Code Injection (Mini Vote)

“Well things are starting to get a little bit spicy in more ways than one.” Titania interrupted the broadcast, sitting on stage with a gnome and a dwarf to either side of her. “And I want to recognize some of the hard work that’s being done behind the scenes.”

“Næfr, you did a wonderful job with that gazebo.”

A stout bearded creature bowed with appreciation for the praise. “It was really a team effort, milady. Creating the cave bay, and gazebo in just a couple of hours was quite a challenge and I can’t tell you how proud I am of how my team pulled together. That’s not to mention the performers who convinced the humans to show up. Couldn’t have asked for a better result.”

Titania offered a respectful clap to the dwarf. “I couldn’t agree more, and based on audience feedback, they appreciate your efforts.”

“Now, Borntruckle, you’re the head of our IT department, isn’t that right,” she said turning to the tiny man with a large nose.

He fidgeted in his seat and held his pointed red hat like a stuffed animal for comfort. “Yes, milady. And I want to say, just like Næfr, I’m incredibly proud of the work our team has done. It’s not easy networking a electronic bracelets and Windows PCs with an enchanted mushroom grove, but my people have done some incredible work.”

“But you seem nervous, can you tell us why that is?” Titania asked in a gentle and sweet tone.

Borntruckle took a few steadying breaths. “Well, I suppose I’ll just come out and say it. We messed up. No, that’s not right. It’s my responsibility. I messed up. And I’m a little worried you’ll turn me into a newt.”

“A very reasonable concern,” agreed Titania, still speaking sweetly. “Why don’t you tell our audience what happened.”

“Well, you see, Tabitha is a pretty skillful hacker, and she seems to have a little knack for magic as well,” the gnome said, working himself up to admitting the actual issue. “And she was poking at our system and injected some code to give herself more points. Our security system worked but had an effect we really hadn’t anticipated.”

“And then what happened, dear?” Sparkles trailed from Titania’s finger as she swirled it through the air.

“Her mouse turned into a frog,” he said, then waited for the inevitable punishment.

She patted him gently on the head. “Now I want you to know I don’t hold you responsible. You’ve done wonderful work, and it would be a waste for you to be turned into a newt. Besides, you’re not the one who misbehaved are you? Also, I think there’s some great entertainment value in this little mishap. Shall we watch?”

The scene was projected on the screen behind them.

Tabitha in a half-buttoned nightshirt typing away on her computer, dug through the Hotel systems. She clicked to apply a change to their codebase, granting her more BP, when she recoiled from something slimy in her hand.

Her mouse had, indeed, turned into a frog. She watched in befuddled wonder as the amphibian struggled to pull its tongue out of the USB port. Before she could do anything else, she appeared to freeze in place.

“We’ve held her there for a little while, now,” said Titania, “While we decided what to do about this little situation. We could of course just wipe her memories and get a new mouse, but where’s the fun in that? It accelerates our schedule a little, but other contestants are already getting a bit suspicious, so let’s have some fun with her instead. Besides, she’s been naughty, and naughty kitties need to be punished.”

She snapped her fingers and vanished from stage, appearing instead in Tabitha’s room.

Titania took some time to appreciate the curves of the magically frozen woman, and undid all but one of her pajama top buttons just for good measure. With a snap of her fingers, she thawed Tabitha, who was startled to find the frog had vanished—though it had actually just wandered off while she was paused—and more startled to find the head of guest services sitting in her computer chair. “You’ve been a naughty girl” she said.

“What the fuck!” Tabitha jumped back and her last button popped open. She scrambled to cover herself.

“You’ve been poking around where you shouldn’t be,” Titania mocked. “Delved too greedily and too deep. She grew until her hair brushed the ceiling as flaming wings emerged from her back.

Tabitha went for her door, hoping to find backup from Megan. Opening it, she nearly stepped into empty space. Her lounge area was gone, replaced by an endless void.

She slammed the door closed and backed away from it and Tabitha in equal terror.

She tried to convince herself this was a nightmare, but the very act of doing so proved it wasn’t. She was awake, so either this was some incredible hallucinations with no known source, or it was real.

“Why don’t I erase that doubt for you?” Titania said.

She snapped, and Tabitha’s mind changed. She knew it was real, knew Titania was a fairy queen, knew she was all but omnipotent.

“I find that much easier than waiting for you to come to terms with magic,” Titania said, then smiled and returned to her habitual appearance. “Our audience gets bored watching humans grapple with power beyond mortal reckoning.”

“Magic is real,” Tabitha sputtered. The terror was washing away, replaced by a disappointment that she’d finally found true magic and it might be the last thing she ever did.

“Yes, yes,” Titania said dismissively. “Incredible isn’t it. And unfortunately for you, you’re a little too good at it.”

“I’m good at magic?”

Titania shrugged. “So far as humans go, yes. But that’s like finding a fish who’s unusually good at riding a bicycle, isn’t it? That’s not why I’m here, though. You’ve done something naughty. We can’t have you hacking into our systems, trying to give yourself points you haven’t earned. That deserves a punishment.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Tabitha asked.

“Oh, that’s not up to me,” Titania explained. “That’s for our audience to decide.”

“What audience?”

“You’re on Harem Hotel, dear, one of the most popular shows in the fairy kingdom.” Titania beamed at the unseen camera and waved to the viewers.

“This is some kind of reality show?”

“For certain values of reality, yes,” said Titania. “And you’re meant to be competing, not cheating. Our viewers want to watch you mortals wrestle with your inhibitions and insecurities, succumb to your base instincts, and maybe even fall in love. You tried to take points you didn’t earn.”

“How are supposed to earn points? Just the silly challenges, and going to fancy restaurants most of us can’t afford? We don’t even know what we’re playing for.”

“Don’t you?” Titania grinned. “You’re a smart girl. If I tell you that no points are awarded for merely attending a dinner, what might you think she got points for? What else did she do that night? What might entertain our audience.”

“Fucking Martin?” Tabitha realized in a wave what all this was about. “His dick really is magic. Does he know about this?” She was suddenly very angry at her gaming partner.

“He has no idea, and we’d like to keep it that way as long as possible. It’s adorable watching him be a gentleman with half a dozen women gagging to wet his cock.”

“Why don’t you just change our minds? Make us all fall in love with him?”

Titania nodded along. “We could, of course, make you all sex crazed degenerates with no inhibitions, but this isn’t Horny Mortals Fucking. This is Harem Hotel. We prefer to watch you fall, yourself. We’re just here to turn up the heat in entertaining ways.”

“So about your punishment,” Titania brought things back to the real reason for her visit. “This is your first offense, so it will be relatively mild. It’s a reminder to behave, and to keep what you know a secret. Stray from the path again, and you’ll suffer much more. Here are the options:”

Tabitha waved her hand and the choices appear on the wall.

No Such Thing as Magic: The mishap will be erased from her mind. She’ll forget her encounter with Titania and go back to being oblivious. She’ll also be unable to recognize anything as unusual or magical unless another contestant points it out directly to her.

Achievement or Bust: She wanted more points, well let’s help her get them. If she doesn’t get at least one of her achievements a day, she’ll be overcome with uncontrollable lust until she does.

Tabbiecat: It’s her online handle, let’s make it manifest. She’ll grow cat ears and a tail which will magically poke holes in any attempted covering. All the other contestants will think she’s wearing a costume. They’ll be super soft and petable, and she’ll have a minor orgasm whenever anyone strokes them.

“What do you think? Any opinions?” asked Titania.

“You care what I think?” Tabitha was incredulous.

“Honestly, I already know what you think. Advantages of being a mind reader,” Titania gave her best villainous grin. “But the audience might be curious. You could potentially sway their opinion.”

Unsure what kind of audience she had, and whether they were the kind to give her what she wants, or do the opposite, she hesitated. Refusing or lying to the terrifying fairy queen, though, seemed a bad idea. “The first isn’t much of a punishment. If I’m honest, though, I just learned magic was real. I don’t really want to forget.

“The third, well, there’s a reason I call myself that, so I don’t mind the look. But I don’t want all my friends to think I’m weirdo cause I won’t take the tail and ears off.

“The second scares me a bit, because I don’t know how long this game is. I’m going to run out of easy achievements pretty quickly, and I don’t know how bad ‘uncontrollable lust’ is.”

Titania kindly offered a demonstration. “This should provide you and the audience with some context.”

She snapped her fingers and Tabitha looked like she was suffocating for a moment before she dropped to her knees. “Holy shit!” she grunted as struggled to keep her hand from shooting straight to her pussy. In resisting that, her other found it’s way to a nipple which she was no longer making any effort to keep covered.

Another snap of her fingers and Titania ended the demonstration. “How did that feel.”

“Fuck! If you could bottle that, you’d make a fortune.”

“It is bottled, my dear, and you can buy it for BP if you know who to ask.” Titania smirked.

Tabitha said nothing. She recognized the fairy queen had just given her a gift of information in a game the other players didn’t even know they were playing. She just nodded.

“Any questions before I go?”

“Is there any way I can learn magic?” Tabitha couldn’t help but ask. “Be your apprentice, or something? I’ll behave.”

Titania smiled knowingly, that question did not surprise her. She knew all the contestant’s desires, secret or otherwise. She’d chosen them all for a reason. “If you’re very, very good. Maybe the audience will see fit to reward you.”

The fairy queen vanished, and the room war returned to its normal space. Tabitha was left with no sign of the encounter, other than three bars tallying votes on her computer monitor.

Tabitha Punishment Poll