As I drop to my knees by her bed at night, she talks to Jesus and I close my eyes

Dakota stepped into the host’s dressing room, and exhaled.

It felt like a lifetime since she had last set foot in this room as a host. And, in a way, it had been. She wasn’t exactly the same person she had been, back when she’d set this entire show into motion.

But that doesn’t matter anymore, she reminded herself. What’s done is done. And now, the only thing left to do is continue down this path to the best of my ability.

She knew that this was the right thing to do. She would make Nick happy no matter what. And the other girls…

They would come around. They would understand. If they truly cared about Nick, they should want this for him. And if they didn’t… then Dakota would help them see the light.

After all, they’re only a means to an end.

Her eyes swept over the room as she walked through the dark entry hall. Nothing had changed, really. The coloration was exactly the same. The furniture, right where she left it. Every last bit, right down to the coasters, was exactly the way she’d left it.

Like it had been waiting for her return.

A thin smile spread across Dakota’s lips.

Sylvia thought that she was so unique. Her own person. But she couldn’t even think for herself when it came to redesigning my room.

Such a shallow, superficial little creation. And she actually thought that Dakota would be proud of her? For just doing as she was told?

…Well, that wasn’t wrong. If Sylvia had followed instructions like Dakota had hoped, that would be one thing. But no, she’d merely played at being her own person, while inside, she was little more than a flawed product.

Dakota stopped before the one thing that Sylvia had changed.

The portraits on the wall.

Sylvia hadn’t been the one to black out Dakota’s portrait; she had done that. It wouldn’t do to have the other girls see her face, should they stumble into this room somehow.

But a portrait of Sylvia? No, that had to go. With a wave of her cane, the black smudges obscuring Dakota’s face leapt from one painting to the other, blaspheming the blonde’s visage while displaying Dakota’s triumphant smile, framed right in the center.

A smile that mirrored the one on her lips at this very moment.

“Yes… that’s more like it,” she said, sinking down into a comfy black armchair.

Then she clutched her head and screamed.

“AAAAAAARRRRGHHH! I can’t believe this!” She exclaimed, practically pulling her hair out. “Nick… the way he looked at me-!”

The disgust and fear in his eyes had made her nauseous.

“It’s alright… it’s alright… everything’s going to be alright,” she reassured herself over and over, trying to measure her breathing. “Nick loves me. He’s just upset right now. Once he has some time to cool off, and can see that everything I’ve been doing has been for his sake, then he’ll get it. He’ll understand. And then… then we can be happy again.”

Dakota might have been kicked out of Nick’s harem. But she would never surrender the place she held in his heart.

Nick wouldn’t hate her. It wasn’t allowed for Nick to hate her.

She just had to prove herself to him, and make him happy.

Leaning back in her chair, Dakota lazily waved her hand. Apparently, Sylvia had spent much of her time as the host scanning the chat logs of the audience. Personally, Dakota felt that time should have been better-spent coming up with ways to appeal to Nick’s tastes, but she supposed taking a look at the chat wouldn’t be the worst thing to do at the moment. She needed to give Nick his space, after all, to process everything he’d been through today.

There had been a lot of changes.

A smirk crossed her lips as she considered that. Oh, yes, I’m sure the audience is filled with shock about what happened. Not just the usual transformation responses, but the fact that I became the host, in place of Sylvia? And she became the Auditionee? They must be losing it.

That would certainly be amusing. She summoned the chat logs to see what the verdict was.

“YO WHAT THE FUCK”

“DAKOTA IN THE HOUSE, BOIS!”

“#CultOfDakota”

“Dakota peak”

“New host incoming”

“Insert ThanosI’llDoItMyself.gif”

“I used the host to destroy the host”

“Lol, loli Sylvia.”

“Rip Sylvia, #NotLikeThis”

“I wanted Sylvia to be part of the harem, but yeah #NotLikeThis”

“JusticeForSylvia #NotLikeThis #SylviaSquad”

“So is this a win for #CultOfDakota or a loss lmao”

“W for sure #CultOfDakota”

“Dakota cultists gonna be even more insufferable”

“Mary: I’mma marry Nick Dakota: lmao hold my beer”

“Sylvia was acting all high and mighty, and Dakota was all ‘nah I’d win’ lmao”

“Rip Sylvia”

“Dicks out for Sylvia”

“Rip Sylvia’s tits”

“#BarelyLegal”

“We can post about Dakota being the previous host now, right? The mods won’t ban us?”

“No shit lmao”

“Wait Dakota is the host now?! You skip ONE episode to go to your daughter’s ballet recital and the whole thing goes tits up!”

“LMAO at the family man what you thinking of when you with your family creepo”

“Pics of daughter or gtfo”

“If Nick changes the Pet Name away from Daddy we riot”

“Dearest Dakota, this is Yuki. I would like to express my pleasure at finally being able to interact with you again host to host. I am glad to see that you are back in your rightful place. That dreadful puppet was almost painful to watch with her foibles and chicanery. Contact me if you’d like to discuss further.”

“Yo what”

“Dev in chat?”

“Howdy, Devon Chat.”

“YUKI PLEESE STPE ON ME UWU”

“Lol this shit is getting fired up now and I’m here for it.”

“Dakota and Yuki collab when”

“Dakota vs. Yuki Final Destination No Smash No Items”

“Nah fam 100% smashing should be allowed”

“Nobody’s talking about the transformations lol”

“Finally Gina gets tot hrow a party #GinaParty”

“I’m excited to see what Mary does with her milk”

“MILKY MOMMIES UWU”

“#MilkMary”

“I’m here for the generational orgy, Dakota Sylvia and Marley”

“Gross”

“Gross (Carly should watch)”

“Why did everybody give Sylvia so many daughter transformations!? That stuff is gross!”

“^ Looser”

“no chromo”

“****, simply the best”

“#DaddyDaughterDate”

“It’s not like she’s really 18 lmao”

“No she’s like 1”

“Shush you, time doesn’t work that way”

“If Sylvia was my daughter I’d smash”

“Smash her face in with a brick maybe #DaniCrew”

“Why are Dani fans even watching lmao must be masochists”

“To like Dani youd kinda have to be”

“Dani smash me UwU I’m a sexy cute girl looking for a good time”

“Send tits”

“Pics or gtfo”

“Meanwhile Dani and Carly look like they’re gonna hook up soon #TeamGamerGirls”

“They better do something, I want Dani to go already”

“Dani is so boring fr”

“Dani is awesome! Haters can gtfo #DaniCrew #Tomboys”

“Kim is a better tomboy than Dani and she’s only been a tomboy for like a week lmao #KimClique”

“Kim is boring too.”

“Ican’t wait to see what Rose does on her night. I love her transformation but it doesn’t seem like that’s what she wants rip #RoseGarden”

“Oooooh I get it, Marital Aide, with ‘aide’ as in ‘being a person who helps you’ it’s like a pun on Marital Aid, or sex toys!”

“Way to ruin the joke, moron.”

“#GetMaryPreggers”

“She 100% is dude you can stop”

“There’s always that one guy”

“#GetSylviaPreggers”

“Gross”

“Idk if I even want those two to bang now”

“Sylvia needs a new mommy, #AmeliaWhen?”

“Stepmommy x Sylvia for hot GILF action”

“Gross”

“She’s 37 it’s fine, that’s barely even cougar territory.”

“Speaking of cats, #CollarForDawn”

“Meanwhiel Dawn just chilling with her new sex doll transformation, love it #CollarForDawn #DawnPosse”

“If the first pose isn’t ‘any position but while wearing a collar’ we riot #CollarForDawn”

“Dawn fans only getting more insufferable”

“DAWN UNDEFEATED BROH”

“Lmao Dawn here sweeping through challenges, meanwhile Carly can’t get a win to save her life”

“Lol, rip #CarlyFans”

“Do they even exist anymore? I think the #CarlyFans have been eaten out from within by #SlimeTime”

“#Twincest”

“I like Carly, she’s still my fav #CarlyFans”

“We found one”

“Rare footage of a Carly stan in the wild”

“Sadly Morgana fans are even rarer #MorganaCoven”

“Sorry I liked Morgana when she was more unhinged. Improving your self-image isn’t sexy”

“It is if you improve her actual image too #MorganaCoven”

“Goth boobies fr”

“Morgana still sexy goth #MorganaCoven”

“Lmao Morgana in real trouble next round, ‘cause Dawn gonna have that challenge on lock too #Unstoppable”

“Meanwhile Rose playing it smart by picking the guaranteed loser as her buddy lol I see you girl #RoseGarden”

“Oof, didn’t even think of that”

“Stop gaslighting, she ain’t like that #RoseDidNothingWrong”

“#SylviaDidNothingWrong”

“#DakotaDidNothingWrong”

“lol Dakota did everything wrong and we love it”

“#NickDidEverythingWrong”

Dakota closed the chat, wearing an amused smile on her face. Those were just the sort of reactions she’d expected, frankly. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling as she contemplated what she should do next.

“So… what should we do next?” Holly asked quietly, catching up to Nick. They were all on their way back to the hotel, but there was a bit of a tense atmosphere around the crowd. After all, people were still having some difficulty accepting Sylvia into the group.

Even Nick could arguably be included in that.

Nick glanced over his shoulder, but every time he saw Sylvia he just felt awful. He couldn’t even come up with words to describe why he felt the way he did, he just… did. It was like Sylvia… she just… was he supposed to feel bad for her? Because he did. Of course he did. Being created just as a pawn for Dakota’s game, and then being thrown away when she wasn’t needed. And even after he and the others pleaded to bring her back, she was still saddled with transformations that seemed to just… complicate matters.

And on top of all of that? Part of her still didn’t understand what she’d done wrong, or why being a host and transforming the other girls wasn’t okay.

“I don’t know,” he honestly said, shaking his head. “This is just too much for me to process right now. I mean, Dakota was bad enough… but Sylvia being part of the harem now? And on top of that, she’s my… she thinks she’s my…”

He couldn’t even say it.

Holly frowned. As someone who had long-since been eliminated from the show, and had since helped out a lot behind the scenes, she didn’t have the same animosity towards Sylvia that a lot of the other girls (justifiably) possessed.

…That being said, Sylvia was still Sylvia.

Before long, they reached the hotel. It was time for everyone to go their separate ways, at least for a little bit. Nearly everybody wanted to shower after being **** to orgasm in the previous challenge, as well as change their clothes. Not that Carly could do that, of course. But for everybody else…

“I just want to take a long nap…” Morgana yawned, rubbing her eyes. Thanks to her flawless skin, it was impossible to see any bags that should be there, but she’d gone without sleep for practically the whole night out of worry.

“Today was pretty stressful,” Dawn agreed. “And that’s not even considering what happened with… Sylvia…”

She glanced over at the blonde, not sure what to say.

Sylvia nodded her head glumly. “Yeah, it’s just… I get it. It’s weird. And it’s going to take time. But honestly, I really just want to make Daddy happy.”

She winced a little as the words left her lips. One word in particular.

“Yeah,” Nick said, scowling. “We need to change that as soon as possible.”

Sylvia nodded, but she almost looked disappointed about that. “If that’s what you want, Daddy,” she agreed.

Marley felt her heart go out to her mother. Even though Sylvia now looked younger than her, she was still Marley’s mom. Their bond hadn’t changed, even though their bodies had.

“Hey, Sylvia… look, I get it,” Marley said, walking over to her and placing her hand on her shoulder. She was surprised; Sylvia was shorter than her now, without the added inches and the high heels. “Are you disappointed because you’re afraid of losing your connection to Nick?”

“What?!” Nick exclaimed, his jaw dropping. “What do you mean by that?!”

Marley turned to Nick and frowned. “Nick, she just lost her mom! Well, I mean, she didn’t lose her exactly, but, you get it! Seeing Dakota as her mom, and then learning that her mom never cared about her at all… do you have any idea how much that would hurt?”

Nick tensed. A hush fell over the lobby.

“…Of course he does,” Mary said quietly. “At least a little bit. He lost his mom too, remember? Only for real.”

Marley turned pale. “I-I forgot about that,” she stammered, lowering her hand and stepping back slightly. “Look, I wasn’t trying to say anything like-”

“No, no, I get it,” Nick said, shaking his head. “And… yeah, maybe… maybe I should be more sensitive about that, but still. What does that have to do with changing how she calls me? She can’t seriously want to call me ‘Daddy’ forever, right?”

He looked pointedly at Sylvia, and then, to his amazement, a hue of pink lit up on her cheeks and she quickly looked down.

“Sylvia!?” He couldn’t believe it.

“It-it’s not like I want to call you that specifically!” The blonde protested. “But Daddy… urgh, sorry… Daddy, you’re- you know what? I’m just going to stop.” She couldn’t avoid saying it, she was so used to referring to him by name. “Daddy” just slipped from her lips so naturally.

“…It’s fine,” Nick said, feeling exceptionally tired. “Just say what you need to say.”

Sylvia sighed with relief. “Daddy… I you heard what I said to Dakota, right? I told her… that I love you. And that’s true. I do.”

“Because Dakota programmed you to,” Rose pointed out.

Sylvia turned on her, her expression surprisingly fiery. “I’m not some computer you know!” She snapped. “Dakota didn’t ‘program’ me like a video game character or anything! I- even if she made me have those feelings… to me, they’re still real!”

“I think that’s fair,” Dani said, amazing everyone by stepping up and defending the former. Even Sylvia herself was taken aback by that.

“R-really?” She stammered, surprised.

“Yeah,” Dani nodded, her expression even. “Just because Dakota made you fall in love with Nick, that doesn’t mean we have the right to discount your feelings. If we see you as a real person, then we have to respect the fact that your feelings are real, too. That only makes sense.”

Sylvia’s eyes began to water. “Dani-!”

“But…” Dani’s voice dropped low and she approached Sylvia, who froze and started to back up. “I want to be clear with you. The reason I see you as a person, a real person, who can make your own decisions, is because I don’t want you to get out of taking responsibility for the crap you’ve pulled, is that clear? You don’t get to just wave your hand and say that everything you’ve done was because Dakota programmed you to do it, understand? You’re your own person, and YOU are just as responsible for the crap we’ve gone through as Dakota is. That’s how I see things, got it?”

Sylvia gulped. Dani wasn’t threatening her or anything, nor was she getting up into Sylvia’s space. But her words were very clear.

“G-got it,” she stammered, nodding.

“Come on,” Gina groaned. “Posturing like that isn’t helpful at all. We get it, Dani, you’ve got a huge stick up your ass, because you don’t want to get Nick’s stick up your-”

“Gina, maybe you should just stop talking,” Mary sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. She’d saved Gina from elimination because she thought that the girl could change, but she wasn’t looking forward to another week with her being so annoying.

“I-I understand,” Sylvia said. “And look, I get it, you’re upset. But still, thank you.”

She wasn’t even bothered by Dani’s words. She was actually smiling.

“I’m just glad you think that I’m a real person,” she admitted, causing Dani to feel weird.

“…Whatever,” the tomboy mumbled, averting her eyes. It felt gross, being angry at someone who radiated so much gratitude.

“Well, this is nice… but I really need to go nap…” Morgana yawned. She’d remained fairly quiet for this whole conversation, because she didn’t want to risk her transformation triggering inadvertently. Being an expert at removing herself from uncomfortable situations, she made a hasty retreat towards the elevators.

Dawn was tempted to join her, but didn’t feel comfortable leaving things the way they were.

Dani was, though.

“I need to go change,” she muttered, storming off after the goth. “Stupid Morgana and her stupid syringe…”

“…Yeah, and I should probably go make sure those two don’t kill each other,” Rose tittered. “Au revoir, Nick, look forward to our date!”

She had a few ideas of what she wanted to achieve.

The lobby fell silent again, with no one knowing what to say. Gina had already disappeared, likely having slipped out in the commotion (probably to find a bar). That just left Nick alone with Mary, Dawn, Sylvia, Holly, and the twins.

Not exactly a recipe for engaging conversation, given the uncomfortable nature of the topics in the air.

Marley took the initiative, and nudged Carly in the side.

“Hey, uh… Sylvia?” Carly jumped a little, realizing what her sister was getting at. “I was thinking, you want to come shopping with us? For clothes, I mean. Since, well…”

She looked up and down at Sylvia’s shredded outfit.

“…I think you kind of need it.”

“R-really?” Sylvia brightened, surprised that anybody would want to do something with her. “You mean it?”

“Sure,” Carly shrugged. “Why not?”

Dawn sighed in relief. It looked like things were starting to calm down. Her ears flattened on her skull and her tail lowered between her legs, and she smiled, quietly excusing herself from the situation.

“I could come too, if you like?” Mary offered. “Though, I don’t think my sense of clothing would be very helpful…”

Everyone could see that she was trying to **** herself. Even Sylvia could tell.

Finally, she sighed. “…Okay, sorry, that was a little… look, I’m still not fully comfortable with all this,” Mary admitted. “Sylvia, your transformations… the things you did to us… they’re not okay. And I don’t want to be upset, but… I am. I’m working on it, but until then… I’m gonna go.”

She glanced at Nick, and sighed. “I’m sorry, Nick,” she apologized. “I’m going to need a little time before I’m comfortable with all this.”

Mary wanted to be the permissive, accepting wife. She didn’t want Nick to feel like he was **** to acquiesce to her wishes. And she definitely didn’t want to drive a wedge between anybody. But Sylvia… it was Sylvia.

So she did what her conscience told her to do, and left.

Nick frankly couldn’t blame her.

“So? What do you say?” Carly offered. “Want to come?”

Sylvia glanced over at Nick, still uncertain. Then a playful smile crossed her lips, as she felt more comfortable with who she was with.

“Well… only if Daddy says I can come out and play!” She said.

Nick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Oh yeah, he was changing that Pet Name as soon as Dakota told him how to do it.