(Subplot) Transforming Sophie

Sophie was finally face to face in the flesh with Rebecca, the first of the glitches to find themselves in such a position, and she was trying as hard as she could not to appear intimidated by the witch.

"What is it you want with me?" she asked as calmly and unemotionally as she could manage.

"Oh my, isn't that a tantalising question?!" Rebecca cackled, practically rubbing her hands with glee at the near limitless possibilities "The truth is you are like the perfect present that was dropped, gift-wrapped with a bow into my lap during an unexpectedly stressful time."

"How am I that, exactly?" Sophie folded her arms, briefly feeling the novelty of being able to move them again, and attempted to stand her ground.

"Because you are super cute, just a little bit annoying and insanely susceptible to magic" Rebecca explained "So basically the perfect toy for me to play with when I'm not busy dealing with the serious problems your friends are causing. I can transform you, humiliate you or test out any ideas I have for new spells on you whenever the mood takes me. Which will probably be very, very often. Would you like to know how this is all going to work?"

"I don't really give a shit"

Sophie was trying her hardest to remain defiant, but she wasn't even convincing herself. Rebecca walked towards her chuckling.

"Well well, look at you, tough girl! Honestly, you really can't pull that act off at all" she stroked Sophie's cheek gently. The glitch continued to glare at the witch but her heart was practically beating out of her bare chest with fear "Still, if you want to be more like Lexie, I can help you with that"

Rebecca took a step back and looked into Sophie's eyes.

"Turn into a toad"

There was no flash or smoke this time. Sophie simply shrank down into the form of a fat, warty amphibian sitting helplessly on the floor at Rebecca's feet.

"Oh Gosh, that was almost too easy!" the witch smirked as Sophie made a distressed croaking sound and tried to hop away from her tormentor, though she wasn't at all used to moving in a toad's body and didn't get very far before the witch scooped her up, placing her on her desk "What was your plan there exactly? Escape from me and go and live in a bog somewhere? You wouldn't prefer to stick around so I can reverse the spell?"

From where she was now sitting, Sophie could see her reflection in the desk mirror, like it was taunting her. While Lexie looked kind of cute in frog form, she had been turned into a grotesque, bumpy, bloated looking creature. To make matters worse, Rebecca's huge face was now grinning down at her intensely.

"Whether you give a shit or not, I am still going to explain to you how this is going to work, so please sit still and indulge me" the witch told the toad, resuming her one sided conversation from a little earlier "I have magically bound you to me. You are technically my familiar. That, combined with your high susceptibility to magic, pretty much allows me to do anything to you I want without breaking a magical sweat. For example, if I were to simply say "Turn into a pumpkin!"

The toad instantly morphed into a big orange fruit, just sitting there on the desk looking like an out of place Halloween decoration.

"You see how easy it is Soph? You don't mind if I call you Soph do you? I feel we have reached that stage in our relationship"

Unsurprisingly, the pumpkin didn't answer.

"Of course, there are other things I can make you do beyond transformations. More intimate, stimulating things with you in your pretty human form. But I have things to busy myself with for now, and I can't let you distract me too much from certain other pressing matters. Still, you are a bit boring like that. What can I make you that is more interesting than a pumpkin but still humiliating and degrading?"

The witch pressed her finger to her lips and made a teasing, mock thinking expression as she considered this.

"I've got it. Turn into a little white mouse, but with your normal speaking voice except all high pitched and squeaky!"

Now the pumpkin morphed into a cute little rodent.

"Please stop this Rebecca! It isn't achieving anything!" Sophie squeaked, causing the witch to how with laughter.

"Oh, you are just too adorable!" she clapped her hands with glee "We are going to have such a wonderful time together!"