Thomas in the Gilded City

"You think these folks have loot to steal? If they're kidnapping little sisters, they certainly don't have hearts to steal." Marino said as she kept looking for any possible Intel.

"No biggie, really. Neither of us can go with you out of town, though, school and all that." Zoey shrugged, not needing praise from Thomas to know that she was awesome.

"You're welcome, Thomas! I hope you'll forgive me. They just used me for their own ends just like Marino and the scientist. And, again, sorry for what happened in the club." Genna said with a nervous bow that did not match her makeup and attire in the slightest.

"True, but you both have been a big help." Thomas said as he nodded to Zoey. He then turned to Genna. "You did try to warn me about that. It was kind of my fault for being to angry to listen."


Then what the woman in pink said registered and he turned around to face her. "What do you mean by hearts to steal?"

"I don't know... I just know I'm a thief and hearts are the greatest prize to steal. Heh, don't have all my memories back, I guess." Marino chuckled as she shut off the computer.

"So... what now?" Zoey asked, wondering what the heck was next for Thomas.

"Good question." Thomas said with a sigh. He idly wondered if Marino was going to try to steal his heart now that she was back to normal. "I've got to at least report this to the police chief. She was already helping me by looking into another potential lead in town."

"Right, that's above my paygrade. Call me sometime, this is my number. I'm always down to fuck or chat or whatever." Zoey said as she handed Thomas a paper with her phone number. Genna did the same, but she wasn't so confident about it.

Marino just spectated the exchange, watching carefully.

"Uh, thanks." Thomas said with a slight blush. He wasn't expecting them to just hand over their numbers like that. "I'm going to stick around a bit to see if we missed anything. You girls can go on ahead."

"Alright, take care, Thomas. Take care of your sister, okay?" Genna said as she and Zoey excused themselves, and the latter blew the explorer a wet kiss.

"Looks like your heart's already taken." Marino teased as she expected Thomas to address her next.

"No, it isn't." Thomas denied, perhaps a bit to quickly, as he turned to Marino. "What about you? Any idea what you're going to do now?"

"What I was doing before I nearly got myself killed. Speaking of..." Marino sauntered over to Thomas, a grin striking her glossy lips at his denial. "Mind if I steal your heart before you go? Shouldn't take long~" She asked him seductively as she leaned closer.

"I'm not going to let you beat me a second time." Thomas said as he quickly grabbed her whip and tried to trip her up.

(Whip Trip)

Whip Trip (88) Crit Success

"Wh-wh-whoa, hey!" Marino's eyes went wide when Thomas defaulted to an aggressive response, and she was too slow to stop his whip from catching her leg and yanking it out from under her. "Oww... I just mention some fun and you get all jumpy..." She complained as she rubbed her thick cheeks that hit the ground.

"Sorry." Thomas said as his face heated up with embarrassment. He reached down to help the robotic woman up. "Guess I'm still a little on edge after everything."

"I get it, I worked you over pretty good last time." Marino said as she took his hand and stood up. "Though... I meant it when I made that offer. Those other girls are gone, we're nice and alone." She reiterated her offer of 'stealing his heart', which seemed to come down to more intercourse.

Thomas blushed as he held her hand. With his sister not on the line, the man had a hard time saying no to her.

"Hehe~" Marino leaned in and smooched him on the cheek. "This is going to be fun~ Mind if I steal your clothes for a bit? So they're not in the way, of course~" She teased him.

"... Is it really stealing if I just let you take them?" Thomas asked, his blush growing fiercer from her kiss.

"Hmmm... what if I come on so strong that I'll have it whether you want to or not?" Marino asked as she tenderly kissed his other cheek and started working his clothes off herself.

"Th-That..." Thomas trailed off, his words catching in his throat as the beautiful woman kissed him again. All he could do was weakly try to keep her from stripping him.

"I already got you once already, so I'll leave you alone if you really want me to." Marino said as she left Thomas bat away her hand. "But, think about it... don't you want to see what I can really do?" She asked him, wondering if he'd be swayed.

"...I'd like to fight you again, now that you're... yourself." Thomas admitted.

"You'd rather fight me than just play? Alright, I can work with that. Just know that if I win, your heart is mine~" Marino said with a wink as she backed off and gave him some space to prepare himself.

"Th-That's fair." Thomas said before he took a deep breath to try and compose himself. He then reached for his trusty whip and prepared to trip Marino again.

(Whip Trip if fight starts)

Whip Trip (67) Fail
Stolen Kiss (51) Fail

"The question is, what will you do if you win?" Marino asked as she sidestepped his whip, ready for him to try and catch her this go around.

Thomas: 20 Willpower
Marino: 20 Stamina

"I-I'll think of something." Thomas replied, caught a bit off guard by the question. He tried not to think about it right now and swung his whip again.

(Whip Lash)

Whip Lash (59) Fail
Stolen Kiss (29) Fail

"It's only fair, unless you don't plan on winning." Marino told him as she evaded his whip strike again, as if she was getting used to a pattern.

Thomas: 20 Willpower
Marino: 20 Stamina