You know the rules and so do I

Lin walked through the space station sized hotel for a little while. Mainly admiring the scale of the place, as well as the changes he’d made to its aesthetic while back in his room. Some areas of the space station had a darker lighting to them now, the many businesses now showed neon signs above their doors, and the outdoors were much more pronounced in the shopping district, all complementing a neo-noir aesthetic Lin had chosen.

The people too had changed. Before, they were a mostly bland, mostly caucasian group of humans. Now they sported a noticeably larger number of ethnicities, as well as some Lin wasn’t familiar with at all, including blue, green, and pink skinned people. And while they all looked distinctively human before, now some of them sportted some extra body parts, some people carrying alien or animal characteristics, all while staying mostly humanoid, attractive, and human-looking as a whole. The Master was cheerfully greeted by the people he interacted with, but he kept it all to simple greetings and short interactions, nothing too long or complex.

He briefly wondered who all these people were before today. Were they created especially because he chose this aesthetic? Were they changed from their forms from yesterday? If so, did they mind and were putting up a front, or were they truly just “happy to be of service”? That was almost more eerie. Or even worse, were they normal “real world” people, kidnapped and **** into changes to the shows’ and masters’ whims? Somehow he doubted that, he doubted Chrissi would put so many people through the same situation she had been in. But at the same time, he couldn’t be sure.

The wandering and the wondering managed to take Lin’s mind off of the main problems at hand for a short while, but soon enough he got a notification on his phone with directions to the arena. As he followed them through the many corridors of the space station, he arrived at a comfortable and climatized VIP booth looking over a gigantic arena. Chrissi was already there awaiting and motioned for him to sit on one of the many cushioned chairs.

“The show will start soon, we are just waiting for all the girls to arrive.” She said to him, absentmindedly, standing in front of the glass window and looking out to the gathered crowd, focused on the episode ahead.

She wore a skintight golden dress that covered her from her neck to her legs, except for some strategic openings that revealed her bust, her curves and her thighs. It was sprinkled with little transparent shards that, when positioned at certain angles, made it look like she was reflecting the light of the sun itself on her skin, even if the star itself was nowhere to be seen. Complementing it were a pair of golden heels, her silver tiara, star shaped earrings, and a couple bracelets with precious stones.

While he quietly waited in his chair, Lin took a look outside. The arena itself was made of a dark and metallic material, with neon decorations spread around the place, probably a result of the changes he’d made earlier that day. The large crowd of spectators around the arena was just as diverse as the one he’d seen outside, men and women of many skin colors and species.

As he was watching the crowd, a commotion began to appear near one of the gates that lead into the arena: the girls had finally arrived! Entering the ring with a mix of emotions on their faces, from bravery, to shyness, to simple awe of the environment and the crowd, the girls gathered at the center of the empty arena to thunderous applause.

“Welcome ladies, gentleman, and those of you with a better understanding of the self,” Chrissi announced into a microphone.” To the very first challenge of this season of Harem Hotel!” The crowd cheered so loud Lin felt the vibrations on the floor.

The girls faced Chrissi in her booth as the applause subsided. They all seemed to, in their own way, gather their resolve to face whatever came, even if they were all a little unsure of what to expect. Hyppolita and Ariadne, both in armor, readied themselves. Sunny, with a camouflage hoodie and some ripped jeans, shrank in her metaphorical shell as she faced the biggest crowd she’d seen in a long time. Harley, with her classical uniform once more, as well as a dopey grin, struck a magnificent pose that made the crowd cheer one last time. Bianca, wearing tight jeans, riding boots and a plaid white and pink shirt tied above her belly button, was analyzing her current environment. That’s when she noticed the last person to accompany them out into the arena.

A tall woman with long and wavy striking red hair, smooth dark green skin, and a robe adorned with roses and leaves that revealed her incredible curves and assets as she walked alongside them.

With a surprised face, the black woman turned to Chrissi up in the VIP area to ask,

“Wait a second, hang on. Who even is this woman and what’s she doing here?!” All other contestants turned to look with equal surprise to the barefoot green women at the end of their line. All except for one.

“A very direct woman, we like that, don’t we Lin?” The host provoked, with a little gusto. Lin blushed at her comment, but mainly leaned over on his seat to look at the new addition to the harem, equally surprised. The host continued, clearly savoring the moment, “Don’t you recognize your own teammates Bi? Why, that's Vallyer herself, with a little physical change thanks to one of our many purchasable transformations!”

As the blonde spoke, Bianca began to see: the distinctive eyes, the darker tone of skin (even if tinged in green), the fact her elf ears were now obscured by long and voluminous hair, the druid-like theme to her clothes, her barefoot feet, it all came together into an image of what the cop could only describe as an “alternate universe” version of the elf. As everyone stared in disbelief at Valleyr, she herself took the chance to address her onlookers:

“Like what you see, girls?” She said in her regular voice, but with a very sultry tone. “All of this could be yours if you simply follow two tasks: help me win the next challenge and vow to adore me with all your worth.”

Hyppolita and Ariadne both tisked in derision and briefly looked at each other in surprise at the same reaction. Sunny turned as red as the elf’s hair and focused intently on her own shoes. Bianca blushed slightly, but kept her eyes firmly on the host for now. And Harley loudly clicked her tongue and winked at the shapeshifter, who provocatively winked back.

Chrissi took the pause as a chance to take back control of the scene.

“It is very good to see some of our contestants indulging in the transformations before the first round even starts! Speaking of which, time to put this show back on the road!” She clapped dramatically and out of the arena’s entrance came Susie.

The short redhead still had her hair in ponytails, but now her clothes resembled that of a caricature of an old timey sailor, with a prominent neckerchief and a hat with the symbol of an anchor to match. It was all colored in baby blue and she wore roller blades of the same color. Chrissi almost broke the microphone in half at her assistant’s seemingly random costume change. It had nothing to do with the space station theme AGAIN! It doesn’t even complement the challenge! She was so glad the cameras were on the ground, focusing on the contestants, especially Valleyr, and now Susie, who called attention to herself as she took the prop out of her pocket.

“Attention contestants, I will now demonstrate how this first challenge will work.” The diminutive assistant called out as she pulled a short sword with a blade made of pink foam, as well as a handle made of wood, from her small breast pocket and presented it with an acceptable level of showmanship (and an excessive level of pomp) to the contestants, the crowd, and especially the audience.

The redhead provided enough of a moment for Chrissi to count her breaths and relax. I can’t believe she pulled this shit AGAIN. I should have disciplined her the first time. What did I even do last nigh… Oh, right. Yeah. I fucked her. Shouldn’t have done that. Anyway, I’ll deal with this later, now it’s back to the show.

“That’s right girls,” The host masterfully continued from where her assistant left off, “you will all be using special weapons today, because you will be competing in a very special Battle Royale!” The crowd exploded in cheers once more as she mentioned the challenge name.

“Ah, shit, come on!” Hyppolita punched and kicked the air. At first Lin and the girls assumed she might be happy, but her frown and tone said otherwise, “I didn’t prepare any combat spells today! I thought we would be seducing people and stuff, because we are a harem or whatever. I got spells for that!”

“Fortunately, you are a warrior, are you not? You will handle yourself just fine.” Chrissi responded to the outburst with a smile.

“Wait, so why did you come out in full armor anyway?” Ariadne asked the redhead, confused.

“Because I won’t be caught dead wearing a bikini to one of these things ever again! Besides, would you really want to be wearing anything other than full plate in that woman’s presence?” The cleric pointed to Chrissi.

“You got good points.” The rogue answered.

“The feeling is mutual, dear.” The host said to the warrior, feeling the scorn on her voice and poisoning her own with venom in return.

“Wait, so you mean you want to stay protected from Hyppolita too?” The middle eastern woman asked the host. “Is that why you’re that high and behind glass?”

And just like that, Hyppolita charged forward, took the weapon from Susie with a quick “Gimme that!” and chucked it, handle first, into the glass right at where it would have hit the host’s face. It tapped the glass wall harmlessly and fell into the crowd.

“You couldn’t have possibly expected a foam weapon to break reinforced glass?” Bianca astonishedly asked the cleric.

“It’s the thought that counts.” The redhead answered, staring at Chrissi with a defiant smile.

As the sword fell blade first into the crowd, a loud moan could be heard as it hit someone.

“Well, that leads us into the introduction of the weapons.” The host addressed her audience. “To all of you who are confused, the reason that woman moaned is the same reason the sword didn’t instantly turn into a dildo the second Hyppolita touched it: these weapons are… built different.” She said that last part in a mysterious tone. As her boss took control of the narrative once more, Susie pulled another weapon from her diminutive pocket, a morningstar this time, with a big ball of spiked pink foam at the end instead of metal. “Most weapons are built to deal damage and pain. These ones were made to deal pleasure. It starts with a small amount, but they were enchanted for it to be a never-diminishing pleasure, it will never go away, unless you orgasm.”

A muffled “What?!” could be heard from amidst the crowd. Sensing an opportunity, Chrissi continued her monologue:

“Will the woman that was hit by the sword please go to the arena with it to aid the demonstration?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “Some 4 or 5 hits of these weapons should be enough to get a normal person to orgasm. Your task will be to make all the other girls cum before you do, whenever someone cums they will be eliminated from the challenge. Last girl standing wins. Though there are a couple more details you have to know before we begin.”

As she talked, the woman from the crowd walked down the neon covered stairs and entered the arena though a side door. She was a brunette with feline features, dark cat ears and tail, slitted pupils and whiskers. Her cheeks were flushed and she was holding the sword. The host continued:

“First of all, your own weapon will have no effect on you.” Susie demonstrated this by bonking her own head with the morningstar, it clearly not doing anything to her at all. “...but every other weapon will work just fine.” The short girl swung wide and hit the unaware catgirl right in the stomach with a loud “Hyah!”, to which the brunette let out an incredibly lewd and loud moan. She dropped the sword on the ground and grabbed her clenching thighs.

“Second, all weapon hits will compound to your orgasm, meaning that if you get hit a couple times by a weapon and then by another, your pleasure doesn’t reset, your arousal level will be stuck on a rise in this competition until you cum, then you are out.” To demonstrate this, Susie grabbed the fallen sword and swung it at the catgirl’s legs while laughing non-stop, hitting her twice and making her fall over in pleasure. Then the redhead raised both weapons at the same time and brought them down on the fallen woman, with glee. The brunette let out a giant moan that filled the entire arena as she orgasmed and disappeared in a burst of light.

Chrissi immediately snapped and the panting woman reappeared on her chair among the crowd. The host addressed her:

“You will find a coupon in your pocket for 50% off your next purchase in this hotel. Thank you for being our guinea pig!” Then, not waiting for any response, addressed the contestants. “Any questions?”

“Yeah, a pretty important one.” Bianca answered almost immediately. “This is a very empty arena. Where are we supposed to hide from our opponents? Where’s the terrain for us to use to our advantage?”

“They will be revealed once the challenge actually starts.” The blonde said in a cryptic tone.

After a couple seconds of silence, Chrissi was ready to move on, when Sunny uttered her first words of the night:

“W-Wait, isn’t this challenge going to put me at a disadvantage?” She stammered, nervously fiddling with her shirt. “People can just tell me to fight and then I’m done.”

“I believe you have a perfect counter to said situation, don’t you?” Chrissi answered while giving the brunette a knowing look. Ariadne, though, looked at her with suspicion.

“Let’s get on to weapon selection!” The host raised her hands and a multitude of pedestals raised from the ground of the arena alongside them, all bearing some kind of weapon from medieval times, all with pink foam in the place of metal. The platforms adorned mostly the sides of the arena, leaving the middle empty. “You have 3 minutes to choose your weapons and present yourselves to the center. After that, we finally start our first challenge!”

***

Bianca roamed among the pedestals, not sure what to pick. Sure, she was trained in close quarters combat, but the closest thing to a medieval weapon she was ever trained to use was a baton, and she wasn’t sure how effective a baton would be against trained warriors and super-powered people.

She looked around at her opponents. Ariadne had bolted straight to a pair of daggers and was waiting patiently by Susie already. Hyppolita had tested the weight and swing of a couple swords, some of them double handed and some were even fancy-looking, but she quickly settled for a simple shortsword. Harley searched around for something, Bianca guessed she had some kind of favorite weapon back home, but being unable to find whatever she was looking for, she simply asked Susie for her morningstar.

That left herself, Valleyr and Sunny. The elf apparently was the best weapons expert among the group, seeing as she tried a variety of weapons, all very different from each other. Let’s table that worry for now. Sunny, however, had the opposite problem, she seemed to be stuck with choice paralysis, barely having moved since they started. The black woman went to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s just… how does she expect me to fight in this?” The smaller woman said as she felt the touch and looked at her roommate. “I’m just a nerd thrown into a pit with literal warriors.”

Bianca didn’t have much in the way of comforting words. Sunny surely had many qualities, but physical prowess was very clearly not one of them, and there wasn’t much the police officer could do.

“I’ll tell you what.” The black woman said in as much of a reassuring tone as she could muster. “Stick close to me and I’ll look out for you. After all, roommates stick together, right?” She offered the girl a smile.

“Right.” The brunette offered a weak one in return. “Well, if I’m going to do this, better let the metaphor be as clear as possible.” She grabbed a leather pouch and a leather strap from a pedestal. After putting it on, Sunny showed her roommate the pouch was full of little pink marbles. “Let me be the David to their Goliath.” And, with just a pinch more of confidence, the young girl marched on to join the others.

That left Bianca alone with her thoughts. She didn’t know how to use most of these weapons, and the ones she did know she hadn’t mastered, nor even used in years for that matter. She was considering just winging it, when a glimpse of metal caught her eye. It was from a golden plaque on one of the pedestals, the only one of its kind as far as the black woman could see. It read “The most POWERFUL weapon in the WORLD!” and was bolted to a pedestal holding what looked like a simple Nerf gun and a bandolier with its pink ‘bullets’.

“Bianca, dear, it’s only you left, with only 30 seconds on the clock!” Chrissi called to her.

Unperturbed, Bianca picked up the weapon to inspect it and, as far as she could tell, it was a normal kids toy. She looked back to the pedestal and saw the writing on the plaque had changed: “Got stuck with a Nerf gun, loser! LOLZ, Gottem!”

The cop smirked. She may have just been handed her hail mary by this random troll, and she was going to enjoy rubbing it on their face.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” She said to Chrissi.

“I’m sure you will, darling.” The host smiled.

“Full of jokes today, aren’t you?” Bianca responded, mockingly copying the bimbo’s tone.

“Let’s just say I woke up on the right side of the bed today.” The host smiled.

The black woman joined the others at the center, seeing that Valleyr had picked a pair of brass knuckles as her choice of weapon.

“Ha HA! You picked a toy gun?!” Harley laughed when she saw what Bianca was holding. “And I thought I was the jokester in the group!”

“I guess we will wait and see, won’t we?” The cop answered with a confident smirk at the clown.

Sunny approached her roommate with a worried look and whispered in her ear, as she tiptoed to reach that high:

“But how are you going to win, though? You did pick a toy gun.”

“I don’t have to hurt them for this to work.” Bianca whispered back. “I just have to hit them.” Then she winked.

“Alright girls, a final notice before we start: some of you picked weapons that use ammunition. That ammo will be infinite as to not put you in any disadvantage.” Chrissie announced. “And now, ladies, gentlemen, everyone, let us begin our first challenge of the season: The Battle Royale!”

As the crowd cheered, the girls’ eyes were covered in a blinding light, as they were summoned to the true arena for their fight.