It's our party, we can do what we want

Gina was unusually quiet in the wake of her emotional breakdown. A sigh escaped her lips, and she just sort of deflated like an untied balloon.

Nick honestly wasn’t sure how to go on after everything that had just happened.

But he knew he didn’t want Gina to be alone with her thoughts right now.

He took her hand and squeezed it tight. “Gina, is there anything we can do for you?” He asked, gazing into her eyes. “Anything at all? Please, everybody here wants to help you.”

“That’s right!” Mary nodded. “We’re on your side, Gina! Nobody here blames you for what happened to Dakota!”

“And if even if we did, at least you can recognize that everything that happened, it’s turned out for the best so far, right?” Marley pointed out.

“Yeah!” Sylvia nodded. “And all those other people in previous seasons that Dakota ran, we don’t even have to care about them!”

Gina’s eyes widened as she processed what Sylvia just said.

Dawn slapped her face in exasperation and slowly dragged her hand down, nearly pulling her glasses off.

“Thanks, Sylvia. I wasn’t going to mention that part. Nice job.”

“What?” Sylvia looked around, frowning. “What did I do?”

Nick grabbed Gina’s face and turned her to look at him. It was callous, but… he really couldn’t care about those other people right now.

Gina was the priority. What happened to the people on prior seasons was awful, but it wasn’t Gina’s fault.

“If you want to blame someone, blame the audience,” he said firmly. “The producers were going to run those seasons, with or without Dakota. Fuck, they even DID run this season without Dakota, at least at the start! Are you really to blame that Scott from who-knows-where ended up in a situation where he had to pick between his mother-in-law and his step-daughter!?”

Sylvia gasped. “Wait, you watched Scott Hunozeware’s season, Daddy?!”

Dawn glared at her. “That’s not real. You made that up. Stop complicating things,” she said, flicking Sylvia in the forehead.

Nick rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the point is, what happened to them isn’t on you, and it’s not even fully on Dakota, either. It’s on the producers. Now, maybe Dakota did a few shady things and was needlessly cruel-”

“And Yuki would have been worse,” Sylvia cut in with a chirp.

“…Right, whatever. But that producers were behind that stuff. And the producers were behind this. Blaming yourself is pointless! You’re just trying to beat yourself up out of your guilt. And I don’t want you to do that anymore!” He begged.

Nick wrapped his hands around Gina’s. He didn’t know if the trembling was from her, or from him. “Gina… please, I’m begging you, just let me help. I know that getting over those feelings of guilt won’t be easy. GOD knows I don’t. I was where you were, Gina. I beat myself up my whole life, over what happened to her. If it was your fault, then it was my fault, too. So shouldn’t I be the target of your hatred, too?”

“Huh?!” Mary gasped.

“What are you saying, Nick? That’s crazy!” Dani couldn’t believe her ears.

Gina stared at Nick in shock. “N-no!” She exclaimed, ripping her hands away and scooting backwards on the floor. “Blame you!? Hate you?! I could never-!”

“But it takes two people to kiss,” Nick pointed out. “And if Dakota’s pain at what happened is really what drove her out onto the river, then that’s my fault a hell of a lot more than it is yours! I’m the one she had feelings for! If you’d kissed someone else, she wouldn’t have cared. But it was me. So go on, hate me!”

“I… I…” Gina’s eyes watered up again, and fresh tears joined the rest of the stains on her cheeks. “I don’t hate you… I don’t…”

“Then you shouldn’t hate yourself, either!” Nick snapped. “You can hate both of us, or you can hate neither of us, but I’m not about to let you hate just yourself and call it a day, you got it?!”

Gina quivered, and a choked sob emerged from deep in her throat.

“Then… what am I supposed to do?” She whimpered sadly.

“You’ve got to love yourself,” Mary gently urged her with a soft hand on her back. “You’ve got to find some part of yourself that’s worth loving. Something that you can hold onto that says your life has meaning.”

Gina groaned a sad sob. It was a lovely sentiment on Mary’s part. If only Gina hadn’t systematically destroyed everything she ever could have found value in out of her self-destructive urges.

“…There’s nothing left,” she admitted with a resigned wail.

“Sorry, but that’s just not true!” Dani grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to her feet.

Then she slapped her across the face.

“Ow! Hey!” Gina stumbled back, nursing the welt on her cheek. “That hurt, you cunt!”

“Oh? And here I thought you liked pain?” Dani snapped. “Listen, Gina! I’ve heard about enough about this! Yeah, I get it, you feel like shit, and you’ve done a lot of terrible stuff. You’ve let your whole life fall apart! Well, you’re not the only one who’s been there and done that! Ten years ago, I… I…”

Her voice broke, and a tremor ran through her.

“…I broke someone’s heart,” she said, and the strength she’d carried in her tone up until this point crumbled away. “Someone I really loved. I couldn’t be with them, and I ran. And to this day, that’s the biggest regret of my life. That I didn’t fight harder for what I wanted, that I didn’t try to make it work somehow. Joan needed me, and I wasn’t there for her, because I was only thinking of myself. I don’t even know if she’s alright… I was too scared to find out. Too afraid that what I did may have had consequences that I wasn’t prepared to face. But even the not knowing… even that was too much! My life fell apart, and it’s only now that I… that I really started to believe, that maybe I deserved a second chance.”

She turned and looked at Carly with wet eyes as they other girls stared at her in amazement. They’d never heard this story before.

The tenderness lasted only for an instant, and the fierce Dani returned again. She turned to Gina with a ferocity in her eyes.

“So what about you, huh!? Me, I’m stuck in my best friend’s harem! I don’t even like boys, and everybody running this fucking show is trying to get me to sleep with him, including that childhood friend of yours! If someone like me can learn to stop beating myself up and try to move forward, try to be happy, then why can’t you do that, huh?” She demanded, shoving Gina again. “Yeah, shit happened. And believe me, I get that it can suck, to have transformations try to remake you into something you’re not. But you’ve got Nick, right!? And everybody else, we want to support you, too! You don’t have to go it alone and try to drown your pain in blowjobs and booze anymore, Gina!”

“Dani’s right!” Carly cried. “When I, when I lost my Emmy, I thought that was the end of the world! I thought that I’d never be happy again. But instead of letting my pain consume me, I picked myself back up and made something of myself, and you can, too.”

“They’re right, Gina,” Dawn nodded. “It’s never too late to try. You can still change. You can go back to school. You’re only 27!”

Kim cleared her throat. “Actually, given the status of today’s job market, the upward mobility for those with only a GED level of education is-”

“You’re not helping,” Dawn replied, staring coolly at the asian girl.

“Geez, sor-ry for being a realist about the situation,” Kim said, holding up her hands in surrender.

“Listen to them, Gina,” Nick said softly, gently touching her arm. “Everyone here’s trying to help you however they can. We don’t care if you’re a good girl, or a hot mess. We’re worried about you, and we want to help. Okay?”

Gina turned to Nick, and her eyes were watering. She looked like she was about to cry again, assuming she’d ever stopped in the first place.

“Even if…” Her voice was a cracked and broken mess of gagging sorrow. “Even if I wanted to change… I wouldn’t even know where to start…”

“Your transformation is a good start,” Sylvia said. “It’s trying to turn you into a good girl, right? So just stop fighting it!”

Nick winced. “Maybe… that’s not the best move, Sylvia.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually agree with Sylvia,” Mary said softly. “To an extent, anyway.”

Nick looked at her in amazement.

“It-it’s not what you think!” She hastily clarified, waving her hands rapidly. “I don’t think that Gina should just give in and do whatever her transformation wants! It’s just… a transformation to turn into a good girl… at its core, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

She glanced warily at Gina. “But… I don’t think Gina’s fully understood what that entails. That’s my issue here. Gina, your transformation is turning you into a good girl… but I think it might be like how my milk worked on Rose.”

“Oh?” Rose blinked. “Whatever do you mean?” She held her hand over her mouth in surprise.

Mary sighed. “Gina… for you, being a ‘good girl’ seems to be tied up in a lot of toxic and self-destructive behaviors. Your kneejerk reaction to rebel against it seems to stem from you having built up a really, really bad image of what it means to be a ‘good girl’ in your head. And… it’s something I can relate to. For me, being a good Christian… it used to mean something specific. But the more time I’ve spent with all of you, I can’t help but see the issues, tiny flaws in my thinking I never really considered before, and now… I just don’t know. I still have my faith, but if I had remained in the mindset I’d had before I came onto this show… who knows if I would have been able to find happiness?”

She reached out and took Nick’s hand, and smiled warmly up at him.

“I’ve gotta say, I know a little bit about rigid inflexibility,” Dawn sighed. “I probably could have stood to relax a little more. And being here, it’s helped me considerably with my prior issues.”

“Mary is right on the money,” Sylvia nodded. “Gina, your transformation compels you to be a ‘good girl’ based on your own definition of what that means. The same way that Mary’s milk turns anyone who drinks it, like Rose, into what they believe Daddy’s ‘ideal wife’ would be. And as long as you have such a negative self-image about yourself, and a negative perspective on what it means to be a ‘good girl’, then your transformation is only going to make things harder for you.”

“Then, what should I do?” Gina spat. “To become this ‘good girl’ that people will like?”

“For starters, you should stop thinking about it like that,” Dani chastised her. “Being good is what you make of it. And you shouldn’t be doing it for Nick’s sake, or anyone’s. You should think about what it means for YOU to be a good person, Gina. That’s my opinion anyway.”

Again though. That was a lot easier said than done.

A sigh escaped Gina’s lips and she hung her head.

“But… I don’t know how…” She whispered.

And nobody really knew how to address it.

“What about a set of rules?” Kim considered. “You know, like at a job? We right down a list of things that Gina should do to be a good girl. And if there’s anything that’s too much against what she wants, we just don’t include them.”

“Well one problem with that, Gina’s not so good with rules,” Nick pointed out. “And another, I don’t think that a situation like this is something that she can logic her way into. Considering the intensity of the feelings behind it, she has to resolve this emotionally, not logically.”

Dawn sighed. This issue just kept getting more and more complicated. “I’m out then. I’m not good with things that don’t follow logic.”

“The important thing, Gina, is that we’re all here for you,” Rose said, hugging her out of nowhere. Gina stared incredulously at her.

“Um… thanks?”

“Is the hug making you feel better?” Rose asked hopefully.

“…Not really,” Gina lied. The truth was, all the hugs were feeling pretty good. And then she felt miserable, because she’d lied, and that wasn’t something good girls did. “…Okay. Fuck. My transformation is pushing against that. Yes, the hug feels good. And I’m sorry for swearing. …Fuck!”

The fact that her curse words were being taken from her gradually made her feel even worse.

“Gina, how about this?” Nick walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tonight is your night with me, right? So let’s call off the party. Just you and I. We can be intimate together. Whatever you want, Gina.”

Gina’s eyes widened. “No!” She shook her head frantically. “I don’t want that!”

“Really?” Sylvia perked up when she heard that. “So you want us all to come? Even me?”

Gina nodded. Her expression was rather shy. “Look… I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with… and I did some really bad stuff. And before, when I was inviting everybody, it’s because I thought that the more people I could get to come, the easier it would be to drown out my worries and troubles with people. That’s why I always partied before.”

She glanced down, and dug her boot toe into the ground. “But… that’s not what I want right now. I want all of us to come to the party together… because you guys… you really want to spend time with me?”

When she raised her head, her eyes were two orbs of liquid chocolate. They brimmed with hopeful optimism and she bit her lip, as if she couldn’t believe that this could possibly be true or not.

She really hoped it was.

“Of course we want to be there for you!” Dani exclaimed. “You know, as long as it’s not an orgy or something like that.”

She hadn’t been to any parties since she’d broken up with Joan, unless Nick’s bachelor party counted, and she wasn’t sure it did.

“I’m not one for partying,” Mary admitted. “But if you want me there, Gina, then I want to go. We’re buddies, after all, and I want to support you!”

“I haven’t been to any parties before, either,” Kim said, nodding. “But hey, could be fun.”

“Same,” Morgana shyly agreed.

Gina was amazed at how many people wanted to come and support her.

“I take it you’re not going to waive our entrance fees, though?” Sylvia coughed.

Oh, right. They had almost forgotten about that.

“500 BP per head, right?” Carly groaned. “And let me guess, Marley’s gonna cost me double.”

“Wait, but I don’t have that much!” Mary squeaked. “I had to pay back all my loans from the wedding ring! I only have 100 BP!”

“That’s okay!” Rose said, her eyes shining with excitement. “I can cover you, Mary! And Marley, I can cover you, as well!”

“Really?” Marley was surprised to hear that. “But that would be the 1000 BP you earned yesterday! You’d be spending all the money you just got from going naked all day!”

Rose’s expression soured. “It’s better if I don’t have that money,” she sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Something as dirty as money earned by exposing my body might as well not exist, as far as I’m concerned!”

Kim snickered. “Wow, Rose really has changed, huh? Nice job, Mary. You managed to use your milk to get a free invite.”

“Kim!” Mary squeaked, turning red. “Stop it!”

“Um… quick question,” Sylvia mumbled. “What… what about Holly? She has to pay to go too, right? But she doesn’t have any BP…”

That was a problem.

“Holly can come too,” Gina asserted. “Fuck it, what the hell, I’ll pay for her. No big deal!”

And just like that, the plans were made.

“Um, quick thing!” Mary raised a cautious hand. “I, uh… I don’t… there’s not going to be **** at this party, is there?”

Gina stared blankly at her.

“I don’t want to drink,” Mary said adamantly. “I… there might be a chance that I’m pregnant. And if I am, then there’s no way that I would ever want to risk harming my baby!”

Nick blushed. That was a thought he wasn’t expecting. He glanced at Mary’s exposed midriff, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, she might be onto something with that.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Gina admitted with a shrug. “What kind of party even is this? I assumed it’s going to be in the Master’s Suite, but…”

“You assumed wrong,” Dakota said, appearing before anybody could react. The other girls all recoiled back, surprised to see her pop up again.

“Dakota!” Gina’s eyes widened.

“What is it now?” Nick asked cautiously. He was glad to see her, but given the impact Gina’s guilt had on her mental state, he wasn’t sure if that was for the best.

“What, don’t I get an invitation to the party, too?” Dakota crooned, smirking at the tense and mistrusting atmosphere among the girls.

“…Do you want one?” Gina asked.

“Beside the point. Anyway, I figured this would happen, some questions being raised about the party. So allow me to demonstrate.”

Dakota raised her cane and tapped it on the ground. And in a flash, the Banquet Hall began to spin, and the entire island shifted and shook.

Seconds later, the spinning stopped, and they were standing on ledge overlooking the ocean that was very familiar to a lot of them.

“Oh!” Dawn’s eyes widened in recognition.

Mary gasped. “It’s this place! I remember this place! It was… um…”

“The Proximity Palace,” Sylvia answered for her. “It’s where we started your bachelorette party. …You know, before… stuff happened.”

Nick blushed. That “stuff” was when they all performed for him up on stage.

“This is the Proximity Palace,” Dakota said, ignoring Sylvia’s answer. “A very exclusive locale on the island. And it’s where Gina will be spending her nights with the master, for the remainder of her time on this show.”

Gina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa! Really?!”

“That’s right,” Dakota said. “Because with just a thought, the palace becomes whatever you wish it to be. The kind of place that’s perfect for throwing a big party!”

With a tap of her cane, the shapeshifting building changed from a nice mountain villa to a roaring club.

“I get it,” Nick nodded. “So this is where she’s going to be throwing her parties?”

“Exactly,” Dakota smiled. “Just think of it as a consolation. And it won’t just be you and the master, either! Everybody invited to your parties gets to spend their night here! Think about it as a nice reprieve… and a reason to be a good friend to Gina!”

Dawn realized that Dakota had just given a really big incentive to keep Gina on the show. She wondered if anybody else had picked up on that. In her opinion that seemed like a pretty big bias, but then again, it WAS part of Gina’s transformation…

She decided not to say anything.

“Don’t worry, the theme of tonight’s party has already been picked out,” Dakota assured everyone. At least, she might have been trying to sound reassuring. Her smug tone didn’t do a great job of conveying that, though. “As has the catering. You all won’t have to plan a thing! You just need to show up, and pay the dues!”

“But that also means we won’t be able to change what you have planned, either,” Nick pointed out, narrowing his eyes. “How convenient…”

“Yes,” Dakota said, smirking. “It really is, isn’t it?”

Again, not the best sign. But Gina didn’t care.

She was grinning from ear to ear, and frankly, Nick was just glad that she was looking happy again, after all the crap she’d been through today. And this whole round, frankly.

Dakota clapped her hands together. “But that will all come later! For now, you have all day to yourselves! And as for the party… well, the party will keep until tonight. Make the most of the day while you can!”

An ominous chill went down Nick’s spine as he saw Dakota’s grin.

Maybe there was a reason to be concerned after all.

“I can’t believe what I said!” Rose was making a lot of noise as the group of would-be partygoers walked towards the Proximity Palace. Mary’s transformation had worn off hours ago, and now she was back to her ordinary, very-much-not-wanting-to-get-pregnant self.

She felt like she was going to die of shame whenever she recalled her memories from this morning.

“It’s okay, at least you didn’t go through with it,” Kim snickered. She was fresh off work and dressed in her nicest schoolgirl uniform.

All the girls were dressed to various levels of nice. The ones who could control how they were dressed, that is. Gina was the only exception, adamantly asserting that since it was her party, she could wear whatever she wanted, and came clad in her usual grunge clothing.

“I really appreciate that you’re paying for me, Gina,” Holly said to the punk girl.

Gina cracked a grin and shrugged. “Hey, think of it as paying you back for that 500 BP you spent on me, way back during our first night here.”

Holly’s eyes widened. She could barely remember from that far back, and the fact that Gina could was a marvel.

Gina offered her a solemn smile. “Hey, I mean… my memory’s not as good as Dawn’s… but even I can remember important stuff.”

Especially stuff that she felt bad about. And never having had the opportunity to pay Holly back, or the will to do it, was definitely one of those things.

“I’m just excited for the party,” Dawn said. “I’ve never really gone to a party party before. And I fell asleep at the bachelorette party, unfortunately...” She was smiling, but there was an air of suspicion hovering around her. After all, this was a party being thrown by Gina, but planned out by Dakota.

And that was something to question.

“It’s my first time, too, other than the bachelorette party,” Morgana mumbled, a giddy smile on her face. She was excited, but also terrified.

At least it would just be the people in Nick’s harem. That was something to look forward to.

“It’s too bad Serenity couldn’t come,” Dani said wistfully. She was of a different perspective than Morgana. “But I get it.”

“I suppose it’s just us in Nick’s harem,” Carly pointed out. “And you, I guess,” she teased, elbowing Marley in the arm.

“What do you think, Daddy?” Sylvia asked. “What’s up with her?”

She was talking about Mary. The redhead looked rather uncomfortable, and was glancing around shiftily. Nick recognized that face. It was the one she’d worn whenever he’d tried to speak with her, way back when they’d first had their falling out.

Discomfort mixed with guilt.

For what, he had no idea. Mary had been fine when they’d separated that morning. But he’d spent all day with Gina trying to help her feel better, so he couldn’t say for sure.

The sun was starting to set when they got to the palace. To everyone’s surprise, it no longer resembled a night club.

“A mansion?” Rose’s eyes lit up with franc signs, and Nick thought he could actually see her starting to drool.

“Whoa, this place looks swanky,” Kim said, surprised. “It’s almost as nice as the hotel!”

“Yeah,” Sylvia nodded. “They really pulled out all the stops.”

“Now I know why Dakota insisted on formal wear instead of club garb,” Dani said, shifting uncomfortably in her dress.

Gina nodded. Most of her clothes would look too trashy for a place like this.

Marley suppressed a smile, amused that Carly looked like a schoolgirl, just like Kim. Her sister just rolled her eyes.

“It’s not the clothes,” she informed her sister, reading the other girl’s mind. “Someone like me carries herself with class, regardless of what she’s wearing.”

Marley shrugged. “If you say so.”

The party climbed the steps, and approached the massive oak doors.

Dakota stood in front of them in a gorgeous red and black dress, wearing an ornate masquerade mask over her face. It was made of shiny black metal and decorated with gold trim, and styled in the shape of a dragon’s snarling face. Two eye holes peeked out, from which Dakota’s glowing golden orbs burned into them.

“Welcome,” she purred, lowering the masquerade mask. She stepped forward and presented one to Nick; it was blank, in contrast to the intricate pattern on her own. “The master may enter, as may you, Gina. As for the rest of you ladies, please deposit the appropriate funds.”

Nick put on the mask.

Gina nodded. “I’m paying for Holly,” she said, gesturing to the shorter girl.

Dakota nodded back to her. “Understood. You may both enter.”

Gina: 6400 BP – 500 BP = 5900 BP

The other girls entered in quick succession, starting with Carly and Marley. The twins took a nice chunk out of Carly’s wallet.

Carly: 7100 BP – 1000 BP = 6100 BP

“I’m paying for Mary, too,” Rose said, gesturing to the nervous redhead. She rolled her eyes. “…Even though I wasn’t in the best mental state when I made that decision.”

Rose: 7200 BP – 1000 BP = 6200 BP

The rest of the girls followed.

Sylvia: 1000 BP – 500 BP = 500 BP

Dani: 4600 BP – 500 BP = 4100 BP

Dawn: 1400 BP – 500 BP = 900 BP

Morgana: 2300 BP – 500 BP = 1800 BP

Kim: 5200 BP – 500 BP = 4700 BP

The tall oak doors slammed shut behind the girls, and they found themselves having skipped the entrance hall altogether. They were standing in the center of a bright, shining ballroom, like something from a palace. More than a few girls were captivated, and a couple others were intimidated.

Tables of food brought in from the Banquet Hall lined the walls, but there was one table that had captured everyone’s attention. It stood right in front of the door. Anyone who tried to pass it found that they couldn’t- only Nick was able to move past.

Dakota slid past it as well, and turned to face the other girls. Her eyes burned gleefully behind her mask.

“This is a masquerade ball,” she informed the other girls. “To participate, you must play your part. Come, take a mask, and join in the festivities. Remember, any boons you gain will be determined by your participation! But to go any further, I say again… you must take a mask. If you don’t, well…”

She shrugged. “Sounds like you gave up 500 BP to stand by a table for the night.”

That was something to consider.

“Masquerade party?” Rose glanced suspiciously at the masks. “Or an Eyes Wide Shut kind of party?”

Dakota smirked in amusement. “Put on a mask and find out.”

Rose glanced carefully at the selection. Each mask was intricately carved from a different animal, and there were eleven in total. Nick was also curious.

“These look familiar…” He noted.

“Yeah, I can swear these remind me of something,” Kim agreed, picking up a mask with a long beak and a crown like a rooster.

“Ah! Hey, Mary!” Rose tittered, grabbing a horned mask and showing it to the redhead. “This one would be perfect for you!”

Mary glanced at the mask.

It was a cow.

She stared frostily at Rose, who was beside herself with laughter.

“Ah!” Dawn’s eyes widened in realization as she landed on another mask. “It’s the Chinese Zodiac!”

“Hey, you’re right!” Dani gasped. It took Dawn pointing it out to see, but a weeb like Dani knew all about the Zodiac. “There’s the Snake… and that bird one must be the Rooster… oh, and look at this!” She picked up a long one, the Horse. “I suppose this one’s as good as any.”

“A horse?” Carly raised her eyebrow in amusement. “If you say so… oh! Hey, this is perfect!” She grabbed the Dog mask and turned to Marley. “Sis, this way we can both be dogs!”

Marley rolled her eyes and gave her sister an exasperated laugh. “If you say so,” she nodded, taking it from Carly and trying it on. While wearing the mask, she was able to walk to the other side of the table and join Nick.

“Ooh, Mary, if not the cow, how about this one?” Rose smirked, showing off another mask to Mary.

She raised her eyebrow. “…A goat?”

Rose shook her head. “No, no, it’s a sheep! You get it? Because Mary had a little lamb?”

There were no words to describe the lack of amusement on Mary’s face.

“You keep it,” she said, putting on the Cow mask. “It doesn’t really matter anyway, right?” She walked over to join Nick, and Rose wasn’t about to let her get the edge. So she put on the Sheep mask and went to cut her off.

“I guess I’ll be the Rooster, then,” Kim said. “Unless you want it, Dani?”

Dani blinked. “Huh? No, I have the Horse already.” She’d been just about to try it on. “Why would I want that one?”

Kim sighed. “Figures. I should have known that you’d say no to a cock.”

“Ha ha ha. Very cute,” Dani laughed sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and smiled, putting on her Horse mask as Kim put on the Rooster one as well.

Morgana snatched up the Mouse and Gina grabbed the Snake for herself, liking the scaly pattern. Dawn looked for a mask of her own, and Sylvia held up the Tiger.

The vet didn’t say a word, she just slowly took it while giving the blonde the stink-eye.

The masks were running thin, and it when Carly reached for the Rabbit, Holly snagged it first.

“Hey! I wanted that one!” Carly complained, but only half-seriously.

“Rabbits are cute!” Holly protested. “They’re one of my favorite animals! Please?”

Carly sighed. “Well, okay then, she relented. “That just leaves… hey!”

There were only two masks left at that point. The Monkey and the Pig.

Sylvia was smart enough to grab the Monkey before Carly could say anything, and ran for safety behind the table.

“Come on, really?” Carly groaned. “Why do I have to be the Pig!? They’re dirty and smelly and fat!”

“Well, with your chest…” Marley glanced at Carly’s boobs, earning her a glare from her twin.

“Pigs are actually not fat at all,” Dawn informed the others. “They’re very muscular. They also are among the cleanest animals, and practice self-grooming.”

Carly rolled her eyes.

“It’s perfect, now you get to be the paypig,” Kim teased.

Carly stuck her tongue out. “Fine, whatever,” she scoffed, grabbing the mask and sliding it on. “Let’s go, party time!”

She walked around the table and joined the others. Nobody was sure what the festivities would entail, but they were willing to take part.

Dakota smirked and tapped her cane. Suddenly, the girls’ masks disappeared, and they all began to glow.

A chorus of cries rose out from the crowd as everyone was transformed.