Author's Notes: Hey all! This chapter is for my pal Active Gal! I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer, so tell me what you think. And don't forget to review!

"MEW MEW CARAMEL…" I raise the pendant to my mouth and brush it with my lips. "METAMORPHOSIS!" Instantly an orange glow surrounds me, melting my clothes away. I'm surrounded by orange! I used to ice skate when I was little, but not any more. I'm ice skating now, though- backward crossovers, waltz jump, balancing on one foot. My background music has a fast beat, a jazzy melody played by xylophones and cymbals. I launch into the air and the orange glow turns into an orange dress- a few inches past my knees, spaghetti straps. Some sort of tail pushes its way through my dress. As I 'land' I don't know what to think about: the fact that I just landed a quadruple axel or how INSANELY HAWT I look. My hair turns bright orange and grows even longer. Impractical orange snakeskin stilettos with ribbons that lace up just below my knees appear on my feet, and orange snakeskin gloves cover my hands. An orange ribbon winds around my throat, and my pendant jumps onto it. I finish by tossing my hair and putting a hand on my hip.

The snake/spider thingy rears back on its hind legs and hisses at me, then leans down to attack. Something tells me I'm not fast enough to dodge, so I block the blow with my tail. My tail is ugly, giant, covered in orange-brown scales! Even so, it makes a decent shield. But, I've got the feeling that it'll give out soon. Time to go on the offensive. I take a deep breath. "Caramel Sword."

Nothing happens.

"I said, Caramel Sword!" I say a little louder. Jeez, what's wrong with this thing? Hurry up and appear, stupid magical sword! I take another deep breath and open my mouth to speak. But suddenly, words pop into my head, and I end up saying those words instead. "CARAMEL HARP!" I place my hands a few inches apart, and a harp appears in my hands- star-shaped, orange, golden strings, and a strap to carry it over my shoulder. What the… Where the heck is my sword? I wonder, looking down at the harp in UTTER DISBELIEF. I can't fight evil with a harp! I'm too cool for a harp! This isn't fair! I'm the beautiful, wonderful, 100% perfect Karumeyaki Hayashi, and I get a harp? What is this horrible situation?

"ROAAAAAR!" Uh-oh. I look down at the harp. Guess I'll just have to wait till I get some Mew Aqua. For now, though, the Caramel Harp will have to do. I take another deep breath. As the Chimera Anima attacks again, I yell at the top of my lungs: "RIBBON, CARA-MEL-ODY!" I bend sweetly over the star-shaped harp as my delicate fingers pluck out a melody, a slowed down and much higher version of my transformation music. Music notes flow from the strings and circle around the Chimera Anima. There's a flash of orange light, and bye-bye giant creepy thingy. Just an ordinary spider, an ordinary little green snakelet, and a glowing alien jellyfish, which Masha eats. Hey, I wonder, where did Masha come from?

"Ichigo, are you sure it's here? My feet are getting blisters!"

"I'm pretty sure I sensed it around here, Minto."

I hear voices and footsteps from somewhere nearby. Masha flies off through the trees, squeaking excitedly. A few seconds later, I hear, "This way Ichigo! Masha says go this way!"

"What is it, Masha?" an elegant voice asks.

"Is it a Chimera Anima na no da?"

"Masha saw a new Mew! Masha saw a new Mew!"

Five figures and one pink flying puffball enter the clearing, dried leaves rustling under their feet.

"Ohmigosh," I breathe. It's the Mews! They're just as pretty in real life as they are on TV. I'm prettier though, of course. I sling the Caramel Harp over my shoulder and run up to them. "Hello. My name is Karumeyaki Hayashi. You can call me Karu-chan, since we're going to be best friends. Of course, I'll probably end up becoming the new leader, but you can still call me Karu-chan and- oh, did I just say that out loud? Anyway, I'm Mew Caramel, and I've been a fan of yours for ages. I-"

I stop, noticing with my usual perceptiveness that Mew Strawberry is giving me a weird look.

She wrinkles her nose and takes a step forward. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," I say politely. "But…"

I take a closer look at her face. There really is something familiar about the pink Mew. Suddenly, it hits me.

Mew Strawberry. Ichigo Momomiya.

They're the same person.