To--
It hit her, all at once, as she glanced at her little jar of stored starseeds.
To complete an experiment.
No one would have to know that she had made this decision consciously. As far as anyone else would hear, she was delirious with pain as a result of, you know, being lit on ******** fire, and she'd simply grabbed for the nearest thing that would fix her, and it had been an unfortunate accident.
But it would be neither unfortunate, nor an accident.
Amazonite knew, as all officers did, that eating too many starseeds too quickly was dangerous. It would likely result in becoming a half-youma, if not in full youmafication. But that was the thing, wasn't it--Amazonite now had absolutely ideal observation conditions and a willing subject, and a way to dodge any and all potential consequences of her little experiment, except for the ones she heaped on herself. It was absolutely perfect.
She staggered over to the jar, and wrenched off the cute little lid, setting it aside.
The especially good news was, this would solve both her problems. she would no longer be in pain, and she could complete her studies in half-youma before turning her attention to Knights.
She ate one, and the relief was instant. Another, and she felt a spark, like the beginnings of a high. A third, and something started to hurt in her chest.
It was the fourth that cracked her.
She doubled over, gasping and clutching at her chest. This pain was different; it was new, and unusual, and she could not place its origin except that it might be in her very core.
It was also wonderfully, blissfully cold, soothing the still-lingering burn from the Senshi's magic.
Her legs gave out beneath her, and she cried out. It felt as if her body was tearing itself apart--and it likely was, in a magical way. But that was secondar.y What was important was the knowledge. The surety. This was how many. this was what it took. This was how to warp a starseed.
This was knowledge she could take forward, though she would have to seek other answers for more specifics.
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out, and only let up when she tasted blood--which was quickly healed, as her transformation finished.
She gasped, desperately, fro breath, and scrabbled to her feet, and found herself created anew. She moved to the mirror she'd hung on the wall for observation, and examined her new form.
Yes. This....this was perfect.
