So don't bore us, hit the chorus, go big, get loud, or go home

“Ieeeeeeeyaaaaaagggggghhhhh!” Cinder shielded her eyes and cried as the dark light wrapped around her body. It was only for a moment, but that was enough. She fell to her knees, panting, and clutched at her chest. It felt like it was burning.

But, as she settled down and regained her composure, she realized that the burning sensation in her chest had spread up to her throat. It was like molten lava was wrapped around her neck, choking the life out of her. Her fingers scrabbled up to her neck, and she gasped.

A thick, metal collar was settled around her throat.

“Wh-whaaaat…?” She rasped out, raising her head. She looked up at the sneering Echo, her glare filled with furious confusion. “What is this?!”

Echo sneered. “It’s a collar,” she crooned. “To keep you in line.”

Cinder’s mouth dropped open. She stumbled to her feet, her eyes clouded with rage. “You bitch-!”

“Cinder, stop!” Sylvia practically had to tackle the other woman to the ground. She threw herself between the two of them to keep her from doing anything that she would regret.

Again.

“Settle down, please!” Sylvia begged the other girl. “Please! Daddy wouldn’t want you to do this! Echo’s goading you! She’s trying to get you to cross more lines, so she can give you more punishment transformations!”

“FUCKING BITCH!” Cinder screamed.

Echo tilted her head to the side. A look of practiced confusion tugged up her lips. “Wait, ‘more’ punishment transformations? Whatever could you mean by that?” She asked.

Cinder stopped tugging on her collar. For once, her anger was smothered by her rational thoughts, and she looked at Echo in confusion, trying to make sense of what the host had just said. “Excuse me?!” She spat. “What the fuck are you talking about, you bitch!?”

Echo shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about that foul mouth of yours,” she murmured, trying not to smirk outright. “But don’t worry… it isn’t anything as bad as you were fearing. Just a little warning, that’s all.”

Sylvia tingled. For a moment, she wasn’t sure why. She looked at Echo in confusion, and shivered at the woman’s empty eyes boring into her.

“…What do you mean by a warning?” She asked, more coherent than Cinder’s cursing rants.

“You weren’t wrong, Sylvia,” Echo said, twirling her cane. “A major punishment transformation over a minor infraction like that, the audience might see that as going too far. So, I thought that a slap on the wrist might be preferable.”

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. “…I thought you didn’t care what the audience thought about you?” She pressed, throwing Echo’s own words back in her face. “Or, was that just a lie?”

Echo just smirked in response. “What I care about isn’t as important as my obligation to run an entertaining show,” she replied. “And the sort of punishment transformations I have in mind for Cinder… oh, they’re quite inspired! The old you would be very impressed! …But, that would necessitate punishing Ella, as well, and the audience likes pure, sweet, innocent Ella.”

She said “innocent” with more sarcasm than Sylvia had ever heard in her life. The white-haired girl scowled.

“…So, you’re not comfortable with how the audience would react to punishing Ella, is that it?” Sylvia glanced at Cinder again, and the collar wrapped around her neck. “…You’re probably not wrong there,” she conceded.

But it still seemed pretty hypocritical.

“Ella and Cinder may be the same person, but the audience hasn’t quite made that connection just yet,” Echo said with a shrug. “So, you do what you can. You know?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to buddy up to me,” she spat, shaking her head. “We’re not friends here. You’re trying to mess everything up!”

“I’m trying to keep this show going,” Echo said, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward. The smile was gone from her face now, and she was glaring at Sylvia with fury in her eyes. “And you know how this show works, Sylvia. Don’t be so naïve!”

Sylvia wanted to rebuke the host, but she couldn’t.

Because Echo was right.

Cinder had attacked her. That was against the rules of Harem Hotel. Echo had every right to punish her- in fact, she was even expected to, in order to keep Cinder in line.

If Sylvia was being honest with herself… if she had been in Echo’s position, then she would have stepped in before now. Cinder had been given too much leeway as it was, and she’d finally crossed the line, even if it had been because of how worked up she was.

“…You said that this wasn’t a punishment transformation,” Sylvia said, beckoning to Cinder’s collar. The other girl was still on her knees, too weak to stand. “So, what is it, then?”

Echo’s smirk returned.

“…It is a punishment transformation,” she clarified. “It just isn’t a permanent one. That collar will come off… once the circumstances are met, of course.”

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. Echo was dancing around the issue, and she was getting sick of it. “Go on, then,” she scowled. “Stop playing around and just say it already, you bitch.”

Echo pursed her lips. “How foulmouthed… Dakota certainly didn’t raise you that way.”

Her taunt didn’t even register for Sylvia. She just rolled her eyes in exasperation and pressed forward regardless. “Echo…”

“Fine, fine…” Echo held up her hands. “If that’s what you want… I’ll fill you both in.”

She tapped her cane, and brought up the text of Cinder’s new punishment transformation for the both of them to read.

• Obedience Collar: Cinder has been lashing out like a brat, or more like a wild animal. That kind of behavior isn’t acceptable for a dignified young lady! So, to facilitate a more productive state of mind, she’s been affixed with an Obedience Collar. As long as she’s wearing that collar, any action she takes or thought she has that runs contrary to the rules of Harem Hotel will result in an overwhelming surge of pleasure. Whether that will have any impact on her behavior or not remains to be seen. (Punishment)

“Well? What do you think?” Echo asked with a smirk. “I’d say it’s downright generous of me, wouldn’t you both agree?”

“What?!” Sylvia read the text of that transformation again, and then two times more, just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “That… that’s… …What even is this?!” She demanded, looking incredulously at the host. “...How is this a punishment transformation?”

For some people, this would be an outright reward.

“What the fuck is this!?”

…Cinder was not one of those people.

“Are you telling me that whenever I think about wringing your scrawny little neck, I’m going to fucking- uaaaagggghheeehhh!”

Cinder’s eyes rolled back into her head as her collar started twitching, and her body shook like a leaf as pleasure surged through her, nearly bringing her to orgasm. She flopped about like a dying fish, unable to regain her bearings.

Echo clicked her tongue and shook her head back and forth. “What did I just say?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Come on now, Cinder, you just read the text of the transformation, didn’t you? That means any time you think those nasty thoughts, it’s time for some correction!”

Cinder’s trembling hands dropped to her sides and she glared furiously at the woman in front of her, wanting to tear Echo’s throat out.

Which, of course, was a “thought that runs contrary to the rules of Harem Hotel” and so she was sent through another spasm of pleasure, resulting in an orgasm this time.

“You… fucking… bitch…” Cinder wheezed out, scraping her fingernails across the carpet.

“Cinder, calm down, just calm down,” Sylvia urged the struggling girl. She snapped her head around and glared at Echo. “Don’t you think that’s too much!?”

“What? Pleasure? Oh, please. You just won’t be satisfied, will you?” The affability in Echo’s voice had completely disappeared. Now, she just leered at Sylvia with smoldering contempt. “First it’s ‘don’t punish her’, now it’s ‘this is too rough of a punishment’ and the punishment is just a bunch of orgasms! When will enough be enough for you, Sylvia?” She demanded, cocking her hip to the side. “Do you know how many women in Harem Hotel would KILL for their punishment to be something as light as orgasms on demand?”

“You know that Cinder isn’t cut out for this sort of thing,” Sylvia said, helping the trembling girl to her feet. “You know that! That’s why you forced this collar onto her, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Echo replied without blinking. She had no intention of obscuring her motivations, she wore them on her sleeve. “And that’s what makes it a punishment? But, don’t worry. It won’t be forever, I assure you.”

She walked over to Cinder and leaned forward, gazing into the girl’s furious eyes with a smoldering gaze of her own. “I wouldn’t want to declaw a kitty- she wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild if I took her fangs away.”

Cinder so badly wanted to curse out the bitch in front of her, but she held her tongue. She tried not to think about all the things she wanted to do to the bitch, and it was a real struggle to keep her mind in check.

She had never been good about controlling her emotions- that wasn’t her purpose!

“When is it going to end?” Sylvia demanded, coming to her friend’s defense. “You said it was temporary, so when is it over? 24 hours? Not the whole round, I imagine!”

Echo stepped back and shrugged. “That’s up to her,” she dismissively replied, waving her hand. “I can’t control her behavior, you know that.”

Echo had evaded the question, but she’d given Sylvia enough information to go on. Sylvia grimaced at the implication of her words.

“…So, what you’re saying is…” she slowly muttered, shaking her head…

“…Yes!” Echo crowed, her eyes sparkling. “The orgasms will continue until the behavior improves! It is an obedience collar, isn’t it? Except, instead of conditioning an animal with a shock collar, she gets nice little orgasms! Isn’t that so generous of me?”

“You’re twisted,” Sylvia muttered, shaking her head.

Echo beamed at her with pride. “Why, yes, I am!” She said boastfully. “Thank you so much for noticing, Sylvia!”

Then her smile faded and she approached the white-haired girl. “…You used to be a psychiatrist, Sylvia. So you should know all about how operant conditioning works! Even if your experiences were all manufactured by your mother, of course.”

Echo clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Talk about nepotism. You lucky girl, you. My mother was a housewife who lived on a farm, and was barely educated enough to read passages from the Bible to me every night before going to bed! She couldn’t help me the way your mother… helped you.”

Sylvia knew Echo was just trying to goad her. That was what she’d been trying to do all morning. But she wasn’t about to take the bait.

“…You mean Mary’s mother,” she corrected the host. “I thought you weren’t Mary anymore?”

Echo’s eye twitched. She glared coldly at Sylvia but held her tongue, knowing better than to say anything to the other girl. After all, that was what Sylvia wanted from her.

To respond. To show that her words had hit a sensitive spot.

Echo wasn’t going to give her the pleasure.

But then, she didn’t know Sylvia all that well.

Sylvia didn’t need anything from Echo- she could see that her words had an impact just at a glance, and that was good enough for her. A smug smile touched her lips and she shook her head, looking contemptuously at the girl in front of her.

“…Also,” Sylvia added, “how do you even know about operant conditioning, anyway? It’s not like Mary had any experience with psychology.”

She was trying to goad Echo again. But the host just waved her hand. “Not at all important,” she lazily replied to the other girl. “And certainly not anything you need to concern yourself with, Sylvia. No, all YOU need to concern yourself with, is being a good little girl for Daddy and following the rules.”

Echo narrowed her eyes dangerously and licked her lips. Her gaze flickered over to Cinder, who bristled, still forcing herself to keep her anger in check.

“That girl… poor thing,” Echo crooned, shaking her head. “Don’t worry. That collar comes off. …After enough time, that is. Once you accumulate enough orgasms through it, it will snap right open. The only way out is through!”

Cinder just gnashed her teeth in impotent rage.

Sylvia nodded slowly. Yup, that confirmed it. Echo didn’t know the first thing about operant conditioning, that was obvious.

She glanced over at Cinder, and almost felt proud. The other girl was really trying to maintain her composure, even after everything that had happened, and everything she was going through.

That was enough to settle Sylvia’s resolve right there.

“Cinder!” She snapped at the angry girl, making her flinch.

Cinder swung her glaring eyes towards Sylvia, and for a brief moment, she looked confused more than angry. But that didn’t last. “Wh-what?” She muttered defensively.

Sylvia bit her lip. “Listen… I understand, okay? But you’ve gotta just keep your composure. Everything that’s happening right now… it must be tough for you. But you can get through this!”

She placed her hand over her heart and looked the other girl in the eyes.

“I believe in you!”

Cinder couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her mouth hung open in mute shock and she slowly shook her head. “You… are you… fucking serious right now…?” She muttered.

Sylvia nodded sharply. She was deadly serious!

“I am,” she declared. “Cinder, we may not get along, but I’m on your side right now.”

She turned and glared at Echo. “Or, rather, I’m on Ella’s side, which also means I’m on your side, since you’re the same person.”

“What a lying little girl,” Echo scoffed. “Lying is a sin, you know, Sylvia.”

“Not caring,” Sylvia cheekily replied. “But, you’re not wrong.”

“Bwuh?!” Cinder’s eyes bulged in shock as she looked at Sylvia in confusion. The girl had just a second ago proclaimed her support for Cinder and how she cared about her and wanted to help her, and now she was saying that!?

What was going on here?!

“I do want to help Ella and Cinder out, but I’m also on Daddy’s side,” Sylvia said with a sweet smile. “And Daddy won’t be happy at all when he finds out about this! Nope, no he will not! So, to that end, I’m going to show him that I can support Cinder myself!”

She flashed Echo a peace sign, and the short-haired host rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“…You do whatever you want,” Echo sneered, shaking her head disdainfully. “At this point, I don’t even care. Good luck with your collar, Cinder… remember, the more bad thoughts you have, the more orgasms you’ll receive… but the sooner you’ll be free!”

She winked at the seething girl, before walking off and leaving them alone.

Cinder was practically foaming at the mouth.

Even with Sylvia’s support, it was unlikely that she would be thinking straight any time soon. She didn’t even know if she could trust the former host!

Cinder didn’t really trust anybody.

“…What’s your angle?” She muttered, tugging at her collar. Even though she knew it was futile, she couldn’t help herself. “You don’t get anything from helping me… is it really just about making sure Nick is happy with you?”

Sylvia thought that was a rather cynical interpretation on Cinder’s part.

But… she couldn’t exactly deny it.

“Like I told you, it isn’t that,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “You’re right, I am worried about how Daddy feels, and how he’ll react when he finds out what happened to you. But that isn’t why.”

Dani’s face flashed through her mind. “…Back when I used to be the host of this show… I gave out punishment transformations to three of the girls, because they were being rebellious. Gina, Dawn, and… Dani. Gina and Dawn, they… they managed to make do with their situation. But Dani… it was a lot harder for her.”

Cinder blinked. This was the first she was hearing about it, not that she cared. What did this have to do with her?

Before she could say anything, though, Sylvia kept talking.

“…Dani is doing better now, but it doesn’t change what I did,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “I’m trying to change… that was a mistake I made. And… seeing your situation… I want to help you through it. So, please, don’t feel bad… okay?”

“Bad?” Cinder snorted incredulously. She flashed a crooked smile. “Why in the world would I feel bad about what YOU’RE going through?” She demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Sylvia and shaking her head.

Sylvia shrugged and smiled. “You probably won’t,” she conceded, shaking her head. “But… that isn’t really what I meant. I meant, don’t feel bad because I look so worried about you!”

She patted Cinder on the shoulder like they were old friends.

They weren’t.

Cinder had just tried to attack her minutes ago, for fuck’s sake!

And Cinder let her know how much they weren’t friends. Gnashing her teeth, she swiped Sylvia’s arm away and moved to push her back.

Another mistake.

A surge of pleasure shot through the angry woman’s body, and her eyes rolled back into her head. “Aarrgghh…!” She moaned in pleasure, trembling like a leaf. “You… you fucking bitch, bitch… bitch… bitch-!”

Sylvia sighed.

This was what she was afraid of. “Cinder, I know you have a good heart,” she said gently, taking a step towards the spasming girl. “You’re just awkward and you struggle with being honest. But I don’t care about that. Okay? I’m here to help you, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about!”

Cinder wanted to strangle her. “Are you doing this on purpose-?!” She gasped in frustration. “Making… making me mad at you…? So… so I’ll-!”

All the negative feelings Cinder had towards Sylvia were backfiring on her. Her body was filling her with pleasure every second, and she was so angry that she didn’t even care at this point.

“Fucking biiiiiiitch-!”

Sylvia frowned. Maybe she should choose a different method of getting through to the irritated woman on the floor.