Mars sighed.
     The evening's festivities had improved her spirits somewhat, but
now Venus had become sidetracked.  The blonde was leading her
through the gyrating crowd, heading towards the back of Sweet Sin.  The club
was one of the ones they occasionally frequented as senshi, and Venus
appeared to be in the mood for a loose crowd, loud pulsing music, and cheap
drinks.
     What a surprise.
     Still, Mars wasn't fighting it too hard.  Venus had dragged
her out of the house, and she was feeling almost human again.  She
owed her friend for that.  And, to tell the truth, Mars ordinarily
found the club quite diverting.  Maybe she should just trust Venus's
judgement again.
     Anyway, it was too early to go home, so she might as well
give it a chance.  She let herself be towed through the surging press
of hot bodies, watching as the pulsing lights played over the dance
floor.  Strategically placed cameras swept the crowd, occasionally
highlighting one dancer or another on the big video screens, usually
to the vocal approval of the rabble.  At the moment, a well-built
young man was gyrating on the screen at several times his usual
size, stripping off his torn t-shirt and pulling a willing girl close.  A
roar went up as he slid his hands up inside her blouse, and she
reciprocated by squeezing his well-rounded butt with girlish
enthusiasm.
     Just another night in the trenches.
     Venus found a table up on one of the raised levels in the
back and slid into the plush softness of the curved, high-backed
bench that provided a comfortable nook for two people ... three, if
they were VERY friendly.  Mars slid in next to her, stretching
against the dark red cushions.  It DID feel somewhat comforting,
being in a place that had no associations with ...
     Aw, hell.  There she went, thinking of HER again.  Every
time she thought she'd managed to put that girl out of her head,
she'd end up thinking about her again.  It was maddening.
     "Well, well, look who it is," a merry voice broke into her
reverie.  "My favourite customers!"
     "Hi, Moira," Mars smiled.
     "Hey, didn't you tell Jupiter and Mercury last week that
THEY were your favourite customers?" Venus asked suspiciously.
Moira laughed.
     "I'm always totally sincere," she grinned.  "I just have a short
attention span.  The usual?"
     "You got it," Venus winked.  "How's things tonight?"
Moira sighed.
     "The animals are really out in force," she told them.  An
ironic statement, Mars thought wryly, all things considered.  Moira
was a so-called exotic.  Cat-ears protruded from the tawny mass of
hair that fell in tumbled waves down her back, twitching
occasionally.  Her eyes were brilliant green, with slit pupils, and a
furry tail extended out from her abbreviated skirt, moving lazily
now.  It was a good barometer of her mood, though, much harder
for the girl to control than her expression.
     Technically, the production of exotics, whether through
genetic engineering or the use of magic, was illegal, but it still
happened.  Most were bred as pleasure slaves, even though the Council had
finally outlawed slavery of exotics.  The law was not vigorously enforced,
however, and in private clubs and dark corners, exotics were still sold into
lives of servitude to eager
buyers.  Although technically citizens, they didn't possess all the rights
of an ordinary human and thus they were still barred from many places, and
often received second class treatment.
     That was one reason Mars liked this club.  It not only
allowed exotics inside, it hired them too.
     "Just wait until the full moon," Mars told her.  Moira snorted.
     "You mean it's not full yet?  Shadow Moon must be, then."
     "Oh?" Venus asked, raising one eyebrow.  "You really
believe in all that stuff about an unseen moon?"  Moira laughed.
     "Why not?" she said with a gleam in her eye.  "Living in this
city, it wouldn't be the strangest thing I've ever heard.  Be right
back, ladies."  With that she sauntered off, moving with the easy
feline grace that was as much a part of her as her external features.
Venus sat back, shrugging out of her cropped jacket to reveal
gloves that extended up past her elbows and bare, creamy elbows.
She set the jacket aside and sighed.
     "Maybe I should tinker with my outfit again," she mused.
"I'm getting bored."  No surprise there, Mars thought.  Moira
swung back by their table, balancing a full tray easily on one hand,
and plunked their drinks down.  Mars sipped hers while Venus
downed half her drink in one go.  Restless, Mars stared out at the
throbbing crowd, trying to let herself be carried away on the tide of
noise and heat and light.  Often it worked, but tonight it provided
no succour from her troubles.
     One particular trouble, to be perfectly honest.  She kept seeing those
guileless blue eyes, wide and startled, with a hint of something lurking in
their gorgeous depths.  Shock?  Betrayal?  Anger, even?  She'd gone over the
scene dozens of times, but she just couldn't pin it down.  The memory was
too tainted by her own emotional turmoil, seen always through a screen of
shocked disbelief.
     What would have happened if I'd reacted differently? she
wondered.  If, instead of leaving her there, I'd said something?  But
what?  What could I have said?  What do you say when you find
out a person you've let into your heart is something so different
from what you thought she was?
     Warm breath startled her out of her reverie, as Venus leaned
close in the cramped booth, running the tip of her tongue lightly
down the edge of Mars' ear, curling under the lobe just in front of
the pentagram earring to draw it into the silken heat of her mouth.
Gently she nibbled, bringing her free hand up to trace a line along
the edge of Mars' collarbone.
     "Looking a little serious there," Venus breathed directly into
her friend's ear.  "Wanna dance?"  Mars turned her head to remove
her ear from the delicately erotic distraction and carefully removed
the blonde's hand, which had begun to venture lower.
     "I'm really not in the mood," she murmured apologetically.
Venus pouted, then sat back and waved one hand in a lazy, sensual
motion.  A length of slim glimmering chain, composed of heart
shaped links, appeared out of the air.  Venus pulled it taut between
her hands and gazed up at Mars from eyes lowered demurely, a
sultry smile gracing her lush lips.
     "Well, we could go home then," she purred, twisting her
hands so that the chain wrapped itself around her wrists, binding
them together.  The chain of light glowed softly against the black
leather of her gloves as Venus offered her wrists to Mars with a
timidity that the senshi of fire knew was feigned.
     "I'm in the mood to ... play," Venus whispered.  Playing
with Venus was usually a diverting prospect, but Mars just shook
her head.
     "Not tonight," she said.  Venus sighed and the chain broke
up into tiny glowing motes, fading into nothingness.  The lovely
blonde propped her chin in her hand and glared up at Mars with
accusation in those baby blue eyes.
     "You're thinking about her again."  It wasn't a question.
     "Aren't you?" Mars asked, a trifle sharply.  Venus didn't
seem to take offence at her tone.
     "I'm trying not to," she said softly.  "And so should you.
You'll make yourself crazy."  Mars shrugged, avoiding the other
girl's disconcertingly direct gaze.
     "It's a crazy situation," she replied diffidently.  "One minute
we're talking about the school festival, the next I'm standing next
to the leader of the opposition."
     "I know this is hard for you ..." Venus began.
     "It's hard for all of us," Mars shot back, feeling
unaccountable irritated.  Venus shifted uncomfortably.
     "For you especially, though," she persisted.  "I mean, it's
pretty clear the way you felt about her."  That irritation surged into
anger.
     "We were friends," Mars said shortly.  Venus' eyes
narrowed.
        "Just friends, huh?" she asked, a suggestive lilt to her voice.
        "Some of us don't have to bed eveyone that comes along!"  ars 
snapped.  A
crimson flush appeared high on the blonde's cheeks, and she stiffened,
turning away, but not before Mars saw the hurt in her eyes.
     It had been the wrong thing to say; she'd known that as the
words had left her mouth, but there was no taking them back.  All
she could do now was try to repair the damage.  Venus was starting
to get up, and Mars moved, wrapping her arms around the girl from
behind to pull her back.  She pulled Venus tight against her, feeling
the stiffness in the other girl's frame and cursing her temper again.
It was never easy for her to swallow her pride, but she was going to
do it now.  Hurting her friend was wrong, especially when she
wasn't the one Mars was mad at.
     "I'm sorry," she whispered in the other girl's ear, squeezing
her gently.  Venus didn't try to get up again, but her body remained
rigid.
     "Forget it," she said, her voice soft but wooden.
     "No, I won't," Mars insisted.  "I was a jerk.  Forgive me?"  The blonde
looked away, the corner of her mouth twitching, and Mars knew she'd really
done it this time.  She tried to think of something to say, but was
distracted by a sudden cheer from the crowd.  She glanced up to see the
video walls displaying the VG logo.
     A challenge fight?  They were much more common around
early spring, when the licence upgrades were awarded, but they
could happen at any time.  The crowd surged, obviously
anticipating the coming spectacle.  Mars had her own problems,
though, and started to turn away, only to find her attention caught
as the screens cleared to show video from the site.
     One of the many cameras at the challenge site was feeding
an image of a tall, curvaceous girl with deep auburn hair tied back
in a long ponytail.  She was wearing a dark green dress, high-
collared and sleeveless.  The long skirt was slit high up on both
sides, reducing it to little more than panels in front and back which
showed off the girl's long, shapely legs to good advantage.  The image
panned as the girl shifted her stance slightly, lights gleaming off the
metallic bracers she wore on each wrist.  Her expression was grim as she
stared out at something off camera, and Mars gaped in surprise.
     "Jupiter?" she hissed.  Venus looked up at that, catching sight of
their fellow senshi on the screens.
     "She must have received a challenge after we left," the
blonde said, momentarily distracted from the tension between them.
"I wonder who the unlucky victim is going to be?"  The view spun
slowly, sweeping across bare pavement towards the other fighter,
seeming to prolong the moment deliberately.  Finally, another
camera zoomed in, showing Jupiter's opponent to the crowd.
     A gasp went up from the clubgoers.  On the screen was an
alluring woman dressed in black and gray.  A thick mane of platinum hair
framed her haughty features, arcing down to her shoulders on either side of
her face, spilling in a silken tumble down her back to brush her hips.  Two
long, heavy corkscrew curls hung down from her temples, falling in front of
her shoulders all the way to her waist.  Her stance was arrogant and aloof,
her ruby lips curled in a confident half-smile, her mesmerizing eyes locked
on her opponent's as she waited for the match to begin.  Mars heard
Venus' gasp as she felt her own stomach tighten.
     "That's ..." Venus began breathlessly.
     "Reini Jahanna," Mars confirmed.  "Dammit.  I think Jupiter's in
over her head this time."  The camera view pulled back, showing
both fighters, with inset screens showing close-ups of each woman.
A low murmur of anticipation ran through the crowd like the
delicate shudder evoked by fingernails on the delicate nape of the
neck.  It wasn't just the fight or the knowledge of the loser's fate,
Mars realized.  Her shock at seeing who had challenged Jupiter
faded, and she remembered how the compelling beauty delivered
the coup de grace to all her opponents.
     "Mars," Venus blurted, pulling free of her embrace.  "We've
got to ..."
     "To what?" Mars asked.  "Go help her?  You know we
can't interfere.  Jupiter's going to have to handle this herself."
Venus stared at the screen, the sense of anticipation in the crowded
club filling the air like an electrical charge as the two women sized
each other up on  the huge screens.
     "But can she?" Venus asked softly.  "I mean, Reini-san's
undefeated, right?  Can Jupiter beat her?"
     Mars didn't answer.  They'd know soon enough.

#####

     Jupiter fought to keep her expression neutral as she matched
stares with her challenger.  Reini Jahanna's reputation definitely
preceded her, and although she resented it, Jupiter was impressed
and, yes, a little intimidated.
     All right, she thought wryly.  More than a little.  But just
because she hasn't been beaten yet doesn't mean she can't be.  No
way am I conceding a fight before I've even thrown my first punch.
     The crowd had gone eerily silent now, and Jupiter fought
the urge to glance at one of the giant video screens to catch a
glimpse of her own expression.  Instead, she figured it was time to
take the initiative.
     Forcing a grim smile, she stepped off the curb and walked
slowly into the street.
     "Well, well," she said.  "Reini Jahanna.  I suppose I should
be honoured."  She thought she carried the taunt off well, with just
the right hint of casual contempt.  The other woman inclined her
head slightly, as if accepting the recognition that was her due.
     "Jupiter," she responded, her voice as maddeningly alluring
as the rest of her.  "I have been looking forward to this.  I hope you
will not disappoint me."  Jupiter stopped near the half-way point of
the intersection, standing in a loose-limbed stance, flexing her
fingers idly.
     "Well, there's one way to find out," she said.  "You issued
the challenge, so I think you should make the first move."  Reini
smiled as the wind picked up, toying with her hair where it fell in a
smooth arc past her chin.
     "Bravado, girl?" she asked, her voice low and carefully
modulated.  "Very well.  I will grant your request."  So saying, she
stepped off the curb, moving with the careless grace of a tigress, all
languorous strut with her hips swaying gently, her shoulders back,
her chin held high.  She didn't dress flashy as some VG fighters
did.  Her black shirt had a wide, ruffled strip down the front, with a
narrow gray bow tie around the collar.  A matching gray vest cut
low over the breasts and loose black pants completed the outfit.
     Reini stood for a moment, as if aware that all eyes were
drawn, almost unwillingly, to her.  The wind, seeming to submit to
her will, chose that moment to gust lightly across the empty street,
blowing Reini's heavy mane back from her face and causing it to
stream out to one side dramatically, like a lustrous banner of heavy
silk.
     Reini paused, as if revelling in the moment.  She smiled.
     And leapt.
     Even though Jupiter had been expecting the attack, she was
taken aback by her opponent's sudden speed.  The woman had been
standing, totally at ease, and then just like that she was gone.
Jupiter didn't waste time searching above her for the coming strike;
she dodged immediately, springing ahead and spinning to look at
where she'd been standing.
     Reini was there, smiling at her.
     "Not bad," the pale-haired woman conceded.  Jupiter
brought her fists up in front of her in response.  Having seen a few
of Reini's fights, she knew that the woman was cool under
pressure, fast, and deadly accurate.  Her ki attacks were almost
certainly a match for Jupiter's lightning, as well.  Thinking rapidly,
she decided to press her own advantages; power and superior
reach.  Reacting to Reini would only play to the other woman's
strengths.
     With that in mind, she blazed forward, launching a wicked
multiple punch attack.  She'd expected Reini to dodge that, though,
and spun into a savage back kick, hoping to catch the woman as she
slipped the feint.  Her heel caught only empty air, though, as Reini
slipped by her like a phantom, clipping Jupiter's other leg as she
went.  Jupiter threw herself into the fall, rolling away from a
probable counter-attack and springing into a series of back-flips.
She landed in a stance, glaring.  Reini was once more watching her
intently, her ice-blue eyes seeming to reach right into Jupiter's soul.
The senshi suppressed a shudder at the sensation.
     "Tough, strong, and talented," Reini murmured
appreciatively.  "But is it enough?"  The woman's imperturbable
facade was beginning to get under Jupiter's skin.  She bared her
teeth in a fierce smile.
     "Let's find out," she suggested.
     And attacked again.

#####

     Ami stretched, linking her fingers and turning her palms
outward, then pushing them high over her head.  Her night had
been fruitful so far, although how useful the information would end
up being remained to be seen.  Still, she was glad Makoto had
suggested it ...
     She froze.  Makoto!  She'd lost all track of time, and
glanced at her watch.  When had it gotten so late?
     Jumping to her feet, she raced downstairs to the main sitting
room.  The giant screen TV, one of Minako's extravagances, sat
dark and vaguely foreboding along one wall.  Ami grabbed the
remote and switched to the VG circuit.
     Damn!  The fight had already begun!  She frowned as she
caught sight of Jupiter in mid-air, twisting around to arrow
downwards, her whole body lined up behind her foot.  The camera
angle widened, and Ami saw that her fellow senshi's attack had
been easily dodged.
     Then Ami caught sight of Jupiter's opponent, and her hands
flew to her mouth unconsciously.
     Reini Jahanna?  But how?  Why?  Reini held a Class A
licence, and usually restricted her challenges to that more elite
group, except during the spring jockeying for position that always
led up to the awarding of upgrades.  Why had she challenged
Jupiter now?  Of them all, Mars had the highest point total by a fair
margin, and was considering being in the running for a Class A
licence in the coming spring.
     As Ami watched, she felt a sense of foreboding settle over
her.  This was the worst possible match-up for Jupiter.  Despite her
fighting skills, she couldn't seem to get near Reini.  Worse, the
haughty beauty's cool, almost casual demeanor was clearly working
on the lanky senshi as surely as any taunt.
     "No, Mako-chan," Ami whispered at the television.  "Don't
lose your temper!  You need to keep your cool!"  She knew that
her entreaty was useless.  Even if she could have made Jupiter hear
her, the tall senshi was now too angry to listen.
     Which seemed to be exactly what her opponent wanted.
     Ami wrapped her arms around her knees as Jupiter went on
the offensive again, only to be thwarted.  Don't let her get to you,
she pleaded silently.  Don't take the bait.
     Then Jupiter stopped, one camera zooming in on her face, and
Ami knew the fireworks were about to start in earnest.

#####

     No one makes a fool out of me.
     Jupiter's shoulders heaved with exertion.  Her attacks had
become more reckless, more daring, but still she couldn't pin down
her elusive opponent.  Reini's few counterattacks, however, had all
landed, and Jupiter had the bruises to prove it.
     But she'd seen Reini fight before, and knew she was being
toyed with.  And that made her angry.
     Very.  Very.  Angry.
     No one makes a fool out of me.  No one.
     "Well, my proud beauty," Reini said coolly from her perch
atop a traffic light where she'd leapt with disconcerting ease.  "I
think we've established that you won't win this fight with your fists
alone.  Perhaps it's time you showed me your true strength."
Jupiter felt the subtle electric surge of her power stirring the tiny
hairs at the back of her neck.  Reini's poise and composure were a
direct challenge to her, and she was not one to turn down a
challenge.
     "Perhaps it's time," she growled back, "that you started
taking me a little more seriously."  She shifted her stance slightly,
eyes narrowing.  Undefeated, she thought angrily.  Big deal.  That
doesn't give her the right to act so high and mighty!  Well, let's see
if I can't crack that ice-queen shell of hers ...
     "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"  She brought her arm forward,
launching a spinning ball of electricity at her tormentor.  It lanced
into the traffic light and exploded, raining bits of metal down on the
street.  The crowd surged, their exhilaration infusing the very air as
the tone of the battle changed.  Of course, there was some danger
in being this close to the fight, but certain people seemed to get a
vicarious thrill out of that.
     Jupiter caught sight of Reini out of the corner of her eye as
she landed on the far side of the street, looking unruffled by the
attack.
     "Excellent," she murmured.  "Only the strong deserve to
fight me, girl.  Show me how deserving you are!"  Reini brought
her hands together and thrust them out, firing a series of
blossom-shaped ki blasts directly at the lanky senshi.  Jupiter
charged in, dodging through the storm of energy and firing off a
blast of lightning.  Reini was already gone, though, spinning
through the air effortlessly.  She landed and thrust her fist out,
sending a blast of bright roiling ki at Jupiter, who reacted quickly,
springing above the attack.  The ki blast hit the side of a nearby building,
raining debris onto the crowd.
     Oddly, this just seemed to increase their excitement, as the
battle heated up quickly.  The two women circled each other, and
again attacks were exchanged.  Reini evaded Jupiter's lightning with
almost contemptuous ease, moving just far enough out of its path
to avoid being hit.  Jupiter had to expend more energy in her
evasion, but she too managed to avoid being struck.  She landed,
spun, and fired off a fierce barrage around her opponent, trying to
disguise her real intent.  It seemed to work; Reini danced lightly
through the bolts, not noticing until the last minute that one of them
had sheared off a light standard behind her.  As the pole toppled
towards her, Reini was forced to leap away, and Jupiter was ready,
springing to attack.
     They met in mid-air, and Jupiter launched a savage attack,
but somehow Reini twisted her body at the last moment, moving
with feline grace.  Jupiter's gaze met Reini's, their faces only inches
apart as they passed, Reini's heavy corkscrew curls dancing in the
wind of Jupiter's punch.
     Jupiter fancied she saw approval in the other woman's eyes
before they spun and pushed away from each other.  Landing
together, time seemed to slow as the two combatants regarded each
other across the now scarred pavement.  Like gunfighters, they
seemed to size each other up in an instant, icy blue gaze clashing
with hot green.
     Then they attacked in unison, according to some unspoken, almost primal
accord, Jupiter's lightning flaring from her outstretched hand to collide
with Reini's ki blast.  The energies impacted in the air midway between
them, and power flared noisily, coruscating and arcing as each woman fought
to overcome the other.  Jupiter strained, but she couldn't force Reini's ki
back.  The woman was just too strong.  She poured more power into her bolt,
concentrating all her strength, desperate to win.  She didn't care
about the points; these challenges were less about point totals than
prestige and ego anyway.  She just wanted Reini Jahanna to
acknowledge her as a worthy opponent.  She wanted to see in the
woman's cool blue eyes the realization that it had been a mistake to
toy with Jupiter.
     That, and she really wanted to beat the arrogant bitch.
     Suddenly, Reini's bolt broke apart into two columns, split
by the force of Jupiter's attack.  The bolt smashed through
unimpeded, and Jupiter felt a burst of wild glee.  She'd done it!
     Reini wasn't lying amongst the rubble when the smoke
cleared, though.  She was standing, untouched, atop yet another
traffic light, her arms stretched wide, first two fingers of each hand
extended.  Before Jupiter could do more than blink, Reini brought
her hands together.
     She realized too late that she hadn't broken Reini's attack at
all.  The woman had forced her to commit all her strength, then
somehow divided her ki attack.  Jupiter barely had time to register
the two narrow columns of ki closing on her, one from each side,
before they struck.  She screamed as the raw power lanced along
her nerves, searing and twisting as it had its way with her body.
She threw her head back, howling, but couldn't break free as the
towering column of energy lifted her until her feet weren't even touching
the ground.  Tiny bolts of ki played, hot and cold, along her skin, and she
could dimly make out Reini smiling down at her.
     After what seemed like an eternity the ki faded, and she collapsed
bonelessly to the ground.  The sound of the crowd going wild was dim and
distant, drowned out by the hammering of her pulse in her ears.  Her muscles
were limp and unresponsive as she struggled to make them obey her.  Try as
she might, she couldn't get up, could barely move.  Spots whirled before her
eyes, and now there was a new sound, closer than the crowd.
     Footsteps.
     Reini Jahanna, coming closer.  Coming ...
     Jupiter tried to swallow.  She knew the outcome of any VG
challenge, but at the back of her mind was the special humiliation
Reini bestowed upon all her vanquished foes.
     Get up, she told herself numbly.  It's not over, you can still
win.  Get up!
     She managed to get her hands under her and lever herself up
slightly, only to find herself staring at a pair of glossy black shoes.
Reini squatted down beside her as she struggled to command her
numb body, hair hanging in her face, teeth gritted painfully.
     "Not bad," the woman murmured.  "But the strongest
always prevails, girl.  The strongest fighter, the strongest technique,
the strongest will.  And losers ... they lose the means to resist."  Her
tone seemed gently mocking, and now that she was so close Jupiter
ached for the strength to take just one more shot.  But Reini's ki
attack had left her drained and barely able to move, so her feeble
resistance as Reini reached down and pulled her limp body into her
arms was utterly ineffective.
     She was arched over Reini's knee, feeling panic well up
inside her chest as Reini's fingers slid gently around behind her
neck.  Frantically, she tried to twist her head away, but Reini had
anticipated that and laced her fingers tightly into Jupiter's ponytail.
She leaned in until their faces were only inches apart, and Jupiter
hated the feeling of impotent fury tinged with panic that was the
only response she could make.
     "A VG licence has its perils, my lovely," she breathed, her
cool gaze holding Jupiter's with almost hypnotic force.  "And as in
any battle, to the victor go ... the spoils."  Then she closed the
distance, her ruby lips curled up in an imperious smile, and pressed
her mouth to Jupiter's.
     Everyone knew of Reini's little victory celebration; she'd
stolen a kiss from every single woman she'd defeated.  Jupiter told
herself that she wouldn't lie still for it, that she would bite the
witch, and spit in her face before she'd let her have her way.  The
other ritual was part of fighting VG, but not this.  This was just
Reini's own personal touch.
     But when those lips brushed hers, something happened.  A
surge of vital heat seemed to pass through her battered body,
coalescing in her lower belly where it pulsed gently.  Startled, she
drew in a sharp breath through her nose, and was rewarded with the
heady scent of Reini's perfume, at once subtle and heady.  The scent
made her senses reel as Reini's lips gently increased their silken
pressure against her mouth.  In spite of herself, she felt her lips
tremble as they were engulfed in heat, licked and nibbled and finally
teased apart, and her howl of outrage was reduced to a whimper
deep in her throat.
     The distant roar of the crowd faded completely as she was
enveloped in a heavy, beguiling aura of scent and sensation.  She
was drowning in it, and the sensation was not at all unpleasant.  At
a great distance, she was dimly aware of Reini's lips leaving hers,
and of soft breath fanning over her cheek.
     "Much better," that compelling voice purred.  Then she felt
herself being lifted up, her body totally limp now.  A slender arm
slid under her chin, holding her back against Reini's lush form, but
all thought of resistance had been smothered.  Her unveiling was
the traditional end to a VG fight, at least; the loser had to strip, or
be stripped, naked.
     Jupiter was barely aware of Reini's fingers slipping inside
the collar of her dress, or of the sharp tug as she tore the front away
in one swift motion.  The remnants of the dress slithered from her slack
body, and far from the warmth that surrounded her ensnared thoughts, she
felt the distant caress of cool air against her bare skin.
     Then everything faded, and there was only comforting
darkness ...

#####


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