The truth

"Tell us now." Hermione commands, looking over at me grimly. Ikumi and Ram also look to me with interest.

"Oh that's right. I'll start off slow. I'll introduce myself again. My name is James Gardner. You are here on Earth Prime. I'm sure you're wondering now, what is Earth Prime isn't it?"

Ikumi looks a little embarrassed at Hermione and Ram. Ram is quiet but says nothing, Hermione however looks inquisitive but still disdainful. Then she nods.

"Well, you're all characters from TV shows." I wait for their reactions. Hermione, already knowing this, looks at Ram and Ikumi. Ram, who is from a fantasy anime, looks a little confused, while Ikumi is wide-eyed.

"Are you kidding me?" she asks, looking at the other two. "Well, I've been here since yesterday and unfortunately he's right" Hermione replies.

"You believe him about something like that?" "I didn't believe it at first, however he proved it to me. There are books about my world, and after reading one a bit, I can only believe him in that regard."

"Um what's a TV show?" asks Ram, still looking at us in confusion. "Oh yeah right, you wouldn't know that. We have technology here that I'm sure seems like magic to you."

Ram nods and Ikumi looks at her. "You don't know what a television is?" asks Ikumi. "I can explain that. Ram here is from a fantasy anime. That's why she doesn't know technology. You must have noticed that the lights here are different, right?" "Yeah, I did, I thought the fire was trapped in the glass orbs with magic."

Ikumi looks at her in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me?" she asks incredulously. "Th-that's true what you're saying?" she panics slightly. "Even if it is true, why are we here?"

I explain to them what RealDreams is all about, and that characters like them are being **** from their worlds.

"Why are you doing this?" asks Ikumi, getting angry. "We are supposed to be slaves here?" asks Hermione and she too is now angry. "Then my sister must be here somewhere too, I need to see her" Ram jumps up and turns to the door.

I point the remote that controls Ram's mods at her and turn on her submission mod. "Ram, stop" I call out to her and she immediately stops as well.

I walk over to her and activate her master and sm mod. afterthat I slap her in the face.

"What are you doing?" yells Hermione and stands up as well. "Shut up, she likes that kind of thing doesn't she?" "Y-yes master" Ram says quietly, wondering at her statement.

I take advantage of her astonishment and now put the collar on her as well.

"Master?" asks Hermione, puzzled. "Why do I call you master?" asks Ram as well. "You don't let me explain everything" I answer them. "Now sit down and wait for me to finish."

Ram stands up somewhat reluctantly and goes back. Hermione and Ikumi also sit down again surprisingly quickly.

"Well, when we buy characters like you, we can install so-called mods. These help us to steer the character, let's say in the right direction. Ram here, for example, has a master mod. When I activate that, whether she wants to or not, she has to address me as the master."

I'm already waiting for the reactions of the 3 and I'm not disappointed. "So we're not just slaves, you can control us in some way too?" asks Hermione, getting angrier and angrier. "What other mods do we have?" asks Ikumi. "Master, I want to see my sister" says Ram.

Hermione and Ram jump up and run out of the room. I just manage to grab Ikumi before she runs out too. "Let go of me you asshole" she calls to me. "Don't worry, those two won't get far."

After I say that, my cell phone vibrates. I take it out and it tells me that two characters have left the property. I press the "call police" button and put the phone back.

"What was that?" asks Ikumi, who has been looking at the message on my phone with me. "Haven't you ever wondered what that collar is that you have on?"

She looks puzzled. "Yes, why?" "We'll wait and see, then I'll explain and you go to sleep."

Ikumi, who still seems to be quite angry, but has read the message sits down again and we wait.

About 15 minutes later the doorbell rings. I get up and open it. In front of the door are 2 policemen with Hermione and Ram in handcuffs.

"Good evening sir, we got a message, from you, that two of your characters ran away. We caught them, here they are" says the one policeman, pushing Hermione and Ram towards the door.

"Look what you guys got yourselves into. Get taken home by the police, tse tse tse" I shake my head.

I thank the police officers and lead Ram and Hermione back into the house. Back in the living room the two sit down next to Ikumi who looks at them both. Hermione has an angry face, though I can tell by her reddened eyes that she has been crying recently. Ram has a more neutral expression on his face.

"So, where were we?" "How did the police find us so quickly, and why aren't they helping us? Why aren't they helping us?" asks Hermione, who is close to tears again.

I take a handkerchief out of my pants and hand it to her. She accepts it and dries her tears.

"To the first question, you all wear the same collars. These indicate when you leave the property, and I can tell the police immediately if you run away without my consent. To your second question, why would they help you? You are objects for the entertainment, with no rights. If you stay here with me, I assure you that you will be better off than the majority of the other characters."

Hermione is still sobbing and Ram doesn't quite understand what is going on. Ikumi stands up. "We're supposed to be better off here than the others? What do you mean?"

"I could tell you stories about characters, you'd be happy to be here with me. At least give it a try. You have some freedoms here with me that you don't have anywhere else. You can move around the house freely, use the library, the pool and everything else as you like. If I continue to trust you, you can also leave the house for a while. Unfortunately, you have not made a good start to prove your trust in me. Therefore, I will immediately take you to your rooms and lock you in them again. Tomorrow I will wake you up and let you out. If you are nice and follow my rules, I will give you more and more freedom. You will learn my rules and the budget plan tomorrow. Also, I ask you to give me your clothing sizes by tomorrow so I can buy you something to wear, you can't just walk around in the same clothes."

Ikumi, who is already quite particular about her appearance, looks up at this. Ram also seems taken with it, although I think she likes her maid uniform a lot. Maybe I should just buy her another one or two.

"So, to your rooms." All 3 of them get up and walk up the stairs with me. I put Ikumi and Ram to bed first and Hermione last. She is still sobbing a bit, but this gives way to her angry look again.

"Good night" I say to her, but she immediately goes to bed and doesn't say another word to me.