Tell me it's a dead-end

Nick, Mary, and Morgana couldn’t find anyone in the lounge when they went down for the day. Because they’d already eaten a lovely breakfast cooked by Mary they didn’t have any thoughts about going down to the Banquet Hall at first.

But Nick figured that’s where everybody would be.

“Too bad Holly couldn’t come with us,” Mary sighed. “I told her that she didn’t have to clean up after breakfast.”

“I think she was trying to be considerate of Ella… or Cinder,” Nick pointed out. “The more cleaning she does before she has to come over, the easier her job will be.”

He also considered Rose in that regard as well. Apparently she was getting 100 BP every time she came up to clean the Master’s Suite, and while she could be a little flirty, he wasn’t complaining. Her presence made things even easier… as long as she could behave herself and not inadvertently set Ella off like last time.

Tonight probably isn’t going to be that much better, he considered. Tonight is Amelia’s night.

Nick wasn’t at all prepared for that. Part of him hoped that even Dakota wouldn’t try to push the two of them together, but he had learned by this point not to put anything past her. She probably even thinks that me hooking up with my stepmother will be good for my mental health, or something. Come on Dakota, I know you had issues with your own mother, but this is just ridiculous!

That was something he’d never be able to say to her face. For now, though, he couldn’t help but think about what would happen with his stepmother today, and that made him antsy about meeting her directly.

Mary noticed that Nick kept looking back at the elevator, and took the initiative from him. “Should we go to the Banquet Hall?” She suggested. “Everybody’s probably there.”

“Sure, works for me,” Nick agreed. He would have to face Amelia at some point, after all.

“Um… actually, I was wondering if I could stop off at my room really quick?” Morgana asked hopefully. “I, uh… I kind of need to change my clothes…”

Morgana’s body may have changed last night due to Mary’s milk, but her clothes had remained the same. And even though they were dry, she’d soaked them quite well in sweat and sexual fluids, and they just felt gross on her now.

“Yeah, sure, we can wait for you,” Mary agreed.

Morgana quickly shook her head. “No, that’s okay!” She said hastily. “I also wanted to take a shower, too. It’ll take too long! You guys go!”

Mary seemed hesitant, but Nick understood.

She wants some time to herself, to decompress, he realized. As an introvert himself, he had been there before. Last night was pretty intense, after all. I guess she’s still processing it.

Morgana may have been all smiles right now, but he could tell that under the surface she must still be a little overwhelmed.

This was for the best.

Nick and Mary doubled back to the elevator and headed down to the Banquet Hall, while Morgana scurried back to her room.

Once she was safely alone, she let out the breath she’d been holding back, cupped her cheeks with her hands, and squealed.

“Oh my gosh! That was so intense! I can’t believe I did something like that!” She fell onto the plush bed of the Luxury Suite and squirmed about, her face red with a complex mixture of embarrassment and excitement.

Morgana really hadn’t been expecting such intensity. She’d just gone up to the Master’s Suite yesterday to cook for him! Not… do all those things.

…Well, yes, she’d been hoping for sex as well.

But there was sex, and then there was sex.

In all Morgana’s fantasies of a threesome, she’d imagined a few times that she’d be the one taking an active role, as the sexy goth seductress. And in a way, she’d gotten that… but it had felt so unusual, like it wasn’t her.

…But it could be.

She changed out of her wrinkled clothes and walked over to the fancy marble bathroom to go draw a nice hot bath, when she stopped before the mirror.

Hmm… maybe that could work? She considered, studying her appearance and comparing it to how she’d looked last night. While she wasn’t even close to being ready for such a bold shift in her behavior, there were other ways she could change things up.

If she was willing to be a little daring, that is.

Nick and Mary arrived at the Banquet Hall, and saw, much to their relief, that everybody seemed to be getting along.

“Oh hey! Look who finally showed up!” Gina popped up from her seat and saddled over to Nick with a coy grin on her face. “Took you long enough. Getting a lot of time in with Morgana, eh?”

“Err… we had a nice breakfast, yeah,” Nick said, blushing a little but pushing through the embarrassment. He could feel Amelia’s eyes on him, and with her presence everything seemed so much more significant.

“Oh, don’t be so coy,” Carly giggled, coming over to greet him with her sister in tow. “We saw the Victory Point board. Morgana got quite a big bump in her point total! That sure does suggest that breakfast was a little more than just ‘nice’ if you get my drift!” She elbowed him in the side and now it was Mary’s turn to blush.

“That stuff was last night,” she said, clearing her throat. “We just came by to spend time with everybody. Morgana kinda reminded me yesterday… I’ve been acting like a bit of a hermit. Sorry, you guys.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. No big deal. I was pretty distant yesterday too,” Gina said, waving her hand lazily.

“So where is Morgana?” Dawn questioned, not seeing any sign of the goth. “You guys tire her out that much?”

“Way to go, Nick!” Dani chortled, raising her hand for a high five. Nick didn’t accept the crass gesture and shook his head.

“She just wanted to shower and get changed, that’s all,” he assured them. “She’ll be coming down later.”

As he finished his thought, he realized the problem. Especially when he saw Gina’s eyes widen and her tongue slide over her lips.

“A shower and a change of clothes? My, my, that must have been a really-”

“I believe you’ve made your point.”

Amelia cut Gina off with a stern look before the other woman could keep going with her teasing. The punk girl looked disappointed, but didn’t directly stand up to her either.

Vivian rolled her eyes and smirked. Leave it to Amelia to kill the vibe.

“A-anyway, as I was saying…” Mary desperately took back the spotlight, eager to move past what happened last night. “I’m going to start up my cooking classes, if anyone wants to join me for a lesson later? Say, around lunchtime?”

“Sure thing,” Dani said, shrugging. “I’d be up for that.”

“I can come too, of course,” Rose declared, holding her hand proudly over her chest. “Though if you need any assistance in teaching the lesson, of course I could-”

“Yeah, Holly can handle that,” Mary said, cutting her off immediately. “Carly, Marley, would you-”

“Sorry, no way.”

“Pass.”

Neither sister was very into the idea of cooking. They felt a little bad disappointing Mary, though, but she still had one last hope she could turn to.

“Gina? What about you? Up for some more cooking?” The redhead knew Gina had some interest in cooking, and had taken a few of her classes. Maybe she’d want to start again?

“Hmm? Nah. Got something else planned,” Gina said, shaking her head. “You could always ask the new girls, though.”

Mary glanced cautiously at Amelia.

“Would you like to…?” She asked hopefully.

Nick winced. That was the wrong move.

But Amelia accepted the question with grace.

“I appreciate your offer,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “However, I will unfortunately have to decline. I have plans with Nicholas to spend the day together with him. There will not be enough time for any lessons in cooking.”

Mary blinked. “…O-oh, that’s okay then! That’s fine,” she said, nodding. “I hope you two have fun together!”

Nick sighed in relief. Mary had just stepped on a land mine, and thankfully it hadn’t detonated.

“And I’ll be coming along with you, Daddy!” Sylvia popped up, wearing a big smile on her face. “Amelia said that it’s okay if I join!”

“Oh, uh… she did?” Nick was definitely not expecting that. He glanced at Amelia, who tightened her lips into a firm line and nodded.

Well… that was something then.

Great. So not only am I spending the day with my stepmother, but with the girl who thinks of herself as my daughter, too? Nick could only begin to imagine how weird this family outing was gonna go, especially with Dakota angling for him to sleep with both of them.

Even after being rejected by Amelia, Mary remained undeterred. She turned to Dawn next. “Dawn? You’ve done a few of my cooking classes, would you like to…?”

Dawn shook her head. “While cooking definitely sounds enjoyable, Mary, I already agreed to spend today with Ella.” She was planning to take the other girl to the cat café. The cats always relaxed her, and Cinder hadn’t really gotten to experience it herself. Hopefully things would be better for Ella today, though.

“Actually, um…”

Surprised, Dawn turned to Ella, who was fidgeting with her rubber-band. Ella looked warily up at her, and gave her a small smile.

“I… I would like to try,” she requested. “Joining the cooking class, I mean. I actually like cooking, you see, so it could be fun?”

Dawn was surprised to hear that. “Really?”

“Oh, wonderful!” Mary’s face lit up with glee.

“…Really?” Nick echoed Dawn’s surprise. He would have thought, given the trauma that Ella had sustained through her life, that she would absolutely hate to be put in a situation here she was **** to relive that trauma, like cooking a meal.

“When I was cooking, it, um, it was one of the few moments of solace I could get,” Ella explained, snapping her rubber-band with a “THWAP”. She sighed in relief. “My stepfamily would never come into the kitchen… they were content with just having me cook for them. So I didn’t have anybody to bother me for some time.”

When she put it like that, Nick could understand her feelings. He was hesitant to go along with this idea, but if she was okay with it, then he would be okay with it.

“Alright then,” he nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

Dawn was just as surprised as Nick, but she was also willing to go along with this idea.

“Okay then,” she agreed. “If Ella’s up for it, then I guess I am too! I did say I wanted to spend the day with her after all.”

“That’s great!” Mary nodded eagerly. “Kim? What about you?”

“Uh… yeah, sorry, but I’ve got work,” Kim apologized, scratching her head. “I’m gonna work out with Dani, then go to work…”

Nick realized that Kim wasn’t looking him in the eye. She seemed rather bashful, which was odd for her. But he didn’t give it another thought.

Because Mary was about to make a massive mistake, and he couldn’t stop her in time.

With Kim saying no, there was only one person left in the room for Mary to ask.

And it was probably the worst person for that too.

“…Vivian?” Mary asked. “Would you like to join in on a cooking class with everybody?”

No one thought this was a good idea, and even Mary doubted it would go well. Vivian was an heiress who was used to being waited on hand and foot. Why would she ever agree to cook her own food? More likely than anything she’d request they serve it to her!

“Sure. What the heck, could be fun.” Vivian answered the posed question with an answer nobody expected, and a smile that would make the Cheshire Cat blush.

Mary’s eyes widened. “R-really?”

“…Huh…” In contrast, Nick narrowed his eyes, regarding Vivian’s interest with suspicion. Why would she of all people be interested in learning how to cook?

No matter how he tried to figure, he couldn’t. It just didn’t make any sense. No… there was something here she wasn’t telling them.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this. On some level, Nick knew it was unfair to regard Vivian with this much suspicion and scrutiny; they hardly knew each other, and he really did feel bad for looking at her with a suspicious eye. Shouldn’t he at least try to meet her halfway?

“You’re interested in cooking?” Kim glared at Vivian with suspicion while voicing the concern that everybody had. “You?”

Vivian gasped and held her hand over her chest. “Why, Kim… what a harsh thing to say! Why would you think I wouldn’t be interested in cooking? It’s fun, isn’t it?”

“Have you ever cooked a day in your life?” Kim demanded, crossing her arms. “Because you seem to be more the type to make your personal chef do the cooking for you.”

“Oh, my!” Vivian covered her mouth next. “You mean, putting me on the same level as Nick, then?”

Kim blinked. “Eh?”

The heiress shrugged and Nick felt her eyes boring a hole into him. “I mean… Nick has his own personal chef, isn’t that right?” She pointed out, glancing at Mary. “In fact, he’s got two of ‘em! And yet you’re criticizing me?”

Kim blushed. “W-well, that’s different.”

“Really? How? Is it different because I pay my chef to cook for me?” Vivian asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Nick winced. Okay, well… yeah, I got nothing.

“If I’m going to be Nick’s wife, then it’s only fitting I learn how to cook, isn’t that right?” Vivian pointed out, strutting over to Nick and interlocking her arm with his. She rested her head on his shoulder and flashed a toothy smile, like the quintessential television housewife.

“I… I guess… if you’re serious about it…?” Kim sputtered and stammered, completely caught off-guard by the reasonable arguments the other woman was raising. She’d expected one thing from Vivian, and was getting something else entirely.

“…Of course, it’s only fair that Nick tags along too, don’t you think?” Vivian questioned. “I mean… this isn’t the 50’s anymore. Women can be more than homemakers! Nothing wrong with asking the husband to pick up a little slack, wouldn’t you agree, Mary?”

“Uh…” Mary looked at Nick, her mouth open so wide you could drive a bus through it. Nick, frankly, was just as lost.

“…Carrington,” Amelia interjected, pushing her glasses up her nose, “Nicholas and I already have scheduled plans together. I recognize your interest in cooking alongside him, but I will have to ask you refrain for today.”

“…Fair enough,” Vivian said, letting Nick go and stepping aside. “There’s always next time. For today though, Mary, I’d be happy to learn whatever you’d like to teach me.”

She left Nick’s side, giving him a parting wink as he just fumbled around in confusion.

Vivian was certainly enigmatic.

Once Mary regained her composure, she looked around the room. “Uh… so… what about Augmented Synthetic Humanoid A-Assassin?” She questioned, stumbling over the last word. “Do you think that she’d like to have a lesson? M-maybe?”

The idea of the slender assassin engaging in a cooking lesson with Mary was almost comical. Nick really couldn’t picture it, unless the lesson was making ice cream.

But Mary’s question raised a good point.

“Where is Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?” He asked, looking around the Banquet Hall.

The dark-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

Nick’s question didn’t receive an answer until Dani and Kim headed to the gym, ready to work off a big breakfast with some high-intensity interval training.

They weren’t the first ones there.

“Whoa, what?” Dani wondered as the sound of a fist striking a punching bag hit her ears. She and Kim glanced at each other and headed further into the gym, where they finally found the wayward murderess.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was wearing a new jumpsuit with arms intact, though it was just as wet as the previous one. Her bounty had long-since been collected, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by the look of her.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin: 4100 BP + 500 BP = 4600 BP

Every inch of her body was soaked with sweat. Her dark hair was matted to her forehead, and her face was red with exertion. For once, the assassin wasn’t smiling- her bright blue eyes were narrowed, focused on the bag in front of her as she delivered punch after punch so strong that it looked like the darn thing might break off and go flying across the room.

“Hey, uh… is everything okay?” Kim approached the assassin warily and Dani stepped in front of her, worried what might happen. There was a tense energy around the dangerous woman that she was picking up on, and she didn’t want Kim to get hurt.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin raised her head and turned to them, surprised. She flicked her hair back past her ear, and in a flash it was as if all the intensity drained from her body. A playful smirk danced across her lips again, and she walked forward, eyeing them both carefully.

Kim tensed, and Dani readied herself.

The assassin didn’t do anything to them, though. She just waved at herself, looking a smidgeon impatient and upset.

Neither woman knew what the hand gesture meant.

But Dani had a guess. One that she wasn’t thrilled about.

“What, do you want me to spar with you or something?” She asked warily.

“What!?” Kim exclaimed.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin paused for a moment, and a confused look crossed her face. She tilted her head to the side, and then smiled like she suddenly had a great idea.

A swift nod came Dani’s way. If the assassin hadn’t been looking for a sparring session before, well, she certainly was now.

“You can’t be serious!” Kim hissed, pulling her roommate aside. “You’re not actually going to fight her, are you!? She’s a trained killer!”

“It’s not like she can actually hurt me, though,” Dani pointed out. “I mean, that’s the whole thing with the island, right? Dakota won’t let her hurt me.”

“Okay, but sparring is better? Do you even know martial arts?”

Dani stared blankly at her.

“…Exactly!” Kim groaned. “For you, sparring is what? Just hitting?”

“Yeah,” Dani said bluntly. “You hold up a hitting glove for them to punch.”

“And do you think that’s what she thinks sparring is?” Kim asked, pointing at the other woman.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was smiling from ear to ear, and staring at the girls like a tiger on the hunt. The atmosphere around her had changed once more, and Dani could feel an intense pressure, like she was facing down someone who had a lot of repressed energy she was dying to work off.

“…Ah.” Dani began to wonder if perhaps she’d made a very severe mistake.