Guilty Pleasures:

Simone’s Notes:

A guilty pleasure is known as something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Fashion, music and food can be examples of guilty pleasures. Pleasure is most commonly conceptualized as a positive experience, happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria. However, is a difficult concept to define as the experience of pleasure differs from individual to individual. People commonly experience this phenomenon through eating, exercise, sexuality, music, usage of drugs, writing, accomplishment, recognition, service, indeed through any imaginable activity, even receiving pain (masochism) and inflicting pain (sadism). It also refers to "enjoyment" related to certain physical, sensual, emotional or mental experiences. In the purely physical sense, pleasure is seen generally as an independent feeling of happiness, while defined in mental terms it is often seen as a sensation that creates the illusion of sexual experience. Pleasure may also be defined, at least in some contexts, as being the reduction or absence of pain. Epicurus and his followers defined the highest pleasure as the absence of pain and pleasure itself as "freedom from pain in the body and freedom from turmoil in the soul". According to Cicero (Torquatus), he also believed that pleasure was the chief good and, conversely, that pain was the chief evil. The 19th Century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer understood pleasure as a negative sensation, as it negates the usual existential condition, that of suffering.

Ella called for back-up in the next few minutes. Syd’s possession was a wake-up call to her that things needed to fixed and right away. They couldn’t take chances anymore. So, she called a familiar number.

“I need some help,” she said. “Things are much worse than I thought!”

“Okay calm down,” Mother Superior said on the other line. “I will send my students right away.”

“Thank you!” Ella called. “Please hurry, they got Syd! He tried to rape me earlier.” There was a shock of silence over the phone. It was as if the words were news to her as well.

“Okay then!” the headmistress said in shock. “I’ll send the girls over right away!”

“Good!” the other deity said.

“In the mean time,” Mother Superior suggested. “Keep watch over Syd!”

“I will!” Ella replied. Then, they hung up. The deity hurried back to the bedroom she shared with Syd. Her bloke was still passed out on the bed. Ella shook her head to herself as she watched him. “Oh Sydney!” she thought. This was just bad. And something told her that it would only get worse.

Meanwhile, Hughes and Mustang went inside Lady Bitch. It was as it they had stepped into a porno film or one of those love hotel rooms in Japan. Whips and chains were everywhere. The place was really dark. Heavy metal music was playing in the background. Pictures of naked and bond women were all over the walls. Strobe lights were flashing in the distance. Mustang shuttered in disgust. It reminded him of that time he was transported to the future. All the more to stop spreading plague the best that they could. Hughes and Mustang made it up the front desk. Roy rang the bell. A receptionist rushed forward to them. She looked like Elvira. The woman was all dressed in black. Her skin was as pale liquid white paper. Her lips were a blackish-red. Her lovely dress was low-cut to her heavy duty cleavage. Her long black hair came down to her waist like cape. The long black nails completed her look. The boys were a little impressed by how decent she looked compared to that hooker that chased them earlier. This woman at least looked like she eats and keeps her food down. The receptionist looked at them amused.

“My, my, my,” she said. “We would’ve thought that soldiers were like it rough in the middle of the night. How can I help you boys?” Mustang kept himself serious on the case.

“Yes,” he said. “We are investigating the murder of one of your clients. We were like to see your manager.” The receptionist’s face went really pale.

“Okay…” she said. Then, the woman disappeared to the back. The generals waited in silence. In a few minutes, the manager came out. She looked about forty to forty-five years old. This was a very curvy woman. The red leather corset and black leather mini skirt added onto this fact. Her make-up was done up like the members of the band Kiss. Her look auburn hair was tied back into a tight ponytail. Her black stiletto boots clacked against the hard marble floor. She looked at the boys up and down.

“I am the manager,” the older woman said. “What is the trouble here?” Hughes stepped forward.

“We are investigating the murder of one of your clients,” he said. “We want to ask you a few questions.” The manager kept her professional face.

“Sure,” she said. “Follow me.” Then she turned to her office. The boys followed her behind. The receptionist went straight back to work.

The boys and the manger came down a dark hall. It was like Dante’s walk through Hell. The screams and pleading were really loud in their ears. The whip lashing didn’t help either. As the trio walked on, they passed a room where a mistress was with one of her tricks of the night. Even though the room was dark, the man could still see inside. She was an attractive looking woman. She was about nineteen years old and very skilled at her job. She had the body for the job. The young woman had on a long black robe. A whip was in her small manicured hands. A man was on his knees at her feet. He was only dressed in a black spiked dog collar. The mistress was whipping him like a bad dog.

“Be a good dog for momma!” she yelled to her pet. “Beg boy, beg!”

“Yes mistress!” the man yelled out in the room. Then, he began hollering like a dog. That wasn’t good enough, apparently. She got very frustrated.

“You can do better than that!” the woman snapped. She whipped the man violently. He hollowed out like a real dog. Maes turned to Roy.

“This place just keeps getting worse and worse,” he whispered.

“I know,” his friend said. Hughes went really pale.

“How much longer do we have to stay in this place?” he asked.

“Until we can get the information that we need,” Roy replied.

“How long will that take?” his friend asked nervously.

“It depends on what she gives us,” Mustang said. Hughes felt sick all of a sudden.

“That’s what I’m afraid of!” he mumbled. The man shuttered again. Mustang noticed him.

“Look Hughes,” he said. “I hate it here too, but we have to brave it in order to get some work done around here.” Maes nodded. That didn’t really help either. But at least it was something. They finally made it to the manager’s office. This normal looked fairly normal. If when one says normal for an S&M office. Black was all over the place. Whips and chains were all over the walls. Pictures of past clients were there too. Leather all over the place at to the hardcore charm. Hughes shuttered all over again in disgust. The sooner they got this done the better. He hoped… The manager sat down at her desk. She had her hands stretched out to the chairs in front of it.

“Come,” she said. “Sit!” The boys did so slowly. The madam watched in delight. She was entertaining ideas about disciplining the two generals. They would go great on her wall. But enough about that for now.

“So,” she said. “What is this murder you speak over?” Mustang drew out Momo’s picture and placed it on the desk. The madam looked at it in silence. She looked up at them surprised.

“That’s Momo Genji!” she gasped. “She was a regular here!”

“What can you tell us about her?” Hughes asked. The madam regained her serious face.

“She lived the typical double life,” she started. “Innocent school teacher by day, bad little slut by night. A favorite among my maledoms here.”

“Any of them wished her harm?” Mustang asked. The madam shook her head.

“Oh no!” she said quickly. “Everyone loved Momo! She was just a sweet and horny woman.”

“Was she married or had a boyfriend?” Hughes asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” the madam replied. “Clients never tell anyone in the Red Light District about their lives on the outside.”

“I see,” Hughes replied.

“Any maledoms that she favored in particular?” Mustang asked.

“Why yes,” the manager said. “She always came to see Bones.”

“Did Bones have a real name?” Roy asked.

“George Knight,” she said.

“Is he here tonight?” Mustang asked.

“Yes, but he’s with a client now,” the madam said. Roy didn’t care at all.

“I don’t care,” he said. “ Just show us which room.” The madam sighed. She was secretly impressed by the general’s macho force. She really wanted to have wild night with him. But first…

“He’s room 81,” she said quickly. “But you’ll need a key to get in.” Mustang kept his patience tightly.

“Can we have the key?” he asked.

“Sure,” the woman said. Then she opened her door and pulled out her key. The madam handed over to the lt. general. He turned to his comrade.

“Let’s go, Maes!” he said.

“Right!” Hughes replied. Then, they hurried out of the madam’s office. The manager watched them completely aroused. She licked her lips happily. It was time to plan to get them both back here some.

The generals made it down to the right room. Mustang unlocked the door. He opened it slowly and they looked inside. Bones was standing over a woman lying on the bed spanking her. The woman half-naked woman was crying out in pain and pleasure. Hughes and Mustang were almost turned on by this scene. But then, they remembered that they had work to do and got refocused again. Bones was still enjoying his work.

“You’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t you Gabby?” he asked aloud.

“Oh yes, master!!!” the woman screamed out. “Hit me again!” Bones spanked her again and again. Hughes and Mustang watched again aroused. But then, they came back to reality again. Mustang stepped forward and tapped the man on the shoulder. Bones slowly turned around. A smirk came onto his face.

“My, my, my, Gabby,” he said to his client. “You didn’t tell me you were inviting over some guests.” The woman looked up confused.

“Sorry to cut your game short,” Mustang spoke up. “But we are with the military and we have a few questions to ask you about Mono Genji.” The man went quiet in a heartbeat. He turned to his client.

“Gabby,” he said. “Could you please wait outside for a minute?” The woman nodded in pale silence. Then, she got up off of the bed, got dressed in a robe, and went out into the hall. Once she was gone, Bones turned back to generals. He sat down onto the bed.

“Okay,” he said softly. “What do you want to know?”

“Was Momo with you the night that she died?” Hughes asked.

“Yes,” Bones replied sickly.

“Tell us what happened,” Mustang said. Bones drew in a deep breath.

“Last night, Momo came to me like she usually did,” he began. “She wanted the usual.”

“And what would that be?” Mustang asked.

“A spanking then a good screw,” the man replied.

“How did you do the sex part?” Roy asked. The man was getting annoyed.

“Why do you want to know?” he snapped.

“It’s part of an investigation!” the lt. general snapped. “We have to know what happened to Mrs. Genji!” There was a tense moment of silence. Bones breathed out again.

“Fine,” he said. “I would tie her bed to the bed naked and bang her there.”

“Would you ever strangle her?” Mustang asked.

“Hell no!” the maledom said quickly. “Momo hated that, she was scared to death of choking!” Mustang paused again for a moment.

“Okay,” he said. “And then what happened after your night?”

“I got up and left to go tend to another client,” Bones said. “When I left her she was alive and satisfied! Are you done?” Mustang sat looking at him.

“Yes,” he said. “But don’t go too far. We’ll be talking later.” Bones glared at him. These two gentlemen had ruined his evening tonight.

The generals got out of Lady Bitch as fast as they could. Hughes looked at his pal.

“You think he’s telling the truth?” he asked. Mustang sighed.

“Unfortunately,” he said. “Yes, his story comes out. I checked the records of all of Bones’ clients last night. All are accounted for.”

“So we’re back to square one?” Maes asked.

“Yes,” Roy said. “We have nothing.” The trip to the Red Light District was all in vein.

Syd awoke the next morning to see Shane so on the foot of the bed looking at him. The male deity blinked hard a few times. The image didn’t change. Syd groaned aloud bothered. Shane looked at him.

“Oh,” she said. “You’re awake now. Good.” Her rival just glared at her.

“What the hell are you doing here?!?” he snapped.

“Well, you tried to rape Ella while you were possessed last night,” Shane explained. “She had to exorcise you and put you to bed. After that, Ella called Mother Superior and had her to send over back-up.” Syd looked at her confused.

“What the f**k are you talking about?!?” he asked her. That question hit Shane quickly.

“Oh that’s right!” she said. “You don’t remember last night! Anyway, we’re all here for back-up since things have gotten worse in the Living Realm.” Syd kept glaring at her.

“You and who else?” he hissed.

“Alice, Bette, Kit, Laurel, Marlee, Dana, Tasha, Carmen, all of the advanced students,” Shane listed. Syd lied back and rolled his eyes annoyed.

“No newbies?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Shane replied. “They aren’t fully trained yet.” Syd rolled his eyes pissed off again.

“Hey,” his rival spoke up. “Ella called asking for our help and judging by what happened to last night, you really need it! So, humor me and work with us to kick Manami’s ass in this take over!” A pause came between them. Syd just snorted at her.

“Fine,” he snapped. “If only to get rid of you lot!” Shane gave him a little smile.

“Good boy,” she whispered to him. “Now rest up. We need to let the military in on the truth of Momo and Rebecca’s deaths.” Syd kept his mouth shut and groaned. Shane smirked at him.

“Good boy,” she said to him again. “You can be a good boy when you choose to be.”

“Shut up!” Syd hissed. His rival just shrugged at him. What could she say to such nastiness? She was told to be nice to him at the moment; they didn’t want to “add any insult to injury.” “It’s so good to know that I’m right and get the last word all at once!” Shane thought.

In that same morning, Jean Havoc finally was beginning to see the truth. The pieces were coming together nicely in his mind. Ross noticed his face.

“Lt?” she asked. “What’s on your mind?” Havoc looked up at her.

“Hey Ross,” he spoke up.

“Yes?” she asked.

“What if… we got this case all wrong?” Havoc asked her. Maria looked at him confused.

“Huh?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

“What if… Momo’s not the victim?” he asked. “But she is the weapon?” Ross thought about that for a second. A look of surprise came on her face.

“But how can we prove it?” she asked. Havoc didn’t say a word. He just rose to his feet and ran down the hall to the crime lab. Ross followed behind him in a rush.

“Lt!!!” she screamed. “Wait for me!!!” The lts may have found the real pieces to the real puzzle, but act IV was unfolding right away. Only, nobody could see it in time…