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Wh-whoah…
The room spun, and I felt my legs collapse out from under me.
What the-
What had just happened!? For a minute, everything was a black haze. I couldn’t feel my own body. It was…weird- SPLASH!! “OW-!!” I bit back a couple of choice words as my eyelids fluttered open. What the actual-!? Oh. Hey. It was Glasses Girl and Cinna-Roll. “Hello…?” “You nearly passed out!” Did I…? I tried to stand on my own, but felt my mind going dead… A pair of arms looped around each of mine and held me up.
Okay…
This was just…strange. And I liked strange!
What was going on around here-
“Don’t you dare touch her!” I jumped at the sudden shout. Didn’t know the context, what the h* did I miss- -How long did I miss it for!? Couldn’t keep my head on straight… Cards. Cards were being selected. Cards were going away. What had Alice been freaking out over again?
Something about Wonderland…
Ew-!!
Was that guy gonna try to kiss her-me- Me? 6 and 10. That was all there was. Whaat Ugh- I tried to sort out what the deal was with me and my flaking mind, but could only offer up a massive flash of golden light. “Rosanna, you first”. The Cinna-Roll leaned down to say something…but, uh…wasn’t I taller than her? “Which one do you want?” she asked. “I’ll take the other one.” “Tick tock, my dear. We’ve not much time here…” My gosh this guy was a nuisance. … That was my job. (: “Card 10!” She shouted. I guess she’d gotten startled or something. “And finally, Alice”. He was smirking. The creep. I swallowed a lump of lunch from three weeks ago, that dizziness was not having this particular day, and swiped the 6 before he could say antagonize me further. “Now,” he went on… “We shall do our reveal in reverse. Meaning that Alice will be the first to reveal her card. The rest of you are not permitted to look until I say so. Alice, you may look”. At your impending demise? I would pay honest-to-goodness candy wrappers to see that! …So, uh… Anytime, now, hand… “Just……just get it over with, please”, Glasses Girl sighed. -I had to grab with the other hand, and flip it like that. It was the cutest kitty I had ever seen-!! >< “Dinah”. Wait. “Oh, don’t be so down. Let’s turn things around!” You mean so I could plant my foot in your glute!? You tryin’ to make a cat out of me!!?? “You’ll get to be adorable forever. Forever and ever.” I wanted to tell him where he could stick that lovely idea-
Alice?
…What was this ‘Alice’ moniker, anyway? “Doesn’t change the fact that I won’t be human”, I snarked. I mean, I never was one to begin with and all, but I think I’d rather be me than a tiny animal. “Next our lovely Rosanna”. Cinna-Roll flipped over her own card with a sigh while I started scoping out various escape routes. No doors, no windows… Come on! You mean to tell me this guy didn’t listen to the basic safety regulations!?
Duh!!
Of course he didn’t you idiot…
Stop being so foggy!! “The White Queen, I guess that won’t be too terrible…” You wish kiddo, you wish… No vents up high- Hey… There was one down low… “T-the White Rabbit! I-I mean r-rabbits are cute, I guess.” I started to slooowly edge away… I almost fell over backward-! Nooo- “I mean, at least you get to smoke some dank kush”. What even. “Smoke tea e’eryday!” …Yeah, I missed something. I was so mad!! ): …Annnyhoo they started laughing a bunch, and I stole that opportunity to go lift up the grate (broke a nail-) and slide under the narrow thing! My waist promptly got caught. And I was a rail little thing, too-!! “Are you kidding me, fate!!??” I tried to whisper it, but this place was echoey as f*! With my even tinier shoe stuck holding up the grate, I attempted to move myself forwards. Farther, farther… My breath hitched at the sudden pain.
Dang it…
This was thing was not going to let me go without a fight!! I kicked at the ground like a Mad X until I could successfully shimmy up through the opening. ...Then my elbows got caught. It was like my arms had been tied-up above my head- And wedged in with my head, too, couldn’t forget about that! Aaargh, if I got out of this, that Mad Hatter reject was going to seriously get it!! ):< …How in the world. Did nobody hear me twisting around in there!? I made more noise than a cow in labor!! In the end, after scrabbling around hopelessly for a wondrous half-an-hour, I was forced to resort to bracing both feet along the sides of the narrow tunnel, in the most demeaning position possible, I might add- I shoved up and out, slowly but- OHHH MY STARS!! That f*ing HURT! My arms were out in front of me, and I was sitting in the most awkward crouch known to every single gender on the planet. They were complaining very LOUDLY about what I had just done. Oh yeah. And they were also covered in a multitude of painful cuts and scrapes- Man, I was going to be sooo bruised- “Ah…geez-!” I gingerly stood up, stomach churning with nausea as my nerves finally settled.
All that work for a baby little button!?
I limped confidently strode over to the wall, and pressed it like a boss! The panel(s) keeping us all trapped lifted up in an instant- I wished I had a camera on me so I could forever cherish that beautiful, beautiful bewildered face.
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I just love it when I do something right. Thanks to me, all H* broke loose! Everybody ran in fifty different directions while I just leaned against the wall, wiping the fevered sweat off my brow. Then he grabbed Glasses Girl. “Don’t think you’ll escape so easily, my dear. You will always be staying here!” D*! If I wasn’t feeling so drained… I saw him start to yank something out of his pocket, only to be smacked from behind by that maid. It didn’t do squat. “Everyone!” “Oh s*! He’s got a gun!” Someone yelled. …He did. It was currently being forced up Mystic’s temple. “Try any shenanigans, and our lovely little angel here will be partially steel”. …They all went pretty much still. “Now I KNOW both parties would prefer her to be alive; however.” He stroked the cheek of his captive, and she started to cry; Silent, horrified tears- “I would have no qualms about preserving her youth and beauty as a doll. Isn’t that what we all want anyway? To be young and beautiful forever?” First he kissed her on the head… Then he started to slobber all over her face! “Okay”. -I nearly fell off my perch. “Go ahead. Kill me.” He drew back, looking shocked out the whizwhang! And he wasn't the only one... “Uh Mystic, what are you doing!? Please rethink this!!” Do you really want to die!? She shook her head, but shrugged. I internally face-palmed. “If he’s so insistent on me dying if he can’t have his way, then whatever floats his boat, I guess.”
Click!
Oh s*, the trigger- A tense silence fell. “However”, she stated proudly: I don’t think that the Cursed God will be particularly pleased to hear that you put a bullet in his bride’s skull.
Gaaasp-!!
It loosened his grip, obvi- She broke free, and ran the h* away-!!
BANG!!
It fired into the ground. Bullets shot in all directions, bouncing off of every surface like a legion of very angry ping-pong balls~ I slid to the floor- If I was smaller, I wouldn’t die. Right? “C’mon! Let’s get out of here-“
AHH!
Whoever screamed bloody murder just then did a stupendously good job of making me live through a heart attack.
“Horace!!”
The maid ran to his side as he awkwardly folded to the minefield that served as the floor. I thought I could see something red staining his abdomen- I rushed over to the party of three-the sad clown for this occasion, clearly! “Penelope,” he rasped, “Do…..do you remember where we first met?” She nodded, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It was out in the academy garden,” she choked. “In the labyrinth, shaped like a spiral…” “Our hands……..they fell on the same flower; a red rose.” “…I remember I was so embarrassed at first to even be around you.” “You wanted to maintain that aloof reputation, so you……..threw yourself into your classes.” “But I kept finding myself back in that garden, and I’d always find you there by that rose.” “And then it was almost winter when I----“ “Yes,” she chuckled slightly. “You were so bashful about it as well. After you asked, I picked that rose. And then once we were together, you started to call me Rose.” “My precious Rose,” he coughed weakly. “My precious…..Penelope Rose.” Silence. This…was bringing up painful memories. “…Penelope, do you think there’s a garden like that in the afterlife?” “I’m sure there is,” she said faintly. “Good,” he stammered slowly. “No one will be able to hurt me there, like they did”. …Was he talking about the lot of us, or someone else from his past? Thank you, Penelope. You filled that void of love, the one my ‘family’ made.” He began to cough even harder… She kept their hands clasped together throughout all of it. “There’s a package underneath the table in red rose wrapping!” he suddenly exclaimed. “Can you bring that, and the book? Please?” A boy whom I’d never met ran upstairs to do just that. “Penelope, my rose… That gift is for you. Please……don’t open it until I am gone…” Glasses Girl placed the book in the Horace’s arms. The box was set down nearby. “Take good care of Mystic, my rose. She reminds me of you when we first met.” It was… She was falling apart- Despite how hard she was trying- She was trying… “Horace! Please…..don’t go. I…… I love you. They told me you had been to her And mentioned me to him. She gave me a good character, But said I could not swim. He sent them word I had not gone (we know it to be true) If she should push the matter on What would become of you? …If I…or she…should chance to be… Involved in this affair He trusts to you to set them free, Exactly as we were. Don't let them know she liked them best, For this must ever be A secret, kept from all the rest- Between yourself and me. As soon as their duet had petered out into smoke She pressed one last kiss to his lips. “Is he……is he really?” He is………gone. I trailed behind her as she scooped up the present, only half-listening while she directed all of us to grab our things... I honestly didn't expect a stray tear to trickle down my cheek.
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Ughhhh-! When were we going to get moving!!?? Didn’t we have some supernatural creep to stop!!!??? …I guess they didn’t bother to give me the memo that we were gonna hang around for a few more days. - Day 1: - I went off looking for a mirror since, apparently, the only things anyone had anymore were sleeping bags and food. ...Which were the essentials of camping maybe, but NOT of trying to figure out why Y.O.U is suddenly wearing a dress. So I ditched the Crew and headed off into the woods by myself. Hey, it’s not like that freak was alive anymore to make me his ‘Alice’, amirite…? -Lucky there was this little river nearby… … WHAT I was her. I was her! Down to that confused sparkle in her grayish-blue eyes-!! I didn’t get it.
How in the h* was this even possible!?
Sure, I’d shared her mind for hours and hours… But that shouldn’t be enough to- “Alice, what are you doing?” … ):< - Day 2: - Penn-Penn went into catatonia mode overnight, and stayed that way all through the next morning. Everybody else looked like they’d been collectively hit by a truck. And then there was me. Yeah, I get it. The guy died, and it broke everybody’s hearts. But, uh… Y’all just gonna forget about the Wonder Trials or whatever? His psycho-talk about wanting to keep y’all forever? Romantically? ...No hard loss, on that route. - Day 3: - Still stuck in out-there land... Come on, guys. When were y’all gonna wake up? -I pretty much sat there all day. Fuming. - Day 4: - Man, trying to connect this many dots was exhausting. Girl disappeared into flash. Flash ripped through floor. Floor fell out from under- “Hey, Alice?” “What!?” Yeah, I snapped. Wouldn’t you if you’d been interrupted while thinking important things? “I need to talk to you.” “I’m busy”. …My what an impressive glare.
-Ten minutes later and going on strong-
“Fine! What do you want?” I rolled my eyes. Yeesh. And I thought Mori was bad!! “Are you okay?” She had to breathe before she could say it. “Yeah, I’m doin’ just peachy! -Why'dya ask?” “You’re not acting like yourself. Who are you?” I blinked. Well, well, well… Looks like someone was more perceptive than I’d originally thought! “You know me, Glass—“ It was outta my mouth before what I’d said hit my earholes. D* you and your big mouth, girl! “-I mean Mystic. I’m Alice!” “Nice try”, she said, eyes narrowing. “But I know Alice, and she’s not like this, so I’m….” She grabbed my arm, and attempted to drag me nearer while simultaneously hunting around on the ground for the puniest stick I’d ever seen in my long, long, life. -- She pressed it across my windpipe while I stared at her disbelievingly. “Gonna ask one….more…” …This was it?
Woooow…
How the h* did she even make it this far!?
It was hilarious!! XD Trying my best to hold it back, I heard her growl: “What the h*’s so funny?” “Oh man, the Cursed God’s right! You ARE just too adorable-!!”
Pfft~HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!
She couldn’t figure out what to do and that just made me laugh even harder! “Just tell me who the h* you are-!” Another kid ran in from the outside, effectively interrupting us. “They’re on their way!” She doubled over, completely out of breath, hands propping herself up with only the support of her knees. “Who?” Mystic asked. “All of them-! The clowns, the mannequins, the zombified agents, everyone!!” …Clowns? As long as it wasn’t him- This sounded like a real party! “How close are they?” Mystic fretted. “I don’t know exactly”, the girl panted, “But we need to get out….now!!” And just like that, she grasped both of our hands and yanked us off into the sunset.
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-When we arrived, a general calamity was ensuing in which everyone who was anyone scurried around like a bunch of ants. Packing for our newly-needed exodus. “Mystic!” Cinna-Roll’s eyes lit up when she saw her, and she immediately pulled her into a hug. I mean, it’s cool. Not like I wanted one or anything… “Thank goodness you and Alice are safe!!” “How’s the packing coming along?” “We should be almost finished”. Saf the Statue said it so gravely, one would’ve thought she was bored! “Then we’ll head straight for the town.” -You do love to tempt fate, don’t you? No sooner had she said that to us, than a hugely-buff dude with a tree trunk for an arm got all up close and personal. “It’s Demon Wilmer!” Somebody gasped. “We need to go!!” ‘Wilmer’ wasn’t as fitting as Logan Paul. -- I liked Alice’s version better-!! >< A dagger went whistling past her face, and embedded itself within the nearest tree! “Hey, Envy! Where you at!?” -I randomly called out, a second before Mystic’s bark-encrusted, germy hand could plaster itself over my mouth! “Well, well, well!” Some chick with purple hair, and a red outfit looked like the cat who’d found the cream. “Look what we have here.” Mystic’s eyes bored into the side of my face, and I pretended not to notice. …And how exactly did she think we could’ve avoided them again!? “And we brought more company.” If I stood on my tiptoes, I could see over her shoulder. Oy, what a hot mess! At least twenty/thirty something drooling, red-eyed, pale-faced zombies were all leashed together… Some of them were even crying blood. The ‘Chosen One’ or whatnot blanched as they all began to clamber toward her, grabby hands reaching- Their leads snapped taut. That was how deep into it they were... She let go of my face, and glommed onto Cinna-Roll! “Wait”, Somebody Else noted. “It feels like you’re down a few people.” “Calliope and Alison got away”, the Strongman snarled. ...I barely understood what he'd said. “Where’s Envy?” I asked again. Some topless lady covered in scales from head-to-boot hissed: “He and Calvin are getting a bit…..intimate”. ...Oh yeah? “And we,” the three Mean Girl rejects chorused, “Are taking our queen back.” “Now then!” Clowny clapped her hands together. “We can do this in either one of two ways; the easy way, which is you all hand Mystic over to us of your own free will and we simply take you into custody. Or the hard way, which is we sic these zombified guests on you all, who will tear you apart limb from limb, and THEN we take Mystic. Which is it gonna be?” Excuse you, b* but those choices were all the same!! “How about neither?” Mystic suggested. “Yeah, no, that’s not an option.” “Yeah, I like neither”, Another Person supported. “Well, I don’t”, Psycho Cheerleader giggled. “Wait", Tutu Loli whined. “Didn’t the Cursed God say that we’d each get a writer to do whatever we wanted with?” “Wasn’t that before the parasites were defeated, though?” The Joker asked. “I told you, we should’ve asked for instructions from the boss BEFORE heading out”, huffed Stuffy Butler Guy. “Well, we would have had time to”, Lady Vamp groused, “If SOMEONE didn’t spend so much time on their hair.” Regina George fluffed her flawless curls. “A girl’s gotta look good when she’s going to track down and kidnap her future queen”. Said no one ever. “Don’t you have a more simplified way to do your hair?” Psycho Cheerleader tugged on her ponytail. “Pigtails are so easy to style, and quite fashionable.” “Maybe for a five year old girl,” Stuffy Maid Lady mumbled under her breath. “Okay, look, Scarah. I don’t see YOU trying anything with your hair, so you don’t get to talk.” …Hm. Perhaps in another world, we could’ve been friends. “I wish that the guests were permanently cured of the infection”. Mystic had something in her hands now, and it was slowly burning to gold dust. The color flowed back into their skin, and their eyes faded back to its natural hue. “What the h* is going on?” Twinkletoes asked. “Why are we on leashes!?” “I think these b*s are into some kinky s*” mumbled Disco Dad. “I wish they were free from the leashes.” A second, brighter glow- Each one crumbled to dust. …I guess you could say that they were now un-leashed. “Why can’t you just wish for the Cursed God to be gone?” Another one whispered into her ear. “That’d be too easy”. UH, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!? I was all set to go off on her, when- The sky grew thick with dark clouds and all the monsters bowed… And then he showed up. Descending from the sky like the angel he wasn’t- The Cursed God himself, in human shape. “I had a feeling you would be out and about, my angel,” he purred whilst hovering above her, “Nature has a fondness for the innocent.” She glommed onto Cinna-Roll even further- “Where’s Envy!!?” Honestly, were these people going to tell me anything of use!? “…khaha-“ Really. You’re going to laugh in my face. “He is working with Calvin on some of the decorations for the wedding of me and my lovely bride.” Yeah, I don’t know about that one… I got the feeling the elf-man was more likely to break the dude’s neck than willingly help him with something like this. He pet Mystic on the head before snapping his fingers. A ring popped out of nowhere, and floated gently into his hand. Taking her wrist- With one fluid motion, he slipped it onto her finger! In a heartbeat, she’d swooned. The Big 3 all reached out to grab her at the same time, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t try to do the same. Unfortunately, he could fly… And we could not. “She’s just as sweet and lovely when she’s asleep…” he sighed, stroking her hair. “Now we must go. We have a wedding to prepare for.” In an instant, he and his cadre of nasties disappeared-
It will be one the universe shall never forget.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Uh, no.
No!!
Sparks crackled off the ends of my fingertips as I realized just how sc*d I really was. If he took her… If they actually went and tied the knot- That would be it. The end of the universe... And I would die. Not as me, but- As Alice!!?? Nooo way! No way… I could not accept this outcome- This weight pressing down on me telling me that I would be her forever!? I thrust out a hand, and shot an incandescent beam into the clouds where he’d once been. - There was a loud CRACK as the fabric of reality tore open, followed by a mildly-subdued explosion. A second later, bleeding, black shadows dropped a girl in pristine gold- She plummeted through the air like a rock! “NO!!” The Big 3 saw her fall… Saw them fall. Sorry, Cursed God… But were you really a match for the most vicious Demon King the world has ever seen? - “Unbelievable”. Saf the Statue stalked around the campfire, completely and uncharacteristically stressed. out. Cinna-Roll and Theatre Nerd were simply sitting there quietly, waiting for her to work out whatever it was that was currently driving her insane! “We lost her. We. Lost. Her!” “-But at least we sort-of know where she is”, the tiny brunette offered. “Yeah, Saf, she should be a good ten miles from here if what we saw was true…” “Then what are we still doing here!? We have to get to her-and soon!!” Cinna-Roll bit her lip. “I agree, but can we really move-in while it’s dark?” Theatre Nerd cleared his throat. “Technically, sunset is still an hour away. Things just appear darker because of the Winter season going on-“ “Then we can still do it!” Saf the Animated Statue promptly turned on her heel and purposefully strode toward the ranks of recovering agents. “Give me exactly one minute to gather some back-up, and then we’ll go”. - How’d I hear all of that you ask? …Well. I may have hidden behind a tree… Like I was planning missing out on something like this! Especially when I needed to ask Mystic a few questions.
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Keeping inside the tree line at all times- Yeah, I followed them into the woods… Why wouldn’t I!? I had a stake in this too… “What is that!?” Cinna-Roll grabbed Theatre Nerd’s arm. “…Looks like a- Tower of some kind!?” “I wouldn’t put it past him to have a couple of these every few feet or so”, was Saf the Statue’s expert opinion on the matter. “Whoah, creepy…”, Blonde Bouffant commented. “Yeah, this guy…”, Saloon Queen clucked in disbelief. “Gives new meaning to the words ‘Craxy Ex’”. With one ferocious kick, the Statue bashed in the door. “I am never teasing you ever again”, Twinkletoes said adamantly. “Come on. We need to move”. She peeked around the edge of the busted doorframe, before motioning everyone inside. “We have no idea what’s lurking in there, or what he’s done to her in the meantime”. “Like, girl, you really had to say it in that super-ecchi way?” Glasses Guy turned a whiter shade of pale. “I’m going to have nightmares at this rate-“ His voice faded out as, one by one, they all filed inside.
Excellent.
Now was my chance… I crept up to the open doorway, being extra-careful not to make a sound- A hand snapped around my wrist! “Gotcha!” Other Mystic appeared out of literally nowhere, a bubbly-spirited Explorer in tow. “Whoo! You go, girl!! Flushing out the traitorrr-“ “What are you talking about!?” I attempted to pull free, and was promptly glomped. “Nope!Not today, tiny Alice child-!!” “Let me go!” I sparked harshly but it didn’t seem to bother either of them. Which was inconceivable...! That should’ve felt like a thousand volts of electricity crackling through their veins- “Nice try, but dealing with strange forces we don’t understand comes with the territory”. “Yeah! You’re weird sparkly magic just got nixed to the max!!” Was that a… Protective field emanating off of her in soft, pink waves!? I gritted my teeth. Obviously, Other Mystic had done her work well. “We haulin’ this kid off to Safyia?” She nodded, eyes glowing slightly with arcane energy. “Oh yeah”.
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With one arm trapped under each of theirs I was humiliatingly frog-marched to the Grand Statue herself. “What the…?” She raised an eyebrow at our approach. “Alice”. “…Well this is awkward”. “Found her lurking around outside!” Miss Explorer-Chan announced for all the world to hear- “Really…” “Yeah!” Other Mystic cut in: “We think she might be on the wrong side…none of the other writers ever acted like this…” “Absolutely not!” I protested. “You’re dead wrong”. “Then why were you bein’ so shady?” Blonde Bouffant fixed me with a glare of ice. “Because there is no way you people would’ve let me just let me waltz in here on my own! If she even was here to begin with…” “And why do you need to find Mystic so badly?” Was it me, or did Grand Statue’s eyes look a little…
Red.
“What!? It’s nothing too serious… I just wanted to see if she was okay!” -As well as ask her a few things too, but that definitely wouldn’t go over well, so… “Aw, that’s really sweet!” Cinna-Roll smiled in that absurdly endearing way of hers. “Don’t believe her, Ro. She’s lying”. “Wh-huh!?” “Wh-!? Would I lie to you in this damaging situation!?” “I don’t know”. Other Mystic again… “What if you’re not who you say you are?” What? “…Andrea told me she saw you shoot the Creep out of the sky!” Explorer-Chan’s words- Well, crap. -I mean, to be fair, I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at the time… “You also don’t cast a shadow that looks like you”, Other Mystic added. “…What, so you assumed I’d try to pull off something like this!?” “Pretty much”. She shrugged, while Explorer-Chan nodded in vigorous agreement. “And it was spot-on, too!” Just then, there was an eerie creaking noise from the floor above us- “What was that?" All eyes flicked to the ceiling. "I think Mystic's moving around up there…”, I said helpfully. I saw the Grand Statue grind her teeth together. -Were those fangs I was seeing!? “S*” She swept up the narrow stairwell, the hem of her long, black coat trailing behind. The others went to follow suit, but my two captors- They did not.
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“Oh come on!” I shot each of them an incredulous glare. “I’m not going to make things worse, I promise!!” “Uh-huh!” Explorer-Chan nodded. “And I have a personality named Hedwig”. “You do have a personality named Hedwig”, the Other Mystic corrected. She blinked. Tilted her head while she thought for a moment- “Oh yeahhh… Whoops”. She sighed. “I’ll have to apologize to him later…” I stomped on her toe. “OW!!” She almost let go of me, g*d*n it- “Owowowow-!!!” “What are you doing!?” Other Mystic stared at me in utter shock. “Stop that-“
Nope!
I dug the heel of my shoe in deeper- “Ouuuch, Andrea help me-!!” Mytoesaredyingmytoesaredyingmytoesaredying-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She responded by kicking my foot away! “Ohthankgoodnessmytootsiesisn’tdead-“ I attempted to re-assert my spot, only for her to follow that up with a standing-leg sweep!! I hit the floor hard enough to leave a bruise upon my posterior. Indignity aside, this unintentionally gave me the opening I was looking for! Yanking my arms free from their weakened/interrupted grip, I was up and out of there as fast as my Mary-J’s could take me!!
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-It was the long string of bedclothes that tipped me off. Just…leisurely hanging out the window- The ten+ story window, it looked like… Her dumb luck was at work again!
In any case, I now have to find you…
Walking the trail of flattened grass conveniently leading away, I found, at its very end- Saf the Statue. Acting like she’d totally gone off her rocker- "You can't hide up there forever, dearie!You'll come out, you'll have to come out eventually. And when you do, we'll be waiting for you!" When she slunk off into the bushes, cackling all the while, I took the opportunity to scale the tree (Arms!!) and grab the edge. Pulling myself up and over was an equally controversial business (Arms!!), but it was all worth it when I looked up. A shivering girl in gold had her back to me… I tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey-I just need to ask you a few questions."
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"Who the h* are you, and what the h* is going on with Saf!?” She had to say it pretty loudly over that infernal racket from outdoors… I shrugged, because how would I know!? "I guess, she got obsessed”. "That quickly?" "I dunno. Maybe this was a spell put on her by the Cursed God." "Probably”. ...Wasn’t expecting her to agree with me so quickly, but what the hey? I wasn’t gonna question it. "Anyway, can I just ask you some real important stuff?” "Uh, I guess?" Oh good. I inhaled- "What the heck's going on around here that keeps leaving us Otherworlders in the dark? Why do I look like this? Do you know how to fix this!? Where the heck is Envy!? What are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?" "Um, how about one question at a time?" I sighed. "Fine. Geez, you humans… First off, what the heck's going on around here that keeps leaving us Otherworlders in the dark?" "I don't know." "Why do I look like this?" "I don't know." "Do you know how to fix this!?" "No, I don't! I don't even know what you want me to fix!" "Where the heck is Envy!?" "I DON'T KNOW!!!" …Are you kidding me? She really knew nothing!? Frustrated, I huffed. "Okaaay, you're bound to know this one... What are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?" She closed off immediately. Reading her face was like trying to read a blank slate, if you wanted to get specific... Utterly. Impossible. "That's none of your business”. -Say what!? "Do you know who I am? What I can do to you?" "If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't have asked you when you scared the living daylights out of me! The only thing I can assume is that you're some sort of demon, and if you don't get the h* out of here, I'm gonna have to start praying to God!" Oh-no- "But why are you running?" "I told you. It's none of your f*ing business! Now get the h* out of my house." "Mystic---"
Hey, now-
"F* OFF OR I'LL THROW YOU OUT MYSELF!"
… … … I started to back up. "We're not finished here, glasses girl”, I hissed. I will get those answers, one way or another!
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You know… I was gonna jump from the window- But Crazy Bat Lady happened to be down there. So, I got reduced to sitting up in the highest tier of branches. Waiting.
…Now what?
Mystic had utterly exploded, and I was pretty sure she would never talk to me again. Which I couldn’t deal with right now... If I couldn’t figure this out- What? Would I just…be- Here… I sparked. The sound of voices gathering below captured my attention. "Saf, honey, I don't wanna be that person, but you're off your rocker." "Me? What do you mean? I just want to protect her." "Yes, but you're going too far, she's probably scared because you're scratching at that bark-“ …Can you say ‘light bulb’? "You're right”, she chortled. "Why do all this manual work? There are tools for that. Stay here!" As soon as she’d disappeared, I let myself down. “Finally! I thought she'd never leave…” Oh. Hi, Other Mystic… Still sore about the toes thing? "Why are YOU still here?" Yup… You definitely were… "Chill out!” I raised up both hands in surrender. "I'm on your side! I wanna get Mystic back just as much as the rest of you, but she's not gonna say anything if I go back alone." "Say anything?" The Saloon Queen turned over what I’d said in her mind. Most likely trying to determine how I’d managed to mess up so badly. "I need some answers from her, and I was thinking that she'd be more willing to open up if one of you were with me." "I'll go”, Cinna-Roll shrugged. "She seems to have a bit of a soft-spot for me." "Ro, you can't trust her!" Explorer-chan’s eyes were filled with fear and I fought the urge to retort. Had to play nice with the other children, now... "What do you mean? Of course I can”.
"Finally!"
I practically groaned with relief. ”Somebody believes in me!!” "But how are we gonna get back up there?" Hm. Funny she should ask. I motioned for Cinna-Ro to follow me. "Just let me lead…”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Tapping on the window pane, I put on my best don’t-worry-I’m-innocent smile. "Mystic? Please let me in…” "I thought I told you to go away”. "Yes, but then I decided I didn't want to". "Doesn't change the fact that I'm not gonna let you in". I sighed. "Such a shame. I thought you'd be as sweet as the Cursed God says you are. And I even brought a friend along. One of yours." "Sure, sure you did". "Mystic?" -And here we go… "Ro?" She exclaimed quite loudly- "How'd you get up here!?” "Alice helped me." "See? I wasn't lying! NOW will you let us in?" “No! I told you the answer to that was none of your business". She then rolled over, and completely ignored us. …Big mistake. I kicked in the glass with my shoes of steel. “!?” Cinna-Ro gaped at me as I went flying around the corner of the treehouse, and slammed against the door- With a thud, I was just able to keep her from locking it! "You can't win this, Mystic! You're gonna have to give me the answer sooner or later!" She shoved a chair under it-! Knocked off-balance, I almost fell over backwards- I felt a pair of hands steady me before muscling in herself. There was a flash of gold near the broken windowpane, and a minute later, I saw her grasp the back of Leaping Beauty’s outfit at the last second. “Nice work, Cinna-Ro!” Pushing her (gently) down onto the bed, she had to really hang on to keep her still! “Not this time”. I made my way over, sure that we’d finally managed to get this in the bag! "Now you're gonna have to answer to me; what are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you?" "I told you that that was NONE of your business. Do you want me to start praying?" I flinched. "Where do you keep your duct tape?" "Like I'm gonna tell you”, she scoffed. "Besides, how are you gonna get me to answer if my mouth is taped shut?" Uh… My mind floundered for a moment, desperately trying to understand her logic- She had a… Good-
Point!?
“Just tell us already!!” I groaned. "No”. "Why not!?"
"BECAUSE IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
You said that already I wanted to scream-!! I genuinely wanted to scream. "HEEEEERE'S SAFFY!"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Welp. Batfiya had gone clear off-her-face. She was hauling around a big axe and everything! Leering from the window, right eye twitching every so often, she cajoled: "My dear Mystic, it's been far too long. Come to momma… I’ll keep you safe from all of this evil." Yeah-huh. Sureee you would… I stepped in front of both Cinna-Ro and Mystic. Like h* she was having her way! "You wanna get to Mystic? You're gonna have to go through me!" With barely a reaction aside from yet another crazed laugh, the woman barreled towards me!! I dodged to the side, and nearly jumped out of my skin as the blade hit the wall an inch from my head! Spinning on my heel, I tried to blast her a good one, but she deflected it with the blunt edge so that it ripped open a second ding in the wood. A second later that same edge was headed for my neck-!! I ducked under her swing, and ended up hustling by a terrified Mystic and Cinna-Ro. Snarling, she whirled back around and lunged for me- “!!??” The Bride of the Hour let out a half-strangled squawk as Batfiya’s weapon nearly lodged itself in her forehead! Shocked at the almost-kill, the crazed axe-murderer froze for a good minute or so before it registered that she was now in the perfect position to- “Hey! Over here, Nutso!!” I sparked her in the backside, and I was all-prepared to toss her out of that tree- She swung viciously, wildly at me in all directions, and the blade got stuck in the ceiling. With a tremendous series of yanks, she ripped it loose- The blade came free of the handle, and nearly sliced into Mystic’s face. “Oh s*!!!” "Language”, Batfiya hissed, “Once I take you home, I'll MAKE SURE you never speak another hateful word! I have waysssssssssssssssss!" "Bye, b*!” Without any warning, she decided to hop out the window! "Wait!" I yelled after her, “What about me!?” “F* you. You're on your own, demon!" Hurrying like h*, I crawled out the empty frame after her! No way was she getting rid of me that easily!! I saw her climb up onto the roof of the treehouse, and I groaned. My arms were going to go on strike… Dragging Cinna-Ro along behind me, I reluctantly followed. Batfiya’s limp axe bit through the walls and roof every now and again, rappelling her way up to us- Luckily, we managed to out-scale her. Just as we got up there, Mystic did an impressive jumping maneuver that somehow landed her onto a branch of the next tree over! I saw her dig through a red bag, and enclose something small into her palm: "I wish Ro was back safe on the ground”. In a sudden flash of golden light, Cinna-Ro was gone- Looking back over the edge, I saw her reappear at the foot of the tree in a poof of glittering sparkles, a mildly-alarmed expression on her face. Another, stronger flash of light- And when I swapped my attention back to Mystic- She, too, had vanished!
What!?
There was a fantastic crunch from behind me, and I turned to see Batfiya’s axe hurtling up and into my nose- Gold overwhelmed my senses-
I saw her fade out, still grasping at nothing, mouth moving in a silent plea for us to let her back-
Detective Lady closed her eyes.
“It is done”.
And then I was falling too-
“Hey-!?”
Her Boyfriend’s apple-greens widened.
“No-!!”
The Edgeman leaped forward!
“Hang on-!!”
But I was already lost.
- … I stood there in complete silence. Night had descended at last, shrouding everything in shadow. There was literally no sound, period in this neck of the woods… A neck I didn’t even recognize. And what was worse-!! My one chance to get out of this mess… It was… It wasn’t.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Great. Just great. Look. I'm glad that I didn’t get turned into firewood by that raging Bat-woman. However. It would’ve been nice if I’d been able to get this taken care of before I'd been abruptly teleported away… I looked down at my hands.
Still not mine…!
I closed them and squeezed. There had to be a way.
There had to be!!
I wouldn’t accept anything less-
No.
I couldn’t accept anything less! At least I had a general and vague idea of how I’d ended up here at any rate… Either this universe wouldn’t let me forget sharing a mind with that kiddo, or I’d been too close to the fault line when everybody else had tried to close it without me! (Yeah, it totally wasn’t the latter or anything… ): And another thing! Where the h* had all my emojis run off to!? I had always talked like that, right!? …This did not bode well.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Agh…! I couldn’t believe this!! What, was I slowly forgetting who I was or something!? I seriously hoped not. Well, it wasn’t like standing around here was going to help me any… For all I knew, Batfiya had some gnarly wings to match! - I didn’t know where I was going… I could barely see two feet in front of my face. It was also getting real cold, real fast. Shelter would probably be a good idea at this point. Too bad there didn’t seem to be any just randomly lying around- Was that smoke I saw in the distance!? Either an enemy or a friend was camping out… Following the trail, I had to duck under at least a million low-hanging branches, and avoid tripping over all the rampant greenery- I think I nearly got impaled a thousand times. But in the end- I crashed out amongst a couple of hunters just about to eat their dinner. “Hi there…think I’m kinda lost”. The older of the two paused with a piece of meat halfway to his mouth. “…Can I help you, little lady?” Did I not just tell them that I was lost? “Yes. I’m looking for a missing girl in gold?” “At this time of the night!? “What can I say, it’s an urgent cause”. The son’s eyes kept flipping from his father to me, and back again. “…Well isn’t that a coincidence. We’ve been searching for her too”. “So you haven’t seen her, then?” Another dead end. Just peachy. “No…’fraid not”. He finally took a bite, blood spraying everywhere as he did so. Some of it splashed onto the hem of my skirt, and I raised an eyebrow. Messy eater, are we? “Care to explain why you can’t find her?” “Oh, I think she hates my guts”. The kid nearly choked on his own fried delicacy… “How’d you manage that!?” “Beats me. Maybe I bugged her too much?” “-You gonna sit down?” “…” Whatever it was they were cooking over that massive fire smelled insanely good and I hadn’t eaten all day. “Well… Are you offering?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I couldn’t stop staring at it. That… Uncooked flesh he was tearing into every five seconds… On first glance, I’d thought it was just a piece of ordinary, generic meat. But I dunno, the way he was attacking that thing- Kinda seemed like it’d had human fingers at one point. “Dad’s got a condition”, the son piped up. “He has a new diet now that he has to stick to…” “You don’t need to explain”. The guy held out a hand for me to shake, and I attempted not to wretch at the stench of blood. “Name’s Atticus…and this is Dylan”. I took it. “I’m Alice”. “Yes, I know. The witches have been quite vocal about you, lately…something about how ‘you’d magically disappeared from the world’ before they could get their revenge on you?” That, was news to me. “Witches, huh… So does that mean you’re on his side, then?” He swallowed another chunk. “I assume you’re talking about the Cursed God?” “Who else is there?” …Both of them looked at me funny the minute after what I'd said had sunk in. “-You’re not scared, even though you know that. You're not even afraid that we’re gonna try to take you away or something?” Dylan seemed perplexed. “Take me away for what?” Atticus spit out a piece of bone. “For leverage- Gotta get his Bride back here somehow…” “But…she probably wouldn’t show up and it’d only be a huge waste of your time as a result”. I smirked. “So, if you factor that in, I'm pretty sure I’m safe from the likes of you”. In a heartbeat, his arm was snaking around my throat-
Wh-whoah-!!
Did not see that coming-
He yanked me over to his side of the campfire, and trapped me in a chokehold- For one terrifying instant I knew what it was like to suffocate. “Haaahh…haaahh…!!” I coughed, hands flying to my neck on impulse. He’d let me go- “…Don’t you ever assume you’re safe out here”. Canine fangs Eyes glowing with moonlit reflections Stray hair rippling out through his sleeves I tried to focus through watering eyes. How in the h* had I not picked out what he was immediately!? “Dad…” Dylan hurried to his side as Atticus started to succumb to a cold sweat- “Don’t…don’t worry… The moon won’t be...full...until tomorrow…I’ll be fine…until then…” “But you could get caught by the Coven-!!” “They won’t hurt me! It’s Mystic they’re after…” -Say what?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“C-coven…!?” I couldn’t stop gasping… “What…what do you…?” A muscle twitched in Dylan’s jaw. Whatever he was about to tell me was guaranteed not to be good news. “…There’s a coven around these parts...you have to swear a blood oath of loyalty to get in. It's run by someone called the High Priestess…” He shook his head wildly from side-to-side as if attempting to shake some vile memory out of his mind. “All of us-I mean, all of the lieutenants and then me… If you thought they were bad, then you should see these women…! Especially, this one witch, Circe Jones. She tried to trick this nice lady into her house sixteen years ago, and when the woman proved to be too much for her, she cursed her into immobilization, and beat her to death with a broomstick! Because no lives are supposed to be taken on any time other than the full moon, she should have been considered a traitor of the Coven…a Bloodstained…” He squeezed his eyes shut. “We came across her ghost a few years back…since then there’s been more victims…” “And…no one knows about this…why!?” “BECAUSE SHE LIES!!” I jumped. “She lies, and she hides everything, and she gets away with it all”. “You’d think that wouldn’t faze you-“ “That woman was her first kill”. He was sweating now, bullets at the memories flooding in- “They’re all buried in the back…and not all of them went down in one piece, with all their organs intact”. “How…” I struggled to wrap my head around the fact that she was almost as bad as a couple others I knew. “How did you even find out about those hidden ones?” “She saved us from her once upon a time…was looking to harvest a few ‘dog teeth’, from my dad".
Raw.
He grimaced. “I think you can guess where we ended up hiding”. Atticus stayed pale, and drawn throughout all of this. Until now. “Mighty nice girl she was… Had to get out of some town quick… Said she was gonna come back someday when it was all safe…again…”
Said she didn’t want her loved ones to have to deal with something.
Something awful. “…If a witch becomes a bloodstained…then their throat gets slit in front of everyone…” Dylan sighed. “Guess what happened to the poor fool she blamed it all on?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
So, there was a murderous witch living in these woods someplace. I now had a Place To Avoid At All Costs- But none of what I’d learned so far would help me any in terms of ‘how-the-h*-do-I-fix-this-mess-!?’ “That’s…a bunch of interesting info and all, but...how am I even supposed to avoid this lady if I don’t even know what she looks like?” “Long, brown hair, black dress”. Dylan was adamant. “Always spouting stuff about birds. If you see her, run”. Okaaaay... Filed away for future use(?) “What are you going to do when the full moon does get here?” “Find a safe place for dad to change until the night is over…I’ll have to climb into a tree again…” Sounded like a stressful existence to me. “And avoid the Coven at all costs?” “Yes”. Hey, if they were determined enough to make it work, then kudos to them! Still… I could almost feel the pit of helplessness opening beneath my feet. “Hey…” “Hm?” The kid looked up from tending his collapsing father. “So, a friend of mine got stuck in someone else’s body and can’t seem to find a way out”. “Are you speaking of yourself?” “No”, I lied, “Of course not! I just need to know how to-“ “Have you ever heard of Wish stones?” “What?” “Wish stones”. He looked like I should’ve known about these forever ago. “Here”. The kid got up, and lifted a nearby rock. “These are them”. From where I was currently sitting, I could just about catch a glimpse of something white, and weird-shaped- He scooped some of the strange pebbles up and into his hand. “All you have to do is wish and you’ll get it as soon as it dissolves into dust- Depending on the wish, that is…”
“Really…”
That almost seemed too good to be true- “Really”. For once, a genuine smile rested on his face. “I wish a tiny stream would appear so I could better cool off dad’s fever…” A familiar golden flash- I soon heard a small rumbling from the ground below- Scrambling away, I was barely able to avoid a miniature gush of water that rent its way through the ground beneath my feet- And there it was. “…That’s…” I was bordering on speechless, a true first for me! “That’s amazing-!!” “I try to collect them whenever I can for emergencies”, Dylan said matter-of-factly. “But…but how did you-!?” Find them in the first place!!??, I meant to ask… Before I could, however… I was once again swallowed up into a vortex of light.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
This was just perfect!! As the dust cleared, I found myself right in front of exactly whom I wanted to see- “!?” Mystic immediately went for another stone, but I grabbed her hand before she could wish me out faster than I came in! "You are NOT getting out of this so easily”. She tried to pull away from me, but I held firm. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" I asked, knowing full well what the problem was. "Can't handle the Pop?" She went still. “Pop?” It suddenly dawned on me. What I’d said- In my ensuing ‘you idiot’, monologue, I unintentionally let go. She hurriedly backed up into the other half of this rather nicely-furnished bedroom, and dug her hand into the bag- "Wait- Wait, don’t!!” I reached out an arm to stop her- "Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t”. She withdrew from the Wish stones, and I internally sighed with relief. The only reason I’d been able to find her this time was pure, blind luck. If she sent me away- …I ran through a billion things I could say to convince her not to kick me out of the house, and… I was still searching- “-Because I can help you!” I finally blurted. She rolled her eyes. "Well, you're not doing a good job at it”. She snatched up another stone- "I wish--"
“Please!!”
I wished I was faking the desperation in my tone. "I wanna get outta this body!" And I can’t do it without you!! An agonizing silence fell as I waited for her to say something, anything-!! "So…you wanna die?" -That’s how you take it!? "No! I meant out of this puny body. Cuz I'm not whoever this Alice chick is." I mean, I did know… But she wasn’t exactly hanging around this particular AU anymore… "Then why don't you tell me who the h* you are before I wish you straight to Safiya? Or pray?" Both options were decidedly not great. If I even thought of them, a shudder ran up my spine- "Okay, okay, I'll talk!"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I sighed. "My name's Candy Pop. I'm not a demon, at least I used to not be one, and this isn't my body". "You're really trying to pull one over on me, aren't you?" "I swear!” I said hurriedly before she could threaten to teleport me for the third time in a row. “I don't know how I got into this body or how to get myself out. But you---" I sped-walk over to her, and grasped her shoulders. I could feel the manic, desperate grin cross my face- "You can use one of those fancy Wish stones of yours to get me outta here! "And why should I?" She spat bitterly. "What've you done to help me?" "I got you out of that lunatic's house, for one. If it weren't for me, you'd be drinking some eterni-TEA!" "Correction; you got us on the other side of the glass barrier”. "Whatever!” Who cared about technicalities? Not me!! “The point is, you need me. I can defeat that j*w*d of a Cursed God with my hands tied behind my back”. Again with the eye-rolling! Honestly, had she been taking lessons from them!? "Sure you could”. "I CAN!” I insisted. “But not while I'm stuck in this body". I may have been able to injure him, but I knew whatever power I had left was limited. "And besides, tomorrow's a full moon”. "What's....gonna happen then?” she started shivering. "I'll tell you, little lark, but only if you switch dear ole Poppy back into his body”. "How do I know you won't just desert me once I do?" …Um. ... ... ... ...She had me there. -So I was a more than a little surprised to hear this come out of her mouth: “…I’ll get you out once we're away from here." Ah, relief, where have you been all my life. "Then let's book it!" She shook her head. "Not yet. There's something I need to do, first”. I suppressed the urge to groan. "And that is?" She took a deep breath before speaking: "I don't know for sure, but I think I may have found one of the Tokens of Everlock."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“The tokens?” What tokens? "Yeah, Matt told me about them a while ago. I dunno how many of them are there, though. Probably a lot. And speaking of a lot…” She reached into that red bag of hers, and… "I found a bunch of these pictures, but they've all got words on the back. I think they form some sort of message, but I need help figuring it out." The first one she happened to show me- My heart thumped painfully in my chest! "No!”, I gasped, "I.....I never.....not with her!!” "Her?” It was me. Standing next to that-that- I looked here, there and everywhere! There had to be some convenient clues lying around- “S*. S*, s*, s*!” I couldn’t believe this. What were the odds that the description of her that I’d just gotten from the Werewolf’s son- "Kid, if that's who I think it is, then you're in a h*uva lot of trouble. That woman's bad news!!” Understatement of the century. "Her?" she asked again. "You mean Circe?" "YES!" Honestly, who else would I be talking about!? She looked down at the picture, and blinked. "But she's been so.....sweet to me. Sure, maybe a bit odd, but nothing extreme”. "Sweet?
AHAHAHAHAHA~!!”
That’s how it always starts you fool!! That’s how they lure you in for the kill- "SWEET?! Oh, hon. Don't let that Southern dialect fool you. That woman's nothing but trouble! And if she were to find me---or I guess Alice——“ The story of the chick who’d been beaten to death floated across my mind like a ghost. I abruptly stopped laughing. “I’d be s*d. And you would be too!!” "Me? S*d? No!" She sounded sarcastic!!?? "I'm serious!” I shrieked as quietly as I possibly could- "If she succeeds, then you're gonna be stuck here for eternity." "And exactly HOW is that different to what someone else already has planned for me?" I ignored her valid point. "Did she ask you about a coven at all?" That nod told me everything I needed to know. “Is she a part of it?” Technically, but- “Not anymore, she's not. She's what they call a bloodstained." "Bloodstained?" "When witches join a coven, they have to make a blood oath to be loyal. But that woman's gone against the grain, and when a witch stabs all her friends in the back like that, she becomes bloodstained. Or, in other, more specific terms, they slit her throat and the corpse is stained with blood, capiche?” "So then why's she in communication with the High Priestess?" "Because they don't know. They still think she's a team player. She's the QOD, Queen Of Deception, and what the Queen wants, she's gonna do whatever it takes to get”. "What does she want?" "Like you’re f*ing clueless-! See the note on the back of the picture?" "Yeah? Something about a Duplication Orb?" I’d already figured it out the minute I’d seen it. "Put the pictures and that together”. "Well I would," she said in the most irritated tone of voice… "But I don't know how to cuz you're not helping!" "Calm down!" "Don't f*ing tell me to calm down! I'm p*d cuz I don't know s* at this point, and now you throwing more at me all at once is just making me even more confused!!" "C'mon, doll”, I patronized encouraged, “You're a smart cookie. You can figure this out. Just give it whirl." Sighing, she went to work. I tuned out her mutterings and musings in favor of scoping out where Miss Creep was exactly- Which was kind of hard to do when your mind was trying to spin itself in fifty directions at once. That message had called me a familiar.
Me!
How in the heck was that ever a thing!? I think I would’ve remembered being made something like that- Unless a part of my memories had been blotted out. But how would Miss Creep have been able to do that so quickly!? From the minute I’d been unceremoniously dumped into this place, I’d been on the go non-stop!! So how-!? A horrified gasp from behind me. Looked like she’d finally put it together. The note that would lead to her doom.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"This doesn't make sense, and there are few things unexplained”. I rolled my eyes. "Like what?" "What about the Duplication Orb?" Are you dense or something!?, I wanted to scream- "You've got the message decoded, now you can put that and the orb together”. Not like I hadn’t just barely said that five minutes ago, or anything… "Uh, no, I really can’t”. A nervous chuckle- "If there's a connection, it's a really abstract one”. I sighed. Really, kid?
Really!?
"I guess you'd have to know a bit about Circe's backstory to be able to piece the two together”. "What's her backstory?" "When she joined her coven, she didn't know that the witches had a strict policy on family; you couldn't start one. But Circe, being a Southern Belle, wanted one so badly... She wanted a family of 'little birds'-it's what she calls children. And she wanted to pass on a legacy, should she get killed. "Apparently there was a girl the coven sent out to trick Circe into luring her in, so they could see if she was still loyal to her Southern Belle culture. The girl became too much for her to handle, so she ended up killing her. But the coven never got word of it. Matter of fact, it seemed like they forgot the girl entirely. Nonetheless, Circe became a bloodstained, and if the coven ever found out, that'd be the end of her. "Because of the girl, and knowing that the coven'd want a virgin to possess during the full moon meeting, she created that orb. It clones you, but in exchange, you lose parts of yourself, which get transferred to the clone. The thing is, Circe can choose which parts she wants you to keep and which to give to the clone as well as what to add on to you. See where I'm going with this?" “…And the clone?" Judging by the scared look on her face, I would say that she (finally!!) did. "The clone would be the end of the coven. See, a High Priestess can't take over half a soul. They need the whole thing, otherwise she, and those still loyal to her, would dissolve into dust. So by splitting your personality in half, she kills two squirrels with one stone." "Don't you mean two BIRDS with one stone?" I shook my head- "She loves birds too much”. "But what about the Cursed God?" Way ahead of you kiddo… "Oh, she's not afraid of him- On the contrary, HE is scared of HER!” "Why? She seems so nice and sweet”. Girl-you need to stop trusting every random human who takes you in. What, did you NOT learn your lesson with that Horace-guy earlier!? "Which is exactly why he's scared of her! The Cursed God's more upfront with his feelings and intentions. But Circe's perfected the art of deception to such a degree that even he can't tell which emotions are real and which aren't when it comes to her”. "...Is there someone who she's afraid of?" I had to delve deep into my brain for that one… "There IS. Lilith Divola, she works with him as you know…” "Why is she afraid of her?" "Lilith is a dark entity of her own. She's an alternate side of someone else, or so I've heard... Her magic's more limited to those entities because they aren't fully human. Trouble is, Lilith wants you for her own as well”. "Oh, for f*’s sake!" Mystic’s voice was laced with a ton of exasperation. "What happened to just killing the hero?" "Oh hon, it's not gonna happen to you…”, a voice drawled in a Southern accent. I nearly lifted out of my shoes!! Whirling around-
Oh s*-!!
There she was, Miss Creep herself- "Cause you're not the hero; you're the ingenue”.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Well, well, well…” She nonchalantly slipped inside Mystic’s bedroom carrying a tea kettle, matching tray, and some porcelain cups to round it all out! I felt an involuntary shiver crawl up and down my spine- She got right in our faces- "Why, hello there!" Miss Creep smiled at me so sweetly, I almost had a sugar overdose by just looking at her!! "Aren't you just a sweetie! Good thing I brought more than two cups. Now everyone can enjoy some nice sweet tea."
You need to add more words to your vocabulary.
-And why the heck were you not trying to attack me right now!?
Did you not just hear me bad-mouthing you for a good ten minutes!!?? "Don't play that card with me, you wench!" I shouted. "I know your tricks." “~Tee-hee hee!!” She sounded innocent, but I refused to believe it. I refused to believe that she had no idea what I was talking about- "That's cause you used to help me with them, Alice. How are you likin' your new form, dear? Not that much, I suspect. You missin' bein' a bird?" - What The actual…!? NO! I wasn’t- I wasn’t your-!!?? The H*!!?? "I'm not even Alice-”, I somehow managed to choke out. "Don't be such a silly”, she gently reprimanded. "Of course you are! Now you two just HAVE to try this sweet tea”. …I couldn’t speak. ... ... ... What the heck. "I've recently become interested in dialect-changin' teas. And where better to begin than my own?" Mystic lit up from the inside-out, and she hopped up onto the bed before I could grab her! I leveled her with an ‘are you stupid!!??’ glare, and she flinched. "I knew YOU'D be intrigued, dearie!” Miss Creep beamed like a ray of false sunshine, and tapped her on the nose. I scowled at the huuuuge grin that broke out on her face. “-But I've made THIS one more specific to you. See, it'd be a bit odd for you to have such a mature voice with such a youthful face, so I went less for an Amanda and more for a Laura”. I didn’t have a clue what any of that meant, but Glasses Girl started gushing like a kid during Christmas!! "Laura Wingfield is my dream role”, she sighed, clearly having lost herself in Cloudcuckooland. “-And The Glass Menagerie is my favorite play!" "Why then, you are goin' to love the name of this sweet tea, sweetie”, Miss Creep oozed. "Blue Roses and honey”. The kid went to reach for it- I could not comprehend what I was seeing right now! She just took the thing-!? "Don't drink it! It's probably poisoned”. Her eyes grew large and a sheen of mist filled them- She looked so hurt…and so did Mystic… "Me? Poison this darlin' little angel!?” The Faker went and kissed her on the forehead. She blushed. "Now where on earth did you get such a silly idea like that?" "From what you did to that girl sixteen years ago!" I persevered. "That poor girl? Oh, she collapsed from exhaustion”, she f*ing lied through her teeth- "That's not true. I KNOW you killed her, and many others as well!" "Oh, poor Alice…” She handed a cup of ‘Blue Roses and POISON-!!’ to Mystic. "You must be so confused and lost from your time away from me”. No, it wasn’t true!! I’d never met you before today, you pathological-!!! Mystic took a sip, as I frantically lunged forward to knock the tea from her death-grip- "It's alright, Alice”. All my breath whooshed out of my lungs. Her voice- It sounded like-
Miss Creep’s
The kid stopped for a moment, mouth open in a perfect ‘O’. “…It worked~!" She set the cup down with a plunk, and embraced her- "Circe's quite kind!” Maybe a bit of tea'll help. NOOOOO!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? MYSTIC DON’T YOU DARE- "You alright, darlin'?" "Just a bit tired is all”. "Well, it's no surprise! It's near midnight… You really should be headin' off to dreamland”. "Alright, but can I have just a little more tea? Please?" … "Oh, how I can say no to such a sweet and innocent little face?" I was shell-shocked. - "Why, isn't she simply darlin’”, the witch cooed at Mystic’s sleeping form. "She'll make the perfect daughter”. …ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH!! "No more playing games, Circe!" I growled. "I KNOW you killed that girl sixteen years ago, and I KNOW you've killed many others". She gracefully turned on her heel to face me, arms folded no-nonsense style across her chest. "I see you haven't changed much, Candy Pop”. From charmingly adorable, to knife-sharp and villainous. All I did was blink. “H-how did you.....?" "Silly boy, do you really believe I'm that dense? I AM the Queen of Deception, after all. There isn't anyone I can't trick. Even YOU thought I had you confused”. No. She was lying again… She had to be-!! "What do you want with Mystic?"
As if I didn’t already know…
"You already figured that out”. She sniffed at me like I was the dumbest ‘Bird’ she’d ever met! "The coven wants their virgin so badly; they'll have her, but that'll be the last virgin they ever possess. I want a daughter of my own, but one that's not a handful. This one's sweet enough already. I would just need to make a few changes, take the clone to the coven's meetin', and leave before they turn to dust”. "You are an evil woman…” And this was coming from ME!! "It's all about perspective. To you I'm the worst woman to exist. But to this sweet little lark…” She gestured at Mystic. Was it just me, or was reality literally pitching underneath my feet? This could NOT be happening right now-!! "I'm like a mother to her." “Yeah, and you know——“ "All too well”. Her eyes became like chips of pure steel. I was borderline freaked out. "And he's NOT gettin' her! And neither are you”. I could hear her start to mutter something under her breath- I took one step to the door, but it was too late I couldn’t Fight A haze of black…falling over me- I couldn’t Get Caught . . . .
It was all over
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
What… What happened…? As my vision faded back in, I head ‘Wake up, f*r!’ Pain exploded across my cheek and just like that, I was fully awake and annoyed!! "What was that for!?” "Where's Circe?" “H* if I know!" "Good, then we're getting out of here”.
…Getting out of where!?
While she swiveled her head to and fro, probably looking for that Wish bag of hers, I slowly registered the iron bars locking us in- The f*!? We were in cages!!?? No, not just any cages… Bird cages. “D* it”, she muttered. "Dude, check your hair." “Why should I? You’re not the boss of me”. Admittedly that was not the smartest thing in the book to say, but in my defense I was kind of panicking- "Check. Your f*ing. Hair- Unless you wanna be stuck in her body forever!” She growled. “Okay, okay!” I started to dig through Alice’s hidden, kinky curls. "What am I looking for exactly?" "C'mon, Pop”, Mystic said. "You're a smart cookie. You can figure this out. Just give it a whirl!” We speared each other with twin glares- How dare you use my own words against me, you-!? My fingers hit something metal. "A bobby pin! Perfect”. As I pulled it out, that was what she’d said… There was a new, fiery light in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before. "Now what?" "What the h* do you think, genius?" she mocked. "Put two and two together”. "You need to watch your attitude, little lady”, I retaliated. "Sweet girls don't talk back---" "Talk to me like that again, and I'll make sure your spirit stays stuck in a Bible”. A… A Bible…? I hurriedly opened the d* thing, and rattled it in the lock until an audible click! filled the air… The door swung open on its own. "Okay, now me”. If it were up to moi, I probably, most-definitely would have left her there while heading straight for her bag of goodies, but that Stupid Promise wouldn’t get out of my head- I handed her the bobby pin. Stop laughing at me. Another click! later, and she too, was out. Faster than I was, much to my chagrin- "Next”, she said firmly, “the bag. Gimme a boost”. "Why?" Bible. I instantly did what she told me. "Little higher…” Grimacing at the dead weight on my shoulders, I pushed up slightly harder… Rustling. "I wish the teastones that end up in this bag only work for me unless I give someone willing and genuine permission to use them, I wish that the Duplication Orb was teleported to the middle of the ocean furthest away from here”. An ear-piercing shriek made me wish I was deaf! "My orrrrb!!" "I wish Circe couldn't use magic to bring the orb back-“
“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”
It sounded like a banshee had just upped and died. Footsteps- Angry ones- "I wish Circe was confined to the top floor of her house”. Even MORE screaming-!!? Man, did this lady have lungs! "I'm gonna kill you, you little brat boy!" she shrilled. "You hear me!? I'll kill you!!” ...Excuse you, were you talking about me? "At this rate, we're gonna need to find more teastones”. "We will later”, Mystic promised. "Right now, we need to check her cauldron”. You mean we were out already-!? I silently (yes, silently) fumed as she got off of my back. We ran upstairs soon after. Guess who was waiting at the stair landing? "Hello?" Circe flashed a sickeningly saccharine smile. "Mystic, sweetie? Is that you? Oh thank the lord! Can you help mother out pretty please?" "Up yours!” I blinked. So did Miss Creep, herself… What did somebody get character development in her sleep or something!? "Now, sweetheart," she chided in that maternal way of hers, "That's not how little girls are supposed to talk”. “F* off, you b*!” She snarled.
D* girl…
You’ve got it goin’ on now…! "I know who you really are, and we're taking something I should've grabbed last night”. She marched up to the cauldron- "What?" Her face turned pale. "No, not my token! That's what's keeping him away! Please, Mystic. Sweetheart. Just leave that alone. I promise I won't use the orb on you. Just please. Stay with me. Be my sweet little girl. We could be so happy together”. She ripped out it out with barely a second glance!! “NOOOO!!” Ah, what a beautiful sound~ "Put that back! You don't know what you just di--" The witch paled still further until I could pick out each vein and capillary in her face- -And who was this, now?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Guinivere”. It came out in a squeak- Ohhh, she did not look happy- And it wasn't hard to tell why. If you didn’t look too closely, the 18-going-on-21-year-old was pretty hot stuff. Long, caramel hair, blue dress with white moons and stars all over it, pretty aquamarine eyes and a tan to match- Yeah. Half of her face was now caved in, her bones stuck rigidly out of her body like someone had tried to shove them back into their proper places, and failed miserably, bruises and welts covered every limb… Clearly, this nut job had a f*tastic field day once upon a sixteen years. Ago. Literally a crowd of waaay too many ghostly children to count glided in behind… "We've had enough of your tricks, Circe… And now that your token's in the right hands, it's time for you to burn”. …I could not fathom how much mental effort it must have taken for her to snap her fingers. The runes of the immobilization spell were still shimmering over her body- Even now. “AAAHH-!!” Flames leaked out of the fireplace, and began to close in on her- "Wait”. Mystic hurried over to the ghost mom’s ear, and whispered- "What if we--?" What little eyebrows she had left raised. “I see”. She smiled dryly. "Seems fitting…” With a second snap of her fingers, I saw a gravestone rising from the dirt outdoors. The ground beneath sank into a particularly meaningful shape… Then an open coffin magically appeared. “…” Uh, Mystic? …Didn’t think you were that evil- "Please!" Circe’s desperate shout seemed to strike a chord in her heart. "Not that! Please don't put me in that". It was the tears. The real tears do it every time… Heck, I suppose, it even worked for me... But don’t you ever tell anyone! You hear me!? More whispering… "Well, if you insist…” G. Looked somewhat disappointed. Then again, if I’d taken three whacks to the face before I’d died, I would want to get me some tasty revenge, too.
Snap!
The witch floated to the ground, hands crossed over her chest as if she were already dead-
Snap!
She crumbled to ash as I watched. Thank you darlin’… The first and last genuine thing she'd ever said.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“She’s gone”. “Yeah…” Mystic seemed pretty broken up about it. As for me, I felt a little pity, but not much. It was that whole thing with the Horace-guy again… "But you're one step closer to taking down the Cursed God”, Guinevere pointed out. "Unfortunately, it's the same with me”. Uh, what? Sorry, but could you English that a little better, I don’t think I got like, an iota of what you were trying to tell me- A tiny ghost boy fumbled a bottle into Mystic’s hands. “This should explain everything”, Guinivere told us. When we walked out of there, I noticed that none of them had come with us… "You're not coming with us?" Now how did she know what I was thinking!? The woman shook her head. "Our souls were bound to this property because of that woman. Even though she's dead, we can't follow you… We have to go to the afterlife. Don't worry”. Keep moving forward... But I knew deep in my heart that she, herself had no plans to go anywhere. Not until she showed up, at least… -
Elsewhere, another young woman escaped out the back door of her own home.
She, too, was desperately trying to outrun a terrible fate.
- A marzipan shutter cracked off and shattered an inch from my face. Now that its owner was no longer alive… The whole place was going to pieces… "We got one of the tokens”, Mystic said sadly. "One step closer to freedom”. I nodded. I could see the sun rising through the tree tops- "Maybe we should look at the note”. Now it was her turn to nod. Popping out the cork, she lifted a piece of parchment out of the bottle-
No
“What is it!?” The way her eyes had widened while reading- This couldn’t be good. She took a deep breath.
If you are reading this, you have found one of the seven tokens of Everlock.
This one is a freebie, I suppose you could say.
Unfortunately, the rest will require your own sacrifices.
In order to obtain the other tokens, someone will have to die.