I groan in frustration, baring my teeth. Of all the shitty things to happen… the beast takes a snap at me, locking its jaws onto my left forearm and snarling. I knee it in the throat and it gags, releasing me. I hug my arm to my chest, wincing as I check out the damage. The acid doesn’t appear to work on my scales, but the fangs? Oh yeah, they tore into me. Thick rivulets of blood leak from the teethmarks, a pale red, almost pink.

  “Well… that’s new,” I murmur, backing up and keeping a wary eye on the beast. As my sisters’ voices grow louder, I begin preparing to flee, before a tall, dark-haired girl barrels onto the street, drawing a small bde across her right palm. As her darkblood flows downward, it coats something invisible, my sister’s lifeblood revealing her power.

  Niko leaps, drawing her hands back, her blood forming into a pitch-bck scythe, the huge bde completely drinking in the light around it. Her face is as impassive and bnk as ever. When she nds, she sshes, cutting a deep gouge in the tarmac as the beast darts to one side, lunging, both set of fangs bared.

  “Now!”

  A bolt of purple lightning streaks across the street, leaving a trail of vibrant sparks in its wake. The hellish beast roars in pain as the bolt strikes true, and Philippa sprints up, panting, “Did we make it in time?! Wait, why’s it injured?!”

  I shrink back, trying to avoid attracting attention, before Niko snaps back, “Girl there. Think she hit it.”

  Philippa’s head turns, and she pauses. “Wait… RICK?!”

  I cringe. “H-hi, sis… I’m sorry, you weren’t supposed to find out about me like this, but… well, THAT thing showed up. I couldn’t let it hurt people, so…”

  Niko sshes, whirling her scythe like a dancer, her feet moving rhythmically over the battered, cracked tarmac. Phili winces sympathetically, firing another hail of purple thunderbolts. “Did that thing hurt you? Are you hurt, um… l-little s-sis?”

  My heart swells as she calls me her little sis, before Niko lets out a sharp, wordless excmation. The beast is cwing at her, one set of jaws locked around the haft of her darkblood scythe, the other seeking her throat. Her arms are starting to buckle! She can’t hold it at bay forever!

  “One sec, Phili,” I gasp, and sprint at the two-headed monster at full speed. Kicking off the tarmac, I use my tail to boost myself through the air in a flying kick that sms into the ribcage. I can feel it giving way in a series of visceral ‘pop’s, the creature’s six fming eyes rolling. As it lets go, Niko tugs the bde of her scythe round in a savage, efficient hook, decapitating it simultaneously, three body-parts hitting the floor with meaty thumps, before it colpses into a sort of ashy, sandy powder.

  I crash to the floor, scrambling up onto my feet and lean against a car, clutching my bitten arm. Niko stares at me. “Phili, is it… really our baby brother?” she asks, her voice still that same monotone, even when questioning.

  Philippa nods. “Same clothes, same bike, and hi-HER face looks the same, just… feminine. It’s… her.”

  Niko approaches, her scythe dissipating into a bloody mist. Standing before me, she looks down at me. Suddenly, I’m pulled into a firm, warm embrace, as my oldest sister squeals, “CUUUUUUTE!”

  Philippa and I both double-take, blinking in shock, as Niko shows open emotion for the first time I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s hugging me like I’m some kind of stuffed animal, my face buried in her shoulder.

  “Um… Niko? Are you alright?” I ask, as Philippa snrrks, her crimson hair crackling with dying traces of indigo lightning. My oldest sister nods, breaking the hug slowly. “Yes… sorry, you’re…. just super cute. But why are…. you super cute?”

  I frown, before twirling slowly, my tail swishing, before rexing my dragon-shift, my scales, cws, and tail retreating into my skin, my vision switching back to a more human state. I keep my body in my preferred, female form, though.

  “Well, when Tricia lost her powers, they… sort of… awakened in me. I’ve kept it secret since, well… mom wouldn’t accept it easily. She keeps talking about how “this power is the pride of all Crane family women”, and that it’s a “woman’s destiny to defend her household”. And, well… I like having my body look like this.”

  I gesture to my feminine form, and Philippa raises her eyebrows. “Um… I think we should get you inside; you look like you’ve been assaulted. C’mon, we need to get out of here. Niko, can you do something?”

  “Sure.” Niko raises her hand and fires a globule of her still-dripping blood from her sshed palm, detonating a pipe and flooding the street with water. “That’ll distract the authorities long enough, now to set up the anti-perception barrier…. No-one who was here in the st few hours will… remember anything out of the ordinary. Got the crystal?”

  Philippa pulls a small, glittering stone from her pocket. “Yep! Where’s a good spot for it… Ah! Here!”

  She kneels, and… pushes the crystal into the earth, the small, sparkling object sinking into the ground and vanishing with a flicker of amber light. A strange, fuzzy feeling washes over me, but I don’t forget anything.

  “I guess my powers protect me from that?”

  “That’s right. Anyway, we should hurry! Want me to grab your bike?” Philippa asks, and I smile, limping over to grab it.

  “No, it’s cool, I’ve got it. Is… is mom home?”

  My sisters share a look. “No, she went out to deal with another monster just before we left.”

  I nod. “Alright, I… I should expin a couple of things to you guys before we talk to our parents, if that’s okay?”

  Niko nods. “I’ll grab Tricia, can you distract dad?”

  Phili nods. “Sure. Get some new clothes on and meet in my room, yeah?”

  I smile. “Yes, thank you!”

  I stick my bike in the garage as Niko heads inside, Philippa running interference for me as I sneak inside, hurrying up to my room and changing. A few minutes ter, a knock comes at my door. Philippa’s voice softly adds, “We’re ready, come on up!”

  I swallow, and creep out of my room, following Phili upstairs. I can hear Tricia, asking Niko, “What’s happening? Where’s Rick? And why are you so… smiley?”

  Philippa pushes her door open. “Tricia, our littlest sibling has something to share with us. You should brace yourself, okay?”

  She calls me. “You can come in now!”

  I take a deep breath, and push open the door, stepping into the room. Niko, standing by the door, nudges it shut, shifting in front of it for added privacy. Tricia blinks up at me. “Um… hello? Are you Rick’s girlfriend, or a friend of his from school?”

  Philippa pces a hand on my back. “No. this IS our little sib. She… has powers, like mom.”

  Tricia almost bursts out ughing. Sighing, I reluctantly shift into my masculine form, and her jaw drops. “What. The. HELL???”

  Shifting back into the body I feel most comfortable in, I adjust my t-shirt around my bust. “It really is me, Tricia. I’m… I’m a magical girl now. And this is part of it. I get the body I feel best in, and also…”

  I push my transformation, my scales and cws sprouting out of my hands. Exhaling, I let a cold mist drift from my mouth, revealing my fangs. “I can go further, but I’d rather not ruin more clothes tonight.”

  Tricia stares in shock. “You can turn into a half-dragon?!”

  I shrug, letting my dragon-shift fall, and cross my arms under my boobs. “That’s not all. The reason I say that I like my body this way is because I’m trans. I’m a girl trapped in a boy’s body, but this allows me to be myself for the first time in my life.”

  Niko grabs my hips and pulls me into her arms, hugging me again. “She’s sooooo cute!” she adds happily, and I blush. Tricia purses her lips, obviously thinking.

  “So, let me get this straight. These powers… are they actually mine? I mean, did they transfer over to you when I lost them?”

  I nod. “I think so? I mean, I only awakened to them when you… got hurt.”

  Tricia’s eyes widen. “But they aren’t the same ones I had. I used to be a gravity master, but you’re a half-dragon. I guess each person has their own set. Anyway. So, you’re trans, but do our parents know? Like, I just want you to be happy, but if they don’t know, you should probably tell them soon.”

  I wince. “Yeah, I know, but… mom. She’s… kinda dynamic about how this is a woman’s role to py as a part of the Crane family.”

  Niko adds, over my head and in a weirdly protective, forceful tone, “You ARE… a woman. You said…. so yourself, and that’s all that… matters, in… my opinion.”

  Philippa nods, smiling. “Yep! We don’t really get a say in it ourselves, so if mom doesn’t like it, she’s going to have to lump it!”

  I smile, blushing. “Thanks, seriously. I really appreciate it. Well… I guess we should tell dad first, before mom gets home. Can… can you go get him, Phili?”

  “Sure, little sis! Uh, do you have a name you want us to use?” she pauses, and I giggle. “Actually, yes! I like Rika.”

  “Suits you, Rika!” Tricia smirks, and Niko nuzzles her chin gently into the top of my head. “Yes…. A cute name for a cute little sister…” she murmurs dreamily.

  A couple of minutes ter, Dad sticks his head round the door frame… or tries to, before running into Niko’s back. “Ack! Hey, what’s the deal? Philippa said you guys wanted to talk about something, I didn’t get pranked, did I?” he compins through the wood, and I pat Niko’s knee. “It’s fine, let him in, sis.”

  She moves aside, and dad enters, rubbing his nose as a small trickle of blood runs from one nostril. “So, what’s with all the secrecy? And have you seen your brother anywhere? He’s not in his room, so… oh, you have a friend over? When did she get here??”

  I smile, blushing awkwardly. “Um… h-hi, dad. It’s… it’s me. This is why we wanted to talk to you….”

  He smiles, clearly not believing me. With a muffled groan, I extricate myself from Niko’s arms, and shift. His eyes bug out as he watches the ‘strange girl’ warp into the person he’d known as his son, and then back.

  “Wh-what?!” he splutters, forgetting the minor nosebleed he’s been dealing with. “How… how is this happening? Pinch me, I’m having a dream!” Tricia helpfully digs her nails into his side, and he yelps. “OW! Okay, so, not a dream….” He sits down heavily at the foot of Phili’s bed.

  “Can someone PLEASE expin this to me? I’m old and feeling kinda stupid right now!”

  I take a deep breath, before Niko glomps me from behind again. “Dad, I- I’ve already told my sisters, but… I’m transgender. I should’ve been born a girl, and now I AM a girl. This is my preferred body; I’m not Rick anymore, either. I’m RIKA, and I’m actually happy like this. And, I sort-of got Tricia’s powers and can become a half-dragon.”

  Dad stares at me. “If… if you’d told me that before I saw you… change, like that… I would’ve said you were making it up, even though I know what your mom and sisters are. It’s in the family history; no man has ever been a magical girl, not once. But… here you are, clearly NOT a man, and… well, if you’re able to alter your body to one more to your liking, then I doubt you’re lying about your powers.”

  Niko squeezes me. “She fights… well, too. We caught her… beating on a Twin-Head… earlier. Giving better than… she was getting.”

  Dad’s eyes widen, and his gsses almost slip off. “You fought a monster? Without training?”

  Philippa nods. “Yeah, she actually did really great. If she’d been given the same drills we have, she’d have stomped it without any trouble.”

  I blush. “Oh, come on, I wasn’t doing THAT well. I’m gd you showed up, even if it meant you seeing me like this.”

  Philippa ughs, followed by a dry, almost rusty chuckle. It sounds like a chainsaw making horribly-angry, violent love to a garage door.… NIKO!?

  Everyone stares at my oldest sister as she actually, really, truly ughs!