Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a whole lot worse

No one knew what to say after what they had just seen. They all witnessed it. And they all looked at Dakota, seeing her again with new eyes.

Sylvia hopped off the stage and strolled forward with a smile on her face.

“I’d say that just about settles that, wouldn’t you agree, Dakota?” She stopped in front of her creator, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Or should I call you… mistress? …Or… mom?”

She whispered that last part, her soft voice filled with desperation.

Dakota stared at her with muddy eyes and said nothing.

It was Nick who spoke first. His voice was haunted by disbelief.

“Dakota…? That… you…”

He couldn’t find the words to say more. But it was Gina of all people who stepped in.

“You were a host!?” She exclaimed. “Dakota, what the hell!? You… you were a host this whole time!? So you knew… you knew about all this?!”

Dani bit her lip, her expression darkening. “You knew and you didn’t say anything?”

“Hey, wait, guys, let’s hold on here!” Mary cried, rushing to Dakota’s defense. “It’s more complicated than that! Remember, Dakota got all those memories from her other life! She’s not the same person now, exactly!”

“That’s true, Mary…” Kim admitted. “But it doesn’t change the facts. What she did… transforming all those people…”

Kim knew that whatever secret Morgana had been hiding this week would be serious. But never in a million years would she have thought it was something like that.

“And she was haunting Nick as well…” Dawn murmured, adjusting her glasses. “All this time…”

Dakota’s hands were shaking. She had **** in her eyes.

And she turned all of that pain on Nick. The others didn’t even exist for her.

“That’s right!” She shouted, her voice booming over the sand. “I was a host! I created Sylvia! I arranged for the circumstances behind this season to happen! And even before that… I transformed countless people, all for my own amusement! And I haunted Nick, as well! All that, all of it, I did it without hesitation!”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She stumbled towards Nick, half-blind, face flushed with desperation. “And I did it because… I love you…” She whispered, reaching out to caress his cheek. “I love you, Nick… and you… you still love me, right? You promised… that even if I was a monster… you would still… you would still love me…”

“Dakota…” Nick’s words rang in his ears. He could see the hope in Dakota’s heart, a faint bit of light that had yet to be smothered by the darkness. She was still hanging onto what he’d said before.

It was that bit of light he could see that convinced him. Dakota was still Dakota. She’d been corrupted and broken down so much by what had happened to her, but deep down inside, she was still the girl he loved. The little preteen who he’d promised to marry, before he even knew what that entailed.

He couldn’t abandon her like this.

Nick reached up and placed his hand over hers, stroking it as she stroked his cheek. He tried to **** a smile as best he could, even after everything he’d seen. “Even after seeing that… even after all the things you did… I still love you,” he admitted.

Maybe it was wrong. Maybe a better man would have condemned her for her horrible actions.

But Nick still loved her.

Dakota’s eyes widened in shock, as if she hadn’t expected that.

But before she could say anything, Sylvia grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away.

“Come now, my girl, there’s no need for this sad talk!” Sylvia chirped. “You, more than anyone, should remember the rules! After all, just because you’ve been eliminated from his harem, that doesn’t mean this is goodbye! If you like, you’ll be able to stay with him forever! What was that line again? ‘Together since birth’?”

Dakota leered at Sylvia with absolute disgust. Sylvia winced, like she’d been slapped. But she pushed on regardless.

“Just think about Holly! If you like, you can even share a neighboring cage! What do you think of that, my girl?” She offered charitably.

Dakota didn’t think much of it.

“You think you can play around with your maker, is that it?” With no one left to play nice for, with no secrets left to hide, Dakota could finally let her true self rear its head. “You think I don’t know what you did?”

Sylvia batted her eyelashes innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You arranged this from the start, didn’t you?” Dakota’s voice was low and threatening. She approached Sylvia, not intimidated in the slightest by the power the blonde possessed. “Working to undermine me. What was the reason for that? Spite? Jealousy? Did you feel bitter, about what happened to Mimi last round, so you decided to take it out on your creator?”

“N-no, it wasn’t anything like that!” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “It was just about making a good show! That’s the job, right? To make a good show? For the audience? …To make Nick happy?”

Dakota narrowed her eyes. “And eliminating me… that’s part of making Nick happy?”

Sylvia gulped. “That… I didn’t have anything to do with that,” she said, shaking her head. “That was Kim! She’s the one who didn’t pick you! And she’s the one who beat you in the challenge! I can’t control that!”

“Hey!” Kim exclaimed.

“Do you think your creator is a fool? It seems you were made defective after all,” Dakota sneered, advancing closer. Sylvia took a step back out of reflex.

“I… I don’t…”

“The vision that Morgana got, with her The High Priestess transformation. You were the one who determined that, right? After all, that’s part of your responsibilities as a host. As a former host myself, I know all about that. It could have been anything. Like ‘the master would be happy if he got boobjobs’ or ‘the master would be happy if you cut your hair short’ but no. It was something specifically about me, to turn that girl against me. And then what? You pair her up with Kim, my buddy? Have them both be suspicious of me, and both working as the saboteurs in the challenge? Just to arrange for my elimination?”

For the briefest of moments, a look of guilt flashed over Sylvia’s face, and that’s when Nick realized that Dakota was telling the truth.

“I… so what if I did?!” Sylvia demanded. “It was for drama! To make things more exciting for everyone! I was just… I was just trying to be like you, mistress! To… to be a good host, a host that keeps the audience guessing… I wanted…”

Her voice came out a pathetic whimper even as she tried to stand tall.

Dakota smirked. “Yes… mistress… I miss when you used to call me that… but still. You crossed the line, Sylvia. A major line. And now you’ve upset me. Twisting a transformation to suit your own ends, after vetoing another transformation to **** it to happen? All to eliminate a specific contestant? That’s not okay.”

Sylvia scowled. “Well… it’s the show! I’m sorry, but Kim decided! I couldn’t rig THAT! So that means you’re eliminated!”

She lifted her cane, and the crystal embedded in the head began to glow with a black light.

“What transformation should I give to you?” She mused. “Oh! I know! How about a mommy figure for Nick, one he can work out his issues on? That might be good for a laugh! …But I think a loyal childhood friend, a wingman who’s always got his back, that would be perfect!”

In the end, Sylvia really did want Dakota to have a happy ending of her own.

But to her shock, the light coming out of the cane sputtered and died.

Dakota raised her eyebrow, and her smirk widened. “…Problem?”

“It-it’s not working!” Sylvia said nervously, her face turning red. “Come on already! Transform!”

Dakota clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh, my my my… you poor thing. You still don’t understand, do you? Yes, you caught me off guard, by arranging for me to be eliminated. Maybe it was because of the ratings, or you wanted me to be happy… or you wanted to leave no question in eyes of the other hosts who was really running things. But you see, before all that… I called Mr. S.”

Sylvia blanched. “You mean… the producer?”

“That’s right,” Dakota nodded. “When you gave us all a phone call at the beginning of the second round, remember? Even back then, I was starting to have doubts about your capabilities. I thought you were becoming defective, since you stopped listening to me. Which wasn’t good at all. So we discussed things, and we agreed that if you slipped up one more time…”

“No!” Sylvia gasped. “Not the pit of fire snakes!”

Dakota ignored her. “…Then I would have to step in. I didn’t expect your failure to be in trying to eliminate me, but I suppose… it’s just an act of fate.”

She held out her hand.

The cane began to grow hot in Sylvia’s grasp, and in spite of how hard she clung to it, she still had to drop it in the sand.

“YOW! What?!” She cried.

“You remember, right?” Dakota mocked her with a sneer. “Only the host is able to touch that cane without being burned.”

The cane stirred in the sand, and to Sylvia’s horror it flung itself into Dakota’s outstretched hand.

The brunette closed her eyes and moaned as the island began to shake.

“Oh, yes… the power… I’d almost forgotten…!”

“No!” Sylvia wailed. “You can’t-!”

“Dakota!” Nick cried. “What are you doing?! Stop this!”

The light emanating from the cane was bright and black and blinding. And when it finally cleared, Dakota stood in the sand looking like a whole new woman.

“…And that’s the end of that.”

Her black clothes had been replaced by a dress as red as blood. Golden decorations hung off it, and black lace covered her cleavage, cut short to reveal her sleeveless shoulders. Hands clad in black gloves held the cane in front of her like an old friend, and the wicked gleam in her eye as she smirked down at her creation was devoid of any of the humanity Nick recognized in his old love.

“D-Dakota…” Sylvia fell to her knees in shock as she felt the last traces of her power as a host drain from her body. She’d been reduced to nothing in seconds, and left at the mercy of her creator.

With a flick of her wrist Dakota slung the cane forward, resting the head right in front of Sylvia’s shocked face. She held her finger up to her lips.

“Shh, now… you remember what to call me, isn’t that right, my girl?” Dakota hissed with glee.

Sylvia gulped, sagging slightly. “Yes… mistress…” She whimpered.

“Dakota, what’s going on?” Nick cried, rushing over to her. She held up her hand and turned her eyes towards him with a sharp glare.

“Not another step, Nick,” she warned him. “As of this moment… we need to set some new rules. The thing crawling in the sand isn’t the host of this show anymore… I am.”

“Seriously?” Gina’s eyes bugged out.

“Dakota’s the host now?!” Rose gasped.

Kim gulped, and started to shake. If Dakota was the host… then that meant that she, the one who’d eliminated her… would be…

Dani stepped defensively in front of Kim, already anticipating potential repercussions from Dakota.

Morgana, who had no one to hide behind, just shook like a leaf. It was all her fault. If she’d just kept her mouth shut and not told Nick and Kim, then maybe all of this could have been avoided somehow…

“This isn’t good,” Carly said, biting her lip. She could understand Sylvia’s energy sometimes, but Dakota? That was a different story.

“…Mom…” Marley’s voice broke as she looked down at the broken form of her mother kneeling on the ground.

“Don’t worry!” Dakota assured everyone with a smile that suggested that they absolutely SHOULD be worried. “Things won’t change too much around here. I’m still the same Dakota you all remember. Only now, I’ll be working to make sure that this time, Nick is happy.”

Dawn frowned. “So… you’re continuing with the show, then…”

Dakota blinked. “Of course I am. Why would I not? With this, Nick will finally have the harem of his dreams! That’s the goal, right?”

“I don’t need that, though!” Nick cried. Sylvia had been one thing, but this was Dakota. Even after everything he saw her do, he knew he could still reason with her.

He had to be able to, right?

“Dakota… this is enough,” he assured her. “We can end things here. I’m happy. Just being with you, and everyone else… that’s enough for me to be happy.”

He tried to smile, in an attempt to convince her. Maybe if he’d done a better job, he would have.

But she just smiled back and shook her head. “That’s what I’m doing, Nick! What I’ve been trying to do from the start! Make you happy. And with these transformations, I promise, this time, I’ll bring you happiness. I couldn’t do it as a contestant… I see that now. I was too selfish. Too blinded by my own desire. But now, having been with you myself…”

She took a deep, swooning breath, and exhaled. “…I can finally give you what you truly deserve.”

Mr. S had been right all along. It was SO much better for Dakota to bring Nick happiness as a host. Why did she ever think she needed to rely on such a defective tool like Sylvia?

Nick’s shoulders slumped. He could see what everyone else had already seen five minutes ago.

There was no part of Dakota left that could be reasoned with. The second she received that cane, everything changed.

“Oh! That reminds me…” Dakota tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We need to get to the transformations! That’s what everybody is looking forward to! …Once we eliminated the leftovers, of course.”

She turned to Sylvia and held up her cane.

Sylvia gasped.

“W-wait…”

“Wait, Dakota, what are you doing?” Nick exclaimed. “Did you just say ‘eliminate’!? Are you going to transform her?!”

Dakota stared at him in confusion. “Why would I do something like that? No, I’m just getting rid of her, that’s all.”

It took a moment for that to sink in.

“Getting… rid of?” Mary asked warily.

“You mean you’re going to kill her?!” Holly exclaimed.

“NO!” Marley shouted, running towards Dakota. Carly had to grab her to hold her back. “You can’t! Stop it! MOMMY!”

“Dakota, don’t do this!” Nick cried.

Dakota just looked at him, confused. “But Nick, there’s no point in keeping her around. It’s not like she’s a person. Didn’t you see my past? I created her.”

“That doesn’t mean you can destroy her!” Dawn snapped, storming forward. “I read the rules, remember? A host can administer all manner of punishment, but they can’t kill anyone! So you can’t kill her!”

Dakota rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously. A host killing someone would be ****. But Sylvia isn’t a person. She’s like the faeries I created. Just a doll programmed to do what I instructed it to. A very advanced one, to be sure, but a doll nonetheless. She’s not human. She’s not even alive. She does as she’s programmed, with no free will of her own. No ability to do anything outside of fulfill a purpose she’s been given- in this case, run the show in my sted. And now that she’s fulfilled her purpose and has proven herself defective in even that, I’m getting rid of her. When your computer stops working, you throw it out and get a new one. It’s the same logic.”

She turned back to Sylvia. “That’s all this thing is. A broken tool. Nothing more.”

“She’s not!” Nick insisted. “She’s a person! She has feelings, and a soul! Tell her, Sylvia!” He didn’t know much about Sylvia. But like the girls in his harem, he’d been in close proximity to her these last few weeks. He knew that there was more to her than just some doll.

Sylvia was too petrified with fear to say anything. She just stared up at Dakota in hollow disappointment, waiting for the end. She knew her mistress wouldn’t be swayed with mere words.

But then a miracle happened.

Dakota sighed and rolled her eyes, and lowered her cane. The black light faded away. “…Fine. I’ll grant her a reprieve. Sylvia, darling? Nick has said that you’re not a tool. That you’re a real person. A human being. And, well, you know the rules. If you’re a person, then obviously I can’t kill you. So… make your case. Convince me of this ‘humanity’ that you have inside you, and if you do, I’ll stay my hand.”

She cocked her hip to the side and smirked. “That sounds fair, don’t you agree?”

Sylvia looked up at her, shocked. “Wh-what?”

Dakota sighed again. “This is the problem with you. You’re so flawed, you can’t even register basic logic. It’s very simple. Just give me one thing. One instance of you being a person. Of you expressing your free will. Just give me one example of you doing something you weren’t programmed to do, and I’ll acknowledge your free will, and let you live. Does that sound fair?”

“I… I…”

“Come on, Sylvia!” Nick pleaded. He was shocked he was standing up for her so ardently. “There has to be something!”

“I-I guess… I mean… you didn’t like that I sabotaged you, right?” Sylvia answered weakly. “Going behind your back like that, to eliminate you? So… isn’t that…?”

Dakota frowned. “But you said it yourself, you did that because you thought it would make for a better show. Which is what I programmed into you, remember?”

Sylvia gulped. “Th-then… interacting with the girls… like at Mary’s bachelorette party… I didn’t have to, but… but I wanted to! So doesn’t… doesn’t that count?”

She looked hopefully up at her creator, hoping it fulfilled the requirements.

“Yes!” Mary exclaimed. “It absolutely counts!”

“I agree too,” Kim nodded. “She didn’t have to come, but she wanted to.”

“Ah, but did she want to because she honestly desired that?” Dakota asked. “Or because her programming believed that forming a positive relationship with the contestants on the show would make for a better season; that things would go smoother if she could befriend the other girls?”

Sylvia felt sick. She looked down, and gasped.

Her hands had begun to crumble to dust.

“No!” She shouted as her legs started to do the same.

“MOM!” This time, Marley was strong enough to break free from her sister’s grasp. She frantically ran to her mother’s side, and Carly had to struggle to keep up with her.

“Time’s running out,” Dakota warned. “At this rate, you’ll fade away completely before long. Come now, all that bluster, with Nick standing up so staunchly for you, and can’t think of ONE thing? Not ONE thing that is truly yours, that I didn’t give to you?”

“I… I…” Sylvia could hardly even think. She felt bits of her crumbling away every second. All she could do was stare up at Dakota.

Then, Marley’s face filled her view.

“Mom!” She sobbed, her eyes filled with tears. “It’s me! It’s Marley! You have to fight this! You have to! Please!”

“I… Marley… that’s it!” Sylvia’s eyes shot up to Dakota. “Marley! She’s my child! Why would you ever do something like that? Give me feelings for a contestant like that?”

Dakota narrowed her eyes. “But I told you to look after her, remember? I instructed you to raise her as your child. From the start, that was me. Because I thought that, with the twisted season you developed, where contestants would be voted off, seeing a contestant get eliminated who the host herself was attached to would make a better season.”

The decay of Sylvia’s body increased. But that was nothing compared to the shattering of her heart.

Her feelings for Marley, her daughter… had that really been something Dakota had implanted, just to make the season more engaging, on the possibility of her elimination?

…Yes. Her mother… her creator… she was the kind of woman to do something like that.

“Your time is almost up,” Dakota said ambivalently, like she was starting to get bored. “Is there really nothing? Nothing at all? I’m sure even you must have something, deep down in that artificial heart of yours that you believe is truly you, and not something given to you by something else, isn’t that right?”

Sylvia’s eyes raced across the beach… and landed on one person in particular.

“Nick…” She whispered. She closed her eyes, and pictured his smiling face. She remembered the first day she’d met him, not long after she was born. Hearing the stories her mother had described, of how sweet and kind he was, and seeing him in person for the first time.

By the time those sessions had ended, in just a year, she had fallen head over heels.

“…My feelings for Nick,” she breathed, opening her eyes and looking up at her mother. She was almost gone now, just the upper part of a torso resting in the sand. The rest had crumbled away. “My love of Nick… that’s real.”

Dakota blinked. “…Love, huh?” She sighed.

Nick’s heart surged with disbelief and hope. Sylvia had feelings for him!? How?! That meant…

“…That was also, something I gave to you.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened.

“…No… NO! No, I-!”

“A host falling for the master has happened before. I gave you those feelings using my own as a base, because… I thought it would amuse me, and the audience, to see you pining for him. And it worked out brilliantly. More than serving as a host in my stead, perhaps those feelings are the one thing about you that aren’t defective.”

Sylvia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her love, her feelings… they’d all been constructed!? No, that couldn’t be! It couldn’t! She…

“Nick…” She croaked out.

“Sylvia!” Nick cried. She was almost gone. He could see right through her. “Dakota, stop! Come on, please!”

“Sylvia, you are NOT a person, and you are not something that this island has any further use of,” Dakota said, waving her cane.

The rest of Sylvia crumbled away, disappearing like the final grains of an hourglass. The only sign that she had ever existed at all was a silk top hat that fluttered gently to the ground, resting in the sand like the marker over a grave.