Alex clutched the vial in his mouth as he skittered up the side of the building. He needed to get high up enough where no one on campus would see him take off, and the roof of the 3-story “General Magic” building containing the alchemy lab was the highest point he could reasonably get to without being spotted, defeating the purpose. If everything went right, this would be his last time flying.

When.

When everything went right.

This was his best chance at making everything go back to normal, so it wasn’t an “if.”

Alex finally reached the flat roof and pulled himself over, kicking at the air with his legs, before flapping his wings to carry himself the rest of the way over. He dropped the vial on the ground and picked it up with his front claws. He didn’t particularly enjoy carrying things in his mouth.

He leaped off the building and opened his wings, beating them enough times to fly a significant height above the campus. If anyone happened to look straight up from this distance, he would just look like a bird, so being spotted wasn’t as big of an issue. Once he reached a height he deemed acceptable, he headed back towards the forest.

Their plan was simple. Well, it was mostly Parker’s plan, but if he had a faster way of inputting into the conversation, he would have had much more input. Before Parker met with the whiddsoul, Alex flew as fast as he could towards the forest. With the silencing spell removed, his hastening spell worked again, but he couldn’t use it on the way out. He needed to save up his energy for the fight.

He expected his wings to be sore from his flight earlier that day, but for how short it was, that forced powernap seemed to have done a great job at relieving his soreness. Maybe that was another dragon thing, too. Flight and faster muscle regeneration were pretty nice, but so were hands, standing upright, and proper vocal cords. It was a trade he was very willing to make.

Still, it felt rather nice to fly around, and since it would be his last time, he would cherish it. He decided he would try to do some tricks while flying.

He did a few loop-de-loops, rolls, and attempted a figure eight, but instead of an eight, made a figure p. His altitude saved him from crashing into the ground, but he lost a fair amount of it. He was already out far enough from civilization for anyone to notice him, but that was a lot of effort flapping gone completely to waste. He had already been flying for a while, and losing that much height would severely reduce his flight time. He was already getting tired, too.

To take his mind off the aching muscles in his back, he decided to play some one-person eye-spy. It was too bad all he could see was grass. If he got lucky, he would spot a rabbit every once in a while. The best thing he saw was a group of deer grazing.

It didn’t take long for the burning of overused muscle to become too much to ignore, and he was forced to land. Those deer must not have eaten where he’d landed for a while, since the grass almost reached his chest. It was annoying, but he would just have to deal with it. After all, by the end of the day, this would all be behind him anyway.

Nervous was an understatement for how Parker felt walking towards the fountain. Now that he was sure that thing wasn’t even really Alex, walking alone with it for hours wasn’t starting to feel like the best plan possible for his own safety. He decided to “borrow” a sword from the armory, just in case things got hairy. Judging from his last fight with the thing, it wouldn’t really do much, but it worked well enough as a placebo. At least he’d be getting some of his stuff back.

As Parker approached the fountain, he spotted the thing standing there. It was already looking at him.

“You’re late.” It grumbled towards him.

“Sorry about that. I was gone for a while and had a ton of work to catch up on. Hopefully this excursion doesn’t take too long, cause I still have a lot to do.”

Parker wasn’t the best liar, but he hoped that wasn’t too obvious. It was embarrassing how long it took for him to come up with such a simple plan. At first, he thought about just giving Alex the potion right at the fountains, but that wouldn’t make much sense. How was Alex supposed to even get there without being spotted? No, an ambush made much more sense.

“I see you brought a sword. I don’t think you’ll be needing it.”

“Yeah, well, you never know what you’ll run into when you’re out in the wild. I see you brought my backpack. That’s something I’ll definitely be needing.”

The thing tossed Parker his bag, which felt a bit lighter than before. It was missing the rations and medical supplies.

“I understand your job is to study creatures. Have you caught or hunted any in the field yourself?” The whiddsoul inquired.

“No, I’m not very into killing things. The only thing I’ve really “caught” so to say is the dragon, but he really just followed me around.”

“So then, what do you even expect to be doing with that sword, if you have no experience using it?”

“Peace of mind.” Parker snapped back.

The thing gave him a deep-browed stare, as if it was reading him.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time standing here. Hand me the map and we can get going.”

The thing reached out with its hand. This time, it had the right number of fingers.

“Sorry, not gonna happen. This thing stays with me, or you don’t get it at all. I have way too much work in here. I don’t care what you tell the academy.”

The thing stopped for a moment, contemplating the choice.

“Fine. It doesn’t matter either way to me, as long as you lead me to the dragon. Let’s get going.”

Checking his map, it looked like they were approaching Alex. They had made it into the forest a short while back, when all of a sudden, Alex started retreated back deeper into the woods. That wasn’t part of the plan, but Parker guessed it was supposed to make it look more authentic. After about a half-hour of giving chase, Alex suddenly stopped, his dot on the map resting like a misplaced period. He must be taking the potion now.

“The dragon, he stopped moving. We should be within a 20-foot radius of him now.”

“Perfect.”

The whiddsoul placed its thumb and ring finger in its mouth and burst out an ear-piercing whistle. A falcon called out in response, landing next to a nearby tree, pinning down a small creature in its talons.

It was Alex.

The falcon hat cut a gash across his side, which let out a slow trickle of blood. Under one talon it held down his head, the other held his wings tight to his body. Alex held the potion in his claw, out of reach from his mouth.

The whiddsoul meandered its way over to the bird, and Parker drew his sword.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Those talons are sharp, and awfully close to your little buddy’s throat. Did you really think I didn’t know you hatched some kind of plan? Why else would your friend here go all the way back to campus if not to see you? Did you seriously expect me to think you didn’t know what I am?”

The whiddsoul kneeled down Alex as he growled, noticing the small glass vial trapped between his claws.

“What’s that? Some kind of potion?”

The whiddsoul plucked the vial from Alex’s claws as he struggled to keep his grip, his claws leaving scratches on the glass as the thing pried it away.

“No matter, anymore.”

It pocketed the vial and stood up, turning to Parker.

“Thank you for leading me to him, but you know my secret. It was awfully nice of you to come with me all the way out here into the middle of the woods. It makes this next part much easier.”

The thing brandished its sword and slowly approached Parker.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m really not. If you hadn’t butted in and taken him from that camp, I would be through with this already. I don’t enjoy getting my hands any dirtier than I need, but you’re a necessary casualty.”

Parker raised up his sword. He wasn’t just going to sit there and let that thing kill him! He may not be a fighter by trade, but he took a swordsmanship class! He wasn’t helpless!

The whiddsoul went for a slice at Parker’s chest.

Parker lifted his blade to parry the strike, protecting him from a large gash, but blowing him back enough to make him stumble.

The whiddsoul reached forwards, gliding its blade across Parker’s, before flicking it around the hilt, twisting it out of Parker’s hand.

The sword flew off into the air, stabbing itself deep into the earth.

Parker raised his hands up as the thing drew closer, blade pointed towards his neck.

“Remember when I said I never hunted anything myself?”

Parker grabbed the thing’s sword with his hand and pulled, yanking it towards him as he thrust his arm forwards onto its forehead, forcing as much energy into his palm as he could, before releasing it all at once in a quick pulse.

The thing yelled out in shock, dropping its sword and gripping its head as it stumbled and tripped backward.

Parker wasn’t sure that would work, but was glad he tried. That spell was meant to stun any animals that got too close while observing, and he wasn’t sure it would work on… Whatever the whiddsoul was.

Alex used this momentary distraction to kick up with his hind legs, flipping himself and the bird forwards, freeing his limbs up to give a vicious scratch to its legs.

The falcon cried out and jumped up into the air as Alex rushed over to the toppled creature, digging into its pocket to grab the potion.

Just when he pulled it out, the thing grabbed him by the snout, holding his jaw shut, now much warier of Alex’s nasty bite.

It picked itself up and reached for the potion as Alex clawed at its arm to free himself. This time, the whiddsoul had thought to invest in some proper protection, its arms wrapped in hardened leather.

Alex tore through it with his claws, but wasn’t fast enough. Just as it wrenched the vial from his claws yet again, Parker ran up and kicked him in the groin.

It worked this time.

The creature dropped both Alex and the potion as it doubled back in pain. Those sturdy hiking boots left no mercy for the thing’s nards.

Alex scrambled to the potion, but was tackled by the falcon.

Parker reached over to help, but the thing grabbed him by the legs and swept him onto the ground, punching on top of him.

The two groups struggled on the ground for a while, until Alex freed himself from the bird’s grasp.

Parker was not so fortunate. The whiddsoul had his arms pinned to the ground under his knees as it choked him.

Alex flew away, the falcon in hot pursuit. He tried to pull out the cork, but didn’t have the fine motor control to wrap his claws around it and pull.

After scraping and scratching at the cork as the falcon caught up, Alex took a sharp dive, gripped the cork in his teeth, and yanked the bottle away from his mouth, finally freeing the cork.

He made a sharp turn upwards just before hitting the ground and downed the potion. It tasted like the fingers, only much, much worse. The sugar helped, but it was like using a watering can on a forest fire. It took all his willpower just to swallow it, and a bit more to stop it from coming right back up.

Alex landed as a dragon and stood up as a human.

The falcon still hadn’t altered its course, and Alex caught it out of the air, throwing it off to the side.

Alex took a moment to balance himself, gripping his fingers together, feeling all the joints and tendons move in his wrist and forearm.

He had no time to waste, though. He needed to kill that thing before the potion ran out.

He charged forwards, barreling into it, freeing Parker from its grasp, and knocking it to the ground.

Alex went for a stomp while it was on the ground, but it activated one of the remaining rings and rolled out of the way faster than should be possible, and stood up.

The whiddsoul ran over to the sword it dropped, and Alex turned to the one embedded into the ground, seeing Parker pull it from its earthen pedestal.

“Catch!” Parker yelled, averting his eyes from his supposed target. Alex had to dive to catch it and barely missed getting cut by the blade.

“Watch where you’re throwing!”

It was nice to have a real, usable voice again.

“Alex, I really don’t want to look at you right now.” Parker groused, still turning his head away.

Alex inspected his body, checking for any strange growths or extra appendages. He trusted his old professor to make it right, but what if the strange physiology of the creature messed up the recipe?

He quickly scanned his whole body and found nothing. Confused for a moment, he wondered what Parker’s problem was.

Then, he realized he had just looked at his whole body.

The potion didn’t make any new clothes.

He had no time to worry about that right now, though. Besides, it’s not like he’d find a clothing store anywhere nearby.

Instead, he rushed towards the whiddsoul, much less intimidated now that they were the same size.

Rather than go for a wild slash, he waited to see what it would do. It held its sword in a blocking position in front of its body, expecting a swing. Alex charged forwards, using the flat part of his sword as a makeshift shoulder guard, and slammed into the thing, forcing it to stumble backward.

With the opening, Alex went for a slice to its leg, making a short cut before stopping himself. That was his body. What if whatever he did to it stayed when he got it back?

That hesitation was a mistake. The thing took the opportunity to chop at his side.

Alex blocked the telegraphed blow.

“All those lifetimes you stole, and you didn’t bother learning to fight in any of them?”

The whiddsoul frowned and gritted its teeth. The taunt got to it.

Alex prepared himself for the upcoming aggression. Taunting like that was an easy trick he loved to use to make his opponent get aggressive.

With speed supplied by the ring, the whiddsoul went for blow after blow, each being glanced aside by a parry. The ring kept it recovering too quickly for Alex to make a return strike.

The whiddsoul raised its blade above its head, and Alex readied himself for the strike, bracing the other end of the sword on the flat side with his other hand. The ring gave the whiddsoul too much speed for Alex to take advantage of its opening, so blocking was his only option.

It brought the blade down hard and fast, and then did it again, and again. until Alex’s sword started to bend in from the force of the blows. His sword wasn’t the only one damaged by this rage-fueled attack. The thing’s sword had been bent and dented, its blade now dulled from the repeated strikes.

Alex couldn’t keep up with the things raw speed, so he decided to even the odds a little. Activating his own hastening spell, he dropped his sword and dove forwards as it raised up its blade for another strike. The tackle knocked the thing back as Alex punched it over and over, avoiding its nose, worried once he got his body back that might ruin his face forever.

The whiddsoul, however, did not hold such reservations. It tanked the hits, pulled out a knife it had hidden in its pants, and sliced at Alex, making a deep gash across the inside of his forearm. Alex powered through the pain, adrenaline coursing through his veins. With the tendons cut, Alex could no longer make a fist with his right hand.

The whiddsoul dropped its knife, also suddenly unable to grip with its right hand. No cut appeared on its arm, but it lost mobility there nonetheless.

Alex had to take the risk. It was either get his body back damaged, or not at all. He didn’t have much time left in his human form. He could feel it. Usually, polymorph potions lasted much longer, but Alex guessed since it wasn’t even his real body the potion was made from, the effect must’ve been diminished. He grabbed the dropped knife with his left hand and tried to drive it into the thing’s throat. It blocked with its hands, the knife going through one and stopping at the other.

The thing pushed Alex off of it with its knees, and they grappled for a while.

The ring gave the whiddsoul a significantly larger boost in speed than Alex, and he wasn’t trained in wrestling. However, that wasn’t enough to stop Alex from ending up on top.

Still holding the knife in his hand, he reared back his arm, and brought it down to the thing’s heart.

The knife flew out of his hand, his claws not large enough to wrap around the blade’s handle.

No! Just a few more seconds, and that would’ve been it! He tried going in for the kill with his claws, swiping at its neck, but with the return to his dragon form came the return of the gash across his side from the falcon. The thing dug its fingers into his wound and pushed him off to the side, nearly causing him to black out.

Parker rushed over to help, but was no match for the whiddsoul when the speed ring powered it up. Without Alex’s human body having his arm cut, the thing’s own strength returned, making it come out of the scuffle nearly unscathed, other than the hole in its hand.

Judging from how it grew two whole fingers back, Parker doubted that really meant much.

The whiddsoul sped over to Parker and gave him a nasty hook to the liver, forcing him to collapse to the ground. Then, it gave him a kick to the ribs. It wore reinforced boots similar to his own, and he was suddenly sympathetic for that blow he gave with them.

Alex dove for the thing, trying to claw at its neck, but was caught midair and slammed into the ground. This time, he didn’t get back up.

Parker didn’t know what to do. Their plan had failed. Alex was down, and the thing barely seemed to care about any of the damage they’d manage to tack onto it.

With all the energy it used from the ring, it must be running out soon, and while it didn’t seem to mind now, if it didn’t treat its wounds quickly, too much gas would escape from its body, killing it for sure.

With those two factors in mind, Parker did the only sensible thing he could think of.

He ran away.