "What was that stuff you gave her?" Jein demanded again as she cradled Jasami in her arms. Brynn waved a hand at her bed, and Jein set her sister down on it and pulled the blanket over her. "Quibo juice, just like I said. And a little something to help a girl catch up on her beauty sleep, in your sister's case," Brynn smiled. "Am I to assume today was typical of you two? And would you perhaps like something to clean off your arm?" "Would it gross you out to hear I'm lovers with both my sisters?" Jein asked, and thought for a second before answering the second question. "And would it gross you out more to hear, no I wouldn't?" Brynn folded her hands on top of her desk. "Miss Devyre, Amoril is the patron of all forms of love. She does ask us to use discretion, for certainly there are always consequences, some worse than others. But in the end...love is love." "Yeah, that sounds like something she'd say. And apparently something I'm here to try to promote." Brynn fixed her with a gently speculative look. "Is that so?" "You already must be thinking something about that mark on my neck, right? It got me past the lady at the door, and it hasn't smudged or gone away at all since it first got there." "Why don't you tell me, my child?" Brynn suggested, her face blank. Jein had been expecting that. It seemed like every single priest, sage and wiseman insisted on letting whoever came to them seeking wisdom lead the way. "Okay, see, right before I got back to Zenith I had this weird dream. Except I don't think it was. I met Amoril, and she said she was really my father. She became Parso Devyre so she could produce a mortal champion and do something about this planet turning in a collection of power mongers and stuff. That's what she said, anyway," Jein explained, looking intently at her audience to see if Brynn bought it or not. But Brynn's look never showed any doubt or disbelief. Rather than staying a total blank as a result, though, it softened until she was nodding slightly. "As a matter of fact," Jein went on, her cheeks coloring a little at what she was about to admit. "The first thing she did was strip me naked then take me upstairs. Then she explained what she wanted me to do while she was fondling me. And then we had sex." "I see. Have your sisters heard this story yet?" Brynn asked. "Cathallis does, she took it pretty well. I'm not really sure about when to tell Jasami, though. I'm afraid if she finds out our father's a goddess she'll expect even more from me, and...I'm worried about letting her down. I mean...shit!" Jein clutched her naked breasts. "Two months ago I didn't even know I had THESE! Then on top of that I find out I'm supposed to make an entire planet a nicer place. I have no idea where to start." Brynn cupped Jein's cheek. "I'm sure Amoril would never force her desires on anyone, let alone her own daughter. Yes, she probably did take mortal form primarily in order to have an agent on Akton. But she would leave the ultimate decision of whether you'll follow her request in your hands. I can certainly see why you'd be reluctant to tell anyone about this, though." "I was sort of hoping you'd be able to help me figure it out," Jein sighed. "The last thing she said before I came back was to look you up." "First thing's first, Miss Devyre," said Brynn. "You seem awfully anxious about what all your father hopes for you, and I'm sure that whatever course you take, she'd want you to be able to do it with a clear head and conscience." "What do you mean?" "Well," Brynn looked away, her mouth forming into a teasing smile. "Don't you feel better without all those bunched up clothes on?" "What do you mean, don't I feel--" Jein started to asked, then looked down and froze. Her breasts had already been on display thanks to her uncontrollable sister, but now she was totally nude from the waist up. She looked up and saw her shirt, jacket and bra sitting in a little pile on the edge of Brynn's desk. Slowly Brynn ran her fingers down Jein's sides, lightly brushing over a set of scars just above the top of her skirt. "Where did those come from?" she asked. "I got into a fight with a vampire," Jein breathed more than said, "but I tricked him into attacking me and I staked him." "You made a vampire attack you straight-on?" Brynn whispered delicately into Jein's ear. Her hands rubbed upward in small circles until they closed over Jein's breasts, and push them down into her chest. The soft flesh mooshed between her fingers. "That was dangerous, Miss Devyre...but I think it shows how ready you are for that kind of life." "I guess I was spending my whole childhood getting ready for it, and didn't even know it," Jein said almost inaudibly. Her eyelids had sunk halfway and her own hands had settled on top of Brynn's, over her breasts. Their lips met, and Brynn worked her mouth over Jein's with a calm control that seemed perfectly natural coming from the head of a love goddess's temple. At least, the kind associated with the kind of thing people would be protesting it over... "I thought you said you guys didn't get up to this kind of stuff with other people," Jein moaned, mostly into Brynn's mouth. "Not as a matter of course, no," Brynn smiled cheekily before another kiss. "But we are all servants to the goddess of love. We need to know how to spread our message in many different ways. And we do offer our instructional services to frustrated couples, bashful lovers, that sort of thing." Jein regarded her. "Does that mean you can give a little advice to somebody having girl problems?" "Two not enough for you?" Brynn teased. "Seriously." "All right. Be yourself." "Are you fucking serious?" Jein groaned. She leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes in irritation. All of a sudden she felt the familiar erotic rush of her breasts being squeezed. She looked over at Brynn, who smiled softly back. Jein's hands flashed out, then slipped under the nun's top. She gave a hearty squeeze back, and Brynn snickered. "And practice in front of the mirror," she added. Jein sighed. "Wish I'd thought of that one, yeah. At least those are some straight answers. I was kind of expecting some zen bullshit when I asked." The nun's delicate hands ran down her sides, over the mosaic of the biggest orgy even Jein had ever seen. Then her fingers touched Jein's chin and raised her eyes up to meet Brynn's. "Use the right tools for the job, child. That was one of your mother's maxims." "I feel like I'm in Maxim lately...feels kind of good, actually." Brynn tilted her head quizzically. "What does?" "Oh. Yeah, right. That's the name of a men's magazine from where I'm from," Jein explained, smiling sheepishly. "Why so embarrassed?" "The idea of guys looking at me is...something I'm not totally comfortable with," Jein replied. With her cards on the table already, she went ahead and explained about having a male form as she grew up, what she could remember of her father's thoughts on how it seemed to have affected her sexual tastes, and also how she felt more open to it when it was with someone she was related to. "That's a twist I haven't heard before, I must admit," Brynn said as she climbed lightly into Jein's lap. "Your family seems to have gotten even more interesting while you were away." "Please, you'll give me an ego," Jein sighed, and planted a kiss on Brynn, who replied in kind with a purr. The tips of their tongues twined together for a minute, then Jein leaned back. "Besides, I was kind of hoping when my dad told me to look you up, she was giving me a tip about where to start my next quest or something." The nun leaned back slightly, but nodded. "As it so happens, I think that's why she sent you to me as well." "Oh?" Jein asked. She played her palms on Brynn's belly and rubbed them in teasing circles, right over her father's likeness, to placate the nun after interrupting the festivities. "Why do you think that?" "Hrrrmmmm...haaaa...because a few nights ago, I received a vision from the goddess. A force was gathering. They were countless, and as many of them were human as otherwise. But even though they wore the skins of many species, they were all possessed of a single mind. And they were unlike many of the Free Territories' enemies who are known to us, because instead of having a nation to call their own they are everywhere. They are even within our own borders. Beware, Jein." "How do I find them? What are they?" Jein asked, thinking back feverishly on all the monsters, villains and robots she'd fought across the numerous games of Action Pack. What fit a description like that? That was the kind of vague dire warning she'd been derading. "That was their greatest asset, how well they hid themselves among their enemies, and their enemies are all but their own kind. But you'll know them by their drive to kill at any cost those they identify as their true enemies. I have no doubt you'll qualify," Brynn said gravely. "I've only had one quest so far," Jein pointed out. "And you're here because you're looking for another one. Your point?" Brynn moaned as Jein's hands slipped inside her bottoms and slid along her rump cheeks. "Your skin is so smoooooooth," Jein moaned. "Not sure what that has to do with the vision, but all right," Brynn grinned. "Hey, blame my father." Brynn ran her fingers through Jein's ivory locks and pulled the younger girl into a playful kiss. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear you talking about her like that..." Jein canted her head. "No offense Miss Brynn, but it sounds like the sisterhood doesn't get too many teenage members." "We don't take someone just because they're looking to, what's the saying, `get their rocks off'? Girls are only accepted if their motives extend beyond themselves to the goddess's vision of a less warlike Akton." "That would explain a lot, yeah," Jein mumbled. "So do I need to go find them, or will they find me?" "I'm sure your paths will cross with them soon enough, Jein. Prepare yourself. There's no double meanings intended there." "Okay," Jein nodded. Not as direct as she'd been hoping, but it sounded like she had a for-real quest to look forward to now. Hopefully it wasn't too far out of her league. If she even had a league yet. Both of them looked at Brynn's bed as a soft moaning and rustling came from the back of the room. "Looks like I'd better pack it up...we're supposed to be on a date, me and her," Jein muttered. "Are you sure you don't want to clean that arm off before you go?" Brynn offered. "I'm sure," Jein said over her shoulder as she put her bra back on. Brynn smiled. "Mrrrrrrm, what happened?" Jasami asked, squinting even in the subdued lighting of Brynn's room. "Did we have sex?" "Kind of. But no more quibo juice for you, you can't handle it," Jein said as she sat Jasami up and started pulling her younger sister's clothes back on. "Awww," Jasami moaned, but squirmed dutifully back into her romper and shoes. Jein turned back to Brynn. "Thanks for everything," she said. "I mean, all the advice." "My pleasure," Brynn nodded. "Let us know sometime if you're thinking about joining a temple." "We'll see." --------- A few hours later, the gates to the Devyre estate opened and Jein steered the car back up to the garage. Both sisters climbed out carrying armloads of boxes and shopping bags. Jein shook her head. "I can't believe they didn't card us when we tried to buy this underwear..." "What, are you saying we look too young for it?" Jasami laughed. "We're a couple of young women in bloom! Anyone can see it!" "But that store was in a smelly back alley. We were lucky we didn't get jumped on the way out. How did you find out about a place like that anyway?" Jasami waved a finger reprovingly at her older sister. "A lady never reveals her secrets." "Lady! No way should anybody be selling you underwear like that..." Jein said disbelievingly. Suddenly Jein realized Jasami had kicked her. "Quit thinking like that already, will you?? You're not on that stupid Earth place anymore, you're here! With me! Like it or not! Things are different here! Better! Get used to it!" At that, Jein smiled, then laughed. Jasami bit her lower lip and started to quiver angrily before Jein spoke up. "Is my little sister feeling a little underappreciated? Jasami, I'm sorry..." "Damn it, Jein!" Jasami snapped. "I spent years waiting to meet you. We're here now, so can we please enjoy it instead of focusing on everything that sucked so much about that planet you hated anyway??" Jein set down her load, grabbed her little sister in a hug and sighed. "I'm sorry, Jazz. You're right, that planet bored the shit out of me and I never felt like I belonged there. I've got a way more awesome family here, and I'm going to do way more awesome things here too." "Yeah!" "Maybe I'll even get Shana to talk to me again..." Jein sighed, until Jasami pulled on her earlobe. "Ow!" "What would mom say if she heard you talking like that?" Jasami scolded. "You can do anything you try. Especially if it's getting a girl." "I'm not sure if I want to `get' Shana," Jein said. "You wouldn't think about her so much if you didn't want to get her." For a second, Jein was tempted to make a crack about how a girl Jasami's age shouldn't be so sure of something like that, but remembered what she'd just said about leaving her preconceptions of Earth behind. Instead she replied, "Have you had a lot of girls you wanted to `get', then?" "Not really. A lot of mistress's friends' sons sent me flowers and presents and stuff. She even let me keep them, sometimes." "Well, what if I don't let you keep any?" Jein asked. "I'm only going to keep the presents you get for me anyway," Jasami smiled smugly. She clutched the boxes and bags tighter to her. "Like these ones." Then she skipped inside with that superior little smile of hers never wavering. They went upstairs to their bedrooms to drop off their purchases, but Jein just dropped hers on her bed and left again as soon as she saw her room was empty. She didn't feel like sticking around at home, but she didn't feel like going out again alone, either. Quickly she probed through the mansion's various rooms until she came to a cozy little study that was where she thought she'd find her other sister. Cathallis was sitting by a large window in an easy chair, a large book sitting in the lap of her long dress. She looked up as Jein poked her head into the room, and smiled pleasantly. "Good afternoon, Jein. Have you been keeping busy?" Her voice was calm, but there was a slight quaver of uncertainty. Like she wasn't sure if Jein was there for the reason she hoped. "I have," Jein nodded. "You?" "Well, I was implanted with most of Akton's history while I was away but that only covers the longstanding history. I'm trying to catch up on the big things that happened while we were gone. It was...kind of a shock, after all, when Paetra turned us down." "Maybe it's what mom and dad meant for us. I mean, I don't think they had me trained how they did so I could sit on a throne all day long." Cathallis sighed and shut her book. "I just wish they could've left us some specific instructions or something. Even if they were only specific suggestions." "Maybe they couldn't, because they had no idea what things would be like when we got back. Or maybe they did, but whatever they left us got destroyed when the city got attacked," Jein suggested herself. "But let's not worry about that for right now." "Oh? What should we worry about now?" "Well, how about you worry about what to wear on the date we're going on in ten minutes?" Jein smirked. Cathallis sat there as if she hadn't heard Jein at all. Then suddenly she gasped, "...what?!" "Come on! Even when we do spend time together we never get out of the house," Jein pressed. "We can even go to a museum or something. Let's just go out and do something, Cath." "Well..." --------- Again and again, Cathallis had said it wasn't necessary. That she was perfectly welcome inside. Still, Jein persisted in her belief. "It'll make it sweeter if I save seeing you naked til tonight," Jein smiled and shut the door to their bedroom. After a few minutes the door popped open and the dark-haired twin reappeared. She'd changed into a skirt, short-sleeved blouse and black tights with red heels. Jein purred at the look, and Cathallis smiled, but blushed a little at the show of approval. "So where are we going?" Cathallis asked, nervously brushing a lock of black hair back over one ear. "Who cares?!" Jein laughed. "We'll stay out til two in the morning then we'll come back totally wasted and scare the crap out of aunt Namiel." "That might work...except for how she's out visiting with some friends of hers somewhere. Probably won't be back until then herself." "Shows how much attention I pay to things like that, I guess," Jein sighed, then brightened again. "But come on! We're young, we should be out enjoying it! Especially when nobody's around to tell us we can't." Cathallis smiled hesitantly. "You sound just like Jasami." "And she sounds a lot like dad. Come on, let's go," she pulled on her twin's wrist. "You can pick where, I'll drive." "Well, all right..." Another few minutes and they were cruising along the streets of Zenith. "So...where are we headed?" Jein prompted after another minute of thick silence. "The beach?" "If you'd watched, you'd know if I was bringing my bathing suit, wouldn't you?" Cathallis attempted to tease her. As usual, Cathallis was no match for her twin. "Who needs a bathing suit?" Jein sniggered. "I know you've been wanting to go skinny dipping with me, haven't you?" "I've wanted to...what?!" "That means go swimming naked," Jein explained, and winked. "As if you didn't know." Cathallis turned away, cheeks blazing. "I did not." They pulled to a halt at an intersection. Cathallis kept looking away, but Jein cupped her twin's apple-red cheek and lightly turned her head around to face her. Cathallis cupped Jein's cheeks in return and immediately they joined in a harsh kiss. The dark-haired twin pressed into it and gasped for a second before she rammed her tongue against Jein's lips. Their lips mashed together again and Cathallis raked her fingers through Jein's hair. On pure instinct Jein's fingers started to slip beneath Cathallis's blouse, but an angry horn sounded behind them. The light had turned. The horn sounded again, and Jein extended her middle finger upward through the back window before climbing back into her seat and putting the car in gear. "You didn't have to do that," Cathallis admonished her twin. "I heard him the first time." "Anyway...it's up here. On the right." "So, a museum after all?" Jein looked up at the tall, wide concrete building whose entrances sat behind a row of tall, somewhat artsy columns. "Well, at least we can look at some of the nudes." Cathallis shook her head in disgust and sighed. "Honestly, you sound more like Jasami every time I talk to you." "Hey, I can't be the responsible one ALL the time, can I?" Jein shrugged. "Dad didn't seem like she wanted me to do this without being able to have fun with it." "Maybe we'd better not talk about our father like that so openly," Cathallis said, then hefted her purse onto one shoulder and got out. "Fair enough." As they walked up to the doors, Jein laced their fingers together and leaned over to kiss Cathallis on the cheek. She whispered, "Not mad, are you?" A red tinge settled on Cathallis's cheeks. "No," she whispered. "I'm not. I wish you wouldn't act like you're hoping for an audience, though..." "I'll wait until we're in the bathroom," Jein promised. Cathallis led the way inside, and into an exhibit marked "Divine Renderings." In the hall beyond the sign were paintings, busts and statues of numerous figures who would've looked right at home in a fantasy game. Staring at the two of them in displeasure as they entered was a painting of a towering figure in dark green armor, his face hidden by a visor worked to resemble the face of a dragon, and holding a double-headed battleaxe that was wreathed in flames. The plaque underneath it identified the work as "Shile Resplendent." It was only after a minute of study that Jein was able to make out that in the flame around the axe were tiny, distorted faces, their features twisted into hopeless screams. "Cheerful," she shivered. Cathallis looked up at the imposing painting holding her sister's attention, and placed a delicate hand on Jein's shoulder. "I believe the artist took some liberties with the depiction. True Shile is the benefactor of warriors, but he's no god of evil. In fact the legends speak of him as being the one who bested Y'bin when he made himself manifest and walked our universe..." "Who?" Jein asked. "Y'bin. The god of famine. Entire worlds were left barren when he appeared. Shile intervened to end the senseless destruction." "So he doesn't really absorb the souls of the people he kills to power himself up, or anything like that?" Jein said and pointed to the tortured souls in the painting. "No. Shile gives his blessings to those who dedicate themselves to the arts of war, not punish the losers. He has worshippers in countries hostile to the Free Territories too, after all," Cathallis explained, her smile showing she was pleased to have a chance to show off her knowledge. "Like General Tran?" Jein asked. Cathallis ahem'd. "That's the popular consensus. From what I've read." Jein walked over to a statue she'd noticed, of a nude woman that the plaque identified as Amoril, goddess of love. It was surrounded by paintings and a long mural depicting their father. None really dazzled Jein after seeing the detail of the image Brynn had tattooed all over herself, but the works looked at home mounted on the walls of a museum all the same. She was a little surprised, however, that only one of the paintings seemed to have any sexual significance. That was a scene where she was reclining on a divan, while two naked youths--one male and one female--sat to either side, and...tended to her needs. In the mural she was standing on the far side with her arms extend out, rays of warmth flowing from her hands and washing over a crowd of exultant people. Most of the others showed something similar. She was the center of some kind of panorama showing people rejoicing as energy radiated from her being over them. Granted, she was standing naked in all of them, but that was surely beside the point. Wasn't it? "Da--...she's got some admirers in the artistic community, looks like," Jein observed. "I heard a lot of people think of her as the goddess of whores." "From what I understand, at least as many think of her as representing many of the things that are good about the Free Territories," Cathallis said. "Compassion, vitality, devotion, understanding." "I might ask why she made sure I ended up as a Sword Daughter," Jein muttered. "If I didn't know better than sometimes you have to fight..." "I wish we could change the world with love alone," Cathallis said as they looked up at the artwork. Her arm slipped around Jein's waist, and she slowly leaned her head on her twin's shoulder. Jein's arm slipped Cathallis's shoulders, and suddenly squeezed her sister's breast. The dark-haired twin stifled her squeal magnificently, then went on "But...unfortunately even the goddess couldn't do that." "Well, not because she doesn't have the personal power," Jein corrected her. "I guess that Y'bin thing is why they can only get away with a `nudge' every now and then." "Is that how it works?" Cathallis asked as they walked on, and added more quietly and angrily, "And did you have to grope me like that? I was trying to be a little romantic." "So don't be a little romantic. Be a lot romantic," Jein whispered with a grin. "I can be PLENTY romantic," Cathallis groused. "But I just don't see the need for an audience." "All right, Cath. Who's that over there?" Jein pointed to a tall painting of a cloaked figure standing on a moon-drenched hilltop, a crow perched on their gaunt hand. Leaning over, Cathallis inspected the plaque. "Ah, Stissia. Goddess of night. Patron of the creatures of the dark." A thought occurred to Jein and she looked over at her sister uncomfortably. "Like...vampires?" "I...would assume so?" The look of amusement had gone from Jein's face. "I wonder if maybe I should've gotten more info out of those friendly vampires before they all left...," she muttered when she was sure no other patrons were close enough to hear her. But she hadn't. She'd just "won" a battle with a powerful undead creature and escaped from a free-for-all between his former minions, and it had seemed like she'd managed it through a combination of blind luck and her foe's own overwhelming arrogance. But she hadn't. She'd been tired, and exhilarated from her first battle, and unsure of her status as a member of a warrior bloodline. She was pleased just to hear what sounded like good news and a voice of praise. She hadn't had the presence of mind to question the good will of the undead predators. Then again, what would she have been able to do about it if they'd shown an unpleasant motivation for rebelling against the control of Lucius Handred...? All at once she was being jerked around to face Cathallis. "What could you have done different, Jein?" she asked. "It was your first quest. I remember how much Jasami played that up. Before and after you left. You did the best you could, and you'll do better and be stronger on your next quest. And do better and be stronger after that one." She couldn't help it, she smiled and let out a half-hearted little chortle at Cathallis's words. "That sounds so cliché...I wonder if it's possible for any advice not to anymore. But you're right, Cath. Let me try that again. You're right, sis." Cathallis recoiled a little, but her expression was one of confusion, not fear. "Sis?" "Yeah. Sis. You're my sister," Jein explained softly. She'd always felt obligated to look out for Cathallis and Jasami. Been both entranced with them and a little bit bewildered with their sexual attraction to the heroine they both imagined her to be. When she'd agreed to see them safely to Zenith, to face a den of vampires if that was what it took to get their help, though, she'd never really been thinking about what she was getting into. She'd been trained, if that was the word, about how to survive on Akton by playing a bunch of video games. So, she was going with the kinds of thinking that had guided her actions through those various games. Be brave, be selfless, be upstanding. And when she'd heard her father's hopes for her, she'd thought of it the same way. As conformation that she was the player character, the hero on whose shoulders everything would be carried. When she'd been in training to improve her ability to defend herself, that had been grinding. But when she'd asked Jasami out, and then asked Cathallis out on this little excursion, it had been because it had finally been sinking in. Jasami and Cathallis were her sisters, and they loved her because she was their sister, and trying to live up to their mother's example. They weren't pre-programmed sprites who were fawning on her and following her to bed because she was picking all the nice conversation options with them. Their wanting to have sex with her was strange, but everything here was strange, and she was just accepting that as part of the experience. Besides, twincest is wincest. Every pervert knew that. Jein had always felt out of place on Earth, with the people she thought were her family and the people who she dealt with at school. The only person she'd ever thought of as a true friend was Shana, who it turned out had the same real home she did. Her arms slipped around Cathallis's shoulders, and she hugged her twin tightly. For all her earlier reluctance, Cathallis returned the gesture, and even giggled a little. Jein could feel the heat of her sister's blush as their cheeks touched. She was at home now. This was her real family, and she felt like part of something with them around. She had seen danger out there, and was ready to find out more about it and do her part to help protect the people of Akton from it. Because this was her home, this was her family, and that was the right thing to do. So yeah, "sis" seemed an appropriately familiar way to refer to Cathallis. Quickly, before anyone would notice, Cathallis grabbed Jein's head and pulled her in for a kiss. It only lasted a second, but Cathallis was pressing so hard, possessed of a passion Jein had never known from her before... That was when the wall exploded. Instinct took over as Jein heard the roar of an explosion and felt the force of the blast start to jam into her back. She grabbed Cathallis and twisted in midair so she landed on her back with her twin on top of her. Other museum goes were screaming and fleeing for any handy exit, aside from the opening in the wall that two people were stepping through. It was a little hard to see through the cloud of dust that still hung in the air, but they looked like a man and a woman with a gray tinge to their skin, and glowing red spikes of crystal jutting from their elbows, knees, foreheads, and most noticeably, knuckles. Well, this looked like a rather unsubtle beginning to a new quest...