Warning: Rated for language, violence and adult behavior.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
This story also uses characters from the graphic novel 'Sin City' by Frank Miller. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
This story also uses characters from the movie 'Wasabi', directed by Luc Besson. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
References to 'The Goon' in this story do not refer to the character of 'The Goon' by Eric Powell.
Yumi looked awful when the guards threw her in the room with the trio. Milly and Tamiya cried when they saw what had happened to the girl. Aelita ran over, picked Yumi up and half carried, half dragged the girl to one of the bunks.
Aelita had Milly go get a towel and soak it in the sink that was in the adjoining bathroom. There was a knock at the door, then one of the guards came in bringing a first aid kit.
"The boss said you could use this," the man said, "don't do nuthin' funny with it; you know what'll happen if you do." He turned and left.
Milly returned with the wet towel. Aelita had the girl carefully wipe the grime from Yumi while she took stock of the first aid kit. There was bandages and gauze, tape and anti-bacterial cream, scissors to cut the tape, pain reliever and alcohol wipes. It would have to do.
Yumi moaned and started to come around. She startled awake when Milly touched her, crying out and taking a swing at the girl, sitting up and backing away.
"Yumi, it's us! It's over now!" Aelita said, trying to calm and soothe her friend.
Yumi got her bearings, saw who she was with, and settled down. The Japanese girl was silent and stoic for a moment, but the facade quickly fell away, and she broke down and began sobbing. Aelita reached over and tried to take the girl in her arms, but was pushed away by her friend. She tried again, this time pushing aside Yumi's arms and enveloping the girl in her embrace. Milly and Tamiya joined in the hug, and all four girls started crying the pain and the fear out of them. After a while, Aelita took the first aid kit and did what she could for her friend. The four girls fell asleep that night in each other's arms, the safest place they could be at the moment.
When the guards came the next morning, they found the girls sleeping together in a puppy pile on a bed designed to hold one person. The clanging of the door opening woke them up. Yumi shrank back from the men when she saw them, thinking they had come for her again. The guards gave the girl a leer when they saw her fear.
Then one of them said, "don't worry mama-san, the boss says you get a rest for a while. We're here to get you cleaned up and fed. After that, you'uns can walk the deck for a bit."
They were taken out and led to another level of their prison. Here, some of the boxes had been converted into a kind of a locker room with showers and bathroom facilities. They gave the girls soap and shampoo and told them to get cleaned up. Then they stood there and watched.
Seeing that they weren't going to be given any privacy. the girls stripped off the rags they were given and showered. Aelita bathed Milly while Yumi was supposed to clean Tamiya up. There was only one problem, Yumi wouldn't move. The only thing she could do was to shake and stare in blind fear at the guards leering at her as she stood there naked. Aelita noticed this and left Milly, who was happily washing her hair, and went over to Yumi. She had Tamiya join her friend.
"Yumi, look at me," the pink haired girl commanded, "don't look at them. Don't think about them. Look at me. I'm here with you, and everything's going to be okay." Yumi slowly tore her eyes away from the guards and looked at Aelita.
She then took the shampoo, poured some in her hands and started washing Yumi's hair. "Just look at me," she kept saying, "concentrate on what I'm doing. They aren't here, they don't exist." She spoke to her friend, her sister, like a hypnotist would speak to his subject, weaving a spell in the girl's mind, never letting Yumi's eyes wander from hers, erasing her torments and tormentors for a moment. Her hands massaged the Japanese girl's hair, cleaning the grime out and soothing her spirit, if only a little bit.
"Turn around now, and I'll scrub your back," she said, soothingly, "now take the soap and clean your front." Yumi obeyed her friend's voice, taking a bar of soap and cleaning herself.
When she was done, Yumi almost felt human again. Aelita gave her a hug from behind.
"Now, could you wash my back? I just can't seem to reach," Aelita asked. Yumi smiled weakly as they changed positions and she went to work. The Japanese girl studiously avoided looking at the guards.
After they had finished bathing, the guards gave them clean clothes. Yumi and Aelita each got a tee shirt and jeans, Milly and Tamiya got large tee shirts they could wear as dresses. The all were given canvas shoes for their feet.
They were then taken to another room. Yumi tensed up as they entered, for she had been here before. This was the common area that the slavers came to when they weren't asleep or on duty. It was also the place where they raped her.
At the moment, the room was empty. One of the guards pointed to a table, and they went and sat. Soon, one of them brought plates of food. The four girls hungrily wolfed the food down.
Milly asked for seconds and got them. The man who brought the food then asked if the others wanted more. Aelita and Tamiya said yes. Yumi just nodded.
After they ate, they were taken up on deck. The girls now knew where they were, they were on a ship at sea. All around was nothing but ocean. The day was clear and bright, a beautiful day if they were in any other situation than the one they were in.
Four slavers acted as their guards. "Stay down here on the main deck," one of them said, "don't leave the deck for any reason. Don't try talking to the crew. The captain's told them to leave us alone, and we leave them alone. You see the others?" He pointed at the other older girls and some of the young ones. "Don't mingle. You two older ones are being treated different from the other girls, and they might not appreciate it. And don't get too close to the little ones, it's gonna be bad enough when we separate you lot, no need to make it worse."
He then prodded them along, and they walked.
This became their routine for the trip. Wake, bathe, eat, walk. Back to the room, sleep, repeat. That is, until the fourth day.
When the guards woke them on the fourth day, one of them said, "the boss wants to see you three. You're gonna be in pictures!"
The boss came in while they were eating. He walked right over, smiling and sat down next to Aelita.
"And how are you this fine day? Rest well?" he asked.
"Well enough, under the circumstances," was Aelita's reply, "would it be possible for us to bath in private? Your men upset Yumi."
"No, that won't be possible, I'm afraid," the boss replied, "it's bad enough my men are deprived of your friend's delightful company; I just cannot deny them the pleasure of gazing at her beauty. But enough of that. Now that you have eaten, I want you all to come with me. You and the little ones are going to have your pictures taken."
"What for?" Aelita asked.
"Advertising. I want my buyers to have an idea of what they're getting for their money."
The girls were brought to yet another room, this one with a camera setup worthy of a professional photographer. In front of the camera setup was a draped area with a stool sitting in the middle.
"I want the little ones first," the boss said, "you, Milly, go sit on the stool and do what the photographer tells you to do. You won't be hurt, I promise you."
Milly glanced at Aelita, who nodded her head. The girl then went over an got up on the stool. The photographer stood there a moment, appraising his subject, then looked in his camera, then stood up and looked at her again.
"She needs some makeup," he said, "she looks awful in this lighting."
Milly got a sad look on her face. The man quickly said, "no honey, it's not you! The lighting doesn't make you look as pretty as you are. Did you ever wonder how those women in those magazines looked the way they looked?"
Milly thought a moment, then replied, "yeah, I did. I always wished I could look like they did."
"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret," he told her, "you look as good as they ever did. I'm not saying they're not beautiful under that makeup, but the makeup helps bring the beauty they have in them out and on to the picture. Would you like me to do that for you?"
"Yes!" Milly said excitedly. The photographer and the boss smiled.
The man went over and got a little suitcase and brought it over. When he opened it, he revealed a makeup kit. The various items looked more like a painter's paint set than a make up kit. The young girl was awed by what she saw.
He then started working on the girl, applying the makeup. Every now and then, he would comment on how good she was doing, and how pretty she would be when he was done.
Finally, he finished. He produced a mirror and showed the girl the results of his labor. She was immensely pleased. Aelita had to admit that the man did a wonderful job on Milly.
Then, he went back to his camera and started taking pictures, all the while telling Milly how wonderful she looked and how good the pictures were turning out. After a while, he stopped and stood up.
"Milly, I want you to get down from the stool now," he said. Milly obeyed and started walking over to Aelita and the others. The man stopped her.
"No, I'm not done yet. I want you to take your shirt off now."
Milly's eyes got wide. The boss, who had been silent all along, started to say something, but the photographer stopped him.
"Milly, I know you don't want to do it, but you must. You know what will happen to your friend if you don't do what you're told, don't you."
The tears starting to well up in the girls eyes told the man that she did.
He smiled. "I'm not going to do anything bad to you. I'm not going to make you do anything bad. But I have to take these pictures of you. The only thing I'm going to do is put some makeup on your body like I did your face, and it will be for he same reason."
The man brought his makeup case over to her, pulled the shirt off the girl, and gently started applying it to her. Milly stiffened as he worked, but did not fight. When he was done, he touched up the makeup on her face and led her back in front of the camera. He moved the stool out of the way and had her stand in its place. He then went back to the camera and started taking pictures again. At first, Milly stood there, stiff and ready to cry, but the man talked to her, telling her she was still pretty, and he was almost done. She relaxed a little, and even gave the man a little smile. Finally he finished and had the girl put her dress/shirt back on.
"One down, two to go," said the boss.
Tamiya went a little quicker than Milly did. She knew what was going to happen, and she knew what would happen if she didn't cooperate, so she just got it over with.
Then it was Aelita's turn.
"You're going to be somewhat of a challenge," the photographer said, "with your coloring, I'm not sure how the pictures are going to turn out. Do you use makeup? If so, what have you tried that works on you?"
"I've not had the need until now," she replied.
"Pity," was his reply. He thought a while longer, then started working. After a while, he went back and checked how she looked through the camera.
"I think we've got something to work with here," he said as he started taking pictures.
He handled Aelita just as he did Milly and Tamiya before. Soon he finished, and the dreaded part began.
"You know the drill, strip."
She removed her clothes and stood there. The photographer had her sit back on the stool and posed her. Every now and then, he told her to smile, and she gave him a quarter hearted one after the boss cleared his throat, reminding her of the price of noncompliance.
He then had her stand and repeated the procedure. Then man then told her to start touching herself.
"I will not!" was her response. There was a sudden movement, and the guards grabbed Yumi, Milly and Tamiya. They all now had knives held to their throats, a small line of blood running down Yumi's neck where she got nicked.
"I think you had better reconsider," the boss said, "you will do what he tells you to do, and you will convince me and the camera that you are enjoying it. If we both aren't convinced, I'll skin them alive, buyer or no."
Aelita stared at the fat man for a moment, then decided he wasn't bluffing. She nodded her head.
There was only one way to give the boss and his photographer what they required. She had to open a door she wasn't ready to open, not yet. She raised the sensations that the men wanted her to display and opened her soul to receive them. After a while, she only vaguely heard the photographer tell her what to do; a small part of her processed his commands and she complied. But rather than picture the fat pig of a man, or even the photographer, watching her, she imagined that it was Jeremie. It was Jeremie she was showing herself to, she was doing what she did for him, for them. As the feelings and sensations she raised engulfed her, feelings that should have remained dormant for years yet, she imagined that Jeremie was in her arms, that he was giving this to her, and she was giving her love, herself, back to him. She ultimately lost herself in a sea of ecstasy, with Jeremie at the center.
Afterwards, the four girls were standing on the deck of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching the land roll by them. One of the guards said they were in the Panama Canal, and it wouldn't be much longer before they reached their destination.
"You know, it was kinda fun," Milly said, "that is, until he made Aelita do those things."
Aelita hung her head down. "That's what we're all going to be doing soon enough," she said, "that's why we're here, Milly. Sooner or later, we all are going to have to do things like that, and worse."
"But surely someone's looking for us," Tamiya said, "what about Jeremie? He's smart, I'll bet he can find us."
"I'm sure he can," Yumi said, finally breaking her silence, "but even if he did, I don't know if he could convince anyone to come get us. He's only a kid, just like we are. Nobody pays attention to kids."
"Yumi, we can't think that way," Aelita said, "if we do, then we've truly lost."
She looked out at the shoreline, her eye catching a surveillance camera on a pole, panning over and pointing straight at them.
"We have to have faith. Look at that camera," she said, pointing at the device, "I'll just bet that Jeremie's looking through it right now at us. Look straight into it, just like you did earlier when they were taking those vile pictures of us. Look at it and hope that Jeremie or someone will see us and come after us."
