Summary: Spencer purchases an old-fashioned mirror. What will happen when Sam discovers that the mirror is more than it seems?
Disclaimer: You should really know by now, being that we're in our 14th chapter, that I don't own iCarly. Dan Schneider does, silly person.
iWent Through the Glass: Chapter 14
"Aww, does little Sammy need help standing?" whispered the creature directly into my ear, as if its mouth were only a few inches from my head.
I whirled around, my fists flying. I was angry now. But I hit nothing.
"Probably," cooed the voice again. "Because she seems to need help in every other aspect of her life."
Growling, my angry eyes flashed to the fog-covered ceiling, just as thunder and lightning crashed inside the room. "Freddie," I ground out, beginning my command. "Hand me the sword."
"Sam?" he asks, his voice almost trembling. I don't need to look at him to know that his eyes are wide. "What are you planning to do?"
With another growl, I turn to him and shout, "Just give me the damn sword!" And then I snatch it from his hands, leaving him no time to react. Instantly, I begin running at where the mass of tentacles seemed particularly bunched together. Its face couldn't be far behind. I roared while slashing furiously. I had had it with this thing.
"Be careful, Sam," the creature cautioned. "You wouldn't want to find yourself in trouble, would you? Especially without Freddie there to save you."
Letting go of a cry of rage, I increased the power of my lunges, speaking between jabs. "I—don't—need—any—body's—help!" I was right! I knew I was right! And yet this thing was making me out to be some sort of mouse—not even, something pitiful, that depends on others to survive. Sure help is nice, but I very rarely needed it.
But I froze in my spot and my eyes widened while I let the creature's words float through my mind a second time.
"Especially without Freddie to save you."
I spun around as quick as I could, and ran back what seemed like an impossible distance from where our battle had begun.
"Sam!" Freddie cried in urgency, coughing and gasping for air. He was being strangled by one of the tentacles.
I tried calling out to him, but again my breath caught. It only let me say his name—"Freddie"—in a desperate, worried, quiet tone. But once again I was stuck on that ledge.
The creature chuckled in its scratchy voice. "Do you know what he's seeing now, Samantha?"
But I couldn't move or answer. I had to get him out! He was dying, and I couldn't move! What was wrong with me?!
"He's seeing you."
My eyes opened impossibly wider.
"You are his greatest fear. He never knows what you'll do. You're always a million steps ahead of him, but in-turn, he's always a million behind you. And you never wait for him to catch up." The voice laughed again. "Oh, poor, stupid nerd, you'd say. And you'd push him further away."
"No," I murmured, still stuck. "That's not true. Freddie loves me."
"He loves you because he fears you," the monster corrected. "And because he fears you, it stops him from loving you. It's a vicious cycle. One that can never break."
"He knows I'm only kidding when I do the things I do!"
"Are you?" the creature questioned in a malicious tone.
"Yes!" I yell. "Freddie's one of my best friends! No matter how much we fight, I could never hate him!"
"And are you certain he feels the same way?" I could almost hear the disgusting thing smirk.
"It doesn't matter if he does or if he doesn't. I'll break that cycle! Because I love him, too!" And suddenly, I was able to move again. I was flying off that cliff. And it was almost as if actual wings carried me through the room and up to where Freddie was being held. With one powerful slash, I cut him free, the blade so hot, it cauterized the beast's severed tentacles as soon as they were cut.
We were at the top now. We could see its face. Its eyes glowed a horrible green, like the muck in the sea of corpses, and blood dripped from its eyes like tears. Its mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, but I knew what we had to do.
"Freddie!" I shouted from our perch on the mounded vines. "Grab onto the sword!"
"What?!" he asked, as if I were crazy. We were either about to win or die and the dork still questioned my sanity.
"Just grab it, you nub!" I screamed, no longer tolerating Freddie's uncertainty.
As his hands joined mine on the handle of the sword, it glowed, bright and golden. It was beautiful—it was magic.
"Run with me!!" And then we took off, and he jumped at the same time as I did, as if we were running in perfect synchronization. The blade hit the monster right between the eyes and sliced through its jelly-like skull.
It shrieked horribly, and began to shake. Small explosions of black smoke lined its body, and with one more piercing cry, we were back on the ground. Bright blue orbs flew from the wreckage, and one gold orb, seemingly searching out people they belonged to. I knew that those had to be the memories the creature had stolen, and Alex' magic. It was over…it was all done.
Breathing out a heavy sigh, I turned to Freddie, a triumphant smirk on my face.
He had already been grinning at me.
For some reason, I couldn't help but laugh. I still felt like I was flying inside. The feeling…it was amazing! Better than anything I'd ever felt before. And you're not going to believe me, but it was even better than ham! Blasphemy? Perhaps. But, reality? Definitely.
"So," Freddie begins, patting his sides. "Did you mean it?"
I knew what he was referring to right off the bat. "You dweeb!" I yelled, glaring and smacked him in the arm. But then I smiled. "'Course I meant it!"
And then, laughing, and only rubbing his arm for a half-second, he embraced me, in a hug that I never, ever wanted to end.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and nestled my face into his shoulder. We had won. "But you know," I said, looking up. "You never actually said it first."
Freddie flashed me a cheeky grin, paired with a roll of his eyes. He placed one hand on my back and the other at the back of my head, holding me in place, a bit possessively, but lovingly all the same. "I love you, Sam Puckett," he whispered into my ear.
A smile overtook my features, and again my eyes slid shut. We were safe.
"Well done, Sammy," my father said in his deep and echoing voice in my mind. "Well done, my darling baby girl."
The room was no longer covered in a red glow. Instead, the area shined in normal white light. And the black fog cleared away, much like the heavy black clouds of a storm, to reveal a pure blue sky. Yeah, it was daytime again. Weird, right?
Unfortunately, we had to break apart—there was still work that needed to be done. Reluctantly, I lifted my head, and stepped away from Freddie, already on the move back to the portal. "Come on, Fredweird," I called without looking back. "We've got people to save."
Instantly he was at my side. "People to save?" he repeated in question, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know, allies," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Like Jacque. Remember him? The guy we got pulled out of a window and probably to his death?"
A guilty look takes over Freddie's features. And he gulps as we step through the portal. But when we come out the other side, we're not in the stable. We're in the bright sunlight of the area right outside the castle. In fact, it's so impossibly bright that it makes me wince, and takes me a while to get used to it.
"Oh, Sam, I wouldn't say that," sounds a grinning familiar voice. "I think Jacque's perfectly alright. Aren't you, Jacque?"
My vision finally adapts and I see that standing before us are two boys and a girl; One boy is tall with blonde hair and almond-shaped eyes, the other was shorter and slightly-pudgy with black hair, and finally, the girl had shining wide, emerald green eyes, brown hair and a heart-shaped face.
"I'm fine, ma'am," Jacque nodded. "Gave me a bit of a scare there, but I'm so happy to see how well things have turned out!"
Instinctively, I look to Freddie. He turns and grins at me, putting an arm around my shoulders.
Rolling my eyes, I shove his arm away. "You think I'm one of those fluffy, 'cuddle all the time,' girls, Fredweeb?" I ask coldly.
He puts on a half-smile and shakes his head. "No, I know you're not. You've never been. But I wouldn't have you any other way."
An uncontrollable smile stretches on my face.
He continues, much to my surprise. "As long as you are a 'cuddle some of the time' girl."
I huff out an exasperated breath while still smiling and shove the dork harshly. Freddie just laughs, though. Note to self: hit harder.
Tara claps her hands together. "Oh, miss, this is such fantastic news! You have freed us! We may finally go home." For the first time since I got here, Tara wears a smile—and it's got to be one of the widest, most-contagious ones I've ever seen. Much like Carly's back home.
But then, I remember there's a complication with that plan. "Uh, about that," I begin hesitantly. I don't want to have to take that smile away from all of them, but they have to know. "I don't know if Jacque here told ya—maybe he hit his head after being pulled out of that window—but the mirror's kind of…broken."
Alex laughs. "Yes, he did tell us. Sam, is that the only way you think someone with magic like me can come up with to get us out of here?" he asks with a shake of his head. "I'm offended."
Freddie's head tilts. "You've got another way for us to get home?"
An excited grin takes over Alex' face. "Follow me," he says just as he turns and begins to walk towards the entrance of the castle, Jacque in toe.
"The musicians are waiting in the entry hall, mi—" But Tara stops herself, with a genuine smile. "Sam," she nods to me, and then looks to the dork. "And Fredweeb."
I can't resist cracking up when Tara turned to follow after the two boys, and it only got worse when I saw Freddie's shocked and offended face. Of course Tara wouldn't have known his real name, but I kind of liked it better this way. "You heard the girl, Fredweeb," I said still in laughter and walked off after our friends.
"It's Freddie!" he shouts back before stomping off to tag along.
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AN: Sorry this one is so-so-so-so-so-so-so late, you guys D= Finals are here (Dun, dun, duuuun.) So it's hard to find time to write, really, but I will stick this story out, I promise you! Plus, we only have two chapters left, including the epilogue =) On that note, I really hope you guys liked this chapter and the rest of the chapters that will follow after, and have gone before it. I'd like to thank you all, again for reading, and reviewing. It really does keep me going on this stuff—seeing that people enjoy what I write and all. So thank you! And until next time—
-Fictions