And now that you're here, my dreams are waking, and I will keep you from all harm

Sylvia watched Dani and Carly hold each other with a solemn look on her face. She knew that her responsibility as a host was to step in and get them to join the others in the banquet hall. But she also knew that hosts had a lot of leeway for this sort of thing. She didn’t want to push things too far, especially given how fragile both women were at the moment.

She checked in on the audience for the first time in a while. There had been a lot of drama over the last few days, and she wanted to make sure none of it got out of hand. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Whoa that’s too much.”

“MILF Carly confirmed.”

“No wonder her badonkers are so ridonkulous.”

“That’s not cool guys. She really went through a lot! #CarlyFans”

“I agree, that’s a little too much for Harem Hotel.”

“Is it wrong that I find the thought of those titties leaking milk to be hot? #MilkCarly #MilkMary”

“YES!”

“Dude.”

“She lost her daughter.”

“What are you even thinking getting aroused from something like that? This isn’t brainwashing women and mutilating their bodies to fulfill our sexual fantasies, this is something seriously tragic! Have some compassion.”

“I’m switching teams #CarlyFans”

“I liked Carly a lot but she was also really mean to Mimi. #SlimeTime”

“I felt bad for what Carly went through. I have a daughter myself and as a mother if anything happened to her I would just break.”

“Yo MILF in chat.”

“Send lewds.”

“Sylvia and Mimi for mother-daughter threeway #SylviaSquad #SylviaNextAudtionee”

“LOL”

“Never happening.”

“Carly and Mimi in threeway #Twincest”

“That would be a rather sticky situation.”

“Kill yourself.”

“Kill yourself.”

“#GetMaryPreggers”

“There’s always one of them.”

“This round is getting really intense I don’t know who I want to leave.”

“I want Dawn to win, she really tried her best.”

“When the dick is too big lol”

“#CollarForDawn”

“#DawnPosse”

“I’m still on Rose train #RoseGarden”

“Rose is a snake #KimClique.”

“Rose shaking in fear after hearing about Nick’s d”

“Nick’s taken a couple virginities already this round can’t wait to see him split open the rest.”

“Nah we need more dirty like Gina virgins are boring, you saw Dawn #GinaParty”

“I think Mary can take it better than Dawn could she’s got them breeder hips #GetMaryPreggers”

“Kim needs to put more meat on her bones.”

“True”

“Either way though Dakota did amazing she really is best girl #CultOfDakota”

“Dakota is L take worst girl #ChurchOfMary #GetMaryPreggers”

“I want Dani and Carly to go further, Carly needs some comfort #TeamGamerGirls #DaniCrew”

“Not the time bro”

Sylvia sighed as she read over the messages. She could understand the sentiments of the audience, but at the same time, this was a lot more serious than most seasons went.

I guess I’ll have to think of something, she decided, patting Mimi on the head.

Nick was starting to get worried. Breakfast was winding down, but Carly, Dani, and Mimi hadn’t come to eat yet. He felt a sick sensation in his gut over what Dani had told him the other night. The fight she and Carly had… it was clearly something serious. And he’d wanted to support her in resolving it, before Dawn had brought him to Dream Alley for 24 hours.

How did it go? Did they make up? Or did things get so bad that they won’t even be in the same room together?

The week was drawing to a close, and that meant a new challenge was on the horizon. If Carly and Dani were on the outs, it was possible their team would fracture. And that could start a ripple effect that might tear apart the entire harem.

With that in mind, Nick was once again brought to think about something he didn’t like. One of the girls in his harem would be eliminated again this week, just like Holly was. Who would it be? One of the three who were missing? Someone else?

He didn’t like it. He didn’t like the idea of any of the people he cared about being eliminated, but there was nothing he could do about it.

At least, I don’t want Dani and Carly to fall apart because of this. Knowing how much Dani cared about Carly, the thought of them no longer speaking made his heart ache. He wanted Dani to be happy, he really did. While his own feelings for the lesbian hadn’t completely faded, he still respected her sexuality and cared enough about her to want her to find her own happiness as a woman. Even if that was with someone he was sleeping with.

Unless… what if they did make up? And the reason they aren’t here yet is because they… Nick began picturing Carly and Dani in bed together, “making up”. Carly’s body with her exaggerated proportions and obscenely large boobs pressed up against Dani’s soft and squishy new feminine curves, both women grabbing for purchase on whatever exposed sexdoll skin they could…

Nick felt a tugging sensation in his pants that felt a little inappropriate given the current situation. But he couldn’t help himself. While he’d given Dawn a lot of orgasms due to playing with her tail, last night had still left him a bit unsatisfied.

But in spite of Sylvia’s best efforts, he wasn’t a complete freak who only thought about sex, meaning he was able to keep his composure.

Sylvia popping into the banquet hall a few seconds later and calling everyone to attention gave him something to take his mind off the erotic vision in his head, thankfully. Mimi was standing next to her, looking a little glum.

“Good morning my girls and boy!” She greeted everyone with a smile. As she strolled into the center of the room and passed Nick by, he caught a glimpse of her face for just a moment, and was startled. Sylvia’s eyes looked red, like she’d been crying. But that was such an out-there thought, he figured he must have been seeing things. And by the time he could think clearly enough to get a closer look, she was already too far away to check.

“I’m glad we’re all here together, because I have an important announcement to make!” Sylvia raised her cane with one hand and rested the other on her hip. She leaned forward to highlight her large chest and winked coquettishly at the camera.

“Wait, we aren’t all here though,” Dawn objected. “Where are Dani and Carly?”

“Holly isn’t here either,” Mary pointed out.

“Holly is no longer a member of the harem,” Sylvia snapped. “She doesn’t need to be here. As for those two…”

A flicker of emotion crossed Sylvia’s face for a moment.

“…They’re busy with something more important.”

It took a second for that to sink in. Nobody knew what to make of the host’s statement. Sylvia, who would delightfully drag girls from their beds while still in their underwear just because they had a meeting was actually giving Dani and Carly a pass?

That caused the doubtful feeling in Nick’s chest to intensify. He frowned.

Before anyone could call her out, though, Sylvia’s smile returned and she happily pushed forward by ****.

“Now then, as I was saying! Today marks a very special event for our show! Do you know what it is?” Sylvia asked, scanning the room.

Nobody had an answer.

“It’s the 100th chapter, of course!” Sylvia cheered, and the room filled with fake applause.

Everyone gave her a blank stare.

“Ahem. I mean episode. 100th episode. Not chapter. What was I thinking?” Sylvia cleared her throat sheepishly.

“100 episodes? Already?” Rose asked, amazed.

“More or less,” Syvlia nodded. “I mean, the first one doesn’t even count since it’s the intro stuff anyway, so… yup! 100 chap- err, episodes! What a time to be alive!”

Everyone was too busy focusing on the fact that only a few weeks had passed and already they’d reached such a significant milestone. How long was this nightmare going to continue for?

“To celebrate, we’re going to be giving all of you the day off!” Sylvia continued. “Kim, you don’t have to go to work today! And the rest of you girls, you can do whatever you like! Of course…”

She leaned back and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “There is a certain obligation that needs to be fulfilled by the end of the week…”

“Ah!” Dawn gasped. “That’s right! The transformations!”

“Oh, shoot!” Rose slapped her face.

“That’s right, thank you my girl!” Sylvia winked at Dawn. “Leave it to our kitten with the photographic memory to remind us about such an important event! I see that all your vigorous exercise last night really stimulated your brain.”

Dawn blushed as the familiar ache between her legs throbbed.

“Now, as Dawn was saying, today is the last day to decide what transformation you want to give to our master here,” Sylvia said, nodding to Nick. “I already received transformation ideas from Mimi and Dani earlier in the week, but as for the rest of you, you still need to come up with your own! Have we been thinking hard about it like I asked you to at the beginning of the week?”

“I totally forgot about that,” Kim winced. She’d been too focused on her job to give any mind to something like that.

“I forgot too, don’t worry,” Gina shrugged, leaning back in her chair. She didn’t seem to be all that invested in the transformations anyway; it helped that she’d gotten pretty much everything she’d wanted from Nick this week anyway.

Meanwhile, Mary squirmed in her seat, flustered by the idea of having to come up with a transformation. It just seemed so wrong, altering Nick like that. He was already perfect just the way he was… more or less.

There were a few intrusive thoughts burrowing a hole in her brain, whispering to her about how he could satisfy her needs even better.

But she tried not to let those thoughts win.

“I already have mine,” Dakota said, rising from her seat. Her eyes were cold with determination.

“Oho?” Sylvia raised her eyebrow. “Okay, what is it?”

Dakota walked over to her and whispered something in Sylvia’s ear. The blonde’s eyes widened.

“You’re serious about that?” She asked.

“It works, doesn’t it?”

“I-I suppose…” Sylvia nodded. She cracked a smile. “I’d expect nothing less from you. Yes, that will do quite nicely!”

“What?” Mary asked frantically. “What transformation did she suggest?!”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” Sylvia cackled, winking at the redhead. “Or maybe not… these transformations are anonymous, after all.”

She clapped her hands together. “Now then! I’ll leave you all to it. Remember to have your transformation ready for me by the time we get to the popularity poll tomorrow, alright? If you do that, then you’ll avoid any punishments.”

A wicked grin crossed her lips.

“In the meantime, enjoy yourselves!”

Without another word she popped away, leaving the girls to decide what transformations they wanted to give to Nick.

As for Nick himself, he felt a little uncomfortable about all of this. Everyone was glancing his way on occasion while trying to pretend they weren’t.

Is this what Dawn felt when I was looking at her all the time in class? No wonder she was uncomfortable around me, he thought, wincing a little. He needed something to take his mind off this uncomfortable sensation.

And he knew just the thing.

“Mimi, can I talk to you for a second?” He asked, approaching the slime girl. She raised her head slightly to acknowledge his presence, but didn’t say anything. Her sticky face was filled with sorrow.

“…What is it?” She murmured. Immediately Nick was concerned. Over the course of the week he’d noticed Mimi progressively becoming more human. Getting along better with the other girls, smiling more, and just generally being more perceptive of everything.

But right now, he couldn’t see any of that from her. She looked dejected, and the light in her eyes had vanished. It was as if she’d reverted back to the emotionless slime girl she’d been at the very beginning of the round.

“Come with me, please?” He pleaded with her. Nick was worried on multiple fronts. Whatever was going on with Carly, Mimi was involved in it somehow. And not only that, after Carly had her big fight with Dani about not wanting to share a room with the slime girl, she’d been **** to do so anyway. And whatever had happened that night, Mimi had taken it so severely that she didn’t even go to Rose’s room.

Something was wrong.

Luckily, Mimi was fairly obedient. She followed him like a sad little lost puppy to the corner of the room, looking up at him with her wet eyes as he tried to find the words to describe how he was feeling and what he wanted from her.

“Mimi… is everything okay?”

It was a pretty lame way to begin.

“What do you mean?” Mimi asked. She wasn’t a very good liar yet.

Nick sighed. “It’s about Carly.”

The way she shook, sending droplets of slime rolling off her body, answered Nick’s first question. Whatever was going on with Carly, Mimi was definitely involved with Carly. The question was how much.

“What about her?” Mimi looked paler than usual.

“Is everything alright between the two of you?” Nick asked. “How did your night together go?” He braced himself for the worst. And judging by the shadow that crossed her moist cheeks, he had reason to expect it.

“It did not… go well.” Mimi replied, hanging her head. Altogether a rather tame reaction, but Nick expected there was something more there.

“Can you tell me?” He pleaded. “I’m really worried about her. Did you know that she and Dani had a huge fight before you went to her room?”

Mimi shook her head. “I didn’t… but I’m not surprised.” She reached up and touched her chest, just over where her heart would be if she was fully human. “Carly and I… we have a connection. I can’t describe it, but we do. And that’s why when I came to her room the other night, I could sense that there was something wrong.”

“I-I see…” Nick was stunned by how eloquent Mimi had become in such a short period of time. He could still remember when she was incapable of speaking in complete sentences. “Mimi… I’m worried about Carly right now. If there’s anything you can tell me that could help her out, please. I want to hear about it.”

He felt a little guilty asking Mimi in such a roundabout way like this. If something was the matter with Carly, the right thing to do was talk to the woman herself. But if she was in such a bad state that she couldn’t even come down for breakfast to hear an announcement from the host, he didn’t want to agitate her further.

But she was spending the night with him. And if she had a breakdown like she did with Dani, he needed to be ready for it.

Mimi looked troubled by his question. Then she sighed, sending a bit of a tremor through the slime covering her body.

“Carly… she doesn’t like me. I don’t think.”

Nick winced. That was exactly what he’d feared. But he needed to know why.

“I don’t think it’s because of anything I did specifically,” Mimi clarified. “No, what I feel… it’s different from that… maybe?”

She had no experience with actual rejection, so she couldn’t say for sure. But the emotions she sensed coming off of Carly, they weren’t hate. She didn’t think…

If only someone with more skill at understanding people had been placed in Mimi’s position, that would have made everything much easier!

As it stood, though, Nick was just confused.

“What do you mean?” He asked, not sure what to make of Mimi’s response.

Mimi stared down at the floor.

“Carly… I feel pain and anguish from her. And anger. But also… love.”

She held felt a warmth blossom through her chest, reminiscent of the feeling she’d had when Sylvia held her. All the hugs and cuddles she got from everyone couldn’t compare to the sensation that Sylvia’s affection had given her.

“Love?” Nick wasn’t sure how love factored into any of this.

“I don’t want Carly to hate me,” Mimi asserted. “She and I share a connection. She’s my host. My body was created from hers. Perhaps, that is the cause of this feeling. It’s possible that I’m mistaking these emotions… but I hope I’m not.”

Her eyes looked wetter than usual as she stared up at Nick.

“I want to make up with Carly if possible. I feel an overwhelming urge in my chest to cuddle her. But she doesn’t want that…” Mimi bit her slimy lip. “If there’s anything you can do to make her feel safe and happy, master, please, I want you to do it. And I want to help.”

“I-I will,” Nick promised. From what Mimi said, this whole mess was more complicated than he ever could have imagined. He needed to talk to Carly. The idea of her having a grudge against anyone just sounded so unnatural. Whatever it was that was bringing her down, he wanted to fix it somehow.

Mimi smiled when she heard his promise. “I’m glad. I can’t get close to her… but I know that if it’s you, you should be able to reach out to her and fix the pain in her heart.”

Nick didn’t understand how she’d developed so much confidence in his abilities. “Thank you, Mimi… but even though I’m going to try my best, that still doesn’t mean I’ll be able to help…”

Mimi shook her head. “I have faith,” she said, beaming at him with a smile brighter than Kim’s, and just as devoted as Mary’s. “I prayed for it. And I’m certain that my prayers will be answered by you.”

There were a few things she’d gotten wrong, but Nick didn’t feel the urge to correct her. Instead, he resolved to do his best to help Carly when she came to visit him tonight. That day, while the other girls worked on their transformations, he spent his time planning for the future, and for his night together with her.

“Do I really have to go again?” Holly whined. But she still obeyed orders like the good little servant she was. It helped that she wasn’t completely out of the loop as far as Carly’s issues were concerned, so she understood how important this was for Nick.

“Mary and Kim agreed to house you for the night,” Nick said. “Thank you again, Holly. This is really important. If I’m going to get Carly to open up to me, then it has to be just the two of us.”

“Absolutely, master!” Holly chirped. She gazed at him with even more faith and adoration than Mimi. “I just know that you’ll be able to get through to her!”

Nick knew that Holly was no doubt imagining him fucking Carly until she came around. But not matter how good he’d gotten at sex over the last few weeks, he doubted that would be the case. She headed out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

“Carly…” Nick remembered how bright Carly had been when he first met her. She was like the sun, lighting up his life. Because of her positivity, all the pain from high school had vanished. He didn’t feel as bad about ruining things with Dani, or about creeping out Dawn. He barely even thought about Dakota when she was around.

If Nick had any amount of positivity left in his system after what happened with Holly and Mary, it was because Carly’s presence in his life had changed things for the better.

Now he had the chance to do that for her. He wasn’t going to squander this opportunity.

He heard a soft knock on the door. It was time to face the music.