Intermission

“Great job everyone!” Genet cheered as everyone teleported into the dining hall. The six remaining contestants were brought to the same table, inches from each other as the host jubilantly stood at the end of the table. How closely everyone was packed made one thing obvious.

+1 BP Hazel Singh (Topless) (Lieutenant)

+1 BP Hazel Singh (Topless) (Amazons)

+1 BP Hazel Singh (Topless) (Supporter)

+1 BP Hazel Singh (Topless) (Fighter)

Hazel was in the middle of the group, panting as sweat dripped from her exposed chest.

Everyone but Hel and Luna averted their eyes when they realized.

“I need your help.” Hazel asked.

“What do you need?” Helena immediately asked.

“I… need Luna and Stella, Ma’am.”

Oh. Helena tried not to let her disappointment show. Her bodyguard didn’t need the distraction with how hard she’d been working. She just turned her gaze to the two that had been requested.

“Now, you want to work together?” Luna questioned. She was still a little miffed that no one but Stella had listened to her plan. Hazel had been pushed to the limit of what she could do on her own, and now she was crawling back.

“I know what I said, but this is in your best interest too. I can offer you both some information in exchange like I promised this morning, if you agree to come with me into the kitchen and hear me out.”

Stella could feel the tension radiating at the table. At the beginning of the week, she would’ve ran and hid. If it hadn't been Luna, she might’ve still been tempted to run.

Instead, she spoke. “We’ll help however you need.”

***

While they went with Hazel into the kitchen, Helena was left with the nerds. Ava was sketching out some sort of diagram of the northern half of the island. Felicia was scowling, scanning the room for something. Hel tried to look around to see what she was looking for.

Maeve and Aubrey were gone, the only ones not to make it to lunch. Helena wasn’t sure how they went out. But Hel didn’t think that Felicia was attached enough to either of them to be searching this intently.

There weren't any important physical changes to the room since breakfast. The other dining tables were all still present. Genet had hung a banner that celebrated that they'd made it to the break, but that wasn’t what Felicia was looking at either.

Genet and Ata were at the buffet table making sandwiches. The host was listening patiently as the shopkeeper raved about everything she’d seen over the morning. It was strange. In the dance hall she’d been so aggressive, hungry for a challenge. She’d been disappointed that the fire she’d taken had been only sedatives and numbing agents. But here, it was like she was a completely different woman. She was cheerful and bubbly, almost saccharine as she fawned over Hazel and Aubrey. As Helena listened it almost reminded her of Aubrey; lovestruck the first time her stepbrother had introduced the two of them.

But that wasn’t where Felicia was looking either. Giving up on trying to predict the selfish blonde, she finally asked: “Are you looking for something?”

“Dick was with Genet all morning. I’d expected him to come down the stairs with her, but he never came down to see us.”

“What did you want to see Richard for?” She asked, stressing his name. It’d always frustrated her how he let his friends disrespect him with that nickname, but ever since their meeting after tennis it’d been especially grating to hear Felicia use it.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the arousal mist that Ata warned us about started working. I could use his help right now to help refocus for the rest of the game.”

“You’re saying you want to have sex with him right now? My stepbrother?”

Felicia rolled her eyes. “I was trying not to offend your oh–so-delicate sensibilities, but yes. This whole show is about having sex with your stepbrother.”

“I don’t know what he sees in you.”

I don’t either sometimes. Felicia thought. She didn’t say that obviously, because she was too strong to talk about her insecurities in front of the elder Turner. “Still, he should’ve been down here by now…”

***

“So what did you need?” Luna asked. The three of them were trying to avoid Ata overhearing them by holding their planning in the kitchen. Helena had given Hazel her suit jacket, and so she was using it to cover herself as best she could.

“I’ve been trying to keep that shopkeeper at bay for forty minutes. I found out that she can copy our skills just from being near us after she started using moves I was taught in the Air ****. It’s not a perfect imitation as she seems to be less instinctual with them than me, but she's getting faster and it’s been enough to keep me on my toes. I don’t know if I can keep going much longer as she speeds up and I slow down, and so I want to go out on my own terms.

If she is able to use my training against all of you, she’ll be a much bigger threat than just her own talents. If I use her imitation against her then either she’ll be **** to give it up early or if her copying works like I hope it does, it’ll be a burden weighing her down for hours.”

“But where do we come into the equation?” Luna asked.

Hazel nodded. “I explained my transformation to Mr.Turner and encouraged him to offer it to everyone. Did he?”

Luna shook her head.

“How could we use your transformation?” Stella wondered.

The veteran began to explain. “My transformation, or tf, as I heard contestants call them on other seasons when Genet let us watch some challenges, is that anyone else can **** their transformation onto me for twelve hours. You can only do it once per round, but since Mr.Turner never offered it around that means both of you can use it now.”

Luna had another question. “Why the two of us?”

“You two have the hardest ones to handle. Yours increases your lust, which would distract her. Given the emotional magnification of Stella’s tf, unexpected lust could throw her off balance until she loses what she’s imitating from me. Although it’d be more helpful if your tf was working right now.”

“It is.” Luna said quietly.

“Really? I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem rather… unperturbed.”

“Even before I had Touch Base, I had an unusually strong libido. If I hadn’t learned to mask my arousal, I never would’ve achieved all that I have. Professor Henderson’s class alone might’ve gotten me kicked out of school.”

“I…see.” Hazel didn’t really know how to respond to that. “At least it’s working.”

“I might be a problem with your plan.” Stella warned, moving the conversation somewhere more comfortable for Hazel.

“What would that be?”

“You weren’t there, but I upgraded my transformation. My tf, you called it. I still get to focus more easily if I’m not wearing too much, but the mood swings are gone. Instead it got replaced with these sensations. Any time someone starts touching me over my clothes, the tf creates the closest equivalent erotic contact.”

Hazel’s mind immediately flew to something that’d been bothering her for the past hour. When she’d thrown a tablecloth over Ata and dragged her across the room, the shopkeeper had Roid Raged using Stella. I thought I was scaring her. “Is it specifically your clothes, or can it be any cloth covering you?” She asked the demure chef.

“I really haven’t tested that.”

If that was how it worked, then Ata's remarks afterward suddenly made too much sense.

“I didn’t think anyone would be so bold.”

“It’s been ages since anyone…”

“I hope you know it can’t change anything.”

Hazel remembered everything that had been said afterwards. What did she think was happening? The Indian woman leaned against the counter, letting her poker face slip for a moment before she went back to the plan.

“In that case, do what you think is best.” She turned to Luna. “I’d still need you to use it. It’s activated by saying the name of the tf, Can You Hold This For Me?”

“Can you-”

“Not right now. Say it to her.”

“Right. Sorry.” Luna apologized.

“It’s alright. I offered to trade you information, and she knows that you two are hiding in the kitchens.”

Stella’s eyes darted to the pantry, where they’d be teleported back to at the end of the lunch hour.

“How does she know?” Luna asked.

“I don’t know exactly. When I asked her who she was channeling for Roid Rage, she referred to two women she’d seen in the kitchens. I thought I’d warn you.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Now go out and see if she’ll have to take it, I’ll wait ten seconds and take myself out of the game just in case. I won’t be able to help much more if I stick around anyway.”

Stella and Luna left the kitchen. By this time Ata was passing out the sandwiches she’d made with Genet. “That’s really good!” She exclaimed as she looked down at Ava’s diagram.

“I love to draw too, though I mostly do animals. I’ve never really experimented with places like that, though maybe I should. Gods know I have the time for it.” The shopkeeper giggled at the end of her little joke.

“Thanks…” Ava said half-heartedly, before flipping over the paper. “I draw a lot of my own maps for the campaign I run. I’d love to see some of what you’ve drawn before.”

It wasn’t clear if Ata was listening as she walked back to the buffet table. But when Luna said her name, she turned to look.

The lawyer used what she’d been armed with. “Can You Hold this For Me?” she asked, focusing on her own transformation. She felt the subtle heat leave her.

Ata dropped the metal platter she’d been carrying the sandwiches on. She froze, stopping in her tracks like a computer going into a blue screen. Everyone was watching her, but she didn’t move or speak at all, just staring at the place Luna had been standing when she got the shopkeeper’s attention. Even when Luna moved and sat down, her gaze remained on the same spot.

Hazel came out from where she’d been waiting and quickly explained what she was doing to Ms.Turner: “I can’t make it much longer, and so I’m poisoning what she’s copied. There’s a chance she could get it back again later, and so I need to take myself out right now to be safe. I believe in you Ma’am, and I’m looking forward to seeing you tonight. Be careful up there.” Then she took Ata’s still, open hand that had been holding the platter and both of them disappeared.

***

Richard was in the waiting area that Genet had designed, which looked like a hallway of the main Turner estate. It was the same red and gold carpeting, with mahogany doors and gilded plaques denoting what each room was dedicated to. His stepsister had designed it all herself, tearing most of the mansion down to the studs when she bought the place after the funeral.

Genet had sent him up to take lunch up to the people who’d already lost before he came down to see everyone. He’d checked on Maeve first, just because her door had been closer. That had ended up with her checking on him, wanting to discuss if he was nervous about the possibility of receiving a transformation or if seeing his loved ones interact with Ata had been stressful.

After he’d finished with Dr.Petrov, he’d gone to the next room to check on his girlfriend. What he’d heard from the scene before she’d been caught had been worrying. He knocked on the door and was greeted with silence.

He opened the door. The room was a copy of the same study Genet had borrowed from the mansion to give Maeve. It had a desk in one corner, with a television on it that didn’t exist in the original room. A bookshelf was on the wall between the desk and the door. In Maeve’s room, the shelf was filled with psychology books, and he remembered reading a few of them for his minor. On Aubrey’s shelf as he looked in, he couldn’t read any of the titles to know what was there. On the opposite side of the room was a sitting area with a couch, coffee table, and large armchair.

Aubrey was on the couch, laying down with her knees scrunched up against her stomach. Her eyes were bloodshot. She sat up slowly as he came in, trying to smile for him.

“Hey.” He said gently as he sat down in the armchair.

“Hey.”

“How’re you doing?”

“I’m alright.”

“Aubrey,” He set the platter down onto the coffee table. “I heard everything you told Ata. Are you sure there’s nothing you want to talk about?”

"Oh." She lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” She repeated.

“Aubs, what do you think you need to be sorry for?”

She still didn’t look at him, though she looked a little calmer. “I’m trying to do my best to be good enough for you.”

His heart hurt for her. “I’m trying to do my best for you too. Have I done anything to make you feel like you’re not good enough?”

“I saw the scoreboard. You needed to do like Genet’s been suggesting. I don’t know what happened, but you’ve done something with almost everyone. Even Hel. I should’ve been there for you.”

He tried to understand what she was saying. “Are you trying to apologize for me cheating on you? Even after Evan?”

“It’s not your fault like it was his.” She finally looked up and made eye contact with him.

“That’s…arguable. But it’s definitely not yours.”

“Isn’t it?” She asked. “If I-”

He cut her off. “It’s not your fault. Can I explain why I have been doing… things with the others?”

She nodded.

“When Dr.Petrov encouraged me to let us happen, she explained to me the stakes of the show. She told me that everyone was under pressure to appease the audience, and that they were at risk if they didn’t fulfill what the show expected of them. I’ve been trying to do my best for everyone, and I’m sorry that I didn’t take you into account more.”

He waited for her reaction. She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes drifted back down. “Aubs?”

“So you’re doing it to protect them? I’m still good enough for you?” She finally asked.

“Aubrey, you’ll always be good enough for me. I love you, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tears were welling in her eyes as they had after she’d been knocked out of the game, but they were happy tears this time. “I love you too.” Her stomach growled, and she noticed the sandwich that he’d brought in with him. “You made me lunch?”

He nodded. “Craft brand.”

“Thamk you.” She said, her mouth already full from the grilled cheese.

He took a deep breath and sat back as he watched her eat. I can’t let her get hurt again.

After she finished eating, he stood up. “Genet asked me to go down to the dining hall afterwards to say hello to the others. I can come back afterwards, if that’s alright.”

She was on him in an instant, her arms wrapped tightly around him. “Please, can’t you stay with me?”

“I…” He tried to promise that he’d come back, that he just needed to do as Genet asked first, but found it hard to make himself say the words. I should really go...

“Please?” She stared up at him with her big blue eyes as she held on.

“I’ll stay.”