There's a stranger in my bed, there's a pounding in my head

Nick was dreaming. And one of the unique things about his dream was the fact that he was aware it was a dream. Those weren’t common.

In his dream, he was sitting on the couch of his old house, watching television. He couldn’t be sure what he was watching at first, but when he squinted, a familiar face stood out to him instantly. It was Rose! She was standing on a balcony looking pensively out at the night sky in a gorgeous dress, and he felt himself falling in love with her all over again.

Just as he was wondering what Rose was doing in his dream as an actress on the television, he heard a humming coming from his periphery. And as was the case in all dreams, as he turned to see what it was, the world filled in around him.

There she was, Mary! Barefoot and heavily pregnant, carrying a baby in one arm and feeding her applesauce with the other.

She looked radiant. Content. Like someone who had never been happier than right where she was.

Nick’s heart surged as he saw the infant in her arms, and the swell of her belly promising more on the way. This was real. This was really happening! Rose disappeared, and so did any thoughts of the other women in his life, who he knew know surrounded him in his dream, but whose faces he couldn’t quite make out.

Mary’s glowing smile took up all his thoughts. And at that moment, he realized that it wasn’t just a dream. It was a vision of his future; in the real world, his world, Mary was pregnant as well. Not this far along, of course, but still just as radiant as he knew her.

I don’t need this dream, he reminded himself, smiling like a giddy fool. It’s reality now!

And with that, he decided to wake up.

Nick woke up to the soft sensation of something pressed into his arm. No, wait, two somethings.

Check that. It was four. He was feeling the same sensation on his other arm, too.

He looked to his left first, and there was Mary. Her transformation had worn off and her breasts had returned to their original size. Then, looking to his right, he saw Gina, her snake tail gone and two normal legs in their place. Her hair had returned to the soft nest of unbrushed curls where once a twisted morass of hissing snakes had been.

She looked so peaceful lying there, wearing a soft smile on her face. Like this, he couldn’t see any sign of the breakdown she’d had yesterday.

I wish she could stay like this forever, he thought, admiring her beauty. Not having to think about the difficult things. Just being happy.

He wanted that for Gina more than anything.

Nick sat there for a time, admiring the woman who, for once, had managed to fall asleep without kicking everything in sight with her fumbling.

Maybe it was because they weren’t sleeping on a bed. At least, not a traditional one, anyway. Nick felt a marshmallow-like softness beneath him, but when he sat up (struggling to extricate his arms from the two chesty girls who engulfed them in their cleavage) he saw that they were still in the ballroom from the party- only the shiny polished dance floor and tables of food had been replaced by a massive room-spanning mattress and pillows.

“Good morning, my love. Did you enjoy the party?”

Nick whirled around and his eyes widened. Dakota sat perched on the windowsill, her cane resting beside her in one hand while the other she held tucked under her chin, balanced on her knee as she leaned forward with a shiny golden gleam in her eye.

“Dakota… hey…” Nick greeted her with an awkward wave.

It had been some time since they’d been alone together… not that they were now. The other girls were all still in the ballroom, and were all sleeping away, content. But that was just it- they were asleep. Right now, it was just the two of them.

“Why am I still naked!?”

Well, that couldn’t last forever.

Carly sprung to her feet from where she’d been cuddling with Dani. In her surprise, she was shockingly modest, covering her massive chest with both arms as she looked around, trying to get her bearings of the situation. “Nick? Dakota?! What’s going on? Where’s my costume for today!?”

Dakota raised a curious eyebrow. “That is your costume. You certainly didn’t seem to have any problem going nude last night,” she pointed out.

Carly rolled her eyes. “What, am I Lady Godiva today or something?”

Dakota just stared at her until a dawning look of horror spread across the naked girl’s face.

“That’s it, isn’t it!? You-! I can’t believe this!” She was already growing out her hair to cover her chest, needing a considerably larger amount of it than the historical figure she was cosplaying as.

“What’s the matter?” Dakota smirked. “I mean, your partner DID transform into a horse girl last night. A pity the transformation had to wear off…”

Dani sat up, looking frustrated. Apparently, she’d been awake the whole time, as well. “Not funny,” she snapped.

Dakota simply scoffed.

The rest of the harem was soon to wake up, and responses to the party last night ranged from joy and excitement (Rose) to horror (Morgana) as they contemplated the actions of their animal selves.

Mary just huddled on the flood, clutching her legs to her chest. Her face was red with a mixture of joy and shame, and she couldn’t keep the crooked, gleeful smile off her lips.

“I just want to say again, I’m so happy for you, Mary!” Holly leapt onto her friend and hugged her from behind, nuzzling her cheek against the redhead. “You’re so lucky!” She’d spared no expense in congratulating Mary on the new life growing inside her, something they’d all spent last night doing. Even Dawn, the most cynical among them, had nothing but kindness to express.

“Remember to be careful,” she said gently. “Until you get into the stable state of your pregnancy, too much strenuous sex might hurt the baby. Or, babies, potentially…”

“Don’t worry, I know,” Mary assured her, rubbing her belly tenderly and smiling a watery-eyed smile. “I would never do anything to hurt my children.”

“You’re so lucky…” Sylvia said wistfully. “And your children are going to be so happy with Daddy as their father…”

The envy in her voice was obvious to everyone, even with her smile. Mary glanced mournfully over at her, feeling a little bad herself. She was going to be a mother soon, and Sylvia… Sylvia was jealous of children that hadn’t even been born yet.

It was a sad thing to think.

“You’re going to be as big as a house soon,” Rose said, leaning over the redhead with a slightly acerbic tone in her voice. “I guess that means there will be a lot more for your husband to love, huh?”

“That’s right,” Mary politely replied. “Would you like to try next?”

Rose blanched. She stammered out something nobody could hear and left Mary alone after that, unable to stop herself from blushing.

“Now then, this is all very warm and touching, but we have some things to resolve first,” Dakota said, clapping her hands together. “For starters, let’s see how you all did last night!”

“How we all did?” Kim asked, frowning.

Dakota smirked. “Why yes! Did you forget what today is?”

Dawn gasped. “The popularity poll!”

Dakota twirled her cane and pointed it at the cat girl. “Right you are! Today’s the day we see just how popular you girls are! But before we get to that, there’s something else to take care of, first.”

A black screen popped up in the center of the room.

“If you’ll recall, last night you all had a wonderful party where you really got to show off the side of you that’s an animal in bed, in a manner of speaking. But these parties aren’t just fun and games. Do you remember the other part of the transformation? Everyone who attends and participates in the fun will receive a boon. Now, let me explain how that works.”

All the girls’ names, even Holly and Marley, appeared on the screen.

“Because we have everybody participating, I decided to set things up in a very simple way,” Dakota explained. “The audience voted on how much they liked your participation- that is, how much you girls played into your roles. And depending on how they ranked you, will determine how your boons are assigned.”

“So it’s just like the popularity poll, then,” Dawn noted.

“Precisely!” Dakota smirked. “Only in this case… you might not be happy with the boons you receive.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” Dani demanded. “Doesn’t the transformation say that the boons will only be positive?”

“It does,” Dawn confirmed with a nod. “I remember it perfectly.”

Dakota smiled and waved her hand, and the description of the transformation popped up again.

• The Party of the Year: On Gina’s night with the master, she can invite as many girls as she likes up to the Master’s Suite with her for a party. There’s a 500 BP entrance fee, but any contestant who attends and participates in the fun will find themselves receiving a positive boon that will help them for the remainder of the round. [NOTE: Boons will be given at random, and the positive benefits will vary based on the enthusiasm of the participants in the night’s festivities.] (Party Animal)

“You’re absolutely right, of course,” she assured Dani. “The boons you receive will all be positive ones. Of course, whether you see it that way or not, well… that’s another matter altogether. The types of boons you can receive from this party will be one of three kinds. For those of you who did well, you’ll receive a Generous Boon. This is a purely positive boon that you will almost-certainly like. For the next tier, those who did only okay, you will receive a Neutral Boon. These are positive benefits that won’t have much of an impact on you whatsoever. And finally, for those of you who the audience decided weren’t quite meeting expectations, you’ll receive a Reinforcement Boon. These boons are positive… but maybe not in a way you’d like. Think of them as a little incentive to play your part better next time, okay?”

“So we’re going to be punished if we didn’t do well?” Dani clenched her fists. She could already see where this was going. The audience would have almost-certainly put her near the bottom, given their grudge against her.

Dakota rolled her eyes. “No, I just said that. Nobody is getting punished. …Well, one person is. The very bottom of the list, the girl in last place, who the audience agrees did the WORST job of playing her part, will get a boon that isn’t quite like a boon at all.”

“What a shock,” Dani scowled, narrowing her eyes. “I bet you brought that in just to screw me over, didn’t you?”

Dakota rolled her eyes. “Dani, Dani, Dani, always the paranoid one. Don’t be so cynical! You let Nick ride on your back. I’m sure the audience took that into serious consideration of you ‘playing your part’ as it were. …Of course, you were so reckless you threw him off, but…”

“I get it already,” Dani snapped. “Can we just get this over with?”

“I think we should move this along, too,” Nick nodded. He glanced warily at Dani. Whatever punishment Dakota had in store for her probably wouldn’t be good. He just had to hope that she wouldn’t be too critical with it.

Dakota scowled. “But I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet! The girl in first place, the one the audience agreed did the very best in playing their role, will receive a reward incomparable to any boon!”

That was nice to hear. But it didn’t change Dani’s concerns in the slightest.

“Hey, come on, it’ll be fine,” Carly said, taking her partner’s hand. “These boons are going to wear off soon, after all.”

“That’s also true,” Dakota nodded. “The boons only last until the end of the round. Once this round’s challenge has ended, you’ll be back to normal- or, at least, until you get another transformation, of course.” She couldn’t help but giggle wickedly at that, much to Dani’s chagrin.

“Now then!” She clapped her hands together around the head of her cane. “Let’s see the results! I think it will be quite the eye-opener when you see who’s in first.”

The board began to shift, and names flashed across it in order.

1st: Marley – Grand Prize

2nd: Holly – Generous Boon

3rd: Dawn – Generous Boon

4th: Mary – Generous Boon

5th: Kim – Neutral Boon

6th: Sylvia – Neutral Boon

7th: Carly – Neutral Boon

8th: Gina – Reinforcement Boon

9th: Rose – Reinforcement Boon

10th: Dani – Reinforcement Boon

11th: Morgana – Penalty Boon

It took a second for the results to sink in. When they did, everyone turned in shock to look at the most unlikely winner of all.

“M-me?” Marley’s jaw dropped, and she pointed at herself. “H-how?! I-I… what?!”

“And that’s not all, I got… second?” Holly couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never placed that high even in the popularity polls when she’d been a contestant, and yet the audience had given her second place?

“That’s right!” Dakota crowed. “Apparently, Marley, our audience was a massive fan of your puppy presentation! Not only did you win, but you won by such a landslide victory that it wasn’t even close! You ended up with a whopping 14.17% support, beating out Holly by 3%! That might not sound like much, but remember there were 11 girls in the rankings! You had a MASSIVE lead! Now if that’s not a glowing recommendation, frankly I don’t know what is!”

Marley just continued to shake her head, unable to believe it.

“But… I’m not even a contestant!” She sputtered. “Why would they give me those boons?”

“I’m not sure,” Dakota admitted. “The audience clearly has a bit of an eclectic taste. Considering how low you placed in terms of popularity back when you were just a slime, getting one of the lowest votes in the history of the show, I’d say it’s a great reflection of how much you’ve grown in the eyes of the viewers, wouldn’t you?”

Marley could recognize that. But it just felt so… strange.

There were other concerns, too.

“I’m in 9th?!” Rose exclaimed. “I haven’t been that low since my first poll! What’s the matter? Did people not like my soft and supple sheepness?”

“This isn’t a popularity ranking, though,” Mary reminded her. “And because Holly and Marley are in the poll, too… it’s not like 9th is last.”

“…That’s true,” Kim winced, and glanced at the girl who had gotten last.

Morgana just stared blankly at the screen, her brain shorting out. “I-I got last… last place?”

“What can I say?” Dakota scoffed, shrugging her shoulders. “Running away from the master may have been in fitting with a skittish mouse, but that doesn’t mean the audience liked it. They didn’t really see you as playing ball. Dani, Rose, Gina, I think they all felt the same in regards to you. You could have done better in terms of playing the parts of your animals. And that’s why, for giving out the boons, since we normally give transformations from top to bottom on the list, I’d say that it would be a bit more unique if we start from the bottom and work up, wouldn’t you?”

The saccharine smile on her face made the others shiver. “Now then, Morgana…”

“W-wait!” Morgana waved her hands frantically. “Wait!”

“Come on, Dakota, you can’t just punish her!” Nick cried. “That’s not fair! The boons are all supposed to be positive!”

“This is going to be positive,” Dakota replied. Then, she tapped her cane, and a black light washed over Morgana.

And just like that, her body started shrinking. She slimmed down to only having moderate curves, and two large ears popped out of her head. She gasped and shivered as a long, thin tail poked out from beneath her dress skirt, and when the transformation ended, she let out a squeak.

“What?!”

“There, nothing harmful at all!” Dakota said, lowering her cane. “Simply a return to last night! Because you failed to adequately play your part, you’ll find yourself playing the role of mouse girl for the rest of the round. Only a day or so, until after tomorrow’s challenge. But in the meantime, I think you’ll have a bit of an affinity for cheese. And while yes, we had to suppress a few of your other transformations, at least this time it won’t affect you mentally.”

Morgana brightened. “It won’t?”

Dakota shook her head. “No, not at all! It’s a purely physical change. To give you something new to play with. Like I said, it’s somewhat of a punishment, but not a punitive or harsh one. Just a little physical reminder to play ball next time, alright?”

Morgana nodded, relaxing from the severe stress that had just surged through her. At the same time, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. If that was the worst of the “boons” then they were in a lot less trouble than they’d feared.

“Now then,” Dakota smiled, turning to the other girls. “Let’s start with our next bracket, shall we? The girls who could put in a little more effort.”

Dani looked to Carly for comfort. But Rose stood petrified, and Gina just scoffed, not all that worried.

“Oh, right. I think I’ll need a little bit of help with this one.” Dakota spun her cane again, and a new figure spun into existence.

“Greetings once more!” A bunny girl appeared from the aether, dressed like a card dealer. She wore a black and red checkerboard patterned bunny girl outfit, and her hair was layered with a black side and a red side, reflected with her bunny ears. She had mismatched eyes as well, sparkling gleefully from behind a domino mask.

“Ah! I remember you!” Gina gasped. “You’re the bunny girl! The one who gave me my clothes back!”

“Jackie Seven is the name!” The bunny girl chirped. “And twists of fortune are my game! Each of you girls will get a chance to spin the wheel, and receive a boon! Who knows? It might even be a jackpot!” She winked saucily to the girls, and clapped her hands. A large slot machine appeared beside her. “Now, as for…”

She turned to Dakota, and paused, blinking. She looked confused. Then she turned to the other girls, and stared at Sylvia. The confusion on her face deepened as Sylvia winced.

“What, a…?”

“Your creator is no longer in control of the game,” Dakota tersely responded. “I decided to take you on as my own creation. Do you have a problem with that?”

The bunny girl blinked, and her smile returned instantly. “Not at all!” She chirped. “Let’s get this party started!”

“Hey…” Marley approached Sylvia and placed a hand on her arm. “I know that must sting, but-”

“No, it’s fine,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “Jackie Seven is like the faeries. I created her to serve a role on the show, she’s not… real.”

Everyone could hear the self-referendum in her voice.

“Anyway, that’s enough nostalgia,” Dakota snapped, tapping her cane on the floor. “Dani, you were the next-lowest in the audience’s estimation, so you’re up first. Take a spin!”

Dani tensed, but feeling Carly’s hand holding hers made it feel better. She stepped forward and spun the wheel, wary of anything good possibly coming out of this.

The slot machine spun and spun, and stopped on a kiss mark.

“Congratulations!” Dakota chortled. “Your boon is Hugs and Kisses!”

Hugs and Kisses: Intensifies the pleasure of certain types of physical contact. Being hugged now feels like having good sex, and being kissed feels like having your g-spot stimulated.

Dani’s jaw dropped.

“What?! What the heck!?”

“What?” Dakota sniffed, shrugging. “It’s a positive, don’t you think? A boon like that is definitely a good thing, even if you might not necessarily feel that way.”

“You… you want me to be orgasming just from getting hugged or kissed?! How is that good?” Dani demanded.

Dakota rolled her eyes. “You won’t actually orgasm. It’s not like those parts of you are actually being stimulated. It just FEELS that good.”

Dani paused to consider that. “Wait, so… I won’t get an orgasm just from kissing someone?”

“Try it out and see,” Dakota said, waving her hand at Carly.

Dani turned to her girlfriend, an uncertain look on her face. “Carly…?”

“Sure thing!” Carly nodded, even though she looked just as uncertain as Dani. “If you want to, I mean.”

Dani needed to know for sure. So she leaned in, and the two kissed.

The tomboy’s eyes snapped open as pleasure surged through her body. It felt like no kiss she’d ever gotten before. But her fears were assuaged. Even though she could feel the pleasure of nearly reaching orgasm, her actual body didn’t respond that way since she wasn’t aroused.

When the two of them parted, she actually gasped for air.

“That, uh… that’s something that we should do a lot of, before it wears off,” she said, blushing.

Carly smiled back. “I mean, I’m game if you are.”

“That seemed pretty good,” Rose noted, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. “Are they all that nice?”

Dakota’s eyes sparkled deviously. “Pull the lever and see,” she urged. “It’s your turn.”

Beating back her concerns, Rose stepped forward and pulled the lever. The slots began to spin, and came to a stop on a single image, a dress.

“And your boon for the round, Rose, is Skintight!”

Rose had a few seconds to process that, when suddenly her clothes began to change. Her dress seemed to shorten- no, it wasn’t getting shorter, she realized, it was just getting tighter! Every part of her outfit was shrinking until it pressed into her like a second skin, tucking itself into every nook and cranny. It made her breasts stick out in front of her, supported without even needing a bra, and her ass was squeezed taut, bouncing and jiggling in spite of itself. If you looked closely, you could even see skin through the fabric!

Skintight: All clothing that the contestant wears will now constrict itself to being as tight as a second layer of skin. This will be a purely aesthetic change, and will have no impact on motor function or breathing.

“So wait, all my clothes are going to be like this now?!” Rose sputtered, covering her chest. “My nipples are standing out!”

“For the next round, they will,” Dawn said. “It’s called vaporwear. For all intents and purposes, your clothes might as well have been painted on.”

“Oof,” Carly winced. “Trust me, body paint isn’t fun. I’ve had a few cosplay experiences, I can tell you that.” Not to mention last night.

Carly was less sure about her own boon, now.

Meanwhile, Rose continued to fret. She turned to Nick, looking a little worried and scared.

Then she saw the redness in his face as his eyes stared at the taut clothes clinging to her curvy figure, and immediately felt better about the situation. Oh, yeah. I can work with this.

“Want to look a little closer?” She cooed, leaning forward and lowering her arms slightly to give him a slight glimpse of her nipple. “Want a little peek?”

“Rose…” Nick groaned. “Now’s not the time!”

With that being said, he was the one who was having difficulty taking his eyes off her, so that could be taken with a grain of salt.

“Well, whatever,” Gina grunted. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Not convinced by this whatsoever and a little miffed that she hadn’t scored higher at her own party, she walked over to the slot machine and reached for the lever.

She gave it a pull, and it began to spin. The slots came to a stop on a shape that looked like an earring.

“Here’s a nice one for you, Gina!” Dakota chuckled. “I bet it’ll perk you right up!”

Gina had barely enough time to process the wording of that sentence before her chest started glowing. She gasped in surprise as words flashed onto the screen.

Put a Ring on It: Contestant’s nipples will now be pierced by nipple rings, making them stiff and erect. Any time something brushes up against them, it sends a pleasurable sensation through their body.

“Oh hey!” Gina’s face brightened. “Now this is just lovely! Yeah, I can jive with this.”

Her nipples poked out of her shirt, revealing her lack of a bra, and she reached up to play with one. “Never had nipple piercings,” she mused. “Always considered it, but never had a chance.” She reached up and touched her nipple, and shivered. She nearly doubled over in orgasm. “Damn, are you sure I didn’t get a Generous Boon?”

“They’ll return to normal, don’t worry,” Dakota assured her.

“And that’s all for the Reinforcement Boons!” Jackie Seven chirped. She clapped her hands, and the slot machine disappeared. An identical one immediately popped up in its place. “I hope you girls like what you’ve got! As for the rest of you ladies, we’ll move onto the Neutral Boons!”

“These ones won’t impact our life too much, right?” Kim asked, just checking to make sure. “No physical or mental transformations or anything like that?”

“Slight physical changes are a possibility,” she admitted. “But again, it wouldn’t be anything too severe. Don’t worry. It’s just a slightly-positive improvement. So minor you might even wish you’d gotten a Reinforcement Boon!”

“Works for me!” Carly stepped forward and grabbed the lever. She was never one to shy away from things like this before, and with a single tug she sent the slots spinning.

They stopped on a cartoon of a rain cloud.

“Ooh, now this is a fun one,” Dakota smiled in amusement, and tapped her cane. A light flashed over Carly, and for a second, nobody knew how she changed, until the boon on the screen appeared.

Loose Lips Sink Ships: The contestant is always ready for sex now. Her vagina will constantly secrete love juices, regardless of her state of arousal, and will never dry.

“Oh, wow!” Carly looked down between her legs and placed her hand over her mound. “I’m… whoa, I’m soaked!”

In spite of the fact that she wasn’t aroused (well, not THAT aroused- she was still slightly turned-on by being naked in front of everybody) her vagina felt like she’d had enough squirting orgasms to fill a pool. It was soaked and slapped hungrily against her fingers, and when she withdrew them it was like she’d dunked her hand into a puddle of slime.

Marley appreciated the irony of the fact that now her sister was the slimier one of the two of them.

“I hope you enjoy it,” Dakota smirked. “Wetter than your girlfriend’s ever made you, at any rate.”

Dani shot her a dirty look, and Dakota ignored her. “Now, Jackie, let’s move this along, shall we?”

It was obvious she wasn’t even looking at the next person to go, which was Sylvia.

Sylvia was actually pretty positive about it. She bounced forward, and pulled the lever with a smile. “Give me something good!” She winked at Jackie.

Jackie flashed a toothy smile as the slot machine spun. It stopped on a picture of a nose, which made Sylvia immediately shoot her hand up to her nose out of concern that something would happen to it, but that wasn’t what the screen said.

The Nose Knows: Without having to shower, the contestant will constantly emanate a pleasant aroma that reminds all those who smell it of nostalgic times, and their favorite scents.

“Oh, well that’s just lovely!” Sylvia brightened, lowering her hands. She turned to Dakota. “Thanks, Dakota!”

Dakota just rolled her eyes and grunted, making a face like she’d been sucking on a lemon.

Next it was Kim’s turn. She was the last one of the Neutral Boons.

“Hmm… Gina and Sylvia got boons that didn’t affect them much,” she said, stroking her chin. “Let’s see what we get!”

She pulled the lever, and the slot machine blinked and whirred, revealing a shirt image.

“Ooh! This is one specially-made for you,” Dakota smirked.

Say Yes to the Dress: The contestant will be able to wear whatever clothing they wish, nullifying any clothing requirement transformations.

Kim blinked. “…Wait, that’s all?” She was certainly happy with it, but it seemed so… basic. “I mean, it’s great that I don’t have to be stuck in my schoolgirl uniform for a day or so, but still.”

“What would have happened if one of us got that boon?” Gina asked, raising her eyebrow. “It really doesn’t do much for us.”

Dakota responded with a shrug. “Who can say? Hell, half of you have a clothing restriction of one kind or another; this seemed like a safe bet to put in the wheel.”

That was about as good of an answer as could be expected. Kim’s eyes were shining; she was already looking forward to what she could wear in this brief interlude.

Dakota’s flat expression turned up into a smile and she clapped her hands together. “Now then! Since we’ve gotten the dregs out of the way, let’s move on to the Generous Boons! Starting with our little pregnant cowgirl, Mary!”

Mary gulped and took a step forward. “Are… are you sure about this?” She asked.

“Of course!” Dakota’s smile looked like it was plastered onto her face. “I promise, you’ll definitely like your boon. Go right ahead.”

Mary swallowed and glanced at the bunny girl. Jackie Seven snapped her fingers and the slot machine disappeared once again, and another appeared to take its place.

“Here you go!” Jackie gestured to the new machine. “Please enjoy yourself! This should be giving you all kinds of jackpots!”

Mary doubted that. But she hoped that there was something she could hope for, at least.

She pulled the lever and the machine began to spin.

Dakota leaned forward intently as it stopped on a cross.

“Huh?” Mary was surprised. She’d covered her chest instinctively, expecting something related to her breasts.

Not her faith.

Honest Confessions: The contestant now emanates a faithful aura that brings trust in anyone who speaks to her. People will feel more comfortable revealing their honest feelings to the contestant, and will be less restrained around her.

“What a wonderful boon!” Mary’s eyes brightened with glee. She placed her hands together and smiled. “Everyone being honest and open! It’s the best!”

“Whoa, now we’re getting into gamechangers,” Carly said, surprised. “That’s a really good boon right there.”

“I would never lie to you, anyway!” Holly chirped, batting her eyelashes. “We’re friends, after all!”

“That’s right, Mary!” Rose nodded in agreement. “I would never lie to you, unless I thought it would lead to our mutual happiness, and Nick’s happiness, of course.”

Mary stared at her for a seconds as Rose realized what she just said.

“Eck!” Rose gagged, clasping her hand over her mouth. “That’s just-! I mean-! Sorry!”

The girls had a good laugh about that, but they all felt a little warier around Mary. Luckily, it would wear off pretty soon.

“So that means I’m next, right?” Dawn sighed. She’d already been expecting that. “Well, a breast expansion would be nice,” she admitted. “But somehow I doubt that’s in the cards.”

Dakota just smiled. “Why not give it a spin?”

Dawn walked up to the slot machine and gave it a spin. It pulled to a stop on… a picture of a pair of breasts!

Seeing that made Dawn gasp.

“Wait, seriously?!” She gasped.

“It’s exactly what you think,” Dakota grinned. “Yes, precisely!” She raised her cane, and it flashed.

Up a Cup: The contestant will receive a significant breast expansion. Her chest size will increase three letter sizes.

Dawn’s boobs quickly began to expand, and pushed against her shirt. Soon, they went from her flat chest to a more ordinary cup size that was slightly larger than Kim’s boobs, sitting at about the size Morgana’s were currently. She was pleasantly surprised by the results, though it didn’t affect the rest of her proportions. She had a rather flat ass, and was still at her ordinary height.

“Oh wow! I’m so jealous!” Holly bit her nail, squirming in frustration. Jealousy was a common emotion for her these days, but Dawn had been the one girl in the harem with a smaller chest than her, and seeing her get larger breasts suddenly seemed very appealing.

She couldn’t help but smile at the idea.

“I wonder though… what am I going to get?” She turned to Dakota with an uneasy expression on her face, as Dawn tried to surreptitiously admire her new breasts without looking like she was showing them off.

Dakota just smiled at her. Holly shivered. Her relationship with Dakota was a complicated one. They had been buddies in the first round, and then that lead to a lot of conflicts which inevitably resulted in Dakota holding a grudge against her, and putting her in a position where she chose to sacrifice herself, instead of eliminating Rose.

Now… what did the other woman think of her?

“Come and take your boon, Holly. You might not be a contestant, but you can still get a benefit,” Dakota purred, gesturing to the slot machine.

Holly glanced at it, and figured… what the heck? Why did it matter if it blew up in her face? She wasn’t even competing!

With a grin, she pulled the lever, and stood back to see what she’d get.

“…Oh.” Dakota raised her eyebrow, and an amused smile spread across her face. “Well, that’s something.”

The Little ****: The contestant(?) will be entitled to amazing, mind-shattering orgasms better than any they’ve had before; every time they come will be groundbreaking.

Holly took a second to process that.

“Huh? Wait, what?”

“It’s simple, isn’t it?” Dakota raised her eyebrow. “From now on, your orgasms will be amazing. Groundbreaking. Mind-shattering. Ahegao-inducing. Sounds like a rather fitting reward for you, don’t you think?”

The other girls chuckled as Holly started to drool. This was quite the fitting boon for her, if Nick’s next partners allowed her to cum.

Holly squirmed and rubbed her legs together as fantasies flashed before her eyes. She was practically on the brink of orgasm already, given her nature.

“Now then, Jackie, I believe that’s all we’ll be needing from you,” Dakota purred, clapping her hands together.

Jackie bowed respectfully and disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with her slot machine.

“Hey, but what about Marley?” Carly asked, frowning. “Doesn’t she get the grand prize?”

“That she does,” Dakota nodded. “A boon more beneficial than any… an actual, tangible reward. Not something that Jackie Seven’s slot machines will have any impact on. However… the fact remains that Marley is not, in fact, a member of Nick’s harem. Curious…”

“Hey, look, it’s not a big deal,” Marley said, holding up her hands and trying to defuse the situation. “Just give it to my sister. Carly can get it instead, right?”

“Nonsense!” Dakota laughed. “No, your reward is simple, Marley. A free, all-expenses-paid trip to Dream Alley with Nick. However… given the current round, and how things are going, it will be hard to work out the logistics… yes, we’ll save that for next round, and find a place where we can fit it in, sound good?”

Marley frowned. A dream date with Nick? That sounded wonderful… but the suggestion still made her uneasy. She glanced at Nick, and blushed, looking down at the ground.

Dakota cleared her throat. “Now that this is out of the way, let’s move on to the more relevant topic at hand… the popularity poll!”

The girls, who’d already been wary and worn-out after receiving their boons, let out a few collective sighs, punctuated with some slumped shoulders.

“Finally, something to get worked up about!” Rose chirped. “Popularity polls!”

“It doesn’t even matter…” Morgana mumbled, biting her lip and looking down. “I’m sure I probably scored low again…”

“Not as low as me,” Dani assured her with a pat on the shoulder. “Somehow, I don’t think the audience is going to respond well to me getting together with another girl.”

“But that stuff doesn’t matter!” Carly assured her, taking Dani’s hand. “They’ll care about you because of who you are, Dani! I just know it!”

Dani tried to smile, but she wasn’t that naïve.

Meanwhile, Dakota watched with an amused expression on her face as this all played out.

“Now then… this will be the first time I handle the popularity polls in some time,” Dakota said, tapping her cane on the floor as the screen began to shift. A frustrated scowl crossed her lips. She would never reveal this to anybody, but there were less voters in this popularity poll than in the previous ones, where Sylvia had been the host.

That shouldn’t have bothered her as much as it did, but it did.

“Let’s get a refresher on how they work, shall we?” With a twirl of her cane, she summoned a series of names onto the screen, revealing how much BP each of the girls had.

1. Rose – 6200 BP

2. Carly – 6100 BP

3. Gina – 5900 BP

4. Kim – 4700 BP

5. Dani – 4100 BP

6. Morgana – 1800 BP

7. Dawn – 900 BP

8. Sylvia – 500 BP

9. Mary – 100 BP

“Now there have been some shifts here and there, but it seems clear that we’re still seeing some hoarders and some spenders,” Dakota tutted, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “Now that I’m on the outside looking in, I can say for sure, all that BP, you’re going to want to covet it… but you’re also going to want to start using it!”

With that ominous note, she moved ahead to her next topic.

“Now, certain people might start taunting others on their spending habits and their positions in the rankings, but not me,” Dakota assured them. “Not only did you girls all spend a decent amount of money on the party, but you’ve also got some other purchases of interest as well. In the meantime, it IS nice to see that Rose here is making the most out of her transformation, earning as much as she is with her bounties… while other contestants are casting aside the gifts so generously provided to them…”

She didn’t have to name any names when she said that. Her piercing eyes drilled right into Sylvia and made her shiver.

Then she smiled a menacing smile.

“Now then, let’s see what everyone’s new rankings are, in the popularity poll!” She chortled, lifting her cane up high.

1. Mary – 13.97% +2000 BP

2. Dawn – 12.74% +2000 BP

3. Gina – 12.32% +2000 BP

4. Rose – 12.01% +2000 BP

5. Kim – 10.86% +1500 BP

6. Sylvia – 10.72% +1500 BP

7. Morgana – 10.58% +1500 BP

8. Carly – 10.1% +1500 BP

9. Dani – 6.7% +1000 BP

Dakota shook her head and clicked her tongue. “My, my, my,” she murmured. “What a shakeup. Some things went as expected, while others… well. The results speak for themselves, don’t they?” She couldn’t hide the glee from her expression.

Dani looked down at the ground and clenched her fists.

She kept slipping. No matter what she tried, it was obvious that the audience didn’t like her. She’d tried doing her part, she’d tried being intimate with Nick in all the ways she felt comfortable doing, and they just laughed in her face. She couldn’t even get 7% of the vote! Her numbers had been abysmal before, but now Mary had more than twice the votes she had!

“Dani, Dani, Dani. You really tried this week, didn’t you? And yet, no matter what you did, the audience just didn’t seem to care,” Dakota sighed. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, now you’ve dragged Carly down with you! She used to be a top contender, often fighting it out for the top spots, but now she’s slipped down to a mere 10.1% for the first time! What. A. Pity.”

“Don’t say it like that!” Carly exclaimed. “You’re completely wrong! Dani didn’t drag me down with her! I don’t CARE where I stand on the popularity rankings, you got that? For me, if I can be happy with her, that’s the only thing that matters!”

“That’s right!” Marley agreed. “Who cares about popularity with the audience, anyway? If they’re willing to vote me into first for just acting like a dog, then forget ‘em!”

Dakota didn’t seem very enthusiastic about that statement. She just shrugged. “Well, if that’s what you want, I suppose-”

“Come on!” Rose exclaimed, interrupting her spiel. “I dropped from third place to fourth!? This is completely rigged!”

…And then there were people like Rose. While Dani was dealing with the very real frustration of her own numbers declining and dragging Carly’s down with her, Rose was getting all pissy about slipping a few points from her prior position.

“I’m in second again,” Dawn noted, a little surprised. “I didn’t expect that, that’s for sure.”

Mary was still comfortably in first, as everyone expected, but Dawn’s jump in the polls was surprising.

“I’m just surprised I’m still ranked so high…” Gina shook her head in disbelief. “I thought for sure that… after everything that happened, I would still…”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Dakota scoffed. “You think the audience would be upset by your little outburst? Nonsense.”

She gave Gina a smile that could almost be called kind.

“I think they see you for who you really are,” she assured the other girl.

There was something no one was mentioning, though. Holly glanced at Nick, who looked back at her. They both looked at Sylvia, who was brimming with disbelief.

“I… I don’t believe it,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I’m actually in sixth place… is that… I never even thought it was possible…”

Ranking sixth in a popularity poll obviously wasn’t much to be thrilled by. But there was an unspoken truth that Dakota had been trying to avoid.

Sylvia ranked higher than every Auditionee had their first round of popularity polls. Higher than Rose, higher than Mimi, even higher than Morgana, Sylvia marked the first time the Auditionee had gotten placed in the double digits in a popularity poll. And it was close, too, she’d only been a few decimals behind Kim’s score!

It was the kind of thing that gave her the hope that maybe, just maybe, she could get out of this with her skin intact.

Dakota, on the other hand, looked anything but pleased with those results.

“…Yes,” she finally spit out, clutching her cane. “It would seem that this poll had a lot of upsets. Now, let’s calculate everyone’s BP, and be done with it, shall we?”

1. Rose – 6200 BP + 2000 BP = 8200 BP

2. Gina – 5900 BP + 2000 BP = 7900 BP

3. Carly – 6100 BP + 1500 BP = 7600 BP

4. Kim – 4700 BP + 1500 BP = 6200 BP

5. Dani – 4100 BP + 1000 BP = 5100 BP

6. Morgana – 1800 BP + 1500 BP = 3300 BP

7. Dawn – 900 BP + 1500 BP = 2400 BP

8. Mary – 100 BP + 2000 BP = 2100 BP

9. Sylvia – 500 BP + 1500 BP = 2000 BP

“Well, would you look at that?” Dakota smirked. “Right back at the bottom where she belongs…”

“Oh yeah! Nice!” Rose grinned. “Still on the top! Wheeeew!”

“Nice work, I guess,” Gina shrugged, not caring one way or another about those results.

“It’s nice to have money, isn’t it?” Dakota mused with a smile. “But it doesn’t matter. Because I’m sure after results like those, and all those different polls, a few of you girls might be feeling a little uncertain about where you actually stand in terms of how the viewers see you, isn’t that right?”

Morgana winced and looked down at the ground. Dani scowled, while Rose nodded rapidly.

“Just as I expected,” Dakota said, tapping her cane on the soft floor. “Oh, Nola?”

“Coming! Coming!” Nola rushed in, slinging a giant sack over her shoulder. “I’m so sorry I’m late! I meant to be here on time, but then I got lost, and then I asked a faerie for directions, and then I got more lost, and then I was like ‘wait, I’m a leprechaun, can’t I just use a rainbow?’ and then I tried that but I didn’t get anywhere, and then-”

“Nola, nobody cares,” Dakota cut her off with a harsh glare. “None of that matters in the slightest. No, we have something more important to concern ourselves with. You see, you all have been getting countless letters from the fans. Of course, the previous host of the show was so insecure about the opinions of the audience that she was just sitting on them, like a coward, too afraid to confront the reality that was right in front of her out of fear that people wouldn’t like her show or her cast.”

Dakota made a disgusted face.

“…I’m a little different,” she informed the girls. “For me, my position is a simple one. These are your letters! You earned them, you’re entitled to them, and in my opinion, it would be just fine if you spent the rest of the day looking through them. …And of course, that means a little privacy is more than warranted,” she added, and with a flick of her cane, everybody disappeared in a flash.

With the room cleared, Dakota turned to the cameras. “This is your last chance,” she informed the audience. “Try to get your letters in as soon as possible, alright?”