Commission 3 Okusama wa mahou Shoujo - Magical girls unite (Patreon)

After Cruje managed to defeat her rival Bulga and ship her back to Realm, in no small part thanks to Agnes coming to her aid, the animosity Cruje harboured towards the pinkette had greatly diminished. Naturally she still wanted to take her place as the manager of wonderland, but she’d grown more mature in her approach.

Several weeks had gone by with Cruje not landing a single sneak attack or trap to rob Ureshiko of her managerial ring. Instead she had decided to work diligently in order to improve her abilities, until she felt ready to take on Agnes in a head-on fight.

Cruje’s absence turned out to be a very convenient reprieve, because despite Wonderland having been relatively peaceful over the past few weeks, there had been a few odd and disturbing occurrences that puzzled Agnes.

Supernatural phenomena had been occurring all over the town. Strange portals, or rather tears in reality had been popping up randomly. Everyone nearby would get affected by the strange energy those things emitted, ranging from simple headaches to nausea or even loss of consciousness!

But the truly worrying thing was that from time to time, people went missing.

Obviously, Agnes started an inquiry to get to the bottom of those matters. She even went so far as to call out to Realm for enforcement. And they responded. Given the gravity of the situation, a pair of magical girls was dispatched to Wonderland to assist in the investigation. Two of Realm’s leading investigators in fact:

One of them was called Verdi, and she was a magical girl of 17 years of age. She had green hair that dropped down to her shoulders, pale blue eyes and was often seen with a cheeky smirk on her face.

The reason for that was because Verdi was rather proud, arrogant even. Because the talented mage was one of the youngest girls ever to become a full-fledged magical girl. Her high aptitude for magic got her a placement within the investigation squad early on, where she soared through the ranks to become one of the leading members.

Sadly, due to her cockiness the greenette struggled to cooperate with her fellow magicians. Despite her aggravating personality, Verdi looked very timid. A very petite petite girl, standing at only 5 feet tall. Due to her youth, Verdi was still quite flat-chested. But the young mage made up for that lack in sex appeal by showing off the parts of her body she did feel confident in, mainly her slender legs and cute hips and firm buns. She even went so far as to purposely wear her costume a size too small so it perfectly outlined her slender body.

After several years of racking up experience and stringing one successful assignment to another, the young woman’s innate ego had gotten even more inflated. Because of that, she tended to come across as over-confident and obstinate. Similar to Cruje, she took a great deal of pride in her exceptional abilities and therefore did not perform as well in a team.

Her personality aside, she was a very capable magical girl who took her job quite seriously, making her the perfect choice for this important mission. However, despite repeated complaints from her side, Realm had decided on sending a partner along for this assignment.

That partner was named Lily, a very energetic 18-year-old mage. She was incidentally the only magical girl in the investigation squad who could keep up with the prodigious Verdi. In fact, the two young women had a bit of a competitive relationship, always trying to outperform one another and diligently keeping up their training so as not to fall behind.

Lilly was a very friendly girl, only one year older than her rival. Though she didn’t have the same exceptional talents as her competitor, she did sport higher than average magical power and control. 

Her hair was a vivid red, and very long. She tended to have it tied into a pony tail which dropped halfway down her back.

She was also a very cheerful young woman, always eager to help and support her friends. The red-haired mage was a very diligent worker as well, preferring to do things by the book and taking her time to get to the bottom of any situation before determining the best course of action (unlike her rival Verdi, who tended to rush at everything head on, depending on her marvellous skills to tackle whatever came at her)

Their personalities weren’t the only polar-opposites either.

Where Verdi was a rather short and slim girl, Lily stood an impressive 5’8” tall. Her shapely legs seemed to go on for days and despite her young age she already sported a bust and curves that could rival Agnes’!

It should come as no surprise that their opposing characters had caused many a clash in the past. Even so, the two magical girls had performed some of their best work when teamed up. And even though neither would ever admit it, they completely trusted to have each other’s back during a pinch.

“Welcome you two,” Ureshiko addressed the magical girls, “I’m so glad you could come on such short notice.”

“We didn’t have much choice, now did we?” Verdi replied. “From the sound of your report this town is in huge trouble!”

“T-that’s one way to put it.”

The greenette frowned at the timid pink-haired mage. “Just what exactly have you been doing here, that you let things get so out of hand?!”

Ureshiko fidgeted on the spot. But before she could offer a decent reply, Lily jumped in.

“Lay off it Verdi. You read the report no doubt, so you know Agnes has been having trouble with some of her rivals, one of them being a witch not to forget!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Verdi replied dismissively. “Let’s just get started so I can get back to Realm.”

Lily smiled at Ureshiko. “So, have you been able to anything find out already?”

The Wonderland manager got a solemn look on her face. “Not much to be honest. Every time I show up to investigate a disappearance, the tear has closed itself again. Other than what people have been reporting, I don’t have anything!”

The desperation in her voice was making even Verdi mellow out.

“Okay, then our first move should be to look for a pattern. If we can predict the next tear, we can be on the scene when it opens up and get live intel.”

Lily turned to the pinkette. “How many reports do you have?”

Ureshiko led the two mages to her office, where she’d mapped out all of the reported sightings along with time stamps.

“Well done!” The redhead complimented.

But Verdi just shrugged. “It’s basic investigation knowledge.” She dismissed the beautiful girl’s efforts, even though she headed straight for the map to study it.

“Based on this data, my guess is the next tear will either open up here or here.” The greenette surmised as she pointed out two corners of the map.

“Mmmph. I agree.” Lily replied. “Although this point seems to be more likely.” She added as she marked the first spot Verdi had pointed out, which aligned with three others to make a cross mark. “As for the timing, judging by the previous events I think we could be looking at the next tear in about 2 hours.”

“Sounds about right. They’re following a digressive timeline, each tear followed the preceding one about 15 minutes earlier than the one before. So that would indeed mean our best shot is to be at this location within the next hour and a half and remain on standby.”

Agnes could only stand in awe of her two colleagues. Their efficiency and professionalism was staggering!

I always thought I was a fairly good magical girl, but these two are in a whole other league!

The red--haired girl now turned to her host. “If you don’t mind, could you remain here while we go out and investigate?”

“W-what? Why?!”

“Because it’s the logical thing to do.” Verdi butted in rather impatiently. “It only makes sense to have someone on standby at a central position in case of unforeseen events. That, and I have a feeling you’d only get in the way of my work.”

“Verdi!” Lily scolded her junior mage. “Show some respect to Ureshiko, she’s the manager of this town.”

“And we’re here to save it. If you ask me, she should show respect to us.” The cocky greenette retorted before brazenly turning around, making her hair whip around her head as she marched out the building.

The second she made it outside, she chanted her spell to assume her magical girl form:

The leotard and boots that materialized was a vivid green, the colour of her frills white and her cape’s colour was dark brown. Her wand took the shape of a beautiful sunflower.

Verdi’s boots were a lot shorter than normal, similar to normal high heels. Thanks to that she could show off more of her beautifully slender legs.

The second her transformation was complete, she took to the air on her broom 

“You just sit here in your cosy little office and let the pros get the job done.” The greenette boasted before she dashed off, not even waiting for her partner.

Lily just rolled her eyes and turned to the Wonderland manager. “I’m really sorry for this Ureshiko.” She apologised with a deep bow. “She won’t admit it, but Verdi’s just excited to be out of Realm for once. And this case has intrigued her, the both of us actually.”

“Oh, I don’t mind!” The pink-haired girl replied. “I’m just relieved you two are such capable help!”

“Hihi, thank you.” The redhead giggled. “Well, better chase after Verdi. If I let her take all the glory on this case her head might grow even larger.” She joked.

Ureshiko giggled as she waved goodbye to the red-haired mage before she changed into her magical girl form.

Lily’s appearance whilst transformed was very similar to Agnes’, thanks to their similar body sizes. The only real difference was that her leotard was bright red, her cape pale blue and her wand looked like a burning torch. In addition, her leotard didn’t show the same amount of cleavage as the pinkette’s, but thanks to the sizeable bust the tight lycra did outline their lovely shape perfectly.

“Well then, I’ll be going. We’ll be sure to get in touch if anything happens.”

“Thank you both.” Ureshiko replied kindly. “With some luck, we’ll have Wonderland restored by the end of the day.”

The red-haired mage nodded and then chased after her greenette partner.

Ureshiko meanwhile retreated inside, wondering what had become of the fourth magical girl currently residing in town: Sayaka, alias Cruje.

“It’s been quite a while since she barged in on me, trying to claim my ring. You don’t suppose she’s given up?”

That wasn’t true however, Sayaka had simply found something else to focus on. So badly in fact she had no knowledge of the two other magical girls having entered Wonderland.

Halfway down to their targeted point, Lily had finally caught up with Verdi.

“Hey, slow down! You’ll hurt yourself!” The redhead warned.

“Oh please!” The junior mage boasted, making a huge loop in mid-air. “I was top of my class in broom handling.”

“But this isn’t a training ground, it’s a town. So watch out unless you want to knock someone’s chimney over.” Her partner replied.

“Relax, Lily. I’m in perfect control!” Verdi insisted, making a few corkscrews in the air, clenching her slender thighs tightly around the broom and pressing her modest chest into the handle so as not to fall off. 

“It’s been so long since we’ve gotten to do any flying, so I’m going to enjoy it!”

The red-haired mage sighed. “You might be a prodigy, you’re also a bit immature at times.” She muttered to herself as they closed in on the area they’d predicted the next tear would open up.”

“So now what?” Verdi said.

“We wait for something to happen, I guess.” Lily replied.

“Stakeout it is.”

It didn’t even take twenty minutes for a dark red cloud of miasma to materialize in the middle of a park.

“We’re up!” Lily said as she and Verdi dove down on their brooms and warned the civilians to stay out of the park for now.

They landed just a few feet away from the portal.

“Now then, how should we deal with this?” The redhead wondered. “I suppose we could try taking some samples of this stuff.”

“That’ll be a waste of time. Let’s just jump through it and get a good look at what’s causing this.” 

“There you go again, getting us in over our heads.” The redhead reprimanded. “Can’t we play it safe for once?”

“Safe is boring!” The greenette countered. “Besides, there’s nothing to worry about. The both of us are top of the line when it comes to magical phenomena containment.”

With that bold statement, Verdi half dragged a still protesting Lily into the portal.

A flash of light and a gust of hot wind later, the two magical girls found themselves in an eerie world. The whole place looked like a wasteland, completely empty.

“Where do you think we are?” Lily wondered.

“From the looks of things, these portals draw you into some sort of pocket dimension.” Verdi replied as she kneeled down and touched the ground. It felt like ordinary soil, apart from the odd faint red shine that seemed to emanate from everything inside that dimension.

“But what created it?” Lily wondered. “The aura that lurks here, it’s strangely familiar somehow.”

“I know what you mean. It’s something we’ve encountered before…”

The two young women’s eyes widened as they looked at each other.

“A WITCH!”

“These spatial anomalies have been caused by a witch, I can’t believe we didn’t realize straight away!” Verdi said angrily.

“But this can’t have been intentional.” Lily replied. “For one thing, there is nothing in wonderland that could even interest witches.”

“You say that, but didn’t one get deported back to Realm from this very town not long ago?”

The redhead slapped her forehead. “You’re right! Bulga, was it? If I remember the report, she came here trying to steal the managerial ring out from under that young magical girl’s nose.”

“Cruje, you mean? The one who should have taken over managing this town months ago?”

“That’s the one.”

“Say… didn’t that report mention Bulga actually managed to put on the ring at one point?” Verdi suddenly remarked.

“Hmmn, I think it did… You don’t suppose-“

“It makes sense. Rather, it’s the only possible explanation. I can’t recall a witch ever trying on a managerial ring after all, so it’s bound to cause a few problems.”

When Bulga (who was a witch rather than a magical girl) put on the managerial ring after stealing it from Agnes, her magic was not fully compatible. The amplifying attributes of the managerial ring ended up conflicting with Bulge’s magic power. That upset the delicate balance in the flow of magic that suffused Wonderland. Due to her affinity with spatial magic, this resulted in tiny disruptions in the town which eventually materialized into small cracks/portals. As the cracks in space-time grew, they gradually began pulling things through. 

However, even with that explanation, something still bothered the red-haired magical girl.

“But if you consider how briefly Bulga was in possession of the ring, it makes no sense that this has dragged on for so long. These events shouldn’t have kept going for so long. Something else is happening here, something to sustain this dimension.”

Verdi nodded. “The same something that kidnapped those young women. If we’re going to clean this mess up, it’ll have to star with finding those girls.”

“Naturally.” The redhead replied, getting on her broom and scanning the area.

“Verdi!” She suddenly called out. “I found them!”

The petite mage immediately flew to her partner’s side, where she got a good glimpse of four young women trapped in some sort of… plant?

“What do you think that is?” Lily wondered.

“Only one way to find out.” The greenette replied as she dove down.

“Wha? Hey!” The tall mage yelled as she chased after her.

For God’s sake! Are you ever NOT going to rush in head-first? She complained.

But to her surprise, Verdi slowed down when she was just a few feet removed and very carefully landed on the soft, dust-covered ground.

Lily soon joined her. “So, you can be cautious.” She jested.

“Oh, be quiet, you! I just wanted a chance to study these things from a distance for a moment.”

“Good call. I’ve never seen something like this before.” The red-haired girl said as she gingerly moved closer.

All of the girls seemed to have been tightly entwined by hordes of dark red vines. Not that they were struggling to escape, all of them were unconscious. At first the two magical girls feared the worst, but they soon noticed they were still breathing faintly, and through their noses. Because plastered over their mouths was a strange golden sap which had hardened to trap their jaws shut.

As the two young mages got closer, one of the captives suddenly woke up. She had short black hair, and her pale blue eyes were wide with fright.

“Mmffmn!!” She mewled in panic as she began squirming around like possessed.

“Calm down! We’re here to help.” Lily tried to assure the young woman as Verdi charged in to try and get off the sap plastering her face.

“This stuff is keeping her from talking.” The greenette said as she tried to peel the gel-like substance off. But to her surprise, it wasn’t budging at all.

What is this stuff? It’s sticky and hard, like amber!

“Are you all right Verdi?” Lily asked. 

“Of course I am, who do you think you’re talking to?” The short mage snapped. “I’m just being careful not to hurt her.”

But the red-haired girl had an inkling that wasn’t the whole truth. And seeing her rival struggle with that sap was troubling her for some reason.

We probably should avoid getting any of that stuff on us.

“Be careful, okay? We still don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“Will you quit being such a scaredy cat?” Verdi moaned. “Sheesh, how did you ever become one of the leading investigators?”

“By paying attention and thinking things through.” The redhead countered. “Unlike a certain loudmouth brat who acts before she thinks.”

“Tsk, if you ask me, you’re the one with the bigger mouth.”

Lily frowned. “I take back what I said. I hope some of that sap ends up plastered over your mouth. It’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet.”

“Watch it, or I might just throw this stuff at you when I get it off this girl.” The green-haired girl countered.

But their bantering was cut short by the sap finally letting up.

“It’s coming off!” Verdi said excitedly, now pulling a little harder.

“Mmfn!” The young woman moaned in pain.

“Hang in there.” Lily encouraged the dark-haired girl. “It’s almost over.”

“Mmppffm!” The girl started to pull back with her head to try and help Verdi in removing the sap.

Eventually, her mouth was freed.

“Paaahhhh!” She took in a deep breath in relief. “Thank you.” She whimpered.

“Could you tell us what happened?” Lily asked compassionately.

After taking a few more deep breaths, the girl began explaining.

“I was just walking home from work when these weird branches suddenly appeared out of thin air. They coiled around my arms and legs, then started pulling me into a dark hole. I tried to pull myself free, but these things are really strong! And when I tried to call out for help, the vines closest to my mouth suddenly secreted this sweet and sticky sap that glued my lips together!”

The two girls shivered at the image of being captured in such a disturbing and frustrating manner.

Lily recovered first though.

“As creepy as that sounds, I can’t help but feel it might be worthwhile to take some of these vines with me. They’d come in handy whenever I wanted my friend over here to stay put and remain quiet for a while.”

Verdi huffed. “As if I would ever get caught like this!” She boasted.

The dark-haired girl frowned at her petite saviour.

“She doesn’t mean offence.” Lilly replied quickly.

“Of course not.” The greenette confirmed casually. “It’s just that I’m an elite magical girl. I can tackle stuff like this with my eyes closed!”

“As entertaining as that sounds, we should get back on topic here.” The red-haired mage replied.

“You’re right.” Verdi said as she turned to their damsel. “So, what happened next? What’s been going on in here?” She asked impatiently.

“I-I don’t know. The moment these vines caught me I started feeling weaker, I barely managed to stay conscious long enough to see I wasn’t the first person these vines had caught. After they settled into place here, I passed out and didn’t wake up until you two came here.”

“Hmmn, seems like these plants use magical energy to sustain themselves.” Lily concluded.

“Which explains them only taking women, since they have a much greater affinity for magic.”

“Are you two here to save us?” The dark-haired girl asked hopefully.

The green-haired girl smirked confidently. “Yes, we are. We’ll have you out in a jiffy.”

“First things first,” Lily interrupted, “we should study these vines and that sap.”

“You’re joking, right?” Verdi replied. “We’ve got four women bound and gagged here and you want to hold a biology lesson?! Let’s just rip up this plant and do that later.”

“And what if it attacks us? Let’s just play it safe for now.”

The slender mage let out an annoyed sigh. “Fine, have it your way.”

The two investigators then instructed their rescuee to remain perfectly still whilst they tried to take a fresh sample from one of the vines.

After studying the sap for a little while, they learned that the moment it came into contact with warmth -for example human skin - the sticky material would start bonding with every pore, after which it hardened and began draining energy for sustaining the vines.

“So this plant thing is definitely what is keeping this pocket dimension alive.” Lily concluded.

“Meaning all we have to do is trace these vines back to their roots and destroy it.” The greenette added as she summoned her wand again in preparation of freeing the four young women.

“Hold still, okay.” Lily warned the dark-haired girl that was already awake.

She nodded and closed her eyes in preparation.

The red and green-haired duo then began using their magic to carefully slice the vines as close to the ground as possible.

They moved cautiously at first, expecting the plant to fight back in some manner. But to their surprise, nothing happened.

In less than fifteen minutes, the four young women were completely free. Three of them had already gotten to their feet and promised to take care of the fourth one, the one who had been captured the longest.

After Verdi and Lily had guided the civilians out of the dimension, they turned back to venture deeper into the tear.

A short flight later, the two young mages came across large roots which led towards a massive tree about the size of a twelve-story building. It reminded Lily of a sequoia

“That must be the source of those vines.” The redhead assumed.

“Looks like it.” Verdi replied as she and Lily slowly descended.

However, even when they were hovering over 6 foot in the air, the vines had apparently taken notice of them already. Out of nowhere half a dozen of the thin red plants shot up from the ground, aiming straight for the two massive sources of magical power.

The two talented mages dispatched them with ease, but slowed down in their approach of the roots nonetheless.

“Seems like the closer we get to the source, the better the vines become at picking up our energy. This could be dangerous.” Lily realized.

“Oh please! They might become more accurate, but they’re still far too slow to ever lay a hand on me!” Verdi boasted as she continued to close in on the tree.

“Verdi! Hang on!” Her partner moaned as she was forced to chase after her like always.

As Lily had predicted, the vines became even more proficient at finding the two young women. This second wave sported roughly twenty vines! And this time all of them were headed for Verdi since she was closest!

But the tiny green-haired mage wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

She quickly summoned several gusts of wind to slice through the red plants.

“Magity!” She chanted as a massive storm whipped around her to blow away all of the assaulting vines.

But Verdi’s shock, several of them recovered much faster than she’d anticipated and charged right back at her!

“Oh no you don’t!” She said through gritted teeth before blasting them with another powerful wind wave.

“Pfeww, that almost made me break a- AH!”

The vines attacking her had been a distraction, drawing her focus so another one could creep up from behind and latch onto her left arm.

Thankfully, Verdi’s lightning reflexes helped her blast the thin red branch away with ease before it coiled itself too tightly. But it had barely been destroyed when another one swooped in. This one didn’t aim for the greenette however, but for her wand.

The slender mage tried to dodge the whip-like attack, but failed by only a fraction.

“Oww!” She moaned as the thin red plant hit her on the back of her hand. Her glove had cushioned the blow but it still startled her enough to let go of her wand, which was immediately swooped up and carried off by yet more vines.

“NO!” The thin young girl cried out in horror as she instinctively began to chase after it.

But that had of course been exactly what this almost sentient assailant expected. Dozens of thin vines erupted from the dust-like soil to try and wrap up her body. But Verdi broke off her chase just in time to evade it all.

She took a deep breath to regain her composure as she rose even higher to get out of the vines’ reach.

“Losing my wand is annoying, but I’ll manage either way.” She said cockily.

After all, I have that redhead to back me up. Obnoxious as she is, at least she’s capable.

So the ever-confident prodigy summoned more blasts, albeit at a slower pace and at a greater cost of stamina to clear up a bath for Lily to finish the job.

“Hey, Lily. Are you going to start earning your keep or what? Don’t tell me you’re scared of a plant?”

“Of course not, I just like to take my time and examine the opponent rather than rush in without thinking and losing my wand.” The redhead countered.

“Tsk, even without my wand I can still outperform you!” The greenette snapped back, diving back down to fly through the sea of vines whipping around trying to catch her. But her speed and acrobatics kept her safe from capture.

“There, see?”

“Show off.” Was the only reply Lily offered as she tore through several, thicker vines. “They’re not exactly strong, but their number makes them dangerous. Hey Verdi, be careful not to get caught up in too many of them! If you get captured, you can bet I’ll be taking pictures to decorate all of Realm!”

“Out of the two of us, I think you’re most likely to be captured!” Verdi replied haughtily. “That huge body of yours is bound to slow you down!”

“I’m NOT huge!” Lily bellowed annoyed, releasing such a large burst of magical power she created an 8-feet radius around her. “Just because you’re shaped like a surfboard doesn’t make anyone with curves a freak you know!”

Verdi shot a deathly glare at her busty rival “Call me that one more time and I’ll push you into that plant! Maybe some of that sap will keep you from running that mouth of yours!”

“Right back at you!” Lilly sniped.

The two continued their bantering as they ripped through more vines. In fact, the surprising ease with which they were taken down meant that both young mages were soon more focused on showing each other up than on handling their case.

After the two young women had sliced their way through countless of the thin red plants, they had made it halfway to the tree they suspected to be source, the vines changed tactics.

Instead of trying to get close enough to wrap their targets, they started flinging blobs of their sticky sap in the direction of the magical girls, mainly their heads.

Verdi couldn’t help but chuckle. “Seems like they want to silence us, to stop us from conjuring spells.” She remarked as she shot a single slice of wind to take down five plants at once.

All right! Top that, Lily!

“That, or they’re tired of hearing you rant and rave.” Lily teased as she made a sharp right to avoid one of the shots of sap.

“You say that, but if you ask me most of the sap is aimed at you!” The greenette replied as she made a steep dive to avoid several attacks at once, with impressive speed and grace.

However, the petite mage was so absorbed in enjoying herself and outperforming her rival that she never realized the sap had been a distraction. Down below, several vines had been lying in wait for the young mage to let her guard down. And now that she had made enough of a descent, they latched onto her broom to stop her from rising again.

“Tsk, annoying plants!” She cursed as she jumped off her broom before the vines could coil around her legs and trap her on it, using her control over wind magic to keep herself in the air. Her speed was greatly reduced however, and the toll of supporting bot herself and keeping up the magical assault was draining her stamina.

After just a few minutes, Verdi’s breathing had turned heavy. But the cocky greenette refused to admit to herself she was getting in trouble.

Meanwhile, her fellow magical girl had cautiously descended to the ground several feet away. She decided to let Verdi fight on her own, the way she preferred it. Stubborn and cocky as she was, even she knew where her limits lied. The redhead hoped the chance to observe from a distance would grant her some insight in the plant’s workings. That, and it was amusing to see the cocky Verdi losing ground to a conglomerate of vines!

“Haah, haah, haah.” Verdi began panting as she rose higher into the air to take a breather. But to her annoyance, the vines seemed to rise up even higher than before!

“Tsk, fine! If that’s how you want to play it!”

She stretched out her arms to envelop them in wind and slice through the vines at close range.

Her tactic worked at first, but with her having to divide her magical power over offence, defence and now also mobility -thanks to losing her broom- it wasn’t as powerful as she thought.

As a result, one or two vines survived her attack. And that cost her dearly.

“Kyaaaa!” She yelped in a surprisingly cute manner as she felt the sturdy red vines wrap around her arm, forcefully pulling them around her body before latching into one another and trapping her in a straightjacket position.

“You annoying sons of-!” She cursed as she tried to gather enough magical power to tear her restraints.

But another attack wave forced her abandon that plan and surge towards the open sky instead. She began pulling with her arms to try and tear the vines and free her arms, but they wouldn’t let up. Verdi was stuck.

Great, now I can’t fire my spells as I like either.

“Need a hand?” Lily called out from below, with now small amount of glee.

I wish I’d brought a camera! She chuckled to herself.

“No!” The greenette yelled back. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m one of the most accomplished vocalization mages in Realm!”

She took a deep breath.

“MAGITY!” She chanted at the top of her lungs, materializing three spheres of crackling energy which soon launched towards the nearest sets of vines.

With a loud bang, the blood red plans were burned away. But not for long, because new ones kept emerging from the barren soil.

“Tsk. What’s up with this place? It’s like there’s a limitless supply of them!”

Lily had come to the same conclusion during her remote observation.

“These plants are being fed by something… Most probably this dimension is siphoning off magical energy from ours. However, it can’t be as efficient as holding humans captive, so there’s a good chance we can exhaust the plant this way… If we had the manpower.”

Sadly, with only the two of them, Lily realized that a battle of attrition was far too dangerous.

“Verdi! Come back!” She called out to her green-haired rival. “We should get back to Agnes and We should get back to Agnes and work out a proper attack plan. I’ve learned enough of this place to come up with a solid countermeasure!”

“You’re kidding, right?!” Verdi cried out, sounding almost offended. “You want me to turn tail and run?!” She shrieked, struggling in her vine bindings. “I’m not leaving here until this plant is uprooted!”

“Haaah, why are you always so stubborn?!” The redhead yelled annoyed. “Can’t you see this fight is going to wear us down? Even mages as strong as us have limits to our magical powers! This fight needs to be won by numbers!”

“Shut up!” Verdi replied stubbornly, shooting several more energy orbs at assaulting vines. “We’re finishing this now and that’s final! So either help me or be quiet so I can concentrate!”

Lily rolled her eyes in annoyance. She is going to get us both captured at this rate! Should I just head back and let her deal with this mess by herself?

But that’s something the dutiful redhead couldn’t do, not even with someone as obnoxious and arrogant as Verdi.

“Hang on, I’m coming to- WATCH OUT!” Lily tried to warn her friend.

“Huh?” The greenette said surprised as she turned around to see what had freaked Lily out so bad.

*Zooof*

“Aaahh!” Verdi yelped as a particularly large helping of sap flew by, missing her by a hair. Mostly. She’d gotten nicked by a tiny portion of the gag projectile.

“Ewww!” The greenette moaned in disgust as the sticky mucus sucked itself to her skin. She briefly shook her head to try and fling it off, but when it remained stuck in place she lost interest. Instead she grinned at Lily. Close or not, she was still in the clear!

“See that? Perfect evasion!” She yelled cockily.

“More of a lucky miss.” The redhead countered. “If I hadn’t warned you, that sap would be plastered over your mouth right now!”

“Oh please! As if a mage with my abilities could ever be gagged in such a ridiculous manner!” Verdi dismissed her rival’s reply. “Even if that sap made it to my lips, I’d expunge it in a flash!”

The bodacious mage rolled her eyes, shifting her body to a more comfortable position on her broom, she leaned on one hand and crossed her slender legs. “Then why don’t you let the next attack hit you then, and prove it.” She taunted, getting fed up with her rival’s bravado.

“You first!” Verdi countered as she focused on the vines again.

“Hah! Did you see that strike? I think that I could still manage even if I were gagged!” The petite mage boasted.

“Keep running your mouth and we’ll find out.” Lily replied.

Their bantering kept going, preventing the both of them from noticing the sap on Verdi’s face had begun moving!

“If you ask me, the reason you’re not joining me is not because you want to observe, but because you want to mpf-mnhmr.” The greenette had begun another taunt, only to find her lips stuck together by the end of it.

“What’s wrong? I didn’t hear that last bit!” Lily asked, not yet having realized why her loudmouth friend had gone quiet out of the blue.

“Mpfn?!” Verdi mouthed confused as a sweet taste tickled her taste buds. “MMMNRRR!”

The sap had glued her lips together!

“AAAHAHAHAHA!” Lily began bellowing as she spotted the sap glimmering over the greenette’s lips. “That’s one point for the plants!” She chuckled.

But her rival wasn’t paying attention. Instinctively, Verdi had tried to reach up again. But the vines were still adamant in their restraint of her arms.

“MHRNMHH (MAGITY)!” She tried to chant a spell to try and eradicate the sap.

No response.

“MHRNMHH MHNRHH (MAGITY PLENAM)!”

But nothing happened. Her voice was reduced to gibberish, unusable for magical conjuring.

Stupid sap! There’s something weird with this stuff…

“VERDI!”

*SPLAT*

Lily’s warning had been too late.

“MMMNHHH!” Verdi shrieked, startled by the strike to her face, which was completely painless but forceful enough to knock her head back a smidge. When she realized what had happened, she screamed in outrage. 

“HMRNRH (NOOOO)!”

The slender mage had been so focused on tackling that annoying bit of sap whilst continuously dodging the vines, she’d lost track of the remaining globs. Because of that, a single large helping of the sweet golden juice had seemingly come out of nowhere and struck her right in the face, moulding into the small piece already gagging her as it spread itself all over her chin and cheeks.

“Mmfnnnnn!” She cried out in disgust and anger. The young woman began squirming like possessed to try and wriggle her arms free and wipe off the sap, but her arms were completely helpless. And to her horror the sap had begun solidifying almost immediately.

NO! She cried out mentally as the realization Verdi had tried to banish to a corner of her mind ever since her lips were glued shut finally sunk in: 

She’d been gagged.

No no no no NO! The young mage threw a tantrum in mid-air, magical energy whipping around her as she lost her temper. I’ll never live this down if I don’t get this stuff off me! 

“HMPPFFFF!” She mouthed into the sap, moaning in anger as she valiantly tried to chant her spells to tackle her gag. But she couldn’t get a single word out.

“Oh my GOD!” The redhead gasped from her observation point. I could barely hear that… This sap might be more dangerous than either of us gave it credit for…

“Verdi! Maybe we should-“

“Mmfrrngg!” Verdi growled annoyed, not even paying attention to the redhead. Instead she kept trying to reach up to peel the sap off. However, her arms wouldn’t budge inside the resilient vines trapping them against her body. It would have made no difference either, because the golden sap was no longer fluid. It had crystallized and hardened across her mouth and cheeks.

“Mmfrn mnhh (come on)!” Verdi shrieked furiously, tumbling around in mid-air as she lost her balance from her trashing.

But it was hopeless. Neither her restraints nor her gag showed any signs of slacking.

Finally, the petite green-haired mage felt ready to swallow her pride.

She turned tail and flew in the direction of Lily, fleeing from the remaining vines assaulting her.

“Mmfnf mmnn (help me)!” She mouthed grudgingly.

The huge grin on the redhead’s face was one she wouldn’t forget for a long time. But to her relief, Lily didn’t hesitate for a second in flying to her aid and helping her get away.

Once they were clear, the voluptuous mage slowly destroyed all of Verdi’s bindings, dropping more than a few quips about how tempting it was to just haul her off like that.

After the green-haired mage was freed, Lily then sent a message to Agnes ahead of them. It contained all of the information they’d gathered by now. That way the pink-haired woman could get a head start on research, with some luck she’d come across similar events they could use to work out a game plan.

“There! That should be enough to fill Agnes in. Let’s hope it’ll be enough evidence to convince Realm to send reinforcements.”

“Mmfrnffg!” Verdi suddenly growled.

“What’s wrong?”

“HMR GHHG (MY GAG)!”

“Hihi, sorry. I forgot about that.” The red-haired mage lied.

“HMRNFFGGG!” 

“Calm down. I’ll take it off you now.”

However, that was easier said than done. Try as she might, Lily couldn’t find a way to remove the sticky sap now that it had hardened over petite mage’s lips. At least not without hurting her.

So, the redhead -eventually- convinced Verdi to follow her to the exit with the gag still in place so they could work on a solution in a safe location.

“Mnf shh mhh hf mrr mhn ghrr mhh fhrshh (Let’s just get out of here and gather more forces).” Verdi grumbled, flying ahead of her rival in an attempt to cut off any more banter.

But without her broom she had no chance of staying ahead of the redhead.

“You know, it’s a real shame we have to hurry like this. I wish I could spend a few hours appreciating your newfound silence.” Lily giggled.

“Mmfrrnf!” Was all Verdi replied, trying to speed up.

“Hihi, don’t bother. You know you can’t outrun me without your broom. Besides, your magic must be running-“

But Lily stalled when she noticed something disturbing. Their exit was blocked! 

Dozens and dozens of vines had woven together into an intricate and sturdy, impenetrable wall!

“No! We can’t get out!” Lily gasped. Verdi soon caught up and let out an angry grunt at the sight of the blockade.

“Mmfnr mhnf (Now what)?”

The red-haired mage barely managed to suppress the urge to chuckle at her friend’s mumbling when suddenly an epiphany came to her.

“That’s it!” She suddenly exclaimed, startling Verdi.

“Hrmn (what)?”

“I think I know how to deal with these vines! It’s so obvious, why didn’t I realize it sooner!” The redhead cursed.

“Mmfrn mrr mmnn mhnhih mmnmm (what are you talking about)?” Her short rival asked impatiently, pulling at her gag. But her fingers kept slipping off the smooth surface.

“Just stand back for a moment.” Lily replied as she descended to the ground and got off her broom.

She very slowly walked towards the wall so as not to stir any of the vines. When the red-haired mage was only four feet removed, she gingerly lifted her hands up in the air and began gathering magic power, collecting it in a swirl above her head.

*CRASH*

Out of nowhere, no less than 10 long vines shot up from the ground all around Lily!

“Aaaah!” The red-haired woman shrieked as she was instantly surrounded and attacked.

“Let go!” She mewled as the magic power above her dissipated due to her arms being pulled either side of her body. “Magi- mpnnhh!”

One of the vines had shot its sap straight at poor Lily’s face, blocking off her voice mid-chant.

“Mmfnn!” The redhead cried out in disgust.

“Mmfnn (Nooo)!” Verdi cried out in panic as she saw her friend getting coiled up like she had been.

Immediately the petite mage began calling forth spheres to try and free her friend. But without a wand or even her voice she couldn’t attack fast enough to free Lily.

The red-haired mage herself was thrashing around in a wild frenzy, her hair whipping around her head as she violently tried to shake off the sap before it hardened. But it was too sticky, and with her arms immobilized she had no way of pulling it off.

Within seconds, the disturbing feeling of her jaw being locked in place sent a shiver down the busty girl’s spine.

I’ve been gagged too. This is bad. REALLY bad!

“Mmfnnhff!!” Both of the young mages wailed as they steadily lost more and more ground to the vines.

They put up a valiant fight, but without their wands or voices the battle was all but lost. Eventually, the two young women became too tired to put up a fight anymore and the vines began wrapping up so tightly the could no longer move.

Agnes… You need to get help. Don’t come after us alone. Were the last thoughts Lily could muster before she joined her petite friend in falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, back at her home, Agnes was becoming increasingly worried at the investigator pair not returning. 

When evening started to fall, the pinkette couldn’t stand it anymore and flew out herself to check out the spot Lily and Verdi had indicated. But there was nothing there. The portal had closed already and there was no trace to be found of either of the young women.

“Don’t tell me they’ve… also been abducted?!” The kind young woman lamented as she flew back with a heavy heart.

This is getting completely out of hand… What am I to do now?!

With that, poor Agnes not only had her town filled with mysterious and dangerous portals, but also her missing fellow magical girls to deal with.

“I can’t solve this on my own.” The cute mage said as she paced up and down her room. “Should I… approach Cruje?”

The bluenette’s temporary retreat from trying to dethrone her had been a welcome reprieve for the pinkette. But with the threat to her beloved town becoming more serious by the hour, the time had come for her to seek out her rival instead.

The reason Cruje had left Agnes alone for so long, was because she had diligently been improving her control over her magic. Most of all the new spells she’d added to her arsenal.

She had been so serious about sharpening her skills, the disturbing events going on around town had never even reached the young mage.

In the light of her recent failures, the young magical girl decided to take some time off to prepare her next plan more thoroughly. First up: learning to control her binding magic more efficiently.

To improve her chances of success, Sayaka began practicing controlling the small glowing orbs she could conjure, hoping to prevent herself getting caught by them ever again.

But in addition to that, the young bluenette had begun wondering if it might not be beneficial to also practice gag-removal magic, just in case she would get hit.

So from time to time, to liven up her training routines, she'd allow a few of the orbs to cover her face and body.

Her first test run hadn’t exactly been a success though…

[A few weeks before Verdi and Lily arrived]

Cruje was pacing around her room. The slender mage was feeling antsy.

“I’m bored. All that magic training has become annoying. Besides, I’ve pretty much mastered the orbs and ribbons. I’m in the mood for a different style of work out.”

The bluenette began flicking through her notes until she arrived at the pages about silencing magic.

“Should I try and work on these spells instead? Maybe try and remove one of the gags whilst wearing it…”

After a few minutes of pondering the idea, she finally decided to go for it: The young magical girl was going to gag herself, then use magic to bind body and keep her from messing with it.

Now all she needed was a suitable gag. As confident as she was, not even Cruje was foolhardy enough to start with her gel-like orbs for a gag.

“I guess duct tape would be an easy method.” She mused to herself. “But I don’t have any around the house.”

The young mage then spotted the time. “Oh my gosh! I’m late for class!”

Cruje packed her bag and sped towards Wonderland’s high school, where she had enrolled to blend into her surroundings given that she was still of school going age.

During class, the bluenette came up with a means of procuring some tape.

When school was over, the young mage hurried over to the school nurse’s office. The school’s resident nurse was called Yuki, a kind-hearted woman with purple hair and a very attractive body.

“Miss Yuki, do you have a moment?” Cruje asked, surprisingly polite considering her usual attitude.

“Of course Sayaka, come in.” The purple-haired woman said cheerfully, putting down her pen and turning her desk chair so she could face the young girl. “What do you need? You’re not feeling ill I hope?”

“Oh no, I’m perfectly fine!” The young mage replied quickly. “I just have a request.”

“A request?”

“the bluenette nodded. “I was wondering if I could borrow some tape.”

“Tape?!” Yuki repeated puzzled. “Why do you need tape?”

“It’s for an experi- a science project!” The young girl corrected herself. “I wanted to build something for class, but I just realized I don’t have any duct tape on hand.”

“Hmmn, well I’m afraid I don’t have any lying around either.” The tall nurse replied.

Sayaka’s eyes grew wide. There went her plan!

“Oh, but I have a few rolls of medical tape used for taping bandages in place. Would that do the trick?”

“Yes! Definitely!” The bluenette said eagerly. 

Anything that’ll stick over my mouth will do, really. Although tape made for human skin might actually turn out to be comfier.

The young mage suppressed a smirk as Yuki got up from her chair and began searching her cupboard of medical supplies. A moment later, Sayaka was holding a large roll of beige tape.

“So, care to tell me what you’ll be making with this?”

“It’s uh… a secret! I want to surprise my teacher with it!”

“Oh, but I won’t tell. Please tell me.” Yuki insisted, giving her young student a cheerful wink.

Sayaka began blushing. Yuki was one of the few teachers she respected, mainly because of her kind-hearted nature, her modesty and natural beauty. “I really can’t, Miss Yuki. And now I need to run, I don’t want to be home too late.”

“Be careful on your way back now!” The nurse warned her before Sayaka left her office.

The second she arrived home, Cruje locked herself in her bedroom and transformed into her magical girl form.

She started out by stuffing a clean pair of socks in her mouth, then immediately wrapped the whole of her lower face with the tape Yuki had given her. It wasn’t until she could barely hear herself anymore that the bluenette felt satisfied and commanded the gel orbs she’d conjured beforehand to envelop her hands to trap them into fists.

After trying to flex her fingers for a moment to check she wouldn’t be able to make gestures, the bluenette felt ready to start her training exercise.

“mhpffmmn mf mhphnff!” She tried to chant the spell that would nullify her orbs: Magity ut deleret.

Nothing.

“Mphnmmn mppf mphrmmnhh!” She tried once more, hearing nothing but a quiet whisper despite almost shouting at the top of her lungs.

Okay, so the gag is definitely working. I expected this to be a bit difficult, but to see no response at all?!

The bluenette felt a knot develop in her stomach. How long do these orbs last again?

She’d never really tested it out so she couldn’t be sure. For one thing, it would be a heck of a lot longer than she’d have the patience for!

The young magical girl reached for her head, pressing her bulky gelatinous gloves into her smooth gag. The slender bluenette started pawing at the edge of the tape, hoping to dislodge it somehow. But she’d wrapped it too tightly to get any purchase.

“Mprrrggg!” Cruje moaned in frustration as her bulky mittens kept slipping off.

I can’t grab hold of it. Well, that WAS the point of these things in the first place.

“Mpfff.” She sighed into her tape. What else can I try?

The petite girl then spotted her wall, and with a bright red blush hidden beneath the medical tape she shuffled over and started rubbing her cheek against the slightly wallpaper.

“Mphnffpnhhh (Come on)!” She grunted impatiently as her cheek started to burn from the friction. But her gag wouldn’t budge.

“Mpphrrrggg!!” The bluenette growled, punching the wall in a fit. Thankfully the thick gel dampened the blow so she didn’t hurt herself. But the smack had helped her vent a little.

“mpffff.” Cruje sighed as she dropped her firm buns onto her bed and lied down, gazing at the ceiling.

This might be more difficult than I thought. I don’t understand why my incantation won’t work. I’ve seen people use mental incantations before.

“Mphnf mh mhrmhhh!” She tried once more, chewing down hard on the stuffing in her mouth to try and pronounce her spell in addition to thinking each word with all her might.

To her astonismment -and delight- the blobs on her hands began bubbling and receding.

“Mppfffhh?!” She chimed happily as her fingers were slowly freed up.

The bluenette then reached for her head and carefully peeled her thick gag off.

“I did it!” She almost gasped. “I’ve pulled it off, I can use my magic without vocalizing!”

Several days later, young Sayaka had an entire afternoon for herself. The perfect moment to take her training up another notch.

There would be no tape in place this time. No, for this session the young magical girl was going to use nothing but magical bondage.

The bluenette got straight down to business and summoned a swirl of dark blue gelatinous orbs. She then confidently stretched her arms out and let them attack her. Naturally the first one to strike was the gag.

Cruje had felt so confident after her last successful practice run, she had actually conjured a larger orb than usual. The faintly warm orb began spreading across her lips and cheeks, slowly drooping down to her jaw and drawing it in to lock her lips together in addition to sealing them.

“mmnnf!” The slender mage screamed to test out her new gag. She was somewhat startled to find barely any sound came through!

Wow. I didn’t expect it to be THAT effective…

But Cruje didn’t have any time to think about her gag, courtesy of her activating all of the orbs at nearly the same time. Before the petite mage knew it, she’d been completely trapped:

Her arms had been coated from the tips of her fingers all the way up to her elbows, after which the gel had forced them to fold together horizontally behind her body.

Her legs had been stuck together by no less than four dark blue orbs melding together and enveloping her slender calves and thighs.

“Mmfnpff!” The bluenette yelped as her body suddenly became immobile. A lot more than she’d expected.

Maybe I used a little too much at once. The petite magical girl thought nervously. I can barely move anymore.

“Mmphhfff!!” She grunted as she slowly hopped towards her notes to see if there was a quick fix. But on her way there, she stumbled and fell on her side on the bed.

“Mpfff!” Cruje yelped. “Mrrrggg!” The slender girl grunted as she tried to climb to her feet again. But to her frustration, she couldn’t even do that.

“Mppffffmmnn!” The young girl screamed annoyed as rolled around on her bed, bucking up and down to try and sit up.

Eventually Cruje made it onto her feet again, after which she immediately began squirming and fidgeting to try and slip her arms free. Momentarily, she had completely forgotten the whole point was to free herself with just the incantations.

After tiring herself out, the blue-haired mage sat back down on the bed. She’d been wriggling and worming for all she was worth, but the sticky gel hadn’t budged in the slightest. Her arms had remained securely pinned behind her back, her legs completely immobile.

Alright, so my practice in controlling these things has paid off at least. These orbs have become even more secure than when I used them on Agnes. Now let’s see if I can get rid of them again.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Cruje closed her eyes.

“Mfmhn! Mmf mhrmmn! (Magity! Ut deleret!)” She’d chanted in what she felt had been a loud and clear manner.

Her restraints seemed to disagree however, because nothing happened.

“mmpf?!” Cruje mouthed in surprise. But that was even better than when I made the gel dissipate during my last practice session! Why didn’t it work?!

“Mfmhn! Mmf mhrmmn! Mfmhn! Mmf mhrmmn!”

The slender mage tried several times over to disengage her bonds. But they simply wouldn’t respond.

Could it be that this magic gag is that much more effective at muffling me? Or maybe it’s because so much of this gel is covering me that I can’t use my magical power is being dampened?

Whatever the case, this put the young mage in a real bind.

If I can’t make the orbs recognise my command, then I can’t get out!

Given how secure her hands had been with just an orb each during the previous practice run, this much of the gloopy substance would be impossible to escape from!

I’m… I’m stuck!

“MPPPFFFNNNN (NOOOOO)!” Cruje shrieked as that unsettling truth sunk in.

She let out an angry growl as she lied down on the bed.

Now what?!

In the end, poor Cruje had to wait for her magic to weaken enough for her to worm her hands free from the restraints and could peel everything off without hurting her skin. 

That took over five hours. Over 300 minutes of being confined to her room, throwing tantrum after tantrum as she tired herself out over and over without any luck. Until finally one hand slipped free.

“HMpff!” She breathed a sigh in relief. FINALLY!

After that the young magical girl steadily freed herself from the restraints and lied down on her bed, sprawled out as she immediately sank into a deep sleep. Her squirming and fruitless screaming had worn her out completely.

Even though her second practice session had been a lot less successful than the first, Cruje was too stubborn to give up. She would get a handle on this magic, whatever the cost!

So, for her next few rounds of practice she took better precautions in conjuring the orbs. These new spheres had been specifically designed to disintegrate after just one hour, giving her ample time to try out some of her ideas, but not end up stuck should she fail.

Her new failsafe in place, the young bluenette’s training began to properly take off.

Over time, her ability to control the binding orbs improved. She gradually became able to steer more and more orbs at the same time, and even discovered how to conjure the ribbons Bulga had used as well. With practice, the young magical girl learned to control several of both at the same time, giving her countless options during battle.

But when it came to removing any of the spells that captured her, she hit a wall rather fast. No matter what she tried, it seemed the only fool proof way to disengage the gags and restraints was to chant the incantation. The one thing she couldn't do when gagged. And no matter how often she tried, the dark blue orbs’ muffling abilities seemed impenetrable.

But one day, help came from a very unexpected corner…

10 days after another miserable defeat at the hands of her own bondage magic, Cruje had built up enough confidence to have another go. She retreated to her room and transformed into her magical girl.

The bluenette then summoned three orbs and two ribbons, and let them get to work.

The ribbons snaked around her ankles and knees, trying themselves into neat bows and trapping her legs together.

Two of the orbs slipped over her hands, condensing themselves until Cruje was forced to make fists before coagulating into a single large glob which stuck itself to the ribbon that had tied itself around her knees.

Meanwhile, the last of the orbs had crept up from her neck to cover her lower face like a skin-tight mask, one that drew in her jaw so tightly she could barely make a sound.

“Mpfff!” The bluenette cried out testingly. To her delight, the gag was just as effective as always. And for some reason, she had a feeling that today would be he day she’d succeed.

Cruje moved on to test out the ribbons and gel that was keeping her prisoner, but they all held fast.

Alright, so I’m definitely stuck. Now let’s see if I can free myself before the spells wear off.

The only thing still at her disposal were non-vocal, non-gesture magical spells. Those had always been her weak spot, so the bluenette was eager to master this form of magic despite not having had much luck.

The magical girl hopped over to her bed and sat down, her hands still securely attached to her knees.

After taking a deep breath, she tried her chant once more:

“Mfmhn! Mmf mhrmmn!”

Nothing.

Okay, that was to be expected.

“Mhnfh! Hht mhrnht!” The bluenette tried again, slower and louder than before.

She tried flexing her fingers and moving her legs, but the restraints hadn’t mellowed at all.

Darn it! I thought for sure I’d figured it out this time. I KNOW I’m concentrating, so why do I still need to vocalize, what am I missing?

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Mmfprff?!”

Who’s that?!

“Sayaka-san, are you in? I’d like to discuss something with you.” Came from the other side of the door, the voice unmistakably Yuki’s.

“Mpfn?!” The young magical girl shrieked into her gag.

Yuki? Here? NOW?!

“Mmfnfn!” She tried to call out to her, but of course the gag fumbled it all up.

“Sayaka-san? Are you in?” Came from the other side of the door. “I’m coming in, is that all right?”

No! Don’t come in!

“Mmfnnf!!”

The blue-haired mage reached for her face in panic, but with her hands caught up she couldn’t even pull at her gag like usual!

“Mmffn! Mhnn mmn mhh (No! Don’t come in!” She tried to plead desperately through her gag. But to no avail. 

“That’s it, Sayaka-san.” Yuki said in a worried tone of voice. “I’m coming in.”

Cruje’s eyes grew wide and her heart began pounding in her chest as she heard the handle to her door turn.

“Mmfpnfff!”

“Sayaka? Are you in? You wouldn’t answer so I got worried. Is something-” But the purplette stalled when she saw the state her pupil was in.

“Sayaka! What happened to you?!” The tall nurse yelped as she rushed to Cruje’s side, kneeling beside the bed and trying to peel away the gel coating her hands.

“Mmfrmmn!” The blue-haired magical girl mewled, her cheeks glowing bright red with embarrassment.

“Mrrg! I can’t get it off! What is his stuff?” Yuki asked flustered as she looked the young mage in the eye.

Cruje looked away in embarrassment. She wanted nothing more than to explain, but the gag made that impossible. She nudged her hands towards her desk as best she could.

“Mpffm (desk).”

“Your desk?”

*nod* “Omnf (notes).”

Yuki walked over to the young girl’s desk and began flicking through the notes of the open booklet. A few pages alter, she found a deactivation spell.

“Magity. Ud deleret!”

Immediately, all of Cruje’s restraints disintegrated.

“Thank you.” Sayaka replied as she reverted to her normal form.

“Would you care to explain what happened here?” The purplette asked with a confused look on her face. “This wasn’t a kidnapping, was it?”

“N-no. I was… I was just…” The blue-haired girl stammered. But her frustration at being caught was preventing her from thinking straight.

Not that it would have mattered, the clever Yuki had already seen through the whole situation. It was painfully obvious after all.

“You… did that to yourself, didn’t you?”

“Of course not!” Sayaka replied heatedly. “Why would I do that?!”

“I don’t know. But if you’re not the reason you were bound and gagged, then why do you have all these notes?”

“T-that- That’s none of your business!” The bluenette replied angrily. “Now get out of my room!”

“Not until you tell me what is going on.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“You’re one of my pupils, I care.”

“Well I don’t need your compassion, I need privacy!”

“Why are you being so defensive, Sayaka? I something bothering you? And this magic, do you have a grudge against Agnes?”

The bluenette’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”

“Because I am a magical girl too.”

“WHAT?!”

By manner of response, Yuki transformed into her own magical girl form: Valentine Valentino.

Her appearance was very similar to Agnes’, partly thanks to her sporting the same incredibly attractive body. The only difference was her leotard and boots were dark purple, and her wand had the shape of a cue tip.

“I am actually Agnes’ senior.” Valentine explained. “But I never had the ambition to become manager of this town, so she received the duty in my stead.”

Cruje just gawked at her nurse. One of the few people she looked up to now turned out to be a fellow mage?!

“Why did you never tell me?”

“Because I tried to keep my distance, allow you to develop by yourself.”

Valentine now glanced at her notes again. “But seeing the extremes you’re going to, I can’t help but feel you might need more guidance.”

“No I don’t!” The bluenette said stubbornly. “I can take care of myself.”

“Disproven by the fact you were sitting here bound and gagged.”

“I was training!”

“Then you need my guidance all the more, don’t you think?” Yuki retorted. “I’ve been a magical girl for quite some time, longer than Agnes even. Do you honestly think there is nothing I can teach you?”

“This magic is something I developed on my own. No one knows it better than I do!” Cruje protested heatedly. “If you don’t believe that then I’d be happy to show you!”

Valentine chuckled. “Is that so? My dear Cruje, your prodigious talent is a marvel, but it seems to me like it’s gone to your he-mpf?!”

The purplette’s lecture was cut short by her junior firing a gagging spell at her!

“Mmfrrn!!” Valentine groaned as the dark material began to suction itself onto he pores, sealing her lips completely. Naturally the young woman tried to peel it off, but the material wouldn’t let up.

“HPPMNN!” She howled as she was forced to admit defeat.

She glared at Cruje. How immature of you!

The bluenette began laughing wholeheartedly. “So much for your experience!” She taunted.“

But to her surprise, Valentine began chuckling into her gag.

“What’s so funny? I’ve basically won this match before it even got started.”

The purple-haired mage simply closed her eyes in response. Moments later, the gag dissolved!

Cruje’s jaw dropped wide open. “How did you do that?!”

“I just learned the deactivation spell, remember? You pointed it out to me in order to remove your own restraints.”

“But you couldn’t speak!”

“Why would I need to vocalize my magic?” The purplette replied confused. But then it hit her. “Is that what you were practicing? Using your magic without physical manifestation like movement or sound?”

“I-I might have.” The bluenette said with a slight pout. She couldn’t believe Yuki so effortlessly did what she’d been struggling to do for weeks already!

Maybe she DOES have something to teach me…

“In that case, you’re in luck. I held the highest marks in my year for silent magic during my training days.”

“You did?!”

Valentine nodded. “I also displayed a knack for manipulation magic.” She added, conjuring up no less than six of the binding orbs Cruje had perfected, and four ribbons!

“How in the-“ The young mage had tried to say, only to gasp in horror as all of the restraints now charged at her.

“These restraints for example, are right up my alley.” The purplette boasted as she steered all of the orbs and ribbons in perfect unison.

If she wasn’t feeling so panicked about the ribbons coiling around her wrists and ankles and hoisting her up in the air and the orbs slipping over her hands and feet to spread themselves halfway up her flailing limbs, Cruje would have been burning up with jealousy at the graceful ease with which Yuki managed to control her own inventions!

“Put me down!” The bluenette demanded. “I’m serious Valentine, this is not fu-mhpnnfff!!”

Two of the gelatinous spheres had joined together to form a single, incredibly effective gag.

Instead of plastering itself over her face, this version actually slipped a small portion of itself past the young bluenette’s lips and coated her tongue to stick to the base of her mouth, trapping it in place and rendering her even less coherent than normal. Not that it mattered, because hardly any sound made I past the thick, skin-tight outer layer.

“Mpnfff!!!” Cruje shrieked in outrage, squirming in mid-air to try and free herself from the ribbons as her gag slowly settled into place. It eventually took the form of a latex-like mask, covering the lower portion of her entire head from back to front, in addition to her neck and shoulders!

“PNNMFHNRMFHGNRMFNHMMFFFRRRR!” The blue-haired magical girl threw her tantrum, only stopping her rant to take in greedy gulps of air through her flaring nostrils.

Her eyes fired daggers at her opponent, who hadn’t stopped wearing her calm smile for an instance. It almost seemed as if she wasn’t even concentrating!

“So you still feel I have nothing to teach you?” Valentine said confidently.

“Mnff!” Cruje yelped as the ribbons now sprang to life. They gently carried her over to her bed where they attached themselves to the four corners, leaving the poor bluenette spread-eagled with nowhere to go and not a knot to reach through her gelatinous gloves.

The furious magical girl tried to lift her head and glare at Valentine some more, but to her despair she then realized the massive mask-like gag had glued itself to the mattress, forcing her to keep staring straight up!

“Mppnnfff (Noooo)!” She mewled as she was rendered more helpless than ever before.

“There we go,” Valentine casually remarked as if she was holding a lecture, “now you have a proper training setup. Do you know of any ways to dispel them without the incantation?"

The bluenette frowned and shook her head, squirming around in her bondage and mouthing frustratedly into her gag.

“Mgnp hrr mnn (let me go)!”

But to her frustration, she found completely helpless. Despite thrashing around with all her might and focusing her entire being on deactivating the magic keeping her prisoner, she failed categorically.

“mppff, mppff, mppppfffff.” She began panting after finally running out of steam.

“Mmpnnnffff!” The young mage let out a long cry of resentment at her failure. But now that she had nowhere else to go, she had no choice but to acknowledge defeat.

“Mnnf mmn (you win).” She mumbled.

Valentine nodded calmly, pleased that her young friend had finally come round.

“Thank you for being reasonable, Cruje. Now we can begin.”

“Bmhnh (begin)?”

“Yes. I may be a nurse now, but I did used to teach and coach young magical girls. I’d like nothing more than to guide you into becoming a fit replacement for Agnes.”

“Mmmphrrrg.” Cruje groaned annoyed. But even someone as prideful and stubborn as her had to admit that she could use some help on this subject. And Valentine had just proven she was the perfect person for that job.”

So, in order to reach her goal of becoming the successor to the managerial ring, Cruje swallowed her pride and nodded quietly to accept Valentine’s offer.

“Good. Well I suppose it’d be a waste not to use this neat little predicament you’re in.”

“Mprrf?!”

“Why don’t you have a go at freeing yourself from this. I’ll come back in an hour to see how far you’ve come.”

“HMNNRRRR!”

Yuki chuckled as she returned to her normal form. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one finds you. And I’ll remain closeby at all times.”

“HMRNFNHMRMGNNHHH!”

“Calm down. I don’t expect you to completely free yourself, you wouldn’t need the training otherwise. Here’s a tip: don’t focus on removing all of your restraints at once. Picture one thing clearly in your mind, then focus all of your magical power to dispelling just that one binding. After your mind has recovered, you move on to a second one, then a third, and so on.”

The purplette now got up from Cruje’s desk chair. “Good luck, Cruje.”

“HMNRRRR!” The bluenette screamed, bouncing up and down on her bed like a wild bronco. But she utterly failed to break free.

Panting heavily, the young mage lay there staring at her ceiling.

Guess I have no other choice than to give this a try…

And with that, several weeks of training started. Yuki would regularly visit her junior magical girl and coach her to gain more control over her magic and learn to use enchantments without vocalizing.

She also sparred with the young girl from time to time. But to Cruje’s ever growing frustration, she never even managed to make her teacher break a sweat.

Time flew by, and Cruje gradually improved. But before she felt ready to confront Agnes again, the pinkette came to her!

“Sayaka! I need your help!” Agnes called out to the bluenette one day out of the blue. The young girl thanked the stars that she was just sitting at her desk studying rather than engaging in one of her training sessions.

“What are you doing here?!” The young magical girl snarled as she transformed into Cruje and took to the air on her broom, elevating her until she was about three feet above Agnes so she could look down on her rival.

“There have been odd things happening all over wonderland the past few weeks. Two magical girls from Realm had been sent to investigate, but now they’ve gone missing too!”

Cruje’s eyes widened. “There are even more magical girls here now?!”

Tsk, they’d better not be behind Agnes’ ring!

“They were a lead investigative pair. But after they went to check out a tear in our reality yesterday, they never came back.” The pink-haired woman replied. The trembling in her voice betrayed she was desperate. For that matter, her arriving at none other than Cruje’s door was a sure sign of that as well.

I never realized things were so severe. The petite mage thought to herself. I’d picked up some stuff during school and from Yuki, but to think Agnes would be so flustered.

“Please Cruje, I need your help. This is bigger than us, we have to protect the town!”

The bluenette went quiet for a moment.

“Cruje?” The nervous mage tried again.

“Okay.” Cruje replied.

“Okay?”

“I’ll help you solve this problem.” 

“You will?!” Ureshiko cried out in relief.

“Well I don’t have much of a choice now do I? I mean, what’s the point of becoming manager of Wonderland if there’s no longer anyone left in it?”

“T-that’s one way to look at it.” The pinkette stammered. “In any case, I’m happy to hear you’ll assist me.”

“Yeah yeah, let’s stop wasting time now.” The slender bluenette replied. “You can start by filling me in. How much do you know of the current situation.”

The beautiful mage then began explaining everything she and the other magical girls had uncovered before they went missing on their way to a new tear that had just opened up: How Bulge’s use of the ring caused spatial instability and created tears into another dimension, tears which had pulled several young girls through. She ended her story with how Verdi and Lily had successfully escorted the victims back to Wonderland, they had ventured deeper into the dimension but never returned.

“It was Verdi and Lily who figured out why it was only young women that went missing.” Agnes then added.

“The tears are drawn to objects with traces magical power, the stronger the better. Naturally that included humans, specifically females because they have more a connection to magic then men.”

“And there’s been no trace of them ever since they sent that message to you?”

Agnes shook her head solemnly. “The end of that message was as I told you: Lily let me know they were going to investigate further, but they never returned.”

“And then you came to me.”

The pinkette nodded. “Thanks to their data I managed to find a spell that’ll close up the tears. It involves using my ring, but even with that there’s simply too many of them for me to handle by myself. I need your support to share the burden and speed up the process. Not to mention venturing through one of those tears to get all the missing people back.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I’m here!” Cruje boasted. “I’m stronger than ever now, so there’s even a chance I could handle this all by myself!”

“Don’t get cocky.” Agnes warned. “Verdi and Lily were amazing magical girls as well, but even they ended up getting captured.”

“Probably because they were caught off guard.” The bluenette replied dismissively. “That won’t happen to me!”

“I hope you’re right.” Agnes replied. Despite having found help, that unsettling knot in the pit of her stomach refused to go away.

Deep down, she couldn’t help but feel they were still in over their heads…

Nonetheless, the former rivals went around town closing all of the smaller tears with Agnes’ managerial ring. Cruje’s support made it possible for the two of them make incredible progress.

By evening time, all of the small tears had been tackled. The only one left was the large one near the centre of town that Verdi and Lily had entered a day before.

“This is the last one. We’ll have to enter and try to find the girls.” Agnes said, clutching her boom nervously.

“Then let’s go!” Cruje replied impatiently, diving straight into the portal.

“Hey! Cruje! Wait up!” Agnes called out as she chased after her.

“This place is… eerie.” The bluenette said as she hovered around. “It’s completely empty, and his red shine…”

“I know, Lily’s report provided a description, but I didn’t expect it to be this… alien.”

“We should get moving. The faster we find those girls, the faster we can close this last tear.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

After tracking traces of the vines Lily had mentioned in her report, the blue and pink-haired duo eventually found the tree large tree. And their fellow magical girls.

“Oh my God!” Agnes gasped as she studied the young women in their predicament. 

Verdi was rolling around on the floor, rather angrily. She was still fuming about being overpowered by an assortment of plants, not to mention her predicament wasn’t exactly comfortable.

Thick red vines had wrapped around her arms and legs, pinning her down into a hogtie. Weird red leaves had wrapped themselves over her face to, shielding the sap covering her mouth so she couldn’t scrape it off. It also helped muffle her many loud grumbles.

“Mmfnrrgggnn!” The slender greenette growled, bucking her cute litte behind in the air as she tried to reach for the vines wrapped around her ankles to try and loosen them. But just like every other attempt, she failed hopelessly.

Lily was putting out just a much effort, even though her predicament made it even harder to struggle. 

She was suspended in mid-air thanks to a great deal of vines, her hands drawn up above her head and her ankles crossed. Countless vines had coiled around her curvaceous body to support her weight, but in doing so they also squeezed her thighs, hips and chest.

The beautiful mage couldn’t help but shiver every once in a while when one of the vines tightened its grip, putting pressure on her tingly and sensitive body.

But worst of all was the fact that apart from squirming and uselessly fidgeting, she was completely immobile and helpless to help her fellow damsel.

“Mnnhhnn!!” The beautiful redhead moaned as she gradually grew more panicked with her failed attempts to struggle free.

“Lily! Verdi!” Agnes called out to them from above, making the two magical girls crane their necks and let out a loud howl in relief.

“HMNRHRRR!” Verdi screamed.

“Mmfn mhff mhh mh hrr (get us out of here)!” Lily pleaded.

“We have to help them!” The pinkette said desperately.

“Obviously,” Cruje replied, “that’s the whole reason I teamed up with you. Let’s head over to that tree and uproot it.”

“Wait!” Agnes warned. “Lily’s report warned me that if we tried to get close to that tree, those vines will come after us too.”

“So? We’ll just destroy them.”

“But that didn’t work with Verdi and Lily.”

“Maybe they weren’t as prepared as we are. Or maybe they’re just incapable.”

“HMRNH (HEY)!” Verdi growled from the dusty floor, thrashing angrily.

Who does that brat think she is?!

“I assure you, Verdi and Lilly are two very skilled mages. If they got caught, then we have to assume this place is more dangerous than you’re giving it credit for.” Agnes insisted. “Let’s focus on freeing Lily and Verdi first. The four of us can then join forces to fix this.”

“Forget it! You can play the knight in shining armour if you want, I’ll head over and handle the cause of the problems!” The blue-haired girl said stubbornly before abandoning her.

“Cruje! Be careful! These vines are clever!”

“Oh stop being paranoid!” She yelled back as she looked over her shoulder.

“I’m not being paranoid! These vines sustain themselves by stealing magic power, if you get caught it’ll be really difficult to remove!”

“Then I won’t get caught!” The petite mage said cockily. 

“You!” Agnes groaned frustrated. “Will you take this seriously!” She scolded as she chased after her. “If we get captured, then it’s all over for -AAH!”

Out of nowhere, a mass of vines rose up from the ground and grabbed one of Agnes’ ankles. They began pulling at her, trying to yank her off her broom.

But the brave magical girl kept a firm grip, and raised her right hand in the air. Her ring began to light up as she prepared a powerful blast to destroy the vines.

“Magi- mmpff!”

With her focus impaired, another set of vines snuck up from behind and flung a globule of sap at the pinkette’s mouth, sealing her mouth instantly as it hardened.

“HMMNNFHH (NOOO)!” She cried out in a mixture of frustration, fear and humiliation.

After specifically warning Cruje to be careful, she was the one to get caught?!

Agnes tried to cry out incantations despite the gag, but the sap was muffling her too well. She couldn’t get her magic to manifest.

“Mhfjhee (Cruje)!” She called out for help, as she pushed her broom to the max in an attempt to pull herself free from the vines -which had steadily begun creeping up on her-.

“Hah! Serves you right for trying to lecture me when you don’t even have the skills to keep yourself safe.” She snided. But despite that remark she still turned back to assist the pink-haired girl.

Cruje raised her wand up in the air, firing a series of magic bursts at her rival. They successfully cut through several of the vines, but more just kept coming.

The blue-haired mage frowned. “Alright, if that’s how you want to play it.”

She started conjuring more attacks, steadily outpacing the plants trying to capture Agnes. But the slender mage was so absorbed in getting the upper hand, she failed to notice the stream of vines erupting from the ground in her direction before it was too late.

“Magi-mphnnf!” Cruje was interrupted mid-chant by a mass of sap that not only sealed her lips, but even acted as a wrap gag for the poor mage.

“Mnfff!” She cried out in horror as she reached up to try and peel off the sap. But just like with Verdi and Lily, it had hardened before she could remove it.

I can’t get this stuff off! Lucky I’ve had practice with silent invocations!

The big difference with her practice however, was that Cruje had nothing to distract her in her room, like approaching vines and moaning captives.

Bottom line: her magic remained sealed.

“Mmmpppfff!” Both Cruje and Agnes wailed in despair as they began squirming around to escape the vines slowly wrapping them into helplessness.

But the vines just kept coming, faster than they could peel them off.

Down below, Lily and Verdi felt their hearts sink as their rescuers were slowly but surely overpowered.

“Mnfghrr!” The green-haired mage growled as she tried to summon her magic again, hoping to break free and assist the two young up above. But the vines continued to drain every ounce she put out.

Come on! If they get captured we’ll be stuck here forever! I have to get out!

“HMNNFGGGR!” Verdi groaned as she strained her body in an attempt to tear the vines. But they were too strong for her frail body.

Her partner Lily had joined in, trying to pull her ankles and wrists free. But like with Verdi, her restraints kept stealing her energy and dulling her movements.

“Hmmnff, hmnf, hmmmphn.” The redhead started panting after tiring herself out.

In the end, the poor girls were forced to watch helplessly as Agnes and Cruje were forced to join their plight:

Within minutes, Cruje had ended up frogtied and boxtied, her angry cursing kept silent by a thick layer of amber.

Agnes eventually found her wrists tied behind her back. Her elbows had been joined together so tightly her chest was forced outward, bulging in her cute leotard. Her ankles had been crossed and her knees were tied together too, leaving her lying on the floor almost completely immobile, a few feet removed from both Cruje and Verdi.

“Mmppf!” Agnes wailed as she began worming around, kicking up dust all around her. But the vines held fast. Cruje fared no better, mouthing angrily into her gag as she exhausted her stamina just like Verdi and Lily had done before.

We’re helpless. These vines are going to keep us bound here until we’re completely dry of magic power!

As that horrible thought sunk into all four of the magical girls, they let out a long, pained howl of despair.

“My, my. This is a very fine state of affairs.” Suddenly came from above them.

“Mpff?!” All four of the mages looked up in surprise.

Valentine Valentino was hovering above them on her broom!

“I thought something was amiss when Cruje sped off along with Agnes. But I never imagined it this serious. Guess It’s a good thing I decided to follow you.”

“Mmfhee (Yuki)?!” Cruje and Agnes both cried out in shock, Agnes even more than the bluenette.

“The name’s Valentine.” She corrected, glancing over at Verdi and Lily. “Say, aren’t you two from Realm? How come you’re tied up as well.”

“Mmfrnnhggh!” Verdi growled back, frowning at the purplette. What does that matter? Help us already!

“Mnrrhh (Run)!” Lily shouted, opposing her rival. You’re our last hope, get out of here and contact Realm to ask for reinforcements.

“Run? And leave my junior magical girls behind? I could never do that!” Valentine retorted. “As the senior mage on site, I’ll take it upon myself to rescue you guys!”

“Mmfnnn (Nooo)!” Agnes protested. “Mmfnnf mmph mhrnm (You’ll be captured)!”

But to the girls’ surprise, Valentine began chuckling. “Captured? Me? Hardly.”

Verdi rolled her eyes in annoyance. Great, another ego showed up. Now there’ll be five of us bound and gagged, giving that cursed tree more food for growth.

But what Valentine did next left the four damsels in utter awe.

The gorgeous woman began flying around at blinding speed, tearing through countless vines in the blink of an eye. Her every move was polished and graceful, almost like a dance.

Not only did she have complete control over her broom, but her magic itself seemed to respond to her every move, no her every thought!

She’s good! Lily thought in admiration.

She’s incredible! Agnes concurred.

Valentine continued weeding out the vines, confidently and smoothly dodging or destroying any vines or sap headed in her direction. She gradually created more room around her as she closed in on the four bound and gagged mages.

Just by using the basic ‘Magity’ chants, the experienced mage managed to fire large enough blasts to obliterate several roots all the way down to the core.

Even Verdi had to admit that Valentine’s skill and strength was impressive.

Why is someone like here living in this hick town? She could be a leading figure in Realm…

After just a few minutes, Valentine had made it by her juniors’ side. She winked at Cruje. “What’s wrong Sayaka? You should be able to handle that gag by now, or have you been slacking off on your training?” She teased.

“Mmmphnf?” Agnes mouthed into her gag, blinking a few times as she looked at the blushing bluenette. Training?

The purple-haired mage turned to the others.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have all of you freed in a jiffy. Even though you all look rather cute all gathered like this. Maybe I should take a picture, to provide you all with a reminder to never slack off on your training.”

“Mmfrrrn!” The group groaned, angry and humiliated.

“Now hold still everyone, I may be a nurse but I’d rather avoid anyone getting hurt.” Valentine warned as she began gathering magical power.

But she was shaken up by a sudden rumbling beneath the surface. She rose higher into the air out of caution, and it was good that she did. Because moment later an enormous amount of vines burst from the ground and joined together in several places, taking shapes before interlocking.

The vines were evolving, gathering together into a humanoid shape over 8 feet tall.

The vines and branches creaked and crackled as the vegetative monster reached for Valentine with its massive arm.

Valentine giggled. “Sit tight girls, this’ll take me but a moment. Just get comfortable and enjoy the show. I’ll make sure this thing doesn’t harm you.”

“Mphnhnhh (Valentine)!” Agnes yelled at the purplette. “Mmfn mhrrmhh, mmh hhp mmn mmrr mnhrmhh (Be careful, the sap drains your energy).” She tried to warn the beautiful mage.

But she was too focused on dealing with the monster to decipher the pinkette’s warning. It also seemed there was no need for it, because the talented Valentine was completely dominating the struggle, just like before.

Valentine took out its limbs on several occasions with her powerful spells, and despite them growing back alarmingly fast she wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

This thing is more intricate than the vines, but seeing as it’s a plant the logical aim should be the roots. The fact it’s so defensive of its legs confirms that. The experience young woman realized as she prepared a large bolt of magical energy, over 6 feet wide. 

“Magity!” Valentine chanted as she fired it straight at the monster’s legs, as close to the ground as she could manage.

The slice of dark purple energy cut straight through both legs, making the humanoid gathering of vines crash to the ground and setting off a minor quake.

“Mnnppff!” The four damsels yelped as they were rattled around, coughing into the dust cloud that was stirred up as a result.

When the dust settled, Valentine was standing on top of the lifeless body. She smiled brightly and waved at the girls. “There we go, piece of cake.” She declared confidently as she walked over to the girls to free them, starting with Cruje.

“Mmfprnhh! Mhhn bmmnh hmm!” Lily suddenly shrieked, squirming around in a blind panic.

“What’s wrong?” Valentine asked worried. “Are you in pain?”

None of the girls seemed to understand why the redhead was making such a fuss. Mainly because they failed to spot her desperately pointing at the monster’s feet, where new vines were emerging from the ground to blow new life into it.

By the time the purple-haired mage had figured out that Lily was calling for her to look behind her, a surprise attack of the monster hit her right in the face. That nefarious sap had hit its mark yet again.

“Mmfnnnn!” Valentine cried out in disgust as the sweet and sticky sap began to coat her lips, chin and cheeks.

You can’t be serious! She thought in outrage as she reached up to try and free her mouth again. However the bodacious mage couldn’t pull it off using just physical strength.

“Mgnhee (magity)!” The purplette chanted, but to her disdain there was no response.

Come on Yuki, focus!

“Mhgnhee hmnihrrhm (Magity altiorem)!” She tried, closing her eyes in focus.

This time the tall mage could feel some magic bubbling up. But it was immediately drained into the sap.

“Mmrnn!” She growled.

“Mhghnee ihmrnhh (Magity integrum)!”

A spell which concentrated her magical power into a single point, this time her lips. But because of the potency, Valentine daren’t go all out. As a result, the gel only loosened for a very brief moment, not long enough for the purplette to pull it off. And when the burst wore off, the gag seemed to have glued itself into place even tighter than before!

This stuff is learning too fast! If I’m not careful, it’ll grow resistant to all of our magic!

The sudden discovery daunted the bodacious magical girl. Valentine feared that using weaker spells would only increase the tolerance of the sap. But the truly powerful ones would pose a threat to herself. If she knocked herself out trying to get the gag out of the way, all would have been for naught!

I need time to think! She thought nervously, taking to the air as quickly as she could before any more plant life got hold of her.

“Mppff, mppf, mmnnn.” The purple haired mage panted, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment as she looked down at her friends.

All of them carried that same look in their eyes: They were worried. Worried that even Valentine wouldn’t be able to handle this. And scared because as of a few minutes, their saviour had lost access to most of her magical repertoire.

What spells can I use that are possess just the right amount of power, and are still available without an incantation?

That combination of requirements left her with a very short list.

Valentine continued to dance around in the air as she sifted through her range of spells, mouthing and moaning into the sticky gag.

But it just wasn’t working. The constant movement and the gag’s drain on her magical reserves was keeping her from properly harnessing her spells.

Try as she might, the poor purplette never managed to free her mouth.

As one spell after another failed, she became more and more desperate. And humiliated, because to her ears she sounded absolutely ridiculous, constantly "mmphing" gibberish as she tried to call upon her magic.

Until finally, she ran out of spells.

“Mmfrrrggg!” Valentine moaned distressed as she had failed to dislodge her gag.

NOTHING?! Not a SINGLE one of my spells has worked?!

“MMNNNRRRNN!” She howled, tumbling in mid-air as the pit in her stomach turned into a chasm.

This can’t be! Not like this! 

The feeling of losing her voice felt deeply troubling for the proud magical girl. She rose higher into the air as quickly as she could, dodging several vines which had just risen up from the monster’s hand. The last thing she needed now was for those nefarious vines to trap her gorgeous body, along with her voice.

But the strain of rapidly flying around and trying to manifest spell after spell was starting to take its toll. Even Valentin’s impressive magical reserves were starting to take its toll. By now the beautiful mage was having trouble keeping herself levitated, and her movements had become sluggish. It was as if gravity had intensified twofold.

This gag. It’s not just been muffling me, it’s draining my power!

“Mmnhghee (Magity)!” She cried out, hoping a simple spell like that would still be an option.

To her relief, she actually did summon another large blast. She immediately fired it straight down, hoping to destroy the monster’s legs once more. But as she’d feared, her attack didn’t have near the impact as before.

“Mmfnnfff!” The purple-haired woman moaned once more as she tried to remove the gag once more. But the sap had crystallized already, rendering her powerless to free her voice.

Mere seconds after her magic struck the beast, it had fully regenerated again. And that sigh made Valentine’s stomach turn.

I might be in trouble here…

The wooden giant reached up into the sky, countless vines rising up from its hand like snakes on the hunt for prey.

Valentine yelped as she flew even higher, nervously dodging the endless assault of vines.

“Mmfppff!” The four bound and gagged damsels cried out from below, trying to warn her as best they could about any vines trying to creep up on her. But deep down all of them made the same unnerving observation: Valentine was losing ground.

The poor purple-haired mage was forced to back away from her friends, frustratedly mouthing into her gag as the vines kept blocking her path to freeing any of them. It was almost like she was forced to dance to its tune…

Please Valentine, don’t get caught! Cruje wished fervently.

Just run! Lily thought panicked. Leave us and return with reinforcements!

But the dutiful nurse wouldn’t dream of abandoning her fellow magical girls. She stubbornly kept trying to fight her way through the vines and get close to the others. Until finally, she got caught off guard.

“HMMNNNNN!” Valentine cried out in despair as her hands were bound together and pulled above her head, leaving her dangling in the air.

She kicked her legs in an angry struggle, but two more vines soon immobilized her by coiling around her ankles.

But that turned out to only be the beginning.

While Valentine was squirming and moaning to try and escape, the vines lined up to slash the skirt and frills from her outfit apart, leaving her in just the skin-tight leotard. Her cheeks burned bright red, because a gentle breeze betrayed to her that all her struggling had made her leotard ride up to give the appearance of a thong. With not more skirt, that meant her fulsome cheeks were completely exposed!

No! Don’t look at me!

“Mmfpnfff! Mmfrnghnggg!” She kept groaning as she tired herself out fighting the vines keeping her prisoner.

The moment her movements began slowing down, the monster moved to the next stage.

*SMACK*

“MPPNNNFF!” Valentine shrieked in horror. OWWW!

A coil of vines had just… spanked her!

The rest of the girls also groaned in horror when they spotted the glowing streak along the purplette’s ass.

*SMACK*

“MMRRRNNN!”

Another one.

This can’t be! I’m being spanked by… b-b-by a plant!

Valentine’s face grew even redder than her cheeks, solely from the embarrassment.

Don’t look at me, all of you! She thought, squeezing her eyes tightly shut to avoid looking any of her junior members -most of all Cruje- in the eye.

But the four young women felt nothing but pity for their near-saviour. Pity, and a smidge of relief that it wasn’t their poor little behinds getting the rod.

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

Three more strikes made the poor mage squeak and squirm, her legs kicking angrily and her hands twisting around in their restraints. But she was utterly helpless, and the distraction was preventing her from focusing enough to manifest any magic.

Several minutes of muffled moaning and humiliation crawled by, after which the vines moved on to something even worse!

The long, thin plants began crawling up her thighs, gently squeezing them as they moved up along her slender waist and eventually coiled around her perky breasts.

“Mmfpfn?!” Valentine mewled nervously. What is this thing going to do next?!

*Squeeze*

“UUmmhhnppnnff!” The gorgeous young woman howled as her the pressure on her bosom, hips and thighs sent a shiver down her spine.

No! not there! She thought desperately as a mildly tingling started to form in her breasts.

The plants loosened their grip a little, but immediately tightened up again, creating the illusion of someone fondling or even groping the poor girl!

Stop it! Don’t! The purplette moaned inside her mind. I’m getting… I’m…

Before she full well realized, she was writhing her thighs together hungrily, and her nipples were starting to rub into her spandex!

“Mppnnnnffff!” The gorgeous mages shrieked, her eyes bulging as one of the plants slipped in between her legs and briefly flicked her lovebox.

She began thrashing like possessed, too flustered and panicked to even think anymore.

Stop it! Let me go!

The other girls, still helplessly bound and gagged on the floor, shuddered at the display they were forced to witness.

Hang in there, Valentine! Cruje spurred her teacher on.

After what seemed like hours, the floral monstrosity finally seemed to have had its fill in getting revenge. It called forth several more fines to bind its strongest opponent, after which Valentine was dropped beside the other young mages.

Her arms had been forced to point up, but had then been pulled down so her wrists ended up pinned at the height of her neck by a couple of vines wrapping themselves around her upper body to anchor in place. This left the poor mage with her elbows pointing up in the air, he arms completely immobile and her hands uselessly positioned.

Her legs had been forced into separate frogties, similar to her student Cruje. If made her look as if she was kneeling in penance, something that only angered her more. The poor purple-haired mage couldn’t even shift around to sit on her behind, since that was still stinging from the spanking!

The moment she was left alone, Valentine began concentrating to try and use silent magic. But her body was too worn out to do so.

“Mmfpnff!”

This is so frustrating! Here I was, planning to swoop in and save my juniors. Yet I ended up bound and gagged just like them. I’m sorry, everyone. Guess I too have much to learn…

With all of its opponents finally incapacitated, the vine humanoid retreated back into the ground. The vines keeping the girls prisoner however, now spurred back into action.

They began carrying the five damsels over to the base of the tree. No doubt to wrap them up even more tightly and keep them as close to the source as possible, to continue providing energy.

It was Lily who realized this would actually create their only chance at escape:

“Mphrhee-mhn (Everyone)!” She mouthed into her gag, making the other girls turn towards her.

“Mmfnhh mhh mnh (what is it)?” Verdi asked, surprised by her redhead’s eagerness.

“Mn mhhf mh mmnn (I have a plan).” She replied, making everyone’s eyes perk up.

“Mnhff mhn mhh (What is it)?” Agnes asked.

“Mrhh mh nmm mh hmm: Mnn mmrrmhnh mhh mmmnh mhnhh mhnmhn? (First I need to know: Can everyone use magic without chanting)?”

Everyone but Cruje nodded calmly, leaving Lily to look at the bluenette.

“Mmfrnh (Cruje)?”

“Mmfn mmn hh mn mm. Mh mhf fhh mhnhmmnh mn hhr (She can do it too. I have full confidence in her).” Valentine said, making her slender mage turn to the purplette.

Valentine… Thank you.

Cruje then looked at Lily. “Mh mmhn mh hh (I can do it).”

“Mhn mmrr mnh hmm mnn (Then here’s what we’ll do) ...”

During the rest of their journey the five girls had been completely docile, doing their best to ignore the odd stroke of the vines along their most sensitive regions. Instead, they focused on gathering as much magic power as they could for when they’d finally reach the tree.

Because Lily’s plan was for them to pool their magical power and focusing their combined might down the roots of the tree itself, destroying it.

As they got closer to the sequoia-shaped organism, the five girls began to tremble with excitement.

This is or last chance. Agnes realized. If we fail now, all of Wonderland, maybe even more, will be swallowed up!

Verdi, Agnes, Cruje and Valentine all looked at Lily, who would give the signal for their combined attack.

The red-haired mage meanwhile kept a close eye on both the path they were taking and the rest of the vines, ensuring they wouldn’t get wrapped up even more tightly before they could make their move.

With each passing second, the girls’ hearts began beating faster.

Come on Lily! Give the signal already! Verdi thought impatiently.

Aren’t we close enough by now? Let’s attack! Cruje shared the greenette’s opinion.

But Lily remained silent.

Almost there, but not yet. I want to find a decently looking root, one that’ll allow our magic to travel as far down as possible.

The five women continued to focus, despite their bodies aching from the tight restraints, despite their heads starting to hurt from the intense concentration, all of them kept hold of their remaining magical power, trying to stave off the siphoning as best they could.

Until finally, Lilly spotted the perfect way in.

“HMNNHH (NOOOW)!”

At that split second, every single on girl thought in unison:

MAGITY!

A rainbow of magical power erupted from the five young women: Green, red, pink, purple and blue. Five massive swirls of magical power, all of it directed straight down that the thick root directly beneath them.

The ground started to crack with a loud bellow, the whole terrain began trembling and dust was kicked dozens of feet up into the air.

“HMMNNNHHRRRRRMMNNN!” Verdi, Lily, Agnes, Cruje and Valentine all screamed into their gags as the poured their every ounce of strength into this last-ditch effort.

When all five of them had exhausted their power, the world began to quieten down again. The dust started to settle and the five magical girls were looking around nervously as they panted heavily into their gags.

Each of them only had one thing on their mind:

Did it work?

At first, their hearts sank. Nothing was happening.

But then, the faint sound of breaking wood could be heard.

The tree was toppling over, falling away from all of them! It hit the ground with a deafening smack, after which the vines suddenly began to lose grip.

“HMMPNHHHH!” The young women cheered.

We did it!

We’re free!

YEEEES!

They wormed their way out of their restraints as quickly as they could and then worked together to finally get those annoying gags off.

“Let’s get out of here!” Cruje said immediately.

“Yes, before this dimension becomes unstable and collapses.” Lily replied.

“You can all come to my house.” Agnes offered. “I have a feeling we could all do with some food, a bath and some rest.”

“I’ll give everyone a check-up once we’re safe.” Valentine added.

“A check-up, a bath, a good meal and sleep… All of that sounds amazing.” Verdi remarked as she smiled brightly at her fellow mages.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Cruje replied impatiently, grinning widely at her fellow mages. “Let’s go!”