Both Peter and Ryan turned around and were surprised to see Prince, just standing besides them! He told the boys to sit back down as he walked up to the TV and turned it off. Then he started to speak in a serious tone.

“I have an assignment for you, my young Transformation Master. You must complete this assignment within the next two days, by the end of this weekend. Do you think you are ready for it?” he asked Peter.

“Yes, Master, I am ready. What is it you need me to do?” Peter asked him, as Ryan sat next to Peter, silently listening in on the conversation.

“This has to do with a magical transformation ring. This ring is located in an ancient temple several miles south of here, by the Indian ruins. You will need to retrieve the ring and return it safely here back to me” Prince began to explain.

“The ring was made by metalworker about a hundred years ago. Several ancestors of yours and your cousin decided to band together and they transferred some of their powers to this ring. As you know, you, your cousin Tyler and Jace are somehow related to each other, for your families go back several generations and the three of you have had the same ancestors at one point in time” he told Peter. Both Peter and Ryan looked at each other in shock!

“In order for you to locate this ring, you must first find a crystal, which is kept in an Indian village. Only a Transformation Master like you can use the crystal. If you concentrate on it, a beam of light will shine from it, indicating where the ring is located. A normal human being has no use for it. That’s why you must get the crystal first.” He said.

“That can’t be too bad, if he just needs to go out and find a crystal and a ring!” Ryan said, after hearing what Prince had to say.

“There is more to this, my young muscular boy! While you will be searching for this ring, the Dark Wizards will try to stop you and to kill you so that they can take the ring and use it for themselves! The ring has great power, and whoever wears it will possess awesome transformation powers. And if you already have your own powers, like Peter does, wearing this ring will only make him even twice as powerful! That’s why the ring may not fall into the wrong hands!” Prince explained with great urgency.

“So, what are we supposed to do first, Master? Where do we start?” Peter asked Prince.

“Here is a picture of the crystal. Concentrate on it. Then go to the Indian village early tomorrow morning. From there you’ll go through a forest, and after you come out of that, you’ll end up at another Indian village populated by children where you need to ask for Great Horse, who will send you a guide who will lead you to the temple. Use your powers, for they will tell you where to go!” Prince said, as he handed Peter a piece of paper with a photo of a crystal on it. Peter looked at it and concentrated on the photo.

“I would suggest you take Ryan with you, Peter!” Prince said, “You will need all the help you can get, for the mission is extremely dangerous and your powers will be pushed to their limits during this mission. You will certainly need them and use them, for you will need to face the Dark Wizards in battle!”

Ryan became very excited and started to cheer, but Peter was deeply concerned about that. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to take Ryan, Master? I’m just feeling concerned about his safety…” he asked.

“Yes, Peter. Let him go with you for you will need his strength. You cannot do this alone. Do you understand what your mission is?” Prince replied.

“Yes Master! We’ll leave here early in the morning.” Peter replied. He looked at Ryan, who had a big smile on his face. Ryan was excited because he finally got to go somewhere with Peter alone, and he would now have the opportunity to protect and defend Peter while he carried out his assignment. Then Peter looked back and realized that Prince had disappeared.

Ryan and Peter got up early Saturday morning. Ryan wore just a tank top and shorts, and sandals on his huge feet. Peter was dressed up in his official Transformation Master robe, which was all white and resembled the robes worn by those who practiced martial arts. He wore white slacks and white boots. And he had a white headband over his head, which covered his forehead, above the eyes. In the center of the headband was a symbol which consisted of four arrows of equal length, which all came from one the same point in the center. Two arrows were horizontal, and two were vertical. The arrows were blue, and they indicated that the bearer of the headband was capable of performing multi-directional transformations. Peter could transform into an animal and then back into himself again. Or he could transform into an animal, then he could grow, or he could end one transformation and immediately do another right away.

Ryan had a backpack on his bag with some sandwiches for the trip. Peter also had one, and they packed all the needed supplies for the weekend. When they were done, Ryan stood in front of Peter and held on to his shoulders, as Peter concentrated and magically teleported them just outside the entrance to the Indian village, which was located a few hundred miles away.

As they walked the streets of the small village, Peter used his powers and concentrated on the crystal. As he felt that they were getting closer and closer, Peter kept on walking until he stopped in front of a building.

The building was a center for women, and when Peter tried to get in, the lady at the main entrance denied him access. “This is a center for women only. I’m sorry, young man, I cannot let you enter!” the woman said to Peter.

Then Ryan and Peter walked around the back of the building, where Peter got an idea. “Ryan, I’m going to do something weird.” Peter said to his brother. “Like what?” Ryan asked him. “I’m going to change myself into an Indian girl so that I can go into the building and get the crystal.” Peter replied, leaving Ryan astonished.

Peter decided to transform himself into a teenage Indian girl so that he could get in to the building. His brown hair grew longer and longer, until it covered the sides of his head. He became smaller and thinner, as his muscles disappeared. His pectorals were suddenly reduced and breasts grew in their place. His face became more feminine, as the muscular teenage boy was suddenly transformed into a young teenage girl with brown skin and long, light brown and straight hair! Ryan smiled at the girl, giving his thumbs up to Peter, who now was a girl. “Alright, go get it, girl! I’ll wait out here for you.” Ryan said.

The girl walked back up to the entrance and was allowed to come in. There she walked into a large waiting room, where women got together to gave each other make-overs by assisting one another with clothing, hair, and makeup.

She walked towards the back room, where she felt her powers growing stronger. She saw a loose tile on the floor of the back room, and her power indicated that the crystal was located there. She carefully removed the tile with her long nails, and in the small hole in the ground was a cardboard box containing the crystal, which had a thin silver chain attached to it. She grabbed the crystal and placed it in her side pocket of her robe, and then walked out the front door.

She met back with Ryan and showed him the crystal. As the girl held on to the crystal, she concentrated on it, and a faint ray of light came out of the crystal, leading them to the forest, which was south of the Indian village. “Alright, Ryan! Bend down so I can place this around your neck” Peter said. Peter then placed the chain around Ryan’s neck so that he could guard the crystal. As Ryan bent down, she placed it on him, as the ray of light was pointing towards the forest. Then Ryan and Peter walked out of the village.

Peter decided to change back into his old self when the village was no longer in sight. Her hair suddenly became shorter as her breast disappeared and pectorals grew back again. The face became more masculine again, as muscle popped up on his arms and legs. He grew several inches taller as his skin turned lighter as well. Before Ryan knew it, the brown teenage girl had transformed back into Peter again.

“Wow, Peter! I have never seen you do that before!” Ryan remarked with excitement as he watched his buddy undergo the difficult transformation. “Honestly, I have never done it before!” Peter answered, indicating that this was the first time he tried it.

Ryan continued to be amazed by his adopted brother, who appeared to have grown stronger in the use of his powers since he had taken on the assignment from Prince. The two boys were now in the middle of the great forest, where everything appeared to be quiet and peaceful. But Peter and Ryan were not aware of the fact that there was a figure dressed in a black robe who was watching them from a distance.

Ryan was the first to hear something. “Did you hear that?” he asked Peter, who gave him a blank look. Suddenly a black figure appeared right in front of Peter. He was short and had red hair and a beard. He wore the same kind of robe Peter had, but his was all black! Peter and Ryan froze in shock, as the figure began to speak.

“It’s you! I’ve been looking for you!” the man said in a threatening voice while pointing his finger at Peter. “Who… Who are you?” Peter asked him. “Don’t you know? Who do you think I am? My name is Slupor!” he said, as he walked closer to Peter.

Peter immediately sensed danger! Slupor was a Dark Wizard! Peter looked over and saw Ryan, who was completely surprised! “Ryan! Watch out! He’s a Dark Wizard!” Peter shouted at his buddy, who was standing a few feet behind him.

“Your powers…” Slupor began, as he got closer to Peter. Peter took a step back, and stood almost next to Ryan. “Give them to me! I want your powers! Give them to me NOW!” Slupor shouted at Peter.

“Come and get them yourself!” Peter shouted, as he sensed that Slupor was going to attack him. “Run, Ryan!! RUN!!” Peter shouted at Ryan, who started to run a few feet, until he stopped. Then he realized that Peter was trying to protect him from the Dark Wizard. But Ryan didn’t feel right about leaving Peter by himself either and he decided to hide behind a tree so he could see what Peter was going to do.

“If you hurt him, you’ll be very, very sorry!” Peter warned Slupor calmly, as he pointed at Ryan.

“And you’ll be DEAD!” Slupor shouted at Peter, as he began to transform. His face, arms, and torso suddenly grew a thick coat of long brown fur. His face began to resemble that of a monkey, as his feet became bigger and thicker. His hands grew as well. Suddenly the black robe disappeared and the short figure of Slupor grew three feet taller as the small monkey suddenly began to look like a large gorilla!

The gorilla jumped right at Peter, who leaped out of its way and rolled on the ground just in time. Ryan, who was watching the beginning of this battle from a distance, suddenly came out of hiding with a scream. “NOOOOOO!!” he screamed, as he jumped out from behind the tree.

Peter quickly transformed into a lion, where his face began to grow fur as eyes and nose changed. His legs grew shorter and his torso grew longer and was now covered with fur. A tail appeared to come from his spine, and the white robe disappeared, revealing a lion on the same spot where Peter lay on the dirt.

The gorilla grabbed the lion by one of the paws, as the lion tried to bite him in the arm. Then the gorilla let a mighty roar and hurled the lion against the tree, leaving it dazed for a few seconds! The gorilla walked closer to the lion…

The lion got up and leaped at the gorilla, knocking it on the ground with his front paws! The gorilla lay on his back when the lion grabbed it by the throat, as he was about to choke the gorilla to death!

But the gorilla hurled the lion against the tree again, leaving the lion in a daze for the second time. Then the lion looked up and saw the gorilla running straight at it!

As the gorilla was about to run right into the wounded lion, the large lion disappeared from sight! The gorilla slammed head on into the stump of the mighty tree. The tree shook violently, as it started to lean to one side. The force of the impact was so great, that the wooden stump began to crack and the tree began to fall over on its side, away from the place where the gorilla had crashed into it.

The gorilla was in a lot of pain! It had hurt its head when it hit the tree, and it was left in a daze for a few moments. It shook its head back and forth a few times, and then it opened its eyes again.

While the gorilla was trying to get up, Ryan had quietly walked closer. He wanted to see where Peter was, but he had placed himself in great danger, for the gorilla now had the large, muscular boy in its view!

The gorilla stood up, rubbing its hand over the top of its head as it was in a great deal of pain. But when it saw Ryan, standing at a distance, it became angry! The gorilla turned towards Ryan, as it charged at the boy at full speed while letting out a loud growl.

The gorilla jumped on top of Ryan, knocking him on his back. But Ryan was stronger, as he quickly turned the tables on the gorilla and pinned the beast with his back to the ground.

While Ryan was battling the Dark Wizard, a small puddle of water began to expand by the tree stump which had just been cracked by the gorilla. As several drops of water rolled over the dirt to merge with the large puddle, a column of water began to flow upward from the center of the puddle. The column of water rose to a height of six feet, when it became the figure of a teenage boy. Then the puddle of water turned to flesh as it transformed back into Peter!

The gorilla roared as Ryan continued to wrestle with the animal, keeping him pinned to the floor. The gorilla finally broke free when it kicked Ryan in his legs, forcing him to fall on his back a few feet away. Ryan quickly got back on his feet, as the gorilla charged at him again!

This time, Ryan jumped out of the way as he grabbed hold of the gorilla’s arm with both his hands. Ryan spun the gorilla around, and hurled it with his back against another tree!

The gorilla was dazed for a few moments, when Ryan grabbed his arm again and took advantage of the fact that the gorilla was in serious pain. Ryan placed the palm of his right hand on the gorilla’s chest, as he pushed him against the tree stump a second time, knocking the wind out of the Dark Wizard!

While Ryan was fighting the gorilla, Peter decided that he needed a weapon to end the fight. Rather, he had to become that weapon himself! Peter ran closer to where Ryan and Slupor were fighting, and he began to concentrate. Peter’s body began to become thinner and thinner, as his torso and legs transformed into a wooden bow. He held his arms together, and they transformed into the thin line of string. As the bow was floating by itself in mid air, and arrow with a sharp point appeared. The arrow was positioned right in the center of the bow, as the tail end of the arrow was pressed against the string while it was gently pulled back, as if an invisible archer was preparing to shoot the arrow out of the bow.

The bow was tilted and the arrow was pointing in the direction of Ryan and the gorilla, waiting for the right moment to shoot.

The pain in his head and in his back caused the gorilla to roar with rage, as Ryan hurled him against the tree stump for the third time. But as soon as it had hit the tree, it extended both arms, and grabbed Ryan by the throat.

Ryan and the gorilla stood in front of each other for a moment, the gorilla placing both hands around Ryan’s throat as Ryan tried desperately to pry the gorilla’s fingers apart with his own hands.

Ryan and the Dark Wizard slowly turned almost half circle, as Ryan’s knees started to buckle. The gorilla began to squeeze even harder, as Ryan began to choke. Gasping for breath, Ryan’s mighty arms had grabbed hold of the gorilla’s wrists as he began to push them apart. While they were fighting, nobody had noticed that Peter had transformed into a bow and arrow.

Suddenly the gorilla let out a mighty roar of pain, as the arrow had pierced his back. He immediately let go of Ryan, who slowly got up, still gasping for air as his throat was freed from the gorilla’s grip.

The gorilla was still screaming as it slowly got up and pulled the arrow out of its back, throwing it on the ground. The gorilla was obviously wounded, and it had given up the fight as it slowly walked away, screaming in pain.

Ryan got up and closed his eyes while he leaned against a tree. He was panting, for the battle had left him exhausted and he needed a moment to recover. Then he opened his eyes and began to stumble forward, wondering what had happened to Peter.

Ryan’s eyes turned towards the ground as he saw the arrow in the dirt. Several yards away there was the bow. Suddenly, both the bow and the arrow had disintegrated into sand! The kernels of sand from the arrow suddenly moved over the dirt towards where the bow had been. Then the two piles of sand had merged into one large pile.

As the pile of sand began to shrink in area, a pillar of sand began to form in the center of the pile. The more the pile had shrunk, the taller the pillar grew. When it had grown to about six feet tall, it began to take on the form of a human being.

Ryan was astonished as he watched the pillar of sand suddenly get a human form, as hands, arms, legs, and feet began to take shape in the sand. The round top of the pillar began to resemble a human face in within moments the outer layer of sand had turned to flesh as Peter reappeared on the spot where the pile of sand was just seconds before.

Peter looked weak and exhausted. All the fighting and quick transformations had taken a tremendous toll on him. He stood there as he looked Ryan in the face. He just wanted to see that Ryan was alright. Then Peter fell forward on his knees.

“Peter!” Ryan shouted, as he ran straight towards his buddy. Peter’s head was all sweaty, his hair was wet, and his eyes were weak. Peter didn’t have the physical strength that Ryan had, and he collapsed on the dirt in front of him.

Ryan gently rolled Peter over on his back. He was still alive, but he just had the wind knocked out of him. Ryan decided to lift Peter’s body up, and he allowed Peter’s chest to rest on his right shoulder. Ryan then walked towards a small patch of grass near a lake. He walked to the lake and scooped up some water with his hands. Then he walked back towards Peter. He knelt besides his friend, as he gently poured the water over Peter’s face. It worked! There was a soft groan, and Peter’s eyes opened.

“Peter! PETER! Are you alright?” Ryan asked the smaller teenager, as tears started rolling from his eyes, falling on Peter’s face. Peter looked lost and confused, as he stared at Ryan with his eyes half open. He looked exhausted, and Ryan could tell that Peter was not strong enough to continue the journey on his own.

As Ryan was knelt besides Peter, he gently reached out to Ryan with his right hand and grabbed hold of the crystal, which was hanging from the necklace around his neck. Peter struggled to concentrate, and a beam of light started to point towards a village, which was visible over the horizon. They were at the edge of the forest and they had a short journey of at least three hours ahead of them.

“Look, Ryan” Peter said with a weak voice. “Follow the light. That is where we need to go. Do you see that small village over there?” At first Ryan thought that Peter wanted him to continue the journey on his own. “I’m not leaving you here all by yourself, Peter! Not a chance! I am staying with you no matter what!” Ryan responded in a serious tone.

Then Peter used his arm to sit up. He tried to get back on his feet but he collapsed, realizing that he was obviously too weak to walk. “I will carry you, Peter!” Ryan said, while thinking about the trek that lay ahead of them.

“No! I got a better idea!” Peter said, as he found himself lying back on the ground again. “Lay next to me on your back” Peter ordered the muscular giant. Ryan got next to Peter and lay down. “Now grab my body and place me on top of you” Peter said. Ryan grabbed hold of Peter by his arms as he gently lifted him up, positioning him directly on top of him, and then lowering Peter’s body on to his own so that Peter’s head was resting on Ryan’s pectorals.

Slowly, Peter’s body began to sink as it dissolved and disappeared inside of Ryan’s body! Peter allowed his own, weak body to merge with Ryan so that Ryan could continue the journey while he carried Peter inside of him!

Ryan swung Peter’s backpack over his shoulder and allowed it to hang next to his own. Then he started to walk across the grassy field towards the village. It felt weird at first, for Ryan felt like he was alone. He still couldn’t understand the fact that he was carrying Peter inside of him!

“Peter?” he said to himself, wondering if Peter could hear him while he was inside of his big, muscular body. “Hey” he responded. Ryan was happy, he wasn’t alone after all. He was happy to hear Peter’s voice coming from inside of him.

“Why are we going to the village?” Ryan asked, as it seemed like he was talking to himself. “We need to find out where the ring is located. We need to ask for Great Horse, the main resident of the village, to show us the location of the Indian ruins so that we can get the ring” a voice said inside of him. Ryan smiled, as he continued to walk towards the village, allowing Peter to rest and recover from the battle in the forest.

About four hours had passed when Ryan had made it to the village. As he walked through the wooden entrance of the village, he noticed that just about all the people there were children. It seemed that the people who lived there never grew old, as kids walked around everywhere. They were carrying food, pulling carts with their horses, and selling food and clothing at the market on the street. Ryan felt right at home, although he was by far the biggest person in the village.

“We’re not going to find any old people over here! All these villagers look like kids!” Ryan said out loud, hoping that Peter would hear him.

“Ask one of the residents to give you directions to Great Horse, who is the wise man of the village” Peter responded. Ryan did just that, as he walked up to a boy who was selling fruit at a market. The boy was sitting on a large carpet that was lying on the floor, and there were several fruits placed besides him. He sat on his knees and was busy cutting a watermelon into several slices. When Ryan walked up to him, the boy looked up and gasped at Ryan’s enormous size!

Ryan knelt on the carpet and sat next to him, as the boy was looking at him with his mouth wide open. “Hi!” Ryan said to him in a friendly voice. Even while sitting down, Ryan was still much bigger than the boy, since he towered over him. The boy suddenly smiled, and he handed a slice of melon to Ryan. As Ryan took the fruit in his hand, he asked “How much money should I give you for the fruit?”

The little boy shook his head and then pointed to Ryan’s arms. He then flexed his right arm, indicating that he wanted Ryan to flex for him in exchange for the melon. Ryan gladly complied, as he sat directly in front of the boy and flexed his right arm, revealing the giant bicep that jumped out of his skin like a big ball of muscle. The boy placed the palm of his hand over Ryan’s bicep and smiled when he realized how hard it was.

“Can you tell me where I can find someone named Great Horse?” Ryan asked the boy. The boy then got up and pointed him in the direction of an old house in the center of the village. As Ryan then stood up, the little boy’s mouth was again wide open, as he walked right up to Ryan. He only got up to Ryan’s quads, and he had to strain his neck back so he could look at Ryan’s face! Then Ryan waved at him and said Thank You, as he turned around and began to walk towards the house. When Ryan arrived at the house he heard a voice inside of him say “Ryan, stop here for a moment.”

Suddenly Peter stepped right out of Ryan, and faced his big buddy as he turned around. “Are you feeling better now?” Ryan asked Peter. Peter looked refreshed; he was still wearing his white robes and headband. Peter looked around and noticed that all the villagers were indeed just like children. “I can’t walk around here looking like this!” Peter said out loud. ‘Why not?” Ryan asked him. “Look at me, I’m too old!” he responded as he turned towards Ryan. “All these villagers look like kids. I guess I’ll need to change into a little kid myself, so that I don’t stand out too much.”

At that moment, Peter began to shrink as he appeared to grow younger at the same time. Slowly his legs and arms became shorter, and his muscles became smaller. His teenage face now appeared like that of a nine year-old boy as Peter now looked like he was just nine years old himself. He was still wearing the robes, headband and boots, but his clothing had shrunk as well so that Peter now looked like he had grown to be six years younger than he was just moments before.

Ryan and Peter walked into the house, where they got to meet Great Horse. He was an elderly man with long, gray hair and a beard. Peter asked for directions to the temple ruins so that he could retrieve the ring of his ancestors, and Great Horse called on Rushing Water to lead them to the temple.

Rushing Water was about ten years old, but he spoke very little English. He was short and skinny and he had dark brown skin. He only wore a pair of black shorts and sandals on his brown feet. He grabbed an ancient map of the area, but he had a hard time giving Peter directions. He tried to interpret the map, but he struggled with telling Peter where to go once he arrived at the temple. Peter realized this and thought about a way that they could still understand what was written on the ancient map.

So, Peter decided to do a body swap, which took him about three seconds to do. Peter stopped and concentrated for a moment, allowing his power to flow through his body and that of the Indian boy who was standing in front of him. Suddenly, both Rushing Water and Peter blinked. Peter grew about three inches shorter, he became skinnier, and his brown hair became black. Then his skin became darker, until he finally looked exactly like Rushing Water! At the same time, Rushing Water grew three inches taller; he gained more muscle, and his black hair turned brown and spiky near the front of his head. His chocolate-colored skin became lighter until it was white. Rushing Water now had Peter’s body!

Peter gasped as he looked at himself. He noticed that he had grown taller! But he was delighted when he saw his muscles in his arms and legs. Still, he had no idea what had just happened to him. Meanwhile, Rushing Water just smiled as he looked at Peter. Ryan was amazed! “Wow! I have actually seen a body-swap! Amazing!” he said to himself, as he grinned at the site of two kids who had their bodies swapped in a matter of seconds.

Peter was still looking around in confusion, while Rushing Water calmly studied the map that Great Horse had given him. Rushing Water studied the layout of the temple on the map, and he understood the markings and notes. He grabbed a pen and a notepad and sketched the layout of the temple on it, copying it from the original map. Then he translated the directions that were written on the map and wrote these directions in English. Since he was in Rushing Water’s body, he now knew their language and he was able to understand and interpret the notes on the map.

When he was done, he stood in front of Peter, and Rushing Water now concentrated on swapping bodies again. They both blinked again, but this time they had their bodies back!

As soon as Ryan, Peter, and Rushing Water get to the edge of the village, Peter progresses his age and grew back into a fifteen year old teenager! Rushing Water was shocked, and he became scared of Peter! First Peter used his own body, now he just made himself grow six years older within seconds. He felt intimidated, but decided to lead them to the temple anyway so he could complete the task. He indicated where the ancient temple was and walked with Ryan and Peter to the large cliff overseeing a river down below. The ground was very rough and rocky, for there were lots of dirt, sand, rocks, and large boulders.

Meanwhile, Slupor had recovered from his wound that he got as a gorilla, and was ready to try to kill Peter again. He saw that Ryan and Peter were heading towards the ancient temple, and he decided to transform himself into a fiery dragon!

When Ryan and Peter had asked Rushing Water to lead them up to the temple, he suddenly became worried and scared. Although they couldn’t understand what he was saying, they could tell that he was scared for he became very nervous and he started to tremble. The Peter tried to calm him down by telling him to relax. He was still scared, and Peter finally decided to stand and watch, with his arms folded across his chest. Rushing Water had no clue to what Peter was doing, but Ryan saw it right away. He was increasing the Indian boy’s muscles!

Rushing Water looked down when he felt something happening to his body. His legs were thicker, his arms and shoulders were wider, and his chest stood out further! He was delighted when he saw what Peter had done to him! Then he became more confident, and he got up and started to lead Ryan and Peter to the temple, as he was feeling bigger and stronger this time.

Rushing Water led the two boys up to the large, wooden door at the entrance to the huge, ancient building. Peter was going to walk around the building, and asked Ryan to stand guard outside. Rushing Water was happy that he was still able to lead Ryan and Peter to the temple and bid them goodbye from there for his work was finished.

Rushing Water decided to walk back home, as Ryan sat down on a rock in front of the entrance to the temple, while Peter decided to walk around the building first. When Peter realized that there was no other way to get in or out of the building, he decided to try to get inside through the wooden door.

The wooden door was large and heavy. Although he could have asked Ryan to open it for him, he figured he wanted to get in as quietly as possible. So he decided to try something else. Since the bottom of the door had many cracks and tears in it, he decided to shrink his body down enough so that he could crawl through one of the cracks in order to get inside of the building.

As he began to shrink, his clothes began to shrink with him. His body became smaller and smaller, as he stood in front of the large door, which appeared to be growing bigger and bigger. Ryan sat on the rock, and saw Peter shrink down. He smiled when he saw tiny Peter standing next to him, for he was about an inch tall now.

Peter looked up at Ryan and chuckled. Ryan was always big to him, but now Ryan just appeared to him as some huge muscle giant! Peter winked at Ryan as he crawled under the huge door. Ryan finally turned around when Peter had disappeared from site after he crawled under the door.

Slupor had a wide grin on his face when he saw Peter crawl under the door, leaving Ryan to fend for himself outside the temple building. He thought that it was just too easy. First, he would kill the muscle boy, and then he would burn down the temple, with Peter in it! Once the temple was burned down, he would come back and retrieve the ring for himself. Piece of cake! The ring was his for sure! He then concentrated on his body and wished to be transformed into a large, black dragon.

His feet began to grow larger as his toes turned to claws and his skin began to shed, revealing scales under the skin. His legs became longer and muscular. His robed began to disappear as he slowly began to transform into a large, black dragon! He grew to about 50 feet tall, as his arms became longer and his hands turned into claws. His face stretched out, forming the long nose and mouth of a dragon, while his skin had shed, in order to reveal his black dragon scales. A long reptilian tail had grown from the end of his spine, completing the transformation from human to dragon. The dragon the spread his wings and took a leap, as it became airborne and let out a loud roar.

Meanwhile, inside the temple, a tiny human form was walking through the large chamber, trying to remain as quiet as possible. In the center of the large room stood a pedestal with a small, square box placed on top of it. Peter decided to cautiously walk towards the pedestal, making out a slight glow coming from the box, which was increasing as he got closer and closer to it. Could the box contain the ring?

It had become very quiet outside of the ancient building. Ryan sat there, wondering what Peter had found. Suddenly he heard a strange sound coming from the sky. It seemed like there was something flying over him, but he couldn’t see it. Was there something hiding in the clouds? Ryan stood up, turned around, and slowly walked towards the side of the building. There it was! The large dragon appeared from one of the clouds and made a nose dive, heading straight towards Ryan! Ryan gasped in horror as he came face to face with the dragon, which was flying just a few feet over the ground and was heading right at him. He immediately dove to the ground, closed his eyes, and covered his head with his muscular arms. The dragon flew right over him, missing him by just a few inches!

The dragon then made a wide circle in the sky, returning back to its target. Ryan wasted no time, and ran towards a large boulder. He tried to hide behind it, when he suddenly heard a loud roar coming from the sky, and seconds later the boulder had caught fire! Ryan ran for his life, as he ran towards the back side of the building. There were several patches of fire burning already, and Ryan felt there was no other way out of this than to get rid of this dragon!

Then he came to the back of the building and he saw a long, thick rope that was attached to a metal hook, which was bolted to a metal plate on the building’s wall. It was hanging there so that others could climb down the cliff using the rope. Ryan untied the rope from the hook, and pulled one end of the rope towards the front of the building. He immediately ran towards the front of the building when the dragon flew over, and he ran towards the end of the rope, grabbed it, and pulled it towards the huge boulder which was sitting at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the river below. Ryan wrapped the rope around the boulder and used his strength to tie a huge knot in it, wrapping the rope as tight as possible around the boulder. Then he ran towards the back of the building, looking for the other end of the rope. Would it be strong enough to hold a dragon? Ryan figured he had one chance to get rid of the dragon, and this was it!

The pedestal was shaped like a large, white, round column that had a small, metal box sitting on its flat top. Peter realized that he needed to make himself grow back to normal so that he could see what was in the box. He looked around, and when he saw that there was nobody there, so he concentrated and allowed his body to grow back to his normal height. His legs grew longer and bigger, then his torso, his arms, his chest, and his head now returned to normal. When he was about 6 feet tall again, he turned towards the column, looking at the little box that was standing on top of it. He gently grabbed the metal box and opened it, revealing the golden ring, in a small transparent box. The ring had one blue diamond in it, and it began to glow as Peter held the box closer to his face while he was looking at it.

Suddenly there was a loud roar, and a large troll leapt from a beam that was suspended below the dark ceiling! It landed right in front of Peter, catching him completely off guard! He grabbed Peter with his arm and hurled him to the ground while letting out a loud growl! Peter landed on the floor, several feet away, and fell on his back. The force of the troll knocked the box containing the ring out of Peter’s hand, and it fell on the floor.

Just as Peter was trying to get up, he was still feeling dazed, when the troll grabbed him by his arm, lifting him up, and hurling him against the wall! Peter hit the wall and fell on the ground. But he opened his eyes just in time too see the troll running straight at him! Peter used his power and made himself invisible, as he quickly rolled out of the troll’s way. The troll ran head first into the wall, knocking himself unconscious for a few minutes. That gave Peter enough time to hide behind one of the other columns somewhere, so he could catch his breath. The troll was obviously guarding the ring, and Peter had to find a way to distract it.

Outside of the building, Ryan grabbed several rocks and the other end of the long, thick rope. Then he threw the rocks at the dragon, hitting him in the stomach! The dragon cried in pain, and became even angrier as it saw that Ryan was throwing them at him! And with Ryan’s strength, each rock that struck him hurt like he was hit by large bullets. His strong scales protected his skin like armor, but Ryan threw these rocks with such force, that they cracked several of his scales! One rock drilled a hole through one of the dragon’s wings, making black blood flow from it, raining down over the cliff! That was enough for the dragon; it had decided to roast Ryan this time for good, as it made its final approach at the muscle boy.

Ryan held the end of the rope and made a large loop with it. Then he tied a knot, making the rope take the form of a giant lasso. “Come on, stupid dragon! I’m over here! Come and get me!” Ryan shouted, as he raised his right arm above his head, holding on to the part of the rope which was right where the end of the rope was tied in a knot around itself. While swinging the rope high above his head like a cowboy at a rodeo, Ryan hurled the lasso in the air as the dragon flew right over him, blowing a flame of fire at him! The lasso was thrown high enough, that the dragon’s head went right through the loop as the dragon flew over Ryan! Ryan dove to the ground as the flame struck his shoulder, forcing him to roll around several times to put out the fire! He was screaming in pain, but he smiled when he looked up and saw that the rope was tied around the dragon’s neck.

He got up and ran towards the boulder that was sitting on the edge of the cliff. The other end of the rope was firmly tied around it. Ryan began to push the boulder, but it wouldn’t budge! The dragon came right at him again, letting out a loud roar of pain, dripping more black blood from its wing! Ryan then lay on his back with his legs pointing towards the boulder. He then placed his feet on the side of the boulder, and gnashed his teeth. Using every ounce of strength he could find, he did one huge leg press and pushed the boulder over the edge of the cliff, allowing it to fall straight down towards the river down below!

As the boulder fell further, it pulled more rope along with it. As Ryan turned over and crawled on his stomach to lay with his head over the edge of the cliff, he saw the dragon coming within ten feet of Ryan’s head. He looked up and saw that the dragon taking a deep breath, and he closed his eyes, expecting to be roasted alive. Then the dragon had run out of rope, and it screamed as the rope tightened, pulling the straight dragon down! Ryan let a huge sigh of relief, as he looked down at the falling dragon.

The boulder finally crashed into the river, with dragon following behind it. The dragon screamed as it went down, and suddenly the screaming stopped. Ryan heard a large plunge, and noticed the blue water began to turn black, as the dragon had found itself being dragged down towards the bottom of the river!

Ryan was scared to death; his heart was racing, as he was panting out loud. He continued to look at the river below him, and suddenly he saw a body of a man float to the surface. The man was completely naked, but what scared Ryan even more was that the man’s face was looking up straight at him. The man’s eyes were wide open, his mouth was open as well, and he had the rope around his neck. But the man didn’t move. Ryan recognized him as the dark wizard, and he was relieved that the dark wizard was now dead. Ryan was horrified; he began to cry as he looked down at the floating body, until he began to sink in the black water. Slupor was dead, and Ryan beat the dragon using a rope, a boulder, and his own incredible strength!

He lay there for awhile, and he then wondered how Peter was doing. Ryan stood up, still trembling in fear, and slowly walked towards the large wooden door. He braced his shoulder against the door, forcing the door to open up. Then he quietly walked into the temple.

Peter slowly got up, while holding on to the wall. He could barely walk. His entire body hurt, blood was coming out of his mouth, and he was in serious pain. He had to complete the mission and retrieve the ring, no matter what. He looked around and didn’t see the troll. He hoped that the troll did not go after Ryan, and he decided to make himself visible again so that Ryan could see him just in case he’d come looking for him.

He quietly stumbled around the large room, since his knee was hurting. He looked for the ring. When he saw the small, transparent box lying on the floor, he walked towards it. When he got to the ring, he grabbed it and looked at it for a moment. But then he looked up, since he heard a sound coming from the distance.

Ryan walked through the dark corridor that led him to the large room. There he saw the pedestal at a distance. In the back corner he saw what looked like Peter, as he was looking at the ring. Ryan was happy to see him, and he started to walk towards him.

Suddenly, he heard a loud growl, as he looked the other way and saw a troll! The troll was holding a dagger in his hand and he looked like he was about to throw it at Peter! Within seconds, the troll pulled his arm back, and hurled the dagger straight at him, stabbing him in the chest. Peter fell back and collapsed on the floor, bleeding from the mouth, head and chest. The dagger was still in Peter’s chest, but it got knocked loose when Peter crashed to the ground. He was immediately unconscious.

Ryan saw it all happen right before his eyes! “NOOOO!!” he screamed, as he looked at the troll after Peter fell. He ran towards Peter, and he saw that he was unconscious when he got to him. The ring was on the floor, right next to Peter’s body. But then the troll attacked Ryan!

The troll pushed Ryan to the floor with a growl. But Ryan got up, made a fist, and slammed it in the troll’s stomach. Ryan grabbed the troll’s hand, and spun him around, releasing him, hurling the troll against the wall. The troll got up, and ran towards Ryan, who had gone back to where Peter’s body laid. Ryan had just grabbed the dagger that had stabbed Peter, as the troll ran towards him. When the troll got closer, he leaped in the air, as if he was about to jump right on top of Ryan! But Ryan held the blade of the dagger out in front of him, as the troll landed right on top of him. The dagger pierced the troll, who roared in pain as he came down on Ryan, knocking him on to the floor as well.

Ryan crashed on his back and the troll was on top of him! For a few seconds, there was silence. Then Ryan tried to move, and he had to push the troll off of him. Ryan was trembling as he pushed the troll aside. When the troll rolled over on his back, Ryan saw that the dagger had gone straight through the troll’s heart, and he had died instantly.

Ryan immediately crawled over to Peter, as he positioned himself over Peter’s body while he sat on his knees next to him. “Peter? PETER!!” he yelled, as he grabbed hold of Peter’s body. Peter didn’t move at all. His face turned pale as blood continued to come out of his wounds. Ryan began to cry, with tears rolling down his cheeks and dropping on Peter’s face. Was there anything he could do to save his best friend and adopted brother?

Then Ryan looked over and noticed a blue glow coming from Peter’s torso. It was the ring! The ring of transformations! Ryan remembered how Peter told him about the ring and about the powers it possessed. Could he use the ring to save Peter? With no time to waste, Ryan grabbed the transparent box and shook it open. The ring popped out, and fell on the floor next to Peter. Then Ryan grabbed the ring, as he held Peter’s right hand with his other hand. Then he placed the ring on Peter’s ring finger.

“Come on…” Ryan said, as he closed Peter’s hand and made a fist. “COME ON!” Ryan shouted impatiently, as he shook Peter’s hand. He began to sob, when he noticed that Peter wasn’t waking up. Then he grabbed Peter’s hand, which had the ring around one of his fingers. “Please! Come on magic ring! WORK NOW! Come on! DO SOMETHING!” he said, holding on to Peter’s hand. “Gosh, how do these things work? I don’t know about this magic stuff… How would Peter use this?” he wondered out loud.

Then Ryan removed the ring from Peter’s finger, and placed it on his own. “Make Peter wake up!” he shouted out loud. No, wait, Peter always said it as a wish. “I wish for Peter to wake up now!” he said out loud. He noticed that the ring began to glow even brighter! Ryan felt something go through his body. Could this be the same power Peter had? Then he noticed that Peter let out a soft groan as he moved his head. “Yes! YES! You’re alive!” Ryan cheered. What a relief!

Ryan realized that he had no use for the ring. He took it from his finger, and gently placed it on Peter’s finger. “Come on, Peter! I wish you had your powers back!” Ryan said out loud.

But Ryan was so shaken up at this point; he completely broke down in tears, as he rested his head on Peter’s chest. “Come on Peter! Don’t die on me now! Wake up! You got your ring now. Why isn’t it working?” he said, as he began to cry out loud. Then he heard another groan. Ryan immediately raised his head and looked up at Peter’s face.

Peter’s eyes were wide open! His mouth was open wide, and his body began to shiver for a few seconds. Peter looked like he had felt an electrical shock! “What happened?” Peter said quietly. Ryan was overjoyed as he shouted “You’re awake! You’re alive!”

Ryan gently grabbed Peter’s shoulder and helped him so sit up straight. Ryan then moved directly in front of Peter, grabbing hold of his shoulders. The cut on Peter’s lip began to heal, as the bleeding had stopped. His chest had healed as well, and the wound was now gone. And his head stopped bleeding as well, as the cuts and bruises disappeared. Peter slowly began to regain his strength, as the color returned to his pale face. Peter smiled as he looked up at Ryan. “Thank you, Ryan. You just saved my life!”

“How are you feeling right now, Peter?” Ryan asked him, as they both stood up. “I feel strange, like something happened to my powers” Peter replied. He slowly stood up and walked around again. The pain in his back and knee had gone, and the bleeding stopped for all his wounds had healed during the past two minutes. “What did you do to me? I feel different…” he said to Ryan.

“I put the ring on your finger! Look!” Ryan shouted, as he pointed to the ring on his finger. Peter looked at it, and noticed how bright it was glowing. “Are you alright?” Ryan asked him, as he sensed that there was something different about Peter.

“Yes… Absolutely… I feel great! I have never felt better! I feel like my powers have been increased dramatically!” Peter said, as he smiled at Ryan. “Really? Does it work? Does it make you stronger?” Ryan asked him impatiently.

“I’m not sure. I just feel different, like I’m much stronger now. We’ll see… Let’s get out of here, Ryan! We got what we came for.” Peter said to Ryan, as he began to walk towards the door. He felt an incredible surge of power inside of him, and he wanted t test his powers when they got outside.

When they got out of the building, they walked past the large rocks and boulders. “Hey Ryan, let me try something!” Peter said, as he paused in front of two boulders. Peter raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at the boulder on the left. Suddenly, a burst of energy came out of his finger, like a lightning bolt. It struck the boulder, which immediately exploded into little pieces! “Wow! Did you see that?” Peter said, showing a huge smile on his face.

Then Peter looked at the boulder on the right. He focused his blue eyes on it. Suddenly his eyes turned red, as beams of red light came from Peter’s eyes, striking the boulder and setting it on fire! Peter stopped concentrating, and his eyes turned blue again.

“Whoa! Where did those powers come from?” Ryan said out loud, as he stood next to Peter. “The ring. It’s the ring! I feel so strong now. I feel… invincible! My powers must have been doubled!” Peter said, as he was admiring the ring which was on his finger.

Then Ryan stood in front of him and grabbed Peter by the shoulders. “I don’t care how powerful you are. You may be the most powerful guy on earth right now. All that matters to me is that you’re alive! I was so afraid I was going to lose you! I thought you had died!” Ryan said, as he lifted him up and hugged him. Ryan began to cry as he held on to Peter, whose body was now completely enveloped by Ryan’s muscular arms and pectorals.

“Thank you so much, Ryan. You saved my life! I’m sorry you had to go through all this! You were awesome! You fought the dark wizard twice, you beat him as a gorilla and you killed him as a dragon. You fought and you killed the troll as well! You’re my hero, Ryan! You saved the day! I love you, big bro!” Peter said out loud! He felt so happy, now that they had accomplished their mission. “Let’s go home!” he said out loud! Right away, Peter felt the power working inside of him.

Ryan and Peter disappeared and in a flash they found themselves standing in front of Ty’s house. “What? Hey! We’re here! We’re home! How did we get here so fast?” Ryan asked, as he gently set Peter back down on the grass in front of him.

“I have unlimited powers now, Ryan! I teleported us home and we got here instantaneously!” Peter replied, showing a smile on his face! “Wow” Ryan cheered, “You had better keep that ring on your finger! That is awesome! I bet you’re even more powerful than Prince!”

Then Peter became a little more serious. “No, Ryan. This ring is extremely dangerous! Luckily I’m not a dark wizard. Because whoever wears this ring becomes extremely powerful! You’re right; I’m probably stronger than Prince right now. No wonder Prince asked me to get this ring for him. But Prince is still my Master and I need to give the ring to him! That was the assignment, remember?”

Then Ryan had a confused look on his face. ‘But, is the ring really his? I mean, wasn’t it created by your ancestors? Shouldn’t it be yours instead?” Ryan asked Peter, reminding him of what Prince has said when they left the previous day. “I guess Prince will have to decide that” Peter replied.

“You’re both wrong” a familiar voice said. The boys turned around and saw Prince standing in front of them, in front of their house!

“Master! We did it! We have found your ring!” Peter said, as he gently removed it from his finger and handed it over to Prince. But to Peter’s surprise, he didn’t feel any different when he took the ring off. He felt like the power was still there. “Will you keep the ring, Master?”

“I can’t decide that, and neither can you. The ring picks its own master! It knows which wizard can wear it and make use of it!” he said, leaving Ryan and Peter astonished.

Then Prince tossed the ring straight it in the air! Both boys gasped at the same time, as they watched the ring fall down. Suddenly, the ring slowed down as it flew straight towards Peter, sliding on to Peter’s finger on its own. This time, Peter did not feel any different; he was still just as strong as before.

“You’ll need to keep and guard the ring” Prince said, as Peter admired the ring on his finger. “You’re the ring bearer. Only a wizard can wear it and use it, unless the wizard loans it to someone else. Be careful; guard it with your life so that no dark wizard can ever use it! You have been chosen to keep the ring, Peter! You have accomplished your mission, and now you have returned home with the ring of transformations.”

Then Prince turned towards Ryan. “Thank you, Ryan, for your courage and bravery. Peter would not be alive today, if it weren’t for you! You will be rewarded for saving Peter’s life. As Peter becomes more powerful, you will become stronger. There is a direct bond between the two of you, a bond which cannot be broken. Peter is the mightiest wizard on earth right now, but because of that, he will need your protection more than ever! The dark wizards would want nothing more but to see him dead! You must guard, defend and protect Peter. You’re his protector! Just as he gave you strength, you must watch over him. You can only become stronger. But how strong you will become depends on how powerful Peter is! You will grow soon enough, because Peter has had his powers doubled in strength, thanks to the ring. Do you understand?”

Ryan nodded. Then Prince disappeared, leaving the two boys standing on the lawn. Peter looked around, as he heard voices; he had visions from people in the neighborhood. He felt great, but he was also scared. He felt overwhelmed by the incredible power that was flowing through him. But he was also extremely grateful for Ty, Dustin and Ryan. Ryan had saved his life that day, and he felt like the events of the weekend had made their friendship even stronger.

Peter would no longer need to wear the ring. He would need to keep the ring in his room and to protect it from the dark wizards. He felt scared, when he thought about the dark wizards. But he learned that whenever he got scared, he only had to think about Ryan. Then he would feel relaxed and confident again. As long as Ryan was around, nobody would dare to even touch him.

He looked up to Ryan, and as the big muscle boy returned the smile, Peter could not help but break down in tears of joy and gratitude. •