Christian slowly shook his head as he woke up. All he saw was blackness and at first he thought he had gone blind. Then he saw the small lit screen of his laptop and remembered that he was in his garage. He remembered everything. He looked around the garage and spotted the young girl crouched in the corner, clutching at her sides. She was moaning softly and facing the corner, presenting only her back to him.
"It hurts, " she said between moans. "You didn't tell me it would hurt."
He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. The girl's skin felt odd beneath his hands. Very warm and hard like leather. It was difficult to make out her features in the dark but she seemed different. Bigger for one thing. Even though the girl was kneeling, her head was almost level with his.
"Hey, kid. Are you okay?" he asked. His voice sounded strange in his ears. He wondered if maybe the girl had given him a concussion with her hit.
She turned suddenly and glared at him. "DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU?" she growled.
It was dark, but he could tell her face was disfigured. Her eyes were yellow, reptilian slits. One seemed larger than the other, but they both appeared to be swelling. Large sharp fangs protruded through her thin lips, trapped in an irregular bulging jawbone. Dark discolored raised plaques covered her face sporadically, and her hair seemed thin and scraggly. He backed away from her in shock, and she turned back to face the corner as she moaned loudly in pain. Suddenly, small spikes erupted from her back, trailing down to a small budding tail. Her small shirt tore apart revealing thick scales. It was too dark to tell their color, but it was obvious what was happening to her.
Oh shit, he thought. She went ahead and did it while I was out. She turned herself into a dragon.
"Hang on, kid. I'll fix this, " he said as jumped up and ran to the computer. He brushed his hair out of his eyes as he looked at the keyboard.
Funny, he thought. I don't remember my hair being this long. Guess it's time for a haircut as soon as I get out of here.
As he scrolled through the menu, he could hear the sickening sounds of bones grinding and flesh stretching, accompanied by the occasional groan and yelp. He couldn't see her in the darkness but he got the sense that she was getting much larger. He was beginning to feel a little cramped in the garage. And nervous, too. He knew it was just his imagination but it was like he could feel a large animal breathing down his neck. It didn't help that her groans were becoming deeper and more masculine.
The computer screen revealed that the girl had chosen to become a large, powerful male dragon. She had even tweaked the personality settings a little, making her aggressive and arrogant, but still intelligent. She even included the desire to hoard treasure and fair maidens.
Christian shook his head. Should have known better to work with the weird ones. They are always trouble.
He looked down and saw a progress bar. Apparently, it took the machine a while to process a large request like that. Or it could have been because she selected the "alter reality" button. It was going to require quite a bit of .... well, whatever the machine used to make it possible for the rest of the world to accept a dragon as normal. He considered pulling the device out of the USB port of his laptop. But it was red hot to the touch and burned his hand. He pulled his hand in front of his face and blew on it to cool it. He was surprised at how thin and dainty it looked. And how long his nails were.
He looked back to the computer, hoping to find some way to cancel the procedure. A long thick strand of hair fell in front of his face, obscuring his view. With a sigh, he brushed the hair away and leaned closer to the computer screen. In the dim light of the computer screen he saw his reflection and gasped in shock. Looking back at him was a very regal and beautiful face, outlined by long thin straight blonde hair. The lips were very full and his nose was small and thin. High angular cheekbones highlighted a very thin and feminine face. He looked like royalty, or how a child might picture a princess from a storybook.
"What... what have you done to me?" said Christian softly, in what he now recognized was a very feminine voice.
He heard shifting behind him, as the girl turned. Reflected in the glass of the screen he could only see two yellow eyes floating in the darkness. But he knew that the creature was much larger than before. And by the sounds of cracking bones still growing. He could smell brimstone as the creature opened its mouth to speak. "Well, every fairy tale needs its princess."
"You bastard!" spat Chris.
The creature chuckled in a very deep baritone. "Oh, don't act so innocent, 'princess'. I saw what you had planned for me."
Chris blushed. "I don't know what you say or think you saw, but that wasn't for you. That was for another customer. And don't call me 'princess'."
"What should I call you then, dear? Certainly not Christian. At least not anymore. You are more like a Christina. Yes, Princess Christina. It has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" said the creature.
"Whatever. As soon as this is over I am changing myself back, " said Chris.
"Oh no, I think you have had enough fun with that," said the creature, as it reached forward with one clawed hand and used a sharp talon to close the lid to the laptop. Just before it shut leaving them in darkness, Chris was shocked to see that that the talon was as large as his head. Just how big was this dragon going to get?
"But I thought you were in pain? Don't you want it to stop? Don't you want to be normal?" asked Chris weakly.
The creature chuckled again. "Yes, I had some growing pains. But they don't hurt so much anymore. In fact, they are beginning to feel quite pleasant, although it is making me quite hungry. And after all, doesn't power require a little sacrifice? A few aches and pains are a small price to pay to become so beautiful and strong."
Chris was about to protest when the garage was suddenly lit up by a bright light. Chris squinted and saw that a large shimmering hole had opened up in his garage. It looked like some kind of portal, and on the other side was a mountain of treasure. The glare from the shiny metal was almost blinding. Chris suddenly knew how the device was going to alter reality for the newly created dragon. It was going to send the dragon to another dimension where it would be accepted. He felt a little relief. As soon as this monster was gone, he could use the device to get back to normal. The dragon looked at the treasure with greedy eyes, and appeared to be dazed by its beauty. It moved forward to its new home as if hypnotized.
Suddenly, it stopped and turned to look at Chris. "Come, Princess. Our new home awaits." It reached forward with its front paw to grab him. But without opposable digits it was easy for Chris to wriggle free. He backed away and bumped into the table holding his laptop.
The dragon grunted and looked at his strange new paws. "Humph. Well, I guess humans do have some advantages. No matter." The dragon's long tongue whipped out and wrapped around Chris' waist. He struggled, but the slimy wet muscle had an iron grip. As the tongue pulled him forward towards its head he could see the creature's mouth dripping with saliva, and feared being devoured for a moment. But the dragon spat him out in front of its large barrel chest.
"Come, princess. I don't think I can control myself if I need to do that again. Don't worry. I am sure some fools will try to come and rescue you. Who knows? Maybe one day one of them will succeed," said the dragon, as it let out a loud deep laugh.
The dragon moved forward, pushing Chris with his large barrel chest. Chris had no choice but to follow and walked through the portal with the dragon. It was only after the portal abruptly shut that he thought of bringing the Chronivac with him. But by then it was too late. He sighed. It probably wouldn't have worked in this strange new world anyway.
"Make yourself comfortable, Princess," said the dragon. "I am going to get something to eat."
It flapped its wings and flew out of a hole at the top of the cave. Chris looked around the cave and at the treasure hoard scattered around it. The cave seemed vast and endless. The only exit appeared to be the hole in the ceiling, and unless he suddenly sprouted wings it would be inaccessible to him. Chris sighed. He may have been trapped in a strange world as a maiden guarded by a powerful dragon, but he hadn't given up hope yet. He would at least find a way to escape. He hoped.