Small Author notes: Hi. Believe it or not, this was the first story I had written. I had my own reasons why I delayed it, but I guess it is time to brush off the dust and finally hand it to you guys and gals. Just bear in mind this was my first work and hence the writing is a little rough and unpolished. I mean more than usual for me. This story was also the first in a planned trilogy. I haven't written the other two. Yet. But I assure you that the story ends at least somewhat satisfactory for a pilot story.

So please give it a try.
Cassy

Darrel blew out the candles on his birthday cake. Finally 16 years old. The time when dimension mages gain their power and make their first steps creating worlds. He actually felt his power come to him a few days earlier.

“So when will we be seeing your first work?” asked his father. He sat close by with his mother.

Darrel looked to his father. “Not yet. I still have to add some details. And by now I heard enough of uncle Rupert’s stories about what can go wrong that I absolutely want to make sure no mistakes sneaked themselves in.”

His mother chuckled and said: “Don’t worry Darrell honey. Mistakes happen and we learn from them. If your world wouldn’t have any .. well it would be a first for all dimension mages. Everyone messes up the first time.”

Darrel hoped his parents weren’t right but thought better than to insist on being different. After a while, he got up and headed to his room. Birthdays were for friends and gifts. But not the sixteenth for a dimension mage. This birthday the mage has to gift him or herself with the grandest gift of them all: an own world.

Just as he arrived he heard outside the clap of a closing car door. It was Sarah, his neighbor's daughter. She was also the girl every guy in school was after. Darrel included. Sighing he looked away.

Darrell took a thick book from his shelf. His work of the last year. In it, he described his soon to be first world of hopefully many. He did copy the practice to write a book about a world from his parents. Both were mages. With only a few thousand mages on earth, it was pretty rare that two mages found themselves to fall in love.

Darrel thought for a moment about his parents and how they used their gift. His father was an architect and his current world was one where he could summon buildings from blueprints. Then he could test the design by literally put them to the extremes. Weather, disasters and time. The buildings had to prove them self against them all.

His mother did go a different way. She was the most energetic in the family and loved to do sports. Only her love for driving was stronger. No wonder that she created a world, where she could drive any car on any track she wanted, with the snap of her fingers. The practical use came handy as she was the lead designer for a gaming company throwing out each year that racing game that was a must buy for every racing fan.

Sighing he looked down at his book and wondered if his work would be as practical. Thanks to his mother he was much into video games, but in contrast to her, he favored the slower paced RPGs (role-playing games). So he thought a world based on RPG rules might be nice and most of his book were filled with them.

For the world itself, he thought he was kinda smart. If a person would enter they would land in a duplicate of the place they left earth of. This would be a start area. The farther you traveled the harder the enemies would become.

Darrel opened his book and turned pages till he found the first blank page. Currently, he was working on figuring out how the currency earned would be exchanged for goods. Sure, he could create a world where everything was free but he enjoyed challenges to much to go the easy way.

In the next hour, he wrote down how each shop would have a salesperson representing said shop. That they would offer an inventory based on what the shop would offer back on earth and a lot of other details.

Suddenly he remembered the one time he and his parents visited a close by ice cream parlor. The sales clerk was looking like he passed the time, when no one was around, by sampling his own wares. In other words, he was obscenely fat.

Darrel shuddered. Not that he had anything against overweight people but he decided that he wanted only people in his world that were attractive to him. He thought for a moment about how he would write it down. As his page was full he turned it and wrote on the new one:”Everyone in this world is a pretty, beautiful, cute, sexy, athletic or attractive (or a mix of these attributes) girl.”
Darrell congratulated himself for the phrasing and thought he covered anything so only good-looking shopkeepers would be around.

Next, he worked some more detail into the combat system.

***** Chapter 2 *****

When it turned evening Darrell got up from working on his book. He and his parents were expected in his uncle Rupert’s world for celebration with his extended family. He joined his parents in the main room and after a bit of fussing around from his mother was declared ready.

He and his mother grabbed each lightly the shoulder of his father, waiting for his incantation of the entering-phrase. His father sighed and shook his head like every time before he began.
“I search for heavenly delight we leave this world behind!”
After that, he clapped his hands three times. As swirling lights surrounded them they all had to grin again.

“What a tacky incantation,” Darrel thought. But knowing his uncle Rupert it sort of made sense. The lights faded and they found themselves in a desert beneath a bright sun. Just ahead was a big building, white plaster mixed with a dark wood.

“Curious mix. Hmm. I think that's Ottomanian mixed with influences of Nara style Japanese architecture.” commented Darrell’s dad.

Darrell gave his mother some rolling eyes and she just shrugged. Both were used to the cryptic mumbling of his dad.
Together they entered what was probably the finest restaurant of all dimensions. His uncle created this world to fulfill his hunger for fine culinary art. In the kitchen were copies of the most famous and talented cooks found on earth. The service staff themselves were copies of the current A-grade of Hollywood actors. Dining here was always special.

Darrel forced a smile on his face. As good as the food and entertainment were he also had to endure his whole extended family. And today he was the focus of everyone's attention.

A few hours later everything wound down. Most already left and Darrel patted his stuffed tummy.
“So much for the exercises, I forced myself through all summer,” he thought.

The voice of his uncle pulled him back to reality.
“So Darrell, how is your world coming along?”
Before Darrel could answer his uncle droned on.
“Hope you aren’t too naughty. You know naughty and mistakes go hand in hand. Especially for young boys. Did I ever tell you the story about the boy and his harem world?”

Again he barely made a break before he continued on.
”You see there was that boy a few decades back. Thought himself a stud. You know how it is. Well, he filled his world with the most beautiful girls. And then on top, he made them all nymphomaniac to the power of ten.”

His uncle gave Darrell a meaningful look and continued:”The first time the boy entered his world he brought some friends along. Never a good idea. As soon as the woman's spotted the boys they rushed over. I think you are old enough to imagine what followed next. The problem was when one girl was done the next one was already there. Soon the boys became exhausted but the girls didn’t care. They couldn’t think past their needs. So they went on and on. Sure enough, the boys tried to leave but try saying an exit incantation when three women try to bury their tongue in your mouth. The end is .. well they all died.”

Darrel looked bemused at his parents and waited for them to laugh or so. Instead, his mother laid a hand on his and said:”Just be careful honey okay?”

Soon afterward they got home. Before Darrel slipped into bed he had to correct something. His shopkeepers weren’t nymphomaniac but just to be sure he opened the page and crossed out every sentence on that page. He vowed to replace them in the morning with something harmless. Maybe self-service kiosks. But that had time.

***** Chapter 3 *****

A few days later was the last weekend before the summer break was up. Not that Darrel minded much. His parents just had gone out the door, leaving him parent-free for the weekend. They were off to visit some gaming convention in Canada. No supervision meant also he could explore his world the first time without being bothered.

He lovingly patted his book. Last night he finished the last part. Without human NPCs, he thought it could get a bit lonely. So he implemented a summoning system to pull people from earth temporarily into his world.

Making sure his parents were really gone he started. Most would think creating and shaping the world would be flashy, but if anyone would have stumbled into Darrel’s room, it would be a floating book midair slightly glowing. Unseen Darrel reached out through space and time and grabbed onto an unused dimension. Slowly he connected it to the book, forced it to bend itself to the rules written in it. Page by page, sentence by sentence. The whole process was pretty much automatic and by instinct. Without the book, it would have taken hours if not days. With it, Darrel was done just within 5 minutes.

He grinned. His first world was done. Suddenly abuzz he couldn’t wait anymore. Grabbing his book he said the incantation to travel to his world:”Enter super battle world!”

As light spiraled around him he shrugged. Sure his phrase was tacky too, but he hadn’t come up with anything better. Maybe a family trait.
As the light faded around him he found himself in his room again. For a moment he thought it hadn’t worked.

Then he spotted the user interface floating nearby. Just the way it was supposed to be. What wasn’t specified was that floating exclamation mark icon that flashed bright red. Worried he hit it. “ERROR:,” it said. “Violation of Page 314 Sentence 1 found. Searching for a solution.”

Darrel furrowed his eyebrows. He opened his book and tried to find page 314. He stumbled upon 313. The page about shopkeepers. Every sentence neatly crossed out. He turned the page. There on top was the first sentence:”Everyone in this world is a pretty, beautiful, cute, sexy, athletic or attractive (or a mix of these attributes) girl.”

He face-palmed himself and then tried to find a pen to cross out the offending rule. A ding sound made him look up from his search. “Acceptable solution found. Setting the solution as default for resolving this error.”

Before Darrel could make sense of it all he noticed a weird tingling sensation quickly spreading over his body. Panic tried to grip him. The tingling became stronger and he felt nauseated. Shortly after darkness filled his vision as he blacked out.

An uncomfortable pain woke him up. Something was pressed under him against his chest. Slowly he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was a dainty hand and slender arm laying beside him. He tried to push himself up and noticed that the arm moved with him as if … it was his own.

Slowly he lifted his upper body from the floor. The dull pain that bothered him faded away, but some weight still clung to him. As he sat up he looked down. Somehow his shirt had become bigger. Or did he get smaller? He thought his arms looked smaller for sure. There was only one place his shirt was still tight. Warily he lifted the neckline and peeked below it. Oddly disconnected he noted to himself “Yep. Those are breasts.”

Standing up he noticed that his whole body changed. Curious he stepped over to the mirror in his room. A raven-haired beauty stared back at him, mimicked every movement he made. Every detail he saw was perfection. High cheekbones, a slightly pouty mouth with full lips. Piercing blue eyes. Below his, or was it her, neck where full breasts. Maybe a C- or even D-Cup. It was hard to tell for Darrell as they only contoured underneath his shirt. Below them, the shirt was very loose. As he explored his midriff by hands he noticed his very small waist and then his very curvy hips.

Darrel muttered in disbelief to himself: “I am a wet dream come true.” He was immediately shocked how his voice sounded. Higher but also a bit rough. Smokey some would say. He shook his head in disbelief and the long curls of his raven hair shock with him. Now slowly it dawned on him just how bad he messed up.

His eyes darted around his room and fell on his phone. Picking it up he tried to call his parents, only to get no signal. He tried a few times till he noticed the interface of his world still floating nearby. He face-palmed and said to himself “Duh. I am still in my world. No cell towers here that connect back to earth.”

A small ding did draw his attention to the interface. He did read the last entry in the log:”Darrell suffered 1 damage of friendly fire inflicted by Darrell with the weapon palm.” The absurdity caused Darrel to face-palm yet again. A moment later another ding sounded and another line in the log appeared.

His panic was momentarily halted by the humor of his situation and he calmed down. He did draw an unsteady breath and said: “Exit battle world.”

The lights came and went. Darrel rushed to his cell phone and dialed his father. As soon as he picked up Darrell blurred out:”Dad! I messed up big time. I don’t know what to do Dad.”

After a short moment, his father replied:”Calm down miss. I think you miss-dialed.”

“Oh no Dad it’s me, Darrell. Just listen okay? I messed up! You and mom need to come back.” A slight panic has crept into his voice.

“Darrel, is it really you? Playing pranks with a voice changer again?”

“Oh my gosh, dad just listen! There was a faulty line in my book. When I entered my world it made me a girl. A real girl. What am I supposed ..”

He couldn’t continue as a loud laugh boomed through the speaker and fragments of what he might guess was “Oh I always wanted a daughter!” Apparently, his mother had listened in.

It took a few moments to calm his mother down before his dad could speak again. When his father could be heard again he said:”Listen we just landed in Canada. We can’t just turn around. You have to manage yourself until tomorrow evening. Maybe you find something in your world to help you.”

Darrel put the phone down and thought that the call didn’t help much. He thought about if he could alter his world to help him but quickly noticed that he doesn’t have enough juice in him to alter anything but minor details.

By now he was feeling slightly peckish and turned to head to the kitchen. Only to stumble over his long pants. Cursing he admitted to himself that if he had to spend a day like this at least he should get some more fitting clothes. After grabbing a snack, this time without falling over, he entered his world. After all, it was made in a way for shopping.

As he did leave his home he tried to decide where to head first. This mind drew blanks. He did know nothing about dressing up as a woman. As his gaze did go by his neighbors Sarah's house he had an idea. “Maybe a guide will help. Good that I implemented a summoning system”. With that, he summoned Sarah, his secret crush.

***** Chapter 4 *****

Sarah yawned and slowly did go out of her bed. She shouldn’t have partied late the day before, as she glanced at the clock that was just shy of noon. A quick shower and she were ready for the day. Just as she had finished donning her bra and panties a swirl of light surrounded her.

As fast as the light came it vanished. To Sarah's surprise, she was now standing on the street in front of her house. The whole street was abandoned but a lone raven beauty in oddly oversized cloth.

Suddenly remembering that she wore only underwear she tried to cover herself with her hands and as that wasn’t helping much she started running for her house.

The start of a yell came from behind her: “Wait! Watch out for the …”

It was cut short as Sarah slammed face first into a wall. Landing on her bum she looked around but saw no obstacle or anything similar.

“Sorry about that.” came from behind her.

The raven-haired girl caught up, looking funny as she was clearly struggling with her oversized clothes. More to herself than to Sarah she muttered: “.. thought I gave all summoned copies knowledge of the basic rules..”

Then she looked at Sarah and points in the direction Sarah was running. “See the faint lines on the ground? Sorta creating a grid? Those are the movement squares. Everyone can only walk a set number of them per minute in this world.”

Giving a hand, the raven-haired girl helped Sarah up. Of course, she had to let go of her pants to do that. They in turned slipped down, along with boxer shorts. Sarah didn’t know what was going on but the strange situation made her laugh. The accusing look on the girl's face only stoked the fires of her amusement. Finally settling down she looked around. Both of them were half naked on the street. But no one else was around. It crept her out a bit.

“Okay. So what is going on?”

The girl looked relieved. “Well uhm.. we are in another world. Here are different rules. Don’t worry we are alone in this world. Well, how do I explain it the best? I am a mage. And I created this world. Though I have to admit I messed it up a bit. You know Darrell right? Your neighbor?”

Sarah nodded.
“Sure. A bit nerdy and shy but okay.”

Somehow that made the girl blush even more.
“Well yeah. Uhm that’s me. I am Darrel.”

That made Sarah laugh again. “Oh, no way. Darrell is tall and lanky. And you are definitely neither of those.”

Another blush followed. Whatever this weirdness is, seeing her blush partially makes up for it. “Well, this is where I messed up. There was one old clause I forgot to erase. It says that only pretty girls can exist here. When I traveled here the first time this happened.”

Sarah thought that was indeed interesting. It would also explain her oversized clothes and her disarray. “So that explains why you are here. Why am I here?”

The girl fidget.
“Uhm till my parents are back I am stuck this way and till then I need clothes.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“And I don’t know anything about girl clothes. I needed a guide so to speak.”

“Still doesn’t explain why me. There are other girls more stylish than me. Better choices.”

The girl hesitated again.
“Well, I uh .. I kinda had always a crush on you. And I thought a copy of you might be nice.”

Now it was Sarah's turn to blush, but only slightly. She had suspected that Darrell was into her.
“Wait. What was that about a copy of me?”

“Oh, my. I guess I messed up there too. You see because it’s a secret that my family and I are mages, I can’t just tell my friends. But I thought it would be nice to explore this world with them. So I created a system where I can summon copies of them. I thought I added that copies would know the basics of this world. But I clearly messed up there too. Sorry.”

That was a lot to stomach for Sarah. “So I am not real? I feel real.” Darrell shook his head but stopped annoyed by the long strands of hair flying around.

“Okay okay. Uhm. But why exactly did you summon me while I was in underwear?”

Again Darrel blushed.
“I didn’t know that you weren’t dressed. It copies the person when they are summoned with their current clothes.”

“So you wouldn’t mind that I finish dressing?”

Darrell shook again his head but as Sarah turned to her house he quickly added:”That won’t work. The houses are empty. I mean I didn’t want to snoop and to remove the temptation to do so I made the rule that no private items are copied.”

“So you are saying I am stuck half naked?”

Darrel saw an opening and talked fast. “Well no. Shops here in this world sell stuff too. You see we can earn money here too. Then we get stuff here in the mall or shops. Uh, I can’t believe I am saying this but we could shop together.”

Sarah threw her arms up in mock annoyance. “Fine. But Darrel ... No, wait. Can’t call you Darrel while you look like that. Hmm D. D. D. Diana? Hmm no. D. Hmm, Doreen. Urg no. Hmm. Oh, I have it. Dea. Short and close to your normal name. Kinda. So ready Dea?”

The newly christened Dea let her head hang again.
“I am I guess.”

“So Dea tell me one thing. How do we get to the mall? I don’t see any cars around?”

Now that Sarah mentioned it Dea saw it too. “We walk I guess. After all, we have to earn money first too.” Together they started walking.

***** Chapter 5 *****

Together they made poor progress. Sarah was walking with bare feet and Dea had to constantly adjust her clothes. They usually could only move about three fourth of their allotted squares. It was about two blocks down when they noticed two shapes approaching. Maybe as big as basketballs but not nearly as round. They were semi-transparent. Two cartoon-like eyes and a mouth decorated them.

“Slimes!” Dea shouted delighted. “I wondered what starter mob I would run into.”

Sarah was confused by these creatures. “Slimes?”

“Oh um. They are often starter monsters in role-playing games. Kinda weak. Think of them as big drops of living jelly.”

Dea did move over to the side of the street and picked up two branches. Coming back she handed one to Sarah.

“We are gonna fight them? Why would you add some enemies anyway?”

Dea grinned a bit silly.
“Sure we fight them. Just swing at the border of the square they are in. And the reason why. Having your private world with easy access to everything would be too easy. I like a challenge.”

Dea moved off to hit on the first slime. Shrugging Sarah moved to her own. After a few hits, the slime retaliated. Some floating pop-up window appeared, which she ignored. A few strikes later her slime disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Leaving a few casino chips behind. Peeking over she looked at Dea. She did swing and swing again but most of the time a ding was heard and a word “Missed!” floated by.

“Arg. Why can’t I hit it?”

Seeing Dea try to hit a slime by swinging at the air in front of it while trying not to lose her oversized clothes, made Sarah laugh. “Maybe lose a few clothes? They don’t help do they?”

Now the slime did manage to get a few hits in as Dea tried to decide what to shrug out of. T-shirt? No way her breasts would be out in the open. Settling on the pants she pulled them off. She tried again. This time, it went better. Sarah didn’t mind much. Seeing a pretty girl in an oversized t-shirt and boxers moving around was certainly a sight. Somehow it reminded her of slumber parties and pillow fights.

Sarah was pulled back out of her dream world by a puffing sound. Dea’s slime vanished in a cloud of smoke too. Leaving behind a few casino chips and … shoes! Sarah quickly snatched them. “I need those more. If we get something you need more it’s yours. Hmm, panties for example.”

Dea looked down were Sarah looked. Followed by a blushing that would put tomatoes to shame. Her boxer shorts had managed to slide over her hips and down her legs. Leaving Dea’s lower body completely nude. Turning around Sarah gave her some moments to find her shorts again and her dignity. Noticing the pop up again she asked:”118 of 130 health?”

“Oh yeah. Part of the challenge.”

“What happens when it goes to zero?”

Dea was still fumbling around with her boxers, trying to put a knot in so they would be tighter. “You re-spawn where you entered the world. Minus all your stuff.”

Sarah meanwhile had another more urgent question:”So these monsters. What are they based on?”

Dea finally managed to adjust her boxers and looked proud at Sarah. “In a general purpose? They are based on the subconscious of the players. Since I am currently the only player the slimes are based on me.”

Sarah gave her a big wide grin and pointed behind Dea.“Subconscious you say? In that case, you have some explaining to do.”

Just as Dea turned around to look a big soft pillow hit her square in the face. Giggling came from two girls, not ten squares away. Though not normal girls. They were scantily clad in only nightgowns. Those did not hide the other features well. The cat ears, tails, and paws. Dea agreed. Her subconscious had some serious explaining to do.

What followed was the most embarrassing fight for Dea. Their enemies were constantly giggling save for the moment when they were hit. Then they moaned like they experienced pleasure instead of pain. When the last cat-girl was vanquished Dea’s face was bright red.

Sarah meanwhile had the most fun in a long time. With her pinky, she held up panties.”Look what I found for you, Dea. Panties!”

Dea eyed the offered garment like it was poisonous. “No way. That thing barely covers anything and when it does it can be seen through.” Dea marched on and Sarah quickly followed. But not before she put the panties to her own loot.

***** Chapter 6 *****

When they finally arrived at the mall Dea was just about to give up on her world. Sure they had battled some more slimes. But there also were more cat-girls and an encounter with a ‘voluminous beach babe’. Of course, she had to endure jibe after jibe from Sarah. Especially when one catgirl's curse managed to hit Dea and she could only say “nyah” for ten minutes or purr.

Dea knew that shops were safe zones. No mob attacks there. So she didn’t complain when Sarah dragged her into the next ‘forever sweet’ boutique. A shop that catered to the need of teenage girls. Sarah quickly vanished between the cloth racks. Dea placed her meager loot on the counter and looked around. She hated shopping for clothes. And she had a hunch that this time might be worse. True to her feeling Sarah came back with a bunch of skirts.

“Oh no no no. No skirts. I just wanna get some pants and a shirt and be done for today.”

Sarah, however, gave her a sour look and didn’t back down. “Why am I here Dea? Wasn’t it to ‘advise you’? So that’s what I am gonna do. And you will try everything I throw your way.”

Dea looked down, feeling guilty. She nodded. When she looked up again she barely managed to catch a package thrown her way. It was a three pack of plain white cotton panties.

“Boxers and skirts don’t mix.” came the more or less helpful remark from Sarah.

Over the next 2 hours, Dea had to model not just a dozen outfits. Dea was convinced that Sarah made her try on each piece of clothing at least twice. Her only reprieve was the breaks were Sarah was trying something on herself. Sarah was quite happy and her good mood constantly threatened to infect Dea. When they were ready to leave Dea was carrying bags with four skirts, five blouses, and three shirts. New shoes and some plain underwear.

They were at the counter and going over their balance. The shops worked in a specific way. Everything brought into the store and remained was plus balance. Everything taken out was minus balance. You could only leave with a neutral or positive balance.

Sarah noticed something behind the counter:”Hey what’s this?”

Dea looked up from their loot and haul and inspected what Sarah was holding. “It’s a knowledge card. It gives you knowledge or skill. It was a spontaneous thing that I added. Shops should sometimes have cards depending on what they sell or are about.”

“Well, in that case, do you want to learn about “This fall's trend: how to accessorize with scarves?” Dea only gave her a raspberry and continued to calculate their balance.

Soon after they left the store. Dea was amazed that they only had spent near one-third of their so far earned credits. As she wanted to turn around to go home when she noticed Sarah was walking in the opposite direction.

She quickly shouted after her:”Hey where are you going. I have everything I need. Let’s head home.” Slowly Sarah came back, but something was wrong. She looked sad and angry.

“Dea let me ask you a question. What happens when you leave? What happens to this world when you go to the normal world?”

Dea suddenly had a hard time swallowing. She couldn’t look Sarah in the eyes but answered her in a quiet tone:”The world resets. To be reformed when a player returns.”

“And along the copies vanish right? Copies like me.”

Dea nodded.

Sarah hesitated and then walked to a nearby bench. “Today is Saturday. Do you know what I usually do on Saturdays? No, I didn’t think so. I hide it to carefully. Every Saturday I go to the bus stop and take one to the next city. Then I spend the rest of the day as a telemarketer. Do you know why?”

Dea came over to the bench. She sat down and shook her head.

“My mother left when I was little. My father, well you know he is a drunkard, is unemployed. If it wasn’t for a few shares in the internet start-up he worked as a janitor and it’s dividends we would have nothing. That what we have left is barely enough each month and is usually drunken away by my father. Whenever I want to have anything nice I have to earn it. I can’t go on shopping sprees like my friends. Can’t even spare the time. And now here we are. For the first time in my life, I can shop and try on and do whatever. And that time I am only a copy. To be erased soon. Dea, I know you didn’t mean ill. I know that you are a good person. But, now. Right now. I wanna be selfish. I wanna spend more time here. I wanna do stuff with a girlfriend like normal girls do. Please. Can’t we spend the day here? Have a bit fun? Don’t you owe me at least this much?”

Dea’s eyes were wet, matching those of Sarah. She gave a much-needed hug to Sarah and waited while she cried on her shoulder. When every tear was shed she gave a gentle:”Sure we can. Where to next?” Dea decided that Sarah was right. She owed her that much.

Sarah had settled on a shoe shop close by. “I always wanted to shop here. But this one is fancy and the prices are sky high,” remarked Sarah casually. The mood lifted quickly as Dea was modeling some high heels. A newborn giraffe was more elegant. In her defense, it was the first time in her life she wore heels. And five inch was not the ideal starter height. They soon moved on.

Next Sarah ducked into a ballet studio. “Sorry. Just for a moment. When I was little mom enrolled me here. I had six or so lessons. So not many. But sometimes I wish could go back and stay you know?”

Dea nodded. “Take your time.”

Sarah walked around and took it all in. Lost in whatever memories she had. Then she spotted a knowledge card behind the counter.
“Hey, Dea look. ‘Dancers grace (woman)’. Even gives plus one DEX. Whatever that means.”

“It’s an abbreviation of dexterity. In role-playing games, it helps to decide how good a character is at handling certain things.”

“Well, in that case, this is for you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because while you modeled those high heels you showed neither. Dexterity or grace.”

Dea gave her the evil eye but soon had to join Sarah’s chuckling. “Okay okay. Give it to me.” Dea activated the card and a few credits vanished as well as the card.

“Let’s go to the next shop. You walk ahead. I wanna see your new graciousness.”

Dea rolled her eyes but complied. Walking along she asked:”So where to next? And I don’t think that card worked.”

Sarah behind her meanwhile couldn’t hide her amazement. Dea’s walking before had been terrible. Like a man in a woman’s body. Now, however, she sauntered along. Each step was effortlessly nimble. She didn’t just walk like a woman. She moved through the street like she performed a slow sensual dance. Each step, a choreographed statement.

“You really feel no difference to your usual walking?” Sarah had to know.

“No. Why? Do you see one?”

“Well, I think you walk slightly better. Instead of a drunk man's gait, you are only tipsy.” lied Sarah.

Dea was laughing. Had she looked back the laugh would have frozen seeing Sarah's very mischievous grin.

“Okay, there we go next. I have an idea.”

Dea looked flabbergasted.
“The makeup store?”

“Exactly!”

As they entered Dea was looking around as if poisonous snakes might jump her from everywhere. Sarah, however, walked directly to the counter.
“Aha! Found it.”

Triumphantly she held up a knowledge card. Dea walked slowly over. She knew something was up. Sarah gave her a smile. “You told me you have a crush on me right? Well, now that I spend some time with you I can say I like you. But I am only the copy. You need a way to the original. And I have a solution. Quick tell me how many guys do you know that know how to use makeup?”

Dea looked confused.”None really.”

“Because guys don’t wear makeup, right? Unless they’re into a subculture that warrants it. So it would be a rarity to have a normal guy like you to be a master at applying cosmetics. You know I work on some after-school clubs, right? On Wednesdays, I help the drama club. There the girl that used to do our makeup quit. If you would come and volunteer you could spend time with me, the original me, and impress her. But you need this card here. Interested?”

That was a lot to stomach. It made Dea feel conflicted. Should she use information gained here in the normal world?
“Wouldn’t that be cheating?”

Sarah gave her a genuine smile.
“Well no. It’s not like I or rather my original would jump into bed with you. It’s just a little help. Come on. Can’t hurt right?”
Grumbling Dea took the card and activated it. A lot of their credits vanished.

“Ok, now we need to test it.”

“Test what?”

“If it worked. Okay, let’s try this. Use anything in this shop to make a makeup for an evening out. If it’s bad I won’t laugh. And no one will ever know.”

Dea rolled her eyes.
“Fine”.
She sauntered along the shelves and took some things out. To Sarah, it looked completely random. Then Dea flopped down in front of a vanity and started applying. Before Sarah knew what was happening Dea had concealer and foundation on her. She certainly was faster than Sarah ever was. After the basics were done Dea continued with her eyes. Sarah saw that she was going for a smoky yet sophisticated looked. The end result was sheer magic. She somehow had incorporated some warm tones that made her blue eyes stand out more. Yet those colors didn’t dominate. Sarah could see some glitter in the eyeshadow. Just enough as an accent and not as a feature. While Sarah still was lost marveling at the eyes Dea had started on her mouth. She had them expertly contoured and was applying a lipstick. Not a bright but rather a muted red. The whole makeup harmonized with her dark hair.

“Do I pass?”

Sarah needed a moment to find her words.
”Pass? With flying colors, I would say. So it works. Off to the next shop.”

“What? No, I can’t yet.”
Dea waved around her face.

“Okay. Take your time.”

Before Dea did remove her make-up she eyed the loot or rather the credits. Buying the knowledge card had nearly consumed every credit they had left.
“Hey, Sarah how about this. I am in the mood for clobbering some more mobs. And then we shop some more with the credits we get.”

Sarah gave a grin.
“Sounds good.”

Dea walked back to the vanity. “This might take a while. Why don’t you go ahead and I catch up?”

Sarah grabbed her stuff and wanted to head out. Then she had an idea. She looked if Dea was distracted and quickly slipped something in one of Dea’s shopping bags.

Heading out she didn’t have to look long for a mob. While the shops were safe the floors weren’t and here and there a mall-rat shuffled around. Every time Sarah saw one she had to giggle.

The mall-rats were young women. Punks with a rat theme. Most wore leather jackets with fake fur sewed onto them and a fake rubber tail. Overall funny looking they still had some sexiness to them. If she could send her original one message then it would probably be to go costumed as a sexy mall-rat on this year's Halloween. She was hitting the third rat with a pink baseball bat, earlier loot when Dea joined the fray. After their victory, Sarah saw something that greatly amused her. Indeed Dea had removed the make-up. But instead of going bare, she was sporting a light casual one.

“What? Why are you staring at me with that goofy smile?”

“Oh, nothing.” Sarah lied. Mentally she thought:”Yes. Strike two.”

After a few dozen mobs they continued on their shopping spree. In a department store, Sarah could argue in favor of knowledge cards for cooking and basic “dressing for woman”. Afterward, she noticed it was a lot easier to get Dea to try on some more feminine clothes. She even picked some herself.

Paved by her previous win Sarah had to only slightly drag and threaten Dea to visit the local Victoria's Secret. Pouting Dea proclaimed:”Okay fine. Five sets. Not one more.”

But Sarah had other ideas:”How about three sets but in exchange you have to use one knowledge card. Without seeing what the card does. Deal?”

Dea was chewing on her lower lip. She carefully weighed her options. “Fine. But I can veto five outfits that I think are too risky.”

“And with that, we have a deal.” grinned Sarah and skipped over to the counter to look for cards. Dea meanwhile looked for sets that might be more on the tame side yet might satisfy Sarah. She had found a powder blue bra and panty set and one in dark red when she noticed Sarah sitting on the counter with two cards in her hands. “The deal was for one card remember?”

“I know. It’s just that I can’t decide. Both are intriguing and fairly cheap.”

Dea rolled her eyes. She walked over to Sarah and grabbed both cards.

“Hey, no peeking!” Sarah was quick to shout out.

Dea didn’t. Instead, she used both cards.
“You happy now? Can we get the show on the road now so I can get out of here?”

Sarah gave her a sweet smile. “Sure. And yes. You have no idea how happy you just made me.”

Sarah gave Dea a quick kiss on the cheek and dragged her to the changing booth. Even with only them in the world, she insisted on using the booths. Sarah meanwhile wondered if Dea would have agreed to the cards if she had known what they were about. She didn’t know what she wanted to see more. The effects of ‘innocent but flirty subconscious gestures and movements’ or ‘poses to make the most out of your sexy underwear’.

Meanwhile, Dea was donning her first set: the powder blue bra and panties. She couldn’t help to model it a little to herself. After she tried a few poses, a shout from Sarah broke her concentration:”Hey how long does it take in there? I know you were a guy but putting on a bra and panties shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes. Definitely less than five.”

Dea blushed. Had she really been lost so much in her modeling? She quickly exited. On Sarah’s pushing, she did strike a few poses there too. Then Sarah actually had to remind her to try another one. After trying on the red set she was tempted to model a bit to herself again. But a part of herself was reminded how good it felt to pose in front of Sarah. She quickly stepped out. Sarah clapped and whistled as Dea posed some more. Then Sarah handed her another set and Dea hurried to change into it. Not noticing that she only closed the curtain half ways till she turned around.

Shrugging she stepped out and modeled more. Soon Sarah handed her another set. As Dea stepped into the changing booth she felt a naughty thought. This time, she closed the curtain just enough to tease. Seeing Sarah in the mirror peeking she did her best to flash but not to show. A sudden revelation, that she had so much fun posing, made her stop for a moment. Then she shrugged again and continued. After all, there were so many sexy Dessous to try and so little time.

***** Chapter 7 *****

In the end, it was Sarah who had to drag Dea out of the shop. As the sun was setting they slowly left the mall and headed home. Dea was walking behind. With so many shopping bags in her hands, she made slow progress. Sarah meanwhile played bodyguard. She was running around slaying mobs left and right, no matter if they posed a threat or not.

To Dea, she looked happy, but she thought it was just to distract herself. Dea knew she couldn’t stay here in this world. Sarah knew it too. And when Dea will leave this world the copy of Sarah will vanish. She wondered if Sarah would beg her to stay a bit longer. A day? A week? Month? Years?

Already Dea played conversation after conversation through her mind. It made her only more depressed. When she saw her house ahead, tears were streaming down her cheeks. With a heavy voice, she said towards Sarah’s back:”I am sorry Sarah.”

Before she could turn around Dea quickly said the exit phrase:”Exit super battle world.” The lights came and went. She looked around but no one saw her. Quickly she hurried to her house, then to her bed and cried herself to sleep.

***** Chapter 8 *****

She heard an “I am sorry Sarah.” and an “Exit super battle world.” Sarah turned around and saw Dea surrounded by a swirl of light. The tears on her face were the last detail she made out before the light vanished.

Now she was alone. She knew what was supposed to happen. The world would reset and then she would vanish. Yet she was still here. She waited with dread but still nothing. A traitorous hope filled her. Maybe the world wouldn’t reset. Maybe. But if the world remained she would be alone. Looking at the sky she saw no answer. Only the slowly setting sun. It was summer so she guessed she still had one or two hours of light.

What to do? Wait? That wasn’t her style. She moved onward. Her house was close so that was a logical destination. As she opened the front door she saw the house empty. No furniture. No carpet. She flicked the light switch but nothing happened. Then she remembered what Dea had told her. No private items were copied. It looks like that rule was more than strict.

She wondered what to do. Then she had it. Maybe it was idiotic but she headed back to the mall. By the time she arrived again it was getting dark. Of course, the mall itself had no light either. Still, Sarah moved on. As luck would have it she found a flashlight for sale at a newspaper stand. Then she ventured in deeper. The skylights over the main walkway were barely spending any light and her flashlight only illuminated a small area.

Sarah decided that it was definitely creepy. “My own little zombie apocalypse. Just with catgirls and mall rats instead of zombies.” she thought.

In any case, her watching of zombie movies helped her now. She knew what she needed: food, water, and shelter. The first two were easy to find. The food court was close by. Then came shelter. She knew that shops were safe. So plenty to choose from. Then she remembered a department store. Wasn’t there a display she could use?

She headed quickly there, avoiding the shuffling mobs as best as she could. A few times her movement limit blocked her and a mob came close enough to trigger a battle. Fighting in near darkness was harder and a lot more frightening. Then she was through the door of the store. Safe. At least for now. She headed deeper into the store.

There was the display she was looking for. A big bed advertised a new line of bed sheets, pillows, and blankets. Stripping to undies felt strange. Even knowing she was alone. Then she slipped beneath the sheets. Slowly she drifted off to sleep. Her last thought was: “Will I even wake up tomorrow?”

Indeed she woke up. Throwing the blanket off she noticed she was still at the department store. The whole day yesterday hadn’t been some weird dream. She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel. Happy because she was still alive? Sad because she was still trapped in a world that was doomed?

She slipped out of the bed and dressed. Then she decided to explore. Outside she saw the sun was up. Maybe ten am or a little later. She was unsure where to go next but settled on the park. It was, after all, a sunny day. Of course, the mobs were there too. She met also a few new ones. Dog girls hunted in packs. Some girls with wings instead of arms reminded her of pigeons. It was when she met slime-girls that she paused.

Something was banging in her mind to be let out. Were slime-girls a stronger form? Come to think of it, she noticed something else. She hadn’t seen a normal slime since Dea had left. Had they may be replaced? She knew she had to check. Thinking of an area where most likely slimes were to find she headed back to her home. Yet even when she was close only slime-girls were around. Other monsters got fewer and even catgirls were rare.

She was nodding to herself. Slime-girls indeed replaced normal slimes. But why? She remembered back to what Dea had said. Monsters were created by players. But with Dea gone, there were no more players. Who’s subconscious was the world pilfering? All the sexy mobs hinted at the truth the whole time. Sarah had one thing kept secret from Dea. Not just her. From all her friends. She was a lesbian. And all those oversexed mobs were not Dea’s creation. It was hers.

But she wasn’t a player, right? Unless Dea had messed up. She did so once before. If she was right had she all the rights and privileges a player had? She had to find out. With a trembling voice, she said:”Exit super battle world.”

Light swirled around her, blinding her for a moment. When she could see again she was still on the street. No one was around. But then she noticed the cars parked on the sidewalk. Noticed the absence of the lines of the movement grid. She had escaped. She was free. Tears of joy filled her eyes. When she finally calmed down she had to know. She had to find out just how much Dea had screwed up. Was she really a copy or was she maybe the original? Only one way to find out. She walked home.

She opened the front door as slowly and quietly as she could. It didn’t help. Suddenly it was yanked open by her father. He looked pissed and drunk. Not a good combination in Sarah’s opinion. “Where have you been? Your work called. You didn’t show up. Then you stayed the whole night away. Probably partying with some friends. And then you try to sneak in?”

He lamented on and on. Sarah barely listened. No one at her workplace meant there was no other Sarah. She was the original. Dea had screwed up another time. She had to work very hard to not smile or grin.

***** Chapter 8 *****

Dea woke up. Still a girl. Still a murderer. At least that was what she thought. It took a while before she found the will to even get out of bed. It was hunger that did the deed.

Slipping out of bed she noticed her crumpled clothes from yesterday. Lethargic she headed over to the many shopping bags. Hunting for something to wear, she found something else. New tears broke away from her eyes as she pulled out a big makeup kit. It must have been Sarah who had slipped it into her bags. Devastated she needed another few minutes till she could move on.

She ignored the sexy lingerie. Without Sarah what was the point? Instead, some plain bra and panties had to do. Slacks, a skirt, and a top followed. She had to fight tears back again as she noticed that not one pair of pants could be found in her bags. Yet another reminder of Sarah.

Going to the bathroom confronted her with the ghastly reflection of her face. Her make-up was in ruins and her eyes puffy. She wiped it all away. Then came food. No matter her mood her body told her loud and clear she was starving. At least it felt that way. While she munched on the last remains of her defrosted pizza she looked on the clock. Still, a few hours till her parents returned. She flopped down in front of the tv and hoped that it would numb her brain for a while.

She must have fallen asleep as the sound of keys in the door lock woke her up. Then the rumble of when her parent's luggage was heaved inside.

“Darrel?” came the shout from her mom.

Time to face the music. With lowered head, she walked over. The next thing she heard, was a squeal and a tight hug from her mother. “Oh my gosh, you look better than I imagined.”

“Urg mom. I still need air.”
She let Dea go and inspected her all over while Dea awkwardly shuffled on the spot.

“Hey dad.” she finally managed to say.

“Hey, yourself. How are you doing?”

Dea motioned with her hand, indicating her whole body.

“Ha! Okay, fair enough.”

Meanwhile, her mother scrutinized her outfit.
“Already wearing skirts? So the big strides it is. Like mother like daughter, right? So did you already have boys over?”

Dea groaned and threw her hands up. She knew stuff like that would be coming from her mother. Still, it caught her unprepared every time. She stomped over to the kitchen. After a few moments, her parents joined her.

“Okay spill young lady.” came from her mother.

Dea told them everything. Well, nearly everything. While she told them about the summoning system she didn’t tell how much she messed up there. She didn’t tell them how much it did hurt to leave Sarah behind. She also omitted how all mobs were cut out of porn video or at least looked like it.

Finally, she was done and her mother had to make sure she heard right.
“So it is Dea for now?”

“Well yes. Actually, I hope for not much longer. Did you find a way to give me my old body back?”

Her parents looked at each other. Definitely not a good sign she decided. Her mother looked her in the eyes.
”Several actually. But your father and I decided that it would be best if we don’t help.”

Dea gave her mother an accusing look.
“What?!”

Her father quickly intervened.
“It was my idea. Yes, your mother always wanted a daughter and so on and so forth. But that is not the reason. I raised you to always act responsibly. To admit your mistakes and fix them yourself if possible. Look, every dimension mage screws up the first time. You can’t run to us every time you do. Your mother and I think it is best you try for a while yourself before we help.”

Dea was flabbergasted. Her mind raced to find arguments.
“”What about school? Summer break is over. They expect me there.”

But her mother was expecting it.
”Your father will bring you to school tomorrow. He will explain to the principal that your aunt Irma is sick and you went to help her.”

“But I don’t have an aunt Irma.”

Her mother chuckled.
“True. But the principal doesn’t know it. Now listen. Since your aunt lives in a very small apartment there is not enough space for two children around. So we, your father and I, are taking her daughter Dea in.”

Dea gave them an accusing dirty look.
“You thought of everything right?”

Her mother grinned and her father nodded. Just when Dea wanted to start again the doorbell rang. “Dea, my dear. Why don’t you look who it is? Your father and I are really tired from our traveling.”

Grumbling to herself she complied.

***** Chapter 9 *****

Sarah was so done arguing with her father. After they shouted at each other for a while she had stomped up to her room. It became quickly evident enough why he really was angry with her. It was not because she was away overnight or that she missed her work. It was the missing money. She was only allowed to work there anyways as long as fifty percent of it went to her father. To help out with rent and food he said. Sarah knew it was bullshit. It was for more beer. The last thing she heard was him yelling that she was grounded. Nothing new to her.

For a few hours, she spent surfing on her crappy old laptop. Living for a day in an RPG world caught her curiosity. She researched everything about it. After a few hours, the slamming of car doors broke her concentration. Looking out of her window she saw Dea’s parents coming home.

“So much for Dea staying. I guess Darrel will be back soon.” she thought.

But somehow she didn’t want to give up on Dea. She had to do something. But for that, she had to go over. Sneaking past her father might not be a good idea. Especially when he was close to being sober. An alternative presented itself quickly. She could go into the battle world, move outside, and then exit it again. But was she ready for it? Last time she thought she would die there. But then again she thought she was a copy. She decided that her fear won’t control her and uttered the words to change worlds.

When the lights vanished she was still in her room. And all her belongings too. But as she peeked outside she saw the rest of her house empty. On the border to her room, there was floating slightly transparent writing:”Protected spawn area - Sarah”.

Mentally sorting this tidbit away she hurried downstairs and out. She moved behind the tool-shed of her father. A rusty mess of wood and nails. She hoped she was out of sight and exited the world. The walk past the windows and to the street took some stealth but she managed. Then she rang the doorbell of Dea’s house.

It took a moment, but Dea opened the door. She really was as beautiful as Sarah remembered. Now it was the time to make her move:”Hi. I am your neighbor Sarah. I saw you around today and I thought I come by.”

Dea looked a bit awkward and uncomfortable but found her voice a moment later:”Yeah. Uhm hi. I am Dea. Darrell's cousin. I think I’ll be staying here for a while.”

Hearing that Sarah wanted to jump in the air. Hug her. Sing a song in praise. But she did none of that. Her poker face held. Barely. “Well then welcome to the neighborhood I guess. Will you be attending school too?”

“Yeah, I guess.” came the answer.

Sarah could barely hear it. She was distracted. Dea was scratching the back of her head in a way that lifted her blouse just in the right way to flash Sarah with part of her breast and bra. She didn’t even notice what she was doing. Realization struck Sarah. One of the knowledge cards was still working.

Suddenly she heard Dea’s mother shout:”Hey is that you Sarah?” A moment later Dea’s mom arrived at the door.

“Yeah. I just came to say hi. And maybe offer my help. Dea told me she is new around here. I wouldn’t mind showing her around.”

Still ignoring her daughter Dea’s mother continued.
”Oh, that’s lovely. Could you start right now? Dea hasn’t unpacked and she could use a helping hand.”

Dea gave a weak “It’s okay. I’ll manage,” but Sarah, of course, grabbed at the chance.

“Sure. Don't have something better to do anyway.”

A moment later both of them were in Darrell's room. “Oh, my gosh, your cousin could have tidied his room a bit before leaving it for you.”

Sarah didn’t get more than an awkward nod out of Dea. Something was wrong. She acted more muted than yesterday. Then it came to her. Of course, Dea still thought she had killed her. Or rather a copy of her. Sarah was tempted to tell her that she was still alive. But something held her up. She didn’t know why yet but she wasn’t ready to disclose what fate had befallen her.

Then she had an idea. She could mix it a bit. The real facts with fiction.

“Listen, Dea. There is another reason why I came over. I saw you from my room and I had the strangest feeling of deja vu. Like I have met you before. And I know it sounds crazy but I had this strange dream …”

Sarah acted as if she was unsure if she should continue and as if ordered to Dea took the bait.
”What dream?”

Sarah paced a bit through the room but told her.
”Don’t laugh at me ok? Yesterday when I came back from work I did fall asleep early. I had this strangest dream of myself being, with a girl, at the mall shopping. But we were alone I think. It’s a bit hazy and I can’t remember details but I think I had fun. And the weird thing is you look like the girl from my dream.”

Looking over to Dea Sarah saw a range of emotions flickering across her face. Shock and then relief was the most obvious. “Yeah sounds strange.” Dea agreed.

Looking around Sarah saw besides a typical boy's room a few shopping bags. The same bags she helped fill yesterday. She couldn’t help but ask.
“What’s up with the shopping bags?”

Caught off guard Dea needed a moment. “Oh, my bags were mixed up at the airport and got sent elsewhere. They should arrive here tomorrow. But meanwhile, I needed some essentials.”

“Essentials you say?” asked Sarah as she lifted the Victoria's Secret bag up. That got her a blush and a small laugh from Dea. Looking further around she spotted the makeup kit she had slipped yesterday into Dea’s bags.
“Wow, this looks professional. You got some skills there?”

Sarah noticed at once she made a mistake. Dea was looking sad again. Worse. She could see tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”

Dea needed a moment to collect herself. “It’s .. I recently lost a friend. A dear friend. She told me that I had talent and I sorta promised her to give it a more thorough try.”

Sarah nodded.
“So you got it to honor her right?”

Dea was nodding.

“Well, in that case, I have an idea. I help out at the school's drama club and our last makeup artist quit. If your friend was right and you are gifted we could use your help. What do you say?”

“Well, actually my friend suggested something similar.”

“Good. But first, I have to test your skill? How about we break in your kit?”

Dea hesitated but then agreed. However, instead of seeing Dea work her magic on herself she instead was seated down. Not that she minded. It actually felt nice being close to Dea as she worked on her. Feeling her soft touch on her skin. Watching all the small minuscule movements of her face as she worked in concentration. Sarah was in heaven for a moment. Gone too soon as Dea was working too fast. Then she was dragged into the bathroom so she could see herself. She had to admit to herself Dea was a miracle worker.

“I have to run it past by the others but you have my vote for sure.”

Before it got too late she helped Dea to pack up most of Darrell's stuff and move in hers. Then she had to say goodbye. At least for tonight. Sneaking into her house via battle world was even easier this time. Then she was watched Dea a bit through her window. As their rooms were nearly parallel to each other it was rather easy. She was happy that Dea was to stay for a while. She wished for her to stay forever. But she knew that Darrell wanted to be back. In all honesty, she had to admit Darrel was nice but with a male body, he had never a chance with her. As Dea however, it would work. More than that. Sarah had already shaped Dea more to her liking. More to be her perfect girlfriend. She knew it was wrong but spending the little time with her just now gave Sarah the push. She wanted Dea. More than anything. And she would do whatever it takes. Use every advantage she could think of. She would seduce Dea. Not just so she would fall for her, but also fall in love with being a girl.

Still watching Dea she spoke to herself.
“Sorry, Darrel. Looks like our stories aren’t mixing. You are the villain in my love story with Dea. So I hope you don’t mind that I’ll be your villain in your quest to become a boy again.”

Of course, Dea didn’t hear her. Sarah watched as Dea killed her rooms light. Time for her to head to bed too. It looked like she will be very busy the next few weeks.

*****

To be continued?