I decided to try the obvious first.

I distinctly remembered Misery having a throne room of sorts just a short ways up the balcony. I didn't know if the room was still in use, but there was no reason not to check.

I was still being led on by impulses. They had led me to the island, and now they were leading me to Misery, two things my mind would not have considered doing. I really didn't like the island at all, as far as I could remember. I remember saying to quote, "I hate this island and every living thing on it!"

It wasn't true. My family was on the island. Toroko was on the island. But still, I said a lot of things I didn't mean in order to deal with my present bad situation.

I got to Misery's throne room. The great stone chair sat in the center, but Misery wasn't there. I had no way of knowing if the witch lived here anymore. She could have, and simply been out at the moment. Or she could have abandoned the room after she was freed from the spell of the Demon Crown. I turned around and left, heading for the nearest entrance to the vast network of caves.

So now I had determined that had returned to the place I hated to seek out the being who had cursed me. To my mind, it made no sense at all, but my mind was too lethargic from my recent depression to argue with the random impulses leading me on.

I dropped down, landing with a crunch in a garden patch in the plantation. The area was mostly deserted now, the enslaved mimigas who had worked here before had now all returned safely to the Mimiga Village. I began to wonder which way to go next, but I didn't have to make a decision.

An immediately recognizable figure flew overhead. I realized my chance and called.

"Hey! Misery!"

The witch stopped in mid flight and swooped down. I had not spoken to misery since I became human again, and since she was freed from the Crown's power. I had no idea if she would recognize me, or how she would act.

She landed in front of me, and sized me up with a confused glance.

"You look… familiar. But… what's another human doing on the island now?"

I crossed my arms. "Come on now, Misery, don't you remember? The doctor turned the both of us into his minions for that last battle with Quote."

The memory hit Misery immediately. "Then you're Sue? But I thought I turned you into a mimiga!"

I smirked. "My mother's science knowledge was able to undo that quickly enough."

Misery stared at me. "Well… come back to my chamber I guess." She said finally. "We can talk."

There was a flash of light, and Misery and I were suddenly standing in the throne room again.

"Now," said Misery, still eyeing me suspiciously. "Why did you return? What do you want from me? You can't possibly want me to break the spell on you, because you've already had that taken care of."

I wasn't really sure what to say. Heck, I still had no idea why I had searched Misery out in the first place. So that's exactly what I told her.

Misery scowled. "You come all the way back here and track me down to tell me you don't have anything in particular to say to me?"

"Well," I corrected. "It's not that I have nothing to say. I just have no idea why I decided to say it to you. My gut just kind of commanded it."

"Fine," she mumbled, twirling her staff between her fingers. "What is it then?"

I thought hard about what I wanted to say. "It's just… ever since the incident on the island, I haven't been able to readjust to my life. Everything is exactly how it was before I even visited this place, but I don't feel the same there anymore. The only conclusion I could come to is that something changed about me on this island, and the only way I could get my life back on track, back on any track, would be to come here and find out what that is."

Misery nodded. "Cute sob story, but why come to me? I'm certainly not going to shower your sad life with meaning."

"You seemed the only logical person to bring this to," I said. "I can't take it to the mimigas; I'm not a mimiga anymore. Quote, Curly, and Balrog aren't here. That leaves you."

Misery frowned. "I'm not sure I have anything to offer you," she said. "That whole incident with the doctor went badly for all of us. My mother is probably more into the sentimental stuff, but I'm not sure you were even acquainted with her."

As I soon learned, the old woman, Jenka, was Misery's mother. I had never met Jenka, but Quote had told me about her briefly. Quote apparently knew about this relationship himself.

"I don't need to talk to Jenka," I said. "Jenka had nothing to do with what happened to me here. You're the only one left who did."

"But what do you want me to do about it?" Misery asked, clearly getting exasperated. "I have no words of wisdom to calm your soul! It's not like I turned into a being of perpetual joy or some such nonsense as soon as the Demon Crown was destroyed! I'm still just the same Misery! So, if you want something from me, all I can do is slap you around and tell you to get over it!"

I was shocked by what came out of my mouth next. Nothing up to this point indicated at all that this was even an option. But somehow, to my own complete shock, I said it anyway.

"Or you could turn me back into a mimiga."

Misery stared blankly at me for several seconds. "Why on Earth would you want me to do that?" she asked incredulously. "I thought you hated being a mimiga."

I started to respond, "I did," but the random forces that had led me to do all this other stuff told me to refrain. I started to think aloud about it. Misery listened carefully.

"After I was first turned into a mimiga, all I cared about was changing back again and getting off the island. I assumed that was the only option, and had to be accomplished immediately. I put no thought toward the fact that I was a mimiga, because all I concentrated on for the whole ordeal was changing back and getting away. I assumed, without checking to see if my psyche agreed with me, that that was exactly what I wanted. But as soon as I returned home, human again and free from all the troubles of the island, I felt worse. So I'm just now starting to wonder… could I have missed something important about myself while I was here?"

Misery seemed to catch on. "Are you saying…" she said tentatively. "That perhaps, you wanted to be a mimiga, but didn't notice it in your haste to return to normal?"

"Sort of," I responded. "I don't think I always wanted that though. I was satisfied with my life before coming here. So why…"

Misery cut me off with a long, loud laugh. "I get it now!" she squealed in devious delight. "Your mother changed your body back to a human, but she can't change the fact that on the inside, you've been a mimiga since the day I cast a spell on you. You don't feel comfortable in your own human skin anymore, because truthfully, regardless of your outside appearance, you aren't a human! You're a mimiga!"

Misery doubled over in laughter. Clearly, her previous remark about herself was true; just because she's no longer cursed doesn't mean she has to go around sympathizing with people.

I considered the fact for a moment. It seemed pretty clear that the witch's explanation was right on target. I considered whether I should be mad at Misery, but decided that the fault belonged more with the doctor for ordering this, and he'd already gotten his just desserts.

Misery finally quieted down. I looked her seriously in the eyes.

"I want to test it," I said resolutely. "I think you may be right. I want to find out if it's true."

A tight smile formed on Misery's face. "Fine by me, girl," she said. "Here we go."

She waved her staff, engulfing me in a sphere of white light. It lasted only a few seconds, but when it cleared, the transformation was obvious; I didn't even have to look at myself.

I was, once again, a mimiga.