I DO NOT OWN SVTFOE, GRAVITY FALLS OR THE OWL HOUSE. ALL RIGHTS AND OWNERSHIP BELONG TO DISNEY.

(Zach's POV)

Vee leads me away from the group into the forests surrounding the Wild Magic University. We walk for a little while, chatting about our respective friend groups and guessing what they might be up to.

"After you guys left last night Luz spent a while brainstorming with Amity how she could maybe bring Star and Marco's magic back while they are here." Vee doesn't turn as she talks, focusing on making her way through the forest. I followed close behind her so I can hear what she is saying, but mainly so I won't get lost. "She felt really bad about the situation. She understands what its like to be without power in this place, a world filled with magic, especially if you come from somewhere so similar." Vee seems to have no issues making her way through the dense undergrowth, her snake like body making quick work of upturned roots and matted plant life. I on the other hand trip and stumble as I try to progress through the almost impenetrable wall of closely knit tries and thick foliage around me.

"So when she said they had a plan for them both, I assume its something to do with that?"

Vee shrugs, still keeping her eyes firmly on the forest ahead of her. "Probably. I went back into the human realm before they came up with a solution so I don't know any more than that." Vee suddenly comes to a halt ahead of me and I stop behind her. She finally turns around to face me as she reaches for some vines that hang in front of her. "We have arrived."

She pulls the vines apart and steps through the gap. I follow her through to find myself on the edge of what appears to be a stadium in the middle of the woods. There are a set of wooden bleachers against to what looks like a pitch, white lines adorning the edges of the beige dusty play area. Hollow triangles stand on poles at either side, and a large scoreboard looms over the entire structure.

"This is the Wild Magic University's Grudgby pitch." Vee stretches her arms out gesturing to the stadium. "Its where the Wild Witches practice."

"Wild Witches?"

Vee turns back to me. "That's the name of the Wild Magic University Grudgby Team. Currently on an undefeated run."

I look up to the scoreboard, where the name 'Witches' is accompanied by the number 36. A second name, 'Visitors', has the number 5 beside them. "Seems they do pretty well."

Vee nods before making her way over to the centre of the pitch. "Since its the off season the pitch isn't used very often at the moment, so I thought it would be a really cool place to train, since the others are probably using all the free rooms at the main building."

I follow her towards the middle of the pitch. "Sounds like a plan. So teach, what do you want me to do first?"

Vee waits for me to reach the centre of the pitch. "Stand slightly to your left and wait there." I do as I'm instructed, taking a step to the left of the centre dot, as she slithers towards the scoreboard. She reaches it and turns back to me, stretching her hand behind the board. "I want you to catch this ball." She pulls what I assume is a lever behind the board and a ball comes flying out of the ground in front of me. I watch as it flies into the air a decent height before it reaches it apex and starts to descend. As it comes down towards me I leap into the air and catch it, landing back on the pitch. Dust swirls around my feet as I land and steady myself. "Ok, throw me back the ball."

I toss the ball back to Vee, who catches it and puts it somewhere behind the scoreboard. "That wasn't particularly hard," I say.

"Well this time, I want you to grab the ball when it's at its highest point."

"Before it starts to fall?"

"That's right. You'll probably need your wings to do it. You've got a decent jump but I don't think you can jump that high." I nod. Vee pulls the lever again and once again the ball comes flying out of the ground. I concentrate on changing my form, wings sprouting from my back and my skin turning to scales. I fall forward, my arms having changed into front legs complete with long, sharp claws. My head elongates, my jaw growing larger and fanged teeth appearing in my now gaping dragon maw. As the transformation finishes I flap my wings and send myself flying into the air, but as I reach where the apex of the balls flight should be, it isn't there. I look down the see the ball resting on the floor next to the hole it had just come shooting out of. I land next to the ball, the hole in the ground inexplicably closing up as I land. Vee comes slithering over from the scoreboard and stops next to me, still in my dragon form. "See, this is the point I am trying to illustrate." She picks up the ball. "Your full transformation was to slow to do what I asked." She tosses the ball to the side, it rolling towards where she stood before next to the scoreboard. "Besides, you don't need to go full dragon to get the ball, I said you just need these." She touches my wings as she says this then starts to walk over to the ball. "Ok, change back. We're going to keep doing this until you can get the ball from it's maximum height fast enough to get it back in the hole." She picks up the ball and moves it behind the scoreboard again, getting ready to pull the lever. "Again."

She pulls the lever and the ball flies out of the ground once more. I focus, this time only trying to pull out the wings. She was right when she said they were all I need, and if I can bring them out on their own then the transformation should be quick enough to grab the ball. I feel the transformation begin, the wings start to form, but I also feel the scales start to appear on my skin. My arms start to stretch, the claws start to grow. I fall forward, catching my changing form on my now dragon forelimbs. The transformation has started and now needs to finish. Try as I might, pulling out the wings pulls out the rest of the form, forcing me to transform fully. I fly up into the air, now fully as a dragon, but once again the ball has fallen all the way to the floor by the time I reach the right height. I land and change back, picking up the ball and tossing it over to Vee. She catches it and calls back to me. "Again."

The lever is pulled, the ball flies out of the ground. Once again, I try to draw out my other form, but only the wings, only the parts I need. I try to separate the form in my mind, thinking of each part as a different piece of the puzzle, trying to grab this one and bring it to the surface. However the same thing happens. The wings come forth, but bring with them the rest of the transformation. The forelimbs, the claws, the jaw, the tail. I push off the ground, flying into the air, pushing my wings to fly faster than I have before, but the ball still falls before I reach it, the hole in the ground still closing as I land. Frustrated, I change back again, grabbing the ball and throwing it over to Vee. "Again."

She inserts the ball back into whatever mechanism is sending the it into the air once again and pulls the lever. I push my transformation forward, attempting to fight the changes to my body. The wings are what I want, I don't want anything else from it. As my skin becomes the scales, I fight the change, clutching at my arms as I feel the hard exterior emerge beneath my hands, the claws growing from the tips of my fingers and digging into the bits of flesh that have yet to change. I let go as I feel my arms grow longer, tipping my head backwards as I fall forward, the dragon's jaw starting to appear. I see the ball soaring into the air, nearing it's apex. Frustration at my failures and my lack of progress compels me to launch myself at the ball in an attempt to reach it before it starts to fall. However, the transformation isn't complete, and my added weight is to much for the unfinished wings, causing me to fall and crumple to the ground, watching the ball come falling towards me as the transformation finally finishes. The ball hits the ground inches from my face, rolling over towards the hole which has already started to close. I lift myself up, looking high into the sky, and in my frustration let out a loud roar accompanied by a torrent of red hot flame which soars higher than the ball did.

Vee slithers over to me as I change back into my human form, my clothes now covered in the same dust that covers the hard ground of the arena. I brush off the dust, my movements sharp and agitated, my frustration at the events before still very present in my mind. Vee gently grabs my arm as I continue to attempt to slap away the dust. "Hey, it's ok, we can try again."

"No, it's not ok." I flick my arm forward, causing her to let go as I turn away from her. "No matter what I try, when I transform I can't not go all the way, this power doesn't let me." I look back at Vee, who is looking back at the floor dejected.

"I was only trying to help." Her voice is meek and trembles slightly.

I let out a sigh and turn my body to face her, rubbing my temple with my hand. My frustration melts way as I approach, tilting up her head with my other hand so I can see her properly. "I'm sorry, I'm just really annoyed it isn't working. I know you're only trying to help. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Vee looks less hurt, her regular spirit seeming to return. "We just need to keep trying, I know we can crack this problem." Her voice no longer trembles as she speaks.

"Have you considered that maybe our abilities aren't the same." I sit down on the ground, the dust seemingly finding a way to almost completely cover my clothes as I do.

"What makes you say that?"

"I mean what doesn't." I gesture towards Vee, her face showing a puzzled expression but one no less sympathetic than earlier. "I've seen what you can do, the first thing you did after we got here is emulate my wings perfectly. I've seen you change the clothes you wear on a whim. You're probably only a few seconds away from a perfect copy of any one of my group if you wanted to be and you've only seen us three times at most." I look towards the floor and start to drag my finger through the dust on the ground. "I only have my two forms, this and the dragon."

Vee changes into her human form and sits in front of me, crossing her legs as she does. "You know my abilities didn't always feel so limitless. Back before I met Luz's mum I felt pretty helpless."

I look up at her. "I can't imagine you ever feeling helpless."

"It's true. Belos captured my entire species for experimentation of some kind. I managed to escape, but I was scared and lost, and I stumbled into the human realm by accident and completely alone. Luz's mum found me, and I actually pretended to be Luz for a while out of fear of being found out. After a while the truth came to light, and despite it all I was accepted into the Noceda household as myself. It was only then I was able to find any real strength within myself, and it took even longer for me to take a form I felt was really myself. Sure since then I have managed to grow into what you see before you, but that doesn't take away from what happened before. I just had to find the strength to grow, and my power grew with me."

"That doesn't change the fact that you have those abilities though," I reply. "Scared or not, you had the ability to change into one of countless forms from the beginning. You're asking me to do the same, but I don't have that ability. I have grown so much from when I first met Star and Marco. I've gone on countless adventures, beaten even more bad guys, and found strength within myself I didn't know I had. I met a girl I love and we got married. I even found another group I feel at home with alongside the Teen Titans. But no matter how much strength I find, how much me and my power grow, it doesn't change the fact I can't do what you can. I have two forms, and you're asking me to change to another that simply isn't there."

Vee stands up and gently pats away at the dust that has collected on her person before transforming back into her true form. "I never asked you to find another body. Those wings are part of you, the entire dragon is. Maybe instead of fighting it you look at it a different way, you find a new angle." Vee starts to slither off towards the scoreboard once again. She calls to me over her shoulder as she goes. "However one thing is for sure, if you can't find the strength to keep trying, then all that growth you mentioned really was for nothing."

She continues over to the scoreboard as I spring to my feet. "You're right." The dust comes flying off me as I land next to the centre dot. "I can't talk about growth and then just give up. You have faith in me, I need to prove I'm worth that. Whether what you ask is possible or not, we find out today."

Vee smiles at me as she stands next to the scoreboard, reaching behind it once again. "I already know you're worth it, I wouldn't be here otherwise." Vee grabs the lever and I ready myself for the ball. She pulls the lever and the ball comes flying out of the ground just like before. I close my eyes, focusing solely on the transformation in my mind. I feel the transformation start as the wings begin to form behind me. In my mind's eye I see what I want, nothing but the wings. This time I don't fight the transformation, feeling the scales start to form across my skin, starting at my arms and neck. I keep my eyes closed, continuing to see my body in my mind as it transforms, watching as the wings grow larger and larger. I wait patiently, allowing the transformation to come over me. Before I treated the dragon like a tool, an end to a goal, something for me to use. Now however, I treat it like a symbiotic relationship, we each want something and we work together to achieve it. The dragon wants to come out, and I want the wings. As soon as the wings reach full size, I open my eyes. I break my concentration and I feel the transformation peter off. I catch the ball in my gaze, it still flying into the sky, and launch myself off the the ground towards it. My wings catch me as I do so and I fly towards the ball, grabbing it as it reaches its apex. I feel the ball in my hands and I dive towards the floor. I launch the ball out of them towards the hole, the ball disappearing into it just as it closes, and I land next to the centre dot, the downdraft from my wings sending dust swirling around me. 

Vee changes into her human form again and sprints over to me. "Oh my titan, you did it!" As she reaches me she grabs me in a hug. "I never doubted you for a second." She lets me go and quickly scans my body up and down with her eyes. "And would you look at you, this form is amazing. I always new you had it in you."

I look down at my new body, a mix half way between the dragon and me. I have grown a few inches, my legs beginning to lengthen before I stopped the transformation, and my hands have fully changed into the dragon claws with the scales reaching a fair way up my arms. My face remains human, but I reach up and feel a few patches of scales have formed around my neck. My tail hadn't started to form when the transformation ended but my fully formed wings sit behind me, now massive in comparison to my human frame. I change back to my fully human form, the dragon parts of my body quickly melting back into my human parts. "It's all thanks to you. There is no way I could have done this alone."

"I'm sure you would have worked it out eventually." Vee turns to head back towards the forest. "Come on, lets show the others what you can do."

I reach out and grab Vee by the shoulder. She turns her head to look at me as I do. "Seriously, thank you, for believing in me."

She puts her hand on mine. "Any time."

I take my hand off of her shoulder. "You know, we've only been here a few hours, and the sun is still pretty high in the sky. Do you want to stick around a bit and continue helping me practice this transformation. I want to make sure I can do it perfectly every time, and I think I can probably do it even faster."

Vee turns to face me before reaching down and grabbing another ball that is sitting by the side of the pitch. "Of course, we can stay as long as you need."