Commercial Break (Worm / Slut Life) (Borderline SFW)

Preparation 2.6

---

“Oh, I’m so excited,” Velma Platt squealed as she continued to pack her things into boxes. She was going to be a Cutie on Slut Life, and her contestant liked bugs! “Eee!” she squealed again, causing her father to wince.

“I know you’re excited, dear, but can you try to keep it down a little” Professor Norman Platt pleaded. “My ears can’t take much more of that.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Velma apologized. “It’s just… I’ll finally have a friend who I can talk about bugs with!”

This time, Norman’s wince had nothing to do with noise. It was unfortunately hard to dispute that his darling daughter had had a hard life, at no small fault of his own. For a dedicated entomologist such as himself, the opportunity to study the insects on Beelzajaab was too good to pass up. He had packed up his wife and six year old daughter and moved out to the planet.

Luckily, between being exposed to his work all through her early years and the innocent curiosity all young children had, Velma had settled right in on Beelzajaab, though he supposed they were lucky some scientist had whipped up a nanobot treatment that worked amazingly well at keeping nearby insects from attacking, considering all the times Velma had tried to bring her crawly friends into the living enclosure. Once she’d learned that the insects were outside friends, she’d taken to sleeping outside most nights, though at least they had convinced her to use a hammock and mosquito netting. As a side effect of the nanobots, insects were also much more likely to approach, and some of them could carry hazardous germs, which could easily make the unwary, or the sleeping, very sick indeed. It had only taken a year for his wife, Delores, to get fed up and leave the planet. She had wanted to take Velma with her, but the little girl, always Daddy’s little pupa, had demanded to stay behind.

“Better she get it out of her system now than when she meets Miss Hebert,” Delores commented dryly. While she refused to live on Beelzajaab, she had still loved her family, so she had compromised. She had lived off of the planet and took care of her own business dealings while her husband remained on the surface. She made a point of visiting several times a month, at minimum, through the entire ten year span and had remained in more constant contact through videoconferencing. She had been overjoyed when Norman and Velma had finished their stay on the bug infested planet, as they could properly spend time together as a family again. “You wouldn’t want to scare her away, now would you?” Norman shot his wife an exasperated look. Their daughter had always been somewhat excitable, and it looked like this time would be no different.

“Sorry, Mom,” Velma said as she visibly forced herself to calm down a little. “It’s just so exciting. I’m finally going to get a chance to make friends with someone my own age.”

“What about all your friends from school?” Delores asked, lifting one sculpted eyebrow.

“They don’t count,” Velma complained with a pout. “It’s not like I ever really met any of them outside of school, anyway.” That was one of the problems with using a remote-learning setup, Norman mused. You could interact with your peers, to an extent, but you couldn’t really play with them or hang out with them normally, considering they were usually in a different corner of the universe and all.

“That’s true enough, I suppose,” Delores allowed. “Now, do you have everything packed and ready to go?”

“Yes, Mom,” Velma replied, rolling her eyes. “Everything’s set.”

“You packed enough underwear, right?” her mother insisted.

“Yes, Mother,” Velma replied shortly. Norman hid his smile behind his coffee mug. This was the third time this morning, and his daughter was definitely growing tired of it.

“And your toothbrush?” his wife insisted.

“Yes, Mom,” Velma drawled.

“And enough socks?” Delores tried again.

“Yes, Mo-” Velma began before cutting herself off. “I’ll be right back.”

---

“Are you crazy?” Jana Raskop demanded. “I’m not going!”

“But this is your big chance,” her matchmaker wheedled. “You’ve been looking for an opportunity like this for two years now.”

“Look,” the young futanari began, “I know you’re looking out for me, and I know this is a great opportunity for me, but I’m not doing it!” She shuddered. “I don’t know how to handle that kind of intensity!” she insisted. “You saw her interview, right?”

“I saw the broadcast, yes,” Fausta Siegel replied.

“Yeah, sure, but did you see the full version?” Jana pressed.

“There was another version?” Fausta asked in surprise. “Why would they do that?”

Jana shuddered again before answering. “It’s because her life is so bad Slut Life needed to censor it. I tried to watch the full video, and I couldn’t even make it through her description of an average day at school! I thought I had it bad, being the only open futa in my school, but what she had to put up with?” She shook her head sadly. “And then I read some of the comments about the video, and people were coming out of the woodwork, saying they wished they had been chosen for her owners so they could help her.”

“And you have the opportunity to do just that,” Fausta persisted.

“Except I don’t think I’m strong enough,” Jana all but wailed. “She needs someone who’ll stand beside her against all odds, not some shrinking violet like me!”

“You’re selling yourself short,” Fausta replied. “You seem to be standing up to me fine right now.”

Jana nodded her head rapidly. “And you have no idea how much effort this is taking me. I’m telling you, get someone else. I don’t care if it takes another two years for me to get another chance. I can’t help Taylor Hebert with her problems, and I think she’d be too intense for me.” In a much more pleading voice, she added, “Please?”

Fausta sighed. “If you’re sure,” she began.

“Oh, thank you, thank you!”

“Let me finish,” the matchmaker reprimanded. “Now, if you’re sure, I’ll let the executives know that you don’t think you’re a suitable owner. They should have a few weeks to find a replacement, but if they can’t you might still need to do your best on the show.”

Jana looked miserable once more. “But I don’t think I’m strong enough for that,” she muttered.

Fausta grimaced. “I understand that you think so. Unfortunately, you were selected as Miss Hebert’s Futanari. If none of the others are willing to take your position, you may still need to step up and do your best.”

Jana sighed. “I guess that’s the best you can do, huh?” She continued before Fausta could comment. “I still think I’ll mess things up, but if you can’t find anyone else, I guess I’ll just have to suck it up.”

“I’m sure things will work out,” Fausta said reassuringly, patting her charge on the shoulder. “Even if we can’t find someone else to fill in, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just be your usual cheerful self and be supportive.”

Jana sighed again. “If you say so. Still, I hope they can find someone better.”

---

“Huh, that’s weird,” Bertram Harding muttered to himself as he looked over the housing order he’d just received. The burly owner of one of Slut Life’s preferred construction companies was not entirely sure what to make of this order.

“What’s up, Boss?” Oskar Higgins, one of Bertram’s best foremen asked.

“This order from Slut Life seems a bit odd,” Bertram said, gesticulating with the paper in his hand.

Oskar took the proffered page and glanced over it. “It seems pretty standard to me. I mean, sure, it’s a bit larger than normal and the spatially expanded gun range is a bit unusual, but nothing weirder than normal.”

“That’s not the weird bit,” Bertram growled in frustration. “I already had the boys set up an apartment for this customer. Nice place, plenty of space. Three bedrooms, all the luxuries for the bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and three empty rooms. I’ve lived in houses smaller than that. Now they want us to set up a new house in the gated community instead, and this, as I’m sure you can see, is more than twice the size!”

“Do you think it’s a mistake?” Oskar asked.

“It’s possible,” Bertram conceded. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been sent orders prematurely. Still, those kinds of mistakes only really happened when someone jumped the gun and put in an order before the contestant had even signed the contract. Sighing, he came to a decision. “I’ll give Slut Life a call and check on this. I need to figure out which order is the correct one. At least we haven’t started moving the neighbors in yet.”

Oskar nodded. “Yeah, they always get tetchy about getting moved after they’ve settled, and it’s a pain finding replacements for the ones who refuse to move. Then again, we sometimes get lucky and their replacements are already living there.” He gestured over his shoulder at the break room. “Anyway, I’m going to grab a cup of joe while you figure out what we’re doing today. You want one?”

“Please,” Bertram replied. “You know how I like it.”

“Black and strong enough to dissolve the spoon,” Oskar answered. Bertram just nodded before focusing on the phone.

---

“Hi, yes, this is the Magical Girl Obsessive Liana,” Liana said into her phone. “I was looking to get a phone number for Miss Taylor Hebert. She’s one of the newest contestants on Slut Life, and I think she recently left the planet, if that helps.”

The receptionist’s voice was very flat when she answered, “We are not in the habit of giving personal details to fans, even if they are magical girls. You should just focus your obsessions elsewhere.”

Liana sighed in frustration. That was one of the problems of being known to use the Obsession Pit. Everyone assumed you were going to turn into a crazed stalker at the drop of a hat. “You don’t understand, my partner and I helped her decide what she wanted when she becomes a magical girl. I was just hoping to speak with her.”

“I’ll need to check on that, please hold,” the receptionist replied before the line was filled with exceptionally bland music.

“Huh,” Liana mused aloud, catching Meagan’s attention.

“What is it?” the other magical girl asked.

“Their hold music,” Liana stated, “I was expecting porno music or something. Not standard hold music.”

Meagan shrugged. “I guess they hear enough of that already. Or they’re trying to confuse people.”

“Yeah, well, they’re succeeding,” Liana griped. She perked up as the music abruptly stopped.

“Thank you for holding,” the receptionist said as she came back on the line. “I’ve confirmed that you have spoken with Miss Hebert in the past, and there are indications that she would not be adverse to speaking with you again in future.”

“Finally,” Liana grumbled under her breath, hand over the phone’s microphone. Meagan shot her an exasperated look. Uncovering the phone, the Obsession based magical girl asked, “Great, can I speak with her, please?”

“I’m sorry, that’s not currently possible, as she is no longer on planet and has not received her cell phone yet,” the receptionist calmly replied. Liana was getting the impression that the woman on the other end of the call was enjoying giving her bad news.

“Well, can you patch me through to her planet?” Liana asked, trying to keep her frustration out of her voice.

“I can,” the receptionist began. “However, before I do, I am required to ask. Does your phone have an FTL module installed?”

“Yes, it does,” Liana answered. “Why?”

“Since your phone has an FTL module, it is simply a matter of transferring the call,” the receptionist explained. “However, without the module, we would need to host the call for you, and there would be an additional fee.”

“Oh… well, thanks for asking,” Liana said, having not thought of that potential issue. Not that the additional charges would have stopped her.

“You’re welcome. I’ll transfer you now.” There was a click, followed by the phone ringing.

“They’ve transferred me,” Liana explained to her friend. She sighed and added, “Hopefully they pick up-”

“Hello, thank you for calling Slut Life, Babnockorty Offices,” a new receptionist, this time male, cut in. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, yes,” Liana began again. “I’m Obsessive Liana, one of the magical girls who talked with Taylor Hebert back on Earth. I was wondering if I could speak with her? The receptionist on Earth said she didn’t have her cell phone yet.”

“I just need to check our records,” the man replied smoothly. “Please hold.”

“And I’m on hold again,” Liana groaned as she listened to yet more hold music. This track at least had an interesting beat that almost had her bobbing her head before the receptionist returned.

“Thanks for holding,” he began. “It looks like Miss Hebert is currently undergoing her body mods and will be unavailable for the next few days.” He kindly ignored the brief profanity Liana exhibited at that revelation. “If you’d like, I can take down your number and let Miss Hebert know you’d like to speak with her as soon as she gets her cell phone.”

“Thanks,” Liana said ruefully. “I have something important I need to tell her, but it’s nothing critical.” She rattled off her number before hanging up the phone and turning to Meagan. “Well, that was a bust.”

“I’m sure you’ll get your chance soon enough,” Meagan replied stoically.

“Well, yeah, but I’d kind of like to do it before they start filming her,” Liana complained.

Meagan patted the other girl on the shoulder supportively. “Don’t worry about it,” she said reassuringly. There should still be a few days between her finishing her mods and the show starting. I’m sure she’ll give you a call as soon as they tell her you want to talk to her.” Leading Liana towards another part of their home, she added, “Come on, I know what’ll cheer you up; some time in the greenhouse.”

Liana did perk up at that. “Yeah, that’ll be nice,” she said. “And I need to see how my black daffodils are coming. I think they’re still a bit too purple.”

---

In the dark gloom of the Malevolent Empire, Emperor Malik sat on his obsidian throne as he looked out over his assembled generals. “How go the preparations?” he demanded, his deeply resonate voice palpable across his outer sanctum.

“All is progressing according to your plan, My Liege,” Field Marshall Asmodeus announced. “Our distractionary force has continued their little game with the mortals, following the Entertainment Engagement rules. As such, the mortals have no inkling of your true plans.”

“Excellent,” Emperor Malik said, steepling his fingers. “How much longer until the invasion force is ready?”

“It should take no more than seven yergots, my liege.”

“Good, good,” the emperor replied. “Ensure that the shock troops are prepared by then. I want to overcome our chosen foothold quickly. That world’s defenders should have been lulled into a false sense of security by then and will be utterly unprepared for our change in tactics.” He gestured towards the generals and said, “Now leave me, I must meditate.”

---

She-Who-Always-Needs-Hugs-In-Large-Doses-Everyday sighed. This was going to be her first trip out of the enclave, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. Turning to Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections, she asked, “Are you sure I’m ready for this? It’s a big step.”

“You’ll be fine, daughter,” Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections said reassuringly. “Slut Life provides us with a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and possibly find a permanent food source of your own.”

“But I don’t know what I’m doing!” the younger succubus whined. “I’ve only ever eaten out of the larder, and everyone says eating fresh food is a lot different!”

Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections wrapped She-Who-Always-Needs-Hugs-In-Large-Doses-Everyday in a comforting embrace. “You’ll do fine,” she insisted. “We’re going to pack you a couple weeks of prepared meals, so you’ll have plenty of time to figure out how to feed without worrying about going hungry, and there’s going to be plenty of people around, so you should be able to find someone willing to provide what you need.”

“But what if none of them like me?” the younger, green haired succubus asked pleadingly. “I don’t know how to make friends with humans!”

The older succubus sighed and smoothed She-Who-Always-Needs-Hugs-In-Large-Doses-Everyday’s hair soothingly. “Humans aren’t so different from us,” she said. “Just act like yourself and you’ll be fine.” Pushing the younger girl away slightly but keeping hold of her shoulders, Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections asked, “Now, are you all packed?”

“Yes, Matron,” She-Who-Always-Needs-Hugs-In-Large-Doses-Everyday replied. “Clothes, toiletries, and everything else I need.”

Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections quirked an eyebrow knowingly. “Including Mr. Huggles?”

The younger succubus flushed at the mention of her large teddy bear plush. “Yes, Matron. I wouldn’t forget him.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want him to be left here to be lonely,” Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections said kindly. “Now,” she added, turning She-Who-Always-Needs-Hugs-In-Large-Doses-Everyday around and giving her a swat on the butt, “get going. You’ve got a lot of farewells to give before the portal is scheduled to open. You wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“Yes, Matron,” the young succubus yelped as she hightailed it out of the room.

Once her charge was gone, Matron-Assigned-to-Daughters-Awaiting-Romantic-Affections sighed tiredly. “I hope this was the right choice,” she muttered softly. “Hopefully they’ll help her gain a bit more confidence. Really, that girl should have been out hunting for her own food years ago.”

---

Joy Cassidy tried to stay upbeat as she looked over the burgeoning magic circle taking shape in front of her, but it was hard. For what was probably the first time in decades, they would be be holding, and televising, a full magical empowerment ritual, rather than the usual ad hoc affair in the middle of combat or a private affair with just a magical girl or two and the new inductee. And to make matters more complicated, Slut Life wanted to make the ritual look more impressive by having power sources for all of the Wells and Pits around, along with an extra, neutral magical boost that was part of some payment to the subject of the ritual. That was all fine and good, but the actual preparations were taking longer than they were expecting, and the still weren’t sure when the ritual was even supposed to be held.

“I just got the news!” Hope Celandine called, walking into the room and holding up her phone for emphasis while she adjusted her floppy hat with her other hand. Her ravens, Pip and Pop casually circled over her head. “Taylor is coming out of the tank either tonight or early tomorrow morning, so we need to have everything set up for tomorrow afternoon!” As the second most experienced magical girl, and being the one best able to deal with bureaucrats, Cassidy had assigned her the task of keeping up to date on what needed to be done for the ritual.

One of the magical girls, wearing a dark flowing outfit with ribbons trailing off of it that seemed to absorb the light around her, was busily drawing, checking, and redrawing sections of the circle. “We’ve got to get everything perfect,” Obsessive Rose stated. She was still new, having only arrived in the city a day or so before, but she was a team player when it counted. Her mini-dragon, a creature so dark in color he seemed to absorb the light, sat on her shoulder, looking on in interest as she worked.

“Damn it!” Wicked Angelica cursed, stomping an armored boot against the concrete. Her ash bat floated gently above her, observing the proceedings while staying out of the way. “How are we supposed to get thirteen high quality mana crystals, all with different alignments, by tomorrow?!” Cassidy was honestly surprised, though very grateful, that Angelica hadn’t gone rogue over the last few years, considering Babnockorty was such a peaceful place. She supposed the trips the other girl took to Bellacose helped keep her mana pools filled and gave her an outlet for her more violent urges, though she did tend to be more brutal than necessary when fighting the ‘invading armies’ that showed up every few days to provide entertainment and training.

“We only need eleven crystals,” Lucy Lewd huffed, which would have done interesting things to her chest in her skimpy outfit, if she weren’t physically eight. “They don’t want us to have the Lewd Well or the Carnal Pit there.” Cassidy could understand the girl’s annoyance. Having your Well ignored was something of an insult. On the other hand, Taylor was going to be on Slut Life, and magical girls have had issues with overloading their reserves before. She spared a moment to look at an unused corner of the room where Lucy’s… potato… thing was entertaining her children along with her own slime, Gooey. Cassidy had to give the mother of two credit; she didn’t think she could handle being both a mother and a magical girl. Hell, just being a magical girl was trying enough most times.

“I was told they’re flying some in from Earth,” Celandine replied.

“Then why didn’t they just empower her there?” Angelica demanded. It was a sensible question. It would have been more convenient for pretty much everyone had they done so.

“I don’t know,”Celandine answered. “They didn’t tell me that.”

“At least they’re sending us the power sources,” Cassidy chipped in. “We aren’t being expected to fill those as well.”

“That’s something, at least,” Angelica grunted. “It’s hard enough trying to get this damn circle drawn right.” She made another mark on the floor before scowling at it and scrubbing it away with a towel. “There has got to be an easier way to do this.”

“Calming down and being meticulous will get it done the quickest and most accurately,” Rose replied, still working on the same section. Cassidy groaned. The girl was probably the best at making sure everything was perfectly done, but she was being so exacting that it was frustrating to even watch. Then again, that was apparently a common issue with Obsessive magical girls.

“I’m sure if it works, they’ll want to make a more permanent circle,” Celandine guessed. “It’ll probably involve carving the circle into the floor and inlaying it with electrum or something.”

“Probably mixed with blood,” Lucy noted. “It doesn’t even do much, but people keep thinking blood has to be involved with magic somehow.”

“To be fair,” Cassidy began, “It can make a difference, if the blood is used as part of the Blood Rite. That would increase the potency of the circle immensely.”

“Well, yeah,” Lucy agreed. “But none of us actually have that rite, right?”

“I do,” Celandine admitted, “and I heard the new girl might draw from the Well of Will, so she’d definitely be able to do it.”

“Of course, before that’ll matter, we’ve got to finish this damn circle,” Angelica noted. “Back to work, I suppose.”

“We’ve got to make sure it’s perfect,” Rose said with finality, only just finishing with the section she was working on and moving to the next three foot section. It might take her right up until the time the ritual was set to start, but she would finish, and the circle would be perfect.

---

Percival Weatherby knocked on his superior’s office door. “Sir, can I ask you a question?”

“If you must,” Fredrick Dangerfield sighed as he set his book down on the desk beside him and sat up straight in his chair. “Come in.”

“Thank you, sir,” Percival said, making his way into the office. “I was looking over some of the paperwork for Miss Hebert, and I have to ask. Why in the world are we bothering with the mana pools for her empowerment ritual?”

Fredrick sighed. Partially in order to force his subordinate to wait and mostly because his throat was a little dry, he took a sip of water from a conveniently placed glass before answering, “We’re using the mana pools because they’ll put on a good show and will ensure that Miss Hebert is given plenty of time to make her decisions. No need to make her rush and all. It’s not like they’ll be empowering her in the middle of a combat area or anything time critical like that.”

Percival’s forehead furrowed in thought. “A generic mana pool would work just as well for that, surely?” he asked.

Mentally, Fredrick cursed unimaginative subordinates. No sense of style in some of them. “The specific pools put on a better show, since those watching will know what source she’s drawing from as a primary based on which one connects first. Besides, while we know that Miss Hebert is planning on drawing upon the positive Wells, the audience doesn’t, and it’ll be more suspenseful if they don’t have even that much of an idea of what she’s getting.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Percival agreed. Then, because he obviously couldn’t leave anything well enough alone, he asked, “Why the full-sized pools, though? Surely a full set of quarter-size pools would’ve been easier to acquire, at least? If I remember my notes right, it takes a magical girl almost a week to produce a pool for a normal empowerment. Getting a full thirteen, or even the eleven you prescribed, seems a bit much for one ritual.”

Fredrick shrugged before offhandedly admitting, “I found a full set at a flea market a few years ago. I stuck them into a room for mood lighting, but the missus has finally had enough. She’s been harping at me to get rid of them for the last few months now. Might as well use them for this. Besides, this will be the first publicly viewed empowerment in a long time, let alone on Babnockorty, so we might as well ensure they’re full sized. It’s not like we’re going to be replacing all of them after the ritual, just the ones that were drained. The rest will just need topping off before we use them again. Hell, if Miss Hebert makes a good show of it, we might even get more recruits to be Magical Girls, which is always helpful when dealing with interplanar invaders and such.”

“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Percival agreed. “And that also explains why you’re having them imported from Earth. Though wouldn’t it have been better to set the ritual up here? It’d get used more often that way, right?”

“It might be,” Fredrick agreed. “However, I was overruled when I made that suggestion. The others would much prefer to test new techniques and ideas on planets they don’t live on.” Placing one hand on his book meaningfully, and giving his subordinate a look, he asked, “Now then, are you done bothering me? I’m trying to do a bit of light reading.”

Percival suddenly looked very abashed. “Oh, um, I’m sorry, sir. I’ll just be going.” He quickly left the room, leaving Fredrick in peace.

“Now where was I?” he asked himself as he went back to reading Escalation for Dummies.