He was a mighty golden boy, as gold as ever seen

Sylvia stepped into the elevator, away from the eyes of the contestants, and the audience. Instantly, her entire demeanor changed.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!” She screamed, crouching down on the elevator floor and clutching her head. That had been the most stressful few hours of her very short life.

“It’s okay, you did fine,” she reassured herself. “The master isn’t as angry as on a lot of other shows, the girls… well, they’re cute, and that's always a plus, right? And the Buddy System went over okay…”

The producers hadn’t summoned her away for a re-disciplining hearing, and as far as Sylvia was concerned that was an absolute win.

Let’s just check the messageboards and see how everyone liked the changes! Sylvia was brimming with cautious optimism as she looked at what the audience was saying.

“Mary best girl must protecc”

“Them tig ol’ biddies on Carly tho”

“Buddy System too complicated, makes no sense. Host is a tryhard.”

“Could be fun though? A lot of drama.”

“When are we getting to the sex stuff already”

“Holly trying to play nice after she saw those poll results, not buying it. Total snake move.”

“Poor Mary gonna be used and tossed away for sure, snake.”

“Justice for Mary! Get her through the elimination round! #GetMaryPreggers”

“#GetMaryPreggers”

[THIS COMMENT HAS BEEN DELETED FOR VIOLATING OUR TERMS OF SERVICE]

"Mary will be a super cute MILF #GetMaryPreggers"

“Mary stans are raiding rn call a mod”

“Didn’t she get seventh LMFAO”

“Mary is the purest so she must be corrupted.”

“Submissive and breedable”

“I like Dani, I want to see her cry again.”

“If Dani doesn’t end up going back to Danielle then this season was for nothing.”

"Rip tomboy lol but yay huge boobs"

"TOMBOY SUPREMACY STAN TOMBOYS"

“Gina's transformation RIP, alt girls always get normified.”

"When we getting 'oops all goths' season"

"Gina isn't a goth you fake fan."

"Auditionee better be BTG GF or she won't last long"

“Auditionee rule sucks, host has no confidence in the girls.”

“Nah that rule’s awesome let’s kick out Holly right now in fact.”

"Hate Holly so much such a snake lmao, deserved eighth place"

"Shocked Carly so low she seems so slutty"

"Exactly this is purity season, pop those cherries let's go!"

“Sylvia make Carly cosplay my waifu Asuna-chan.”

“Dawn is so snobby I can’t wait to see her on a leash for walkies”

“How is Dakota in first she’s so boring. Did someone bot spam?”

“I voted Dakota because she thirsty lol”

"She gonna push him down so bad the second they alone"

“Sylvia put her on the last day because the other girls need a chance to score some points”

“Show sucks and girls are boring + you’re white”

“I thought Nick was cool at first but he’s boring”

“Masters are always boring I only watch for the girls.”

“Same.”

“Same but sometimes the master can be cool”

“Okay who you guys think is going to get the D first”

“Carly"

“Dakota”

“Carly”

“Dawn, she won’t settle for sloppy seconds”

“Gina is slutty enough and her day is first”

“Dakota, she’ll do the chastity belt move like what happened to Callie.”

“Holly”

“THIS GUY”

“If Holly has sex with him first I will eat my laptop”

“Holly + Mary in a three-way as first sex would make the season”

“Mary won’t do it until like round 6 guaranteed”

“Nah she wants it so bad I bet she doesn’t last the week”

“Definitely sexually repressed”

“#GetMaryPreggers”

“No you guys don’t understand I’ve written a 20 page explanation for why Holly is in fact going to have sex with the master first and-"

Sylvia closed the comments and sighed, rubbing her temples.

“And the shipping wars begin. This is a harem! They should all just get along and root for the girls together! Why does everything have to be so darn competitive?!” Asked the girl who intentionally implemented a competition-incentivizing rule that would necessitate multiple eliminations. But as Sylvia was incapable of confronting her own shortcomings, that was quickly put out of her mind.

The elevator came to a stop at the Master Suite and she slapped her cheeks, returning to her confident personality.

“Good evening, master!” She said, curtsying as she entered the room. The Master Suite was normally one of the most extravagant sets on the show, and this time was no different.

Everything was gold. The floors tiles were made of gold, the couches and chairs upholstered in gold cloth, and of course, the golden curtains of the majestic canopy bed hung over the plush sheets woven with gold thread. If there was something that could be gold-plated, it was. The TV. The refrigerator. The full-access bar. Even the stove in the attached kitchen was made of gold somehow, and so was the toilet. It was almost a shock that the door to the balcony terrace provided a window to gaze upon the island's scenery, instead of the panes being spray-painted to maintain the image.

And in the center of it all, looking around in disbelief, was the golden boy himself, Nick Reynolds, the master.

Nick had a sour look on his face already, and Sylvia’s presence did nothing to ease it.

“Who’s your interior decorator, Donald Trump?” He asked sarcastically.

“No, but he definitely had some notes,” Sylvia chirped. “He’s quite a fan of the show.”

“I imagine most rich people are.”

“So cynical my boy, it’s good quality television,” Sylvia tsked, shaking her head. “Now, we’re finally alone. I thought it might be good to have a chance to talk.”

“Sure thing,” Nick said, sitting down on one of the golden armchairs. “Or, I could try tossing you off the balcony.”

“Come now Nick, we both know you’re not a violent guy,” Sylvia smiled, sitting down across from him. She batted her eyelashes. “You don’t need to posture all that moral indignation when it’s just me. Haven’t we always been honest with each other?”

Nick couldn't believe his ears. “Honest?! You call lying to me for a year and pretending to be my therapist in order to set up this sick game being honest?!”

Sylvia looked scandalized. “I was always honest with you, Nick!” She swore. “…Just not about who I was, what I do, or what I wanted. But other than that, I swear, total honesty!”

“Ha ha. Funny joke.”

“I still care about you, Nick,” Sylvia said, and the concern on her face almost looked believable. She reached out and placed her hand on his leg, the way she used to do to comfort him back in her office. Just hours ago in reality, but a lifetime from Nick’s perspective.

He jerked away. Just feeling her touch disgusted him.

“That’s what you call this?” He growled. “This is how you ‘care’ for people?”

“You may not believe it, but this is part of your treatment,” Sylvia said. “I’m just doing my best to get you used to interacting with women. Think about it! You have time for that closure with Dani you never got. See where things could have gone with Carly. You can settle the score with Holly and Mary. You have the chance to really go out with Kim, for real! Dawn could come around on you after all you went through together, and as for Gina… well, you saw how much of a wreck her life is. Now you can help her. All these girls you once loved, they’re all here, for you. Why would I do that if I didn’t care about you?”

“I don’t know why you do anything. And frankly? I don't want to. But I know that I’m not going along with your sick little game show.”

She looked like she was about to cry. Nick, on the other hand, kept his face as emotionless as possible. If he allowed himself to express his real feelings he doubted he'd be able to keep from attacking her.

“Even though it might help you? Even though you might-“

“Help me?! Help me? Help me become a monster that assaults the girls who you **** to this private sex island?”

“Island paradise,” Sylvia unhelpfully reminded him. He growled back.

“I’m not going to do it."

Sylvia straightened up, all of her prior concern gone. She looked every part the cold, heartless witch he knew she was on the inside. “So you didn’t enjoy it? Not any of it?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. “It didn’t make your heart beat, seeing Dakota alive again?”

She caught him with that. He couldn’t say anything in response, he just hung his head and stared at the ground. “That’s… different.”

“I brought her back. For you. Because her **** broke you. But now you have a chance to move on. Become the Nick Reynolds you were always meant to be!” She urged him eagerly. “The Nick Reynolds who-“

“Who abducts women, transforms their bodies and minds against their will, and forces them to have sex?” Nick glared up at her. “…No thanks. I don’t need to be that sort of guy.” Before, he’d resolved to go along with her game for Dakota’s sake. But after seeing what happened to the other girls, how horrified Dani and Mary in particular had been by their transformations, he didn’t know what to do.

Sylvia sighed. “Okay, fine. If that’s how you want to play it, there’s not much I can do. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I guess for the sake of the game I don’t have much choice.”

“Tell me what?”

“It’s not real. None of it is real.”

Nick fell back in his chair, not sure what to make of her statement.

“It’s… not real? What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s not real,” Sylvia said. “The girls. I didn’t really abduct them! No, they’re all still perfectly fine, living their lives.”

“…Seriously?” Nick stared at her in shock. “B-But… but I saw… but they…”

“Illusions,” Sylvia explained. “Fantasies I conjured up to tempt you. You’ve seen what I’m capable of, Nick, do you really think I would need to actually abduct the women you’ve cared for over the years? Why would I go to all the trouble of bringing back a girl who’s been dead for 15 years when a convincing replica would be just as good?”

“Then all this… the show, those transformations… none of it's real?”

“That’s right,” Sylvia nodded. “I told you before, this is all to help you. That’s why I'm here, to make you happy. It's the reason for my existence. Think of it as very intense role-play therapy. You get to do whatever you want to all the girls you screwed up with, and have all the sex and romance you never had the chance to have in your real life. And by the time you’re done, I promise, you’ll be a stronger man for it, ready to go meet a real girl to fall in love with.”

Her smile was so gentle and sweet, like the cruel performance she’d been putting on until now was just that- a performance, and this was the real Dr. River poking back out again.

If what she said was true, and this was all in his head, then no one had actually been hurt. He wasn’t doing anything wrong.

If only that were the case.

“Sylvia… you’re lying to me right now, aren’t you?”

Sylvia nodded. “Yes. I am.”

“It’s all real then,” he said, his anger returning with a vengeance. “All the girls. Their transformations. Dakota.”

“It’s all real,” she confirmed for a second time.

“Why?!” Nick roared, standing up in rage. “Why would you lie to me like that?! Make me think that-"

“That’s why,” Sylvia cut him off, pointing her cane at his lap- and at the hard-on he was sporting.

Nick turned red and hastily sat down, crossing his legs to hide his arousal. Too little, far too late.

“No, the girls aren’t illusions, they’re completely, 100% the real people you knew,” Sylvia confirmed. She smirked. “But for a second there, you believed me. For just a moment, you let that thought sneak into your brain, telling you that if the girls weren’t real, then you didn’t have to feel guilty, you could do whatever you wanted to them. And you liked that thought. The idea of you doing as you wanted with their bodies and minds aroused you!”

“That’s not-! I didn’t-!”

“Oh please, Nick, how many of these shows do you think I’ve seen? Every master is the same. Some of them put up a bigger fight than others, but in the end, they wouldn’t BE on this show if they weren’t the right man for the job. The kind of guy who feels those same dark lusts that are running through you right now, feeding that stiffy of yours until it's ready to explode with excitement. You’re not different from them, my boy, you want it. And now you know you want it.”

She licked her lips. “And that… will make what happens from here on out so very, very exciting.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Nick admitted, both to Sylvia and to himself. “Maybe the thought of being able to do whatever I wanted to them aroused me. But that was just a fantasy! There’s a difference between fantasizing about doing something, and actually hurting someone else!”

“That’s what you just don’t seem to understand, Nick,” Sylvia sighed, shaking her head. “This is Harem Hotel. ‘The Place Where Your Fantasies Come True’, remember? The point of this show is to fulfill your every fantasy.”

“My fantasy doesn’t involve forcing women who don’t want me,” Nick seethed. Not quite true. It was there, in his mind, but not something he would ever act on. He could never hurt someone like that.

“So, what happens when they do want you, then?” Sylvia asked. “What are you going to do when Pretty Mary Sunlight comes pounding on that door over there, **** for you to baby her up? What about Carly? She was open to having sex with you a long time before I got involved, are you going to turn her down now? Just because of how you were reunited?”

“All that’s just because of your transformations and your stupid rules,” he spat. But even he knew how hollow that sounded. Carly, for example, seemed thrilled with what she’d received, and even back when they were almost-dating-but-not-quite she had made it clear how sexually open she was. He’d been the hangup there, the one who wanted to take things slow.

But even if Carly was willing, even if any of them were willing, it didn’t matter. The twisted rules of the show were compelling their behavior, not any genuine interest on their part. And if he gave into one of them, he was afraid the damage that would deal to his self-control would be irrecoverable. “I’m not going to do it. I won’t hurt them.”

“You are hurting them at this very second,” Sylvia coldly replied. “Do you think this is just for fun? I thought I made the stakes very clear before. You are performing for an audience, my boy. Everyone watching this show, they’re forming opinions, about you, the girls, me, everything. They want action. They want drama. They want sensuality and sex, and if you’re not going to give it to them, they’ll start to think that the girls are the problem. And when that happens, guess what? The transformations get more brutal. More punitive. They’ll start twisting your harem in ways that would shock and appall you, because if you won't go for the ‘soft stuff’ then maybe they need to up the ante."

She raised her cane and jammed the end of it into his chest. He could feel the cool burn of the dark crystal through his shirt.

“Resist. Hate me. Refuse their advances however you like. But in the end, the only thing you have to lose is your own self-centered perception of your morality, my boy. Those girls can lose so much more. But when they get eliminated one by one because their master refuses to play ball, and are warped into tragic prisoners in bodies of sick design, at least you can be proud that you maintained your moral high ground.”

Nick just stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.

I-I’m not wrong. This is the right thing to do. If I play along, I’m just giving her what she wants. It’s horrible. I’d have to be a terrible person to have sex with girls who are being **** like this. I don’t want to hurt anyone. But… if I don’t, then…

Nick buried his head in his hands as he tried to think of the correct solution. But it just wasn’t coming to him.

Sylvia sat silently for a while, the ticking gold clock a metronome that punctuated the deafening quiet. Almost time… I think he’s been stewing long enough.

“Think about what we discussed today, Nick.” She rose from her seat and reached into her shirt pocket. She withdrew something thin and gold and set it on the table in front of him.

“This is your special keycard. It can’t be stolen or given away, and can be used to order anything you wish, whether in the shopping district or from right here in this room." She nodded to the antique golden telephone hanging from the wall. “The bar is fully stocked, as is the refrigerator. Our chefs and mixologists can prepare anything you might like to eat or drink, and I assure you, there will be no want for any physical comforts as long as you’re here. Movies? Games? Anything you like is at your fingertips.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and her voice turned comforting again. “I understand this is hard. That when you imagined yourself finding happiness, it didn't look anything like this. But we all have our roles to play, my boy. I’m playing mine. Your girls will be **** to play theirs. The only one who has a choice in the matter is you. I hope you make the right one. For all our sakes.”

Nick took the card. It looked exactly like a credit card, if all the details had been stripped away. Instead, written in a slightly darker shade of gold in glossy curved letters was a single word:

Masterscard

How cute.

Sylvia stopped at the door and turned back to him one more time. It looked like she had something else she wanted to say, but then her expression turned serious and cold once again, before falling into a smirk.

“That card is the only way in and out of this room. Now normally, you have the right to come and go as you please. But the first night is special. The master is always separate from his harem, to give them a chance to get acclimated to living here.”

Nick winced. He’d wanted to speak to Dakota. To try and see how she was doing. And the other girls too… but he was a prisoner here, as much as they were down there.

“Ah, and one more thing. You may be alone tonight, but starting tomorrow a guest WILL be coming to your room each night, and she WILL be sleeping in the same bed as you. What you do from there… I suppose that’s up to the two of you to decide for yourselves.”

And with that, she departed the Master’s Suite for dinner, leaving Nick to contemplate his future, and the choice he would eventually have to make.