AN: Here we are! Another chapter of The Witch Hunter! Hope you guys like this one, even though it's more on the mellow side. I will be continuing more of this story during the holidays, no classes (yay!) Seeing Sam, Clover, and Alex not be spies is quite strange, no? Imagine if the cartoon series never existed (the horror!) Anyways, hope you guys are safe and sound! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Totally Spies! isn't mine.
Sam, Clover, and Alex were standing around a book release poster at The Groove.
"Oooh, I wonder if he'll fall in love this time," Alex marveled.
"Better yet, I wonder if he'll finally go after that Mandy," Clover evilly chuckled.
"We can only find out this upcoming Saturday at the book release," Sam read on the poster.
"Wait, you're actually making us go?" Clover exclaimed in horror.
"Yeah, why not?"
"I thought you were joking."
"You read the series!" Sam called out.
"Yeah, only cause of the hunky hero!" Clover defended.
The blonde and redhead glared at each other as a blue lighting bolt zapped between the gap of their noses.
"Girls! Let's all go to the book release. Together. As friends," Alex nervously chuckled, tapping both her index fingers against each other.
"Kay, fine," Clover relented. "Wait, where is the book release happening, anyways?"
"It's here, at the mall, inside the Barnes and Noble," Sam read the small lettering on the same poster.
"Oh my gosh, we could go on a shopping spree afterwards!" the blonde clapped her hands in glee.
"Yeah!" Alex and Sam chimed in.
"Oooh, let's go to Rodeo Drive! We have to find a cute outfit for next Saturday!" The girls linked arms and sped towards their destination.
Their mission at Rodeo Drive was to find an outfit for the book release.
In terms of the book, there is a bestselling series titled Soul Collector by Nancy Brooks, who made sure the readers endured a roller coaster of emotions before finally leaving them on a cliff hanger until the next novel. So far, Soul Collector has been considered a trilogy despite there having been rumors about a fourth part in the installment.
Her novels have already captured the hearts of millions in and outside of California, as the tale speaks about a witch named Mandy who is determined to live longer, but also obtain youthfulness in any means possible. As told by the story, she has so far tried modern and old house wives' methods to look beautiful: clay masks, egg masks, lemon juice, coffee scrubs, retinoids/retinol, tretinoin, hydration masks, microneedling, you name it, she's tried it. Alas, nothing worked, except for one method that has been proven to by Mandy herself, yet no one else knows about the method. The third Soul Collector book, Fountain of Immortality, will reveal just how Mandy managed to capture immortality, despite not being the brightest crayon in the box. And with not being the smartest, the author hinted at the fatal mistake Mandy has chosen, one that will have readers guaranteed to drop their jaws on the floor.
"Omigosh, that one looks sooo cute on you, Al!" Clover squealed when Alex pushed back the pink curtain concealing the dressing room. The raven haired girl was wearing a strapless lavender ball gown that had a slight poofy skirt. A pair of matching lavender elbow-length gloves completed the ensemble, making Alex full-on ready for a night out at prom!
"Thanks, Clover! But, you think something like this would be okay for next Saturday?" Alex glanced over at her reflection in the dressing room mirror with doubt. "Of course, silly! Did you already forget about the homecoming dance that night?"
"Oh yeah!" Alex face palmed. "What about the book release?"
"We can go super casual on that one. I mean, the dance is where we need to go full on glam!" Clover grabbed several dresses from the rack and dashed into her own fitting room.
Alex turned to Sam in curiosity, "Hey, best friend! Got anything, yet?" The redhead was sifting through the line-up with a frown on her face. It was clear that Sam was having one heck of a hard time picking an outfit. Releasing a pent-up sigh, Sam answered, "Nah. I cannot decide which dress to go with! They're all so beautiful…" She played with the gold embroidery on one Indian gown that was floor length and royal blue. It was a stunning ensemble that would make any girl feel like a princess.
Alex gazed at Sam with some worry; she appeared to be spacing out instead of trying to settle with an outfit. In fact, the dresses helped to fabricate the excuse of daydreaming on another planet.
"No, Sammie. I think you're worried about something else," Alex pointed out. When Sam was on a shopping spree, she tended to focus just on the clothes and accessories; not much else mattered aside from any sudden emergencies that popped up.
"I'm fine, Alex, I promise," Sam insisted.
On the inside, Sam was not okay. There was a slight problem in Sam's life: she was in love.
With a book character.
Specifically, Tim Scam, the hero in the Soul Collector books. He was the ideal man of any girl's fantasy: intelligent, hard-working, dedicated to the greater good, and compassionate. Of course, Tim's looks also played another significant factor for his attraction: Nancy Brooks described him as tall, over six feet, and a muscled body that was not too buff nor too bulky. His eyes were the most mesmerizing, as they were a rare color of blue-green, resembling that of sea-foam. The man is artistic, along with an advanced grasp of natural and applied science; he is a genius in creating advanced weaponry that could further help with hunting down Mandy. Tim also possesses a quick wit to boot, his snarky comments about idiots made the readers go "OOOHHHH!" when he delivered a burn.
Of course, Sam was realistic enough to understand three things: 1) Tim was only a fictional character, 2) usually, fictional characters tend to be the most perfect image of a human being, and 3) millions of other female (and perhaps some male) readers were also infatuated with the hero. What were the odds of Sam being the only person, and only female, to be of Tim's possible love interest?
"None," Sam concluded sadly.
Tears pricked her eyes and she brushed away the thought, instead turning to her right to examine the fit of the magenta gown with off-the-shoulder straps and a moderate slit. This dress looked good enough on Sam, and for the upcoming homecoming dance at school.
"Alright, I have my outfit," Sam announced to Clover and Alex, who were still trying to find 'the one' ensemble.
"Should I go with the strappy pink and slit, or the strapless red minus the slit?" Clover switched between the two hangers in front of the dressing room mirror.
"I think you should hurry it up," Alex replied in a sassy tone.
Clover stuck her tongue out before closing the curtain; she had to make her final decision in private. While Clover was muttering about in the fitting room, Alex went ahead and gave her outfit, a beautiful royal blue dress with a sweetheart neck and a long train, a once-over approval. Her and Sam walked towards the cashier to pay for the clothes before heading off to another department store to shop for casual outfits.
"Sam? Alex?" Clover called out, only to be responded with silence.
"Uh, guys?"
"Yeeeees?" called out a high-pitched feminine voice.
"Sammie? Is that you?" Clover asked excitedly.
"Yes, you need anything?"
"No, it's just I wanted to make sure you guys were still here," Clover quickly packed her purse and grabbed the hanger with the strapless red dress gown and dashed out, only…
Two guys were standing outside her dressing room, snickering to one another.
"ARRGGGH! YOU IDIOTS!" she screamed.
"Hey, Sammie, what about this one for you?" Alex held up a white strapless top with a red border. "This would look great with those light blue jeans you have!"
Sam walked over Alex's side of the Women's section to analyze the article of clothing. "Yeah, this would look good." Sam flipped the hanger to view the back before flipping to the front again.
"HEY!" They turned to find Clover absolutely breathless and red in the face.
The blonde stomped over to her two friends, clutching her purse and the shopping bag in fury.
"I can't believe you guys just left me like that!" she screamed as Sam and Alex busted out laughing.
"Alright, alright, we're sorry," Sam caught her breath.
"These two guys outside my dressing room were impersonating Sam! I actually thought it was you!" Clover bunched her fists in exasperation as the girls giggled again.
"I mean, did they do anything else?" Alex asked.
"N-no," Clover admitted.
"Then? Just chill. Everything's alright. Let's start finding outfits for the book release!"
Clover huffed and began sifting through racks of clothes.
After a couple of hours, the girls had their final clothing choices in hand: Sam, with her strapless white top and red bordering, and the magenta gown; Clover with her orange blouse, brown miniskirt, and strapless red gown, and Alex with her black off the shoulder three-quarter length top, and royal blue gown.
"Where to next?" Alex eyed the surrounding department stores in excitement.
"Shoes!" Clover dashed to the nearest shoe store with Sam and Alex giggling in excitement.
"I trust you came back with some useful information?" the bald man spoke into his wallet.
"Yes, sir. It's just, uh, her cronies are always one step ahead, and - "
The bald man let out an impatient sigh. The agency was running out of time, the death toll was piling up, yet there seemed to be no progress.
"Sir, I deeply apologize. However, you also need to understand that we, as an agency, have to align with the criminal's calculations, otherwise, all of our time and money invested into this mission are utterly fruitless," the agent reasoned.
The bald man gave the advice some thought before nodding his head.
"Fear not, I have taken some time off tonight to conduct some advanced research. We will have her in our hands, no matter what it takes. Good evening, agent."
"Good evening, sir."
Hmm...can anyone guess who the 'bald man' is? And perhaps who he may be conversing with via 'wallet communicator'?
I'll run off now. See y'all in the next chapter!