Author's Note: Hm... no reviews... guess people aren't liking this one so much.

Hopefully you'll like it better now that the main villain is introduced!

Enjoy!

Seo had been expecting serious trouble.

And was, therefore, unspeakably disappointed when she didn't find any.

"I mean, this place was supposed to be spooky, or monster-filled, or mysterious!" Seo complained. "And instead, it's just… stores! With things inside them! Things you can buy!"

"Yeah," said Dawn. "That's called 'shopping', Seo. It's fun."

Seo threw up her hands. "Fun?! The world hasn't even come close to ending, yet! I haven't seen one thing that's interesting or clever. It's just… stuff! On shelves!" She groaned. "That's not 'fun!' It's boring!"

Which was when Dawn had spotted the cosmetics shop, and shouted, "Oh, Sephora-of-the-Future Alert!" And raced off.

Leaving Alison and Seo behind.

"Looks like she's enjoying it," Alison noted.

Seo slumped against the wall. Crossed her arms.

And sulked.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Alison said. "I mean, granted, I'm not the world's biggest shopping fan, but… well… there is something a little neat about trying on different clothing and make up and things, just to see what looks good."

"Not for someone who can't see herself in the mirror," Seo muttered.

Oh.

Right.

"I liked the other style of shopping," Seo told Alison. "The one with holographic fashion projections that dangled in midair, to help you choose the style you wanted. And with attendants hired specifically to cater to your every whim, who'd give you chocolates and fizzy sodas and things, and input your measurements into the computer manually when the scan didn't work, then help you shop for the clothes that would look best on you and describe your reflection to you when you claimed you were blind."

Alison had to admit.

For someone who couldn't see herself in the mirror… that did seem like a better system.

"And anyways," said Seo, "I don't like the clothes, here. They're not made from fabrics and fibers and whatnot. Just… something… else. Synthetic and a bit sticky. When you wear them, they feel… wrong, somehow."

"Clothes feel wrong?" Alison repeated. "Never pegged you down as a nudist."

She was hoping to get at least a smile out of Seo, or maybe a shove, but Seo just sighed. Her head hung.

"I think I should go home," Seo said. "Check on Mom. Maybe something's happened while we've been gone."

And again!

How many times had Alison heard that this shopping trip?!

"No, actually, I think you're right," Alison said. One way to get Seo to stay — play on her curiosity. "Maybe these clothes are made of something different. But what is it? And how is this place still in business when all the customers are staying away from it?"

Seo looked up. Suddenly interested. "You think it has something to do with the clothes? Their chemical composition?"

Alison shrugged. "You're the expert."

Seo's face bent into a frown. A small smile spreading across her lips, as she thought the matter through. "Maybe not the cause," Seo decided. "But I bet… if we could work out what the clothes are… we could at least come up with a clue…" She sprung forwards. "Think we could find a Bunsen burner for sale, round here?"

Alison grinned. "Yeah. Guessed that your ideal shopping spree would involved melting down the clothes in a science experiment." She chuckled. "Never get tired of you, Seo."

Seo beamed. Then sprinted off into the distance. "Be back with the burner!" she called over her shoulder.

Right.

That was Seo preoccupied, least for a little while.

Time to check up on Dawn, make sure she was properly amused and distracted, and hadn't sunk back into depression and misery while Alison had been away.

Besides. If Seo was off having the time of her life burning clothes… Alison figured she could have a bit of girl-style fun, too, with Dawn. See what became popular in future-style make up, and whether it worked with their complexions.

Dawn was trying on different shades of lip gloss.

"Look at this!" Dawn called back to Alison. She raised up the lip gloss. "See, I can put it on, and then, if I want to take it off…" She pressed a button on the tube, and the lip gloss faded from her face. Dawn turned around, smiling. "Is that cool, or what?"

Alison blinked. "What type of lip gloss is that?"

Dawn turned the tube over in her hands. "Sea Breeze," she read. Reapplied it, then studied her reflection in the mirror. "Who'd name a lip gloss 'sea breeze'? It doesn't look sea-y or breezy."

"Makes you look a bit like Barbie," said Alison.

Dawn spun around. "Wait, seriously?"

"Suppose it's a good lip gloss if you like dunking your lips in plastic," Alison mused. She made a face. "Me? Not so into the Barbie look."

Dawn touched her lips. "Oh my God, you're right! It's, like, plasticky and stuff."

"Maybe you could use it when you want to snog someone with really bad breath," Alison proposed.

"Or someone with paralytic lip-gloss." Dawn looked down at the tube of lip gloss twisting it between her fingers. "Where were you when I met John Hart?" She clicked the switch on the tube, to wipe the gloss away. But the switch just fizzled, and nothing happened. "Hey. It broke."

"Can I help you two?" came a creepily sweet voice, from right beside Alison and Dawn.

They both jumped a mile high, as they spun around to face the shopkeeper. A woman with a gigantic fake smile planted on her face, her hair twisted into a perfect bun, so not a single stray hair was out of place. Even her clothes seemed perfectly wrinkle-free.

Something about her put Alison's teeth on edge.

"How do you people keep sneaking up on us like that?" Alison snapped. "It's very annoying."

Dawn raised up the tube of lip gloss at the shopkeeper. "This thing broke."

The shopkeeper took it from her. Examined it, impartially, then nodded. "Oh, yes. They do that." She tucked the tube into her pocket. Then pointed out the door. "Public toilets are out that door, first right. You'll be able to wash it off in there."

Dawn hopped out of the seat, and rushed out the door.

Alison stayed, a moment. Walking forwards, analyzing the different types of cosmetics on display. Her nose wrinkled, her mind racing.

"Something the matter?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Not… the matter, exactly," Alison said. She turned back to the shopkeeper. "The smell. It's… not a very makeup sort of smell, is it?"

"It is for our line of cosmetics," said the shopkeeper, proudly. She gestured at her own face. "I wear it all the time."

Alison sniffed at the air, again. Then picked up a container of blush, sniffing it, too. "It's sort of… burnt… plastic," she said. Set the makeup down. "And the clothes — they smelled a bit plastic too, come to think of it." Paused. "And the way they moved was sort of like plastic. Come to think of it, the way you move isn't exactly naturally, either." She turned on the shopkeeper. "But you're not an automaton — since you can see Seo. So… what…?"

Alison froze.

As the shopkeeper's hand dropped away. Revealing the barrel of a gun, pointed directly at Alison.

"Don't move," the shopkeeper demanded.

Dawn scrubbed at the lip gloss, in the bathroom.

But… the lip gloss didn't wash off.

No, actually, the opposite was happening. It wasn't being scrubbed off. It was growing. Spreading!

Getting more and more, bigger and bigger, oozing across her face. Dawn began to scrub more frantically, but it just kept spreading, covering her nose, her cheeks, beginning to descend down her neck.

"Help!" Dawn cried, spinning around. "Alison! Se—"

But then it covered her mouth.

Suffocating her. Smothering her. Spreading across her limbs, as dots danced across her eyes, and she struggled to peel it off, punch an air hole, anything! Anything at all!

"In here!" shouted a man's voice.

The door burst open, and Dawn thought she could make out the shadows of three men, in front of her. Then there was a bang sound, and another gooey substance exploded across her, encompassing her, stinging against her skin and pricking at her nerves like a thousand needles…

Dawn screamed.

And panted, on the ground, gasping and struggling for breath.

"Oh, give her some clothes, Timmo!" snapped one of the men. "If she's going to die, she might as well do it with some dignity."

Which was when Dawn realized… she was now strangling-makeup free. And also… extremely naked.

Dawn curled up, her face turning bright red.

Oh, God.

This was not how she'd expected this shopping trip to wind up.

The main guy — Timmo? — tossed Dawn what looked like a jumpsuit, while the frizzy black-haired hot-looking guy behind elbowed the third in the ribs. "Don't tell me you weren't looking," he said, probably low enough that Dawn wasn't supposed to hear. "She's a bit foxy."

The last man just turned away. "I don't gawp at idiots, Zed Square," he said. Switching to a very lethal-looking gun. "Not even attractive idiots."

Then left.

Dawn darted into one of the bathroom stalls, quickly attiring herself in the jumpsuit. God, guys are just… so… guys! No matter what century they're in! Who else would come up with the idea of a clothing-dissolving gun? Of all the…!

Dawn bit back her annoyance.

Whatever the gun had done to her clothes, it had also gotten rid of… whatever that makeup was. And whatever it was doing to her. Dawn zipped up the jumpsuit, and stepped out of the stall. Glancing at herself in the mirror, in the silver-looking jumpsuit.

Okay. So now she looked like a meatloaf wrapped in aluminum foil, she had nearly been smothered by Barbie Lip Gloss, she'd been struck with a clothing-dissolving gun and then leered at by a bunch of guys.

This was so not Dawn's day.

"And now that you're decent," said Timmo, "I think it's time you told me what you're doing here, and what, exactly, you think you're playing at."

"Excuse me!" said Dawn. "You're the ones who got me naked! I was—"

"—in the middle of full Nestene Metamorphosis," said Timmo. "There's only one cure for that, and we administered it. Just in time." He analyzed her, a stern look on his face. "You're looking at me like you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Basically?" said Dawn. "Yeah. I've got no clue."

Zed Square chuckled. "Typical. I used to think that, too. Never knew 3D printers switched from printing things in plastic to using other materials for a reason." He turned, strolled out of the bathroom. "Not until I found out about this place."

Still… no clues.

No idea what they were talking about.

"This is a quarantine zone for a reason, Ma'am," Timmo said. "The Nestene Consciousness has been trying to expand across the Empire for nearly a decade, now, and our quarantine is the only thing keeping it at bay. All you've done, by coming here, is to supply it with a ship and a chance to—"

"What the hell is a Nestene?" said Dawn. "I thought this was a shopping mall!"

Timmo gave her a cold stare. Then turned on his heels. "D was right," he grumbled. "You really are an idiot."