You need to wake up if you want to heal (if you want to)

Carly rolled out of bed buck-naked and realizing that she was on a time crunch. If she didn’t get back to her room within a couple hours, then her sister was probably going to go splat. She was grateful to Rose for taking her place as Marley’s sister, but there was a limit to it.

She hopped to her feet and noticed that Nick wasn’t in bed. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was curled up at the edge, so still that she didn’t even look alive, while Morgana was splayed out in a pool of black hair, snoring loudly and taking up most of the bed space that Nick’s absence had opened up to them.

It made Carly honestly kind of happy to see. She was glad they were so relaxed. Especially Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. She looked peaceful.

“Alright,” she whispered, stretching her arms over her head. “Time to head back.”

She had no idea where Nick had disappeared to, but if she had to guess, Gina had probably grabbed him for a trip to Dream Alley. That was fine. Considering her circumstances, the punk girl deserved some time with Nick, just the two of them. Sure, Nick had given her that makeup date last round, but before that, Gina had given up her nights with him for quite a while now to throw parties, and…

Carly bit her lip. She remembered the time when she’d invited Gina up to the Master’s Suite with her for her day, and how that had gone.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

She shook her head and purged those thoughts from her mind. New round, new day, new Carly. And best of all? She finally had her transformation back!

Carly could tell just by the way the room’s air hung on the tips of her hair and how sensitive her head felt that she’d regained use of her Anime Black transformation. She focused her attention and changed her hair back to its original brown color, then added the blonde highlights. Her time yesterday had gotten her used to that style, and she could admit that she’d forgotten how much she liked her old hair.

Of course, it was liable to change once she got her costume for the day. Speaking of, when was that going to happen, exactly? Echo wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but…

…Wait, there it was. Carly found a bundle of black cloth sitting at the foot of the bed. She picked it up to see what it was, and nearly did a double-take.

“…You gotta be kidding me,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Seriously?”

Echo certainly had a twisted sense of humor.

“…Well, at least Nick isn’t here to see this,” she said, tucking the costume under her arm and heading into the bathroom to go get changed.

“Oh, Carly!”

She was stopped halfway to the door by Mary peeking her head out of the kitchen. “You’re up already? Good morning!”

Carly paused and turned towards the other girl. “…Should be saying that to you,” she replied. “You’re up pretty early yourself, Mary!”

Mary laughed. “Well, I grew up on a farm,” she pointed out. “Early to bed, early to rise, that’s what I always say!”

She slumped over and sighed. “…It’s really brutal, if I’m being honest.”

Carly nodded. “…Yeah, I can see that.” Honestly, she’d completely forgotten about that part of Mary’s life, given what the other girl put most of her focus into nowadays, even if she was dressed like a farmgirl most of the time.

An awkward atmosphere hung in the air between the two of them, and not just because Mary was fully-dressed and Carly was still completely naked.

The two women had just never really been that close with one another. Mary was all about love and romance and marriage and commitment, and Carly… did not really value those things. She saw the value in them, but for her own life… there were other things that she prioritized more. And that was fine, for both of them.

But it did make her feel like there was a wall between the two of them sometimes, which made everything more awkward.

…Also, the naked part didn’t help, either.

“I, uh, I have to go get changed, um, and I probably won’t be sticking around for breakfast, either,” Carly said, scratching her cheek. “So… yeah. Sorry about that.”

“No, not at all,” Mary replied, shaking her head. “Don’t worry. We all have to come and go at our own pace!”

Carly smiled. That part of Mary she DID like being around. The way Mary was universally kind and understanding about everyone. It would have been very easy for the two of them to clash into outright hostility over their different perspectives about life and relationships, but that wasn’t the sort of woman who Mary was.

She was sweeter than that.

“Oh, wait, Carly!” Mary called after her softly as Carly turned back towards the restroom. She was being considerate of the other girls who were trying to sleep, but she also wanted to talk to Carly very badly right now.

“Yeah?” Carly turned around and looked at Mary, surprised. “What is it?”

Mary bit her lip. Her bright eyes beamed up at the cosplayer. “How… how are you feeling?” She asked timidly. “After… what happened last night?”

Carly saw the anxiety burning across Mary’s face, and realized what the other woman must have been worried about.

“Oh… that…” she shook her head and laughed. “Don’t worry, Mary,” she said with a wink. “I’m feeling much better now. Okay?”

Mary bit her lip. “Well… if you say so,” she nodded slowly, not entirely sure she could trust Carly at her word, but not wanting to argue. “I was just concerned given… well… …All that talk, it didn’t bring up any traumas for you… did it?”

Mary knew how sensitive Carly was about the subject of pregnancy, given her circumstances. That was why she’d been on edge last night, once things started heading in that direction between Nick and the other women. (And not for any other reasons!)

Carly looked at Mary for a second, surprised. Then she shook her head. “Hey… don’t worry about it, alright?” She asked, approaching the redhead. “I’d be lying if I said having Emmy back suddenly made everything better. But last night was fine.”

If anything, it had been too fine. That was the problem. Carly scratched her cheek and smiled sheepishly. “I, uh, should probably have avoided kissing you, if I’m being honest,” she admitted.

The compulsion to get pregnant had not mixed well with Carly’s other issues in regard to pregnancy. It had ended up warping her perspective and leading to a situation where a bunch of mistakes had almost transpired.

Luckily, they had been able to keep the worst-case scenario from occurring. But Carly would need to be mindful about the risks of her transformation moving forward, if she didn’t want a repeat of that situation.

“I think last night was really intense for everyone involved,” Carly said finally. “And don’t worry- I was able to push past all that. I’m going to try and keep from being too overwhelmed in the future, sound good?”

Mary nodded. “As long as you’re sure you’re alright,” she said, trying to smile and be as casual about it as Carly, but struggling due to the seriousness of the situation. It wasn’t a laughing matter, even if Carly was trying to joke around about the whole thing like it wasn’t a big deal.

Carly smiled. “And don’t worry, the fetish I inherited from you has already worn off,” she assured the redhead.

Mary’s face flushed crimson and her eyes bulged out. “IT-! …It’s not a… fetish…” she stammered out, struggling to keep from shouting and waking up the other girls. Shame burned in her breast as she trembled slightly, while trying to keep up a forceful look. “It’s just… an ordinary desire to do what comes naturally!”

Carly shrugged and smirked, knowing quite clearly when someone was lying to themselves the way Mary was. “Whatever you say,” she replied. “But my transformation sure seems to say it is.”

“That’s not got anything to do with me!” Mary insisted.

Carly could have mentioned that the current host, who was interpreting what was and was not a fetish, happened to be Mary from another reality. But that wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on, and it was obvious that Mary felt the same way. So, she kept her mouth shut.

“Be seeing you, Mary,” she said, heading for the bathroom. “When Morgana and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin wake up, tell them that I had a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to doing this again. Alright?”

Mary’s eyes widened and she nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, alright!” She said, and that was that. The bright smile she wore on her lips eased whatever feelings of guilt or doubt Carly was still plagued with, and the cosplayer headed into the bathroom.

When she came out a couple minutes later, any good will she might have earned from Mary was shaken when she saw the outfit.

“Uweeh!?” Mary nearly fell over in surprise.

“Hey, I’m not the one who picked it out,” Carly said, tugging on the black cloth. Her face was burning with embarrassment. “This is just… I don’t even KNOW what I’m supposed to make of this thing, okay!? It wouldn’t be my first choice!”

She felt like someone had picked this outfit out to make fun of her, and that wasn’t a pleasant feeling in the slightest.

Mary shook her head slowly. She honestly didn’t know what to say to that.

“…Okay?” She finally mumbled, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on.

This had to be Echo playing one of her twisted pranks on Carly, or something.

Carly felt the same way. What is this, mocking me? Saying I’m a prude, or something? What? Because I didn’t get pregnant last night?

…

Actually, the more she thought about it, the more that petty answer made sense. Carly sighed in exasperation and shook her head. She could really go without having to deal with a petty, vindictive host out to get her.

Luckily, Mary was more understanding.

Sylvia sat up in bed and stretched her arms over her head, and let out a nice, throaty yawn.

She had the whole suite all to herself! Hopefully, Morgana had a fun time with Nick last night. She deserved it, for trying as hard as she did!

Sylvia could already imagine the fun things that the two of them had gotten up to. But- there was one issue that Morgana hadn’t considered.

Her roommate was now very, very jealous!

“Lucky Morgana,” she huffed, hopping to her feet and heading over to the closet. “I was even nice, and let her write about me in her diary before we left the room yesterday morning! And now I’m all teased up! Phooey.”

Sylvia had enjoyed her dream, no doubt about that. But it only made her want the real thing even more now!

It was honestly a little bit shameful. She’d been a contestant on the season for multiple rounds, now, and what sort of action had she gotten?

None.

She used to be the host! What kind of self-respecting host was still a virgin? …Well, Echo. But that was precisely her point!

“Haaaaah…” Sylvia sighed and scratched her head. It was still a bit of a trick getting used to having Carly’s Anime Black transformation. She’d vetoed it on impulse at the end of the last round because she liked the uses of it a lot, but having it made the top of her head a little sensitive.

Not that she was complaining, or anything. But after that stimulating fantasy Morgana had penned that morning about getting to discipline other naughty girls for Nick’s pleasure, well…

Sylvia found herself wishing that she could have more. That she could be more than just “Nick’s daughter” but unfortunately, that was how he saw her.

And any attempt to change that perception in his eyes, well…

…There was a reason that the two of them had a few issues with one another.

“It was easier to get Daddy’s attention back when I was a host, that’s the sad part,” she said with a glum sigh.

“Isn’t that right?”

Sylvia jumped in surprise. She was supposed to be all alone in her room! But she knew better than anyone in Nick’s harem that the host was always watching.

Suspicious, she turned towards her door. Echo was leaning against it with a smirk on her lips and dark bags under her eyes.

“What do you want?” Sylvia asked hesitantly. “Come to gloat, rub in my face all your host powers, and everything?”

“No, not at all,” Echo said, shaking her head. She approached Sylvia calmly, and narrowed her eyes into slits. The smile never left her face. “I’m just… curious. I can’t wait to see how you’re planning to handle things.”

Sylvia tensed. “…What are you talking about?” She asked.

“Well… you realize that you have the lowest amount of Victory Points out of everyone on the show, right?” Echo pointed out, gesturing to the flashing number on Sylvia’s hand.

Sylvia quickly covered it. “So what!?”

“So, you haven’t even slept with the master yet,” the host pointed out. “NOT exactly a winning strategy, as I’d assume a former host would know.”

Echo cocked her hip to the side and rested her hand on it. Her other hand got busy tapping her cane on the floor.

“It’s a shame, really,” she said, strutting forward and navigating around the candy obstacles. “You really did have some potential. I remember, see, back when I used to be Mary? When I was first brought onto the show? I was intimidated by you. I thought you had all the power in the world, and that you were going to torment us with it. I tried really hard to hide it, of course, but… that was how I felt back then, Sylvia.”

She looked up and down at the half-dressed girl and scoffed.

“…But now? Please. Just look at yourself, you’re pathetic!” She said scornfully, waving her hand at the flustered girl. “You used to run this whole island, and you can’t even seduce a single man! How exactly were you qualified for this job, again?”

“…You’re still a virgin, too,” Sylvia pointed out. “I thought you were all about corruption? What, don’t tell me you’re ‘saving yourself’ for Daddy, or something like that?”

Just because Sylvia had lost her powers and was enjoying being Nick’s sweetheart of a bratty daughter didn’t mean she’d gone soft. She could still be as unyielding as she used to be, and if Echo was going to keep pushing her, she’d find that out firsthand.

Echo looked genuinely surprised for a moment, like she didn’t expect Sylvia to be so forceful with her. She cracked a grin. “…Well now, that’s certainly something, isn’t it?” She murmured, and shook her head.

Sylvia tensed. Had she gone too far? …Probably. She had a bit of a bad habit of putting her foot in her mouth, unfortunately. But she wasn’t going to back down! No matter what Echo thought about her statement, it wasn’t undeserved! The host would just have to live with it!

And if she wanted to be petty and spiteful and attack her or punish her or something, well…

…Sylvia had already had to endure a host who was out to get her.

No way Echo could be any more painful than her own mother.

“…I’ll let that go, for now,” Echo said, surprising Sylvia.

“Huh!?” Sylvia looked at her in confusion.

Echo just shrugged and flashed a smirk. She tilted her head to the side. “What? Disappointed?” She scoffed. “Don’t be. Consider it a token of my esteem… and my gratitude.”

Now Sylvia was REALLY confused.

“Gratitude?” She asked suspiciously. “I don’t remember doing anything that would make you indebted to me, Echo.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Echo said. “Because you were just doing your job.”

She shook her head.

“But keep in mind, Sylvia… if it wasn’t for you? I wouldn’t have even been born.” Echo leaned forward, her green eyes glowing with gleeful excitement.

Sylvia froze.

That’s right… in a way… isn’t it? She thought, and tried in vain to swallow her nerves. Everything Echo was saying… it was the truth. The only reason she’s here is because I vetoed that transformation of Mary’s all the way back at the beginning of the season. If I hadn’t done that, then there would have been no echo left over to manifest. So, in a way… I am responsible for her.

The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Oh, what?” Echo’s smirk widened. “Not happy? You’re upset, that now I’m here? The consequences for your actions? Oh, but Sylvia… it’s not like you had a choice, right?”

She tilted her head to the side and crept even closer to Sylvia, eyes bulging out of her skull. “If I’d gotten this transformation way back when… then it would be the real Mary in this position, not me. And frankly? That wouldn’t have gone well for you.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Sylvia asked defensively.

Echo clasped her hands around the head of her cane, and shivered. “I’m talking about your life, of course!” She crowed. “Tell me, do you think that Mary, sweet, innocent, Pretty Mary Sunlight, would have stayed sweet and innocent, if she’d gotten this transformation?” She slapped her hand across her chest. “Of course she wouldn’t! Just take a look at me!”

Sylvia was trying very hard not to.

But Echo wouldn’t let her creep away from reality. “With that in mind, do you think she would have saved you back then, from Dakota’s wrath, if she wasn’t still that naïve, sentimental little squirmer she is today?”

Sylvia tasted bile. No, she wouldn’t. The proof is standing right in front of me.

Echo wouldn’t have protected her from Dakota. She wouldn’t have protested Sylvia’s elimination and traded her own place on the show for Sylvia’s.

More likely, Sylvia would have been returned to dust again.

“It’s karma!” Echo crowed. “If you hadn’t created the circumstances for my birth with that veto, then you would have lost your own life! Don’t you see how perfect this is!?”

Her can clattered to the floor and she wrapped her hands coldly around Sylvia’s, shoving her face right up into the other girls with a twisted grin on her lips.

“And now, here we are…” she said with a quiver in her voice. She couldn’t stop smiling. “It must be fate… don’t you agree? Let’s be friends, Sylvia!”

Her twisted laughter filled the Candy Suite as Sylvia stood paralyzed, unable to say anything back to her.