Rosa and Mason kicked Becky and Lexi's ass.

"That's cheatin!" Becky yelled as Mason hooked her leg under the water and pulled them both over.

"There's no rules in a chicken fight. I'm a warhorse. Horses kick."

Rosa did a dance on his shoulders, not even trying to be sportsmanlike. Then Becky was launching herself at them both, executing some kind of flipped leg grab to scissor Rosa's upper body and yank her off screaming. Lexi and Haley cheered their support.

They spent a good two hours in the 'Aquatic Center'. It had 'simulated sun' over every chair and lounger with the push of a button, a kind of scrolling wheel to control the heat. There were system servants on hand to bring food and drinks or pool toys, even give massages on some nearby tables. Blake managed to convince Mason to give this a try.

"This is the life," Blake groaned as a pair of robotic hands kneaded his back.

Mason lay beside him, trying to relax. His never-ending wounds definitely left some...irregularities, including a number of aches and pains. But he didn't much expect some automaton to do much about it. Especially because his body was now like some combination of hard plastic and old shoe leather.

He twitched in surprise when the thing squashed him forcefully into the table. He literally heard it pushing, like it was building up fluid for a hydraulic press. It worked him with impossibly strong hands, and he groaned as it actually managed to sink its digits into his muscles with enough force to hurt.

"See?" Blake grinned. "I told you. They built this monster. They know how to feed it."

Mason groaned again as he felt it work a lump so big it might have been a tumor.

"It found my...Blake knot," he said "It's been building for fifteen years."

"Yes, well." Blake cleared his throat. "No reason to be snarky. I'm just trying to help."

"Maybe start trying to hurt. It might improve things."

Mason half passed out for awhile as the pain and pleasure flared through his back. Eventually Blake waved away his masseuse and stood.

"It's probably time we got back to our rooms. Thank you again for the invitation. No, no, don't get up. We'll see you in the promenade. Perhaps next time we'll all join you."

Mason nodded into the table. "Alright. I'm glad you came and...bothered me. We'll see you later."

"Hopefully much later. I'd like to sleep before the next round." Blake wiggled his eyebrows like he knew something Mason didn't, then called for his players and walked off.

Mason hadn't really talked to Seul-ki or Annie, but he didn't have much interest. With Blake's women you never knew who would be around in a week, a month. And they'd chosen their loyalties. They weren't his responsibility anymore.

Mostly he just lay there and tried to enjoy himself. After awhile he had to admit the rub down was helping. His system servant had enough mechanical strength and know-how it was legitimately crushing out some knots in his back and shoulders.

"Mind if I join you?" Lexi's voice. Mason glanced up and saw her shy, pretty smile.

He just grunted and half closed his eyes, perking up when Lexi lay down and undid the string of her top. Memories of the night before started flickering through his mind, and he had to fight them to stay comfortable lying flat...

"Figured we should...I don't know. Talk," Lexi said, obviously awkward. "We haven't really. Well ever, I guess. But since...well I figured. OK I don't know how to do this."

Mason chuckled, pushing himself up to speak a little more clearly. He swept Lexi with his eyes—long, brown hair spilling off the table, the curve of her back and ass.

"Do I make you nervous?"

"Um. A little."

Mason sat up and waved off the masseuses, fighting a bit of ancient shyness to put his hands on Lexi's back. He was no expert, but it wasn't rocket science. He started looking for knots, going as easy as possible. Lexi's body clenched a little at his touch, but relaxed quick.

"You know," he said, "before all this, I never would have talked to a girl like you."

"An English girl?" she said. "It's been a few hundred years. Surely you've forgiven us."

Mason grinned.

"No. I mean..." he shrugged, forcing his tongue to work. "I mean a beautiful, sophisticated looking girl. You were out of my league."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Lexi turned her head to give him a skeptical eye.

"Didn't you grow up rich? With private tutors?" When he nodded she did an eyeroll. "So aren't you...well, we'd say posh."

"No." Mason pressed on a shoulder knot and Lexi groaned. "I was a stray cat adopted by the posh. Not the same."

"Everything's so different now," Lexi said. "Funny how things stick. It's supposed to be different."

Mason glanced at Becky and Rosa floating on some kind of pool beds, laughing and chatting like old friends. They'd certainly come a long way since the first days, and he was glad for that. Haley had her eyes closed, lying on a flat chair getting fake sun. He grinned and kept on rubbing Lexi's back, doing his best not to let his hands wander.

"Oh it's different," he said. "But I'm still a stray. And you're still posh."

"It's like lady and the tramp," Lexi giggled. "Oh. I've been warned about you and movies. It's about this..."

"I know what Lady and the Tramp is." He gave her a slightly harder dig and she gripped the table with a groan.

"So…while you weren't watching tv, or going to proper school, what exactly were you doing?"

Memories of the giant Nimitz house floated through Mason's mind. The estate, the pool, the yard. Chasing frogs and building forts out of mud. Forcing his brother to toss around a ball. Kick the can in the trees with Blake and his friends, the neighborhood kids. He smiled as he thought of endless things to explore, reminded how much he'd always loved nature.

"We played outside," he said. "It's a thing kids used to do."

"Ah." Lexi smiled. "I've heard of outside." She sniffed. "I don't like it."

"Good thing you live in a forest now. In a giant tree city."

Lexi shook with a laugh. "And it's beautiful, it really is. But actually I'm still inside most of the time. We 'civilians' don't really leave the walls, you know."

Mason winced, realizing they probably felt pretty trapped, actually.

"We'll change that," he said. "In fact it's pretty safe already. There's not many dangers left near Nassau."

"Except you," Lexi said, turning to sit up. She put an arm over her chest, blushing a little as she eyed her swim top. Mason picked it up and draped it over her front, then moved to the back to tie it. She put her hands to her face like she was embarrassed.

"What?" he said.

Lexi glanced at the other girls, her voice low.

"It's just...I've slept with you. I had a threesome with you. But I feel like I hardly know you. This is the first time we've really talked."

"Yeah." Mason tied the string, putting his hands back on Lexi's shoulders. "It's a little weird. But, I don't regret it."

He sat behind her and leaned in, gently kissing her neck. She flinched, then moaned and put her head back against him. He decided he definitely wanted a night with her alone. She turned her face enough he could kiss her lips, and after a tiny hesitation she opened her mouth and went for his tongue.

"I feel like I'm kissing my friend's boyfriend," she whispered, looking a bit shy again.

Yeah, Mason thought. They definitely needed some alone time. He fought the urge to untie that top again and cup her breasts... and then who knew what from there...but a little blood was still in his brain, and he needed to use it.

"How about a date?" he said, and shrugged. "We're in a giant hotel for a week. There's probably other things to do. We could sit. Eat. Talk. Like fancy posh people."

Lexi's eyes lit up with her beautiful smile.

"When?"

"Tonight. Tomorrow. Whenever we get the chance."

Lexi glanced at the other girls. Especially Rosa.

"But...what about...I mean. Won't they be...jealous?"

"Stop worrying about them." Mason took Lexi's hand. "New world. New rules. You're not jealous of Rosa, are you?"

"No," she said, playing with his fingers.

"There you go. Hell, we can leave right now, if you like."

Lexi's eyebrows went up, and she looked away with a little tsk sound.

"Oh you're very good at this. Aren't you? A smooth criminal."

Mason fought off a genuine laugh.

"No one's accused me of being smooth before."

"At getting what you want, then," Lexi said, meeting his eyes. She definitely wasn't saying no. Or even really complaining. And Mason supposed he was getting pretty good at having things his way.

"When it's important," he said, and Lexi shook her head, like he was just proving her point.

"OK," she said. "It's a date."

Mason grinned, trailing a finger up her arm.

"I mean...you said it, you've already slept with me."

Lexi opened her mouth in mock offence, slapping at his arm before looking away.

"Maybe it was a one off. A terrible mistake. Never to be repeated again."

Mason grinned and leaned in until his lips touched her ear.

"I guess we'll see. Won't we?"

He saw little hairs rise on Lexi's arms, heard her heart beating faster. He was pretty sure he could even smell her arousal...

"Should I, um, should we go get changed?"

Mason knew if he took her back to the hotel room alone there was a very good chance he'd be fucking her before they left for the date. It kind of defeated the purpose, but he doubted either of them would be able to resist...

"Yeah." He picked up her tiny body and set her down beside him, which would have likely been easy before he got super strength. "Back to the room. We'll change. Then we'll go."

She bit her lip shyly and started walking with his hand in hers. The other girls hadn't even noticed them, even Haley still oblivious and relaxed in the fake sun. And the elevator doors weren’t far. He got about five steps before the various sounds of the world seemed to stop entirely.

[Greetings, players. We hope you're enjoying the Neutral Zone. The initial team fights will commence in approximately: 15 minutes. Please prepare yourselves, or exit your teams via your profiles now if you have changed your mind. Only the individual contests are mandatory. Good luck, and may the best teams win!]

He stopped, and Lexi met his eyes with a confused look.

"What's wrong?"

Apparently the civilians hadn't even heard the message. Mason looked over to see Becky (and Haley) leaping out of the pool, coming straight for him. He nodded to them and took a breath, speaking loud enough for a confused looking Rosa to hear, too.

"Team fights. Fifteen minutes. Haley, get all my players into the front of our room. We'll talk first. Then it's time. Ready, Becky?"

"I was born ready, city boy." She grinned, and Mason took a little comfort in her confidence. He tried not to imagine her losing and facing even a simulation of her own death.

He also couldn't help but see Lexi's disappointment, and feel his own frustrated desire. But he tried to use it as fuel. Because he was about to face two players, and while he supposed it should have worried him, he was pretty sure they were both about to have a very bad day.