I AM SOOOOO SORRY! I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SOOOO MUCH! I GOT PROMOTED AT WORK AND AM NOW A SUPERVISOR (YEAH KARENS AND CHADS, DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE SUPERVISOR SO I CAN TELL YOU I AM ONE!) SO I'VE BEEN EXTRA BUSY! ALSO HAD HEALTH ISSUES BUT AM GETTING MUCH MUCH BETTER! I FEEL BAD FOR THE VERY LARGE GAP BUT I WAS AT A VERY BAD WRITER'S BLOCK AND NEEDED TO RELAX TO GET BACK INTO IT! HERE IT IS! ENJOY!

Chapter 67: Boy Toy Terror!

*Third Person's POV*

Today was a normal day in Riverdale. But, unbeknown to everyone, that would soon change. A witch had come into town and she was upset. One thing about witches being upset; Never have one in your town! She came into town, got a hotel room and began her plan. First, she would need some ingredients from town. This is where more trouble would arise.

*Aria's POV*

It was Saturday and I was excited. I was going on a date with Jughead tonight and, if that wasn't good enough, Doctor Beaumont had agreed to take me under his wing to learn more about magic, cursed items and much much more! I know, I'm taking on a lot, but it's not that much. I'm a cheerleader, Glee club, still practicing stunt moves with Midge twice a month, working here some weekdays and at Pop Tate's mostly on weekends, in the news paper club, still helping Archie with weird mysteries, babysitting 3 times a week, still going on dates at least once a week with Jughead, not to mention violin lessons I just started, art projects, applying for colleges, studying for the SAT test in 6-8 weeks, visiting Grandpa Artie once a week, spending time with all my friends, I'm joining a Dungeons and Dragon's group and still coming up with another club to be in because there's no more I can join. Jughead got on the track team, yay him, I'm not trying football, I'm kinda bad at baseball and basketball, there's no room on the soccer team, science club, run by Dilton, is full, Art club is full, I am bad at poetry but ok at writing songs so no literature club, no room in the band club either, Math club is full, sad enough, I can't join BE's club because of my allergy. Heck! Even the Drama Club was disbanded! We can't ever have one, due to a few minor incidents and a major protest about unfairness and equality, but we can have the whole school try out for plays at least. I have only have so long to think of a new club or I won't be able to do much. I had an idea but I needed members to join. I had a few ideas on who, but needed to host auditions anyway. I remember going to Doctor Beaumont's shop a few days after the incident.

*Flashback Aria's POV*

It was Tuesday when I walked into Doctor Beaumont's shop. My mind had been made up and I wasn't going to be turned away so easily.

"Ah, Miss Andrews. How may I help you today?" He asked me. I took a deep breath before looking at him.

"Please, I wish to be your assistant with magic." I say to him.

"Out of the question! I do not take on assistants!" He proclaimed to me.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm tired of magical things happening and not being able to stop them or defend myself when they happen to me." I explained to him.

"Even so, magic is not for everyone. It takes years to learn even the simplest of things." He tells me.

"Look, I know magic can come with a price, but I'm not asking to be a witch. Just to learn simple protection charms or sealing spells." I add to him.

"I can't allow-" He started but I cut him off.

"I said I wasn't taking no for an answer. I'll do anything to prove I'm ready for this. I'm a girl of science, but also a girl who understands magic." I say. He puts his hand on his chin to think.

"Well, I'm not sure..." He says as he trails off.

"I went up against vampires, three times, I was stuck in a mirror world with a demon following me, stuck in purgatory with many ghosts and a demon after me, not to mention hunted ghosts on more than one occasion, dealt with curse treasure and someone under it along with ghouls, the genie, a demon named Papa Legba with cursed voodoo dolls, being turned into a love slave and a doll, dealing with love slaves after Veronica, dealing with a bad luck type of gargoyle and a dream demon wanting to kill me along with 2 other lower dream demons messing with me and Archie as well as a sea monster, a mershark and still many things in the future yet to come. I think I can handle it." I explained to him. He only nodded while listening until I was done.

"While that is a lot, you did have help." He tells me.

"You and others have, yes, but that's why I want to learn! So others don't get hurt trying to help me. So I can help them when the time comes. Please, even if it's just cleaning the shop or reading a book, cover to cover, many many times. I'll do anything." I nearly beg. Doctor Beaumont looked at me before sighing.

"If you can maintain my shop, without activating anything cursed, then I will teach you. I must warn you, you must be careful with all objects here, cursed or not, and you must never read the books here. Never, Not until I deem you fit. Do we have an agreement?" He asked me curiously, giving me rules and guidelines.

"If it means you promise to teach me after, then I will be happy to do so, no complaints." I tell him. "Do you even know how long you would be working here?" He asks me.

"I'm free Mondays through Thursdays, my new shift at Pop's is Fridays through Sundays, I have cheerleading after school on Mondays and Wednesdays until 3:30 pm, I have Glee Club Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we can practice before school as well, my dates tend to be on Saturday nights at 6pm, which is when you tend to close, I can practice violin after everything, I have the articles every night, but can do them later or before arriving here, I can still do my homework and keep up with the shop while I form another club. No problems, I can do it for as long as you want." I say with determination. After a minute he nodded.

"Agreed. This will be a, lets say, 2 week trial. If you fail, then I will not train you." He tells me.

"Deal." I say respectively.

*End Flashback Aria's POV*

That's how I got to work for Doctor Beaumont. It's not a paid job, but it's a good start to leaning magic at least. It has been over a week now and I was doing good. No matter how tempted I was to inspect the rare items, the cursed jewels, to read the pages of the forbidden books, I didn't dare to. When I put my mind to something, I tend to keep at it. Anyway, I was in the shop early today, before open time. I was given a set of keys, Pops trusted me enough for this, so I can go in if the alarm went off, to do early prep, etc. I had already prepped everything, except the burgers, but had an hour left. I used this time to pull out my music sheet and practice the violin. Grandpa set lessons up for me on Sunday mornings, but I still had to practice almost every day. I sighed before I begin playing. I played a few simple notes to start, adjusting a cord that was out of tune, before I began playing a few notes again. After I got the feel of it, I began playing 'Under The Sea' on the violin. It was slow, but easy to play at least. I finished but decided to do it once more, but faster, while singing.

"The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves they roll
The fish on the land ain't happy
They sad 'cause they in their bowl
But fish in the bowl is lucky
They in for a worser fate
One day when the boss get hungry
Guess who's gon' be on the plate?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea (Under the sea)
Under the sea (Under the sea)

Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Naturally (Naturally)
Even the sturgeon an' the ray
They get the urge 'n' start to play
We got the spirit
You got to hear it
Under the sea

The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul
(Yeah)
The ray he can play
The lings on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish she sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
An' oh that blowfish blow

Yeah, under the sea (Under the sea)
Under the sea (Under the sea)
When the sardine
Begin the beguine
It's music to me (It's music to me)
What do they got? A lot of sand
We got a hot crustacean band
Each little clam here
Know how to jam here
Under the sea
Each little slug here
Cuttin' a rug here
Under the sea
Each little snail here
Know how to wail here
That's why it's hotter
Under the water
Ya we in luck here
Down in the muck here
Under the sea!"

I had sang happily as I played the notes. It all came naturally to me. I finished happily and tried out a few more songs before Pops came in.

"Well, hey there Aria. You're early." Pops announced happily.

"Hey Pops. Sorry, I got here 2 hours ago to prep and practice." I say as I packed up my music stuff.

"Well, that's fine. I don't mind one bit." Pops said as his smile and jolly attitude never once faded.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Not at all. In fact, I'd rather you do this than something bad." He tells me honestly.

"Then, you don't mind me doing this on the weekends?" I asked him curiously as I put the stuff under the counter area.

"Not at all. In fact, I was thinking about doing a music night." he tells me as we started getting ready to open.

"Oh?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, every Friday night, have a small stage set up by the juke box, figure out equipment and then go from there. Do ya think the kids would enjoy that?" He asked me, since I was a teen and all.

"Heck yes! That sounds like a blast!" I encourage with a bright smile on my face.

"Then lets plan for that in 3-6 weeks." He says happily.

"Great! Maybe not just music, but poetry as well as other acts, to give a wider variety." I suggest as I went to the doors.

"Great idea. Mind helping me out with finding rental equipment?" He asks me.

"Sure, I can ask Archie. He might have some still from his band years." I say as I remember He used to have a band in middle school all the way up to 9th grade.

"That's right! The Archie's! I remember those years. I wish they'd get back together, though. Their music was much more popular than they thought." Pops said with a smile over the memory as I turned the sign to open then triple checked around for everything.

"I still have the cassette tape he sent me. I had it made into a CD recently." I say as I couldn't stop smiling over it. Sugar Sugar was the #1 song they made and it was fantastic.

"Could I borrow it sometime?" Pops asked me. I turned and looked at him in shock.

"You have a CD player?" I asked in pure surprise.

"My brother sent me one and I'm just learning how to use it." He tells me.

"I didn't know you had a brother." I said in pure surprise as I went behind the counter and wiped it down for a second time.

"Oh, I haven't? Well, I do have one. He's actually my older brother." Pops tells me. I stopped and looked at him.

"How? A twin?" I asked curiously.

"Oh no, not a twin. You see, my father had been with a woman before marrying my mother and, well, we never knew until I was in my 20's and him and I went to college together. That's when we found out." He explained to me.

"So, you have a half brother?" I ask in shock.

"Yup. He actually sent me a picture of himself. Here, I'll show you." He says as he pulls out his wallet. I looked and saw a picture of his sister, a gorgeous woman a few years younger than him, same skin, same eyes, same curly hair but long like Veronica's and long eyelashes. She looked like a porcelain doll but slightly older with slightly chubby cheeks. I looked at the next picture and my jaw fully dropped. He looked almost identical to Pops, which means father's looks. I mean, they have the same chunk to them, curly black hair, same bald spot on top, same nose, cheeks, etc. They could pass off as twins! Except for two detail…

His half brother had black eyes and was African American.

"Wow! You two look identical!" I say in pure amazement.

"Yeah. He owns a street side diner and sells burgers, but mostly seafood and gumbo." He tells me.

"What's his name?" I asked him.

"Well, everyone calls him Pa." He tells me. I nod at that.

"Kinda cool, really. Do you think he'll ever come to see you?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure. Maybe." He tells me. I only nod before we had a customer. After one came another, then another, then another until we had a full house. We were swamped. 2 hours later, it was dying down, I had finished cleaning a table when I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin. There was a lady, wearing a hoodie with her hood up, while looking down. Why did I jump? Because she wasn't behind me a minute ago and I didn't even see her come in.

"Hello, how may I help you?" I asked her politely as my heart was slowing down.

"Tea please." She said in a hushed tone.

"Um, I don't think we serve tea. I mean, we have iced tea, but not hot." I say to her. She then pulled out a couple tea bags.

"Then hot water." She said with a sniffle. I looked at her.

"Right, I'll have it ready. Want a menu for food?" I asked her.

"I don't have much cash." She tells me. I tilted my head as I looked at her.

"Oh, alright." I say before hurrying off. I got the hot water going as I looked back at her. Something was wrong. I sighed before going into the back.

"Pops, I think we have a sad customer." I say to him. He stopped cooking and took a peak out, then look back to me.

"She seems upset." He agreed.

"She only wants hot water, she says she has no money for food right now." I explain to him. Pops smiled at me.

"You want to give her food, don't you?" He asked me.

"Yeah, at least something small. I'd pay for it, of course." I say to him, not thinking it'd be a donation.

"No no, just get her something to eat, on the house." He tells me.

"You're a good man, Pops. You really are." I say with a nod and smile.

"I'm always happy to help." He says before going to the food to finish cooking. I went out and got something ready for her before bringing her her hot water and some mozzarella sticks to eat. I set them in front of her, with some sugar.

"I don't have much money." She sniffled out.

"It's ok, hun. On the house." I say to her. She looks up at me, I can tell she had been crying an awful lot, as her lip quivered.

"I couldn't..." She started but trailed off. I gestured at the seat across from her, to which she nodded, before I sat across from her.

"Talk to me, what's wrong?" I asked her. She sniffled a bit before making her tea.

"My boyfriend cheated on me." She tells me.

"I'm sorry about that." I say softly to her. She tried not to sob at that point.

"Why did he cheat?" I asked her curiously.

"Because it's how he is. I found out he had 3 other girls, after we got engaged, not to mention his divorce to his wife wasn't real. I gave him everything and he just used me like a doll until he drained everything from me." She said before she began sobbing. My heart broke for her. She was only in her early/mid twenties too. I reached out and held her hand.

"I'm very sorry. If a guy ever did that to me, I'd make his life miserable." I say to her. She looked at me.

"I did, I made him suffer. Now, I just think all men are the same." She tells me. I shook my head no.

"Not all men. My cousin is nice, my boyfriend is a sweetheart, most of the boys in school are and most people in town are very kind once given the chance." I tell her.

"I want to believe you, but I can't." She says softly.

"It'll take time. All wounds heal over time. Some leave scars, but they can still be beautiful." I tell her. She took her napkin and dried her eyes.

"Thank you. I'm Althea." She introduced herself.

"Aria Andrews, a pleasure." I say to her with a smile. She gave a small smile, seemingly feeling better.

"Do you have a place to stay?" I asked her.

"Yes, I got a motel room near here. That's why I don't have much money." She confessed.

"Understandable." I agree.

"Do you know where I can get salt?" she asked me.

"There's a store about 4 blocks away." I tell her while pointing.

"Do you think they might have some of these items?" She asked me as she showed me a list of different things. Salt, cinnamon, garlic and other stuff like that.

"Yeah, they'll have everything there. Why do you need these?" I asked her curiously.

"I believe in natural remedies to help me medical wise. That and I have some lunch meat and eggs I can spice up." She tells me. "Makes sense. Do you need directions?" I asked her politely.

"That would help, yes." She said as she took a sip of her tea. I gave her simple directions, the name of the store and the street it's on, etc. She nodded and smiled.

"Thank you so much, Aria. How can I repay you?" She asked me.

"Try to see the good in people and allow your wounds to heal. That's all I want, well that and for you to smile." I say with a smile. She smiled more and nodded.

"You're a great girl." She says to me. I nodded with a smile.

"I need to get back to work. Enjoy the food. I'll bring you out a burger in a bit." I say to her before getting up and getting back to work.

*Althea's POV*

Aria Andrews. She is a kind girl, but blind to the ways of men. I'm convinced no man is good. I watched her boss, a man, give her orders to work while he was in the back. Probably being lazy. I felt bad that a sweet girl was naive enough to work for a man. I ate my food, something delicious, before leaving some cash as a tip and left. I went to the store, grabbed what I needed, then hurried back to my room. I had everything ready now. I soon began my chanting.

"Oh goddess' of the heavens hear my plea,

Only one desire I wish from thee,

For this town to hold no man,

Do to them to fulfill my plan,

Make them fell insignificant and small,

But only men not to all,

In return I offer this,

A token worthy, natural and bliss."

I chanted as I lit the ingredients on fire. The fire grew before turning blue, then green, then white before becoming blue smoke. I looked in the bowl and smiled as I saw a doll had appeared. It was a barbie doll, a ken doll actually. That was their plan. I smirked as I held the doll.

"Good enough for me." I say before finding a magic box. I put the doll in it before setting it on the dresser.

"Sweet dreams, beautiful ladies." I say before I slip into bed to sleep. As of now, everyone fell asleep and all men had been turned to dolls, in boxes, and brought here. I could see they would still move, but no one else would see nor hear them unless they knew magic. I mean, what were the odds? Still, I now had my own collection.

*Morning Archie's POV*

I woke up and yawned, while stretching, but stopped when I opened my eyes and looked before they went wide eyed. I was in a box!

"What the heck?!" I cried out as I looked around. I was not just in a box, I was small. I heard others calling and looked to see Dilton under me, Jughead to my right and Reggie to my left. I listened and heard only guys screaming. Then a face appeared.

"Hello you wretched boys. You better get comfy, because this is where you'll be for the rest of your miserable, woman hating, advantage taking lives." This woman said as she gave us all a smug grin.

"What did you do to us?!" I yelled at her.

"Simple. I turned you into dolls." She said with a grin.

"But why?" I asked her.

"Because all you men are the same! You lie, cheat, steal, break hearts, are lazy, take advantage of women, make them do all the work and much more! All men are the same disgusting pigs and all men in this town are now my toys!" She scolded us all as she got angrier and angrier.

"But we did nothing to you." I explained to her.

"You men are all the same! Nothing can prove me different!" She exclaimed loudly before stomping off. We're in trouble now. I had no idea what to do. I only hoped the girls would notice and help. Right?

*Aria's POV*

I woke up and felt off today. I wasn't sure why, though. I shrugged and got ready before rushed downstairs. I lived alone and it felt good. I decided it was a nice enough day to walk about. Something felt off today. I couldn't place what, though. I had keys and knew they went to a shop. Pop Tate's Burgers. I didn't know who that was, but I had keys, so I must work there. Right? I unlocked the shop and began doing work. I had the usual customers come in, though it felt like there were less, as the ladies ate happily. Then Betty and Veronica came in and I gave them their food while taking a break.

"Aria, does something seem off?" Betty asked me.

"Yeah, but I can't place it. Can you?" I asked her. She shook her head no.

"No, that's the problem." Betty replied.

"Well, I feel like I should have a servant at home, but I'm all alone." Veronica tells me.

"Why not hire one?" Betty asked her. I rolled my eyes and sighed as more teens came in. I excused myself and got back to work. Everyone was saying the burgers were sub-par, not like usual. It's odd though, because this is how I always make them. This bothered me. Even Betty, Midge, Veronica and BE agreed with the customers.

I don't get it…

I closed early and walked around with the girls.

"I feel… Off…" I say to them.

"So do I, like, there's someone I'm supposed to chase to be with." BE said as she thought about it.

"Yeah, like me and Veronica are supposed to be fighting over a guy." Berry commented.

"Yeah. A cute redhead. Oh, and another guy around who's annoying." Veronica added.

"I feel like I'm supposed to be dating a football star." Midge commented.

"I feel like I have a dad, a cousin, a bunch of guy friends I talk to, little boys I babysit and a wonderful boyfriend who loves my cooking." I say as I felt it should be true. But how can it? This was an all women community. Wasn't it?

"Maybe it's a dream we had talked about." Berry commented.

"Or a Schrödinger's theory." I say to them.

"Isn't that the one with the cat?" BE asked.

"Yes, there's the cat theory he made, but I'm talking about his other theory. The theory of a parallel universe and how, at one point, it merged with another so some people experience memories from another universe instead of ours. Maybe that happened and we have a memory from another realm or something like that." I explained to them.

"Now that's crazy. You should write this down for that weird mystery article." Veronica tells me.

"Thing is, I don't even remember why I started that article..." I say as I couldn't think of it. That's when we saw Miss Lucinda pounding on a door, almost as if she was trying to open it.

"Miss Lucinda, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Doctor Beaumont is missing and I need to get in." She tells me.

"Who's Doctor Beaumont?" Veronica asked.

"You don't remember anything, do ya?" She asked us. We looked at each other questioningly before back at her.

"Remember what?" We all asked her.

"The boys? Any of the men in town?" She asked us.

"There's no men in this town. There hasn't been in years." Betty tells her. Miss Lucinda sighed before breaking down the door.

"Just follow me, you'll understand." She tells us. We looked at each other before deciding to just follow her. After all, I'm curious as to what she means. We went in and it looked like a magic shop. I winced and held my head as something shot through my head.

*Memories*

I happened to be right in front of Doctor Beaumont's shop when I looked up. I saw a beautiful dream catcher right in the front window. It was black with white and purple string to form a web of sorts. It even had a bead on it. I knew the bead represented the spider that would catch bad dreams in the thread, also known as the web, and eat the nightmares to make them go away.

*At this point, I'll try anything.* I thought as I entered the shop.

"Hello Aria. Playing hooky today?" Doctor Beaumont asked me. I shook my head no.

"I'm falling asleep in school. It's been almost 2 weeks. I can't sleep right." I tell him.

"Horrific nightmares that you can't seem to remember?" He asks me. I nod my head yes as I yawned, giving a squeak as I do. Yeah. I don't think I've mentioned, I squeak when I yawn.

"And you saw the dream catcher and are desperate at this point?" He asked me.

* Flash*

"Welcome, young lady and gentleman, to my emporium of curios and antiquities." Doctor Beaumont greeted before opening the door all the way, while moving aside, to let us in. I smiled and walked right in, Jughead following suit, as I took in my surroundings. Each visit, I swear, was always different. It's almost as if the shop changes each day on it's own.

*Perhaps it does.* I thought before turning to look at Doctor Beaumont, trying to hold in laughs but couldn't hide my amused smile over his big Arabic style hat with a gem and feather on it. The same one Archie had seen him wear when he got those dice.

"Thank you." I say politely.

"Can I interest you in anything to buy?" Doctor Beaumont asked us.

"Tempting, but no. Actually, we're here to ask if you have any interesting stories we could use for the article." I asked politely. I say interesting because I don't find his stories 'spooky' like Archie does. Well, not all of them anyway.

* Flash*

Doctor Beaumont looked at me before sighing. "If you can maintain my shop, without activating anything cursed, then I will teach you. I must warn you, you must be careful with all objects here, cursed or not, and you must never read the books here. Never, Not until I deem you fit. Do we have an agreement?" He asked me curiously, giving me rules and guidelines.

*End Flashback*

I had fallen to my knees from these weird memories. They were mine, but I didn't remember until now.

"Aria, are you alright?" Betty asked as she and Midge helped me up.

"You saw some memories of this place, didn't ya child?" Miss Lucinda asked me.

"Yeah, but, how could they be mine when there was a man here?" I asked her.

"You're under a spell. A strong one, at that. One that has messed with our memories of all males in this town. I don't know what the witch did with them, but she made us forget for her benefit. Well, except me because of my voodoo and being outside of the town." Miss Lucinda explained to us. I didn't know what to think. The memories seemed real, but there were no men here so those memories of none ever being here seemed real. However, something felt off with the surroundings, with no males here, while my memories felt real. I didn't know what to think but the thought of the dark haired boy made my heart race at how cute he was. That felt real.

"I… Think I believe you." I say before standing up. I felt a bit better now.

"Good, trust your emotions from the memories." Miss Lucinda told us.

"But how can we if it might be fake?" Ronnie asked.

"You'll know when you remember any boys you girls might like." Miss Lucinda tells me.

"Like, fast heart beats?" I asked as my heart had calmed down.

"Yes, you felt it?" Miss Lucinda asked me. I only nod as I felt embarrassed. The girls looked at me but Miss Lucinda made a sound, exclaiming she found the book, before opening it up. Betty felt light headed at seeing the book and I caught her. "

You ok?" I asked her.

"Yeah… I just… Saw many things… I'm so confused." She tells me. She probably had memories as well. But why from a book? I looked at it and is was a velvet red with gold painted wood boarders and looked very old, possibly 1200's the oldest, but perhaps an old book or a 'spell' book of sorts triggered it. I'll never know. Or maybe I will.

"I found it. The spell is a natural one, one almost like voodoo. Wiccan Magic. Strong, but easy to break with the right charm." Miss Lucinda said as she read on.

"So a wiccan witch did this?" Midge asked with doubt.

"Yes, but I don't know who. It has to be someone from out of town." Miss Lucinda tells me. I held my head again as a memory of a woman flashed through my head.

"Wait… I remember a woman yesterday. She was crying, I gave her a free meal, then she wanted… Herbs and spices… I can't remember what she looked like, though she was a bit older. Definitely twenties. I can barely remember yesterday." I say as my head throbbed more.

"Then it happened yesterday, most likely. Do you remember anything she needed?" Miss Lucinda asked me.

"Salt… Cinnamon… Garlic… That's all I remember… I also remember her mentioning a motel..." I say as my head throbbed more before it all stopped.

"Sorry, what was I saying?" I asked as I couldn't remember what I was saying, or if I was even talking at all.

"You were talking about a woman and ingredients." BE tells me.

"I was?" I asked as I tilted my head. I, honestly, couldn't remember.

"It seems this spell is preventing your memories from exposing her." Miss Lucinda says worriedly.

"It is? Who?" I asked curiously. I felt so lost at this point. Miss Lucinda ignored the questions and wrote down something, what she claimed I said, before she looked at us.

"We need a few ingredients, hopefully it's the right charm to counter this, but we still need to figure out where she is." Miss Lucinda explained.

"Why's that?" Veronica asked.

"Because it'll only work if we find where the spell took place. If she did this at a motel, then we need to know where." Miss Lucinda explained to us.

"Well, for someone short on cash, the motel half a mile outside of town would be cheap." Midge mentions to us. I was curious how she knew this, but small towns can know a lot.

"There's also one other in town that's low priced." BE pointed out.

"And the one three blocks down and four blocks over from here." Betty added. Too many places.

"Then we need to split up and check all three, but first, we need to get the ingredients for the charm to work." Miss Lucinda explained.

"I feel like there's a 'but' or something of the sorts to add to this..." I say as I had the sneaking suspicion there was.

"There is, child." Miss Lucinda commented. I rolled my eyes and muttered about being right before she continued.

"We must use it within three minutes of making it, otherwise it'll turn black and be useless." She warns us.

"So, we most likely can't do whatever chant we need, only you, and we need to make this without suspicions as well as locate the right motel and room before or within the three minutes?" Betty asked her.

"Exactly." Miss Lucinda commented.

"Talk about looking for a needle within a farm full of haystacks!" I nearly shout out in annoyance at this point. I have no idea what's going on, I'm frustrated and we're on a secret hunt with a time limit.

"Is there anything else bad we should know?" I asked her with a snappy sarcasm. Yeah, I was in a bad mood.

"If we don't do this by sunset, then this'll be permanent." Miss Lucinda warned us.

"What?!" All of us shouted out. Fake memories, no boys, all permanent?!

"You had to ask, didn't you?" Veronica asked me with an annoyed look. I had a hand over my face.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have opened my mouth..." I say as I slid the hand off of my face. Miss Lucinda gave us each a list and we split up into two. Miss Lucinda wanted me to go with me but I told her element of surprise would be better if not together. She agreed and went with BE to the one a ways away, Betty and Veronica walked to the one closest to the shop, while I hurried to my car with Midge. We were going to gather the stuff on the way to each motel to look less suspicious.

*BE's POV*

We had to pick up three things on the list, Walnuts, Cinnamon sticks and mint leaves. Lucky for us, they were on the way to the motel. I found out Miss Lucinda Planned this so it was less time wasted. Smart. We paid for the stuff, as well as a nice wooden bowl with a type of masher, before we went to the motel. Oh, right, I should mention how we plan to let the others know we found the right one. Well, we're going to meet up at the shop again and go from there. We get there and Miss Lucinda made up an excuse to the desk lady asking if her friend from out of town had checked in yet and how she was supposed to last night.

"No, I'm sorry, but no one has checked in in the past 2 weeks." The young brunette commented. We sighed and left. Our end was a no.

"Maybe the others will have better luck?" I question with hope in my tone.

"I only hope." Miss Lucinda said as we get there at the same time as Betty and Veronica.

"Anything?" We asked them.

*Betty's POV*

Veronica and I made it to a store, almost directly next to the motel, before we went to it. Our list only had three things. Ginger root, Green tea and Sugar. Not too difficult at least. We walked in, greeted by an old woman, as Veronica started the conversation.

"Hello, I'm looking to see if a friend of mine checked in last night. She never called me and I'm very worried, I'm not sure if she's using an allies though." Veronica tells the lady. The lady nodded, understanding the situation, before pulling out the book.

"I see two girls have checked in last night, rooms 13 and room 3. Do you need me to check?" She asked us. Veronica was quick to agree before we followed her.

"How do we know it'll be her? We have no idea what the woman looks like!" I whispered to Veronica.

"Relax, I know certain smells of spices and we just need to see one thing that shows something different. You know, witch like. Plus Aria said she looked to be in twenties." She explained. I wanted to protest but we got to the first room. The girl answered, mid 50's, who looked very tired. Nope.

"Sorry ma'am, we thought our friend checked in here." I say With an apology. The woman waved us off before shutting the door. We went to the next and it was a younger woman, twenties, that fit the role. While Veronica had sniffed a bit, I looked in and saw only clothes and nothing witch like.

"Sorry, we're looking for a friend." I say quickly.

"Hope you find her." She says to me before closing the door. We apologized to the woman and we left.

"Well, I didn't see anything. Did you smell something?" I asked her.

"Cheap perfume, but nothing." She tells me.

"Let's keep a note on it, just in case." I say as we get back to the shop the same time as Big Ethel and Miss Lucinda.

"Anything?" They asked us.

"We found a woman in her twenties, but nothing notes she's a wiccan witch." I commented.

"Just to be sure, we'll wait and see what the others say." Miss Lucinda commented to us. Now to wait.

*Aria's POV*

Midge and I, actually enjoying the fact that we get a little one on one time together and agreeing we need to more so, went to a store to get two out of three things. Three tulips and Lavenders. Yes, it was at a flower shop. The last thing we needed was water from nature. Ok, we found part of the river on the way to the last motel, which I used an old bottle left in my car from I think last night, before we went to the motel. No one was in the office, which seemed odd, but we looked around.

"I found the log in." Midge said, calling me over quietly. I went over and looked at the list with her. I then saw the name Althea and cringed before holding my head. I had flashes in my head before I was back to reality. I had been on my knees and Midge was talking. It had been white noise until I heard her.

"Are you alright?" She asked again.

"We found her." I say as I got up. I found the name and pointed to it. Midge found some paper and a pen, scribbled it down, then nodded.

"We should check to make sure she'd there." She tells me. I then thought about it.

"I can't, she'll recognize me." I say to her.

"But not me." She tells me with a wink. I understood and nodded.

*Midge's POV*

I felt excitement as I stayed crouched, spare room key in hand, heading to room 22. The plan was to sneak there, see if I can peak in, if no sign then I would go in and look but if I was caught then I'd make up an excuse. I got Aria to stay in the car, in case we had to make a fast get away, to make this easier. I got to the room and saw the curtains were closed. I looked through the key hole and saw no signs of life. I made my move. I unlocked the door and quietly opened it before sneaking in. It looked clean, a bit too clean, but I saw a suitcase so that meant she hadn't left. I looked around and jumped before taking a deep breath. There were a lot of barbie dolls all along a wall to my right. All in boxes. I went closer and noticed all were male. There was one other thing odd. All seemed to be different. I've seen ken dolls and most are the same, build wise and such, but each of these were different shapes, sizes and much more. There was one that caught my interest. I looked at the doll in the box, swearing it moved but not sure now, as he looked thick and beefy, blonde crew cut hair and very cute looking. Why I thought that, I have no clue, but something was too familiar with this unique doll. I then saw the name on it. 'Moose'. I cringed and held my head as flashes of me and a boy, my age and looking like the doll, flashed in my head. It looked like we were a couple. It ended and I gasped.

"Moosey?" I questioned before seeing the doll move.

"Midge! Help!" I heard a tiny voice.

"Moosey!" I say quietly before reaching for the box but then stopped myself.

"If I take you, she'll notice… I'll be back, I promise." I say before I leave. I shut the door and, as I checked the lock, I heard a cough.

"Excuse me." I heard after. I turned and looked at the woman.

"May I help you?" She asked me. I then thought of my excuse.

"Sorry, I had knocked but got no reply. I was checking to see if you needed fresh towels before getting them." I lied very well. Wanting to be a stunt woman also meant being good at acting.

"Oh, well thank you but no, I'm alright. Why don't you have towels though?" She asked me.

"Well, I usually knock and ask first so I know how many and put them all on a cart instead of going back and forward many times." I lie again. She then smiled.

"That's using your head. Though, you seem very young to work here." She asked me.

"It's a temp job I'm doing for a career week report. My class had to pick from a hat and I got motel staff. I'm at this one for today to see how each one is different." I explained.

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" She asked me.

"Not really. I'm comparing Motels, hotels and Bed and Breakfasts, if any in town, to give my class an understanding on differences between wages, rules and more. I like to get the facts straight." I tell her. She smiled more.

"Oh, I'm so glad girls like you are around. We need more intelligent, kind and caring women in the world." She said happily.

"Sorry to seem rude, but I do have to get back to work. I'll see you another time perhaps." I say to her before heading to the office.

"Goodbye dear." She said with a smile. She watched me until I went in. I sighed and peaked out. She was still there for a moment before going inside the room. I waited another minute before I realized something… Aria's car was gone. I snuck out and went around the back before sighing in relief.

"Sorry, I had to hide." Aria whispered and she was behind the building with her car door open.

"It's true, all the boys are dolls. I remember, I remember my Moosey." I tell her as we got into the car.

"You might forget soon due to that spell." She reminds me as she quickly sped off. I knew she was right, but we had to hurry. As soon as I got into town, my head began hurting for a second then stopped.

"Why are we driving?" I asked Aria. I don't remember getting into her car.

"Figured once in town you'd forget. Since I had no contact, it didn't affect me." She tells me. I'm very confused now.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I'll tell you once we meet up with everyone." She tells me. I was confused but accepted it. It must've been important. We get to a shop, remembering the meeting earlier, before parking the car, grabbing the flowers and water, then going inside.

"We found her." Aria tells them.

"Are you sure?" Miss Lucinda asked.

"Absolutely. Althea is her name." Aria tells her. I guess they knew I was confused as Betty came over and told/reminded me about the spell and the memory loss. At least that was clear… Kind of… Either way, Miss Lucinda told us to hurry.

"Midge, do you still have the paper?" Aria asked as we got into the car. Aria and Miss Lucinda in front while the rest of us were in the back. I reached in my pocket and felt something metal. I pulled it out and it was a key with a room number on it.

"Will a key work?" Midge asked me.

"Perfect." Miss Lucinda said as she hung a small doll on the mirror.

"What's that for?" Big Ethel asked curiously.

"A charm to protect our memories from here on out." Miss Lucinda said before Aria started the car. It was already late, as in the sun would set soon.

"We don't have much time!" Miss Lucinda said as she looked up the chant for the charm.

"Then buckle up." Aria said before she took off. You'd think we were in a motor race with how fast we were going. What made us panic was she was going through stop signs, red lights and swerving around cars just to get there! None of our screams slowed her down nor bothered Miss Lucinda. Actually, Miss Lucinda either didn't notice or wasn't affected as she seemed more concentrated on everything. Once we were close, she started chanting while mixing everything together. I couldn't understand her but then the bowl started glowing as soon as we parked.

"We must hurry now." Miss Lucinda tells us. We had no idea what would happen once we got out, but one can only hope for our success…

*Third POV*

The girls got out of the car and hurried to the room, but then Althea stepped out, holding a book.

"I knew you'd come sooner or later. I can't allow you to let them free." Althea said as she looked at the group.

"You know that this is wrong!" Miss Lucinda yells at her.

"But isn't it better?" Althea asked the girls.

The girls knew they had to get Miss Lucinda inside before the three minutes are up. Well, as Miss Lucinda went to go, the attacks started. Althea used nature to attack, meaning wind, water and earth. The first attack was a strong gust of wind. The girls were smart and formed a human shield, locking arms, before moving forward. Then the other attack happened. The earth started shaking and cracking. Vines sprouted from the ground and tried to go at Miss Lucinda. Big Ethel was the one to see this and reacted by getting in the way of the vines. She had been wrapped up instead of Miss Lucinda. Now Althea used another wind spell to try and blow Lucinda away with a small tornado. Veronica saw this and got in the way so she was trapped instead. They had less than two minutes and were now short two girls. The good news is they were closer to entering the room. Next, Althea used a spell to have vines grow over the door before another spell was cast. Miss Lucinda had gotten ahead of the girls as a giant mud hole appeared. Betty ran and let herself get stuck, causing the mud to wrap around her and shrink, to let Miss Lucinda pass. Althea was mad.

"Why help boys?! All men are awful and we do not need them!" Althea shouted as her spells became stronger. Aria and Midge then ran at her and used high jump kicks to knock Althea back into the vines, her book dropping in the process. Less than one minute left. They got Lucinda in and the whole room glowed.

"Oh ones with nature,

hear my plea,

I beg of you to release thee,

All those under thy spell,

To restore, undo and all be free!"

Miss Lucinda chanted out very loudly. Althea screamed in defeat as the boxes began to glow. One by one, each box disappeared and for everyone gone each male was brought back outside the motel. Including the man who checked Althea in upon arrival. For each male that popped up, all memories dealing with them popped back into every females head. Soon Archie, Reggie, Jughead and Moose were back. All the spells ended and the boys helped them out. Midge ran to Moose, who swooped her up and hugged her lovingly, while Aria hugged Archie and her father before running to Jughead and cuddling into him. Althea was released and on the ground, feeling defeated, as Miss Lucinda came out.

"You can't control everyone's life. Men and women are equal, no matter what. You might've got your heart broken by a stupid man, but not all men are like that." Miss Lucinda explained. Althea looked around but frowned and grabbed her book.

"It just means I need to get rid off this town!" Althea said as she started a spell to cause everyone to turn into stone. Hey, she's still a naturalist after all. This was too strong of a spell for her, but she would aim it at the first person she saw. Midge. After all, she was the one who found her and snooped. Miss Lucinda cried out and tried to stop her by tackling her, but it was too late. She used all her energy to cast the spell at Midge. Moose saw the light and shoved Midge right out of the way before being struck, resulting into him being turned to stone. Althea, though on the ground, had seen this gesture and was frozen. She had just witnesses a male, yes a male, sacrifice himself to save a female. Midge gasped as she saw her boyfriend, the one she cared for so much, was now a stone statue.

"Moosey!" She cried out as her eyes watered. Midge had gotten up and hugged the statue as tears fell from her face. That was when Althea realized something. Maybe, just maybe, not all men were the same after all. Miss Lucinda wanted to scold her but didn't as she saw Althea's face and knew better.

"Do you see now?" Miss Lucinda asked Althea quietly as she helped the young girl up. Althea only nodded as she felt guilt fill her body.

"I can fix this." She said as she found the left over tulip petals. She used that, water, the bowl and went over to Midge. Everyone was frightened, but Althea calmly plucked a tear from Midges cheek before dabbing it in the bowl. Althea chanted before spilling the, now glowing, water all over Moose. He began glowing before he was returned to normal.

"Whoa… That's the ticket." Moose said before Midge leap into him, tears streaming her cheeks but from joy.

"Why are you crying?" Moose asked her quietly.

"Because I'm happy to have you back, Moosey." She tells him as he holds her close. It was the sweetest, sappiest, most romantic moment like in all the romance movies.

"I'm sorry. My heartache made me think all men were bad. But, after seeing what I saw, I was wrong… Very wrong… I… Understand if I'm not forgiven but I won't let things blind me anymore." Althea said sadly as she stepped back. It seemed some people did forgive her while others didn't, but Midge then stepped up.

"I forgive you. Heartbreaks are not the easiest, but you righted your wrong." Midge says to Althea, being very forgiving, as she extended her hand to Althea. Althea looked at the hand skeptically before shaking it. Archie and Aria decided to get Miss Lucinda's, Midge's and Althea's side of the story for the article. Althea agreed to be part of the article, to spread a lesson and send another apology at the end for all to read. Archie was excited to have a new story while Aria seemed content at knowing all was normal again. Well, as normal as it can be in the little town of Riverdale…

*Aria's POV*

"Due to a broken heart, Althea genuinely thought all men were bad. While that can be the case, that doesn't mean you should punish all men. ~ Archie. Exactly! Plus, women can act the same way so it's not as if just men are bad. ~ Aria. Just because one bad thing happens doesn't mean it will happen to everyone. Just because one guy was a jerk does not excuse the feminism to the extreme and take it out on all guys, good or bad. ~ Archie. In short of what my cousin is saying, without meaning this to be sound sexist or bad, is just because one person is bad doesn't mean the next one will be. Heartbreak can happen, people can come and go in our lives, but it matters who we choose, the loyal, the loving, the ones who respect us and are respected by us are the important ones in our lives to always keep close. ~ Aria. Wow… That was a better way of putting it than I could… ~ Archie. Thanks. I learned it from romance novels. ~ Aria. Okay, I'm ignoring that. Anyhow, Althea learned this lesson but it was almost too late. She is now roaming the states, helping everyone understand their self worth, the love they deserve and much more. But, no matter where you are, love and happiness can be found everywhere. ~ Archie… Even in a little town called Riverdale… ~Archie & Aria~"

We finished the typed up article and I smiled happily.

"So, how was it to be a doll?" I asked Archie curiously.

"It sucked… Now I know how you felt." He tells me, remembering what Vlad did during our second encounter.

"Glad to know that." I said as I gave a smug smile. Archie pouted but then we smiled and chuckled.

"You need a ride home?" I asked him. Yes, we typed this at my place this time.

"No, I'll walk. It's nice out still." He tells me with a smile. I walked him out and saw him off before going inside. I saw my dad and hugged him tightly. I didn't want to lose him again...

I'LL TRY TO KEEP UPDATING! I'M VERY VERY SORRY FOR DELAYS! ENJOY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!