Strange magic (Charizard Tf)

This was Halloween. A collection of crazily dressed children (and sometimes teenagers looking to throw a few eggs at some buildings) roaming from house to house for sweets. A couple of parents would shepherd them between the sites, finding time to gossip while their little sweethearts ran up to the doors and were either rewarded with the sugary stuff to gorge themselves silly with later or tricked in some manner, often by water balloons, to go running back to their mummies as if the end of the world was nigh. It was a night some people revelled in and a night others dreaded. For Ricky, it was neither.

What made Ricky different, as he went from house to house filling his own pumpkin bucket, was that he was a solitary ghost. Or rather dragon, for that’s what he had decided to dress up as: a dull green one where only his face could be vaguely seen in its large jaws: a dark face with eager eyes and panting mouth from too much running. For the fact was that Ricky had no friends: he had only recently arrived in this new town. Due to him being actually quite a quiet child with an eccentric imagination and a love of dragons, nobody found much they could relate to and left him be, to fly as an imaginary beast on the playground. His parents couldn’t help much with Ricky’s problem: his mum was a nurse so often came back late and his dad worked at a TV Station during the night. His teachers were getting to know him just as much as getting to know everyone else. To the local shop keeper, he was just another kid. Ricky supposed he didn’t mind, he had his brain to help him think of stories or scenarios which he would get wrapped up in, but it did get a little lonely at times.

He was about to pass another house, when it caught his eye. Despite the fact that he rarely paid attention, he had listened to the story of 42 Elm Road: a house that no one had lived in for years due to some sort of dispute as to who actually owned it. So why then, in a rather ordinary detached house with a somewhat scruffy garden, was there a light in the room Ricky presumed was the lounge? What’s more, why was this light changing colour? One moment, it was orange, then black, followed by blue, then cream. Maybe a couple of kids like him were playing around in a spooky house? Either way, Ricky wanted to investigate.

Subtlety wasn’t Rickey’s way, for whereas someone else might have carefully peeled open the door, creaked their way across the hallway and peer through a key hole at whatever horror might be inside (or better yet, not go in the house at all and move away), he barged into the door, flinging it on its hinges, whizzed round the corner and slammed into the room. The sight that beheld him was something worthy of his imagination.
There, covered on the walls, were some dark blotches of various colours, almost like paint, but bubbling away as they trickled down the surface. Then, across the wooden floor was all sorts of bottles, beakers and tubs filled with all kinds of liquid, most unrecognisable but Ricky was sure two were water and strawberry milkshake. Finally, at the centre, was a bubbling cauldron heated by some sort of light (not a fire) with a glowing orange liquid in it that was being swirled by a red haired man in a purple cloak. The man looked up and gave him such a grin. A grin that might have freaked someone else bar Ricky, who just smiled back. The man stopped his work, lifting out the long staff he was using as a mixer and placed his hands on his hips.

“Welcome dear boy! You have entered the realm of Magical Mister Mistoffelees and his cauldron of wonders!” he boomed in a poetic voice.

“Really?” Ricky asked with boyish wonder.

“No. You’ve simply entered a room that I just happen to be using. Also, I am not Magical Mister Mistoffelees, that was some sort of cat in a musical. I am just a simple magician you might say with the capability of transforming others.”

“Really?!” Ricky was getting quite excited now.

The magician seemed eager to explain. “But of course, I can transform anyone. Sadly the effects of such magic means that there is no reversing what happens: you’d be stuck that way forever. Why, are you interested in doing just that?”

Ricky had the sense to ponder this, though he had already thought about this a dozen times. He knew that if he did change into something, no one would recognise him. Then again, apart from his parents no one would anyway. His parents would be fine, they had each other. Moreover, if this wizard could...

“Can you change me into a dragon? An awesome dragon?”

The magician nodded. “Sure can. Just get out of that costume of yours (unless you don’t have any clothes underneath) and hop into the cauldron.”

Ricky didn’t need to be told twice. Slipping off his costume to reveal his purple, dragon studded pyjamas underneath, he took a running jump and landed straight into the cauldron. As soon as he hit the liquid, it erupted in an explosion of flames that covered the whole pot and him. It didn’t burn however, which Ricky was grateful for.

For a brief moment, Ricky was uncertain whether he would actually transform into a dragon but, as he felt his insides groan and swell, plus some heat coursing through his veins, he smiled with satisfaction. The organs below his rib cage were actually plummeting downward, causing his tummy to swell and shift towards and over some of his legs. The swelling quickly caused his pyjama bottoms, currently covered in potion, to rip and creak before splitting completely. His top half underwent a similar if less spectacular change, causing the shirt to bulge and crack under pressure, although it wasn’t fully off yet. Ricky peered into the fiery liquid to try and see the changes, but it was too unclear to witness. What he did feel though was some sort of new texture crossing over his skin.

His neck seemed to be next as he felt, rather oddly, link upon link of bony cartilage being added. His neck grew and grew, until he was sure he could almost touch the ceiling (he couldn’t, it just looked like that). Having said that, Ricky’s new bulk and added long neck made him quite a lot taller (1.7 metres is quite a size for a young kid!). Ricky was a bit miffed however, as once again he couldn’t see his colour change. He really wanted to know what colour he would be.

Fortunately for him, his arms began scratching, allowing Ricky to look down at them. At first, he noticed that his arms were actually getting slightly shorter compared to the rest of his body before the sockets clicked and he found that at least they were still useable. His elbows jutted out a little, before the skin began turning to a soft orange. Orange was alright, and even better was, now that Ricky was feeling his own skin, was that he was gaining scales. The magician really was turning him into a dragon! He laughed with joy, his high pitched voice gradually getting lower and lower with each laugh. His hands were swamped with scales and two of the fingers were soon lost, leaving Ricky only with three. These shortened before the bone poked through and sharpened, giving the boy claws. Ricky instantly used these to shred his remaining clothes, marvelling at his new orange body and the beginnings of a yellow creamy middle.

His legs shifted to move out of the way of his new girth and took a side on position. Like his arms before, these too decreased in length but they also increased in mass. Ricky really felt like a heavyweight: no one was going to have their way with him, he was feeling so powerful! He could sense his kneecaps resting in a lower position and making him feel a bit like a dinosaur. His feet got wider and the toes too became claws (well, three of them anyway). It was feeling a bit tight in the cauldron, and this only increased when a new...something came wiggling out from behind him. Ricky could feel it growing longer and longer and longer still, twisting and turning, shoving under his legs, trying to break free. If he had wings at this point, he might have tried to fly with the cauldron stuck around his middle. Instead, feeling a sudden rush of frustration, he roared savagely at the cauldron, his voice now a primeval growl. The sudden burst of fire was strong enough to melt the cauldron, causing the liquid to spill across the floor and the magician, who had been standing nearby previously, to jump out of the way and somehow float in mid air. Feeling in awe of his new ability, Ricky barely noticed that his new tail was coming to a halt. When the sensation had gone, he turned his neck around, just in time to see the tip ignite and a strong wisp of flame burst forth constantly. This was amazing!

The amazement continued as his back began scratching and then a sudden whoosh as two long bony lines, covered once more with orange scales arched their way upwards, then sideways. In the middle section, a new edge grew so that Ricky was left with two spikes on these two new limbs. Thin teal scales pitter-pattered between them until they were linked. Ricky nudged them experimentally, feeling the slight gush of wind as he did so. Wings, every good dragon had wings.

So that meant his head was last, and it began with all of his dark hair falling off in one swoop. His nose and mouth began jutting out quite a considerable way, as his face was beginning to be covered by the same orange scales. His nose was soon barely visible: just a pair of flaring nostrils. His mouth, on the other hand, was a lot larger and began filling with canines and a tongue that would withstand his fiery heat. Ricky’s ears soon became mere dots as his eyes shifted to the sides, allowing Ricky to properly look at his new muzzle. Two bony horns grew at the top of his now elongated skull as his eyes narrowed into longer slits. Ricky’s head buzzed with the need to fly, to assert his dominance in battle and to unleash his fury. He found that he was feeling angry, and that it was a good sensation. Ricky wanted to test his strength, to show the world his new purpose as a Charizard.

With the transformation finally complete, Ricky turned to thank the magician, still floating in mid air and taking what looked to be some sort of purple cocktail. The magician just waved before he could say a word.

“No need to thank me, it’s the least I could do. However, this world isn’t the proper place for a Charizard. Oh, and take this too.”

The man tossed something to him, which Ricky barely caught. Opening up his right claw, he noticed a shinning stone of colour with a little emblem inside.

“That’s a mega stone. You’ll get more powerful with that, but you need someone to help you use it. Oh, and there’s two different ones but I’ll let you discover which one it is. Anyway, portal is over there. Have a creepy Halloween!”

Ricky looked to where the man pointed to see a shimmering circle of white. Feeling eager to explore in his new form, he nodded briefly to the outside world. Almost as thanks for having him, as thanks for building his dreams, but now it was time for him to live them. He whooshed into the portal, leaving the magician smiling on his own.