It was a pleasant fall evening. A pair of young girls giggled as they walked down the plain clear streets. “Really?” one of them asked, wonder and curiosity filling her excitable voice. “I always thought that was just a thing they do for TV.”

“It sure is, Carm,” her pale friend giggled. “Back home the streets were full of leaves this time of year. It was so fun! We’d make big piles and jump in them.”

“I’m so jealous!” Carmen pouted. “Why don’t we get cool things like that here? We don’t get colorful leaves to jump it. We don’t get snow. All we get is a lot of hot!” she groused. “Seriously Irina, why’d you move here anyway? It sounds so much cooler back east.”

“It was, in more ways than one,” Irina laughed. “As for why, Mom says she prefers the heat and lack of snow,” she grumbled.

“Adults are weird,” Carmen noted. “Who’d trade snow for hotter summers?”

“I don’t get it either,” Irina shrugged. “But I don’t think that’s the only reason we moved.”

“Really? What’s the other reason?”

“I think it was for Dad’s job. Mom doesn’t talk about it, but it sounded like…” She fell quiet as they approached her house. Carmen was about to ask why when she looked up and saw a man with short blonde hair in a dark blue uniform getting out of a car, quickly realizing the reason why. “Hi Dad,” Irina smiled.

“Hello there, sweetie.” The man smiled before reaching down and rustling his daughter’s own golden locks.

“Dad, stop it,” Irina protested. “Not in front of my friend.”

“Your…” He paused and looked at Carmen for a moment. The young preteen girl looked upon him in awe. Some of her cousins talked about becoming police officers, and she’d always thought they were rather cool with how they saved people and stopped crime. They weren’t that different from all the heroes in the shows she watched after all, right? But he wasn’t imaginary, which made him all the cooler. She couldn’t help but smile as the man cocked his eyebrow. “Oh, right… Your friend… uh…”

“It’s Carmen, Mr. Habernaker,” Carmen answered.

“Ah, yes, Carmen,” he said before clearing his throat. “Uh, anyway. Be sure to get ready for dinner, okay, dear?”

“Yes, sir,” Irina answered dutifully as he walked to the house. Carmen began to follow him in when she felt Irina’s grab at her wrist. “Carmen, wait.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Carmen asked.

“I, uh… I know we were going to have you over tonight, but… I think we should do it another time.”

“Why? Did something happen?” Carmen asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Irina nodded. “Let’s just say that Dad seemed a little on edge.”

“He did?”

“He did,” Irina confirmed. “He just…” She was cut off by a sudden bang and what sounded like a loud, but muffled voice from the house. “Yeah… uh, that’s him.” She frowned.

“Oh… okay.” Carmen frowned. “But hey, maybe next time.”

“Y-yeah… we can try again later,” Irina nodded. “See you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure.” Carmen smiled.

She didn’t think much of it at the time. She had plenty of friends who had parents who had days where they were particularly agitated because of work or the like. And she was too distracted by her excitement over meeting Irina’s dad anyway.

Although she never did get much of an opportunity to talk to him. Just the occasional passing comment. Just a series of incidental interactions. He always seemed to be out or busy whenever she would visit Irina. It became a bit of a pattern, but she could accept that. After all, her own dad could get rather caught up in his work too. She didn’t think about it too much. Or at least she hadn’t. Not until about a year later.

Vivi was over at Carmen’s house when her dad came home, fuming, angrily rambling about something that had happened on his way home. But it wasn’t just anger. It was something else. Her mom was… anxious. It was as if she was relieved about something, but still somewhat panicking about something. And then her dad called her mom down. At first, she wondered if she’d done something wrong. Maybe she’d messed something up and her teacher called? She did sometimes run into weird problems with her teachers. That was when her dad told her they had to have ‘a talk.’

She struggled to really grasp what he was talking about. Something about how he would get pulled over by the police sometimes for strange reasons. She’d seen it happen a few times before. It was a little weird, maybe, but nothing overly unusual. But her dad made it sound like it was something she had to worry about. That it was something about how they looked. She assumed it had to do with racism, but she didn’t quite understand what that had to do with the police. It wasn’t until she went upstairs and talked to her friend about it that she started to put it together.

“We’ve never had that happen,” Vivi explained. On some level maybe she already knew it, but the way Vivi said it so matter of factly… it was like being told of a different world. And as they talked more and more of it became clear. She really was treated differently. Back then, and now too. By classmates. By teachers. By stores. And by the police… by Irina’s father. By the people she respected.

She had tried to push those thoughts into the back of her mind so many times now. Just pushing on, doing the right thing. And she… they had Athena on their side now. Even if it meant going up against the police, she’d deal with these… whatever these feelings were, later. So, when she got the order to transform, it was as simple as pushing those thoughts back and giving a quick snap, unleashing the magic in her locket.

Energy spilled out, arcing across her body. It zipped upon her arms, as if tracing her with its current. It began to tighten, the golden current forming a shiny yellow tracksuit on her body. She felt her feet and wrists tingle as the energy molded itself upon them, forming a pair of yellow metallic boots and a pair of heavy-duty gloves. The boots and gloves were then mounted by intricate guards that hummed with machinery. The hum dulled as the lightning zinged her ears, a pair of elegantly bulky yellow and white headphones formed over her ears. She heard a sharp ‘shing’ sound as the usual tall yellow spike and their smaller white sisters shot out from the ear guards. A pale wire arced over her head, forming an intricately beautiful tiara. Then a final spurt of lightning shot from the tiara, zapping her chest, forming a solid yellow metal guard. Her inner arms and thighs shone in response to its surging might, forming bright white highlights to her outfit. She grinned with excitement as the transformation filled her with confidence once again.

She proudly stood along her friends as they readied for battle. She wouldn’t let hesitation fill her heart again. Not even the police would sway her as they began to file into the theater. She had a job to do. She had strong friends beside her who were going to support her, and she was going to do right by them.

And then that horrific sound rang out.

She looked to her side in horror. She blinked in confusion as she watched the bullet hover in the air, halted by Athena’s defense. She wanted to rush to Vivi’s side but someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see Melody give her a stern look. “Leave the stage to them. We have to stop them from coming down the aisle.”

“B-but…”

“Yellow, there’s exits on the side of the stage. If they make it to them, then we’ll be trapped,” she said, maintaining a firm stare.

“R-right,” Carmen nodded.

“It’ll be alright.” Melody’s expression softened. “Those three are strong.”

“Y-yeah. You’re right,” Carmen nodded. They turned their attention to the aisle, noticing a couple of officers marching down. Carmen took a deep breath and hopped off the stage, making her way up the aisle to stop them.

She clenched her fist, sparks rumbling in her fist before punching the air before her, sending a bolt of electrical energy to fly off her fist and strike the incoming officer. She briefly recalled her early attempts at using such techniques. Initially she’d based it on the anime she watched as a kid, but after all the training and fighting she’d done, she’d come to realize she didn’t need all that build up or flashiness. Instead, she turned to the less impressive rapid fire blasts those same characters would use. However, unlike in those shows, such a blast was more than enough, as demonstrated by the police officer being thrown to their back and groaning as they passed out.

“Not bad, Yellow,” Melody cheered, as she tossed out some bubbles of water at the other pair of approaching officers. The bubbles slammed into the officers and exploded with enough force to send them flying similar to Carmen’s own attack. “Alright now we just need to keep…” She was cut off as a draconic-looking man erupted from the far door, flying toward the stage.

* * *

The draconic man rose to his feet, his wings scattering what lingering dust and smoke lingered around him. His dreadful stature summoned memories of his ceaseless assault back at the mall to Melody’s mind.

“Crap, not him again!” Melody grimaced. Something within her compelled her forward. A desire to protect her girlfriend? To protect the girl she had grown so attached to? Maybe even a sense of pride, seeking to stand triumphant above her aggressor, much like Gunther before him. She shook her head to focus on the situation at hand. “Athena is enough for them to beat him, right, Yellow?” She looked to her ally, only to see the teenage girl suddenly trembling. “Yellow?”

“I-it really is him, isn’t it?” she stammered.

“Yellow?” she asked questioningly.

“Captain Habernaker… it’s really him…”

“Do you know him?”

“I… I’m friends with his daughter…” Yellow admitted. “I have to stop him!”

“Yellow!” Melody called to her, grabbing her hand. “Carm, listen to me!” She pulled the girl back. “Don’t!”

“But maybe I can talk him down. Maybe I can…”

“You can’t!” Carmen looked up to Melody as the woman scowled at her. “Annie and I barely held him off last time. I don’t want you to…”

“But I might be able to get him to stop,” Carmen argued. “I-I know him,” she stammered.

Melody took a deep breath. “Do you really think he’d listen?” Carmen stood there silently unable to answer. “Carm?”

“I… The police are supposed to be the good guys, right?” Carmen asked, Melody giving her a confused look. “They’re supposed to be good people who want to help others, right? But… I don’t get it, why do I feel this way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why… why am I scared of them? Why am I scared of him?”

“Oh, Carm.” Melody frowned. She wanted to say something, reassure her in some way. Tell her that it was okay to feel hesitant and confused. And yet, as her pointed ears twitched, hearing the subtle movements behind her, she knew she didn’t have that luxury. “Yellow. Get back for now. I’ll handle this,” she said as she turned to face her adversaries. She took a deep breath, conjuring a large sphere of water before her chest. She turned to face the officers, all of whom quickly drew their weapons, but they were too slow. The sphere popped, unleashing a powerful torrent that swept them away.

She briefly looked to her right, watching as Ichika and Cleo held their own aisles, with Wisp providing support from the air. She returned her gaze forward as more officers came to replace the ones she had just taken care of. She had plenty of questions to ask, like why they were devoting so many officers to capturing them, for starters, but she put them aside for the time being. She wasn’t going to get any backup, and she wasn’t about to let the friend behind her come to any harm. She summoned a ring of water, reaching through it and pulling out her liquacious spear, causing the officers before her to hesitate before she charged towards them.

* * *

Carmen watched Melody elegantly swim through the air and dodge her enemies and smack them around with ease. She gave a brief chuckle, considering her uselessness. Did she come all this way just to be spooked like this? To be spooked by him?

A muffled crashing sound came from the stage, drawing Carmen’s eyes to it. She watched in awe as Vivi protected herself from the police captain’s relentless assault. And then he slowed his attack before shirking back in confusion. Vivi’s barrier shot back, a massive ball of flame akin to a small meteorite striking down upon the captain.

Then there was silence as smoke billowed from the impact site. As it began to slowly disperse, the silhouette of the police captain stood there, stunned from shock. He finally lurched forward, smoke and steam flowing off his still smoldering body. His breath was ragged. His movements were uneven. But he wasn’t yet defeated. He looked to Vivi and Athena, who stared him down. His ears twitched at Annie’s movements behind him. His wings rose as if to prepare him for some drastic act. And then he looked to his right, his gaze falling off the stage, tracing the wall and into the aisle until it landed upon Carmen.

He looked at her. He glared at her. Her eyes widened in turn. Her body tightened, gripped by something she had long since tried to ignore. She had seen that glare plenty of times before. He saved it for criminals… and as much as she tried to deny it, she remembered him directing it at her a few times when she visited his home. She trembled under its intensity, quaked under its ferocity, and then collapsed under his vicious roar. She barely hit the floor before her back was slammed to the wall, his glare burrowing into her.

“CARMEN!” he heard a familiar voice scream as she passed out.

* * *

It took her an instant to recognize what was happening. The dragon of a man looked to the side, and in a flash had flown off the stage. She jerked her head to the side only to witness Carmen pinned to the wall, the dragon man heaving as his grip cracked the stones of the wall behind her. It was as if her body had gone cold. She was certain someone said something to her, but she couldn’t tell who or what. All she could do was scream. “CARMEN!”

She burst into a run, leaping from the stage. She flew up to the dragon, causing him to look at her. He probably would’ve said something, done something if Vivi hadn’t already slammed her wand in his face, a burst of pink energy forcing him back as she shrieked “LET HER GO!”

She was successful in pushing him back, slamming him into the chairs behind him, crushing them under his weight. Carmen immediately began to fall to the ground, Vivi catching her and softening her landing. “Carm…” She held her friend, feeling her body move as it took in deep heavy breaths. Vivi relaxed as she saw her friend’s body ease against the wall. “Rest up, okay?”

“Vivi!” Palu exclaimed as she flew down. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, I think she is… or at least I hope so…”

Palu fluttered to Carmen looking her over. “I think I can help her,” Palu said confidently. “It’ll take some time, but I’ll try to heal her. Keep us safe until I’m done.”

“Right,” Vivi nodded. She took a breath of relief as she watched Palu nestle up to Carmen’s throat, a gentle purple light pouring out of her. “Thanks, Palu.”

A rumbling pulled Vivi’s gaze back to the broken chairs as the police captain rose once more, his panting expelling flaming cinders from his aggrieved maw. He looked up the aisle, Vivi following his sight to see Melody and a group of police officers watching in awe. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” he roared, shocking them. “CAPTURE HER!” His command rang in the officers’ ears, each turning to the floating mermaid, who returned to her battle pose, but only after flashing a panicked expression at Vivi. He then turned to Athena and Annie, who despite looking shocked by what happened, were clearly rallying to join in the fray. He grumbled something to himself. Athena put one foot forward and then… he grinned.

A sharp ‘ZZRT’ sound tore through the air as a bolt of lightning rended through the stage. Athena looked offstage, shock and horror flashing through her face before landing on furious anger aimed at its source, and yet there was something else too, as if she was upset about something, but Vivi didn’t have the time to figure out why before she turned back towards the captain.

“You!” he snarled. “No one’s coming to save you this time. And no more cheap shots,” he bellowed as he wiped some blood off his cheek. “Do me a favor, and don’t surrender.”

Vivi could feel herself tremble under his ferocity. His voice and body dripped with anger and rage. One could almost wonder if the cinders dripping from his mouth had become venomous. Vivi scrambled, desperately looking to her allies. Melody was preoccupied with the officers on her left. Athena had been spooked by something on her right, even Annie’s attention had been pulled by the intruder. And behind the captain, Cleo, Ichika, and Wisp seemed distracted by something as well. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had no backup, and she couldn’t catch him off guard again.

His mouth glowed with flames as he drew close. He almost seemed to chuckle as he closed the distance between them, slowly erasing each inch between them, as if to savor her helplessness. She looked up at him, fear nagging at the back of her head, pulling her back, forcing her to the wall and up against…

Her hand grazed Carmen’s unconscious body. She looked at her friend quietly resting behind her, Palu trying her best to heal her. She clenched her hand. She couldn’t give up. She wasn’t just resisting for her own sake, but Carmen and Palu’s too. She just had to figure out something, anything she could do. The chairs in the theater were made of plastic and metal, and the fabric had too little plant material in them to do anything with, and there wasn’t much else to draw upon for her plant magic either. And this wasn’t like with Ichika or Cleo where she could connect to his heart and calm him down. She needed something else. She needed the power she had with Athena, but she was still at the stage and not…

No, that wasn’t true. She hadn’t noticed it until right now, but… She looked to her hand, noticing a white light building within it. For whatever reason, Athena’s magic still seemed to stir within her body. She still had some of her magic left. No, not left. It… Was it…?

She wasn’t sure why, but she could feel Athena’s mana building within her. She looked up, confidence swelling as the police captain raised his now blazing head, taking a final deep breath, and then…

He exhaled.

A jet of searing flame shot at Vivi, only to be met by a brilliant white light as she recalled the magical barrier she’d formed with Athena moments ago.

He didn’t relent.

The flames kept coming, even intensifying. He drew nearer and nearer. The heat grew hotter and hotter. The pressure built stronger and stronger. The shield crumbled and shrank. Until…

Vivi pushed back.

The flames instantly dispelled as the police captain was forced back. He glared at Vivi, growling at her, damning the magical barrier. And then his eyes widened.

Vivi gazed upon the object in her grasp in awe. For a brief moment, she wondered if the barrier was going to break from the attack, worried that it was cracking and crumbling from the strain. But she was wrong. Instead, the flame seemed to temper it, molding it into a tougher and beautiful form. She held a golden strap in her hand, which lifted an elegant white disc, a thick strip of gold with blocky arm like mosaics curling around its circumference. It had an almost divine radiance to it, one which unleashed a wave of energy, forcing the police captain hurtling backward.

She looked toward the stage, noticing Athena looking at her in awe. It didn’t take her long to process that it really was Athena’s shield, just like she suspected.

“Y-you…” Captain Habernaker groaned in pain, trying to rise once more, only to fall to his knees in defeat.

“I…” Vivi mumbled.

“Vivi!” Melody called as she rushed to her. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Vivi nodded. She looked behind the mermaid to see the police on the ground similarly to their captain. “Guess you’re okay too.”

“Yeah,” Melody nodded. She looked at Carmen and then smiled before pulling Vivi into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re both safe. I’m so proud of you.”

“T-thanks,” Vivi blushed. She looked back across the theater, noticing the others had seemingly finished their fights as well. “Did we do it? Did we win?” she asked as the others drew near.

“Not quite,” Athena confessed. “Once you beat him, our… opponent retreated.”

“Same with us,” Ichika frowned.

“I doubt they’ll just let us leave though,” Cleo noted. “They probably realized it was better to back off and try to corner us as we try to escape.”

“Or call for backup,” Annie considered sullenly. “And they both seemed stronger than he did.”

“Not seemed,” Athena frowned. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help, Vivi. That attack… it came from him… my father.” Vivi gawked as she looked at the goddess. “Yeah. I think he only interfered to give your opponent a chance to beat you. But I don’t think he expected you to win… or to use my shield.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could do that, big sis,” Wisp giggled.

“I didn’t either.” Vivi frowned. “Did you give it to me earlier, Athena?”

“I didn’t,” Athena admitted. “I don’t know how, but I think something happened when we were fighting back Mr. Dragon earlier.”

“I wonder…” Melody began to say.

“Wonder later!” Palu piped up, surprising the others. “I’ve healed Carmen enough so that we can move her. But for now, we have to get out of here, right. I can cast an illusion to help us escape, but we have to be quick. If Zeus shows up again, it’s not going to work.”

“Right,” Annie nodded. “But how do we deal with this?” She looked at Carmen and then Ichika.

“You take Carmen back to your place. I’ll take Vivi home,” said Ichika. “It’ll probably be better for you two to watch her overnight.”

“Three,” Athena added. “It’s my fault she got hurt. If I had been paying better attention, I would’ve been able to protect her. And besides, I think Annie and I should continue our conversation.”

“I’m alright with that,” Annie smiled. “And the extra hand with Carmen would be appreciated.”

“Uh, Vivi,” Palu nudged her. “Do you mind if…”

“Of course not,” Vivi smiled. “Please help them take care of her. I can take care of myself when I get home. I’ve learned how to undo my transformation after all,” she giggled.

“Alright,” Cleo sighed. “Is everyone ready to go then?” The others nodded.

“Be safe, everyone,” Palu instructed before flying up into the air and forming a ball of purple light which exploded, sending more lights scattering in every direction. After the flash of light, the girls vanished from sight.

* * *

Vivi took a deep breath as she looked out the window and into the night sky. Escaping had started a little chaotic as the girls situated themselves and snuck past the remaining officers. Palu’s illusion seemed rather effective, leaving them dazed and ignorant of what was before them and oblivious to the girls’ cars all starting and driving away.

Even so, Vivi could only fidget in her seat as Ichika drove down the dark quiet roads. She knew that Carmen was safe and in good hands, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. And then there was Athena’s shield and her divine magic. In fact, even now she could feel it. It was like it was still pulsing through her, busily toiling away within her. It was almost like…

“You okay?” Ichika asked, pulling Vivi out of her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m okay,” she said half-heartedly.

“It’s been a long night, huh?” Ichika sighed.

“Yeah,” Vivi agreed. “I wasn’t sure if I even believed in gods or anything until tonight.”

“Me neither,” Ichika chuckled. “My parents are religious, but I never really decided on anything myself. Now I know a literal goddess.”

“And I’ve… I don’t know. I have some kind of bond or something to her now? I don’t really get it,” Vivi sighed.

“You don’t know what happened either?”

“Not really. Just one moment we’re both trying to stop Mr. Dragon’s attack, then the next I’m fighting him one-on-one, and I feel that magic swelling up in me, and next thing I know, I’m holding Athena’s own shield,” Vivi sighed and then chuckled. “What, am I some kind of demigoddess or something?”

“It’s not like that would be the weirdest thing to happen lately,” Ichika teased.

“I guess not,” Vivi said unenthusiastically, causing Ichika to frown.

“Is something else bothering you?” Ichika asked leadingly.

“Yeah,” Vivi sighed. “This power… I don’t know why, but it hasn’t gone away yet.”

“It hasn’t?” Ichika asked. “Like, what? Do you have some urge to fight or something?”

“Not really,” Vivi shrugged. “It’s more like it’s just bouncing around in me for some reason. I don’t know what it’s doing or why, but I feel like it’s doing something.”

“Well, we can always ask Athena about it tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

An uncomfortable silence began to fill the car. “Hey, she’s going to be alright, you know that, right?” Ichika finally said.

“Yeah, I know,” Vivi nodded. “Doesn’t stop me from worrying though.”

“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t,” Ichika frowned.

“I just… I should’ve seen it.”

“Seen what?”

“How uncomfortable she was,” Vivi whimpered. “I knew she was uncomfortable fighting the police. I know another of our friends’ father is a police officer… I should’ve realized that man was…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our friend Irina. Her father is a police captain…” Vivi explained, Ichika gripping the steering wheel, desperately trying not to veer off from the shock. “I’ve never met him myself. Irina’s brother likes to bully me a lot, so I never felt comfortable going over to her house. But Carmen has. And well… she thought Irina’s dad was cool, but there was always this weirdness to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Irina was always skittish about him, but I think he’s racist… or at least that’s the impression I get. And…”

“I get it,” Ichika frowned. “Trying to reconcile that something you look up to actually hates you is really hard,” she sighed.

“You sound like you talk from experience,” Vivi chuckled hesitantly.

“I don’t like talking about it a lot, but I’ve had some… ‘friends,’ that really only kept me around because of my heritage,” she sighed again. “I trusted them, but…”

“Yeah, I remember some of that from when we first met,” Vivi nodded. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“Thanks,” Ichika smiled. “And don’t beat yourself up for not noticing. That kind of stuff can be hard to think and talk about. Especially with how the world is now.”

“How the world is now…” Vivi thought aloud. “He… Mr. Dragon… Captain Habernaker… he said the world was changing. Maybe… do you think we could change it for the better? So, others don’t have to suffer like this?”

“I hope so.”

There was another long silence, Vivi gazing out into the warm quiet night again. The fight played back in her mind. Athena’s revelations, her fight with the police captain, her moment of desperation, and then she stopped. She looked at Ichika.

“I never asked, what happened on your end of things? I fought the Captain, Athena and Annie were preoccupied with Zeus apparently. But what was happening with you three?”

“Ah, right, I haven’t told you yet.” She took a deep breath. “Everything was going well until around the point you were fighting Mr. Dragon. It was around that point that some white-haired woman showed up. She was like the police captain, except she was this blue dragon lady. But she felt more like Athena.”

“You mean she was a goddess?”

“It was hard to tell, but yeah,” Ichika nodded. “It was like she was just toying with us. She wasn’t fazed by any of our attacks and she barely tried fighting back. No… maybe toying with us is the wrong way to put it. It was more like she didn’t even want to be there,” she reasoned to herself as the car slowly pulled into a parking space. “I’m glad she retreated though. I’m not sure we would’ve been able to win, even with Athena.”

“That’s scary.” Vivi shivered. She looked up to her apartment. “Speaking of scary.”

“You going to be okay?” Ichika asked.

“I’ll be fine. I texted Leah earlier. Mom’s asleep. I’ll just sneak in and go to bed. I’m pretty tired,” Vivi chuckled.

“Alright. If you need to get out tomorrow let me know. I’ll come pick you up,” she smiled.

“Thanks Ichika,” Vivi smiled. She looked to her friend then leaned in to hug her. “Thanks for everything.”

“Silly girl. I should be saying that.” Ichika hugged her back. “Now get on home and get to bed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Vivi laughed as she got out of the car. She waved Ichika goodbye and headed inside and to her room. She spotted Leah as she passed her room, the two sisters waving to each other, but Vivi passing by before her sister could ask any questions.

She collapsed into bed, the magic from the night still squirming around within her. It was strange. It was as if she could still feel it even after she undid her transformation and settled into bed. As she slipped into sleep she decided that it felt like the magic was searching her body to do something. It kind of tickled, more so now that she had reverted her form. And it felt even more pleasant now. She wondered what it could be doing before falling to sleep.