ROYAL REWARD: Ina's Collection: Finale (Inanimate TF, Hololive)

Ina’s tea party wasn’t going well.

After transforming HoloJustice and the rest of their fellow idols into stuffed plushies, she’d conjured an enormous table and placed them all around it, ready to enjoy the most wonderful little tea party anyone had ever experienced. She’d been just about to begin when she’d realized something was off.

Frowning, Ina picked up the teapot and offered it to the doll to her left. “More tea, Ms. Mori?” she asked. 

Her Calli plushie stared at her with its empty button eyes, felt mouth unmoving. One cup of cold tea already sat in front of her, untouched as the cookies on the plate beside it. 

After several seconds of utter silence, Ina turned to the plushie to her right. “What about you, Ms. Gawr, would you like a nice cup of tea?” 

Her Gura plushie slipped out of its chair and struck the floor with a sad little plop, its shark tail sticking up in the air. 

Hmm… thought Ina. Something is really fishy here.

After several minutes of sipping her own tea in thought, the answer finally occurred to her. Of course it felt lonely. She could hardly have an enchanting conversation with her friends when they were all inanimate objects, could she? 

Slapping her head at her own silliness, she conjured her spellbook and went to cast a reversal spell when another thought occurred to her. Could she really turn them all back? They weren’t just her friends, they were also her very extensive doll collection. She’d gone to an incredible amount of effort to acquire them all, and it would be an enormous waste if she turned them all back just to have a tea party with them, wouldn’t it? 

Which was more important to her, her friends or her collection? She bit her lip, unable to decide. Speaking of friends, perhaps she hadn’t been a very good one. Perhaps turning all your fellow idols into inanimate objects wasn’t the act of friendship she’d thought it was. In fact, maybe it was actually a rather mean thing to do, once you thought about it. 

She stood, accidentally stepping on Gura, and studied the sea of plushie faces seated before her. They were all smiling, but at the same time, there was something endlessly sad about those cute, plushie expressions, wasn’t there…? She took a step back, accidentally stepping on Gura again. Maybe… Maybe she really had been a bad friend. Maybe she should turn them all back and apologize, like she should have done from the very start. 

Opening her spellbook, she flipped through page after page of esoteric formulae and diagrams, until at last, she came to the spell she needed. She raised her hands, closed her eyes, and spoke the magic word: “C’ntr’lzee!” 

Streamers of green light swept out of her outstretched hands and coiled around the table, where it split into tens of tiny little bandages and mummified her best friends-turned-dolls. Closing her book, she stepped back to watch. Oh, she couldn’t wait to speak to them again! It was going to be such a wonderful reunion! 

Bulging in their cocoons, her plushies started to grow, stretching from dolls into something better resembling human women, until at last, with a pop–

The spell burst, and before her sat everyone she’d transformed, restored. 

Ina raised her arms and cheered in satisfaction. “Hello, everyone! Welcome back to humanity! Are you ready to have the greatest tea party ever?!” 

They all stared at her. No one responded. Slowly, Ina’s smile drooped. “Everyone…?” 

The edge of a knife nicked her throat–Ina froze with a squeak. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Gura, eyes red, gritting her teeth, the shiv in her hand glinting in the candlelight. “Get her!” she cried. 

“E-everyone?” said Ina, looking for help. 

With a collective roar, her gathered victims leapt from their chairs and rushed her, fists raised.

“W-wait!” cried Ina, trying to raise her hands and shield her face. “Waaaait–!” 

In the end, the first thing that struck her wasn’t a fist but a spell, fired by one of Hololive’s many magicians. Striking her dartboard of temple, it snatched her into the air and spread her limbs like a Christmas star. “W-w-wait! Don’t! Please, I–” 

The next spell slammed into her chest, making her entire body ripple like a puddle. And she screamed as she started to shrink, body crumpled as if crushed. “Waaaaaaait–!” Her cries of protest shut off as her lips glued themselves together. 

Slowly, Ina shrank, her limbs collapsing in on themselves and leaving only little stubs in their place. Her lips vanished, replaced by a big felt smile, and her skin took on a coarser, matte texture as it changed. Her clothes shrank as well, tightening to match as the spell tailored them to her new shape. 

The smaller she became, the stronger the feeling of fullness insider her: she felt as if she’d been stuffed, as if someone had taken every cookie and biscuit on the table and forced them down her throat till her gut could take no more and, afraid of bursting, had been forced to share the burden with the rest of her body. She wanted to explode; even her head felt stuffy. 

Finally, her eyes shed one last pair of tears and transformed with a pop into a pair of bright, purple buttons. 

She dropped, struck the floor, and bounced to an abrupt stop. Guys, I’m sorry! she cried, struggling to move. Please, turn me back! I’m sooooorry! 

In the end, it was Gura who picked her up. “Wow, Ina, you look so cute like this!” 

I’m soooorry! 

Gura dangled her by the tentacle. “So, what should we do with her now?” 

Calli put her hands on her hips. Ame flicked Ina’s nose. Kiara looked like she wanted to tear her head off. 

Finally, Calli’s mouth curled into an evil grin. “Why don’t we have that tea party?” she said, planting Ina back in her seat at the end of the table. “Come on, everyone, take a seat! Let’s all enjoy a nice cup of tea…” 

Raising her cup, she poured it over Ina’s head. 

Noooo! Calli! Stooop! I’m sorrrrrrrry…!