-Today, in the band practice room-
Sarah took a deep breath and raised both arms, fingers aimed at Kyla like she was going to zap her. In a way, she almost was. Sarah took a moment to gather her energy, and let it flow from her hands and into Kyla.
And that's when Tiffany took her focus off of Kyla, and re-directed the charm spell onto Sarah.
For a moment, Sarah couldn't breathe. The muscles in her chest wouldn't contract. Then Kyla, still seated, started making a rotating motion with her hands and the flow of oxygen returned.
But Sarah still couldn't move. She could feel her own binding magic begin to encircle her, could feel it wrapping around her body.
"It's all about leverage," Kyla grinned as she stood up from the chair, keeping her hands in motion. "For example, if I take just a little bit of my own magic and add it to yours..." The geek grunted as her the muscles in her arms tensed briefly.
A white Alice band appeared on Sarah's head, matching the one that Kyla wore. And, as if by magic (because that's precisely what it was), a set of bangs sprung out from underneath Sarah's new Alice band. Again, to match Kyla's own bangs. The elastic fell from the braid that Jocelynne had done up at the breakfast table, and Sarah's hair shook itself out. Her hair style now looked identical to Kyla Leesons, if still blonde compared to Kyla's black.
No. This couldn't be happening. Sarah wouldn't let it. She was Sarah McMillan, goddammit, this wasn't how she was going to go out.
Sarah's own muscles tensed, and more magic released, pushing against the binding spell that Kyla had re-directed. The Alice band popped off of Sarah's head, floating above her like a perpendicular halo, vibrating in the air as it tried to re-take its newly-rightful place.
Kyla added more of her magic, and a pair of cat-eye glasses appeared in the air in front of Sarah's face, threatening to perch themselves on the girl's nose.
Sarah redoubled her efforts. She was Sarah McMillan. She wasn't going to go out like this.
But Kyla increased the speed of her hands, and Sarah felt a wind blow past her, and all of the magic she had been pushing out was sucked into Kyla's clutches. The Alice band thunked back on Sarah's head, and to her horror, it felt like it belonged. The glasses clattered onto her face, and to her surprise, she could see more sharply through them.
Sarah called on her reserves of energy, but she had none left. But that couldn't be true. She didn't feel like she was out of energy. But it wasn't responding to her.
"I'm Sarah McMillan," she forced the words out of her mouth through the binding magic. "And I am not going out like this."
The veins in her arms were clearly visible now as she strained even harder. As she pushed through internal pain. As she sought to access whatever it was that was just out of reach.
Sarah wouldn't be controlled. She wouldn't be assimilated into Kyla's little Borg collective. Where had that thought come from? Was it too late already?
No.
With a great straining of every muscle in her body, Sarah felt something pop within her, and a new reservoir of energy escaped. Flowed into Kyla's hands, but then rushed back immediately to wash over Sarah completely.
Kyla lost her control and fell backwards into the chair, releasing the binding spell. "No!" she grunted.
With this newest wave of energy washing over Sarah, the Alice band dissolved and her hair twisted itself into a messy bun, then darkened to a deep brown. The glasses remained, but the rims squared themselves off. Sarah could feel her face rounding slightly as the layer of fat thickened under her skin.
"I am Sarah Gibson!" she cried, "And there is no possible way that I am going out like this."
The magic swirled around her. Her stylish top became a loose purple pullover sweater. Her skirt became a pair of skinny jeans that came to just above her ankle. Her strappy sandals became ballet flats.
In the backwash of the magic, Tiffany too lost her balance, and ended her charm spell as she steadied herself against the wall.
Suddenly free to move, Sarah took the initiative and fled the room while her erstwhile captors were still dazed. She ran into the hallway and back out to the parking lot. She ran to her car and turned the key and left the school grounds so hastily that she didn't even notice the wedding band that had formed on her finger.
