"HERA!" Roared one of the guests, ironic since he was wearing a spider mask (she wasn't one to judge). "YOU CHEATED!"
A burley wolf doll amazon (one of Leto's subordinates) stepped close but Hera waved her off.
Hera rolled her eyes leaning back in her lavish chair. "I'm the game master, by definition, I can't cheat. I'm the goddess of this game."
"I had good money riding on that veteran! My betting partner laughed at me that because he was disabled he wouldn't win! But I knew discipline and experience would trump everything! But then you eliminate him for DOING TO WELL and exploiting his resources in an intelligent manner?!"
"You read the by-laws, as long I don't make it reasonably impossible for there to be a winner, I'm expected to make any adjustments to the rules I deem necessary to keep the game interesting. And the spoiled brat will meet her Waterloo soon enough."
"That isn't the point!"
Hera admitted, she was entertained the spider had the guts to stand up to her, considering she could destroy his life in an afternoon.
"Well, what's done is done. You know as well as I do there is no 'undo' button for the transformations. Not to mention that 'patch' EVERYONE demanded after the second game that I can't back step on a ruling once it's been given for that game. What would you have me even do?" Hera asked sly, the naked plastic fox doll slouching in her throne.
The spider mask guest trembled, but not in fear. "So are you going to punish any other players who are doing too well for your taste?"
Hera chuckled. "Since you asked so politely, I won't add any new restrictions to players who rack up a large collection of dolls."
Still steaming, the spider mask stomped off.
"Remind me do something nice for him in honor of his courage," Hera whispered sincerely to her bodyguard.
Another guest, this one wearing a mantis mask stepped closer, trying to keep himself looking as subservient as possible. Hera narrowed her eyes.
"Oh honored Hera," he said politely. "If I may ask... shouldn't the new statue have both arms? The transformation is supposed to wipe away any physical proof of the object's former existence. And doesn't it mar the physical perfection that all the objects are blessed with? Oh great and beautiful Hera?" He bowed.
If she was The Nazarene she'd tell the guest to get behind her. She was surrounded by sisters and daughters who were loyal to her without question, did he really think she had any need for sycophants? Then again, she did love her compliments, but this guest was overselling it!
"It would seem his ideal woman might have been someone who understood his pain. Or maybe one who didn't look down on him. It is a usual happenstance. And I know how collectors items work. An 'imperfection' of hers is going make her market value sky-rocket, her sisters are likely praising her for it right now!"
"But what about her missing arm connecting her to the contestant she was created from? ... Oh great, and beautiful, honored Hera?"
Hera hadn't expected it to be sincere, but this guy really didn't have a clue how to deliver a compliment to a perfect plastic beauty like herself and make it sound real. "Like I said, it is a usual happenstance. If it prove to be a problem, we can simply offer to buy her from the winner, she'd make a great center piece for the observation deck if I do say so myself. Or cast a replacement arm. Or request she be kept in a private gallery." What they were doing wasn't illegal, she'd go through too much paper work and bending the knee to annoying international powers for that to be the case, but some people could get uncomfortable if they could trace back whom the statue once was.
"As you say oh honored Hera," the mantis mask man back stepped, not turning his back on her.
+++
"HELP!" Shouted a skunk doll waving her arms around frantically, her breasts didn't bounce as she bounded, she made out of hollow plastic after all (though her mass of hair seemed to me made of softer material). She didn't wonder where her seat of consciousness was now, she was a doll, she was to be owned, not was philosophy. "HELP MY OWNER! HELP MY OWNER!" She ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.
A thin man with slick dark hair crept up to the doll, keeping his wits about him, behind him a green plastic sheep woman carrying his supplies with a sniper's second.
"Hey you! Where's the fire?!"
"Oh help me!" Shouted the stripped skin, falling to her knees pathetically. "My owner has been trapped and is going to die! Please save him, and he will let you transform him! I am too weak and pathetic to do it myself! I need a big strong owner and powerful doll like you to do it for him!"
"Sure Babe! I'll help!" He grinned.
"How noble of you Owner!" Said the sheep doll.
"I'll lead you to him!" Said the doll bowing.
And so they went a relatively short distance, finding a figure dressed up in a black suit that would be absurdly hot for this weather, no wonder he fell down, a log crushing half the figure.
'Idiot likely wants me to get close so he can zap me and get rescued for free! Not happening!' Slick took aim and zapped the figure before even getting closer.
Slick heard rustling in the trees ... and he stiffened, his zapper fell. Slick's clothes dissolved, his body hollowing out, his outer body becoming smooth perfect plastic colored with browns over his body and black and white strips over his face. His face pushing out into a muzzle, and a large 'fluffy' tale that was more a part of their torso. Tiny claws form on his hands and feet. At the same time, his figure pinching close, and his chest ballooning out, became an not unattractive female form.
The sniper came down from the tree, the mass of debris covered in his jacket and extra pants being a perfect decoy.
"Owner, command me, this doll is ready is serve!"
"For now keep watch Merchandise."
"Yes Owner. I am Merchandise"
"That was very clever Owner!" said the sheep doll to her new Owner.
"Thank you Property."
"Yes Master, I am Property."
"Wonderful acting skills Object."
"My pleasure, Master," she addressed him as he'd told her. "I must report... I saw something rather discouraging...a player had a group of five dolls surrounded another player... they simply froze in place, and he was tuned into a statue, and the doll instantly unfroze and greeted their new Owner."
"... That... is disquieting... and informative. Thank you Object."
"It is my pleasure Master," the skunk doll bowed.
+++
Hera knew this wasn't quiet in the spirit of the game, but she couldn't help but clap. This player had EARNED some leeway, after after all, he'd realized that while promises couldn't be broken during the game, there was no rule against ordering your dolls to lie. And having only one doll present as bait meant he was not technically abusing their numbers. Was going to enjoy seeing if this strategy got him all the way to the finale.
The private door to the observation room opened, and the figure knelt beside her throne, and Hera stroked their smooth back.
"My Hera, I am please to inform you that everything is running smoothly. None of the show no sign of causing trouble, and I did a double background check on all guests and contestants. This game will proceed smoothly, the focus shall be on who shall emerge the winner as it should be."
"Thank you my doll," Hera said to the male fox doll, with a pattern similar to hers, his crotch utterly flat, and his rear nothing but sculpted plastic, but his figure and build were obviously masculine. His tail wage at her touch. Her body shined under the room's lights.
The winner of one of the previous games... had made an unusual request too exchange his prize. To be made the only male anthro doll in existence, as void of privates parts as the rest... but to spent a hollow plastic eternity at her side as her doll. Hera had had many men claim to have fallen in love with her on sight, but no others had thought to ask, or had dared to ask. Some nicknamed him 'Hera's Hand', with rumors that he had forgotten his original name, his devotion to her was so complete even by doll standards (and those standards were very VERY high indeed).
He felt no carnal desires, he was a doll after all, his joy came from serving his Owner, Hera herself, in fact, he thought the things fleshy creatures had between their legs to continue their legacy looked silly to him!
He was the only male plastic anthro doll in existence, and Hera had made sure he'd be the only one, she gave him credit to be the first one to ever ask this, and she'd tolerate no imitators. The last man to try was now a pink fox girl doll, eager and obedient to serve. Hmm... maybe Hera would offer the plastic pink fox doll to the spider mask guest as a door prize.
+++
A trio of high school friends who had happened to all sign up for the game, had grouped together. Behind them marched their small entourage of dolls... A leopard, a cheetah, a mink, a weasel, a mongoose, and a cow... (No, she did not have utters).
All three were shocked when they saw the eight foot tall plastic kangaroo hoping towards them...
"Where's the players?!"
"I don't see him!"
"He's around somewhere!"
He was, he peaked out of the kangaroo doll's pouch, and fired off, ducking to avoid the returned fire, the doll's plastic body shielding him from the zapping. The kangaroo doll bopping and weaving to avoid giving the others a clear shot until her Owner wanted her to.
In less than twenty seconds, a trio of plastic anthro jills stood at attention smiling. Their entourage also standing at attention.
"You did good work Mary," the man said, not leaving the safety of the pouch.
"Thank you Owner, everything I do I do for you," she said motherly.
"Jill, Jellybean, Janice," he said pointing to each of the new dolls. "Take the rest back to the camp and make sure I'm not ambushed in my sleep! Mary and I are going hunting!" He said, explaining where his tent was set up.
"Yes Owner!" The dolls cheered before marching to where they were ordered.
Here was impress the player realized that Hera had said no bugs, amphibians, mythicals, or fish, only mammals, birds, and reptiles... but she hadn't said ANYTHING about marsupials .... Leaving them in a gray zone that Hera was willing to humor this game.
+++
When a giant bronze statue of a jackal woman rose above the tree line in a traditional yoga pose... it was naturally going to attract people.
Clyde had wanted to know how big you could make the statues: turns out the answer was 'very big indeed.' He wondered how they were going to get the statues off the island when the game was over.
Naturally this attracted a lot of attention.
Other players arrived, finding bright silver jackal woman statues in various poses, placed evenly about. Some of their poses looked like they'd break bone if they'd been flesh and blood. All their faces looking serene and calm.
None of them saw the laser reflect off the impossibly perfectly smooth silver surfaces... becoming more silver statues for the gallery.
"None more coming this way master," said a short and petite blue plastic falcon down, her doing a bow as she landed on top of the statue.
"Thank you Angela," said her owner. "Tell Gary as well."
"Yes Owner."
Some had assumed the hollow plastic birds dolls would be impossible to fly... pst, as if Hera would ever give out shoddy merchandise as prizes!!! And she was a flawless spotter. Lasers were light, light reflected off reflective surfaces, normal dolls or stone statues proved not to have shiny enough surfaces, but this silver beauties certainly did!
"Thanks for the heads up Clyde!" Gary called up.
"Welcome!"
They both knew that knowing names was going to make doing what had to be done at the end harder, but just calling each other 'hey you' was going to get confusing very fast.
They'd promised not to turn on each other until they were the last two, with a five minute warning. With the additional promise that no matter which of them won, they'd treat the resulting doll with as much respect as their programmed slavish devotion allowed. And to share half of whatever prize money there was with the other's family.
"Owner!" It was Laura, the busty red robin who should have been able to fly but could all the same. "When I got near a player, my entire body froze up... I fell out of the sky... they assumed I was a statue and moved on, and I was able to move again... I think... It happened again when I tried to get close to follow them..."
"... Tell Angela and the others the distance it was that you fell, and tell them to stay OUT OF that range, fly as high as the barrier will allow you to!"
Laura knelt, "Yes Owner! I'm sorry!"
"You can't be blamed for it. These people apparently didn't feel like telling us all the rules after all."
+++
The woman ran, firing off shoots behind her.
Sadly, she'd hated gun her whole life for obvious reasons, she was no sharp shooter, but these men obviously were, or at least, better with using weapons than her. She tripped over their still plastic dolls, and reduced to running as she was nearly caught in their cross fire more than once.
She'd come to a cliff overlooking a rocky reef. Dammit. So this was it huh? No. She wouldn't become the willing plaything of them. Not if she had anything to say about it! She jumped.
The rules against self violence kicked-in.
The woman glowed white, she hit the water... The men looked down, agitated at this lost prize and left, their dolls consoling them.
The rules had said no mythicals, including mermaids, but rules were made to figure out work arounds.
Dolphins were mammals. The silvery gray and white anthro dolphin doll emerged from the waves completely undamaged. Her body lithe and sleek, not like the exaggerated anime girl like figures seen by the human she was created from.
"Now I just need to... oh my... I don't have an Owner!" The dolphin doll said in horrified realization! Not having an Owner?! For a doll this was unspeakable! Trying not to panic, she swam around the island back to the dock, where she found some of her sister dolls waiting, the dock held up by statues of similar aquatic shapes to her.
"Hello sisters!" Waved the doll up at the others. "I'm in trouble! I don't have an Owner!"
The fox dolls looked at each other.
"Don't worry! Just stay calm!" A pink one called. "You can just waiting with us until the game is complete. You'll meet your Owner then!"
The plastic doll sighed. "That's a relief!"
++++
You and Leona sat in your makeshift camp. She'd gone back for your supplies and tent and returned with them. You hadn't seen anyone yet. But you HAD to hide from bat and bird dolls flying about above you... you guessed they were being used as spotters.
You tested the ray gun... "It doesn't seem to have a cool down, you can figure it as fast as you can pull the tigger, but it's not an automatic weapon, you have to pull the trigger for each shot," the remarked.
"Owner, we can't camp out here forever, I get the feeling campers won't be tolerated in this game for long..."
"I know... Leona... you scout ahead of me, stay as quiet as possible, and report back the moment you see anyone, and STAY OUT OF SIGHT, the sky has eyes!"
"Don't worry Owner, I'll do my best!"