The school was closing. Closing. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 seeds. Students were being “evacuated”, some willingly and some putting up quite the fight. Some had a home to go to, some had a home they’d rather not go to, and some had never known a home. Gene was in the last category. She had just appeared one day in Halloween, and found herself drawn to the academy. Essentially, it was her home. She may not have made tons of friends yet, nor had any life changing experiences while studying there, but it was still home. She was making friends, and this was shaping up to be one of those fabled life changing experiences. No way she’d just stand there and watch as the pigs took away the one thing she actually knew about this life.

She frowned as she eyed the list of exams. She’d never tried anything physical, had never studied much of Halloween and all its aspects, had no clue how to defend or heal, and was only marginally good at spells, hexes, and illusions. Well, just illusions really. Part of the school’s fate, quite the heavy burden, rested on her shoulders. If she didn’t pick the right type of exam, and pass, then…

She’d rather not think about it.

Biting her lower lip, the doppelganger ghoul chose to take an illusion based exam. She had two options to choose between; her FEAR which she’d never used, and was only barley aware of, or her copying ability. Her FEAR could garner more results, though she had no clue how to maintain it. On the other hand, her copying ability had a time limit that she hadn’t pressed, but she at least knew how to use it.

She’d use her copying abilities. Her FEAR training could wait, and using something she was comfortable with would give her better results. She nodded to herself, before concentrating on focusing her mind. She had no magazines with which to reference a look from, so she had to rely on a mental picture, something she hadn’t tried in a while. ”Here goes nothing…” She breathed, grounding herself before she began to shift.

It was gradual at first, nothing to extreme. Her hair grew shorter for about a minute, before it completely vanished into her head. Her face began to contort, nose becoming a snout, eyes sinking farther into her face, mouth growing larger, and a large set of ear fins wormed their way onto the side of the ghoul’s head. Scales began to form, as did spikes.

Gene gasped, surprised that she had even made it this far. She’d never even tried to copy something that didn’t look reaper like, let alone something like a dragon. Yet, here she was, with a dragon’s head. She gave a little clap of glee, before looking at her rear, where the stub of a tail was forming. Oh, she was so excited! She could have randomly tackled a man and kissed him right now!

Whoa, where did that thought come from? Sure she liked the thought of love, but…

Right; transforming. With a shake of her scaly head, the doppelganger tried to focus again on the task, before suddenly clapping with joy again. Her pupils had just become slits! Eeeeeee!
Unfortunately, her elation caused her to lose focus, and then crap just got weird. Her arms suddenly dissipated, before returning as flailing tentacles of ectoplasm, her legs fused into one, and her body became extremely bloated. She was a mess, a non-terrifying mess that looked like Barney’s retarded cousin. She gave a wail as she fell, unable to balance, then POOF! The reaper look-alike was back to normal, if not drained.

Damn.

With a huff, she got up, wiped herself off, and tried to regain her composure. Sure, she had just become something nasty, ugly, and horrendous, but there was one thing to be proud of. She had managed to make her face into a dragon’s. It may not have earned Gene a pass, but it was such an accomplishment to the ghoul. She’d have to treat herself to one of her employer’s more decadent coffees next time she went in to work.

Thinking of work made Gene anxious once again. Sure, she got seeds from working, but she didn’t make nearly enough to rent out a flat, and she was fairly sure none of her coworkers would let her live with them. She’d probably have to end up looking in the personals section of the newspaper and do something ridiculous just to live with people. Alternatively, she could beg and plead with a classmate to let her live with them, which she wasn’t above doing. It was just her last resort.

Hopefully the other students exams would make up for her epic fail, she mused. That way, she wouldn’t have to do any of the above mentioned things.