Intermission

Damien and Gabriella made their way back to the lounge with smiles on their faces. Damien was surprised at how much he was enjoying himself, and Gabriella also seemed to be having a good time despite the...circumstances. Arm in arm they chatted about their favorite scenes so far, for Gabriella it was the scene where Dana, or Danageno here, used her magic bells to mesmerize Victostatos, and the ensuing scene transition. For Damien he found himself rather intrigued by the reveal by Speaker Suki that it was the Queen of the Night who was evil and not Synastro, though Gabriella was sure he was just staring at Suki's boobs. In his defense he was magically compelled to find them attractive, but he was actually more drawn to the ethical ramifications of going on a quest for someone you thought was good, and sending you for good reasons, only to discover later that you'd been tricked...and was Suki just telling a different lie? Synastro certainly didn't seem to be entirely benevolent... Gabriella just rolled her eyes and told him he was thinking about it too hard, it's a play made hundreds of years ago and abridged by a fox demon looking to get him laid. The ethical nuance wasn't going to be the most delved into topic in the play...but she did believe him that it wasn't just Suki's tits he was fond of...

"Well, if the goal is to cater to my desires, ethical nuance should be more prominent," Damien argued, grabbing a drink for himself and for Gabriella, whom he noticed was saying far away from any phallic shaped food snacks.

"I won't lie Professor," Gabriella said, biting her lip as his own Transformation kicked in. "I was never really into ethics. It was honestly just an elective I took because it-"

"Looks good on a political resume?" Damien finished for her, causing her to nod and sip slowly at her drink. "You said so during your interview with Nymeera...yesterday? Wow, it really feels like it's been so much longer already, doesn't it?"

"Yeah... Two days ago my life was completely different. Now..." Gabriella didn't get a chance to finish as suddenly a new voice called out to her, with some familiar things to say.

"Gabriella!" said a well dressed man with a top hat and monocle, clearly enjoying dressing up for the opera. "I knew that was you. Wow, you look enchanting! In a dress like that you're a dead ringer for that gorgeous actress who plays Gabima!" he said, laughing at the joke, despite being far more spot on than he was apparently allowed to realize. "Is your mother with you today?" he began to ask, a song and dance Damien was becoming all too familiar with by now. He could only imagine how old it was for Gabriella by now.

"Hello," Damien interrupted cheerfully, stepping up and grasping the man's hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze as he asserted his presence, which had gone overlooked by the well dressed man up to now, but which now couldn't be overstated as Damien smiled and stepped close, truly appreciating the difference his new height gave him. "Miss Neuman and I have certainly been enjoying the opera, thank you so much for stopping by... Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know who you are..." The man, who would've been about his height back before Nymeera gave him a few extra inches, had to look up slightly to meet Damien's gaze, and Damien, having to look down, marveled at the psychological difference those few inches made. When Damien was shorter, tall men would appear to take up more space in his line of sight, making them feel more powerful, more important. Now this man seemed to be taking up less space, and it was easy to talk to him, easy to see him in a non threatening way. The ethical ramifications of this were intriguing as well... Would a taller person be more willing to help out a shorter person because they see them as less imposing? Would a shorter person feel threatened by a taller person even if they were trying to help simply because of how imposing they looked? Obviously he wasn't going to find any of this out now, but he couldn't help how his brain just popped into that line of thought for a moment before remembering why he was engaging this man in the first place.

"Ah... Marcus..." Marcus said, clearly intent on giving a last name too, but Damien just jovially ran over his intentions with pure enthusiasm, enough to make it seem like he wasn't cutting Marcus off on purpose. Gabriella stood back with a peculiar look on her face as Damien interceded on her behalf. Was he white knighting her a little? Yeah, but even though he knew she could handle herself, and had likely done so for years before he came along, he also noticed that, unlike Syn, she didn't enjoy this song and dance, putting people like Marcus back in their place while doing her best not to inconvenience her mother. Plus, on a more selfish level, Damien wanted to show her that, even though he was a simple college professor, he could be relied upon to help deal with this part of her life too. After all, what Marcus was doing wasn't much different than professors courting those close to tenure board members in order to gave favor among the board, hoping to be granted tenure. Sure, those were old muscles, but at his age, old muscles were something he was quite comfortable with.

"Damien Carter, a pleasure Marcus," Damien said with a smile, shaking the man's hand before releasing it and leaning in speaking in a lower register. "I do hope you're not trying to tell me that Gabriella here takes her mother with her on dates. If so I'm afraid I have some apologies to make," he said, laughing at a more normal volume as Marcus tried to keep up, putting together the subtle pieces that no Gabriella's mother wasn't with her, and this was a very awkward time to ask about a person's mother. "In fact I was just telling Gabriella that I thought I was a dead ringer for that actor playing Damino. If you say she looks like Gabima well...who knows where Act 2 will lead us?"

"I'm afraid I don't see it," Marcus said, now speaking more quickly, as though ensuring not to be cut off again, looking between Damien and Gabriella, who was already turned away from Marcus, waving her empty glass for a waiter to take from her. "And what exactly do you do Mr. Car-" Damien abruptly turned away, putting his, not quite empty, glass on the same tray as Gabriella as the waiter came by. Gabriella immediately moved to latch herself onto Damien's arm, expertly making things as awkward as possible for poor Marcus while remaining, on the surface, imminently polite.

"Please don't allow yourself to be swindled by my date's words too much Marcus," Gabriella said musically, offering Marcus a politically calculated smile. "I assure you he's been quite the gentleman thus far."

"Well we do have a second act. Thank you for stopping by Marcus," Damien said, turning and leading Gabriella away even as Marcus desperately tried to get one last word in.

"Well, I do hope you act the gentleman Mr. Carter. Have a great night!" he said even as Gabriella and Damien walked out of earshot.

"Think he got the hint?" Damien asked Gabriella as they moved through the crowd to a more isolated corner of the lounge.

"Well, I should hope. You certainly could've been more tactful with the poor man. He's a bit eccentric, and isn't the most important person in my mother's fan club, but he is consistent with his donations and support. Still..." Gabriella looked Damien up and down as though considering something she hadn't thought of before. "You didn't do poorly at all. You were a bit rude, but excusably so, like a country bumpkin who means well but is still..." Gabriella's fingers moved up to trace along Damien's chin hair. "...rough around the edges."

"Well, I can certainly remember being in his shoes, looking for any leg up on the tenure board I could get...I also remember how annoying it was to be pestered by people like that looking for advice on sucking up to the tenure board after making tenure myself. Just wanted to show you I'm more than just a pretty face..."

"Oh, I already knew that Professor..." Gabriella bit her lip to keep from gasping as Deference is Sexy kicked in. "However, that's only a temporary measure anyway. Sure, Marcus may not bother us the rest of the night, but it doesn't do much for everyone else here looking to score easy points with my mother... Gabriella's face wrinkled into a frown for a moment before she schooled her features into something more...mischievous.

"Oh? You have a magic bullet that keeps favor seekers away? Do share," Damien said, curious as to what she had in mind, and whether they'd get in trouble for it unless Nymeera stepped in.

"Something like that. It isn't something I can do on my own, so it's pretty situational, but with you here...yes I think I have a way to keep everyone from bothering us, at least until the Intermission is over.

Gabriella then gave him a look that could've melted lead and pulled him away from the crowd into one of the lounge's more private corners. She pressed herself back into the wall, arms around his neck forcing him to bend down a little as their bodies inched even closer. Maybe this whole extra height thing wasn't all it was cracked up to be... Then her lips met his and suddenly height was the last thing on Damien's mind as they kissed passionately in the corner. Not exactly hidden, but it would certainly be awkward trying to approach them... Was she trying to suck his tongue?

Meanwhile... Patika let her 'gym bunny' outfit, she couldn't really think of the tiny pieces of fabric as 'clothes,' drop to the floor of the room she and Lauren shared as she prepared for a shower she REALLY needed. Fucking Syn, thinking she could just squirm out of their deal because life wasn't going oh so absolutely perfectly for her like usual? The redheaded bitch needed to grow up! They weren't dumb college girls anymore, they were adults now and flaking out on helping someone you promised to help, and who PAID you for your services was-

"Eek!"

Suddenly Patika was losing her balance and falling through the air, with just enough clarity of mind to realized she'd just kicked off her heels without thinking before the ground was coming up on her and she had to catch herself before she cracked her skull open. Patika grunted as she hit the floor, palms slapping hard against the bathroom tiles. She managed to keep her head from hitting, but her body was gonna be sore for...huh, actually it wasn't sore at all. Actually she didn't even feel that stinging sensation in her hands. With pain no longer a concern, anger replaced fear and Patika shot a scathing glare at the heels she'd just kicked off her feet.

This was all her stupid transformation's fault! Couldn't wear anything except heels...what kind of stupid idea was that? Who thought that never wearing anything other than heels was sexy?! Patika moved to stand up. She didn't need heels...she didn't! She could stand on her own two- The moment Patika tried to put her foot down she found herself losing balance again, slipping down to her knees, which thudded against the bathroom floor with no pain at all. Patika slapped the tile floor in frustration, and was rewarded when THAT, of all things, caused her hand to sting a little. She must look a pretty picture, on her knees, naked, tits and ass bouncing around as she tried to move without the help of her heels. She took a breath to calm down, and started to stand up again, slowly this time, not trying to fight the instinct to arch her feet and stand on her toes. It was a strange sensation, like she was wearing invisible heels. Her feet would just lose all strength the moment her heels tried to descend towards the ground, so maybe the trick was to keep her heels off the ground as much as possible? It was working, kinda. She was managing to stand up, even though she was a little shaky. Still, it was like she was fighting back against the transformation. Patika shifted a little on her toes, noticing that she was inadvertently pushing her ass out, but that was fine, maybe she could- Patika gasped as she tried to take a step and immediately lost all balance, falling back right onto her round, bubble backside...which stung a little. Patika let out a strangled laugh at that, of course her ass would still feel hurt, how else was she supposed to get spanked by Mr. Carter for the audience's benefit?

Patika sighed, stretching out her legs to stare at her naked feet. They looked totally normal, she almost thought they should look like a Barbie doll, stuck in an impossible position so that those heels could always fit over them. Not just normal feet that looked like she should just be able to stand up at any point in time. Patika looked back towards her heels and groaned miserably before starting to crawl. Oh god she hated this... Crawling towards her heels...that she'd have to wear in the shower...the shower that she really needed right now. Ever since talking to Coach Victoria in the gym, Patika could just feel all the sweat and grime building up on her skin, in her hair... She needed a full body scrub, with shampoo, conditioner, everything. NOT because she was trying to pretty herself up for Mr. Carter...ah... No, this was for her.

Once Patika reached her heels she picked them up, turning them over in her hands. Was she really going to wear these IN the shower? Maybe the transformation only counting HAVING the heels, not necessarily wearing them. She tried to stand up again...only to end up back on her tight wide rear a moment later. She grumbled but reluctantly put them on. Whatever, she could figure out a workaround later, for now she just needed to get clean. She stood, elegantly poised on her heels like she'd been practicing for years. After falling down over and over it was actually a really nice feeling to be able to stand and walk around, maybe even dance... Patika started to smile as she thought about dancing...and then that smile turned sour before disappearing completely. Right, she was still mad at Syn for breaking her promise. There had to be some way to get Syn to teach her shuffle dancing...or maybe she could try to learn on her own?

Patika walked back to her room and picked up her phone. There wasn't any connection to the internet, probably not likely to get service in other dimensions, so it wasn't like she could just look up a YouTube video or Tik Tok or...whatever. She looked through her contacts list, only contestants and, of course, Damien. Syn's name just made Patika frown even harder. Then her eyes settled on Lauren's name and she suddenly got it in her head to invite her back up to her room. Lauren was a mom right? She must be used to settling petty squabbles like this? Surely if there was someone who could resolve this it was Lauren... Maybe they could discuss it while they showered? Shampoo, conditioner, soap...everything. Yeah, yeah that was a good idea. Patika started to smile as she typed out a text to Lauren. As she hit the send button she couldn't help but let her eyes glaze over a bit...and when they cleared she had somehow opened up her BP Store app...

Sexercise Bike- 3000 BP

Exercise Bike with built in dildo. Utilizing the bike for 1 hour permanently increases speed. For best results use once daily.

That...that sounded like a good purchase. Patika blinked a few times. OBVIOUSLY not to get off on! But permanently increasing her speed? Every day? Maybe it would even help make her butt a bit smaller? A bit less...eye catching... Even if it didn't, she would want to try to maximize it's effectiveness right? If she could only really benefit from it once daily, it just made sense to purchase it as soon as possible. Yeah...yeah she needed to buy it as soon as possible. The only problem was the price tag. She only had 900 BP left after all was said and done. Even if she got her 500 BP back from Syn that was still only half way there...and she REALLY didn't want to do any loans. How was she to earn BP then? Could she earn BP by dancing? Well, it'd have to be a type of dance you could do in stripper heels. Now, what kind of dance could that be...

Lauren was too old for this... First Summer had dragged her around the hotel looking for Nymeera's room, which obviously the host of the hotel had never given them, only for Summer to suddenly stop and inform her that Crystal's date was over and their connection was back. Then Lauren stood in the middle of the hall listening to exactly one half of a conversation between the two sisters that had her wondering why she was ever concerned in the first place. Honestly, Summer was like a kid. First she was scared, acting terrified that something terrible might've happened to Crystal, and then, just as suddenly as that emotion had appeared it vanished without a trace and Summer was right back to her bubbly cheerful self, smiling and laughing and asking Crystal how her date was. Apparently it was very 'productive,' whatever Crystal meant by that, and Summer was not happy with that explanation leading to a dozen follow up questions that made her pout and chastise Crystal for not having enough fun on her date. Lauren didn't know exactly what happened during Crystal's date, but she did know it wasn't up to Summer's standards.

"Are you still upset?" Summer giggled towards Lauren, who shot her the same look she gave her kids when they asked her a particularly grating question about her mood. Unlike them, Summer seemed unphased. "Hey, there's no need to worry! Crystal is fine. Yeah she wasted her date not doing anything fun, but I'm sure she has a good reason. I trust her."

"That's not the issue..." Lauren said slowly, trying to draw together her thoughts. Lauren always had thought of herself as a very emotionally intelligent person, and she also saw herself as something of a caretaker for the others, even though they were all the same age, aside from Coach Victoria of course. So when she volunteered to help Summer talk to Nymeera about Crystal back in the gym, the real reason was that Summer truly did look distraught and uncomfortable. After seeing her shake off something like that so easily...it made Lauren worry that Summer was putting on a braver face that she really possessed.

"Hmm?" Now Summer was just looking a her with that big, almost vapid smile like everything was sunshine and rainbows in the world, and to Lauren it felt...strained.

"Are you okay?" Lauren asked, before holding up a hand to cut off any immediate response Summer was about to give. "I mean it seriously. Don't brush me off or tell me you're fine if you aren't. You looked genuinely worried back in the gym and shaking it off like that makes me think that either you're not taking this seriously at all...or you were really terrified and you're trying not to let it show out of some need to be positive about this...situation." Lauren watched as Summer blinked a few times, then frowned, continuing to walk towards Lauren's room with slow, rolling strides that- Lauren was DEFINITELY not going to let distract her right now! ...before turning to Lauren with a smile that every bone in Lauren's body told her was genuine.

"I guess I'm not okay," Summer half giggled, smiling warmly. "This whole harem hotel thing, back to school edition is pretty wild, and Crystal's already been hurt because she's been going up against Nymeera, but that's just how Crystal is. She's smart, and strong willed, and no one can tell her what to do! Not me, not Damien, and not even Nymeera! I trust my sister, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about her. When we got cut off, I was scared something had happened, but Crystal told me she did it to protect me, which I thought was not fair, but...well that's what makes Crystal so amazing. Even in a situation like this, her first priority is to protect me..." Summer's smile turned sad for a moment. "The least I can do is believe in her...but I don't wanna do the least I can do!" Summer said, suddenly shouting and puffing up her chest in a way Lauren found awfully distracting. "I wanna do the best I can! I'm not smart like Crystal is! I'm not brave like her. I'm not dependable. I'm not...resilient like she is. But Crystal says that my smile gives her courage, and my optimism helps keep her from sinking into pessimism. So I don't wanna burden myself, and her, with worrying and trying to keep up with her. I know I can't compete! I just want to smile, and make sure that no matter how bad this place gets for us, no matter what anyone has to go through, they have someone they can look to for a smile. For fun! For a laugh! And hopefully...that makes it easier for everyone else to smile too, maybe even Crystal."

Lauren could swear at that moment that the sun coming in through the hotel windows were framing Summer in an angelic halo on purpose... The blonde looked so good in that skimpy gym bunny outfit, and hearing her so boldly just lay everything out without any hesitation or embarrassment... Lauren was feeling seriously attracted to the gorgeous chef right now... Not like, in a relationship sort of way, obviously...Lauren was married after all! What would her husband think if...

Summer leaned in and kissed Lauren right on the mouth.

Lauren felt herself freeze up, Summer's soft, slightly moist lips felt so nice on her own, the gentle pressure like a warm blanket making her feel cozy and good, and hot... Summer giggled as she pulled back, smiling brightly at Lauren. "Oops, don't know why I did that. Just really wanted to kiss you for a second there. Um...should we go inside and apologize to Patika now?" Summer asked jovially while Lauren was still trying to unrock her world.

"U-uh yeah...you go on in first..." Lauren giggled shakily, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she started trying to get her heart to stop beating so quickly. Wow, Summer was so... Nymeera! Yes, this was clearly Nymeera's doing! Trying to make her feel certain things so that she'd abandon her husband and join Damien's harem! Well it wasn't going to work! Lauren was completely sure she didn't feel any attraction towards Damien at all! Nymeera's plan was clearly failing!

"Um...Lauren?" Summer giggled, making Lauren's heart skip a beat as she imagined the gorgeous blonde coming in for another kiss.

"Y-yes?" Lauren asked softly, stepping in a little closer, lips parting slightly, eyes hooding as-

"I can't get in the room. My phone doesn't work for this door."

...oh right, this was Lauren's room. Why was it so hard to think straight? And the hall was so warm... Lauren took out her NyPhone, practically identical to Summer's, and held it up to the door. A click resounded as the door unlocked allowing the two young women inside.

"Right...sorry, just...something on my mind," Lauren said, thinking of how sexy it would be to tug Summer's tiny little yoga shorts down and worship that plush ass of hers. Oops! Where did that thought come from? Stepping into the room before Summer, then closing the door behind her Lauren noted that the shower was running, so she could guess where Patika was. "Patika!" Lauren called out, walking towards the bathroom, trying not to stare at Summer's gorgeous body as the blonde squirmed about...nervously? Why was she nervous? It was her idea to come here and talk to Patika, make sure they could still exercise together regularly.

Lauren opened the door to the bathroom and suddenly wondered why she was being so cavalier about wandering into a bathroom where Patika was very clearly showering...

"Oh fuck..." Lauren moaned lustfully.

"Lauren, glad you're here. Can you help me?" Patika asked innocently, holding out a bottle of shampoo towards the startled and staring blonde. "I need help getting all the hard to reach places..." Patika said with what Lauren could've SWORN was a seductive tone! Suddenly Lauren's entire body felt like it was under an electric charge, her heart started to hammer and nipples started to harden considerably. S-something was affecting her. Yeah, yeah something was DEFINITELY affecting her as she stared at Patika's toned, yet round ass. Didn't Summer have something about her kisses? "Lauren what are you doing?" Patika laughed, the tall, oh so tall, muscular, mmm sooo muscular, gorgeous, so fucking gorgeous, woman turning towards her, body dripping with water, like Lauren was currently dripping with...something else. "You can't come in here with all those clothes on. Take them off and help me get clean."

"Uhh..." Lauren blinked and suddenly realized that she had been stepping closer to Patika without even realizing it. She still had all her clothes on, but she was still about to just climb right into the shower alongside Patika anyway! She was THIS affected from just one simple kiss from Summer? These transformations were ridiculously over tuned! So...fucking...ridiculous...

"There you go," Patika cooed as Lauren's clothes somehow hit the floor, her hair tie joining the skimpy outfit as her hair fell about her shoulders in long, golden lines. "Wow, you know you look really sexy..." Patika said, biting her lip shyly, as though the tall amazon with the arms as thick as Lauren's legs had anything to be shy about! "Hurry and help me clean up...I suddenly feel really...dirty." Lauren mewled, unable to hold it back the soft little soft just slipped out as Patika reached out and pulled her underneath the water. "Here, I'll help you too..." sexy fucking Patika said while lathering up a generous dallop of shampoo in her hands and began to work it into Lauren's scalp, the height difference putting Lauren's face directly in front of Patika's big, naked, breasts... Without even thinking about it Lauren's hands moved up to squeeze the two bouncy treasures placed before her. "Mmm, that's good but don't forget the body wash..." Patika gently reminded her. Lauren did not need to be told twice! She reached for whatever beauty product was close by, honestly she wasn't even sure it actually was the body wash Patika requested, but that was all just a flimsy excuse to get her hands on Patika's lathered up tits, squeezing and groping and moaning as Patika continued to massage the shampoo into her hair...

"Um..."

Lauren and Patika stopped to look back at Summer, who was naked and smiling and squirming as her fingers ran up and down her thighs needily. Fuck she looked so good...

"I feel kinda nervous about doing this in front of an audience but... I don't think I can help myself..." Summer said with a strained giggle that dissolved into a moan. Honestly Lauren didn't even care that the audience was watching her right now, or at least it was so easy to just push that concern aside and not let it worry her. It was a show about a sex harem after all, it only made sense that she was going to be ogled by the audience. No point in even thinking about it... No, what she needed to be thinking about was getting Summer into the shower with her and Patika and making sure every inch of their bodies was covered in slick, wet, lathery soap.

"Join us," Patika said with a smile. "The shampoo is awesome..." Luckily, Patika seemed to be on the same page.

Crystal walked out of the Back to School store having spent all 1000 BP she earned playing maid for Damien, in uniform (300 BP for maid services +700 BP in uniform). In exchange she had two cards. Each of the Challenge Cards cost the same, 500 BP apiece for one use cards, but she could choose when to use them. She didn't really like spending so much BP so early, but the Challenge Cards were going to be important later, so she might as well get a handle on them now. In fact it was likely that these Challenge cards would be the difference between winning and losing the Thursday challenges. So naturally the first thing she did was bend one of the card out of shape, creasing it and seeing if anything changed. The card bent and folded easily enough, same as any regular playing card, but when she unfolded it the crease vanished. So the card was magically durable, that was good news, but what limits did it have?

Ever since discovering that her Frigid transformation worked by linking her body temperature to her arousal, and that while arousal was certainly the stronger modifier temperature itself wasn't powerless, Crystal started carrying a bottle of ice water around with her (50 BP). Keeping her body temperature low was...rough, but not life threatening. She did have perpetually hard nipples though, which got annoying. Regardless, it was convenient to have a source of water nearby to test if the cards were water proof. She unscrewed the top, folded the card, and shoved it into the water bottle before replacing the lid and giving it a good shake. Opening the water bottle up she took the card out, dripping wet and cold, though it was hard to notice the cold much anymore, and unfolded it. The card remained wet, but seemed no worse for wear. Nymeera didn't want these cards damaged by accident it seemed, which made sense. For 500 BP apiece, falling into a pool of water and having every card in your pocket become useless wouldn't sit well with the contestants, or the audience. Well, just one more test then, and the reason Crystal bought two.

Clipping the water bottle onto her jeans Crystal took the wet card in both hands and tore it in two. The card ripped easily, like any regular playing card, and didn't reform. Instead the two halves disintegrated into glittery pieces of black ash that crumbled and scattered as though blown away by wind. 500 BP well spent.

Crystal held a hand up in front of her face, relaxing her arm and keeping it still. Good, the trembling had finally stopped. Ever since the end of her date with Damien...seeing that memory again, even though it was thankfully cut off by Nymeera (never thought she'd actually thank the vindictive fox for something), it tore open old scars that never properly healed. She needed to do more. Needed to be better. She was such a piece of shit compared to Summer, she needed to do everything she could to protect her. More than that. No sacrifice was too great. She really had to put a better handle on these self-deprecating emotions though... Summer didn't like it, because that was the kind of person her sister was, and Crystal's inadequacies were now an actual, emotional burden on Summer, which was just cruel.

"Ah~" moaned Crystal as her body started to warm up, the feeling of being touched sexually gently wafting over her. She'd kept Summer's thoughts and feelings off to the side while shopping, just making sure nothing was scaring or making her sister feel uncomfortable, but now that part of her mind was becoming impossible to tune out, and the reason was obvious. Summer was having sex. Crystal blushed and moaned and quickly unclipped her water bottle to drink the icy cold water...huh, the card didn't seem to affect the taste any. Crystal was slightly worried about making her drink taste like cardboard...

"Ohhh fuck..." Crystal moaned as someone started to touch Summer between her legs. Crystal's knees buckled and she nearly dropped to them, squeezing her thighs together. Summer didn't seem to be scared or confused, she felt like she was having fun, which was fine, her sister was an adult and if she wanted to have sex well, that was the point of the show, Crystal would never blame her for that...but it was quite inconvenient to Crystal to have to share in the experience. Crystal tore off her water bottle's lid, not bothering to drink the icy water just dumping it over her body. The chilly water steamed slightly as she panted, wet now in two ways, but at least she wasn't about to cum inside her jeans.

"Ohh~! Oh! I'm s-sorry! I just really needed... N-no no! Not you... mmm you're doing just wonderfully..."

Well that's gonna live in her head for awhile Crystal thought over Summer's telepathic moans...

"Don't worry about it," Crystal thought back, knowing that her warm, loving, kind, wonderful sister just wasn't the type of person to be okay enduring the numb coldness of Crystal's Frigid transformation. Crystal was already feeling a bit warmer herself, just based on the sexual pleasures transmitted through her link. She didn't even feel like shivering anymore as Summer's clit was rubbed...her lips kissed...her breasts squeezed...h-her nipples kissed... There was definitely more than one person with her right now... "I'll try to give you a little privacy." How that was possible when Crystal's was broadcasting in high quality everything that was happening... Well, the important thing was that Summer didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed about it...and right now Lauren and Patika were making absolute certain Summer didn't feel anything except sexual bliss.

How did Crystal know it was Lauren and Patika?

"Oh Lauren! Oh Patika! Oh fuck Lauren! Oh FUCK Patika! Lauren... Patika... Lauren... Patik-AH!"

...lucky guess.

'So...' Victoria said finally, tired of Vicky pouting on the floor of the hotel. Vicky reflexively looked up, even though they both knew neither of them had to look around to speak with each other. 'What are we going to do now?' she asked, knowing that Vicky could already feel everything Victoria was feeling and knew everything she was thinking, just like how Victoria knew what Vicky was feeling and thinking. Victoria was actually happy, or maybe 'content' was the better word, with the current situation. She was being properly punished for her sins, **** to watch as the voice of her 'better angels' while her darkest desires personified in Vicky controlled their body and actions, but Vicky had been essentially neutered, an ironic turn of phrase, and so was unable to hurt anyone while in control. Vicky was incredibly frustrated by all this and it was making her seethe in anger, most specifically at Nymeera. Vicky was the personification of Victoria's darkest impulses, her fetish for manipulating naive men and women into having sex with her, her lust for those who didn't know better. What was the purpose of her existence if she couldn't indulge in the very desires that formed the basis of her being? What was the point of living if she had to deny who she was to do so?

Victoria knew that feeling all too well, before coming to understand that God had a plan for everyone, and that her purpose was to glorify God through His love for her and those around her, she had felt the same. Why shouldn't she indulge in these feelings? Why shouldn't she act on her natural, normal impulses? What else were they there for? She had thoroughly tainted and perverted that beautiful purpose by her wicked actions, her sins. Dirt smeared across a gorgeous painting, painstakingly crafted by a master Creator. It wasn't **** to be here, **** into this game of sexual slavery. It was justice. It was almost comforting to know that even here, in this place of magic and reality warping power, God was still watching over her...

Right now, however, that wasn't what Victoria was getting at. Right now, Vicky's thoughts were split, oscillating between competing ideas as far apart as: '**** herself onto her fellow Contestants anyway,' even though that wouldn't get her off and would just isolate her more, and 'Give control back to Victoria and just die.' Of course there were some middle ground options such as 'Fake giving control back to Victoria and attempt to reconcile with everyone in order to secretly prey upon them later,' but Victoria was hoping for something different... Obviously she wanted control of her body back, but that couldn't happen unless both of them agreed to it and said the words "Mind Shuffle." Unlikely to happen by accident, and the switch only happened in the first place because Victoria was weak and found herself manipulated without knowing the full consequences of what she was getting into... And no, the irony of HER being the naive party, manipulated using sex into being taken advantage of was NOT lost on her.

'I'm not giving you control,' Vicky said stubbornly, hardening her heart against Victoria's desire for a peaceful resolution. Well, Victoria wasn't holding out too much hope for that option anyway, but there was no hiding that that was the outcome she wanted.

'So this is just how things are gonna be from now on?' Victoria asked as softly as she could while technically a disembodied voice. If Vicky could be the devil on her shoulder, whispering dark thoughts in her mind... Victoria would be the angel. 'Fighting each other for control, manipulating each other, hurting everyone around us and us especially? Do we hate ourselves that much?' Vicky bristled at that, and Victoria knew she hit a nerve. It wasn't like they could hide anything from each other after all.

'They'll come around. This isn't college anymore. We're not bound by rules and regulations based on the puritanical hysteria of repressed officials scared of losing their power to pearl clutching mothers. This is Harem Hotel. The name of the game is submission through sex. Eventually everyone will get that through their heads, and then they'll welcome us with open arms...' Vicky didn't really believe all that. She thought she was correct, obviously, but even she knew that there was no guarantee that the other Contestants would accept it, she was just banking on more mental transformations to 'loosen them up.'

'Well, I guess I can afford to be patient,' Victoria said, content to leave Vicky in isolation, with all other helping hands pulled away in disgust, and only her hand outstretched in shared understanding.

"There you are!" Dana said, appearing literally from thin air as she tore the bedsheet off of herself and looked down at Vicky with concern. "I was worried about you. That was uh...intense huh?" Dana said with a shaky smile as Vicky just stared up at her in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, causing Dana's little bunny ears to twitch in mild surprise.

"Huh? I came to check on you! We're partners right? We're gonna make this place more fun and less..." Dana waved a hand around at the empty hallway. "This... Seriously after you left Nymeera teleported Damien out and Suki and I were left just standing there awkwardly... She then just sat down and started playing chess with herself right there. I mean, don't get me wrong she's hella hot, I see why you like her so much, but the girl is a bit weird in the head sometimes..."

"You don't know anything about her..." Vicky huffed angrily, putting her head on her knees and tucking her legs closer in on herself.

"I know that she and you need to fuck ASAP." Vicky's head swiveled up towards Dana so fast Victoria got whiplash.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, yeah, I think it's pretty obvious that the biggest obstacle to everyone chilling the fuck out and actually enjoying themselves is this big, dark scary elephant in the room with you and Suki. And I get it, that's extremely awkward and you were a manipulative bitch to her back on Earth. Don't bother denying it, you basically said so yourself. But now we're in a new dimension and we're all gonna be living together on a magical island vacation with no responsibilities for a full month before we get kicked back into the real world and I..." Dana's face had become strangely pained. "Well, I just don't wanna go back to work," she said, giving a strained laugh.

"Dana...what the hell are you talking about?" Vicky asked, for once mirroring Victoria's exact mindset. "We've been kidnapped to sex **** fantasy land and you're worried about your nine to five?" Dana frowned slightly, her bunny ears twitching as she thought hard about what she was going to say next.

"Have you thought about all of this...logically?" she asked, gesturing around her.

'I think she's lost it... The stress of the situation was too much.'

"Why don't you explain it to me?" Vicky asked, settling into a tone Victoria used when dealing with a student she didn't quite understand. Dana sighed and schooled her features. Suddenly Victoria didn't feel like she was talking to the overly excited nerd living out her dream, but to the jaded IT supervisor who'd just had to fix the same person's computer for the third time this week and was about to give a lecture.

"It seems to me like everyone is so focused on the immediate problems, and no one is looking towards the biggest issues in the future. Have you ever coded?" Vicky stared at Dana blankly. "Right, sports coach... Uh, so when you're coding there's sort of an art to it. You can make a program run by brute forcing line after line of code into it until it does what you want. It's oftentimes needlessly complex and takes a lot of extra processing power to do, but a lot of people will just look at that and say 'hey, it compiles, must be good enough!' I hate that. It just means that later on, after thirty other people add all their brute **** lines of code and something doesn't work, the poor, lowly IT girl has to come along and sift through all that needless garbage to try to solve the problem someone made by not just taking a little time to fix the issue early. Like if you have a base who's uncomfortable looking up a girl's skirt and doesn't properly look up to make sure her flyer is well supported..."

"I... Wasn't that when I moved Lauren to back spot? Nothing bad happened..."

"Yeah, but I had to be the one who said something for it to happen." That was 10 years ago... Girl could hold a grudge apparently... "The point is, this vacation isn't going to last forever. We have a specific timeline to fix all our issues and learn to get along because when time's up, that's not when the hard part is over, that's when all the magic shortcuts we get to take advantage of go away. Like you said, this is Harem Hotel. We're all gonna be a harem by the month's end. So we need to get all our internal issues worked out, and most importantly of all, use this time to relax and bond and enjoy the perks of being in a magical dimension where literally ANYTHING could happen! I mean isn't that cool?!" Dana suddenly exclaimed with stars in her eyes. The nerd was back. "We're like in an anime for real! A harem anime but hey you're all very pretty and Mr. Carter is so very hot right now! Mmm and these transformations are fun too! I'm sure I can find a spell to change my sexuality to make me and everyone else more attracted to each other, and if not I'll just hypnotize us all into it. There's never any problems when magic is a possibility!"

"Right well..." Vicky was glad she was sitting down, because she'd honestly thought Dana was just an overexcited nerd who hadn't thought about this nearly as much as she should have...

'Turns out she's an overexcited nerd who thought about this all WAY more than she should have...'

"The problem is that people's emotions aren't so easy to change... How Suki, and everyone else, feels about me aren't things that can be solved by...straightening out some bad code. Or moving a repressed lesbian who locked herself in the closet to the back."

"Why not?"

Vicky and Victoria blinked at the same time. Well, Vicky blinked, but they were so synced up that for a moment it felt like Victoria had control over her body again.

"I have a magical hypno coin remember? I mean, I'm not gonna change their personalities or anything, or make them like being assaulted," Dana gave Vicky a very hard look, "That'd be really unethical, I'm sure Mr. Carter- mmm, would agree. "But what if I just erase their memories? Or better yet just mute their emotional response to you so they can better deal with it? It's a magic world Vicky. Nothing is a big deal. All we're doing is wasting what little time we have to enjoy ourselves with all this..." Dana sputtered a little, waving her hand in the air as she searched for the right word. "Frivolousness!"

Victoria could feel her lips curling up into a sinister grin, the dread in her heart being overshadowed by the renewed lust in Vicky's. Victoria wanted to try to push Vicky back towards reconciliation, but Dana's words were unintentionally having the opposite effect.

'You know what? I think she's right. It's a magical world. Nothing is a big deal.'

'She also said she won't support you changing anyone's personalities or making them like being assaulted! She's clearly overthought this and isn't taking people's feelings as seriously as she should. She's viewing this like some tv show, but these are people, not characters!'

'Well now you're simply wrong about that. This is Harem Hotel Victoria. Did you forget? We're all just characters in a show. I think Dana absolutely has the right idea here. The show must go on.'

"You know what Dana? I think you're right. We need to solve our issues quickly before we run out of time to enjoy ourselves..." Vicky said darkly, her eyes twinkling as she rose, making the much shorter Dana frown as she suddenly had to look up at her.

"Glad to hear it. So the first order of business is going to be getting you some clothes. Watching you walk around in your underwear the whole day has gotten old." Vicky frowned but had to admit that ever since the effects of the Master Control System faded she hadn't really enjoyed just streaking around in her underwear. She'd gotten 500 BP from being affected, which was enough to buy a casual outfit from the BP store, as well as a complimentary schoolgirl uniform she'd prefer to see Suki in...but was that the best use of her very limited funds?

"I still have the cheerleader uniform..."

"You should buy a tracksuit," Dana said, not quite interrupting. Vicky didn't like it regardless, her smile disappearing as she opened her mouth to retort that she very clearly wouldn't be just spending all her money for no reason. "Not just because its clothes, but because it reminds everyone that you're our coach, or at least an aspect of her, who helped us coexist as a team. And it shows you aren't spending your BP on other things." Vicky closed her mouth, she hadn't thought of that. Victoria hadn't either, and she was surprised by Dana yet again. "Remember Vicky. The issue isn't that you're not getting to bang Suki the way you want, the issue is that you make other people uncomfortable when they should be having fun. I want you to be able to have sex with whoever you want, but to be able to do that you need them to trust you more, and your little stunt back in the hotel room hurt that a lot." Suddenly Dana's expression was completely serious as she stared **** into Vicky's eyes.

"Don't become an issue for me Vicky."