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Hello, everyone. Though the file series is currently on hiatus, I'm going to continue the Neko Mimi story, and focus a little bit on the back stories of the other Sentella members before going into the story based on the coming hypno files. If you're interested in checking out said series, hit www.denofdreams.com and create a profile; you can find it under the files tab.

If you're interested in getting your own story or just want to donate, you can follow the link to my commission page which has all the details: http://www.sofurry.com/market/view/offer?id=841

Let me know what you think, and as always all constructive criticism is welcome. Hope you enjoy!

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?Fighting evil, by moonlight. Winning love, by daylight...?

"Hiya, Rachel! What's up?"

"Hi, Aerilla. Not much; just got off work, and wanted to know if you wanted to hang out tonight." I heard the sound of a car door opening and closing in the background as Rachel spoke. "I just picked up a new series that I'd been hearing so many good things about, and I'd love to start it up with you."

"Aw, I'd love to, Rachel, but I already got plans tonight. You remember my friend and team mate, Merit?"

"Yeah, I remember her. Short, soft white hair and eyes as blue as the sea, as you described her. When she's transformed, she wears that slightly altered version of your uniform in green, and she has metal scales on her cheeks and the fins along her arms, right?"

"Right. Well, she actually made that altered uniform herself. She wants to be a fashion designer, and I'm helping her out with that tonight."

"You are?" I glanced down the hall as Rachel spoke, wondering how long it'd be until Merit was ready for me. "How so?"

"Do you know the Sandy Hill Country Club?" Rachel confirmed that she'd heard of it, but hadn't been there before. It wasn't really her kind of place, she said, and I agreed that it wasn't really my place either. "They're holding an amateur fashion show here tonight, though, and I'm helping out Merit by modeling her dress."

"That sounds great! Does this mean I'll finally get to see your human form?" Rachel asked, sounding slightly hopeful.

"Sorry, Rachel, but I'm gonna be in my catgirl form when I wear it." It had taken some effort, but so far Rachel was still unaware that her best friend Dan and her new catgirl friend Aerilla were actually the same person. Using the voice modulator S.A.R.A. had given me had been a big help in that regard. Just like how I used it to sound like Dan when I was Aerilla earlier, it also worked in reverse.

"Aw, really? I would like to get to know the real you sometime." I was currently in my human form, wearing a dark blue shirt, red tie and black pants as I waited outside the room where Merit was finishing the dress.

"I know you do, and I wish I could show you the real me, but..." I sighed a little, knowing that trying to tell her the truth would probably freak her out, "...you met me as my catgirl self first. If the agents of Shadow saw you hanging out with some new human girl right after you met Aerilla, it wouldn't take too much for them to put two and two together and find my true identity. It's safer for both of us if you just know me as a catgirl."

"I know, and I'm sure you'll look beautiful in it." Rachel sighed, a little disappointment creeping into her voice. "Still, I wish we didn't have to keep secrets from each other."

"Yeah, I do, too." The door in front of me opened, and Merit poked her head out. With a smile and a wave, she motioned for me to come in. "Whoops; Merit's ready for me. I'll have to catch up with you later. Bye, Rachel!"

"Alright. Bye, Aerilla! I'll see you later." Rachel hung up soon after, and I slipped my Sentella phone back into my pocket as Merit closed the door behind me.

"Thanks for helping me with this, Dan. I know you're doing this as repayment for me covering you for that mall trip, but it still means a lot to me that you were willing to do this." Merit thanked me as I entered the room. "Judging how you spent most of your time near the refreshment table while the rest of the team mingled with the guests, I take it big social gatherings aren't really your cup of tea?"

"That's the understatement of the night." I said with a slight nod. I'm really not a big fan of being the center of attention, or being at big formal events where I have to dress up. Working as a model at a fashion show seemed like the demon offspring of two of my least favorite things, and I had a really strong desire to be almost anywhere but here. Still, I promised Merit I would help her, and I wasn't about to go breaking that promise now.

"So, Merit..." I glanced around the small repurposed conference room, spying a large mirror, a table with a small velvet box sitting on it, and an empty female dress mannequin. For someone who was about to make her Earth fashion show premier, Merit seemed to have forgotten something very important. "...where's the dress?"

"Right here!" Merit seemed unconcerned as I followed her over to the table. She picked up the small box and presented it me. It wasn't like I was really expecting to find a beautiful dress in the tiny ring box, and while the silver heart shaped band that rested inside was very nice, it did nothing to clear up my confusion.

"Oh; you thought you'd have to manually change into the dress?" Merit shook her head as I gently took out the band, examining it more closely. It was roughly the size of a small ring, though the heart shape would've made it an uncomfortable, if not impossible fit for my finger. Noticing the similar shape and size, I pulled my Crystal Star out from under the collar of my shirt and confirmed that the band was just big enough to fit around it. "Just slip the band over your Crystal Star and transform; our magic will take care of the rest."

"If you say so..." As I bough the band and crystal close together, each began to react to the presence of the other. An almost magnetic force seemed to connect them, and nearly caught my fingers in the process as they joined together. The pink crystal heart now perfectly encased in the solid metal; if I didn't know better, I would've thought they were always one solid piece instead of two separate items.

"Whoa. O.K, that was kind of cool. Just transform and I'll be ready, right?" Merit nodded. I concentrated my will into my crystal, feeling it start to rise up from my chest. "Born of radiance, created to fight. Power good and right. Power cast in light. Crystal Star, activate!"

I settled back mentally and let the changes happen as the glowing white light coming from my Crystal Star wrapped around my body. Though I'm pretty much used to the whole gender shifting superhero thing by now, the changes seem to come quicker and feel less odd if I don't mentally focus on exactly how I'm changing. Instead, I just try to enjoy the more positive aspects of it, like the weight I lost as my body slimmed down, the feeling of my hair growing longer and brightening as it went from soft brown to golden blonde and the imperfections of my skin fading away as Aerilla emerged from within.

The more gender specific changes started to kick in, my male genitalia almost completely receding into my body, only the tip of my cock remaining as it was molded and reformed into a clit. As that happened, I could feel my inside begin to shift and reform as my vagina formed and began to open between my legs. The feeling of breasts slowly starting to form and swell as some of the excess weight of my male self shifting to form them was less startling of a change, though overall still felt kind of odd.

As my human ears folded into my head and my orange catgirl ears emerged, I reflected back on how much I had adjusted to the experience of being a Sentella member. At first I was freaked out, even if it did feel really good at first. I got more used to it as I trained and battled Shadowed One's, and after introducing Aerilla to Rachel, I started to enjoy my catgirl form more than my human form. Now that some time had passed since that meeting, and I'd spent a good amount of time with Rachel as both her male human friend and her catgirl friend, I found myself at sort of a weird middle ground where I didn't find the normal me or the catgirl me superior to the other. Rather, it was more like they were simply suited to do different things, and I was lucky to have access to either of them when I needed them. That still made things weird(don't get me started on my feelings for Silver Wolf), but since having access to both genders, its made me appreciate what both have to offer all the more.

As my tail started to emerge, I began to feel the familiar energy of the Sentella uniform beginning to form around me. It was subtle at first, but something about it felt different as my clothes began to form. The band around my pendant began to pulse as the energy touched me, causing the energy to shift and change in ways it hadn't before. There was definitely more material being added to my body than the relatively skimpy Sentella uniform, and it felt like there was a set of hands moving around me as well, reforming the energy and gently guiding my movements. The closest thing I could equate it to was being fitted for a suit, but more intimate. I wasn't just being measured by someone, but also being dressed by them as well. I dared not move as they worked, for fear of ruining the magic or interfering with it in some way.

When the feeling of flowing magic finally began to subside, I slowly opened my eyes to examine my new clothes. If I hadn't been a much an alien to fashion as Merit was an alien to this planet, I probably would've been a little more concerned about her fashion sense not going over well with Earthlings before agreeing to do this. Even if I had, though, Merit had proved those fears were unfounded as I gently touched one of my now gloved hands to the dress that now adorned me, almost afraid touching it would ruin the thing of beauty I wore. About the only thing the dress and my Sentella uniform had in common was a primarily pink color as I carefully examined it.

The dress seemed to be made of silk or some other soft, fine material(again, a fashion guru I am not). My upper arms and shoulders were bare, the dress itself flowing downward from there into a set of long soft pink gloves. They started at about the halfway point of my arm between my shoulder and elbow, and lined up almost perfectly where the dress began on the core of my body. The same softer pink color formed a simple lace pattern across the top of the dress, before becoming a more solid and slighter darker pink as it began to flow down my body. The dress did a wonderful job of flattering my figure and showing off my curves, while keeping everything covered and not being so tight as to make me feel constricted or overly exposed.

Moving down to the lower half of my body, the dress flared outward from my waist into a multi-layered gown that ended just above the floor. The darker pink color continued at the waist and slowly shifting back toward a lighter pink as it got lower to the floor. The change was very subtle, and with only a quick glance you wouldn't be able to tell exactly where the color shift began. I looked and felt like a princess, the pink glass slippers on my feet only enhancing that feeling as I gently pulled up the edge of the gown to examine them.

"Oh, wow..." I took a few twirls in front of the mirror, admiring the wonderful design. Words wouldn't do such a wonderful dress justice; it was just perfect. Not only were the shoes and dress flawless, but Merit clearly had an eye for accessorizing as well with how she managed to incorporate my Ribbon Whip and Crystal Star into the design perfectly. The Ribbon Whip had been moved from my tail to my neck, forming a soft pink choker to replace the collar I normally wore. My Crystal Star sat in the middle of it, the soft silver metal it was encased in drawing in attention while fitting in with her dress design. I couldn't help but let our a little purr as I took in the whole picture. "Merit, this is amazing!"

"Thanks..." I wasn't the only one sporting pink as Merit blushed. "How does it feel? Can you move around in it O.K?"

"I think so." I took a couple of slow steps as I adjusted to the new clothes. I wasn't going to be jumping around or beating down Shadowed Ones in it, but it offered lot of freedom of movement for something that looked so delicate and fancy.

"Great! We better get going, then; they're going to start calling for you soon."

Merit guided me through the halls of the country club to the grand ballroom where the show proper was going to take place. We had to take a roundabout route to a side entrance, the idea being that all the models would be revealed at once. That gave us some time to talk, and I asked Merit what got her started on fashion design.

The magic of the Crystal Stars made all the girls look very beautiful, but prior to acquiring hers Merit had always felt like something of an ugly duckling. On her home world of Galorian, she had few friends and little self confidence by the time she had entered what was her equivalent of high school. When the first formal dance of the school year was announced, she had planned to avoid it like the plague.

When Merit told her mother, Valorie, of her plans, it seemed to have triggered something in her. Valorie loved her daughter and knew she was beautiful in so many ways, but for some reason Merit just couldn't see that beauty herself. Looking beautiful wouldn't be enough to convince Merit to come out of her shell; she needed to make sure Merit felt beautiful as well. For weeks prior to the dance she searched everywhere, working day and night to find the perfect dress despite Merit's protests.

At the same time, a new fashion line was being introduced. From the previously unknown designer Des Cution, the dresses they made were in various styles, all in a jet black color. The ads promised that those wore it would become the most beautiful, most attractive women around, and their ads littered the view screens(what the people of Merit's planet called television). Soon girls everywhere were begging their parents for Des Cution's styles, getting almost fanatic in their attempts to get those dresses.

Merit saw those ads as well, but something about them... she couldn't put her finger on it, but they just felt wrong. It seemed like those dresses were all the girls at her school were talking about. A couple of the popular girls started wearing them a week before the dance, and while they were always turning heads before, now they seemed to have everyone's attention. They seemed to feed off the lustful stares, and if someone did manage to ignore them, they became enraged. Merit even watched one girl smashing her fist into the wall near a boy that was ignoring her, hitting with enough force to make an impression in both the wall and everyone within earshot. She bumped into Merit in her anger when she stomped off to seek attention elsewhere.

Lust. Desire. Seduction. Submit. Obey. Those words suddenly ran through Merit's head the second the girl touched her. They sounded entrancing, wonderful, foreign, and frightening all at the same time. It shook her to the core, and her desire to avoid the coming dance altogether grew even stronger. She kept what happened to herself, though, knowing how determined her mother was to find her the perfect dress. When Valorie came to her the night before the dance saying she'd found the perfect dress, Merit just didn't have the heart to say no.

Merit braced herself to see another of the black Des Cution dresses, and was surprised when she saw the green dress that she'd produced. It was a very simple one piece and strapless dress, with a beautiful green crystal necklace accessory. Valorie explained she'd found it in a small little fashion shop staffed by four young women. Every other store had Des Cution's designs in their windows, but Valorie seemed to have similar instinct about the fashion line as her daughter. When she saw the near obsession that other mother's and their daughters had for the dresses, she wanted nothing to do with them. In fact, it was the lack of Des Cution that drew Valorie into the Inner Beauty Dress Shop.

The four young women inside were very helpful when Valorie explained her situation, girls who Merit would later learn were the other members of the Sentella. They asked a lot of questions about Merit herself; her personality, her spirit, and her beliefs. It struck Valorie as odd that they never asked her a thing about Merit's body, but she was happy to talk about her wonderful daughter. When they produced the dress and jewelry for her, it seemed like they already knew exactly who they were dealing with.

Merit thought the story was weird, but she loved the dress just as much as her mother. She felt bad that her mother had put all this work into finding the perfect dress for her, and she hadn't even asked anyone to go with her. She thought Valorie would be upset when she told her the truth, and she braced herself for her mother's disappointed response. What she hadn't prepared for was the smile and little laugh her mother gave her.

"Like mother, like daughter." Valorie confessed that she was just like Merit when she was still in school. She'd had no desire to go herself when she was Merit's age, and only with the help of her own mother did she finally decide to go. That's where she met Merit's father, a man she loved and married many years later. Merit didn't think she'd have the same storybook result her mother had, but she did decide to swallow her fear and go to the dance after all.

All anyone at school could talk about the next day was the dance that night, and for once Merit was just as enthusiastic. The weird energy that had been building up around the girls in Des Cution seemed stronger than ever, but Merit tried not to pay them any mind. She tried asking a couple of boys to the dance, but they already had dates or were avoiding the dance themselves. Determined not to let that rejection get to her, Merit put on her new dress and headed back to the school after classes finished.

When Merit arrived at the dance, the gym where it was being held was almost wall to wall Des Cution dresses. They ravished in the attention their dates gave them, men who seemed willing to obey their every word and command without question. They treated them more like puppets than people, and Merit could almost swear she saw strings coming from the hands of the Des Cution girls as they ordered around their dates. Luckily for her, Merit had found a small group of people who weren't wearing Des Cution or attached to anyone who was, including four girls who wore dresses and crystals very similar to her own. They seemed like an island of normalcy in a sea of insanity, and Merit was happy to join them.

For a while Merit was able to just talk and enjoy the company of her fellow dancers, not noticing at first when a strange person took the small stage set up in the center of the gym. With long, blood red hair and eyes to match, she introduced herself as the designer Des Cution herself, and thanked everyone who'd bought her designs. A chill ran down Merit's spine when Des Cution explained how her designs would soon spread across the planet and bring everyone under her spell, whether they wanted to be or not. The gym doors all simultaneously closing and sealing confirmed for her that things were about to get very bad.

Everyone of the Des Cution girls and their partners began to dance under Des Cution's direction. They moved in a slow, steady circle as Des Cution laughed, telling her little puppets to dance. A dark, mist-like substance started to emanate from the dancers and gather in the center of the stage above Des Cution. Just being near that mist made the same words Merit heard when that Des Cution girl bumped into her repeat themselves in her head. Des Cution was somehow drawing out the swirling mist into a small cloud above her as she encouraged her dancers to keep going, to give her enough energy to open a Shadow Portal. Then she could envelop them all in darkness and mold them into proper servants so they could spread her design and control across the planet.

Merit thought she was insane, and the four girls in dresses similar to her own seemed just as insane when they started talking about stopping Des Cution. When the girls in front of her suddenly transformed and started sporting wings, animal ears and tails, Merit was beginning to believe maybe she was the one who was going insane. As the rest of the girls worked their way toward Des Cution, Sera explained to Merit that they'd been watching her for a while now, and hearing how Valorie had described Merit had clinched it for them that they had found the fifth member of the Sentella.

Merit didn't understand everything that was happening, but she did get that she was about to take on a very big responsibility, and she wasn't sure she was ready for it. A part of her wanted to run, even though escape was impossible at this point. It was when Sera reminded her of how proud her mother was of her, how she'd seen the brightness and beauty she'd in her daughter that she couldn't see herself, that she decided she would help. With some trepidation, she repeated the same words the other girls had. The Crystal Star she'd been given with the dress began to respond and resonate with her words, and soon she transformed into the dolphin girl that I'd first met.

When Des Cution noticed the Sentella closing in on her, she started her counterattack. Sera tasked Merit with protecting the few unaffected dancers before joining the rest of the girls in their attempts to get close to the villain. Des Cution also commanded a couple of her followers to bring the unaffected dancers to her so she could force them through the growing portal. Merit didn't want to hurt her mind controlled classmates, but she knew she had to do something. She held up her hands and said the first words that popped into her head.

"Bubble Shield!" The air shimmered around Merit and her classmates, the group becoming encased in a large bubble as the first attacker drew near. When she tried to reach Merit, the air around her hands seemed to bend and hold her back. More attackers met a similar resistance, though Merit quickly felt herself becoming tired as they started to pile on. Eventually it just became too much, and with a loud, "POP!", the bubble burst, sending a light mist spreading over the mob.

Merit anticipated she was about to get buried by the attacking student body, so it surprised her when all the people caught in the bubble burst suddenly stopped attacking and seemed to come to their senses. The evil energy surrounding her attacks seem to be washed away by the cleansing mist, disrupting the flow of energy to Des Cution and freeing her entranced subjects. Des Cution ordered more of her subjects to attack, but could do little else as the rest of the Sentella forced their way through the crowds to her.

Knowing what she could do, Merit started making smaller energy bubbles and began hurling them at her incoming classmates. Each bubble burst on impact and sent more of her cleansing magic washing away Des Cution's control over them. For someone who had been so shy and reserved, it felt almost strange to hear the encouragement of her classmates she protected and the gratitude of the ones she freed. Her growing confidence was reflected in her attacks as the bubbles grew larger and stronger.

It was soon clear to Des Cution that she was going to lose this battle. She used what little energy she had managed to save from the dancers and opened a portal just long enough for her to escape, but not before catching one of Merit's bubbles herself. She shrieked as the water splashed her, washing away her make up and hair dye to reveal a very old, decrepit looking woman underneath. With her plans and makeup ruined, she swore her revenge as she dove into the portal.

Merit got a more detailed explanation of what was happening once Des Cution fled, and realized the importance of her powers and her responsibilities. She quickly agreed to join the Sentella in their fight, joining them in the Inner Beauty shop while she helped continue to battle the darkness on her planet. She never told any of her family about what exactly she was doing until the day she left to follow the darkness as it headed for Earth, though Valorie admitted she knew something had changed when Merit came back from her dance that night. Merit was incredibly thankful for all that her mother had done for her, and made sure to check in with her every week.

It was easy to tell that Merit was truly happy for everything that being a part of the Sentella had gave her, and how thankful she was that her mother pushed her to come out of her shell that night. Rachel and I never went to our prom; she didn't have the money, and I didn't have the desire. Maybe if I'd seen Rachel as more than just a friend at the time, I would've made a little more effort, but my feelings for Rachel didn't really evolve into something beyond friendship till close to our high school graduation. All of this I explained to Merit as we headed for the back entrance to the ballroom.

"I'm sorry you ended up missing your prom, though I can understand where you're coming from." Merit smiled as she opened the door for me. "Maybe tonight will be a second chance for you to experience what you missed."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I tilted my head a little, not sure what Merit meant. I stepped forward into the room. If I hadn't made a promise to Merit, and if she hadn't been standing right behind me when I entered the room, I might have turned right around and ran while I had the chance.

"You didn't tell me there was a fashion AND dance show, Merit!" I gulped nervously as I spotted a banner advertising the Sandy Hill All Female Amateur Fashion and Dance Show. Just standing around while I was being evaluated was one thing, but to have to get out and dance in front of a group of people, with my friend and team mate's dream possibly hanging in the balance when I didn't know the first thing about dancing? Becoming a catgirl did give me a boost in confidence, but the thoughts of Merit's dream possibly hinging on my ability to dance was quickly making me a nervous wreck.

"Of course, silly. A dress may be a beautiful piece of art, but unlike a painting or picture, its true beauty is when it's seen in motion." Merit seemed to notice how nervous I was getting as I eyed the dance floor in the middle of the room. "Are you going to be O.K., Aerilla?"

"I-I... u-um..." The fact that I couldn't answer her should've been an answer in of itself.

"I guess you're nervous, huh? Well, don't worry!" Merit reassured me as one of the organizers of the event spotted us and started heading our way. "That dress is especially enchanted to help you fight off any fear or nervousness that might make you freeze up. Besides, you've danced around giant monsters and martial arts masters before, so this should be pretty easy by comparison. You and your partner will do just fine."

"My partner? Wait, who am I dancing with?" I called to Merit as the organizer tugged me on the arm lightly toward where the rest of the models were gathered.

"Don't worry! I think you'll be happy with the special arrangements I made. Good luck, Aerilla!" Merit waved to me before spying the rest of the Sentella and joining them with the rest of the spectators.

"Yeah, thanks..." I gulped nervously as I joined the line of models. They all looked beautiful, confident, and didn't seem like they were on the verge of throwing up like me. "I'm gonna need it..."