Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 5)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “You’re going to use this as an excuse to play hard to get,” Alvin said matter-of-factly.

  “How…? Fuck,” Becky sighed.

  “Your tone gave it away. Now I’ll let you go if you promise to come back to this exact position.”

  Becky shifted in place before sighing, “I promise.”

  Pulling her head back, he kissed her neck, “Alright, Gothy.” Letting her go, Alvin stepped back from her. “Don’t keep me waiting long.”

  Pouting, Becky went to the bathroom. Alvin watched her go, silently laughing at her.

  “Hero, the horse is ready,” Kuro said from behind him.

  Looking back, he saw that she was in the sheer white outfit Becky had gotten her weeks ago. “I see someone is ready.”

  “You said I could have a similar reward,” Kuro replied.

  “Get me two blindfolds, and make sure the cuffs are ready, too.”

  “Yes, Hero,” Kuro smiled and went back into the dungeon.

  A minute later, Becky came out of the bathroom, and Alvin whistled appreciatively. Becky was wearing a red corset and garter set. Pausing in the doorway, she put her arms up over her head and posed. “You like it, Hero?”

  “Damn, that is…” Alvin smiled. “You are so damn sexy. Now get over here; we had a deal.”

  Strutting toward him with slow and deliberate steps, Becky smiled as he watched her with rapt attention. “I was hoping you’d like it.”

  As soon as she was within reach, Alvin grabbed her and pulled her to him roughly, his lips meeting hers demandingly. Becky moaned and met his passion with her own. Pulling back after the kiss, Alvin spun in her in place and tangled a hand in her hair, making sure her back was pressed against his chest.

  “Now onto the first ride,” Alvin whispered into her ear, then switched to nibbling her collarbone.

  “Yes… thank you, Hero.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” Alvin chuckled as he guided her to the dungeon. “I have questions I want answered, and I’ll get them from you once you’re up in place.”

  “I have all your things ready, Hero,” Kuro said when they entered the room. “Did he like the outfit, Gothy?”

  “Oh yes,” Becky murmured and wiggled her ass against him.

  “It’s a good look for her,” Alvin added. “Do you have a similar outfit, Mousie?”

  “I have a new one,” Kuro said. “Do you want me to wear it, Hero?”

  “Please,” Alvin replied.

  The sheer outfit was replaced by one made of black leather straps. Alvin and Becky both whistled softly as they eyed her. The leather straps did nothing to cover the important bits, but Alvin noted the clips where coverings could be placed.

  “Oh, that does look good,” Becky murmured. “Maybe I should play with my toy for a bit first.”

  “That does look amazing on you, Mousie,” Alvin agreed. “Sadly, Gothy, you’re about to go for a ride. No worries, though; Mousie will be joining you. I have some fun play just for the two of you.”

  Becky shivered in his arms, “Oh. Will it be painful?”

  “It might be,” Alvin chuckled. “Mousie, bring a blindfold over here. I want you to take away Gothy’s sight.”

  “Yes, Hero.”

  Alvin shifted his clothing to the more relaxed base outfit with a thought, the jeans he normally wore suddenly a bit too restrictive.

  “Oh, now that is a welcome surprise,” Becky moaned, grinding back into his groin a little more as Kuro blindfolded her. “Am I going to get a special treat before my ride?”

  “No,” Alvin shuddered. “All the real fun will be after your ride.”

  “Do you wish me to cuff her, Hero?”

  “Please,” Alvin said, keeping still while Becky made his rising dilemma harder to deal with.

  “You sure you don’t want me to swallow that problem for you, Hero? I’m sure I can handle the whole thing in one go.”

  Lowering his head, Alvin bit her neck hard enough to earn a gasp and leave teeth marks on her skin. Becky shuddered when he pulled his mouth from her, the deep purple hickey on her pale skin prominent.

  “Thank you, Mousie,” Alvin exhaled deeply and pushed Becky to arm’s length, stopping her grinding against him. “Help me get her in place, please.”

  “But... Hero,” Becky whimpered as she was led to the new wooden horse. “I’ll make it quick for you, and I’ll take every drop.”

  “I know you would on both counts,” Alvin replied. “You’ll have to wait until after your ride.”

  “Fine…” Becky pouted.

  Once she was in place, Alvin attached chains to her ankle cuffs to make sure she could not flee before the horse was raised under her. Once Becky was locked in, Alvin picked up the second blindfold, and Kuro turned around to make it easy for him to put it on her. Quickly cuffing Kuro and getting her in place, Alvin smiled and lowered the nipple clamps from the ceiling.

  “Hero?” Becky asked, puzzled that he had not raised the horse yet. When she felt the pressure of the clamps on her hard nipples, she understood. “Oh, an extra part to my ride?”

  “Wait for it,” Alvin chuckled. He finished clamping her, then went to attach the other set of clamps on Kuro, who moaned lightly. “Now, we’ll raise the horse,” Alvin told them, using the hydraulic system to raise it to just under them, smiling as he adjusted the two sides of the split horse for each woman. “Those clamps you are wearing are attached to each other. If you stand up, the tension on the chain will ease. If you sit, they’ll tug more.” Chuckling, Alvin pulled on the chain holding the clamps enough to make his torture work. “There we go.”

  Becky and Kuro whimpered. The tension on the clamps was noticeable, but not unbearable where it was. Then the horse rose just a bit more, making it uncomfortable to sit and forcing both women onto tiptoes to ease the discomfort.

  “Hero…” Becky moaned, the tension on the clamps perfect. “When did you…?”

  “I’ve been working on this for a few days,” Alvin said as he went over and picked up the lightest flogger they had. “But now, it’s time for my questions,” Alvin said, swishing the flogger so they could both hear it. “Why the sudden interest in Megumin?”

  “It’s not sudden; I liked her before,” Becky replied. “We were leaving and I didn’t get the chance to see if she was interested.”

  Alvin nodded and gently flogged her. “Is that what today was about? An audition?”

  “Yes… but it’s not going to work out,” Becky moaned. “She’s found an interest already, but he doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Who?” Alvin asked.

  Becky shook her head, refusing to answer. Kuro spoke up in her place, “Gothy promised to keep it a secret even from you, Hero.”

  Alvin walked around the horse and began to lightly flog Kuro. “Did you promise, Mousie?”

  “No…” The moment stretched out when Kuro did not say anything more.

  Chuckling, Alvin stopped the flogging, “Well, if you want to be silent about it.”

  “It’s not you, Hero,” Becky said, standing up on her toes to get a moment of relief from the horse.

  “I would have been surprised if it was,” Alvin admitted. “Why are you playing with her, then?”

  “She wanted training on how to be assertive with someone she was interested in,” Becky replied.

  Alvin nodded, going back to flogging her again. “Which you did.”

  “Yes,” Becky moaned, sitting down on the horse and rocking into it.

  “Did you do more than tease her?” Alvin asked, letting the flogger crack more with the question.

  “No… but tomorrow… she wants me to show her on Mousie... how to dominate someone,” Becky replied breathlessly.

  “Mousie, did you agree to that?”

  “Of course, Hero… can I get more flogging, please?”

  Alvin chuckled, “Okay, Mousie. Now that I have my answers, I’ll give you both what you want.”

  Alvin flogged them both in earnest. Once they had h
ad enough, he let them down and carried Becky to the bed. He got her strapped into place, kneeling with her arms over her head, then went back for Kuro and got her positioned where he wanted her.

  With everything ready, Alvin slipped under both of them, his mouth in line with Kuro’s dripping slit and his hard shaft grazing across Becky’s wet sex. “Okay, ladies, time for your second ride,” Alvin said. He pulled Becky down onto his shaft, then raised his head and began licking Kuro.

  “Hero, my arms,” Becky moaned, doing the best she could to ride him with her arms chained over her head.

  Lowering his mouth from Kuro’s sex, Alvin chuckled, “Do your best. If you do good enough, I’ll free your arms.”

  “So mean,” Becky moaned, grinding her hips as best she could.

  “And you—” Alvin began to reply before Kuro lowered herself down, cutting him off.

  “Me, too, Hero,” Kuro gasped as he attacked her with zeal.

  Chapter Eight

  A loud snore right in his ear woke Alvin. Blinking, he could make out Becky’s head right next to his, a thin line of drool puddling on his shoulder. “I love you, Gothy, but that’s not the best wake up you’ve given me,” Alvin muttered as he eased away from her.

  “Hero… can you let me out, please?” Kuro asked from under the bed.

  Tapping the button, the shutters retracted around the bottom of the bed. “Morning, Mousie.”

  “Morning, Hero… thank you for last night.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Alvin smirked.

  Climbing out of her cage, Kuro stretched her lithe body. “I think it was all of our pleasure,” she replied, smiling at him watching her. “Are you going to shower?”

  “I am now,” Alvin said, pulling her to him and lifting her free of the ground. “I found the perfect item to help get me clean all over.”

  Kuro’s eyes twinkled as she rested against him, “I will be glad to scrub you.”

  Becky came into the bathroom just when Kuro and Alvin were leaving. “Aww, looks like I missed my chance,” Becky sighed.

  “I will be glad to go back in and clean you, Gothy,” Kuro smiled.

  “Jarvis said he’s started breakfast,” Becky told Alvin as she took Kuro by the hand. “Are you going to join us, Hero?” Kissing his cheek, Becky waited for his answer.

  “My day is soooo busy…” Alvin said sarcastically, putting his arm around her. “Of course I won’t turn down the chance to help scrub your body, you dirty girl.”

  “I was and am,” Becky agreed. “After all, today I’ll be showing a friend how to torment Mousie.”

  “Megumin seems like a fast learner,” Alvin laughed as he turned the water on. “Since you’re going to be the teacher later, I’ll make you the student for now. On the bench, right now,” he commanded.

  ~*~*~

  When they finally made their way out of the bedroom, Jarvis was pouring coffee. “Perfect timing. Breakfast is ready.”

  “That’s the third best thing to happen to me this morning,” Alvin laughed.

  “I’m sure, sir,” Jarvis replied dryly. “We have a full English today, minus the puddings.”

  “Thank you for that,” Kuro said. “Did you leave the beans off mine?”

  “They are in a separate dish on your plate. I did try to remove them, but that canceled the buff. You will receive the buff as long as you eat at least half of the meal,” Jarvis told her. “Feel free to set them aside at that point.”

  “Thank you,” Kuro smiled as she took her seat.

  “What did you give us today, Jarvis?” Alvin asked.

  “A buff to your lowest stat,” Jarvis replied, taking his own seat after setting his tea on the table.

  “I wonder which one that will be?” Becky said, since all her stats were at six.

  “Let’s find out,” Alvin said, taking his first bite.

  Alvin blinked when he had eaten enough to gain the buff. “Oh, you dumb motherfuckers…”

  Becky began to laugh, nearly choking on the bite still in her mouth. She swallowed hurriedly and laughed even louder.

  “What is it?” Kuro asked.

  “Take another few bites and look at your stats,” Alvin told her. “Sammi, you got some more fixing to do,” he said to the ceiling.

  Kuro blinked when she looked at her stats, “That must be wrong.”

  “Your lowest stat increased, did it not?” Jarvis asked with a straight face.

  “They sure did,” Becky snickered. “Instead of six across the board, I’m at seven across the board now.”

  “How unusual,” Jarvis said without inflection, continuing to eat as if nothing was wrong. “I’m sure they are working on a solution.”

  A letter appeared on the table in front of Jarvis with his name written on the outside. Jarvis opened the envelope and read the letter before laughing once and setting it aside.

  “Well?” Alvin asked, looking from Jarvis to the letter.

  “It simply says, ‘You deserve each other,’ and it is signed by the Director of Developer Relations,” Jarvis replied, his smile widening. “There is a postscript: ‘It’s being worked on. No need to rub it in our faces.’”

  Becky and Alvin laughed, but Kuro looked a little lost. Becky explained and after a few minutes, Kuro was giggling along with them as they finished eating. Collecting a kiss from both women, Alvin watched them go with a satisfied smile on his lips.

  “What are your plans for today, sir?”

  “Besides having to leave the base for eight hours? Nothing specific, but I’m sure I’ll find something to do, even if it’s sitting on a sofa and taking a nap.”

  “Your fast-paced life is thrilling, sir,” Jarvis deadpanned.

  “Not all of us can handle the cleaning,” Alvin chuckled as he headed for the kiosk room. “See you later, Jarvis.”

  Touching the kiosk, Alvin sent a message to Istel asking that the blades they had commissioned be sent to Green River. With that done, he pulled up the store. When he checked his available balance at the bottom, Alvin blinked in shock. Stepping away from the kiosk, Alvin took a deep breath before touching it again.

  “Sammi, you there?”

  “What are you going to break this time?” Sammi asked from behind him, her tone exasperated.

  “A question: how do you show up here so quickly and easily?”

  “That is proprietary technology,” Sammi said. “What did you want?”

  “Do you know what my current balance is?”

  “Yes. A little over one point two million XP. The Elven Queen has expended a large amount to outfit her people for war. She still has a number of direct requests open with your other settlements, as well.”

  “What was that... like nine million spent?” Alvin asked.

  “Close,” Sammi replied. “That’s all you wanted?”

  “If it was an error, I didn’t want anyone to complain after I spent it all,” Alvin replied. “I was wondering when you stealth-added the apprenticeship job, too.”

  Sammi blushed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “If that had been available before yesterday, someone would have mentioned it. That means you guys are still making big changes.”

  “It’s for their betterment, and it didn’t change any existing features,” Sammi said firmly.

  “Had that fight already, did you?”

  Sammi sighed, “Why are you such a pain in the ass to deal with?”

  “I’m just me, the same me I was before my brain was pulped and my consciousness uploaded here. Want to tell me what the company behind it all is doing?”

  “Alvin…” Sammi sighed, trailing off. “That request has been made already by Jarvis. It’s being considered. That is all I can say.”

  “Fine. Thank you, by the way. That change in crafting will help the kids. Any players taking that path yet?”

  “You know I can’t answer that,” Sammi replied, frowning at him.

  “I was just asking. Did you want to join Gothy later
when she shows Megumin how to be dominant?”

  Sammi went scarlet and vanished, leaving Alvin alone in the room. He laughed and went to the kiosk, already plotting how to spend the ridiculous amount of XP he suddenly had. After some time, he stepped away from it.

  I can do so much that it’s just stupid. I’ll wait and talk to Gothy about it so we can work out a plan... we could build and upgrade so many rooms, or max out at least one stat each. Hm… for now, let’s see what the settlement is doing with the apprenticeships. Waving to Jarvis, Alvin left the base.