Pixie

Seiji's eyes flickered open, the dark ceiling above him slowly coming into focus. A sense of dread settled in as he noticed something suspended from the beams. The acrid stench of decay filled the air, an unmistakable indicator of death. Realizing he was tightly bound to a cold metal table, Seiji's mind immediately started analyzing the situation.

"W...what the hell..."
His heartbeat quickened, but he forced himself to stay calm.

He turned his head slightly, scanning the room. His friends were similarly restrained, the dim light revealing their pale faces.

"This... isn't random," Seiji muttered. His mind raced.

Trying to piece together what had happened.

The details of the ice cream flashed through his memory. "Sedatives, most likely..."

As if responding to his thought, Ken stirred beside him, confused and shaking.

Rika's breath trembled, fear tightening her expression.

Hideaki, still trapped in the female body, looked stressed—
until his eyes adjusted and noticed the macabre surroundings.
And then...
slowly...
a twisted smile formed.

Before anyone could speak, a shrill, cheerful voice cut through the darkness.

"Welcome! Ahh, wonderful! You're all awake!"

A girl stepped forward, bouncing lightly on her heels.
Her wavy dark-brown hair, tied into two side ponytails with yellow bows, swayed as she moved.
Her grey eyes sparkled with a disturbingly innocent excitement.

"Looks like my treats worked perfectly!" she chimed. "For a moment I thought the effect wouldn't sync right—but nope! You dropped like sleepy kittens! Hehehe!"

Ken's face drained of color.
"T-The... effect? W-what a-are you talking about...?"

"A sedative... Tasteless, odorless, dissolves perfectly in ice cream." Seiji replied.

"You drugged us?! With the ice cream?!" Ken's panic rose drastically.

"No! I didn't use a drug, silly. I don't use things like that."

Her smile widened unnaturally.

"It's my Magic Ability," she explained, eyes gleaming with manic pride.
"Sweet Slumber. Anyone who eats something I prepare falls into a deliciously deep magical sleep."

Seiji narrowed his eyes.
"So you enchanted it."

"Exactly! Ding ding ding!" She giggled. "And for even more shocking news... It's just like you said! It's tasteless, invisible, totally harmless... well..."
She tilted her head sweetly.
"...until I start harvesting what I want."

Ken swallowed hard. "You... what?!"

"Oh, relax! Not all of you!" she said, waving a hand dismissively.
"You—" she pointed at Seiji,
"—I gave you a normal serving. Would've been too suspicious if everyone fell asleep except the quiet one."

Her tone shifted, soft but chilling.

"But the rest of you? With Abilities?"
Her eyes shimmered with hunger.
"I need those. People like me can't create magic. We have to... obtain it."

Seiji stayed silent, cold calculation already moving behind his eyes.
Rika trembled.
Ken's breath quickened.
And Hideaki...
Hideaki's smile only grew wider.

Seiji stared at her, unflinching.

'This girl is clearly unstable, but her overconfidence might be useful.' he thought.

"You're awfully forthcoming with information." He said after a while.

"Mm-hm!" she said proudly, clasping her hands.

Then she approached them, her appearance unsettlingly familiar. The only discernible difference was her extravagant, swirling dress.

Suddenly recognition flickered in their minds as they tried to recall where they had seen her before.

"Wait... A-aren't you the girl from the i-ice cream shop?" Ken exclaimed.

The girl erupted into laughter, "Muhaha! You have a sharp eye! Yes, I am that girl! Call me Pixie!" she announced. "Now, I'll show you where exactly I took you, my cuties!"

As if at her command, the room was suddenly bathed in light, revealing a nightmarish sight.

The walls were filled with childish decorated paintings but with a macabre twist, as the walls adorned with dried bloodstains, and a collection of menacing weapons: baseball bats, knives, axes, saws, even two gleaming katanas - displayed prominently.

The air became suffocating, carrying the weight of past massacres.

"Welcome to my little fun room! I know that you will like it!"

Ken’s face went ghost-white, his voice cracking as he stared at the walls.

"L-Little fun room…?" he echoed, his throat tightening.

His eyes darted over the bloodstains, the twisted drawings, the rows of weapons glinting under the harsh light.

"Wh—what the hell is WRONG with you?!" he burst out, panic rising fast.

"Nothing about this is fun! N-NOTHING!"

He leaned toward Seiji, voice trembling.

"Seiji… please tell me you have a plan… because she’s literally keeping us in a freaking MURDER PLAYROOM—!"

Pixie giggled, and Ken flinched violently.

Rika, who had been frozen in shock, swallowed hard as her legs wobbled beneath her.

"M-Murder… room…?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Her fingers trembled against the restraints as she stared at the blood-smeared walls, tears gathering in her eyes.

"This place… it feels wrong. So wrong…"

Pixie’s eyes sparkled with delight as she watched their fear spread through the room.

She clasped her hands dramatically beneath her chin, swaying like a child showing off a toy box.

"Awwww, you’re all so cute when you’re scared!" she squealed.

Her grin widened unnaturally. "Don’t worry, my sweet little bunnies… I promise you’ll have lots of fun before anything bad happens!”

Ken let out a quiet, horrified noise.

Rika stiffened, her breathing shallow. "S-Seiji… Ken… I—I don’t want to die here…"

"MUAHAHAHAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!" Pixie erupted with a maniacal laughter that reverberated throughout the room, "Oh you're so cute!"

Pixie pranced a few steps forward, her dress swirling like a whirl of color in the bloody room.

"The rues in my little playground are simple. You'll lay here still, and I'll take your Magic Abilities from every one of you. But don't worry, it won't hurt that much!" she added with a sadistic grin, "However... If any of you, my sweet little teddy bears, stubbornly try to defend yourself during our little game..."

She looked at her small arsenal of weapons on the wall,

"I'll have to use these babies of mine to get you back on your feet! Hee hee! And believe me, I wouldn't want to do that. You wouldn’t believe how much work it is to get blood out of wood grain!"

She skipped toward the wall, running her fingers lovingly along the handle of an axe. Her voice shifted to something dreamy, almost reverent.

"I cleaned them all myself. After every game."

She lifted one of the katanas from its place, admiring the blade.

"Isn’t she gorgeous? I call her Princess Bite. She’s VERY hungry today~. So it's better for you if you do as I say."

Hideaki stared at the murder weapons. His wicked grin only grew more terrifying.

'This isn't the first time I've dealt with someone insane like this,' Seiji thought, the memory of Hideaki's violent episodes surfacing briefly. 'I need to get us out alive.'

"Alrighty!" Pixie clapped her hands excitedly. "Let's the fun begin!"

Rika's breath hitched.

Pixie turned sharply, raising the katana slightly toward them.

Her smile was wide. Too wide.

She lifted her head and slowly moved toward Ken.

Being beside him, she touched him on his head.

The touch itself was strangely gentle, making Ken feel both disgusted and afraid.

"You're very handsome... It would be shame if you wouldn't have a very special Magic Ability within you..." Pixie said.

Her fingers flashed with magenta magic aura.

And then, suddenly, a jolt of agony coursed through the man's entire body.

"AAAAAAH!!!!!!" Ken yelled from pain.

Rika whimpered under her breath.

Seiji's heart skipped a beat as Ken's cries echoed in the nightmarish room. His eyes narrowed, mind racing. He felt the tension in the air but tried to remain composed

"Shit! What just happened?" he muttered, analyzing the situation.

"It hurts! IIt h-hurts so much!!" Ken screamed in pain.

Then, after a moment the drilling feelig stopped. He was visibly shaken, but then...

He felt that somethig was missing.

"W-Where... Where is my magic!? I can't feel it in my veins!"

"Muhahahahahahaha!" Pixie cackled maniacally, her laughter echoing through the room.
"That's right, my dear! And what a delightful magic you had. It's mine now!"

With flick of her hand, she made Ken's shirt vanish into thin air, uncovering his chest, though Ken still felt it's presence.

Pixie smiled, her expression twisted and unsettling. "Invisibility! Imagine putting your Magic into my weapons! You wouldn't know where I would hit you! Muhahahahaha!!"

"She t-took it away from me!" Ken exclaimed in shock and fear.

Seiji watched now in equal fear.

'Fuck... She's not only stealing Magic Abilities... She's weaponizing them!'

"Y-you freak! G-give it back!" Ken demanded, his voice filled with dread and desperation.

"No, no, no! You're not getting it back! It's mine now!" Pixie retorted, her voice dripping with evil glee.

"It isn't yours. You will return it, or there will be consequences," Seiji interjected, his tone steady and firm. He maintained eye contact, refusing to show fear.

"Consequences? Muhahaha! What are they supposed to be? The police haven't been able to find me for over half a year! They're always fumbling around on these less important matters, like a bunch of idiots! And you? You won't even be able to report it!"

"W-why?" Rika sked trembled.

"Because..." Pixie started "I'll kill you right after I'll finish my play!"

'W-what..?' Rika broke down, her arms were shaking

Pixie just laughed softly, sweetly — unnaturally sweetly.

'These locks are too well made to freely manipulate our hands in them... I need time to think... And for that, I have to keep her occupied so she doesn't touch Rika too quickly, and especially Hideaki...' he analyzed 'If she acquires his Magic Ability of Blood Control... We'll be screwed...'

Pixie twirled the katana like a bored child with a dangerous toy.

"Hey Pixie," Seiji said, tone steady, "wanna play a game?"

She froze mid-twirl, head tilting.

"A game? What kiiind of game?" she asked, voice bright with curiosity.

"Truth or Dare." His eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smirk forming.

Ken’s voice cracked. "Seiji, you aren’t serious right now!? She’s about to kill us and you want to play some stupid game people played in high school?"

Seiji didn’t look at him — his eyes stayed locked on Pixie.

The smirk didn’t leave his face.

"Yes."

Pixie blinked… then pouted.

"Truth or Dare? Ugh, no thank you."

She waved her hand dismissively.

Seiji’s jaw tightened.

'Damn it. She’s not biting.
But Hideaki responded to it instantly that day…'

He thought quickly, analytically.

'Of course he did — it wasn’t the game itself.
It was the distraction, the sense of play, the shift in momentum.

Pixie on the other hand...

She's not that easy distracted, easily to manipulate — she’s not the same type.'

Seiji exhaled through his nose.

'This tactic won’t work on her. I need something else. Fast.'

Then he heard Pixie's voice again.

"I like my games. Mine are sooo much more fun. And now…"

She turned toward Hideaki’s spot —

and froze.

He wasn’t there.

"Huh...? Where is she!?" she exclaimed, her voice reverberating through the room. Then, she heard the sound of a girl's voice muttering behind her.

It was Hideaki, still trapped in the form of a girl, standing all free and examining Pixie's wall adorned with an array of deadly melee weapons.

A sadistic, dark smile crept across his face.

"Ehehehehe!" He chuckled maniacally.