Fall of the Star Sentinels

When Lian materialized in a huge, palatial chamber, like the lord's bedroom in a medieval castle, she just sighed. Of course this would happen. Once again, Akemi had led them into trouble. They'd rushed into a situation they didn't have a handle on, all so that their glorious leader could save her dreary boyfriend. Now, they were all separated and trapped at the mercy of a bunch of different demons. What kind of leadership was that? Lian was so frustrated. Why did it have to be Akemi? Lian knew Akemi was chosen by the stars, but maybe the stars made some really bad choices sometimes. Akemi was a friend, Lian supposed - but clearly, she wasn't quite up to the job. Not for the first time, Lian thought to herself that she should have been the chosen one, not Akemi.

'Yes,' came the husky, decidedly-feminine voice. 'It should have been you, Lian Shi.'

Lian wheeled around, brandishing the sword of starlight that formed in her hand in response to her thoughts. She looked about the room she had found herself in, searching for the voice. She saw nothing but bare stone walls, lit by the ill, purple light coming from a few clearly-unnatural braziers mounted on the walls. Besides them, the room was featureless save for a huge, clouded mirror. There was no-one. Lian was alone. But the voice... After a moment's reflection, she realized it had been coming not from somewhere in the room, but from inside her own head. That was disconcerting.

"What are you?" Lian demanded proudly, refusing to show fear.

'I'm you.'

"No, you're not," Lian snapped irritably. "You're a demon, playing some foolish game."

'I can already see you're cleverer than some of your friends.' Rich, sinister laughter filled the cavernous chamber. 'Yes, I am.'

"Show yourself!" Lian demanded, still searching the room with her eyes. It had to be somewhere! She thought she could see some kind of indistinct, smoky form, lurking in the shadows, but she couldn't seem to get a fix on it. It slipped away from her gaze like oil on water, shifting around the room like a ghost.

'So you can attack me? I think not.'

"Hiding won't save you!" Lian warned through gritted teeth. The way the demon's words echoed inside her skull was truly uncomfortable. "Which one are you, anyway?"

'Pride.'

"Of course," Lian snorted. "And you're going to try and corrupt me, right? Good luck with that."

'I'm not sure I need luck on my side,' the demon replied smoothly. 'There's already plenty of me in you, Lian.'

"If you know me so well, you know nothing will stop me from doing my duty," Lian retorted. "From proving I'm the best. The greatest magical girl. I could never stand letting one of the others see some pathetic demon get the better of me."

'I know you couldn't,' Pride agreed. 'You've always been the most determined. The most dedicated. That's why you're the one who deserves to be in charge.'

Lian was far too smart not to see past the demon's ploy, but she couldn't help a small sliver of gratification creeping into her heart. "I already know that!"

'Yes, just think how different it could all be,' the demon continued. 'The battles. The victories. The outfits.'

That left Lian a little taken aback. "The... outfits?"

'Those sailor suits... well, it's a classic look for magical girls, I suppose. But don't you think they're a little... infantilizing? A little silly?'

Lian didn't know what to say. She had always thought that. Was Pride really getting into her head that easily?

'Perhaps it suits the others. But you, Lian? You deserve something a little more mature. Something that acknowledges your maturity. Your rightful seniority. Your beauty.'

Lian remained on her guard. She'd never, ever do anything as foolish as let her guard down around a demon. Yet, still, at the back of her mind, part of her was purring happily at the praise. Was this what proper recognition felt like? Lian reasoned that, since she could surely destroy this demon with ease whenever she wanted to, there was probably no harm in indulging her curiosity a little.

"Like what, exactly?" she asked.

'Let me show you.'

The moment Lian heard the demon's words in her head, the mirror that was in the room with her started glowing. The magical girl turned to it, instinctively hefting her starlight sword. The mirror, previously full of dark fog, now showed dark, cavernous depths and gleamed with deep, purple light. Lian's first thought was to smash it to pieces as fast as she could but something stayed her hand. Instead, she just watched, careful to remain on her guard to make sure Pride couldn't strike at her from the shadows.

Within the mirror, an image was slowly forming. It was a reflection, naturally, but it came together strangely, like droplets of paint mixing and swirling on the surface of a deep pool. Once that process was finished, though, it seemed true to life, and showed nothing more or less than Lian, standing before it in the large, stone-walled room. Experimentally, Lian raised a hand, and watched her reflection perfectly mirror her movement. It seemed completely innocuous, but somehow the line from that old Disney movie appeared in her head.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

"Ok," she said out loud, unimpressed. "It's a mirror. Cool."

Pride laughed. 'Look a little deeper,' the demon whispered. 'What do you see?'

Lian rolled her eyes. She was quickly growing tired of this creature's routine, but once again, curiosity got the better of her. She fixed her gaze to her reflection in the mirror, and studied it as hard as she could.

It... was just her. That was the conclusion she kept coming to, no matter how many times she checked. It was just an ordinary reflection. Nothing special to look at at all. At that thought, Lian allowed herself a quiet little laugh. Perhaps that was going a little far. There was nothing ordinary about her own appearance, and there was plenty to look at. Lian had never been accused of lacking confidence, and she saw no need for false modesty.

Lian had often been described as 'strikingly beautiful.' She had everything. She was tall. She had high, pronounced cheekbones. Her eyes were the perfect shape (accentuated, of course, by her makeup). Her lips formed a perfect cupid's bow. Her long, black, silky hair was immaculate, and she was careful to keep it that way. She had a figure that people would die for, and legs that made both boys and girls drool for her. In short, there was plenty to look at, and Lian liked looking at herself. She was used to spending a lot of time in front of a mirror. To her, the notion that vanity was some kind of flaw was for losers. She knew some of the other Star Sentinels considered it strange that someone as conceited as her had been chosen to become a magical girl, but to Lian, it was only natural. She was committed to perfection, and as Sentinel Orange, she looked every inch the perfect heroine.

In fact, she was starting to notice, today she looked even more perfect than usual. Perhaps it was the mirror, perhaps it was the lighting - or perhaps it was just her. Lian's skin was looking especially flawless, her hair particularly radiant, and her chest even perkier and more rounded than it usually did. Lian couldn't help but smile. Today was shaping up to be a good day. She was going to upstage Akemi and the others, just as she deserved to, and she was going to look magnificent doing it.

Except for her outfit, anyway.

Lian didn't hate the sailor suit look. It was a classic, and she always respected the classics. Just as Pride had intuited, she'd always considered it a little inappropriate for her mature, refined charm. It was good enough for the others, of course, but if Lian was to be the true star, she wanted something just a little bit different. Something that truly let her stand out.

'Something like this?'

Lian twitched at that sinuous, inhuman voice ringing in her head. She'd been so lost in her own reflection, she had almost forgotten where she was and what was happening to her. That wasn't good. She needed to stay alert, especially if, as it seemed, Pride had some kind of power to read her thoughts.

"Like what?" Lian asked irritably.

'Keep looking.'

Lian looked, and she wasn't disappointed.

As she watched, the magical girl sailor uniform her reflection was wearing started changing, the lines and folds of the star-woven fabric melting away into ink and flowing into new patterns. The miniskirt started lengthening, until it covered Lian's reflection's knees by several inches. The prominent orange bow pinned to Lian's chest melted too, darkening to a rich, royal purple and becoming the tasteful, subtly frilly lining on the new, deep cleavage her reflections new garment had. Likewise, the schoolgirl collar her sailor uniform featured became a set of elegant silk folds around her collar, descending to cover her upper arms. Finally, all the different pieces of her outfit melted together, all the joins and seams smoothing out until Lian's reflection was no longer wearing a sailor uniform, but a long, elegant, purple cocktail dress.

It was a dress fitting for a queen.

'Well?' Pride prompted, its voice rich with satisfaction at Lian's speechless reaction. 'What do you think?'

"It's... it's..." Lian was loathe to let any praise for a demon slip past her lips, but in the end, her vanity got the better of her. "I need it."

'You certainly do,' the demon agreed, but Lian wasn't listening. Instead, she was turning this way and that, watching her reflection mirror her movements, and admiring the way the dress showed off her better-than-perfect curves and assets.

Lian was so caught up in admiring her reflection, she failed to notice that, outside the mirror, her actual clothing was changing too, slowly warping and morphing to match her desires.

'Now, you truly look the part,' Pride whispered. Lian was barely conscious of what she was saying, but all the same, the demon's seductive words made their way into her head. 'You look like a leader. The most radiant of all of them. You stand out like a shining gemstone. Except...'

That one word brought Lian right back to attention. "Except what?" she demanded, irked by the suggestion that she suffered any imperfection that might let one of the others steal her spotlight.

'Oh... it's nothing,' Pride reassured her insincerely. 'Nothing important, anyway.'

"I'm not here to play games," Lian snapped. "Tell me, before I get tired of you. Except what?"

'Well... if you insist.' Even though she couldn't see Pride, Lian could hear the wolfish grin in the demon's voice. 'I was thinking of your teammate. Sentinel Blue. Riley. She's more experienced than you, isn't she? Some people might think she should be the leader. Especially since... isn't she taller than you too? A much more imposing figure - at least, some might think.'

Normally, such weak negging would have left Lian entirely unimpressed, but for some reason, Pride's words struck a strange chord of panic in her stomach. The magical girl, now wearing a rich, regal dress instead of her uniform, did her best to keep her equilibrium, but it proved difficult.

"That's ridiculous," Lian insisted, both out loud and to herself. "Height doesn't matter - especially when I've got the legs. And... and anyway, there's nothing I can do about that!"

'Certainly," Pride agreed, still patently insincere. 'But what if...'

Lian's eyes had never left the mirror, and now, as she watched, her reflection started to change once more. This time, though, it wasn't just her clothes that were changing. It was her body. Lian, watched, astonished, as her mirror-self started growing taller right before her eyes, legs lengthening and torso extending to give her a new, truly impressive and domineering stature. Lian was speechless. It was a little like staring into a funhouse mirror, but instead of grotesque, it was beautiful. Through the strange transformation, her body remained perfectly-proportioned, and if her proportions changed at all it was only to make her legs all the more eye-catching. Lian wasn't sure how tall her reflection was once the change stopped - six and a half feet? Seven? More? - but there was one thing she was certain of: she looked powerful.

'Perfect,' Pride commented, laughing. 'If I do say so myself.'

"Yes, I am," Lian breathed, astonished. "I mean - yes, it is. Ah... if only."

'Don't worry,' Pride replied. 'You never know what might happen.'

Lian had already stopped listening. Instead, she was lifting a hand experimentally in front of the mirror, moving it from side to side and watching as her now-taller reflection mirrored her motions perfectly. She was so enraptured by the sight, she failed to notice as her own body started to grow. It was slow - so slow it slipped beneath her awareness - but nonetheless, within half a minute she was easily an inch taller, and still growing.

The magical girl just kept staring into the mirror. Lian couldn't take her eyes off it. There was something hypnotic about the way the patterns of fog she could barely glimpse within the mirror's depths kept swirling and spiraling. It was so satisfying, somehow, and perhaps even a little hypnotic. The little patterns of fog kept appearing in the corner of her eyes as she kept inspecting her own, enhanced reflection. Lian couldn't stop noticing all the little details about the way the dress flattered her, and the way her new height made her seem like a goddess. She didn't care if it was inhumanly tall. She wanted it. She craved it. Normally, looking at a perfected version of herself might have made herself feel a little insecure, but it didn't. The reflection felt like her. The way she truly was. The way she truly deserved to be.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect.

'Isn't this fun?' Pride asked, laughing again.

"W-what?" Lian asked, irritated. She was suddenly aware that the demon had been whispering to her for quite some time, without her truly being conscious of it. Without her really being able to tell the difference between her own thoughts, and the demon's words. Were they getting louder. "Shut up," she snapped. "I'm... I'm getting tired of this." She couldn't make it sound truthful.

'Are you sure?' Pride needled. 'Are you really sure? Are you sure there isn't anything more you'd like to see? Come on - when are you going to get another chance like this? There must be something. Some vain little desire you've always wanted to be fulfilled.'

"Hardly," Lian scoffed. "I'm already perfect."

'I know,' Pride agreed readily. 'Why do you think I'm here? But I think you deserve to see your true, inner, perfect self. Just for once.'

"Hmm... perhaps." Lian took a moment to think about herself, and her mental self-image. What did she want? She knew Pride was a demon, but there was something a little disarming about the demon's presence, and about the way the demon always seemed to know what she wanted deep down. There was no-one here but her and Pride, and that made it easier to admit, somehow. Lian had full confidence in herself and her looks, but there had always been a few things she'd wanted for herself. Perfection deserved perfection, after all. "Perhaps there is something."

'Then, just say the words,' Pride prompted. The demon's voice kept getting louder and louder, as if the demon was getting close and closer up behind her.

"God, you're needy," Lian snapped. "Fine. Show me... show me how I'd look if I was... curvier."

'Oh, gladly!'

Lian had already become tall enough to match her reflection's towering height, but now, her reflection started changing once more. This time, it wasn't growing taller - it was growing in other places. As Lian watched, enraptured, her reflection's chest started expanding, her already-impressive breasts becoming truly magnificent, especially on her taller frame. Lian couldn't help but grin as she imagined her people would stare, if her real body was like that. Her new dress adjusted seamlessly to match, slipping into a new shape to perfectly accentuate her new assets - although naturally, with even bigger tits, her low-cut dress was exposing a truly reckless amount of cleavage. Lian didn't mind one bit. What was the point in looking incredible, if people didn't stare?

It wasn't just her tits, though. Her hips were growing too. Lian had put in countless hours at the gym to make sure she had hips and an ass to make everyone fall over themselves at the mere sight of her, but now, her perfect hourglass figure was being taken to new heights. Lian couldn't help but look at her own reflection with lust in her eyes. She just looked that good. She had to be the hottest, most beautiful woman alive. When Lian reached down to run a hand over her own curves, it was like she could feel her own body expanding to match her new reflection - and unbeknownst to her, she could. Lian's mirror-self now had the kinds of proportions previously reserved for art and fantasy - and Lian still wasn't satisfied. She was starting to realize that before, she'd restricted her fantasies to what was possible for humans. But why should she? She wasn't the same as everyone else. She was a magical girl. She had been blessed by the stars themselves. She was a divinely-appointed guardian of truth and justice. So, why shouldn't she look like a goddess? It was only fair.

By the time the transformation was complete, Lian's reflection truly did look like a goddess. It was the kind of image that would be dismissed as impossible by most people, but Lian knew differently. It was there, right in front of her. She could see it in the mirror. It was her. It was what she wanted. What she deserved. What she needed. Seeing herself that way was lighting a spark of pleasure and pride in Lian's soul. She wanted to adore herself, and to be adored. Enchanted by this vision of herself, she still didn't realize what was happening to her body. The Lian that had first appeared in that room was no more. She had become something much, much greater.

'So,' Pride said. Once again, Lian could hear the grin in the demon's voice. 'What's next?'

This time, Lian didn't hesitate. She was having far too much fun, and the stirrings of shameless pride and vanity that had always been in her heart had been inflamed into a roaring blaze. The magical girl, already slipping into corruption, unchained all her deepest and wildest desires, and started issuing commands to the mirror. They flew quickly from her lips, as Lian was filled with a sense of impatience and urgency she'd never known before. She demanded to be taller still, to be more toned, for her face to be even more ethereally perfect. Each time, the mirror responded faultlessly to her wishes, replicating exactly what she wanted to see. And then, in turn, Lian's body started changing too, as if she had become nothing more than a reflection of a reflection. Lian, though, was too caught up in wild ecstasy to notice or care. No matter how much the mirror showed her, she couldn't be satisfied. Seeing herself as she knew she truly deserved to be was addictive, and Lian was only just beginning to realize how insatiable her desires truly were.

They kept growing stranger, too. Lian was starting to understand that she had no need for limits. She didn't need to be limited by anything. Mortal limits weren't meant for someone as special and exceptional as her. She demanded long, thin, perfectly formed fingernails, and then longer, and then longer, and then longer, until her nails were razor-sharp, stiletto-thin claws. She demanded bright, deep, beautiful eyes, impossible for anyone to turn their gaze from, and she kept demanding it until her eyes were inhuman pools that radiated their own light. The only thing Lian felt as she looked into them in the mirror was intense pride. She made her reflection's teeth long and sharp and powerful, and gave herself a majestic crown of horns sprouting from her temples. She wanted to look beyond human. She wanted people to look at her and know she was different from them. Above them. As the demonic horns took form on her reflection, the skin on her temples started splitting apart to make room for them to grow, and Lian felt no pain, only radiant pleasure.