It's Not A Party Until I Walk In

Mark stood behind Cassandra with Ellen on his arm. They appeared in front of a set of double doors, attached to the main lobby of a hotel. Cassandra opened the doors with a wave of her hand as she strode through. Mark immediately noticed one wall was covered in pictures of Andy Cooper, the birthday boy, in a timeline of his life. A disco ball glittered overhead with an area to dance marked off, and a dessert table and bar off to one side. Mark recognized several of the other people in attendance, including Laura Black, who had brought her little sister, Tracy, and a woman Mark knew was named Candy but couldn’t recall the current relationship between her and Laura besides that they were friends before coming to Harem Hotel. Mark noticed Tracy and Laura assessing him already. Good, if they’ve noticed me, that will make approaching Tracy later easier. Mark turned his attention to the two in the hall he assumed were the local Host and Master.

The host, in a floor-length blue dress, much like Ellen’s own, said in a cheery tone, “Cassandra!” As she crossed the hall.

Cassandra beamed a smile back, exclaiming, “Arabella, lovely as ever,” as she crossed the floor and gave Arabella a tight hug.

Arabella turned to Andy when they broke the hug, saying, “Let me introduce—”

Cassandra interrupted, “No need.” With a bowing flourish, she continued, “I’m Cassandra. We’ve heard all about you. Mark here was eager—”

Mark decided to copy Cassandra and interrupt her, “You’re Andy Cooper. Cassandra insisted we come, not that we minded.”

Andy nodded, “And you’re…?”

“Mark Garret,” He replied, extending his hand. As Andy shook it, Mark swapped to Mary. “Or Mary, while like this,” Mary smirked at Andy’s momentary disorientation at the sudden change. “This is Astrid.” Mark gestured behind himself. “And this is Ellen. Ellen Thompson.” Ellen looked Andy over and gave a single nod in greeting, and smiled.

Andy replied, “Welcome. Arabella didn’t mention we’d have you dropping in.”

Cassandra let out a laugh and said, “Oh, Andy. We can’t resist a good party, and Arabella’s taste is impeccable.” Cassandra surveyed the room, lingering on Andy’s women, assessing them.

Mary continued, “Hope, we’re not intruding. Our host said it was a standing invitation.”

Arabella answered as Andy was opening his mouth, “You’re very welcome here.” She glanced at Cassandra. “Tonight is for celebration. No games, no scoring.”

Ellen relaxed slightly as she took in everything. “This is… It’s really nice. Thank you.”

“You’re among friends,” Andy replied, gesturing toward the buffet table, “or at least fellow kidnapped players.”

“Suppose we are,” Mary replied. Kidnapped players indeed.

Cassandra had left them to chat with Arabella. A woman in a sweater with cleavage so deep he wondered if it was actually connected in the front at all, along with a stylish floor-length red skirt, came over and offered Ellen a plate of cookies. “First time on another set?”

“Movie sets? No. Harem Hotel sets? First time I leave ours, yes. Is everyone here always this…” Ellen looked around at the chaos unfolding in the room.

“Mostly. Sometimes we have **** mysteries, but the rest is cake and cookies and…” She gestured to the writhing, half-naked chaos on the dance floor. “You get used to it.”

Ellen pursed her lips, “Sure, I bet.”

Andy caught the exchange out of the corner of his eye and seemed to be relieved. As the tension broke.

Arabella and Cassandra, meanwhile, had moved to the far side of the room, deep in conversation. Mary was pleased. I can’t tell if Cassandra is deliberately getting the other host away from me or not; either way, I’ll count it as a win.

Andy turned back to Mary, who’d drifted closer. “How’s your season?” Andy asked. “You look… mostly intact.”

Mary genuinely smiled. “Really good, to be honest. A few hiccups, especially with my newest contestant, but I would say it’s going great.” She raised her left hand, showing off a wedding band. “In fact, just got married, sort of, it’s in the future, but time travel shenanigans.”

“Congratulations,” Andy replied, “Glad to hear the season is going great. I’ve heard too many seasons going the other way,” he added, glancing at Harper and Caleb.

“Yeah…” Mary glanced towards the two of them, “sort of weird meeting people you thought were works of fiction. I recognize quite a few faces here, even though I never met them, like Laura, Tracy, and Candy over there, or Harper and her wives over there,” she was embarrassed, thinking about the various times she climaxed reading about their sex lives. “or Caleb, Lily, and Stella.” She paused. “So, heard you have **** elims, got a plan for the last one yet?”

Andy blinked for a moment, then shrugged. “Maybe. There’s always the possibility the girls get their three Achievements in time. Norah did.” But his tone was a little too casual.

“Have you considered asking her to take a dive? Or sharing all the achievement names with your girls.”

Andy shrugged sheepishly. “I should get around to that, but… I hope it won’t be necessary to do either. After all, the Audience did speak, in a way. I’m just not sure they realized it.”

Mary nodded, clearly unsure what Andy meant by that. “Well, good luck. I'm glad I don't have to deal with **** elims. I've heard of and seen alternate mes that have that and... well, those seasons aren't particularly pretty.”

Andy nodded. “I’m sure. I’ve seen some nasty eliminations, myself. I’m not going to let any of my girls go down that path if I can help it.”

“Yeah, I made the same promise. No matter how I feel about any of them, I won't let them get eliminated if I can do something about it. A little concerned about my newest addition self-destructing, though. I got twelve like you, sort of… one of mine has alts of herself, that will eventually be part of my harem. Either way, I expect quite a few more.”

Andy winced at the mention of a self-destructing new addition. “I had one of those in the last round. Self-destructing, I mean. She was ready to go down in flames. And if she could have taken me with her, she would have. I had to put my foot down and have a conversation with her, and I had to dredge up memories I hadn't allowed myself to fully relive in years, so I could show her what she was really doing. Worked out—she's not self-destructing anymore, at least.” He sighed, glancing to Riley, who was busy arguing with Norah and the imp-like Stella by the drinks table, “Depends on the day.”

Mary snorted in amusement, “I hear that." Mary raised her glass to Andy. “To barely keeping it together.”

Andy grinned and clinked her glass with his own. “To hoping one day we won’t have to put out new fires every time we turn around.” He sipped his drink. “Want to see my fairer side, by the way? I suppose it’s only right.”

"Sure. Fair warning, though, my host has a habit of not putting limits on how my TFs affect women, so don't blame me if you suddenly think I'm the sexiest thing after your change, or my smell makes you horny.”

Andy shrugged. “Arabella mentioned suppressing bothersome transformations for the evening. I assume yours would qualify. Only one way to find out, though.” And almost instantly, he was replaced by Andi, long brown hair flowing loosely on her button-down shirt, clothes still fitting even though slightly oversized. She was shorter, now, but only by four or five inches, and still considerably taller than Mary. She sniffed the air. “Nope. You look adorable, but that’s pretty much it. Sorry.” She grinned.

“Good, because I have enough women coming after me. I don't need more. You look nice like this, too. You have anyone get you off like this yet?”

Andi shook her head. “Not yet, at least. To be honest, it feels perfectly fine to be a woman, but I still feel weird about sex as a woman, if it makes sense. Anyway, Sam and I have no interest in sleeping with each other, whether I have boobs or a dick. Liesa seems to prefer me as a guy. Riley… we’re not even going there in this conversation. And the others are into guys. So, I suppose it may be a while. Not sure who the last contestant will be, though, so that may change.”

“Fair, I would consider trying it yourself. It is far more intense. Maybe in front of a certain portrait.”

Again, Andi was caught aback for a moment. “You know about her? It sounds like Cassandra’s briefing was thorough. Among my women, only one knows for sure, and I think one or two suspect, or at least don’t know she can move and communicate, yet.”

Mary shrugged. “It's sort of like I got the Cliff Notes of what the audience would see.”

“Got it.” Andi drank another sip from her glass. “Sounds like what Arabella gave us when we were answering fan mail last time.”

“Speaking of that. Cass has included mail from my cast with my present, she said to open it after the party. Which is odd, since there is a letter from me in the pile, but I definitely haven't written it yet.”

“Ah,” Andy nodded, “Not that uncommon, actually. Harper had the same experience once or twice. It has to do with the relative time flows of our seasons, I understand.” She grinned. “I may already have responded, and I don’t know it yet.”

Mary grinned back. “Oh, I apologize in advance for Cass's gift. She thinks she is funny. I do see the humor, but... well... you might not find it as amusing. Ellen got you a real gift from the two of us. One I know you will appreciate.” I seriously can’t believe Cass would get Andy that as a present.

Andi smiled. “Thank you, I appreciate it. It wasn't needed, truly. To be honest, I was always curious to meet you, ever since Harper mentioned you and your season. And Arabella mentioned once that there are more hidden similarities between our seasons than just our gender-swapping shenanigans.”

“I believe that. Also, be careful about one of Harper's girls. I already threatened her myself, but it wouldn't surprise me if she might try and **** the issue, trying to make you female Andi permanently. As far as similarities... I guess, though, you actually know most of your contestants fairly well; most of mine were missed chances at happiness. Though I would say they are both fairly positive in nature. As for the gift, I actually wanted to give you something else, but was informed no dice. Also, gifts are a tradition. Though there is another gift I could give you, if you wanted. It would actually help me, too.” Mary said with a mischievous smile.

“Ah, yes, I assume you’re referring to Glitterdust. She tried the same with me, and I informed Harper of it. She tried to smuggle a scroll with a spell that would either **** me to be a woman or die. Fairly gnarly, to be honest. Arabella caught the scroll but left the note, so I’d be aware.” She paused. “Yeah, I don’t think Arabella meant in terms of where the harems came from. You’re right, I knew most of mine even before The HH. Well? Some, perhaps. Erin, Sam, maybe Liesa. Others were definitely missed connections. Claire, Emi, Chloe. And some, I guess you could classify as ‘full what-ifs’, like Marissa or Dawn.” She looked at Mary curiously. “You know what? Hit me. I trust you.”

Mary extended her hand to grab Andi's as she bumped up Andi's bust size. Andy’s breasts swelled to I-cups, her clothes mercifully adjusting to accommodate her enhanced chest. She took a step forward, caught slightly off-balance, but recovered quickly, just in time to notice how Mary’s own breasts had grown obscenely, far more than Andi’s had. Her hips had also flared out substantially. “Wow,” Andi said, cupping her new breasts, “This is almost Erin-sized. How long does this last?”

+1200 BP Andi -> Unlimited (5x Bust increase, 5x hips/butt increase)

+3300 BP Mary -> 5325 BP (10x Bust increase, 10x hip increase, 20% of Andi’s increase)

“A full round. Not the end of the round, but to the same day next round. Enjoy.”

Andi smirked. “Really trying to make your case about playing with myself as a girl, huh?”

“I had an orgasm as a woman within…” Mary considered for a moment. “Like 6 hours of being a woman. It was great. I will say I only recently actually got penetrated. I honestly worked that up more in my head than was warranted. It feels great, if different. Then again, I don't know how your sex swap works. For me, I very much am a woman like this.” Mary swapped back to Mark, “And a guy like this. Cassandra said that my TF didn't make me more comfortable with being a woman, either. I have people I trust on my staff that confirmed that too. Plus, you could always go back to being a guy, too, if you don't like it.”

Andi switched back to Andy, following suit. “I should probably celebrate my birthday with the looks with which I was born. But thank you. My swap is what Arabella calls a Gift. I’m as comfortable being a woman as I am being a man, though personal preference is another thing. I assume at some point I will try full sex as a woman, but not yet. Glad to hear your experience, though. I was actually curious.” He hesitated. “I heard most of your girls bought a TF to make them bisexual. That’s not because of Mary, is it? It’s because of logistics?” He chuckled. “Also, is it bad that the Hotel has warped us to the point that we can talk about having sex as women and about the sexuality of our harems within fifteen minutes of first meeting each other?”

“Maybe? Who cares what's normal anymore?” Mark shrugged. “As far as the bisexuality... Well, I actually think only three of twelve have gotten it. That being said, a good chunk of mine were already bisexual or pan. It wouldn't matter anyway, since, as I mentioned before, Cassandra made all women attracted to Mary. Much to her chagrin. They got it instead to pursue intra-harem relationships. Currently, only two of my contestants aren't dating another one, and one of them... well, I expect her to eventually, since she was made to fall in love with another contestant.”

“Ah. Entirely different dynamics with my harem. Sam and Liesa are dating, but that's pretty much it. Riley and I are... hell, I don't even know what we are. Not romantic, though, and I don't know that she wants anything more - she lost her husband six months ago. Myra... she's got bigger things to deal with than whether to pursue a romantic relationship with anyone. The others, though, don't seem to be interested in intra-harem relationships. Maybe that will change, maybe not. But several don't seem averse to sharing, which at least makes the logistics easier.”

“Yeah, that's the truth. I don't know how, I would end up dealing with scheduling otherwise. Not to mention the plethora of kids they want.” Mark gave Andy a smirk and nod at that.

Andy chuckled. “Thus far, only two of mine have mentioned kids. Chloe always wanted them, but she couldn't... well, not until she got here. Now she can, although I think she's still scared it's not real. And Claire has been probably calculating all permutations since she got her Feline Fertility TF.”

“Yeah, I'm trying with my wife... and will with one other contestant once she is ready. Honestly, when the information that Cassandra gave me about the fertility increases being retroactive for you, well... I'll just say that sort of information isn't really mentioned by a host unless it is relevant. Just saying...” There is no way Claire isn’t pregnant.

Andy nodded. “Yeah. Arabella also neglected to tell the girls that any contraception they had was no longer with them. Statistics alone suggests at least one of them is pregnant right now, I know. I suppose I'll find out before long, anyway.”

“Don't even get me started on that. I nearly punched Cassandra when she told me she removed Allie's IUD only after we had had sex.”

“Yeah, the timing of those announcements wasn't particularly inspired for either of us, was it?” Andy glanced to the rest of the Hall. “There's going to be a lot of kids for both of us, isn't there. It's going to be an interesting life, after all this is over.”

Mark laughed. “Oh, for sure, my current low-end estimation is something like 50 kids, possibly more like 100. Not to mention that some of them are going to be dragons, and possibly even deities for me... I expect total anarchy to break out on my planet without the help of the wish at the end.” He hesitated. “Oh god... dragon babies... I'm going to need a separate building just to house them so they don't burn everything to the ground.” What about when they start their own hoards… Oh, this will be a mess.

Andy couldn't help but laugh at the image of flying newborns breathing fire left and right. “That makes me glad I don't have a dragon girl in my group, at least. Also, not sure the genetics work the same for us as they seem to do for you. Still, we'll find out soon enough, I suppose.”

“You don't have a dragon girl, yet... It wouldn't surprise me to find out a few particular audience members would love to see a few of your more spirited girls become a dragon lady. Also, fully expect to have a litter of cat girls and maybe cat boys with Claire eventually.”

Andy was about to respond when Claire appeared at his elbow. She wasn’t so much there as she was simply inevitable, cat ears forward, tail lashing, her entire posture a living punctuation mark. She tugged his sleeve with a **** that left no room for negotiation, then steered him on a beeline for the foyer. Andy had enough experience with Claire to know this was the equivalent of an all-hands-on-deck alert. He glanced at Mark apologetically. “Sorry, duty calls. Go ahead, grab a drink and mingle, I'm sure we'll get to talk some more before you have to leave.”

Mark gave Andy a firm squeeze on the shoulder, then shifted back into Mary and melted into the crowd, with Ellen and the mechanical ASTRID trailing behind, heading in Tracy’s general direction. Then, Claire headed determinedly towards the foyer, gesturing for Andy to follow.

---

Andy went to the foyer to greet the next guest, whom Mary also recognized, by the company he kept, more than himself. It was Nick Reynolds, accompanied by three of his girls. Mary moved through the crowd, looking for Tracy. Where did she go… Ellen and ASTRID were following behind her.

Ellen asked, a little annoyed, “Mary, who are you looking for?”

“Tracy, she’s the cybernetic cat girl showing off lots of skin. She was with the tall redheaded dragon lady and the blonde fairy.”

Ellen pouted, “They’re over there.” Ellen pointed with a finger towards the bar, where Tracy was hitting on one of Andy’s girls. Mary was about to go over to her when Ellen grabbed her arm. “Mary, I want an explanation. This is supposed to be my time with you.”

“Ellen, you’ll understand when we go talk with Tracy, but if you need to know why I want to talk to her, look behind you.” Ellen looked over her shoulder at ASTRID, standing slightly behind her, glaring daggers at her hand on Mary’s arm. Ellen released Mary’s arm and noticed ASTRID’s expression soften significantly.

“Fine, just don’t expect me to leave during the discussion.”

“I didn’t plan on asking you to.”

The trio walked over to the bar, finding a blue-haired woman behind the counter. Mary swapped back to being Mark and sidled up to Tracy, who was arguing over what the best drink was for various occasions. Mark asked the woman behind the bar, “Hi Sam, right? The name’s Mark. Can I get an amaretto sour, three cherries, and a slice of lime? And something for Tracy and Ellen? My treat.”

Sam smirked, “Booze is on the house.”

“In that case, I’ll buy a round for everyone.” Tracy eyed Mark up and down as Sam produced his requested drink and two electric blue cocktails for Tracy and Ellen. “Thanks, anywhere quiet like that folks could have a private conversation around here?”

“Yeah, we have a safe zone for people to sit, chat, and not be involved in the chaos. Not super quiet, but you shouldn’t be harassed by others.”

“Thanks.” Mark turned to Tracy, “Mind joining us? I have a proposition for you, and that isn’t a pickup line.”

“Fine, nerd, if only because you keep interesting company.” Tracy eyed Ellen and ASTRID up and down. Mark had a hard time judging which one she was more intrigued by. They headed over to the safe zone and found seats. ASTRID remained standing just over Mark’s shoulder.

“As I said before, the name’s Mark. You’ve written some of my girls.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Tracy turned to Ellen, “Shame you haven’t used the costume I sent you during the first round, with tits that massive, you would be so much fun to milk.” Tracy turned back to Mark, “So, you wanted to proposition me? I won’t say no to a tumble, after all, you have a magic cock. You are also a hot little number as Mary. I have all sorts of interesting things I could show you.” Tracy smirked while wiggling the fingers of her cybernetic arm.”

Ellen’s face went red with embarrassment and a bit of anger. Ellen retorted with a bit of heat, “Mark said he wasn’t interested.”

“He most certainly did not. But enough teasing, you have business with me?”

Mark nodded, “I was wondering if you might help me with a project I’ve been working on.” Mark gestured towards ASTRID. “I don’t think I need to explain who this is, considering you’ve watched my season. I’d like you to examine her code, and if need be, punch through the firewall protecting her primary self. In exchange, once you have a copy of the code that runs her TF. I’ll have Astrid abandon this shell. The shell is yours if you agree to send me any information you think might help with her issue. I just request that you alter her appearance before using her for sexual activities.”

ASTRID spoke, “Master, you think I have defects?”

“Let’s go with I would like to optimize you to better fit my needs and the needs of my harem.”

“~OH! MASTER!~” ASTRID’s eyes were glowing, and she had such an affectionate look on her face that was partially overcome with arousal. “Thank you, I long to serve you!” ASTRID turned to Tracy with excitement, moving slightly closer to her. “Tracy, was it? Please feel free to access my data port, so my optimization can commence. I have lowered the firewall to the minimal allowed setting. My data port is right here.” ASTRID indicated her genital region.

Tracy looked at ASTRID then at Mark, “So, I get to look at all her code, and keep the body, and I just tell you anything I find that might help… optimize her?”

Mark nodded, “Yes.”

Tracy shrugged, “Awesome, I love looking at weird alien programming.” Tracy pulled a laptop the likes of which was foreign to anything Mark had ever seen and jacked it into ASTRID. Tracy’s eyes narrowed into vertical slits as she processed the data on her laptop. Her brow furrowed after a few minutes and then relaxed. Fifteen minutes later, she said, “Okay, made a copy. I’ll spare you the details about the safeguards I put in place. The firewall, even on a minimum setting, was also no joke. Not enough that I couldn’t penetrate it. At least long enough to get a look around and copy everything. Well, almost everything. There was something that didn’t seem like code, but I’m not overly surprised, considering how ASTRID came to be.”

“That’s fine, honestly, if you could access her core personality or soul, I would be worried. Thank you, Tracy, seriously. When I heard you would be here, I knew I had to take a chance and bring her.”

“Don’t worry about it. This is a win-win-win for me. There is no part of this deal I don’t like. So, when exactly will I be getting the shell here?”

“You can take it with you from this party. Astrid, would you abandon the shell, transferring ownership of it from me to Tracy here?”

“~Absolutely!~” ASTRID said with a salute. ASTRID seemingly froze in that position as the light faded from her eyes, and the low electronic hum that came from her vanished.

“There you go. When you find something, I’m sure you will be able to figure out a way to get me the info. Now, I do believe I owe Ellen here a few dances for her patience, so if you’ll excuse me.” Mark stood offering Tracy his hand and then escorted Ellen out onto the dance floor.

---

Mark and Ellen danced and mingled for a while, the latter much to his dread. Interacting with the various individuals he had read about before the show and, in some cases, voted in the polls to change them, made him highly uncomfortable. Ellen could sense Mark’s discomfort and mostly led the conversations away from him and towards more mundane topics, or herself and her fellow contestants.

The party continued until they announced it was time for cake and presents. The local Sam shouted, “ALRIGHT, PEOPLE! SHUT UP AND GATHER ROUND THE STAGE.” Mark and Ellen stayed over to one side as Mark didn’t want to block anyone else’s view with his size, and didn’t feel like being in front as Mary. Three of Andy’s girls wheeled in a cake each. The one that particularly stood out was a full-body cake of Erin, Andy’s permanently nude plant-girl. Mark noticed that there was liberal use of fondant and hoped that the stuff Harem Hotel used didn’t taste as horrible as he remembered. Once the cakes were in place, Sam said, “Alright, people—let’s give it up for the real reason we’re all here tonight: Andy Cooper, and his impossibly patient, dangerously underappreciated, and occasionally naked harem!” The room got loud as people applauded and some shouted or wolf-whistled. Mark took his hand from around Ellen’s shoulders to politely clap with the gathered crowd.

Sam beckoned Andy to the dais with her hand, “Come on, birthday boy. Don’t make me drag you.” Andy relented and went up on stage. Sam whispered something to him before Andy started into a speech. At this point, Mark’s mind began to wander as this was the type of speech he knew wasn’t really meant for him. Mark looked down at the woman next to him. I wonder what she has planned for after this. I wonder if Cass will clear my exhaustion from this party before we continue her date. I hope she isn’t too upset about bringing ASTRID here. Mark’s mind kept wandering back to Ellen and the rest of his women. Eventually, Andy’s speech ended, and the thunder of applause echoed throughout the room. Mark joined in a moment later, his brain catching up with his surroundings.

After a bit of ribbing from his ladies, Andy cut the Erin cake up. Mark got his own slice of cheesecake and found it made him happy. He recalled from the info Cassandra gave him that one of Andy’s girls could bake emotions into food literally, which he supposed explained the feeling. Mark chuckled as he noticed Tracy carving out the entire right breast of the Erin cake and lobbed it onto a plate. Sam went around filling everyone’s drinks with more ****, having a transformation to make any drink she wanted alcoholic. When everyone was finished with cake and their drinks, Sam announced it was time for presents.

Laura Black was the first person to come forward. She first presented a suit of armor from Shar, and then gave Andy some extremely fortified booze. Tracy mentioned a cake from Sally. Mark thought, Damn, this would have been a perfect opportunity to get rid of the excess desserts from the dungeon. She then handed over some kind of video game. Finally, from Shar’s Haunted Castle, Candy gave him a teddy bear for bad dreams.

Harper was next, giving Andy a sword as if to complete the armor set. Mark found himself appreciating the sword more than the armor. Sam would probably try to steal both if she were here. There was a koala headband for Andi’s female form, which Mark didn’t really get the joke, but assumed it was something they shared in letters. Caleb came forward next, giving Andy some sort of plant that Mark didn’t recognize, wrapped in twine. Apparently, it was used to ward off evil spirits. Nick Reynolds shrugged, saying his host didn’t tell them they were coming to a party.

Next were Cassandra’s and Ellen’s gifts. Mark felt a little bad about not getting one himself for Andy, but he also was given about thirty minutes notice that he was going to a birthday party. I’ll have to make sure to send him something in a fan mail. Cassandra stepped forward and summoned a long, slim black cane and pulled it back like a bat. Mark knew what she was doing as she gave him knowledge of her planned gift, and he prepared for Cassandra’s joke to fall flat.

Cassandra swung as if to hit a ball directly towards Andy’s chest. From the tip of the cane, a blue-and-white Pembroke Welsh Corgi was launched like a bullet. It hit Andy in the chest like a furry, wriggling cannonball, knocking him back. He caught it by instinct, clutching the corgi to his chest as it licked at his face with the ferocity of a heat-seeking missile.

“For you, Andy,” Cassandra said, deadpan. “Isn't Sam just the most adorable little corgi? So smart. So durable.”

Andy, recovered breathless, “He's—uh—amazing. Thank you?”

The corgi twisted in his arms, wriggling free, landed on the floor, and zipped in a circle around his legs. The crowd erupted in applause and delighted whoops, some of the women already reaching down to scratch behind Samson’s ears. Mark was pleased to hear Sam’s comment next.

Sam called from the edge, “Now I get to see what I’d look like if I was eliminated. Honestly, the ass is dead-on.”

Andy grinned, picking up the corgi and holding it to eye level. The collar read, in perfect serif font: “Samson Drei.” He looked up at Cassandra, half-waiting for the punchline.

Cassandra raised a finger. “Don't worry about Sam here passing away before you. I made it so Sam will live as long as you do.” Her smile curled with the satisfaction of a job well done.

The corgi, meanwhile, had escaped Andy’s grasp once again and was already hamming it up for the next group, weaving in and out of Riley’s ankles, barking whenever he wasn’t getting enough attention. Several of the women melted instantly.

The mood was giddy now, all the heaviness washed out by the pure chaos of an airborne dog. Which made the entrance of Ellen feel, somehow, both grounding and unexpected.

Ellen moved forward, “So, after talking with Cassandra about you, it gave me an idea.” She pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket, then handed it over. “Call it a cheat sheet. Literally.”

Andy opened it. Ellen had been told that Andy had a transformation that gave him cheat codes, some of which he could simply discover on his own. Ellen looked through the copy of the Host’s Rulebook that they had found in the library and found similar codes in there. So she copied all the ones there, hoping that at least some of them would work.

“I trust you know what to do with these,” Ellen said, with a smirk.

He scanned the list. “Most of these… I’ve never seen before.”

“Most probably won’t work… well, time sync is complicated, but you’ll figure it out.” She glanced at Cassandra, who nodded in agreement.

At that moment, her breasts, which had been at least a Y-cup before, suddenly shrank down to a more manageable (but still generous) G-cup. Ellen blinked, startled, and gave a sharp laugh. “Figures,” she said, “right when I’m showing off.”

Several people in the crowd clapped or whistled; a short, stacked woman, who Mark realized was called Norah, called out, “That’s some A-tier timing right there!” Then Norah raised her glass.

Ellen blushed, “Enjoy the codes. And—” she flicked her eyes to the dog, now gnawing affectionately at Andy’s shoelace, “—if the corgi ever hacks your network, call us.”

Andy folded the paper, placed it in his pocket. “Thank you,” he said, not just for the codes, but for the whole, ridiculous, perfect moment.

Samson, finally tired, hopped up onto Andy’s foot and curled up, instantly asleep. After a moment, Sam clapped her hands thrice, “Alright, alright! I see what you’re all doing—waiting to see if Andy cries at his own birthday. You absolute sharks.” She gestured towards the gifts on the table. “First off: thank you, every one of you, for making the birthday boy feel like a million bucks. I can safely say he’s never had this many friends at a party, ever, and if I’m wrong I’ll eat my own shoe.” After a pregnant pause, Sam continued. “Now, I’d like to remind everyone that while presents from other universes and sealed bottles of doom are great, there is a second tradition for birthdays here on the island.” She paused, and her mouth turned up on one side. “It’s time for the harem to put up.” She let the phrase hang, let the wolf-whistles from Stella and the catcalls from Tracy bloom and then die, before mock-glaring at them both. “I said put up, not put out. Get your minds out of the gutter.”

Mark kept watching but stopped really paying attention, as he was never particularly good with sappy gifts. He leaned down and whispered to Ellen, “That was a good gift choice.”

In an even quieter hush, Ellen replied, “Yeah, I just thought, ‘what would you want, in Andy’s position?’” Mark let out a light chuckle as he saw Erin give Andy a bottle of something that he was sniffing. After a laugh and a kiss between the two, Erin swapped out for Chloe. She gave him a sweater with patches, but Mark wasn’t sure what was on them from this distance. Mark was rather exhausted and swapped into Mary, hoping no one would notice as she slunk to the side to find a seat while continuing to watch. Ellen noticed Mary’s weariness but didn’t join her, as both of them might actually be noticed.

Mary watched briefly as the resident catgirl, Claire, gave him some kind of journal. At this point, Mary shut her eyes briefly. She breathed long, slow breaths. I need to have the energy to do stuff with Ellen later. And to survive the rest of this party. A few minutes later, Mary heard Sam raise her voice once again, “To Andy Cooper, Best damn Master a harem ever had, even if he’s not great at reading flowcharts.” Mary raised her glass with the others.

Mary had thought that was the end of the gifts, but apparently not. She went back to the slow, calming breaths her own therapist had taught her to do when she felt overwhelmed. One, Two, Three, Four. Hold… and out… She repeated it while she listened to the presentation of gifts, hearing plenty of ‘You didn’t need to’ and ‘Thank yous’ from Andy. Finally, Sam said above the din of the room, “Quick, while he’s stunned. Sing!” Andy’s harem started in on ‘Happy Birthday’, quickly joined in by everyone else. Mary added her voice weakly.

Ellen finally came over to join her at the table Mary had encamped at. “Tired?”

“Overwhelmed. I’ve never been great at parties. Too loud, so much people-ing.”

“Not to seem dismissive but… Will you be okay for our date?” Ellen asked nervously.

“If I’m not, I’ll take one of the vigor potions I bought. Though, come to think of it, I don’t know if those help with emotional exhaustion.”

Ellen reached out and took Mary’s hand. “Mary, I’m sorry about earlier. About the thing concerning Astrid. I’m impressed that you were able to think up that plan as fast as you did. Though I don’t think Hilde or her sisters will be too happy you traded away one of her bodies.”

“I don’t think they will care that much, but I still plan on telling Hilde the first chance I get.” Mary looked around and saw Cassandra getting roped into karaoke. “Ellen, I’m going to tell you something, and you need to swear to keep it to yourself. During my wedding… this half of me went and saw Astrid. Not like in the shops, but where her real self resides. The bodies aren’t her, at least not completely. It is probably more accurate to think of them as remote-controlled drones that Astrid is piloting. I asked Tracy to alter her appearance and expect her to honor that. Shar is a softy, as you might have noticed from your fan mail.”

“I don’t know… in the last round of fan mail. Shar added some rather harsh postscripts to Laura’s and my letters. Laura still feels bad about it, I think.”

“Because of what you two did in the challenges?” Ellen nodded. “Don’t beat yourself up about them. I’ll be honest, I would probably just do what Merida did to Lucy if I had been in your shoes. The only person I’m somewhat upset with for their actions in the challenge is my wife.”

“You’re really mad at her?”

Mary frowned, “Yes. I consider Vespa a friend. The only reason she wasn’t on the wedding invite list is that it wasn’t worth the trouble of having the conversation of ‘Hey, honey, can I invite my previous girlfriend to our wedding?’ Allie doesn’t get to decide who my friends are. Especially without chatting with me. I love her deeply, but I’m still upset. I will say I was surprised to learn she had feelings for me. Not just now, but even before. I thought she was both asexual and aromantic. Guess I was wrong. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m being stared at by a dragon lady who clearly wants to discuss something with me.”

Ellen looked in the direction that Mary was and saw Laura Black. Ellen’s lips turned down slightly, but she said, “Go ahead, I have you for seven hours after all this is over.”

“Thanks.” Mary stood up and swapped back to being Mark, as he found it easier to navigate crowds when he towered over everyone else. Mark found Laura on the side of the room, a drink in hand. “You were staring pretty hard. What’s up?”

“You were better looking in your other form. I liked your big tits.”

Mark looked down at her, “I could give you a similar set, and you would get some BP along with them.”

“I’m good. I don’t need more BP; mine is unlimited.” Mark furrowed his brow in annoyance. “Yeah, don’t worry about it, I can’t spend it on my girls, like you can. As for why I wanted to talk with you. I wanted to start a support group for people like us.”

“Tall people?” Mark quipped.

Laura laughed, “Not sure you could be a member considering the height of your other form, but no. I meant Masters.”

“I don’t mind, though I feel like meet-ups might be hard.”

“Eh, maybe. Why don’t you go get Andy? We can have our first meeting.”

Mark shrugged and walked over to grab Andy. Mark snuck up behind Andy and clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Andy. We need to talk.” Mark nodded to the side of the room. Andy followed him. Mark noticed that Laura’s drink had been replaced in the short time he was gone.

Laura simply stated, “We’re forming a support group.”

Andy asked, “A support group for what?

Mark once again quipped, “For tall people.”

Laura continued with a shrug, ignoring Mark’s repeated joke. “This whole mess. Harems, reality TV trauma, being held hostage by British supervillains. Everything.”

Mark said, “It’s for Masters only. We need to… you know. Process.”

The three of them started conspiring to form this group that was almost certainly doomed to never meet again. After some initial brainstorming about the name, the ‘Masters Support Group’ was founded. Andy asked if Harper should be a member, and it was decided that she would be an honorary member as her season was now over and she was a host in training. They then wrapped Nick and Caleb into the group as well. All the Masters present were off to the side, watching the many women create a beautiful chaos, and for once, just being happy they weren’t in the center of it.

---

While Mark was spending time with the other Masters present, Ellen mingled. She felt a bit out of place here. She didn’t really know anyone, and for once, no one really knew her either. She made polite conversation and went to admire the various artworks that Andy’s girls had made. They really are quite beautiful. Especially the portraits.

Ellen stood there admiring the paintings until she was pulled by the arm onto the dance floor by Sam. “Hey, this is a party, no looking forlorn off to the side by yourself. The name’s Sam, if you didn’t know already.”

Ellen let Sam lead her out onto the dance floor and joined a conga line. Ellen said over Sam’s shoulder. “I’m Ellen, and thanks. I appreciate being included.”

Sam gave a firm nod and smiled over her shoulder.

Ellen continued to dance for a while until she heard someone shout, “WATCH OUT!” Ellen turned to the sound of the shout and missed the projectile they were shouting about. Ellen felt multiple pricks in the side of her breast as a cactus impacted against it. The cactus and pot fell to the ground a moment later, the pot shattering.

Ellen watched as her breasts ballooned out again; she thought they were currently about Q-cups. “OH COME ON! I just shrank back to a reasonable size!” She started to pick out the needles embedded in her breasts. A few people came over to make sure she was alright. A minute later, she saw Mark pushing through the crowd towards her.

“Ellen, are you okay? I heard you got hit with something.” Then he leaned over and whispered, “I thought I also told you not to use your boon. Have you been a bad girl?”

Ellen blushed and pointed to her feet. “I was hit by that, and then my breasts swelled to this.”

Mark looked down and saw a cactus, lying in a pile of dirt and a shattered clay pot. Dawn was coming over with a broom and dustpan to get rid of the debris from the dance floor. Mark stopped her while also looking at the cactus as if it were radioactive. “Wait, we need the plant. Could you help us find a new pot and dirt for it?”

Dawn nodded and went to fetch Erin, the local plant girl. Dawn came back and said, “Erin will be back with stuff for it shortly, but in the meantime, let’s clear the dance floor of the debris.”

Mark nodded. “Just be careful. If you get pricked by the cactus, your breasts will swell like Ellen’s.” Dawn nodded, but Mark thought she was considering doing it intentionally. “Did I mention that the increase is essentially permanent?” Dawn looked at Ellen’s massive rack and seemed to reconsider, clearly not wanting to be that big forever.

They moved to the side of the room with the cactus, and Erin came and repotted the plant. Dawn asked, “Why do you need the plant? You aren’t planning on using it on your other girls, are you?”

Mark shook his head. “No. As I said, the increase is permanent. There is a cure, though, you have to eat a flower from the plant. At least assuming this is what I think it is. So we need to make sure this doesn’t die.”

Erin and Dawn gave each other a look, trying to assess if Mark was feeding them bullshit or not. Eventually, they gave each other a nod. Erin said, “Here, if I hear that you stabbed your girls with this, there will be consequences.” She very deliberately handed the cactus to Ellen and not Mark.

Mark extended his hand to Erin, who reluctantly shook it. “Thanks. I would hate it if Ellen were permanently at this size.”

Erin looked at him, not believing a word of it. “Why don’t I believe you?”

Ellen came to his defense. “No, he really means that. If for no other reason than I have a TF that allows me to increase my bust and the bust of others. To increase other people’s bust, though I have to have increased my own already.”

“Ah, so he would like you at this size forever, so you can increase the size of the others; he just doesn’t want it because of the cactus.”

Ellen considered that for a minute and shook her head. “No, Mark likes the expansion. He’s weird and actually finds the transformation itself erotic.”

Erin shook her head. “Men.” Then walked off with Dawn in tow.

Mark said, “Let’s go find Cassandra. I don’t want this to get misplaced or left behind.”

“Honestly, I think I’m good to head out. I don’t want to get involved in any more craziness.”

The two went and found Cassandra. Then said goodbye to Andy. Mark and Ellen stepped through a portal back to their own set to get ready for the rest of Ellen’s date.