The cacophony of horror and confusion was impossible to ignore. The people in the mall were panicked and running around, shrieking with horror. Without warning, a wall of mist had crashed through the building causing many of its visitors to double over from some new foreign sensation. It wasn’t pain, but rather something else, something wholly inexplicable. For some it was a pulling, others experienced a burning, a gripping, a warmth, an itch, a tension, a dampness; the experience was as varied as the people themselves. Among them were Jackie and Carmen, a pair of friends subsumed by light.

Carmen felt a surge of strength crackle through her, a boldness and ripple running through her body. It was like something was squirming around in her, but that was the wrong word, squirming implied something gross like bugs, no this was less gross, less solid too. It was as if energy were jumping around inside her. She couldn’t feel much of anything else in the moment, aside from what felt like something letting go of her body, but she wasn’t sure what, only that her body felt less constrained.

The next moment the energy exploded from her, twisting back upon her. It stroked her at times and pressed at others, but none of it felt unwanted or uncomfortable, it was as if it were tracing her. She felt the freedom she felt from before beginning to bind once more, but it didn’t feel the same, it felt like it expanded her in some ethereal way. The energy bounced and surged across her dark skin leaving a sense of excitement. It was as if she had grown in some incomprehensible way. She enjoyed it, thrilled by it. She was energized by it, sparking with excitement.

Jackie, meanwhile, wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Whatever this light was it was… embarrassing was perhaps the best word. An energy flowed through him, drawing him into a relaxed state, calming his breath, as the energy pulled upon him, as if removing some heavy armor from himself. The energy then coursed back, shifting and holding him in deeply disconcerting and bizarre yet comforting ways. It was all he could do to just to lose himself in the sensations, as the energy did its work. The only thing he could say for certain was that he suddenly felt small and vulnerable and more than a bit frightened. He wished it would end. And then he opened his eyes.

He blinked once, the bright light of the mall’s skylight blinding him for a second. Then he opened his eyes again. He saw Carmen before him, at least he thought it was Carmen. Her face looked the same, and her body looked mostly right, but what was with that outfit. It was like an armored tracksuit, a bright and colorful one. A bold yellow gold tracksuit, with white blocks on the sides of her arms and legs, bulky yet light looking yellow metallic shoes, and armored wrists, giving her a regal yet modern look.

Then there was the headgear, it looked like if a tiara fused with a headset from a mech anime, a shiny jeweled crown supported by a pair of bulky yellow and white headphones with a long yellow spikes and smaller white ones sticking out of them towards the back of her head. Her chest was similarly armored, whic upon closer inspection, was supported by a yellow metal chassis on top of her tracksuit. She looked almost like a tech based superhero with a magical flair. She was too busy looking over herself in glee and excitement to notice Jackie ogling her as well. But something seemed weird…was she always so tall? And was everything always so...colorful?

“This is so cool,” she said mentally tracing her body. She clenched her hands to find electricity arcing between her fist and her new armored wrists. There was a distinct tingle coursing up her arm which made her giggle. “Hey, Jackie check me…out?” she looked toward Jackie then looked around him to each of his sides. He looked behind himself in confusion then back to her. “Where did you come from?” she asked. “And where’s Jackie?”

“What do you mean where am I? I’m…” as he spoke he began to notice something was wrong. His voice sounded weird, it was high and squeaky. And thinking about it, when he looked behind himself, there was a distinct feeling of something brushing behind him, and again, Carmen seemed taller. “…I-I’m Jackie,” he said. He suddenly felt nervous and wrong, what was going on. Why did he suddenly feel like melting in place? He felt like that to a degree normally, sure. But right now, it was more intense than ever.

“What are you talking about Pinky?”

“P-pinky?”

“Yeah, though I gotta say, I’m digging that flavor of pink, it looks really cute on you,” Carmen giggled.

“C-cute!?” he felt really weird about that comment. “W-what do you mean cute! Boys…boys aren’t supposed to be cute!” he suddenly felt even weirder. Why was he feeling so defensive, and why was he feeling so flustered right now?

“Boy? S-sorry, I thought you were a girl, especially with that dress. N-not that there’s anything wrong with boys wearing that kinda stuff. I-I just…Wow, I’m really bad at this,” she mumbled anxiously as she clapped her hands to her cheeks.

“Girl? Dress? What do you…” he asked as he looked towards the reflective window beside him. What looked back wasn’t the plain boring boy he saw in the mirror every day. The plain dark haired scruffy boy and his standard hoodie and jeans was nowhere to be found. Instead, much like what Carmen stated, a cutesy frilly girl stood in his place.

The girl in the window wore a frilly white dress with poofy shoulders and an equally poofy skirt with bright pink trim, pink leggings, and matching pink bows hanging off her shoulders and back. And most notably, she had long bright pink hair, or more properly, magenta hair, which tumbled down her back. He could only look at the girl’s reflection with awe and confusion. The bright blue eyes of the girl shaking as she reached her dainty hand out, covered in long white gloves. His mind ran a mile a minute as he processed this. “W-what happened to me!? Why am I a girl!?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Carmen looked at him perplexed. “Didn’t you just say you were a boy?”

“Carmen, it’s me! Jackie! I-I… WHAT HAPPENED!?” he exclaimed, beginning to cry.

“J-Jackie…?” she repeated. “Holy crap! You…uh…dang…”

“D-dang!?” he complained. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You, uh, just look really cute, sorry,” she sighed trying to quiet her abrupt blush. “No, really, I’m sorry, I’m just so confused and…” she struggled to find words, which only seemed to make Jackie more insecure. “Geez, I don’t know what to say, but I’ll stay by your side. Okay?”

“O-okay,” he nodded, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Okay, how about we go and…” she stopped short as they both heard a large crashing sound followed by a series of screams.

“I-it’s a monster!” one man yelled as he ran away.

“Why is this happening!?” a nearby woman in a red dress exclaimed before she fell to the ground.

They both heard what sounded like a loud animalistic grumble as more people ran from the nearby intersecting hall, a massive minotaur hobbled through the halls. “Just…stop,” they grumbled looking toward the ground, their massive muscular body drooping over, dripping with sweat.

“What the hell!?” Jackie stared at the beast a tight griping fear paralyzing him. The minotaur lifted their head and looked at him and Carmen. The beast seemed to sigh as they wearily turned their head before they stopped to look at the nearby collapsed and terrified woman.

“Stop…” they muttered. “You…YOU!!! YOU’RE…!!!” they roared as they charged at the woman. Just then a ball of fire emerged from behind and pelted them in the back of their head. “WHAT NOW!?” they shrieked as they turned his head backwards, their long horns scraping the floor. There in the hall stood a woman in a radiant red and white skater dress. Her dress was striking, with white stripes and gold lace along the sides while the red of her dress seemed to ripple with a glorious fiery sheen, complimented by her matching red leggings. Completing her outfit was a white and gold waist cape which fluttered behind her as it fell below her dress. Her arms were draped in long red gloves which pulled at the air, igniting a fireball in her palm. “YOU TOO!!!” they bellowed. “STOP IT WITH YOUR RED!!!” they charged at her.

In an instant, Carmen took flight, recklessly charging at the mad beast and leaping in the air to deliver a flying kick to their shoulder, thrusting them into the air and into the adjacent wall. As she landed she looked at herself in amazement. “Holy crap, I REALLY just did that!” she cheered.

“You there, kid, what are you doing!? You could have seriously hurt yourself,” the woman in the fiery red dress berated her as she clenched her fists close to her stomach. She then blinked as her eyes grew wide. “Wait a moment, your clothes and your…are you like me?” she questioned.

“Grraaaargh!” the minotaur bellowed again attempting to get back up.

“T-they’re still conscious!?” the woman exclaimed flailing her arm and pointing at them. Suddenly her glove ignited, a fireball forming at the point of her finger and shooting off nailing the beast in the head, prompting them to collapse once more. “H-how did I do that?” she stammered.

“Wow! You, I mean we, we’re like magical girls!” Carmen cheered. “This is so cool!”

“YOU!” the minotaur continued to bellow as the stood up once more. “I…I’LL…” they roared.

“We should run!” the woman in red exclaimed.

“Nah, I got this,” Carmen said smugly. “I wanna try something,” she giggled. She splayed her legs out, supporting her body as she twisted her body and cupped her hands behind her.

“Carmen! You can’t be serious!” Jackie exclaimed with his squeaky voice.

“I’ve always loved this move!” she laughed as she concentrated a ball of lightning in her hands and then hurling her arms forward boldly declaring, “Spirit Spark!” as she released the ball, which collided with the confused minotaur. “That was so cool!” she cheered. “I really did it, just like in…”

“STOP THAT!” the minotaur bellowed.

“I’m guessing that didn’t happen in your shows,” the woman in red chided Carmen.

“Uh…only against like the super big bad guys,” Carmen admitted.

“Will you get serious!?” the woman countered. The minotaur stood up fully, their deep pants clouding them in a glistening aura of energy as they heaved with rage. “We need to run, NOW!” Carmen nodded sheepishly as they ran back towards Jackie’s direction. “Stupid dress, if only it wasn’t red, maybe they wouldn’t be so pissed.”

“I don’t think a change of wardrobe would help me though,” Carmen lamented as they dashed for the store near Jackie. Suddenly, thrusting their arms forward, the minotaur caused a whirlwind of energy to erupt from their hand, colliding with the wall, a wave of rubble to falling blocking the door. “Okay, why didn’t any legend mention THAT!?”

They turned to face the minotaur who towered before them. “NO…MORE…RUNNING!!!” they huffed.

“They’re…” Jackie trembled as he watched the minotaur inch closer to the two frightened women. “What can I do?” he choked. “It’s just like he said. I can’t...”

‘You can do this,’ he heard, no felt a voice answer him. ‘Just let your powers flow to you.’

“My powers?” he echoed pulling his hands close to them. As he focused, he could feel something within him, thriving and brimming, desiring to be released. “Okay,” he took a deep breath and tried to relax. The energy from before seemed to return once again, bubbling to the surface, enveloping him. A spiral of pink energy emerged, appearing before him which he reached into. He stared on calmly and quietly, as if in a trance. He lifted his arm upward, pulling a magenta wand from the flurry of energy, conjuring a ball of light at its tip, which he gracefully tossed at the minotaur. The minotaur looked up at him, the rage passing from their eyes as they collapsed to the ground, their massive body deflating to a more average size. Jackie breathed and fell to the ground, only now realizing that at some point whatever that power was had lifted him into the air.

“That! Was! So! Cool!” Carmen declared. “Way to go Jackie!”

“Th-thanks,” he nodded and blushed.

“Thank you for helping us,” the woman nodded.

“Y-your welcome, Miss…”

“Summers,” she nodded and offered her hand to Jackie, who shook it. “Annie Summers,” she then offered her hand to Carmen.

“Hehe, you’re welcome, Annie,” Carmen boasted as she shook her hand.

“While I’m thankful for distracting him, what you did was reckless,” Annie frowned.

“R-reckless…!?” Carmen pouted.

“Why was…that thing, rampaging anyway?” Jackie asked. “Actually, why is there a minotaur at all. I thought they didn’t exist?”

“Who knows, after that…whatever that was, crashed through, everything just seemed to go off the rails. I didn’t get a good look, but I think they were just a normal person before that...mist stuff. As for why, I can only guess it’s because of this red,” she said motioning to her bright red skater dress. “Bulls are supposed to be agitated by the color, and I imagine that’s what happened.”

“Y-yeah,” the minotaur groaned.

“Oh, crap they’re awake!” Carmen jumped as Jackie ran behind her.

“Don’t worry,” they groaned. “I think I’m over it. I was panicked and confused, and when I saw any bit of red, I just lost it, sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Annie asked. “What happened to you?”

“Beats me,” they said as they got up. “One moment I was lookin’ at some new pots, then the next I know I’m a giant bull man, and feelin’ super stressed” they shrugged. “Was always tired of bein’ scrawny, but never imagined I’d bulk up like this,” they sighed. “Anyway, thanks pinkie. Whatever ya did really settled me down.”

“Y-your welcome,” Jackie nodded sheepishly. It was kind of embarrassing being thanked like this, especially for something he didn’t even understand like this.

“I think I’m gonna scram and try to calm down some more somewhere,” they sighed. “Take care of yourselves girls,” that last bit made Jackie’s heart skip a beat.

“Don’t go causin any trouble, ya big toughie,” Carmen waved.

“Talk about weird,” Annie sighed. “People becoming monsters and suddenly getting magic? What is even happening?”

“Heh, it’s pretty cool being magical girls though,” Carmen laughed.

“You said that earlier, what did you mean?” Annie tilted her head.

“Well, we all have the super cool and special outfits, and we all seem to be able to use magic, so that makes us magical girls,” she explained with her classic brand of basic bouncy logic.

“Carmen, you’re really nerdy sometimes, yknow that?” Jackie sighed.

“Says you,” she smirked. “But we both know you’re just as nerdy as I am.”

“Yeah, but I’m not acting like this is some kind of anime,” he pouted.

Annie laughed. “Heh, you girls are really close aren’t you?”

“G-girls!?” Jackie blushed. “B-b-but…” he stammered, failing to form any words, causing Annie to tilt her head confusedly.

“It’s okay, I’ll explain,” Carmen nodded proudly to Jackie, who nodded back. “Jackie here’s actually a boy. He…well whatever turned us into magical girls turned him into one too. He normally looks nothing like this.”

Annie’s eyes opened wide with surprise and then made a weary sigh. “I guess that isn’t so outlandish given we just dealt with a minotaur,” she scratched her head. “Jackie, right? How are you doing? I can’t imagine this is all that comforting for you.”

“I…I’m really not certain. I’m just so confused,” he shook his head

“I see,” she frowned as Carmen gave Jackie a friendly side hug and an uplifting smile and look that seemed to comfort him. Annie smiled and nodded. “Well, I think it’s a good idea to get you two home. What do you say about me driving you home?”

“Uh, well,” Jackie hesitated.

“Sure, why not?” Carmen laughed, putting her arms behind her head.

“How about stranger danger?” Jackie grumbled.

“Oh, and what, you have a better idea? I doubt the bus would be running with all this stuff going on,” Carmen shrugged. Jackie attempted to make a counter argument only to sigh and shrug, admitting defeat. “That’s what I thought. We’ll go with you.”

“Right, then let’s go,” Annie nodded as she motioned them through the mall.

Along their way they quickly began to realize the true gravitas of what had happened. Broken glass and displays were strewn across the floors as people of bizarre forms shambled to their feet, or other appendages in some cases. “What in the world happened?” Annie asked as she eyed one woman flailing a bit, her lower abdomen replaced with that of a snakes, her once human ears now pointed and scaled. She looked like a creature straight out of some myth, a naga or a lamia.

Other people seemed to meet similar fates, some bearing wings of varying colors, some distinctively white, their hair seeming to glow, and others with darker feathers and claw like hands. Others seemed closer to something out of a horror story, with leathery wings and slender forked tails. Possibly the most alarming was the man belching fire, his limbs and chest coated in thick skins, as if part dragon and part man. Some were more animal than human now, unlike the others, but all of them seemed to reel at their sudden states, some even looking at their limbs in confusion as if they never had them before.

The girls chose to put aside their mounting concerns, Annie insisting on getting them home as quickly as possible. Her mind billowed with concerns of another losing their faculties and going on a rampage, and the potential harm these two children could face as a result. She had to get them home, she just had to, she could satiate her concerns and curiosities later, and hopefully once they left the mall they would be home free. However, it was quite evident by the time they made it to the parking lot that such a possibility was unlikely as people sauntered about confusedly. Some screamed, others cried, but all had a deep fear within them, changed or not, it didn’t matter.

Fortunately, they made it to her car without much consequence. A red sports car of stellar make, evident of some real money being put into it. As they got in, Jackie awed over the plush fabric of the seats while fighting to pull his new dress into the car. He glanced around noticing a heart colored with six colors of the rainbow in big bold stripes with a Venus symbol decorating its center dangling off the rearview mirror. Glancing around he noticed several other interesting items including some textbooks including one talking about teaching kids.

Annie meanwhile fought with her dress, flustered by the long flowing design, clearly encumbered by its flowing design. She twisted and turned as she fought for a comfortable position, before finally settling in and buckling her seatbelt. “Alright, you two ready?”

“Yes ma’am,” Jackie replied.

“Sure, thing,” Carmen smiled before a small buzz disrupted them, Carmen grabbing at her backpack and pulling out her phone.

“Who is it?” Jackie asked.

“Mom, she said everyone’s safe and at home. Don’t worry, I let her know we’re both okay. She asked for us to go to your place since it’s closer, that good with you?” Carmen asked

“That’s fine,” Jackie sighed as the car pulled away.

The drive was far from comforting as they navigated the peculiar state of the streets, a number of cars pulled over or crashed onto the side of the road with people evaluating their new predicaments in a sluggish and confused manner, much like at the mall. Unlike there however, a distinctive sense of destruction seemed to flood the area, thanks to cars abruptly stopping, being crushed or careening off the road. It was incredibly unsettling. Fortunately, while Jackie sat quietly, discomforted by the space around them, Carmen dutifully instructed Annie on how to get to Jackie’s home.

Finally, they arrived at the apartment complex Sabrina Shores. After some more careful navigation the three finally arrived, climbing the stairs to his home, approaching his apartment, as Jackie began to shake.

“Jackie?” Carmen poked him. “We’re here. You doing okay?”

“Y-yeah,” he nodded, Carmen sighing.

“Don’t give me that. You’re concerned about how they’ll react, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he nodded dejectedly. “They won’t recognize me, will they.”

“It’s not too late to back out,” Carmen said, “we can go to my place if you’d prefer. You know Mom and Dad would be okay with it.”

“M-maybe…” he began, looking up to his apartment door, noticing that the lights weren’t on in the nearby window. “Huh? Wait, is no one home?”

“Looks like it. Maybe something happened?” Annie asked.

“You don’t think…” Carmen started as Jackie ran to the door, quickly finding the spare key and unlocking the door, rushing in. “Jackie!”

“MOM!?” he called out in his high shrill voice. “LEAH!? TOMMY!? ANYONE!?” His voice echoed in the dark empty house. He was uncertain if he was being met by relief or horror as the house seemed empty entirely empty. “Where...?”

“Jackie, calm down, didn’t you say they were going out for something today?” Carmen asked.

“Y-yeah,” he nodded. “Right, Tommy’s friend had a birthday party,” he sighed.

“Traffic looked pretty bad from what I saw of the highway,” Annie explained to them. “I’m sure there’s a bunch of accidents down there. If they were downtown, they may have gotten stuck down there. I wouldn’t be surprised if they couldn’t make it home tonight. Do you have a way to get in touch with them?”

“Oh, right, my phone,” Jackie jumped reaching for his pocket. His hand slid down his dress, much to his embarrassment. He quickly discovered neither it not the pink leggings underneath had a pocket, much less a phone. “Uh…where is my phone?” he asked blushing. “It was in my pocket earlier, which uh...I don’t seem to have anymore. What about you two?”

“Mine was in my backpack,” Carmen shrugged, reaching in for it and pulling out a blue flip phone with pride.

“I accidentally left mine in my car, which I guess may have been a blessing,” Annie chuckled sheepishly, pulling out a flat glassy black rectangle.

“No way! You have a smartphone, I’m so jealous!” Carmen pouted.

“Yeah, I’m still paying it off though,” Annie said side eyeing it. “Can you use one of ours to call your mom?”

“Uh, well…” Jackie looked down at the floor.

“Dude, seriously, you still don’t know your mom’s number!?” Carmen flinched.

“I don’t normally need too,” Jackie protested.

“Well, if you’d prefer, I can take you to my place and we can comeback in the morning, or you can go with Carmen like she suggested,” Annie offered. Jackie thought about her offer, and it did sound nice having Annie watch after them, and he didn’t want to stay home alone.

“Or we could stay here, and have a slumber party,” Carmen teased. “We haven’t done that in forever, she grinned with a devilish look.

“Actually, that sounds kind of nice. I want to be here when they get back too,” Jackie said twiddling his thumbs shyly.

“Okay,” Annie nodded, “but, I want you two to have my number. And I want you to check in with me first thing in the morning. Got it?”

“Roger!” Carmen answered chipperly as the two traded numbers. “Oh, and here’s Jackie’s too in case we find it,” she chuckled. “Hey, wait a moment.”

“Carmen?” Jackie asked as the two eyed her, her dark fingers clicking a few buttons on the small keypad. She looked at the phone intently to no avail. “Dang, that would’ve been cool if…” her voice trailed off as she looked at Jackie as he began looking around nervously. “Jackie?”

“What’s the matter?” Annie added.

“D-do either of you hear that? Or feel that? It’s like a soft buzz, and a song, but where’s it coming from?”

“I don’t hear or feel anything,” Annie replied.

“Me neither,” Carmen shrugged. “Hold on a moment. Hey, Jackie, is it the song from that one anime? The alchemy one.”

“Uh, yeah, now that you mention it, it’s one of…” he blinked. “It’s my ringtone for you!”

“Hah, knew it. I was trying to call you,” she laughed as she held up her phone.

“Huh, then I still have it? But…”

“Maybe it has to do with whatever transformed us. Maybe if we find a way to turn back you’ll have it again,” Annie commented.

“I sure hope so,” he sighed. “On both counts.”

“Oh, and I just heard back from Mom. She’s cool with me staying over,” she grinned.

“Alright, then. I should head out,” Annie frowned.

“What? Already?” Carmen frowned back.

“Sorry, but I have to go check up on my cat. She hasn’t been fed tonight yet, and with all this weirdness, I just wanna check up on her,” Annie explained.

“Alright, then,” Carmen nodded as Jackie followed suit.

“We’ll be sure to call you tomorrow,” Jackie smiled.

“Good. Sleep well you two,” she waved them goodbye.

“So, what should we do now?” Jackie asked.

“Well, I could always cream you at Kart,” Carmen gave a smug look.

“Oh no you won’t! I’ve been practicing!” the two chuckled as they went to Jackie’s room to play games. Much to Jackie’s frustration, his practice wasn’t enough as Carmen continued to beat him at every turn, made even worse by Carmen’s continual teasing of his girlish squeals in frustration. The two played and laughed until finally the long incomprehensible day finally came to an end and the blanket of sleep pulled their eyes shut.