Gelees Rubanée

The group had now been traveling for about half an hour. So far, things had been uneventful, despite the ominous atmosphere of the entrance, past the first alcove, the skulls had vanished, leaving the walls mostly unadorned except for the occasional lantern lighting the path. The water also didn’t make it this far in, so the wet stonework gave way to uneven earth. The area gave less of the impression of catacombs as the entrance had suggested, and gave way to the aesthetic of an abandoned mineshaft.

Staying towards the front, Amy tried to keep an eye out for anything like traps that could be awaiting them, but thus far, the only thing that the group had to contend with was the occasional divot in the path.

From behind, Stella groaned and then spoke up, “You know we don’t have to do this in complete silence, right?”

Amy felt that any acknowledgement of the imp might encourage her and stayed quiet, but it didn’t stop Maya from peering back, “What would we talk about?”

Stella threw her arms back behind her head, giving it a moment's thought, “At risk of failing the Bechdel test, how did your first week with Caleb go? I feel like everyone knows how mine went, but outside of VP, I’ve had nothing to go off of.” She looked over at Maddy, who was avoiding eye contact and grew a cat-like grin, “So Mads, how far have you gotten with our resident shut-in?” She bumped her hip against the blonde’s, eliciting a small yelp.

Putting herself between Stella and Maddy, Lily held out her arms, “Hey, leave her alone, Stella, not everyone is as brazen as you.”

“Oh?” Stella smirked, “See, I wouldn’t expect that from the person who tried to ride him through his pants in the front lobby.” Seeing the shocked expression on Lily’s face, the imp busted out laughing, “Oh yeah, you realize you can see the reading area from anywhere on the second floor? I had been searching for Maddy that day, and imagine my surprise to see a bullriding expedition happening right out front.”

Lily’s face turned scarlet, and she clenched her fists. This is not what she needed to be reminded of right now, not when her transformation was already threatening to shoot pollen everywhere. It had been building since she had changed clothes; she had thought it wouldn’t be so bad, but it was like a volcano building in her skin.

She managed to cross her arms, “That…I wasn’t myself that day.”

This caught Maddy’s attention, who asked with a suspicious tone, “I thought the sabotage you used just made you think you were still dating, I didn’t think it changed who you were.”

“I-” Lily froze, to Stella’s amusement, who burst out into another fit of laughter.

The bartender wiped a tear from her eye, “That’s priceless, so when you say you weren’t yourself, you just meant you didn’t think you’d get caught. Man, you two must have have been insufferable in college, PDA be damned haha.”

Maya, not wanting to be left out, called back, “We played card games together on our date and talked about our past.”

Maddy smiled over at Maya, maybe she had been too harsh in the past, “That sounds really sweet, Maya, he and I cooked together on our date, it was nice.” “Together” might be charitable, considering what Maddy actually let him do in the kitchen, but it was still a sweet memory in her mind.

Stella leaned back again as they walked and let out a low hum, “Yeah, that’s sweet, girls, but not exactly the sort of spicy thing I was looking for.”

Maya raised an eyebrow and then cocked a hip, “I didn’t say that’s all we did, If we’re talking about points here, I also dressed up for him and gave him a blowjob.”

“Oho, that’s more like it. Still, though I’m guessing that really means that Noemi is the only one who has actually had sex since coming here. Not for lack of trying on my part…” She paused, thinking about Noemi back at the hotel with Caleb, “Man, maybe I should have stayed behind.”

Amy shook her head at the front. This was the sort of inane talk she generally tried to avoid, but honestly, it might be the best case scenario. After how things had gone down in round one, she was worried people would be more at each other's throats, while definitely guarded, no one was openly hostile. That was when there was a sound like a pillow busting open and rain of golden sparkles began to fall. Amy turned to see a cloud emanating from Lily, who was trying to distance herself from everyone.

“What the heck…” Started Stella as the dust settled on her skin, “A bit of warning would have been…oooh that’s tingly shit girl, your body makes this stuff?” The imp was rubbing her thighs together, feeling the pollen’s effect for the first time. Unprepared as she was, she could feel her body flushing and heating up.

Maddy wasted no time as she felt the familiar heat from the pollen penetrate her skin, “Didn’t miss waking up to this.” She pulled her backpack open and started handing out water bottles, “It only comes off with water, remember, just try to reserve what you can.”

Everyone took a water bottle and began to wash themselves off as Lily leaned against a wall, as the pollen stopped flowing, looking ashamed, “Sorry about that, it's…the new transformation, it happens when I wear normal clothes like this.”

Maya rounded on her, her voice more irritated than angry, “So why didn’t you just wear your leaves then? You knew we didn’t know how long we were going to be in here.”

Lily’s eyes flashed, and her look of shame was quickly replaced with indignation, “Hey, you don’t know what it’s like to have transformations that get in the way of living, ok? What you need is a hug every so often, and you can talk dirty? Woah holy shit, not like you need to worry about growing clothes out of your body or not even being properly human any more.”

Reaching out to Lily’s arm, Maddy tried to pull her back, feeling the tension rise in the air, “Lily…” she just said warningly. It’s not like she was wrong; Maddy had also gotten off light and was surrounded by three people who fundamentally were changed because of this competition, but she knew that starting a fight wasn’t going to fix anything.

Maya stamped her foot, and her face turned hot red. “I wasn’t comparing us, you rutabaga! I know my transformations are easier than yours, but you also know what yours do! So why not work with them? You could have worn your damn leaves or i don’t know, stood away from everyone so only you would get sprayed!”

Tightening her grip on Lily, Maddy held fast as the plant woman tried to lunge forward, “Well, sorry for being such an inconvenience! We can’t all be heartless little monsters like you, whose only concern is getting ahead!”

Stella visibly winced from the sidelines at that, and Amy tried to step in, “Lily, come on back, it o”

The oni was cut off by Maya, “What is your problem?! You’re the one who tried to attack me, remember?! Or did you conveniently forget that, too, while lobotamizing yourself to earn some VP?”

“Says the woman who repeatedly talks about screwing everyone else and getting ahead and playing the game. Stop acting like you’re the victim here, you vindictive bitch!” Lily’s body was tense, and Maddy was shaking visibly as she felt the tension only rising in the air.

“At least I’m not some hypocritical self righteous nimrod!” Maya shot back.

There was a moment of silence, and then a rapid movement as Amy and Stella both moved to stop the two women from lunging at each other.

As Amy wrapped her arms around Maya’s shoulder, putting her in a full nelson as the purple-haired woman continually tried to lunge forward, the oni heaved out a heavy sigh. Yeah, this is more of what she had expected.

Back at the hotel, Noemi was watching from the sidelines as Caleb was completing his workout. They had transitioned to the gym after he had completed his breakfast, and while loath to release the grip she had on him, getting to watch from the sidelines had its perks. Noemi licked her lips as she watched Caleb wipe his body down with a towel as sweat slid down from his neck down his tight, muscled body. Oh yes, definite perks.

“Hey Noemi?” The Chilean woman was stirred from her fantasies by Caleb calling out to her.

She sat upright and smiled, waving, “Yes, Caleb? What can I do for you?”

Caleb shot her a sideways smile at her distracted expression before gesturing next to her, “Can you toss me my water bottle? I’m parched.”

Leaning over, Noemi grabbed the water bottle and tossed it to Caleb, who immediately opened the spout and began to take a long drink. Noemi leaned in, arms on knees, and looked quizzically at Caleb, “Do you even have to work out now? With your transformation?”

Chest heaving as he finished his drink, Caleb set his water bottle down and then sat on the floor, legs splayed out, “I mean, hard to say, I’m assuming it just returned me to my physical peak, nothing in it says it will keep me there. Besides, I forgot being trapped inside all the time how…” he flexed his hand, “Meditative it can be, just the sensation of your muscles, sweat, breathing…I needed it and will need it.”

Noemi gave a bright smile, “Well, you won’t hear me complaining about my hubby being jacked.”

Caleb frowned and decided there was no getting around it. “Can we talk about that a little? I know we talked about the idea of commitment, and I get that’s important to you, I just…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I want to understand. We went from bad memories to you diving headfirst into marriage. I understand our circumstances are unusual, but I feel like it would be irresponsible to move forward without really understanding what you’re looking for and why.”

Looking thoughtful, Noemi then got up and strode over to where Caleb was sitting, “I guess it's…so you see the jump as being like going from one end to the other.” Caleb gave a tentative nod as Noemi slid down to sit next to him, “To me, it’s just that…we were able to get over such a big hurdle from the start, right? You were able to give me a second chance and try to see the best in me. More than that, you were trying to do that for my sake. It made me feel special and like…well, if we can do that, it feels like other relationship hurdles would be easy to deal with. The rest of the stuff involving the show just reinforces that.”

Caleb nodded. He couldn’t entirely understand the **** nature of her dedication, but the underlying idea was something he could wrap his head around: “Even though you’d be sharing me with the others?”

“I told you already, it would be wrong of you not to commit to these other girls after everything this show is doing. Not only that, but you deserve all the pleasure those girls can bring you. As long as you don’t start taking me for granted or forget about me, it's ok. I just want to be special to you.” Noemi nuzzled her body up against Caleb, and he smiled down at her, reaching out and taking her hand. It was a nice moment.

Then Noemi pulled out a jump rope, “So…you’ve got a thing for bondage right now, you could…” she waggled the rope between her hands, “Tie me up to some equipment, you’re so strong there would be nothing I could do to stop you from manhandling me like that.” She batted her eyelashes up at Caleb, and he could feel that the downstairs committee was in prominent support of this idea. Noemi picked up on this too and leaned in more, flattening her breasts against his bicep, “Seems like you don’t hate the idea…”

With colossal willpower and much protest from below, Caleb let out a deep breath and stood up, “As much as I would love to take you up on that, Noemi. I promised myself that I would keep pushing myself today to do better…so there are some things I need to do while I still have daylight.”

Noemi looked crestfallen and tucked the rope behind her back, “Right, I see.”

Swallowing, Caleb looked over, scratching his cheek bashfully, “...Tonight, no one is assigned to my room though, I don’t know if you might be interested in coming over then?”

“Oh Caleb,” Noemi leaned in, “I don’t care when you mess me up as long as you do.” Caleb was unsure of her wording but decided to take it as a positive. Noemi then looked up at him, “So what plans do you have that are keeping you from pressing matters?”

Caleb sighed, “If we’re going to be here on this island, I have to stop being a hindrance to the people around me. The first step is being able to go outside.”

Another hour had passed in the caves. It had taken a lot of effort, but the group had managed to keep Maya and Lily from tearing each other apart. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Maya would stay up front with Amy, and Lily would stay in the back a few steps behind Maddy so she could separate from the group if she had another pollen attack. Silence had kicked back up, though Stella had tried to break it a few times with no success.

Amy looked to her side, where Maya was walking. Despite her quiet countenance, it was obvious the lottery winner was still fuming. I mean, it was only natural; no one had been in a place to give her a hug after what had happened, so she was just sitting with those emotions bottled up, with nowhere to go.

The walkway had transitioned again. The walls were now cool black stone laid out in bricks that lined the floor and ceiling. It reminded Lily of a certain block game she played with other VTubers before coming here, and if she had been in a better mood, she might have joked about it with the others. Amy frowned. The shifting appearance did more than just change the atmosphere; it became increasingly hard to track how far they had traveled and in what direction. They had been moving for close to two hours now and hadn’t encountered anything. They’d have to stop for lunch soon, too, and assess whether or not to keep moving. It was possible this was a diversion, something to waste their time while the upgrade shop was in the tower or elsewhere.

The floor suddenly opened up to a small round area, with raised segments around the peripheral. The path ahead was also strange, tapering on all sides to form a perfect square. Stella looked around, “Looks like a rest stop? Is that possible?”

Amy shrugged as she set her backpack down, “The whole place was designed by someone, but who knows for what purpose. That said, who knows if we’ll find a better spot for lunch later. Maddy, do you mind?”

The chef shook her head, “Not at all!” She set her pack down and began handing out what appeared to be some sort of hoagie wrapped tightly in paper towels.”

Beginning to unwrap it, Stella looked around, “You know, Mads, when you said sandwiches, I had assumed foolishly you had meant like…turkey and cheese, what is this?”

Maddy unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite and smiled widely, “It’s called a Banh Mi, it’s a Vietnamese sandwich, pate, pork, pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, jalapeno. It’s filling, flavorful, and nutritious.”

Looking skeptically at the sandwich, Maya took a bite and her face brightened, “It’s good!”

Maddy smiled, “I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t sure what everyone liked, but figured at the end of the day, if people needed to, they could remove everything and still have a grilled pork hoagie.”

From the sidelines, Lily’s eyes darted to Maya, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Eyes narrowing, Maya looked at Lily, “What are you on about now?”

Maddy shot a look towards the plant girl, pleading with her not to do this, but Lily pushed forward, “Someone does something nice for you, you thank them.”

Maya was tapping her feet in irritation. “I was planning on thanking Madeline; she’s been nothing but pleasant and kind, unlike some. Thank you, Madeline.”

Smiling nervously, Maddy held up her hands, “You’re welcome, Maya, it’s no trouble, now why don’t we settle down…”

“‘Unlike some’, you just can’t handle someone not abiding your bullshit.” Lily clicked her tongue.

Stella’s eyes darted between the two women, and she locked eyes with Amy. The oni sighed and got up, “Guys, come on, we've got to make it through here, that’s not going to happen if we’re at each other’s throats, so please can you cool it?”

Maya stood up, “No, you know what, why don’t I scout ahead, since it’s obvious that I’m not wanted here.” She tucked her sandwich away and picked up her pack. “I’ll see you soon.”

Amy frowned, “Maya, come on…” She sighed, “Just, don’t go off too far, ok? We don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Nodding, but still bristling with anger, Maya threw her pack on and entered the square hallway. Maddy turned to Lily, glaring, “Was that really necessary?”

Lily shrank under the look from Maddy but tried to retain composure. “She’s an adult; she can handle herself.” Lily crossed her arms, and Maddy gave an exasperated sigh before biting into her sandwich.

Silence took over the room once more before being interrupted by a strange noise from down the hallway, like somebody trying to slurp up jello, but deeper and echoing throughout the space. Everyone shot up, and the sound came from deeper in the hall. Abandoning tier food, the group ran down the hallway to find Maya floating in the air, holding her breath, eyes wide and full of fear.

But as the mass she was suspended in shifted at their approach, it became more clear, she wasn’t suspended in air, but a giant clear gelatinous cube, so clear that as it had lain still in the hallway, everyone had looked clear through it as they looked ahead. Maddy screamed and pointed, and the group could see that as Maya floated in the mass, slowly her clothing was dissolving.

Amy grimaced. Of course, the rest area was placed where it was after long periods of nothing to drop their guard, and now they had to deal with this. How were they going to deal with this. She was still frozen in thought when Lily ran by her, rope tied around her waist. She tossed the flowing end to Amy. “When I grab her, pull!”

Amy’s brain raced to catch up and nodded, Stella and Maddy also grabbing the rope as Lily dived headfirst into a cube with a sound like rupturing ballistic gel and wrapped her arms around the stunned Maya. Amy immediately called out, “Now!” The girls outside also gritted their teeth and pulled on the rope, feeling the pressure of the liquid inside the cube and fighting the surface tension of its outside. The side of the cube began to tent and swell, and then surged open, vomiting out its interior and leaving a coughing Maya and Lily, still covered in slime, their clothes still melting.

Maya looked over at Lily, eyes still wide, “You…you saved me.”

In her own puddle, Lily looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact, “Just because I hate you, doesn’t mean I want you dead.”

Maddy rushed over and began to dump the remains of their bottled water on the two to wash off the slime.

Stella put a hand on Amy’s shoulder, “Well then, it seems like there’s something down here after all. Wouldn’t defend any space right?”

The oni nodded, funnily enough, the danger was a sign that they were probably on the right track, but it also opened up a whole new host of worries about what might await them.