When I’m all alone I don’t know why I always think of you

“Wonderful news?” Dani asked, looking suspiciously at Dakota. She had a disconcerting feeling about this; she doubted it was a coincidence that Dakota’s “news” just so happened to be delivered on her day with Nick. There was a possibility that Dakota could be scheming something, Dani couldn’t discount that very real concern.

Dakota pinched her lips together into a smirk as her eyes briefly flickered over Dani. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and shook her head.

“Yeah, what news?!” Sylvia jumped up from her seat with a burst of energy, her eyes shining with delight. As a former host, she hoped it would be something exciting that had to do with the show!

Dakota seemed to tense slightly at the young girl’s outburst. But only someone like Nick who knew her well would have been able to pick up on that. She smoothly moved past it and regarded the others with a smile.

“Rose, if you would be so kind?” She gestured to the blonde.

Of course, Rose stood up immediately, her face beaming with vainglorious pride.

“Rose here is the first contestant, the first member of Nick’s harem, to reach the threshold of 100 Victory Points!” Dakota declared. “Rose, go on and show them, if you would?”

Nick fought the urge to roll his eyes as Rose raised her hand and brandished the marking etched across it. Three digits glowed for all to see.

Yep, as he expected, she was enjoying her time in the sun alright.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin puffed up her cheeks and looked jealously at the other woman. She was the closest to catching up with Rose, and going by her personality she would be attempting to overcome her very soon.

“Now, as I mentioned several rounds ago, right before our newest competitors joined the harem, the total VP required for ‘winning’ this season has changed, from 100 VP to 200 VP,” Dakota pointed out. “However, that does not mean there is no reward for our lovely young lady here!”

“Oh?” Rose’s ears perked up when she heard that.

Dakota nodded to her. “Yes. Think of 100 Victory Points as the ‘safety threshold’,” she explained. “It is the signifier of a contestant who is inextricably bonded with the master. At 100 VP, even elimination from the show would be of no great concern to you. You’ll be spared the twisted effects of an elimination transformation, and when the show has come to a close, you’ll receive some accommodations to make the more… difficult transformations you’ve been saddled with easier to handle. Sadly though, a mental transformation to make a contestant less of a self-centered diva is not on the table at the moment, alas.”

Rose’s eye twitched.

“Oh, so 100 VP is what we should be aiming towards, then,” Vivian noted thoughtfully. She leaned back in her seat and tapped her chin. “If we’re not shootin’ to win the whole thing, we’ll be safe as long as we get that much, huh…”

“Is… is there even a way to get eliminated at this point, though? Without the Auditionee system?” Morgana asked worriedly, fidgeting in her chair.

“Unfortunately elimination is always a possibility on this show,” Dawn said, recounting what she’d read in the rules. “By this point the odds are slim to none, thankfully, but someone can still mess up really bad and end up eliminated. But I’m talking, like, really bad stuff. As in behavior not even the threat of a punishment transformation would be enough of a deterrent.”

Morgana’s pale skin turned even paler and she sank into her seat.

“Thwap!” Ella snapped her rubber-band frantically.

Ignoring the looks of concern from some of the girls, Dakota continued, “Once you reach 100 VP, you can rest easy- even if you’re in last place in terms of point totals you’ll still be guaranteed a nice, cushy exit from the show, to live the perfect life you’re meant to, bound to your master and giving him happiness beyond measure!” She proclaimed, her voice teaming with pride.

Nick winced as Dakota’s words brought to mind their argument from before. He didn’t miss the way some girls looked at him, including Dani. She seemed a little worried, but she held herself well in spite of that.

Ella, who sat right behind her in the rankings almost at the bottom, looked like she was going to be sick to her stomach.

“Oh, but ladies, do not worry!” Dakota tapped her cane lightly on the floor. “There are still many more rounds ahead of us. So while you might not even be close to your goal at the moment, I assure you there is no need for alarm. The future ahead of you is bright!”

Her tone oozed sweetness, but it just left the Banquet Hall feeling unnerved.

“Excuse me.”

Dakota turned to Amelia, who was sitting back in her chair with an expression of grim appraisal locked onto her face.

“Yes?” The host asked.

“What if the show ends and a contestant has not reached 100 VP?” Amelia asked, narrowing her eyes. “What can they expect?”

A flicker of irritation crossed Dakota’s face, like the suggestion that anyone wouldn’t end up with at least 100 VP was a personal insult.

“…I do not think you want to find out,” she said, in a tone that was more threatening than not.

Amelia was undaunted. “But it could still occur,” she pointed out.

“Yes. It could. And if I was still a contestant on this show, I would try very, very hard to make sure it did not.” Now Dakota’s tone was 100% threat.

Amelia blinked, still unfazed. “…Understood,” she blandly replied, adjusting her glasses.

Nick felt his heart swell with concern. He looked over at his stepmother, who went right back to eating her breakfast as though what Dakota had said wasn’t incredibly worrying. It can’t be that she’s planning to… no, this is Amelia we’re talking about here. She’s probably just going to work even harder in the upcoming challenges, that’s all. She inherited a ton of VP from Mary already, she doesn’t have to do stuff like that to get to 100.

Still though, Nick’s brain couldn’t help but imagine a scenario where Amelia, behind on VP with the end of the show closing in, **** herself to do several sexual acts with him just to make sure she was safe when things came to a close. The fantasies only lasted for a moment before his shame took over.

“Ahem.”

Rose loudly cleared her throat. She crossed her arms over her chest and everyone turned to look at her, Dakota included.

The woman’s impatient body language was practically screaming “Can we go back to talking about me now, please?”

Dakota smirked.

“…As I was saying, let’s all give Rose a round of applause for such a noteworthy accomplishment,” Dakota said, slowly bringing her hands together and clapping for the actress. “She’s certainly earned her spot in Nick’s harem. …And of course, I would like to extend my personal congratulations as well, as the host of this season, in acknowledgment of you being the first to reach 100 VP.”

“That’s right,” Rose crowed, looking out over the sea of rivals and occasional friends applauding her. “I got to 100 VP first!” It was an achievement not even Mary could boast. But the fact that the redhead was happily applauding her success anyway irked Rose severely, and she tried to put it out of her mind.

She coughed. “…Anyway, so what’s my reward? You know, for getting to 100 VP first?”

Dakota looked blankly at her. “…I told you. My most heartfelt congratulations.”

Rose didn’t say anything back, but the dissatisfied expression her face twisted into spoke volumes.

Nick sighed.

“…And also, of course, you’ve certainly certified your position in Nick’s harem,” the host added, her golden eyes shining.

That at least turned Rose’s frown upside-down.

“Yes, I suppose I have,” she said finally, once she accepted that there would be no tangible physical reward for her accomplishment. Not even some shiny bauble or trinket or even some extra privileges.

Rose relished in the adulation for a little longer before sitting back down, right next to Nick, and gazing adoringly at him.

Once the atmosphere in the room settled a bit more, Dakota moved things along. “…Now then, after getting that out of the way, onto the main reason I called you all here…”

“Huh?!” Rose snapped her head around and her mouth dropped open. She thought this morning was all about her! But she was just the warm-up!?

Dakota met Rose’s stunned gaze, and smirked. The blonde saw immediately that she’d been baited, much to her chagrin.

“…I think, since we’ve had such a long discussion about it, perhaps it’s time to see just how much VP everyone actually has,” Dakota said, waving her cane and summoning up a black screen. “With this many contestants now it’s rare that we’re all in the same place, so I thought we could take a minute to check everyone’s scores… just as a little reminder of standing and who else is close enough to reach our little prize.”

1st: Rose – 100 VP

2nd: Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin – 96 VP

3rd: Morgana – 89 VP

4th: Kim – 83 VP

5th: Dawn – 82 VP

6th: Carly – 78 VP

7th: Gina – 75 VP

8th: Amelia – 74 VP

9th: Vivian – 70 VP

10th: Dani – 59 VP

11th: Cinder/Ella – 58 VP

12th: Sylvia – 55 VP

“So as we can see, there are a few girls getting close to the 100 VP threshold,” Dakota informed everyone. She indicated to the obvious with her cane, like a teacher using a pointer to outline important information to her class. “But there are also a few girls who are really starting to lag behind. I suggest they really buckle down and get a move on… and if anyone is feeling any hesitation about advancing things sexually, I’d suggest putting those concerns behind them.”

Dani scowled, and Ella winced. But Nick felt Dakota’s eyes drill into him, and he realized that her words were for his sake. After all, Sylvia was at the very bottom of the list, and not for lack of trying on her part.

Whatever issues Dakota had with Sylvia, her position in the rankings was due to Nick’s hesitance. Perhaps she was even more irate that his hesitation was keeping a contestant from making a good-faith effort on the show.

It was hard to tell with Dakota sometimes.

“And since we’ve checked out everyone’s Victory Points, shall we see what’s going on with the Bonus Points, as well?” Dakota mentioned. “Before the big news, I mean.”

A flick of her cane caused the numbers on the screen to shift and several names to move up and down in the rankings.

1. Rose – 12200 BP

2. Dawn – 11400 BP

3. Carly – 10500 BP

3. Kim – 10500 BP

4. Sylvia – 8500 BP

5. Gina – 8000 BP

6. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin – 7700 BP

7. Morgana – 6800 BP

8. Cinder/Ella – 5700 BP

10. Dani – 5600 BP

11. Amelia – 3200 BP

12. Vivian – 2200 BP

Notably, Rose still remained comfortably at the top of the list. Something she took immense pride in. But then, when she finally took her eyes away from her own name and looked at the other names on the list, she did a double-take.

“…Hey, wait a minute!” She snapped her head around to look at Vivian. “Why is Vivian so low?” She demanded. “I just loaned you 5000 BP yesterday! Did you already spend it!?”

A quick survey of the room would show that Vivian had not invested the 5000 BP in anyone’s boob size. So what had happened to it? Rose had given her that money to experiment with, how was it already gone?

…She better get paid back…

“…Yes, Vivian,” Dakota said, turning to the heiress. “What did happen to the money that Rose loaned you yesterday?”

“Ah, about that…” Vivian scratched her cheek and laughed.

Kim rolled her eyes and Marley frowned. She glanced at her sister, who looked a little nervous. But Carly didn’t do nervous. So she relaxed her smile and shrugged.

“Actually, that’s my bad,” the cosplayer said, raising her hand. “Vivian invested that money in me, actually.”

Everyone’s eyes immediately dropped to her chest. Mary squinted in confusion, not sure what she was supposed to be seeing, but she did the same.

“Nuh-uh,” Holly said loudly, speaking for everyone’s doubts. “I would know it Carly’s boobs grew even a centimeter larger. And that goes for everyone!”

She said it with such conviction that nobody found it in themselves to doubt her.

Dani looked at Carly with an expression that was an odd mix of concern and confusion.

Marley couldn’t stand it anymore. Her face was too hot. “Not like that, you guys!” She groaned. “Vivian invested it in Carly’s Stream Donations transformation, not her boobs!”

Sylvia laughed. “If she wanted to get bigger, that’s what our cactus is for!”

“Ah, yeah, I knew that,” Gina snickered. She’d kept her mouth shut, enjoying the looks of confusion on everyone’s face.

Right now, Dani’s was the most amusing.

“Wait, you… you invested in her transformation?” She asked, blinking multiple times in quick succession as she tried to piece together what she was hearing. “But… I mean… Carly, you didn’t say anything about trying to invest in that, I could have-”

“I know,” Carly said quickly, cutting her girlfriend off. “And I love you for that, Dani. But it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and we couldn’t find you. Plus, uh…”

She blushed a little and played with a couple strands of her hair as she smiled. “I didn’t want to ask you for help if I didn’t need to… I’d rather you kept your BP for yourself. You know, in case you needed it for something.”

Dani looked at her, shocked and touched. “Carly…”

“Aww, how touching,” Dakota said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. “It gets me right here.” She patted her hand right over her heart. “Seeing you ladies flirt with each other without the master involved at all.”

“Dakota…” Nick shot her a warning look. He’d made it clear many times that he wasn’t interested in getting in the way of Dani’s relationship with Carly.

Fortunately Dakota took the hint and backed off, returning to the matter at hand.

“Yes, that is the other, far more important news I have for you all!” Dakota chirped. “Vivian and a couple of other investors helped get our go-getting streamer all the way to her 10000 BP target goal! Isn’t that fabulous?”

She began to clap, only this round of applause sounded a lot less sincere and a lot more condescending than the one she’d given for Rose.

Carly didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Yeah, so what’s the prize?” Vivian asked intently. She really wanted to know what Carly would get for reaching 10000 BP, that was why she’d pushed so hard yesterday. Any less than the total amount and they’d have to wait even longer to find out what it would be.

“Yeah, the prize I paid for half of,” Rose noted. Not that she was bitter. Of course she wasn’t bitter. Why would she be?

Vivian chuckled. “It was a loan, don’t worry, I’ll pay you back,” she assured the actress.

Carly wasn’t interested in the jokes being made about her prize. Her heart pounded with anticipation and her eyes never left Dakota as she wondered like Vivian just what it was that she had earned for all her hard work- even if the actual quality of her photos had little to do with what she’d gotten, as opposed to a prize being earned through her connection with other people.

Dakota smiled. “Carly, why don’t you and your sister come up here, and claim your prize?” She suggested, beckoning to the twins with one hand while the other tapped her cane lightly on the floor.

Carly and Marley stood up, Marley a lot more hesitant than her sister was. She glanced at Sylvia as she walked around the table, and Sylvia nodded enthusiastically while giving her two thumbs up.

When the two women got to Dakota, she tapped her cane one last time, and a large box appeared beside her in a puff of smoke.

It was big- taller than both girls, and wrapped up tight in bright pink wrapping paper and a shiny red ribbon like a present on Christmas morning.

Carly actually sputtered out a laugh.

“Well… you certainly don’t half-ass things, huh?” She chortled, shaking her head.

“Language, Carly,” Dakota chided her, shaking her head right back. “What if the children were to hear? Go on, now open up your gift.”

She stepped aside, preening as Carly walked over to the large box and dug her fingernails into the wrapping paper. As soon as she peeled a strip of it away, the “box” disappeared as if it had been nothing but air, a mere illusion of a present. The wrapping paper and ribbon fell away in tatters as Carly stared in shock at what was hidden underneath.

“…No way…” Marley’s eyes bulged out of her skull in shock. But that was nothing compared to Carly’s reaction. The cosplayer lost control of her legs and fell backwards, landing on her butt. She stared up in disbelief at what lay beneath the wrapping paper.

Everyone was a little stunned at first, but no one was that confused. The idea that Dakota’s idea of a “reward” for meeting her point threshold would be a young woman sounded pretty realistic given the tone of this show.

But that was because none of them recognized the girl in question. Not even Nick and Dani, who were closer to Carly than most anyone, understood what they were looking at, at first. Sylvia, the former host who had access to everything from Carly’s past, was the only one besides the Granger sisters themselves that understood exactly what she was looking at.

And she was just as shocked as they were.

“Wh-what’s going on!?” The ponytailed girl asked, looking around frantically. “How did I get here!? How did… huh!?”

Hearing that familiar voice touch her ears made Carly’s heart tremble, and she rose to her feet, emerging from the cloud of confusion that swirled around her as tears welled up into her eyes. She took a shaky step forward and stretched out her hand, too afraid to touch the figure before her eyes.

It was like the young woman was made of glass, and if she touched her then she might break.

This was the “prize” Carly had earned, for just a mere 10000 BP?

“…Emmy?”