Daisy frowned at the message. "I think your monster is close." She rubbed her hands together and looked around, keeping an eye out for any sort of creature. "Any clue what it is?"

Selena shrugged, then pointed up. Following that, Daisy spotted a large, furry creature hanging from the ceiling. It had long claws, and an elongated snout. Most strikingly, it was dressed in quite the fashionable set of clothing in defiance of its bestial nature, with a sharp top-hat and bowtie.

Daisy jumped back from the creature as its name appeared before her. Vampire Sloth? "That is either hilarious or someone needs to die, or both."

Selena nodded in agreement. "It is a cute beast. And if it has that clothing mutagen, I want it. Dead, I mean." She pointed at the beast. "I wonder if you can just knock it out?"

The creature poked an eye open and looked towards the two girls. A smile appeared on its face as it seemed to realize it had two new playmates.

"Not twice in a day." Daisy stepped forward with a great sweep of her heavy weapon. The sloth barely dodged and slashed her along her stomach with its claws, making her yowl as blood splashed across its fur. It gave another toothy smile.

Daisy wavered, but didn't fall, holding herself up by a mix of stubbornness and fear. She felt a strange tingle that spread over her and something pressed as she gained a new attire entirely, dressed as if for an evening at a gala. "Found the mutagen."

─Mutagen acquired.

"Thanks for repeating me." She ignored the message as she focused her healing energies on herself.

Selena jumped down to the ground, looking up at the beast with her hands out. "I'm sorry if this doesn't work. Please don't kill me if it doesn't." She began to weave a complex illusion, one of herself being torn apart, with Daisy lying dead on the ground.

The sloth looked surprised, sniffing the air and approaching, slowly. True to sloths, its approach was slow, lacking all the energy it had in the middle of the fight. It approached the two girls and Selena winced, but it just licked their fake bodies a moment before it hopped back up to relax on the ceiling.

Daisy casually picked up Selena and slipped from the room. "Nice save, but we do need to maul it to finish this place."

"Do we?" Selena flashed a smile with half-lidded eyes. "You said you got the mutagen. What else do we need?"

"Well..." Daisy frowned at the ceiling. "I guess that is all we need."

Selena grinned, pointing back into the dungeon tunnel. "Then let's get going, shall we? We don't have a reason to risk its claws again, right?" She hugged one of Daisy's powerful legs. "You are just the best, coming with me. I don't think I coulda handled this all on my own." She nuzzled against the soft fur along Daisy's thighs. "You're also so damn sexy."

Daisy blushed and pulled Selena into her arms. "Yeah, well, you were great too." She nuzzled her, um, wife? She shook that thought free as they battled their way to the exit. "You really don't want to see if this place has a spell? That's good for wizards, right?"

Selena nodded slowly. "I'm all for spells, but not at the cost of your health. We know I can get more spells later. I'll be fine." She stroked one of Daisy's long ears. "Besides, we got what we came for. This has been a win, already." She looked down her body with a warm sigh. "I can't wait."

Daisy turned one of those stroked ears towards Selena. "That eager to try that mutagen?" She plucked at her new outfit. "Noticed one thing, this one didn't wear off. Most mutagens slide right off me, but this one's still here, making me look like I made a wrong turn on the way to some ball."

Selena giggled. "You can look through my closet for something you'd like better, but yeah, I can't wait to try it. I've wanted it for weeks now." Selena's voice was practically a purr. "If you can make this whenever you want, I can dress how I want every day. No more of the basic stuff."

Daisy grinned. "That is good. Pity that sloth didn't ask me before deciding my wardrobe for me." She rolled her eyes. "I'll do you the favor at least.

They were almost out of the dungeon when Daisy felt a sharp pain along her side. Her eyes went wide as she realized she was being attacked by something, though she didn't know what. A glance at the message log showed a few lines. She hissed as a new set of slices appeared on her side. "The hell!" She turned quickly, trying to spot what was attacking her. The attacks kept coming.

Selena slipped from Daisy's grasp, clinging close to the wall. "You can do this! Kick it's ass!"

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"What am I even fighting?" She swung her hammer in broad arcs, hoping to hit it with luck alone. She wasn't so lucky.

Selena made a pair of Daisy illusions and sent them down the hall. The attacker didn't take the bait, continuing to focus on the real Daisy. She could feel blood running down her back.

Daisy slammed her hammer into the ground, healing energy bursting from the point of impact in a rapidly spreading circle. Her bleeding wounds closed as she felt the pain of a fresh set of cuts appear. Her shield was battered aside as if it wasn't even there.

"Shit shit shit!" Daisy's swings became desperate, her breathing labored, legs wobbly. She looked to the small hovering window, showing her pheromones turned off. "Dang it." She smacked it with a glare, turning it on as if it could have saved her.

Selena started to weave an illusion, but Daisy fell limp to the ground before she could complete it. Selena let out a scream of frustration, fear for Daisy's life giving her a new sense of desperation. She wove a new spell, but a familiar creature appeared from nothing. The sloth vampire moved in for the prone Daisy.

Selena's spell sent a wall into its face at full speed, sending it flying backwards with a yelp. Selena used another, but the sloth pressed through the illusion, seeing through the trickery this time. "Shit."

Selena raised a dagger, gripping it firmly in both hands. The sloth didn't even hesitate, closing in on Daisy with jaws wide.

Selena heard a crack and the beast flew past Daisy, crashing into the far wall. Daisy picked herself from the ground, huffing with a scowl. "Thanks for the help." She held her hand out to Selena.

Selena nodded, taking hold. Daisy pulled her close, then swung the hammer again. The sloth tried to avoid the attack, but didn't make it. The heavy end of the weapon impacted with the undead, smashing him into the wall with a rapidly forming crater around his form.

Daisy took a few deep breaths, then headed for the exit. Selena gave her a little pat. "You know I can't attack, right? It's an illusionist thing."

"Sure you can." Daisy poked Selena. "But that isn't what you practiced on. That's why you hauled a warrior in here." She hefted up her spellcasting friend onto her shoulders. "Let's get out of here."

They made their way from the dungeon, leaving it behind and the corpse fading away into mist. "That was close."

Daisy nodded, still taking deep breaths, her ears folded back, tail still as stone. "Too close. I was not ready for invisible enemies." She huffed softly. "I let the ball down there, sorry."

Selena held her a little closer. "I'm just happy we both got out alive. That counts as a win for me. We're safe." Her voice was gentle, with a hint of worry.

Daisy pulled Selena for a proper hug as they went. "And we got that mutagen you were hunting for. We get to try that when we're somewhere safe."

Selena nodded, tail swishing. "Yes, we sure do. Thank you again for coming with."

"No problem." Daisy carried her out, setting her down once she was sure they were safe. Outside the cave system entirely, they could see the sun about to set. "We'll camp here. Not going to wander at night." Selena nodded in agreement, though her tail kept twitching. She was eager to try that new mutagen.

They took a few minutes to gather some small game for their meal and got it cooked with a camp fire. Selena sat as close as she could get to Daisy as they ate and watched the flames. They chattered away about little things. Daisy put a hand atop Selena's head. "You're awfully chummy today. Don't mind, no, but what's on your mind?"

Selena sighed and leaned into the hand, nuzzling it slowly. "I really wanted this mutagen. I didn't think we'd find it, or that I'd survive, but you were so confident."

"Confidence almost got us killed." Daisy folded her arms, thinking back on how things had gone. "Good job buying some time there. It could have gone a lot worse."

─Rival Detected!!

Daisy blinked at the sudden alert, looking about. "I have a rival?"

"You have a what?" Selena looked confused.

Daisy shook her head. "I got a new alert. I don't know what 'rival detected' is supposed to mean." She shrugged it off for the moment. "We might want to keep watch while we're asleep. We'll sleep in shifts."

Selena nodded. "I can do that."

A soft rustle was heard in the bushes as a form emerged, quite familiar, yet distinct. Another mouse, with thick glasses, and equally generous assets. She smirked at Daisy, rubbing her hands together. "I knew you couldn't have gone far. Making me come out to find you like that? Rude."

"Who are you?" Daisy looked her over. She did look remarkably like her.

The newcomer snorted and pushed up her glasses. "Who am I? Who am I?" Her tail lashed rapidly. "You know who I am! Or at least what I am. We're the same thing." She thrust a finger at Daisy. "We're brood mice, and you dared to start conquering my dungeon!" Her cheeks flushed. "And what's more, I was about to have a fun time with the dungeon boss, and you swooped in and took him from me."

Daisy blinked, then looked back towards the direction of the caves they had escaped, then back at the brood mouse. "Um."