Beth's head swam as she struggled to a sitting position. What the hell had happened last night? Her stomach churning, she shook her head until her vision began to slowly clear.

Blinking rapidly, she could see that she was seated on the floor of a small, dark room. A single light bulb swung high overhead, giving off a modest light. She was still dressed in the short skirt and halter top from last night, the latter reeking of spilled booze.

She wrinkled her nose and attempted to stand up again, but a wave of sickness sat her down quickly. Instead, she tried to sort out the events that had brought her to this place.

It had been the first night of her big Tokyo vacation, the one her parents refused to let her go on. Refused, that is, until the screaming match that left her mother in tears and her father storming out of the house. The morning after the fight, she found two round-trip tickets to Japan waiting for her.

Although she felt a little bad about wearing her parents down until she got her way, she was much more excited about going on her first big adventure all by herself. At 23, she was on top of the world, and ready to take on all comers.

Now, however, she felt more like taking the first plane back home. As she sat, contemplating her situation, she heard a door open somewhere behind her.

She whirled around, immediately regretting the decision. Her head reeling, she could just make out a small figure approaching her with a metal tray.

Murmuring something in Japanese, the figure bent down and laid the tray gently in front of her.

"Hey! Hey! Where am I?! HEY!!" Beth screamed at the figure, desperate for some information.

The person seemed not to hear, bowing to her and walking back through the door, closing it with a sharp click.

A small glass of water and what looked like aspirin sat before her, along with a note that read:

YOU WILL BE TAKING THIS, VERY RECOMMENDATION! WELCOME TO "HAPPY FAST SHOW OF DREAMS!"

A small letterhead at the top showed a colorful, smiling cat-like character with two large thumbs up and an array of stars floating out of its head.

"What the hell...?"

Looking suspiciously at the pills before her, Beth made a quick decision. She was going to get nowhere with this pounding headache, and if she was kidnapped, she must at least be worth some ransom. They must be keeping her alive for something.

As she swallowed the pills and washed them down with the liquid, which turned out to be some kind of disgusting saline solution, she felt her body beginning to relax and her nausea drifting away. Whatever this stuff was, it worked really well for hangovers. Gotta bring some of this back home with me...if I ever manage to get home.

The thought hit her with an physical impact, and her heart sank as the enormity of the situation began to sink in. She remembered the charming British man she had met at the club last night, the one who offered to guide her back home through the maze of Tokyo streets in his car. What the hell was I thinking?

A sudden burst of muffled noise jarred her out of her thoughts, and she stood up, trying to find the source. It sounded, she thought, like one of those cheesy applause tracks that sitcoms used. Yes, she thought, that's exactly what it was.

And now came happy, upbeat music which sounded extremely familiar. Where the hell have I heard this before? As the applause died away and the music faded, an announcer could be heard, shouting excitedly at the audience.

She moved closer to the door, pressing her ear against it. She could now hear the announcer more clearly, but he was speaking entirely in Japanese. Heart thumping, she pounded her fists against the door and began to scream loudly.

"Let me out!! Hey! I can hear you! I'm behind this door!"

The speaker stopped abruptly, then began speaking again, this time even more animatedly than before. The audience noise began rising again, swelling to a fever pitch.

Without warning, the door suddenly flew open, blinding her momentarily with bright light. She felt a hand at her back give her a hard push, and she was cast out of the room, standing alone amid the deafening shouting and laughing.

As he vision cleared, she at first refused to believe what was in front of her. A row of bleachers, full of screaming, happy, laughing people stood before her, some waving bright flags with the cat character she had seen on the note.

A man, whose bright yellow checked sports coat and larger-than-life smile gave him away as some kind of announcer, ran over to her, grabbing her by the wrist and raising her hand into the air.

"Beth McGuinness!" The announcer shouted happily, and the audience's applause and cheers rose to a fever pitch.

"Wait," Beth said, her confusion and panic rising, "I don't belong here, I don't know what the hell is going on..."

The man ignored her, pulling her by the wrist toward the center of what she could now see was a large stage, illuminated by glaring lights high overhead.

As the man quieted the audience down and began his rapid-fire Japanese once again, Beth looked around her. She could now see an array of television cameras pointed at her, and what looked like a producer's booth high above the rest of the audience. Behind her was a large, red curtain, adorned with an enormous happy cat.

"...HAPPY FAST SHOW OF DREAMS!" The announcer boomed in English. The curtain behind her was torn away, and the audience resumed its deafening shouting and cheering.

She whirled around, and her stomach gave another nervous flip. The curtain revealed what looked like some kind of obstacle course, although to her it more resembled the playground she used to enjoy as a child. The entire contraption was brightly colored, and she could see a variety of slides, tunnels, and water-filled pools.

Beth took several steps back, taking advantage of the audience's momentary distraction. She ran suddenly for the side-stage, where she could see a door marked with a glowing EXIT sign.

A hand grabbed her wrist, and she whirled to see the announcer, his not-quite-smile looking eerily like a jack-o-lantern's. He laughed and shook a finger at her, then dragged her over to one side of the large, colorful obstacle course.

The announcer pushed her roughly to a door-shaped opening, shoving her through. A metal slab clanged heavily down, effectively trapping her inside the contraption.

She began to pound her fists against the metal wall in frustration. What the hell was this? That it was some type of game show was obvious, but what game show kidnapped their contestants?

At least, she thought to herself, it was quiet here. The interior of the contraption was quiet, drowning out the obnoxious host and his jeering audience.

As she looked around, she spotted a camera in the corner of the room. So they were still watching...well fine then, she thought. I am just going to sit here and not give them the pleasure of watching me struggle to escape.

A section of the wall in front of her began to glow, and a series of colorful squares appeared.

SOLVE PUZZLE FOR HAPPY TIME PROGRESSION, proclaimed a message. After a moment, the words faded, and several others appeared in its place:

FAIL PUZZLE FOR NOT FUN OUTCOME.

A small timer took the place of the words in the form of a ticking clock, a happy cat blinking as the seconds slipped by.

I am not doing any goddamn puzzle, she said to herself. She would sit right here until they let her out of this bizarre place.

As the clock began to reach zero, she started to feel a little nervous. What exactly, she thought, is a "not fun outcome?"

With a loud buzz, the timer on the screen exploded, raining small digital fireworks.

FAIL PUZZLE UNHAPPY TIME FOR YOU scrolled a new message across the screen.

Without warning, the floor beneath her dropped, sending her flying down a plastic slide. She gained speed as she looped around and around, finally splashing down in a large pool of water.

The audience roared with laughter as she stood up, soaking wet and furious. The host beamed from ear to ear and shared a conspiratorial wink with the crowd.

She screamed at the crowd in anger and frustration, which had no effect but to send them into fresh gales of laughter. A sudden tug at her soggy skirt distracted her from their relentless mirth.

A robotic hand had clamped itself on her waist. Two more latched onto her wrists, and a third grabbed onto both of her ankles. She felt herself lifted up and carried over to center stage. She struggled, and the hands responded by clamping even harder.

She felt herself being placed on a hard surface. Her hands were clamped into restraints on the side of the table, and a large leather strap was fixed over her waist.

"Let...me...GO!" she screamed, tears beginning to form as her frustration and anger built. She was now squinting into the stage lights, and she knew that the entire audience had a perfect view of whatever was in store for her.

The announcer squealed delightedly as he babbled on, no doubt describing in full detail her predicament to the crowd. If only she had kept up on her Japanese lessons...

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw figures approaching either side of the table. Her legs kicked wildly, trying to find purchase. Her ankles were grabbed, not by metal hands, but by soft, human ones.

Two young Japanese women, each dressed in an exaggerated version of a nurse's costume, stood over her, looking down with slight sneers and an air of superiority. With quick, precise movements, they held her ankles and removed her skirt and halter top, leaving her in her underwear.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!"

The nurses, who she now saw must be identical twins, exchanged a look. The nurse on her left produced something and stuck it in her mouth, fastening a strap behind her head.

Crossing her eyes, Beth saw with a shock that she was now sucking on a pacifier. She moaned and tried to spit it out, but her efforts only earned her a pitying look and a renewed roar of approval from the audience.

The nurses' fingers traveled over her underwear, using sharp scissors to remove them from her body. Within seconds she was completely naked in a foreign country, in front of hundreds of complete strangers, presumably being broadcast to hundreds, maybe thousands more.

A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye, and she moaned in frustration. This was NOT how she envisioned her vacation!

The nurses disappeared and reappeared, now pushing a cart ladened with objects she could not quite see. They moved about her in overblown, theatrical movements; obviously they had rehearsed and practiced this many time before.

With huge, toothy smiles they removed several objects, stacking them neatly next to her restrained head. She smelled something vaguely familiar, but could not quite place it.

As one nurse, who she had now nicknamed Lefty, grabbed onto her ankles, the other nurse picked up the familiar-smelling object and held it high above her head. Nurse Lefty suddenly lifted both of her legs up and to the side, exposing her completely to the audience.

This was too much for Beth to bear. She struggled and kicked, managing to clip Lefty on the side of the head. The nurse reeled for a moment, then with a smile nodded to Nurse Righty. Righty produced a set of chains, each with a fur-lined clamp attached to the end. Her ankles were quickly restrained, and the chains attached to a point above her head she could not see. As the chains tightened, her legs were hoisted up in the air, until she was staring at her kneecaps.

She was now totally, completely, and utterly immobile. Any movement of her legs caused her already overstretched leg muscles to scream in protest.

Lefty and Righty now worked as an efficient two-person team. Lefty began shaking a container over her exposed crotch, which she could now guess was baby powder. Much to the crowd's delight, Lefty almost completely emptied the bottle, creating a massive cloud and coating Beth in white almost to her chest.

Meanwhile, Righty unfolded a large, flat, plastic object which Beth assumed, much to her horror, was a diaper.

She moaned again behind her pacifier, and was rewarded with a few hard smacks to her backside by Lefty, which raised a cloud of white dust. Righty approached her and slid the diaper underneath her, taping her up and binding her tightly.

With a flourish, the two bowed to the audience, raising a booming applause.

Beth had never been more humiliated in her life.

Beth writhed and wriggled, becoming increasingly uncomfortable under the large, leather strap and the intensified jeering of the audience. Lefty, noticing her discomfort, smiled down at her with the look of a cat who has finally cornered its mouse.

With another sharp nod to Righty, Lefty shouted one sharp syllable to the audience, then lowered Beth's leg chains until she was in a prone position once again. Beth attempted a shriek as the table suddenly folded in on itself, creating a sort of chair, but was stopped short by the thick gag in her mouth.

Righty appeared suddenly, holding what looked like a brightly colored mixing bowl, adorned with the same happy cat that she assumed was the show's mascot.

The nurse stepped behind Beth, and she suddenly felt a tug at the back of her diaper. Attempting to see what was happening was fruitless; any movement of her head brought a sharp reprimand from Lefty along with a sharp slap on her wrist.

The crowd began yet another joyful shout, and Beth's stomach dropped. Whatever they had in store for her, she was sure it could only end poorly for her.

A sick, cold, oozing sensation made her skin prickle, and she felt something lumpy sliding down the small of her back and into her diaper. Strangely, she the smell of whatever was being poured into her diaper brought her back home, back to her younger days sitting at the breakfast table before school, pouring maple sugar on her...

Oatmeal. They were now, she realized with horror, pouring a copious amount of oatmeal down her backside. She tried to twist and squirm away, but her bonds held her tightly. Lefty, who was now peering over her shoulder to observe the operation, patted her head lightly and made sympathetic noises.

The announcer, now beside himself with glee, pointed up to several massive screens above him, each showing a closeup view of the wet mass being poured into her diaper. Beth closed her eyes and groaned, knowing that there was absolutely nothing she could do but try and endure the nurses' twisted whims.

Righty appeared back in front of her, waving the empty measuring bowl, taunting her. Both nurses unbuckled her straps, leaving her momentarily free. Taking advantage of the situation, Beth sat up quickly, reading to make a run for it.

As she stood, she realized her mistake. The nurses had wanted her to sit up, so as to let the oatmeal mixture slide down inside her diaper and settle, heavy, at the bottom.

Lefty and Righty, giggling loudly, suddenly grabbed both sides of her diaper, shaking it up and down, mixing the wet cereal around. As they did so, they slid large, fuzzy mittens on her hands, immobilizing them.

This was too much for Beth, who attempted another loud groan behind her pacifier. Looking upwards helplessly, she now saw that the television screens were involved in a closeup of her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. She burned with embarrassment. What the hell was this? She didn't ask for any of this! More tears welled up as the nurses sloshed her around mercilessly, causing her diaper to sag in the middle and settle further.

Lefty and Righty suddenly hooked one arm under each armpit, lifting her off of the floor and carrying her back over to the massive, colorful contraption. Her feet kicked uselessly above the floor, much to the delight of the merciless audience.

With an unceremonious throw, both nurses pitched her forward into an open door, which promptly slammed shut behind her. Beth turned and beat her fists angrily against the cold metal, now wanting nothing more than to be back in her hotel room, curled up in a warm bath.

The light inside this new room was dim, the only illumination coming from a panel next to the door. She raised herself off the floor shakily, feeling herself weighted down by the heavy mass in her diaper.

A soft chime began emitting from the panel, and she resigned herself to seeing what was on the display. As she predicted, it was the same happy cat, thumbs raised high in a overjoyed expression.

The cartoon cat began chattering in quick Japanese, and subtitles appeared below its head.

SECOND TASK BETTER MORE HARDER THAN FIRST TASK

Beth's heart sank at the next words to scroll across the screen.

WORSE PUNISH THAN LAST IF FAIL...FAIL OPTION NOT ALLOWED!

Beth forced herself to take a deep breath and take stock of her situation. Although she couldn't imagine any humiliation greater than what she had already endured, there was no doubt that the show's creators had many more tricks waiting for her if she was to fail again.

The screen in front of her dissolved into a large colorful mosaic pattern, which looked vaguely familiar. Peering closer, she could see that the image was supposed to be the now-familiar cartoon cat, though this one was jumbled and mixed up, like a puzzle with its pieces scattered about.

Cautiously, she reached out a mittened hand and touched a puzzle piece on the screen. As she expected, the piece moved under her palm, allowing her to slide it as she pleased.

As her hand left the screen, a large digital display above her head clicked on, a timer counting down in towering green digits.

Dammit. The machine had given her less than one minute to complete the scene.

Working frantically now, she slid puzzle pieces around haphazardly, making very little progress. The mittens served to hinder her further, their bulk causing the screen to react more slowly and often grab several puzzle pieces at the same time.

As the timer slowly clicked by, her panic increased. The picture was coming together, but she needed more time to finish it. Pieces flew around the screen as her diaper, weighted down by the oatmeal, sagged lower and lower. A sudden roar of laughter erupted from the crowd as her bottom peeked out. She desperately wanted to pull the diaper up and end the humiliation, but there was no time to waste on anything but the puzzle. Not this time, dammit!

Her heart pounded as the last pieces slid into place. Sweat beading on her forehead, she slapped her palm on the screen and triumphantly maneuvered the cat's ear onto its head, completing the image.

Breathing heavily, she looked up at the clock.

The time had run out.

No! She screamed in frustration as a chute underneath her opened and she dropped, tumbling end over end.

The landing, when it finally came, was surprisingly soft and comfortable. Her body sank into what felt like a down mattress, and she allowed herself a moment to rest.

The room she had fallen into was pitch dark, and above all, very quiet. Gone were the screams and roars of the crowd, a deep silence in its place.

A red light flashed insistently in front of her face. Confused, she crossed her eyes and looked down at the pacifier still strapped to her mouth. A tiny light flashed several more times, then stopped suddenly. Inside her mouth, she felt some sort of liquid being ejected from the bulb of the pacifier, a syrupy solution sliding down her throat.

Bound by mittens, dressed in her soggy diaper, half naked, bottom throbbing from her earlier punishment, Beth was too tired to even react and took the event as a matter of course. As the liquid slide down into her stomach, all she felt was a warm, sleepy sensation.

Exhaustion overtook her as she lay in the soft material. Vaguely, as her vision swam and her eyes closed, she thought she sensed something coming near her. The last thing she felt before drifting off to sleep was a pair of hands undoing the pacifier gag and another set slipping her wet diaper off of her. The unwilling contestant relaxed into wild dreams filled with grinning cats.