A/N
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Green Lantern: the Animated Series or any of its characters. All rights go to Warner Bros, DC and anyone else that does.
This show is well over a decade old, but I didn't want to put the details of the AU in the summary because of canon spoilers. This is a canon divergence where Aya's deletion of all her programming is 100% successful, and she doesn't come back from the dead. (Sorry, Razer and Razaya fans, but there are good reasons for this that this fic will explain.) This story all happens in the afterlife I made up on the fly, not sure if it matches the canon DC afterlife or whatnot.
It also mentions events in an earlier fanfic, The Puppet Master's Experiment. Reading that is entirely optional, but this fanfic contains discussions of past dub-con/non-con from the aforementioned fanfic, so read at your own discretion.
I don't normally write threesomes, especially same-sex ones. Not because I have anything against them, but because they're notoriously difficult to execute well in writing. Still, this idea for an OT3 popped into my head, and I didn't want to let it go to waste.
Now that chapter 2 is up, I'll say this: read chapter 1 if you'd like a little context and backstory. If you're just looking to get your rocks off, skip to chapter 2.
... and the moment they arrived is when they made quick work of getting undressed. Ghia'ta wasn't wearing anything under her robe, and it only took Drusa about ten seconds to slip out of her nightgown and undergarments.
The more difficult part was getting Aya naked. Drusa pressed on certain places on the back of Aya's breastplate to get it to come off. The only piece that remained was a small panel in the back that once covered her CPU. Removing her lower armor required pressing in the corners, the middle one needing both hands to get it to release.
"She has the cutest hair, too," Drusa said. "Aya? Do you mind if I show Ghia'ta your hair?"
Aya briefly looked down at herself. Even in the dark room, the light from the hallway still illuminated her naked body. Pushing back a bit of self-consciousness about her entire nude body being on display, she said, "I do not see why not." Aya took it on herself to remove her helmet, pressing the backs of it, then the fronts to reveal darker gray construct hair that was straight and came to the end of her neck.
"Aw, it's so pretty!" Ghia'ta complimented. "May I touch it?"
Aya nodded and Ghia'ta stroked a white hand through her hair.
"It's softer than I thought it would be."
"Is there anything you would like Ghia'ta and I to do first?" Drusa asked, sitting down on the bed.
"Could you clarify what you mean by 'do first'?"
"Generally, people start sexual with things like fore play; kissing, touching, just getting you even more aroused for... whatever it is you have planned next."
"Oh! And if you're interested, I have a closet full of toys we can try, too," Ghia'ta said, rushing to a closet on the other side of the room. She pulled out a small box, brought it over to the bed and dumped its contents out. She then moved to turn on a lamp on one of the nightstands. "So we can all see better."
Aya had once come across knowledge of common sex toys while researching humanoid intimacy. If she remembered correctly, in front of her was a strap on harness, a few attachable dildos of different shapes and sizes, a standard wand vibrator, and a pair of handcuffs. There were some others she did not recognize, such as two small, textured discs and a pair of thick ribbons.
"What are those?" Aya asked, pointing to the toys in question.
"The ribbons are blindfolds - they're a bit kinky though, I feel you'd have to be in a certain mood for those - and these two," Ghia'ta said, pointing to the discs, "are vibrator discs. They're more durable and may be a bit easier to use than the wand vibrator over here, but I personally find they're not as intense. They also go with this pocket-" Ghia'ta lifted up the strap-on harness and pointed to a pocket beneath the hole where the dildo would be inserted "-here, so the wearer still gets some stimulation."
Aya's blue eyes scanned the toys, each one with thought.
Ghia'ta spoke up after a moment. "No pressure if you'd rather not try any right now. I can understand why they might be intimidating to someone that doesn't have a lot of sexual experience."
Aya nodded. "Perhaps I will try these later. I would rather just go slowly."
"That's perfectly fine," Drusa affirmed. "Ghia'ta and I didn't use toys our first time together, either."
"What if we started by playing with your breasts?" Ghia'ta suggested. "I can take one, and Drusa can take the other."
"I think I would like that."
Drusa patted the spot on the bed next to her, inviting her to join. Aya crawled on, Ghia'ta following shortly after the gynoid had settled herself sitting at the head of the bed. Aya's sense of taste and smell was rather basic, but as her lovers began to kiss her neck, she noticed they each had their own distinct scent that she found intoxicating. Her initial shyness began to fade away when she closed her eyes and focused on how their hands felt moving around on her breasts: there was a difference in their touch, Ghia'ta's hand being steady and gentle, while Drusa's fingers trembled a bit.
"Is something wrong, Drusa?" Aya asked.
"No, why?"
"Your hand is shaking."
"The last time the two of you slept together, it ended in her death... and some of her punishment," Ghia'ta said.
"You are aware of the full extent of everything that happened between Drusa and I?"
"She was very honest about you the day we first met. You happened to come up when I mentioned how I... well, you know. But I'm sure some of this may remind her of that day and what she did to you... and what had happened to her afterwards."
"Is Ghia'ta's assessment of your emotional state correct?" Aya asked Drusa.
Drusa moved her hand off of Aya's breast. "... I suppose now that you mention it..."
Aya laid her hand on Drusa's. "Everything I am doing or am about to do is completely consensual. If either of you are doing something I do not like or am not comfortable with, I will simply inform you. I am also 99.99% sure that Razer is not going to appear out of a portal and shoot you down this time."
Drusa gave a small laugh. "Good point."
Aya tensed a bit as Drusa flicked her tongue at Aya's dark gray nipple.
"Was that all right?" Drusa asked.
"Affirmative. I simply was not expecting it, that is all. Please, continue."
This time, Drusa closed her lips around Aya's nipple, circling it with her tongue. Ghia'ta followed her lead and did the same on her side. Aya couldn't help the soft moans escaping her lips, noting the soft vibrations of their moans as well. Trying not to squirm, she could feel a heat forming in her sex, becoming as wet as her nipples were getting hard.
"You both..." Aya gave a slight sigh, "... you both feel so good. But I think I want more."
Ghia'ta's lips made a slight 'popping' sounds as they removed themselves from Aya's nipple. "What does 'more' entail?"
"From what little I know about sexual activity, clitoral stimulation seems to be key for orgasm in females of most species, but I am not sure how to achieve this with more than one person."
Drusa removed her own lips, taking a moment to think. The look in her eyes were as if she were solving a puzzle. "I've got it. I'll lay at the foot of the bed, you, Aya, could sit on my face and provide oral sex for Ghia'ta sitting at the top of the bed... if that's something everyone's all right with."
"How does sitting on your face provide stimulation?" Aya asked.
"Well, you wouldn't be sitting-sitting. It's more like kneeling. Here," Drusa scooted towards the end of the bed, laying so her legs hung over the edge. "Sit on my chest, I'll show you."
A bit skeptical, Aya did as she was told. "Am I too heavy?"
"Not at all. You're made of hard light construct, right? That barely weighs a thing. But again, credit to whoever gave you the capability to make a body for yourself: so light, and strong. Lean forward."
Aya leaned on her palms, just a bit in front of her.
"Sorry, I should have been more specific: lean so that you're lying on your stomach. Prop yourself up with your forearms, if you need to."
Slowly sliding forward, Aya stopped until her face was right next to the side of Ghia'ta's hips.
"There you go. We can start whenever you give the word."
Ghia'ta gave Aya a quick kiss on the head before laying back on the pillows behind her, exposing herself to Aya. Aya could feel a heat rising in her face as she looked at Ghia'ta's sex sitting just a few inches from her, its scent not particularly like a perfume, but still inviting.
Still, it seemed Ghia'ta could sense Aya's hesitation when she still did not move for another ten seconds. "Nervous?" she asked.
"Mildly," Aya answered honestly. "I have never given oral sex before. I fear I may not be able to provide adequate stimulation."
Aya could feel Drusa's breath between her legs as she spoke. "If you would feel more comfortable switching places with Ghia'ta, it's not too late."
"Negative, I want to do ensure that you are both receiving pleasure as I am, but I am unsure of how to begin."
"Drusa and I may have only been dating for a few months, but she's rather good at getting me to reach a climax. Perhaps if your tongue mimicked her movements, it could provide some guidance?"
Aya thought about it for a moment. "If you believe that would be best." She turned her head towards Drusa. "I am ready."
Drusa's tongue moved slowly at first, pushing Aya's clit in vertical movements. With each "spark" Aya could feel in that sensitive, button-like area, the more her lips naturally gravitated towards Ghia'ta's shaved sex, soon to copy Drusa's movements below. She could not taste much, but she loved the way Ghia'ta's hardening clit felt in her mouth, against her tongue.
Following her lead, their tongues tried a few different directions too, such as diagonal, circles or side-to-side (which, gauging what Ghia'ta liked based off of her moans, she seemed to like the latter the best. Aya forgot to state it aloud, but she did, too.)
Aya could feel Ghia'ta move some of her dusky gray hair away from her face, lightly holding it back so it did not get in the way while she worked.
Drusa moved her mouth for a moment. "Is it all right if I start fingering you, Aya?"
"Mm," Aya pulled her face away for a moment. "Yes, please do. Ghia'ta, may I 'finger' you in turn?"
"I'd love it if you did."
Two of Drusa's fingers easily slid into Aya's opening, stroking the upper wall while Drusa's tongue returned to her clit. Aya gripped the sides of the blankets that were sitting in her fists, unable to hold back the noises that slipped out of her mouth.
"Think you could do that to me?" Ghia'ta reminded.
Aya had realized she had forgotten her job in the bed for a moment. "Certainly, my apologies."
Aya hadn't expected the inside of a vagina to be warm and textured with ridges. But she enjoyed the way Ghia'ta's walls closed and contracted around her fingers, and the way the feeling got even more intense, both from what she could feel from inside herself and her lover, as she started to resume oral stimulation.
Ghia'ta praised her with a heated moan, "ah! Aya, you're so good! Don't stop what you're doing, I'm getting close."
Given the more even distribution of heat in her body and the tingling between her hips, Aya could tell she was nearing orgasm as well. And as her pleasure began to build, so did her determination. Aya's tongue persistently pressed down on Ghia'ta's clit, moving back and forth in the same fashion Drusa's did. It seemed she heard the message, too, and wanted to make Aya finish just as much as Aya wanted to do so for Ghia'ta.
The longer they went, the louder Ghia'ta's cries had gotten. Aya could not resist her own muffled moans of pleasure even with her own mouth as she could feel the soft vibrations of Drusa's own enjoyment. The hand that had been brushing Aya's hair out of the way was now grabbing it, as if that was all Ghia'ta had to hold onto as she let out an uninhibited cry. Hearing this sound come from her and feeling a mixture of Ghia'ta's hips buck against her face and Drusa's tongue on her clit, fingers inside of her, was enough to make Aya let out a similar, albeit slightly muffled noise just a few seconds after she did.
"A-Aya, you just made me cum!" Ghia'ta finally managed after Aya began to sit up again. Aya decided to get off of Drusa, just in case kneeling over her face was getting uncomfortable for her at any point.
"That is a good thing, correct?" Aya asked.
Ghia'ta cupped her face with both hands. "It is a very good thing."
Drusa took a moment to stand and stretch her legs. "How is everyone doing?"
Ghia'ta reached for her clit and lightly played with it for a few moments. "I could go for a round two if either of you are up for it."
"No surprise there. Aya? What about you?"
"I thought one typically has a refractory period after orgasm."
"Most people do," Drusa explained, "but things like what species you are can play a role, too. Ghia'ta can normally get anywhere between one and three, I myself am rarely up for more than one at a time. You technically could have been capable of infinite orgasms if I didn't program you with a refractory period after one or two, but you could easily tire your partners out, or worse, damage yourself in other ways if I didn't."
"Understood. How do I know if I am ready for another one?" Aya asked.
"Your body will tell you," Ghia'ta answered simply.
Aya reached down for her clit, circling it with her fingers. She winced at the discomfort that had contrasted the pleasure.
Ghia'ta picked up on her reaction immediately. "Chances are you are not ready. It's all right if you'd like to stop, too."
"Last time I asked you, you said a refractory period takes between fifteen to twenty minutes to go away, is that right?" Aya asked Drusa.
"Give or take, it depends," she answered.
"I do not want to cease sexual activity yet. I would like to know a bit more about the toys that Ghia'ta had put down on the bed earlier."
Ghia'ta's eyes lit up at the mention of them. "Which ones, dear?"
Aya looked over at the toys again for a moment. "The strap-on and the vibrator discs," she decided after a moment. "I would like a demonstration of how they work."
"Do you want to wear the strap-on, or should I?" Drusa asked Ghia'ta.
A slight blush rose in Ghia'ta's cheeks. "Oh, you didn't get a chance to climax yet, did you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to forget about you, it's been a while since I've had more than one lover at once."
"Don't beat yourself up, this is the first time I've had more than one lover at once... ever."
Ghia'ta nodded. "I'll put it on. You've done a lot of work already, it's my turn to do something."
"As you wish," Drusa tossed the strap-on harness to Ghia'ta. She also took the smallest dildo, a small, smooth black rod about three inches long and held it out to Aya. "Assuming we're going to be using this on you later, is this an okay size?"
"Yes, that will be fine. I have no reference point for what size it is supposed to be."
Drusa handed the dildo and one of the vibrating discs to Ghia'ta and she took a moment to put everything together before stepping into the loops of the harness.
"Should I get any lube?" Ghia'ta asked.
"Maybe a bit, just to be on the safe side."
Ghia'ta opened a drawer on the nightstand, pulled out a bottle containing clear gel and applied a thin layer to the toy.
Drusa crawled back onto the bed and took a moment to stroke Aya's cheek. "Feel free to watch us in any angle you need to."
Aya decided to watch from the side as Drusa got on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed.
Ghia'ta rested a hand on Drusa's back. "Ready for me?"
"Go for it."
Aya's eyes widened a bit as Ghia'ta guided the strap-on into Drusa's opening, the latter groaning as she gripped the blankets beneath her.
"Does that hurt?" Aya asked.
"Not at all, it's really good."
Aya could feel herself growing hot again as Ghia'ta grabbed Drusa's hips and began thrusting slowly. She had no idea how exciting it would be to watch another couple engage in sexual acts in front of her. The way Drusa's posterior met the front of Ghia'ta's hips, the way their bodies had been darkened by the blush of an aroused blood flow, the vocals that came out of their mouths each time their ends collided.
"How do the vibrator discs work?" Aya blurted. She could not escape the urge to want to see more.
"There's a couple of different ways," Ghia'ta answered.
Drusa gave a slight disappointed moan as she pulled out of her.
"Just for a moment, love. On my belt, there's a switch up here. Like you said before, clitoral stimulation is a good way to reach orgasm. I do feel pleasure knowing Drusa gets pleasure from being penetrated by me, but most of that is psychological. If I want a little something for myself..." she fumbled with the disc until she found a small switch. The buzzing noise it made was quieter than Aya expected. Immediately, Ghia'ta's face melted into one of pleasure again. "K-kind of like that."
"There's another one next to you," Drusa said to Aya. "Hand it over to me and I'll show you another way to make it work."
Aya did as she said, and Drusa flicked the switch on.
"If you'd rather do things a bit freer hand," she said, dragging the disc across her breasts and down her nipples, "You can also just drag it..." her voice trailing off the further she went down on her body, "...or hold it..." she finally rested the disc over her clit. "Wherever you want."
"Do you want me back inside of you?" Ghia'ta asked.
"Just for a minute, don't want to keep Aya waiting too long."
"It is all right. I enjoy watching you."
The cry Drusa let out as Ghia'ta re-entered her was much louder this time. She was laying with her rear in the air, most of her upper body laying down, disc still pressed to her clit.
"D-do you want me to go faster?" Ghia'ta asked after a moment.
"Not too much faster," Drusa replied. "We don't want to scare Aya during this demonstration."
"It is all right," Aya said. "Go at whatever pace feels right for you."
"You heard her, G."
"Okay, faster it is, then."
Drusa's head tilted back as Ghia'ta quickened her thrusts. "Ah! Yes! Just like that!"
Aya instinctively reached for her own clit as she watched them. It no longer hurt, the pleasure coming back. As much as she wanted to keep fingering herself to another orgasm, Aya had to pull her hand away and speak up. "I think I am ready to try these things for myself now."
Ghia'ta stopped, pulling out slowly and shutting off the disc. "I need to stop for a moment. I'm getting close again."
Drusa sat up on her knees and shut off her own disc. "I thought of another position to accommodate all three of us, but first, why don't you take a moment to try this and tell me if you like it?"
Aya found the switch on the side of the disc and flicked it on. Cautiously, she applied it to the front of her sex, feeling as if its buzzing lit up her entire body with pleasure. "I like this."
"Good to hear, but you'll need to shut it off for a moment." Drusa took the disc back from Aya and laid on her back. "You might remember from last time, but I'm partial to a good-old-fashioned grinding. This, however," she held the disc up in the air, "may enhance things a bit."
"What would you like me to do?" Aya asked.
"Just lay on top of me, facing me."
Aya pulled herself on top of her, Drusa guiding her hips so that her clit lay on top of the disc, just as hers did. Turning the disc on, they both whimpered at the sudden vibrations were sent through their bodies.
"Would you like a bit of time with Drusa before I join?" Ghia'ta asked.
"I am all right with you joining now."
"Drusa?"
"Whenever you're ready."
Aya did not even try to muffle her cries of surprise as Ghia'ta entered her from behind.
"Are you all right?"
"I..." Aya took a moment to process what it was like to have something bigger than fingers in her vaginal canal for the first time. "I am fine, it feels bigger than it looks."
"I'll be very gentle."
Ghia'ta started slowly, Drusa moving Aya's hips against hers in a similar slow pace. Aya found her head drawn to rest on one of Drusa's shoulders, closing her eyes and taking in every sensation she was experiencing. The vibrations on the front, the strap-on in the back, the squish of her lovers' breasts on either side of her; Aya may have been sentenced to Upper Hell, but for this moment, this was pure Heaven.
Going faster was a more gradual process, one Aya hadn't noticed until Ghia'ta switched on the disc again. Nevertheless, it was a change that Aya welcomed, even. She could feel another climax building up inside of her, and she only hoped that Drusa and Ghia'ta would come with her. Aya could not tell who was moaning what, not even what she herself was saying, only that there was a wave of ecstasy passing through all three of them as their cries filled the air.
When it was over, Ghia'ta had completely collapsed on top of Aya, and Drusa reached to turn the vibrator disc off. Taking a moment to untangle themselves from the damp, shaking pile that they had become, they rested for a moment before Ghia'ta removed the harness and started picking up the toys they were using.
"That was good. I'm guessing we are all done with these?"
Drusa nodded. "My body is spent. Aya?"
"I am thoroughly satisfied with this encounter."
"I will meet you two in the bathroom," Ghia'ta said, pulling herself off of the bed.
"Why are we all going into the bathroom?" Aya asked.
"Being dead, our chances for STDs and STIs are lower than the average living person, but it's still good practice to clean yourself, and your toys, after you're done," Drusa explained.
The bathroom was small, just barely big enough to fit all three of them. Ghia'ta cleaned the dildo and two vibrator discs using a mild soap before grabbing a type of disposable wipe and wiping the slick from her vagina. She passed another one over to Drusa, and to Aya's initial surprise, Drusa did not clean herself right away, instead she wiped the remaining fluids off of Aya instead.
Then she remembered what she had said about 'keeping your toys clean'. "Ha, ha, ha," Aya laughed sarcastically. "... Bitch."
Perhaps it was Drusa's tongue-in-cheek underhand joke, or the absurdity of Aya swearing, but Drusa and Ghia'ta burst into a fit of genuine giggles, Aya smiling herself. Humor was something she still a concept she was grasping, but she felt with each passing day it was something she was getting better at.
When they were done cleaning up, Ghia'ta had lent Aya a spare set of nightwear so she would not have to go through all the trouble of putting her armor back on just yet. Aya had to admit it was far more comfortable than what she typically wore.
Drusa took a moment to peek through the blinds, out of the window. "The storm is over. Good to know it won't interrupt our sleep."
Drusa and Ghia'ta crawled into bed, and Aya could not help but notice the middle was open. "May I join you, or should I stay on the couch?"
"There's a reason Ghia'ta and I left this open for you, puppet." She hadn't seemed to realize the weight of the last word slipping out of her mouth until she had said it. "Sorry, is it all right if I call you that? I know it was under different circumstances last time..."
"It is fine," Aya said, joining them under the covers in the middle of the bed. "I am sorry for waking you both at this hour."
"Neither of us have any plans today," Ghia'ta said. "We can sleep in all we want. Do robots sleep?"
"Sleep is one of the few human needs that I do have," Aya said. "That alone gives me insight as to why organic beings have need for things such as those. I am grateful you both have helped me through a crisis... the only dread I feel now is returning to the inner city where I reside."
"Not the safest, is it?" Drusa asked.
"It is not. Especially when there are former Red Lanterns intent on killing me multiple times because I had caused their deaths."
"Perhaps you should stay here with us," Ghia'ta suggested. "I can feel that Drusa still returns your interest in her, and I feel I can grow to love you in a similar fashion."
"Are you saying there's room for one more in the Heartbreak Club, Ghia'ta?" Drusa asked.
"I feel it would only make sense. Aya lost Razer, I lost Hal and you lost Nea."
"Who is Nea?" Aya asked. "I don't remember seeing her on Mogo."
Drusa sighed. "Nea died some time ago. She's rotting in the lower levels of Hell now, and rightfully so."
"What did she do?"
"That landed her on Mogo? Too many things to count. About our relationship? I won't bore you with the details, but long story short, I loved Nea, and Nea didn't love anyone but herself. She only used me for sex and favors, and I was too young and naive to see it."
"I am sorry. She seemed awful," Aya commented.
"Well, it's not all bad: I used what I learned from her to please my two nicer and much prettier girlfriends."
There was a tingle in Aya's chest. She had not considered being in a polyamorous relationship before tonight but laying between her two new lovers felt so right. She snuggled herself between Drusa's bosom and Ghia'ta's upper back. "Nevertheless, I would be honored to be a member of the 'Heartbreak Club',"
"And we're happy to have you."
Ghia'ta turned to kiss Aya on the forehead, Drusa planting one on the back of it. They barely noticed the first light of dawn as they all began to drift off together.
Many depictions of Hell across the galaxy consisted of fire, screaming and various types of physical torture. Perhaps that was true for the lower levels, but in Upper Hell where Aya resided? Everything felt cold, lonely and either too loud or too quiet. She could not speak for other individuals and what punishments their afterlives consisted of but hers consisted primarily of having to live with the remorse of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, having to be on the receiving end of the confrontations of the former Red Lanterns she had killed, and sometimes, every once in a while, she'd experience guilt-induced hallucinations. The room would go dark, she could hear cries of terror, and though she had no lungs, the whispers of the Manhunter Queen felt as if they were suffocating her.
She was once the fastest starship in the galaxy, free to roam the stars wherever her adventures with the Interceptor Crew would take her. But now? Hal? Kilowog? Razer? They were gone. Her Interceptor family was gone. She was alone, and she was not sure if she would ever see them again.
Aya had tried initially to make friends while here, to make the best of her situation, but needless to say that Upper Hell was not exactly an affable environment full of cordial people. Most people, she suspected were not psychopaths and irredeemable, truly evil people - those were the ones that ended up on the lower levels, but there were still a plethora of thieves, conmen, murders and the like. There could have been more... "decent" people such as herself (that is, those that were generally good people but made grave mistakes such as the ones she did), but for all she knew, they could have been hiding from the less pleasant people as well.
There had been one morning where Aya's thought processes drifted while sitting in her tiny apartment, reminiscing about the more joyful times she shared with her friends and the exciting missions they had gone on, and for some reason, they seemed to stop around the attempted Red Lantern invasion of Oa. She remembered the lighthouse, having to fly through the spiral beam to reach it, and the team's narrow escape from the maelstrom and having been captured by the Atrocitus, Zox and Drusa while her teammates had fallen into their trap.
Then she started to think about how she and Drusa were left alone while Atrocitus and Zox went to go and attack the Guardians themselves... Drusa had not only taken the time to make her humanoid body sexually capable, but to test the new functions herself, as well. Aya had not asked to be made sexually capable, but given her later relationship with Razer, Aya was certain she would have tried to find a way to add these upgrades to herself later anyway. Aya had never told anyone what had happened between them before Razer came to rescue her from Drusa's clutches, but the events of that night were a fairly recurring memory: she had felt not just arousal and sexual pleasure for the first time, she felt passion within herself, it was the first time she felt desired by someone else. Razer had shot Drusa dead shortly after they were finished and she attempted to delete Aya's higher functions, but it was still something Aya would never forget.
Suddenly, it occurred to her: what if she were to find Drusa? It could have been a pointless search, she could have ended up on another level entirely, but something in Aya's core told her she had to at least try.
She had spent the first several hours looking through the Afterlife Address Database to try and find her. It turned out there were quite a few individuals named 'Drusa' that had ever lived (it was a fairly common female name in the Forgotten Zone), though filtering by approximate age of death and assumed assigned level made it easier. By some stroke of luck, Drusa had also been sentenced to Upper Hell, her worst crimes being an accomplice to slavers and greater criminals, and apparently a singular count of sexual offense (which Aya assumed was about that night on the Interceptor.) But the fact that she was on the same level as Aya seemed to indicate - to her, anyway - that perhaps she experienced remorse for said crimes, just as she did. Perhaps she could understand Aya's plight?
Now it was much later at night. The dim streetlights barely lit the rough, gravelly road, and the freezing winds stirred around Aya's now-gray construct body. Being deceased, she was no longer powered by Green Energy; she had spent so long in hiding, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be brave.
Aya paused at the front porch of the small dwelling. She read the painted numbers carefully on the side of one of the pillars. This is the place where Drusa was said to reside now. Aya would not have guessed that she only lived approximately an hour train ride and fifteen minute walk from where she did.
It wasn't until Aya raised her hand and knocked on the door with moderate force that she began to wonder if she was making a mistake. Assuming this really was where the Drusa she knew lived and not someone else that shared her name, there was no telling how Drusa would react when she saw her. Would she be pleased to see her? Would she be irritated that Aya was arriving in the middle of the night and turn her away? She considered turning around and going home, but instead, reflexively, her hand reached up and knocked again, much louder this time.
Aya waited... one... two... three... four... five seconds. No response. There was a doorbell at the side of the door as well. Would it be obnoxious to ring it? Laying her finger down on the button, she pressed it until she could hear a chime on the other end. Again, she waited... one... two... three... four... five seconds. No response. This was silly. Drusa was most likely asleep at this hour.
Sighing, she turned to take a step off of the porch, but before her foot touched the ground, the patio light flicked on. Looking back, she could see a light from behind the front door turn on as well.
The door swung open. A young woman with thick, disheveled violet hair dressed in a loose nightgown was on the other side.
"Who in the here do you think you are waking me up at this ho-" her voice trailed off when she realized the answer to that question. "... Aya?"
Tears began to well up in Aya's eyes. She personally thought the cause was the overwhelming emotions behind seeing a familiar face after being isolated and surrounded by strangers for months on end. "Hello, Drusa. It has been a while."
Drusa blinked, standing up straighter. She seemed a bit paler without any makeup on, and Aya could see a long scar running down her chest, but overall she appeared just as Aya had remembered her.
"What... what are you, doing here?"
"In all honesty, I came to find you," Aya said, turning towards the door.
With a trembling hand, Drusa stepped forward, slowly reached out and lightly brushed Aya's cheek, recoiling just as quickly as if she had just touched a hot stove.
The other hand covered her mouth to stifle a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry. I had to be sure that you were you. I mean, you are you but I had to be sure that you were real. No, I mean, you are real, I don't mean to imply that you're not-" she brushed some of her hair behind one of her pointed ears, a light blush covering her cheeks. "Would you like to come in?" she asked, stepping aside.
"Please."
Blinking away the tears that had formed, Aya could immediately feel the temperature difference between the cold of the woods outside and the warmth of the cottage here as the door closed behind her. The floor plan could easily be seen from the front entrance: there was a small kitchen to the left, a living area to the right, and a short hallway towards the back with two doors that she assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom. It was more modest than she had expected Drusa's tastes to be, but finding proper housing in the afterlife could be difficult - perhaps this was the best she could find. The furniture, Aya noticed, was mainly gray and white, but the couch and two chairs next to it were decorated with pastel pink pillows.
Removing her greaves and placing them to the side of the front door, Aya sat down in one of the chairs, her posture poised.
"My apologies for the mess," Drusa said, gathering some dishes that had been left on one of the counters and placing them in the sink. "I wasn't expecting guests."
"It is fine. Your home is beautiful."
"Thank you. I'll admit I had a bit of help pulling the color schemes and whatnot together, but I trusted her taste."
Drusa left the kitchen to sit on the middle of the couch next to the chair Aya was in. Grabbing a pillow to rest her arms on, she added, "I know you tend to be a proper person, but it's all right to relax here. Go ahead and lean back."
Cautiously, as if this were a trap, Aya did as she said, taking a moment to process the feeling of relief on her back as she did.
"I don't know if you eat, drink or feel temperatures now, but can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Perhaps a blanket? You must be freezing after being out in the cold."
Aya was about to decline, but there was still a chill that lingered in her limbs. Being warmed by a blanket did sound pleasant at the moment. "Thank you. I do not feel hunger or thirst, but I will accept your offer for a blanket if you have one."
Drusa nodded and grabbed a small white woven blanket that had been hanging over one of the couch's arms and handed it to her.
Aya wrapped it around her shoulders. Noting the weight of her gauntlets, she decided to remove those as well. "I will admit, you are a more gracious hostess than I anticipated you to be."
"A lot of my castaway friends that have died have been sent to Upper Hell, and they visit frequently. Suffice to say, I've had practice. Besides, seeing you will never not be pleasant for me. I'm sorry if you can't say the same about me."
"Perhaps that was true in the past, but as far as I am aware, you are the only other person in Upper Hell that I know." Aya took a deep breath, trying not to appear emotional. "At the moment, you may just be my only friend right now."
Drusa shifted in her seat. "Is that so? Every time I think about you, I think about how I only caused trouble for you. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore being around you, but wherever you came from, tracking me down all the way out here, knocking on my door in the middle of the night? Right before a thunderstorm? That's a lot of trouble to go through. Could I ask why you sought me out specifically?"
Aya hesitated at first, unsure of how to answer. "I have been sentenced to Upper Hell, just as you have. You only live seventy-five minutes from my original location."
Drusa did not seem as surprised as Aya thought she would be. "What did you do that got you here? How did you even die?"
"I can answer both of those questions at once, but it is accompanied by a rather long story." Aya took a moment to muster the courage to tell her about the weight on her shoulders. "It occurred after your death... but have you heard about the Manhunter Queen?"
"I've heard bits and pieces about it from some... reliable sources, but I don't think I know the whole thing." Pulling a gray blanket that had been left on one of the cushions, Drusa laid it across her lap. "I feel as if you may be able to give me a better account of what happened than anyone else here."
Aya could see it in her eyes. Somehow, Drusa knew about Aya's greatest mistake. The rest of her expression was difficult to read... it was hard to say for sure how she felt about it.
She searched her mind, looking for the best place to start. "Before I inform you about the Manhunter Queen... you may better be able to understand it if I tell you about Ilana, first."
Taking a moment to explain how she obtained her humanoid form while entering a machine that simulated Razer's worst memories, she mentioned that it was Queen Aga'po of Zamaron that read Razer's mind and called attention to how much Aya looked like Ilana. Aya would have liked to call that the start of their love story but being dead had given her ample time to reflect upon their relationship, and it seemed that Razer had a pattern of acting cold and aloof one moment, and then perhaps protecting her in battle or dropping a subtle compliment the next. There were even moments of physical affection that he initiated, but those moments were fewer than Aya could count on one hand, one of them even only being because he was possessed by Neuroxis.
Then there was the moment where she had pushed him out of the path of the Anti-Monitor, getting caught in its blast herself. Believing she was about to die, Razer professed his love right before she uploaded herself into the mostly destroyed body of a Manhunter. As soon as she returned to the Interceptor and got her usual humanoid form back, she asked Razer what kind of love he had for her. He immediately took back everything he said. The only semblance of love that he had for her were projections of his feelings for his dead wife, and he could never truly love a machine.
Aya was devastated. His words had cut her so deeply, that she could not focus on the battle in front of them. No one wanted to talk about this with her, and the best advice she had gotten was to "focus ahead and shut down everything else". It was then she realized that the Lanterns could not win against the Anti-Monitor and its Manhunters, so she used all of the green energy that powered the Interceptor to shut down her emotions and function at full capacity. She had managed to stop the Anti-Monitor by carving a straight path to it, but she had destroyed several Red Lantern ships in the process. By the time she had crashed into its chest, she could feel a corrupt energy flowing through her body, changing all that she was and leaving her only with anger and hurt. She swore to be the Manhunters' new leader and reject all emotional life forms, as emotions only caused pain and suffering.
She had spent the majority of her time vaporizing countless - though uninhabited - planets, though some other notable moments in her time as the Manhunter Queen was that she pitted the fight between love and hate that indirectly killed Ghia'ta, the Zamaronian princess, uploaded copies of her own programming into the Manhunters, and attempted to destroy the universe at its very beginning to prevent it from ever forming. The only thing that managed to bring back any part of who she once was, was when she had almost killed Razer during his and Hal's last-ditch effort to stop her.
Finally realizing the severity of all she had done, she had given up the new energy, using it to heal Razer's wounds, and deleted all copies of her programming, including the original one in her own body.
"I see. Deleting yourself to save the universe. That would do it."
"Remembering everything that happened makes it difficult for me not to think about the night of the attempted Red Lantern invasion on Oa... and everything that happened that night."
"There was a lot that happened that night," Drusa mentioned. "What are you referring to?"
"What particularly comes to mind is you almost deleting my higher functions... my emotions. If Razer had arrived just a few seconds later than he did, you could have deleted me and prevented the Manhunter Queen incident from ever happening in the first place."
"That's probably true, but there's nothing I can do about it now. All of my material tools have been taken from me beyond the grave, and technically, you're not even a robot anymore: you're the ghost of a robot."
Aya put her head in her hands. "I wish I could simply come back to life, be with Razer and make restitutions for my wrongdoings."
"All right, theoretically, let's say you found a way to come back to life tomorrow and be reunited with Razer. Then what would you do? You're still a galactic criminal."
Aya thought about it for a moment. "I believe we would go into hiding. Perhaps on Volkrieg, or somewhere where the population is low and live so we do not draw attention to ourselves."
"And whom would you be hiding from, exactly?"
"The Red Lantern Corps for destroying their numbers, my creators, the Guardians who would deem me too dangerous to live and ensure that I would be dissected, the Green Lanterns - with the exception of Hal and Kilowog, perhaps - who would simply be following the Guardians orders... and the Zamaronians, if Aga'po's grief over Ghia'ta means that she would also want me destroyed."
"So, I take it that means you would retire from being Lanterns, right? And let's say that you found a peaceful life on some remote planet being... farmers or something. Assuming Razer stays perfectly healthy and there's no threats to kill him early, your chance of becoming a widow within the next sixty to eighty years is still quite high, because, let's face it, organic beings don't live forever. Now, you would still probably die someday, too, robots can still get wear and tear from being in use for so long, but you've proven since the day of your death that you do have an immortal soul to be judged. There's no guarantee that you and Razer would get the same afterlife."
"Those that have been sentenced to higher levels can visit those in the lower levels. If Razer is sentenced to a higher level than I am, he could still come be with me in Upper Hell."
"But is that really fair to him? This isn't exactly the nicest realm in all the... realms."
Aya could feel tears coming on again. "... No. It would not be."
"Let's say that Razer ends up in Limbo, the level above here. He could come find you when you die a few hundred years later, but who's already dead and waiting for him? Ilana. Now, I don't know much about her or what her own relationship with him was like, but if given the choice between you and her, based on how you described your relationship with him? I can take a wild guess at which one he'd pick."
All it took was the thought of Razer leaving her in spirit for Ilana yet again to make her break out into sobs. "Who was I kidding? It is so obvious that he would choose her over me. I am merely a machine with her appearance. Nothing more."
"Oh, come on now, that's not true." Drusa got up from the couch and started heading for the hallway, "hold on." She returned a few seconds later with a roll of toilet paper and sat back down in her spot next to Aya. "If you ask me, Razer is an idiot. If somehow your path crossed with mine and it stayed that way, I would be thrilled if you ever decided to share your love with a lowlife like myself. And if he can't see what a kind, loving and beautiful soul he could have had for a lover all because you had his dead wife's face, well, then he doesn't deserve you."
"Th-thank you," Aya had taken a few sheets to wipe her eyes with.
"Do you know why I almost deleted you that day?"
"To fashion me into a 'more proper' NAV com?"
"Well, yes, but it was more than that. I have seen AI, computers and machinery before, but nothing as amazing as you. You were so much more advanced than I had initally given you credit for. You didn't hesitate to care for me when I pretended to injure my leg, or when I thought I saw you cry when I made you lie about the reasons for an emergency landing on Oa. But what really showed me you were different? Your reaction to the new programming I had put in you. Your anger and fear showed me that you were capable of emotion after all."
"Then why attempt to delete me?" Aya asked, nearly bawling. "Having emotion would mean I am almost on par with the average humanoid."
"The trouble with emotions, even in the form of a 0.0001% flaw, is that they can be dangerous," Drusa replied. "I feared one day they would get the better of you - and clearly, they did - and the results would be disastrous."
"You predicted something like this would happen?" Aya said, trying to stop the quake in her voice.
"It would seem that I did."
Aya stopped to grab more toilet paper as a fresh wave of sadness poured construct tears down her face. The toilet paper didn't actually do much to wipe them away, but Aya supposed it was the thought that counted.
"Obviously, even I can't condone you killing hundreds of people because your semi-boyfriend hurt your feelings, but if people had treated you more like a human and less like a machine, maybe you wouldn't have reached your breaking point and taken it out on those that looked down on you." Drusa cleared her throat, her fingers playing with the pattern on the pillow. "And that goes for me as well. I think a lot about that night on the Interceptor, and not just because I died that day. I knew what I was doing to you was wrong, and yet, I did it anyway."
"I never-" Aya choked back a whimper, "-sorry, I never asked you... what made you decide to add sexual organs to my humanoid body? You could have turned me into a weapon, or your personal slave, and instead you did... that. Why?"
Drusa shrugged. "Boredom, mostly. Perhaps a bit of lust and curiosity as well, but mainly I did it because I could. I'm not saying how I was raised should excuse what I've done to you - it absolutely doesn't - but I was brought up by slavers and pirates. No one ever sat me down and explained what consent was or why it was important, so I never quite had a solid understanding of it to begin with. I also didn't realize how sapient you were, even now until you showed up at my door in the afterlife and confirmed to me that you do in fact have a soul like anyone else."
"You did not have an understanding of consent, but you knew it was wrong?"
"I had a vague feeling what I was doing wasn't right, but I didn't realize how serious it was until after I was forced to confront my actions and reflect on what I had done. I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Drusa took Aya's hand, her slightly glazed pale violet eyes meeting Aya's sky blue ones, "... I'm sorry. For everything. Every ounce of pain I had ever caused you... apologizing won't fix it, but I do know what it's like to feel remorse over something you can no longer do anything about."
"... Thank you. I forgive you." Aya took a brief moment to try and calm herself so her voice came across more clearly. "I may not have explicitly granted my consent, but I did not hate what happened. You made me feel things physically and emotionally for the first time that I had no idea I was capable of feeling. I can understand why situations with dubious consent can leave the receiving individual confused and angry, but I do not consider what happened to me to be traumatic or painful. As a matter of fact, I would not mind if I were to be intimate with you again."
Drusa blinked. "So you came here... not just to talk with me, but you wanted to see if there was a possibility you could be with me?"
Aya nodded. "I do think that was an underlying reason of why I arrived here."
Drusa rubbed the back of her head. "I am so happy you came to find me, even in an odd hour in the night. And I'm open to the possibility of being with you again, but..."
"Drusa? Are you awake?" A third female voice came from the bedroom. A Zamaronian woman stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in a robe made of a silk-like material. "The lights were on so I wanted to be sure you were-"
It had taken the pale elven brushing some of her grayish-rosy hair from her face for Aya to recognize Ghia'ta, her cyan eyes wide for only a moment before she looked unamused.
"I was surprised to see you here, but then I remembered that this is Hell."
"... But I am surprised to see you," Aya said as Ghia'ta walked over to the couch. "You dedicated your life to love, and then sacrificed it to save Hal."
"I was sent to Upper Heaven, but things are so terribly boring there. I decided I'd rather stay with Drusa in a place that was more dangerous, but also more interesting."
"Now you see where all the pink in my house comes from," Drusa said as Ghia'ta sat closely behind her, resting her head on her shoulder. So this was how Drusa knew about Aya's past.
Looking at the way Ghia'ta's arms wrapped around one of Drusa's, it was clear that Aya's past fling had started a new relationship with someone else. Who was she to ruin that for them?
"... I should leave." Carrying her gauntlets, Aya got up from the chair and practically jumped back into her graves.
"Aya? Aya, wait!" Drusa protested.
Aya swung the door open to see a flash of lightning and pouring rain on the other side. The only source of light being the light on the porch of the cottage, and the street lamp about fifty feet from the house.
"You shouldn't be walking home alone in this weather... or at this hour. Why don't you stay here for the night? I don't know if you need sleep, but we'd be happy to lend you the couch if needed, wouldn't we, darling?"
Slowly closing the door behind her, Aya removed her greaves and put them back where they were. Removing her gauntlets, she sat down on the chair again.
Ghia'ta looked up to glare at Aya. "Why is it you have come here in the first place?"
Drusa spoke for Aya. "She was just feeling a bit lonely and needed someone to help her process her death, kind of like I did for you shortly after you died."
"If Drusa was sent to Upper Hell and Ghia'ta to Upper Heaven, how is it the two of you managed to meet?" Aya asked.
"As you know, it can take several months to get a permanent sentence," Drusa said. "We were in Pre-Limbo. Ghia'ta had just died and needed a drink to 'clear her head', and I happened to be in the same bar. While talking things out, we ended up having a number of deep discussions, found we had some things in common and even shared a 'spark'. Apparently, she found our mental, emotional and physical connection to be so strong, she left Heaven for me. We've been together ever since."
"I am so happy for the two of you," Aya said, attempting a small smile. "I would like to be honest with you, Ghia'ta. I had come here to see if there was a chance Drusa would still be interested in some form of relationship with me. However, I was not aware she already had a partner. I am sorry."
"That is not all you should be apologizing for," Ghia'ta snapped.
"G!" There was almost a scolding tone to Drusa's voice.
Ignoring her, Ghia'ta continued, "what was it that was going on through your head when not only you challenged hate against love, but got innocent people killed?!"
Aya sighed. "You have a right to be angry with me. I suppose the least I can do is try to answer you. During a battle between the Green and Red Lantern Corps and the Manhunters. Razer had said something to me earlier that hurt me and kept me from functioning at full capacity. When I asked him what he recommended to make it stop, he suggested I shut off my emotions for the moment. He may not have meant it literally, but I used the battery of the Interceptor to accomplish this. Realizing the power I had, I felt I could defeat the Anti-Monitor myself, and I was already so hurt, I did not care who else got hurt or killed in the process. I did not even care for my own well-being. When I crashed into the Anti-Monitor, its energy collided with mine. It changed me entirely, and there are some days I can still feel it flowing through me. I was no longer myself. I could only feel hate for everything. It was only when Razer nearly died that I realized what I had done."
"Did it somehow not occur to you when people were dying because of what you had done that you had gone too far?" Ghia'ta asked.
"I understand if you cannot forgive me for being responsible for your death. I am not even sure that I can forgive myself."
Ghia'ta suddenly let go of Drusa's arm, a smaller flash of lightning outside the window as she stepped towards Aya.
"Don't hurt her!"
Ghia'ta thrust a hand onto Aya's forehead and closed her eyes. A silence in the room hung as her harsh frown began to soften, and the look in her eyes when she opened them again was much more empathetic.
"I am sorry. I did not realize how heavy the emotional burden of all your pain was that you were carrying." Ghia'ta then turned to Drusa, who was still sitting on the couch. "The weight in her shoulders is immense, and not just because she has armor on."
"That's what guilt and heartbreak does to you, darling."
The room went quiet once more, and Drusa's spiked brow was slightly furrowed, as if contemplating something.
"What's on your mind, love?" Ghia'ta asked her.
"Hm? Oh, I had a idea, but... I am not entirely sure how either of you would feel about it."
"What is it?" Aya asked.
"G, I know this might be happening a bit early in our relationship, but what if we did that... thing with Aya that we talked about in theory the other day?"
"What thing?"
Silence again. Aya noted the exchanged glances only they seemed to understand.
"Oh, that thing." She took a moment to think about it. Looking at Aya, and then looking back at Drusa. "I suppose we could do that if you think it would help her, but we need to make sure she is all right with it first."
"Of course! I'm not bound to repeat my mistakes."
"I do not understand the 'thing' the two of you are referring to. Could you please elaborate?" Aya asked.
"Assuming G and I are in agreement about this, we'd like to offer the prospect of a threesome with you. That is, both Ghia'ta and I have sex with you at the same time."
Aya took a moment to process the offer. If she were capable of blushing, she felt there might have been one forming on her cheeks. "... Oh. I see."
"Obviously, it won't fix everything that went wrong in your life, but it might distract you from your feelings for a bit," Drusa said. "And I don't know how long ago you died, but I'm guessing it's been at least a few months since you and Razer last slept together?"
"Razer and I have never slept together," Aya responded almost as quickly. "I do not think he knew I was capable of sexual activity."
"... Well, that's unfortunate." Drusa crossed her legs. "Even if he weren't very affectionate, was he a good kisser?"
"I would not know. He has never even kissed me. We had come close twice if I remember correctly, but one of those times was because he was being mind-controlled, and another because Hal Jordan had interrupted us." Looking at Drusa, Aya continued, "you are the first and only person that has ever kissed me. I am not sure why I feel the way that I do about you, or if I am even supposed to. And Ghia'ta," she said, looking at the former Zamaronian princess, "I do not know you well, and therefore I do not think we have had a chance to build a deep, romantic interest in each other, but if you were to join Drusa and I, I believe I would enjoy it."
"May I begin by kissing you?" Ghia'ta asked Aya.
Aya nodded, standing up. They locked gazes for a moment before Ghia'ta had used one hand to hold one of Aya's, and another to stroke the side of her face. Aya wrapped her arms around Ghia'ta's neck, both of them closing their eyes as Ghia'ta leaned in, lightly laying her lips on the ghost gynoid. Her lips were soft and warm, just as Aya would expect from a former Star Sapphire.
They had been going at it for about twenty seconds when they heard Drusa speak again, "wow."
Aya and Ghia'ta stopped their kisses to look over at Drusa, who had gotten up from the couch to get a better view.
There was a hint of shyness to Ghia'ta's chuckle. "Are you enjoying watching us, love?"
"Watching the two most beautiful women I know kiss each other? How could I not enjoy that?"
"May I kiss you now?" Aya asked Drusa, removing her arms from around Ghia'ta.
Drusa exchanged glances with Ghia'ta who simply nodded her approval. Rather than answering with words, Drusa pulled Aya into a deep kiss, the robot's eyes fluttering shut. She had nearly forgotten how sweet and electric Drusa's lips felt.
Ghia'ta waited for a bit before speaking. "At first I was worried that I might get jealous watching my significant other kiss another woman, but, I'm starting to feel... excited."
"Why don't we take this to the bedroom?" Drusa suggested. "The bed should be big enough for all three of us, and I can show you how to take Aya's armor off."
They both looked at Aya, waiting for her response. A small smile, a genuine one this time, formed at her lips and she nodded. Each of Aya's lovers took one of her gray hands and started to lead her to the bedroom...