“It’s 6 a.m. in the god-damn morning!” said Jon. “Can’t this wait until after breakfast?” The three of them were gathered in the HAS. The sun saying ‘fuck your eyes’ as it peeked over the clouds and through the windows.

“No, it fucken can’t! If this body is a dud, then I need to know ASAP,” replied Ril.

“You see this Kay? All philanthropic on the outside, but a squealing fantasy fangirl on the inside.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Yes, I can. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now.”

“C’mon Kay, hit me, and you two can go and have French toast while I incubate.”

“I fear this might be unsafe, Ril. Are you certain?" asked Kay. "I would hate to mar you in any way.”

“I didn’t come down here for safety my super-elf princess. Rest assured you couldn’t kill me if you tried. Destroy this body, and I shall come down extra cute for you next time.” She gave that femme fatale wink again, and Kay swayed weak-kneed.

“Oi vey, Kay I don’t think you’ll survive a second iteration. Best to be fucking careful. Ril, lie down; Kay can’t concentrate if you keep looking at her like that.”

“And you think lying down will help?” She did it anyway with a dirty smirk, looking like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man—Woman —legs together, centred on the circular glass.

“It will if you’re under a blanket,” and he tossed the fleece material, covering her from head to toe.

“Very romantic,” came her muffled voice.

“You, shut up, you!" He turned to focus on his flustered recruit. "Alright Kay, now you do your worst. If you manage to knock her out, just think; you might be able to get through breakfast without butterflies in your stomach.”

Kay appeared truly relieved at the notion, damn, she got it bad. Not the first low-worlder bamboozled by a nice paint-job, and she wouldn’t be the last. It didn’t help that Ril was kinda alright. Why on earth did they have to be stuck with the nice Alpha-worlder? That was gonna make everything all the more difficult. Hopefully, those humanising cracks in the veneer were authentic and not further decals over paint.

How the bliksem am I gonna take her out in public? Hell, the rats might fall in love. Our very own Pied Piper or siren, except she doesn't even need to sing. Oh shit, what if she did sing! With that sensually engineered voice of hers, cocks and cunts would twitch for miles around.

That was a problem for after breakfast. Jon calmed his breathing and Kay followed suit as she stretched out a hand toward Ril. A moment later, she said, “it is as you say, Master, I sense no resistive aura as I approach.” In the next second, she claimed, “I’m in. I have a limb. Gods! Why is every inch of her so damned beautiful!”

Yeah, Kay was fucked.

“You feel that Ril?”

No response.

“Ril?”

First, some tremors and then her body started spasming violently.

“Rilian-chen!” shouted Kay. She had known the Alpha for less than a day and was already affixing familiarity titles. Tsk tsk.

“Calm down, Kay. You’ve pulled out, right?”

“Yes, her being felt quite foreign to me, colder like the northern tundras. I sensed the shocks long before I saw them.”

“Good girl, now help me hold her down.”

They approached swiftly and threw off the blanket. Kay proceeded to use her strength to resist the worst of the bucking. It still threw her off a couple of times before she got a handle on it, pinning Ril's legs beneath her and holding back the arms.

Kay raised an eyebrow in surprise, "she is much stronger than she appears," then she blushed, "...and firm."

Of course she is. Jon retrieved the injector Ril entrusted to him before their little 'field experiment'. He had no idea what was in it, but that was Ril’s business.

“What is wrong?!”

“It’s probably Dive Shock. An anaphylactic response to multiple new environments and biospheres in rapid succession. Don’t feel bad; this was just the last straw.”

“What does straw have to do with it?”

He found the jugular in her neck, guiding a flushed Kay to hold her still just so. The injector found its mark, and the dose was delivered. It took a few more minutes for the shaking to calm, but Ril remained unresponsive.

Lee reported in on speaker, “Ril from up top says it’s all fine. Just move her back to medical as instructed.”

“So she truly is a god then,” remarked the elf, "she speaks from above while her mortal coil sleeps below."

“It’s a good approximation, but it’ll lead you astray pretty quickly. Help me with her; you won’t be strong when we move through the rift.” They grabbed limbs and shuffled to medical. Kay gladly took the feet, being as far away from the most exciting bits as possible.

“How,” She huffed, “do I deal with this, Master?”

She was already dealing pretty well, he thought. “Push through rather than pull back. Lean in rather than out. You’re glamoured by the idea, not the reality. Don’t feel shame or powerlessness. I’ll not judge, and I’ll make damn sure you’re not taken advantage of.”

Honestly, he wished Ril would draw the clear lines already and stop with all the teasing. But fuck if he knew which way the wind blew. God-damn-it why couldn’t she simply be an absolutely wonderful bitch?

Where was his lucky break in all of this? They lugged her unceremoniously—well Jon did at least. Kay attempted respectful reverence while stealing entranced glances at every jostle.

Into the capsule, the Barbie Doll went, and he closed the lid in satisfaction. Kay dallied a bit longer, but Jon beelined for the kitchen. French toast and bacon? No, fuck Ril’s suggestion; they were going eastern, Katsudon and Soba noodles it was.