Ringmaster Ch 25 It All Ends

When the light finally faded away and my vision returned to me, I saw that I was back in the middle of campus. I blinked a few times, just to make sure that nothing was playing tricks on my eyes. It was nighttime and the hum of the streetlights buzzed in the air; but other than that it was quiet, like a usual night on campus would be. I turned around as I heard groaning behind me. Standing behind me were Summer, Lexi, Danna, Tae, and Vanessa, all on their feet but a little disoriented as they held their heads. On the ground was Cyril, bound by chains, and floating above him was Regina, still glowing.

"What happened?" I asked, open for anyone to answer me.

"Are we... back on campus?" Tae asked, rubbing her eyes. "It looks like our campus."

"Did that mean we won?" Lexi asked as her gaze turned to the glowing Regina. "Regina?"

Regina turned over to us and smiled as she landed back onto the ground. She walked over to me and planted a firm kiss on my lips. "Yeah, we won." All the girls cheered and hugged and kissed each other in celebration.

"I can't believe it. We did it," Summer said with an exhale. "I was REALLY worried there at the end."

"Ah, I wasn't," Lexi said with a chuckle. "After all, it was a plan that you came up with." She patted Summer on the ass. "I didn't have any doubts."

Vanessa walked over and threw her arms around my neck. "Maria! Ahhh! I got so scared you were gonna die! Wait, shit, are you hurt anywhere?" She started to check over where the sword had gone into me. As we both looked, there wasn't a single sign of even a scratch. It was like it hadn't happened.

But, it did happen. Everything that we went through did happen. Even if it returned back to normal, everything we experienced was real. And, most importantly, everything that we felt was real as well.

I put my hands on Vanessa's shoulder and gave a big sigh. "I'm sorry, Vanessa." Then, turned to the others. "I'm sorry, all of you. I promised that I would, so here we go. I owe all of you an explanation." I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"A few months ago, I found a ring in the streets. A magic ring that gave me the power to control the reality of women. It's called the Reality Ring and it's a very ancient relic. Housed inside of it was Regina. That's where she comes from; a land far beyond our reality. The wearer of the ring was able to warp reality as they saw fit, but it had to be targeted at women; part of the specifics of the enchantment that gave it its power."

"So, you could pretty much do anything with it?" Tae asked, awestruck.

I nodded. "Literally anything. Change shape, change minds, change the past. But, bigger changes required more energy and if I wasn't trained with using it, it could severely hurt me or someone that I cared about."

"And, you used it on us," Summer said.

"For small things," I said, trying not to curl up into a ball and hide away. "The ring gave me an intense desire for women. And, that is why you all initially caught my eye. But, I never did anything to harm any of you. I would never hurt you at all. And, to prove it," I said as I approached each one of them, "I'm going to give you the knowledge of all the changes and effects that I did. I don't expect to be forgiven or for us to just move past it. Take your time, please. I'll accept whatever conclusion you all come to."

I gently gave them a kiss on the forehead as I passed the magic through them and into their minds; and I made sure that they were thinking with their clearest minds. I stepped back and watched as each of them processed the information. I clenched my fist and prepared myself. I had no idea if any of them would ever forgive me; or if I even deserved it. The rage and sadness that I felt from all of them at the club when this all began were legitimate feelings, even if Cyril may have amplified them. Of course, I could use the magic to wipe that from their minds; I could just reset everything to how it was before, but that's not who I am. It's not who I want to be.

Vanessa was the first one to approach me. "Maria, while I was under Cyril's control, I remembered everything. And, Cyril did show me everything you did. And I could feel that he was making me angry. He was making me hurt and making me want to hurt you. But," she said as she took my hand and held it. "I see from your perspective all that you did. And, how much thought and care was put into it. And most importantly, how much love was behind it." She leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "I haven't fully forgiven you, and you're going to have to earn that back. But, I love you, Maria, and I'm still very much in love with you." Just seeing her smile at me was enough to send my heart aflutter! Even if the others didn't forgive me, as long as Vanessa could, I would be happy.

"Well, my turn then," Tae said, approaching me. "You made me receptive to joining and being part of this, yes. But, I also can't deny just how much fun this all has been." She gently twirled her hair with her finger. "I'm in the same boat as Vanessa. I haven't forgiven you completely, but I do forgive you, Maria. And I love you too." Tae blushed hard and I honestly couldn't remember if this was the first time she said it or not.

"You already know my feelings," Danna signed as she bounced over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I've already long forgiven you. I love you, Maria."

Summer nodded as well, kissing my other cheek. "Ultimately, as long as my Danna is happy, then I'm happy. And, we already had a similar discussion back at the Resistance base. My feelings and thoughts haven't changed since then."

And finally, Lexi. She walked up and took my other hand that Vanessa wasn't holding. "Maria, honestly, if I hadn't met you, I don't know where I'd be. Probably stuck in that dead-end marriage that you got me out of. I wouldn't have even close to a fraction of the joy that I've felt since meeting all of you. Maybe I'm just also a bit of a romantic like that, but I forgive you, Maria."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I wrapped my arms and pulled all of them in tightly. "I love you all! Thank you for not leaving me!" They all held me close and tight, their warmth filling my heart up with joy. I even felt Regina's hand and breasts on my back as she squeezed herself into the hug. It was a perfect picturesque moment.

Well, it was until the cackling of a madman broke the air. "Oh how cute you all are," Cyril snickered. "Enjoy what little time you have, Maria. I know where I failed this time. And next time I come for the ring, whether it's this reality or the next, I will be prepared. This is all just a fleeting speed bump in my path to ultimate victory!"

"Oh?" Regina said with a smirk. "Do you mean this ring?" She walked over to Cyril and held her palm out, where the silver ring floated. Then, she clenched her fist and reopened it, revealing the ring was no longer there; only a pile of dust where it once was. She gave a gentle puff of air and it all scattered to the wind.

"WHAT!? What the hell did you just do?" Cyril shouted, staring dumbfounded at Regina's hand.

"Well, if I remember correctly what you said. You said that you'd keep coming back for the RING. No matter what, you'd keep coming for it." Regina's grin grew wider. "But, we now know that the ring didn't really have any power itself. So, really, the ring is kinda meaningless. And since you'd come back, even after death and world rewriting for the ring, then, the answer for dealing with you was simple. I just got rid of the ring, silly."

Cyril just stared, slack jawed as the realization washed over him. He gulped a little and his breath was shaky.

"Now then, I can't have you ruining all these good vibes. And frankly, after everything that you put us through, you should count yourself lucky." Regina tapped her finger against Cyril's forehead. Cyril's body began to glow as he stared down at his arms. "You lost, King Burrukam. Now, be laid to rest."

"No...No...NO!!!" Cyril shouted as the glow became brighter and brighter before there was a final pop sound and Cyril vanished from this world.

Regina sighed and walked back over to us. "Sorry you all had to see that. I promise, I won't ever do that to any of you."

"I wouldn't let you," I said with a chuckle.

"So, I'm a little confused," Lexi said, tilting her head slightly. "Regina was actually the magical source the whole time and the ring was just a conduit, right? But, Maria didn't have the ring or Regina when she freed us from Cyril's control. How did that happen? And with the ring gone, will that impact the magic?"

"Uh, that's actually a good question," Regina said as she thought a bit. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, well, inside the ring, there's this, like, realm of the past Ringmasters in there, including Regina's mother who was the initial magic caster who enchanted the ring, or well I guess Regina herself," I said, trying my best to explain. It's a good thing that I already gave them the knowledge of the magic and ring or else I'd seem insane. "We redid the ritual to put the same enchantment, or a similar one at least, on me so that I could stop Cyril."

"Hmm," Regina said. Then, in a quick motion, she tore open my shirt and pressed her ear up to my chest.

"Regina!" I shouted, more flustered than anything.

"Sshhh," she said as she kept leaning in. "Hmm..." She gave my cleavage a lick, which sent shivers up my spine and a quick kiss. "Okay, so, as it turns out, Maria here is now basically a second magic source. Her magic is separate from my magic, which is not only why she was able to free you all from Cyril, but he then couldn't affect you."

"Did you really have to rip my shirt," I said with a groan as I covered up my tits from the cool night air.

"Of course. The shirt was in the way," Regina said with a smirk. "Now, as for the ring impacting the magic, it's a yes and no situation. The ring was like a focus that helped make it so that you were only using the magic when you wanted it. So that might make it a bit harder to control the magic, but it won't actually make the magic worse or unusable. But, you can also use, like, anything as a new focus." As she said that, I looked down at the fake ring that I had taken off Cyril.

"So, what now? Do we just go home and rest? Because I'm not exactly opposed to it," Tae asked with a yawn. "I just spent the last few weeks as a table and I'd love to sleep in a bed right now."

"Yeah, I'd like to get into something comfy," Lexi said as she recalled that she was wearing a stripper's outfit.

"Yes, I think that we should all get back home," Summer said with a nod, also attempting to cover up. "Thankfully, we're back on campus, so it shouldn't be an issue. Worst comes to worst, we can say that we were coming back from some sort of party."

"Well, I'm sure Maria could give us a little cover or a change of clothes, right dear?" Vanessa said with a wink. I chuckled a little and focused, turning all of their clothes into usual day clothes. "Ah, much better. Now, let's go home and sleep!"

As we all began to march out, I stopped as I noticed only six of us were moving. I turned back around to see Regina, staring up at the sky. The other girls all stopped as I walked over to Regina. "Uh, hey Regina, are you alright?" I put my hand on her shoulder and she didn't even turn towards me.

"It's over," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes. "At long last, it's finally all over." I could see on her face that the realization was finally dawning on her. I don't think I had ever seen Regina so happy before. She threw her arms up in jubilation. "I'm free. I'm finally free! Free of being bound! Free of King Burrukam! Free of the chains!" Tears of joy streamed down her face, glistening in the moonlight.

"Yeah, you're free," I said with a wide smile. "What are you gonna do with that freedom?"

Regina turned towards me. "I don't know. I mean, there's so much I've missed out on in just the last 50 years alone! I mean, you all went crazy with the Internet. There are so many places to see and people to meet and stuff to try." She held her head as if to hold herself back from bursting with excitement. "I can do it all, Maria. I can do everything I've missed out on! I can eat street food in Argentina! I could pet an otter! I could see if Sweden is actually a real place. And it's all thanks to you! And, of course, I'll come back. I mean, we got a movie to finish after all, don't we?"

Another realization came to her. She turned her head and held out her hand. Just a few feet from us, a portal opened up and on the other side, I could see Seqora, Zetova, Otis, and the other Ringmasters. It took them a moment to realize that we could see them and they all waved at us.

"I can see my mom again," Regina said with a sniffle.

"Yeah, you sure can," I said, smiling at her.

"Well, I need to thank you properly," Regina said as she held up her pointer finger to the portal and then closed it. "So, let's all head back."

Regina snapped her fingers and we all teleported back to the apartment, thankfully without any nausea. As everyone got their bearings, Regina pushed me towards my bedroom.

"Uh, Regina, what are you doing?" I asked, knowing full well what a bed and Regina meant.

"Maybe," Regina said with a chuckle. "Well, you girls can leave and head home, or you can come and watch. I don't mind either way."

I honestly couldn't tell if she was just being a tease or inviting them in, but I'm pretty sure I heard them all follow into the bedroom. Regina scooped me up and gently placed me on the bed.

"In your short time as Ringmaster," Regina said, taking off her clothes, "You managed to save me, and hell, the world." Regina crawled over to me, tracing her finger along my collarbone. For the first time, I don't think Regina had lust in her eyes; it was warmer and softer, like genuine love and affection. "And, I really want to thank you the right way. So, I want to do something with you that I've never done with anyone else ever before." She leaned in close to my ear. "I want to make love to you. Not fuck. Not screw. Nothing like that. I want to make love to you, Maria."

Who was I to deny her her first wish as a free woman? I leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips, biting her lower lip softly before pulling on it. "Well, it's not fair if you're the only one naked, now is it?"

Regina smiled at me as her hands worked first to remove my shirt, taking careful time to slide it from my shoulder to my arm. As her hands did their work, she leaned in close for another kiss. Her lips pressed against mine; soft and tender as if kissing a newborn kitten. The warmth of her body radiated against mine, or maybe that was just the magic responding to each other. Either way, it felt amazing. She lifted me up slightly, just enough to pick up my shirt and place it on the floor.

Then, she ran her hands up and down along my side, each stroke of her fingers deliberate and delicate. It sent chills up my spine as she tenderly pushed her fingernails against my skin. She pressed into me again, her lips moving from my lips to my cheek. Her kisses lingered where they landed, long enough to bask in the sensation, but at the same time, never long enough; just shy of feeling fully satisfied and leaving me wanting to feel her more.

Regina's left hand moved upwards, circling my breasts, while her right hand moved downward, slowly starting to undo my pants. As wet as I was, this thumping in my chest felt different. It didn't feel carnal or primal like the lust did when it took over me. It reminded me of the first night I spent alone with Vanessa. But during that time, I was making love to her mostly; now I was on the receiving end of it.

She moved down, her lips trailing along my neck as she went. Her left hand moved as well, from my breasts to my stomach, tracing little hearts with her finger. A gentle moan escaped from my lips. Regina stroked along my outer thigh with her right hand, cupping my knees as she went. Then, she lifted both of my legs up into the air, only to let them rest on her shoulder. Her hands moved down, squeezing my ass before tugging at the waistband. She pulled at my pants and panties, taking her time as she did. She moved her head down and as she revealed more and more of my bare legs, she kissed them. Regina bounced between legs, no longer pulling with her hands but her neck instead. Her hands squeezed my thighs, massaging them tenderly. She kept going and going down my legs until she gave one final lift up and knocked my pants and panties to the floor.

Regina crawled over me, her hands pressing down on me, but never enough to hurt in any way. She tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled me in for another kiss. Then, she pressed herself against me; just allowing her full body weight to compress me into the bed. Her hands snaked their way down my arms, pushing down with her middle and ring fingers until they reached my palm. My hands twitched with excitement as her fingers traced along the M shape in my palms. Then, all her fingers brushed against my palms until they reached the spaces between my fingers. They rubbed against my fingers, almost kissing at the fingertips. She closed her hands, interlocking her hands with mine.

My focus then shifted to our chests, as Regina began to slowly rock her body back and forth. Her stomach pressed against mine and her breasts rubbed against mine. I honestly couldn't tell which sensation was more intense at the moment. Her nipples poked into the soft flesh of my breasts and I was sure she was feeling mine against hers. Even though they were at the perfect level to do so, our nipples never touched, just dancing around each other in circles.

Her breath was hot and rhythmic; in sync with how she moved. Meanwhile, strands of hair that fell from her tickled against my neck. I wanted to brush them away, but at the same time, I didn't want to move my hands that were being held by her. I leaned up slightly, pushing my nose against her hair. I never took notice of it, but she had such a wonderful scent. Definitely not perfume, nor was it any of the shampoo that any of us had; a sandy smell with undertones of something sweet like a berry and a hint of iron, all melding together to just make the scent of Regina.

After what felt like ages of her just pressing against me, she broke apart our hand holding. She guided my left hand to her back, between her shoulder blades. Meanwhile, my right hand was brought down to her crotch. I could feel the warmth and wetness coming from her before I even touched her. Regina's left hand moved to my face, stroking it softly with the back of her hand, while her right hand slithered down my side to my crotch.

Before I could even wonder which of us would make the first move, Regina lowered herself onto my hand. The moan that escaped her lips sounded heavenly. Her soft pussy nestled onto my fingers and she began to grind. Then, she began to work her fingers on my pussy. My moan came out as less moaning and more a shaky squeal of delight. Just her slight touch was enough to send jolts through my body. Her fingers were delicate, and definitely deliberate as she rubbed my clit in soft circles. I tried to match her motions as much as I could, but I kept finding myself lost in the feelings.

She kissed along my neck and I turned my head so that she could get the most of my neck as possible. Regina's tongue licked between her lips, leaving a wet trail as she moved around. She sucked onto my jaw, nibbling on it as well with lips covering her teeth as she bit down. I wanted to tell her just how incredible it all felt, or what I could do to make her feel better, but every time I tried to form the words, it just came out as a soft moan. Regina's technique was just far better than anything I could do.