Water explodes.

Everyone whoops for joy as Elle bursts out of the deep end of the pool, swimming slowly over to the side. "Much better, Elle-chan," Shooko smiles as she writes down the score. "Nine-six."

"Hai, Shooko-chan!" the former Rose Queen beams as she steps out of the pool, then receives two towels from the women she loves the most. "I'm getting better, aren't I?!"

"Hai, dear Elle-chan!" Atako kisses her cheek, Lum the other. "Soon, you'll be just as good as me...but never as good as Mie-chan," she nods to the Sagussan now on the high dive board.

Mie winks at her android classmates, then bounds off the board in another perfect ten dive. "Nice one, Mie-chan!" Shutako claps as the Gladiator pilot emerges from the water.

"I might as well not even bother scoring you," Shooko laughs.

"Raise your standards, Shooko-chan; it'll work," Mie smiles, then allows Makoto to slip a towel around her. "Oooh, thank you, love! You pamper me so much!"

"I'm just making sure no one tries to take you away from me, Mievayae," Makoto coos romantically.

"Oh, sure!!" Kuruko snorts from beside Atsuko. "If we even look at Mie-chan the wrong way, you'll pound us into scrap! We're not into committing suicide, Mako-chan!!"

"Well, I could be inclined to allow you sexy machines to have your wanton ways with my lovely bond-mate...as long as you please me at the same time," Makoto muses.

"That is a challenge!" Kuruko smiles daringly. "Consider it accepted, Mako-chan...but at OUR pace, not yours!"

Everyone laughs, then blink as two swimmers pull up. "Hey, you're looking great, Negako-chan!" Atako smiles at her sister.

Negako and Chigaiko move to the poolside. "It's still quite frightening, Onee-chan," the younger Moroboshi pants, smiling. "But as long as Chigaiko remains close by, I can control my fear."

"Sounds like you're in love, Negako-chan," Kai beams.

"She's not ready to admit that, Kai-chan!!" Chigaiko whines.

"Chigaiko, I do love you."

Everyone stops, staring at the android who was once a bodiless sentient spirit crammed with martial arts knowledge devoid of most other emotions who had haunted the lives of twenty generations of Moroboshis. Chigaiko blinks, gaping at Negako. "Negako-chan..."

"Chigaiko, you have stood by my side since I acquired this form," Negako smiles. "I am not totally blind to the ways of love, you know. I know you desire me very much and I wish to reciprocate that as best as I can."

Chigaiko blinks, then crying out in joy, swamps Negako with a hug and kiss. Everyone whoops for joy as the couple embraces, their elbows keeping them from slipping under the water. "So the last couple in our class comes together!" Kai claps her hands in delight. "Wonderful!!"

"Way to go, sis!" Atako whoops.

Everyone then blinks on hearing someone crying. They turn to Yumiko, who is being tenderly held by Nobuko. "What's wrong, Yumiko-chan?!" Midori gasps.

"I'm sorry," the pudgy android wipes her eyes. "But...I was thinking about us being together and all that...and part of me doesn't want this to end! We're a family, one big happy family. We take joy in our classmates' happiness, do our best not to hurt each other. You want to know something? Part of me doesn't want this to end."

The others gaze at each other, nodding. "All good things must come to an end sooner or later, Yumiko-chan," Makoto smiles.

"Still, wouldn't it be nice if when we're organic, we could all live together?" Yumiko sighs. "I want to be with you and Mie-chan, too, Mako-chan. You're part of us. And I want to be with Atako-chan, Lum-chan and Elle-chan...all of you!!"

"We'd all go to Sagussa, you mean," Kai nods.

"Hai, Kai-chan," Yumiko nods. "The problems with men are solved because the doctors on Sagussa are perfecting a cloning treatment for Elle-chan's friends. We've been welcome on Sagussa since this all began so why can't we all go there?"

"You're all welcome to come," Mie reminds them.

"I suppose we'll have to start thinking about it," Nobuko muses, then tenderly kisses her life mate. "After all, my sweet Yumiko, where you go, I go."

"Arigato, dearest Nobuko," Yumiko sighs.

Suddenly, furious knocking is heard at the window to the pool. Everyone turns to see Tanako and Hitomi standing there. "Onee-chan, you've got to come home quick!!" the former cries out.

"What is it, Tanako-chan?!" Atako wonders.

"Hisoko-chan wants to kill herself!!!"

Everyone jolts, eyes widening in shock. "Shooko-chan!!" Atako looks at the swim coach.

"Go!!" Shooko rapidly nods.

Atako, Shutako, Elle, Lum and Asako sprint for the fire door to take the direct route home without changing. "Hell, we're all going!!!" Ryuunosuke barks as everyone streams out of the pool in their classmates' wake.

Shooko nods, then gazes at Natalie. "Now what on Earth could be going on?"

"Who knows, love!" the Englishwoman shrugs...

* * *

"Don't do it, Hisoko-onee-chan!!!"

"Don't stop me, Ten-chan!!"

The crowd of androids stop in front of the Moroboshi home, gaping in horror at Hisoko, now standing on the roof, the gaikatana once belonging to Atako's grandfather in her hands and ready to plunge into her heart. Ten-chan and Koishii hover near the crying sophomore, their eyes wide with panic. Mika stands on the roof not five metres away, shivering in horror on seeing her friend do this. "Hisoko-chan, please!" she makes a step.

"Don't get close, Mika-chan!!!" Hisoko snaps. "I'll do it!!! I swear, I'll do it!!!"

"Hisoko-chan, what are you doing?!" Lum flies up to her. "Why do you want to kill yourself?!! Put the sword down!!"

The brunette android gazes tearfully at the Oni. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan! I love you very much, but I can't stand sitting here doing nothing when she could be dying for all I know!!"

"What are you talking about?!" Lum wonders, then her eyes widen in understanding. "Your sister...?!"

"Mika-onee-chan and Hisoko-onee-chan didn't get letters from their sisters, Lum-chan!" Ten-chan turns to his cousin. "It's been almost three weeks since they last wrote!!"

"Hisoko-chan, there's got to be a logical explanation!" Mika insists. "We can't jump to conclusions over this!!"

"You know what could happen, Mika!!" Hisoko sobs. "We became this because we wanted to, we chose to be androids! They might be forced into it!! We can't save them, Mika!! We're stuck here because everyone's afraid to let us go out into the world even to look for our families!!"

"Hisoko-chan..."

Hisoko looks up, then pales on seeing Lum pointing a finger at the side of her neck, a bright ball of electricity ready to lash into her spine. "Onee-chan, no...!"

"Hisoko-chan, I took an oath to love you and care for you as my little sister until the time came that we're organic," Lum calmly states. "If you plunge that sword into your heart, I'll blow apart my spinal column. I'll fall to the ground, most likely damage my CCU from the impact...and I've left instructions in my will that no efforts are to be made to restore me if I've suffered mental damage and information loss."

"Onee-chan, no..."

"Hisoko-chan, you can't help your sister if you're dead."

Hisoko shudders, then feels her hands let go of the katana, the blade dropping to the ground below. Sending the lightning off into the heavens, Lum leaps forward to embrace the crying android, then lowers her to the ground. Everyone else breathes out in relief as Lum carries Hisoko inside. "What's this all about, Darling?!" Lan gazes at Atako.

"It's a long story, Lan-chan," Atako breathes out, then shrugs. "Anyone for tea?"

The others sigh, moving inside...

* * *

The Galatea Syndrome

Pleasure Androids in Atlantic City

an Urusei Yatsura fanfic

by Fred Herriot

gorgo@kwangju.net

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

Based on Urusei Yatsura, created by Rumiko Takahashi

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

WARNING: This is a sometimes dark fic with lots of strange lemon scenes in it. If this isn't your style of fan fiction story, go elsewhere. All standard lemon fanfic/ASFR story warnings apply.

WRITER'S NOTES

1) This story is set two weeks after Devils and Roses. It is also inspired by the ASFR story Pleasure Palace (now at James ML's site at www.pathcom.com/~bond). A nod to Nick, the writer who gave us that story.

2) Names for the workers at the House of Venus are inspired by some of James's lovely ladies and many others. Thanks to you all!

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

"The House of Venus?!" Shinobu wonders.

"Hai, Shinobu-sempai," Mika sips her tea. Everyone in Class 3-4 sits or stands in the Moroboshi home living room staring at the younger android as she relays her story. Hisoko now lies in Lum's lap, access plates on her head open so the Oni could inspect her CCU for damaged logic solids. "My sister Mihoshi and Hisoko's sister Yuiko have worked there for about a year."

"I've heard of it," Kuruko blinks. "It's a gentlemen's and ladies' club of some repute in Atlantic City. The House of Venus is considered one of the things that revived the city's economy when Las Vegas stole all the gambling business some years ago."

"You mean it's a fuckin' whorehouse!" Ryuunosuke sighs.

"Not just your ordinary sort of whorehouse, Ryuu-chan," Kuruko muses. "It's a place where any sort of conceivable carnal pleasure can be obtained...quite easily and legally, too. Atlantic City and Las Vegas are two places in the United States where the usual rules and social norms are pretty well ignored."

"You would know about this place, wouldn't you?" Tasuko hums.

"Tasuko-chan!" Kuruko gazes at her. "I very much agree with what Yumiko-chan said earlier! Part of me loves being a pleasure android. I wouldn't've fallen in love with Atsuko-chan hadn't that happened. But even I know the limits I can go, Tasuko-chan. The House of Venus, regrettably...does not."

"Sounds like Gomiana," Elle muses, speaking of a planet close to Earth were all sorts of criminal and morally suspect activities occurred on a day-to-day basis.

"Definitely," Lan hums.

"So what's so hot about this place?" Natsuko wonders.

"Well," Mika sighs. "In a letter we sent four weeks ago to our sisters, we told them that all of you were androids and that we were seriously thinking of becoming androids ourselves so we could live on and be with those we love. Unlike our parents, our sisters have always been supportive of us and our dreams. They then write back to tell us that a lot of the people working in the House of Venus are, get this...pleasure androids!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone exclaims.

"You mean exactly like us?!" Nagisa wonders.

"Not really," Mika sighs. "They call them 'robotic people' in the House of Venus, make them seem like animatronic puppets built for sex. But our sisters told us that in many cases, the robots are built from real people who volunteer to be turned into robots just so they could live as sex machines!"

"Sacred Ancestors, are such things possible?!" Elle wonders. "I mean, Terran technology can't've got THAT far yet!"

"Look at us, Elle-chan," Chisono reminds her.

"They might've got help!" Kai warns.

Silence falls as everyone exchanges knowing looks. The front door then opens and Benten and Oyuki walk in, everyone's bags in their hands and over their shoulders. "Hey, why'd you all trip out of swim class so suddenly?" the Fukunokami wonders, then tenses on seeing everyone's concerned looks. "Something wrong?!"

"Sit down, Benten-chan; you might want to listen in on this," Elle waves her to a clear spot. "Go on, Mika-chan."

"Well, Hisoko-chan and I write back and we asked if they were considering going through first-level robotization," Mika sighs. "It happens in three stages there. First stage is just to improve your sex drive, make you fully bisexual. Second stage is to increase your energy level so you can keep performing no matter how long your customer wants you to be with them. The third stage is complete robotization. Mihoshi-chan and Yuiko-chan were already at first stage when they wrote their last letter and they said the owners were trying to persuade them...persuade them..."

Hitomi leans down to embrace the sobbing Mika. "Persuade them to go all the way," Shinobu concludes, then shakes her head. "God have mercy on them. Will this ever end?!"

"We're gonna make it end, Shinobu-chan!" Benten snarls, her fists shaking. "Okay, we know the deal! Let's get set up, then get over there and save those two!!"

"Hold it, Benten-chan!" Atako snaps. "Part of the reason the conspiracy happened in the first place was loose cannons like you blazing off without caring that there are rules on this planet!"

"Darling, we ARE going, aren't we?!" Lum wonders.

"Of course we're going, Lum-chan!" Atako sighs. "But first of all, we all look like teenagers. Age of majority's eighteen in the United States. We have to get some cosmetic changes done to all of us to make us look more like Shooko-chan or Sakura-chan so that we don't attract too much attention. Secondly, we can't blaze into America like we normally do. The Yanks are the most trigger-happy bunch on this planet and they won't take too kindly to a pack of aliens and their friends racing to the rescue with guns blazing. We have to be subtle in doing this." She then turns to Shutako. "Shuu-chan, sweetie, you do have a Canadair Regional Jet we can borrow for the trip, do you?"

"Ta-chan, I've five of them! Which one do you want?!"

Everyone laughs...

* * *

Twenty-four hours later, after some cosmetic improvements (for Mie and Makoto, a little te'cha exercise to advance their aging to the point where they would match their android friends), topping off of everyone's primary power charges and loading of some weapons with diplomatic seals to ensure the American customs agencies don't get suspicious, a Mendou Canadair Regional Jet races across the Pacific. In the cabin, fitted with first-class accommodations, the thirty-two women composing Class 3-4 and their closest peers relax. Atako stares at a mirror, gazing at the image of the twenty-two year old college graduate she's temporarily become. "Damn, I look sexy!" she grins, staring at herself. "I'm so glad they finally made my boobs sag. I always hated having such a perfect body."

"Honey, you look beautiful no matter what age you are!" Elle grins, hugging her arm. Like almost everyone else, she had got some age lines around her eyes, plus a tuck or two elsewhere. She then gazes at Yumiko. "At least Yumiko-chan's lost some weight."

"Finally!" Yumiko sighs. She had taken the most amount of effort to modify, stripping ten kilograms from her body as well as advancing her age five years. "Much that I know Nobuko-chan loves me, I still want to be beautiful in MY eyes!"

"You're beautiful no matter how you look, love," Nobuko turns her lover's face around, then kisses her.

"I know," Yumiko sighs. "I'm sorry, Nobuko-chan, but I've always had a bit of a self-esteem problem. I wish they'd taken it out of me when they turned me into an android."

"I'll just have to take it out of you myself," Nobuko smiles. "Care to take a couple seats in the back, then get naked?"

"Hai, my love," Yumiko croons as they head back.

Atako sighs, then gazes at Lum. The Oni also looked much more mature, with her hair cut to her shoulders and curled in. "Do you want to stay this way for the rest of the time we're androids, Lum-chan?" Atako muses. "I really like this."

"So do I," Lum hums, then kisses her. "I think we should do it with everyone, Darling. What do you think our chances are?"

"Very good, actually," Atako shrugs. "We're going to a place that uses androids that are probably less advanced than we...and we're the most advanced androids on this planet. We've got Makoto with us, who could take out a whole infantry battalion by herself. And if things get too dicey, Priss and Lufy are always a videophone call and a two-hour starship trip away. What could go wrong?"

"Everything," Lum sighs.

"Hai," Atako lays back. "Everything..."

* * *

Sixteen hours later, after two fuel stops in Honolulu and San Francisco, the jet puts down in Atlantic City. Clearing through Customs...though the U.S. Customs Service did get antsy about the sealed boxes and Benten's hair and sash chains...everyone takes a train of taxis to the downtown strip. A four-star hotel awaited them, paid for more than enough time to get to the House of Venus, scout around, then do business. Once they got in, they unpacked, did a diagnostic through their portable ASUs via Atako's, Benten's, Kuruko's and Ryuunosuke's main units, cross-programmed everyone so they could speak Sagussan, then slept for a few hours. By then, evening had fallen over the American east coast.

Everyone makes their way from the hotel to the House of Venus, a large establishment at the north end of the strip overlooking the beautiful expanse of the Atlantic. "We got enough money for this?" Benten stares quizzically at her small wad of Ben Franklin notes.

"One night's a hundred dollars, Benten-chan," Atako sighs. "We got enough for three nights for each of us plus loads of snacks and drinks. Relax."

"Cute guy," Benten stares at the image of America's legendary senior statesmen. "Was he a president?"

"No, but Americans look upon him with as much reverence as you do Bensaiten, Benten-chan," Oyuki smiles.

"Cool," Benten stows her wallet.

The House of Venus sits in a very modern building, about the size of one wing of Tomobiki High School as everyone stops to gaze at it. "Looks pretty nice," Makoto whistles. "Let's go party!"

The others laugh as they stream inside. First stop is a ticket booth manned by a middle-aged woman. She blinks on seeing the small legion of Oriental women, then bows. "Konban wa."

"Konban wa, Oba-sama," Atako replies. "We all just came in some hours ago for some fun. How much for two days?"

"Two hundred dollars or twenty thousand yen," she replies, then stares at Lum. "Forgive me, are you...?"

"An alien," Lum nods. "Hai, Oba-sama. I'm an Oni-Urusian. I'm a college student at Tokyo National University...as are my friends," she indicates Benten, Oyuki, Elle, Lan and Makoto.

"First time in the United States?"

"Hai, for all of us!" Lum smiles. "My people took much of their early inspiration for the Urusian Union from your founding fathers. I've always wanted to come see America."

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourselves," the matron nods, then turns a portable computer keyboard around for them to use. "Please type your names down in English so we can keep track of you while you're here. This is most of all for your protection."

Everyone registers their names, noting that a small camera is taking pictures of each of them. Once the last goes through, the matron nods. "May your dreams come true. Enjoy your stay."

"Arigato, Oba-sama!" the woman bow as they head inside.

Past the entrance is a sitting lounge now partially filled with waiting customers, mostly men. "Darling, wouldn't it be seen as weird for a group of women to come here?" Lum whispers.

As agreed in the hotel earlier, everyone would speak Sagussan among themselves. "Lumvayae, even girls deserve the chance to have some entertainment," Atako winks. "Besides, if they ask, we say we're all bis. That's more accepted here than in Japan. We're here to find our sisters, but let's have some fun along the way!"

"Okay," Lum nods, then blinks as four beautiful women approach them. "Ah, our hosts!"

"Konban wa, minna-sama," their leader bows. She is a tall brown-eyed woman with long black hair in a ponytail.

"Konban wa...we do speak English," Atako switches to a nearly flawless accent. "Maybe we should stay that way."

"Of course," she nods. "My name's Samantha, and these are Cindy, Jennifer and Ginger," she indicates her companions. "We'll be your hosts for this evening and tomorrow. First of all, would you like something to drink?"

The Terrans order beer, Elle gets a vodka martini (she likes hers stirred), Lum and Lan apple brandy, Oyuki gin martini, Benten vodka and the Sagussans Guinness ale. Of course, since androids couldn't get drunk and since Earth alcohol is too weak to affect Sagussans even in excess, this was just playing the game. "Okay, since this is obviously the first time here for you, let me explain what happens here at the House of Venus," Samantha smiles. "Your pleasure is our first concern here and we do our best to try to help you feel comfortable. Our establishment is divided into three floors. Floor One, this one, is where the strip shows are. Floor Two is the live sex shows and Floor Three is where personal one-on-one or group interaction between you and our performers occurs."

"The rules are this," Ginger, a playful blond with hazel eyes, continues. "Every thirty minutes, performers on Floors One and Two will line up. You will all be given a preference number. When the emcee of a lineup calls your number, you ask for the performer you desire...or if someone you desire is not there, you can pass and be first in line for the next lineup. If you're on Floors One or Two, direct contact is forbidden during the strip shows or sex shows. That is enforced. Floor Three permits that, naturally. Everyone here is functionally bisexual, so if you desire female performers, they're available. But I'm happy to say that our male performers are as good and willing to give you as much pleasure as possible!"

"We'll see about that," Kuruko whispers to Atsuko in Sagussan.

Atsuko titters. "Actually, since this is our first time here, Ginger, we'd like to walk around, see what's available before we have fun," Atako smiles. "I mean, I'm sure you girls have others who'd want to have you, so we won't get in the way of that."

"Fair enough, Atako," Samantha nods, handing her a card, then hands cards from the others to Ryuunosuke, Shutako and Nobuko. "These have our pager numbers on it. When you're ready, by all means give us a call."

"One questions, if I may," Oyuki interrupts, staring at the television screen at one side of the reception room. "That has your names on it; I assume that's the master listing of all the performers. The 'A' indicates they're available, correct?"

"That's right," Jennifer, a blonde, hazel-eyed version of Samantha, nods. "The 'B' indicates they're busy."

"So what's the 'R' for?" Lan wonders innocently, indicating the letters to the left of half the names.

"Those indicate our robotic performers," Cindy, Jennifer's twin sister, smiles. "Half the people working here are robotic, Lan. All of us are robotic, if you wish to know," she indicates herself, then her companions. "There are those who would prefer organic people to robotic ones, but for the most part, many of our customers do like being with robotic people. We never tire out, we don't have any reservations towards whatever act you would desire us do and we're always willing to please."

"If you wish to know, all the performers on Floor Three are robotic," Samantha continues. "For those who aren't engaged in personal business or performing on Floor One or Two, they remain deactivated in a special room at the south end of Floor Three," she points up to her right. "If you wish to have them come entertain you, ask the clerk there to activate them. You can touch them, feel them up in any way you desire. They don't mind one bit."

"Cool!!" Makoto hums. "Is that it?"

"That's it," Samantha rises. "I assume you'll stay in groups for the next while as you explore, so give us a call when you're ready. Enjoy your stay and may your dreams come true."

With that, the four robotic people head out. The androids remain behind, then glance concernedly at Mie and Makoto. "Well?" Lum switches to Sagussan.

"They're there," Mie's eyes narrow. "Like all of you. Their mei'na's intact, their memories are in place. A lot of them have memory blocks, like what you had sometime ago, Atavayae. I can't be too sure if they're products of our old sparring partners."

"Definite NID violation by my call," Makoto adds, then gazes at the board, her eyes widening. "Everyone...look."

Eyes turn to the board. Two familiar names now flash on the screen. Both had "R" beside them...

* * *

The music on Floor Two is a hopping pop beat kept at tolerable levels as Nobuko, Yumiko, Kuruko and Atsuko wind their way through the crowds, drinks in hand. The workers were all in very revealing clothing or flashy ballgowns while guests typically dressed in normal clothes, so the four Tomobiki androids weren't mistaken for entertainers. "Our sisters are busy right now," Nobuko advises, keeping to Sagussan to prevent eavesdropping. "What do we do?"

"Check out the competition, Nobuvayae," Kuruko smiles. "No matter where they came from, they're nowhere as good as us!"

"Kuruvayae, you just want to get laid by everything in sight!" Atsuko wraps an arm around her life mate's.

"As long as you're getting laid too, Atsuvayae!" Kuruko kisses her cheek, then blinks. "Check those two out!!"

"Whoo, they're having fun!" Yumiko gasps.

In one booth are frozen twin sisters, both on hands and knees with two men ramming their members into their vaginas while they were sharing a two-head dildo. Several men were staring at them, awed by their slender forms, trim breasts and well-sculptured faces framed with short curly red hair and green eyes. "Lovely, aren't they?" Nobuko licks her lips.

"Nicely constructed," Atsuko hums, then stares at the status board posted by the display. "Okay, they're Maria and Lynn, both robotic people. Shall we get them out of there, my loves?"

"En!!" Kuruko hums, then turns to make a call...

* * *

"All of them are so nice!" Nagisa sighs as she winds her way through the dozens of frozen beauties in the reception room on Floor Three. "I'm so glad people didn't freeze us and display us this way when the conspiracy was in control, eh, Ryuuvayae?"

"En," Ryuunosuke nods, then stops before one. "Hey, check this one out, Nagisavayae! Now, this is nice!!"

Nagisa walks over to stare at a woman her height with wavy black hair and hazel eyes, now in a white bikini. "Excuse me, but can we have this one activated, please?" she looks at the clerk.

"Yes, ma'am," the woman pulls a remote, then taps a code.

The woman blinks, then smiles. "Hello, Nagisa, Ryuunosuke. My name's Lorrie. Can I offer you some company?"

"Yes," both androids purr...

* * *

"Still no sign of our sisters," Benten crosses her arms, now with Oyuki on Floor One. "Ki'shi, this is a pain in the ass."

"Benvayae, look," Oyuki nods to one stage.

Benten looks, then blinks on seeing two Oriental women happily dance in front of a cheering crowd of college students. Both are trim and slender with perky breasts and nice hips, now exposed for everyone to see, their slinky bikinis at their feet. Their curly hair is tied up in bob-like side pigtails with pretty ribbons. Mihoshi Wazawa and Yuiko Shimau could almost be twins save for their eye and hair colour. The former had lavender hair and brown eyes, the latter black hair and brown eyes like her brother-turned-sister Hisoko. Walking up to glance at the status board, both androids nod, then turn away. <<Everyone, this is Benten,>> the Fukunokami transmits by cyberlink, keeping to Sagussan as an extra level of security. <<Targets acquired, Floor One, Room Seven.>>

<<Understood, Benten,>> Lum calls back. <<Rika and Fusako are en route your position to keep watch. Flash us a picture so we can identify them better.>>

<<Transmitting,>> Benten stares at the two dancing women, her eyes digitalizing the images and copying it for everyone to look at. <<Haul ass, you two robo-lovers. They might recognize us, but they certainly won't you.>>

<<We're here,>> Rika calls out as she and Fusako walk in.

Benten and Oyuki nod as they head out, then jolt as four new minds join the link. <<Benten-sempai, where are they?>> a very familiar voice calls out.

<<Hisoko!!!>> Atako gasps. <<What are you doing here?!>>

<<What do you think, Ashoi'cha?!>> Hisoko sighs, also keeping to Sagussan. <<Don't worry, we're in the lobby now; we just flew in on one of your uncle's jets, then rested in the hotel. We got through with flying colours; they think we're second-year college students on spring break.>>

<<Hisovayae, home in on us,>> Rika transmits out. <<We're with them now in Floor One, Room Seven. Try to keep calm; we don't want to attract other people's attention.>>

<<We'll try, Rikavayae,>> Hisoko replies.

A moment later, four young women in college sweatshirts and jeans walk in. Outside Hitomi tying her hair in a single braid and Tanako letting her hair down, there is little change with them save for some aging. Hisoko and Mika stop, their eyes locked on their dancing siblings. "Yuiko-chan," the former gently whispers.

"Mihoshi-chan," the latter sighs, then switches to Sagussan. "Lyna's Soul, who did this to them?"

"We don't know," Rika sighs. "Just relax."

* * *

"What did you detect?!" Paul wonders.

"I'm not sure!" Russell shakes his head. The former, a tall Latino man with curly black hair and brown eyes, was the operations supervisor of the House of Venus. The latter, a skinny African-American with brown hair and hazel eyes, was the chief scientist running the robotic conversions. "There was a small flutter in the computer servers for a minute or so. You don't think the Navy's flying AWACS or a Hawkeye out of Lakehurst, do you?"

"Possibly," Paul sighs. Tight-beam energy interference...the cyberlinks ran on diamond meson transmitters in the androids' ear lobes...could confuse some of the robotic people in the House of Venus. Situations like this had caused some problems before. Not serious but still an annoyance. "Was anyone affected?"

"Fortunately no," Russell sighs. "Whatever it was, it was a really high wavelength pulse. Our people wouldn't've detected much, just a bit of static in their server receivers."

"Must be something natural, then," the owner relaxes. "Keep a watch on it, though."

"No problem..."

* * *

"Now this was enjoyable!" Kuruko breathes out.

"In other words, you got it every which way!!" Benten snorts as everyone gathers in the reception lounge several hours later. The women, even Mie and Makoto, look very refreshed. They still keep to Sagussan to maintain security.

"What do you think, Benvayae?" Kuruko muses.

Everyone laughs, then look very serious. "They've got to be the same as we are," Lan sighs. "Their performance level, their realism...it's the same."

"So whoever's running this show's a member of the conspiracy we didn't catch, right?" Makoto hums.

Lan nods. "How do we prove it?" Natsuko sips her beer.

"We have to get our scanners back in the hotel rooms and do a scan, then see if they could take the retro-virus," Mie muses. "Big question: how?! I'm sure they won't let their girls out of this place for any length of time!"

At that moment, Samantha comes up. "Hello, ladies. How have you been enjoying yourselves tonight?"

"It's been a treat," Atako smiles, switching to English. "You know, Sam, I was just talking to my friends and we were wondering about something. Do the robotic people stay here all the time?"

"Most of the time, yes," Samantha nods, sitting beside her. "There do come occasions when we allow some of the girls to go out and attend conventions and all that. A community service the House of Venus performs for the city. But if they do go out, there's always a technician which goes with them. You don't want them to run out of energy far from home or have an accident, do you?"

"That would be very rough," Elle muses. "How much does it cost to have a girl join us overnight? We're in the Renaissance Hotel just down the street if you want to know."

"Five hundred dollars per girl," Samantha replies. "In fact, all the girls are available for this evening and we do have some techs that wouldn't mind spending time watching over the girls. If you want, I can get a catalogue of all our available robotic people so you can make your choices."

"Don't bother," Lum smiles. "We have some girls in mind..."

* * *

Two hours later, the rooms at the Renaissance are cleaned up and straightened to eradicate all signs that most of the guests from Japan are themselves androids. Mie and Makoto, who shared a suite with Shutako and Asako, would use their room so they could discreetly scan the House of Venus entertainers and determine what is happening. Atako arranged to have the girls come into her's, Lum's and Elle's room so they could be dispersed to the other rooms, then given the retro-virus in private.

The three women share a bottle of house wine when a knock is heard. "Hai, come on in!!" Atako calls out. "It's open!"

The door opens to reveal Russell with five women dressed in very beautiful slacks and sweaters. "Hello, Atako," he offers his hand as the three Tomobiki androids rise. "I'm Russell Lewis, the chief robotic technician at the House of Venus. And I think you know these five lovely ladies."

"Hello, Atako," Maria smiles, lightly bowing. Beside her is Lynn, Lorrie, Mihoshi and Yuiko.

"Great!" Atako nods, then picks up a phone and dials and number. "They're here," she calls over the line, then hangs up the phone. "Okay. Do you need any place to set up equipment, Russ?"

"No, it's okay," Russell shakes his head. "They were all checked and charged up before coming down."

"Well, you can stay with us if you want. Lorrie, Ryuu-chan and Nagisa-chan are in Room Two-Two-One. Maria, Lynn, Kuruko-chan, Atsuko-chan, Nobuko-chan and Yumiko-chan are in Two-Two-Three. Yuiko-chan, you'll meet Tanako-chan in Room Three-One-Two upstairs. Mihoshi-chan, Hitomi-chan's in Room Three-One-One. Okay?!"

"Okay!" the girls nod, then head out.

Atako then tenses as a voice whispers in her CCU. <<Ta-chan, we just did the scan!>> Shutako advises.

<<And?>>

<<They're all Shoozooki types, same as us!>> Shutako reports. <<The virus'll work on them, too. Ta-chan, you better know...>>

<<What?>>

<<The one with you right now...he's an android, too!!>>

Atako blinks, then smiles as she takes out another wine glass. "You can drink on duty, I hope?" she gazes warmly at Russell. "No sense in the girls having fun while you're just sitting here."

"Well, I could use a glass or two," Russell smiles as he sits on the bed, gazing at Lum and Elle. "I have to confess, I never would think I'd meet an alien working at the House of Venus."

"Elle-chan's an alien, Russell," Lum points to the Ellsian. "She may not look it, but she's only been on Earth for a year."

"I see," he whistles, then nods as Atako hands him his drink, then sits beside him. "Thanks, Atako. You know, you ladies are some of the friendliest women I've ever met, including the robotic people in the House of Venus."

"Do they all volunteer to be roboticized?" Lum wonders.

"Most do," Russell nods. "There do come times when people with a bad attitude try to disrupt things. Very rarely, I should add. We warn them enough not to upset the customers or get into fights with the staff; atop it being annoying to those who do want to work there and want to give their best, it's simply bad for business. But we can correct their attitudes with a bit of an adjustment. There've been no complaints."

The three women exchange looks. Just like Tomobiki nearly a year ago. "Do you make those decisions?" Atako wonders.

"Thank God, I don't!" Russell breathes out, rolling his eyes. "That's usually left to my supervisor, Paul. We don't like firing people, Atako, especially if the customers like them. We like providing this service, but it's a business. Bottom line's money. I'm sure it's the same way in Japan."

"It is," Atako nods, exchanging a look with Lum. <<He's got a controlling program in him.>>

<<We better get it out of him, then,>> Lum winks.

Russell blinks as he feels a slight flutter deep in his CCU, his hand reaching for his forehead. "Are you alright, Russ?" Elle blinks concernedly. "A headache?"

"Just a bit," Russell sighs, finishing his wine. "It's gone now. I guess it was a pretty busy day."

Atako smiles. "Russ, I have a cure for a headache."

"What's that, Atako?" he stares at her.

She slides over, gently kissing him. Russell blinks as she slips her arms gently around him, then deepens the kiss, her tongue probing into his mouth to tap his. He shudders as programs deep in his CCU click in. While he normally worked as technical staff, the android was first and foremost rebuilt to give pleasure to whomever desired it...and now someone did. "Atako..."

"C'mon," Atako seductively winks. "Let's have some fun."

She slides Russell onto the bed, then crouches on hands and knees over him, allowing her body to gently lower onto his as they continue to kiss. Sitting on his hardening crotch, Atako blinks as a wonderful feeling shoots up from her groin, then smiles. "Oooh, someone's a BIG boy!" she winks, licking her lips in anticipation. "Let's see if we can make him bigger."

She then reaches down and slides off her sweater to reveal a naked chest and her still very plump breasts. "God!" he gapes at her, awestruck. "You're a beautiful woman, Atako!"

"Thank you, Russ," she leans up. "You're very cute, too."

They kiss again, then Atako starts to unbutton his shirt, opening it to reveal a very well-honed chest with little hair. "Very nice," she purrs, then smiles lightly at him. "I have to admit, for an android, you're very well built."

Russell blinks, then gapes at her. "How could you tell?!!"

"Interesting concept," Atako laughs. "Using an android to maintain other androids. Don't worry, Russ; we won't hurt you or the others unless we have to. But I think there's something about us you should know first. Lum-chan?"

Lum places a magnetic sealer in her hand. Russell gapes on seeing that, then watches in shock as Atako opens her central hatch, laying it aside to let him see her insides. "Oh, my god!" he gasps. "You're a robotic person...?!"

"Yes, we all are," Atako waves at Lum and Elle. "Plus most of the women who came with us save Mie-chan and Makoto-chan. We came here because sisters to two very close friends of mine, Mihoshi and Yuiko to be exact, stopped writing them and we got very worried. Once we heard what could happen at the House of Venus, we also got suspicious, then came to check things out."

"I can't let you take them away," Russell shakes his head.

"If they converted into androids willingly, we won't say a thing against it," Atako advises him, then gently traces the sealer over his central access hatch. "But we have to make sure. Unlike you and the people here, we have no controlling program over us. If we do suspect that Mihoshi-chan and Yuiko-chan were converted against their will, we will get angry."

"Trust me, Russ, you don't want to get on our bad sides," Lum adds, sitting beside him, gazing into his chest. "Wow, now that's very nice construction. How long've you been an android?"

"About six months," Russell blinks, his CCU doing convolutions at hyperluminal speeds as the crush of information threatens to overwhelm him. Three beautiful female androids of a group of thirty or so having come down to look in on their operation and check on their friends' health, androids that didn't seem to have any sort of control over them. "What about you three?"

"Myself for a year, Elle-chan and Darling for eight months," Lum smiles, then takes the plate and closes Russell back up, then does the same to Atako. "Well, Russ, shall we have some fun?"

"Fun?!" he blinks.

"We're pleasure androids, Russ," Atako winks, then leans up to kiss him. "Let's give each other some pleasure."

With that, her hands dart to his pants to unzip them. Elle hops onto the bed, pulling the jeans down to reveal his underwear, then with a growl, yanks that down to free his throbbing member. "Oooh, Russ-chan IS a big boy!!" the Ellsian licks her lips in anticipation. "Would you love to have that inside you, Lum-chan?!"

Atako looks down. "Holy shit!"

"No, Elle-chan," Lum smiles. "I think Darling deserves to have a chance at that first, ne?"

"Hai, Lum-chan," Elle meows, reaching up to unzip Atako's pants, then as the latter leans on Russell and juts her legs back, pulls them and her panties away. "Honey's never been penetrated by a man before. Let her have some fun first."

Russell blinks, then gazes in awe at Atako's trim form. "Oh, God, Atako, you *are* beautiful!" he gasps, then draws her to him.

They kiss again, then Atako slowly slides down toward his waiting manhood. Elle leans up to gently guide the hardening silicon muscle into Atako's quivering vagina, causing the latter to cry out in shock. "Darling!!" Lum leaps to Atako's side.

"Oh, gods!" Atako gasps. "I...no, no, I'm okay! Oh, gods, I've never had that happen to me!!"

"We can stop," Russell advises.

"No, no," Atako sighs, smiling at him. "Russ, have you every changed a guy into a female android?"

"There've been some of those, yes," Russell nods.

"I was a man," Atako admits. "My name was Ataru Moroboshi. I became an android when I learned Lum-chan and the others had been turned into one, then put the bastards who did it out of business."

"Ataru...?" Russell blinks, then gapes at Lum. "Lum!! You're those kids from that part of Tokyo..."

"Tomobiki," Lum provides. "Hai, Russ-chan, we're those two. Because of what happened in Tomobiki, some bastards decided all the women there were better off being androids. Darling here found out the truth and freed us with some help."

"But you were teenagers...oh, I get it!" Russell nods. "You changed your looks to make you look older!!"

"Right," Atako smiles, then kisses him. "Enough talk, Russ-kun. I want my beautiful android pussy massaged...as only a gorgeous android man like you can massage it! Now!!"

He blinks, then joyously grins as he gently embraces her, then twirls so she can be on bottom before sliding into her. "Gods!!!" Atako cries out as her vagina is filled to near overload with his large member. "Oh, damn, no girl's hands like THAT!!!!"

"I can lower my size a bit," Russell advises. "We robotic men can do that to make it more comfortable for you."

"Russ-chan, please call yourself an android," Lum smiles. "It's what we call ourselves. You're the same as we. Besides, do you think machines as complicated as we are just 'robots?'"

"Yeah, that's a story in itself," Russell grunts as he commands his member to reduce in size to make Atako feel easier.

"No!!" Atako snaps. "Don't shrink it!"

"But you're hurting..."

"Jeez, man!!" Atako snarls. "When I'm human again, I'm gonna have to get humped by some guy if I want a kid! I have to get used to it!! Now, start pumping, you wonderful stud!!! NOW!!!!"

"Another bit of advice, dear Russell," Elle smiles warmly at him, stroking his hair. "Don't deny Honey whatever she wants."

"Hey, I'm built to please," Russell nods, then begins to gently stroke in and out of Atako's quivering gate.

"Oh, yeah...!!!" Atako gasps as the initial discomfort fades, to be replaced by a mad rush through her systems as an orgasm begins to build. Damn, this WAS better than having a girl slip her fingers into her! She'd never even used a dildo or a vibrator to please herself. Gazing at this quite handsome fellow within her, she smiles. He was so nice, such a gentleman, honourable. She would free him of his controlling program...and if the Fates were kind, they would get to know each other much more. "Russ..."

"Hai, Atako-chan?" he gazes at her.

"A little faster, please. Lean down and kiss me."

"Hai, Atako-chan," he increases his thrusts, leaning down.

Their lips caress as Atako feels her synapses click over faster and faster, perfectly timed with Russell's thrusting. That deliciously warm rush was building inside her, building to bursting point. All thoughts of her as Ataru pleasing women vanish as she feels how wonderful it feels to have a nice man please her. They gaze into each other's eyes, smile, then kiss again before Atako feels that hard rod deep in her groin slip out. "What are you doing?!" she puts her feet on his buttocks, trying to force him back in. "All the way, huh!!"

"Inside you...?" he pants.

"Hai, inside me!!" Atako nods. "Russ-kun, please...!!"

He nods, thrusting back into her just as his orgasm protocols trip. Russell cries out as his member shoots its synthetic load deep into Atako's vagina, filling her to bursting. She gasps as her own orgasm finally comes, cutting out her synapses and locking her up for a second before she regains control and relaxes. "Oh, man, that felt so great..." she moans, kissing him deeply. "Thank you, Russ-kun. That was so enjoyable."

"I'm a pleasure android, remember?" he gazes warmly at her. "I have to please you, Atako-chan."

"You did," Atako sighs, then gazes at Lum. "Ne, Lum-chan, when I made love to you as Ataru, was it this good?"

"Hai, Darling," Lum nods. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I did," Atako gazes at Russell. "Well, Russ-kun? Got enough charge left in your primary pack in you to please my beautiful Oni and my lovely rose?" she nods at Lum and Elle.

"I think I can manage," Russell smiles, drawing out of her, then gazes at the other androids. "I always had a fantasy about doing it with an alien woman."

"Then'll I'll fulfil that fantasy, Russ-chan," Lum walks up to him. "After all, anyone who pleases my beautiful android Darling deserves as much pleasure from me as a reward."

"Ne, Lum-chan?" Elle cuts in. "What about our surprise?"

"I can't give it to him," Atako shakes her head. "He flooded me out. Can either of you...?"

"What surprise?!" Russell blinks.

"If we told you, you silly boy, it wouldn't be a surprise," Lum laughs, then walks over as Elle stands. "Don't worry, Russ-chan, it won't hurt you a bit. But first...how would you like to gaze at Elle-chan lovely android pussy?"

She reaches down, unzipping Elle's jeans and yanking down both her pants and panties to reveal her dark red muff. "Oh, God!" Russell whistles. "You are very nicely built, Elle-chan."

"Thank you, Russ-chan," Elle smiles. "Now lay down beside Honey there, please."

Atako shifts over as Russell slides up beside her. "Hey, have I seen a beautiful android like you before?" he gazes at her.

"What's your unit number?" she smiles.

"Six-Eight-Oh-Four," he replies. "Yours?"

"Tee-En-Nine-Four-Four-Nine," she kisses him, then leans back as Lum and Elle disrobe. "Nice to meet you, Russell."

"Nice to meet you too, Atako...whoa!!!" he turns, gaping on seeing the two nude androids to his other side, standing calmly beside each other. "My God, you two ARE beautiful!!"

"Thank you," Lum and Elle blow him kisses.

"Ne, Russ-kun?" Atako traces his chest.

"Hai, Atako-chan?" he turns to her.

"There are admittedly some things I miss about being a guy," Atako muses. "Like giving a woman pleasure as only a guy could. Could you act in my place? Give my precious android Oni-chan and my beloved sexy rose doll the pleasure they deserve?"

"I would be honoured to stand in your place, Atako-chan," he kisses her. "But where on Earth do you get these sappy nicknames for each other? You sound like a bad soap opera!"

The three women laugh. "We do it so we don't scream out guts out at having our humanity taken away," Atako smiles.

Russell nods, then blinks as Elle slides herself onto his chest, then moves up to place her muff over his mouth. "Would you love to worship my beautiful robotic love gate, Russ-chan?" she licks her lips, keying in the program to produce the retro-virus.

"Hai, Elle-chan, I would," he takes a deep sniff of her musky love canal, then dives in.

Elle gasps as his tongue lances into her, jabbing her clit, then diving for honey. Her vagina produces that honey, which Russell laps up readily. The three women stare concernedly at their friend, fingers crossed, hoping it would come very soon.

Suddenly, Russell jolts as his eyes glaze over, sparks shooting from his ears as his whole body gyrates wildly. Atako takes one hand in both of hers as she empathically reaches out to calm him, do anything to tell him it would be okay. A second later, he blinks as he stares around the room, not remembering why he was here. "Where am I...?" he wonders, then gapes at Elle for a second before smiling. "Elle-chan, was that the surprise?"

"Hai," Elle nods. "Do a diagnostic. How do you feel?"

"Man, now I know how my ancestors felt when President Lincoln put out the Emancipation Proclamation," Russell sighs, then nods. "All systems nominal. I'm fine, Elle-chan. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Elle tenses on seeing anger in his eyes. "I take it our little gift has now given you the right to speak of certain irregularities at the House of Venus."

"You got that right," he scowls, then smiles. "But what the heck! I'm supposed to be pleasing three nice guests, right?"

"Oooh, pleasure before business!" Lum meows. "Don't you just love that about pleasure androids?!"

"Where would we be without them?" Atako smiles...

* * *

"Thank you so much!!!" Mihoshi bows low. "Lum-san, Atako-san, you don't know what it was like being forced into this...!!"

"I don't know," Atako sighs. "But Lum-chan and Elle-chan do, Mihoshi-chan. May we find everyone this has happened to and help them out of it before another has to suffer."

An hour later, everyone gathers in Atako's, Lum's and Elle's bedroom to discuss what has to happen now. Mihoshi and Yuiko hold Mika's and Hisoko's hands, Hitomi and Tanako placing their hands on the siblings' shoulders. "Thank you for coming out to find us, Hisoko-chan," Yuiko gazes at her sister. "I almost gave up hope."

"So did I," Hisoko smiles. "I'm glad you're safe now."

"But we have nearly five hundred other androids to worry about now," Atako cuts in, gazing at Russell. "Now, the sooner we do this, the better. You girls should be producing the retro-virus in your vaginas right now, so you can handle all the other guys."

"Hey, it's in me, too!" Russell blinks, gazing down at himself. "Shit, it's like being a normal guy again!!"

"Lyna bless Nene's twisted little mind!" Makoto snorts, then laughs. "Fine! You can give the girls a little present, too! How long will Paul be gone from the House?"

"Usually five hours, from ten in the morning to three in the afternoon, an hour before opening," Russell reports. "At first, he always checked the security tapes when he got back to ensure no one was doing something behind his back. The way things are these days, he doesn't really care anymore."

"That confident, eh?!" Benten snorts. "We'll shake it up!"

"Okay, so you'll give him some excuse to have all the androids up and around," Atako muses. "Doing a full program diagnostic and test run on everyone should explain it. If the House of Venus is to stay financially solvent, its entertainers have to be at peak performance. Paul should accept that. By the way, Russ-kun, did he ever explain to you how he got hold of the nanites?"

"We introduced the first and second level robotic augmentation three years ago," Russell sighs. "However, try as we might, we couldn't keep some of our best performers for more than a year because they'd just burn out. The human body can only take so much abuse, you know. Paul then has a meeting with some guys in the U.N. over a year ago stating that they made contact with a race who converted very sick people into androids to save their lives."

"Cute excuse," Ryuunosuke sneers.

"They must've used your dancers to try it out before nailing us!" Nobuko growls. "Son of a bitch!! So what happened?!"

"Well, at first, everyone was pretty happy," Russell admits. "Those who became androids really enjoyed their new lives. In many ways, we were still human where it counted the most and we didn't fear losing track of ourselves. Then some of the performers with first and second stage modifications began to show discontent over being upstaged by the androids. That's when Paul began converting them into androids as punishment. I tried to stop him, but..." he shrugs in surrender, "...he nailed me, too."

"We're sorry for you," Oyuki then gazes at the two they came to look in on. "Mihoshi-chan, Yuiko-chan, were you the same way?"

"Hai, Oyuki-chan," Mihoshi nods. "At first, we thought it was really cool that we could perform whenever and however we wanted. We became very popular, especially with the college crowd. So Paul tries to persuade us to become androids ourselves. We weren't ready to go THAT far, especially after our brothers told us about what happened to you. Next thing we knew..." she waves to herself.

"Bastard!!" Taiko snarls. "We make this asshole pay!"

"Oh, we will, Taiko-chan!" Atako smiles. "We're going to rip down his pretty little world tomorrow after Russ-kun and the others gets everyone onto the bandwagon...Mie-chan, what's wrong?!"

Mie and Makoto are tensing, their eyes locked on the door, just as it opens to reveal a bouncy Ellsian-born woman with rose-red hair and blue eyes, now in a loose turtleneck sweater and tight-fitting slacks, a labtop computer in hand. "Hi, everyone!!" she waves, then stares at Elle. "Honestly, Elle! Your Cute Boys are the most single-minded men I've ever met!! I had to give them a private fantasy loop in their CCU so they could always see your image no matter which girl they finally end up with!"

"Who the fuck are you?!" Ryuunosuke demands.

"Everyone, this is Nene," Atako smiles, gazing at Sagussa's master hacker. "Ne, Nene-chan?! Do you feel frisky enough to help five hundred poor androids enjoy their freedom?!"

"Does a sandpanther fly?" Nene licks her lips in anticipation. "Naturally, Oh Very Sexy Daite'cha of ours! Besides, I haven't played with my toy all day..." she pats her labtop, "...and I'm very horny for some hot computer action right about now!"

"When was the last time Linna gonged your tower?!" Mie hums.

"Three hours ago!" Nene sighs.

Everyone else faints! "Is she normally like this?" Russell wonders.

"She's tame today," Makoto laughs.

"Okay, which one of you sexy machines here needs new power packs?!" Nene hums. "I'm a busy hacker here and I don't like to dawdle! Chop-chop, ladies and gents, let's go, go, go!!"

* * *

"I'm back!" Paul calls out as he walks into the monitor lab. "How was the program diagnostic and the test run?" he stares at Russell, now at one of the monitor stations.

"Everyone's up to par and ready to go," Russell smiles. "That group of Japanese women from last night'll be here later."

"No problem...what the hell?!" Paul stops on seeing several new computer modules fitted to the House's central mainframe. "When did we get these, Russ?!"

"I just installed them today," Russell shrugs. "New memory for the main server unit and all the conversion units."

Paul blinks, then walks around, stopping on seeing Nene run a diagnostic on the new CMU from her labtop. "Who are you?!!"

"Hi!!" Nene sweetly smiles, tapping final commands into the CMU. "I'm Nene! Just wiped out all your command protocols that were weighing all your androids down, not that it mattered anyway since our retro-virus has freed them!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" he exclaims.

"What do you think?!" Nene's stare turns ice cold. "Think of what happened eleven months ago when a fellow named Ataru Moroboshi found out what the Shoozooki did to his lover and friends in a place called Tomobiki. It just happened here, kide'ne." She them grins. "Isn't that nice?!"

Paul shudders, then his hand leaps for his side. "Good thing I was warned about your kind!!" he draws a Colt .45 from a waist holster and aims it at the hacker's head. "Okay, sweetie, you're going to undo whatever you did, then I think I'll turn you into a robotic woman so others can have some fun with you!"

Suddenly, two pale arms grab him by the throat and twist hard, snapping his spine! Russell and Nene watch emotionlessly as he drops to the floor, then gaze at Negako. "It is not wise to attack one of my sister's friends," the younger Moroboshi android smiles. "Especially since I also helped liberate Lum and the others...and I do not like my good deeds spat upon."

Paul gazes in shock at her, then his eyes fade as his spirit takes flight. "I'm glad Priss volunteered to be your template," Nene returns to her labtop. "We can use you in the Troop."

"I'll be more than happy to volunteer, Nene," Negako smiles.

Russell walks up, then shakes his head as he stares at his old friend. "You shouldn't've done it," he sighs. "I warned you."

"Don't waste your sweat on him, Russ; slime like him aren't worth it," Nene smiles, then sighs. "There! Everything's all set! The House of Venus is now under new management...itself!!"

Russell and Negako smile...

* * *

"So, we are offering you the chance to remain with us as part of the staff," Samantha smiles at the collected organic performers later that day. A CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS sign hung on the front door of the House of Venus as the five hundred androids meet their counterparts in an auditorium on Floor One, reserved usually for fashion shows or other conventions. The androids from Tomobiki sit in the back, keeping quiet. "All of you will have your robotics removed by doctors our friends from Tomobiki know; we've discovered Paul was using the devices to make you act up so he'd have the 'excuse' to turn you into androids. They'll be here within the hour to get to have it all done by tonight; it's a simple fifteen minute procedure with a little anesthetic, then you'll be back to normal. If you want to walk away and forget this place existed, we won't stop you. We won't blame you one bit if you never want to come close to this place again."

"What happens if we want to become androids still?" one man asks. "I mean, many of you voluntarily became androids, right?"

"Yes, we did," Samantha nods. "In that case, an android replica, with whatever modifications to your looks you'd like to make, will be built of you using a process perfected in Tomobiki some months ago. Your organic body will then by cryofrozen for the duration you'd like to be an android. I don't think the people on Sagussa working to clone new bodies for those of us who don't have organic bodies to go back to want to work extra to get new bodies for you. You'd go under contract for a minimum of one year to be an android, then you could renew it if you want."

Everyone exchanges looks, many murmuring positively. "Please take all the time you want to think this over," Samantha smiles. "We see you as our friends and co-workers; deep in our hearts, we felt awful that we couldn't stop Paul from hurting you. If you want to stay, we're glad to have you with us. If you want to go, we'll miss you but we'll understand. For those who do leave, we ask you sincerely to not talk about this to anyone except those you could trust absolutely. Many may not even believe you, think you are crazy...but for those who might believe you, think of what they could do, to us and to you. There are a lot of unscrupulous people in the world; we were victims of one until today. In the meantime, we'll keep the House closed for two days while we get the new arrangements set up, then open our doors on Monday at four o'clock sharp. This establishment will be under the ownership of Atako Moroboshi's uncle through his American subsidiary, but it's OUR workplace, OUR home first and foremost...and we will do our best to make it the best home we can. Thank you."

* * *

"Well, we have two hundred and six who've confirmed they want to stay on," Ginger stares at a datapadd later that evening. "Twenty have quit, thirty-five are thinking about quitting and we've yet to hear from the rest. Of those who're staying, about ten are wanting to become androids. So far, so good."

"Great!" Samantha nods. A private house party is being held at the House of Venus later that evening by the androids for their new friends. She then gazes at the blonde android. "Hey, Ginger, you remember when you recruited me?"

"Oh?!" Ginger laughs. "You mean when you threw yourself over me begging to become a robotic woman...right, Samuel?!"

Both laugh. "I see we've another male-convert here," Atako walks up, her arms hooked around Lum's and Elle's, then bows. "How've you adjusted to being a woman, Samantha-chan?"

"Pretty good, Atako-chan," Samantha stares at her, then rises. "Please, may I shake your hand? What you did all those months ago as Ataru, I doubt ANY man could've done. That took real courage."

"And it nearly cost me my sanity," Atako shakes her hand, then embraces her. "Still, I love being a woman now, just like you do. Soon, you'll have the chance to be a real woman. I wonder what it's like having children."

"Darling, you remember all the pain people gave you before the Second Tag Race?" Lum gazes at her.

"Yeah, Lum-chan?" Atako nods.

"All that misery and pain put together...is NOTHING compared to what childbirth is said to be like!"

Atako shudders. "Scary," she gulps...then grins. "I can't wait to experience it!"

"Part of me can't wait to find out either," Samantha admits. "But it'll be some time ahead. I'm in no rush to be organic right away. We're still enjoying our lives here, Atako-chan. Please forgive us for our desire to remain androids further."

"We forgive you, Samantha-chan," Atako kisses her. "Some of us actually don't want our existences as androids to end. Still, we all took an oath that we'd all leave this existence together. That hasn't changed no matter what we've endured."

"Good for you," Samantha smiles, then blinks on hearing the tune playing over the speakers. "Hey, Ginger, wanna cut a rug?"

"Love to, Sammy," Ginger rises, slipping her arm around her lover's as they head to the dance floor.

Atako, Lum and Elle watch them go, beaming. "There goes one beautiful couple," the Ellsian sighs. "They'll be together for a very long time to come. I can feel it."

"I'm glad for them," the Oni sighs.

At that moment, two handsome tall android men walk up. One, Philip Forrest, is a red-haired, green-eyed Caucasian with a cowboy hat and handlebar moustache and dressed in a normal button shirt and jeans, Texan by birth. In essence, he looks like your atypical western cowboy. The other, Michael Crowfoot, is a black-haired, brown-eyed Amerindian, a Navaho from Arizona, also in plain clothes though he has prayer beads around his neck. He is strikingly handsome in more of a Western way. "Excuse us, Miss Lum, Miss Elle, but would Miss Atako be too offended if we ask you two beautiful ladies to the dance floor?" Philip tips his hat.

"Go on, you two," Atako smiles. "I want to go talk to Russ."

"Hai, Darling," Lum nods, then slips her arm around Michael's as they walk out to the dance floor. "I've never met a real native American before, Michael. Could you tell me about your people?"

"If you'll tell me about yours, Lum," he nods.

Elle and Philip slip into a waltz as more couples gather on the floor. "Ma'am, Miss Benten and Miss Oyuki were just whipping a tale out of moonshine when they said you collected a hundred thousand boys and put them into this big cryofreeze room back in your hometown, right?" the Texan wonders.

"Unfortunately, yes," Elle smiles. "But almost all of them were dying of some hideous disease or another when I had them put into the Refrigerator. As their Queen, I couldn't allow them to suffer more than necessary. I do confess that I wish I'd've heard of Texas in my travels...especially if they have such handsome men as you living there, sir!"

Philip whoops as they snuggle up. Atako watches them from the side, not feeling the jealousy she would've as Ataru on seeing other men be close to the women he loved. Then again, she was watching the whole marei'cha/surei'cha interaction play itself out. Surei'cha were men women sought as their children's fathers. Seen as honourary marei'cha, they were traditionally chosen for their genetic virility and moral character. Atako sighs as she wonders what things will be like in nine months with all of them restored, the Cute Boys and all the boys here also restored and everyone looking forward to having families. The idea of the crazy nights and weeks following that happy day makes her shudder with anticipation, then she smiles as a dark hand slips into hers.

"Would you care to dance?" Russell smiles at her.

"Hai, Russ-kun," Atako nods as she allows him to embrace her.

They slip onto the floor, then stare at each other, their lips drifting together for a moment. "I can't talk you into staying, can't I?" Russell sighs.

"No," Atako sighs. "And I can't talk you into coming with me back to Japan, can't I?"

"I'm afraid not," he shakes his head, then notices Lum and Elle with Michael and Philip, chatting happily away. "Those're really nice guys your ladies found. Man, I can't believe all these new ideas that retro-virus is putting into our heads! No marriage, freedom to choose whomever you want, no limit to how many you want. Gods, if my father was still alive and he found out about this, he'd scream 'Lord have mercy on my poor boy,' then disown me."

"I'm lucky, I guess," Atako laughs. "My dad turned himself into a female android to stay with my mom and her lover. She's now my Chuuko-papa. She accepted it very well. You know, Russ-kun, I want to introduce you to my parents sooner or later. They'll really like you very much."

"Me, with YOUR family?!" Russell wonders. "Man, after what Shinobu and all the others said about them? Your mom wishing you were never born; your grandma wanting to draw, quarter and keelhaul Lum; your dad reading his paper all the time and your uncle off trekking God knows where!" He then smiles. "I think you've got a very nice family, Atako-chan. I'm very envious of you."

"You're part of it now, in my eyes," Atako reminds him. "When the time comes, Russ-kun, come back to me?"

"I suppose I can't refuse that," he kisses her...

* * *

A week later...

"How she's taking it?" Kaneko wonders.

"Oh, shit, it's unreal to watch her at times!" Nobuko shakes her head. "Man, I'd never thought I'd see anyone based on Ataru Moroboshi suffer from the blues THAT badly! You'd think that Lum-chan, Elle-chan and Noa-chan just dumped her!!"

"The girl's in love," Mie whistles. "Who would've thought it of Atako-chan of all people?!"

The others hum. After everything was properly established in Atlantic City, the girls from Class 3-4 returned home to get back to their lives. Despite what happened to them, Mihoshi and Yuiko decided to remain with their co-workers in America, thought thanks to the new worldwide cyberlinking network Nene was constructing, they would be in nearly instantaneous contact with Mika and Hisoko all the time. Already, many of the Tomobiki androids were seeking out contacts with their new sisters and brothers in Atlantic City. Naturally, since no male androids lived in Japan, the male androids in America proved to be more popular than the female ones.

However, there was one woman who didn't like the present state of affairs. "Darling, he had to stay," Lum gazes sadly at Atako as they and Elle walk down the front path en route home. "He couldn't leave all his friends; they're as much his family as we're your family. Could you have thought of leaving here to stay with him?"

"No, I guess not," Atako sighs. "Well, it happened. Soon as I changed into a girl full-time, being attracted to guys would've come into it sooner or later. Guess Ataru's really dead now."

"Ataru's not dead, Honey," Elle wraps an arm around her's. "He grew up and changed himself to meet the new situation. He's Atako now...and I think Ataru likes being Atako very much."

"I do," Atako smiles, then stretches herself as they walk on for some minutes in silence, then gazes at another beautiful day in Tomobiki. "Well, I'll say one thing. While I like the idea of having some space again, I can't believe the girls decided they wanted to strike out on their own when we got back."

"Darling, they just want to move into their own house...and besides, they're building it on the site of one of the old houses Grandma knocked down so she could have a pasture for her cows. Since Betty, Suzy and Lisa really don't need much room, Grandma and Shinobu-chan don't mind letting Hisoko-chan, Tanako-chan, Mika-chan and Hitomi-chan have some space on their own."

"Well, we'll still be there for them," Atako nods as they turn down the lane in front of their house. "Home sweet home!"

The three blinks as Ten-chan and Koishii putter up on the former's scooter, both wearing miniature ten-gallon hats. "Ten-chan, Koishii-chan, where'd you get those from?!" Lum blinks.

"Oh, Phil-onii-chan gave them to us!!" Ten-chan grins.

The three androids exchange looks, then race into the house. "What are you doing here?!!" Atako gasps.

Philip and Michael smile, both sharing tea with Negau. "Much that we loved dancing with you two, meeting up with Miss Shutako and Miss Asako later convinced me to give Japan a try," the Texan android bows his head. "Speaking of which, are they coming home?"

Speak of the devil, Shutako and Asako walk in at that time. "Phil-kun!!" the former cries out as they race in and embrace their new friend. "What are you doing here?!"

"Well, what do you think," he places courtly kisses on their knuckles. "With your gracious ladies' permission, I'd like to come make your lives a little less lonely."

Shutako and Asako exchange excited looks, then fiercely embrace him. "Of course!!!" both cry out delightfully.

"So what in Lyna's name are you doing here, Michael?" Lum sits beside the Apache android. "You didn't meet someone you wanted to get to know much better back in Atlantic City, did you?"

"Well, I came because my parents wanted me to keep up with my shaman training even thought it'll be a while before I get a new organic body to better use my powers," Michael confesses. "They're good friends with your local shaman, Cherry. He's agreed to teach me some of his knowledge while I'm here. And yes, I didn't meet someone back in Atlantic City that I'd be interested in, but that changed when I met your sister," he smiles at Negau.

"Michael..." Negau titters delightfully.

"Musical bedrooms again!" Atako sighs, then looks up, her eyes widening. "Russ...!!"

Russell walks down, then gently embraces her, kissing her cheek. "Hi, Atako-chan. Did you miss me?"

"What are you doing here?!" she gasps.

"What do you think?!" he laughs. "Your mother and all your friends were so worried about you moping around like that, they called me and told me to either get my butt over here to be with you or else they'd sic Nene, Makoto, Mie and some of their friends on me! Besides, I missed you like hell, Atako-chan...all of you," he then gazes at Lum and Elle. "Don't worry about things back in America. Samantha's got everything under control there."

"You're going to stay?!" Lum gasps.

"For a while," he nods.

Lum and Elle exchange surprised looks, then with a squeal, leap over to hug him. Russell nearly gets knocked down by the three ecstatic androids, then laughs as he kisses them. "I've already got them listed on the duty watch and give them numbers," Negau advises, gazing at the three androids who were registered in Tomobiki's CMU as TL-6809 (Russell), TJ-3092 (Philip) and TC-0329 (Michael). "They're all moved in, too...except for that one big box still outside, Russell-san! What's that?!"

"Ah!" Russell smiles, then steps outside. "Be right back."

"What's this all about?" Asako wonders.

Russell then returns, carrying a man-sized crate via handles built into one side. Atako and Lum help stand the crate in the living room, then Russell snaps open the locks. "I heard there was still an unbonded android living in this house," he smiles. "So, Michael and I decided to give you a companion, Negau-chan."

"I don't need a...!" Negau's jaw drops open as her breath catches in her throat.

Everyone gapes in awe as a very beautiful husky-skinned woman dressed in slacks and a button shirt emerges. With her curly black hair forming a shaggy halo down to her shoulders and her very sexy brown eyes moulded into a well-sculptured face, she takes a very seductive pose as she gazes at the stuttering Negau. "Hello, Negau," she smiles as she walks over to help the stunned Oni to her feet. "My name is Paula Mason, Unit Tee-Em-Oh-Nine-Nine-One. I was created by Russell three days ago to be your companion. Can we go somewhere private to get better acquainted?"

Negau blinks, then nods. "Yes!!!"

With that, the two head up to the older Oni's new bedroom, which was once Hisoko's and Tanako's. "You made an android from Paul's body?!" Asako stares at Russell. "You ghoul!"

"Well, since he wasn't using it anymore, I decided not to let it go to waste," Russell laughs.

Everyone howls with delight, then stop as Negau leans around the corner. "Ne, Michael, won't you come join us?" she smiles.

"May the gods have mercy on me," Michael sighs, then standing, heads out of the living room.

"Good luck, partner," Philip laughs as the Apache android heads up to join Negau and Paula, then gazes warmly at Shutako and Asako. "You ladies care to head somewhere so we could give our friends some time to themselves?"

"Of course, Phil-kun!" Asako smiles as they rise and walk out of the living room, proceeding downstairs to their bedroom.

With that, Atako, Lum, Elle and Russell exchange looks. "So what do we do now?" the Oni wonders.

"How about we just go up, lay down and hold each other," Atako smiles. "We'll think up of the rest."

"No pleasure?" Russell gazes at her.

"Being with the ones you care for is pleasure enough, Russ-kun," Atako smiles, leaning over to kiss him.

"I kinda like that," he nods.

With that, the four androids ascend to their room. "So, how about you three telling me about this Noa person," Russell hums.

The women giggle as the door closes behind them...

*** The End ***