Loose Change

The bustling, busy mall that was the Overcity Mall was once again booming, as usual, 24/7. Customers and other various mallgoers were running about to and fro, and where the girls would enter from, would be the common nexus portal to it. One of several, it seems, as currently it was basically a row of them by a wall.

Nearby was a directory... though, a timer above stating it would update clicked to zero, and the shape of the entire mall indeed did change, except the central portion in which the girls were standing at, next to it with posters and advertisements for various things, from a 2 on 2 tournament going on, to a strange advertisement calling for magical girls, will pay, to a few 'have you seen' posters and so on...

The sections, from the rather limited observations of the scrolling directory, seemed to be the central was normal, red was a red light district or worse, blue was a monster or non-human based shopping district, and the teal... well, the teal had even less theming than the central mall area, which was basically what one might find in a normal mall. There also was another area but it was covered up with a few papers saying "Under Construction",  which indeed, shifted and re-shaped once the timer clicked to zero, tape and all...

They could head basically anywhere, but wandering about aimlessly would also probably turn up something.

A slender but tall girl in her mid-teens, whose frame is only partially bulked up by the mantle and mail she wears as an outfit, wanders through the Overcity. She's holding hands with a shorter girl, and seems to constantly glance over to her- slightly more than would be expected. She has the look of someone who's used to being absolutely sure of herself but suddenly finds herself adrift. Someone brittle.

She stops to look at a poster for a moment- the 2v2, then shakes her head after a moment's consideration, her eyes lingering on the magical girl advertisement posters.

The shorter, bespectacled girl follows along closely, her bright red mantle flicking around her ankles as she walks. The red garment is complemented by a frilly, light pink blouse, neither of which help to bulk up the slight girl. Her gaze constantly swivels around in wonderment at their surroundings, an almost ecstatic fascination on her face. She follows the other girl's gaze to the adverts, blinking owlishly. "Oh my. M-mercenary work?"

Seems they came in a few varieties. From simple ones with a sale for magical tools and weapon modifications, to small jobs about the overcity to inquire within, to a few asking for other odd simple things such as asking for new models, and there was one that even had both a job and also offered making sculptures and various weapon modifications...

As for the poster, it simply had the location, and a few tabs to rip off from the poster. It was conveniently slated for today, though, looking close to the poster, it would simply be that the date keeps getting written over or otherwise. Still, seemed it hasn't started quite yet, and the rules were basically none save for no killing or ill lasting effects to linger after the tournament. The tabs also would lead them to the location, hence why they seem to be missing quite a few.

"Yeah..." Amelia nods. She seems...less enthusiastic. Almost...dull as she looks around, like her fire's been put out. "Yeah, maybe not..." Her gaze lingers on "no killing"... "Come on, there's got to be more to see here..."

She can't quite bring herself to sound thrilled about it.

Alexa's grip on her companion's hand tightens as she continues to peer at the posters. She doesn't seem too thrilled by the whole idea of the tournament, peering curiously at the other posters. "Yes, yes, of course. Um. This is a mall. Care to, ah.. do some shopping?"

There were advertisements everywhere and the map itself and it's scrolling sort of directory basically showed that shopping indeed was the most probable thing people would do here.

Amelia nods. "I...still have some coins." She offers, looking to Alexa and seeming to perk up a bit for the first time in a while at the sight of her friend. "Hey, Alexa, what'd you want?" She seems a bit keen to get Alexa away from the posters, actually gently tugging at her friend- the hand she's holding onto her with has bare fingers.

If not for Alexa, she wouldn't be sure what to do now that she's...woken up from her previous state. Without that sense of purpose, of drive...Alexa's the only reminder she has that she matters to someone. That she's done something good.

Alexa smiles at Amelia, partially relieved. She squeezes Amelia's hand again before peering back at the directory. "W-well, um, ah -- Kreimhild recommended I look into some, um, literature. Perhaps there's a bookstore around here somewhere."

Amelia's grip tightens for a moment at the mention of Kreim, but she bobs her head, managing a smile. "Okay, sure, bookstore! Sounds good. Let's go find one!"

And with that she starts walking, not letting go of Alexa's hand as she strides towards the first open door or map board she sees...or just in a random direction if there isn't one.

Alexa allows herself to be dragged along, grinning like a loon. Despite having a stated goal, she swivels her head this way and that, fascinated by everything of even remote interest that they pass. "But, um, you know. If-if you see anything you want, ah -- don't hesitate!"

Well, that depends? All the biggest ones seemed to be over at the Teal Section, but many more, still probably large book stores were all around the place, even at the central mall area, and the closest ones would be there indeed, infact there's one right over there to the right!

"Sure!" Amelia smiles back at Alexa, slowing her pace a bit. She waits a while for Alexa to stop gawking- if she does- before nudging her friend and pointing at the bookstore.

Alexa turns to Amelia before following her gaze. Face lighting up, she nods eagerly, immediately heading for the bookstore. This time, she tries to pull her taller friend along, practically skipping over to the storefront.

Amelia actually giggles at her friend's eagerness- for the first time in a while. "Still a bookworm, hmm?" Her smile fades a bit. "So...what're you looking for, anyway?"

Said bookstore seemed to look... normal? It had it's fair share of books, and a downstairs and upstairs floor even for it. Around here, they could see the usual, fiction, nonfiction, science, academic, magical, beastaries, cursed, divine... uh, okay, so maybe there were more sections than normal. A lot more, at that....

Adjusting her glasses on her head, Alexa waves her free hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing in particular -- Kreimhild recommended some old works on, ah, rituals and the like, for the less... directly magical inclined, some work on magical creatures, and she said I should look for an English copy of Emma Kaufmann's work on Magical Girl strategy -- she only has it in German," she rattles off brightly.

She swans into the bookstore, taking a deep breath. Moving slowly, she stops to peruse the sections curiously, though her eventual target is the magical books, with a stop towards the beastiary.

"Oh. Neat." Amelia relaxes just a bit, but tags along with Alexa rather than wander off on her own. A bit unlike her to be quite so clingy...

The book store indeed had quite a few things, rituals, both labeled in "Superstition" and "Confirmed Results", to beastaries on said magical critters... but annoyingly the only coppy of that one specific book she's looking for seems to be either in french or spanish versions only. The pricing was surprisingly not too much, and taking normal currency, and about as much as one would expect for a book to cost... even if that might be for some of these, perhaps too expensive or cheap.

...A small mouse'ish girl, as in, quite literally with oversized mouse ears, seems to be reading through one of the ritual books, squatting down to read and somewhat stay out of peoples way, muttering and whispering to herself as she intently seemed to read through.

Despite her concern, Alexa is certainly not complaining about how close Amelia is sticking to her. Despite her attempts at finding Kaufmann's book in a comprehensible language being frustrated -- "Perhaps I should just learn German," she grumbles to Amelia -- she is nonetheless quite excited by the section on rituals. While she takes an academic interest in the superstition, she makes a beeline for the books on confirmed results, curious about what, exactly, can be accomplished with such magic. She is almost as curious about the mouse girl, peering at her occasionally and straining her ears in an attempt to hear her.

Amelia pats Alexa on the arm comfortingly. "There's got to be some way to translate it...Magic, maybe...or we could just get a dictionary. I'll help." She offers. The mouse girl gets a slightly suspicious first glance, but not a second.

The mouse girl seems to be reciting back the words in the book, her book listed as dark curses and many misfortunes. As for the other rituals, they were further catagorized by type of those that could cast magic, divine rituals, rituals for magical schools from conjuration to transfiguration, and probably the cases she would be interested, general, low magic, and even a small section for non-magical rituals. Considerably small, but regardless.

"Ah yes, what a lovely idea!" Alexa perks up at this, smiling gratefully at Amelia. She returns to the ritual books, fascinated, though the mousegirl's own book takes her interest for a moment. She rifles through the books on conjuration, taking an interest in this topic seemingly at random.

The muttering from the small girl, seems to now speak upon who she wants to curse, specifically that of a 'certain bitch at school', as for what, unknown. She certainly doesn't feel of corruption or otherwise, and her expression seems too shy/worried over these words or looking through it to figure her as the type anyway. As for the conjuration books, there were a fair bit on summoning rituals- actually, it was the biggest section by far it seemed. From summoning animals, demons, spiritual creatures, familiars and their similar binding rituals, and more, typically they weren't the biggest of books, but still fairly wordy... and most of them seeming to be single spell, if not single function for a spell such as only summoning ONE creature, as to a type of them. There also was some stuff about healing rituals and magics, for however much you might want or need those.

Amelia looks over as she catches a brief mutter, now taking more of an interest in the stranger. She glances back to Alexa as she happily skims, biting down hard on her lip.

In the end, she keeps an ear on the mouse girl without moving.

"Aaah, perfect," Alexa takes a book on summoning familiars and spiritual creatures to hook under her arm, though she eyes the rest of them enviously. It's clear she would make off with the whole section if she could. She glances back at Amelia to report success before seeing her disconcerted expression. Looking over at the mouse girl again, she clears her throat, but clearly wants to leave any intervention on that account to Amelia. She pads through the bookshelves, taking an idle peek at the superstition section out of mere academic curiosity.

Amelia reaches out with her arm as Alexa slips away, but lowers it, glancing to Alexa for a moment before standing where she is.

The superstition section was meanwhile, divided into confirmed false, likely false, plausible, and debated, and they ranged to, well, both those that were normal spells, to various strange or odd rituals and otherwise, and so on.

The mouse girl didn't seem to react to a cough, instead seeming to mutter and focus it seemed on this 'bitch who will get what she deserves'

With yet another concerned glance over at the mouse girl, Alexa forces herself to focus on finding something on weather manipulation, working her way from plausible back into the less so.

 Plausible had some "alternative" spell methods, which would involve that of controling weather, to primative rain dances of various cultures, and so on so forth.

Amelia frowns at that, then furrows her brow in concentration and strides over, trying to summon some of her...old certainty as she calls out.

"Hey there." Amelia folds her arms, looking down at the mouse-eared girl.

The mouse eared girl jumps, yelping as she turns, and points her hand at Amelia frantically!

The wave of magic seems to hit Amelia, as a strange tingle runs through her body. She seems and feels mostly fine, though, the mouse girl drops the book worriedly. "A-ah! S-sorry, i'm sorry I didn't mean to- oh god did I just..." she said worriedly, ashamed and afraid.... backing away from Amelia cautiously. Before she would break out into a full on run if not stopped or otherwise.

Amelia glares. Then she takes two steps forward, reaching for the mousegirl's wrist.

"God in Heaven!" Alexa exclaims at the outburst of magic, dropping her books as her staff springs into existence with a flash of light. Her attention is all on Amelia as her magic envelopes her, in an effort to mend any ill effects.

Yea, she's very much grabbed, as she squeaks and squirms "IMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRY I DIDNT MEAN IT AH!" she yelped loudly, frightened and afraid... Amelia didn't feel much healed, but it wasn't like the spell hurt her in any way shape or form at that.

"Hey, stop that." Amelia grumbles. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"

Even if she'd gotten zapped...It's not like she's not used to taking hits...

Alexa wrings her hands, hooking her staff into the crook of her arm. Though she's breathing heavily, she takes Amelia's cue and attempts to calm down. "Y-y-yes, yes, it's okay, it's okay, calm down we're very sorry for startling you yes of course."

Amelia glances to Alexa- even with the other girl literally in hand, she almost seems more worried about reassuring Alexa...

The mouse indeed calms down a bit, nodding frantically. "B-but I mean, I just cursed you and I totally didn't mean to, I meant it on this bitch of a girl at school who's totally out to ruin a whole bunch of people's lives and stuff but I got distracted and now you're hit by it and oh god what do I do I don't know how to actually uncurse or fix curse stuff!" she said frantically.

"I'm fine. Really. I...It's just a stupid curse. Don't worry." Amelia declares, certainly. After her magic's turned her soul into mincemeat, not like a curse'd do much worse, right?

"Deep breaths, okay? I'll let you go if you promise not to run off. And you shouldn't do that." Amelia continues, frowning disapprovingly. "Seriously, cursing people?"

"Um! Um! Alright, alright, um -- wh-what d-does the c-curse do?" Alexa stammers, though she opens her palms placatingly. "P-p-perhaps i-it's in the b-book you were just reading?"

"It's okay, Alexa..." Amelia murmurs reassuringly.

"... Oh. Yes. Well. At the moment. These can take a while to take affect," Alexa points out dourly.

"Right right... u-um, and uh... well, yes it is in the book, it was going to turn her into a frog... or pig." the mouse girl said, nodding as she knelt a bit to try reaching for the book if not let go, before grabbing and checking. "Um... Yea. Frog- wait, or pig. Maybe...? Did I do it wrong...?" she muttered, worriedly.

"Wait, WHAT?" Amelia yells. She's got quite a set of lungs when she shouts- and she isn't used to nervousness. "Um. I take it back. Yeah, uh, give it to Alexa?"

"Well. Um. She... does not appear to be either of those," Alexa murmurs, staring at Amelia contemplatively. "But, um... That's still... very bad. Yes. Don't do that -- though can I see that when you're done please and thank you."

The girl nodded, frantically handing it off to Alexa. On the left was a ritual and cursing enchantment to transform a human into a frog, and on the right, was the pig spell, this one limited to girls but, well, that's not going to help here. However, she can also tell, it wasn't too hard to mistake the incantation on each page as part of the same line... so, if she casted both sides? Who knows what will happen...

. . . Or how to cure it, at that, as they seemed to have different methods to fix it.

The left seemed to require the blood of someone of divine nobility, enough to coat a frog in... so, a pint at most in modern terms. The right side however, required a truffle potion, and would become permanent after a week. Again though, if she read both of these, this might not help. At all.

Amelia bites her lip nervously, now all but pacing in place. She glowers at the mouse girl...but doesn't say anything.

"Um, so...any luck?" She asks Alexa, trying not to sound nervous.

"... Oh, Christ, lord of Heaven and Earth," Alexa mumbles, ever so subtly crossing herself. She looks at the two spells with mounting unease. "W-well. Um... Excuse me, um... girl. I... These spells require, um, materials. I... guess you don't have these on you? So... the spell, um, wouldn't work without them?"

"Huh? Uh, no... I mean, the enchantments had some blood ritual cost, but I kinda prepared that." the mousegirl said, reaching into her purse and pulling out two water bottles, empty and see through, but with a light brown tinting of residue, that of dried blood. "...It should've only taken one of these at most so... uh, that's a bad sign I think." she muttered.

"What're you doing running around with stuff like that, anyway?" Amelia demands, her voice raised as she points at the mousegirl. She's falling back on old habits in her nervousness. "That's abusing your magic! What the heck'd justify CURSING someone, anyway?"

"Our father, who art in Heaven..." Alexa begins, one eye twitching behind her glasses. She stares at the water bottles incredulously. "Yes. Um. Well. I-I can... I think I know where she's coming from. Some people need taking down a peg." Her gaze darkens ever so slightly.

 "I-I'm still learning how to use magic I'm new to it and stuff and I didn't want my tutor to learn I was using this spell so I looked at her book but I needed to go find it somewhere else and here it is and she's REALLY REALLY BITCHY!" the mouse frantically whined, backing away worriedly.

Amelia frowns at Alexa, but doesn't contradict her friend...She scowls at the mousegirl. "Yeah, when this is over, you and I are going to have a long, long talk. You don't use your magic like that, got it? It's just not right. You're supposed to keep people safe, not just use it because you don't LIKE someone." She can't help but pace nervously even as she's trying to give a lecture. Damnit, she's actually starting to MISS being fearless right now...

Whatever connection Alexa thought she held with this girl dissolves. "Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come..." She continues, closing her eyes and reciting a few lines. "Okay. Okay. That's bad -- Yes, not right at all. Okay. That established," she closes the book, holding it in the crook of her arm and placing her staff in her hands. "Let's, um... Try the obvious," she flicks the staff and the red crystal orb on the end lights up, coating Amelia in light.

Amelia looks to Alexa, hopefully. "Thanks, Alexa...Um, did it work, or..."

The light falls upon Amelia... you can't much tell if that fixed it. Though... looking really close, Amelia might find that there were a few small, black speckles starting to line the sides of her arms, starting at the fingers and slowly starting to spread, very, very slowly.... but noticeable on her hands if she looked.

"Uh, Alexa?" Amelia gulps. "I...I can see spots on my arms. That's not good." She turns on the mousegirl. "What the HECK did you do?" She demands.

"I-just-read-the-curse-thinking-that-was-it-and-trying-to-long-range-focus-the-curse-on-her-with-scrying-then-you-distracted-me-please-don't-hurt-me-i'm-sorry!" the mousegirl stammered rather quickly, trembling at this and taking a few steps back, as if preparing to run away.

 "Hmmph. That's no excuse." Amelia scowls, arms folded. She keeps shooting glances to Alexa, and down at herself, dreading what'll happen every time she does.

At least she's probably not turning into a pig...She hopes. Not that the other option's much better...Or anything, really...

"Oooh dear. Okay. Yes. Um. Figured that'd be too easy," Alexa wrings her hands again, swapping the staff out for the book again and cracking it open worriedly. "Um. Um. Um. Okay. Um. She kind of... cast half of two spells at once. So, um. Half of each solution? Oh, Christ alive."

Amelia thinks. Maybe if she uses her magic...No. She's not going to do that. She's never actually cleansed anything- let alone something that isn't corruption, and between the curse and her magic...she's not sure which one she trusts less right now.

"I...Um, tell me the good news, Alexa?" Amelia blurts.

She might notice the black spots are starting to work their way up her arms, though, they're fairly small and scattered out still.

She's not even sure who or what she is right now, she doesn't want to have to figure everything out as some kind of animal. "...Crap. It's spreading..."

Experimentally, Amelia tries flaring up her magic, just a bit. Maybe that'll help if she just lets it...out near her arms? After all, fire's...supposed to burn away corruption, right? Even if there's no way she'd ever turn herself back into what she was becoming before she...reformed herself...

 "I-I um, we can ask master! She's very good at magic! And she's my aunt so she won't be that mad I mean!" she said worriedly, frantically. As for helping? The black spots grow. Faster. Feeding the flames of this curse seems to be the worst option.

They slow down back to the absurdly slow rate once she stops though.

 Alexa doesn't respond to Amelia immediately, taking a moment to recite another passage of scripture, screwing her eyes shut. "For he will deliver you from the snare of the flower and from the deadly pestilence..." Opening her eyes, she grins nervously at Amelia, turning back to the book and looking at the remedies for each individual spell. "Okay, um... Bugger. Let's... Yes please ask your bloody master for God's sake! I don't want to guess at this!"

 "Oh god BAD IDEA BAD IDEA." Amelia blurts, waving her arms frantically as though trying to backpedal in place. "Right, let's go. Now." She snaps, glancing to Alexa. "Ah, guess the trip's...cancelled. Sorry..." She tries to joke, but she sounds worried anyway. She reaches out and pats Alexa comfortingly, again. At least she still has hands to do it with...for now.

Amelia groans. "Oops..."

How much has it spread by now?

It's not even to her elbows, for reference. But her hands are disproportionately more spotty than her fore-arms due to this attempt.

"K-Kay... uh, leave the book please, we're not supposed to browse them without buying... though uh, I'll buy that book later anyway, when mom gives me more allowance..." she said, twiddling her fingers, before shaking her head. "W-we need to go to the teal section of the mall, she should be working there. Just uh, lets... not take the shortcut though. It'll only take a day longer to get there!" she said worriedly.

"A DAY?! Why, what's wrong with the shortcut? That sounds pretty good right now!"

Sighing, Alexa places the books back into their sections, before doing a double take at the mention of 'a day.' "A day?!" She echoes incredulously. "Yes, God in Heaven, girl! We don't have a bloody day!"

"Th-these curses are meant to take a week or longer to finish, we'll have time!" she said frantically. "Plus it's way safer, the shortcut's through the construction stuff and that's all dark, scary, creepy and master says not to take it or else she'll probably end up finding me dead or as something to hang on the wall." she said in a frightened tone. "I really don't know what's there but master says to never go through the construction work, she stayed at her shop for a year because of that construction stuff once... even though she also is really into it for some reason." she added.

Despite the clear urgency in her demeanour, Alexa sees the logic in this. Sighing heavily, she nonetheless glares at the girl. "Fine. Fine. Okay. We'll take the long way. But I swear, if Amelia is a pig or a frog or a-a pig-frog by the time we get there...!" Alexa trails off, scrunching her face up and waggling a finger.

"I-I mean, if we took the shortcut we can get there in like, maybe three hours instead of a day and a half? But master makes it sound REALLY really dangerous, even for her...." she said in a frightened expression.

Amelia hesitates. For a long, long moment. Her gaze stops at Alexa...then she shakes her head. "I...I have no idea what I...I'm turning into, but...I don't think it's a pig...No. You're right. Long way it is."

"Frog! Okay, we're leaning towards frog! Lovely!" Alexa throws up her arms. "As much as I bloody want to, we can take the long way if you're so damn scared!"

"Alexa, it's okay..." Amelia murmurs, reaching out and...patting Alexa's hair? Oh, she's tall enough to do that now...For now, anyway.

"Don't worry. It's...safer, and she'll know the way.'

Amelia glares at mousegirl. "You. Mousegirl. You *do* know the way, right?" She grates, voice definitely annoyed. Who can blame her, though?

She sighed in some relief. "I-I don't think it's pig either, usually that apperantly starts with the nose, or uh, you'd maybe be fatter...? I dunno, master always does her spells so quick." she sighed, before nodding. "U-uh, anyway, lets go...." she said, shuffling over to put the book away, before meekly squeaking. "M-mostly. The map changes all the time but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, uh, so long as my cell phone has batteries." she said, holding it up. For the record, the cellphone's charge was at only 8% it seemed.

As to how long 8% lasts for magical phones? Who knows.

Amelia facepalms. "You're kinda shit at planning. You, uh, know that right? What's your name, anyway? If someone screws me over like this, least I should know is their name, right?"

"Raspberry, um, nice to meet you... a-also sorry, I know I'm not that smart." she said dejectedly, sighing to the two.

"You can say that again." Amelia huffs. Sure, it's mean, but under the circumstances, she feels she deserves it. "What the heck're you doing, throwing around random magic like that? You shouldn't use magic if you don't MEAN it! And don't you have anyone to tell you..."

Oh. Right. Amelia DID. And the Puuchu did that to her anyway.

She trails off, shaking her head.

"...never mind." She grumbles. "Thanks. Thanks for nothing..."

Amelia looks down at her arms instead, slightly nervously. Hher arms were still arms. Yep.  Those are human arms alright.

"I totally meant to use it on that bitch of a girl, she's seriously ruining the life of everyone at school! I even spent all that time draining my own blood for this... now I gotta start it all over again." the mousegirl sighed, "U-uh, after we fix you though, of course! Or, make it stop changing you, maybe nothing'll need to actually be fixed by the time we're done or and stuff! It shouldn't be that long." she said enthusiastically.

"No." Amelia snaps. "You're going to leave her alone, understood? No matter what. You don't use magic for that. Ever." She actually stares the other girl down. "That's wrong. That's a WASTE of magic. You use it to help people and stop evil. Not....schoolgirls.

"Th-then what do I do, I mean, the last person who tried to stand up to her got turned into her chair!" she said frantically and worriedly. "She's totally evil and stuff!"

"...What." Amelia shakes her head. "Okay, change of plans. You fix this mess YOU made...and I help you stop her. Because yeah, that's evil."

"...Why didn't you say that FIRST?!" She adds a second later.

"Um, cause I kinda figured you knew I was a magical student, I mean, the outfit and all...?" she said. For the record, her clothes were.... a rather bland set of robes. Generic as hell, and at most, a tiny little insignia of the school's on the chest to the right. Which was usually covered by her being defensive, or reading.

"That is, um... slightly... beyond the scope of, um... normal b-bullying," Alexa agrees, blinking owlishly. "Yes. Yes. Um. Under the circumstances -- completely proportionate response. But, well, um, magical student doesn't n-necessarily mean magical bullying though um in hindsight I guess that would follow."

"...Oh. There's...magic school? That's a thing?" Amelia shakes her head. "Never mind, let's GO already!"

"I mean, yes, there's a lot of bitchy folks, but they usually will go and only do temporary stuff or taunt people, because curses on others tend to draw ire from others, but she cursed that girls' whole family too after they came after her, so she's totally strong too and all... and everyone's too scared to do something about it so I had to do something." she said with a sigh, before nodding.

"R-right, this way then..." she said, starting to lead them along...

...Before stopping and getting distracted as she looked a bit longingly at a nutmeg donut at the local bakery shop, right next to one of many generic mall pretzel shops. This might be part of why it takes a day and a half to get to her destination....

"...Okay, we'll deal with that after...after this...But yeah, she's got to! Hey! I'M RIGHT HERE!"

Amelia stamps her foot, and a little gust of flame shoots up from her shoe. Oops...

"...Didn't mean to do that." She mumbles.

Alexa follows along silently, no longer commenting on this strange matter despite her clear interest in the prospect of magical school. She is nonplussed by Amelia's outburst, merely prodding Raspberry in the back when she stops.

The girl yelps at this, before nodding. "R-Right sorry! But uh, can I stop at the next bakery to pick up a bag of sunflower seeds for the road?" she chimed in a bit optimistically.

"NO." Amelia has her hands on her hips, and is scowling.

She sighed as she hung her head in defeat, as they hurried along... it seemed fairly uneventful. Besides the fact that the mall just kept going and going and going....

"Gahh..." Amelia's distracting herself by focusing on the road...but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

...Amelia could see the sign saying that teal wing was to the right, but Raspberry kept going on straight, following her phone. And it was going somewhere, after all: It was going to more stores. As stores lined the left and right. Welcome to the infinite world of a mall!

"Stupid overcity rules...stupid curse...stupid magic..." She grumbles. She pulled out her sword and is tossing it from hand to hand to distract herself. "Wait, we just went past it..." She comments, not sounding convinced. "You're sure this is the right way? I kinda don't want to find out what you did to me..."

"Th-that's one of the shortcuts! I mean, I'm pretty sure, aunt only warned me about the one close by her place but they're kinda everywhere..." Raspberry said, worriedly. She looked to it, then to her phone. "Y-yea it says keep going this way."

Amelia doesn't look entirely convinced, but glances to Alexa. "Hmm."

Alexa grumbles at this, clearly sorely tempted by this shortcut -- but, remembering her earlier warning, just makes a dismissive gesture and keeps following along.

The mouse girl shyly looked as if she really was scared of the idea of taking this shortcut... but if the girls wanted. Otherwise, she'd continue along the basic path.

Amelia takes Alexa's hand and shrugs, clearly unhappy about it.

The mouse girl would continue along. Constantly ignoring those "Teal Wing" paths and arrows... if anything she seems to be heading to the blue wing as she followed her phone.

And, in fact, they'd be continuing along for over an hour of just walking

Amelia's spots meanwhile've progressed to her shoulders, if she's been checking- she hasn't, which is why she makes a strangled noise when she remembers to. "Oh, crap." She blurts.

...In fact, she has them now all over her body, though, more on the sides than flatly on her person, as the middle parts such as her belly or backside, or the palm and backhand of her arms were similarly still normal. Besides these spots though? Nothing seems out of place.

"Hey. You. What's your name...You're SURE you got it right this time?" Amelia demands. "Spots...What even has spots..."

"I'm sure it's still right! It's always right!" Raspberry's going past another teal wing path and down the path to "red and blue wings"

"... I'm pretty sure some frogs have spots," Alexa points out, though she continues to stare at the mouse girl. "YOU had better be right."

"And if it's wrong, I'm going to be helpless! Something usel..." She shakes her head, grip on Alexa's hand tightening.

That teal wing path even seems to have light at the end of the path unlike most which looked more like going into a dark alleyway somewhat at times.

"Okay. If it's always right...It's always right..."

Amelia takes a deep breath and continues more calmly. "Trusting you here, mouse girl...My...being me's in your hands..."

She continues along... and the crowds are thinning it seems, not as many people this deep into the mall, as hour three passes by... and a girl seems to run past the next corner ahead, not seeming ot look where she's going and heading straight headlong into the others!

At least she can't see the latest spots under her outfit...though if they're on her face, Alexa might...

The mouse girl dodges, however for the others?

Amelia's too distracted by running her hands over her arms and exposed skin as though that'll stop it to even notice. She's even let go of Alexa's hand for the moment.

Still, Amelia would, by it dumb luck or otherwise, end up evading the girl as she let go, only for Alexa to be hit dead on by the clutzy girl, whom fell on top of Alexa then rolled off with a small "Oof, sorry miss! Super totally in a hurry though!" she said, standing up and looking to the others if they were going to stop her or something.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Amelia grumbles. "You ran into Alexa!" Even with her imminent frog-hood, she still seems briefly more worried about her friend as she rushes over. "You okay?"

"What's an Alexa? Oh, wait, her, uh, sorry there Alexa! Super sorry! But in a super big rush, so see ya!" the runner called, is anyone stopping her?

Alexa yelps, toppling over like a sack of potatoes. She scrambles back to her feet, brushing herself off and staring at the girl. "Wh-where are you going?!" She huffs.

"Jeez, what's her...WAIT!" Amelia yells. "STOP!"

"Gotta super go, there's a super big sale going on and I need to get to it, pronto!" she said, waving, stopping for a moment at the call to wait. "What! It's super important!" she said, turning back and running back to the others.

"Where's the teal section? THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!"

"Uh, I just came from it." she said, pointing down the way they were already heading. "Can I, like, super get going now?"

"Wait, no- what way? Just there? No tricks?" Amelia demands.

"No tricks, but it's really super far away!"

"...Damnit!"

Alexa sighs heavily, waving a dismissive hand. "Alright. Neat. Thank you. Carry on," she grumbles testily, eye twitching sporadically.

The runner nods, waving before running off rather quickly, even more so than she was before....

"...Thanks." Amelia echoes. She looks meaningfully at the mousegirl. "Let's go! Raspberry?"

...And soon after, some monsters (not with corruption in the slightest) and a human, all in mall cop uniforms run past, the human following a beeping device, who stops at Alexa, "Miss, have you seen a small girl run by here?" "Wait hold up, device is pinging her, miss can I check your bag real fast now?" The monster then the human spoke.

Raspberry meanwhile looks a bit worried, and confused...

"...Wait, hang on...Alexa hasn't done anything!" Amelia says, alarmed. "I was with her the whole time." She steps forward, protectively standing in front of her friend. "A girl just ran that way, yeah...Why?"
Alexa blinks owlishly, nearly leaping out of her skin. Nonetheless, she waves Amelia off, stepping forward. "Y-yes, o-o-officer, a-a girl just b-bumped into me -- she went that'a way," she gestures in the direction the girl fled. A moment later, she offers up her handbag.

Amelia bites her lip, looking worried. It's not that she doesn't trust the law- even if they have monsters- it's...worry for Alexa as much as her own situation.

The mall cop guy looks in, then opens it up and pulls out what seems to be a shiny idol's head. "Well, here... and...." he said, fishing around a bit, before shaking his head and handing it back to her. "Damnit, just a ruse, after her you two!" "Roger!" the monsters called, as he sternly sighs, looking to the girl. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to come with me for a bit, till we check security footage and I've asked a few questions of you." He said simply, and sternly. "W-wait uh, how long does that take?" "Shouldn't take more than a couple've hours, unless that girl's caught sooner than that." He stated simply. "Just need to make sure you're also not one of her many fences or an accomplice."

"I've never met her! Sir, We...I... don't have *time*. There's an...accident, and...and I'm turning into a FROG or something!" Look, I promise, I swear, on my honor as a magical girl, I've never seen her before. WE'VE never seen her before. I didn't know she was a thief." Amelia hesitates. "Hey, sir...You just need to watch us, right?"

Alexa's eye twitches spastically, and she turns a bright red shade. "Sir, yes, we really don't have TIME -- you must understand, I would LOVE to help you but we really need to stop my friend here from turning into a bloody FROG, and I will catch that little rat MYSELF if it would speed this whole thing up!"

"Do you know how to get to the teal section fast? We really, really need to get there before...before it's too late...You could...watch us all the way there? Like...if you have a radio or some-" Amelia has to pause for breath.

Amelia's stammering now. That knot in her stomach...that worry...She's almost forgotten what fear felt like.

"It won't take too long, and you can keep on your way miss, we only need to question this little lass here." He stated simply, the mouse girl worriedly looking back and forth to everyone. "And I can't take the risk of her running off on her own." he stated, sternly. "Unfortunately beyond that, I can't bend the rules any more, I should be taking all three of you in on principle of witnesses, but I'll bend it that much  if you're in that much of a hurry."

"Also you can take a shortcut through the construction zones, just mind the workers and their mess, duck away into a shop or something before it comes by."

"God in Heaven," Alexa huffs, waving a dismissive hand at Amelia. "Fine. Go off, get yourself fixed up -- I'll go with these fine gentlemen. Meet you at home."

"Damnit..." She shakes her head, looking to Alexa. "What about when you're done with your stupid questions? She's free to go?" Amelia asks the mall cop.

"Once we check the security footage too, yes." "U-uh, Amelia was it? I um, you won't turn into a frog for at least four days, I think? So we should have time if we need to slow down here." she whispered.

Amelia scowls. "Just like I was going to turn into a pig?" She shoots back, arms folded. "Damnit, damnit, damnit..." She looks to Alexa. Frog or not, she's not leaving her friend. "Fine. We're going with her then. But you're wasting your time." She shakes her head angrily.

She reaches out and takes Alexa's hand with a bit more force than necessary. They're sticking together. "Okay, officer. Let's get this over with." She sheathes her sword, freeing her other hand, which she rests on her hip with a decidedly grumpy air.

 "Probably, but this thief's been plaguing the mall for quite some time now, and any ends to cut her off, we need to take it." he said sternly.

The mouse girl sighed, looking to Amelia. "Um, we can at least maybe go and get food real quick though, I'm getting hungry and it's like, dinner time isn't it?" she said, checking the clock, it indeed was about seven. "We can pick food up for your friend too."

"If I turn into a frog because you got the munchies..." Amelia gripes, then shakes the head. "Yeah, yeah..."

Alexa sighs heavily, squeezing Amelia's hand. "Yes, yes. Nothing to hide, nothing to fear except crushing boredom," she groans. "Oh well I do apologize if you've been INCONVENIENCED BY CURSING MY FRIEND," Alexa barks at Raspberry. "But fine. Yes. Food. Let's just be off."

Amelia squeezes back. "Maybe we should get a fish tank while we're at it..." She tries to joke, but her throat's gone dry from nervousness.

"Sorry, sorry sorry, sorry... sorry!" Raspberry says meekly, shaking her head, as the officer lead her along, to one of the many information kiosks they seemed to pass on the way here, and entering it and opening a door in back, labeled "Employees Only". "Ask one of the guys at these stalls to send you to Officer McRultz's office if you need, girls. She'll be exiting from here otherwise." he said, before urging her in once the hug is ended.

"Wait, no, I'm going with her." Amelia states stubbornly.

...Meanwhile, there's a bunch of food places. The generic pretzel store to a bakery to a sandwich shop to chinese and more. It probably doesn't matter where they go, but the mouse's sweet tooth is eyeing the candy store instead of somewhere, you know, with proper food.

"You going to be okay?" Amelia asks Alexa, more quietly.

"... Yes. Fine. I'll be fine. You... go make sure this rat doesn't fetch poison," Alexa waves a dismissive hand, following the officer's. "I feel like Chinese all of a sudden." Shrugging, she strides into the Employees Only section, peering at the stalls.

"Okay..." Amelia watches her go, anxiously. "Right. Raspberry. Let's go shopping. You're buying...Sounds good? Good."

The employee's only section was more like a back alleyway of sorts, with all sorts of other odd things... the doors also all shimmering, if they have windows, with trippy psychadelic portals it seemed.... to which the officer arrived at the one labeled "Mall Security" and opened it, the door simply leading to a portal which he stepped through and would lead Alexa in through as well... or, she could try booking it after he entered.

As sorely tempted as she is to run for the hills, she believes in the rule of law, and so steps right through after him, albeit after taking a deep breath.

Raspberry nodded a bit. "Yea, uh, unless it's magic stuff. That stuff's really expensive." she said simply, as she leaed them along for chinese. It had, well, every Chinese recipe you could imagine and more, the menu was more like one of those amusement park maps that unfolded like twenty times. And was double sided. At the cash register, sat a small puppy who seemed to be napping at the moment, it's tongue sticking out as it napped...

...The menu was about normal, except the bottom right. It seemed the very bottom right of it had a magic menu.

"...Yeah, NO magic. Nope." Amelia shakes her head. "Why the heck would you EAT magic anyway?"

And the costs for those, were not in typical currency rates. But instead in copper coins. They promised special benefits, health, vitality, magical benefits, for up to two days.

No curse breaking? Nope nope nope NOT TODAY THANKS. Amelia skims right past.

...Does Amelia want to try getting one of the specials, or stick to any of the more mundane kinds that the mouse can actually afford. And no, nothing for breaking curses.

She's not feeling adventurous. Not with her makeover in progress. Yeah, the General Tso's chicken is about as much as she's experimenting right now.

The mouse nods, as she orders a bit, and asks what Alexa wanted.

Amelia hesitates, then names Alexa's usual preferred food, or what she thinks comes closest. "Make that a double of the General Tso...She loves that stuff..."

Amelia fidgets. She can feel a bit of a slight odd tightness, rather, otherwise, the source of discomfort... from her tailbone. Oh, this probably wasn't good... but wait, it wasn't a small curly tail, that meant she wasn't becoming a pig at least? Right? RIGHT?

"Oh, DAMNIT!" She shakes her head.

Meanwhile, Alexa's lead to a rather bland looking white interrogation room... with the center desk being an office desk. He sits on the other side, and waves to one of the many chairs, "Go on, sit... Just gonna run through the basic questions, name, occupation, where you've been the past day or so, why you're here and all if any reason, stuff like that." he said...

At the same time... "I swear to god if I end up eating flies, I'll find a way to set you on fire..." Amelia grumbles, more to herself than the mousegirl. She doesn't sound sincere about it.

"I-I don't want to be on fire! But you won't eat flies!" she said worriedly, as the mouse took out a small handpurse of pesos and left them out, the dog waking and barking as they slowly picked up each coin and bill one by one with their mouth, sorting them, then giving change, also one by one... it was very, VERY slow. Good thing they had nowhere to go for now.

"Gahhhhh."

And soon enough, they had the food!

The mouse girl looked back, "So uh, should we meet her back at the office then to eat...?"

"Fan-frikking tastic. YES. Lessgo!"

She nodded, as they headed back...

Amelia yanks Raspberry by the sleeve, grabbing the bag. "Jeez, I'm starting to wonder what the heck they teach at your...school...if you think that sort of thing's a good idea..." Amelia grumbles as they run back.

...Nothing particularly exciting had happened, but in total, this wasted about four hours. And Amelia's tail was certainly growing a bit now. If she'd had a skirt instead of pants, she could probably have wiggled it a bit on it's own.

"U-uh I mean, they don't suggest that, but master was trying to teach me magic we'll learn in a few years so.... uh, I tried a bit. It worked it seems though?" the mousegirl replies.

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you." Amelia snarks, gesturing to herself. "This really sucks, by the way." She gestures to her tail. "Ow."

"U-uh, I do know a bit of magic to modify clothing... it turns back unless something's blocking it, but uh, if you have a tail now that won't be a problem." she whispered meekly.

"Great." Amelia hesitates, then shakes her head. "Actually, let's not..."

"Um... but what if it keeps getting bigger...?"

"I have no idea. Freaking great..." She grumbles. "I have no idea."

One bored puchuu was lazily buzzing and let the two of them in, leading them to the office. An exit later, the party would no longer be split for dinner! Also there was space to eat...

Amelia gives the puuchu a wary glance but leaves it alone- her lip curling at the sight though.

Alexa ogles Amelia's tail, astonished and horrified. "Oh my. Oh my. What kind of tail even is that? I didn't know frogs had tails. And it's not a pig tail -- Oh God."

"Hey, Alexa..." Amelia sighs, looking to  Raspberry. "Fine. Hit me. If I end up as a pair of talking pants, it won't be much WORSE...." She folds her arms unhappily.

"Alexa, if I die, there's General Tso's on the table." Amelia comments, deadpan.

Raspberry nodded, simply waving her hand... and a convenient hole for the tail to immidiately slip through was formed. It was still normal skin, for now, and very stubby. But still, a tail. Amelia had a tail.

"This feels really, really weird." The now-tailed girl complains. And sure enough the tail moves.

...She doesn't feel like she's suddenly turning into a fashionable set of pants though. She doesn't think polkadots are fashionable. They're not. They're REALLY not.

"Spots...Tail...What the heck did you do to me..." Amelia shakes her head. "Okay, I'm fine...Ish." She reassures Alexa.

...Wait. She's not turning into a monstergirl, is she?

Nope, no sensation of corruption.  Not even in the slightest.

 Whew. She really couldn't deal with that. Small mercies...Probably.

Amelia paces while she waits. A lot. Which is a bit...harder with a tail that seems to move whenever she even thinks about it.

Alexa can't stop staring at the tail. It's weirdly mesmerizing.

"My face is up here, Alexa." Amelia grumbles after the uppetenth time. She's checking herself every so often, nervously running her hands over herself. And yes, that includes touching her tail, gingerly.

Clearing her throat, Alexa blushes slightly, nodding. "Right. Right. Um. Sorry, just... interested."

"...It's okay." Amelia reassures her friend.

The time clicks to 11 by the time the guard lets them all go. Once  they have left, the mouse simply sighs... "U-uh, we can go a bit longer, but before we get to teal section... we really should stay somewhere for the night. It costs way more to stay the night at the teal section than it does the normal section of the mall." she remarked towards them.

"...Why not just keep going overnight?" Amelia asks, with the tone of someone who can guess the answer.

Shaking her head, Alexa turns to Raspberry. She nods in agreement with Amelia.

"Well, we could but it'd be really tiring... a-also I think by phone won't last that long, and it's all dangerous at night int he teal district. Kinda.... I never saw what it was and it might have been master just being all paranoid cause mom headed out the few times she left just fine, but... uh, yea." she shrugged.

"Fine..." She says reluctantly. Then she realizes something. "Wait, can't you CALL your mom from here?"

Alexca seems all set to once again laboriously agree before Amelia raises her point. She perks up curiously.

Amelia's touching her tail again, gingerly. "Urgh...This stupid thing's a pain in the ass..."

It also is more or less cone shaped, instead of like a monkey's tail or otherwise.

 "No, my mom doesn't have a phone... and Master will be sleeping right now. With the phone on silent. And she'll just say to take us to her anyway." she sighed.

"...Great. Tick tock..." Amelia sighs. "So...normal mall...Wunderbar."

"Fine!" Alexa throws up her arms, resuming her earlier script. "Alright, fine. We'll find something. Jesus."

She nodded, sighing a bit with a "Sorry, sorry sorry sorry sorry...", as she lead them along....

"Right. Let's get this over with..." Amelia stalks along, a bit awkwardly...

...At least they got in two hours of walking again before they reached the border between teal and normal, as seen by ahead being no stores, and the painting getting a teal border lining to it, just besides was the "Last Stop Inn". It was a generic place to sleep... do you want to stay the night as she suggests?

Amelia sighs. "Damnit. I really want to make you pay for the teal inn, but..."

"I won't be able to afford it, they take magic coins." she said simply.

She shakes her head. "We're leaving first thing tomorrow. Got it?"

"Yea, I know." she nodded.

Amelia squeezes Alexa's hand. "Hey...Alexa...Mind if we share a room tonight?" She says quietly. She's never done that before.

Alexa shakes her head just a bit too eagerly, smiling at Amelia. "Of course not. Don't worry -- I can pay. Everything'll be quite alright in the morning."

She looks at her friend with her earnest, large...orange? eyes. "I'll pay. My curse, my coins..."

"I-I can sleep in the bathroom to stay out of the way." Raspberry obliviously and meekly chimed in, raising a hand.

Amelia sighs, and facepalms. "Don't be silly. We're getting two rooms. But you're paying Alexa back for her side of this when this is over, got it?"

"Oh, uh, yea sure." she meekly sqeuaked, "I'll pay for it now even."

...For some reason the rooms were oddly cheap, as in, hardly five bucks a room.

"You might need the money..."

"Nonsense, this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't -- " Alexa stops short, thinking for a moment. Eventually, however, she sighs and nods. "Yes, yes, thank you, that will be quite appreciated."

"...right, sure." Amelia backpedals at Alexa's words.

The mouse girl returns with their keys, "I'll be in the room right next to you two!"

"...That's...cheap..." Amelia shakes her head. "Hey, check the beds...Does Overcity have fleas or bedbugs or something?"

"You had better," Alexa grumbles at the mouse girl. "I'm sure they're fine, Amelia. Fine-ish. Acceptable."

"Uh, as in, two numbers up next to. Not like, to the right or left cause I dunno but uh... y-yea. Night!" she called, before turning back. "Huh? Oh, no, it's just cause they always have vacancies. They used to have to move your room back and forth but now the room just shifts itself over somehow." she said happily. She scampers off to her room and heads to it unceremoniously. The girls have their room ,room 331- wait no, 333. 335. Back to  333... ugh, welp....

The stairs to go up are just to the left.

"...eh? Oh. Magic." Amelia shakes her head. She dimly remembers thinking magic was just pure awesome, once, back before... "Awesome." She echoes with a lot more sarcasm than joy.

Alexa stops to consider this for a moment, but it is plain to see that she truly doesn't care as much as her orange-eyed companion. Orange-eyed? "Christ alive, Amelia -- now your eyes are going," she grumbles. "I better not wake up to horns..."

"H-huh?" Amelia rubs at her eyes. "I...didn't feel anything...What happened?" She blanches, alarmed, turning in circles to no avail. Her tail spins with her.

"Your eyes are -- no, don't..." Alexa sighs wearily, squeezing Amelia's hand and dragging her up and into their room. "Your eyes are orange. Orange. What a lovely colour. Like William of Orange -- God rest his soul."

Amelia blanches. "Great..." She squeezes Alexa's hand...but once she gets into the room she quickly rushes to the mirror to make sure she hasn't grown scales or something.

Alexa remains by the bed -- Amelia's paranoia drives her to start fiddling with the covers and the mattress, now afraid of magical bedbugs and the like. That would just be the icing on the cake.

Amelia stumbles back out of the bathroom, looking relieved. "Nothing new...Just the same old. Get some sleep, Alexa..." She gestures to the bed. "You should rest..."

"Yes, same old everything except the tail," Alexa grumbles, still fiddling with the covers. At last, however, she removes her mantle with a sigh, all but collapsing on top of the bed. "Well, this could have been worse."

"How?" Amelia grumbles, then shakes her head. "Yeah...Goodnight, Alexa..."

She tries to sit on the edge of the bed, but keeps fidgeting.

In the end, she sprawls on her side, facedown instead. It's squashing her chest, but not her longer tail...

"Yeah, I'm just going to wait it out tonight...Gotta stay up..." She yawns.

"Night, Alexa...Hit the lights?"

Alexa sighs in nothing short of furious exasperation. She shifts over slightly on the bed, wrapping her arms around Amelia without comment. Equally silently, a bright red barrier manifests around the light switch. It is inelegantly mashed against it until the switch is flicked.

Amelia eeps, but returns the hug after a moment. It's just a hug overnight, or until Alexa falls asleep. She's going to stay up anyway, she has all the time in the-

Amelia's eyes flutter closed and she grasps Alexa a little tighter as she's out like the light switch.

Alexa sighs again, wearily. She slithers right up to Amelia, shutting her eyes. It doesn't take long for her breathing to slow as she falls asleep.

========

Good morning, Overcity Mall! Rather, to the adventuring mahou and their mouse-companion guide and/or hindrance. The time now is about 9:30 and the sun is shining down from the windows. Windows that were letting in sun from the windows above. Still bright and cheerful morning, complete with a few chirping birds outside... As for Amelia's changes, she'll find her face has grown somewhat stretched horizontally. Her eyes have spread further, her mouth is wider, and even her neck has grown a bit thicker at that. In addition, and probably the most stark difference, is the simple fact that her skin, while feeling the same, is entirely blue, and her tail has grown to one foot in length.

Thankfully despite the discount rate, the beds and everything seem to be fine. So at least they got a good night's sleep?

Amelia stirs as she feels the sun on her back, stretching slightly. Something doesn't feel quite right, but she's pleasantly warm and drowsy, and she's hugging something soft and warm...Right now, still slipping into wakefulness, she's happy to just lie here on the nice, comfortable bed with...Alexa?

Amelia jolts upright as she remembers everything- the curse, the overcity, the hotel room. "A-Alexa, wake-" She starts to say and then she catches sight of her hand. "Oh god, what the HELL?!" She's not quiet about it either, and she's right next to Alexa. The room looks...off, somehow.

Alexa wakes up slowly. The most blissful part of the day arrives as her brain begins booting up, and her eyes open without her remembering a thing about how she got here. Then she lays eyes on Amelia's blue skin, and it all comes rushing back to her. Groaning, she stirs, creeping away. "A-Amelia...? How do you feel?"

"I...I'm blue. Why am I BLUE. Oh god, oh god...I'm turning into a smurf or something?" That seems to be a definite "not feeling well"..." And she hasn't even noticed her tail yet, despite the way she keeps hitting the bed with it in her agitation as she sits up.

 Amelia looks around, staring back at Alexa. "Um. Yeah...Not feeling too good about this right now..." She waves her hand. A glance to the bathroom door then back to Alexa. "How...how bad is it?" She asks, more calmly. Right now, the overnight hugs are the last thing on her mind. Perhaps thankfully.

For the record: Besides the weird new body? Nothing wrong. Yet.

"That, um, well, that -- that would be... something," Alexa mumbles, scrambling to her feet. She swings out of the bed, brushing herself off. "Well! It's not too bad. Um. Could be worse. You've just... actually, your face looks a little, um... different. Ah. Got your features all jumbled around." Alexa twirls a finger before marching over the door. "Let's go get our guide, shall we?"

Amelia groans. "I'll...I'll take your word for it." She follows Alexa anxiously, more worried about what her friend thinks than what kind of freakshow she looks like. "Do I...I don't want to know. Right. Let's wake the mouse up."

With that she marches up to their...guide's room. "Hey! Raspberry!" She shouts, pounding on the door. She's...not in a mood to be polite.

Damnit, that tail's definitely starting to get in the way.

Raspberry answers after some dawdling, yawning as she was wearing a comically tiny night cap on her head. "Morning..." she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Amelia sighs at the night cap. "Get dressed." She grumbles, folding her arms and trying not to glare. "Your stupid spell turned me blue. We've got to go."

Alexa lets Amelia take the lead, mainly so she can continue staring at her tail. It really is fascinating -- in any other circumstance this whole thing would be really interesting. "Yes yes good morning. Slept well? Good." Alexa claps her hands together. "We should be going now." She looked to Amelia, and jumped with a yelp. "O-oh. Y-yea, right. Um, you're fine besides being blue though right... give me a second to change also." she added, pulling the nightcap off. "Kay, ready."

"...Right." Amelia shakes her head, then turns around, beckoning impatiently.

Raspberry nodded, brushing her black hair out of her face before hurrying along, to wait outside for the duo.

Amelia sighs, then takes Alexa's hand and follows. Alexa stomps after her, summoning her staff with a flick of the wrist. She grinds her teeth audibly, squeezing Amelia's hand.

Everything looks just a bit...different to Amelia. And not in a good way. She really, really wants to fix this soon, and not just because she can feel her tail with every step she takes.

Raspberry nodded, as they got out, and pointed out to teal district. "Uh, it shoulnd't be too far, we should be there before we need to sleep again and stuff!" she said meekly, to the duo, before starting off.

"Wonderful," Alexa seethes, smiling thinly. She marches obediently after Raspberry, though her attention drifts this way and that with a mix of curiosity and paranoia.

Amelia shakes her head, but follows with Alexa- perhaps moving just a bit ahead. Can't be too careful in the Overcity, after all, and better her than Alexa...

The girls head along. Alexa seems to be paying too much attention to her blue companion, but Amelia notices a certain something. Specifically, a candy store being robbed, by what seems to be another magical girl, holding her staff to a person like, well, a gun! It's probably going to be sidetracking but... well, a robbery in place!

Amelia's eyes go wide. She lets go of Alexa's hand, and draws her sword. "Over there!" She yells, and takes off, sword in hand and streaking like a slightly-bluer than usual comet towards the scene. "Stop right there!" She yells. Frog curse or not, she can't just ignore something like that!

It wouldn't be right.

Caught completely off guard by Amelia's sudden departure, Alexa jolts in place, scurrying to follow her on reflex. When she sees what's got her going, something about the situation makes Alexa sigh melodramatically. With a backwards glance at Raspberry, Alexa drags herself after Amelia.

The mouse girl looks back, and slightly follows, but keeps her distance the moment she notices the robbery, she's not abandoning you folks but don't expect the coward to join in soon.

"Right, so we're agreed then, you'll stop selling these accursed chocolate bites and gummy worms for my fantastical cheeses!" the magical girl robber threatened.

"But that doesn't even go with the the-" "Shut it or you're joining the display rack, woman!" the girl said to the frightened baker-looking lady, only for Amelia to barge in. "Ah great, magical girls, well, no matter! Allow me to demonstrate what will happen if you don't listen to my demands, wench!" the magical girl called out, smiling with a bit of a slasher smile.

Reacting quickly for once in her life, Alexa's staff springs to life, forming a bright red barrier around both her and Amelia's armour, further reinforcing it!

The magical girl smirks, before she twirls her staff towards Amelia, shooting off a stream of yellow goop at her!

"Give up." Amelia snaps, sword raised...and doing her best to keep up a proper posture even with her tail getting in the way. Stupid thing. Stupid CURSE.

She'd look a lot more dignified if she wasn't blueberry blue.

The attack indeed fails as Amelia deflects it off effortlessly... as it flies by, well, it smells of cheese. Literally... "Gah! Damnit!" she yelled, leaving herself somewhat open...

Amelia reflexively draws on her magic, just a bit...never mind how it could burn her...and her worries about if she just...lets it out again, she just needs to stop this girl as fast as she can so they can get going! So she's going to get grilled a bit...

The girl winces, as she narrowly forms a block of cheese to block. Which is simply cleaved through and melted like, well, a hot knife through butter, as her outfit narrowly protects her from harm, ever so barely, though, seeing how it now is practically in ashes, it's unlikely to do that again.

Amelia scowls at her- slightly easier than usual with the way her face looks. "Are you going to give up yet? I don't have TIME for you being stupid."

"Why the hell would I do that when I'm just getting started!" she yelled back.

"Okay." Amelia sighs. "Grilled moron it is then." She glances to Alexa, reassured by her friend watching her back.

Alexa snarls, eye twitching spastically as her staff glows again. With a flick, a bright red vortex manifests just behind the burglar, pulling her back. Gritting her teeth, the girl twirls her wand, before a wave shoots out, rolling out of the shop and even aiming for Alexa now!

The wave hits Amelia, and while some seems to just continue going, she finds there's shackles. Made of what seems to be cheese wheels of cheddar, that rapidly solidified upon her person! She has to break out, quick!

Amelia struggles against her cheesy cheddar chains! Unfortunately they seem to be really strong, and instead just dig into her wrists and legs! She can still act though!

"Gahhh! Get back here!" Amelia flails angrily, her sword leaving traces of fire in the air.

Alexa yelps in shock as, though her shield keeps her safe, Amelia is less so. She rounds on her companion, flicking her staff and attempting to dispel the delicious chains!

The spell focuses, as it forms a thin knife to slice the way out for Amelia, to which the magical girl frowns. "Damn you, stop getting in the way!" She called out, twirling her staff and shooting off a solid wheel of cheese to attempt to run over Alexa!

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Amelia yells.

Alexa is hit by the wheel... It's not particularly damaging, but it continues to roll as Alexa sticks onto it, before crashing into a wall a ways away.

"Alexa!" The blue girl doesn't seem very happy about that at all. "You'll pay for that! You stupid thug!" Amelia slashes at the girl, furiously!

"Hah, that's nothing compared to what I'm gonna do to you, you... okay what ARE you, anywa- GAH ITS HOT!" she said back to Amelia, yelping as it punctures her armor. While the hit is shallow, the burning power in her blade transfers as a small fire starts on her chest. "OW OW OW!"

"I'm Flaming Ace Pal...Flaming Ace Amelia! I'm a magical girl, and we're kicking your BUTT!" Amelia crows. "So you can just give up now!"

"Never!" she just as dramatically yelled back.

"Fine! Have it your way!"

Alexa seems kinda stuck. She makes an effort at escaping the cheese the old fashioned way, but it doesn't quite work out. Frustrated, she flicks her staff and summons another knife of hard-light to cut herself out.

Amelia can't look to see if Alexa's gotten free...She just has to hope this weirdo didn't hurt her best friend...

The larger knife of hardlight this time finds it better to go spatula, and pries the caster off quite easily with a small 'pop'.

The cheesegirl winces as she struggles to put out the fire. She barely does so before waving her staff to Amelia and the entire staff explodes into a slice of cheese. The block of cheese is similarly cleaved through even as she winces. "Gah, okay so maybe you're a bit tough...."

"What's with you and cheese...Are you going to talk now or what?" Amelia demands.

"I-It's my magic...Why is your fire blue huh?" the other girl replied, backing away a bit as she now seemed disarmed.

Amelia blinks. "Um. I...I'm actually not quite sure..." She admits. "Good question. I think it's something to do with how I..." She shakes her head. "Hey! Stop changing the subject! Surrender already!"

"I totally need to. She's gonna run my place outta business!" she said annoyedly, pointing to the candy store woman, who was hiding behind the counter.

"That's no excuse to bully her! You can find other ways to sell your goods without threatening to turn her into cheese! I mean, come on, that's just abusing your magic!" Amelia takes the chance to glance for Alexa, who is perfectly fine other than her hair being a little ruffled.

"I can, but this is WAY more effective!" the robber said, proudly with a grim smile.

"Well, it's wrong! And you need to stop! Otherwise you're going to get grilled. By us. So give up already and we can work this out. Fast."

"Or what, you whatever-you-are? I haven't even gotten started..." She said, menacingly...

"Don't give me that." Amelia grumbles. "I don't want to hurt you. Besides, I TOLD you, I'm a magical girl."

"But I'll cut you this. You back off and let me do my work, and hey, I'll not bother to hold a grudge. Good?" she said, despite being the only one who was even remotely hurt, besides Amelia's self burning...

Amelia shakes her head. "Not gonna happen. You promise me you'll stop this and I'll help you find some other way to sell your stuff."

Alexa grumbles, her pleasure at being freed of her cheesy prison overshadowed by the stench. She calls over into the stop. "Oh for God's sake, just beat her up!"

"But I can't let you threaten people with mag-" Amelia looks over. "Alexa! You're..." She sniffs the air. "Um, you're okay, right?"

"Oh, fine! Just wonderful!" Alexa throws up her hands in frustration. "I'd be better if we could be on our bloody way!"

"Fine, then lets have some fun shall we?" the cheese girl said, giggling a bit insane as she reached aside... and pulled out something. Showing it between her fingers as it seemed to dissolve... It's a black coin! Well, that and a few others in her hand, but the corruption starting to spread through her and clouding her person is quite evident.

 At this, finally, the store woman yelps, "G-Get out of the store, fight outside if anything!" she said, frantically pulling out a giant broom and slapping everyone out... It didn't hurt thankfully.

Still, the currently corruption cheese cocoon was forming there...

Amelia's eyes widen. "Oh god, no, wait!" She lunges, not even trying to pull her blow as she frantically lunges. Black coins? NOPE NOPE NOPE.

The cleaving blow strikes into the corruption, and sets it ablaze it seems as blood splatters out... the corruption quickly fades away, as the girl stumbles out, a deep gash in her chest from that strike, but not fatal... however, she looks distinctly... half melted by the process being interrupted mid way. "Gaaaahhhhh da...damn iiit..." she said, lethargically, as her half melted right leg lobsidedly shambled with the still mostly normal left leg, as she reached out for Amelia in anger. "What did... you... dooooo....?!"

Amelia freezes. "Oh god. Oh godddddd... What...What happened..." That...wasn't what she had in mind. That wasn't it at all. "I..." She blanches, not thinking to raise her sword. Not that her going pale is all that noticeable with her skin the way it is, but she definitely looks like she wants to be sick.

...Amelia hadn't know her magic would do THAT...She thought she was just stopping corruption...Amelia seems to have gone catatonic, staring in utter guilty horror. "I...I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She's shaking.

"Jesus living Christ!" Alexa yelps, her fascination turning to shock and horror. She pales several shades as she stares at the mangled girl. "Um. Um! H-h-hold on, um, I can fix this!" She waves her staff, a healing glow suffusing over the girl, trying to put her back together -- or whatever passes for it now.

The healing magic actually indeed, fixed her. As in, more than just the gash in her chest, but the whole... half melted issue too. She still looked beaten and bruised, but thankfully the melting was not some permanent defect.

Amelia sighs in relief and hugs her friend. Tightly.

Unfortunately, the girl doesn't seem to take this kindness in mind in the slightest, as she yells out and screams at Amelia, still trying to take her down... although, her attacks considerably more feeble as she is at most throwing small blocks of cheese at Amelia, yelling frantically.

In her distraction, Amelia doesn't notice until the last second. The blocks hit her square on the head and, well, the rest of her really. They... actually aren't that damaging.

"Just...give up." Amelia asks wearily. "You...Is it really worth it?" She feels drained- though not the same way she was in past fights. She's still trying to use her magic less, even if she wound up drawing on a lot more of it than she meant to.

Alexa's relief at the girl no longer being a horror to behold turns to shock and rage. "C-can you not just... go?! What is WRONG with you?!"

Amelia reaches out, one hand touching Alexa's arm comfortingly. "Yeah, come on...Just...Let's-"

The girl clenches her fists, gritting her teeth, as she frowns to her. "Give up... no, I can't! That shop belonged to mama! I can't go and lose it!" she said frantically... rushing the two. And feebly trying to beat at Amelia now, if they weren't going to stop her. She's basically akin to just throwing a wimpy temper tantrum at this point for her fighting, her hands meekly banging on the armor or anything she's defending with.

She looks to the two with teary eyes as she continues her meek flailing. "I gotta I gotta I gottaaaaaa!" she whines.

Amelia puts her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Come on...Let's talk." Amelia tries to be as comforting as an armored, blue-faced knight girl can be. She glances to Alexa, then back to the girl. "Hey. What's your name?"

Alexa's eye twitches spastically as she watches the girl. Taking a deep breath, she pushes up her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Yes yes fine let's help the girl who tried to kill us."

Amelia bites her lip. "Sorry..." She says to Alexa, hesitantly, then looks back to the girl.

The girl sniffles as she falls to her knees. "Kase." she said in defeat, puffing a cheek at Alexa's remark. "And I wouldn't've killed you, just kinda turned you into cheese for a bit. You'd turn back eventually, probably."

"That's...You're going to...not do that, okay, Kase? No turning people into cheese. Rule one. Rule two." And here Amelia goes very serious. "Don't use a black coin. Ever. They're...they're horrible things. Evil."

"Okay? I...I'll try and help you, but you have to agree to those."

"Mama used one, and the glowy red gem thing gave me it if I needed it. He said it would make me stronger, and I felt it..." she muttered, holding her arm weakly. "I don't care if it's evil, I can't mess this up..."

"...Oh god." Amelia shakes her head. "Where...where's your mother?" She asks, hesitantly. "You said...that shop there was hers?"

"Yes, well, power -- that part is true, obviously," Alexa hooks her staff into her arm, wringing her hands. "But, ah -- Well, look, I -- Yes, is your mother...?"

Amelia exchanges a look with Alexa. There's a worried look in her eyes. Or maybe that's just them being orange.

"No, that woman just kept taking away business from our shop, so I had to deal with that. I don't really hate her or anything but mama said she was the enemy before." she said flatly, and oddly... innocently, as she sniffled.

Amelia has a bad feeling about this. She hadn't noticed just how...young this girl looks in the fighting. She's probably 7 or 8 at most by the looks of it. Then again looks may be deceiving.

"...And mama died a few months ago.  I've been trying to manage the store but nobody really shows up..." she added.

"Oh..." Amelia hesitates, then reaches out to touch the younger girl, not quite a hug, but...

"We can help." Amelia declares.

...She has to think about how to do that.

Alexa ducks her head, sighing as her suspicions are confirmed. A deep grimace carves its way down her face. "Well. Sorry, but that- that doesn't give you the right to -- We can?" She stares at Amelia, shocked.

"Y-you can? Uh, I mean, how... what uh, will you do? I mean uh, I can show you the shop or something...?" she said, looking a bit more energetic now.

"...Hey, Kase, did anyone ever tell you about the Wand and Circlet?" She doesn't quite make eye contact with her. "Maybe...you could sell stuff there?" She tries, coming up with things on the spot. Damnit, she should've thought this through. "Or we could talk to the shop owner...Maybe she just doesn't know you're in trouble? And yeah, sure..." She shrugs apologetically at Alexa.

"I-I dunno, I mean, I have to watch the shop still..." she muttered, shaking her head. "J-just uh, you two are smarter or somethings, so like, I'll just show you two! C'mon, you'll see for certain the shop is the best there is!" she said frantically, trying to lead them down an offshoot from what seemed to be the main 'hall' down.

. . . For the record, Raspberry is still watching from afar. She waves if anyone even looks.

Amelia bites her lip. "Sorry." She mumbles to Alexa. "But...she needs help."

"Hey, mousegirl! Get over here!"

"... Look, maybe it's just a problem of advertising," Alexa points out, clearly not liking the way this is going. Nonetheless, she makes to follow the girl -- though she rounds on Raspberry a moment later. "You. Get over here. We're taking a detour."

"B-but I'm lactose intolerant and she smells like cheese!" she whined.

"She's like...eight." Amelia says, unhappily, to Alexa, then she sighs at Raspberry. "Well no one's asking you to EAT her! Come on, you can wait outside or something..." She doesn't have time to check herself for changes...there's someone in need of help.

The mouse sighs and follows, though, keeping her distance still just in case.

Amelia looks to Alexa, then goes on the detour...again.

"Well you don't have to bloody buy anything," Alexa grumbles, padding after Amelia with undisguised frustration.

The small girl meanwhile leads them along... there seems to be construction going on here, specifically on one shop, "H-hey wait! What's going on!?" "Loan wasn't paid, we're reposessin' the place." "B-but I still have like, a week left! You're from Brinwar right?" "Wha- no, Predatory Loans, kid. Though those folks're pretty brutal, better stay away if they're lookin' for ya here." the gruff rhino-man with a rather generic construction worker attire said, before going back to overseeing the project as Kase simply fell to her knees in shock.

"Hey! Hold up!" Amelia storms up to the rhino-man. Even if he isn't corrupted, her nose wrinkles slightly at the sight. She's still not really used to people that aren't human... "This is her home. How much is the, um, loan?" She glances to Alexa, then fixes the rhino with her glare again- despite their height difference.

Alexa stares at this in shock for some time, the gears in her head almost audibly whirring as she tries to come to grips with this new development. When Amelia moves forward, however, she starts after her, albeit with a melodramatic sigh.

The rhino guy looks back. "Yes little miss's, can I help ya?" he said, sounding gruff and rough, and his expression seemed annoyed, but he shrugged indifferently and answered regardless. "About fourty silver coins worth by nows. That an' about a hundred thousand dubloons at that." he said flatly, uncaring of the height difference, or even if she had a weapon. "An' while I much can't say is that good to take the home away, her mother left the debt to her. I'll leave out the whole kid's alive thing if the other debt collectors are lookin' to cash in on the debt, this lady apperantly racked up a lot everywhere." he said, Kase simply flopping over now in defeat at hearing this.

"... We do not have that kind of money," Alexa hisses to Amelia. Straightening up to her full, quite insubstantial height, she claps her hands together and grins crookedly up at the rhino. "Now, sir, ah -- Well now, um, I think what we have here is a dreadful misunderstanding. Sir, I can assure you -- our client is fully capable of paying the loan, she simply needs more time!"

"I...I know." Amelia mumbles back. Damnit, this kid's mother...As if black coining wasn't bad enough...

"I... u-um, how much would the other loans probably... be?" "About as much as this. Maybe more. We're conservative, an' didn't go and give her more or give more time. S'why we got here first. It works out well like this." he said gruffly. "Gives first pick before divying it to everyone else." "...I-I don't think I could pay all of that more than once..." she meekly whispered back to Alexa and Amelia.

"Well!" Alexa is already visibly sweating, one eye twitching behind her glasses. She adjusts the round spectacles. "Perhaps we can n-negotiate s-some k-kind of... payment by installments! I have it on good authority that-that this shop will, um, be turning a much greater profit very soon, a-and the, um, debtor can absolutely make good on any investments!"

"You d-" Amelia clues in and shuts up, giving her friend an encouraging nod.

"S'already the plan, but ladies, I'll be frank, this woman's got a reputation, an' the folks that didn't get to collect will be wantin' in on it here too. Lettin' the little lass disappear from this inheritance s'for the best, like it or not." he said simply, his giant head reaching down to gently pat the unresponsive cheese mahou on the head, before turning back to the construction as the shop seemed to 'sink' into the ground. "Now we're wrappin' up here, so s'cuse me ladies." "Oi, who'ya talkin' too? That the girl we need't find?" "Nah, some lookalike, keep workin we'll look later." he called, leaving the group...

"...Damnit." Amelia bites her lip. At least he didn't rat the girl out...

"M-maybe we should get her out of here before anyone else notices." The mouse girl muttered to the others, still keeping her distance from the other mahou.

Alexa stares at the shop, visibly deflating. Shaking her head, she turns back to Amelia and the girl. "I tried," she says primly, shoulders slumped. She nods at Raspberry. "Yes. We... we should go."

"...Thanks, Alexa. You...Yeah." She nods, looking unhappy but grateful.

"Kase?" Amelia murmurs gently, if reluctantly. A glance to the girl's house. Or where it used to be. "We...we'll fix this, okay? I promise. You'll be okay." Bold words from a girl who burnt her soul into a crisp and is turning into some kind of frog. "But you need to come with us, okay?"

The girl just laid there. Someone probably needed to carry her. She still nodded though.

"We could try that shop?" Amelia whispers to Alexa. Then she kneels, her balance slightly awkward, and she scoops Kase up. She's not heavy with Amelia's magical strength...but she holds her a bit awkwardly.

"... Try what?" Alexa seems genuinely confused, narrowing her eyes testily at Amelia. "Pick up where the damn cheesemonger left off?"

"She's just a kid. Maybe the shopkeeper'd let her stay there?" Amelia shrugs helplessly. "Damnit, there's got to be SOMETHING we can do. Worst comes to the worst...the Wand has rooms, remember?"

"I-I dunno? I mean, master doesn't really talk about having other apprentices or something but maybe? I won't know..." Raspberry sighed.

Alexa resumes grinding her teeth. The faint noise testifies to the layer of calcium being scraped off. "It's worth a try. Let's go."

Amelia reaches out. Shouldernudges Alexa. "You did the right thing back there." She says quietly.

"Tried," Alexa testily corrects. "I tried to do the right thing."

Amelia looks over to Alexa, only tilting her neck slightly to do it. "Yeah. You *tried*." Amelia echoes, smiling broadly at Alexa, warmth obvious despite her face being slightly stretched and her blue skin. "That's what counts, and I'm proud you did." She'd give her a thumbs up but her hands are full.

Alexa smiles thinly back at Amelia, clearly enjoying Amelia's praise despite the seriousness of the situation. The aforementioned situation catches up to her after a moment. Clearing her throat, she nods back at Kase. "Well. I suppose the best we can do right now is hope that the other cheesemonger doesn't bear any hard feelings."

 "...She sells candy actually." Kase muttered flatly.

Also who's carrying her... or is she still just laying there on the ground.

Amelia hasn't dropped her! Yet!

"Have you, um, met her before...today?" Amelia asks, as tactfully as she can manage. "What's she like? Oh, and, um, do you know her name?"

"Oh. Well. Candywoman, then," Alexa nods briskly, grinning crookedly.

"Y-yea. Not often. Mom had me help harass her with her ideas every now and then." she muttered. "I dunno her name though. I don't think mom did either."

Amelia frowns. The more she hears about this girl's mother...She shakes her head.

"S-she was serious on her being the enemy though, mama was that is."

"Okay, well, we're going back there first, okay? Can you tell her you're sorry? She might be able to help you."

"Y-yea. I will..." she muttered, nodding with a somewhat dead look to her eyes.

"Okay." She tightens her grip. "Good girl. This...I told you I'd make things right, and I'll find a way to do it, okay?" There's a determined look to her as she says it.

Amelia glances to Alexa and Raspberry as they walk back.

The mousegirl nods... once the group arrives back, the candy store is mostly cleaned up it seems, the woman managing the broom, who looks up to the group with a somewhat sigh, expecting more trouble, but not shooing them away much as it stands. And Raspberry... just lags behind at a decent distance.

Alexa takes a deep breath, stepping inside of the shop with her customary crooked grin. "Ah, hello! Um. We believe your, um... little friend would like to apologize."

Amelia nods, looking to Kase after putting her down.

Kase sighs with a nod, as she pushes away and hops out of Amelia's arms. "Um... yea. Sorry, miss candy lady..." she said worriedly, the woman sighing a bit and crossing her arms.

 "Well, then what brought about the change of heart, little one?"

"...I kinda... have nowhere else to go." she muttered. "M-mama died recently and uh... I tried to keep doing stuff at the store but it's, um, gone now."

"That woman, so reckless and pointlessly harassing... And I see she got you all wrapped up in that mess, coming over here and making threats so often, having me sell some of your items for you..." she said in a somewhat scolding manner, as Kase teared up a bit, standing there simply.

Amelia winces, but holds off for the moment. She does move up and gently rest her hand on Kase's shoulder in what's meant as a gesture of comfort...but waits for the woman to finish.

Alexa merely wrings her hands, looking between the woman and the girl with a resting grin that belies her nervousness.

The woman sighs a bit as she sees the scene there, gently patting the girl on the head, before looking to the others. "She doesn't have anywhere left to go now, does she?"

Amelia shakes her head.

Shaking her head, Alexa grimaces at the woman. "No. Nowhere. She r-really d-didn't deserve t-to get mixed up in this..."

"...Well, then I can't just turn you away now, can I little one." she said, kneeling down as the girl winced and held her arms up defensively, only to be gently hugged, a look of confused surprise on her face as she looked to the others worriedly, as if this was bad or something. "Well, I'll look past your dreadful little behavior before then, but you'll have to be good and listen now, little one, alright?"

"U-uh... Kay?"


"Thank you, ma'am." Amelia sighs in relief. She gives Kas an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Alexa nods briskly, clasping her hands together and grinning. "Well, I think our work here is done. Let's be off. Right now."

Kase looked with teary eyes to the woman, and returned the hug cautiously, embraced and gently weeping as she was gently picked up, the woman looking to the others. "You girls seemed in quite a hurry, but let me at the least give a small gift, for helping this little one, come in and take a quick pick at the candies, there's surely something good there.

"Oh, um, thanks, but..." Amelia glances down at her arms, nervously, then nods and grabs a candy before standing in the doorway. "We...we probably should get going...thanks for the candy and for...taking care of her. Um, we'll tell everyone to try your shop, okay? Mrs..."

"Oh it's no problem, take care now, girls... and come now, little one, lets get you cleaned up." she said, urging Kase inside who took her hand and followed with big, still watery eyes...

...Raspberry smiled a bit, though, still keeping afar. "W-well, that's good... um, we didn't spend too long here anyway, so, it should be fine."

Alexa snatches up a candy, nodding brusquely and grinning at the woman before stepping outside. "Yes yes wasn't that lovely good job," Alexa rattles off, striding over to Raspberry and gesturing invitingly. "Let's be off."

 "Right. Well, at least she'll be okay now. I guess we can come back for sweets when all this is over with?" Amelia shrugs. "Um, Alexa, you don't see anything...new, right?" She asks worriedly.

Raspberry nodded, as she started to lead the group back off, there was quite a few sights, and otherwise an- "O-oh no, I forgot to charge the batteries...." she meekly whined, as she checked the phone. Which was now dead... "U-um, I mean, we're close'ish anyway, like uh, probably four or five hours... I think?" she said...

Amelia's changes meanwhile, weren't much different. Just progression of what already has happened. Her eyes moving about a bit. Her mouth widening... and her face seeming a little more stretched out now. Just a bit. Still, there was one noticeable thing, in that her legs were.... starting to get awkward to move with. And her feet felt really weird, dare she check what's up?

Amelia winces. "Damnit...I think my legs are cramping up...Hang on..." She's not going to let this curse SCARE her. She's not.

"Hm? Oh, yes, no, nothing new at all, just, you know, everything," Alexa waves a dismissive hand, her attention focused on Raspberry. She follows along with increasing fury.

Amelia checks. Her feet have changed somewhat drastically, that is, they're starting to be more like HANDS than feet... They're wider. Longer toes, but a shorter rest of foot...

...This explains why walking's starting to be awkward...

"Oh god what." Amelia blurts. "Damnit, what the HELL am I turning into..."

She's going to walk. On her own TWO feet, damnit!

Amelia shakes her head furiously, forcing her boots back on and storming onwards without even waiting for the other two. "Damnit, damnit, damnit..." She mumbles through a too-wide mouth.

"U-uh, you okay?" The mouse girl said, as she looked ahead and yelped. A fork in the road! "W-wait,  uh, both should take us there but um... one will take longer. Probably... uhhh...." she sighed, tilting her head. "I know I had to take left somewhere but I forget where, the store always changes..."

Amelia's gone still as Raspberry mumbles. "No! I'm not okay! I'm turning into a...a thing! A frog or SOMETHING! What the hell good am I if I'm some kind of PET!" Amelia yells, shaking now as she glares at Raspberry. "Damnit, damnit..."

"U-Uh I mean... magical creatures tend to be familiars or otherwise, so you'll be effective for magical use and companionship but uh, I mean..." she said, trying to be optimistic here.

"Oh, THANKS! That's a GREAT help! Flaming ace familiar Amelia, yep, that's really worth everything..." Amelia snaps, shaking her head. "Never mind. Which way?" She sighs. "...I don't even know anymore. Alexa?"

"Th-they-usually-cost-a-silver-or-two-for-elemental-types-I'm-just-trying-to-sound-optimistic-sorry-sorry-sorry-sorry!" she squeaked out worriedly, backing away.

Alexa breathes heavily, her eye twitching as she stares at Raspberry. "I don't care. I don't care. Just. Move. Somewhere," she gestures sharply towards the left. "Let me put it this way: if we don't get there in time, you won't, ever."

The girl meekly squeaks and gulps, before heading to the left... you chose poorly. Or did you? Actually it probably won't matter...

"Oh, great. Thanks for the discount." Amelia shakes her head, then looks at Alexa. "Alexa...don't. It's...it's not worth it. She didn't mean to...It was an accident. A stupid accident." She reaches out, taking Alexa's hand. She feels shame- she'd actually forgotten Alexa was worried about her too.

"All the more reason to fix you," she grinds her teeth, eye continuing to twitch ever so often. She squeezes Amelia's hand just a bit too tightly. At length, she sighs. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm under a bit of stress."

It leads along... it's a straight path. Well, straight as a winding, twisting, occasionally having to go up an escalator, then down one later, path could get... They didn't get side tracked by anything,  unless Amelia really wanted to check out that "New amazing sword that shoots fire AND lightning" deal at that one shop.

...maybe later, Amelia thinks.

Figures.

finally however, come to another set of turns.... the mouse sighing. "U-uh, one more turn.... unless we turned too early, I mean, if we did then we'll miss the shop a bit, but if we didnt' well be there.... uh..." she said, looking to the two again.

"...Are we lost?" Amelia asks bluntly. A reassuring squeeze of Alexa's hand. May as well do this before her fingers drop off or something. "Okay, let's get this over with..."

"I don't think we're that lost! Really! And uh, if we turned too early, then we'll be fine on one of the ways anyway... I think."

Alexa continues to glare daggers at the girl. "Okay. Okay. Let's just... keep going. And we'll see."

Left or right?

Amelia sighs, tugging at Alexa's hand. "Okay, let's go...left?"

"Sure. Left. Fine. I feel good about left," Alexa continues grinding her teeth.

Amelia leans in closer to Alexa. A gentle nudge.

Her feet are killing her.

Alexa glances sharply over at Amelia. She glares at her friend for a half second before her gaze softens. She looks down at her feet. "... Do you want me to carry you?"

Amelia winces. "I...I'm okay. Thanks. Besides, I'm a bit tall for that..." She tries to joke.

The path continues as she continues left... and it seems to get darker around. A glance up, yea, the sun is starting to set, it's orange in the sky, turning purple just ever so slightly.... the girl looks around worriedly. "U-uh... right. If this is the right way, then it should only be a few more hours." she said in an encouraging tone.

Amelia hobbles along, as much tugging on Alexa as holding her hand. "Great. Just peachy." She grumbles.

...The group then comes across a dead end after about thirty more minutes of walking. "O-oh no, we took a wrong path..." she sighed, and looked around a bit, yelping. "O-Oh no, scaffolding!" she said, pointing... yep, that was common construction scaffolding.

"Great. We took a wrong turn. So let's go back."

"Oh," Alexa says dully. She stares at Raspberry, barely casting the scaffolding a sideways glance. "Well then I guess we'd better turn around." She speaks with a strangely dead tone of voice, her glare uncomfortable muted.

Amelia looks to Alexa, brow furrowing in concern.

Raspberry sighed, nodding, as they started back... though, ten minutes in? An odd thing was seen. Rather, it could be more than seen.

It was COMPLETELY obstructing their way. A new plywood wall was dead in their path, labeled "Please go around, we apologize for the temporary detour!". It apparently wanted you all to go back the way you came. You know, to the dead end.

"O-oh no... uh, we need to obey that thing...." Raspberry said, worriedly. The sound of construction could be heard on the other side of this wall.

Every shop around here seems closed as they came back.

"Goddamnit!" Amelia glares. "Stupid overcity, who the hell even BUILDS stuff here?!"

"I-Its the construction of this area! The mall tends to keep changing and stuff like this happens when you go the wrong way!" she said worriedly... "C-come on, if we're lucky we can get out from the other way we ca- ooooohh...." she said... they could see, down the way, about five minutes back? It now was no longer a dead end. It now was even closer, yet another one of those construction plywood walls...

". . . U-uhm.... we might have to wait this out..."

"...Shit." Amelia says eloquently. "Or what?"

"... Oh," Alexa says dully, looking at both of the new walls. She takes her sweet time, swiveling her head to stare at the two of them. At last, she turns on Raspberry. "I don't know if you noticed, but you've put us on a BIT OF A BLOODY CLOCK!" Her voice raises all at once as she seems to explode, a series of angry twitching racking her body.

"Or uh, we go through the construction. Which master says is the worst thing you can do if you want to still continue life as you know it... she also likes watching people go through it and says it's really rare for someone to even survive." she added, looking down.

Amelia actively tugs on Alexa. "Alexa, we'll...we'll wait it out. It'll be okay. I hope."

"Uh, your master sounds like a jerk. This is the person we're going to?"

"Good. GOOD!" A grin rips across Alexa's face. She pays no heed to Amelia, continuing to stare at Raspberry. She wheezes in what might have been supposed to be laughter as she points at the wall they initially intended to pass through. "Lead the way, RAT!"

"Alexa!" Amelia barks. "Let's...let's wait."

Raspberry jumped back from Alexa. "I-I'm sorry I know but she'll be fine I mean I'm pretty sure at least there really shouldn't be a deadline on when she's fixed she just will have to be an animal for a bit and these shouldn't take that long master said the longest lasting one in a specific area only took half a day!" she said frightened, shaking her head.

"That....Just get us there, okay?" Amelia sighs, her attention mostly on Alexa.

. . . Also, they might notice tat the wall got... closer. Just a bit. Not that much. A few meters at most...But it was closer.

"I-I can't, there's no way around! Do you see one cause I don't!" Raspberry replies.

Amelia just sighs. "Alexa...please?" Amelia puts her other hand on Alexa's shoulder, looking into her friend's eyes. "I...It'll be okay. It's not worth risking you, and her, over too, okay? I mean, I'm cursed, that's bad enough, but if it's that bad...I don't want you to get hurt over...just me being cursed."

 Alexa breathes heavily, continuing to glare daggers at the mouse girl. At length, Amelia's better judgement prevails. Sighing wearily, Alexa deflates, pushing up her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Fine. So be it. We will wait."

 Amelia hugs Alexa, tightly. "Thanks, Alexa..."

The mouse girl sighed in some relief...

"We'll just need to wait for that to...finish?" Amelia points to the wall, then blinks. "Uh...Guys?"

The wall doesn't seem to 'move' so much... but if you compare it from where it was? Compare it to the closed stores? Yea. It's closing in. A glance down, the other one is too... "U-ummmm....?"

"It's a trap." Amelia says flatly. "I, um, think we should run." She's still a fighter, but she's not going to fight a WALL. Not now, anyway.

"... Well, on second thought, perhaps we don't have that luxury," Alexa says grimly, staring at the wall. She looks again at Raspberry, and gestures grandly towards the wall. "As I said. Lead the way."

"R-run where! We're between the two!"

Amelia looks at the stores. "Maybe we could break in?" She lets go of Alexa long enough to draw her sword.

"W-we'll have to deal with the whole construction mess if you even open that!"

"...Or not." Amelia gulps.

"I'm not opening anything," Alexa says primly, a smirk tugging at her grimace. "You are."

"Alexa, not helping..." Amelia mutters.

"It'll go and cover us all from what master said! Even if I open it or someone else does, it'll be REALLY bad!"

"Even the STORES? What if we break into THAT store?" Amelia repeats, keeping her calm- almost strangely so.

"...Uh, I dunno about them actually, but we'll be trespassing, which could mean whatever depending on the store... I dunno how that will be."

"Right, screw it. We're going in there." She points at the nearest store. "Alexa, come on..."

It's a... mattress store? At least it's comfy looking, but it's a bit early for bed time. It does however, have a distinct advantage of having no metal-gate'ing covering it's doors.

It does however, have glass doors. That probably will break if you break in.

"Christ alive -- Fine!" She rounds to follow Amelia, shaking her head like a dog breaking a rabbit's neck. With a flick of her staff, she summons a pane of hard light to smash the door down. Or, rather, the glass pane, at least.

Smash!

...Hey, at least there's no alarm going off.

They can enter.

Amelia stumbles inside. "...That was...easy. Alexa, can you, um, do something?"

"Y-yea but I mean, it's still trespassing...." Raspberry replies.

"We can say sorry later." Amelia grumbles. "You're the one that said how bad the construction was..."

"Too easy. Something is going to go wrong when we step inside," Alexa comments, stepping in after Amelia. Once Raspberry is inside as well, she summons another pane of light, filling in the opening with a bright red barrier.

The mouse girl sighed. "Y-yea, I know...." she said, indeed even going into the store itself. She'd rather trespass than deal with the stories.

"Hello?" Amelia calls out once she's inside.

And almost IMMEDIATELY as she calls out hello, a humanoid robot glides over, hovering, and very round shaped. "Greetings! Welcome to Fluffico Mattress Emporium, home of all you will ever need for bedding, for this life and the next! Allow me to show you girls around!" it said, reaching out to grab their hands.

Both girls fail to escape it's ridiculously fast grasp, as it drags them along, sprouting two more arms, but one also dragging along Raspberry's arm. "Here we have the deluxe super memory foam comfort plus, Mark 7! Try her out, she's complete with fluffle cotton pillows and comforter, as well as solar drider silk, for maximum comfort and durability for up to 10,000,000,000 years, guaranteed!" The robot stated, dragging all three girls onto the bed... it was very comfy, at least.

"No! Let go!"

"Yes well thank you I think we're quite alright--!" Alexa yelps as they are unceremoniously thrown onto the bed. "Eep!"

"I will release after the demonstration has been completed, ma'am, until then, enjoy maximum comfort!" he stated, as the robotic face of theirs turned into a timer. "Comfort shall end and next demonstration piece will be displayed in 30 seconds."

Amelia frees herself, only for the robot to zoom across the store without her, dragging Alexa and Raspberry along, stopping oddly suddenly and gently to lay them upon the next thing, a set of twin bunk beds. "Here we have the economy family sibling duo of binding plus four! Now with cupholder additions!" he stated, as the two could see a cup holder indeed swivel around the right-top leg of the bed and rest next to their head. "Comfort shall end and next demonstration product will be displayed in 30 seconds."

Amelia charges right at it with an angry scream!

"LET HER GO!"

Amelia hobbles angrily...stumbling and dropping onto her hands.

Her hands.

Damnit.

She dismisses her sword...and runs on all fours.

It is certainly disconcerting how natural this now feels.

Whatever the hell she's turning into, she has to get there NOW. If that means running on her hands and feet, so be it.

I'M COMING, ALEXA!" Amelia yells. "Hang in there!"

Alexa escapes this binding! However... another seems to shoot out, right as she finishes.

Amelia runs- well, scuttles- desperate to help her friend before...whatever goes wrong does.

A set of belts snap onto Alexa right as the timer hits zero. "And here we have the maximum comfort security set! To keep people safely in place, be they loved ones, dangerous criminals, or otherwise! While I am on the subject, I cannot help but notice we are past closing hours and you have vandalized our premises! I now state that as part of my programming, compensation protocol has already been activated! Have fun girls! Your friend shall join you in the compensation chambers soon!" The robot cheerfully stated, as a hatch opened below the beds.

The girls would freefall in, strapped to the beds, only to land upon what seemed to be a dark area... on a conveyor belt? This was probably not good....

Raspberry whines. "Oooohhh... U-uh, sorry Alexa, I'll try helping but um, I'ma have to run if this is too dangerous!" she said, as a glance down the conveytor could see... she poofed. And a small rat made a hop from their bed to hers, as she started to nibble at the bindings...

Amelia just screams and scuttles forwards on all fours, seeing red as her friends disappear. She just wants to tear this thing apart right now.

She punches the robot with her bare hand, and metal plating flies off. "Dear customer and/or robber and/or trespasser, I regret to inform you that you have violated rules of entry and are on company property out of business hours! I am obligated to inform you that I am programmed with a mastery of comfort-quarters-combat, and shall begin to utilize this now, prepare to join subjects in the compensation chamber!" It stated, moving to grab at Amelia once more.

The air around Amelia starts to ripple from sheer heat. The robot misses, and burn marks score at the arms.

Amelia brings up one blue hand, and a silvery blade appears in her grasp. She hacks away with an angry scream. The fire FLARES up around Amelia, such a bright blue it's almost white, and the cursed magical girl brings her sword crashing down with great force!

The bot automatically evades a bit. And the fire flares up and burns it anyway. "Dear customer, please refrain for utilizing fire on the demonstration floor!" It states simply.

"SHUT UP!"

"I am programmed not to shut up indeed!" It stated, trying to re-capture Amelia all the while.

"ALEXA!" Amelia yells, her fire flaring up again even as she's attacked.

Meanwhile, Alexa struggles to break free... clang, clang, in the distance, she hears stuff beating down...

As she closes in, she can see it, gigantic presses aiming to, well, crush and ram down on her upon this conveyor belt. There's nowhere to evade even off the belts, they're solid walls, but if she can just break free, evading the falling presses might be at the least possible!

In the nick of time, she breaks free, as the mouse that is Raspberry hops off with her and scampers onto a rather tiny side-railing... She's on her own for this, but as she looks back to see what used to be the bed, it's flat as a pancake. What might be her fate if she's hit by this... Incoming presses!

Roll here, dodge here, an- WHAM. The third press slams down, as does the fourth before Alexa can escape away, she's feeeling.... oddly flat, Standing can confirm, her very form has been now deformed out of shape, but thankfully not to a point she can't move, and better yet, not a bloody mess like what should have happened without magic... still, this is not good. Ahead seem to be steam pumps...

Alexa's first thought is a desperate desire to murder that little scum-sucking rat. Self-preservation pushes it to the side a moment later as she tries to put herself back together. After that, she tries to huddle up behind a series of barriers. She can see ahead... nothing. Then a turn happens. Oh crap, that's a gigantic press, abunch of them.

And cleave! Off goes the robot's head as Amelia hacks away... "Dear customer! I regret to inform you I am no longer functional! Please act accordingly in terms of store management. Thank you and have a nice day!" it stated. Before falling over flat on the ground...

...Amelia looks down and see a conveyor belt.

But no Alexa. No beds. Nothing.

Amelia doesn't wait for a witty remark. She just throws herself down.

She lands on her hands and feet.

"Alexa! Where are you? "Alexa!" Amelia yells. "Raspberry!"

Incoming! Block, dodge, SOMETHING! Amelia raises her sword as something comes at her! She fares far better, as she actually holds her own against the rather heavy looking presses, while she can't hope to break them back, she holds each one she can't quite dodge off long enough to move aside. That, or until they start lifting once more....

"A-" Amelia parries. "ALEXA!" She yells in between swings. "P-please...please be okay...I don't care what happens, just please...please be okay..."

Meanwhile, Alexa's cleansed... only to find that she now has broken bones, OW. FUCK. She no longer looks silly but she's badly hurt.

"A-A-Amelia!" Alexa calls back, cringing behind her barriers as she desperately tries to put herself back together. She whimpers in pain.

She can see Amelia down the way, as Amelia can see her, about to go through the scalding steam jets, it seems...

Amelia runs for her friend, fingers and boots digging into the paths as she THROWS herself towards her friend, heedless of the danger. She scuttles along. While it may not look graceful or good, her form currently is actually really handy for something like a conveyor belt... Unfortunately, she isn't quite there yet, as Alexa has to fend for herself at least one round as she casts an aegis.

Amelia barrels onwards, fire crackling around the madly scuttling cursed girl. Come on, come on...

The scalding jets of steam spray upon them both! They seem to be wearing away, melting Alexa's hardlight shield... and it's only getting stronger as they go in, but Amelia's power, fire or otherwise, keeps them save as she scuttles along.

Amelia THROWS herself onto Alexa, grabbing her friend.

Burning jets barrage Amelia, as they melt at her armor...Thankfully, no harm is fully done as the steam jets seem to end...

Ahead, however, is perhaps a bit more concerning. Weaving needles and arms swing to and fro rapidly, dangerously...

Amelia pants, scrambling off Alexa. "H-hey...A-Alexa..Please be okay..." No sign of Raspberry, but that doesn't matter. Alexa's okay...

Alexa is decidedly not okay, barely functioning with her broken limbs. Fortunately, this is the one thing she is capable of fixing, as her magic knits her back together.

Amelia lets her magic flare up, putting her worries- her knowledge of what that could do to her over time- aside. Right now Alexa's hurt. She just wants these things to burn. She steps...or rather scrambles, in front of Alexa.

Speaking of which, here come the needles, stabbing, pecking, tearing.... magically enchanted, to sew you into the finest of materials....

"I'm here..." She murmurs to Alexa, almost soothingly. "I'm here..."

Sew, stitch, rip, stitch.... Alexa ducking and covering thankfully is safe. Only because Amelia literally shielded her with her body... and checking the damage now, it's clear what it was, as Amelia now resembled more of a plushie than a person, stitch marks holding together a new, silky blue layer of 'skin' around her body, and a gentle fabric covering most of her features. Still, Amelia's face, while still distorted, was untouched, and while this HURT to be stabbed about seven hundred and fourty six times in the span of six seconds, she's alive and still breathing.... There seems to be a gate ahead of sorts, as well as odd magical arm-devices.

Amelia gurgles. "A-ah..."

Dimly, there are charred patches on the...thing that Amelia resembles...As her magic slowly burns through. Weakly, she clutches at her friend.

"Christ alive!" Alexa exclaims, her staff glowing brightly. "Oh God, oh God, why did you do that," she mutters feverishly as she tries to put Amelia back together.

 And a soothing sensation covers Amelia, as the threading and silk are removed and lay flat beside them.

"S-sorry..." Amelia gurgles. "Didn't...didn't...want y-" She breaks off into a scream. "Y-you...are y-you...okay..."

She can breathe again, with some of the silk tugged away.

Alexa casts another dose of aegis, barriers springing up around the two of them. "Yes yes fine for GOD's sake, just pull yourself together."

"Trying." Amelia gestures feebly, her warped face twisting into a strange looking smile. And as she does this, they pass through the gate, which a "BRRRRRRT." buzzer sounds, followed by a monotone robotic "Compensation not reached. Please stand down and comply to compensation." it stated, as the arms whirred to life, threatening both the girls as they spread, sparked, and glowed...

...They can't really tell what this thing will do. But it's probably going to suck.

Amelia feebly raises her sword. "S-sorry..." She mumbles to Alexa, and then the arms are on them!

Amelia... actually fends off from the needles, mostly because they kept getting stuck in the hardlight aegis, but regardless, she's surprisingly totally fine! Well, okay, her bubble is broken and she got poked a bit but... still she's mostly fine.

Alexa meanwhile...isn't so fine, as the many arms pressure and tinker with her....

By the time they pass the next gate, and exit, Alexa is...well, certainly not human shaped anymore. Her face was recognizable, and she could speak weakly, but she was reshaped and molded into a rather comfy and fluffy, warm pillow...

Oh dear. That certainly isn't good.

Amelia screams. "Alexa! Oh god, oh god. Please...please say something...A-A..." Amelia's voice is a low, tortured whimper. Her fingers tremble as she reaches for her friend....or her friend's body.

She can speak. She just can't really...Move.

Alexa merely lets out a little whimper. "... Oops," she says, and wheezes. It might have been intended to be laughter. It is then followed by a series of sobs.

"Oh...Y-you're...you're...alive..." Amelia sounds relieved and horrified. "We'll fix this, we'll fix it, you'll be okay, no matter what...."

...The moment is cut short. Another buzzer. "Continued failiure to comply to compensation. Termination protocols activated."

"SHUT UP!"

...The path ahead seems to change

A giant set of buzz saws form.

...And there still is no 'dodging' room here.

...This is really, really not good, for the record.

Amelia throws herself in front of Alexa, hobbling on her feet. She won't let ANYTHING hurt Alexa again as long as she's alive.

...They're getting closer.

A sword might not cut it.

Rather, the sword is probably going to be cut.

Then a girl. Then a pillow....

But a fireball might if there's no way off or back.

...Before suddenly? the conveyor and saws both start to slow down.... the conveyor stops. The saws are still slowing, but are shuffled away. "Process canceled." as a platform replaces it

..."Y-You two alright or was I too late...?" Raspberry called down ahead.

Amelia makes a muffled noise.

Alexa makes a vaguely strangled noise that's somewhere between pain and rage.

A giggle. A titter. And then Amelia starts to sob. "Y-you...You're j-just...fine...aren't you...Always just...fine." She spits. She looks to Alexa, fingers almost touching her friend. "Shh...Sh..." Amelia whispers to Alexa then looks to Raspberry.

"You. Here. Now."

Raspberry pokes her head out. "S-sorry! There were so many levers and stuff and I don't think they did much till that last one opened the door..." she said worriedly, sighing and drooping her head in shame. "U-um... wait where's Alexa..."

"Guess." Amelia snaps. "Okay, you listening? How do we FIX her?"

"Y-yes?" she meekly squeaked.... "U-um, what... what happened?"

She clearly doesn't notice that the rectangle there is Alexa.

 "This...this place..." Amelia slumps. It was her idea to hide here. It's her fault Alexa got hurt. "It..turned her into...this. Who can turn her back?" Amelia asks, tone flat.

"U-uhhh... I um, I'm pretty sure plenty of people can! Maybe master! No, probably master... or uh, if not, she'll have to know someone who can." she said confidently. "I-I'm sure she'll fix everything!"

"Okay. But if she can't...If YOUR stupid curse makes me...makes me a THING...You're going to fix her. Got that?

You. Fix. Her." She snarls.

"... Medic," Alexa groans weakly, wriggling in place.

Amelia...touches her. Not quite a hug. She doesn't have a hand to hold. "Shhh. It'll be okay, it'll be okay, we'll fix you..." Amelia wants to be sick between her worry, horror, and guilt. "S-sorry, Alexa..." She tries to move her friend, as gently as she can...

Alexa, being in no fit state to resist, allows herself to be dragged along.

Amelia's carrying Alexa in a parody of a bridal carry, hobbling along as her tail thrashes behind her in her agitation.

"I know I know! I'll help you both out, it'd be wrong to just leave you two after this stuff!" she said apologetically.... frowning to the poor pillow....

 ...Also, Alexa, as the pain ever so slightly subsides?

 Good news! She still has her magic!

...Though, it's been weakened down. Similar to how her body's been weakened to a fluffy, rectangular version.

Alexa does, indeed, cast it on herself at the earliest opportunity.

"Let's...let's get out of here..." Amelia murmurs, looking down at Alexa's face. "I-it'll all be...everything'll be okay...We'll fix you...And we'll go home..."

...It's not all too comforting, but... well...Alexa is a very fluffy thing to hug. As in, the softest pillow ever. Still, probably.... more concerning than comforting.

Amelia's never going to look at a pillow quite the same way again. She still hugs Alexa. "We'll fix this..." She insists. "You'll be okay..."

The mouse girl meanwhile leads them along frantically, before they find a back exit... and then the back exit to lead out to the stores, "H-Hey! I know where we are!" she said happily. "Master's shop is really, really close too!"

"GO." Amelia shouts, almost tamping her foot. Glaring back at the shop as the group leaves, she considers throwing a fireball in through the doorway...Then decides it's not worth it.

She nods, not even noticing the threat in this tone, as she leads them along, it hardly takes five minutes till she enters. "Hmm? Ah, Raspberry, you're home early." the woman calls.

 However... as Amelia closes in? She can sense... a LOT of corruption. Dear god that's a lot. All coming from that one store.

Amelia freezes, her former sanctification and her own magic screaming at her to run away. She holds Alexa just that bit tighter. She's worried about how quiet she's gone...

Then she storms forwards anyway.

Anything to save Alexa.

Her hands are gentle around Alexa even as she runs, clumsily, on her feet.

The store reeks of corruption. And while a lot is in the items and otherwise, and the store itself, the witch hatted red haired woman at the counter seems to be the source of it. "Oh dear, what terrible fates have befallen you two girls?" she said worriedly... "U-uhm, I kinda... botched a curse. Then I got us lost and stuff..." "Raspberry." "I know Master." she sighed, as the woman sternly looked to her, beckoning her over as Raspberry sat on the counter with a guilty look...

Amelia wants to be sick. She really does. She wants to pull out her sword and burn everything...But this woman isn't threatening her. And might be there only hope."Your...student?" Amelia says bluntly. "She cursed me. But never mind that. Please. Help my friend. She...The factory...Please turn her back." Her voice is low. Soft. Begging. She's still holding Alexa in her arms. "I don't care how much it costs. Whatever you want for it. Just help her."

"...While I really, truly hate those sanctified and beacon girls, there's no reason you should have cursed her without a good reason."

"I-I didn't mean to curse her, I meant someone else."

"And I'm proud you managed to cast it, but that's no excuse little missy. I'll be asking you which curse you used, but for now, time out." She stated, pointing to the mouse girl, as she shrunk down to a mouse again, "Consider your human privileges revoked for the rest of the day, little missie... your mom's on the wheel I think." she said, moving her over to a rather... absurdly large mouse cage. And oddly the only thing that isn't really emanating much, if any, corruption.

Her magic screams at her to burn this place down. She viciously shoves that impulse down.

Amelia's brow furrows. Despite herself, she doesn't...doesn't ask. She hates herself for it. But she cares more about Alexa than whatever's going on with Raspberry.

She then however looks back to Amelia. "Also lets not worry about costs, this is my niece's fault so I'll worry about you two first." She said sternly, sighing and waving them over. "Now, come over here... I'll get to you too. But right, we'll start with your friend, what dreadful case befell her?"

"The...the bed factory. The one nearby...We...It pushed her onto the assembly line..." One or two stitches in Amelia's blue skin burn up even as Amelia talks.

The lady nods, tilting her head curiously, as she gently reaches to look to her... "Hmm, a remodeling and reforging spell then. Quite a dreadful thing to use on a person...." she said, observing her... or it, carefully...

"Can you help her?" Amelia blurts anxiously.

The lady sticks a finger over Amelia's mouth, observing still. This will take some time. For next episode.

Amelia twitches but says nothing.

=========
Running their fingers along Alexa as a gentle wisp of corruption trailed her fingertips, she tilted her head. Apause. A few moments, and she fished around the back for a magnifying glass, continuing to observe her, as well as giving a glance or two to Amelia through this magnifying glass with a 'tch'... "Hmm...mmm. Right. Well, the good news is that her physical pressence isn't missing, she's just been compressed and altered, so her physical form is possible to be returned." she said simply with a reassuring smile. "The downside, of course, is the methods to do so, if I was to just remove what magic ticks upon her, well... she would be knotted inside out and her survival wouldn't last longer than a few seconds." The witch woman stated bluntly. "However, there's plenty of ways to solve this issue worry not... Though, considering the state you're in, you're bound tonot like them any. Still, since this is my niece's fault, I'll be dealing with this less as the buisness woman I've become, and more as a responsible lady, so hear me out all the way, alright girls?" she stated to start.

Amelia's been watching the whole time. Despite herself, she visibly twitches at the visible corruption, looking extremely uneasy. Or maybe that's just how her face's supposed to look. "Okay, just...how can you help her? Without...knotting?" She blurts.

Guilt gnaws at her. Alexa's only like this because of HER, she wasn't GOOD enough to keep her safe in the deathtrap after it was HER idea that they hide there...She can't even stop herself from screwing up and getting Alexa hurt. Alexa, who was so worried about her...

"I can indeed, otherwise I wouldn't be telling you two to listen and have nothing to say but to find her a good pillow case. The first and 'easiest' way, is I can spread my powers of corruption to her, and the powers involved shall transform her into what many refer to as a monster, or, monster girl. And while I won't question or argue against you purifying her later, corruption's not so easy to remove as people figure. Yes, there are many ways to remove it, and many ways to alter or otherwise... but there are also many parts many people won't know or see until it's too late." she said, pushing off the counter and pulling out a scroll, unrolling it and showing them, simply put, it's a diagram with generic looking souls... though, some worse for wear than others. "The soul is a complex little thing, and I'm far from an expert, but I can tell you the simple basics that you'll need to know when it comes to corruption. And you pay attention too, since this does have parts to do with you." she added to Amelia, as she started at the start. "The soul is a mass of magical energy, and in many cases, have their own looks, potential and otherwise. Corruption will twist, bind, warp and otherwise that soul, especially to those untrained in managing it, many simply see it as a simple form of power, and that's the worst way to take it. It is a power and otherwise, yes, but the key is to not allow it to control you, as it will simply worm into your being, warp it, until the corruption is more you than you are... and similarly, goes for you, girl. That beacon group of yours does quite the similar thing, just with a force that will reprogram you into a crazed warrior and savior archetype." she stated, looking at Amelia with her magnifying glass simply. "The feeling of corruption and that sanctification can go both ways, once you know it."  she stated simply, bluntly. "It seems to be mostly dead or inactive, but that portion that it changed will linger quite some time probably. Or, leave quite the gaping hole if you were to be corrupted..." she said sternly.

"...Short version, if you weren't much paying attention though, we can start by simply making her a monster girl, and that will run it's course to solve her situation. But corruption, and your sanctification, aren't the best things to simply accept for power or a solution, without proper preparation or mindset."

Amelia listens, slumping. Every word this woman says...It hits her hard. "I...I know what my soul is." She says simply. "That doesn't matter. If...If that's the best way to help Alexa..." Amelia swallows, looking to her friend. This...this is her worst nightmare, and there isn't a coin she can throw away this time.

The pillow is silent for a moment, taking this in with all the blankness of an actual inanimate object. After a little while, however, her whole form starts trembling, and a truly unfortunate noise worms its way out. It is, eventually, recognizable as laughter.

"You said...you said there were plenty-" Amelia starts, then stares at the pillow, rushing over. "A-Alexa..." She whispers. "What...What's wrong?"

Alexa attempts to shake her head, but this is stymied on account of her no longer having a head to shake, or a neck, or much of anything. Instead the whole pillow sort of shimmies this way and that. "Funny," it wheezes out.

"Now, as to the risks, beyond what I've just said? It's not as simple as purification, removal of corruption, everything is fine. The soul won't just instantly heal, going back to it's old state, they're oddly fragile whilst highly malleable things, it will take time, lots of time if it resonates with her soul rather effectively, even moreso with stress or otherwise, to return to a more stable, uniform state. An eroding of a soul, in a way." she said sternly. "The amount varies for everyone... and in some cases, to compensate for this risk, the soul latches on far more strongly to the corruption, and they become inseparable by most any means. It's not the most common reaction, but it is as it is. So, don't feel this is just the 'best' way out. Even if it is the quickest."she said sternly, shaking her head. The other solution to your predicament, requires a rather specific problem solver, quite the expensive piece of hardware, and unless you girls have a gold or two to spare, I don't think we'll be getting one for here. Instead however, is the other half of the solution. That is, you bring the poor girl to one of those 'magical extraction printers' and have it fix her, as if in reverse of what has happened to her. They're rather sophisticated pieces of work, removing her current state should be easy. Well, unless this takes over a month, as by then, the magic will settle more down to her soul than her physical being and well... she'll be fixable, just it won't be even as 'easy' as this." she stated initially, sighing and crossing her arms with a sigh.

Amelia listens, going very still. Eroding? *Alexa*'s soul? The image of Alexa twisted, of her being stuck as some inhuman monster because Amelia wasn't good enough...Never. She resolves.

"How do they work? Where do we go?" She asks. "Don't worry, Alexa..." She adds. "We can fix this...It'll be okay..."

The pillow seems to sigh at this, receding inward slightly. Her amusement tapers off, and she resumes her previous passive state, not having much ability to force the issue.

"Of course, the part you probably won't like with your end of things? Clearly things so expensive aren't so offered to the public. If at all... it wouldn't be impossible to find someone who would be willing to let you use theirs, but it would certainly take quite a few coins. And given your situation, I don't think you have the time to amass a small fortune." she stated flatly. "So, you're going to have to resort to less than savoury things. Breaking in and perhaps forcing your way to using their device. Stealing it outright perhaps. Naturally, considering their price, nobody's going to just leave it out so easily, though... you'll have quite the challenge ahead if you're to do this. And I'll have to ask around a bit, it shouldn't take too long, and if you were willing to wait I could even perhaps find someone to let you use it for a relatively small favor, but we both can tell you also have your own time limit as it is." she sighed. "...Or, there is always simply leaving it as such, your friend won't die nor suffer much ill effects if she stays as such. But that option I'm only saying because it is as it is, I don't expect that to be your answer, is it, child?" she asked to finish.

Amelia listens then shakes her head. "Damnit..." Breaking in? Right now that doesn't matter one bit to her where Alexa's concerned. Forcing...That...doesn't sound right. Stealing less so. But if it means helping Alexa.

This business of possibly staying as she is is the only option that Alexa seems openly displeased with; the pillow jerks and bounces in place, twisting angrily.

She shakes her head. "No. I HAVE to help Alexa. As soon as I can. It's my fault she's...she's like this, and if...I'm running out of time..." She reaches out and touches Alexa. "Don't worry..." She tries to calm her friend.

"How...how long would it...take to find someone? Who else'd havee the printers, and...would they, um, maybe be willing to talk too? And, um, how long do I have before...?" Amelia looks uneasy. Guilty. Worried. Her gaze darts from the woman to Alexa.

"So I figured. Well, those are the options for her... and for the record, seeing as how simply loading her with corruption and turning her into a monster is a bit, you know, impulsive, I won't do that today even if that's what you want. When I have the locations in mind for you, then I'll give you the choice on that option... you'll need time to think it over." she said seriously to the duo, with a sigh. "Meanwhile, lets change our focus for a few moments, shall we, Raspberry, which curse did you put upon her..." she asked, looking to the mouse cage, a bit of squeaking, and she reached over to pull the book, flipping through... "Oh, these shouldn't be like this, this is horrible formatting for this book..." she said, as she looked up. "As for how fast I can find someone? I'll say over the night at most, as for how long it will take to find someone who will let you with a simple favor? A week. At earliest." she said simply with a sigh, looking through the curses and tilting her head, muttering things about magical theory and alchemical formula.
[
"I...We don't have a week." Amelia can't even bring herself to be distrustful of this woman. Things are too bad right now. Any port in a storm, even if that port's screaming for her to run away or burn it down on her magical senses. Amelia bites her lip. "Um, Raspberry did...both frog and pig." She says, distractedly, looking to Alexa. "Hey. We're fixing you, no matter what, okay?" She tells her friend. "So don't worry. You'll be okay..."

Alexa once again visibly sighs at this outright dismissal of the easiest solution to her current predicament, audibly grumbling. She remains otherwise inert.

"Just like it never happened..." Amelia says, trying to convince herself as much as Alexa. She can't let her friend get turned into a monstergirl, especially with what this woman's said, but...but she's like THIS and...

"A-Alexa?" Amelia says, sounding worried. "Are you...there? Say something?" She's leaning over her friend, looking almost panicky.

"Well, that won't turn you into a frog or a pig, thankfully. Instead it's more of a newt... not quite standard though. The solution is fairly similar, but it needs a material component now. A kiss from divine mandated nobility, a pinch of wortweed which I have, but the difficult part is a few drops of solar terminator silvershine... There is a place you can get that naturally, but you'll have to do it tonight. Or, have someone else help... and well, that part might not be the most possible at the moment." she said simply.

The pillow merely sighs, sagging in on itself again. However much effort it takes her to audibly express herself, it's clearly more than she's willing to put out right now.

Amelia stares down at her friend, looking worried. "A...newt? Urgh. Goddamnit..."She thinks, and her expression hardens. "Okay, fine. That can wait. If Alexa's okay, we can look into that. I...I need directions to the first place with one of those magical printers. She...I need to help Alexa while I can. And corruption...Her soul? No. Not if there's any other way. I can get silvershine or whatever when Alexa's okay."

Alexa going through having her soul shredded? Corrupted? Not a chance. It's not even about disliking corruption at this point, not entirely. But she...remembers what sanctification was doing to her, just days before...and she's not okay with that for Alexa.

Alexa grumbles, the pillow jerking back to life with some insistent wobbling. "You. First," she hisses.

Everything this woman told her about sanctification? She's preaching to the choir. (Ha.) Amelia knows what it was doing to her now. Some part of her might have done it anyway, to be someone that mattered- a part that she suspects isn't as much of her as it used to be. But she'd never be okay with doing that to Alexa if there was anything she could do to stop it.

"That part is for you, and while you can steal it sooner, that might be a tad risky... and the natural means of gathering, well, tonight will be your only shot at this rate." she stated sternly, sighing as she looked through the book. "Her case will have to be tomorrow, and you should have enough time, get her to one of the printers and it can do it's work rather easily." she added. "...I'll tell you your options for your case though. At the stroke of midnight tonight, will be a ceremony, tis a good time of the month for gathering, the moon's just in the right situation and alignment. You won't be alone, and while it's not particularly dangerous, you'll have quite a bit to compete against to gather it first... the alternative is to steal it, and I wouldn't dare there, the alchemists would gang up upon you, instead from a store, I do know one alchemist. An incompotent fool of one, but he has his share of issues and twisted ways... and I admit, it might be fairly dangerous in it's own right. And of course, for you, stealing. Can't feel too good." she added flatly. "...That'll have to happen at night too, your best bet to break in compared to now, those are your options, child." she said gently with a small sigh and shrug.

Amelia listens intently as the woman explains. "So...for this," She gestures to herself. "It's...tonight or nothing, no matter what? Damnit, damnit, damnit..." She frowns. "What do you mean, twisted?" She does her best to ignore the jibe about stealing. "I...It doesn't feel right to fix myself before she's okay..." She mutters, looking to Alexa. "But...why can't I get her to the printers now?"

The thought that there's an easier way- standing right there- to help Alexa flashes through her mind and she shakes her head, distractedly. No. Corruption, what it'd do to ALEXA's soul...It'd hurt her.

"I have to look up where there are some, I'd have at best a vague, uninformed guess as to what might have some to use." she said gently with a sigh. "As for twisted, well... he's a rather terrible alchemist, and obsessed with money as the end goal. He'd sell a small child if it came to it... and they're sloppy in their work. It's unrefined, unproper, and quackery at best, so I wouldn't feel too bad dealing with him. Still... he's an enigma, I can't tell how he's survived this long. But there's got to be something..."

Amelia listens, nodding. Listening to her depict this man as awful and a greedy cheat...It makes it easier to consider...robbing him. A twist of self-disgust, but...she'd have a good reason...And if she had to, it'd mean Alexa still needed help too afterwards. "Okay. If I get to this...ceremony or get some silvershine... somehow...I'd be able to help Alexa first thing tomorrow, no problem, right?" It's quiet. Too quiet. It's like Alexa isn't even there...

"No...catches or delays, or anything? I can just...get her in there, and she'd be okay?"

Please don't say she'd have to wait to save Alexa. Please don't let her be stuck like that.

"Well, yes and no. Yes, in that you can help her out tommorow once you're back, I'll figure things out, but your cure will take a little longer of course. A little longer, in that I'd need to also take you along to my friend, she's of royal blood even though she has no inheritance to it, thus she should work just fine for the final required component. Once we did that, then you would be cured and free of that persistant curse upon you... She'd have to stay as such for a bit longer, but that's probably the safest option. If you can get the portion of the cure." She stated, pointedly. "...Your case also would be able to simply be purified off, once it has fully run it's course, but your sentience is likely not going to last the week, so... well, while it will return after as such, it's probably embarrassing on a personal level. Not to mention her case... though, the option of corruption will be up to your friend of course." she stated simply.

"I...My sentience? "I'm going to...Lose my mind?!" Amelia shakes her head frantically, posture stiffening slightly.  Not even KNOWING that Alexa needs her help... That knot in her stomach's starting to twist a bit as she tries to make sense of the older woman's...advice. Always something going wrong. "I...No. If your friend's not going anywhere...I'm getting Alexa to that printer first." She says firmly. Alexa's not staying like that a second more than she has to.

"I...I have a week, right?"

"Well, your mind does... I expect your form will be set in its final sort of form after tommorow midnight though, so a deadline for you to do something is, well, that."

Alexa immediately resumes thrashing angrily, bouncing up and down in place. She shakes emphatically, growling. The sound of a pillow growling is highly unfortunate. "No. You. First."

"Y-you're a PILLOW, Alexa! I CAN'T just leave you like that..." She shakes her head, looking to the woman bleakly. "And...that's it? The cure wouldn't work afterwards, or..."

Alexa nonetheless continues to writhe angrily, shaking her upper section. "Not. Getting. More pillowy," she hisses angrily.

Amelia looks frantic. "I'd have the silvershine. I'd just have to get back here afterwards, and you'd be *okay*. It'd fix *you*." Amelia touches Alexa, gently. "If I can just get you in there...*then* we can worry about my cure. It's not like I can't still fight like this..."

"Well, hers has a deadline of about a month, but it's not like the corruption option won't go away if we are left without any others. She's right though, she'll be fine. You on the other hand, your cure can take years if you really wanted, but your last meaningful bits of humanity will be gone tomorrow midnight, and your mind in a week." She said simply.

The pillow outright bounces in place, its corners kicking like a set of arms and legs. She growls again. "You. Are. Becoming. A newt," she hisses angrily. "Time. Sensitive."

"She is right, though, similar to newt. You might be a bit better off. Magical probably. Hardly any consolation."

Amelia doesn't care if she's turning into a puuchu wearing a mascot hat- that's not what matters right now. "But it's my fault you're stuck!" Amelia bursts out, shaking slightly. "I...You first, Alexa. Then we can worry about...the other thing." She gulps. "Like she said...years, right..."

Alexa doesn't seem to buy this assertion, once again emphatically twisting and shaking in place. Lacking any ability to further express herself, she just writhes around disgustingly.

"Please...I'm...I'm sorry, Alexa. You can yell at me all you want when you're okay..." Amelia shakes her head.

Alexa begins hopping up and down in place, an incoherent screech of rage, muffled by her plush interior, leaving the pillow.

"Sorry..." Amelia looks and sounds miserable.

"I'm sorry, Alexa..."

Refusing to accept this apology, Alexa continues to huff and writhe angrily.

"...Lets drop the anger and who will save who first, and think on this a bit rationally, come, it's late and you probably are hungry... Well, she is." She said, glancing to the pillow apologetically as they don't much need food now... "She should have some magical power, as will you, so it isn't as if the other must run off on their own." She said, as she switched the door sign, locking the door, as she waved for them to come in the back.

Amelia winces, but seems determined to go through with it. She tries to gently pick Alexa up. A nod to the lady- she's almost, almost able to ignore how she makes her feel with everything else going on...

Alexa, fortunately, calms down when Amelia picks her up, though she continues to audibly grumble.

Amelia keeps mumbling apologies for a few steps...but doesn't seem about to change her mind. She'll take all the yelling Alexa has to do...once she has the lungs to do it with.

The corruption would fade as they entered, a simple, quaint apartment home as they would ascend the steps, the only corruption being the lady herself now, as she waved them to the living room, a simple couch with TV and coffee table with a bunch of assorted junk, a table along the way with a school backpack and textbooks and magical books. "Take a seat, dinner should be ready in a bit." She called with a small smile.

"...Thanks." Amelia mumbles, glancing around. "Um, where'd you want to...sit, Alexa?" She asks her friend, a bit awkwardly.

Is this where...Raspberry usually stays? When she's not being...punished?

The pillow sighs. By nature, she is, herself, the thing to be sat on. So it clearly doesn't matter much to her.

"Apologies for the mess, Raspberry doesn't much bring over friends, if at all. Though, I do hope any other friends of hers don't have similar issues befall them." She called, the smell of a stew brewing.

Amelia gently puts her down on...one of the other cushions. On the sofa. And sits next to her. "So...we can go back and get that book-" Amelia tries to prompt Alexa to reply, awkwardly, then jumps a bit. "Oh...Uh. It's okay...She's your...niece, right?" Amelia thinks to the girl turning into a mouse...who got 'punished' with magic... Who, now that she thinks about it...did save their lives. She kind of feels bad about yelling at her so much, but...

She DID turn her into a newt. And Alexa's a pillow because of her, partially...

"Mm? Yes, my sweet little niece. If your wondering if I'm being too harsh, it's not that way, she and her mother were born mice, her mother my first familiar, this is hardly punishment as it is, more to keep her from causing much trouble." She said simply... "She's a nice little one. She has 8 older brothers and an older sister, they all took in corruption for power, and have gone off in the world seeking more, I can only hope for the best... But she didn't want to, and is taking the long way there. Weak, and powerless... I'm proud of her for keeping to the proper way, instead of simple shortcuts." She said with a wide smile as she brought over a cauldron with purple, bubbling soup, as she set out bowls and spoons.

Alexa grumbles distastefully at this.

"...Oh." Amelia says quietly. "Yeah, she's pretty nice..." A guilty twinge, that goes away when she looks at her blue arms. She touches Alexa's side- not like she can hold her hand... "But..." Amelia starts to blurt, then catches herself. "Thanks." She mumbles at the spoon. She looks at Alexa, guiltily...She shouldn't eat in front of her when she's like this. She looks up instead. "What do you mean by the proper way?" She asks instead. This woman...She's not really

She's not really what Amelia expected from someone that corrupted. Neither was Kreimhild, really...Well. Some of the time, anyway.

Part of her flashes back to her time split into Amy. When Kreimhild was saying she was a thing. She shudders slightly.

She looks at Alexa instead. Even if they save her from this, no, WHEN they save her from this...Alexa still has something about her that needs fixing. The beast. According to Kreimhild, anyway.

"The way that isn't so quick, or single minded. To go towards corruption or otherwise for more immediate, innate power instead of learning and growing on your own, to master and control over succumb to corruption and power... You seem as if something is on your mind, is my presence still all too displeasing to you, or something else amiss?" She asked simply, taking a bite of the perhaps oddly somewhat sweet stew. Not as if loaded with sugar, but as if instead of potato and tomato, it was yams and pudding.

Sighing in place, Alexa fidgets against the other pillow, her fabric grinding against it. "Don't. Always. Have. Time," the pillow grumbles.

"I...No. Yes. Not really, it's just..." Amelia shakes her head. "Sorry. Just...you're not what I expected from...well, you." Amelia gestures vaguely. "I mean, corruption, it...it just hurts people. Makes them into something they're...not, but you seem...fine. And you're helping us..."

"Raspberry said you like watching construction storms." She mentions, seemingly out of the blue. Amelia seems reluctant to take a bite, though it seems more for Alexa's sake than distrusting the food.

"Well, I wouldn't be speaking of control if I wasn't much in my own case of control... Not to say I don't indulge in something rather cruel for amusement, but not something I am much for causing." She said simply. "...and cool your head, child, if you let yourself simply act off emotions alone, then anything such as corruption would twist you about so easily... Still, it is your decision if you will take the 'quick' way out, I won't stop you."

Amelia looks to Alexa. The woman's admission of cruelty for fun makes her frown- Amelia's an open book, and that book's emotions are clearly telegraphed. "I wouldn't use corruption." She says certainly. Perhaps less furiously than she would have just a few days before, when she'd been...driven. "And...power only matters if you're using it for something worthwhile. So I don't think I would." She glances to Alexa, still worried by her friend's quietness.

Alexa resumes grumbling, but under her breath. If what she has now can even really be called breathe. Nonetheless, she has little ability to press the issue.

"Well, this'll be one way or another, I don't much seek to make you like me, simply guide you." She said gently. "At that though, have you decided what you will do as it is? The ritual, a break in, or to simply rest up to prepare for your friend?"

Amelia lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She thinks. Sorry, Alexa... "...The ritual. No sense making things harder for later, right? And I can handle two trips, no problem..." An awkward pause. "Uh...and thanks for the help."

She's calmer now that there's a way to fix things. Relieved, slightly. She won't truly be okay with things until Alexa's back to her normal self. Oh, and herself too.

The woman nodded, as she thumbed through a handbook, before tearing out a page and scribbling in corruption, before offering it to her, it said both the directions, as well as simply gave a 'this is the way' guidance for the girl. "Well, then here you go, feel free to take your friend, she should still be able to help with her magical power, even if weakened." She said simply... "I mean, I feel I would not make much interesting company, but if you wish."

Amelia doesn't wince this time. At least the way the page feels means she's not going to lose it. "Thanks...And...If you're okay with coming, we could probably use the help..." Her pride's taking second place to the big, pillow-shaped problem.

She realizes she doesn't have any pockets. She frowns. "Uh, just let me drop the transformation..."

Untransformed, she knows she has a hoodie on. That has pockets to put the paper in.

She stands up, and concentrates on the familiar feeling of detransforming...

"That ritual gets wonky with too much corruption in place, I can't much come help deal with it there, child. That scrap of power won't interfere, worry not, and it will guide you back here after midnight... Or, you likely can find your way back." She said confidently...

Also of note though, her attempt to revert... Failed. She can perhaps notice, her hands and boots were tighter, and more... Smoothed. Height wise, she was about four feet now, and her tail two feet. And her looks were slowly but surely losing the last traces of humanity... Still, it wasn't getting in the way more than it used to already. For now.

Amelia nods, frowning as she tries to detransform again. She looks up at her. Wait, up?

Nothing. "...something amiss?"

Amelia swallows. Her outfit suddenly feels too tight. Something's very wrong and she hasn't noticed until now. "I...Hang on a sec..." She mumbles. "Do you...um, have a mirror..." She tugs at her right gauntlet. The one that's normally a bit looser, with the way it doesn't cover her fingers...

She looks down at her own outfit. It'd changed with the rest of her last week, when she'd remerged into herself. Boots, a blue uniform, a red mantle, lightweight chainmail, and a pair of metallic knightly gauntlets...

She nodded, getting up and leading her along, pointing to the bathroom. The gauntlet was stuck, she could feel it more as if pulling against her hand itself...

Amelia stumbles after her. She...She's looking UP at the woman. Not that she isn't used to being short- she was about 5'0 until last week, but...this is off. Even for her. She's...shrinking away. And that DAMNED tail keeps hitting the ground as she...waddles after the woman.

Fortunately, or, unfortunately, it would be a full body mirror for Amelia to check...

...Definitely unfortunately. Her features were... Newtlike, more now a newt that was vaguely human, her face was warped and hardly recognizable as her own, her face stretched and elongated, wider similar as her neck was nearly gone too, longer, wider, her hands a long round bulb ended set of fingers, and the feet while hidden in webbed toe like boots, she could feel were quite the same.

The cause for her waddling was from her body changing, now in the shape for skittering, than walking on two feet... And she is shorter. Again.

...There's some kind of weird newt thing looking at her the mirror, Amelia thinks at first. Her mind catches up a moment later. She gapes. "Uh. Oh. Um..." The newt's gaping at her. She's gasping for breath. Not good, not good, she's this...thing... Desperately, she tries tugging at her gauntlet- the same way she had as Amy- then at her face...Even opening and closing her mouth feels OFF now that she actually noticed how her face's a...snout. Oh god...

She stumbles away on stubby legs- and she can actually feel the ground through her boots now- and runs. Three steps in, she stumbles, falls onto her hands and keeps scrambling on all four feet for a good three seconds before she remembers to stand up on two feet again. She calms down halfway down the hall, coming to a stop. Okay, it's...bad. She can fix this. She just has to get the cure, fix Alexa, and then...run. RUN.

"Okay..." She mumbles. "Not good..."

The woman simply looked to her, tilting her head. "Well, your regeneration is fending it off it seems, but I take it your looks aren't much to your liking?" She asked simply?

She...hadn't noticed. Any of it. It'd just...been at the back of her mind, and there'd been so much else going on...She shakes her head. "...Uh. No." Fending it off? Morbidly, part of her notes that her magic's saved her again. Kind of. "I..."
She's...looking up at the woman. A lot. A shake of her head- and even that feels off. "Damnit, it's...it's like my magic all over again..." Only this time her MIND's just fine...For the rest of the week, anyway.

"...Fix Alexa first. Then this." She mutters to herself. She tries to detransform one more time, mostly just out of spite rather than seriously expecting it to work. Or help.

She looks back to the room. She kind of just ditched Alexa on her own there...

Alexa bounces in place. She deeply misses legs. In fact, all of her extremities.

It did nothing. "Right, well, at any rate, getting the solar terminator silverlight for you should be first, you should have a bit of time to spare if you go now. And feel free to take your friend with, she should perhaps be able to help.

Amelia's going to get them back! And then fix her own...well, everything! ASAP! Amelia trundles back in- well, more like waddles. "...Sorry I ran off." She mumbles to Alexa, as much as she can. "Hey, um, you...do want to come, right? If something goes wrong...you'd be safer here. Probably."

...She dropped the sheet of paper in her hurry. She picks it up now.

Alexa makes another little emphatic hop towards Amelia, bobbing in place. The hacking, squeezing noise that passes for laughter leaves her at the sight of the newt.

"Not funny!" Amelia grumbles. The effect's somewhat ruined by her expression. Very newty.

Alexa continues to laugh.

Amelia looks to the older woman. "Um, can I take a backpack?" She glances to Alexa.

"Do you WANT to ride upside down?" she grumbles at her best friend.

This makes Alexa stop, though not for the reason one might think. She seems to consider this concept. "Direction. Irrelevant," she hypothesizes.

"...oh that would work huh. Yes, here, Raspberry won't mind." She said, unpacking her backpack and helping Amelia put it on. It would snugly fit the pillow.

"...Alright then." Amelia grumbles to Alexa- that she needs to adjust the straps to fit her doesn't help. "Thanks...Okay, Alexa, let's go!"

Alexa hums agreeably.

Amelia hesitates as she and Alexa start to head off- the backback unzipped enough for Alexa's face to poke out. "...Um, and tell Raspberry thanks for...the assembly line, I guess... She, um, she knows why." She bobs her head- the gesture a bit harder to notice than normal given her current status...and waddles away. Rather slowly. "...Goddamnit."

"... Still. Think. You first," Alexa points out sullenly.

Amelia drops onto all fours and starts running. She can't hate Raspberry after the girl DIDN'T run off, and did save their lives...but it's still her fault she's on all fours. "You first." She'd shake her head but she's running.

"Will do, take care, don't stray from the path for your own safety though girls!" She called out to the newt and pillow duo.

Amelia's following the path, paper carefully held between two...front toes as she runs.

Amelia follows the guidance of the paper's magic, correct?

Or does she take that convenient looking shortcut?

She's desperate, not crazy. NOPE NOPE NOPE.

Of course she doesn't even think about how she's put their lives in the hands of a corrupt witch's corrupted note...She's just trying to cover ground.

Her skittering is rewarded after about an hour of hurrying, she's about twenty minutes early it seems, and a wide variety of alchemists and otherwise seem to be gathered, all seeming to murmur or pay attention to the sky, which, was a dark night sky with the stars and light abound, and in fact the window was a wider one than the rest of the mall thus far has been. There is a large magical circle in which those participating are supposed to enter... as says on the note. Amelia can ask around a bit if she wants to find out, but they seem to be handing out... bottles? The kind one might expect from, you know, the Legend of Zelda type. Complete with cork-top.

"Bottle please." Amelia blurts, skittering over.

They hand her a bottle! You can hold it up above your air, but it's not going to spin on it's own.

...You still also don't have a clue as to what's going on, she did kinda forget to mention that huh.

Amelia holds it up, looking at it  in the dim light- Alexa can see it from her perch, then rushes over to the circle. No time no time...

"What do we do?" She asks the nearest person. Who...is probably, almost certainly a lot taller...

At least it's easy to look up with her face like this...

The figure actually is shorter, but that only puts him a foot below her, a long eared fuzzy creature. Who speaks out incoherently, more like 'Yark yark yark' as he spoke...He might not realize you can't understand him.

"Right, sorry." Amelia tries the next person. "Hey, can you help?"

The figure seems to be now a dark, brooding gentleman, with a skull mask and skulls adorning their person. With a butterfly net. "Help with what, my dear young lasses?" he asked, in a voice that quite did not fit his looks or attire.

...Seems legit. "So, um, can you tell me how...this thing works, please?" She really really wishes Alexa was here as herself right now... "First time here, kind of a matter of life and death...Well, not death, but...Yeah, could use some help..."

...Maybe she should've tried someone who wasn't going for the gothic or headhunter look. Just maybe...

"Oh, dear me a first timer? Well, it would be simply criminal to leave you gal's in the dark. I do assume it is gal's apologies if I am wrong, my eyes are not as they used to be." he said, waving a hand daintily. "You see, once this magic circle's spell is complete, it shall temporarily shatter the sky and rain down upon us. The figments and materials will be alive, echos of their selves and quite active, and it is first come first serve, grabbing and securing what they can get. Darkness of space, the north star, you name it! Just do keep in mind, one bottle hardly will be enough to grab anything but what you are seeking for, here, lass's. This should be enough between you two." he said, handing Amelia another bottle, and Alexa... dropping two bottles in front of her, which simply flopped onto the ground and rolled in small semi-circles.

"Have fun! Though, do know, many of us are quite actively trying to pluck what we can, this event only happens once a week and it is quite the blast!"

"Thanks, thanks so much...Once a week?"

 Well, if this goes badly, at least Alexa could...She shakes her head and scoops up the bottles. "I owe you one." She feels ashamed of her earlier temptation to just steal the material. "...Um, thanks again...but do you know where to...get 'solar terminator silvershine'?"

"Ah, that thing? Quite a rare commodity, but luckily, not all too many people need it, it is typically only for curses and cures! Look there, to the moon, do you see that small brightness between the dark and the light?" he asked, kneeling and pointing up dramatically. "That, the middle portion, is what you shall seek, it is the least available amount, and quite elusive, you will have quite a chase if that is your goal, but I still wish you luck, as anyone who is seeking that must truely need it! I on the other hand, shall unfortunately be of no aid, as I am after the most numerous material, the dark of space, as I need it for the finest of attire, such as my personal clothing!" he said, posing somewhat flamboyantly, "As my studies and wife have told me, the dark and black look is quite in fashion with the ladies it seems, much as yourself, come by my store any time and I can show you two around all of the greatest products of the blackest of nights!" he said, posing one more... still with a butterfly net in hand.

Amelia follows his instructions carefully. "I...Yeah, if this works out, definitely." She's never been fussed about what she wears, not really, but after this, the least she can do is buy something off this guy. "Thanks. Really." She swallows. "Ready, Alexa?" She murmurs.

The newtgirl's on all fours. Ready to run. Damnit, Alexa's always been the better runner...

The pilloW grumbles vaguely agreeably.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot ladies, you've only about five minutes to capture your target, as the spell shall end after that!" He called flamboyantly, before waving, and preparing, as soon the magical circle glowed with a brighter green glow... and the sky. The sky, itself, seemed to shatter, and rain down... the moon, stars, everything, started to fall immidiately... changing. Shifting.

Constellations into warriors and animals, The moon into a rabbit of black and white, and the piece they were seeking, a tiny, vaguely rabbit, but more as if a puchuu shape, seemed to zip off of it, and zipping around, somewhere between the shape of liquid and solid, as it frantically moved, people quickly beginning the frantic scramble for, well, everything!

Amelia takes off, desperation...and more than a little fire, lending her speed!

"Hang on!" She yells- or as much as she can yell- to Alexa.

Like a rocket ship, she flies through the sky to the moon... or, that light that came off the moon, which looked to Amelia with a little "Eep!" and zipped away frantically, meanwhile the crowd continued to push and shove somewhat frantically, people bumping into others was common, and some flew in the air as well, one threatening to crash into Amelia!

She stands through the person colliding just fine, and makes it on course to her target. Somewhat. Seems it's currently at far distance now...

Amelia winces, but scrambles up and keeps skittering along after landing! "Come on, come on..."

It's more crowded here. She might set a guy on fire. If she wants to though, she can jump for it?

Otherwise it IS in range of a dash attack. But the odds of that happening as she is...

...DAMNIT. She skitters instead, all thoughts of dignity forgotten. "thanks...raspberry..." She snarls, toes digging into pavement and feeling completely ridiculous.

To her consolation, there are others also walking on all fours. Or all sixes. Or no legs... Amelia doesn't look out of place. But that's not the point! She's a magical girl!

The figure tries to run away, but someone sees it and attempts to catch it. As it jumps backwards to evade, this is her chance!

Amelia almost instinctively activates her magic, her burning fire...but remembers she has Alexa, very very flammable Alexa on her back. And that she wants this thing to be...usable. "DAMNIT." She rises up onto her legs instead, sword already in hand and swinging.

Amelia drops her sword mid-motion. Damnit, BAD HABIT. She has to get her head in the game, or it's all over for her and Alexa. She fumbles with the bottle...and swings!

The figment skirts circles around poor Amelia and Alexa, you can see it pause a brief moment to stick a tongue out at the duo, before zipping away once more, damnit!

She's an awful dasher anyway and she doesn't have time to learn precision. She RUNS.

The crowd is getting thicker it seems...

You scamper over... and it seems the wisp is LAUGHING at something. At you!

"Oh god, oh god..."

She got her! It! Whatever! She... wait, what? It was still there, a quick glance and she finds her bottle is filled with a black void, it seems something got in the way at the last moment!

...Amelia has another bottle! Again!

It evades! Narrowly, and as it tries to get away, they bump frantically into others, which is good, but unfortunatly, others seem to be similarly shoving and nudging into Amelia now!

She keeps her footing as she shoves back, it's still in close range, you still have time, 4 rounds!
[22:03] <Tangent> No! She's not letting Alexa stay trapped like this! She's not going to be trapped like this! Not because of some THING!

Hah! This time she has caught it, and with time to spare, perhaps she can pick up a glowy star for a souvenier of how she saved Alexa and... wait. Now that you mention it... where IS alexa, she's no longer in the backpack...

...She's going to buy that skull guy's entire store stock for this.

Wait. Her bag.


ALEXA.

"Alexa!" Amelia screams.

Also you just narrowly see her, while her bag is empty, you see a pillow fly up in the crowd.

She's currently far away.

...Amelia rocket dashes.

Another incoming random person, damnit!

 Amelia is a bit scuffled, but fortunately, not nearly enough, as she collides and catches her pillowfied friend mid air. She now has the thing she came for, and her friend... you still have 2  rounds if you want to get souvenirs.

...Somehow Amelia's more in the mood for therapy. She hugs Alexa. "Sorry. You...you okay?"

The scene'd be beautiful any other time, but right now...she doesn't care.

. . . As if to ruin the moment, someone bumps into Amelia again. Okay, maybe it might be best to save this moment for after you get out of the busy crowd. Beautiful maybe, if it wasn't for a moshpit of people frantically scrambling to grab up the picturesque night sky.

Alexa is silent.

The thing is ending though, and the clock has passed midnight... you can follow the way home now, if you wanted, nothing says you had to stay.

Amelia stumbles out, not letting go of Alexa. "Alexa? Come on...answer me...please..."

If Alexa's...hurt. She tries to look at her friend's face.

What if Alexa was hurt?

Alexa's pillow-face is twisted into a shocked, appalled grimace. "Just. Go," she hisses.

"R-right..." And the newtgirl hesitantly picks her way back towards the shop after carefully replacing her friend in the backpack. Alongside the flasks...

It's a quiet, scuttling trip back in the dark.

And fortunately, a safe one. The door is open and the lights are on in the front, the way to the back open too. The small mouse gets up from beside the considerably fatter one, going over to the side of the cage and waving with a few squeaks.

"...Hey, Raspberry..." Amelia waves back, tiredly. "I think."

She's too tired to even put much thought to the corruption oozing from the metaphorical and literal walls.

The mouse nods a bit, simply sitting in the cage and watching as they pass by. The door would lock behind them and the lights dimming behind as well... this would be spooky, if not for the fact they probably know who's doing it anyway.

The witch seems to be upstairs, lounging on the couch and thumbing through a magic book.

"We got it. Just the printer now..." Amelia mumbles, stumbling in on her legs. She gently shrugs off her backpack, opening it up with clumsy fingers and moving Alexa out as carefully as she can. She's about half as long as she's tall now...

 She said, looking over to her and tilting her head. "Oh? How much, let me check." she urged, waving her along over. "Also well, for you, this is what you need, we just need a kiss from that of noble blood to finish it... unfortunately I can't seem to contact the friend I was trying to call, she probably abandoned that cheese shop mess of things as she tends to skip out on things." The woman said with a disdainful sigh.

"...Cheese...shop?" Amelia repeats slowly. "Uh."

"Did she...have a daughter?" Amelia asks, looking down at Alexa- who she's holding in her arms.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find a way to contact her. And she did mention having a little one, and I was promised she would be my god daughter but that woman, never coming over or anything with her..." the witch sighed, shaking her head.

"...I...Was she your friend?" Amelia asks. Slowly. With a faintly sick look on her face. Good thing newts have amazing poker faces.

"Mmmhmm, we go back quite a ways. Back around the time we graduated from magical academic school, us two got into a little buisness of running fraud and tricking debtors left and right. In an infinite expanse, it was easy. Too easy, perhaps... still, one wrong turn and it could come toppling down. And then my familiar wished for children... and well, I couldn't go and have her raise them in such conditions. So I forbid her from as such... while I cleaned up my little mess. Tried to convince her to get out of it too, but she just built more and more up. I cleaned up my lose ends, be it be slaughtering loan sharks, or paying it back desperately, so I'm content to stay here, but, well, as you can see, she runs about quite a bit. Oh well, she's certainly a slippery one, she's certainly fine." she nodded with a confident smile.

Amelia bites her lip more and more as she listens. Which feels weird. But it's not the point. The silence stretches out. "I...I'm sorry, but...she's dead." She lets it slip. "We...ran into her daughter. She was...going after another person's shop because she couldn't pay off her mother's debts. We stopped her, but they took her mother's house. The shop owner let her stay with her, so she's okay, but...I'm sorry." She deserves to know. She was her friend.

...There goes her cure too. Amelia notes dimly. She's going to be *stuck* and then...

Well. She can still fix Alexa.

But...

"...Wha..." she said, blinking in some surprise... "No no, that can't be. I mean, there's an infinite sort of shops, it'd be a coincidence." she said sternly, with a smile. "I've heard from her about a few months ago even, she'll call again." she said, dismissing the idea... though, a concerned look running on her face after a few moments, shaking her head. "...I take it things went well. Show me, how much of that material did you get?"

Amelia gulps, but she doesn't press the issue. First this, then Alexa, THEN the woman. "Yeah...In here..." She puts Alexa down on the couch, face-up, then scuttles back for the flasks.

Alexa's so quiet, it's like she's not even there...And that thought makes Amelia rush back to the couch with the flasks in her rounded fingers. Toes. Whatever.

"Alexa?" Amelia tries, looking over the couch at her friend.

She looks to it... before tilting her head. "Huh. This is actually more than I expected... a lot more. Hum, well, since we have some to spare..." she said, uncorking it, and daintily scooping a bit out upon a spoon from dinner, blowing it as it gently sprayed at Alexa and Amelia... to the newt, it seemed to have no effect as it is, but to Alexa, she could feel... well, as if she could breathe proper now. Talk proper, instead of in such short segments... and her magic far more returned.

"There, if nothing else, that should ease her case over the night... and I'll just save the rest of this here..." she muttered, closing it back up and putting it on a high away shelf, then closing the shelf, then locking it securely.

Amelia sighs in relief. "Are you feeling better?" she anxiously asks her friend.

Alexa brightens up considerably, perking up on the couch. A long, low sigh of relief leaves the pillow. She even does a little hop, almost slipping onto the ground. "B-b-better. M-m-much b-b-better," she stammers. Though she has her voice back, there's still a bit of the listlessness in it from earlier. "S-s-still th-think w-we s-should have s-stared w-w-with you."

The newtgirl's looking over the side of the couch at Alexa, hoping for any signs of recovery... "Oh, thank god." She blurts. "You had me so worried..." She shakes her head- the gesture looking utterly ridiculous with the way it looks. "Not a chance. You'll be up and about before you know it. Promise."

"...Well, nothing except her stubbornness says we can't start by looking for someone of noble blood." she said flatly, a worried look still upon her face. "Still, as it is, if that's as she wants, then we can continue with that plan... for now though, it's late, and you two should get a bit of rest. I still have to figure out good locations to look through. I mean, unless you rather run the risk of instead being stuck a piece of jewelry, which that one I certainly can't promise you can return to normal from that." she said flatly. "Guest room's upstairs, on the right." she said, pointing to the next set of stairs visible from the living room.

Alexa sighs again, though this time it's in disappointment more than anything. "A-a-a-and y-y-you'll b-b-be d-d-down on all fours," she hisses dourly. "B-but wh-whatever. Wh-wh-what's d-d-done i-i-is d-done."

"J-jewelery?" Amelia blurts, then winces at Alexa's rebuke...and with more than a flicker of fear. "As long as you're okay." She says firmly.

"I-I-I c-c-can't i-i-imagine jew-jewelry is w-worse than being a p-p-pillow," Alexa grumbles. She peers over at Amelia. At least, as best a pillow can peer at anyone. "B-b-bit l-l-late for that."

"Thanks..." She tells the woman, and looks back at her friend. "You'll be okay." She promises.

Alexa grunts again.

"Your form can be reverted because you still have most of your body-mass still. That case... you wouldn't. Unless the idea of having the rest of your body ripped away violently and being stuck with at most the mass of a hand. No? Then lets not go with that option... I'll keep looking, you two go rest." she suggested, sighing.

Amelia blanches. "...Right. Good night... Alexa?" She reaches out.

"Ah. Th-th-that w-w-would b-be u-u-unfortunate," Alexa stammers, blanching. She jerks in Amelia's direction. "Y-y-yes, th-thank you."

The odd duo staggers up the stairs towards the guest room.

...It's a quaint guest room.

"...Uh. Good night, Alexa..." Amelia mumbles, after carefully placing Alexa on the bed with a bit of effort. She...isn't all that keen on going to sleep, since so far that...hasn't worked out well for her.

"G-g-g-goodnight," Alexa stammers, her body collapsing onto the bed with a light 'thump.' "F-f-f-feel f-f-free t-t-to rest y-y-your head on me." It is an attempt at a joke, judging by her tone.

Amelia tries to laugh, but it comes out decidedly forced. "Yeah...Ha...it wouldn't...hurt you or something?" She scrambles onto the bed next to Alexa, resting on her stomach as she looks anxiously to her friend's face. She really wishes Alexa could speak normally...even if it was to yell at her...

Alexa stops to consider this, staring straight ahead. "P-p-p... I-I-I h-h-have n-no i-idea," she admits, shifting in place in what might be supposed to be a shrug.

"Well, it won't matter tomorrow." Amelia says firmly. She reaches out, touching her friend's side with her misshappen fingers.

"...Today, actually."

"... H-h-hopefully," Alexa says simply, shifting back over to Amelia. She falls silent.

It's a quiet, anxious night and it takes a long time for Amelia to drift off. She doesn't move away from Alexa, as though wanting to make sure she's still there. Even if she's a pillow.

...Once morning comes, and once Amelia awakens, she'll find... well, things seem bigger. Not starkly bigger, but... well, she can go observe the damages. Her face and features are that of a newt entirely now, only somewhat resembling humanoid features than a human that resembled a newt, down to her hair even having receded back into her person... walking, or even holding things normally, was not going to be easy anymore. as her tail dominated a third of her body now, and arms and legs both much more stubby, far from being suitable to carry or otherwise someone... she didn't have much time, as all that was left for her body now, was not to change, but to instead shrink.

The woman seems to be downstairs, in the living room, looking at a tablet in one hand and a wine glass in the other... an exhausted look on her face as her once more youthful womanly look of mid-early twenties was gone to one befitting a woman in their fifties perhaps, and a concerned sort of expression on her face as she focused on the tablet it seemed... you'd have to interupt her to get much a response.

...Also, Alexa is sure a pillow.

Amelia stirs, uneasily. Then jolts awake, flailing wildly. No way for her to miss what's hapened- she doesn't even want to know how much of her's left at this point. She has to hurry. "Alexa!" She squeaks. It's still her voice, just... a bit off. "Alexa, wake up!" The newtgirl actually shakes Alexa, a bit. She gulps. They're out of time. Fixing Alexa isn't just about her friend anymore, it's about having someone with working LEGS...

Great. She's a talking, giant (comparatively) newt. She has to get Alexa to safety in one piece, fast...NOW. "Come on, Alexa...Wake up..."

She shakes her friend more roughly, panicking.

"I-I-I a-a-am a-a-awake," Alexa stammers, though there's no major physical change. "I-i-i-it's h-h-hard t-t-to g-get comfy like this." She twists slightly in place in an attempt to stare at Amelia. "B-b-but I-I s-see y-you're h-h-having m-m-m-more t-trouble."

"Y-yes..." Amelia stammers squeakily, then tries to pick Alexa up. With her stubby arms, it's easier said than done. "Come on..."

And with that the newt and pillow stumble their way down.

The woman still seems highly focused.

Alexa attempts to shift her weight to make this easier on her, but this doesn't amount to much. "I-I-I TOLD you y-y-you sh-should have g-g-gone first..."

"L-later!" Amelia scrambles over, nearly tripping more than once. "H-hey! Mrs...Um..." She winds up nudging the store owner instead.

...She doesn't feel her hair against her back anymore. She really doesn't want to think about that. "Hey! Listen!" She tries again, desperately.

"Eiditina. Sorry... sorry." she said, sighing and relaxing, as her expression and complexion returned to their more youthful state. "Right. I'll just cut the longwinded stuff, and just list your options. To start, we can corrupt your friend there, and she'll have a body fully able to be of use... of course, that could go poorly just as well, in a permanence or damage to her being. Secondly, there is to... look into the idea that if that was my friend that died indeed, then her daughter, she still would fit the criteria, you can go track her down, get a kiss, and you'll be fixed. I'll need to make you the potion of course. Lastly, locations, I found three.. one close, one somewhat far, and one that would be pressing on your time limit rather hard. The closest one is a clock store, it doesn't sound too dangerous but that just means it is almost certainly the most risky there is. You'll have time though. Lots of it. Pun not intended, next, is a loan shark office... They're assholes, and really, that device is probably going to sap the magical girl part of you two, and leave you object and animal if you fail. Certainly dangerous. And the last one, well, that one is actually one that is owned by a charity group. I mean, I feel bad for breaking into their place, but the security there should be light. The problem is of course, it's the farthest away... and you're going to have to cross a construction zone just to make it in time. And even then that would be rather stretching it." she said flatly...

Amelia listens solemnly, and cringes, hard, at the loan shark office."No corruption." She says firmly. "...Alexa?" She asks. "Clocks or charity? They both sound pretty much as bad. We can go back to that shop after you're okay. You know the place..."

"For the record, you'll have to come back for that potion. It doesn't last long at all, so either bring her here, or you'd have a day to make it to her. If that's her even." she said flatly. "It's a pick one case, more or less all around... and the corruption or not is her choice, not yours, child."

"... Wh-wh-wh-what an a-a-awful idea," Alexa declares immediately, shifting in place. "G-G-God, I-I -- W-w-we've b-b-been doing too much r-r-r-running around. Y-y-you d-d-don't have m-m-much more t-t-time. L-l-let's j-just take the e-e-easiest route."

"...Easiest does not mean the best. I know you're stressed in that form... but consider this. You can be cured fairly easily and with no ill effects. This? This could twist your very being, if your mind is not ready. And possibly, latch on, permanently, until your soul finally is to burn out... You'll be taking quite a sacrifice if you're just wanting to keep your friend out of danger. And, in truth, no matter how dangerous you two PROBABLY will survive..." she muttered flatly to the pillow.

Amelia winces at the rebuke, but doesn't seem to change her mind. "Damnit, Alexa, y-you heard what it could do to you! Please, don't...don't do that to yourself." She's breaking down. Visions of the black coin dance in front of her eyes. "I'd rather just DIE than have you get hurt because of me!" She blurts out, floodgates opening. "You...I just want you to be yourself again. You...You don't deserve all this...and it's my fault, every time...I...I just keep screwing up, and you keep getting hurt, and I d-don't want you to...turn into...into another ME." Amelia seems to be mid-breakdown. "Please. Please don't do that to your soul."

"G-G-God in Heaven -- I-I-I'm s-s-sure m-my im-immortal s-soul w-will manage," she hisses, wriggling angrily in place. She shakes herself emphatically. Nonetheless, Amelia's performance stirs her. She seems to crinkle into herself, twisting away. "... A-A-Amelia, th-th-this i-i-isn't y-y-your f-fault. I-I-It was m-m-my i-i-impatience, b-b-breaking i-i-into that p-p-place... A-and I... s-s-suppose I'm b-b-being the same now." She sighs laboriously, shuddering. "F-f-f-fine. F-f-for y-your s-s-sake. We d-d-don't h-have t-time f-for the charity -- i-it'll h-have t-to b-b-be the c-c-clock sh-shop."

"Well, more specifically, you'll have thirty minutes to get in and do the process, actually. Given a decent walking pace, running would get you there a bit faster, but then again hazards too would be in place." she said flatly. "Still, clock shop, correct?"

Amelia looks utterly terrified by Alexa's dismissal- she KNOWS better than Alexa about just what it was doing to her. She remembers being Amy, and Mila... And it was her idea to break into the mattress shop... She manages to nod to the woman, not quite coherent enough for speech yet.

"C-c-correct," Alexa says grimly, wriggling in place nervously. Her focus remains on Amelia. "L-l-let's g-g-go. Now. W-w-we've d-d-delayed t-too l-long a-already."

If Raspberry was awake and human, she would indeed confirm it was Amelia. Meekly. In the background.

"Right, well, here, coordinates there, and to get back rip it in half and tie the two papers together." she said, ripping out another page of the handbook and holding it out to the girls. "You'll find it's close, hardly ten minutes away from here... good luck." she said simply with a gentle sigh.

Amelia nods wordlessly, stumbling towards the backpack...paper in hand. She gives the woman, and the shop a last glance with Alexa safely- and firmly- nestled in place...and scuttles out.

"Sorry..." She mumbles some time later as she runs. She isn't even sure if Alexa can hear her.

The duo head off! And it is indeed close. At least, compared to all the other shit they had to do... If Amelia was trying to waddle her way around, it was even more awkward than before, perhaps awkward even to stand... but they would make it to the clock shop. Always open 24/7!

She'll make it. She has to.

"I-i-it's n-n-not your f-fault," Alexa mutters before Amelia heads off. Besides that, she falls silent, even if Amelia feels like arguing the point on the way over.

She'll fix Alexa. And then it'll be okay. It'll all be okay.

You're at the clock shop. An ol' man seems to be manning the counter...

...The paper instructs you that you need to slip into the employee's only part

And uh, he's kinda standing right in front of it.

 Amelia gulps. She needs to get in there, but...she doesn't want to attack someone innocent...especially not if she's stealing some helpless old man's stuff. She takes a deep breath.

"A-Alexa...hold your breath, okay?"

She isn't even sure if Alexa needs to breathe anymore, but...she wants to be sure.

She puffs herself up a bit...and focuses.

Fire makes smoke. Lots of it.

Billowing clouds of it. That make it damned hard to see...

"What in blazes?! Fire?!" he yelled, leaving his post and hurrying off for a fire extinguisher.

Now's probably your chance.

Amelia runs like her life depends on it. Which it does. And Alexa's...

The employee's only area isn't locked, as you slip in... it seems to be a dark hallway. A very dark hallway lit by the occasional light bulb. The ticking of clocks, synchronized to the tick, rings in this hallway... but looking around?

This thing's a messy maze.

Or, so it seems, why else would they have a dead end tot he left that curves into as such....

"... Oh my," Alexa says after they've slipped inside, exhaling. "G-g-good thinking."

...There's a clock on the wall to the right. And the only way that isn't currently a dead end.

...Amelia is worried that she has made a dreadful mistake. "T-thanks...I...hope..."

Amelia hesitantly strides over to the right, wary with everything at stake...

The clock ticked faster and faster, a doppler effect as if you approached... Amelia's caution was well met though, as she can tell there's magic to it...

Fortunatly, nothing seems to happen.

As you arrive at the clock, it ticks normally.

Amelia remembers to breathe again.

Down the way, you can see a fork in the road.

"Oh no..."

There is one single clock straight ahead again.

Amelia seriously considers throwing a fireball.

The clock ticks patiently in response to this time of consideration.

Time. She needs more time...She's running out of time...

She has about 17 hours 30 minutes, actually.

...Oh, that's alright then.

At least, that's what the clock says, with it being 6:34.

Overcity Standard Time? 17 hours 26 minutes. Probably Overcity Standard Time, who knows. And that's only if she was right about this being midnight or otherwise.

Anyway, this clock certainly isn't reacting either way, fireball or not.

The fireball explodes upon the wall, and burns the clock. The clocks all ring, as if it struck the hour mark, then once more.... then stop.

...Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

No clock ahead of them.

"..." That isn't good. She moves.

The wall is even blown up, there's a path ahead and 2 more paths to take.

Well, rather, 2 more paths of left or right... and then a path ahead leading to a dead end.

She keeps going down the path ahead, then stops. She puts her hand against the wall of the dead end.

Fireball shortcuts seem to work, joy.

As she goes away from the clock she was at, the reverse doppler effect happens, as it ticks slower and slower...

That is not enough, as Amelia can feel it, feel herself... slowing down. Stopping. Frozen.... She's frozen in time physically. A human- no, a newt statue. Fortunately this ends after a few seconds, and she is instantly freed... but this certainly spells an issue and danger of leaving the area of a clock.

"Alexa?" She mumbles as she's free. No clock bashing. Got it.

"... Wh-wh-what was th-th-that?" Alexa asks, clearly frightened.

As she passes by, going past the two halls, she sees that the two turns to the left both have clocks at the end of the hall, though, the second one's left end is quite a bit farther away. The left closer is closer, the left farther is way down, about three times as far as the last two clocks were... and to the right, similar right then left turns, but no clock.

The dead end is just a dead end.

"I...I'm not sure...No more clockbreaking though...It'll be okay...It'll be okay..." Amelia stammers back.

"... R-r-right. Of course. L-l-l-let's j-just f-f-find the th-thing a-and g-g-go," Alexa mumbles uncertainly, squirming on Amelia's back.

Amelia can't see her. She wishes she could see her so much right now...Instead the newt keeps going, taking a...left? Down the far road, in a desperate gamble...

As she approaches the clock, it once more, clicks faster and faster, not even half way she's finding the need to resist...

She seems fine. She's half way there...

Run on those stumpy little legs, Amelia.

Down the hall, seems to be a single clock, tick'ing away peacefully, and a turn to the right...

Where to, Amelia, the clocks are ticking...

Alexa's pillow glows faintly as she fills Amelia with additional energy!

"...Alexa? If this doesn't work..." Amelia gulps, the newt seeming to be teetering on the brink. "N-never...never mind." Then she puffs herself up and launches a fireball at the wall...Just to her left?

If she can't blow up the clocks, maybe she can get past this deathtrap through the walls.

"... W-w-wait wh-what a-are you--?" Alexa squeaks, a noise similar to someone jumping onto a fluffed pillow. She cringes against Amelia.

The one that's down the hall then to her now, right?

"If...If I get through the walls..." Amelia sounds frantic. "The maze...the clocks...If this d-doesn't work, I-I'm s-sorry..."

The one WITHOUT a clock on it.

...Amelia may be a little directionally confused right now.

"... W-w-worth a t-t-try! Um. I... k-kind of c-can't s-see from up h-here, s-s-so... good luck!" Alexa squeals again.

The wall that's down that hall, but not blowing up a clock?

Yep. She's not pulling that trick again.

She blows it up! And.. well, there's another hallway. It looks the exact damn same as the rest of these hallways. The clocks all chime once... and then silence. Ominous.

 Probably.

"...What time is it?" Amelia didn't mean to ask out loud in her squeakier voice, but she's spooked.

6:40

Not a lot of time has passed it seems, but that time freeze certainly took a bit.

...Maybe the magic froze with it? Maybe?

She goes down the new hallway, worried and footsteps light.

The clock behind her slows down, the clock ahead speeds up...

Amelia can feel herself shrinking, rapidly, as if the curse was...accelerated. Oh, that's what it does. And similarly, behind her, the clock has frozen her, as the clock ahead ticks fast still...

"Nooooooooooo!" She scrambles.

She continues to shrink, as time resumes, and she makes it... and she is a fair bit smaller

A look behind, and that clock still says 6:41. The clock above... 10:41.

. . . It seems you're  now quite literally fighting against the clock here...

"A-Alexaaa!" She yells, heart pounding in terror. She's...Just how much time has she lost?

Alexa meanwhile is still fine. She's a pillow.

Can...can she still make it with Alexa?

"... I-I-I'm f-f-fine! I-I-I'm as p-p-pillowy as I'm g-going to get! See, I TOLD you y-you should have g-gone first!" Alexa whines.

To the west is a turn, it's just a turn.... no clocks, no nothing, It goes back to the right. Zig zaggy...

"Y-you were...you were right..." Amelia squeaks, terrified. "Y-you can tell me all about it...but let's...let's fix you, okay? You'll be fixed and then you can tell me what an idiot I am..."

Despite if you succeed or fail against going against the clock, you wouldn't have to deal with anything it seems. But going BACk the way you came will prove a challenge....

"G-g-g-gladly," Alexa mutters darkly. "J-j-just f-f-figure this out!"

Alexa's still in place...She can still get her there...Amelia the newt scampers along, the backpack now as big as she is. She's now smaller than Alexa...

She...she can't risk going back anymore. There won't be any of her LEFT to get Alexa there if she does...

She takes a breath to draw her courage, then darts for the hole...

...Despair might sink in as she finds the path, seemingly, only seems to go back the way she came.... If she didn't blow up the hallway, this went all the way around, to here, it seems.

There's one clock to her right, closer by. And the way allllllllll the way back without a clock.

"..."

...To be at least kind though, she can take this way back, maybe there won't be a clock in the way. There'll certainly be less clocks that way considering she just went away from one, and has to re-approach it. Then another.

This path? Probably only one...

She...can't give up. She has to keep going. No matter how much of a screw up she is, no matter how badly she messes up...Alexa's counting on her. She can just crawl into a hole, like the worthless failure she really is, when Alexa's safe. Guilt, despair, and panic war with sheer bloody-mindedness. Bloodymindedness wins.

The clock is ticking, Amelia.

The one you can see easiest down to the right,  says it is currently 6:51.

Which for you, might mean 10:51.

It seems to loom over her like a reaper.

Amelia takes another deep breath. As deep as she can. Then keeps going. "Alexa?" She says quietly, without slowing her pace. "R-remember...remember that time...we went for ice cream?"

Where's she heading?

Straight south.

Tick tick tick tick!

She's safe. For now.

There's a turn. It goes down that way. No clock, so no real risk.

Oh, thank god. She keeps going, her little heart pounding.

She sees nothing all too new, just it confirming that's exactly where she just came from basically.

Down the way is a turn right, which takes her where she just was...

And a turn left...

No idea what's down that way.

Alexa is silent for a moment, mildly confused as to where exactly this is going. "Y-y-yes? Do... d-d-do y-you w-want to... d-do that again? After this?"

She...doesn't continue speaking for a while. Alexa's silence...She takes a long time to reply. "y-yeah.." She says, clearly changing her mind about what she was going to say. At least for now. "T-that...that'd...be good, wouldn't it..." She doesn't deserve to be her friend.

No sense going back. Only way is forwards. And then left.

She sees another clock up ahead and her mouth goes dry. Metaphorically.

One clock. Yep...

Just a turn down the hall it seems.

"I...I...wish I'd been a better friend...You...you deserve better..." Amelia continues, voice starting to shake. "Just...When they...they fix you from m-my...mistake..." She keeps going. "Just...just forget about me, okay? I'm...I'm not worth..." Her voice is trembling.

Stupid. Stupid. All her fault. Her fault.

She doesn't stop. She keeps going.

Tick tock tick tock!

"... Sh-shut up. I-i-it'll be okay. We'll be okay. Alright? I-i-i-it'll be f-f-fine. W-w-we got i-into th-this mess t-together, and w-we'll get out together!" Alexa declares, voice half-full of confidence she doesn't feel.

As if for good measure, she slaps Amelia with another bit of magical energy.

"I-I'm sorry..." Amelia whispers. The magical energy jolts through the shrinking newt-thing...

And shrink she does. violently so... dwindling down in size. Smaller than a foot now, at 11 inches, Amelia would have trouble carrying Alexa if she wasn't, you know, a magically super strong newt. How long that magical strenght lasts... is unknown.

. . . The clock reads, 5:53. She just lost 7 hours on this one alone.

And there's... a LOT of clocks ahead.

No. Not yet. Damnit, not yet. The hallway's a cavern. The only sign Amelia's there is...something tiny tugging on the strap, awkwardly, but supernaturally strong.

Three of them. Two together on the very far end, and one far away...

The tiny newt tugs, feet skittering on the ground as it *pulls*...

A chorus of clocks ticking ring...

Amelia is now halfway through the gauntlet here, it seems.

...Unless she wants to blow up a wall, she needs to brave a bit more...

"Alexa..." Amelia's voice is almost comically squeaky as she keeps tugging. Coming from seemingly nowhere now. "I-I'm s-sorry I...I wasn't the friend you needed. You...deserved someone better. S-someone who...who w-wasn't s-stupid... Just...when they help you...Please...just...find a better friend...be happy..."

"I...I wish I could hold your hand right now. I...If you were okay, I...I'd be able to...to pretend I was...okay with this, but...I...I'm scared."

She wishes she was at least walking to her death. Instead, she's pretty much crawling. And it's not even dying at the end.

It's Alexa and her being trapped. Like this. And it's all her fault. At every level.

The clocks, now gigantic to her, click clock her 'demise'... slowly. Surely.

Alexa is silent for some time, lingering on Amelia's back in silence. A shuddering sigh leaves her, before her voice, like the creaking of a worn pillow, trembles out. "I-I-I c-c-couldn't h-have a-asked f-for a b-better f-f-friend. B-b-b-but the w-w-way th-things a-are l-looking, I w-w-won't be in a-any p-position to r-replace you, anyway."

As it turns out, salamanders can still cry.

Her size... is mostly gone. Mostly, is the keyword, as she was now... all of six inches tall. Yet, dragging Alexa had not gotten any harder for her, her entire magical girl strength remained. Just barely. The clock above loomed, one of them switched now, 6:59. The normal time also above similarly as such...

...Turning the corners, she however found another turn, and another and- ahead. Ahead was a door.

It was open, thankfully... at her size she would've probably had to blow up the door sooner than anything.

And inside, well, it looked like a rather oversized printer. With a slot big enough for 'paper' to fit a person... or a pillow.

Not yet. She can give up, lose her mind, lose her body, lose everything that made her as worthless as she was...But not yet. She barely even acknowledges the door as she just...keeps dragging. Maybe she'll just...vanish, in the end. Like her original soul...Wouldn't everyone be better off that way?

She sees the printer. Almost there... "I-it's there, Alexa..." Her voice's faint, from distraction or otherwise. "I see it...You'll...you'll be okay..."

As she enters, she finds the printer. While dragging Alexa in place, and then having to climb the printer just to hit the 'extract', then select the compression and alterations applied may not have been the easiest of tasks... compared to the gauntelt she just went through, this would be nothing. She made it.

All that basically had to be done, was set it up, and hit the start button.

Amelia blurts an apology, and DRAGS Alexa up. At her strength, she can still claw her way up, leaving dents in the casing to do it...Button after button gets pressed- She has to get it right. Has to fix Alexa. She has to be okay and then she scrambles across the pavement of the buttons over to the start button.

The little salamander slams her foot down with great force onto the button.

"S-s-s-see?" Alexa stammers, trying to smile in the fabric. "Y-y-you did it! I-I k-knew you could!"

Amelia sniffs. "A-Alexa..."

The machine meanwhile whirred to life, almost abruptly cutting her off as it sucked her in, and a rather LOUD whirring, grinding, cranking could be heard, it might be enough to concern the poor newt, as Alexa meanwhile could feel... well, as if the punches, the beatdown, was reversed. As odd as it felt.... it didn't HURT but it was as if the hurt that was no longer there was removed.... but soon enough, the machine would spit her out, somewhat forcefully, as she would land out, a whole magical girl once more, and no longer an object... though. There was a downside to this.

One that they would probably realize, as there are no other doors it seemed. To get her hear, Amelia already reduced down this much... and if the only way back was to encounter more clocks? Well.... to get Alexa here, she had just sealed her fate... there wasn't any other way out.

"Alexa...Y-you're you...again. You're safe..." Amelia doesn't sound like she cares about much else at this point. A quiet sob.

Alexa comes out on the other side with a new lease on life -- for a moment, she doesn't even think of the way back. She lets out a joyous cry, hugging herself and kicking her feet and wiggling her toes -- she leaps to her feet, doing a little dance. "Ha! Ha ha! Ooh, p-p-perfect! Ah, I-I m-m-m-missed legs," she stammers. She turns back to Amelia, shakily bending down to pick her up. "N-n-now w-w-we j-just n-need t-to, um...r-retrace o-our s-s-steps."

"W-will...will you be okay?" Amelia thinks, horrified, to the idea of things going...back. Of Alexa getting hurt. "Be...be careful." She squeaks through her tears. Tiny, tiny tears.

 She's smaller now than the average pencil. To her, Alexa's a looming, massive giant...But she's Alexa. She's okay. That's all that matters.

She feels like warm silk as she scrambles into Alexa's waiting hands. A tiny, blue salamander with a red belly and scattered silver specks across its body.

"W-w-well, w-w-we g-g-g-got in here j-j-just f-f-fine," Alexa stutters, smiling crookedly. She marvels at the feeling of Amelia in her hands for a moment, enjoying the warm feeling. After a moment, however, she makes to put her in her handbag. "S-s-sorry. Um. T-try to g-g-get a f-f-foothold. Um. I... m-might n-need m-m-my h-hands."

"It's okay." Amelia's voice is quiet. Resigned. Hollow. The only sign of animation to it is... "Just...keep yourself safe. Please." There.

"Okay. O-o-okay, j-j-just n-n-need to r-r-retrace our steps," Alexa summons her staff with a flick of the wrist, leaning heavily on it. The crystal ball at the end glowing with power, she reinvigorates herself. With that, she steps back out into the hallways, hopefully back the way they came.

The salamander all but vanishes into Alexa's bag. Gives her plenty of time to think. She keeps getting Alexa hurt. She keeps making bad decisions. Alexa should have better friends, better...comrades than her. Someone who could actually keep her safe...Who wouldn't get her hurt...

The way back would be simple. A bit maze-like but, well, easy enough... Alexa however could probably feel something, rather, the loss of something, as Amelia's powers waned and faded as they exited...the ticking of clocks barraged them, and Amelia's powers? Faded away...not entirely. Thankfully, but...she was a small newt. Still six inches. Still magical... but the flame and force of a magical girl was robbed from her for now. And all that was left... was Amelia the Familiar.

Exiting, the old man would be mad, and attempt to curse the duo with accelerated aging... that didn't do anything. Immortality kinda does that. He seemed content with his attempt and shrugged, going back to his work... having cleaned all the clocks covered in smoke... Your paths, back to the shop... or try to make it back to Kase as it was, as she was apperantly a vital part of this... though, it would occur to you also? It's not like you actually know the way back to Kase...

...Alternatively, you could just go home and get Amelia a nice little tank to live in.

That was it. She was done. Failed. Not even a magical girl anymore, not that she'd deserved to be.

But that's not going to happen probably, is it?

Amelia sobs. Quietly. A soft, shrill little voice. Insignificant. Useless.

Alexa's better off with her this way.

"Yes s-s-s-sorry sir thank you sir pardon us sir," Alexa stammers as they leave the shop, repeatedly doffing her wide-brimmed red hat. Once safely outside, she takes a deep breath, relaxing for a moment. She lets herself appreciate the feeling of breathing with lungs until she realizes that, under the circumstances, she doesn't actually know the way back. She peers inside her bag to ask Amelia, but is promptly side-tracked by what she sees. "A-A-Amelia?" She dismisses her staff to reach inside and pluck the newt up. "Wh-wh-what's w-w-wrong? E-e-everything's f-f-fine now, i-i-it'll b-b-be okay!"

For the record, the way back is to the left.

The newt dangles silently, then the floodgates break. "Y-you...You should just get *rid* of me. Why...why even bother with something like me...Kreim was right...I'm just...just a thing..." Amelia sobs. "I...It's my fault it's all my fault I keep getting you hurt more and more and you never blame me...and..." She trails off into wordless, sobbing squeaks.

Alexa, panicking, looks this way and that as if to take a cue from the empty mall, doddering in place. "N-n-no, i-i-it's... D-don't say that! Y-y-you're m-m-my b-b-best f-f-friend! I-i-it w-w-wasn't y-y-your f-f-fault! I-i-it was th-that rat!"

The silence is, if anything, more ominous than Amelia's breakdown. She just hangs there, silently, for a good minute.

"I'm not worth it." She finally says, quietly. "If I keep getting you hurt...you're better off if I just...went away. Maybe...maybe you should...should just let it finish...A f-familiar would actually be good for something. Silver coins. It wouldn't hurt you...It wouldn't m-make mistakes..."

If Alexa was panicking before, now she's freaking out. She shakes her head emphatically, stammering. "I-I-I-I d-d-don't need a f-f-familiar! I-I-I need y-y-you!"

She...just keeps making it worse. Everything she says, she does just hurts Alexa more. She doesn't reply...

Alexa runs her fingers along Amelia's tiny stomach, resisting the urge to wring her hands with the tiny creature in them. "A-A-Amelia? P-p-p-please, I... I m-m-mean it. Y-y-you're... I need you!"

. . . It might help to go back to the shop, perhaps. Or not, who knows~

A very, very soft sob. "imsorryimsorryimsorry..."

The dark thought of just going home and putting the little newt in a nice tank, perhaps with some sand, a heatlamp and some nicely-shaped rocks to hide in flits through Alexa's mind. Then it lingers there for a long while. Eventually, however, good sense prevails, and she marches off back to the shop at best speed.

As she heads back to the shop, well... Amelia's very warm, and fire magic... She probably wouldn't need a heat lamp. So that  would just mean some nice pretty rocks, some sand, maybe a tiny bed an- oh there's the shop now. Inside, Raspberry was human once more it seemed as she was quietly standing at the register, before waving to the two. "U-uh hey you two. Master's upstairs still... um, wait, didn't Amelia... have more time?" she said worriedly to the two. "I-I mean it's good that you were fixed but still uh, what?"

Amelia sees Raspberry, but...she's gone quiet again. In the own private hell of her own thoughts.

"M-m-m-matters w-w-were a-a-accelerated," Alexa stammers without breaking stride. She jerks her head at Raspberry, immediately stomping up the stairs.

Guilt and self-loathing war within her. Her fault. She could have listened, should have done something, anything else...but she put Alexa at risk, and didn't even care what she had to say. And for what? Because she didn't like corruption? Was SCARED for Alexa? Really? Or maybe she just had to be the one to help her.

She got what she deserved, didn't she?

The woman now was drinking yet another glass of wine, curled up on the couch, though, the moment she looked up to notice the others her composure and complexion returned... "Well, I see it went well for one, and for you... well, it is a certainly good thing we've got your cure seemingly lined up." she said gently, sighing a bit.

Amelia's silent.

"...Don't tell me she's already gone non-sentient?"

"We had b-b-better," Alexa stammers, bunching up her shoulders. "W-w-we n-n-need t-t-to f-f-fix her! Sh-she... D-d-does that happen?! Sh-she h-hasn't y-y-yet, I th-think, b-b-but... We need to fix her now!"

...Alexa'll be better off without her. Maybe it's what was supposed to happen.

"It may, may not. Though, calm down. She's not much on a time limit anymore... rather, her's has past, and you'll have to return the favor. I see she succeeded at saving you though, did she not?" the witch asked curiously.

"Y-y-yes, yes, yes, she did," Alexa agrees, nodding brisky. "B-b-but w-w-we sh-should have d-d-done her first!"

The newt's eyes flicker. Is that guilt?

"She insisted as it is..." the woman sighed a bit, as she glanced over. "...I can tell you still have some magic left in you, so your sentience shouldn't be dead. Come on, tell us, what is plauging your mind?"

"...she's better off without me." the voice is faint. If she's going to...to lose her mind...the least she can do is let Alexa know why.

 "Oh? Is she now, because I think she would still be a pillow had you not saved her just now." The woman started, as she moved to try to take the newt out of Alexa's hands.

"my fault all my fault..." Amelia's voice breaks off.

"Well, your situation is my niece's fault. As for hers, I wouldn't know. But you solved it, and you two seemed quite close of a duo..." she said simply... looking down, pursing her lips a bit... "Well, if you wish, you can stay, I'll make you a nice little tank, you can spend your days here. And then your friend can die out there and you will never know of it, how does that deal sound?" she started, rather... bluntly.

Alexa seems even more aghast by this prospect than she is by Amelia's claims. She shakes her head emphatically. "I-i-if sh-she's s-staying anywhere i-in a t-tank, i-i-it's w-w-with me!"

"Well, she clearly doesn't want to now does she? Instead she rather make you heartbroken, as you won't even know if I happened to decide to want fried newt for dinner some night later, so you can just worry about that all day and night until that inevitable demise. Still sounding like quite a good idea to be without you?" she asked the newt.

Long, long silence. Either the shopkeeper said the right thing...or there's nothing left for Amelia to say in her mind. Every word from the giant- echoing as it was- stabbed her in the heart. And Alexa...still wants her. No matter how much she hurts her...But if she just dies, Alexa'd be okay. She...she's stronger than she thinks. Alexa's amazing, just as she is...and she'd be better off without her.

She'd find someone else. Someone better.