HIGH STAKES
By JPGina was sweating under the hot lights. With a score of 275 she was barely out of first place. That history teacher Eric Redden had 310, but it was a tenuous lead at best. She had just gotten the previous question: the answer was Shylock from the 'Merchant of Venice;' she had taken three Shakespeare courses in college, and was now on to another Shakespeare question. Ken Bannam, "the man with the two million dollar smile", pulled the card with the next question on it. There was a collective gasp from the crowd and the three contestants when they saw it was bordered in red. A 'Truth or Consequences' question! You could win double points on this question or face Consequences that the most die-hard Anime/Hentai fan would shiver at!
"Ooh, the first Consequences question of this promising match!" For whatever reason, Ken only called them 'Consequence Questions.' It was not unknown for all three contestants to bow out and not buzz in for these difficult and hazardous questions, ever since the infamous "Pinnochio Syndrome" where the reigning champion walked away with a nose long enough to hang clothes on. With the mandatory nanotech biomorphing injections that all the contestants were forced to take, and the nearly limitless possibilities because of them, some truly twisted Consequences could be invented. Another classic was Jessie "Too Tall" Johansen. She walked away with $35,000 and an additional 3 feet in height after her failure to answer a Consequence Question and then earned the "Date with the Rack" consequence. Gina shuddered; this was her chance. If she got the next question right she'd get double the normal 50 points and put her in the lead! It was Shakespeare; she had to get it right!
"For those with the guts to try it, here is the next question for 100 points!” Again, the contestants shivered. The question could virtually guarantee victory, for even if you answered it incorrectly you'd still get the normal point value as compensation; that's why so many previous 'winners' left the show pretty messed up. "Falstaff dies in 'Henry the IV - Part One or Two'?"
All of the contestants bristled. The Consequence Questions were notorious for being tricky; some were downright set-ups. Gina chewed her lip in concentration. It couldn't be part 1; that was about Henry's early relationship with Falstaff. It had to be part 2! With a quick reminder to herself about the difference in score she hit the buzzer. "Yes, Gina!" Ken shouted. "It's 'Henry the IV - Part 2!'" The audience, mostly uneducated bottom feeders who wouldn't have been able to get on the Jerry Springer show back in Two-Oh, waited with baited breath for the results, wondering who the Hell Falstaff was…
Ken read the card and paused. Was she right, did she just put herself into the lead, or was the audience going to be treated to a spectacle of human metamorphosis? The master showman that he was, Ken paused a bit longer, "Well Gina, you added some crucial points to your score." Somehow that wasn't very reassuring to her. "Sorry Gina, that was a trick question. Falstaff dies in 'Henry the V!'" There was a moment's silence from the crowd, then a roar as they saw the panel behind Ken open up revealing the 'Wheel of Misfortune'! On this wheel was a random scattering of Consequences ranging from the bizarre and the harmless, to the diabolical. It was here that such punishments as 'Blue Balls', 'Hooters from Hell', 'Pizza Face' and 'Dog Breath' were meted out. With a devilish grin from Ken the wheel began spinning at speed so fast the human eye couldn't track it. Gina had to buzz in again to stop the wheel; otherwise it would stop on its own, supposedly randomly, though it usually stopped on 'Audience Choice' or 'Fan Letter Suggestion' for some unknown reason. She was not going to let that happen if she could avoid it, remembering the infamous 'Sex/Species Change' run last season.
Meanwhile she was mentally kicking her ass for not answering such an easy question! For God's sake she'd seen the movie three times! She had three seconds to buzz otherwise it would stop automatically. With a quick wish for luck she clicked the buzzer. The wheel slowed and finally crawled to a halt. The crowd roared its approval! It was the newest Consequence, just added last week! 'All You Can Eat'!
A tube dropped from the ceiling and stopped chin level in front of Gina as Ken's two 'assistants' Bunny, and Helga walked up behind Gina. The two assistants were so pumped up on steroids that they made Chyna from 20th century pro-wrestling look like a high school cheerleader. Bunny held Gina's arms as Helga wrenched open her jaws and began to feed the tube down Gina's unwilling throat.
The tube was lodged so far down Gina's throat she couldn't possibly spit it out. A creamy thick looking liquid began to pour down the tube. "This Consequence is brought to you by Megastore. 'They got it, you want it, come get it!' Gina is being fattened up by a mega-caloric gel produced by W. Barber's Old-Fashioned Lard (TM)." As soon as the stuff hit Gina's stomach the reactant nanotech microbes got right to work. Gallons were being dumped in by the minute, but Gina barely felt full as the nanotech engines caused her digestive system to go into overdrive. As fast as it entered her stomach was as fast as she piled on the weight. The clothes she was supplied with by the studio began to stretch over her inflating form. They didn't stretch completely though. Her belly, which seemed to be putting on the most weight, was poking through between her blouse and skirt. She grew fatter by the second, putting on pounds and pounds as the crowd cheered on, titillated by her sudden and ongoing transformation.
Finally after about three minutes the gel stopped and so did the weight gain. Bunny and Helga let go of her, as Gina took the opportunity to survey the damage done. Her clothes were skin tight, and her blouse rode up to just underneath her mammoth fat-laden breasts. Her thighs rubbed together all the way down to her knees, and she could literally feel her new chins touching her flabby chest. Fattest by far though was her gigantic belly, it hung well into her lap and even had a crease down the middle. It looked soft and pasty-white. "Well Gina it seems the food here is agreeing with you!" quipped Ken. "At your new weight of 323, that's a 200 pound gain! But you are now in the lead by 15 points!" Gina was literally flabbergasted; she couldn't even speak as they broke for a commercial.
During the commercial break the other two contestants edged away from her as if her current condition were contagious. Gina poked her soft belly in amazement, it still hadn't quite sunk in that this was all hers now, and if the stories were true, then the Nanotech engines prevented reversing the changes, she'd keep the weight as long as she lived! Ken stepped off the platform to get his make-up touched up and then came back in with a few seconds to spare, as the cameras were about to begin rolling again.
"OK we're back! Gina is in the lead now both in score and weight!" The cameras zoomed in on Gina as the audience laughed. Gina wanted to shrink into the background but had no real chance. "OK on to round two! We left off with Shakespeare...let's keep the...ball rolling!" the audience laughed again as Gina vainly tried to cover her protruding belly. In round 2 most questions were Consequence Questions; Gina had the lead but Eric could take it back even if he missed the question. The twit to her right Traci hadn't even had the courage to buzz in yet, so she was no real threat.
"In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' who is the Queen of the Faeries?" Before Gina realized it she had buzzed in, practically before Ken finished the question. "Her name is..." at that moment Ken stepped to the side revealing the Wheel of Misfortune, one of his classic psych-out jobs. It worked like a charm. Gina froze, it was still on the "All You Can Eat" Consequence and she suddenly couldn't remember who it was, nor could she even speak as the seconds ticked by. "We're waiting for your answer Gina." "I...uh it's..." Gina stammered. "Three seconds Gina. Two seconds Gina!" "Um...oh God! It's Ti..." BZZZZZZZZZ!!!! The buzzer went off before she could finish. "No! It's Titantia! Titania!" sobbed Gina, but she already knew it was too late. With a grim smile and another roar from the audience Ken turned to the already spinning Wheel of Misfortune. Gina was nearly in tears as she contemplated her fate.
The Wheel of Misfortune was spinning and Gina couldn't bring herself to push the button and decide her fate. "I remind you Gina that you have three seconds." Gina couldn't hear; all she could see was the grim wheel about to change her again. Suddenly she heard the buzzer as her three seconds ran out. Not surprisingly it stopped on "Audience Choice." The roar from the crowd was deafening as she looked over at them with tears in her eyes. The audience was handpicked to be as heartless and sadistic as possible. One of the production managers had already picked one from the crowd and was putting a microphone in his hand. The crowd was already chanting some of their favorites, everything from "Holly Hobbling" to "Rectum Wrecking." A new chant seemed to be heard above the rest. It didn't surprise anyone. New Consequences were picked a lot, and the crowd loved to see a contestant get the same Consequence multiple times. A great example was Timmy "The Elephant Man" Toten who got the "Blue Balls" Consequence a record 7 times. "All You Can Eat! All You Can Eat! All You Can Eat!"
Ken motioned for silence "OK let's have it, what's your choice?" "Well my personal favorite for women is 'Hooters from Hell.'" There were hoots and whoops from the audience. "Looks like you're not alone!" laughed Ken. "But I'm gonna have to go with 'All You Can Eat' and give the crowd what they want. I want her to eat until I'm full!" shouted the man. The crowd exploded its approval. The production manager handed him the home game version as he was led back to his seat. "There she goes!" shouted Ken. When the tube dropped from the ceiling Gina bolted and ran, knocking over Eric with her now overly generous rear. She didn't get far though. She wasn't able to run fast and Bunny and Helga were on her in a flash. "Now, now Gina there's no escaping the 'Consequences,' and you know what happens when you try!" said Ken as he turned to the audience. On cue they shouted "Double your Fun"! "That's right! We had in mind a nice round two hundred pounds, but due to that act of cowardice, and blatant attempt to escape contractual obligations we're going to have to double that. 400 pounds! There's gotta be a record in there somewhere!" Bunny and Helga had already dragged Gina back to her seat. "No! NO! Glurmph!" exclaimed Gina as the tube was once again forced down her throat.
With the tube again down her throat and Bunny and Helga holding her arms, Gina could only watch helplessly, tears rolling down her eyes, as the fattening gel pumped thickly down the tube. It came fast and heavy, expanding her throat as it filled her gullet. Once again the nanotech engines went right to work, hungrily converting the massive caloric intake into pure fat. Already the pounds began heaping on again. She could feel the assistants' strong hands sinking deeper and deeper into her flabby arms. Her ballooning belly was pressing into the podium in front of her, bulging above it with pasty white flesh. Her breasts grew big and floppy and pulled ever downward, but were separated by her growing belly. Her fat engorged tits were coming to a rest on her hips. The blouse was being stretched to its limits but was holding. Her hips meanwhile were beginning to push the two assistants into the other two contestants with their expanding girth. The bottom of her belly was being pressed into her widening lap as it crept further down her thighs. "Chug! Chug! Chug!" shouted the audience. And chug she did.
More and more was pumped down her throat, much to the crowd's delight. Her score had been replaced by her increasing weight and it was now over 560 pounds. Her knees gave out suddenly and she collapsed into her chair. Her ass took up the entire seat plus several inches of overlap on each side. When her weight crested 600 pounds the assistants let her go, they merely held the tube down her throat so they could insure the last hundred or so pounds were delivered. Gina feebly grabbed at the tube; her arms were heavy and had almost no strength, she wasn't able to budge the assistants' iron grip. More and more sludge was pumped in; her weight quickly creeping toward her new weight goal of 723 pounds. It took only another thirty seconds when the last drop was gobbled by her body and the nanotech machines.
She was exhausted and sore from the sudden transformation. Her mammoth body was again showed on the huge monitors from all different angles. She was absolutely dumbfounded, that couldn't be her! The only features that were remotely similar to her when she was thin were her hair, her eyes (that was close though they were squinty now with all of the accumulated fat on her face), and the cute little mole on her cheek. Other than that, no one would recognize her for the circus fat lady she had become.
During the commercial break a reinforced bench was brought out for Gina to sit on. Meanwhile the audience let Gina have it with their witty repertoire. "Hey fat ass!!" "You're so fat that God said, 'Let there be light, outta the way bitch!" "I didn't know we were at Sea World!" Traci turned to her with obvious trepidation. "Um...are you OK?" Lisa turned to her with a bit of effort. "Do I fucking look OK?" Her enormous body was beginning to glisten with sweat under the hot lights. Ken took one last swig from a water bottle before returning to the podium just as the commercial break ended. "We're back, and this is turning out to be an exciting match. Gina is in the lead; she has 475 points, the last 200 gained at a high price. After missing two Consequence Questions she has gained six hundred pounds! This is 'High Stakes' first use of the 'All You Can Eat!' Consequence, and I've got a feeling that it's going to be a popular one from now on. We're into the final round now, the last question is 200 points, that's enough for second place Eric to take the lead, and enough to get Traci onto the board at least. The final question is going to finish the Shakespeare category, and lead us into the bonus round. Everyone ready?"
All of the contestants nodded nervously after looking at Gina. The final question was always a Consequence Question with no bonus points. If you answered it and missed you got nothing, you couldn't just make a suicide run and grab a Consequence in order to get 200 points. Gina could lose the lead, she might have to take a chance and answer it.
"Final question, whoever has the most points will go on to the bonus round. The final question." Ken smiled his 'two million dollar smile' "'Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.' Name the play and the characters who say this famous line." The cameras swerved dizzyingly to the contestants. All were hesitating. Someone had to buzz in; there was no time limit on the last question. Someone either had to buzz in and answer the question, or face the Consequences. All of the contestants were sweating. Traci wasn't going to even try. She had no idea, and even if she answered it correctly she couldn't win. Eric needed those points. This question wasn't that hard, he knew he'd heard it before. The ones who said it were witches he knew that, but what play? It was that one with the murdered king. What was his name! He knew this what was it? BUZZZZZ All eyes turned to Gina, she had buzzed in after only a few seconds of hesitation.
"Yes Gina! Do you know the answer?" "Yes Ken. The play is 'MacBeth,' and it's the witches!" Gina raised her flabby arms in triumph, the excess sagging flesh flapping from her exertions. Ken looked at the card he read the question from and paused. For a second Gina thought she had screwed it up again. "Absolutely correct! Gina is the new heavy weight champion!" Gina grimaced at the joke, but the crowd didn't seem to mind. "Eric and Traci, thank you for playing; we have some lovely parting gifts for you backstage." As Eric and Traci were led off stage by Bunny and Helga the podium that had been in front of Gina and the other two contestants rolled away, revealing all of Gina's newly acquired weight to the crowd.
A new chorus of hoots and cheers assailed the stage, as the bonus round got ready. "For first time viewers let me explain the rules of the bonus round. For starters Gina has already won 10 times her current score of 675 for a total of $6,750. In the bonus round we take an audience poll of their favorite Consequence. Then in twenty seconds we ask a series of 10 rapid-fire questions of no particular category. When all of the questions have been answered the results are tallied. The first question is worth $1000 dollars or the base application of the Consequence. The next correct answer is worth double as is the Consequence, doubling each time until they are all tallied. Helga and Bunny if you would kindly help Gina over to the center." Bunny helped Gina stand and walked slowly over to the center as Helga brought the bench along.
The audience hooted again as they saw the huge spectacle of a colossal 700+ pound woman waddle across the stage. Every step caused waves of her pale skin to ripple and roll. Each step was a huge effort for her even with Bunny's help. She was panting and out of breath as she sat down. "Comfy Gina? OK audience at this time I would like you to punch in your choice of Consequence on the keypad attached to the seat in front of you." Many of the audience members had already done so, and Gina sat in anticipation as sweat dripped off of her bloated frame. After less than a minute of waiting as cheesy music played the results were in. "Alright Gina, the numbers have been tallied it looks like there could be even more of you to love in the very near future because the audience picked their new favorite, 'All You Can Eat!'" The crowd was on its feet and Gina's heart sank into the depths of her ponderous belly. She wasn't all that surprised really, but honestly how much fatter could she get?
"So we have the contestant and we have the Consequence. Could we also have 20 seconds on the clock please?" A digital clock face lit up on the wall behind Gina, showing 20 seconds. "Gina are you ready?" Gina took a deep breath which made her look like an inflating balloon, looked down at her huge body and nodded her head yes. "Yes Ken let's do it." Ken flashed his smile again before he spoke. "I must ask the audience to please remain seated and quiet during the bonus round. A lot of dollars and pounds are riding on these next ten questions." The audience obeyed and hushed up, barely daring to breathe. Gina closed her eyes in concentration and cleared her mind.
K: 20 seconds, 10 questions, starting now! In football when a player tackles the quarterback it's called a...?
G: Sack
K: Correct. When do you set your clocks back an hour for Daylight Savings Time?
G: The Spring.
K: Incorrect. Thanksgiving falls on what day in November?
G: The third Thursday of November.
K: Incorrect. (Gina visibly winces) What does SCUBA mean?
G: Uh...Self Contained Underwater...uh Breathing, uh uh Apparatus.
K: Correct. Name the second largest country in the world.
G: Canada
K: Correct. Einstein calls e=mc2 his...?
G: Theory of Relativity.
K: Correct. The term for a President towards the end of his second presidential term.
G: Sitting duck. (several audience members laugh as do Ken and Gina)
K: Incorrect. Sushi is made from?
G: Raw fish.
K: Correct. The phrase 'Austin 3:16' was coined by which professional wrestler?
G: Umm Hulk Hogan.
K: Incorrect. What is your name?
G: Um..what...OH! Gina! (the final two seconds of the clock run out)
"OK Gina! Almost had you on that last one! Well you got 6 right; that will give you a total of $32,000! Very good, plus you can return tomorrow!" Gina was rather pleased at the dollar amount and so was the crowd for they gave her enthusiastic cheers. Gina doubted she would be back tomorrow because now came the hard part. "But Gina...you missed a few also. We change our clocks back in the Fall; you know 'Spring ahead, Fall back'? And Thanksgiving is on the 4th Thursday of November, whoever you have Thanksgiving with this year better start cooking now! Not that I want to split hairs but a President towards the end of his second term is called a 'lame duck.' And finally Stone Cold Steve Austin coined the phrase 'Austin 3:16.' That's four questions missed Gina. Now it's time to face the Consequences."
Bunny and Helga grabbed Gina's arms again as the tube dropped one more time from the ceiling. Gina began to struggle weakly. "No, please no!" "Now Gina you know the rules; begging will get you nowhere. OK let's figure out how far we have to go with this. The base Consequence is worth 200 pounds and if it's doubled 4 times we get a total of..." Gina was too wiped out to even try to do the math. "One thousand six hundred pounds! Gina will walk...er...roll out of here with $38,750 and weigh 2,323 pounds!"
Gina practically fainted when she heard that staggering set of numbers and the crowd went crazy. Bunny and Helga had almost no problem forcing the tube down Gina's throat one last time, securing it with a strap that wrapped around the back of her head. The audience continued to roar as once again the creamy white gel crept down the tube. Gina could barely see through her tears as the gel flowed past her lips and the fattening began again. No one could really notice much at first. It seemed she was merely taking a very deep breath. "I'd like to point something out here folks. The heaviest human being recorded was roughly 1600 pounds; that's how much Gina's going to gain, and she already weighs over 700 pounds!"
If Gina could she'd knock out that bastard's 2 million dollar smile. Now it was easy to see where the weight was going. Her belly was steadily ballooning outward over her lap and between her legs. It was already separated into quarters and now seemed to divide again as it took on the vaguest appearance of a bodybuilder's '6-pack.' Her hips were also widening, creeping towards each end of the bench and even overlapping it. Six people could probably sit on that bench, but right now one person was on it and overflowing it. She originally tried to undo the strap around her head but it was connected to strongly, eventually her arms just dropped in defeat as they became too heavy with drooping flab. Every part of her body was now becoming wider, including her fingers and toes.
Her weight was over 1672 pounds when Ken announced, "Ladies and gentlemen there's a new world's record holder for the world's fattest woman!" Another few seconds and her belly actually touched the ground. Bunny and Helga moved in behind Gina to help support her back and to take off the strap before it choked her, her neck looked like an over-inflated inner tube. Her face looked stuffed and ready to pop, though was still quite cute. When she crested one ton her hips overlapped the bench so far that they too touched the ground. To the audience it was as if the bench was swallowed up by Gina.
The last 300 pounds were counted out by the crowd and Ken as Gina gained ten pounds each second. Her breasts were lying fully to either side of her and had finally managed to tear the blouse off through their sheer weight. They rested on her massive hips just a few inches from the ground and probably weighed more than a hundred pounds each. There was almost an explosion from the crowd as she finally made it to her new weight of 2323 pounds. Bunny and Helga carefully took out the tube as Ken walked about to Gina with his mic in hand. Ken had to step carefully to get close enough to her, finally he just reached out and placed a hand on her voluminous belly and leaned in with the mic in her face. His hand sank in past the wrist, so soft and squishy was Gina's body. "So Gina will we see more of you again tomorrow?"