Cloudia pondered this.
"...Okay, um, three girls who are statues? I don't know if you can hear me but if you can, well, you heard me read the letter there, yeah? It said I'd be forced to try again if I try to leave so..."
She shrugged.
"I'm going to try it."
She proceeded to the exit door, and reached for the handle.
"...It's probably all a bluff anyway. This is obviously some sort of game so I can try and leave and the punishment won't be too big."
Clouda was correct, for the instant she touched the handle, it occurred.
She immediately began to shrink. Her clothing did not.
"...Craaaap."
Down and down she went, vanishing into the ever growing tent that had been her blue dress.
"...Great, now I'm tiny, a woman, and naked, and the only person I know here is the only one who stays a statue. This sucks."
At this, a small pink doll sized frilly dress and a similalry pink doll sized swimsuit dropped out of the air and into the open neck of the piled dress.
"...It's better than nothing."
Moments later, an embarresed, and twelve inches high, Cloudia dashed out of her clothes wearing the pink dress and the swimsuit.
She stared up at the glowing shapes. On the now very tall pedestals.
"...How am I supposed to reach them?!"
Tiny rope ladders promptly dropped down from each pedestal. Cloudia sighed.
"Fine. Whoever the hell is behind this, I hate you."
She climbed the nearest one, looking up to try and see who it was. She couldn't remember )or tell thanks to the glow) and her small size made the distant name plaques on the others hard to read.
"Here goes..."
She touched the shoe of the girl she stood beside.
Nothing.
"...Great, I have to touch skin?"
She began to climb the socks, feeling very nervous over what would happen when the girl reverted to find a tiny man-turned-woman climbing her socks.
"...Please don't panic and throw me across the room or something."
Cloudia touched.
Kyonko blinked, and then groaned.
"I feel really stiff... Hey, tiny person, you don't need to worry about me kicking you off, I can hear you."
"Really? Great!"
Kyonko reached down, and picked Cloudia up gently. The blonde felt nervous, but realised Kyonko wasn't a threat quick enough.
"Okay, and now I can hold you up to the rest, we can introuduce ourselves, and I can laugh at you doing that."
"...Come on, it wasn't that funny!"
"I've been there four weeks after Haruhi said it was my duty even if I was a girl now..."
Cloudia wondered what this meant... But decided not to ask yet.
With the others reverted, and laughter at Cloudia's expense, they introduced themselves, with Cloudia on Kyonko's shoulder.
"Well, I'm Kyonko... For some reason any time I try to say my real name I keep saying Kyonko. I blame Haruhi for that..."
"Er, who is Haruhi?" Cloudia spoke up.
"Haruhi is the girl that was with him... her..." The green-haired woman said.
"Yes... I was a guy before but that Venus door... Anyway, I'm just a school student, and I have no idea what is going on here." Kyonko finished.
"I'm Rinoa. I came here with my boyfriend Squall and like Kyonko, I have no idea what's happening. And like Tifa there I won the argument with... Well, I guess he's my girlfriend now wherever he went to. Since it's been six hours I'm betting she got stuck somewhere..."
"...You're okay with her suddenly being a girl? What if it's permanent?" Green-haired asked.
Kyonko and Cloudia glared.
"...We'll see." Rinoa ended.
"Well, I'm Rydia. I'm a summoner, and I discovered none of my magic works at all..."
"Oh, shoot, I never tried..." Rinoa realised.
Nothing happened.
"...Carry on."
"...As I was saying, I came here with my friend Edge...Yeah, she's a girl too, much to her shock since she hit on everything in a skirt before. Quite the confusion for her I bet. Now it's Little Miss Tiny's turn."
"I'm Cloud. I'm still a guy mentally so that's enough for me. I also seem to be a complete idiot and I really hate this doll's swimsuit..."
"Okay, now we're friends lets go?" Kyonko said.
The door this time shrank no one, but Rinoa collected Cloudia's clothing.
"Hey, Cloudia, how about we rename you Polly?" Rinoa teased.
"...How did you... Ugh, you heard Tifa." Cloudia groaned.
"Why Polly?" Rydia asked.
"She's like Kyonko's parrot."
"...I don't get it."
The exit was a stairwell, leading into a small courtyard.
"...Well, at least it's not doors..."
There were four gates leading out of the courtyard. One gate claimed to lead to the Maze. One clamed to lead to the Treasury. One claimed to lead to the Menagerie. The final gate claimed to lead to the Store.
"...Well, what are the odds if we ask which way, the four of us will each pick a gate all to ourselves?" Kyonko sighed.