Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled DISTRACTION MACKERAL!!

Maddy loudly grumbled to herself as she chewed. How could so much pure, unadulterated hopelessness be contained into a single entity? The fact that the Hawkins line had not died out yet was a truly remarkable quirk of fate. Maddy had her doubts that the line would continue though, the Defiler had been gifted her magnum opus for days at this point and had yet to do anything himself beyond simple touching or ogling. Sure, there’s that one girl that’s now a walking glory hole, but that had been by accident. An accident he pointedly refused to enjoy for himself. Sure, the others were pleased by the scores of people the Defilers’ antics were affecting, and in turn, helping the succubae. But when was he going to man up, and plunder a womans’ love tunnel himself? The sheer volume of lustful boners the Top Heavy and Muscly ones generated was nice, but Maddy wanted something more intense. More passionate. More depth of feeling! The repeated railing the Contemptuous One got was hot, but merely second hand and nowhere near the level of passion Maddy lusted for.

The Defiler was just that hopeless, Maddy reminded herself. Hopeless enough to willingly make a ham and mayonnaise on white sandwich. Seriously, does he quake in terror from mustard? Or feint from over stimulation by a single slice of cheese? Maddy sighed as she took another bite. Yes, she was still going to finish the horribly simple sandwich. The Defiler had gone through the trouble to make it, so she was going to enjoy it. She deserved it, after all.

Maddy chewed in stubborn condemnation as she opened the door to the Custom Girls office. Most of her kind simply appeared where they wanted to be, but Maddy always thought that to be cheating and horrendously lazy. Genius only dulled from taking shortcuts, and she would not have that. The mentality made field work just that much more aggravating though. But no, teleporting was a tool only used when absolutely necessary. Or when playing a particularly devious prank. Plus, teleporting upset her tummy. So, through the mundane door she went and into the office room full of cubicles, fake plants, a small cafeteria, and a water cooler. Other succubae milled around, chatting, gossiping, clacking away at their computers, or admiring one of the many erotic posters hanging on the walls. Sure, it was a workspace, but succubae are still succubae. A few of Maddy’s underlings noticed her entrance, and approached, dogging her with questions about the Defiler like a bunch of preppy high school girls yearning for the latest bit of school yard gossip. One even attempted a swipe at her sandwich, an action that was met with swift and decisive correction. The impertinence was annoying, but manageable. What really got under Maddy’s skin were the backhanded quips about her lovely program’s recent performance.

“So how many times has it broken today?” One asked with a smirk.

“Too many to count I’d wager.” Another provided.

“Well of course it’s going to break. It’s too brash and overcomplicated, just like its’ creator.” Another quipped mean-spiritedly.

Fools. Short sighted fools, all of them. It’s only natural that field tests would result in unexpected situations, straining her creation in ways no one could have predicted. It didn’t help that the mortal they had decided on to be their first beta tester was a plague in human form to every scrap of electronics he touched. Correction, it did help long term, but it certainly made the short-term aggravating. Unfortunately, the short-term was the only thing her co-workers were focusing on. She hoped her frustrations didn’t show to the Defiler, that would only inhibit progress. Maddy silenced the gossipers with a glare and a sneer before entering her own office. Putting actual walls and a door instead of just cubicles between her and the other succubae. She let out a frustrated sigh before taking another bite. What she would give to use one of her more potent mist shrouds right in the center of this building and watch them all squirm with queasiness and run for the hills. Blocking their teleporting is a simple matter once you know what to do. It’s all about the ratios. But no, she’d have to stick to the mundane shroud she used on the Defiler so as not to damage his frail mortal form. At least, she’s pretty sure it’s not harming him. She’d have to ask him later if he feels any side effects. Maddy catalogued the thought for further analysis and turned to her desk. Stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed another succubus lounging in her chair behind her desk, idly filing her fingernails.

Karen looked more like the mortals’ stereotypical image of a demon then most other succubae. Crimson skin so hot you would swear heat actually emanated from it, with nary a single blemish over her entire large, sculpted body. Not as big as what Jane liked to parade around in like an insecure brat, but bigger than Maddy in every dimension. And unlike Jane, Karen wore it well. Sharp, pointed facial features forever locked into some variation of looking stern. With pure black eyes, same as the others, but hers proudly displaying their intelligence, and harshly implying their dominance. Long, perfectly straight horns protruding from her head, framing her cascading black hair as it flowed down her back. Wisps of actual fire smoldering at the edges. Adorned in similar glowing tattoos as the rest of her kin, but more subtle. Hers glowed a feint pink that partly camouflaged itself with her crimson skin. Succubae generally forgo clothing unless necessary, but Karen adorned herself in what could only be described as dominatrix leathers. Maddy froze upon seeing her boss.

“Welcome back my dear Maddy. Was your outing enjoyable?” Karen purred, her face and tone revealing nothing she didn’t wish to. Maddy opened her mouth to speak, remembered she had a mouthful of sandwich, chewed aggressively for a moment, swallowed harshly, and then spoke.

“Cough! Cough! Fi-cough! Fine! It was fine.” Maddy managed to get out. All of her usual bravado carefully tucked away as she attempted to compose herself.

“That’s good to hear. I would hate to know you were overtaxing yourself.” Karen said, every word thick with honey. Maddy cursed the demon internally, not believing the concern.

“Everything is operating within acceptable parameters.” Maddy said, hoping to end this encounter as soon as possible.

“Is it now? Well, that’s certainly reassuring. So that would mean these 287 error reports filed since the launch four days ago is acceptable?” Karen asked, pointing to the computer screen.

…… Maddy began cursing herself internally for implementing that automatic bug report feature. Once she was done, Maddy focused on being as diplomatic as possible. It didn’t come naturally to her, so she had to work at it.

“Launching a software, especially one as sophisticated as this, from prototype to live beta is always a hurdle guaranteed to reveal errors and bugs, just ask Bethesda. But a hurdle we are overcoming.” Maddy barely kept her wit contained and resisted the urge to add some colorful insults disguised as creative nonsense. Karen’s mask of sultry authority cracked ever so slightly, confusion peeking out at the mention of the game company, but only for a moment before it was contained. Maddy internally rolled her eyes at Karen’s ignorance.

“Indeed. So, you would classify the three separate incidents of your own personal intervention for today alone as, within acceptable parameters?”

What the deuce? Was Karen spying on her now? Maddy’s look of surprise was evident to the other succubus as she continued.

“I’ll be frank with you Maddy dear, the performance of you and your program thus far leave a little to be desired considering the number of resources we are expending into it.” Karen stated bluntly. The words stirring fire and fury within Maddy causing her mask of diplomacy to fall away. Her tolerance for slights against her was not very high.

“Leave a little- You listen here you devious interloper! My program-“

“Has great potential.” Karen cut in, “We have been very pleased with the initial results and look forward to its’ continual growth. We merely wish to extend our concern in your style of management.”

“Oh? Spit these oh so important concerns of yours out then!”

Karen slowly rose from the chair, arms clasped behind her back as she began to passively walk across the small room, seeming to ignored Maddy’s outburst. She glazed over a poster of an anime rendition of a Serbian man that looked to be holding electricity in his hand, and continued slowly walking until she stood in front of a display case. She casually cast her gaze over the trophies, plaques, and ribbons filling the case. Stopping on one that read “Otherwordly Hellschool Beauty Pagent 2nd place.”, and smirked, making Maddy seethe even more, before turning back to her.

“For starters, you evidently gave one of your employees a task they were not suited for. Deeming fit to punish her for it and cover up the mistake yourself.”

Maddy scoffed, “I see your research methods extend as far as the vine of wine berries is concerned. Jane scored the highest percentage of the entire office on a getting along with humans test I got from our R&D department. But beyond that, Jane went too far! She did not have permission to bless the beta tester, and she almost killed him from her own inexperience! Reassigning her to data entry until she learns some self control was a mercy! And no one under my command is capable of verifying a mortals’ health! I had no other choice but to give that task to myself!” Maddy argued.

“And I’m sure also satisfying your own idle curiosity regarding the beta tester was merely a coincidence.” Karen stated flatly.

Maddys’ face twinged in irritation and was about to rebuke her boss once more when Karen put her hand up for silence.

“This is beside the point. Your people managing skill notwithstanding, our primary concern is the amount of direct oversight you have given the beta tester. Will this trend be required for every future user? We both know that is not a sustainable option.” Karen explained, her stern face maintaining her stoicism, revealing nothing.

Maddy chewed on her lip for a few moments as she stamped her anger back down, attempting to put her diplomacy mask back on.

“No, it will not be required. This beta tester in particular is an anomaly among the humans. He is proving exceptionally high maintenance. But once we develop Custom Girls to be capable of withstanding his usage, it will be invincible.” Maddy responded with conviction.

“Is that so? And what of the artifact you specially crafted for him? Will that be required for every user to make this invincibility to come about?”

Maddys’ face contorted in surprise irritation again, just how closely had she been spied on? She opened her mouth to rebuke once more, but was cut off by Karen declaring,

“Make whatever excuses you wish; the fact of the matter is you implemented an overcomplicated feature that required outside assistance to function properly. For Custom Girls to succeed, this must not become a pattern. Do I make myself clear?”

Maddy seethed, her anger threatening to overwhelm with only the slightest more provocation. Fist clenched, her nails biting into her own skin, Maddy gave a slight nod. An act that physically pained her, but one she relented too. Not trusting any words that would escape her mouth. Karens’ stern face gave a slight smile.

“That’s a good girl. This is merely a warning, dear Maddy. Keep bringing in the returns you have been, without any more similar incidents, and you have nothing to worry about. Understand?”

Another long moment of silence passed between the two, one demanding capitulation, the other threatening to detonate. Maddy wanted to scream at her boss, to unleash a tirade of curses and hexes into the succubus at such **** to turn her red skin pale and kowtow into submission. But she bit her tongue. With eyes narrowed and nose scrunched up, Maddy nodded slightly once more. The sting of the repeated action digging painfully into her pride. Karen smiled wide.

“Good girl. I will take my leave now. Be well, my dear Maddy.”

With that, Karen sauntered out the door, her movements serene yet powerful. Every stride producing an intimidating clack of her stiletto heels. Authority radiating off her in waves, demanding obedience with the promise of consequences should she be defied. Up until she passed through the door frame and her tall horns smacked into the wooden structure. Karen whipped her head back in pain and let out a curse. A few giggles resounded through the small sea of cubicles. The sounds ceasing instantly from the glare of scrutiny Karen projected. Karen huffed and continued her majestic movements away.

Maddy slammed the door shut and began screaming in rage, looking for something to throw, but unwilling to break anything of hers, she settled for gesticulating her arms wildly while roaring like an animal and flapping her little wings as fast as a hummingbird. Her coworkers looked on from outside the office, hearing the muffled screams of anger and frustration. Adding even more fuel to their rumor mill.

Maddy eventually calmed down and slumped into her chair. Why couldn’t they see? Why couldn’t any of them recognize her brilliance? Only four days old, and her program was generating more energy for their entire branch than any mundane method could in a year! Yet all they could care about were momentary complaints and gossip. She looked up at her poster of Nikola Tesla and sighed. Genius was never understood. At least the Defiler fully comprehended his lack of understanding and acted accordingly. Even if he was annoying at times, he could at least match her blow for blow in a battle of wits. A trait no other succubis shared.

The all too familiar chime of an error report sounded from her computer. She sighed to herself, and took the final bite of the sandwich.