Story 9: There's no place like home

[rufusluciusivan]

There's no place like home

Note: Added two towns on the map.

https://i.goopics.net/LjbOd.jpg






Part 1

**************

Karigan had always loved books and reading, but sadly she could never turn her passion into her job. She maybe loved novels, but she hated studies. Working as a janitor in the big public library of the city of Southern Cross was actually the closest she could get to working in a job involving books.

Karigan was a woman in her early thirties, with an average physique except for her midback-long lustrous light chestnut hair, of which she was very proud. She was white-skinned, a little lanky, with a heart-shaped face and light brown eyes. The janitress was wearing a blue apron, a light blue uniform tunic with a white shirt underneath, black cargo pants, and grey sneakers. She was sweeping the floor.

It was the end of the evening and the library was empty. Today, Karigan had to work overtime to clean up the place. Because of a recent government directive, all books dealing with the lives and actions of Olympus' founders, as well as the ones about the early history of Olympus, had to be forbidden to the public. Especially the recordings of the works of Constantin Basileus, the man the Olympians were regarding as the founding father of their nation. The head librarian and her assistant were currently placing them under lock and key in the storeroom. Now, outside of researchers and administrators with an official authorization, nobody was allowed to consult them. In a way, Karigan was feeling bad for Basileus. History was currently being rewritten to emphasize his flaws and paint him as a bloodthirsty warmonger, but the truth was that he wasn't any more or less cruel than the other leaders of his time. He was a conqueror, with a vision and the dream of creating a unified peaceful country, but he couldn't be held responsible for the actions of his descendants. However, his writings were currently used by terrorist groups as rallying symbols in their efforts to drive people to commit violent acts against the new government. And while this new government was far from perfect, it still was more or less democratic, and far better than Olympus' oppressive system.

Distracted by her internal reflexion about historical revisionism and the inherent conflict between political interests and the truth of history, the philosophical janitress didn't notice the shadowy figure approaching her from behind.

A hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her backward. She felt the barrel of a gun pressed against her back. Karigan froze, her shriek of surprise muffled by the handgag.

“Don't move and don't scream. One word and you're dead.” a harsh female voice whispered in her ear.

Karigan nodded in silence, too scared to try to play hero.

“We'll go behind the shelves in front of you. It will give us some privacy.”

Karigan complied, with her aggressor still hand-gagging her and keeping her gun pressed against her back. Once they were behind these specific shelves, they were basically invisible. They couldn't be spotted from almost anywhere in the room.

“I will take off my hand. Don't turn around. And you better keep silent if you want to live.”

Karigan caught her breath and stared at the wall in front of her.

“Take off your clothes.”

The demand was so ludicrous, Karigan forgot during one second that a gun was pointed at her. “Wh...”

“I told you to shut up!” the woman barked.

The janitress bit her lower lip. Why would she want that? Is she some kind of pervert?

The woman slapped her on the back of the head with the back of her hand. “This is the last time I ask it nicely. This isn't some kind of prank.”

Karigan swallowed nervously, and took off her blue apron, her light blue uniform tunic, her white shirt, her grey sneakers, and her black cargo pants. She stopped once she was down to her grey socks, peach support bra and black-and-white striped panties.

“Did you... get what you want?”

“Yes.”

Her tone sent shivers down Karigan's spine.

“Now cross your wrists behind your back.”

Goodness... Is she... going to tie me up? Still, it was better than being shot... When the woman said her 'Yes.', the janitress thought that she was a goner.

Karigan complied and winced when she felt a pair of hands roughly grab her forearms and bind her wrists in a cross-tie. Then, the woman forced her victim to sit on the floor. She shoved a thick rough rag deep into Karigan's mouth as a gag. Finally, the intruder grabbed the janitress' legs, brought them together, and tied a coil of ropes around them, then another around her thighs.

Powerless, Karigan could do nothing but witness her mugger remove her own black clothes, then slip into the discarded janitress outfit.

What does she want? What's going on?

The fake janitress smiled wickedly at her victim, adjusted her shoulder-long reddish blond hair, gave her a taunting salute, and left.

Karigan was so scared, and shocked, that for a long moment she didn't dare to move – not even to test the solidity of her bonds. Where is she going?

The janitress couldn't see what was going on, isolated between shelves in a corner of the building. However, she easily guessed that the fake janitress had unlocked the back door and allowed other intruders to enter when she witnessed a group of people dressed in black pass near her hiding spot. They were carrying plastic jerricans. What are they going to do with it?

Suddenly, she heard a few screams, quickly muffled – as if women were quickly gagged. Goodness! No! Because of the stress and the fear, Karigan had completely forgotten that the head librarian and her assistant were still in the storeroom! It's not like I could have helped them anyway... She resisted the urge to cry. It was a nightmare... She was supposed to end her shift and return home... But now?

A few minutes passed before she could see something again.

Her mugger, still disguised as a janitress, was carrying one of the jerricans. Horrified, Karigan watched the woman pretending to be her douse the nearby shelves with gasoline.

She cried, moaned, and wiggled. This time, she couldn't help but weep. Not like this... Please not like this...

However, she stopped when another figure entered her field of vision.

The woman was wearing a long black robe with a hood. Her face was hidden behind a white expressionless mask. On the mask's forehead, there was a golden eye surrounded by 12 lightning bolts, in four groups of three arranged in a square around the eye. The symbol of Olympus. Given her demeanor and aura of authority, this masked woman was clearly the leader.

“Good work.” she said to the fake janitress.

“Just doing my job.”

“Soon, this place will be destroyed...” The masked leader openend her arms to embrace the entire room. “Fire is pure! Fire will purify this place, and destroy the lies these miscreants spread about the glorious Constantin Basileus!”

Then, the masked woman approached Karigan. Terrified, the janitress tried to wiggle away, but failed because of her bound limbs. The woman grabbed her chin.

“As for you... You will be spared, so that you can spread our message to the world. The children of Olympus will never yield. We are the chosen people. We are superior to your kind. Soon, we will take back our home. We will take back what's rightfully ours.”

She released her.

“Carry her." she ordered. "We're leaving.”

Two smilarly-cloaked and masked persons approached and grabbed Karigan under the shoulders. They dragged her with them, following their leader. A second group of masked people regrouped with them.

“We have secured the two librarians.” one said.

They were escorting two prisoners. Karigan's eyes widened. The head librarian, Clover, and her assistant, Posy, were looking roughed up. Clover was a tall black woman with puffy black hair and dark eyes, while Posy was a busty brunette with blue eyes and white skin. The intruders had stripped them down to their respective bronze brown and red-and-white polka dotted panties – even their bras had been removed, leaving them topless. Both were cleave-gagged and their upper-body was completely immobilized with a pentagram bondage. Their legs were free though, and they were forced to walk by their captors.

They didn't even do it to disguise themselves. They just wanted to humiliate them... the janitress understood.

“As for these two pigs, we're taking them with us.” the masked leader said. “We will decide their fate later. We will maybe make an example out of them...”

Karigan tried to say something through her gag, but the intruders didn't allow her to communicate with the other two prisoners. Their handlers took them in opposite directions. While Clover and Posy were forced to exit the building through the back door, accompanied by the masked leader and the fake janitress, Karigan and her two guardians were leaving through the emergency exit. The last thing Karigan saw before the door closed was the fake janitress lighting the gasoline on fire, smiling and looking very proud in her stolen outfit.

Once outside, Karigan was roughly tossed on the backseat of a black car. Without a word, her captors drove off.

They drove a few minutes in the district then, once they were far enough from the library, they stopped the car in an empty alleyway. One of them exited the vehicle, opened the backdoor, grabbed Karigan and dropped her on the pavement. They didn't bother to free her from her bonds.

Powerless, humiliated, and half-naked, the unlucky woman watched her captors drive away. She didn't know if she had to feel relieved to be still alive and free, or if she had to cry again...

At the other side of the district, the library was burning.

**************

Even after the civil war ended, for a long time, Mikani didn't feel like going home. Nobody was waiting for her there anyway. Ever since the latest big labour strikes, ten months before the beginning of the civil war... However, the short woman didn't want to dwell on her past. She knew that her parents and her sister would have been proud of what she achieved. They sacrificed their lives in hopes that, one day, the people could be freed from Olympus' oppression. And Mikani was proud to have taken part in this fall.

However, after she and her friends returned from Frontier with Shayna's sister Venia and the other liberated slaves, Mikani decided that she would take the time to return one last time to her home city of Southern Cross before settling near Aster's workshop. One last time to connect with her roots.

For her, it was some sort of pilgrimage.

Whoever wrote the saying 'There's no place like home' surely didn't come from Mikani's 'home'...

Her native province, the Province of Smog, was a flat monotonous region. It was also the country's industrial heartland, and had been so ever since the beginning of Olympus' rule. The quality of life wasn't very good, to say the least. The numerous towns were filled with factories and, therefore, were dirty and polluted.

While roaming the streets of Southern Cross, Mikani was feeling melancholy. Everything had changed...

The block of small worker houses where her family used to live had been demolished. Pretty houses with individual garden had been built over the rumble.

The factory where her parents and sister used to work had closed its doors.

Even the library where she used to go had burned. And very recently at that.

“Why did I even come back?”

She thought that she could try to reconnect with some friends she had before she left to join the Rebellion, but she had no idea how to find them... She should have stayed with Aster.

Well, for now, I simply should find the nearest bar and get myself a drink...

She entered Sanders Street.

**************

Amy was dressed as a tradeswoman: blue cap to protect her hair, white shirt, blue coveralls stained with paint, and work shoes. From the window behind which she was posted, she was carefully observing the police station across the street.

The idea was to see how they would respond to their little soon-to-happen... firework display in Sanders street. It would allow them to better plan their next...

“Mhhh! Mhhh!”

Amy absent-mindedly slapped with the back of her hand the underwear-clad woman taped and gagged next to her, the one who just tried to protest against her situation.

“Do you want to do a bungee jump with no bungee?” she harshly asked. “Because one more attempt like that, and I throw you through the window once I'm done here.”

The woman, a tall burly raven-haired thirty-year old, sobbed and shook her head. She was the real tradeswoman hired to restore the apartment, and the unlucky victim that Amy replaced. As the tradeswoman had several rolls of black flex tape with her among her other tools, Amy chose to completely mummify her from the ankles to the shoulders, even covering with the black tape her victim's blue control briefs with white edges and white padded cotton bra. At least it was protecting her modesty...

Amy was satisfied to see her victim lower her head in defeat. “Good.” she said.

Though she regretted the janitress from last time in the library. At least Karigan knew her place and that she had to remain quiet...

The thought made her absent-mindedly adjust her ebony black hair. She smiled. All the newspapers were talking about a woman with shoulder-long reddish blond hair. After today and the tradeswoman's testimony, they would talk about a woman with neck-long ebony black hair and dark brown eyes. And both times, they would be wrong.

Amy, whose real name was Amarante Phocas -but she hated her real first name-, was a woman of average size and average build. The everyday woman per excellence, in short. She was neither reddish-brown-haired or raven-haired. She had in truth hazel eyes and chestnut hair cropped so closely that she was a dozen millimeters short of having a shaved head. But no victim of her heists had ever seen her true appearance. Some years ago... (How much was it now? Three? Four? Five?) ...she temporarily lost her hair because of a disease. That day, she realized how useful wigs could be to change appearance - and identity. Ever since, Amy, in spite of her cheap nature, had spent a small fortune to buy a collection of wigs and colored contact lenses of the best quality. Wigs and contact lenses so realistic that it was impossible from someone to spot the difference. Each heist, Amy changed her wig and her contact lenses. Therefore, the police could never trace her...

**************

“Good afternoon. What can I get you?”

The waitress, just like many inhabitants of Smog, was rather pale and had black hair, but was she taller than average. Her eyes were brown and her armpit-long hair were tied into a ponytail. She was wearing blue skinny jeans, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the shoulders, a dark green long apron, and sneakers of matching green. The young woman had a black tatoo of a flock of skylarks on her left arm. Her name tag was reading 'Amber'.

She was smiling, obviously happy to have a client. Indeed, outside of Mikani, there currently was no one. It was the beginning of the afternoon. Most people were at work, and it would still take several hours for the bars to fill up. Therefore, currently this waitress was the only employee managing the establishment, and she would remain alone for a few hours.

"I'm still pondering..."

“Don't hesitate to take your time. Have you heard about the news?” she asked, apparently more eager to start a conversation than to go fetch Mikani's order.

“About what?”

“The arson at the public library, two nights ago. Everything burned, all the books. They say the two librarians were kidnapped.”

So this wasn't an accidental fire...

“Any idea about the culprit?”

“They didn't even bother hiding their identity: they left the janitress behind to transmit their message. Apparently, they're some sort of terrorist group trying to overthrow the current government. Nostalgics of the old Olympian rule.”

"I see..." Though this wasn't a surprise. Even though their government and their army had lost, some Olympians were refusing to give up fighting. “Give me a coffee, please.” she asked the waitress.

“I'll fill up the coffee machine, then I bring you your order.”

“Thank you.”

**************

Amber, while whistling, went inside the storage room to grab a new coffee bag.

A hand clamped over her mouth and the barrel of a gun was pressed against her temple.

“Not a sound...” a voice harshly commanded her.

**************

Amy was ready to slap the bound-and-gagged tradeswoman when the latter stirred again, but she stopped her arm when she heard the reason of her commotion.

“So Amarante, did you manage to learn something?”

Her leader had entered the room.

“I've already asked you to call me Amy now...”

Amy turned toward her.

“Goodness, Jewel, do you have to wear your mask all the time?”

Indeed, her leader was still wearing her black hooded robe and white expresionless mask.

“Yes. It is not a mere mask, it is a symbol. I'll have you know that, from my part, it pains me a lot to always see you without your hair dyed. A proper citizen of Olympus should never...”

“Jewel. We've alreay talked about that. If we want to infiltrate their governing bodies, their facilities, their buildings, we can't afford to keep dying our hair. This would be the easiest way to out ourselves as Olympians and to raise their suspicions.” She quickly glanced again at Jewel's clothes. "It's also better to not show ourselves in broad daylight wearing ominous robes and masks... I gave you the clothes of the real estate agent. Why didn't you put them on?"

While talking, she pointed at a woman seated in the opposite corner of the room. The real estate agent. She was stripped down to her white bra and granny panties with red hearts, mummified with tape from her feet to her mouth. Amy couldn't stand this disgustly sappy underclothes and had to cover them with black tape. At least, she was smart enough to play possum, wallowing in self-pity in silence.

"You're talking about the light grey suit and pencil skirt?"

"With the crisp white shirt, the black high-heels and the tanned pantyhose, yes."

"I couldn't lower myself to wear the clothes of a provincial. I threw them in the garbage can."

Though it doesn't mean we have to be wasteful either... Amy thought to herself. These clothes are worth a lot of money...

Amy paused, then added because she knew that Jewel wouldn't drop the subject so easily: “But be sure that it pains me a lot as well, to lower myself so much, but it's a sacrifice I make for the good of our cause. I've never forgotten about the principle my father taught me, and that's why I'm following you.”

Her answer satisfied Jewel, who nodded.

“And to answer your question, we will have to wait until the bombs explode to be able to learn anything. At 3 PM. 45 minutes left.”

Amy tapped her wristwatch. Perhaps they all had taken up their positions too soon... Though given the fact that they had to be perfectly synchronized for the plan to realize its full potential, being too early was probably a blessing in disguise...

**************

Mikani raised her head when she heard footsteps approach her table. She was still the only client.

Well, it took her long enough to bring me my...

“Where is the other waitress?”

The woman serving her drink wasn't Amber. While she was wearing the same uniform, she had hip-long braided black hair, blue-green eyes, and was taller and more muscular. Therefore, her uniform seemed a little too tight for her. Given her stature, she probably didn't hail from the Province of Smog. She was wearing no name tag.

“Amber?” the new waitress said. “Oh, her shift just ended. I'm her replacement.”

Mikani frowned.

“I see. Thank you.”

She paid the waitress and watched her return inside.

Something was wrong. Then she understood. The uniform too small. The unusual body type. The long delay. And the lame excuse. This is exactly the kind of stock phrase Klenia would use... The short woman shook her head. No way. I'm just becoming paranoid. Uniform stealings don't happen daily. She sipped on her coffee. But still...

She quickly checked inside the bar.

The waitress was behind the counter. She wasn't paying attention to her.

Mikani had an intuition. After all this time spent as a uniform stealer, she had learned to trust her guts.

I guess it couldn't hurt to take a look...

Mikani finished her drink and left the terrace. She quickly walked around the building, went through an empty alleyway save for a dumpster and a few trashcans, then entered the bar through the back door.

She scanned the empty kitchen and located the door of the storage room. As a former uniform stealer herself, she perfectly knew that this was the perfect place to stash an unwilling uniform donor... She grabbed the door's knob.

Mikani froze when she heard the click of a gun.

“'Hands up and turn around slowly, so I can see your face.”

**************

The waitress was looking a lot more dangerous with a gun in her hand.

“Clients aren't supposed to go here. Don't you know the saying? Curiosity killed the cat...” she said with a cruel smile. “Though in your case, it might just leave you bound and gagged if you behave like a good girl. Move. Into the storage room.”

Her hands in the air, Mikani couldn't do anything but comply. At least for now... She opened the door and entered the room, with her captor behind her.

As Mikani expected it, there was already someone else in the storage room...

“Mhhhhhh!”

Amber was seated in a corner of the room, half-hidden by a few boxes. Her hands were tied behind her back with rope handcuffs, another rope handcuff was tying her legs. Given her bulging cheeks, a rag was stuffed in her mouth, kept in place by a generous layer of brown package tape. The roll of tape was on the floor in front of her, as well as several spare rope handcuffs prepared in case the impostor needed to bind someone else.

And indeed, she had been stripped down to her underwear: blue speckered panties and a dark blue push-up bra. Mikani guessed right. The fake waitress was currently wearing Amber's clothes. She absent-mindedly noticed that the waitress had others tatoos: a butterfly on each side of her waist, and that her bellybutton was pierced with a small silvery jewel.

However, as strange as it may sound, the trussed up underwear-clad woman wasn't the thing that attracted the most attention from Mikani. At the center of the room, there was a device she quickly identified.

“No... It's...”

Shocked, Mikani turned again to face her captor and stared at her.

“A bomb!?” she asked.

“About to be planted on the terrasse, yes.”

“While there's nobody on it?”

“The goal isn't to kill people... yet. Oh sure, there'll be victims, of course. But for now, we just want to send a message. The real killings will start later. You should consider yourself lucky. The explosion won't reach you there. Probably. Maybe. If you're lucky. Anyway, I will have to ask you to lie on the floor, with your hands behind your back. I will offer you a nice bracelet made of ropes, and...”

Mikani's kick sent the gun she was holding flying in the air.

“Uh?”

The woman clearly underestimated Mikani's speed. In her defense, she thought she was dealing with a scared customer, not a former infiltrator of the Rebellion trained in martial arts. She looked stupidly at her now empty hand.

A swift beating painfully sent her to slumberland.

“When you have to neutralize someone, just neutralize them! Don't talk!” Mikani said, exasperated by such sloppiness.

She swiftly got down to work, stripping the fake waitress.

“Mmphh!” Amber angrily mewled through her gag.

“Yeah! Yeah! I'll release you! Just give me the time to take back your uniform from this tart and to truss her up. I don't want her to surprise-attack me while I'm helping you.”

The waitress kept quiet.

Mikani stripped the fake waitress down to her black set of panties and bra. There were little white skulls on the undergarments. Really? To try to show off your meanness? The short woman rolled her eyes. She used the impostor's own spare rope handcuffs to bind her wrists and her ankles. Sometimes, it's not a good idea to prepare your bondage tools in advance...

Then, finally, she cut removed Amber's gag, cut her bonds and gave her back her uniform.

“Thanks! I don't know who this madwoman is, but...”

“Hopefully, our friend here will answer a few questions... Put back your clothes while I interrogate her. Planting bombs isn't the work of a random punk with a gun...”

"Ok." Amberd checked her uniform. "That bimbo stretched out my shirt and my jeans..." she complained.

**************

A few slaps, and the would-be bomber woke up.

“All right. I have a few questions for you.” Mikani announced.

“I won't talk!” the other retorted.

Mikani sighed, grabbed the roll of tape, sticked a strip on the woman's lips, and pinched her nose. She waited. The woman's face became red because she couldn't breath.

“Now, do you want to talk?”

“Mmmph! Yhhs! Yhhhhs!”

Mikani stopped and pulled off the tape.

“I'm Ariane!” she shouted. “There are five of us counting me! We're supposed to bomb the three bars and the fast food restaurant of this street! The bombs are programmed to go off at 3 PM, but in case of emergency we can defuse them by cutting or pulling out the green wire! And I'm not the brain behind the operation, just an executant! I swear it wasn't my idea! I was drawn into this by my bad associates! And...”

Mikani gagged her again with tape. “Yeah, yeah, nobody asked your life story either... and we're short on time.”

She looked at Amber. “We have to stop them!” Mikani was horrified. Four bombs?! Even if it wasn't the rush hour, they would still claim victims.

The waitress had paled, shocked by the revelation, but she nodded with determination. Good. She's level-headed. Most people would panic and be hysterical after being assaulted like she was, but she's keeping a cool head. Mikani thought that she could trust this girl to cover her back. She wouldn't bail on her. She wasn't a fighter, but it was better than nothing.

"I'm Mikani, by the way." She extended her hand, and Amber shook it. "Let's do it."

She wasn't going to let these people kill innocents. And she couldn't let them turn her home town, her home, into a battlefield.

Mikani cut the green wire of the bomb as instructed, and tightened Ariane's bonds. The countdown on the thing's little screen stopped and disappeared.

“Let's go!”

“You're leaving the bomb next to her?” Amber asked.

“Well, if she said the truth about how to defuse them, she's safe. If not, she should have known that it's bad to lie...” She looked at the bound criminal. “You told the truth, right?”

The woman nodded frantically. She apparently wasn't afraid to remain near the bomb now that the green wire was cut. Mikani decided that she was going to trust the woman's words. She didn't have the time to find something else anyway...

“What if she frees herself?” Amber asked. "She might restart it..."

“Good point.”

Mikani thought for a brief moment. Then she decided to try something Aster and Klenia taught her. She approached Ariane, who was trying to mewl though her gag that she was going to behave, and she pressed one of the nerves on the neck of the woman. The nerve pinch's effect was instantaneous. Ariane crumbled on the floor, unconscious.

“Now let's go, we have 35 minutes in front of us...”

**************

A few of Jewel's followers were with Amy in the apartment. They were all dressed in blue coveralls, white shirts, thick black work shoes and orange safety helmets.

Impersonating the entire crew of workers instead of just stashing them somewhere was maybe an unnecesssary precaution, but better safe than sorry. At least, nobody could ask questions about why there suddenly wasn't any worker anymore...

Stashed in a small room of the apartment, there was a pile of moaning scantily clad women. Amy and her henchwomen didn't know why this building was restored by an all-female crew, but they weren't complaining. Even though these women were muscular due to their job, they were easily overpowered, stripped, trussed up with strings and tape, and hidden out of sight. Most of them were wearing boring plain underwear: white or grey tank tops, white or grey panties or boyshorts, and white or grey bras. The one at the top of the pile, a coal black-haired and brown-eyed thirty-three year old, was the only one who chose to be original. Unluckily for her. On full display for everyone to see, there were her lacy red panties that had the words 'Spank me!' written on the butt, and her red sultry bra that had also words written on it. 'Bite' on the left cup, and 'Me' on the right. Amy didn't even want to know more about this girl's sentimental life... However, since 'miss kinky underwear' was at the top of the pile, maybe she was in fact the luckiest of them all. At least she wasn't feeling the weight of another woman on her. And given how sweaty things were becoming, with all these half-naked bodies pressed against one another and rubbing against each other, being on top was probably a blessing indeed...

Amy checked her wristwatch. 30 minutes left... They definitely started the operation too soon. If only Jewel hadn't been so insistent to take place so soon... But Amy had no choice but obey her leader's orders.

**************

Mikani could have screamed in frustration.

The policewoman, a black-haired brown-eyed white-skinned woman of average height, was looking unimpressed. She munched on her donut.

She wasn't believing her.

“You have to listen to me! There are bombs! Everyone in the street's in danger! You need to call the police station!”

“Ma'am, I don't know why you think this joke is funny, but it isn't. Someone already made the joke last week. Now move along or I'll arrest you.”

Frustrated, Mikani left the woman with her donut, to regroup with Amber who was waiting for her in the alleyway behind the bar. Now what? They could call the police themselves with their cellphones, but would they believe them? Probably not.

The short woman could almost imagine a little Klenia-angel appear on her shoulder and whisper in her ear: You know there's a faster way... You don't really need the policewoman... You only need her radio, and her uniform... Mikani sighed and checked her wristwatch. It's feasible...

"What do we do now?” the waitress asked. While she didn't know about Mikani's past, she could clearly see that the short woman was a better fighter and strategist. Therefore, she was regarding her as the leader of their little duo.

“There's a change of plan. She's making things difficult. I need you for something.”

Mikani briefly explained her plan.

“But... That will put us in trouble with the law!”

“People are in danger, there are bombs! I will take full responsibility for it, but we don't have the time to hesitate. Are you with me?”

The waitress briefly hesitated, but then she nodded.

Mikani smiled. She knew she was right to trust her...

**************

Amber approached the policewoman, who was taking on her second donut.

“Please quick!” she said, trying her best to look panicked. “There's a crazy woman making a fuss about a bomb! She's damaging my supplies!”

The policewoman groaned and finished her donut. She grabbed her nightstick. “Time to teach this joker that the law has to be respected... Show me the way, ma'am.”

She followed Melani in the empty alleyway behind the bar. “All right! Where is she?!”

Behind her.

Mikani came out of her hideout behind the big dumpster. She silently crept behind her prey and dispatched her with a nerve pinch. The policewoman froze, gurgled a 'Gurguguh!' or something like that, her entire body shook during a few seconds, her eyes rolled back, and she crumbled on the pavement.

Mikani didn't waste time. While Amber was watching the street, she swiftly stripped the policewoman down to her underwear: removing the dark blue blue cap, dark blue uniform jacket, belt, dark blue uniform pants, black boots, and of course the precious shoulder radio. She didn't waste time with the black tank top and blue socks, as she didn't need them. Because it could be convenient to pass herself for a policewoman if she had to give orders to civilians, she took the time to slip into the police uniform. Also, she couldn't afford risking the true policewoman making a fuss during the next 20 minutes. Therefore, she used the remaining brown package tape from the storage room. She wrapped four or five times the tape around the policewoman's wrists and hands, then the same amount of times around the legs and the lower face to gag her.

Mikani finally dragged the policewoman, now only dressed in her tank top, blue bra and boyshorts with little yellow sheriff stars of law (Dumb. Is this 'lame-themed underwear day' around here? Mikani thought to herself), and socks. She seated her next to the dumpster, and moved trashcans in front of her and to her right in order to conceal her form.

Then she grabbed the woman's shoulder radio and changed the frequency. “Attention all units! We have an attempt bombing at Sanders Street! The terrorists are planting bombs in the three bars and the fast food restaurant! My team has stopped their attempt at the Makunba bar and will move to the fast food restaurant! Please be quick! The bombs are set to explode at 3 PM, but they can be diffused by cutting the green wire under them. Be careful, the employees have most likely been taken hostage and the terrorists are using their clothes for disguise.”

Mikani was relieved to hear several voices answer: “Got it!”

She checked her wristwatch. 20 minutes left...

**************

Mikani and Amber entered the fast food restaurant through its backdoor in an alleyway. “Stay with me.” Mikani whispered to the waitress. “I'll protect you if things go south.”

The latter nodded. Considering the danger they were in and the fact that she had no training in combat, she was being very brave.

“Do you know how many employees are supposed to be here at this time of the day?” Mikania then asked.

“Two.”

“Then we can assume that there are two terrorists, and we have around a little more than 15 minutes to neutralize them.”

**************

They started with the storage room, obviously.

Mikani didn't regret following her intuition.

In the middle of the room, two women in their lingerie were bound back-to-back with ropes. Their hands were tied behind their back with rope handcuffs, and coils of rope had been wrapped around the both of them to press their backs together. Their legs and thighs were also rope-tied. They were gagged and blindfolded with pieces of cloth tied behind their heads.

Mikani crouched in front of the woman on the left, a raven-haired woman in her mid-twenties with the right side of her nose and her bellybutton pierced, who was wearing a lacy black full cup bra highlighting her firm round breasts and a matching thong. She pulled off her blindfold. The woman's eyes widened when she realized that Mikani wasn't one of her muggers.

“Mmmmphhh?”

“I'm gonna pull out your gag next. Don't scream, we're here to help you.”

The raven-haired woman frantically nodded, eager to be released. The other stripped employee stopped wriggling when she heard Mikani's voice. She was a petite auburn-haired woman also in her mid-twenties, with a small round chest, whose hair were tied into a chignon and who was wearing a white t-shirt bra with little sunflowers and light pink panties with a floral pattern.

'Raven Hair' spat the rags filling her mouth as soon as the cloth gag was unknotted.

“Thank you! Oh, thank you! I know this'll sound crazy but...”

“You were assaulted by women who stole your clothes and left you trussed up here.” Mikani completed her.

“Y... Yes... How did you know...?”

“Lucky guess.” Mikani thought that it probably wasn't the good time to confess that she played the role of the uniform stealer a lot more often than the role of the rescuer... "What's your name?"

"Delphine. And my friend's Alex."

“Delphine, how much are they? Two?”

“Yes two.”

“Amber, can you ungag her friend and find a knife to cut their bonds?”

Suddenly, they heard the doorknob of the storage room being pulled down. Amber and the three employees froze in fear and surprise. Mikani, however, had long learned to react quickly and improvise when faced with danger. She ran to the door. The moment the doorknob was pulled down, she kicked the door open.

She was rewarded by the sound of a female shriek, a loud thump, and the sound of a person falling on her behind.

The woman had braided bushy red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. She was wearing a striped red-and-yellow t-shirt, black straight pants and brown sneakers. Also a ridiculous cap fashioned to literally look like a burger. Groaning, she was rubbing her forehead, on which she was sporting now an impressive bruise. That's gonna leave a huge bump...

Mikani didn't show her any mercy. She jumped the dazzled disguised bomber on the floor and knocked her out with one punch.

Then, she grabbed the redhead by the ankles and dragged her inside the storage room as quickly as she could. The other had surely heard the commotion... She was going to rush here as soon as she could excuse herself to the clients in the main room.

Amber had just finished cutting free Delphine the raven-haired employee, who was currently massaging her wrists. Mikani checked her watch.

“You have five minutes to take back your uniform if you want to.” she said to the employee. “After this deadline, no matter what is happening, I want you to flee the building through the backdoor.” The employee nodded, then rushed at the unconscious redhead, eager to take back her stolen clothes. In spite of the dire situation, Delphine couldn't help but smile at the idea of some payback...

Mikani was aware of the irony of the situation. Usually, she wasn't the one rescuing victims of uniform stealings and arresting the uniform stealers...

In fact, these terrorists' modus operandi was eerily similar to their own, back when Aster, she and the others were working for the Rebellion. Too much similar for Mikani to feel truly comfortable... Though they would never have bombed a public place or targeted civilians! The voice of the other bomber, coming from across the corridor, interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Livia! What are you doing?”

Mikani realized that the door of the storage room was still open. She cursed herself and her moment of distraction. She couldn't allow her mind to wander... 10 minutes left.

The second fake employee, dressed in the same uniform as the first, had blond hair closely cropped into a pixie cut, ears pierced with jewels that looked more like nails, and icy blue eyes. She was tall and fit. Even with the dumb burger-hat, she was looking dangerous.

'Pixie cut' was also well-trained enough to not stare blankly like some cretin at the sight of her partner-in-crime being stripped by one of their former prisoners, while a waitress was cutting the bonds of the other and a short civilian was facing her. On the contrary, her first reflex was to reach for the handgun concealed beneath her clothes.

But Mikani was faster and had the element of surprise. She charged. Being shorter sometimes had its advantage. Mikani passed under her oppenent's arms and tackled 'Pixie cut' head first in the chest. They both fell on the floor, struggling and fighting for the gun. Mikani wanted to capture this woman without knocking her out, as she wanted to interrogate her, which was making her task harder. The two fighters rolled on the floor, swearing and hissing at each other. With a triumphant groan, 'Pixie cut' managed to grab her gun, but Mikani hit her wrist and she let go of her weapon. In order to capture her, Mikani had one trump card: the handcuffs she aquired at the same time as the police uniform. At last, it was time to make her latest uniform steal profitable... Mikani grabbed the handcuffs with one hand, and used all her strength to roll again on the floor with her enemy and land on top. She dazzled the woman with a forearm blow on the forehead, then cuffed her left wrist. 'Pixie cut' understood her intent. She sat up straight and tried to push her away. Mikani anticipated the move and took place behind her back, cuffing her wrists together behind her back. The blonde's arms were immobilized. She had won.

She pressed the woman on the floor.

“Where's the bomb?” she barked.

“As if I'd tell you!” the blonde retorted.

Mikani pressed with all her weight. She knew that she was desesperately out of time.

“Do you truly want all this innocent blood on your hands?”

“It's for the good of the cause!”

Mikani groaned. “I don't have time for that...” 7 minutes left... She turned to Amber. “The bomb can only be on the terrace.”

'The blonde's expression of surprise allowed her to know that her intuition was right. Well, it's a start...

“Amber, grab a roll of package tape and wrap a dozen of layers around her wrists, no less. Then you three take refuge in the alleyway, and take these two with you. You can contiue tying them up there.”

“What about me?” Alex, the auburn-haired employee now free but still in her underwear, asked. “Do I have to go outside in my lingerie?”

“We have other priorities. Take back her pants if you want, but I forbid you to free her arms. I'll evacuate the fast food restaurant and defuse the bomb.”

“Do you have the time?” Amber asked.

“Do we have the choice?” Mikani asked back.

She didn't wait for an answer. She took the time to send 'Pixie cut' to slumberland with one punch, to make sure that she didn't try to hurt the others, then she ran to the main room and the terrace.

5 minutes left...

**************

“Everyone, this is an emergency! I order you to evacuate this building and the street at once!” Mikani shouted.

4 minutes left.

She thanked the intuition that urged her to steal the policewoman's uniform: nobody tried to question her order, and the clients all complied. Worried, but without panicking. Her clothes were giving her the aura of authority necessary to enforce obedience.

3 minutes left.

Mikani frantically searched the terrasse's tables, looking for the bomb. But the device was small and she had a hard time... "Don't panic..." she muttered to herself. She was a professional. She had seen worst. It wasn't the time to falter.

2 minutes left.

“It's here! Under this table!” Amber exclaimed. The waitress had refused to leave her alone, and had come to help her.

Mikani was grateful.

She rushed to the table the black-haired woman was pointing.

1 minute left.

Mikani pulled out the green wire. The countdown stopped and disappeared from the screen of the bomb.

Minaki and Amber heaved a sigh of relief.

They fell seated on the pavement. Now that the pressure was being released, their legs were becoming too shaky to support them.

Now, the last question? Had the police intervened quickly enough to defuse the last two remaining bombs, in the two bars at the other extremity of the street?

They couldn't do anything but wait.

Mikani felt her heart pound hard.

30 seconds.

20 seconds.

10 seconds.

3 PM.

Mikani couldn't help but wince and close her eyes.

Nothing happened.

She and Amber waited. 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds. 1 past 3 PM. 2 past 3 PM.

Still no explosion.

She and Amber hugged each other. “They've done it!” they happily exclaimed.

**************

Mikani and Amber regrouped with Delphine and Alex, the two employees they rescued, in the alleyway behind the fast food restaurant. Both employees had jumped on the opportunity to conjure up some payback on their captors. Though the auburn-haired Alex could only recover her pants, and was covering her bra with her arms.

The two bombers' legs were taped and, more importantly, a huge layer of tape was obscuring their mouth and lower face, entangling the hair in the process.

“Why did you gag them?” Mikani asked.

“To see how they like it to have their mouths filled with rags...” Delphine, the raven-haired employee, explained.

The red-haired bomber was stripped down to her grey bra with black trimmings and a patter of black stars, and matching panties. The blonde with the pixie cut was wearing navy-themed panties: there was a light purple anchor in the front of her black briefs with light purple threads at the edges.

Just for that, she deserved to be caught with her pants down... Mikani told herself.

“Now, all we have to do is wait for the police...” Amber said.

Mikani smiled awkwardly. It meant that she would have to justify herself for assaulting a police officer...

**************

“It's weird.” Amy commented. “Something's not adding up.”

“What do you mean?” Jewel asked her.

“It's almost 10 past 3PM, and there's still no uproar in the police station. Surely, they should have received the news of the bombings by now...”

She checked her phone, and paled.

"We move!" she ordered.

"What? At the moment of our triumph?"

"Something went very wrong! I'll explain on our way! But we have to leave now! I'll gather the team!"

"Mhhh! Mhhh!"

Amy took the time to slap with the back of her hand the bound-and-gagged tradeswoman who just tried to voice her opinion. Then she left her post to gather her team.

**************

Mikani wasn't going to be in trouble because of her little 'incident' with the policewoman. The police was thankful for her preventing a bombing. So much thankful that they decided to wipe the slate clean. And to ignore the fact that she assaulted a police officer to steal her clothes and left her trussed up in an alleyway in the process...

However, Mikani had to stay several hours in the police station to answer a lot of questions, along with Amber and the other employees that were mugged during the attempt bombing. The bombers themselves had all been arrested and were all questioned.

Though the police officers refused to give her informations, Mikani easily deduced that these terrorists were working for the same group that burned the library and kidnapped the librarians. "They're called 'The Eye of the Twelve', 'The Eye' for short." Amber explained. "Olympian supremacists."

Well, whoever these people were, she wasn't going to let them get away so easily. This was her home! It was maybe dirty and polluted, and sure she didn't even like it, but it was her home nevertheless! The place where she was born, where she grew up. For which her family gave their lives. She couldn't allow the Eye to turn it into a battlefield for their sick little cause... I'll have to regroup with Aster, arrange a meeting with Hieron, and come back with accreditations allowing me to take part in the investigation. I leave the town tomorrow, but I'll come back soon to end them... The thought made her smile lightly.

Mikani spent the rest of the time she had to wait in the police station chatting with Amber, Delphine, and Alex. The three women were happy to be alive and well, and eager to talk to ease their tension. Mikani was glad to spend this moment with them. Their conversation was pleasant. Not to mention the admiring look in their eyes when they were watching her, especially Amber. Mikani was serious, but she was still human. It felt good to be regarded as a heroine...

**************

A few hours after the failure of the bombings, Amy and Jewel were seated at the back of their car. They were driven to the Eye's hideout, outside of Southern Cross. The atmosphere was tensed. Jewel was furious. Her big operation to send a message to the entire country was a complete failure. The Eye of the Twelve was supposed to do something big, and make its existence known to the world. Instead, they were defeated and humiliated. Absolutely no victim, no damage.

“Miss Amarante, I heard that your infiltrators were captured.” the driver said. “I apologize for your losses.”

"It's Amy." Amy shrugged. “And if they were captured so easily, then they were unworthy apprentices. Serves them right.”

“These weren't true followers of the cause anyway.” Jewel added. “Just crooks that we picked up precisely because we knew they were expendable...”

Jewel was watching the latest news on her phone. At least, when they were on the street or in the car, she was pragmatic enough to temporarily remove the evil robe and mask wardrobe... In her civilian clothes, she was looking like any haughty businesswoman.

Amy was seated to her right, in her civilian clothes, and was looking through the window. One of the Eye's followers was driving.

“Our correspondent tried to interview some of the direct witnesses, including the woman who managed to prevent the bombings, but they refused to make any statement...” a reporter was saying.

“This woman!” Jewel exclaimed while Mikani was shown on the screen. “I recognize her! She was part of the Rebellion. Cérès herself gave her a medal on national television!”

“So?” Amy asked.

“Think of the symbol! She's a war hero for the provincial pigs... We have to capture her! We could use her as a bargaining chip to have Olympian political prisoners released... Or we could film her execution and post it on the web... Or we could do both... Either way, I refuse to let this opportunity go. This might be our chance to bounce back after the failure! We still have a chance to do something really spectacular... I want that woman. Now.”

Amy carressed her chin. “I do relish the opportunity to strike an enemy of the cause... but I will need extra money to be able to carry on with the task if you want me to do it so quickly...”

“Money is not a problem.”

“Then, consider this girl already delivered to you.” She said to the driver: "Drop me at my hideout of this town, and call Marge and Tina. They and I have to collect someone for our leader..."

Jewel licked her lips. “I look forward to it...”

[esercito sconfitto]

definitely, a readable and well-written piece, funny in the right way and with a fast pace

put aside that I am fine with historical revisionism

speaking of libraries, rufusluciusivan, why don't you present some newly-uncovered documents and files about the "resistence guerrilla war" against the Olympian Army? I regret so much not having more scenes with captured late teen conscripts... ( like in " To Overthrow the Utopia pt 5)

[rufusluciusivan]

Personally, I strongly dislike it.

Your idea for the "resistance guerilla war" is interesting, and I admit I thought several times about writing something narrating this part of the conflict, but for now I don't have much inspiration for it.

[esercito sconfitto]

just take note: if you will have some inspiration for short stories, remember the debooting of the poor hapless captured recruits of the Olympian Army , partisans do it all the time

hey someone has to replace some of the books about the controversial 'resistance' burnt in the library so far we have had the "politically correct narrative" instead of the real historical facts , and this caused the understandable reaction of honest people like Amy and Jewel, but if the real treatment of the poor captured conscripts will be revealed then we can make progress toward the truth

[tirepanted3]

Great to see another story. Mikani wasn't my favorite of the original heroes (that would of course be Klenia and Shayna), but she fills the role of central character quite well. She's adept at uniform stealing enough to know the tricks of the trade (and humorously references them throughout the story), even as she doesn't always employ them herself. Her kinship with Amber is particularly fun, especially the way they team to take down the police officer. Serves her right for caring more about donuts than crime.

Interesting role reversal, with Jewel, Amy, and co. playing the part of "the Resistance," commanding most of the action and stealing most of the uniforms in the story. Shows how the saga has changed over time. The villains were a little too grim at times, though I did enjoy the argument about the real estate agent.

I look forward to seeing where the story goes - hopefully we encounter some other familiar characters as well. And I'm still eagerly awaiting the return of Reka and her squad.

[rufusluciusivan]

Tirepanted: Indeed, with the big cast of colorful characters of the previous stories, the more serious and grounded Mikani was often left on the sidelines, hence why I wanted her to have her own little story. While I don't want them to become too grim, I wanted the villains of this installment to be more despicable than usual (especially Jewel, who embodies a lot of things I hate: intolerant fanatism and haughty snobbery; I want her to be hated). More things will be revealed about Amy, and I'm curious to see how you will respond to it. (Though maybe not in the next post, which should be shorter than the first.) The parallels are indeed deliberate. I like to have my characters question the moral boundaries of their actions, though ultimately I want to make clear that Jewel and co are way worst than them, in spite of the similarities. I'm glad you liked the added scene with the policewoman. It wasn't supposed to happen at first (they would simply call the police and be believed, and move to the fast food restaurant), but I then decided to apply more your precept to try to add (when possible) a Uniform Steal-related scene whenever the story dwells on too long without a scene. (It was for the same reason that the detail of Amy's team having replaced the entire worker crew and the description of the pile of victims was added.) It proves to be more difficult than I expected, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep the rythm, but for now I'm glad I find ideas.

Esercitosconfitto: It's true that the fact that the new government wants to change part of history to suit its needs is here to show that the fall of Olympus didn't magically fix all problems (I'm a cynical at heart when it comes to that...), but I also wouldn't trust fanatical supremacists that try to bomb places to kill innocents to bring me the true version of history...
Since this isn't the main point of the story, I don't try to dwell too much on it (especially since it's grim), but the fact is that Olympus' government was a nasty, nasty piece of work. The new government is a lot better.
The government Jewel and Amy are defending is guilty of: systematically executing their political opponents or sending them in penal colonies in the swamp north of the country to live in hellish conditions (including those who didn't commit violent acts), putting down demonstrations by having army or police fire live bullets. They would also often try to discourage the population to support the Rebellion by rounding up all the inhabitants of a village (children included) and execute one tenth at random. (The characters talk about that when they mention the 'decimations'.) Finally, they staged fake foreign attacks: they would sent bomber planes painted to look like they were from a foreign nation and have them bomb villages or towns of Shield or Naïad, to justify their power and pass themselves as protectors of the country. (Little trivia: this was supposed to be the information that the Rebellion used to bring about the mass uprising, but I didn't include it because it would take too much time to explain it properly and I didn't trust my writing skills enough at the time.) And of course the Olympians themselves rewrote history to never mention these incidents... Bottom line, Olympus was modelled after the most oppressive governments I could think of, and the Eye is trying to bring that back. They aren't people fighting to bring out the truth.
Perhaps should I have mentioned more often these things in the first series? Though to understand this part of the story, it's important to know that I have all these elements in mind when I write. Jewel and Amy couldn't care less about bringing the truth, as Olympus' telling of the story of Constantin Basileus is as much propaganda as the Rebellion's. They want to use the version that suits their needs and take back the power (or at least, create chaos against the new government out of spite). And while they would probably dwell on the Rebellion's immoral actions towards conscripts or others, they would do it with the cynical intention of grabbing more power and partisans, as Jewel couldn't care less about the conscripts themselves whom she regards as ignorant cannon fodder. While there are parallels between their methods and Team Aster's, it's ultimately to show that the Eye is worst - in spite of the irony of the fact that now Olympians are technically the 'rebels' and the former rebels are now the government. Hence perhaps why I should insist more on the malevolence of Jewel's ideology, but I'm afraid it would take too much time from Uniform Stealing fun... I think we highlighted here the limitations of trying to write a heavily story-driven Uniform Steal story with a constructed universe: on the one hand, the main point remains to narrate cool uniform stealings scenarios; but on the other hand, the story also has to describe its settings. And you can't spend too much time with the settings, but at the same time if you don't spend enough time, it may be harder to explain the stakes and the motivations of the characters...

I admit that this detail about historical revisionism was something I simply added to give Karigan (a one time victim of uniform steal) a little more personality, I didn't think it would lead to as much conversations. Though I don't complain. I liked talking about this plot point.

Though I can reassure you about one thing, the treatment of the captured conscripts won't be censored, especially when it comes to the uniform stealings. (Though again, for cynical reasons, in a look-we-didn't-kill-them-like-Olympus-would-we-simply-stripped-and-humiliated-them-aren't-we-nicest? kind of way...) Also, the government wants the support of the USB.

[esercito sconfitto]

Of course I see your point, but don’t forget the events of the tale are immediately following the war, then Karigan and other differently minded people aren’t just unable to accept the new government’s propaganda , they are witnesses enraged by the spreading newly invented narrative. They just remember how Constantin Basileus and his Army stood heroically against overwhelming enemy forces, while terrorists acted at the back of the combatants, sometimes with vile ambushes , ruses and subterfuges and while a lying propaganda fueled the flames of the rebellion against the Olympian benevolent rule in the provinces

And they remember that the unbeated Olympian Army was betrayed at its back by politicians like Zoe Eudokia

I believe that you are in possession of documents and reports about it. Please release these informations, share them with us, and this will be a significant step toward the reconciliation of the provinces

You know, there are rumors about the latter stager of the civil war, when many female conscripts of the Olympian Army have been captured by the women of the armed resistance only to provide themselves with individual weapons and military footwear. Or maybe just for fun or to show bravery...of course these Olympian late teen girls of no military value didn’t react but they weren’t spared from humiliating parades in “liberated” enemy villages or areas after stripped of boots and sometimes even of their uniforms

I believe that even Amy and Jewel experienced such mistreatment at the hand of resistence fighters, especially if captured by people like Klenia, suspected to have targeted and eventually molested enemy soldier girls , ambushing only the youngest cute ones with her cleverly schemed plans- could you deny this possibility? Maybe Amy and Jewel are resented because they endured molestation during their captivity or just the humiliating process of being forced to strip of their uniforms in public places

please rufusluciusivan, do it.

Open the archives of the Resistance

[Trackman281]

This is great, you've got me hooked on another one of your series, it's extremely well written, I really enjoyed the characters, I can't really describe it but my favourite character in this part was definitely Amy, I just really liked her style. I'm enjoying this new world you've conjured up and I'm really looking forward to reading what happens next in part 2.

Thank you as well for adding a uniform that I personally would of never of thought of, that of course being the Librarian, it was unique and I think you did the whole scene extremely well. I liked the whole scene with Amber as well, the idea that she was secretly tucked away off screen, I don't always like off screen scenes but you managed to make this one work well, so I tip my hat to you on that one.

[rufusluciusivan]

To Trackman: While Amy isn't my most sympathetic character by far, I can perfectly see why you'd like her. And I certainly like writing her. I don't think these are the first librarians ever shown, but thank you for the compliment. As for off-screen scenes, such as with Amber, I like to have one from time to time, I think it's a good idea to sometimes leave to the imagination how the scene took place. And it's a good way to maintain the rythm...

To esercitosconfitto: Now, that's an alternate scenario! A dark mirror universe perhaps?

However, as the omnipotent creator of this world and therefore the one who knows all its secrets ( ), I can confirm that there isn't a secret history and Olympus was truly as vile as it appeared. I'm sorry about that, but there's no secret version or history. Our heroines were truly heroines. They weren't perfect paragons of morality, but they were the good guys. Constantin Basileus wasn't a tyrant, but he wasn't a saint either (think of a conqueror similar to Napleon Bonaparte; also he never faced the Rebellion's guerilla, he started his conquest two-hundred-and-seventy-four years before the events of the story and his descendants were actually the ones who finished it). House Eudokia didn't truly betray their leaders as much as tried to save what little power could still be saved: let's remember that Olympus' major leaders chose to kill themselves to avoid capture, knowing full well that it would throw their citizens into a panic. The archives are already open: it's all the previous stories. (By the way, Jewel is the spoiled pampered heiress of a rich family, she has never seen a battlefield in her life... )

I will allow myself to be one hundred percent serious in this paragraph however. Personally, I'm not a fan of these theories that often pop up to say: 'In truth, the good guys were secretly evil all along and the bad guys were secretly the good guys all along.'. I know that this is done in good humor, and I'm not taking offense for it at all, but to be honest it makes me uncomfortable to see my characters and my original intents distorted that much... I envisioned the Rebellion and my heroines as flawed but ultimately well-meaning organization / people fighting against a truly oppressive government. The story wasn't even supposed to feature Uniform Stealings or to be posted on this board! I tweaked it to include the uniform stealings because, after years of being a passive member, I wanted to truly contribute to the life of the Board. (And as I don't know how to draw, writing was the only way of doing it.) However, my vision of the characters and the settings never changed. Now, of course, if you wrote a story about a dark alternate version of this world, I'd be happy to have inspired you and would be glad to read your interpretation. However, in my stories, I'd like for us to agree that things are truly how they were presented until now. Olympus wasn't a benevolent government. Their oppression was even the true reason why their opponents couldn't do anything else but choose violent actions, as peacefully protesting would get you arrested at best, a bullet in the neck at worst. I envisioned the Rebellion as a realistic movement: they aren't clean-cut simplistic goody-two-shoes, but they have a noble ideal, and most of them would have chosen a peaceful or diplomatic route had Olympus allowed freedom of speech and opposition parties. Olympus' refusal to negociate peacefully forced them to take up arms, and a good chunk of them became (or were already) hardened because they lost loved one due because of Olympus' oppression. The Rebellion isn't perfect, some of its methods are reprehensible (though as I said this is partly due to Olympus' actions), and some of its members are true bastards, but most of its members are well-meaning and, ultimately, their cause was the good one. Sorry about the boring serious paragraph... Be sure that I'm grateful and will always be grateful for your continued support, one of the reasons why I continue to write, I simply wanted to share my feelings with you.

Of course that doesn't mean there won't be a story showing the 'dark' side of the Rebellion one day if I'm feeling inspired (with adult conscripts and soldiers though, Olympus doesn't conscript below 18). I haven't forgotten that defeated armies are a favorite of yours, and I hope to one day be able to bring them back. However, then I'll make it clear that it was made by part of the Rebellion's branches, the most extremist.

[tirepanted3]

I'm glad you liked the added scene with the policewoman. It wasn't supposed to happen at first (they would simply call the police and be believed, and move to the fast food restaurant), but I then decided to apply more your precept to try to add (when possible) a Uniform Steal-related scene whenever the story dwells on too long without a scene. (It was for the same reason that the detail of Amy's team having replaced the entire worker crew and the description of the pile of victims was added.) It proves to be more difficult than I expected, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep the rythm, but for now I'm glad I find ideas.

Oh yes, I forgot to comment on the victim pile! Great bit of humor there, particularly the description of the topmost girl. That said, it did feel like that scene went by a little fast. The worker crew doesn't have much presence in the story, and the women who steal their uniforms don't seem to do much either. I'm not even sure how many women were in the crew.

I understand what you mean. It's always difficult for me to find the right balance of uniform stealing in each story - there needs to be enough to keep it interesting (and in step with the theme of the board), but not too much that the scenes start to feel sudden and glossed over. Each steal should serve the story or characters on some level. The construction crew scene just felt a little tacked-on, both because it was so quick and because it isn't referenced again in the story. Just my impression.