I ran faster than I ever had before in my life. I ran through the halls of that hospital at lightning speeds that I didn't think I'd ever be able to match again. I ran and I ran and I ran. The hospital halls were no more than an obstacle for me. I had to get to my destination now.

I slammed the sliding door to the side and out of my way, and I immediately ran to the hospital bed inside the room.

"AKIRA!"

"E..Ema?" He coughed.

"Akira! What the hell happened?!" I grabbed his hand and stared into his eyes, fearful.

"You… were… right…" He coughed again, this time a bit more dryly.

"I was right? What do you-" I paused and thought,"Oh no… oh dear god no…!" I grit my teeth.

"She… is… a… monster…"

"What did she do to you!?" Tears were building up in my eyes. I shouldn't have let my guilt of letting Aoi get hurt get in the way of me standing my ground when saying SOL couldn't be trusted.

"That… doesn't… matter…"

"What do you mean!? Of course it-"

"I… don't… remember… much…"

"What do you remember then?"

"She… took… Aoi.." Akira's expression turned to one of excruciating remorse.

"Aoi!? Aoi's in danger!" I yelled.

"Save… her…"

I had no more time to set things right. It was now or never to take down that awful woman, Queen.

"I'm going right now! I promise I'll save Aoi!" I said, bowing my forehead to his hand, before setting it down and running out the door like the world was ending and I was the only one who could save everyone on the planet.

I was the only one left who could stop Queen from hurting Aoi. Everything that had gone wrong was my fault. I had to make up for my mistakes.

I had to atone.

After much time screeching and bleeding all over my floor, mourning the loss of my fingers, my tears dried up and my sorrow was replaced with the most bitter hatred. An odd calmness took hold of me as I decided to get off the floor and bandaged up my stumpy hands using my teeth. It was a lengthy process and was quite difficult, but I had nothing to make me impatient.

After all, my sweet revenge would come one day. I had to learn to be patient or suffer the consequences. There was nothing to lose anymore.

My doorless door frame had become more of a benefit to me than a problem, as it allowed me to leave my apartment without the pain of door handles that I could no longer use. With my hands in my pockets, I left my house and made my way across Den City. Nobody suspected a thing about my hands, although I did get some strange glances. Did I look that shady with my broken grin and old coat?

I didn't care though. My mind was only set on revenge. A couple of nobodies on the street could do nothing to stop me. After all, that's all they were. A bunch of simple nobodies. They didn't know pain like I knew. They hadn't suffered like I had. They'd never been kidnapped, tortured or had everybody they loved and trusted taken and turned against them. These were all things I had come to know too well.

It was a long trip on foot, but I was patient. I walked into the rundown apartment complex that was miles away from my own and went up a few floors. I walked down a beaten up hallway, with the walls and floor covered in gashes and strange stains. The atmosphere of this place felt like somebody had taken the rage and dark emotions out of me and turned it into a physical location. I came across a relatively clean and intact door compared to the rest, and stopped. This was the place I needed to be.

However, there was one thing between me and the inside of that apartment. An old fashioned physical key lock. Using it would be difficult without fingers. I was up for the challenge though. Carefully, I used both of my palms to grab a lockpick from my coat pocket and placed the pick between my clenched teeth. With great precision and care I fiddled around with the lock using the lockpick, and after what felt like forever the door clicked open.

I pocketed the pick and opened the door. I closed it behind me and turned on the lights.

"Who's there?!" I heard a desperate yell from the room.

"Kusanagi." I answered.

"Kusanagi! It's me, Ai!" He sounded happy, "I've been in here for weeks! I'm glad somebody finally came!"

Slowly, I started walking down the steps and went towards the Ignis.

"Flame told me what happened with Yusaku and Takeru, and he told me that you were kidnapped by SOL as well! After that he suddenly cut off contact though, so I've been lonely."

I stayed silent and kept walking towards the dark Ignis.

"Kusanagi, are you okay? Are you going to say something?"

I didn't answer. I just picked up the duel disk he sat in using my fingerless hands and snapped it around my wrist.

"What happened to your hands!?" He suddenly exclaimed.

"Nothing. I have a job for you, Ai." I stated flatly.

"What…?" The AI was confused.

"You are to take me to Lightning."

"What!? What are you saying!? I can't do that! He's the enemy!" Ai cried.

"Do what I say, Ai." I ordered, glaring at him.

"Why though? This is Lightning you're talking about!"

"Do you want to get Takeru and Yusaku back from the Hanoi or not?!" I hissed.

"I… I…" Ai didn't look happy, "Is this the only way? Can you at least tell me your plan?"

"This is the only way. I owe you no explanation. Take me to Lightning, now."

Ai gulped, afraid, and nodded. A flash of light engulfed me and we entered Link VRAINS.

"Just let the pain slowly seep out of you…" I ran my hands carefully down Yusaku's sides and watched as he relaxed under my touch, "Everything is going to be just fine…"

Yusaku was lying down with his head on the pillow, breathing lightly and staring up at me with a dreamy, distant and loving look as I tried my best to massage calmness into his bare body to heal him.

"Just relax and feel my hands comforting you… Just focus on me…" I moved my hands up to his collarbones and pressed into them with my thumbs and began swirling them around, "Does this make you comfortable?"

"Yes…" He breathed.

"Good. Feel the pain being pushed away by the feelings you feel right now. Feel your dark thoughts being overwritten by how you feel right now. Let it slowly consume you…" I placed a small kiss on his chest and caressed his neck, "All you need to feel and think about is this comfort you feel. Hold on to it. Cherish it, just as I cherish you."

Slowly I worked my way around to his shoulders, then onto the smooth skin of his sides once again. Yusaku looked as if he loved every moment of it.

"Ahhh…" Yusaku let out a small sigh of relaxation.

"Yes, just like that. Keep thinking about it. Forget everything else. Just focus on the movements of my hands."

"Yes…"

I leaned down and embraced Yusaku, reaching around and massaging his back as I did, "Are you warm enough right now?"

He gave a small nod.

"Mmm…" I hugged him tightly and buried my face in his hair.

I allowed plenty of time to pass as I lay there, hugging Yusaku's naked body, comforting him and myself. I kept massaging various parts of his back, feeling him melt in my arms as I did.

After a while I released him from my embrace and sat up. Yusaku's gaze grew longing.

"It's okay…" I cooed, placing my hand under his chin, "I'm still here. I'll always be here."

His look softened a little.

"Good, stay relaxed, just like that. Let your pain wash away as you become more at ease. There isn't anything to be afraid of." I lifted his chin so he was staring directly at my face, "Now, my dearest Yusaku, won't you look into my eyes?"

"Look into my eyes." His soft voice told me.

Yes… Anything for him. Anything for the person soothing my suffering. Anything for this person who treats me with such kindness and care.

Yes. I must look into his eyes. I must gaze deep into his wondrous eyes.

His eyes… So blue. So bright. So mystical… How can such beautiful things exist? Not even the most amazing gems could compare to these. The brilliant shine of an aquamarine is not nearly as magnetic as these eyes. Even a blue topaz is worthless when put next to these.

What secrets do these eyes hold? If I stare deeper and deeper, what things will I find?

Deeper… Of course. These eyes. They're so deep. There's more to them than I first thought. Many stories and emotions are locked deep inside. The depth… is infinite. The longer I gaze, the more lost I become. I have to know what is in there… I have to know what these eyes hold… I have to know why looking into them fills me with such powerful pleasure...

"Your… eyes…"

"My eyes?" He prompted me to continue. I had to comply.

"What… is in… your… eyes…?"

"Do you see something in them?"

"True… beauty…" My eyes began to water.

"Thank you…" He purred, caressing my cheek with his reassuring hand. My chest grew warm, fueled by the praise his angelic voice gave me, "I'll tell you what it is you see in my eyes. What you are seeing is a divine feeling that I have. What you are seeing is something special to me. What you are seeing is the one thing I hold the closest to my heart."

He speaks so highly of what I am seeing. I can feel how special this thing I see in his eyes is. It must be important if he says it is.

"It is my love of you. It is my control over you."

Love. Control. Yes. These things are important. These things this person has for me are the most important things in the world. They are precious beyond everything. No wonder they make me feel so nice. No wonder they make him feel so nice.

"Love… is… control…"

"And control is love. You feel it, don't you? You feel how much I love you. You can see it in my eyes."

"Yes… I just… want… to look… forever… and forever…"

"I want to stare into your eyes forever too." I said, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose, "But if I did, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of you. All good things come to an end, but as those end more good things start." I leaned back up and smiled tenderly at Yusaku, "So as we stop staring into each other's eyes, we move onto something else just as pleasurable-"

Knock knock.

A knocking sounded quietly from the door.

"Ryoken-sama, you should wake Yusaku up soon to give him a break. We don't want to wear him out, do we?" Specter asked from the other side.

"How long have I had him hypnotised now?"I asked back.

"It has been four hours."

"I see." I sighed, "I'll wake him up."

"Very good. I'll have Takeru bring some refreshments in for you soon."

"Thank you." I turned back to Yusaku as footsteps moved away from the door, "Our time is up for now. Don't feel sad, we'll pick up on this later. I promise that you'll love what I do next time. Okay?"

Yusaku nodded faintly.

"Good. When I kiss your cheek, you will awaken from your trance."

I leaned down and into Yusaku, and wrapped my arms around him. I gently placed a kiss on his soft cheek and watched as he stirred a little, before lifting his arms to cling onto me.

"Yusaku, are you feeling better?" I asked tightening my hug.

"I feel a bit better in my head, but, you know…" He trailed off, looking down in shame.

"I'm sorry…"

"No! Don't be sorry!" He perked up suddenly, "You're making it better. I couldn't make this progress without you. You're trying your hardest and you're doing a good job. I should be the one apologising, since I'm the one who is making you have to go to all this effort."

"No, Yusaku. It's me. I should be apologising, not you. I made it possible for this to happen in the first place…"

"None of us would have known this would happen. You don't need to beat yourself up over this."

I opened my mouth to respond, but found I couldn't when Yusaku snuggled into me reassuringly, calming my emotions.

"So, how are you feeling physically?" I asked, patting his head.

"Still sort of ill, but better after Specter and Takeru's help looking after us. How about you?"

"About the same." I sighed.

Knock knock.

"It's me!' Takeru announced brightly from the other side.

I quickly pulled the duvet from the end of the bed up to Yusaku's stomach to cover him up.

"Come in."

The door opened and Takeru came in with a tray that had two mugs on top.

"I have a hot chocolate for you both. I'm sure you could both use a nice hot drink right now." Takeru placed the tray on the bedside table and smiled, "Is there anything else you require?"

"We'll be fine. Thank you for the drinks." I gave a small smile in return, and Takeru left the room, satisfied to have helped his master. Yusaku sat up and leaned against me, sighing deeply as he made contact with my arm. I picked a mug off the tray and handed it to him, before taking my own and blowing on it to cool it down.

"Hey, Ryoken?"

"Wakey wakey, my little toy…" I giggled, giving the girl in the tank a poke.

"... H… huh…" She stuttered, eyes opening.

"Hi there, Aoi." I smiled wickedly at her.

She didn't look at me or acknowledge me, and stared at the ceiling as she lay in the bath-style tank filled with blue chemicals. Her expression was one of empty confusion, but then suddenly contorted into one of aggression and hatred. Immediately she began thrashing about in the liquid, pulling violently at her restraints. Her teeth were clenched and her glare was intense, but at no point had she looked at me.

"Oh my, you really are messed up. I wonder how it happened." I shrugged, "Eh, not important. Do you think you could actually pay attention to me, Aoi?"

She showed no sign of knowing I even existed.

"Ugh. How dull. It's more fun when a person hates what I'm about to do. You and your brother really piss me off, you know? He doesn't fall for manipulation done using my irresistible looks, and you won't even pay me a slither of attention." I reached for her and grabbed her neck. I squeezed it tightly with my hand, digging into some of her pale flesh with my long fake nails.

"Uck-" She reacted, her windpipe suddenly bottlenecking her breathing.

"Now, I'll say it one more time, do you think you can pay attention to me?"

"Who the fuck are you?" She spat, her intense glare suddenly being shot in my direction.

"Ooh, feisty. I like it." I removed my hand from her neck, "But watch your language. I don't like a potty mouth. Perhaps I'll wash your mouth out with soap later."

"I said who are you!?"

"My name is Queen. I'm your brother's boss." I ran a nail over her lip, causing her to try and bite my finger. I retracted my finger just in time for her to miss.

"Well excuse me your highness," she mocked, "but I don't think me being a family member of an employee of yours lets you get away with-"

SLAP.

"I'm running this conversation, honey. Did nobody ever teach you that you should only speak when spoken to? Dumb child."

"Bitch…" She hissed.

"Oh my, what did I just say about language and speaking when you haven't been spoken to? Such awful manners. I'm going to have to fix that."

"Good luck, fuckface."

"Ugh. I've had enough of your vile language." I reached for a roll of duct tape and cut off a strip, before sticking it over Aoi's mouth, "If you're going to say bad things, then I suppose I'm just going to have to revoke your privilege of speech. Such a shame."

Aoi intensified her deadly glare.

"Well, I suppose I should tell you what we're going to be doing today. You know, I just fired my assistant today. Why, you may ask? She was a dull woman, mostly. But I was also obligated to not run little fun experiments using her. That's where you come in, darling." I gave a small chuckle and poked her nose, "I want you to be my new assistant! Isn't that exciting? Of course, we're going to have to train you first. That's where this little contraption comes in."

I pointed to a console on the wall of the room, and the muted girl looked over. She immediately noticed some wires coming out of the machine, and began to follow them with her eyes. Slowly but surely she reached the ends of the wires and was instantly struck with horror, making the realisation of where they lead to.

Protruding from her cranium were wires that had be inserted into her skull and through to the brain. Aoi's eye began to shake with terror.

"I see you've figured out a few things about that machine." I smiled, "When I turn that baby on, she's gonna put you in a state of intense pain that's only going to fade away when I'm in the room. I'm going to leave straight after getting this started because I have some work to do, but don't worry, I'll come back and visit you a few times throughout the day and you'll come to enjoy being around me."

Aoi shook her head furiously. I walked over to the machine and flicked a few switches.

"Have fun, Aoi." I walked over to the door, "I'll be watching this show on CCTV. Make it an entertaining one!"

"Hey, Ryoken?" Yusaku asked me.

"Yes?" I replied, watching Yusaku taking a sip of his beverage.

"How have you been feeling?"

I stared at him, pausing. Then I opened my mouth to respond, but Yusaku talked again.

"Don't say you've been 'fine' again. I want an honest answer."

"I…" I lowered my head in shame, staring into the chocolatey abyss in my mug, "I've been finding it hard to keep going."

"What do you mean by that?" Yusaku asked, empathy drenching his voice, putting his hand around my back and on the shoulder furthest from himself.

"It's been difficult… You're hurt and I fear I'm not doing enough to make you better. I don't like seeing you hurt. I don't like seeing you in pain. I wish all of this could just go away and we could just spend eternity in each other's arms, staring into one another's eyes. I wish all these bad things would just disappear and we could just be happy together, with nobody to stop us."

"You're making me better. I'll be back to normal eventually." He nudged my shoulder with his cheek, and affectionately rubbed his hand up and down my back, "I too wish all these bad things would go away. I don't like seeing you feeling stressed out like this. It's all going to be okay though. I'm here for you. We can do anything you want together if it will make you feel any better."

"Thank you,Yusaku…" I looked at him, smiling sadly, "You've kept me going."

"We're in this together."

"I don't know how you stay so strong, even though it hurts you so much…"

"Ryoken?" He looked up at me, concern growing on his face, "Your eyes… You're crying."

"I'm supposed to be helping you, but then I go and cry like this with you comforting me. I don't get it. I'm supposed to be strong. I need to be strong, for your sake…"

"You are strong. Crying and struggling doesn't mean you are weak. In fact, struggling is proof you are strong. You've made it this far." Yusaku reached up and wiped a tear from my face, "Lean on me, Ryoken. Don't bear the burden all by yourself. We can lean on each other."

"Yusaku…" I didn't know what to say. Tears kept flowing.

"I love you, Ryoken. I would do anything for you."

"Oi, Queen. We need to talk." My door began automatically sliding open, and then got slammed to the side as some sort of angry biker chick stormed into my office.

"Me?" I said, sarcastically pretending to be bewildered and pointing to myself.

"Yes, you! Who else here is narcissistic enough to call themselves Queen?!"

"At least I'm openly narcissistic. Speaking of which, who in the world are you, and do you have an appointment?"

"You should know who I am! You hired me to keep tabs on Akira before the Tower of Hanoi!"

"Ohhhh, you. You must be… uh.. What was it again? Right, Emi! I'm going to assume you don't have an appointment." I smiled brightly.

"Ugh, it's Ema, not Emi, and of course I don't have an appointment! I came here because you hurt Akira then kidnapped his sister, you bitch!"

"Not you too! Why does everyone feel like swearing at me today?" I pouted.

"What?" Ema seemed confused and angry.

"Oh, you know, Aoi was calling me all sorts of colourful things earlier today when I started torturing her." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I was right!" Ema grit her teeth, rage rising up inside her, "You… You actually tortured Playmaker's assistant! What the hell is wrong with you!? You're a sick woman!"

"Ohhh? You know about that?" This genuinely surprised me, "It seems you know more than you should." I frowned and my voice lowered.

"Give Aoi back!" Ema snarled.

"I shall do no such thing. But you can join her, if you want. I was actually just about to go and visit her." I said, rising from my chair and walking around my desk. Ema took a step back.

"No, you'll be giving her to me!"

"You know, you have a rather nice body, Ema." I smiled seductively.

"Wha- what!? What sort of subject change is that!?"

"Your curves are simply divine…" I giggled.

"Queen, what the hell are you trying to do? Seduce me into complying?!" Ema spat.

"My gosh, I'm so lucky that I swing both ways. I get both fine men, and ladies such as yourself…" I kept approaching Ema.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Your lips look rather… delicious. I think I might have a taste."

"What are you saying-"

Suddenly I lunged at her and let my lips lock with hers. I reached into her mouth with my tongue and viciously deepened the kiss. I kept it going as Ema tried to push me away and tried to escape, but then she eventually went limp and I broke the kiss.

"Hahaha, you're the second victim of my poisonous lipstick. I'm honestly surprised Akira didn't say anything about this. He's an idiot." I caressed her cheek, "Well, when I kissed him it was using a poison that affected the respiratory system. Today's lipstick is a different colour. I hope you like being paralysed, because that's how you're going to be for a while."

Ema stared back at me, unable to move.

"Now, should we head off to where Aoi is? I'm sure you two will have lots of fun being tortured together. I can't wait to have two shiny new assistants."

"Thank you." I said as Takeru took the tray with the empty mugs on it. He smiled back at me.

As Takeru opened the door to leave, Specter came into the room holding a box. Takeru slipped out the door behind him.

"Specter?"

"I've brought something for you both." Specter placed the box down on the bed, "Takeru and I both hope that you both get well soon."

"Thank you." I nodded, picking up the box. Specter turned around and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Chocolates…?" Yusaku observed, looking at the box, "These are your favourite ones, aren't they?"

"What a thoughtful gift." I said, pausing afterwards to think.

"They're really delicious." Yusaku smiled softly, "And they bring back good memories."

"Memories? That gives me an idea." I ruffled Yusaku's hair and put the box down, "Lie back down, Yusaku. Let's continue what we were doing."

"Yes." Yusaku leaned back down and rested his head on the pillows at the head of the bed. I cuddled into Yusaku's side and wrapped my arms around him. He exhaled gently in response.

"Close your eyes and listen to my voice, just as you always do…" I switched to my soothing, warm and reassuring voice that I frequently used to lull Yusaku into a trance, "Just listen to my voice… Feel yourself sinking back into the comfort of the bed… Feel me embracing you, protecting you… Let good feelings bubble up inside of you… Let them numb all of your pain…" Rhythmically I ran my hand up and down Yusaku's arm. Yusaku's breathing started to calm down.

"As the pain numbs, feel yourself drifting out of reality… Feel yourself going up, up and away with me by your side… It's only us, Yusaku… Just you and me, together… Nothing else…" Any tension in Yusaku's muscles disappeared, and he melted back into the bed.

"Good, just like that… Let my full control slowly fall over your mind… Feel it deep in your chest… Trust me… Obey me…"

"... Now, open your eyes."

Yusaku slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling absently.

"There we go. You know how I promised we'd do something just as pleasurable as staring into each other's eyes?" I caressed his cheek gently.

"Yes…"

"I have just the thing. You're going to love it." I unwrapped my arms from around him and sat up. Carefully, I propped him up against the head of the bed so he was sitting up. I reached for the box of chocolates and opened it. Which chocolate would I start with?

I chose a tulip shell shaped chocolate and grasped it between my thumb and index finger.

"Open wide, my dear Yusaku." I used my empty hand to lower his jaw. I placed the sweet treat on his tongue and closed his mouth, "Eat the chocolate."

Yusaku did as I asked, chewing and then swallowing it.

"Does the flavour remind you of anything?"

"It… reminds me… of… that… night…"

"Which one?"

"We… were in… the bath…"

"What were we doing?"

"We shared… the… chocolates…"

"I want you to think about that memory. Remember what you felt back then. Think about all of your senses. What did the water feel like? What about the air? What about my body?" I leaned into Yusaku, "How did the chocolate taste? How did my mouth taste? What did the air smell like? Where the colours vivid or faint? Did you hear our breathing? Did you hear our heart beats?" I listed off everything I could think of that would be powerful sensory input, then finally topped it off, "And most importantly, what emotions did you feel? How powerful were they?"

"I felt…"

"What did you feel, Yusaku? Put yourself back in that moment."

"I… felt…" His face softened into one of joy and peace, "I felt… so… happy… so loved…"

"Yes, you did. Fill yourself with that feeling. Let it take over your entire being. Open wide."

He opened his mouth, and I placed a whelk shell shaped chocolate on his tongue.

"Eat this chocolate. Think about that night. Keep thinking about the feeling as you eat. As you do, think about the sweetness of the chocolate as well."

Yusaku bit down and ate the chocolate. A smile grew on his face as he ate it.

"Do you want more?" I asked as he swallowed it.

"Yes…"

"Here's another one for you." I took a sunray venus shell shaped chocolate out of the box and held it between by upper and lower rows of teeth. I leaned in towards Yusaku and pressed my mouth against his, letting the chocolate slip into his mouth.

As I kissed him, his eyes fluttered shut instinctively and he let me wrap my arms around him. My tongue played around with Yusaku's, sharing the chocolate between us. As the sweet treat disappeared, I broke off the kiss and Yusaku smiled with euphoria.

"Do you feel that feeling of love and happiness you described? Is it becoming more and more powerful?"

"So… powerful…"

"Good. Imagine how strong it will be once we get through the entire box." I gave his head a pat, "Tell me, what do you think the chocolate tastes like?"

"Happiness… love… and You…"

"Mr Zaizen, you have visitors." The nurse said, poking her head through the open door, the morning sunrise illuminating her white uniform.

"Visitors…?"

"Yes. There is a woman named Ema, a girl named Aoi and… oh no, that can't be right? Is that even a name?" She looked down at her clipboard and squinted.

"Aoi…? And Ema…?" I smiled, "They're… safe…"

"You know them?" She looked back up at me, "Then I will send them in for you."

"Thank… you…"

The nurse left and I looked out the window, watching people move about on the street below. Tears began to flow from my eyes. They were not sad tears, they were happy ones. Aoi was okay, and Ema had successfully saved her without being hurt by that despicable woman, Queen. Against all odds, everyone had made it out okay. I felt so relieved.

Knock knock.

"Come… in…" I croaked.

The door slid open, and high heels clicked against the floor. The woman who walked in was neither Ema nor Aoi. It was Queen. My eyes widened in horror and my chest tightened. The relief I had felt instantly shattered.

"Good to see that you're recovering, Akira honey." She smiled her venomous smile at me, and folded her arms.

"What… are… you… doing… here…?!"

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm being a good boss and checking in on my precious employee."

"Don't… lie…" I glared at her.

"Okay, okay. That's half the reason I'm here. I just thought you might want to see your sister again. Oh, and your girlfriend. Ema is your girlfriend, right?"

"What…?!" Were they not okay? Did Ema get caught!?

"Y'know, she's way out of your league if she is. She's a way better kisser than you. Anyway, ladies, come in here and say hi to Akira."

Ema and Aoi walked in through the door wearing matching business suits with short black skirts and heels. Ema stopped by Ema's left side, whilst Aoi stopped at her right.

"Aren't they just so mature in their uniforms?" Queen ruffled Aoi's hair. Aoi didn't react.

Ema and Aoi both stared dead ahead at me. No, not at me. Through me. Past me. Their stare was empty and their expressions were blank. It was like they were emotionless robots.

"What… did… you… do… to… them…!?"

"I made them my assistants!" She smiled brightly, then lowered her voice, "It was really easy to do. I just did a little bit of conditioning on them all of yesterday and then bam!" She clapped her hands, "They're super loyal and have literally no free will! They can't do anything unless I want it to happen! What do you think?"

"How… could… you…?!"

"Oh, you don't believe me?" She laughed, ignoring my question and pretending I said something else, "Ema, darling, why don't we show him just how good at kissing you are?"

"Yes… Queen… Sama…"

"Kisser…? Oh… no…" Suddenly, memories came rushing back to me.

Queen pinned Ema against the wall and immediately initiated a passionate kiss. Ema let it happen with no resistance, and Queen threw a sideways glance at me to see my reaction as she enjoyed the kiss.

Whatever reaction I was giving her, she liked what she saw.