An Invitation To A Party

Mary’s mind stirred awake slowly atop a pillow of impeccable quality and size. It wasn’t her favorite pillow, but that was simply because the competition was fierce. Mary nuzzled into Ellen’s wonderful breasts. She knew that Ellen’s breasts would revert in size later today, but had every intention of fixing that egregious error rather quickly.

Finally, Ellen stirred and said, “Mary, we need to get up and dressed for the day.”

“Nuh-uh.” Mary complained, “Time stops on the set during the eight hours you have with me.”

~POP~

Cassandra appeared and said, “She is actually correct. The first part of your date, which is going to consume an hour of the time, even if it ends up being longer than that, is going to be you heading to the birthday party of another Master. For time syncing reasons, I do actually need you ready shortly. Maja has already prepared outfits for both of you. I’m not recombining you, Mary, but you will be able to shift to Mark from now to the end of Ellen’s date. You are welcome to bring one other guest to the party, though Ellen might prefer that you don’t.”

Mary glanced at Ellen and could see that Cassandra was correct about that. “Anyone I know going to be there?”

“Several other Masters and Mistresses and their guests. To answer your unspoken question, I don’t believe you are familiar with the Master in question yet, though there are some similarities between the two of you. Though you have masturbated to several of the attendees before your time on the show began.”

Mary groaned and covered her face in embarrassment. “Can I have any sort of warning about who I might run into?”

“Harper, Nick, Laura, Caleb… and I feel like I’m forgetting someone, oh well.”

Mary was intrigued but also nervous about meeting the individuals in question. “Any clue who they are bringing?”

“Yes… Why?” Cassandra eyed Mary suspiciously.

“I was just wondering how many catgirls there were going to be at this event.” Mary lied fairly convincingly.

“Well, I think Laura and Nick are both bringing one, you want to bring Flora then?” Mary saw Ellen look disappointed.

Mary shook her head, “No, today is about Ellen.”

“Okay…” Cassandra said. “Anyway, you have thirty minutes to get ready. Meet at the cave entrance. As a note, for one hour, things will continue here on the set, but don’t worry. Everyone else will be writing fanmail.” With that, Cassandra vanished.

~POP~

Ellen turned to Mary, “Thanks for not bringing anyone else to the party with us.” Mary half-frowned in embarrassment, hearing that. “Wait, Mary, I thought you were making today about us. Who are you bringing?”

“It is about you, don’t worry. I’m not bringing any other member of the harem.” Mary then got out her phone and sent a message.

Mary: Astrid, I need you in my bed chambers, immediately.

A few moments later, an ASTRID entered the room, “~OH MISTRESS!~, It fills me with joy that you finally wish to take me for your own.”

“STOP!” Mary exclaimed, and ASTRID did not move. “I didn’t call you here to have sex with you. I did need you here fast, though.”

ASTRID visibly deflated, then said, “How may I serve you, Mistress?”

“I need you to answer a few questions for me, really quickly, and not tell anyone. First, can you separate your consciousness from the individual bodies?”

“Clarification requested, are you asking if I can leave this body as an empty shell without my personality code to run it?”

“Essentially, my second question might give you more insight as to why I’m asking. Do I own your shells, as you put it? Like if I wanted to take one apart or give one as a gift to someone else?”

Ellen looked at Mary aghast, but ASTRID did not seem perturbed. “Ah, I see. Then the answer is yes to both questions. I take it you wish to give an empty shell as a gift to the Master you are visiting? That would be perfectly acceptable. I can always build new bodies.”

“MARY! ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Ellen yelled at her.

ASTRID glared at Ellen menacingly, and her right eye twitched in anger, but she didn’t say anything.

Mary looked at Ellen with an expression of incredulity, saying you’ve read the situation wrong. “Ellen, of course, I’m not giving Andy… I guess that’s his name, an empty ASTRID. I like living. Though, Astrid, I do want you to accompany us to the party.”

Ellen pursed her lips into a thin line. “Why?”

“No.” Mary got up and went to her wardrobe, finding a little black dress and some jewelry on one door and a button-down shirt, dress slacks, and a blazer on the other. She got dressed, then shifted to being Mark and got dressed again.

“Mark, that isn’t fair.” Ellen said as she too began to get dressed.

“Sorry, but I’m not telling you. Don’t worry, she won’t be coming with us on our date, just to the party.”

A few minutes later, the two were ready. Ellen was about to sit down to wait for several minutes, but Mark said, “Want to join me at the cave entrance? I’m hoping Slevia is still there.”

“Sure.”

Mark offered Ellen his arm, and she interlocked her arm with his as they walked down the hall, with ASTRID following after them.

Arriving at the cave entrance, Slevia was still standing there in the purple trench coat, “Hello, Stranger. What are you buyin’?” Her eyes narrowed when she saw a normal-looking ASTRID behind them.

The first item in the menu was called ‘What gives?’ Opening the description, it read, ‘Okay, why do you have an ASTRID following you? You aren’t taking her with you to the party, are you?’

“That is exactly what I’m doing.” Mark nodded in confirmation, which caused Slevia to scowl at Mark, and he was certain that if her mouth wasn’t covered, she would be frowning. “Slevia, I think you know full well that I wouldn’t do anything to or with Astrid unless I believed it necessary to help her. So trust me, please.” Mark still saw her scowling, but she gave a slight nod. “Thank you. As for what I’m buying? I’m probably about to make your day. I want to buy a few upgrades for myself. Two more for my points and one for You Are Who You Eat.” That caused Slevia’s eyebrows to raise in surprise. Mark tapped on, ‘About Fucking Time’ and read, ‘Good, I’m glad you are willing to listen to your financial advisor. By the way, I took the liberty of optimizing Talia’s money flows, which were severely underutilized. Most likely because she never bothered to look at them closely. She is only eighteen, now. Also, I’ve begun scouting locations for you to build your compound, after the season ends.’

“Thank you, though, please actually consult with Talia about her money. She might have had reasons for how she had the money allocated.” Slevia gave a nod. Mark tapped through the screens. Upgrading Got To Spend Those Points, first and only once, wanting to be sure he was efficient. He received a message, ‘Please convert to Mary to make purchases.’ He rolled his eyes, shifted to Mary, and then she selected the option again.

-2000 Mary -> 7425 BP

Got to spend those points: Mark will gain either 5000 BP or the total BP of all the women in his Harem each round, whichever is greater. Mark will need to spend at least 80% of his BP each round, or Cassandra will get to spend it. Mark can earmark BP for a future purchase if he can’t afford it, but it will lock him into buying that when he has enough points. [Transformation Central] [Boon] Boosted (3/3): The Smart Investment: More money, lower costs, more flexibility, the cost three boosts. Slevia’s getting to say I told you so, Priceless. Mark will now get 5000BP + the total of all the women in his harem each round, a 20% discount, and not have to immediately finish an earmarked purchase at the first available opportunity.

Upgrade: Buying in bulk has always been an effective way to reduce costs. Now, when buying three or more things for a single contestant or his/her self at once, an additional 20% will be discounted.

Mary read over the upgrade, intrigued. She looked at Slevia, “Two questions, first, if I buy two more things right now, am I effectively refunded for buying in bulk as noted, or is it three things? Second, the 20% is it multiplicative or additive? Essentially, is it a 40% discount buying in bulk or a 36% discount?”

Mary saw, ‘Explanation’ pop up in the menu. ‘You have to buy three things all at once, put them in your cart, and pay for them. It is a 40% discount when done that way.’

Mary stroked her chin. Hmm… then I should probably get a third thing for the extra discount. Oh, I could get the free samples. Mary then added the two upgrades and Free Samples to her cart and bought them.

-5400 BP Mary -> 2025 BP

Free Samples: Not sure what to buy? No problem, test out things before purchase. Mark/Mary will receive one free sample of a consumable item each day. Samples not consumed by the end of the round they were received will become ineffective. [Transformation Central] (4000 BP)

Upgrade to Got To Spend Those Points: Mark/Mary has shown she'll spend the BP on their own; now He/She only has to spend 50% of their total BP each round, but any unspent BP will accumulate 20% interest at the end of each round.

You Are Who You Eat: When Mark/Mary eats out, a member of the harem, he/she will gain one TF they have as a copy. He/She may actively select one, or one will be selected for him/her. The TF will change to suit the appropriate anatomy but otherwise remain the same. Mary will also gain the non-human traits of the harem member the TF is from. [Transformation Central] [Boon]

Upgrade: Mark/Mary may now have copies of up to three TFs, but only one per person. When eating out, a member of the harem while at three TFs, he/she may choose which TF to discard, and the non-human traits will always be of the most recently copied TF.

Mary nodded approvingly. “I’m quite happy with that. Hmm… so it doesn’t retroactively fill the slots, shame.”

~POP~

Cassandra appeared, and Mary said, “And there goes my chance to go rush to eat out, Hilde or Flora.”

“No time, I’m afraid.” Cassandra eyed the ASTRID behind Mary. “You’re bringing Astrid?”

“Is that a problem? I was told I could bring a guest besides Ellen.”

“No… I suppose it isn’t. Do know that she can’t go on your date with Ellen. As she is planning on going back to your world.”

“That’s fine. Shall we?” Mary asked as she shifted to being Mark.

Cassandra waved her hand, opening a portal. The four of them walked through it.

Earlier, while Mark and Ellen were getting ready, Cassandra popped around and gathered each team in a separate location, giving them each an identical spiel. “Okay, listen up. My friend, Arabella, is currently running another season. It’s the Master’s birthday over there, and Arabella is asking for fan letters. I’m giving you all knowledge about their season, maybe it might help you here too. You’ll have a few hours this morning to write to them if you want. I’ve sent suggestions about who I think each of you should write to. Enjoy.” They each felt a large packet of information get planted into their heads.

The women weren’t particularly thrilled to have been woken up so early, but they realized it was a chance to help other people who were thrown into this craziness, so they all got down to business.

8-hour exclusive date with the Master, with time stopped on the show
-5000 BP Ellen -> 400 BP

(Author’s note: The second link below is to the start of the Party of XarHD’s branch. With Andy Cooper as the Master. His branch is long but well-written. I encourage you to check it out. The first link continues with only what Mark or Ellen is involved in at the party. Not all scenes in my chapter appear in XarHD’s branch, as they are background activities in his branch. If you decide to read XarHD’s Party scene, there will be a link at the end back to my next chapter, so you don’t miss anything. There is obviously some overlapped material from mutual interactions with the main characters. Thank you, and enjoy the party. The Fan Mail chapters to XarHD's cast will also be linked when they are published.)