"Alex snap out of it! Start dancing like your life depends on it!" Fufi yelled as loud as she could to get Alex's attention.

Alex did not stop approaching like a zombie.  Merumere grabbed Alex's phone and started pressing buttons.  The slime girl could figure out how to read the letters and rushed over to Fufi for help.  She still clutched the doll under one arm and held out the unlocked phone to Fufi.

Fufi pecked at the phone a few times and eventually pecked on something with some music notes on it.  Eventually, 'sweet georgia brown' started scrolling across the screen and the phone started playing.  Some upbeat music alongside what sounded like snapping of fingers caused everyone to look at the strange device and be at a loss for words.  

A few seconds later the phone said "Hey man, who's that cat coming down the street?"

Another voice of a man answered, coming from the phone, "I don't know but it sounds to me that he's the man with the bones."

Upbeat whistles played while the first voice spoke out of the speakers, "Sure having himself a ball."

"Fine fine, let us see your little performance child.  The forests do not rush things. If you want to show off your talent next things can wait." Sakura snickered.  The dryad seemed more amused than threatened.  With a wave of her hand she dismissed the compulsion controlling Alex.

Freed from Sakura's powers, Alex started to dance the charleston.  The dance steps from spell didn't seem a good fit for the music. Alex took a quick step forward, then took a quick step back.  The nymph kept a bounce in every step matching the pulse of the rhythm of the music.

Step together step.

Step together step.

Step together kick.

Step together twirl.

Step together step.

Step together hop.

The three dolls sprung to life and joined the dance.  Like Alex, they pulsed to the beat of the music.

The scene was surreal as the dolls danced around getting in position to attack.

Kaide looked like she wanted to break down laughing at the whole situation.

Edelweiss danced forward, her steps contained the same pulse as the music.  She prepared to attack the wood bars of the aviary and free Fumi.

Lily shot arrows with a cadence that matched the trombone's playing.

Rose sprayed her watergun in a staccato rhythm that matched the percussion section of the music.

"Oh! Look at all the dolls dance around." Kaide laughed and waved her hands through the air. " what fun this is!"

Sakura took a seat on her throne.  A hand wave was all it took to block the ranged attacks.  A mass of vines sprouted from the ground and blocked the arrows and water.  "How cute, if you want to water plants as part of your responsibilities to the grove that can be aranged."

Alex continued dancing despite being cut off by Sakura. All this effort yielded a whole lot of nothing.  The attacks on the cage bars just bounced off.  The combination of arrow and water attacks just made a mess of mud.  None of it got past the vine wall.  Alex hadn't even succeeded in getting the pair of opponents dirty.  Things were not looking good.  After around three minutes Lily was out of arrows, rose was out of water, and the song had finished.

Fumi remained silent but watched everything with sadness.

Merumeru frantically pressed Alex's phone repeatedly while discussing something with Fufi.  Alex regretted not putting a pin number on his phone but knew there wasn't anything compromising on it.

"Now Alex, come here. Let us finish what we started." Sakura said while still sitting on her throne.

Alex kept dancing until he heard that. He snapped back to reality and took two quick steps toward the dryad. "I've done my part." The nymph stepped away from the group and went to sit next to Sakura again.

Merumeru scowled as she held the phone towards Fufi then went back to glaring at Alex as though she was trying to stare the apple nymph into submission.

With the dance ended, all the dolls went limp and collapsed to the ground.

After walking past the soggy vine wall, Alex knelt down in front of Sakura unable to resist her.  

"Now lets get rid of those painful memories so that you can start your new life."  Sakura ran her tree-like hand through Alex's leafy hair.

Alex closed his eyes tight as if shutting them would stop any pain that might be coming.

A ringing could be heard from Alex's phone. Apparently Fufi and Merumeru had figured out how to make a phone call and switch it to speaker.

"Hello?  This is Luna.  Alex?  Have you decided to become a girl finally?"  The voice from the phone seemed familiar to Alex.  Who was Luna?

"Meeeee Ru ru ru ru ru!  Me mee ru. Me!" Merumeru shouted into the phone.

Kaide tilted her head, "What did that slime just say?  What is she saying to that black rectangle?"

Sakura focused on working her magic through Alex and didn't respond.

"What?! A magical girl is doing what to Alex?!"  Luna's voice shouted through the phone.  

Fumi and Fufi both winced in unison.

Fumi pleaded with Sakura while flapping her wings behind the wooden bars, "Sakura, we are not trying to survive the demon invasion anymore.  Please reconsider this.  Not every human is going to end up captured by the demon army anymore.  Magical girls are supposed to be friends.  This is not friendship."

The dryad just ignored her familiar. "Ah...it that thing is distracting." Sakura stood up snapped her fingers and a root struck the phone shattering it and sending electronics bits flying everywhere. Her eyes remained locked with Alex's as they glowed green with magic.

A second later the bits of the phone started to float off the ground.  They flew into a circle in the air and spun rapidly.  Reality warped inside the circle and Luna emerged crossing through and flower petals followed her.  They hung in the air and slowly floated towards the ground.  The goddess looked as divine as ever.  She wore a white robe and had a halo floating over her head that illuminated the area.

Luna flashed a predatory smile.  She pointed at Sakura and Fumi.  "You two are in trouble."

Alex finally was able to look away along with everyone else to regard the newcomer.  "Who is that?" The apple nymph magical girl sounded confused.

Luna's smile grew wider and she narrowed her eyes, "A lot of trouble."

Sakura stood up and asked Fumi, "Who is that?"

Fumi stammered for several seconds before she answered, "Ummm, I that is goddess Luna.  I told you about her when we made our contract."

The dryad's eyes widened. "Why is this the first time I've met her then?"

"I umm.... well... we are not supposed to make contracts with nature spirits because they tend to not understand things like empathy and friendship.  I've been hiding the fact from her." Fumi said, ashamed.

Luna gave the flamingo a judging look. "Everyone thought you were dead Fumi.  The last we heard from you was when you set out during the demon invasion.  And now you are here betraying what it means to be a magical girl, breaking the contract."

Sakura sounded confused, "But everything we've done is to complete the quest.  I don't understand why you would be upset with us."

Luna looked to the dryad then back to Fumi. "This is why we teach the young familiars not make contracts with spirits."

Fumi lowered her head, "Please don't hurt Sakura.  She may not be the model magical girl but she saved my life."

Luna crossed her arms, "I don't see how saving one life means forsaking love and justice."

"Sakura doesn't understand. She's a spirit." Fumi pleaded to her goddess.

"Spirit, human, elf, dwarf it doesn't matter.  When someone makes a contract with one of my heralds then they will be held to the standards of a magical girl.  And this goddess judges those who think the ends justify the means." Luna crossly refuted Fumi.

"We are saving these lost sheep.  The demon queen's army took anyone they wanted from the town and now it is a ruin.  Becoming nymphs to heal the lands is a better fate than starving out in the wastelands or worse being turned into a succubus's thrall." Sakura tried to defend herself.

Luna just shook her head, "You should know this already. Fumi, you did a terrible job of teaching Sakura.  And Sakura, taking away these people's memories and agency is a debt you must repay."

Fumi swallowed hard and nodded.

"Why would you do something like that? They are safer without it." The dryad asked, still not understanding.

Luna frowned, "It is because you never considered what was precious to them.  Without empathy how can someone find love or friends." Luna walked up to Sakura and placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "Sakura, it is time to give back what you've stolen.  You have violated the contract by betraying Fumi's trust." Luna's voice had taken an ominous tone as she finished saying, "And Fumi needs to make amends for letting us think she died."

Sakura froze and her eyes became wide with fear.

Luna leaned closer until their lips were nearly touching, she whispered softly but clearly, "Give them back their memories and free them from your curse."

Sakura's eyes glazed over, "Yes...." she said in a mechanical voice.

The dryad's eyes furrowed and she opened her mouth to protest.

"Nope, not a word out of your mouth. Take this time and let this feeling sink in.  It is how you made them feel." Luna turned Sakura's head and made her watch the unfolding scene.

All of the nymphs staggered as their memories came back to them.  

A disconcerted Kaide said, "I... I was a farm boy named Kyle. My parents, I oh no...I'm so sorry Martha."

Kaide began to cry, "I'm sorry Alex.  I know now what I did was incredibly cruel."

Luna pulled out a picnic basket from seemingly nowhere.  She opened it and pulled out some flatbread and a jar with a ribbon on it.  She opened it and spread some hummus on the bread before folding it in half and handing it to Alex. "Have some hummus, it should restore your humanity.  Well, as long as you haven't forgotten what it is like to be a human.  It works less well the more time passes."

Alex accepted the food and took a bite.  Who would have thought hummus could turn someone back into a human? The nymph ate the rest of the food in a few bites.  A few moments later he transformed back into a human male.  Though male was putting it generously.  Yes, there was something swinging between his legs again but his build felt very similar to before.  He had a svelte silhouette, long hair with green streaks. He'd have to check for the rest of the changes later but he likely had come to look like a trap.

"Oh, no, she broke my cell phone." Alex said, but covered his mouth.  His voice didn't change much and was more fitting for that of a girl than a boy.

"We can fix that.  Sakura owes you a new phone anyway.  The nerve of her cutting off that cute slime girl's call." Luna snapped her fingers and the pieces of the phone flew back together.  Luna reached into the basket and pulled out some stickers of hearts and stars and placed them on the back.  She then placed a magical girl charm on a thread to the corner of the phone. "There, that should be much better."

"Now, for Sakura's divine punishment." Luna fished through the picnic basket and pulled out several wooden letter blocks.

Alex wondered why she would keep toys for toddlers in her picnic basket but tried not to think too hard about it.

She threw several of them up and then floated in an arc over Sakura's prone form.  The blocks were spinning so fast it wasn't obvious what the letters were.  Eventually they slowed down and the first letter was a 'B'.

A puff of smoke appeared around Sakura and cleared with the blocks stopped spinning.  A baby dryad was in the spot Sakura used to be.

It spelled the word 'Babality'.  At the same time a deep ominous voice echoed through the grove, "Babality!"

"Let the punishment fit the crime.  I'll hang on to these memories.  That should be okay right?  You did the same to others." Luna looked at the baby.

Baby Sakura just cried, "Waaaaaa"