Later that evening, Becka sat on the bed in her room. It still felt strange to be calling the Madisons' guest room hers, but she had bigger things to think about right now. She'd only just started life as Becka, and things had gotten all turned upside-down again! She'd gone from being a little girl to being a little girl with blue hair, a not-fairy companion, and apparently being a magical girl, to boot!
Still, she wasn't really unhappy about it. Sure, it was weird, and she was kinda embarrassed by how girly her magical-girl costume was, no matter how natural it felt at the time, but at least she had a purpose in her new life, now. She didn't at all like the idea of having to grow back up as a girl, but if she did, it'd at least be better having a goal to work towards than being left on her own.
And, well, she had felt pretty good this afternoon - the breeze carressing her as she changed to magical-girl form, the rush as Trident's one-two-three beat had taken hold of her and lead her through the weapon summoning, and the athletic spring in her step - even if its unfamiliar strength had resulted in her careening twenty feet into the air. It reminded her of the best parts of playing sports, when her body was in tune with her mind and all its pent-up energy was free for her to direct, just waiting to be released. If nothing else, she could get used to that.
She looked over at her mentor and companion; Trident was seated on a blank sheet of paper, holding a pencil as tall as she was and staring intently at the white space. "Watcha doin'?" she asked.
Trident siighed. "I'm trying to remember," she said. "About who sent me to you, and why. We need to know what to expect, but right now I can't even remember who we're working for, let alone what we'll be up against."
"Oh." Becka stared at the ceiling for a bit. "Trident?" she asked. "If I'm three, d'ya think there's other numbers?"
The tiny young woman thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," she said. "I kind of think yes, but I don't know. We should keep an eye out; if there are other magical girls, it'd be very important that we talk to them."
Becka nodded. "D'ya think they look like their numbers like me? With my hair, and my, um...?"
Trident shrugged. "Could be," she said, "but I don't know how useful that'd be in spotting them. A lot of people are looking pretty strange these days."
Becka laid back on her bed, still trying to get used to the feel of her nightgown. "I wonder..." she murmured.
"How are you feeling?" Jon asked. Zoe looked pretty close to the way she'd started this whole business, at least to her older brother-turned-sister.
Zoe smiled. "Back to normal, finally," she said. "God, you have no idea how weird that was. Everything in my mind spread out over so many disconnected cells...you know how you can know that you know something, but still not be able to remember it? It was like that, except for all of my memories, until the right cells made their way back."
Jon whistled. "Sounds pretty crazy." She looked over her younger sister. Zoe was still in slime-girl mode, but the detail had returned; her face was her face now, not a spheroid with facial features on it. Her body was mostly humanoid, though her legs still ended in an indistinct mass, and she was completely naked, but lacking in anatomical detail. She was still the same translucent orange.
"And the weird part is," Zoe continued, "now I can't remember what all happened while I was reforming. I wasn't some hideous monster, was I?"
Jon smiled. "Actually, you started as kind of a tiny cartoon-character version of you, and then you grew back up. It was pretty adorable, really."
Zoe buried her face in her hands, or her hands in her face, as finger temporarily merged with forehead. "Oh God, really?" she moaned. "And I have to do that every month..."
"Well, what about Michael and I!?" Jon griped. She still couldn't come to terms with the idea that she was going to have to deal with a period, or rather, several, until the stone was recharged.
"Oh, hah!" Zoe scoffed. "That's a pain in the ass, but it doesn't leave you completely incapacitated for four days!" She noticed the unsettled expression on Jon's face, and softened. "I...I'm sorry," she said. "I guess this must still be pretty weird for you..."
The slug-girl nodded, looking down at her slick, mucous-coated foot, feeling her antennae sway with the motion of her head. "Yeah..." she murmured. "Yeah, it is..." Even with the knowledge that she could use the stone to return to normal in a few months, this was still an overwhelming experience.
Zoe put a viscous arm around her shoulder. "Look," she said, "I'm not good with the speech-making, but...I feel for you. I believe you'll get used to it, and maybe you'll even be happier this way in the long run, but I'm sorry it's so difficult for you right now."
Jon couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," she said. "Um, so, are you going to go back to that human look you had before this fruiting thing?"
Zoe shook her head. "Not really," she said. "I think that was just dead skin cells that didn't change with giving me that look. I digested them over the course of the afternoon. I'm pretty sure this is just how I look now."
Jon shrugged. "Huh. Well, I'm sure Mom and Dad can live with that. We'll pack up and head back in the morning."
Zoe nodded. "Oka,then." She smiled. "Goodnight, sis."
"...good night."
