She sniffed the mouth of the glass vile. Smells very...watery.

"What are you doing Angela?" Grendel asked, coming up from behind.

"I'm sniffing this 'special water'. Why?"

"Why indeed. What do you smell?" She perked her black ears.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It just smells like normal water full of naturally occurring nutrients like chlorine and fluoride." The sarcasm wasn't wasted on Grendel. She leapt onto Angela's shoulders, taking a whiff as well. Vivi groggily rolled in her sleep, moaning in her froggy voice. This was the second day of the water treatment, and so far Vivi showed no signs of improvement.

"I suppose we ought to wake her up and give her the last half." said Grendel, hoping down. She pranced over to the bed where Vivi snored and used the tip of her tail to tickle the frog, causing her to jump into the air. She landed safely on the bed's surface with a bounce and a glare at Grendel. "She's all yours Angela."

"Okay Vivi, say 'aaahhhh'." Annoyed, the frog lobbed Angela sharply on her side. She squeaked with the sharpness of the tag. "All right, all right, you're the worst patient ever. Just drink up," she poured the clear liquid down Vivi throat and stood back, anticipating the final transformation. Just like in the movies.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe it takes a while to work?" suggested Grendel, lifting her shoulders. "Let's not get frantic yet." But it was too late for Vivi, whose eyes were welling up with wetness. Angela couldn't help but feel for the witch.

I know how it is, being trapped in a situation you don't like. "Please don't freak out Vivi. Grendel's right, let's give it a chance to...digest?"

Vivi was inconsolable, and her loud croaking wails echoed off the walls. Grendel's ears were bent in protest as she ran for the door and scratched at the framing. "Get me out of Angela! My hearing is more acute than yours!"

She dashed for the door and opened it just enough for Grendel to slip out. Even through the small gap Vivi's cries caused a flock of birds nearby to scatter in fear. She left the door cracked and returned to the hot pink mess on her bed. She lifted the frog up and carried her back and forth in the room like a baby, rubbing and patting her back and whispering soothing words and phrases.

"C'mon Vivi, don't cry. It's not over yet. We'll figure something out, so big smiles!" She held her out in front of her face, but the frog exhibited anything but a smile. Angela figured she just had to cry it off, so she took Vivi outside for some fresh air while she tended to her fields.

The turnips were coming in nicely, but weren't ready to be harvested. Grendel basked in the sunlight while she groomed herself. Yuck. Angela gave the cat her privacy and watered her plants. At least Vivi seems to have calmed down some. Now's a good time to spring Plan B on her.

"Vivi," Angela knelt down to face the frog, who sniffed in her misery. "I know you don't like the guy, but this spell is way over mine and Grendel's field of expertise. We need to consult the Wizard for help."

Vivi turned away, fuming. Angela has put up with Vivi's mood swings for two days now, even though she did everything in her power to make the divalicious frog comfortable: she brought her sweets, fluffed up her bed with extra pillows and blankets, ended up giving the bed up completely to sleep on the floor, earning her a swipe from Grendel's claws, and even bought a TV so she could have something to occupy her time. Nothing short of curing her condition made Vivi the least bit happy. Angela was at her wit's end, and Grendel was searching cook books for fried frog legs. She invited her into her home and she wasn't going to take sass any longer, especially not from a frog.

"Look at me Vivi! Unless you enjoy living your life as a frog-and I get the feeling you don't, even though I can't speak 'frog'-you'll have to swallow your pride and ask for help. Everyone needs help once in a while, even Grendel."

"What?" Grendel's grooming was interrupted at the sound of her name.

"Nothing." She waved her hand, and Grendel resumed. "So drop the puss and let's boogie." She scooped the frog up in her arms, and Grendel trotted behind them, still feeling filthy.

"Knock harder," suggested Grendel, the three of them stuck out in the middle of Harmonica town trying to get a response from the Wizard. They looked a sight: a black cat, a pink frog with a pointy hat, and Angela, covered in dirt.

She obeyed and pounded into the door with the side of her fist, really putting up a fight. "He might not be home right now."

"I am," a voice floated down from the Wizard's roof. All three girls jumped, and Angela nearly dropped Vivi on Grendel. The wizard stood towering before them, a watering pail in his hands. That was when Angela noticed the wizard had his own little garden right on his roof; delicious fruits and vegetables were bountiful.

Angela was flustered. "Um... hi there Mr. Wizard! My name is Angela, I was wondering if we could have a moment of your time?" But he wasn't looking at Angela; instead his gaze was fixed on Grendel's. Angela couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt some kind of communication transpired between the two. A chill ran up Angela's spine, and Vivi seemed to feel the same. When the silence was bordering on awkward, the wizard turned around and disappeared behind a door. Moments later he opened his front door and invited the troupe in.

She couldn't get enough of his house-it was like stepping into a fantasy book! Elaborate maps and paintings hung on his walls, charts of constellations were scattered here and there, unknown liquids rested in bottles on a table, there was even a crystal ball in the center of the room. What really dominated her attention was the gigantic telescope that crowned the house on the loft, the lens of which stuck gingerly out the large bay windows. It looked to be well taken care of, even polished, compared to many of the other items in the house (minus the crystal ball). Angela made turns in the center of the floor, taking in every little detail.

"Oh wow..." she was suddenly self-conscious about her shabby little farm, as if he were coming over that evening for dinner and she hadn't tidied up at all. "This is really amazing." Crystals in all colors and sizes hung from aged leather straps in the windows, casting a rainbow of color on the walls and floors. Of course, Angela had always been known back home to be easily impressed.

"...Thank you," he mumbled, looking pained by their presence. It only added to Angela's self-awareness issues, and her face reddened further. Are we really that terrible?

"Angela, we're not here to socialize," said Grendel. She was surprised the cat spoke so clearly in front of another person, preferring to keep her uncharacteristically linguistic skills a secret. Then she remember the exchange on the front step, and figured the wizard knew Grendel wasn't your run-of-the-mill feline.

"Right. Mr. Wizard..." she went into the whole story of the witch's attempts to summon the Harvest King, it's obvious backlash, and the meeting with the Goddess. "And the water has yet to work, although she's now drank it all." She pulled out the empty bottle and handed it to their host. "Does it take more time to kick in or will she need some other cure?"

He closely examined the glass, peering into the mouth of the bottle, and almost smirked. Angela caught that, though she decided he likely meant to keep that show of humor a secret. He handed the glass back to Angela. "...She will need a potion. I require...ingredients. I need you to fetch them." He took out a slip of paper and quickly jotted down a short list: Perfect butter, good cornmeal, and a hibiscus flower. She knew next to nothing about potions, but the ingredients seemed a out of left field, more like a shopping list than the needed items to reverse a body-altering spell.

She took the paper from the wizard and smiled. "Thank you Mr. Wizard." He showed them the way out, and didn't even bid them farewell when Angela whole-heartedly thanked him again and wished him a good day. She felt a little hurt by the wizard's brazen attitude. I wonder why he's like that? Well, at least Vivi stayed quiet. She remained still as a statue in Angela's arms; if it weren't for her heart beat, that's exactly what Angela would've thought she was. I guess she finally admitted to herself that we had no choice. I for one didn't mind...

"Are you day dreaming about 'Mr. Wizard'?" Grendel mocked, smirking a cat smirk.

"What else could I call him? 'The Wiz'? And what was up with you staring at him like that?"

She purred. "He's a very astute magic user. He knew I wasn't really a cat from the get go."

"I figured that out the moment you opened your mouth right in front of him. But I could tell there was more to it than that." She stopped walking and stooped down to eye level with Grendel. "Do you have a crush on the wizard?"

"Of course not," she spat, "you know that."

"It's been ten years Grendel. I don't think he's after you anymore. It's okay to be a person...and to fall in love again."

"I prefer being a cat. Most people don't like cats, so I'm left alone."

"I love cats."

"I know, that's why I assumed this form."

"Oh Grendel! I knew you love me!" She swept the cat off her four feet while holding Vivi in the other arm. Grendel squirmed in her arm, even gripped Angela's flesh with her claws, but nothing would stop the necromancer from snuggling her face into her black fur. "Don't you dare deny it!"

"Don't you dare force me to slip rat poison in your mouth while you sleep," she was able at last to free herself and began to make her way down the path towards home. Angela jogged to catch up as the sun began to set. "Anyway, how are we to gather these ingredients? It isn't the season for growing corn, so checking cornmeal off the list first is out of the question. You don't have a cow, nor do you have the means of purchasing and raising one, so no to the butter. And the boats that commute back and forth from Castanet to Toucan Island have not returned to port. I we've gone straight from the frying pan into the fire."

"Faith Grendel. Just like the Harvest Goddess has in me."

"The next time someone pays you a compliment I'm scratching their eyes out."

Vivi nodded in agreement, and Angela whined about the lack of confidence all the way home. None of them had any idea that high up on a cliff on the outskirts of Harmonica someone was watching their every move.