Marylou Marzipan

“Come on everyone!” Evelina stuck her head back out the door and beckoned for the others to enter the candy realm.
Alex shrugged, took a sip of the liquid, passed it on, shrank – trying to notice how it felt to be different heights on the way down – and, when he was small enough, stepped through the door.
The others followed soon after.

“Wait, have you drunk?” He asked a confused looking Jade as she stepped through the door. “You look the same, have you shrunk?”
She boffed him on the arm, and he wasn’t sure if she was amused, or genuinely annoyed at his ‘joke’ about her height. She wandered off, shaking her head.

“Hey, dude…” Jaxx approached him, somewhat sheepishly, and blushing. “I uh, I wanted to say sorry for looking up your girl’s skirt and all” he said, with a little cough.
Alex frowned. “Uh thanks, but comprehend…”
Jaxx tilted his head, listening. Plisken was also listening intently, his eyes fixed on Alex.
“She ain't my girl…” continued The Fool. Plisken raised an eyebrow. “She’s my…” the long-haired jester winced. “She’s my... F-f-friend” he forced the word out, then quickly looked away as he noticed a couple of people smiling.
Plisken nodded, his expression conveying an approving wisdom.

Alex coughed awkwardly then looked back at Jaxx.
“Anyway, Sharky, no need for apologi's…”
“No?”
Alex’s eyes crinkled briefly in apparent mirth. “Weren’t her skirt, it was 'is!” He hiked his head towards Plisken who waggled his bushy eyebrows.
"Oh... That explains the bloomers..."

“Guys!” Jamie called over to them. “Look!”
Plisken looked around. “Yeah, I can see, it’s a place made of sweeties. When I'm hungry I'll let you know.”
“No.” The green-velvet clad guy shook his head. “I mean look at US. We're changing!”

The Dwarfers checked each other out. Not only had they shrunk to the right size to fit through the door, they were now transforming further…
... Into children.

“Oh my Science, Lanky Locks!” Exclaimed Artemis – whose voice was becoming strangely higher. “… You’re adorable!” He pinched a handful of Alex’s now more-freckly cheek.

“Hahaha! Find a mirror if you can…” Alex began giggling uncontrollably. “… You’re pretty cute yourself science man!”
“Oh and just how am I supposed to find a mirror with these spaghetti legs?”

“Hey doods…” Said a sweet little Jaxx, wheeling something over to them. “Maybe we can put Artie in this kart.”
"Yas!" Young Artie seemed keen on the idea.

The Dwarfers were still pretty much themselves, but, in their child-bodies, they were feeling the relaxed summer-holiday joy of childhood non-responsibility.

“Wahaha!” Squeaked a tiny Jade. “Look at Jay!”
Everyone looked at Jay, who was suddenly wearing short pants and was very cute indeed. He sat down and began to cry because everyone was looking at him. It was hilarious.

The other Dwarfers all sat down on the floor with him. and began rolling around in laughter. Even little Chrysler himself, whose sobs soon turned into gasps of hysterical laughter.

“Ahaha! Ahh, look at the shape of the clouds!” A happy mini-Jacky pointed to the ‘sky’.
“I know, right.” "Sweet!" Evelina and Jaxx grinned, lie back, and began cloud-watching with him.

--
Tregard smiled at yet another splendid distraction. Encouraging the travellers into this bonus stage, and turning them into children, had been a stroke of genius. The Lords would be very happy indeed. Almost as happy as these giggling imbeciles.
--

“Hello!” Said a friendly, happy young voice, interrupting the Dwarfers' giggles.
“My name’s Marylou Marzipan, but most people just call me ‘Em’, short for ‘M & M’.”
The Dwarfers looked over at her. “Who are you?” Jay demanded, hands on hips.
“I just told you, doi!” She retorted.
The others began to laugh again.
“Shut up!” Jay shouted. And, still respecting him as their leader, they did. For the few moments their kiddy attention-spans would let them.

“Now then, I take it you’re here for the race?” Marylou enquired.
“Race? What race?” Artemis said, excited and caressing the go-kart.
Marylou studied his wobbly legs and frowned. “We’ll have to get you fixed up first. Here, eat this.”
She shoved something which looked like a Bassett’s Liquorice Allsort in his mouth. His legs almost instantly sprung back into shape, and working order.

“Why, I could kiss you!” He exclaimed and made to embrace the girl. “Eww! Cooties!” She cried, to further baby-Dwarfer laughter.

“Come on everyone,” she said, undeterred in her mission and wiping her face with a stripy sleeve, “I’ll show you where you can make your cars!”

“This could be a risk…” Alex said, serious for a moment.
“… But let’s do it! Come on Plisk!” He galloped over and grabbed Plisken’s arm, pulling him forward.

... Then he noticed the 'old man' didn’t have a beard any more and was as cute as a button.
He sat down on a candy rock and laughed till he cried.

Marylou rolled her eyes, impatient at the ridiculous new kids. It was like everything was fresh to them, like they hadn’t been children for over three million years or something.
She huffed a lock of hair out of her face and folded her arms.
"Have we quite finished?"
The others nodded, trying to be serious.

"... Babies."
--
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<Tag all! Prob needs editing. Written quickly before 20.00 phone call.>