Hera eyed the monitors with a slight frown on her face. "Say, Themis," Hera murmured, beckoning the cute plastic snake lady to her side, "Don't you think the contestants are starting to gather a bit too many dolls?" As she spoke, Hera pointed to a specific monitor, the likes of which showed a grizzled, one-armed veteran surrounded by four plastic beauties, moving with the silence and discipline of a squad of trained soldiers.
"Honored Hera," Themis began, bowing slightly, "I must remind you that the contract states that the use of the fail safe requires the contestant to have at least five or more dolls before it may be used." "Yes, yes, I remember the rule," Hera sighed, turning back to the monitors, "But I have the feeling that I'll be using that fail safe rather soon."
Moments after Hera spoke, the grizzled veteran snapped another shot from his zapper, blasting an unsuspecting contestant, who had been resting against a nearby tree. The contestant seemed to seize up as his body transformed, his body growing taller as his figure pinched inwards, his hips and thighs blooming into a shapely set of well-muscled legs while his chest sprouted a pair of melons easily as large as her head. Much like her previously transformed sister, the contestant's skin sprouted the shifted to the fur of a tiger's, though her rapidly smoothing coat of plastic had the color gray as its base and black and white markings, while her feet and hands shifted to digitigrade paws of a matching color scheme.
"You, fall in line!" the veteran barked, gesturing towards the rest of his squad. "Yes, Owner!" The newly minted plastic tigress responded, dutifully jogging towards the back of the group. "Do not call me 'Owner'; call me Sir," the veteran sighed sternly, "From now on, your name will be Echo, okay?" Echo nodded sharply, saying, "Yes, Sir!"
Apparently satisfied, the veteran turned to the whole of his squad and shouted, "Echo'll be watching our rear, so I want everyone's eyes and ears open! Notify me if you spot or hear anything! Now let's move!" With that, the veteran and his squad of plastic beauties moved forwards, creeping through the jungle as quietly as their bodies would allow.
Hera glanced at Themis one last time, purring, "I believe that group satisfies our criteria now." Themis bowed one last time, then gave a respectful nod, stepping back from the screens to allow Hera to work her magic. Hera's frown shifted into a sly smile as she reached towards her console and pressed a single button. With that, Hera leaned back in her chair, her grin widening as she watched the chaos unfold on the screen.
"Sir!" Beta chirped cheerfully, her shiny blue face stretched into a giddy grin as she gestured off to her right. "There's another contestant resting at three o'clock!" The grizzled veteran allowed himself a slight smile, the plastic Rough Collie's enthusiasm tickling him a bit. "Nice work, Beta," he said, patting her on the head, "Now get in close, Squad; I have your orders prepared."
"Beta, Charlie, I want you two circle around to the back of our target and make some noise, scaring them my way," the veteran began, pointing to the pair of plastic pups in turn. "Delta and Echo, you two make sure that our quarry doesn't stray too far from me. I don't care how you do it, but remember that we aren't using violence, just fear." Finally, the grizzled veteran turned to Alpha, placing his arm around her shapely hips and stating, "Alpha, you'll be sticking with me to watch my back. Be very vocal if you see or hear anything, okay? I want to have plenty of time to react. Are my orders clear, Squad?"
"Yes, Sir!" the living dolls shouted in unison, each snapping the veteran a sharp salute. "Move out!" the veteran barked, drawing his zapper and moving a bit deeper into the jungle's brush, the dark, glossy form of Alpha following close behind him.
The targeted contestant, an athletic, yet well-shaped young woman who looked like she belonged better in a cheerleading squad than the middle of a jungle, huffed irritably, her map of the island fully held out as she tried to make sense of it. "How am I supposed to know where I am?!" she pouted, angrily stomping her foot. "Why didn't they make this easier!" Suddenly, the contestant paused, cupping a hand to her ear and listening closely. She could just make out the sound of someone's footsteps, the likes of which seemed to be getting closer. The contestant's hand shifted to her zapper, her heart rate quickening a bit. "Try to sneak up on me, will you?" the contestant murmured beneath her breath, slowly creeping towards the sound, 'Then let's see how you like... this!"
With that, the contestant burst through the jungle's brush, her zapper held at the ready, her finger poised to pull the trigger, and her face set into a determined glare. The athletic contestant, however, did not find another contender for victory. What she found were two statues, one of which seemed to be a blue, shaggy dog lady of some sort while the other other was clearly a poodle lady. The two statues seemed to be made of the plastic as the plastic animal ladies that served as attendants in that strange hotel, yet these two were clearly inanimate, as evidenced by the fact that they hadn't moved an inch since the contestant had found them. Strangely enough, these two statues didn't seem to be like the other statues the contestant had found, their glossy bodies locked in place mid stride, their expressions seeming entirely natural rather than crafted.
"Huh?" the contestant murmured, her determined glare shifting to a frown of confusion. "I could swear... whatever." The contestant turned and walked away, unknowingly heading in the direction of the grizzled veteran.
As she traveled a bit further, the contestant heard yet another rustling sound, like the sounds of footsteps she'd heard earlier, but quite a bit quieter, as if whoever it was had a bit more experience when it came to stalking people. The contestant raised her zapper to a firing position, then paused, attempting to pinpoint the sound. After a moment of focus, the contestant's eyes snapped open. There, behind that tree! The contestant quickly danced towards the tree, paused for a bit, then spun around the tree, her zapper pointed and ready to fire...
Only for her to run head-on into another pair of statues, the likes of which toppled stiffly to the ground from their collision. The contestant jolted back from the pain, then paused and peered at the statues. The statues, like every other statue within the jungle, were of animal ladies, but both seemed to be tigers, based on their shape and patterns. Just like the pair of statues before, the two tiger statues seemed to be made of the same glossy plastic of the plastic animal ladies, one with a white coat and black stripes while the other had a gray coat with both black and white stripes, and, based on the clattering noise they'd made when they bounced off of the tree's bark, they were hollow, too. Even their poses, their faces frozen as if concentrating on a task, their bodies stiffened as if they were mid-step, seemed like the previous two statues the contestant had found.
The contestant’s frown deepened even further. "What in the world?" she murmured to herself, "What's going on here?" Far more cautious now, the contestant slowly crept backwards, keeping her eyes on the toppled statues as long as she could, then turning and hurrying off into the brush, unwittingly moving even closer to the veteran.
The veteran and Alpha sat in wait within the jungle's brush, each sitting as still a statue as they waited for their quarry to arrive. After a few more moments of patient silence, the grizzled veteran muttered, "They sure are taking their time, aren't they, Alpha?" The black furred plastic lady remained silent, quietly staring out over the clearing the veteran had chosen to drive their prey to. The veteran glanced up at Alpha, then frowned a bit. "What, no 'Yes, Sir' this time?" he asked, arching up an eyebrow. Alpha didn't even turn to register the veteran's comment.
The veteran's frown deepened a bit more. "Alpha?" he called, waving a hand in front of the plastic tiger lady's face. Alpha remained unresponsive. "Hey, Alpha!" the veteran barked, slapping his open palm against her back. In response, Alpha slowly teetered forward, then toppled out of the brush, clattering to the ground with the solid "Thunk!" of hollow plastic. The veteran's eyes widened, as he rushed out of the brush, grabbing onto Alpha's rigid body and struggling to set it upright. "Dammit, Alpha!" the veteran grunted, his voice quivering with tension, "This is no time to be messing around! At this rate, you'll compromise the mission-!"
The veteran didn't get a chance to complete his sentence before being encompassed with a bright flash of light, completely engulfed in the flash of the contestant he had intended to target's zapper. The veteran's body went stiff and ramrod straight, his singular arm pressed to his side and his legs forced together as the transformation began.
Before the contestant's eyes, the veteran's waist pinched inward while his hips and bust bloomed outwards, giving him, er, her an hourglass figure nearly impossible in the modern world. The veteran's arm seemed to smooth out, going from well-muscled to leek and slender, while her thighs bulged outwards, her rear following suit as her whole body began to plump up. Shortly afterwards, the veteran's hands and feet changed to paws, her feet becoming digitigrade in shape while her hand poofed out into a paw. The veteran's face seemed to bulge outwards, her lips and nose converging into the medium sized snout of a Shiba Inu, and a curly tail popped into shape right above her now shapely rear. From there, the veteran's position began to shift, her body falling onto knees and spreading them wide enough to a good view of her blank crotch, her back arching so as to better thrust of her sizable chest, her one arm raised into the "beg" position, and her face stretched into a starry-eyed grin with her tongue lolled out the side of her snout. Finally, the Shiba Inu's body glowed a golden sheen as her body shifted to solid gold. As a finishing touch, a golden base appeared beneath the newly minted Inu statue, the likes of which was labelled "Beg".
As for the veteran, no, the statue themselves, all thoughts of tactics and victories faded from their mind. Mission? What nonsense. Their only "Mission" was to display themselves wherever their owner pleased. Nothing else mattered. The Inu statue's sisters helped to confirm this fact, greeting her into the life of a still sculpture with enthusiasm and congratulations. Now all she was obligated to do was sit where she was, cheering her new Owner on with all of her might!
"Yes!" the contestant cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "One more competitor gone!"
"Excellent job, Owner!" Alpha agreed cheerfully, sitting up from her position on the ground. "Gah!" the contestant yelped, stumbling back in reaction, only to bump into something smooth and solid. "Excellent job indeed," intoned Charlie, bowing her head to the contestant slightly. It was an excellent job.
"B-but... what?!" The contestant stammered, "You were statues!"
Charlie tilted her head to the side, frowning in confusion. "Statues?" she questioned, "No, no, Owner, we're dolls. The others will be arriving soon, and they, too, are dolls."
The contestant stared at the plastic animal ladies for a moment, then murmured, "I'm so confused."
Hera leaned back from the console with a wide grin on her face. "That went perfectly," she stated, glancing back over to Themis, "And I assume I haven't broken any of our contract's rules by doing so?" The cute snake doll gave Hera a quick nod, affirming her statement. "Excellent," Hera stated once more, turning back to the console. "Then it's settled. From now on, any player deemed to have too many dolls on their side shall have this rule enacted upon: their dolls shall freeze in place while within the range of another contestant's zapper."
Themis nodded once more, scribbling something down onto her clipboard, then turning back to Hera and asking, "Shall I ask Eostre to make an announcement about this rule?" Hera slowly shook her head. "This is a hidden rule, meant to be used at my own discretion," Hera explained. "Plus, it would ruin the surprise for the player, don't you think?" Themis nodded once again, bowing once more time, then slithering away, presumably to make sure the no contract terms were being broken.
With that Hera turned back to her console, grinning happily. This was going to be fun.