Foreign Agents (H,T,F)

Hazel and Felicia left for the temple after lunch. It took them the better part of two hours. The distance wasn’t as bad as the time would suggest, but they’d repeatedly needed to slow down and take breaks for Felicia. The doctor was having trouble with the cardio she was used to with the added weight on her chest.

Once they made it to the mountain it was still a matter of climbing up. This part of the trek was made easier by a gently sloping staircase carved into the mountain. So soon after they started, the girls arrived at the flattened top.

“Just give me a minute to catch my breath.” Felicia requested as she sat down, looking down the slope as she sat down.

“Sure, I’ll just scout ahead.” Hazel answered as she crept forward, inspecting the building. The outside was white stone with stained glass. In the part of the building farthest from the open air entrance sat a crystal orb in a steeple-like case, it was almost like the clock tower back at Ms.Turner’s parish. Father Livingston had been a lot nicer than the pastor at the church Paul had made her go to. The priest had been especially inviting to her after she’d disarmed the bomb she’d noticed under the front altar.

She did a walk around the temple and saw one entrance, though it was an open air entrance with enough space in between the columns for several men to enter at the same time. She made sure not to get too close to the entrance given Genet’s warning, and so she went back to the stairs to check on Felicia.

“Ready?” She asked, offering the blonde a hand up.

“Ready.” The doctor nodded as she accepted Hazel’s hand. “See anything to watch out for?”

“I couldn’t see a way to interact with it, but there was a big crystal on top. Not much else from the outside. The inside looked about the size of the main plaza. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on the inside.”

So they carefully entered together, passing between the ionic pillars. There they found something that was decidedly not a Catholic Church.

It might be a church, but not one devoted to God. In place of the pews were places for people to have sex and lay with each other. There were beds up in front of course, but not just beds. Leading to the beds Felicia noticed multiple cages, one bare and another lined in soft looking fur. A St.Andrew’s cross sat on the left side of where the pews would be opposite a hot tub that was quietly bubbling. Hazel noticed with some unease a stockade, though there was a gentler looking pile of pillows covered in sex toys on the floor next to it.

“This is a bit more hardcore than Genet makes it feel back in the plaza.” Felicia said, with some nervousness bleeding into her voice.

“This is probably why she told us to visit this place in groups. Let’s try not to touch anything.” Hazel said. This still wasn’t as alarming to her as when Richard walked in on her during the blowjob scene of that challenge. “Do you recognize any of the figures in the art?”

Now that they were on the inside of the temple, it was easier to see what was in the stained glass lining the walls. They were portraits of men and women; all beautiful, but in different ways. There was a man with abs like Richard’s with a girl on each arm. Next to him was a spear wielding figure that looked like he could be the male lead of a steamy romance novel, face hidden by his helmet. Next was a caped figure on a dark throne and next a muscled, bearded man, the glass arranged to create an illusion of sweat dripping down his body as he worked over a fire. More men were in the windows of the left wall, leading to the back under the temple.

The right wall was filled with posed women. A lithe woman in action as the drawing of her bow flexed her arms. A short haired, busty blonde in a wedding dress. A woman presenting a meal over a table, ready to serve. As with the men, the women’s portraits followed them forward to the back.

“No, I almost wish we’d brought Ava or Luna.” Felicia said, stopping in her step as Hazel put her arm outstretched to get her attention. The white marble floors they’d been walking on had been replaced by gold. The gold continued up the wall and a golden throne where the altar table would be if it was a traditional church. Gold veins stretched past them from the throne towards the stained glass figures they’d seen and up to where Hazel had seen the crystal orb she’d seen outside.

“I’ll test it first.” Hazel volunteered, stepping onto the gold floor. Both girls watched with apprehension.

Nothing happened. Cautiously, Felicia stepped forward with her to inspect the throne.

It erupted in light, enveloping them both.

***

Helena watched from the dining hall after she had finished lunch. Red and grey beams of light were blooming out of the mountain to the south. The schemer watched the host leave her flat, walk across the plaza, and then disappear in a puff of red gas.

So the coast was clear. Hazel had asked her to stop trying to plan an escape attempt. That she had agreed to. Hazel was their best chance at escaping, but it wasn’t fair to her to **** her onto a mission she didn’t feel comfortable with. Sex obsessed witches hadn’t been part of the job interview.

But she still needed to get Richard out of this place. And if Hazel couldn’t do that and his friends didn’t care about him enough to help, then she needed assistance from someone new. She needed someone strong enough to tangle with Genet and either win, or last long enough to give them time to get out. As fucked up as her visit to Genet’s apartment had been, it let her set up a plan that could be modified now that Hazel wanted to be kept out. She’d find someone that hated Genet enough to help.

Once she knew that their warden was gone she crept up the stairs and into Genet’s living room. It was about how she remembered, but there was a faint smell of almonds and vanilla in the air. It was nice, but she was having trouble placing why it was familiar.

Not letting that distract her, she kept moving. She went to the other side of the room to the special door Genet had shown her. After checking for traps, Helena found nothing obvious and opened it.

She was in a long hallway. Red shag carpet ran down the hallway, quieting her steps as she looked at the doors. There were so many of them. Not an infinite amount, but too many to investigate before Genet came back. So she walked down, looking for any doors that looked more promising. She’d tried the first on the right, Leah’s Study, but that had been locked. Yuki’s lobby was locked too. She didn’t even test Hell. Vanessa’s Penthouse was locked. The Chapel, much to her chagrin, was locked and Azure’s office wasn’t accessible either.

She saw a door that almost made her turn back. Shar’s Office. Anything but that. That woman, that monstrous friend of Genet’s would destroy her if given the chance. She wasn’t ready for that.

She leaned against the opposite wall, giving the door to the office a wide berth. Anything but that. She passed a few more, but they were all locked. Sera’s Garden and The Last Drop were her last tries, but they were useless. The last door said Earth, and as expected it was locked no matter how hard she pushed or pulled.

She turned back around. She’d known it would never be that easy. So everything promising was locked. She needed to see if there’d be anything she could scrounge up, any tool or clue she could use against Genet when Richard needed it. She combed every inch of the hall, looking for something.

It was as she was approaching the monster's office that she found it. A small bronze key nestled in the carpet. The angle it was pointing, she only ever could’ve seen it if she was about to pass the office for the second time. Genet must’ve dropped it when she took the recording to Shar after they watched it together. The same HH logo as the phones was branded on the key, along with a little number four. She leaned in close and examined the doorknob of the office’s door, careful not to even touch the door itself. Thankfully it read thirty-five. She went back to the start of the hallway and found the fourth door. She unlocked Yuki’s lobby and let herself in.

The lighting was more gentle here than in the hallway. It was colder too, and Helena was appreciative of her suit’s warmth. She investigated the lobby, looking for any clues about who she might be dealing with. The Christmas tree looked promising. Much of the lobby was taken up by a fireplace surrounded by white chairs. They looked softer than the ones Genet had put in the Arrow Cottage.

“May I help you?” A woman’s voice asked from behind Helena.

She turned around and a small, demure looking woman in a white yukata with blue highlights was descending the stairs. She was pale like she hadn’t seen the sun in years, with dark hair and eyes.

“I apologize for coming in without warning, but I assume you’re Yuki? I need your help.” She was trying to remember Hazel’s lessons on honorifics. ”What would you prefer for me to address you with? -dono, or -kakka?”

“You would offer -dono, rather than -sama?”

“I can use -sama if you’d prefer. Hazel, my assistant and bodyguard told me that -dono can be better for if you want to show someone that you could use -sama for that you trust them.”

There was a twinkle in Yuki’s eyes that Helena missed. “I appreciate your trust, and -dono would be welcome. -Kakka would be too much for me; I run a show, not a country.”

She runs a show. “Yuki-dono,” The auburn haired woman asked. “Is your show anything like Genet’s?”

“No. I’ve known her for a long time, and for most of the time we’ve known each other we’ve disagreed on how harshly to treat one’s cast. Her behavior is shameful, and a disgrace to what we do.” Yuki’s expression darkened as she explained the relationship between the two hosts.

That sounds promising. The elder Turner thought. “I would request your help rescuing my stepbrother from her.”

“Not you? Just your stepbrother?” Yuki said the last word slowly, emphasizing the step as she asked the question.

“I would be grateful for your protection as well. But he doesn’t deserve this. I would ask if possible that you prioritize him, then Hazel and his friends before me.” She was doing what she could to keep her tone slow and respectful, hoping it would make the difference for the favor of the Japanese woman in front of her.

Yuki nodded. “I will do what is in my power, for the good of the show. If you sit down Miss Turner, then we can discuss what the future may look like.”

Something felt wrong there. “I don’t think I gave you my name.”

Yuki looked at her with a slight smile. “No, you didn’t. Now sit down.”

The Japanese woman was still being polite. She hadn’t made any threats, but something about the other host was beginning to feel threatening. Helena looked back to the door to Genet’s hallway, trying to decide if she could get out without being caught. There were still several feet between the two of them, maybe she could make it. “Maybe I should head back to Genet’s set, Yuki-dono. She may realize I’m gone soon and come looking for me. Maybe you could come once you have a plan to get everyone?”

Suddenly Yuki was inches in front of her. The pale host brought her hand up out of her billowing sleeve, caressing Helena’s cheek. Her fingernails felt like icicles. “Genet will take a long time to find you, little one. Please, sit.”

Helena was trying to stay calm. Taking a deep breath, she asked “Yuki… Yuki-dono, in your disagreements about how to treat contestants, you weren’t the gentle one, were you?”

Yuki smiled her predator’s smile again as she stroked the contestant’s cheek “No,I wasn’t.”

It was too late to run. Helena sat down in the chair, guided by Yuki’s hand.

“Now about the future. I do think I can help your darling Richard become a real master. Given the right encouragement, it wouldn’t be long before you would be eager to serve him.”

“You can’t.”

“Yuki looked down at her. She seemed bigger now that she was the only one standing. “Of course I can. I’m not the cowardly babysitter you ran away from, obsessed with happy endings.”

“No.” Was it getting colder in here?

Yuki just rolled her eyes. “What did you expect to happen when you left candyland? I’ll make sure Hazel is there too, the audience usually loves yuri.”

Helena got out of the chair, trying to stand up to the smaller woman. “I won’t let you do that to her. She deserves better.”

“You won’t let me?” Yuki was openly mocking at this point. “You’d been so respectful for so long. Not even when I brought up your master did you show any of this spine. Not that it matters. You’re mine now that you’re here, and it won’t be long until the rest of your cast is here too. We can have some fun together before that though.”

Helena took one step towards the door before she was suspended, **** just as she’d been the night Genet had picked her up from her office.

Yuki chuckled to herself as she prepared Helena for what came next. It’s a pity I have to give her back. Maybe next season I can look into having some step-siblings to use again.

***

Genet found Hazel and Felicia in the aisle of the temple. The bodyguard had grappled the shorter woman, though Felicia was struggling to break free. She was steaming mad, and only grew further incensed as the host arrived.

“You fucking bitch! I was going to get him eventually, I didn’t need your help. Now you expect me to share him? You weren’t even supposed to do this again!”

Alright then, that could be a few of them. “That’s right, I wasn’t supposed to. But if you didn’t have me and the show, what were your plans for him? Get married, have the white picket fence, raise a few kids at home?”

Felicia and her mentor looked at Genet together with disgust. “No, he’d never make me give up my work for him like that.”

That narrows it down pretty well. “But you want to live with him?”

“Of course.” The doctor was glaring at her, finally giving up on breaking out of Hazel’s hold.

I think I figured it out now. “Katrina, she needs you to back off. You both are brilliant young women. You will make a great team. But you can’t be so forceful, she doesn’t trust you yet.”

Felicia didn’t respond, but she was obviously still stewing. Genet said to Hazel: “You can let her go and go sit down somewhere, I’ve got something to calm her down.” After Hazel let Felicia out of her grasp, Genet quickly kissed her on the forehead before she could respond. The blonde collapsed in the host’s arms, dizzy as the magic set in.

“She’ll be back up in a few minutes.” Genet said. She turned to Hazel, who’d taken a seat on the golden throne. “How about you then? Any strange thoughts, urges, you’d like to share?”

“Maybe if you get on a bed I can show you. I know you’d enjoy it.”

Hazel closed her mouth, as surprised as anyone at what’d come out. “I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t know what that was.”

Genet blushed, enjoying the moment after the conflict a moment ago. “That’s perfectly alright, I think I do.”

“What’s happening?”

“So as I would’ve explained if I realized you two were coming, this place is meant to be a place for you to experiment and get advice. My Sponsors from my first season started a deal with me. Each season one of them can choose a contestant to mentor, giving advice when someone is having trouble experimenting with the master or they want help testing out a new kink. If someone is in tune enough with their mentor they can even play with temporary transformations that last an hour or two.”

“What happened to her then?” Hazel asked, looking at Felicia as she lied down.

“Who I believe chose Felicia is as stubborn as she is. Katrina was trying to seize control while Felicia was trying to kick her out. Their failure to get in tune with each other properly led to that. Your mentor however, is much more used to power exchange.” Genet winked at her.

Genet’s phone dinged. “Oh no.”

Hazel sat up, at attention. “What’s wrong?”

“Something is happening with Helena. I need to leave to rescue her. I do expect to have the two of us back by the time you get back to the plaza, would you be able to get Felicia back?” She could have always teleported both of them back. But this would keep Hazel busy and give time for Felicia’s mentorship session to expire.

The bodyguard and the soldier agreed. “Go ahead, we’ll handle things. Just make sure she’s safe.”

“Great, thanks. By the way, she’s a little bit high and she’ll think you’re Richard for at least an hour.”

“What?”

But by that point, the host was gone and Felicia was stirring. “Dick? What are you doing here?”

“Genet asked me to take you home.” Hazel said, getting off the throne to stand next to the bed Felicia had been laying on.

“Fine, just don’t touch me.” Felicia said, as she practically wrapped herself around “Richard”.

This is going to be a long walk down the mountain.