“I don’t—I don’t want to fight you!”
The sounds of hurried footsteps preceded Angela’s plea for calm. “Both of you—stop this!”
Felicia sounded frustrated. “You’re just making this harder than it has to be!”
“Get out of my way, Angela,” Tobias warned.
“Don’t you threaten her, Praetor,” Felicia snapped.
“Feli, Tobias, stop it,” Angela intervened in desperation.
“Then get the frek out of my way!”
“Tobias, you weren’t supposed to know about this until much later.”
“What the Hell does that mean, Angela? What the Hell is going on?”
“Keep your voices down,” she appealed. “Please. Let’s all calm down.”
“Class Rep—take that thing off her now.”
Shirohime sounded broken. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Tobias hissed menacingly.
“Because I don’t have the passcode.”
“What?”
“I don’t have the passcode. I can only turn it on. I can’t turn it off.”
“Give me your damn phone. That’s how you’re controlling it, right? So give me your phone!”
“If you enter the wrong code it will shock her,” Shirohime warned him.
“Gods damn it!”
“Tobias, keep it down. Please,” Angela whispered harshly. “Please, calm down.”
“I’m not going to calm down until I know what’s going on and Cass is free of that inhibitor.”
“Then if you want to know,” Shirohime cut in sounding heartbroken, “you’ll need to talk to her.”
It sounded like something was caught in the air.
“What is this?” Tobias asked warily.
“My phone. What do you think it is?” Shirohime retorted in a desolate tone. “The call is on speaker phone….”
Silenced descended around us for a second until Tobias hesitantly asked, “Who is this?”
“Well hello, brother dear. Are you being an ass and making things difficult for my pets?”
“Who—wait!” He swallowed audibly. “Clarisol…?”
“Of course you idiot. Do you have any other sisters?”
“Actually I do.”
“I’m not talking about that fake floosy, brother dear.”
Tobias was silent for a long while before whispering hoarsely, “Don’t ever call Giselle a floosy.”
“My oh my, you really have the hots for her, don’t you.”
“Stop talking crap. She’s my sister. How can I have the hots for her?”
“Adopted sister, brother dear. Adopted being the operative word.”
“I’m the one who was adopted, not her.”
“Well, brunettes were always your thing. Especially the petite fragile kind…with abnormally large breasts. During this summer break, when our respective families went to the beach together, I noticed you really couldn’t keep your eyes off her bikini body.”
Tobias took a deep, shuddering breath. When he spoke again, he sounded as though he’d regained some of his composure. “Clarisol, why am I talking to you?”
“Don’t you want to know what’s going on, my dear perverted brother? By the way, how do like your friend now? He looks so convincing, doesn’t he? All he needs is the right plumbing and she would be the cutest little thing.”
“What are you talking about? What have you done to her—to him?”
“Answer my question and I’ll answer yours. Do you like the way he looks? So much like Giselle. And so much like his older sister. He’s a pint sized brunette with a big rack. I’m sure he could give Giselle a run for her money at the beach. I’ve already picked out some clothes for him including a dainty bikini that will show of his new curves.”
“Clarisol—”
“Very well. You can tell me later whether he gets your perverted juices flowing. Just in case, I have a box of tissues for you here in the car.”
“Clarisol—!”
“For now, be a good little boy and bring him down to the car.”
“Why the Hell would I do that?”
“Because my beloved pets, Feli and Angie, can’t carry him because the restraining field will affect their bodies if they get too close.”
“Your pets?”
“That’s right. They’ve been brought into the project, so for the sake of security their bodies were swapped out. That leaves you and the White Princess. But you wouldn’t let a girl do all the heavy lifting, would you? That’s not how the Praetor Family raised you, is it brother dear?”
“I’m not taking Cass anywhere. And I’m going to call my brother.”
“Your brother? Tomas?”
“No—I’m calling Simon.”
“It’s Simon who sent me, dimwit. So be a good little brother and do as you’re told.”
“Turn off the restraining field first.”
“Maybe a little shock therapy will convince you to cooperate.”
Pain lanced through me, a sensation like needles being driven into my bones. I tried to scream but started to choke instead, vaguely aware of my limbs thrashing about.
“Cass!”
Something landed on me, or rather, grabbed a hold of me as I spasmed wildly on the floor, my consciousness receding quickly in the face of prolonged torture.
“Stop, Clarisol! Stop it!”
“Well, brother dear? Will you do as you’re told?”
“I’ll do it. I’ll do it. Just stop hurting her.”
“Very well. You’re no fun. Thou doth surrender too easily.”
My awareness had retreated from my pain ravaged body, yet I was able to sense when I slumped lifelessly to the floor as though my power cord had been pulled out.
“Clarisol….”
“Yes, dear brother?”
“You’re a monster.”
“I know. I know. Now little brother, pick up your little girlfriend and carry her down to the front entrance. You have five minutes to get here, or I’ll be delivering another round of shock treatment.”
“Why…why are you doing this? Why are you hurting her?”
“Hurting him, actually. Well, it hardly matters. He was never much of a man to begin with. A little girly boy was the best he would ever be. Just somebody’s little bitch. I can just picture him on his knees—”
“Shut up and answer my question, Clarisol.”
“Because he was chosen. Period. And it wasn’t my decision, dear brother. That order came from the top of the family tree. Now, the clock is ticking and you have four minutes and twenty seconds to get here.”
“Chosen for what?” Tobias demanded to know in a low growl. “Chosen to be tortured?”
“No, brother dear. He was chosen to compete for us in the Princess Royale.”
“What? Cass is a Meister?”
“No, little brother. Your little girlfriend isn’t a Meister. He’s a Gun Princess. He’s the new Mirai.”
My vision was slowly clearing, and I could now see grainy, hazy images of Tobias straddling me, holding me down in case I was punished again for his disobedience.
“…no. That can’t be….” I saw him shake his head in disbelief. “No. I refuse to accept that.”
“Four minutes, Matrim. Get moving. I have my finger on the red button. Zap. Zap.”
The call ended with a simulated click that sounded rather loud in the almost deserted classroom.
The ensuing silence felt ominously disturbing.
- II -
I’d visited Tobias’ home a number of times and thus met his family on many of occasions, so I was well acquainted with his older brother Tomas, and his sister Giselle.
What the woman on the phone had said about Giselle was true.
She was a beauty with long flowing black hair, expressive eyes, and a full mature bust on the body of a pixie. You could almost call her a danger to mankind or at the very least to high school boys around the world. As such, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’
d admitted – in the strictest of confidence – toward having an illicit crush on his sister.
For a long while I had assumed Tobias and Giselle were twins since they were of the same age. However, it wasn’t until a year ago when I attended Giselle’s birthday party for the first time that Tobias revealed to me that he was adopted.
He’d spoken of it then and never again. Choosing to respect his privacy and whatever intentions he may have harbored for revealing that truth to me, I never pressed him upon his past. As such, while I was surprised to learn that he had a blood sister, I had long suspected he had a well-kept secret or two in his closet. However, nothing could have prepared me for the revelation that his real sister was involved in my situation, though at the time I was preoccupied with a more pressing matter.
I will state for the record that being carried princess style is not in my bucket list of things to do before I go to the “place that’s the best”. Unfortunately, that was exactly how I found myself a minute later, travelling down the corridor while clinging to Tobias with my arms around his neck like some anemic schoolgirl who’d fainted after classes and now had to be carried by her boyfriend to the infirmary.
By the gods, I had died and gone to Hell.
It didn’t help when the girls we encountered in the corridor paused to ask if I was okay and Tobias had to come up with an excuse on the spot. Of course, he was praised for being caring, while I was envied for having such a handsome and loving boyfriend. If the necklace hadn’t been weighing me down, I would have thrown up on the spot. I was so embarrassed and humiliated that I buried my face into Tobias shoulder rather than face the outside world. That in turn made me even more embarrassed when I noticed my breasts were pushing hard into his chest. I had the distinct impression that my bust had grown well beyond a Bee-cup. The bra felt extremely tight and the straps were digging painfully at times into my back and shoulders.
Adding to my discomfit were the disturbingly pleasant tingles that sparked across my chest whenever my breasts bumped or pressed hard into Tobias. I understood what was happening and should have drawn away from him, but that would have revealed my overly flushed face. Also, despite my present predicament, I couldn’t deny it felt really good whenever my bosom pressed into him. Undeniably aroused and quite helpless against the feelings now coursing through me, I felt there was no salvation for me at all.
“Cass, please don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I muttered into his shirt, trying to ignore the fireworks going off in my chest and the fire kindling to life in my belly.
“That. Don’t do that.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t hold onto me so tightly. You think this is easy for me?”
“It’s not easy for me either. And if you say I’m heavy I’m going to hit you.”
“That’s not the problem. You’re not heavy. You’re as light as a feather.”
I drew back slightly and cracked open an eyelid to peer up at him.
Tobias was sweating a little and his face was flushed. Every so often he would peek down at my chest and then hurriedly look away.
I knew it. He can’t ignore them either.
“You really are an idiot,” I muttered into his shirt as I closed my eyes again. “Why the Hell couldn’t you have carried me on your back?”
“And what? Have you fall off? Besides that would have been harder for me….”
“Just admit it. You wanted to look down my dress.”
“What? Do you want to be dropped?”
“Oh—what a caring boyfriend you turned out to be.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” he retorted under his breath but I heard the worry in his voice.
“I’m not better,” I grumbled. “I can’t feel my legs and the rest of me weighs a tonne.”
That was indeed true, but I chose not to tell him that whatever the Simulacrum possessed for a lower brain was steadily taking over. Though my body was still impaired by the necklace, I had enough strength to tighten my hold around his neck and shoulders, and subsequently press into him a little more. As I did so, I felt Tobias almost miss a step and mutter something about Dee-cups.
Damn that ghost. And why the Hell did it shut up all of a sudden? Is it because of the necklace?
With my eyes closed, I listened to Tobias’ heart and mine drumming in harmony with each other, and a strange tranquility descended upon me. Gradually, I came to understand why girls enjoyed this so much, though it was difficult to put into words. I could only describe it as feeling comfortable, safe, and protected. It was the impression of being cocooned from the troubles in the world. I’d never experienced anything like it before, and I couldn’t resist its attractive allure.
“…Mat…?”
“Wh—what?”
“You know what’s happening to me, don’t you?”
“…yeah…kind of....I don’t know all of what’s happening but at least I know I’m not going crazy.” He hefted me a little higher as he slowed down. “We’re at the stairs. Hold on tight.”
After that utterly unnecessary piece of advice, I could sense the deliberate care he took as he carried me down the steps of the stairwell. When we arrived at the mid-way landing, I took the opportunity to ask, “Why would you say that?”
We began descending down to the ground floor.
“Because every time I looked at you…you look more and more like a girl…I thought I was going crazy…but now it makes sense.” We arrived at the bottom landing, and Tobias paused to gather his breath before adding, “It’s not just your body, but your face too. I can see that it’s you, but I can’t see the boy you anymore. You really do look like a girl. And you smell like a girl. And you sound like a girl. You really turned into one. I kept trying to figure out what the Hell was going on, and the more I did the crazier it drove me. I thought I was hallucinating.”
I drew back away from his chest and shoulder in order to look up at him. “What are you saying?”
“Your body’s a Simulacrum, isn’t it?”
I heard myself gasp softly. “You know?”
“Yeah, I know what it is.” He resumed walking just as I heard the girls arrive behind us. “It makes sense now. The way your appearance has been changing through the day is probably because of the Overlord system inside your body. It’s been making the changes little by little.” He hesitated before pressing on. “If my sister is involved, then it makes even more sense. She’s got a twisted mind, and I bet she had your Overlord instructed to deliberately make you look more and more like a girl.”
“My Overlord? You mean the ghost I can hear in my head?”
Tobias succeeded in appearing confused while frowning at me. “Ghost? What ghost?”
“The ghost that’s been talking to me for most of the day.”
“Wait? What do you mean it talks to you? Like an interface?”
I shook my head weakly. “No, not at all. It has a really annoying personality and talks like some kind of butler to the rich and famous. It has a strange accent. It says it’s not a ghost but it hasn’t told me what it is.”
“You mean it sounds like a real person?” His frown was giving way to true disbelief. “That—that shouldn’t be. I mean Overlords have a simple voice command interface but they don’t sound intelligent.”
“Intelligent? Well Ghost sounds more like an asshole. I mean it’s been calling me Princess all day. Really freaking annoying. And it’s been marveling at its handiwork, telling me that my breasts are perfectly shaped and proportioned.”
“They—they are…?”
I nodded. “That’s right. He said the only thing wrong with them is that they won’t produce milk.”
Tobias stumbled and I yelped, hanging onto him tightly. “Mat!”
“Jeezes, they do feel perfect….”
“What was that?”
“Nothing—nothing at all.” His arms shifted under me, probably to hold me better.
Suddenly my eyes widened as the obvious
question slammed into me, demanding that it be addressed or there would be consequences. “Mat—you know what the ghost is? Tell me? What is it? What is the ghost in my head?”
“It should be just an Assisting Intelligence.” Tobias took a number of heavy breaths and I noticed he was struggling a little with me in his arms. “What the Hell is going on? First this high-grade killer body of yours, then an Overlord that sounds like a real person. But that would mean it’s not an Assisting Intelligence, and more like an Artificial Awareness.” He shook his head slowly and came to a stop. “But you can’t stick one of those inside a Simulacrum. There’s not enough processing power in the wetware MCU….”
I cleared my throat out of necessity, and looked at Tobias as though I was seeing him for the first time. “Mat, who are you?”
Footsteps surrounded us, and Angela frantically said, “Praetor—get a move on. There’s only a minute left. You’re almost out of time.”
“Damn it,” he cursed softly and resumed walking fast.
I looked around me and realized we were traversing through the high school building’s entrance lobby, having skirted around the shoe lockers. Drawing attention from the students we passed by, we quickly exited through the permaglass automatic doors.
“Watch the steps!” Felicia suddenly cried out.
Once outside the building, Tobias had taken off at a run but slowed sharply as he negotiated yet another series of steps underfoot that he couldn’t see with me in his arms. After descending them, he half ran with me to the school’s entrance and Tobias had to hold me higher to avoid snagging my dangling feet on the security baffle gates. He was breathing heavily as he half ran across the paved ground to the west of the school buildings. Ahead of us lay the cul-de-sac used by vehicles that needed to turn around to get back onto the bridge.
“I’ve kept…too many secrets…from you,” he replied out of breath. “Too…too many secrets.”
From somewhere beside us, Shirohime cried out, “That one. That second black limo.”
Tobias changed direction while I craned my neck for a better look at my surroundings, and I saw that we were headed toward a pair of black four door saloons resembling limousines, parked at the apex of the cul-de-sac. The vehicles drew a fair amount of attention from the students walking by on their way either to the bridge or the mag-lev station.
Gun Princess Royale: Awakening the Princess, Book One Page 32