Part 21
Starbuck opened her eyes and sighed. There was a time in her life when regaining consciousness wasn't accompanied by thoughts of anger and frustration, but since coming to this place it seemed the norm. It would be nice to wake up lying in a bed for once, if only for the novelty.
Starbuck saw a woman before her; rather small and unimpressive physically. When she spoke, Starbuck instantly recognized it as the one who spoke to her throughout all her torment here. Now that she had a face to go with the voice, she looked forward to meeting her when she wasn't bound.
That was another thing; she wished she could wake up in the morning and not be locked in some kind of bizarre contraption. She could feel she was lying down and stretched out, perhaps on a rack, though for some reason she couldn't see. She quickly realized that the image of her captor was wherever she looked, and it quickly became apparent why.
"My name is Ms. Danoob," the woman explained. "Don't bother trying to attack me; even if you weren't secured, you're only seeing a projection of me. You may not know it, but you're wearing a special helmet I devised, allowing you to see and hear what I want you to. You should recognize your competitor well enough." Next to Ms. Danoob appeared an image of Lara Croft's face. "You might notice that you don't see the helmet. I've also installed a camera inside that can view you even while fully inside it, quite clever if I do say so myself."
"Very clever," Starbuck said icily. "Now get me out of this frackin' thing."
"Not yet, I'm afraid," Ms. Danoob said. "Since you two still haven't cooperated, even after the excessive treatment by Mara and Seven, it seems we have to continue with this unpleasantness."
"I told you!" Starbuck bellowed. "I don't know a frackin' thing!!! What does it take to get through to you?!!!"
"Enough," Ms. Danoob said, though as usual it was without any kind of reproach. "Considering how well things went with you two together last time, we thought another game might be in order."
"No," Lara said. "No more games. We're not here to amuse you."
"No, you're not," Ms. Danoob said. "You're here to provide information, but you're not doing it. Until that time, we'll put you to whatever use seems appropriate."
"Go to hell," Lara said with a rumbling tone, like the sound of an impending cave-in.
Ms. Danoob shook her head. "You're quite difficult sometimes, Lara. In any event, the game will begin soon, and so you'd best be prepared." Starbuck glowered but said nothing; she was forced to play whether she wanted to or not, and she knew from last time that it was better to know how it works than be stubborn for pride's sake. Still, that knowledge didn't make this any less grating. "Now, since this is a game, there must be rules, and an objective. We call this game Take 5."
"I don't care," Lara said. "Get on with it."
"I would if you'd stop interrupting," Ms. Danoob said. "You both are wearing the charity belts, much like last time. However, rather than being turned on while you're being tickled, they'll be turned on when you're not being tickled. An extra incentive, you might say.
"One of the most nonsensical comments I've heard about relativity," she went on, "is comparing something good with something bad. Sitting on a hot stove can make a moment stretch out, while a night of passion can go by like the snap of a fingers. It's true, but unrelated, because all this refers to is the human mind's ability to process the passage of time. Under some circumstances it can fly by, but under others it can crawl. That's what this is, a test of your ability to measure the passage of time.
"One of you is going to be tickled," she explained, "while the other gets to watch and... enjoy herself. However, the one being tickled can switch her tickling off and turn the other person's on by saying the word 'time.' However, there's a catch. You must allow at least five minutes to pass first. If you say it too soon, then the machine intensity will be increased and the timer reset to zero."
"And you're not going to give us any way to measure time, yes?" Lara said darkly. "Just to be sadistic, right?"
"Hardly sadistic," Ms. Danoob said. "It's only your continued refusal-"
"I can tell you nothing!" Lara shouted.
Ms. Danoob paused. "I think it's time we got started," she said, pulling out a coin. "Call it," she said to Lara, flipping
"Heads," Lara said with a snarl.
Ms. Danoob caught the coin. "Tails,” she said, not even pretending to look at it. "You go first."
Lara grinned a sinister grin. "I do love how you counter my accusation of sadism by -and this is the truly brilliant part of the strategy- acting like a sadist." Before she could say anything more she exploded with laughter. At the same time, Starbuck felt the pleasant sensation of the charity belt vibrating in just the right place. Given how much general unpleasantness came her way here, she ignored the indignity of it and decided to enjoy herself. And watching Lara really did make it that much more fun. Alongside her laughing face, images of her body appeared. At the moment, there was a close-up image of a paintbrush stroking along her belly and then dipping into her navel, swirling about with its fine tip. The abdomen shook with laughter, the effect of the touch only too obvious to Starbuck as she watched her tremble under the strokes. The image changed, and another brush was stroking around her nipple, teasing it erect and then tickling it madly. Starbuck knew how ticklish Lara was there, and could see in her face how this made the session even more intense. She was sweating now, and Starbuck felt herself sweating a little herself. This was pretty nice, actually. Lara was beautiful, and the sight of her gorgeous body being teased, and her face laughing madly under its effects, perfectly complemented the little buzzing that had suddenly become Starbuck's new best friend.
"Time!" Lara shouted, and suddenly it was Starbuck's turn to laugh. But it couldn't be, it had only just started!
Starbuck screwed her eyes shut while she laughed; oh they were tickling her feet! She hated that! There was some wheel-like apparatus running up and down her soles, driving her crazy. She scrunched and squirmed, and that helped a little, but even after all this time she was still powerless against the effects of the tickling. Compounding it were more prods into her ribcage. They drove in and wriggled about, causing her to shriek with every squeeze. There were other places as well, but those two were absolutely awful, and she struggled and sputtered along as they subjected her to this.
"Time!" she called. It had been grueling, but-
A deep buzzer sound, and instead of relenting, they started tickling her more. "No! Stop! STOP IT!!!" Things got worse on her feet. Now little probes descended and held her toes in place. She soon felt the light touches of feathers exploring each and every one, and she screamed with laughter. "NOT MY FEET! NOT MY FEET! HAHAHAHA!!!" But of course, there was no way of stopping them short of saying the word at the right time, and how the hell would she know when that was?! She'd known for certain it had been long enough before, until this had buzzed at her. But there was nothing for it, so she just laughed and tried to resist, even as they tickle tortured her helpless feet.
"Time!" she eventually yelled, and thankfully the tickling stopped. She panted in exhaustion, and even as she did she felt the sensation in her womanhood. Oh that felt so nice after all this, so... Starbuck moaned a little despite herself. She looked up and saw Lara's squirming body and her breathing deepened, and she felt the flame growing in her belly, and then it flowed through her, washing pleasure through her body, and leaving her sighing with enjoyment in its wake. Still Lara's torment went on, and Starbuck watched the feathers and brushes tease her body.
"Time!" Lara yelled, and Starbuck stiffened in expectation, but it didn't come. Instead she started laughing even harder. "Stop it!" Lara shouted. "I said "Time, dammit!" There was another buzz and the tickling increased yet again. Starbuck lay there, feeling the persistent rubbing, and eating up the sight of Lara being tickled out of her wits.
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Lara closed her eyes and shrieked with laughter. It was coming at her full force now, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed. There were two shaving brushes being employed in her armpits, stroking and spinning as they slid up and down and back and forth. They must have been shaved while she slept, because they felt especially vulnerable at the moment, . It was practically to the point where she could feel the tickling touch of every bristle as it slid across the surface, leaving her squealing for it to stop. From below, the all too familiar attack on her full breasts was in full force. The paintbrushes that had been tormenting her before were still there, but they were now joined by the stroking of feathers and the precise strikes of little scratches here and there, until her breasts were bouncing around in an effort at escape.
There was just enough room between her thighs for something to get in there and begin kneading up and down the milky curves. Lara shrieked and tried to get them out, but there was nothing for it. They continued up and down from the side of her knees clear up to the edge of the charity belt. She was getting tickled elsewhere, of course: the persistent stroking of her feet, the merciless prodding of her belly, the constant squeezing of her sides, the horrible pin-point strikes on her hips. She sputtered and shook and tried not to... to... Someone had switched her belt on, she could feel it. Oh God, with the constant tickling it was driving her mad with desire! More! She needed more! She laughed and shook and five minutes came and went and still she went on. And Starbuck came again just from the sight of this beautiful girl, and soon Lara did as well, and it was in that moment that every stroke felt like it was wrapping Lara in pure ecstasy, and between it all Lara's mind overloaded and she slipped into unconsciousness.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Danoob watched the events play out from her control room. She nodded with approval. "It's about time, Lara," she said quietly. "About time you woke up to what you really want." She turned to Starbuck. Oh yes, she was doing nicely as well. The dream manipulations had pushed her very far already; she was nearly there herself. "A little longer, I think," she said, "and we can start getting down to our real business."
Her assistant looked up at Lara's unconscious form. "Are you sure, ma'am?" she asked. "She's proven very resilient. This could be a trick."
"Very good," Ms. Danoob said. "Yes, you're starting to respect the ladies we've brought here. But I don't think this is a trap, and in any case, I shall be as careful as I have always been." She put a finger to her lips and mulled it over while she watched the screen. "Yes. What they need now is a little something they can do to get to know one another better. A little cooperative fun."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Oh, a little bit of two-on-one," she said. "Have the preparations on the new reactor been completed?"
"No, but we seem to be nearing a breakthrough."
"Good, 'nearing' will work just fine."
Starbuck opened her eyes and sighed. There was a time in her life when regaining consciousness wasn't accompanied by thoughts of anger and frustration, but since coming to this place it seemed the norm. It would be nice to wake up lying in a bed for once, if only for the novelty.
Starbuck saw a woman before her; rather small and unimpressive physically. When she spoke, Starbuck instantly recognized it as the one who spoke to her throughout all her torment here. Now that she had a face to go with the voice, she looked forward to meeting her when she wasn't bound.
That was another thing; she wished she could wake up in the morning and not be locked in some kind of bizarre contraption. She could feel she was lying down and stretched out, perhaps on a rack, though for some reason she couldn't see. She quickly realized that the image of her captor was wherever she looked, and it quickly became apparent why.
"My name is Ms. Danoob," the woman explained. "Don't bother trying to attack me; even if you weren't secured, you're only seeing a projection of me. You may not know it, but you're wearing a special helmet I devised, allowing you to see and hear what I want you to. You should recognize your competitor well enough." Next to Ms. Danoob appeared an image of Lara Croft's face. "You might notice that you don't see the helmet. I've also installed a camera inside that can view you even while fully inside it, quite clever if I do say so myself."
"Very clever," Starbuck said icily. "Now get me out of this frackin' thing."
"Not yet, I'm afraid," Ms. Danoob said. "Since you two still haven't cooperated, even after the excessive treatment by Mara and Seven, it seems we have to continue with this unpleasantness."
"I told you!" Starbuck bellowed. "I don't know a frackin' thing!!! What does it take to get through to you?!!!"
"Enough," Ms. Danoob said, though as usual it was without any kind of reproach. "Considering how well things went with you two together last time, we thought another game might be in order."
"No," Lara said. "No more games. We're not here to amuse you."
"No, you're not," Ms. Danoob said. "You're here to provide information, but you're not doing it. Until that time, we'll put you to whatever use seems appropriate."
"Go to hell," Lara said with a rumbling tone, like the sound of an impending cave-in.
Ms. Danoob shook her head. "You're quite difficult sometimes, Lara. In any event, the game will begin soon, and so you'd best be prepared." Starbuck glowered but said nothing; she was forced to play whether she wanted to or not, and she knew from last time that it was better to know how it works than be stubborn for pride's sake. Still, that knowledge didn't make this any less grating. "Now, since this is a game, there must be rules, and an objective. We call this game Take 5."
"I don't care," Lara said. "Get on with it."
"I would if you'd stop interrupting," Ms. Danoob said. "You both are wearing the charity belts, much like last time. However, rather than being turned on while you're being tickled, they'll be turned on when you're not being tickled. An extra incentive, you might say.
"One of the most nonsensical comments I've heard about relativity," she went on, "is comparing something good with something bad. Sitting on a hot stove can make a moment stretch out, while a night of passion can go by like the snap of a fingers. It's true, but unrelated, because all this refers to is the human mind's ability to process the passage of time. Under some circumstances it can fly by, but under others it can crawl. That's what this is, a test of your ability to measure the passage of time.
"One of you is going to be tickled," she explained, "while the other gets to watch and... enjoy herself. However, the one being tickled can switch her tickling off and turn the other person's on by saying the word 'time.' However, there's a catch. You must allow at least five minutes to pass first. If you say it too soon, then the machine intensity will be increased and the timer reset to zero."
"And you're not going to give us any way to measure time, yes?" Lara said darkly. "Just to be sadistic, right?"
"Hardly sadistic," Ms. Danoob said. "It's only your continued refusal-"
"I can tell you nothing!" Lara shouted.
Ms. Danoob paused. "I think it's time we got started," she said, pulling out a coin. "Call it," she said to Lara, flipping
"Heads," Lara said with a snarl.
Ms. Danoob caught the coin. "Tails,” she said, not even pretending to look at it. "You go first."
Lara grinned a sinister grin. "I do love how you counter my accusation of sadism by -and this is the truly brilliant part of the strategy- acting like a sadist." Before she could say anything more she exploded with laughter. At the same time, Starbuck felt the pleasant sensation of the charity belt vibrating in just the right place. Given how much general unpleasantness came her way here, she ignored the indignity of it and decided to enjoy herself. And watching Lara really did make it that much more fun. Alongside her laughing face, images of her body appeared. At the moment, there was a close-up image of a paintbrush stroking along her belly and then dipping into her navel, swirling about with its fine tip. The abdomen shook with laughter, the effect of the touch only too obvious to Starbuck as she watched her tremble under the strokes. The image changed, and another brush was stroking around her nipple, teasing it erect and then tickling it madly. Starbuck knew how ticklish Lara was there, and could see in her face how this made the session even more intense. She was sweating now, and Starbuck felt herself sweating a little herself. This was pretty nice, actually. Lara was beautiful, and the sight of her gorgeous body being teased, and her face laughing madly under its effects, perfectly complemented the little buzzing that had suddenly become Starbuck's new best friend.
"Time!" Lara shouted, and suddenly it was Starbuck's turn to laugh. But it couldn't be, it had only just started!
Starbuck screwed her eyes shut while she laughed; oh they were tickling her feet! She hated that! There was some wheel-like apparatus running up and down her soles, driving her crazy. She scrunched and squirmed, and that helped a little, but even after all this time she was still powerless against the effects of the tickling. Compounding it were more prods into her ribcage. They drove in and wriggled about, causing her to shriek with every squeeze. There were other places as well, but those two were absolutely awful, and she struggled and sputtered along as they subjected her to this.
"Time!" she called. It had been grueling, but-
A deep buzzer sound, and instead of relenting, they started tickling her more. "No! Stop! STOP IT!!!" Things got worse on her feet. Now little probes descended and held her toes in place. She soon felt the light touches of feathers exploring each and every one, and she screamed with laughter. "NOT MY FEET! NOT MY FEET! HAHAHAHA!!!" But of course, there was no way of stopping them short of saying the word at the right time, and how the hell would she know when that was?! She'd known for certain it had been long enough before, until this had buzzed at her. But there was nothing for it, so she just laughed and tried to resist, even as they tickle tortured her helpless feet.
"Time!" she eventually yelled, and thankfully the tickling stopped. She panted in exhaustion, and even as she did she felt the sensation in her womanhood. Oh that felt so nice after all this, so... Starbuck moaned a little despite herself. She looked up and saw Lara's squirming body and her breathing deepened, and she felt the flame growing in her belly, and then it flowed through her, washing pleasure through her body, and leaving her sighing with enjoyment in its wake. Still Lara's torment went on, and Starbuck watched the feathers and brushes tease her body.
"Time!" Lara yelled, and Starbuck stiffened in expectation, but it didn't come. Instead she started laughing even harder. "Stop it!" Lara shouted. "I said "Time, dammit!" There was another buzz and the tickling increased yet again. Starbuck lay there, feeling the persistent rubbing, and eating up the sight of Lara being tickled out of her wits.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lara closed her eyes and shrieked with laughter. It was coming at her full force now, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed. There were two shaving brushes being employed in her armpits, stroking and spinning as they slid up and down and back and forth. They must have been shaved while she slept, because they felt especially vulnerable at the moment, . It was practically to the point where she could feel the tickling touch of every bristle as it slid across the surface, leaving her squealing for it to stop. From below, the all too familiar attack on her full breasts was in full force. The paintbrushes that had been tormenting her before were still there, but they were now joined by the stroking of feathers and the precise strikes of little scratches here and there, until her breasts were bouncing around in an effort at escape.
There was just enough room between her thighs for something to get in there and begin kneading up and down the milky curves. Lara shrieked and tried to get them out, but there was nothing for it. They continued up and down from the side of her knees clear up to the edge of the charity belt. She was getting tickled elsewhere, of course: the persistent stroking of her feet, the merciless prodding of her belly, the constant squeezing of her sides, the horrible pin-point strikes on her hips. She sputtered and shook and tried not to... to... Someone had switched her belt on, she could feel it. Oh God, with the constant tickling it was driving her mad with desire! More! She needed more! She laughed and shook and five minutes came and went and still she went on. And Starbuck came again just from the sight of this beautiful girl, and soon Lara did as well, and it was in that moment that every stroke felt like it was wrapping Lara in pure ecstasy, and between it all Lara's mind overloaded and she slipped into unconsciousness.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Danoob watched the events play out from her control room. She nodded with approval. "It's about time, Lara," she said quietly. "About time you woke up to what you really want." She turned to Starbuck. Oh yes, she was doing nicely as well. The dream manipulations had pushed her very far already; she was nearly there herself. "A little longer, I think," she said, "and we can start getting down to our real business."
Her assistant looked up at Lara's unconscious form. "Are you sure, ma'am?" she asked. "She's proven very resilient. This could be a trick."
"Very good," Ms. Danoob said. "Yes, you're starting to respect the ladies we've brought here. But I don't think this is a trap, and in any case, I shall be as careful as I have always been." She put a finger to her lips and mulled it over while she watched the screen. "Yes. What they need now is a little something they can do to get to know one another better. A little cooperative fun."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Oh, a little bit of two-on-one," she said. "Have the preparations on the new reactor been completed?"
"No, but we seem to be nearing a breakthrough."
"Good, 'nearing' will work just fine."
