D.I.A.N.N.E. Ch. 03

I shook my head. "It doesn't work like that. We are connected, however. He helps me, and I help him. We complement one another." Tifa's expression didn't change, and I wasn't sure how else to explain this to her without confessing that I more or less hijacked Cloud's body and had my way with her and Aerith to my heart's content. Suddenly, another presence appeared in my mind, one that was most welcome.

"It is me, Tifa," Cloud's voice said from my mouth. "You can trust Jake. He will not hurt you."

"Cloud?" Tifa said uncertainly. "Is that you?"

My head nodded. "It is. Trust your heart. I know you can feel me. This is Jake's world, so here, we look like Jake. You'll get used to it."

"Prove it!" She snapped suddenly, her fine brows drawing down. "Prove that it's you, Cloud, and not some trick."

I felt Cloud thinking for a moment. *Should we tell her all of it?* He asked me.

No! I shot back. She'll kill me! Somehow, I felt amusement coming from Cloud.

*No, she won't. Trust me.* I resigned myself to the fact that Cloud might know better what to do here, so I let him go. "Remember that night on the water tower?" He asked her. "When we were kids?"

Tifa's expression softened, and colour touched her cheeks. "Cloud..."

He kept going. "I made a promise to you that night, didn't I?" When she nodded, the corners of her lips curved in a smile, and her eyes shone with the light of fond memory. "Only I would know that, right?" When Tifa nodded, Cloud moved us closer to her and took her by the shoulders. I felt her smooth skin beneath my fingers. "I know I look different, here, but it really is me. And without Jake, well, there are some memories you and I would not have together, like you, me and Aerith in the Gold Saucer."

TIfa blushed like the sunset. "You're saying that he was there with us, too? I don't know whether to be embarrassed or furious!"

"Neither," Cloud said firmly. "I trusted Jake, and he helped me to express how I truly feel about you and Aerith, and we had some wonderful moments together, did we not?" Tifa nodded reluctantly. "Now, I'm asking you to trust Jake, and treat him as if he were me, because fundamentally, that's the truth. I'm still not sure how, but that is the way it is. I love you, Tifa."

"I love you, too," she said back, and I felt a moment of shock when my lips pressed to hers. During the kiss, Cloud withdrew his control, leaving me and Tifa together.

*That should do it,* he said to me. *Be good to her.*

I wanted to reply, but I was lost in the kiss, which was happening while I was in my own body. That was a first. She pulled away after only a few blissful seconds, leaving me with my lips puckered out into empty air like an idiot.

"Well this is about the strangest situation I've ever found myself in," she murmured, looking around the room again. "What is this place?"

"It's my training room," I said truthfully. "I actually summoned you here to help me learn to fight."

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "You share a mind with Cloud, and you can't fight?"

I shrugged. "I can use a sword alright, but with fists and feet I'm not so flash. That's why I thought of you."

"And when can I go home?" She asked.

"Whenever you want. I won't keep you here against your will. Even if I wanted to, Cloud's values wouldn't let me." I was starting to get what Dianne meant when she said 'synchronisation.'

She looked me up and down again. It was a little uncomfortable, the way she did that. "So, the way Cloud has been recently... That was you, wasn't it?"

She must be meaning the behaviour and attitude changes. I nodded. "Kind of. We worked together. We wanted the same things." Was that a considering light in her eyes just now?

"And now you want to learn to fight like me?" Again, I nodded. "Why?"

"Because I'm entering a tournament soon, and I want to be ready."

Tifa's eyes flashed with eagerness. "A martial arts tournament? Where?"

"Another world," I replied blithely.

"Are the fighters strong?"

"Pretty strong," I confirmed, touching my sore ribs unconsciously. "I went there and got trounced, which is why I need you."

Tifa thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll help you. On one condition, Jake."

"What's that?"

"You let me fight in this tournament, too!"

Was that even possible? *Dianne? Can it be done?*

*Yes, Jake,* she replied immediately. *Provided the synchronisation levels are adequate in both titles you wish to cross over.*

Good enough. "Deal," I agreed, offering my hand. Tifa took it and we shook.

"Alright, let's get you in shape," she said, cracking her knuckles. "It might take a while, though," she added blandly. Her face changed then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her. "On my world I am missing, aren't I? Won't my friends be worried about me?"

Her question caught me up short. How would I explain to her that her world is not real? That it's just a game? Maybe I didn't have to... "You are in both places at once, actually," I told her. "Think of your presence here as a projection of yourself. That is the most accurate way to perceive it." There, that should keep her from freaking out, for now.

She shook her head in confusion. "I don't get it, but I'll take your word for it. I guess that means I can stay as long as you need me, then."

"That's right. And no one will be the wiser," I said with a grin. "Shall we get started?" She moved suddenly, and the next thing I knew I was on my back, gasping for air. All the pains in my body sprung up anew, magnified twofold by the impact.

"Rule number one," I heard her say. "Always keep your guard up."

Here we go again, I thought with resignation as I slowly got back up. Just keep going, Jake, I encouraged myself. And you'll get there.

***

-- TECHNOLOGICAL FACILITY, UNKNOWN LOCATION--

"Has the agent responded?" M turned from the small terminal she was working at to look at J, awaiting a response to her questions. Her flawless skin was illuminated by the large display on the desk in front of her.

"Yes," J answered as he studied the device in his hand. To the uninformed, it looked exactly like a smart phone, though it was so much more in reality. "She is on hold until further notice." Agent 314 had been scheduled to continue engaging Subject Twenty until J and M had decided to delay that plan pending further information.

"Good," M said as she turned back to the screen and began to slide her fingers this way and that across its surface, making adjustments as they were needed. She was absorbed in her work, and paid J little attention. He thought about moving up behind her and playing with her lithe body while she worked, but the idea fled his mind when his eyes fell on Twenty's display on the wall.

"Shit," he muttered. "When did this happen?" He crossed the room to stand before the section of wall showing Twenty's activities. M appeared beside him a few seconds later.

"He's unlocked the simulator framework in the MAP," she said thoughtfully, her fine brow drawn down. J knew M well enough to know her clever mind would be calculating the risks of what Twenty was doing, both present and future. On the screen, Twenty was indeed engaged in a combat simulation with one of the women from a previous title and getting soundly trounced by the look of it. His vital readings were listed down one side of the screen, and some alarming numbers were showing. M's tilted eyes flickered over those numbers as she assessed the situation. When it came to data analytics, nobody was better than M.

"He has," J confirmed, though M didn't really require a response. "He is the fastest one, yet."

"He is pushing himself too hard," M remarked. "His body may fail if he keeps this up."

"And yet," J added as he watched Twenty circling the buxom woman in the sim. "He continues to learn." Reaching out, J tapped the display and zoomed in on Twenty's face. There was a light in those brown eyes that he recognised; a burning desire that he himself had once possessed, especially in his youth. "We may just find him standing among us, one day."

"Or perhaps over us," M said grimly. "We need a leash on him if we are to continue the trials. Reactivate 314."

"And Dianne?" J asked. "Should we implement further progress inhibitors as we did with the combat game?" M was not his superior, technically, but J trusted her judgement; she was nearly always right. M's dark ponytail swung as she shook her head.

"No," she said firmly. "There are enough in place as it is, but we will withhold any further updates for now. Let us not allow him to run before he can walk. If he grows too strong, we may not be able to contain him."

"Agreed," J said. Moving to a nearby terminal, he began to issue commands. At that moment, a section of wall slid open at the other end of the room to admit a stunning, statuesque woman one could only describe as Amazonian, her tanned body as bare as J's and M's. Somehow a perfect blend of fit and voluptuous, H was a delightful, six-foot-three collection of outrageous curves, though the way she moved spoke of strong muscle beneath luscious thighs and an arse that would never fit into J's hands no matter how often he tried. Not that she'd ever given him the pleasure. Full, blond hair fell in waves around her shoulders, framing a plump-lipped, blue-eyed face with a bone structure that belonged on a Nordic goddess.

J's eyes automatically flew to the sway of her tremendous tits as she strode toward him and M, the heavy orbs completely defiant of the gravity that surely dragged at them. Hard pink nipples capped those mountains, small peaks atop a vast expanse of flesh. They had to be at least an F-cup, at J's best guess.

"How go the trials?" H asked in a low, husky voice that dripped with sex. J's cock twitched at the sound of it; visits from P were rare, but extremely memorable. Beside him, he sensed more than saw M quickly switch screens from Subject Twenty to Nineteen, who was once again living out some inane renaissance fantasy. At least Twenty was interesting to watch. All Nineteen ever seemed to do was hold court and entertain simpering nobles.

"Quite well," J replied smoothly. A few inches taller than him, H looked over his head at the screens. "We have had no incidents since Five."

"And the others are progressing well," M added as she turned to regard H. The two women smiled at one another, though the curve of H's lips was decidedly predatory. There was an undercurrent between the two, though J didn't know the details.

"That is good," H told them in her smoky voice. "This was a routine inspection only. The two of you are doing good work, and management is pleased." She stepped closer to J and brushed her fingers down his arm. Her touch sent pleasant tingles across his skin. "Very pleased. I am told Subject Twenty is of particular interest. I would very much like to view him."

J suppressed a wince; he was hoping Twenty would remain unnoticed for a little longer. "Of course, H," he replied smoothly as he turned to the monitor and swiped away from Nineteen, who appeared to be laughing at some joke being told to her by a man with a heavily powdered face and a curled wig. Twenty's MAP slid into view, several angles displayed in different segments of the screen. In the interim, it appeared that Twenty and his training partner had moved to a different form of sparring. The busty brunette -- Tifa, J thought her name was -- was now straddling Twenty's waist in the centre of the room and was riding him like a champion racehorse.

H made an approving noise and pressed herself into J's back. Her body felt warm and wonderful and her breasts pushed softly into his shoulders as her hands came around to caress his chest. She had never touched him so directly before. "He certainly appears to be taking to the technology with enthusiasm," she breathed into his ear. J's cock shot to full mast in seconds. "I believe in rewarding good work," she purred as one hand trailed down his torso and her long-nailed fingers toyed with the bare, sensitive skin just above his straining member.

J knew he shouldn't make it so easy for her; she was power-hungry, ambitious and domineering, but he just couldn't help himself sometimes. He groaned as her hand wrapped around his shaft and began to stroke, and when her lips found his neck, he went weak at the knees. H crooked a finger at M, who stepped in close to J. She smiled hotly as she watched H's hand stroke him. J put his hand behind her head and brought her in for a deep kiss, which she returned readily. J's hands drifted in opposite directions; one backward to cup H's arse, and the other forward to squeeze M's.

The room was soon filled with sighs and moans and the smell of sex as the three built their excitement higher. J was surprised -- and more than a little disappointed -- when H released his cock and stepped away. "I will be checking in on Twenty periodically," she told them as she walked toward the exit. J turned to watch her leave; her bouncing arse -- both firm and soft -- was something to behold. M was watching her, too, an undeniable light of lust in her tilted eyes. "If you continue to produce results," H continued over her shoulder. "You can expect more... enjoyable rewards."

The glass panel at the other end of the room slid open silently to allow her through, and she disappeared from sight. There was a moment of silence, then M made an appealing suggestion. "Break?"

J nodded eagerly. "Break."

*

"I don't like that woman," M said quietly as she got up from the huge bed in the corner of the break room. "But she sure knows how to get me worked up." A spacious area with two king beds and several comfortable chairs and lounges, the break room was designed for staff to enjoy themselves however they wished. Often, that included sex.

"Why not?" J asked as he sat up. "I know it's none of my business, but I have always wondered."

"Just a feeling," M told him as she walked toward the glass cubicle at the opposite end of the room. J got up to follow her. A shower with M was not to be missed. "I don't trust her. I think she would hamstring anyone to get what she wants. That, and I feel like she's grooming us for her own agendas."

J had to agree. He said as much as he stepped into the wide shower ringed with multiple jets. M punched a number into a small display panel on the wall to set the temperature. A moment later, steaming water sprayed out from three sides. "What do you think she wants with Twenty?" He asked as he turned under the soothing spray.

"I don't know," M mused. "But I think for his sake we need to be careful. We don't want to push him too hard."

"No arguments here," J murmured with a sigh as the warm water caressed his skin. He closed his eyes to splash his face. "How far do you think he'll go?" When M didn't answer, he opened his eyes to see her staring at him intently from only inches away. 'Not here,' that brown-eyed gaze said. 'We'll talk about this later.' She was right; it was unlikely there was a room in this entire facility that was not wired with more surveillance equipment than any military installation on the planet. Giving the briefest of nods to say he understood, J resumed his shower and began asking standard questions about M's opinion on the latest updates to the Dianne firmware. To anyone watching, they would simply be having a normal conversation about work. At least, J hoped that was what it looked like.

***

END OF CHAPTER THREE

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