Ooh, you wanna leave me

“Ooo-kay,” Vivian said, nodding thoughtfully. She leaned back in an armchair and stroked her chin. “I get what you gals are talking about… right… so in exchange for giving up my upcoming night with Nick, I get 5 VP… just like that!”

“Yeah,” Dawn confirmed. “But that would also mean you wouldn’t be able to pick up any other bounties until your night passes. So it’s a bit of a risk.”

“Mm, that would be annoying…” Vivian kept nodding, and stroking her chin with a contemplative expression on her face. It was almost exaggerated, leading Dawn to believe that she’d already made up her mind about what she was going to do, and was just messing with them.

“…Then again, when’s my night with him? Seven days away, I think… that’s not too long at all! I’m sure there won’t be any major bounties in that time!” Vivian answered with a smirk. She glanced around the room. “Is that why the rest of you are having a hard time deciding?”

Rose bit her lip. Part of her really wanted to take that offer… but she was hesitant. There were too many downsides. Downsides Vivian wasn’t even considering.

“Look, if you want to give up your night with Nick, that’s your business,” Dani said, glowering at the heiress. “We’re not gonna try to talk you out of it. But don’t think you can just snatch it away from me, either. I might still decide I want it, you know!”

Vivian shrugged. Her smirk didn’t falter for a second.

“5 VP is a decent amount, I imagine…” She kept talking, like she didn’t even register Dani’s words. “How much VP do we all have again, anyway?” She turned to Dakota with a questioning expression on her face.

Dakota flashed a grin, happy to oblige.

1st: Morgana – 84 VP

2nd: Amelia – 73 VP

3rd: Rose – 67 VP

4th: Carly – 65 VP

5th: Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin – 64 VP

6th: Kim – 62 VP

7th: Gina – 59 VP

8th: Dawn – 55 VP

8th: Vivian – 55 VP

9th: Dani – 46 VP

10th: Sylvia – 44 VP

11th: Cinder/Ella – 43 VP

“Oh! Would you look at that!” Vivian clapped her hands together and smiled. “Dawn! We have the same amount of VP! What a coincidence!”

The frustrated cat girl’s ears twitched. “Yeah. How about that,” she said, barely able to keep the exasperated sneer out of her voice. Vivian had obviously known that before she even asked- it wasn’t like their numbers were hidden when they sat on the back of their hands.

No, she’d clearly just wanted to rub it in.

Ella winced. She was still at the bottom… and probably would be for some time. Morgana had nearly twice the amount of VP she did.

The mentally-fragile maid wasn’t the only one to notice the large gap in Morgana’s point total compared to the rest of them.

Rose blanched, and stared in shock at what she saw. Morgana… she’d gotten 16 VP in one night! Just yesterday, their scores were almost tied, with Morgana having a mere 1 VP advantage over her! And now, that had drastically increased!

Even… even if I do get that 5 VP… I won’t even be close! Rose bit on her thumbnail in frustration. That won’t even tie me up with Amelia!

Whatever lingering motivation Rose had about acquiring that bounty withered away and died. 5 VP would certainly help, but it was unlikely to change anything. She’d do better hoping for another VP bounty to spring up in the interim- and if all else failed, she could pull out the stops and give Nick the ride of his life on their night together, and try to get some more VP that way.

…Or actually win challenges. That was still an option, theoretically.

While Rose contemplated her next move, Vivian was still delighting in messing with Dawn. She had the cat girl’s number from the start. Dawn was like a mini-Amelia, all stuffy and proud of her big brains, a real “stickler-for-the-rules” type of gal.

Or, to put it in more specific terms, Vivian’s newest toy.

“Dani’s right, Vivian, if you want to claim that bounty, it’s not like anyone’s trying to tell you that you shouldn’t,” Gina jumped into the conversation with an exasperated sigh. She was so tired of this conversation already, it didn’t even really involve her! She was so fucking thirsty right now, and the fact that she couldn’t have what she wanted to drink was making her irritable.

“Keep in mind, though, you’re a new contestant,” Carly pointed out. “You haven’t done a whole lot with Nick yet, yeah?”

“Good point,” Marley nodded. “You’d probably get way more than 5 VP if you just did some stuff with him on your night together in the first place.”

“That was certainly one of the factors that went into raising the VP cap to 200,” Dakota admitted. “Why, if Amelia was so inclined, she could use her night with Nick to do all manner of debaucherous things with him, and reach 100 VP in a snap!”

Amelia had no reply. Just because Dakota was still as childish as she’d been in her preteen years, that didn’t mean the teacher should stoop to her level. She ignored the goading comments and took another sip of coffee.

Vivian was happy to have a big belly laugh about it, though.

“Can you imagine!?” She cackled, holding her sides. “Teach fooling around with her stepson? Now THAT would be something!”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and sobered up. “But nah, to answer your question, cosplay girl, it’s not as simple as that. There’s definitely a benefit in me taking the deal on the table right now.”

“Eh? There is? What?” Carly leaned forward, intrigued.

Dawn’s ears perked up as well, and she looked curiously at the fashionista. From her estimation, Carly’s logic was right on the money.

“That… I think I’ll be keeping to myself, for now,” Vivian said, touching her finger to her lips and hopping up out of her chair.

She sauntered over to the Bounty Board.

“So, I can just take this then, right?” She grabbed the flyer, and Dakota leaned forward in anticipation.

The other girls all gasped.

“H-hey! Wait! We haven’t decided yet!” Dani exclaimed, leaping to her feet and rushing to stop her. But even with her strength and speed, it was too late. Vivian was already tugging on the paper.

…Or not.

“Mm, on second thought, nah…”

Vivian stepped aside and brushed her hands together, like she was wiping off some dirt. Dani barely managed to stop herself from plowing into the heiress.

“Wh-what’s with you!?” She sputtered, struggling to catch her breath. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Aww, I was just teasing!” Vivian cooed, helping the other girl to her feet. “Don’t be so serious all the time! You’ll totally break out from all the stress.”

Then her brow furrowed. “Although… wait, with your transformation, is that even possible? Acne doesn’t exactly sound like something that would make you be as soft as silk…”

Dani blushed with shame. She hadn’t had pimples since middle school!

But playing Vivian’s games would get her nowhere.

“Miss Carrington,” Amelia snapped, setting down her coffee mug and storming over to the rich brat having a ball messing with the other women in Nick’s harem. “The rest of us here are taking this situation very seriously. It’s time you started to do the same.”

Vivian sucked in air through her teeth, and then sighed. “…Fine, fine… but I wasn’t joking around completely, you know,” she said, glancing at the bounty poster. “I’m still considering whether or not I want to claim that one for myself. …And what about you, Teach? I’m sure you’ve got a whole lot to gain from taking that offer, since you’re definitely not getting any VP the fun way!”

She laughed at her own joke, while Amelia just crossed her arms over her chest while showing her lack of amusement for all to see.

Vivian’s mouth fell open. “Oh! Wait, you’re not, right? Eew, that’s gross! I was just kidding! I know he’s not related to you by blood, but…”

Her voice trailed off, like she was waiting for Amelia to fire back with some retort.

Amelia gave her nothing. She stood as still as a statue, refusing to fuel Vivian’s tank of mockery any further.

Seeing she wasn’t going to get anywhere, Vivian sighed and rolled her eyes. “…Fine.”

“Are you quite done?” Amelia inquired. “Because if you are, then I would be happy to inform you that I have no intention of accruing Victory Points through any method you would approve of, young lady. Seeing as how the position of Nick’s ‘harem queen’ is not a title I covet, I have very little motivation to obtain any VP whatsoever. And certainly not through any actions you’re currently imagining.”

Vivian replied with a grunt and a shrug.

“I would much rather spend my night getting to know my stepson and his wife better,” Amelia finished. “Rather than tart myself around like a gaudy chav.”

Vivian’s eye twitched. But her brazen smile didn’t falter.

“Weeelll… fair enough, I suppose,” she said, shrugging again and taking a step back. “Anybody else interested, then? I know our curvy tomboy’s considering it. How about our cute little maid? You’re a newcomer here, too, you know,” she pointed out.

Ella stiffened, and snapped her rubber-band against her wrist. “THWAP!” Just what she dreaded, being made the center of attention like that!

“No? I guess you want to earn your VP with him the old-fashioned way, eh?” Vivian licked her lips.

“Vivian, leave her alone,” Dawn said, coming to Ella’s defense.

“Hey, she’s just teasing a little,” Rose protested. “You don’t need to be so hostile.”

She turned to Vivian and gave her a sympathetic look. “Take it from someone who’s been there, though… it would really help if you went a little easier on everybody. You’re not gonna win many friends by taunting the others like that.”

“Hey, speak for yourself, I’m feeling pretty entertained,” Gina said, flashing an amused smile.

Vivian nodded, and smiled. “Thanks for looking out, Rosie. I do have a tendency of coming on a little strong.” She punctuated her gratitude with a wink that made Rose feel like fawning, while Kim just rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile, Ella herself was busy dying of shame as she considered everything Vivian had just suggested.

She wasn’t really going to earn VP by doing those things… right?

For the first time that morning, she felt Cinder begin to tug on her mind, and she snapped her rubber-band frantically to keep her at bay. “THWAP! THWAP!”

No. None of that.

Definitely not right now.

“So I guess really, it’s only the two of you, right?” Kim said, looking between Dani and Vivian. “And Dani, you’re still not sure?”

“I’m getting more sure by the minute,” Dani said, leering at Vivian suspiciously. She didn’t like it when people seemed to be playing games. But at the same time, she was hesitant to take the bounty and lock herself out of any other bounties for at least the rest of the round.

“I could take it… or I could not…” Vivian mused, tapping her chin.

“What about Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?” Carly pointed out. “It’s not like we can exactly ask her…”

Marley glanced over at Dakota. “And I don’t suppose you could bring her over so we could ask?”

Dakota held a hand over her chest and twisted her mouth into a scandalized gasp. “Why, I never! What do you take me for?”

“Someone who would do that,” Marley dryly commented.

“You should at least know where she is though, right?” Rose pointed out.

“Me? Spying on my contestants? Again, this negative mental image you girls have of me really hurts my feelings,” Dakota said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

So, no help there.

“Morgana probably wouldn’t be up for it,” Dawn commented, thinking about the goth girl’s general interest towards Nick. “But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask… anybody else, then?”

Then suddenly, an unlikely hand rose up from the crowd.

“Sylvia?” Dakota stared at her creation, actually caught off-guard for once.

But only for a moment. Her sneer quickly returned.

“Oh, that’s rich! You aren’t actually considering taking that bounty, are you?” She crowed. “Are you that **** to curry favor with the other contestants? Or, wait, let me guess… You’re probably assuming Nick wouldn’t want to do anything with you, aren’t you? A reasonable assumption, I would agree.”

Sylvia winced. “That… I just… No! I-I… we talked about it already, see?” She stammered, trying to get out her thoughts in spite of the overwhelming pressure coming from the host. “We already agreed, we-we’d take things slow… and Daddy, he promised that when my night came, he’d spend the whole day with me… so in that case… it’s not like we need the night…”

Dakota looked like she’d just bitten into a lemon. “…Fine then. Take it if you like,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes and waving a dismissive hand in her direction.

“…Well, wait, I didn’t mean that I was sure I wanted to do that, though!” Sylvia said quickly. Her thoughts were all in a jumble. “I just meant that I was considering it!”

“So just like Vivian and Dani, then… and Rose?” Dawn glanced at the Frenchwoman, who shook her head slightly.

Dani was hesitant. Sylvia was uncertain. And Vivian was indecipherable.

Dawn could feel a headache coming on. It felt like they’d been debating this for an hour, and nothing had been resolved!

And she was starting to get hungry.

“How about this?” Amelia cleared her throat. “We’ve discussed the topic enough for this morning… it’s time to eat. I believe that the best thing to do in this situation is to leave things as they stand. It isn’t as though any of you need to claim the bounty now, correct?”

The girls who were still debating glanced at each other and shared hesitant nods.

“No, I guess not,” Dani admitted. “I’d like some more time myself, to be honest.”

“So we just leave it be, then?” Dawn questioned. “I guess, yeah… it’s not like anyone would be able to claim the bounty tonight, or anything.”

“So that’s the plan, then?” Rose asked. “We just… wait?”

Dawn nodded. “And during that time, if anyone wants to claim the bounty… if they change their mind, or whatever, they can go grab it. And nobody will have any hard feelings, right?”

She looked around the room. “I mean… you all have your chance, right now. To grab it, I mean. If not, well…”

“Ah, what a brilliant idea!” Dakota chortled, applauding the decision-making skills of Nick’s harem. “Everyone agreeing to give each other some time… and hoping that someone else doesn’t sneak in and take the bounty for themselves! Such drama! Such suspense! Such a lovely prisoner’s dilemma you’ve set up here!”

Ella flinched and Dawn scowled.

“Prisoner’s dilemma?” Kim questioned. “What’s that?”

“It’s a wonderful little thought experiment,” Dakota stated. “It posits a scenario where two individuals can cooperate for their mutual benefit, or betray their partner for an individual reward.”

Dawn sighed. “The idea behind the prisoner’s dilemma is that two accomplices are arrested and interrogated separately. The police admit that they don’t have enough evidence to convict them both on the main charge, but will sentence them both to one year in prison on a lighter charge. However, they are both offered a plea bargain where if they testify against their partner, they will go free and their partner will get a sentence of three years on the greater charge. But on the other hand, if both prisoners report on their partner, they’ll both get two years- more time than if they’d both stayed silent, but less than if they took the fall for their accomplice alone.

Amelia nodded in approval. “Very succinctly put.”

“I don’t get it though,” Rose said, scrunching up her face in confusion. “Wouldn’t the smart thing be to just not rat each other out, and take the lighter sentence? Why risk two years?”

“Why risk three?” Gina pointed out. “Staying silent just gives the other guy a chance to flip on you. No way, if I’m stuck in that mess, I’m ratting immediately.”

“And therein lies the problem,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “Rose is correct, if the goal is minimizing the amount of time spent in prison, both parties staying silent is the right course of action. But because the accomplices are prevented from communicating with each other, they have no way of knowing if their partner is planning to rat them out. So to potentially secure their immediate freedom and avoiding the risk of spending three years in jail, both prisoners are likely to flip on the other, and thus doubling the amount of time they would have spent behind bars than if they’d just trusted in each other.”

“I think I get it…” Kim nodded.

“That sounds a lot like the last challenge, actually,” Dani said. “We couldn’t be sure if the other people would be ruthless in their transformations or not, which made us question our actions.” She glanced spitefully at Dakota, who batted her eyelashes innocently back at the tomboy.

Dawn turned to Dakota as well and scowled. “With that being said… stop trying to sow discord, Dakota. This isn’t a prisoner’s dilemma at all. There’s no benefit in cooperating together, because in the end, only one person is getting the bounty. It’s not a ‘betrayal’ for someone to claim it for themselves later. It might be stressful to consider that possibility, sure, but don’t frame it like getting stabbed in the back.”

“…Fair enough,” Dakota relented, raising her hands in surrender. “I suppose if you all agree that fair is fair, there isn’t any betrayal at all.”

Dawn wasn’t sure she could guarantee no hard feelings when the chips were down. Vivian could still walk up to the Bounty Board right this second and claim it, and possibly upset Dani and Sylvia.

Hopefully, whoever did end up claiming the bounty, it wouldn’t result in a negative outcome for the rest of them.

The last thing we need is more petty feuding, Dawn thought, glancing over at Ella. It was clear that the young latina was in a tense spot, emotionally. Dawn’s main focus right now (besides eating breakfast) was making sure Cinder didn’t make a surprise appearance.

With that settled and the interesting part out of the way, Dakota made her exit. The rest of the girls took a moment to process things.

“So… breakfast?” Gina whined, rubbing her belly. “Please? I’m starving here.”

Ella nodded rapidly.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Rose echoed.

The girls all started to leave the lounge area. As they filed towards the elevator, Rose took one last look behind her at the Bounty Board. She could have claimed it for herself, before anyone else did.

Part of her still wanted to.

But she **** herself to ignore that. At least the discussion between everyone had gone well. Maybe this harem really could work out.