I love my baby and my baby loves me

Sylvia was on edge. She could tell by the audience reactions and excitement that this would be a very difficult decision.

She liked difficult decisions. She was created to provide her contestants with as many difficult decisions as possible, to make the show more entertaining.

The audience was certainly entertained. But she wasn’t.

Please, she silently wished. Please, somehow, let Mimi come out of this.

Her duty was to be a neutral party and support the contestants equally. And she’d done her job. But in her heart? In her heart, she couldn’t deny her own bias. She wanted Mimi to come out of this alright. Maybe it was wrong for a host to have those feelings, but if it was, she didn’t want to be right. Who cares what her predecessor thought about her attitude or how a host should comport themselves?

Sylvia was her own type of host.

“…Alright,” she said, letting out a breath. “We’ll start with Dawn. Dawn? Would you like to choose someone to get a rose?”

Dawn nodded, her face an expressionless mask. At least this time, I’m choosing first, not last. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to live with the guilt of directly eliminating someone twice in a row. She walked up to the table and picked up the first rose.

She sighed, and turned out to the other girls and their expected faces. She winced when she saw the white terror on Carly’s face; not concern for herself, Dawn guessed, but worry for Mimi. Because of course she was.

“My rose goes to… Rose,” she breathed, meeting the blonde’s wide eyes.

“Moi?” Rose gasped, jerking up straight. “…Really?”

Dawn nodded, giving her a small smile and offering the rose out to her. “We got along really well I think… and you really helped me out a lot this week, with… everything. So this is my way of saying thank you.”

Rose smiled and rose to her feet, walking over to Dawn. But she didn’t take the rose. Instead, she pulled Dawn into a big hug.

“Thank you!” She gushed, clutching Dawn to her chest. “Thank you so much! This is wonderful!”

“…You’re squishing me,” Dawn grumbled, trying to break free. “Don’t make me go back on this now.”

Rose got the message and let her go.

“Yes, we’re all so happy for you,” Sylvia said, giving her some mocking applause. “Now, our next girl, Dani, who’s your rose going to?”

“Wait, before I’m done, I just want to say something,” Rose interrupted, turning to Sylvia.

“What is it?” Sylvia snapped.

“It’s… about our deal.”

Sylvia stared at her in muted confusion. “Your deal? What deal?”

“The one where my brother gets a million dollars for every contestant I make it past,” Rose reminded her.

“…Oh. That deal. I almost forgot. Yes, yes, congratulations, now he’s a millionaire twice over, now can we move on?”

“Actually… I’d like to reject the money.”

Sylvia raised her eyebrow. “…Really. You came onto this show for the money, and now you’re saying you’re going to give it back?”

“…Well, my brother already got the million dollars, so that’s off the table,” Rose clarified. “But… the rest of it… I don’t want it anymore. Not for this round, or any other round I make it through.” She lowered her head.

“I got that money… by unscrupulous means. By turning people against each other, and… because of Holly’s sacrifice. I don’t want to keep profiting like that.” She clutched her chest. “I feel sick just thinking about it…”

“…Well, fine then. No skin off my nose.” Sylvia tapped her cane on the stage. “No more money for you. I hope sleeping at night was worth a cool million bucks my girl.”

“Rose…” Dawn placed her hand on Rose’s arm. “That… was really, really stupid. You should have just kept your mouth shut.”

“What can I say?” Rose laughed, a trace of sadness in her voice. “Some things are more important than money…”

She glanced at Nick for a moment and her cheeks turned pink. She shook her head and the two women returned to their seats.

“…Well.” Sylvia turned back to the other girls. “With that out of the way, let’s get back to the main reason we’re all here, shall we?”

Her eyes landed on Dani, who swallowed and nodded.

This was the deal-breaker. Sylvia watched with baited breath as Dani rose to her feet, only for Carly to grab her by the wrist.

“Carly?” Dani looked down at her, surprised.

Carly shook her head.

“It’s fine. Please…”

Dani winced when she saw the look on her crush’s face. She turned and stared at Mimi, whose expression was a little harder to read.

Then, finally, her eyes landed on Nick. Nick was sitting on the edge of his seat, biting his fingernail. He seemed just as uncertain as Dani.

“…I’m sorry,” Dani whispered, pulling her wrist free. She walked over to the table and held up her rose. “Carly. Here. I know you don’t want it, but… if it’s between you and any of the other girls, I want to keep you in. Please.”

Carly shook her head. She didn’t want it.

“No,” she said, refusing to accept the rose. “Give it to Mimi. It’s not mine.”

“Carly…” Dani’s voice cracked.

“Sylvia, can she do that?” Nick asked.

Sylvia seethed. By the producers she wanted to say yes, but no. That was against the rules she’d established. She shook her head.

“The decision is final,” she glowered. “When Dani declared Carly as her choice, that was the end of it. Carly? Take your damn rose.”

Carly still didn’t budge. Finally, Sylvia had to grab the rose out of Dani’s hands and fling it into the other woman’s lap.

Dani looked like she was going to cry. She whispered an apology to Mimi as she passed the stage, and sank into her seat.

“Carly, I had to-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Carly growled, turning away from her and crossing her arms.

Dani looked down. She’d saved Carly’s spot in the harem, but it may have cost her her spot in Carly’s heart.

Meanwhile, Sylvia was filled with frustration. They were halfway done, and Mimi still wasn’t saved. She tried not to look at her daughter, but she couldn’t help herself. She kept glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.

She couldn’t believe how well Mimi was holding up. It was like the slime girl didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that she wasn’t selected.

She’s got a stronger will than I would have in this situation, Nick thought, sharing Sylvia’s concern over Mimi’s status. He was just getting to know her. She was just starting to become a real person. He dreaded to see what would happen to her if she were eliminated, how those desires would be perverted by the show’s dark magic.

…Who was he kidding? He dreaded to see the result of anyone’s elimination.

“Well? Gina, you’re next, get on up here,” Sylvia barked, glaring at the dark-haired girl. Gina ambled up to the table and stared at the two roses.

She smirked.

“Eenie.. meenie…”

“Just get on with it!” Sylvia was barely restraining her rage at this point. Why would Gina ever choose Mimi? They’d barely interacted. But she had to hope that somehow, the possibility would arise, she needed a miracle.

“Fine. Dakota, we’re still a team, right?” She grinned, offering the rose to her childhood friend.

“Sure thing.” Dakota walked up and accepted the rose, though not with nearly as much joy as her buddy.

Nick sighed in relief, then his eyes shot to Mimi. Mimi looked a little paler than normal, and as for the other girl in the hot seat…

Mary seemed tense.

“Well, now, it comes down to our last rose of the day. Who’s going to get it, I wonder?” Sylvia mused, tapping the tray thoughtfully. She was putting on the performance of an affable host trying to drive the knife in, but everyone could see it was an act. Beneath the surface, she was struggling.

It was Kim’s choice. She rose to her feet unsteadily and approached the table. It was clear from the stunned look on her face that she wasn’t prepared to make this sort of choice today.

“What’s the matter, Kim? You look a little green,” Sylvia chided her. “As for Mary… well, I bet she’s wishing she used the immunity totem before the selection, huh? Well, sorry my girl, you need to be a little quicker next time. If there is a next time, of course.”

Sylvia turned to Kim, staring her dead in the eyes.

“After all… Kim… you know how beloved Mary is among the audience, right? She’s been voted best girl twice in a row, while your popularity took a major nosedive. She’s a threat. I know you girls are friends, but this is still a competition. No one would begrudge you for taking your chance and eliminating her now, while you can.”

“Wh-What?” Kim stuttered, shocked by what Sylvia said.

Sensing a moment of weakness, Sylvia pressed on. “Her score is only going to keep rising. She’s done so little with Nick, after all. Do you really think you’ll be able to go the whole show while staying on her good side? Girls like her, the audience loves them. But this is the point where you need to be bold, and make your stand.”

Kim jerked her head in Mary’s direction, and saw the look of shock on her face. She didn’t seem worried or sad, she almost seemed… resigned.

She’s leaving it up to me, Kim realized. Or… maybe she left it in the hands of God.

“Well? What are you going to do?” Sylvia prodded. “You’re a smart girl, Kim, you must know what the right choice is. Even Mary wouldn’t begrudge you! Think about it like this, you aren’t stabbing her in the back, you’re saving someone else! Someone who needs it so much more than her!”

Kim took a deep breath and exhaled. “…I know what you’re trying to do,” she said. “But I’m not going to betray my friend like that just to get ahead.”

Sylvia’s mask of composure slid off her face in a second. But it wasn’t rage that took its place. She stared at Kim with wet eyes, and her lip started to quiver.

“Please, Kim.” She begged. “Please don’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Kim shook her head. “But this rose is for Mary.”

Mimi flinched, and her head lowered sadly. Mary looked miserable, and Kim… Kim looked like she’d just run over a baby carriage.

“No!” Carly cried. “Please, eliminate me instead!” Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Let her take my place, please!”

“Carly…” Nick’s voice cracked and he rose from his seat, walking to the edge of the stage. He turned to Mimi, staring at her with concern. “Mimi…”

“PLEASE!” Carly wailed. “Eliminate me! Not her, please! Not… not her…”

Mimi might not have been her Emmy. She might not have been her biological daughter, or her daughter in any other meaning of the word.

But… she was something. There was a connection between the two of them that she couldn’t avoid or ignore. And she didn’t want to see Mimi eliminated. If it came down to it, if she’d been able to offer a rose… it would have been to Mimi.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. So she would do whatever it took.

“Please just eliminate me…” She begged.

Carly could see it in Sylvia’s eyes. Sylvia wanted to take her up on the offer, she really did. But no matter how much Carly pleaded and begged, Sylvia couldn’t do anything.

“I… I-!” She looked helplessly between Carly and Mimi, paralyzed with indecision. The other girls didn’t know what to do, or how they were supposed to feel. Even after everything Sylvia had done to them, it felt sick to derive enjoyment at her expense. Especially when it meant that Mimi would be suffering too.

Most of them, anyway. Dakota leaned in intently, watching the events transpire like an exciting drama scene in a movie.

“I… I say…” Sylvia clutched her cane so tightly her fingers turned white. For a fraction of a second she legitimately considered flouting the rules and accepting the terms regardless. But that thought disappeared before it even had a chance to take root. She couldn’t do that. She was the host. Her duty was to abide by the rules.

“Mom. It’s okay.”

Sylvia turned to see Mimi approach her with a small smile on her face. Her eyes were wet, but she was still smiling.

“It’s okay,” she said again, nodding. “I’m okay with this.”

Sylvia whimpered and wiped her eyes, not sure what to say. She just nodded.

“Okay then… with this decision… Mimi… has been eliminated. And that can only mean one thing.” Sylvia lifted her cane.

“No!” Carly cried. Mimi met her eyes one last time and smiled before a light transfused her, engulfing the entire stage in a dark flash.

Mimi stumbled backwards as the light faded, and nearly fell off the stage. She landed on her ass, and made a very audible thud which surprised everyone. She was completely dry. Her skin had darkened from being pale as snow to a healthy pink complexion, and her hair had turned from bleached white to vibrant brown. Even her eyes, once pale orbs that stared emotionlessly out of her head, now gleamed with the color of the sea.

“Here is your exit transformation,” Sylvia declared, her voice cracking.

Marley and Me: From this moment on, “Mimi” no longer exists. While she still retains all the memories of her past as a Mimic Jelly, she has now received new memories and a new past to go along with her human body. She has become “Marley”, Carly’s twin sister. Everyone will remember Carly always having a sister, and she’s always been on the show. Marley will become Carly’s double on the show; they will participate in challenges together and share the same bed. However, Marley is incapable of earning any points for the two of them. She is merely an extra set of hands in the bedroom, and will be treated as a second Carly.

“What?” Nick’s jaw dropped.

“What?!” Dani exclaimed, nearly falling out of her chair.

“What…?” Carly stared at her doppelganger in wonder. Where before, Mimi was a pale imitation of her, now it was like looking into a mirror. Or at least it would have been, if not for Carly’s blonde hair. Marley stared back at her, not sure what to make of things.

Then a lifetime of memories flooded into both girls, and Marley tumbled off the stage. Rather than splatting into a puddle of slime, she kicked up a cloud of sand instead.

“Is this fair?” Gina asked, not sure how to react to the transformation. “I mean… isn’t this giving Carly an extra advantage now?”

“It certainly is possible,” Sylvia admitted, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her hands were shaking. “There are certainly no disadvantages for Carly that come with this transformation. And while we wouldn’t do such a thing under normal circumstances, there was a significant amount of audience support for Mimi to remain with Carly in one form or another.”

“Audience support?” Dakota asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Or host bias?”

“Audience support,” Sylvia sniffed. Although she may have had a hand in things a little.

“So wait, there’s two of her now?” Dawn frowned, not sure what to make of that. “Wouldn’t that make certain challenges a lot easier, then?”

“Again, it is possible that this will be an added advantage to Carly,” Sylvia agreed. Nick caught her lip trembling. “I can’t deny that. However, we’ve taken steps to ensure that the two of them will be treated as one person instead of two people on the same team. As you can see, they’re about… ten feet away from one another, more or less?”

Dawn nodded.

“All twins must stick together,” Sylvia stated. “That’s just common knowledge. Should they be more than ten feet apart from one another, Mimi- sorry, Marley will revert into slime. And not a slimy girl, either, just a puddle of slime, clothes and all, until Carly enters her range again.”

“So basically, they’re stuck with each other,” Rose noted. “If they try to use a numerical advantage, it’s not like they can split up or act independently, it’s really like just a tag team.”

“Exactly,” Sylvia confirmed. “And to make it fair, this will also count towards Carly’s transformation for the round. Although the audience may be a bit miffed about that.”

The other girls tensed at that statement. With all the drama going around, they hadn’t even been thinking about transformations.

Suddenly, Marley stumbled to her feet. Her awkward smile was a shadow of Mimi’s.

“Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly, brushing herself off. “I must have tripped.”

“Ahem.” Sylvia cleared her throat, and waved her cane at Carly’s chair. “Marley, you and your sister are considered the same person now, don’t forget. So you share a chair.”

Marley glanced at the chair. “It’s… a little small, don’t you think?”

Sylvia nodded. “...Sorry about that,” she echoed. Her voice was miles away.

Nick frowned. She’s trying to put on a tough face, but it’s slipping.

Marley approached her sister, walking past a stunned Dani. She winked at the confused girl, and nudged her sister. Carly was having a bit more difficulty acclimating to her new memories, as she now had two entirely different parallel lives overlapping one another.

Gina winced in sympathy. “The past-rewriting ones are always a bitch,” she sighed.

“B-But at least she’s okay, though, right?” Mary said hopefully.

“Yeah,” Kim nodded. “She looks fine...”

“I-I am fine…” Carly stammered, rubbing her temples. “It’s just… a lot to take in.”

“That’s what she said,” Marley cracked.

Carly grinned up at her sister and both girls giggled.

Sylvia watched them from afar, tears welling up in her eyes. It’s fine. She’s fine. This… this is what she wanted. She’s human now. For real. A real human, with new memories, a new life. A new purpose… a new mom.

She clutched her cane tightly, nearly breaking it in half.

“Okay… we need to move on. We have something important to address before we get to the rest of the transformations. Your teams... they’re a little... repetitive, wouldn’t you girls agree?”

Nick heard her voice crack.

“Sylvia…” He approached her. “Are you sure you’re up for this? After what you’ve been through, it might be a good idea for you to take a break for a second…”

Sylvia’s eyes flashed and she turned on him.

“How about you stop talking,” she snapped, lifting her cane. “You have work to do!”

She unloaded her bitterness out through her cane. In a flash, Nick was gone. Sylvia let out a breath, and turned to the stunned girls.

“Now, let’s figure out what to do about these teams.”