Sci-Fi & Fantasy Erotica: Volume 3 (Sci-Fi & Fantasy Erotica Series)

by Charlie Buxton

  "No, I don't understand," she accused. "I came in here, but it was still dark and you were unconscious, so I waited."

  "But, why?"

  "I... I was hoping you could tell me that," she said with obvious difficulty.

  Ifurita stepping close to the bedside, kneeling down so they were level with each other.

  "I don't know what to tell you," Yuba admitted, his throat growing uncomfortably dry. "I didn't mean for it all to happen like that."

  Ifurita frowned, lowering her head.

  "When you touched me, where you did, in the way you did, it made me feel like nothing I can describe," she said, "at least, not until you allowed me to see that part of your memory. But, I don't understand -if you didn't mean to, then why did you do it? Why make me feel that way?"

  She's sounding more and more human, Yuba thought to himself. It was impossible not to hear the trace of emotion behind her sombre question.

  "God, this is so complicated," Yuba mumbled, scratching at his hair. "Ifurita, I didn't mean to, because I know you still think of yourself as being under my control. I didn't want to exploit you. But, the closer I get to you, the more difficult it is to conceal my true feelings. I mean... well, I don't know what I mean."

  It felt like she was waiting for him to say something, to put everything right, but he didn't know what to say. Instead, he reached out, brushing his hand against her cheek. To think she had been standing there for literally hours, waiting for him to wake up rather than disturb his sleep, but clearly so affected she couldn't stay away. He felt a deep pit grow in his stomach.

  "Ifurita, what would happen if I left," he asked, "if I found a way to return home. With no one here to wind you, what would you do?"

  "I would return to stasis."

  "But, you do realize what that means? You'd no longer be alive and aware, and I doubt there would ever be another to come along able to revive you."

  Ifurita made no answer.

  "And if I cannot leave?"

  "Then I'll just have to stay."

  Ifurita raised her head, and now Yuba could see what it was that so concerned her. She was afraid of being left alone. She really was like a child -which was what made his desire for her all the more problematic.

  Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

  "Forgive my selfish act," he said to her puzzled expression. "Listen, how about you let me get dressed, and we'll go out for a walk together."

  * * *

  It was funny, but now that everything had more or less been brought into the open, Yuba felt far less anxiety about the situation.

  "It's ironic really," he was saying as they strolled together towards the heart of the garden. "I thought this place might be the key to my leaving, but the longer I remain, the more reasons I've found to stay."

  He glanced over at the typically quiet Ifurita walking along side him.

  "What about you," he prodded. "I'm kinda getting sick of the sound of my own voice these days. What's on your mind?"

  Ifurita shook her head, evidently choosing to keep silent with her thoughts.

  "That's alright. Can't say I blame you. I think I've probably been a bit unfair, putting so much on your shoulders all at once."

  Their trail led them to one of the many small tributaries that threaded through the entire garden; a clever method of irrigation in the guise of natural creeks and streams. The stopped by the sandy bank, Yuba crouching down to study the water skimming insects that floated on the surface.

  "I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, testing the waters warmth with his fingers. "All that stuff I've been telling you about free will. Being free isn't an easy thing. It's no guarantee of happiness, and certainly won't make life any easier; actually, it can make life even more difficult. That's probably why, even here in El-Hazard, people still accept kings and tyrants as their leaders. And that's probably why I wasted so much time trying to get back to Creteria."

  "Then... you're saying not even all humans are free."

  "It's another of those things I'm not well equipped to describe," he sighed, rising to his feet. "I only remember that there was a man, who was eventually put to death, that tried to lead a workers revolt in the Creterian capitol. He said that 'all men are born free, but are everywhere in chains'. Basically, the only real difference between you and us, is that your limitations were clearly defined at your creation, while ours we make for ourselves."

  "I see."

  Yuba gave a nervous laugh, flicking his fingers dry.

  "You know, I told you that hoping to ease your mind a little bit," he said. "Guess it goes to show how useless I am at that sort of thing. How about we do something fun instead. The pools not too far from here. Come on."

  Without waiting for a reply, he took her by the hand and led her along the bank of the creek. As Yuba had indicated, they weren't too far from the natural spring that lay at the centre of the garden. It was also the centre of his daily life as well, since every day involved at least one trip here to collect fresh water and to bathe.

  "What do you say," he gently nudged Ifurita in the side. "The waters probably cold as hell, but I'm up for a swim if you are."

  "Swim? Together?"

  "Mmm. And I'm not going to wait for you to decide," he said, pulling off his robe. Ifurita watched him with a faintly helpless expression as he shucked off his boots and tucked in his trouser legs. "You know what they say about the last one in."

  With that, Yuba ran headlong into the clear cold water, diving in to become fully submerged.

  Ifurita blinked at the space Yuba had just vacated.

  "What do they say about the last one in?"

  Yuba reemerged towards the middle of the spring, spitting out water.

  "Bugger, that's cold," he laughed, turning back towards the shore. "I don't imagine it should be any problem for you though. Come on."

  "I... I'm not buoyant," she demurred.

  "Oh, don't be a baby."

  "Don't be a.." Ifurita shook her head, but it was clear that no rational argument was going to work. There was only once choice left.

  Laying her PowerKey Staff against the trunk of a nearby tree, she began to peel off her slick black gloves. She then undid the thick belt around her waist. Yuba's smile dropped a fraction as he realized she was about to strip down (naked?). It wasn't really his intent to goad her into such an act; in fact, he half expected she would simply have stayed up on the shore. Yet here she was pulling off the loose open-front tunic, leaving only her tight fitting body suit.

  Sliding her arms through the thin shoulder straps, Ifurita pulled the garment down to her waist. Yuba couldn't help but stare, as pretty much any man would watching a woman undress in front of him. Well, she was a woman in form, yes, but there were some salient differences. Her breasts, as generous as they were in shape, were completely smooth and lacking in nipples, revealing them to be a purely aesthetic feature. And, as Ifurita proceeded to slide the snug body suit down from her hips and off each leg, it was easy to see she was equally smooth and featureless between her thighs. Despite these details, and the cold water, he reacted the way any male would when faced with naked femininity -with a stiff erection.

  Her skin was the same alabaster shade all over, with those thin black seams outlined on all her major joints, just as he'd noticed on her arm the other night. They traced her knees, her shoulder joints, and formed an elegant 'V' at the juncture of her hips and legs.

  Stepping into the spring, she waded in until she was waist deep. Yuba waved her forward, and after a brief pause, she obeyed. The water line swiftly crept up past her shoulders, then she submerged completely.

  "I guess she wasn't kidding about the buoyancy thing," Yuba said to himself with a wry grin.

  Taking a big gulp of air, he dove down under the surface. He found Ifurita a few meters away, standing on the rocky bottom of the spring. Her long hair floated around her in thick tendrils, giving her the ephemeral image of some fantastical m
ermaid. It struck him as quite incongruous, she standing there and he floating above her like a ghostly apparition. Well, only one way to solve that...

  Hooking his hands underneath her arms, he began to pull her upwards. Ifurita looked quite surprised by his efforts, a feeling he understood when he realized how heavy she was. In fact, she wasn't that much heavier than an ordinary person, but Yuba wasn't a very strong or experienced swimmer. He thought it would have been rather romantic if they could swim together, but this was quickly turning into a very bad idea. He tried one last push to breech the surface, kicking his legs hard, but faltered, accidentally expelling his breath with the strain.

  Faster than Yuba could immediately register, Ifurita's arms wrapped around his waist, and he was pulled with sharp force up out of the water.

  Buoyed by Ifurita's unseen method of propulsion, the two were now hovering just over the surface, ripples spreading out in wide circles from the downdraft of her lifting force.

  "Are you alright," she asked.

  "Yeah, yeah," Yuba nodded, quickly getting back his breath. He was still a bit bewildered. He'd nearly forgotten how he saw her fly on the first day of her activation. He couldn't recall her having done so since. He was intensely aware of how closely they were clasped together like this, her bare chest against his. "Um, maybe you should set us down on shore."

  "Of course," Ifurita said, slowly maneuvering them back to where their clothes lay on the grass.

  It was with a certain degree of reluctance that Yuba let her go once they were on the ground again. He was tempted to talk her into flying them around the garden, but it didn't seem an appropriate thing to ask while she was stark naked.

  "I guess that was all a bit misguided," Yuba said, shaking out his unkempt wet hair, "at the least we should have brought towels."

  Actually, looking at Ifurita, she already seemed almost completely dry, apart from her hair. Perhaps her skin had some water repellant qualities?

  "How 'bout a quick stroll out into the desert," Yuba suggested, "I bet that would get us dry in no time, and it's unlikely there'd be anyone around to see us."

  Ifurita shook her head.

  "I still cannot leave the confines of the garden."

  "Ah, right, of course."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Hey, you have nothing to apologize for. I should have remembered."

  "No, it's not only that." She turned her face away from him. "You have all these ideas of what I can do, who I should be, but I can't meet those expectations. Because I am bound to obey, this failure causes me great distress."

  Yuba grabbed her shoulders, turning her back to face him.

  "Don't say that," he said emphatically, "you haven't failed at anything."

  "But..."

  Yuba pulled her in close, silencing her with a warm hug.

  "Don't ever apologize for what you are," he said. "I'm the one who still has to adjust."

  Yuba held her tighter, intentionally starting the synchronization with her internal matrix.

  "Besides, you've already changed in ways you don't even realize yet," he told her. "So, I'll show you."

  ...turning the staff over, she levelled the tip at his chest as if aiming a rifle, the end glowing with naked energy. Yuba dove to the right, narrowly escaping the blast which exploded in impressively large hole in the far wall. Blearily looking up from the floor, he watched Ifurita turn to him, her expression completely impassive, levelling the staff yet again...

  "I dare say the most obvious change is you're no longer trying to end my life," Yuba remarked lightly. "This is you in your most primal mode, not even giving a thought to your actions, following only the instinct you'd been programmed with."

  ...Yuba let go of the staff. Ifurita stepped back as well, her previously emotionless face now etched with confusion.

  "How is it possible," she said. "My memory is closed to access."...

  "I still don't have an answer for that," Yuba said, "but, for whatever reason, that was the moment everything changed. We touched each other's consciousness. Not even humans can have that kind of connection with each other, not in such a direct way."

  ..."I need you... to wind me."

  "What, really?" Yuba gingerly took hold of the offered staff, looking into Ifurita's clear blue eyes. "Certainly I'll do it."...

  "I like to think this when we first came to trust each other," Yuba said, "I still think back on this, and it occurs to me this might be one of the most intimate acts I'd ever shared with anyone. It also seems to me that this is the time you made your first real decision. Coming to the end of your power reserves, you knew you either had to be rewound, or return to stasis -you chose to come to me. You chose to live."

  ...Although he didn't intend to, Yuba's hand brushed across her keyhole. As soon as his fingers touched the bare metal, she flinched. He let his thumb slip inside, then replaced it with his index finger, stroking against the smooth metal of the interior sides. No longer watching the sky, her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted. She slouched over, he weight pressing on his shoulder...

  "I... I still feel this is something I should apologize for; but, at the same time, I think that this evening may have affected you very profoundly. I know it had for me."

  Yuba now felt himself falling, a glowing network of green and black lines racing on either side of him. He had the instinctual knowledge that this was someplace much deeper inside her operational matrix, even deeper than her storehouse of memories.

  "You shouldn't be here," he heard Ifurita's voice.

  "It's alright," he assured her, "I won't touch a thing. I'm only looking for something very specific."

  Following a convergence of lines, Yuba came to stand in a small circular room. In the centre lay a short glass casket, and above, hanging from the metallic ceiling, was Ifurita's PowerKey Staff -it was all a direct analog of the stasis room Yuba originally found her.

  "This is it, isn't it," Yuba breathed, stepping up to the platform.

  "Yes." Ifurita emerged from out of the shadows. "My latent programming lies buried deeper than even I am aware of, and I will always need the staff to sustain my power, but indeed this is my obedience circuit. This is what binds me to your will."

  "So, all I have to do is destroy this, and you'll be free," he stated, reaching up to grab the end of the dangling staff.

  "Aren't you afraid?"

  Yuba looked over at her, frowning in puzzlement. "Afraid?"

  "If you destroy that circuit, I will no longer need to do as you say," she soberly explained. "Aren't you afraid that once I have a choice, I may not want to be with you anymore. No more dinners or long talks, no more strolls or looking at the stars together. Don't you fear that everything that has transpired has been because of my obedience to you?"

  Yuba looked from the staff back to Ifurita.

  "It's a scary thought, yeah," he admitted. "But, I chose to believe there was more to it than that. Besides, I've said all along that I'd rather see you free than enslaved, whatever the consequences may be for myself."

  Taking hold of the handle in both hands, Yuba pulled hard, yanking it at a sharp angle towards him. Putting up great resistance, the staff finally snapped free, a bright tendril of blue energy trailing from the disconnected tip to the hole in the ceiling.

  Yuba gingerly held the staff, turning to face Ifurita.

  "Here," he said, holding it out to her. "You're the one who should have the honours."

  Ifurita's eyes went wide, taking an automatic step back.

  "Go on," he encouraged. "I know you can do it; you've had that power all along."

  Ifurita took hold of the shaft, hands wide apart on it's horizontal length. Yuba gave her a reassuring nod. Pausing as if to take a deep breath, she raised her knee, bringing the staff down over her thigh in one swift motion. It broke neatly in half, releasing a flood of bright blue light that enveloped them both.

  Ifurita and Yuba stumbled away from each other, the suddenness of their return to realit
y physically violent. There was a breathless moment where neither of them said a word, only looking at each other with wary anticipation.

  "Well," Yuba finally asked.

  Ifurita looked down at herself, as if expecting some sort of change in her appearance.

  "I feel very much the same," she reported, voice flat and even. "And yet..."

  "And yet?"

  A strange smile crept over her face.

  "I get the strong impression I should be very cross at you," she said, "making me undress like that in front of you."