"No!" Helena said. "I can't...I don't want anyone to see this. Not yet."

"Helena, they're going to find out if you end up losing control if we're out in public anyway," she said, "And Mario and Luigi already know about your capability. The Princess, too, though she isn't here."

She sat back on the foot of the bed, leaning back on an arm. "It'd be safer for everyone and easier on you if we figure this out now, so we know what to do."

"That's not what I mean, it's just-"

Helena cried out, and her back arched in a swarm of bone-cracking noises. She fell from the bed, knees thudding against the floor, and she held tight onto her arms, body quaking.

"If you want me to let go," Helena gasped, "then get ready, because I can't hold on anymore!" Her voice rose to a painful pitch as misshapen limbs swelled underneath the back of her blouse.

Eyes widening, Alasea bolted for the door and flung it open. "Go get Matt and R.D.!" she said to Mario. "Now!"

Mario peeked past Alasea to see what has happening, and then leapt up in surprise, turning around and bolting down the hall.

Helena's wings exploded from her backside and she wailed, fingers digging at the cool tile floor. "Calm down," she ordered herself, trying to maintain authority in her voice. Claws tore open her fingernails and dug trenches into the floor. "Calm down. Just breathe...you can do this."

Alasea rushed back over to Helena, quickly warding the room as she did with sound-capturing spells--it wouldn't do to have all of the castle guard rushing at the sounds of screams. She readied healing spells to try and ease the pain of the transformation, which seemed more painful than before.

"You can do this, Helena," she soothed, mirroring Helena's own mantra.

Helena shook like her body was trying to burst apart into pieces. Her breathing rushed.

"Come on," she said. Scales crawled over her arm. "Come ON." With a loud moan, the scales began to retreat back within her skin.

It clicked in Alasea's mind, what was causing the pain in Helena. "Helena, you can't keep fighting it!" she almost yelled, concerned and upset. "This is killing you!"

"It's killing me right NOW!" Helena snapped. "What are you even talking about?!"

"Stop holding off the transformation!" Alasea snapped back. "If you keep trying to stop it, your body's going to exhaust itself to death! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"

Helena groaned. "NO, I'm NOT!" She lashed out with an arm. "Then get back!"

Helena's swipe clipped Alasea's bare arm, leaving a bloody trail across it and splashing blood on the bed and floor. Swearing, Alasea backed away, clutching at her wound.

Bones cracked and limbs grew or reshaped. Helena's cries of pain melted into jagged roars. Her unfurling tail smashed down on the bed, cleaving through wood and fabric like a guillotine. When it was over, Helena raised her head and howled, snapping her wings out to massive glory.

Alasea's ears rang as the transformation completed and Helena's roar resounded through the room. She thanked that her wards were holding, keeping the guard from discovering them, but if R.D. and Matt didn't get here soon...

"Please tell me you're still you, Helena," she said, knowing making her presence known could end badly.

Helena lowered her head, swung it around to glance at Alasea. For a few moments she stared before walking closer, her nails clacking against the tile, before sitting down in front of Alasea, wings folded along her back.

Alasea sighed with relief. "At least you're still in control of your mind," she said. "Anything feel different about this transformation?"

Helena snorted.

Just then the door burst open and Matt slid into the room, startling Helena to her feet. "What's going on?" Matt demanded. "What's the situ-"

He looked at Helena, then back to Alasea. "Oh. Exactly what I figured was happening."

"Better late than never, huh Matt?" Alasea said smartly.

"What happened?" R.D. asked, coming into the room after Matt.

"Helena's transformation was forced, it seems," she explained. "I think if it was just trying to assert itself, it'd have stopped midway. But she went all the way, even though she was fighting it. Thankfully it didn't take over her mind."

"Can you change back?" R.D. asked of the weredragon. Alasea looked over at Helena, wondering the same thing.

Helena didn't look at them, instead toiling around slowly in a circle, tail curling.

"I don't speak dragon, but I'm gonna take that as a no," Matt said. "Or at least a maybe. But why did she turn in the first place? I thought she had a grip on that."

"Like I said, something forced it," Alasea said. "She fought against the transformation, but it won out. When I delved her... it was like her DNA was being rewritten. There were so many inconsistencies in it... but I don't know if that's how her mutation works, or if it was something else."

"And we don't have anyone from the Tribes here to ask," R.D. murmured. "And even if we did, they might not be able to figure it out because of Heresy. Shit. Know any spell or something that can force her back?"

Alasea shook her head. "Not without the Pillars of Dawn. All of them. Matt, R.D., Helena's condition is so advanced that it'd take all of the Daughters of Dawn working together. Not just one or three or five, all of us. And last I heard, the new heirs for the remaining two haven't awakened yet."

"... and even if they had, there's nothing you can do until everything else is taken care of."

"Unfortunately," Alasea said, sounding upset.

"Fantastic," Matt said. This was the worst time for Helena's control to fizzle out. Who knew when they'd return to Alasea's place. Hell, who knew this Heresy thing wouldn't have taken full control by then?

"Even so," he added, "something had to happen to force it. She wasn't having this problem before." He balanced one arm on the other and his chin on his hand. "You think it's because she spent so long half-way?"

"She thought that might be it, but I'm not sure," Alasea said.

"The dragons said her body was trying to find a medium between her human form and her dragon form," R.D. said.

"And that makes me believe that if it was just her mutation reasserting itself, it wouldn't make her go all the way," Alasea continued. "No, Matt, I'm sensing foul play here. This isn't Malvettix's style..."

"... and this sure as hell isn't Re-Tuul's style," R.D. finished, frowning. That left only one possible culprit that'd target them specifically.

Edited by RisingDragon on September 5, 2010 at 20:54:24.

"What are you suggesting?" Matt asked, all humor erased from his tone.

"I think Magister's got someone here already," R.D. said, turning to him. "And it looks like he's targeted Helena."

Alasea nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. We can't forget who are true enemy is here, Matt, so we should've been on the look-out for any other minion of his."

Damn it, they should've. He let his guard down a bit too much after meeting back up with Mario and Luigi. "Great." Matt turned around, folding his arms, trying to think. "Well, I'd rather not have her be walking around like that. She needs to at least attempt to get back to normal. You know, give it the old college try."

"We'll work on it," Alasea said, gesturing with her good arm. At which point R.D. noticed the damage.

"Alasea, what happened to your arm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The girl jumped in surprise.

"Helena clipped me to try and force me away while she transformed," she said with an embarrassed chuckle. "Its not too bad, but--R.D.!?"

He had reached over and snatched the bag of medical supplies before grabbing the girl's arm, sighing exasperatedly. "And you're always getting on my case to take care of myself, Alli," he muttered, getting started on disinfecting and wrapping the wound. Alasea flinched when the antiseptic made contact, but it wasn't able to reduce her sudden blush.

"Th-thanks," she said, feeling embarrassed. Of all the times for her to lose the strength her voice.

"Well, at least we're finally putting those things to good use," Matt said. He glanced at Helena. "Well, uh...do you want any help, or...?"

Helena coiled back around again, walking towards Alasea. "Well...if you need anything," Matt said, "tell Alasea and she can tell me. I gotta get back to helping the Professor, but I'll come back and check on you later, okay?"

"You two better get going," Alasea said, shooing R.D. away. "If Magister already has someone set loose here, they may be after the Essence. Better let Mario and the Professor know."

"Got it," R.D. said, nodding. "If he attacks, we'll try and capture him and make him reverse whatever is affecting Helena."

"Piledrivers will convince ANYONE!" Matt said, socking his fist into his hand.

"Yeah I'm sure they will," R.D. said sardonically. "Let's get going, we need to finish that--" the door closed behind them before Alasea and Helena could hear the rest.

Alasea sighed and looked over at Helena, wondering how to go about this. First, though, she needed to establish a method of communication... and she had just the thing.

Can you still hear me like this? she contacted telepathically.

Edited by RisingDragon on September 6, 2010 at 14:05:21.