Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 16

Ariis found herself floating in an icy, infinite black void. Tendrils of the shadow surrounding her had wrapped around her arms and leg. She was panting for breath, feeling like she was on fire. Her vision blurred, focusing in and out.

“Where am I…” She said between gasps of breath. She had no sense of direction at all, a rarity for her. She was starting to panic because of it.

[You are within me, Princess Ariis…] A voice came from all sides around her. If Ariis managed to pin down a noise, she’d attack it blindly. She didn’t know what else to do. She grit her teeth, waiting for the moment to strike.

“I demand you let me go and give me the antidote to whatever you dosed me with at once!” Ariis bellowed. “If you do not, I will call down the full force of…”

[I do not fear your pathetic militaries…] The demon taunted Ariis, laughing slightly. [You are mine now…I will relinquish you once I am done with you.]

Ariis’ fingers and toes started to flinch slightly. She knew it was an affect of the drug. She tried to free herself from the tentacles, but it was no use. They were tight around her. She groaned and stressed, hearing the servos in her suit whir and try to work, but it was no use. She stopped, relaxing, saving her strength.

[Give in and I will make the burning stop…] Ariis turned her head away towards her arm. She felt a soothing cool tentacle slithering up past her past her face. She felt the same tentacles emerging all around her, running across her entire body. Slowly and gently, the tentacles removed her armor, leaving her completely naked in the shadow. At first, the tentacles felt disgustingly slimy as they slid across her entire body, wrapping around her and caressing her. She grit her teeth, trying to ignore it, but the feeling quickly became intoxicating and impossible to resist. They seemed to know her every secret place, caressing the side of her neck and the base of her spine. She started to moan slightly, surrendering to the ecstasy.


Hunter knew he had to finish the fight with the assassins. He was the only person he trusted could take on a powerful telepath. He grit his teeth, ducking down out of the way of another shot from the sniper. He had to stumble backwards to avoid a slice from the blade assassin.

He grit his teeth, realizing he was fighting a rookie. An expert’s follow-through should have killed him. That meant he was just being sloppy. He drew his revolver, but the assassin disarmed him. He grit his teeth, slamming his foot into the blade assassin’s ankle and breaking it.

All of his weapons made him heavy and slowing him down. He knew he had nothing right on him now for taking down the blade assassin since it knocked his revolver away. He thought about diving for it, but just as he was about to, the blade assassin lunged at him again. Just as he did, a loud, ringing shot rang out.

“Son of a bitch…” Zen shouted, firing a shotgun with her one good arm. The blade assassin ran towards her, but she had an automatic shotgun. She pulled the trigger again and again, sending a hailstorm of shot into the assassin until it finally stopped moving. It collapsed to the ground in a puddle of its own blood. “Looks like I was right to ha…”

“GET DOWN!” Hunter shouted, sweeping Zen’s legs out from under her. She yelped slightly, but a blinding plasma shot passing just in front of her face silenced any complaints. Hunter quickly got out the rifle Constance bought him, lining up a shot and firing a singing bolt of plasma at the sniper assassin. It pierced him right through the neck, sending him tumbling off his perch to the ground bellow.

“Nice…” Zen said with a laugh. Hunter stood up, putting his rifle back under his duster. He got his revolver and shot the blade assassin in the head to make sure he was down. Zen grabbed the rifle the sniper dropped. She gasped seeing it. “Sweet god! Look at this…” She wiped a smudge off the side of the rifle. “It’s an Origin rifle…Pre-crash and everything…Where the hell did they get their hands on Origin tech…”

“The universe is loaded with it if you know where to look…” Hunter grabbed a large boor gun off the other assassin the ammo belt to go with it.

Origin technology was the name of any piece of tech from before the ‘Great Crash’ destroyed all technology. Every race has their own Origin tech, but when found, it went to whatever race found it first. The only race that wasn’t interested in finding Origin tech was the Rae. Origin technology was actually responsible for most of the tech people took for granted every day. The only problem was that Origin technology couldn’t be replicated exactly. It showed how to make the technology, but the Origin tech was always better.

The rifle was simple, made of geometric shapes. The top of it had a long, gentle curve to it. It had glowing parts, and it was bright shinning silver, though the assassin had painted it flat black. The paint was easily scratched off, though the gun itself was unharmed. She pressed a button on the side of it, and a scope popped out of the top.

“Hurry up and get whatever you want off the bodies. We have to get back to save Tasha…” Hunter said to Zen as she quickly checked the other bodies. The tech was simple, no Origin tech outside of the rifle. She held up the rifle into the air.

“I’m keeping this…” She said as Hunter started to run up a fire escape on the side of the closest building. Zen quickly followed after him, angry that she got so distracted by fancy new toys.


Neither Zen nor Hunter knew they were being watched. Far away, watching through her visor was another assassin. She was fully suited, leaving no bit of herself exposed to the outside world. She had long gauntlets and boots that were made of overlapping sharp plates of armor. Sharp, outward turned plates overlapped on her stomach. Her chest was covered by a sharp breast plate, with blades sticking up just before her armpits. Her arms, shoulders, and legs were covered by tight leather, the rest was covered with an intricate and close mesh of Kevlar.

Her helmet was the most unique piece of her armor. It contained Origin tech, giving her unheard of tracking abilities. Modeled after a Japanese demon, the mask had three rows of two sharp glowing red eyes, with eyes positioned all the way around the helmet, staring in every direction. Underneath the eyes was a horrible, blood-thirsty looking demonic mouth. The forehead had two short, slender horns that were both slightly different lengths, being broken off at the ends.

She held up her wrist, a small hologram hovered above a device on her wrist. The figure was cloaked with a hood, a taught silk veil hiding its face.

“He killed all three of my disciples…” She growled, but then just shrugged. “I knew they were pathetic…They were using lethal force when we said to bring him in alive.”

“What is the status of the traitor? Have you apprehended him yet?”

“Not yet, but soon.” The assassin walked away from the edge of the building . “I’ll study him. I’m sure he has a weakness just waiting to be exploited…”

“Very well, I’ll leave him to you…You know what it will cost you if you fail, Cassandra.” The figure growled before her device shut off. She ran along the rooftop, trying to get to a place where she could keep her eyes on Hunter.


Zech saw something he couldn’t believe. Kik’tik, under all her armor, was a human. A strange human, but a human none the less. She had long golden hair, with small orange feathers running up the back of her neck. Her plain but elegant face was covered in a large cloud of freckles. She had crystal blue eyes that were winced in pain.

“A human in Laumur armor?” The Messenger clenched the hand. With a flick of her wrist, the arm brought Kik’tik to in front of her. “No…” She brushed aside Kik’tik’s hair, running her fingers along the feathers. “…something more. You can’t be part Laumur...”

“Fuck off!” Kik’tik yelled at the Messenger, spitting in her face. The Messenger wiped it off with a sneer. She clenched the lightning hand tighter, making Kik’tik scream in pain. Zech had seen enough, aiming at the Messenger and firing a stream of shots at her. They splashed across an invisible shield in front of her, but it did get the Messenger’s attention.

“It would be wise to mind your own business, Zieke!” She yelled, throwing Kik’tik at him. He caught her, but was sent tumbling backwards from the force. Kik’tik coughed, trying to talk. She looked into Zech’s eyes.

“Please…” She coughed. “Get us out of here…Get me back to the ship…” Zech got them both back to their feet. Kik’tik legs trembled, unable to keep herself on her feet. Zech supported her, but knew he couldn’t keep fighting while he was supporting Kik’tik. “Don’t tell anyone what I am…or so help me god…”

“Now’s not the time…” Zech groaned, jumping to get them both out of the way of an attack from the Messenger. Kik’tik gasped for breath.

“Submit to me, Zieke, and surrender my pet and I will allow you to live…” the Messenger pulled back its arm. “You will be my slave and treated well…or better at least compared to the rest of these peons.”

“We need a way out of this, Kik’tik…” Zech whispered through his clenched teeth. “…right now…”

“I’ll take it that’s a refusal…” The Messenger raised its lightning arm into the air, extending it to a long bolt. Kik’tik pulled Zech as close as she could without digging her claws into him.

“Hang on tight…” Kik’tik hit an emergence transport signal on her belt, and in a flash, both of them were back on Kik’tik’s ship. Kik’tik pushed Zech away and collapsed to the ground. “Go…get to the bridge…” She gasped in pain. “Get us off this goddamn rock!” She tossed him a device. It was small and round, like a polished stone. “That’ll let you control the ship, now go!”

“Kik’tik…” Sala said stunned. She couldn’t believe she was seeing Kik’tik with a human head. It was almost too much for her to comprehend.

“We can’t just leave! We have to stay and fight!” Zech shouted.

“We have nothing that could touch her. Leave her to the military on the planet…I want to get the hell out of here NOW!” Kik’tik cried in pain slightly, slamming her fist against the ground. She did it again, hoping it’d distract Sala and Zech from her tears running down the side of her face. “If they handle her, we can come back…There’s nothing wrong with saving our strength…Besides, that shoulder of yours is about to fail…”

“Rgh…” Zech growled. His Enhance Marine training told him to stay and fight until his last breath, but he had more to worry about now. He couldn’t make that decision for Sala and Kik’tik. He had to get them far away. “Yes…” Zech turned and ran to the bridge, already memorizing the way. Kik’tik grabbed Sala’s hand.

“Sala…You’re going to have to help get me out of my armor…”

“Are you all human under there?”

“You’ll see…”


Zech ran to the bridge as fast as he could. He had memorized the route while Kik’tik was sleeping. It didn’t take long, not with a ship as small as Kik’tik’s.

The doors opened automatically as he neared. He had never been on a Laumur bridge before, completely unfamiliar with the design. Fortunately, it was made to be run by one person. That meant, for the most part, the flight and weapons controls were all in one spot.

He got to the command chair, putting the round device into a whole he saw. The ship buzzed and hummed, coming to life. It beeped, saying things in English he didn’t understand. He figured it couldn’t have been too important as friendly as the voice sounded. He pulled back on the controls, finding them basically the same as Zieke controls.

The ship took off into the air, clumsily because of his lack of experience. He put the hammer down on the ship, sending it streaking out of the planet’s air and into space. That’s when the ship went nuts, alarms going off across all the controls.

“What is it…I don’t speak English!” He yelled at them, but that’s when he saw them.

Horrible ships that were almost impossible to see in space. They were horrible, twisted shapes, none of them the same. They all had a central body, with long spires reaching out into space, and all of it was covered by the same ridges the Messenger had. Zech had no idea why, but they were the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. They were countless, each shooting a blinding red beam into either the orbiting colonies, the planet bellow, or the ships trying to desperately fight off the enemy.

“Shit…” Zech grit his teeth as one of the ships turned its attention to them. He could barely handle Kik’tik’s ship, but he did his best. He shouted down the hallway. “I COULD USE SOME HELP UP HERE!”

“We’re busy!” Sala yelled back, accompanied by Kik’tik groaning. Zech slammed the controls of the ship to the side to avoid a beam fired by the beast. The entire ship shook with the energy from the beam skimming across the hull. Zech grit his teeth.

“Then hang on, because this is about to get hairy…”


Constance woke up laying on a smooth, cool black floor. She could hear the sound of Tasha crying somewhere off in the distance. She looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. As soon as she started trying, Ariis’ door appeared in front of her. It had a spotlight pointing down at it. She bit her lip and entered into the room.

Inside, she saw Jessie’s head on a pike. She gasped, covering her mouth to keep herself from getting sick. But that wasn’t remotely the worst thing she saw. She heard more crying, walking towards Ariis’ bedroom.

“Tasha!” She shouted. As she walked, she saw herself naked and pinned to the wall with a knife. She winced, but kept walking. She had to find Tasha. She knew Tasha had to be in Ariis’ bedroom. Inside, she found Tasha completely naked, her arms tied together and her neck chained to the bed with a metal collar like Ariis made her wear. Constance walked over, putting her hand on Tasha’s back. “Tasha…”

“Who…” Tasha looked up from her bed, tears still running down the sides of her face. “…Connie?” Tasha shook her head, burying her face back in the pillows. “No, I’m going nuts…you can’t be here…Ariis killed you.”

“Tasha…” Constance took Tasha’s hand in hers. “It’s really me…This isn’t real…”

“Yes it is!” Tasha said without looking up from her pillow. “Connie…Ariis murdered you when she got me…said she had no use for you any more and pinned you right there…My Dad tried to save me, but then she killed him and put his head on a pike…”

“It’s all a dream, Tasha…” Constance put her hand on the side of Tasha’s face. “I know it’s horrible, but it’s all just a dream…”

Suddenly, Constance felt a bitter cold. She turned around, jumping when she saw the Demon standing behind her. It cackled, slowly moving towards her.

“You would have to be the one to pierce her mind…” It hissed as it walked towards her. Its gate was smooth and almost step-less. “Though I must thank you for opening a path for me.”

“What?” Constance did her best to keep herself between the Demon and Tasha. “What do you mean?”

The demon didn’t answer her, just snapping his fingers and making Tasha disappear. Slowly, it walked towards her. “Hopefully, your friend will forgive you for what your friendship cost her…”

“What are you going to do to her?!” Constance didn’t have time to wonder what it was going to do to Tasha. It sent whips of darkness out, wrapping around her arms and legs, slowly dragging her toward its infinite blackness. It gave her a horrible feeling, but a feeling she recognized. “What are you doing to Master Ariis?!”

“Don’t concern yourself with her…You have plenty to worry about yourself!” The demon roared as it slowly dragged Constance into its body. Constance started screaming at the top of her lungs.

Constance woke up with a scream, covered in an icy cold sweat. She was shivering, looking around to see if anyone else was there. Geoff was at the foot of her bed, he was explaining how he found her to Patch, but now they were both focused on her.

“Is there a problem, Miss Constance?” Patch said plainly and calmly. It hovered over to her, scanning her. Geoff walked over to him, grabbing him as she floated by.

“I think she just had a nightmare, Patch…” Geoff looked Constance over. She looked pale, but alright. “Looks like the meds did the trick…”

“Meds?” Constance had to ask, not remembering anything specifically. She remembered feeling sick, but not too much outside of that. Suddenly, she recognized Geoff. “You were the man that made those lewd comments about Priestess Yu’lena!”

“And I carried you here after you puked your guts out.” Geoff shrugged. “I may do crappy things, but I try to make up for them.” Constance tried to get out of bed, but Geoff kept her in bed. “Easy there, girl. You were pretty sick there…”

“Yes,” Patch reassured her, “you need to stay in bed for at least a few hours.”

“But Tasha’s in danger…She’s…”

“You’re in no condition to help her now.” Patch said with his usual lack of emotion.

“We’ll get her back.” Geoff assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry.” Constance turned and buried her face in her pillow, crying.

“You’re not worried enough…”


The demon dropped Ariis, fully armored again with the damaged parts still damaged. She gasped for breath briefly, like she had been strangled. After she caught her breath, she stood up, staring lifelessly into the distance. She reached down, grabbing her hammer.

“The Akyllisian is yours…” The demon hissed at Paul. “So is the black girl…But remember my orders…Don’t extend your reach out of the system…” Paul nodded, looking over Ariis. She was covered in sweat and looked like she hadn’t had anything had anything to eat or drink in days.

“What did you do to her?” The demon turned around. Paul smirked, knowing exactly what he did. “What kind of freaky things did you do to her with that weird body of yours?”

The demon didn’t answer him. It appeared to fold itself into space, disappearing with a breeze. Paul didn’t care, turning all of his attention to Ariis. He looked her over, running his hand over her armor. She was a full head shorter than Eliza.

“Dear Eliza…” He said with a smile. “She’s as built as you are…But she looks like the mileage is a lot higher on her…” He turned back to Tasha. “I think I prefer my chocolate skin beauty, but why don’t you take her? You did make such a big fuss about being a lesbian…”

Eliza walked over to Ariis. They stared lifelessly at each other before kissing deeply. Ariis put a leg up around Eliza’s waist, dropping her hammer so she could put her hands on Eliza’s back. Eliza pushed her against the wall. She kissed Ariis along her neck, pulling at her armor to try to get it off.

Paul smirked. He watched intently for a minute, but lost interest, turning it back to Tasha. He remembered his plan, walking over to Jessie. Jessie was battered and bloodied, tied to a chair. Paul slapped him a couple times to wake him up. Jessie groaned, wincing in pain as he opened his eyes.

“Wake up or you’re going to miss the show…” Paul slapped him again with a sick laugh. Jessie looked up at him, instantly recognizing him.

“Son of a bitch…” Paul slapped him once more.

“Watch the language in front of your daughter…” Paul walked over to Tasha, running his tongue along the side of her face. “She is so very sweet…”

“You…” Jessie stressed and strained against the ropes. He grit his teeth, not caring if he hurt himself if it meant saving Tasha. Still, the ropes didn’t give an inch.

“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Paul smiled, groping Tasha’s breasts through her jumpsuit. Tasha tipped her head back and giggled. Jessie knew he was controlling her. “That’s why I wanted you to see what a fine girl you’ve raised…”

Tasha unzipped her jumpsuit and kicked off her shoes. She dropped her jumpsuit to the ground. Tasha caressed herself, running her hands along her bra and panties. Jessie couldn’t stand it. He grit his teeth before he finally yelled.

“Tasha!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. “NATASHA! You’re stronger than him! Don’t let him control you like this!” Tasha couldn’t stop herself. She unhooked her bra and threw it to Jessie. Jessie growled, fighting against the ropes. He closed his eyes as she slid off her panties. “I want you to know…Paul…For making her do this, I’m going to fucking kill you…”

“Well…” Paul laughed. “I have to admire your honesty…” He snapped his fingers. “I can make you keep your eyes open…” Jessie’s eyes forced open. Paul was making Jessie watch every horrible thing Paul was making Tasha do to herself. Tasha’s legs twisted and she moaned and cried with pleasure.

“Bastard…”

“Relax and enjoy the show…” Paul groaned. “She’s not even your real daughter…”

“Fucking telepath…” Jessie grumbled.

“That’s enough, slut…” Paul shouted to Tasha, walking over to her. “Leave something for me to do…” He started caressing her entire body, groping her. He kissed her, licking her lips and teeth.


Hunter got to a rooftop across the street from the hotel. He was setting up his rifle on a tripod and lining up a shot on Paul. Zen ran up behind him, winded slightly.

“How…” She caught her breath, getting herself under control after being winded. She had to look strong in front of everyone else. She shook the stupid ‘How did you get here so fast’ question out of her head. “How did you know where to go?”

“It’s complicated…” He growled as he fine tuned his aim. He got a good shot, right at Paul’s head. He saw him manipulating Tasha, and started to pull the trigger. At the last second, he stopped the shot, as hard as it was to not take the shot. He recognized the sensation. “Damn it, he’s shielded…” He kept his eye against the scope. Tasha started kissing down Paul’s chest. As he sat down in a chair, she started unbuckling his belt.

“What do you mean he’s shielded?” Tasha pulled a canister off his belt and started adjusting the settings, mumbling about Tasha’s cybernetic leg.

“It’s a telepathic shield, keeps anyone, and I mean ANYONE, aiming an attack at him from being able to pull it off.” He looked through the scope, then looked back at Zen. “Look through the scope and line up a shot, but DON’T pull the trigger yet…It’s going to be hard as hell not to pull the trigger, I know, but don’t…You’ll reveal our position and you can still hit Tasha.”

“Alright…” Zen looked through the scope. “Tasha…” She grit her teeth. She knew in her heart that he was forcing Tasha to do it. “Why are you making me watch this!?”

“You’ll fire when I give the signal…” He looked over the roof. There was a skylight on the roof he could get in through. “These telepathic shields have their limits…Don’t miss…”

Zen looked up for a second, seeing Hunter take a running jump to get across the street. She had to resist the urge to fire, waiting like Hunter told him despite everything her mind told her to do.


Paul moaned and laughed, making Tasha stand up. He laughed, running his hand down her back and across her butt. Jessie was growling and stressing, trying to break the ropes.

“Natalia…” He said quietly. “Please make me strong enough to save our daughter…” Jessie didn’t know why, but he was never comfortable asking God for favors. It seemed ridiculous, knowing he wouldn’t answer just one person’s prayers. Still, asking his wife seemed appropriate enough. “Save her…please…”

“Talia’s not going to hear you, Jessie…” Paul tsk-ed as he walked over to Jessie.

“Why are you doing this?” Jessie had to ask.

“I never got anything in my life.” Paul said bluntly. “So, I’m taking my fair share from everyone else…” He snapped his fingers again. “Speaking of which, I have a wonderfully sick and twisted idea…Oh, Tasha…”

Before he could order Tasha to do anything, Hunter smashed in through the skylight, crashing down next to Tasha and shoving her out of the way as he threw down his grenade. All the soldiers in the room aimed their rifles at him and Ariis picked up her hammer, but before anyone could fire, his grenade went off. All the lights in the room flickered and went out and none of the soldiers’ guns could fire. Soldiers still rushed him, but he didn’t care. He drew his revolver, shooting soldiers as non-lethally as possible. Still, there was Ariis. She was on him in a flash, hitting him with a massive blow that split the air and sent him smashing into the stone walls. It cracked like glass around him.

Zen grit her teeth across the street and fired. The beam streaked through the window and straight through Paul’s shoulder. He howled in pain. Eliza shook her head, surprised to find she could move herself again. In a blink, she was on Paul, both hands around his head.

“What!?” Paul couldn’t comprehend what was going on, doing his best to will Eliza to stop. Eliza snickered at his pathetic effort. Nothing was going to stop her now. She twisted his head until she heard the satisfying crack she wanted, letting him fall to the ground, dead.

Tasha slammed back into her body. She quickly realized she was naked and realized everything Paul had made her done. Her body wretched, and she collapsed to the floor, vomiting. Jessie finally had enough, snapping the ropes and running over to Tasha.

“Tasha…” He put his hand on her back, kneeling down next to her. Tasha couldn’t bear to look at him or anyone else. She cried, covering her mouth to try from getting sick again, but it was no use. “Tasha…It’s going to be okay, honey…”

“No, it’s not…” Tasha cried. “You don’t know what that…thing put me through before he…he…” she sobbed, her body quaking, “what he made me do in front of you…what he was going to make me do to you…” Tasha grabbed her jumpsuit, clutching it to her chest. She tried to put it on, but her arms and legs fumbled and shook, keeping her from doing it. Jessie helped steady her arms so she could put it on.

“It really is going to be okay, Tasha…” Jessie tried to reassure her as she got her legs in the jumpsuit, zipping up quickly. She hung her head, ashamed of her body now. Jessie definitely saw her tattoo, there was no way around it. She just had to hope he’d let her keep it. Still, she had far worse concerns.

“If Ariis makes any cracks…”

“I’ll shoot her, don’t worry…” Jessie hugged her, holding her close. She cried, burying her face in his chest.

“I want to go back home…”

“Alright, but we better get moving before the police show up…” Tasha nodded. As they walked out of the hotel, she scooped up her underwear and put it in her pocket. Ambulances were arriving, so they had to move fast.


Ariis shook her head, looking over at Eliza. She realized she was just making out with her, jealous she was taller and stronger than her. Then, she remembered what the demon had done to her. She wasn’t sure if it was real or not, having blurred, ecstasy filled memories of it.


Eliza looked down as the parts of her armor the demon made started to dissolve. She broke it up and pulled the bits and pieces of the armor off. She couldn’t stand it any more, going into a fury to get it off. Finally, it was off. She pulled down a nearby curtain and wrapped it around herself to cover up. She sat down, waiting for more police to arrive. She knew she had a lot to atone for, even if she was under Paul’s control.