If it's all a magnificent mistake, there goes the universe and its order

Dawn was in fact correct when she said that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin and Gina were hanging out together. She was even correct when she predicted that the ladies had dodged curfew, and gone out to get drunk again.

But she would never have guessed the underlying motive behind it. Or the fact that it hadn’t been Gina’s idea.

In fact, Gina had been ready to catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep! Having gotten used to the changes her Sweetcheeks transformation had inflicted on her body, she’d anticipated that she might have some difficulty getting comfortable falling to sleep at night. Plus, her conversation with Nick earlier that evening had been gnawing on her, so to try and avoid stewing on it, she figured the best thing she could do was be responsible for once, and go to bed early.

Little did she know that just as she was getting used to the feeling of her more modest, original buttocks against the sweet-smelling bedsheets and had started to drift off (before midnight, and without the aid of **** or ****! Talk about progress!) a pounding on her door sprung her up in a startled gasp.

“Huh, wuzzat!?” She looked around groggily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

The insistent knocking continued. Usually when Gina awoke to a pounding it was in her head, but this time it was coming from outside.

By all accounts, Gina was a pretty chill person. Her clothing style was aggressive and her makeup was striking, and she revealed her tattoos in ways that challenged those who looked at her. If you looked at her from across a bar or a club, you would probably think to keep your distance from someone who looked as dangerous as she did.

But that was just the surface. Sure she was tough as nails when she had to be, but most of the time she was easygoing, even pleasant, as long as you treated her with the same courtesy. While not quite as “go with the flow” as Carly may have been, Gina didn’t start trouble unless troubled started with her first, or she was dealing with a particularly obnoxious and sanctimonious annoyance, like her parents. No, as long as you didn’t try to control her (unless it was in the bedroom, but that was a completely different matter) Gina was, most of the time, a pretty easy person to get along with.

The one notable exception to that was when she was trying to sleep.

Then, all bets were off.

“If you don’t stop that fucking knocking right fucking now, I’m going to break your fingers off and wrap them around your-!”

Gina flung the door open and her angry rant ended mid-sentence. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked at her with an unusual expression of surprise on her face. It was rare for her to be caught so totally off guard, and Gina needed a moment to process what she was seeing.

To adequately describe the thought process that went through Gina’s head in that moment, it was important to recognize that she had not always been the bold, anti-authoritarian rebel that she proudly was today. At one time, she was just a traumatized little girl with parents who cared about her but couldn’t properly handle the issues she was dealing with due to working so many long hours.

To cope with the guilt for what she had done, Gina began burying her awful feelings in a mountain of **** and ****. But she didn’t start with the hard stuff. She had still been a timid child back in those days, afraid of getting in trouble. She had just started feeling out the rough edges of her personality. So when she had been drinking in the park one night and someone grabbed her by the shoulder, she had whirled around and started cursing them out, for one of the first times in her life.

It was a cop. In all her long years of **** ****, Gina had never sobered up as quickly as she did in that moment, as a junior high school who had never gotten in trouble before but had just been caught underage drinking in a public park and cursed out a cop.

What she was feeling right now was a primal “OH CRAP” about twenty times worse than that.

To Gina’s everlasting relief, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin didn’t seem to take her hostility personally. Yes, if she’d wanted to, she probably could have done all manner of things to Gina, but she didn’t. She chose to just let the punk girl slide.

…Of course, if Gina had been thinking straight, she would have remembered that **** was prohibited on the island, but hey- “Thinking things through” was not in the skillset of someone who had ended up in Gina’s position in life.

“Uhwah… um… s-sorry…” Gina stammered out an apology, going pale. Usually she was unflappable, but right now? She was trying REAL hard not to piss herself. She hadn’t peed her panties (sober, anyway) since she was a very little girl, and now was NOT the time to relearn old habits.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s ears twitched. She relaxed her body, which had tensed in the face of the punk girl’s hostility, and her smile slowly returned.

She tilted her head to the side and lowered her arms, giving Gina a sly look.

With the danger passed, Gina could finally breathe again. And when she did, she took another look at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, and noticed that the slender woman was looking a lot less slender. Kim wasn’t the only one who had gotten a significant upgrade to her chest today; though in this woman’s case, it had been a gradual progression over the last few days- Gina was only just now noticing because the assassin had dressed to show herself off.

“Yo, uh… you… wanna come in or something?” Gina scratched her cheek, trying to figure out what exactly the girl in front of her wanted this late in the evening. It wasn’t like the mute woman was the most forthcoming person in the world, especially considering she couldn’t even talk. And after the clusterfuck that had just transpired, Gina wasn’t sure if she should be pressing for answers.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked. Not even bothering to nod yes, she strolled right past the dazed woman and into the Candy Suite.

Pausing, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s nose twitched. It had been a while since she’d been in this room, but the scent of it was familiar. She looked around, noticing that it somehow looked messier than she remembered it.

Which was pretty damning, considering the room had candy littered everywhere as a baseline.

“Hey, uh, if you’re looking for Kim, she’s not here right now,” Gina pointed out, closing the door behind her. “Tonight’s her night with Nick, remember? So the two of them are probably out together somewhere.”

Didn’t he say something about going to that Proximity Palace place? Gina didn’t remember the conversation all that well; at least, not the parts that didn’t involve her mercilessly teasing the two of them.

Or being teased back.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin turned back to the blushing girl, giving her a flat look that was remarkably stoic for someone who was usually so expressive. And yet, Gina could still understand her perfectly.

She’d said enough stupid things in her life to recognize an expression that said “Did you really just say something that stupid?”

Apparently, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was, in fact, aware that Kim and Nick were off somewhere together.

Makes sense. She’s basically their stalker or something.

What didn’t make sense was why the assassin had come here even while knowing that.

“So, you… wanted to come see me?” Gina tried to **** a smile. Usually she’d be relying on some good, old-fashioned natural relaxants to take the edge off, but no luck right now. “Gee, you shouldn’t have!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s bright smile returned, and she nodded cheerily. She struck a pose with her arms outstretched, like she was presenting something.

Considering that the only thing she had to present was herself, Gina took a shot at it.

“…You look nice,” she noted. “Your transformation gave you quite a wardrobe. A little too pink for my tastes, but hey.”

She shrugged her shoulders while Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin gave her a curious look.

Gina raised her eyebrow. “Oh yeah… guess that was way before your time, huh?” She mused thoughtfully. “Yeah, so, like, my first transformation here? Fucking SUCKED. I had to wear these prissy nice clothes, I lost all my tattoos, and they even washed out all my hair dye! Can you fucking believe it!?” She griped. “Luckily, I managed to get a special reward that let me undo the damn thing, and get my original style back.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked, still staring at Gina. She pointed to the top of her scalp, right where her own luscious midnight tresses sprouted from.

“…Shaddep,” Gina said, getting red in the face. “I just haven’t touched up my roots in a while, izzall! Not a big deal…”

She scratched her head, tousling her hair in the hopes to better conceal the tips of blonde beginning to grow from her scalp. But they were hard to miss even with as greasy as her hair was.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin flashed an amused smirk that was anything but amusing for the punk girl.

“It’s not like I can just get a touch-up at the salon or- …Wait, yeah, I could totally do that.” Gina slapped her face and groaned. “Look, it’s been a long night. If you’re here to get your ego stroked, I already told you, you look great. If you want to get anything else stroked, go ask Dani. I think she still needs to check a few more boxes on that bounty of hers.”

Gina vaguely remembered something about the bounties being on a time limit, but maybe she was getting that mixed up with something else. It wasn’t like she cared. She had plenty of BP already, and it’s not like she was in the mood for extra work.

Lucky bitch, Kim, she thought to herself, biting the inside of her cheek. The one bounty that actually seems like a good time and she got to snag it first.

Maybe there’d be a bounty where she got a Victory Point for each load of semen she sucked out of Nick’s cock. THAT would be one worth taking. …But then Kim would probably snake that one too, now that she thought about it.

Gina didn’t have a problem with her roommate per se, she thought Kim was a perfectly nice girl, and that worked out just fine. But seeing how hard she was working and how diligent she was, it kinda made Gina feel a little shitty in comparison.

…Not necessarily undeservedly so, she had to admit.

But if she had a transformation like Sick Day? She’d probably be using it all the damn time, not giving a fuck about the consequences. …Which was probably a good thing. Gina doubted she could ever keep up with the life Kim led; the tomboy was welcome to collect all those tough bounties, even the fun ones like spankings or blowjobs.

…Great. Now Gina was thinking about drinking Nick’s cum again. Which not only made her feel thirsty, but reminded her of his little tease earlier today about taking her out on a date, and that led to… led to… led…

“…Sorry, what were we talking about?” Without Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to draw her attention with words, Gina’s brain was doing that thing it usually did, and going on long, rambling tangents while she stared vacantly off into space. And her guest (home invader?) wasn’t too thrilled that the attention wasn’t on her.

But what else was new?

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin rolled her eyes and silently scoffed. It took a second, but when Gina realized why she was acting so snooty she burst out laughing.

“Oh shit! Sorry, didn’t even think about that!” She cackled, shaking her head in amusement. “What was I talking about, I meant. Sorry.”

And just like that, the whole night’s worth of tension just evaporated away. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin raised an amused eyebrow and uncrossed her arms, shrugging with her usual smile, and Gina just laughed.

Now that she could think clearly, she realized there was only one reason that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin would come pay her a visit this late at night dressed up like she was going to a rave, and it wasn’t so she could gnaw on some gummy bears.

“So you want to go get a drink or something?” Gina suggested.

The assassin grinned from ear to ear, and her eyes twinkled.

And thus, Dawn’s assumption became prophecy. Only she’d gotten one detail wrong. She’d assumed that Gina would take Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin back to the bar, or to one of dozens like it all over the Shopping District.

What she failed to account for was that Gina was exceptionally lazy. And tired. And most importantly, Kim wasn’t here to nag her about getting plastered in their room.

So instead of going out to drink, she decided to order in.

“Mm, there we go… all sorts of goodies,” Gina said, licking her lips. “What did you want? You seemed pretty picky last night, so I went and ordered all different kinds of-”

Gina didn’t even get to finish her sentence because Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin snagged a bottle of hard liquor off of the cart the faerie had delivered, popped the top without even checking the label, and started guzzling.

…

For a few seconds, Gina just watched at the slender girl tilted her head back, and let the burning liquid drain down her throat. She swore she could actually see the assassin’s neck move to help gulp it down faster.

“…Oh, so it’s THAT kind of a night,” she said with a shaky grin.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin demonstrated her exceptional skill at holding her breath by drinking for over two minutes continuously. The bottle was almost empty by the time she stopped, and it wasn’t because she couldn’t handle anymore.

She offered the rest to Gina. It wouldn’t be polite to drink the whole thing herself, after all.

“…Geez, this is 100 proof,” Gina said, shaking her head in disbelief as she checked the label. Sure she drank stronger stuff than that all the time, but not usually this fast.

She raised her head to see Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was already going for another bottle.

“Whoa! Hey, hold on a second!” A surge of responsibility that belonged to someone Gina had long thought she’d left behind swelled up in her breast, and she rushed to stop the assassin from giving a repeat performance. But Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin swiveled her head around sharply and narrowed her eyes.

Gina paused. The other woman didn’t look like someone who had just downed a whole 750 milliliters of hard ****. She didn’t even look tipsy.

Realizing her blunder, a crooked grin stretched across Gina’s face. “…Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly, holding up her hands. “I forgot. You can REALLY hold your booze, huh?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin smiled back at her, and the tension faded again. She scooped up another bottle, this one even stronger, and started on emptying that one next. She went a little slower this time, but Gina had to admire the efficiency.

I guess it’s not like she has to make small talk or anything, the punk girl noted with amusement. For all it mattered Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin could spend the whole night drinking and it wouldn’t affect their conversation at all.

Gina could respect the hustle. But even she had her limits.

“Man, what I wouldn’t give for an augmented synthetic liver or whatever it is you have,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Still… that’s… a lot.”

It wasn’t like the assassin was drinking piña coladas. That shit she was drinking fucking stung, and Gina knew that better than most. At least the hotel could afford the top-shelf stuff; there were some labels that went down like battery acid. Blegh.

While Gina was happy to indulge the assassin’s whims, and suspected that she’d come over here because Dawn would have broken out into a lecture if she tried to get plastered back in HER room, she found herself wondering what was behind this.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had an okay time last night, she’d thought. Certainly nothing to write home about. And Gina wasn’t even entirely sure that the girl had actually managed to get drunk in the end, if she was being honest. (Her memory of last night, like most nights, was a little spotty to say the least.)

But apparently, she wanted to drink again.

Hard.

“…Hey, everything okay?” Gina asked.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin set the half-empty bottle down and whipped her head around to look at the other woman.

Her fierce eyes made Gina shiver, but they didn’t make her stop.

Unlike someone else who would pry and probably set the other girl off (or make her close off) Gina was fine not pushing.

She’d been there before. She knew that the last thing someone doing something like this wanted was for a random stranger, or even a friend, to pry into their business unprompted.

That really wasn’t her.

Gina held up her hands to show the wary assassin that she meant no harm.

“If you want a safe spot to drink your problems away? Believe me, I’m your gal,” she assured the other girl. “I’m, like, the LEAST nosy person you’ll ever meet, trust me.”

Obviously, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin said nothing in response, staring silently at the other woman. But Gina could feel her contemplative gaze, like she was wondering if Gina really could be trusted.

“…I’m serious, you think you’re quiet? Well, it’s not like you can tell me anyway, right? So if you want, we can just chill and drink together. Sounds like a good time to me,” Gina encouraged her. “Just think of me as a drinking buddy!”

Gina could feel the caution in the other woman’s stare for real, now. She was maintaining careful eye contact, and in doing so giving Gina the answer she was looking for.

Yeah. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin wasn’t just drinking for funsies. She was trying to get drunk. Drunk drunk. And Gina couldn’t even begin to count the number of reasons someone might have to get that drunk, so she didn’t even bother to try.

Besides, from what she saw last night? It would take a LOT for Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to get to where she was looking to go. And Gina wasn’t sure why or how or what was going on, but… if the other girl needed somebody with her to step in and make sure she didn’t do anything too crazy, well… …Gina was happy to chill with her until that person was needed, and then she’d go find them and let THEM deal with the drunk assassin’s wrath.

Gina may have lived a reckless life, but not THAT reckless.