Give me some time, let me learn how to speak, I'm a maze to you

1. Gina – 11.01% +2000 BP

2. Dawn – 10.00% +2000 BP

3. Sylvia – 9.90% +2000 BP

4. Morgana – 9.86% +2000 BP

5. Kim – 9.31% +2000 BP

6. Rose – 8.26% +1500 BP

6. Cinder/Ella – 8.26% +1500 BP

7. Amelia – 7.80% +1500 BP

8. Carly – 7.11% +1500 BP

9. Dani – 6.20% +1500 BP

10. Vivian – 6.14% +1500 BP

10. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin – 6.14% +1500 BP

The results of the poll screamed to the girls in Nick’s harem. A lot of them were surprised by the results. Some were stunned. Gina was completely shocked. Vivian… was none of those things, however.

“Ah… that… that’s what I should have expected…” she murmured, sinking deeper into her chair.

Dakota flashed an amused smirk. “Yes, you should have,” she said cruelly, her golden eyes shining contemptuously down at the heiress. “After everything last week, there was absolutely zero chance of placing anywhere respectable in the poll. Your relationship with Nick floundered, turning sour, and then you still had the audacity to stick your nose into everyone else’s business like the invasive, self-absorbed brat you are. I hope you realize now, the audience doesn’t like people who make everything about themselves.”

“That’s not true!” Rose protested, coming to Vivian’s defense. “I make everything about myself all the time, and the audience loved it! They voted me high all the time… until this poll, anyway… …When I take a back seat, I dropped in the rankings, and now I’m tied with Ella!?”

“What’s wrong with that!?” Ella snapped indignantly. She was shocked she’d placed so high in the rankings herself. In the last poll, hadn’t she been, like, right near the bottom? But she and Amelia had both risen considerably in the last round.

“This is supposed to be MY era!” Rose protested. “Mary is out of the show now! I was supposed to be in first place!”

“Rose, back off, you’re not winning any points with anyone,” Dawn said, glaring at her. She fully expected Rose to come firing back with a taunt of her own of some sort, but to her genuine shock, Rose actually… backed off.

“…Damn it…” Rose clenched her fists tightly and seethed. “Merde…!”

“Way to go, perpetual second place,” Dakota obnoxiously called from the sidelines. “Now she’s crying. Nicely done.”

Dawn’s eye twitched.

Satisfied, Dakota moved things forward, grinning gleefully as she returned her focus back to Vivian. “Well… think about it like this, if you want a silver lining, you’re not ALONE at the bottom of the results, right?” She giggled, her eyes skipping over to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. “I believe this is a first in this season’s history! Two girls tying for last place on the Popularity Poll? My, my, my!”

“Dakota, that’s enough, you can stop it already,” Nick pleaded. He didn’t like the atmosphere her taunts were creating. Vivian looked liable to burst into tears, even though she was trying to stay strong with a smile, and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was sulking furiously.

“…” Pausing, Dakota turned to Nick, and he saw a strange flicker of emotion across her face. “…Alright then,” she muttered, shaking her head. “How about we focus on first place, then? Gina, Gina, Gina, I’m shocked. And so proud of you,” she murmured, clasping her hands together around the head of her cane. “You actually managed to win! Isn’t that just wonderful?”

“I-I guess so…” Gina said, shocked. It still wasn’t quite sinking in for her. “Does that mean… the audience… they actually like me?”

Saying it out loud, it just sounded so unbelievable. But Gina couldn’t deny the evidence of her own eyes.

“I think that’s exactly what it means,” Dakota crooned, nodding encouragingly. “You tried your best, and here you are- first place! I think that shows just what everybody thinks about all the hard work and dedication you demonstrated this round. So if you’re asking whether or not you’re on the right track and giving people what they want to see… I think this is evidence that, yes, you’re going in the perfect direction for them! …Isn’t that great?”

A weird smile tugged up the corners of Gina’s lips. She felt giddy. “I… wow…”

Dani felt a poke on her arm. She turned her head to see Carly beaming at her with a sweet smile on her face.

“Hey, you’re not in last place,” she said, nodding encouragingly. “That’s great, Dani! I’m so happy for you!”

Dani nodded. She was close to the bottom, sure, but for the first time in quite a long time, she wasn’t in last.

“Yeah, but… poor Vivian,” she murmured, looking at the crushed heiress trying to remain strong behind her smile.

Having milked this little performance long enough, Dakota decided that it was time to get things moving. “Alright then,” she said, clapping her hands together, “let’s get on with it, shall we? Time to take a look at the new BP totals, now that everyone has had a chance to digest their position in the eyes of our audience!”

The screen shifted slightly, showing the change in BP totals. There was very minimal change in the overall placement of results, but the numbers still went up all the same.

1. Rose – 12200 BP + 1500 BP = 13700 BP

2. Kim – 11500 BP + 2000 BP = 13500 BP

3. Dawn – 9600 BP + 2000 BP = 11600 BP

4. Carly – 9200 BP + 1500 BP = 10700 BP

5. Sylvia – 7600 BP + 2000 BP = 9600 BP

6. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin – 7700 BP + 1500 BP = 9200 BP

7. Gina – 6800 BP + 2000 BP = 8800 BP

8. Cinder/Ella – 5700 BP + 1500 BP = 7200 BP

19. Morgana – 5000 BP + 2000 BP = 7000 BP

10. Dani – 5300 BP + 1500 BP = 6800 BP

11. Amelia – 3200 BP + 1500 BP = 4700 BP

12. Vivian – 1000 BP + 1500 BP = 2500 BP

“And that’s that,” Dakota said with an air of finality, dusting her hands together. “Now you’ve all seen where you place in the rankings, so with that established, we can move on! We’ve got quite an exciting challenge for you all, and I wish I could tell the audience that it would be nice, short, and simple, but that’s never been my way of doing things…”

“No kidding,” Kim muttered under her breath. “She’s still talking?”

Dakota gave her a sharp look. “…Now, as I was saying… one of the biggest problems on any season of Harem Hotel is that sometimes, the audience can feel a little powerless. Unable to do anything to influence the show itself. Even those who have been following so diligently!”

She let out a long sigh and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “…And isn’t that just so tragic?” She crooned. “Our loyal viewers aren’t able to actually express their feelings with anything more tangible than a single Popularity Poll each round… a Popularity Poll that some girls don’t even care about!” She added, looking over at Dani.

Dani just rolled her eyes.

Sylvia’s hand shot up. “Well, there are the transformation votes, right?”

“Yes, there are,” Dakota acknowledged with a nod, making Sylvia smile from ear to ear. “But that only allows them to express what direction they think a contestant should go in. It isn’t really an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction, now is it?”

Sylvia paused, considering what Dakota was saying. “…No, I guess not…”

Nick didn’t like the sound of this. The way Dakota was phrasing things, it sounded like this upcoming challenge would deal with a lot of audience influence, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. Who knows what those freaks and perverts out there would do?

“Wait, so are you saying that the audience is going to decide the winners for this next challenge?” Dawn asked with alarm.

“That’s not fair!” Vivian whined, her **** smile cracking. “They… they already don’t like me…”

“Does that mean it doesn’t matter how hard we try, that the audience can just screw us over for popularity purposes?” Dani scowled.

Kim shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t like the sound of that.

Rose clicked her tongue. “Normally I would be fine with that… but I’m not so sure…”

“Y-yeah!” Ella nodded her head. Even though she’d risen quite a lot in the polls, appealing to other people wasn’t something she liked the idea of. Stress was already pounding her heart faster and faster, and she reached for her rubber-band.

“Calm down, all of you, stop overreacting,” Dakota said, rolling her eyes. She waved her hand dismissively. “You’re not getting it. I’m not about to let the audience decide who wins and who loses the challenge, don’t worry. Yes, there are seasons where that happens, but most of the time, the results really just end up being ‘Popularity Poll 2.0’ and I’d rather not have that.”

She shook her head. “No, in this challenge, the audience will only have a tangential influence on the outcome… not quite a thumb on the scale, but not something worth ignoring, either.”

Nick still wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.

“It’s going to be fair, though, right?” Mary asked worriedly, looking at Dakota.

The host turned back to her with a cat-like smile on her face. “…Of course it’s going to be fair,” she crooned.

Her smile seemed to suggest the opposite, however…

Dakota tapped her cane on the stage. “Now! To show you what you’ll all be working towards today… eyes open, ladies, because this is going to be quite a fun one!”

She waved her cane, and the screen shifted to reveal the title of the upcoming challenge.

THE MAZE OF ENTICEMENT

“A… maze?” Dawn perked up, her ears twitching.

“You mean we’re going to have to go through a maze?” Dani groaned. “Come on…”

“It’s fine, Dani, we know how to get through mazes, remember?” Kim coaxed her. “Just keep your hand on the wall the whole time!”

Dani **** a smile, just to make Kim feel better, but she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. It never was on this twisted show.

“…Well, I guess that explains my outfit, then,” Carly said, looking down at her costume. “Jennifer Connelly, right?”

“Oh, from Labyrinth?” Rose perked up, her eyes sparkling. “You’re right! I loved that movie!”

“You might be wondering what exactly this means,” Dakota said, gesturing to the screen. “It’s simple!” She waved her cane and the screen shifted again, revealing a dark underground cavern plastered across it. It was an overhead shot, and at the bottom of the cavern you could make out dark walls carved of rock bundled together like a web, an incredibly complex and detailed labyrinth.

“You’re doing a maze?” Sylvia questioned. “Don’t, like, a lot of hosts do mazes, though…?”

Dakota shot her a look. Sylvia decided it was better not to make points like that and just nodded obediently.

“Now then,” Dakota continued, “you’re going to be navigating through this maze. It will take a long time, but don’t be alarmed- time will flow differently while you’re inside. So even if it takes days or weeks… or months… or years… …Don’t worry about it! Not a lot of time will pass out here, I assure you.”

More than a few of the contestants were definitely worried about the notion of this challenge going on for years. The last round itself had already felt like it had gone on for over a year, and it had only been 14 days. How long was Dakota planning to spend on this?

“The thing about mazes is that it’s no fun when there’s an easy trick to beat ‘em, which is why I promise you, the whole ‘hand on the wall’ trick? Not so viable here,” Dakota promised. “But I haven’t even gotten to the best part! Walking through a maze isn’t exactly thrilling for the audience, is it? No, this is Harem Hotel, we’re about more than just puzzles here, aren’t we?”

Nick’s heart sank in his chest. He had a feeling he knew what Dakota was driving at…

“Let me guess,” Dani said, having a good idea herself how Dakota’s mind worked. “There are going to be a lot of erotic obstacles and crap to make us horny in there, right? And we’re going to find ourselves getting struck by, like, tentacle monsters and horny slimes or whatever.”

Dakota whistled. “Well, Dani, with ideas like those, maybe you’d make a good host of a season yourself!” It didn’t even sound like she was being condescending. “And you’re right, of course, there are certainly obstacles like that… but you might not wish to avoid them.”

“Huh?” Morgana blinked. “Wh-what do you mean by that?!”

“Well, this maze is very complicated,” Dakota pointed out. “It’s very easy to get lost, and your task is, of course, to get to the final goal. To accomplish that without a map, well… …It’s not an easy task, is what I’m saying.”

She shook her head, and a smirk crossed her lips. “…But don’t worry! You’ll have a map available to consult at all times! A very detailed map of the maze, that will go as far as showing you your precise location! …As long as you can access it, of course.”

“And how are we going to access it?” Dawn asked, leaning forward intently. As long as she got to see it even once, she’d be able to memorize it. Just once would be enough.

Dakota’s smirk widened. “Well, that’s simple. This is Harem Hotel after all. …You just have to cum.”

Silence fell over the beach as everyone processed the host’s words.

Amelia’s eye twitched. “Excuse me?” She grumbled, glaring at Dakota.

“Was I not clear?” Dakota looked at each of the girls’ confused faces. “Well, allow me to clarify. For those of you like our friend Amelia here who are icy and cold, and haven’t had sex in a long time, having a climax, an orgasm, floods your body with endorphins and the resulting bliss feels quite lovely, doesn’t it?”

Nobody knew who Dakota was asking that question to, assuming it wasn’t rhetorical. There were a few uncomfortable stirs in seats as the girls looked at one another, trying to make sense of what she was talking about.

“Um… I guess?” Rose bit her lip.

“So why not add a little something extra?” Dakota coaxed. “In this labyrinth, an orgasm won’t just give you that sense of relief and release, no!” She shook her head, a delightful smile on her lips. “Every time you have an orgasm, you will be given a detailed image of the maze’s layout in your mind, yours to study for as long as your orgasm lasts. So if you want to make sure you’re going in the right direction? Cum! Worried you made a wrong turn? Cum! Want to see how close you are to the end? Cum, cum, cum your brains out!”

She tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “In fact, so long as you just keep cumming, you could, in theory, always have the map open and ready to check, don’t you agree? …Supposing you could keep your sanity through all those orgasms, of course.”

Amelia raised an incredulous eyebrow. Dakota’s last challenge had been about refraining from orgasm. Now this one was encouraging them to cum as much as they could.

“Repulsive,” she muttered, shaking her head.

The gears in Dawn’s head were already turning. As long as she could bring herself to orgasm once, she’d be able to memorize the layout of the maze. But then, she wouldn’t always know her position, would she? So maybe…

“…Oh, and I almost forgot, various traps and puzzles in the maze might result in the layout shifting from time to time as well,” Dakota added, her eyes shining gleefully as they landed on Dawn, taking in her alarmed expression with relish. “So don’t be afraid to orgasm at regular intervals! You can handle it yourself, or if you run into someone else, you two can lend each other a ‘helping hand’ as it were and work together! Anything goes!”

“So we can work together on this challenge?” Vivian perked up for the first time since seeing the Popularity Poll results. It was like a sense of hope had reinflated her.

Dakota nodded. “Of course. You’ll all start in different locations, and the maze is very large, but I’m quite certain you’ll run into each other regularly. And when that happens, you can all work together and team up! If you choose.”

“Well, that’s not so bad, right, Dani?” Carly looked at Dani excitedly, already imagining them working together.

Dani nodded, liking the sound of that as well, but she didn’t trust Dakota’s charitable demeanor. There was more going on here, she could sense it.

“…Oh, but something to keep in mind… I should really talk about the scoring process,” Dakota added. “Now, for most challenges, there’s a flat score for the winner, and scaling down as placing drops. But this one will go a little differently, since you girls have the option to team up together. Let’s say two girls reach the goal first at the same time. Well, normally you would both tie for first, but in this challenge, you’ll both receive the Victory Points for a second place finish. And that will be the case if the number of women in your group increases, as well. So it would be beneficial to you to keep that in mind when deciding how you wish to ally yourselves. If no one gets first, then that means no immunity from a transformation for this round!”

“So in other words,” Dawn said, frowning, “if we all get to the finish line at the same time, then… what, it would count as we all get last place?”

“That’s not fair!” Morgana protested, her face paling. “It’s like we’re being penalized for working with our friends!”

“I prefer to think of it as incentivized to prioritize yourself,” Dakota stated with a smile. “Something a lot of you really need to improve at.”

Her eyes swept over the crowd of worried contestants. “Remember… this is a competition. On a fundamental level, the challenges are meant to pit you girls against one another, to see who wants to be by the master’s side the most. Who wants it badly enough? THAT is the role of challenges in Harem Hotel, and while we had an excellent showing of that last round with Gina, I think you ladies could all do with a reminder of that.”

It wasn’t exactly a threat. Not an overt one, anyway. But the implication hung in the air regardless.

Dawn frowned. She imagined that there would be benefits to teaming up with other girls, though Dakota hadn’t given any explicit ones. Otherwise, why make it an option? But if everybody completed the maze at the same time, it would be bad for ALL of them.

It didn’t take a genius like her to figure it out. This challenge was incentivizing alliances of convenience and then backstabbing to get ahead. Just like the last challenge had.

Her heart sank in her chest. This was the sort of thing she couldn’t stand.

“Wait, Dakota!” Nick stood up, surprising everybody.

“What is it?” Dakota looked at him warily. “If you’re going to complain about how I run my challenges, Nick…”

“No, it’s not about that,” he said, shaking his head and surprising Dakota. She paused, then nodded slowly.

“Alright, then what?”

“You said at the beginning that in this challenge, the audience would be able to influence things and that they would have a say, right?” He reminded her. “But how are they going to affect someone trying to get through the maze?”

Dakota paused, and then smiled. “…Oh, that’s right… I haven’t mentioned that yet, have I? What an oversight,” she said, in a tone suggesting that it was not an oversight in the slightest. “Yes, Nick, you’re right, of course! I really should explain that part… it’s my favorite, after all!”

A lot of the contestants began to stir in their seats, feeling antsy. If Dakota was excited for it, then there was a good chance it would be bad for them.