I'm asking him to change his ways

Nick stared at his expression in the mirror, his face filled with abject horror.

“I… what?!” He exclaimed. His hand slapped to his chest, where he felt a familiar softness that made him go pale.

He whirled around and stared at Dani in shock.

“D-Dani…” He stammered, looking at his newly-short-haired friend. “I… I don’t… I…”

Dani gulped, shaking her head in disbelief.

Nick put words to his thoughts immediately.

“I’m a girl!” He exclaimed, clenching his legs together. There was a very unfamiliar emptiness he felt around his crotch, which only made him feel even worse.

Dani just kept staring at him, shocked. Nick… as far as she could tell, he really WAS a girl now! Sure, he might have been more of a tomboy compared to some of the other girls she knew, but it’s not like Dani could comment on that.

“We-we gotta get out of here,” she stammered, shaking her head frantically. “These, these mirrors, they’re changing us!”

Nick’s eyes were frantic. He didn’t want to be a woman. He scanned the mirrors, looking for one that reflected his image as a guy. If touching the mirror turned him into this, then maybe touching one of the other ones could change him back into a dude?

The first image his eyes landed on was the one where he had a huge dick. While he didn’t covet the idea of walking around with such a large, unwieldy thing in his pants, a massive dick was preferable to not having one at all. He rushed over to the mirror before Dani could stop him and slammed his hand against it.

…But nothing happened. No tingling sensation, no popping noise. The mirror was just a mirror again.

“What the heck?!” He exclaimed, slapping his reflection again. This time he did it so hard his image in the mirror vibrated. “Why isn’t this working?! That’s what happened before, right? I touched it, and then I transformed!”

“I-I don’t know,” Dani stammered, shaking her head. “Maybe… maybe it only works once?” She cautiously walked over to the first mirror she’d checked out, the one where she still had her long hair and also her muscles. She didn’t want to try, but she didn’t have a choice at this point, as far as she considered things. They had to know for sure.

And she was always the kind of girl who leapt before she looked.

Shutting her eyes, she pressed her hand against the mirror… but nothing happened.

No popping, not shimmering, nothing. Just like with Nick, the mirror had become an ordinary mirror.

The two glanced at one another, both coming to the same conclusion, the one Dani had blurted out less than five minutes ago.

“We gotta get out of here,” she repeated, which is exactly what they did. The two of them ran through the maze, heading back the way they came. With the little “hand on the wall” trick, it was a simple matter of getting out and back to the Amusement Park.

But leaving the Hall of Mirrors didn’t turn them back to their real bodies.

“Wh-what am I going to do?” Nick stammered, clenching his-her- thighs together and shaking. He-she- wrapped his-her- arm over his-her- chest, and tried to become as small as possible.

Shaking his head, Nick fought off the urge to refer to himself with female pronouns. He was still a man, damn it! He wasn’t going to let that mirror get to him. He looked frantically at Dani, whose expression was filled with sympathy.

“I’m sorry, dude,” she said, placing her hand on his back. “That must be really rough for you. Are you okay?”

“No, of course I’m not okay!” Nick exclaimed, his face twisted with frantic disdain. “Look at me! I turned into a woman! My-my penis is gone! What am I supposed to do now, huh?!” He demanded, his eyes wild with fear.

Dani didn’t know what to say. She just shook her head.

Nick knew, though.

“Dakota!” He shouted, tilting his head towards the sky. “Dakota, turn me back! If this is some trick of yours, I’m not laughing! Turn me back right now!”

The thought of spending the rest of his life as a woman, just because he accidentally touched his reflection… it made him feel sick to his stomach. This wasn’t okay. There had to be something he could do, some way he could shake off this horrible transformation… but his mind was drawing a blank.

“Hey, um… look, maybe it’s not so bad?” Dani offered weakly, trying to smile. She knew that she was bullshitting, though. With her transformation, she had actually gotten a good one. She’d gotten her short hair back! But for Nick…

Turning into a girl, even a cute girl, was certainly not where he wanted to be in life.

Dani wished there was something she could say or do to make this better, but she knew there wasn’t.

They continued walking through the park in silence, just trying to get back to the elevator. They’d return to the hotel, and see if they could find some way to reverse this.

“Sylvia might know something,” Nick muttered under his breath. He was completely focused on a new line of approach now. “She might not have her powers anymore, but she was still a host. She should know what to do. Or at least have some idea…”

“Yeah…” Dani nodded, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. She had to admit, as far as bodies went, he could have done a lot worse for himself. “Hey, at least you’re cute,” she offered, in a rather pathetic attempt to try and make him feel better.

Nick glared at her. The attempt wasn’t very successful.

She laughed awkwardly and averted her eyes. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood, that’s all…”

“No, forget it,” Nick muttered, shaking his head. “It’s not a big deal anyway… just… hey, you weren’t looking at me with lecherous eyes, were you?” He asked, holding his hands over his larger chest. While his boobs weren’t Carly-sized or anything, they were still fairly large. A good handful, at least. And the rest of her was pretty trim too.

He had a passing thought that his body looked a lot like Sylvia’s did now, and that made him want tot throw up.

“Hey, come on now!” Dani held up her hands. “I’m not checking you out, that’s gross!”

Nick stared at her incredulously. “Really?” He asked, finding that hard to believe. “Even though I’m a girl now?”

Dani shrugged. “Well, I mean… yeah, physically-speaking, your body is pretty nice,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’m attracted to you or anything. Like, mentally, you’re still totally a dude, isn’t that right?”

“Of course!” Nick insisted loudly, and with a very forceful tone of voice.

Dani nodded. “Exactly! You’re still a guy. That doesn’t change just because you’re suddenly in a woman’s body, at least not to me. So however much I look at you, I still just see a guy in a female body.”

“Well… thanks for that, I guess?” Nick wasn’t quite sure if he should be grateful for Dani’s perspective or not. He was glad that Dani wasn’t suddenly drooling over him, that would have been really weird and kind of gross, considering their relationship up until this point. But then, the situation itself was a little weird.

He was still curious though.

“Okay, but if you didn’t know it was me, and you ran into me on the street, would you be attracted to me?” He wondered.

Dani turned to him and stared at him in disgruntled confusion.

“Uh… what now?” She asked. “What kind of question is that?”

The kind that made Nick go pale, and feel sick to his stomach.

“What the heck?! I wouldn’t care about something like that!” He exclaimed, shaking a little. “Who gives a damn whether or not you’d find me attractive as a woman?! I’m a man, damn it!” He said again, feeling an ominous sensation creep up his spine.

This was exactly the sort of thing he didn’t want to happen. Whatever had changed him physically- was it starting to change him mentally, too?!

If so, that wasn’t what he wanted. Not in the least. He looked frantically over to Dani, who still seemed shaken.

“We-we really need to fix this,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as a woman! What would Mary say?! And the other girls?! And my step-mom, for that matter?!”

Nick wasn’t ready to redo his entire life as a woman.

Dani nodded and the two picked up the pace, running towards the exit.

Still, Dani couldn’t help inform him of her real thoughts on the matter. “Just to be clear, yeah, I would definitely find you hot if I didn’t know it was you,” she assured him.

He really wasn’t sure how he was supposed to take that.

The two of them emerged in the lobby and immediately began looking for Sylvia. The former-host had to be somewhere.

“Where do you think she could be?” Nick asked, looking around. “I don’t think she’d go back to the Master’s Suite, and it’s not like she has her own room…”

“I think that she’d probably bunch around other people,” Dani theorized. “Given how lonely she seemed to be.”

Nick was surprised she could make that connection. Dani didn’t seem to be the most introspective person in the world, so the fact that she could see that Sylvia wanted to be around other people was a bit of a surprise.

“Okay, so… what then?” He asked. “Where is everybody else?”

He really didn’t want to show the other girls what he looked like now, not if he could help it. But depending on whether or not this transformation was permanent, he might not be able to avoid it. In that case, it might be better to get it over with.

“The other girls are probably in Mary’s cooking lesson,” Dani guessed. “I suppose we might as well start there?”

With a sigh, Nick nodded, and they headed out to the kitchen.

Dani was right on the money. Practically everyone was squeezed into the kitchen at this point, Carly, Marley, Sylvia, even Gina had made her return to cooking, and Morgana, too! Even Dawn had tagged along, though like Sylvia and the twins she didn’t seem to be doing any cooking herself. The only member of the harem who wasn’t there was Kim.

“Oh, Dani!” Mary brightened immediately as she saw the blue-haired girl enter the kitchen. “You came after all? Sorry, but we already at the stuff we made, we were just wrapping up over here… wait, who’s this?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Nick, and he was suddenly bathed in a sea of curious stares. He tensed, backing up slightly.

“A new girl?” Carly asked, shocked. “But Sylvia’s still the Auditionee, right?”

“Yeah!” Sylvia exclaimed, turning pale. Her position seemed even more perilous. “What’s Dakota doing?! She can’t just bring random people onto the show! That’s not fair!”

“Dani, what’s going on here?” Morgana asked worriedly, turning to the tomboy. “Who is this?”

While everyone was intrigued and confused, it was Mary who approached the two of them with a suspicious look in her eye. She leaned forward and studied Nick’s expression quizzically, putting her analytical skills as a mystery novel enthusiast to good work.

“Are you… Nick’s sister?” She wondered.

“Nick has a sister?!” Marley exclaimed, shocked.

“No, he does not!” Morgana asserted. No one knew more about his family than her.

“Well, that’s something. I certainly didn’t expect a sister archetype in the harem,” Rose mused. “Kind of stomping on your existing roles, don’t you think, Carly?”

She glanced at the twins and Carly rolled her eyes.

“No way,” Gina replied automatically with a shake of her head. “He doesn’t have a sister. Trust me, I’d know.”

“So who is she then?” Dawn asked, walking over. She ran her eyes up and down Nick’s body, and then she gasped.

Nick winced. There was no hiding the truth from Dawn, not about something like this. She had probably memorized all his body mannerisms.

Dawn shook her head in disbelief. “…Nick?” She asked, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Nick awkwardly waved at her.

The entire kitchen exploded into a chorus of loud voices.

“Wait, that’s Nick?!” Carly exclaimed.

“What the hell?!” Gina’s eyes bugged out of her skull.

“But… but that’s-!” Mary stammered, her thoughts swimming in confusion. “I’m married to a woman now!? No way!”

“Hey, we don’t know for sure,” Rose said, walking over to Nick with a discerning look in her eye. “We need to check just to be certain.”

Without hesitation she placed her hands on Nick’s breasts and gave them a squeeze.

Touched the Master’s Breasts! +2 VP

First! x2 Multiplier

“Hey!” Nick exclaimed, pulling back from her and covering his chest with his arms. “What was that about?!”

“Oh my gosh!” Rose squealed. “He really is a girl! He has boobs, and everything!”

Then she checked out her hand. “Hey, wait, I got points for that! Whoa.”

“Me next!” Holly was practically jumping for joy. “Master- err, mistress, can I touch your breasts next, please?!”

“No one is touching my breasts!” Nick insisted. “Or my… down there.”

“Sounds a tad bit hypocritical to me,” Carly said, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a coy smile. “In fact, it only seems fair that us ladies give you the same treatment that you’ve given us, don’t you think?”

“Hey, come on, Carly,” Dani said, coming to Nick’s defense. “Don’t be like that. He’s really freaking out right now, this isn’t a joke.”

Carly’s expression fell. She glanced at Nick, and saw just how uncomfortable he seemed to be about this whole thing.

“Oh… yeah, I guess you’re right,” she mumbled, hanging her head.

“Just look at Mary,” Marley said, jerking her head towards Nick’s wife. “She seems a little shaken by this, two.”

Mary was pacing back and forth, lost in thought. “I have a wife now?” Mary wondered, shaking her head in confusion. “But… but Nick is my husband, so… he’s a woman now? Am I even allowed to do that? What’s going to happen now?!”

“Look, we didn’t come here just for you guys to ogle me and grope me,” Nick said, trying to put his foot down. “I’m here because… because we were looking for Sylvia.”

Dawn stared at him in surprise. “Sylvia?”

“Sylvia?” Holly asked, looking equal parts confused and concerned.

“…Sylvia?” Sylvia asked, shocked. She’d been off on the sidelines quietly enjoying this whole thing, but now Nick wanted to talk to her?

“Yeah,” Dani said. “Nick and I, we were in the Hall of Mirrors, at the Amusement Park. Then we touched some of the mirrors, and… this happened. My hair changed- thank you all for noticing, by the way- and Nick turned into a woman.”

She was only half-joking about the “thank you all for noticing” thing. It was obvious which of the changes would have drawn more attention.

“Oooooh,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “The Hall of Mirrors, I see how it is…”

“So you know what happened to us?!” Nick exclaimed.

Sylvia nodded. “Yup,” she confirmed. “Those mirrors, the ones in the center of the maze, I presume, right?”

“That’s right,” Dani confirmed.

“Yeah, those are for temporary transformations,” Sylvia explained. “It’s like a fun party game! Here’s this really messed up reflection! Now I can touch it, and I become that reflection! See? Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“It sounds like a nightmare,” Morgana said, shaking her head. And she actually LIKED transformations! “Getting changed like that so suddenly…”

“You couldn’t have hung up a warning sign or something!?” Dani exclaimed, going red in the face.

Sylvia returned her glare with a cool expression and a shrug.

“Where would the fun be in that?” She asked, sounding completely sincere.

Dani wanted to strangle the little blonde.

“Okay, Sylvia, you said that these were temporary transformations before, right?” Nick asked, latching onto that with everything he had. “So… there’s a way for us to turn these off? We’ll go back to normal, or something?”

“That’s right, Daddy!” Sylvia said, giving him a big, toothy grin. “…Oh, but wait… I guess you aren’t my Daddy anymore, are you? Shouldn’t I be calling you ‘Mommy’ now, Daddy?”

Nick’s eye twitched. That sounded so, so much worse.

“…Right, not gonna do that, sorry,” Sylvia said, batting her eyelashes innocently. “Anyway, yeah, the transformations from the mirror are short. Just for having fun at parties, you know? They’ll go away after twelve hours.”

“Oh, that’s a relief!” Rose sighed, sitting down in a chair. “I was worried for a second there! I had this big plan set up for tomorrow, and I was afraid that it would get ruined by Nick being a woman! That would have been heartbreaking!”

“So he is going to turn back?” Mary asked sharply. “I-I mean… it’s not like I hate this form or anything, but… I married Nick, not…”

“This is still Nick, though,” Dani pointed out. “He just doesn’t have a penis.”

“No, I know that, but…”

Mary sighed, feeling backed into a corner. She didn’t know if there was a right thing to say in this situation, frankly. She looked helplessly over at Nick, who shrugged, not quite sure himself.

“Sorry?” He apologized awkwardly.

“It’s not anything you have to feel bad about, Mary,” Carly said, patting her on the shoulder. “Some of us are okay with certain things, some of us aren’t. There’s nothing wrong with your sexuality not being compatible with something, it’s not something you need to complain about.”

“That’s right,” Marley nodded. “You don’t have to feel bad about not being attracted to your husband since he’s not a man anymore.”

“I AM still a man!” Nick insisted, hating the way his higher-pitched voice cracked when he asserted that.

Marley glanced at him weakly. “Well… you know what I mean,” she stammered awkwardly. “Not, you know… having male genitals.”

“You know, I think we should drop this conversation right here,” Dawn suggested. “This thing is a lot more complicated than we’re making it out to be, and as someone who considers herself a bit of an expert in biology, I can for certain that there’s no easy answer.”

“Well, as someone who’s an expert in psychology, I can say for a fact that it’s what’s inside that counts!” Sylvia asserted, placing her hands on her hips. “Daddy is still Daddy, even if he doesn’t have a penis!”

Dawn adjusted her glasses. “…Didn’t you acquire your psychology degree through fraudulent means?” She inquired. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but…”

Sylvia gulped and averted her eyes. She started sweating.

“…Yeah,” Dawn nodded, rolling her eyes. “That’s about what I expected.”