"Yeah, but this is... this is IMPOSSIBLE!" Adam was aghast, still having trouble accepting the changes to his reality even as he stumbled along behind his sister and their mother. His clothing had transformed as well, it seemed, since he was now wearing tiny sneakers with dinosaurs on the sides and his black Nirvana t-shirt now sported a shark and the nonsense word 'Jawsome!'
Coral tugged him close to her side, gloating a bit at having been proven right so quickly. "You're just going to have to accept it, Adam: magic IS real! If you're nice to me, I can change you back later. I might even let YOU play with the controller too!"
Instantly elated at the thought of returning to his old self, Adam was intrigued when Coral mentioned the option of using the controller himself. "You could turn me back exactly as I was? Or maybe even a little... better? Like, I mean, stronger or taller or something?"
"Yes! It can totally do that! It's MAGIC, Adam!"
They'd reached the car and Katherine was smiling to herself, always happy when her kids were getting along instead of bickering. They'd had trouble conceiving after Coral, but were so glad they could give her a little brother even if there was a larger gap in age than they'd originally hoped for. She buckled Adam into the booster seat he'd only recently graduated into as Coral buckled herself in on the other side, still chatting to her brother about the "magic" device she'd purchased with her allowance money at the strange shop. Katherine and her husband Joe wanted the kids to keep that sense of wonder and imagination for as long as possible, and she loved hearing them talk about the creative worlds they dreamed up in their heads. She climbed into the driver's seat and tuned the kids out slightly as she wondered what Joe might be making for dinner tonight.
Coral leaned towards Adam's seat, showing him the controller and the options on the screen. "See, it shows you, me and mum, I think because we're within it's range or something. And watch: you can adjust the height, weight, age, even hair color and I think there's more if you click these dots at the end... yes! Eye color, 'attributes'... what's that? Oh! You shouldn't see that, Adam, that's boobies and stuff!" Adam rolled his eyes, thinking that it was Coral that shouldn't be seeing some of those options. He still remembered being 15, even if it had started to feel strangely natural being in this 5 year old body.
"Watch, I'll change Mum's hair from blonde to... black! And you'll get to watch the magic work!" Coral went back to the overall settings and changed a few:
AWARENESS: Other: User and Adam Only
TIME LIMIT: Until Manually Reverted
LENGTH OF CHANGE: 5 seconds
PAIN - PLEASURE SCALE: 5-N/A No Feeling
As she clicked to SUBMIT CHANGES both kids looked up to watch the back of their mother's head. Instantly, from the roots down, a wave of darkness changed her golden locks to a shiny black, taking exactly the allotted 5 seconds to reach the tips. As she glanced right to make a turn, they could see that her eyebrows had followed suit, giving her a whole different look from her usual. Adam turned to his sister with wide eyes, but then gasped as he realized the changes had somehow affected her as well! Coral's hair was now a dark brown and slightly curly, making her blue eyes really pop in her pale complexion.
"You... your hair changed too, Coral!"
"What?" she asked, looking up from the controller and pulling some of her hair in front of her face where she could see it. "Oh wow! It's pretty! But I didn't change my profile at all! How did that happen? And yours is still the same, so what gives?"
Adam had an idea "I think changing Mum's hair meant that we were born with darker hair like her, or at least you were. Da's still got blond hair so maybe I just take after him?" he tapped his little pointer finger against his lips. "This means there are ripple effects to the changes we'll have to contemplate. I mean, when you altered my age everything around us changed to accommodate that and make it seem to have always been that way..." he leaned back in his seat, squeezing his eyes closed as it all sank in. "Oh geeze! I guess magic really IS real!"
"That's what I've been SAYING, silly!" Coral swatted her little brother gently on the arm, excited by the thought of all the things they could do with her new toy.