A crystal moon, ah!

Nick was really worried about Dakota right now. She was panicking in a way he’d never seen from her before. His mind racing, he knew he had to do something before she completely lost it. And not only was that a bad outcome, but he was also starting to worry about the girls in his harem. From what Dakota had said, then not only did she not have any ability to track his stepmother’s position, but she had also lost contact with Gina, Kim, and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.

This was really not good.

“Dakota!” He cried to his friend. It seemed like she couldn’t even hear him, but he had to try. “Listen, Dakota… it’s clear that whatever you had planned for the challenge, it’s gone completely off the rails now.” And Nick didn’t even know how. “So with that in mind… can’t you just stop the challenge, then?” He asked. “Just call it quits here and bring everyone back?”

Dakota seethed. She furrowed her brow and turned to Nick, giving him one of the most furious expressions he’d ever seen her direct towards him. “I can’t do that, Nick!” She snapped. “That’s not how any of this works!”

“That’s right,” Mr. S said with a nod, gleefully stroking his chin. “Dakota here is the host, and as the host, it is her responsibility to administer over the challenge, no matter what direction that challenge takes. If she were to put a stop to the challenge right now because it’s not going the way she planned… well, that could even be considered interference on the part of the host, now couldn’t it? And we can’t have that sort of bias around here.”

Nick sank into his chair as his heart sank in his chest. Just as he’d feared. The producers weren’t giving Dakota any quarter in this challenge.

“Dakota…” Mary bit her lip.

“This sucks!” Holly groaned. “It’s not fair! They don’t even know what’s happening, and neither do we! How can the audience be okay with this?!”

The producer looked at her and smiled. “Oh, believe me, this is the most fun the audience has gotten from this show in quite a long time,” he assured the girl with a twinkle in his eye. “They’re quite content with the direction things are headed. Will that remain the case? …Impossible to say. But it will certainly be quite a show!”

He clapped his hands together. “Excellent work on this challenge, Dakota. I knew I made the correct choice in backing your return to power. It’s gone precisely how I hoped it would!”

Dakota looked at him with murderous fury in her eyes, but said nothing.

What was left for her to say?

“Now, shall we get back to the show…?” The producer asked, hanging a veiled threat in the air for all to hear.

Dakota started grinding her teeth together. But she held her tongue.

For a moment, at least.

“You’re right that… this appears to be what the audience desires,” she conceded, hanging her head. “But that doesn’t mean… there aren’t other methods to entertain them.”

Mr. S leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin, a look of intrigue flashing across his indecipherable face.

---

“Agh, I hate this! Fucking-! FUCK!”

Dani tried her best to ignore the screeching expletives coming from the woman suspended in the air beside her.

While the vines had been wrapping up her limbs and pulling her tight, they had done the same with Ella. Only Ella hadn’t reacted to it the way Dani had. She began thrashing about immediately, putting up a frantic fight in a **** attempt to break free. And in doing so, she’d brought Cinder to the surface, and her other self became even more determined to free herself from the bonds that held her. Not that her efforts did any good.

It was like… the more they struggled against the vines, the harder they squeezed. Dani couldn’t think of any way out of this.

Wait… is it really that simple? She wondered to herself. She tugged against the vine tangled around her left wrist, and it tugged back even harder in response, squeezing tighter around her arm like it was trying to rebuke her actions.

That proved one part of her theory had merit, at least.

“Cinder!” Dani called to the thrashing latina. “You’ve got to calm down!”

“Shut your fucking mouth, whore!” Cinder snarled back at her, looking at Dani with **** in her eyes. “I haven’t forgiven you for the last challenge, just so you know! …Rrrgh! Get off me, you stupid garden shrub! FUCK!”

“Cinder, fighting the vines like that is just gonna make them squeeze even tighter!” Dani shouted. “It’s reflecting our own efforts! The more strength we use trying to break free from the vines, the more the vines will fight back against us! You see? It’s not gonna get us anywhere!”

Dani was about 90% sure she’d figured out the trick behind the vines now. It was a puzzle Dakota had likely put specifically FOR girls like her, who would try and brute **** her way out of it with her enhanced strength. But in doing so, that strength would be turned back around on her.

But Dani had read a lot of manga and watched a lot of anime that did stuff like this. She could recognize a good trap when she saw one.

Only problem was…

So if we can’t fight back with brute ****… how exactly do we get out of here, then? She wondered.

No answer came to her.

“Aah!” A voice cried out from the shadows as the sound of rustling bushes was nearly drowned out by Cinder’s cursing. “Kitty! Wait!”

A second later a black cat burst out of the bushes and darted across the forest floor. A familiar face was in hot pursuit, red eyes wide with excitement. “Where are you going?!” Morgana cried. “Don’t run away! Don’t- …Eh!?”

She recoiled in surprise, the cat forgotten, when she caught a glimpse of the girls suspended from the trees.

“Dani?! And… Cinder, is that you!?” Morgana asked, clasping her hand over her mouth in shock.

“Morgana! Hey, watch out!” Dani warned the goth girl. “There are these vines all over the ground, and if you step on one, they’ll grab you!”

“Forget that!” Cinder snapped, not giving a crap about Morgana’s safety or not right now. “Get us down from here! I hate these fucking vines!”

“How… how are you tied up like that?” Morgana asked curiously, taking a careful step forward. She looked down, noticing the black cat’s paw prints in the soil. It had showed her exactly the path to walk to get to the two of them without stepping on any vines. “Dani, can’t you just break the vines apart with your strength?”

Dani rolled her eyes and sighed. “If I could do that, would I still be stuck up here?” She pointed out. “No, the harder we pull, the more the vines squeeze us, so we can’t break free like that!”

Morgana turned and looked at Cinder, who was practically cocooned in vines as they squeezed down all across her body.

Yeah, that tracked.

“…Um… well, I, uh… I don’t know what to say,” Morgana said, scratching her cheek. “Is there anything I can do to help?!”

“Yeah, take my place up here,” Cinder said sarcastically.

“I don’t know,” Dani said more sincerely. “Just be careful of where you’re walking, alright?”

Morgana nodded. “Okay… um… just a thought, but… the vines squeeze you hard if you fight against them, right?”

“Yeah,” Dani confirmed.

Morgana nodded thoughtfully a second time. “So… what if you just… don’t?” She suggested.

Dani looked blankly at her. “…Huh?”

“Don’t fight at all, just, like, go limp or something,” Morgana suggested. “I saw this in an anime once! The vines think you’re food, because you’re moving. But if you stay really still, maybe they’ll think you’re not anything important and will just let you go! It’s… it’s worth a shot, don’t you think?”

A grin broke Dani’s face in half. Why didn’t she think of that!? “Morgana, you’re a genius!” She cried, and closed her eyes. She put all of her focus into remaining completely still, even going so far as to hold her breath. If that wasn’t good enough…

But to Dani’s amazement, the vines slowly started to unwrap around her body…

---

“Here at Little Miss’s Grand Hidden Bizarre, we have everything your heart could desire!” The pink-haired girl ostentatiously declared. “Sexy, shocking, or super-fun, whatever you could want, we’ve got it! And as a special bonus, since you’re the first ones to stumble upon my little shop, it’s completely free! Isn’t that just marvelous?”

“Bazaar,” Dawn blurted out.

The pink-haired girl blinked at her. “Huh?”

“You said ‘bizarre’ but it’s actually ‘bazaar’,” Dawn couldn’t help but correct her. “…Sorry.”

“Was now really the time for that?” Marley asked in exasperation. This woman said she was going to help them, and Marley didn’t want to get on her bad side.

She could see a whole rack of clothes behind the counter that would fit a lot better than this dress would.

Thankfully, Little Miss didn’t seem to mind. The enterprising young woman clapped her hands together and flashed a smile, and stepped up to the three women.

“For each of you, I have a different gift,” she said. “You may choose who will get what! I have the reward of a hint, a transformation, and a very charming accessory. Decide amongst yourselves who will receive what item! …Oh, but you, um… Dawn… I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to give you the transformation,” she quickly clarified. “You’ll have to pick from the other two.”

“Oh… okay?” Dawn wasn’t sure why that was, or why the other woman thought that was something she needed to apologize for.

“Dakota says you need to make use of the transformations you already have,” Little Miss explained, earning her a look from the cat girl. Dawn’s tail flicked behind her.

“…Right,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.

“I think Dawn should get the hint,” Carly said aloud.

“What?! Why?” Marley asked, surprised.

“Keep in mind that if she gets the hint, it’s her hint,” Little Miss warned. “She’s not permitted to share it with you girls. Rules are rules.”

“I know,” Carly nodded. “I figured as much. That’s why it’s better if she gets it! Dawn’s the smartest one here, right, sis? So if anyone can make the best use of that hint, it’s her!” She gave Dawn a beaming smile, and the cat girl actually blushed.

“Aw, Carly…”

“I guess that makes sense,” Marley said with a nod, agreeing now that she’d heard the other woman’s explanation. “So that leaves the transformation and the accessory to be decided between us, then?”

The two girls looked at each other curiously. Neither of them had any idea what the transformation would be, but they also didn’t know what the accessory would do, either. But it would probably have less chance of backfiring, right?

Who should get the transformation?

https://strawpoll.com/e7ZJa003Yg3

While Carly and Marley decided who would get what, Little Miss pulled Dawn aside to give her the hint she’d earned.

“My hint is this,” Little Miss said, leaning close and whispering into Dawn’s ear. “If you see a dollhouse… run the other way.”

Dawn looked at her in confusion. “Huh?”

Little Miss had a firm look on her face. “If it looks like the regular structure of the maze is changing, like it’s being consumed by something bright and pink like the walls of a dollhouse, then run as far away as you can. There’s someone in there that you won’t want to face!”

That was the most advice she could give right now.

Dawn didn’t know what to make of it, but she trusted that this woman was at least telling her the truth. Dakota wasn’t likely to post a lie like that, after all.

So stay away from a part of the maze that looked like it was turning into a dollhouse? Dawn could do that.

---

“Finally!” Rose sighed in relief as her trembling legs finally carried her out of the bog and to what she could only assume was an exit.

She had no idea what the bizarre, twisted optics of the horizon in front of her meant, or how wide open marshlands could somehow morph into bright pink walls and cracked floorboards, but frankly, she didn’t give a damn.

What mattered was that she could finally get out of that fucking swamp and get this challenge started! That crippling curse from Serenity’s scales had rendered her helpless, unable to summon a map to guide her no matter how much she played with herself.

Rose had no idea how long the **** would remain in her system. She just hoped that they would be gone before she got totally lost.

What will Rose encounter in this new area she’s discovered?

https://strawpoll.com/e6Z2Arrm7gN

---

Vivian and Sylvia weren’t moving as fast as they would have liked, but on the rowboat they felt pretty safe.

“You don’t think there are going to be any monsters in the water or anything, do you?” Vivian asked hesitantly, looking down at the inky sea of black beneath them. She wasn’t afraid of water or anything, but the thought of being dragged down into that darkness frightened her on a primal level.

“Oh, no way!” Sylvia shook her head. “Although I’m really surprised Dakota would make an area like this for her labyrinth. She hates water and stuff. She wouldn’t even play on the beach with me growing up, you know?”

Vivian nodded thoughtfully. “That’s tough,” she sympathized. “My mom was always… too sick to go to the beach with me, herself,” she confessed. “It put a damper on our family vacations. Can you imagine what it’s like, having your own private beach on your own private island and not having anybody there to play with you?”

Sylvia turned and looked at her. “…See, Vivian, it’s stuff like that, that makes Kim want to punch your teeth out,” she informed the heiress. “You know how that sounds, right?”

Vivian replayed her comment over again in her head and blushed sheepishly. “Uh… yeah, now that you mention it, it sounds kinda bad when I put it that way, huh?”

Sylvia giggled and shook her head. “Well, I grew up on a private island myself, if you think about it,” she pointed out. “But it probably wouldn’t be received so well if it was anybody else.”

Vivian nodded, understanding the other girl’s position.

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard a splash from the water ahead of them.

Vivian jumped and nearly fell out of the boat.

“Sylvia!” She exclaimed. “I thought you said there weren’t any sea monsters in the water or anything, what’s the big idea!?”

Sylvia shrugged. “I mean, I assumed there wouldn’t be,” she replied. “Whoopsie! My bad.”

“We… we gotta get out of here!” Vivian began rowing, but it didn’t make a difference. Whatever was after them, it was moving FAST.

“Wait!” Sylvia shouted to the heiress when she saw who it was. “Slow down, Vivian, it’s not a sea monster!”

Vivian stopped rowing and the boat drifted to a stop. A couple seconds later and the shimmering figure of Serenity swam up beside it, deep blue eyes gazing up at the duo.

She didn’t look happy. Maybe that was because of the thrashing burlap sack she was dragging behind her, just barely floating on the surface.

“Serenity, what’s up?” Sylvia asked curiously.

The irked siren jerked her head towards the squirming bag, and she hoisted it up out of the water.

“Audience voted,” she grumbled. “Here. A gift. Make good use of her.”

She tore the bag open and a soaking wet Holly tumbled out onto the floor of the rowboat, nearly capsizing the thing with the extra weight.

“Eh!?” Sylvia gasped in surprise.

Vivian’s eyes widened. “Holly?”

“What the hell, Dakota?!” Holly sprung to her feet, making the boat wobble even more. She was simmering with rage, her face so red Vivian could swear she saw the water from the lagoon turning to steam on her skin. “If you wanted me to help out, wasn’t there any easier way you could have done that!?”

“I’m confused,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “What’s going on? Holly, why are you here?”

“Serenity called you a gift, right?” Vivian asked, glancing over to where the siren had been hovering in the water. But Serenity had already vanished. “Does that mean you’re here to help?”

“Yeah, you can say that,” Holly muttered, plopping down on the floor of the boat and wringing out her drenched ponytail. “Dakota’s given me all sorts of tips I can use to help you two with. But before that, I need to warn you guys about something! Right from Dakota herself!”

Vivian didn’t like the sound of that.

“What would Dakota want to warn us about?” Sylvia asked worriedly. That sounded really close to bias from the host, and that was a huge no-no. Even if it would help the two of them in the challenge, it wouldn’t be a good thing if the backlash got Dakota in trouble.

---

“Dakota, are you sure about this?” Mary asked worriedly. She looked fretfully between the defiant host and the smirking producer, and unable to bear looking at either of them, her eyes dropped to the empty spot on the stage where Holly had just been sitting.

“It doesn’t break any rules, and it’s not bias on my part,” Dakota asserted, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the producer. “The audience voted for Serenity to give them a gift. I can certainly choose what kind of gift, can’t I? Or what sort of hints Little Miss can give out?”

Nick really hoped that Dakota’s reasoning would be accepted by the producer, but somehow he doubted it.

Then Mr. S smiled.

“…Very clever,” he acknowledged, applauding the defiant girl. “You’ve found an excellent loophole to exploit while fully keeping with the rules of your position! I’m so proud of you. Although… perhaps the better course of action would be to give hints or support that would help them get out, rather than just warnings about an obstacle they might not even encounter.”

Dakota grunted and rolled her eyes. Like she was going to fall for THAT.

The producer’s eyes twinkled mirthfully. “Let’s see if those girls of yours will be able to make it out of the maze with the hints you’ve provided, shall we?” He said, nodding in approval. “It will certainly be a fun gambit.”

Who is about to have a bad time?

https://strawpoll.com/PKglellAJZp