"Gah!" The black-haired girl cried as she fell onto the pavement, her books spilling out of her arms all over the ground. "Ow..."

"Heh! That's what happens when you mess with us!" Standing over her was a tall boy with short brown hair and a solid build. He was grinning, showing off his perfect white teeth. "Isn't that right, Todd?"

"Absolutely!" Standing next to him was another more muscular boy with messy blonde hair. "Thought you could shut us down just cause you've got a good standing with the teachers, huh? Well, too bad!"

"Ugh..." Struggling to her feet, the girl turned around, facing the two boys. "You two think you're so tough, don't you?" she said, glaring at them through her square glasses. "You really think that you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want, don't you?"

The blonde boy, Todd, grinned. "Of course we do!" he said. "Because we can!" He turned to his friend. "What do you think, Bill? Who's going to stop us if we keep on going after her?"

"Well, let's see..." Bill looked around, seeing the terrified faces of the kids around them. "Well, not the other students, since they're clearly to scared to move... we've got a pretty good reputation with the teachers, too, so probably not them, either... our parents would just be proud of us for "asserting ourselves," so they're out..." He grinned once again. "So yeah, I'd say nobody. Which is rather unfortunate for Kayla here, isn't it?"

Realizing that nobody was going to help her, Kayla turned to run away. But she had barely even made it two feet before her arms were pinned behind her back. "Sorry, girl," said Todd, holding her back. "But you're not going anywhere." He turned to his friend. "Bill?"

Still grinning, Bill walked over to where the Kayla's books were lying. "These are some pretty nice textbooks, aren't they?" he said. "It would be a shame if something happened to them, wouldn't it?" He grinned wickedly, before walking over to the river that ran next to the school... and throwing the textbooks in.

Kayla's eyes widened. "No!" she cried, struggling to get away from the two of them. But Todd's grip held her firmly in place, and she could do nothing more than watch as they were carried away by the river's current... floating further and further away until they were gone.

Bill turned back to her. "Poor girl," he said, smiling. "I suppose this will teach you not to mess with us!" He tilted his head, and Todd released her. As soon as he did, she began running over to the river, trying to recover her textbooks... but they were long gone by then. Even if she could get them back, they were likely ruined beyond repair. What was she supposed to do now? There was no way her family could afford to pay for new books for her!

As the people around her began to disperse, she lowered herself to the ground, sobbing quietly. This was the kind of thing she had been living with ever since she had started high school, just a few weeks ago. From day one, Bill and Todd had established themselves as the schools monarchs, ruling with an iron fist. Bill was the really dangerous one; he was clever, athletic, and completely ruthless, a terrifying combination. And his father was absolutely loaded, and a major donor to the school's budget... hence why he never got in trouble for anything. And Todd, his large-muscled, small-minded sidekick, was an absolutely spectacular football player, having been responsible for taking their schools team to the championships for the past three years. So of course, he never got in trouble, either. Because football is totally all that matters in school, Kayla thought with disgust.

She slowly walked home, tears still falling down her face. Why did her school have to be like this? The total imbalance of power was driving her crazy... especially since she seemed to be on the bottom of the scale. Sure, she had a good standing with the teachers, since she was a bright, hard working student... but that didn't help her much in the long run. She even tried to get the teachers to stop giving Bill and Todd so many free passes, hoping that her influence would help her get her way. Of course, it didn't, and when word got out about what she had tried to do... well, things got ugly. And her textbooks ended up in the river.

As she approached her house, her heart sank. What was she supposed to say to her parents about her textbooks? She couldn't afford to buy new ones, and she couldn't tell her teachers what had happened... there was no way they would take her side over Bill's. Sighing, she opened the front door and walked into the family room, seeing her father sitting inside watching TV. "Hey, there, honey," her father said, smiling at her. "How was your day?"

"I..." Kayla shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about it." She lowered her head, sitting down next to him. "Oh, and by the way, I... I need to get new textbooks for school. I know we probably can't afford it, but if there's any way..."

"What?" Her father quickly grabbed the remote, turning the TV off. "Why is that?" He frowned, noticing his daughter's upset face. "Hey... are you okay?" He put his arm around her, pulling her close. "Did something happen?" When she didn't respond, he turned to her, kissing her on the forehead. "Listen. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I love you, and I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to say, okay?"

"I... I..." Kayla didn't want to tell him... but she simply couldn't help herself. Tears streaming from her eyes once again, she finally spilled the entire story to him... the story of how she was confronted, pinned, and had her textbooks stolen from her. As she spoke, her father simply sat there, his arm still around her. Finally, he nodded, standing up.

"I... see," he said, shaking his head. "So that's what you've been dealing with..." He lowered his head, sighing. "Well... I might actually have a way to help you with this."

Kayla gasped, raising her head. "You... might?" she said.

"Well... honestly, I don't know if I should really be using it, but... you're clearly suffering, and I don't want to watch you go through this anymore, so... I'll be right back." He quickly ran up the nearby staircase and disappeared into his bedroom. A few minutes later, he came back, carrying what looked like an old book. "This might give you some tips on how to deal with people like those, okay?"

Kayla took the book from him, frowning. It was a, leather-bound book, one that looked like it was at least a few centuries old. And it didn't even have a title. Was this some kind of a joke? "Um, Dad? What exactly is this?" she asked.

Her father sighed. "That book has been in my family for generations," he said. "It's got a lot of useful things in it... including ways to deal with unsavory people like those two. Just... promise me you won't use it for anything... wicked, okay? I... don't want to see you become like those two."

"Wicked?" Odd word choice aside, Kayla was seriously beginning to question her father's plan. Just what was in that book, anyway? "Well... okay. I'll wait until later, though. I want to get my homework done... well, as much as I can get done without my textbooks, anyway." Getting up, she picked up her backpack, which was stuffed to the brim with binders and notebooks, and carried it up to her room. After she finished, she would begin reading the book, and hopefully find out exactly what it was her father had in mind for her.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The next day, Kayla was standing on the edge of the football field, breathing deeply. She was nervous. Beyond nervous. She really hadn't been sure what to expect from that book, but... it definitely wasn't what she found! She was scared beyond belief... but she was still going to do it. She had to. She couldn't take another day of those two just going around, doing whatever they wanted because they could. It had to stop somewhere. And she'd been practicing this, so she was pretty sure she could do it.

"Alright, team! Great practice tonight! Hit the showers!" Football practice had just ended, and all of the players began running off to the locker rooms. It was time. "Todd!" Yelled Kayla, running after him. "Hey, Todd!"

"Hmm?" Todd turned around, looking down at her. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"I... I just wanted to apologize to you for what happened yesterday," said Kayla. "I... I shouldn't have talked to the teachers about you and Bill like that. It was wrong of me."

"Really?" Todd smiled. "Well, I'm glad you've come to your senses, then. It's good to see that you know your place."

"Yes, I do," said Kayla, nodding. "And I want to make it up to you. I just need you to close your eyes." She smiled. "Go on. I want it to be a surprise.

Todd grinned. "Okay... I guess I could do that..." he said, closing his eyes.

Kayla grinned as well. Todd clearly wasn't the brightest person ever, and now was the perfect time to execute her plan. She took Todd's hands, focusing energy through herself into them... allowing them to change. It was already beginning... black scales were slowly spreading across the backs of his hands, covering the skin entirely. They began moving across his fingers as well, as his fingernails grew into long, lethal black claws. "There you go... how do you feel?"

Todd chuckled, his grin growing wider. Thanks to the magic Kayla was using, he hardly felt a thing... other than a rather pleasuring sensation in his brain, to distract him from what was really happening. The black scales spread across his arms, next, making their way down to his chest and stomach. Interestingly, though, only his front seemed to be changing... his back, the backs of his arms, and even the palms of his hands remained completely human. The black scales spread to cover his legs next... yet once again, the touched only the fronts, leaving the backs scaleless. They began spreading across his feet as well, as his toes merged into four and his toenails grew into large black claws, similar to his fingernails. "If your shoes are uncomfortable, you can take them off," said Kayla. "Just make sure you keep your eyes closed."

Todd nodded, bending over to take his shoes and socks off. As he did, the scales started crawling up his neck, though once again, they only touched the front. His grin became even wider as his face pushed out, growing into a long, reptilian muzzle. His new, longer mouth opened slightly, revealing multiple numerous, sharp teeth. The black scales completely engulfed his face, leaving no trace of human skin. Yet while his face changed, nothing else on his head did. His long blonde hair and ears remained, as human as they could be. From the front, he looked draconic... but from the back, he still looked completely human. "Okay, you're good!" said Kayla. "Open up!"

Todd's eyes opened with a start, snapping him out of his trance. "Wow..." he said, a goofy grin still spread across his muzzle. "I feel great! What did you..." He suddenly stopped, having noticed his hands, both the scales and the claws. Wide eyed, he looked down at his arms, his legs, his feet, seeing more scales, more claws. He reached up to his face, recoiling as soon as he felt the muzzle. "Wha... What the hell did you do to me?" he cried.

Kayla smiled innocently. "I'm just making you more powerful," she said. "Isn't that what you want?" She frowned. "Although... I don't know if I can complete the change like this. I think I may need someone else... someone who you share a special bond with..."

"Hey! Todd!" Almost on cue, Bill came running over to the football field, yelling for Todd. "You done yet? Come on, lets..." He stopped short suddenly, noticing Kayla standing there. "What are you doing with her?"

"Ah, there he is!" said Kayla, grinning. Because he could only see Todd from the back, Bill hadn't noticed anything strange about him... yet. But that was about to change. "Just the person I've been wanting to see!"

"See me? What are you talking about?" Bill sneered. "What do you want to see me for... hey, wait a minute..." Looked around, Bill quickly noticed that he was slowly moving towards Todd... but not because he wanted to. His legs weren't even moving... it was almost like he was floating. "Wha... what are you doing?" he cried. "Why can't I move?"

"But you're moving right now!" cried Kayla, grinning. "You're moving towards your friend! You've almost always shared a brain... and now you actually can share one! Literally!"

"What? But..." Bill felt himself move closer and closer to Todd... and realization finally dawned on him. "Oh god... no... no!" But before he could get another word in, he felt himself crash into Todd, going face first into the back of his head. He was being smothered... his entire body pressing into Todd's, cutting off his air supply. He couldn't breath... but he didn't need to, either. His entire body almost seemed to be disappearing, completely merging with Todd's. In fact, the two were becoming more and more difficult to tell apart.

As his mind changed, Bill's body (or what remained of it, anyway,) was also beginning to change to match Todd's. More black scales appeared, covering his back as well as the backs of his arms and legs. His back arched as two large wings sprouted from it, the membrane almost shining between the bony protrusion. A massive tail sprouted from his backside, covered with spikes and black scales. His hair began falling out, black scales replacing it. His ears seemed to disappear, as two massive horns grew from the back of his head. And all the while, he kept merging with Todd... until the two were indistinguishable from each other. They had become the same person... except that person happened to be a dragon.

Todd looked back at what used to be Bill, panic filling his mind. How was any of this even possible? His friend was disappearing into his body... his arms, legs, torso, and head, sinking into his own. But as the weight added onto Todd's, he felt something happening to his mind... another calming feeling taking over, his previous personality beginning to disappear. The same thing was happening to Bill; as his body disappeared into Todd's, so did his mind. The two boys' minds were merging along with their bodies, completely wiping out their personalities... as new one began forming to replace them.

But the changes weren't over yet. Now the dragon was beginning to grow larger, the combined mass of the two people allowing it to become bigger and bigger. Its fingers began merging, thumbs disappearing as it tipped over, falling to the ground and landing on its forepaws. Whatever clothes remained on the two boys had fallen off completely, as the dragon grew to its full size. Finally, it raised its head proudly, roaring at the sky. It had become the perfect being of power... a large black dragon.

"There you go!" said Kayla happily, walking over to the dragon. "Don't you feel better now?" The dragon looked back at her, almost seeming to smile. "Now, why don't we bring you somewhere else, shall we?" She climbed onto its back, sitting down. "Now, onwards!"

The dragon flapped its massive wings and took off into the sky, carrying Kayla with it. As the flew, Kayla smiled, admiring the view from the sky. Things couldn't have worked out better, she thought. When she had first found out that her father's book was actually a spellbook, she had of course been skeptical. But after reading about the merge/transform spell, she figured she might be able to try it out... and after merging several objects around her room, she decided that it would be perfect to use on those two bullies. Of course, they were both gone now... completely replaced by the friendly dragon that Kayla was now riding on. A fantastic trade in her opinion.

She grinned once again, thinking about what else she could use that book for. Of course, she would have to figure out what to do with this dragon first...