Amitie battles the Witch of Nahe. With Raffina hanging on by a thread, she knows it's a fight she can't afford to lose especially as Ms. Accord has unfinished business with the witch.
In-Between Justification
Amitie felt the sun beat down on her as she dashed forward. The sunlight filtered through the trees and battled the gray smoke rushing far beyond the forest. Embers crackled behind her from the worn, charred wood of the decimated hut. Her footsteps crushed through brittle tree branches and tore charred leaves apart, causing woodland critters to squeak as they darted deeper into the Woods of Nahe, the witch sneering down at her.
"Wake Raffina up!" she ordered, extending her finger to the sky.
"And how will you make me?" the witch asked, smacking her palms together.
Amitie lobbed a fireball at her, but a vibrant shield summoned by the witch repelled it back at her. She yelped, ducking as it surged towards her neck. The fireball barely avoided Raffina's body as it sailed into the rubbage of the hut. She grit down on her molars, watching the witch wave her hands, quiet enchantments slipping past her lips, knowing she was clearly outclassed by the prominence of a five-hundred-year-old terror.
"I thought you were going to make me wake her up. Aren't you going to fight back like she did? Aren't you going to use your wits?" The witch snickered to herself, the wind picking up around her. Amitie reeled back as she levitated, her feet pointed towards the ground, raising her arms high over her head. "If you aren't going to do anything, then I'll end it all now. There's no need to even worry. You'll sleep and sleep and sleep until you take your last breath, and finally, your nightmare will end!"
Her brow creased as the witch roared, shooting a blast of colorless magic at her faster than a lightning bolt. Amitie clutched her hat as she jumped through a pair of trees, the coarse bark nicking her elbows, but she shook her head as the blast speared deep through the earth's crust. She couldn't focus on any pain. She needed to save Raffina, and she quickly glanced at the spot where her dear friend slumbered, noticing her cheeks were losing their natural flush.
"If you're going to hide…" The witch vanished, causing Amitie to suck in a gasp through the spaces of her teeth. "...then this is going to be painfully easy."
Amitie swung her hand back, missing the witch's afterimage. The trees' shadows enclosed around the frantic girl, her head jerking around as she caught multiple mirages of the witch's snarling face. All of them came closer, forcing her to fire off windy spells just to push her back. She choked on her own breath, her heart feeling like it was racing a mile a minute only to stop beating as the witch appeared inches from her face and snatched her neck, raising her high into the air before slamming her back into a tree.
"Is this all you have?" she asked, her voice low, an air of disgust permeating around her. She tightened her grip, her sharp nails digging into her neck. "I thought you were like the heroine of my world. I thought your friend was like her rival." She scoffed, dragging the whimpering in-training magician to her knees and curved her other fingers into a claw, poised and ready to kill.
Amitie grimaced, grabbing the witch's wrist. She kicked at the ground, but she felt only air. She made out a sliver of sunlight glimmering down on her from a break in the thick leaves, illuminating the dust and smoke particles fluttering around them.
"Pathetic. I expected so much more." The witch sighed and aimed her pointer finger at Amitie's nose. "Rest assured. I'll remember this fight for the next hundred years."
"Why-why are you hurting people?" She coughed out her words, her grip slipping.
Amitie continued looking at the sunlight, which blinded her with each glance. As the witch hummed, seemingly amused with such an innocent question, she bided her time. She couldn't lay a finger on the witch. Not even Raffina could inflict anything more than a bruise to her chin, but the witch couldn't be invincible.
She thought back to Ms. Accord's lessons. Against a powerful opponent, the best option was something unexpected. Catching them off guard worked best, but the witch seemed to predict her every move. She had done so with Raffina. It was like she had mastered magic beyond her comprehension, but Ms. Accord's voice rang in her head.
"Everyone has their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Think outside the box, and the answer will become as clear as day."
Her eyes widened. Amitie tried hiding the smile which made her lips twitch.
"Why? You're stupider than you look." The witch sniggered and shook her head as Amitie dropped her hands.
"A-am not." She swallowed, a few veins on her neck bulging, strained with effort. She cupped her hands, traces of sunlight dancing on her fingertips.
"You are! So was I! To think I thought you were like her. To think I thought your friend was like her! No one could ever compare to them." She wrinkled her nose, a fog crossing her vision, and she glared at the ground, feeling as if she could set the entire forest ablaze with her glower. "Not even I was-huh?"
By the time she realized what had happened, it was too late. Light grew in Amitie's palms, a shapeless substance which burned without any heat. It was as if a tiny sun materialized in her hands, and all the witch could do was recoil as Amitie launched it them.
"Luminescence!" she cried, the blinding light bursting into a plethora of vibrant fireworks.
The witch screamed, the magic searing her retinas. She clutched her face, scorched without any agony. She hobbled backwards, her legs awkwardly mashing into the ground. Hunching forward, she clawed at her face, her eyes feeling as if they were bubbling in her skull, Amitie's footsteps becoming lighter as she retreated.
She had never seen such a spell before. Not on her old world and certainly not on this one. It reminded her of the heroine's prized spell, one this girl could use as well. She couldn't comprehend why such a simple girl possessed such incredible power, magic poignant enough to rival the heroine who bravely stood up to the Creator.
As she snarled through gritted teeth, she thought, Could this girl truly be…?
Amitie put a solid distance between herself and the witch. She knew that spell would only blind her for a short time. Rolling her shoulders back, she held her fist out in front of her and closed her eyes.
"Accel, Accel, Accel," she whispered, magic fluttering down her arm and forming in her fist.
"My eyes! My eyes, you-you-! I'll make you have the worst nightmares! You'll see nothing but-nothing but death when I'm through with you!" The witch screamed, her free arm slashing at nothing, but Amitie refused to flinch.
The magic circle appeared in a soft hues of bubblegum pink. Runes in an ancient language protected her as they encompassed the spell. It stretched underneath her feet, protecting her in a brilliant glow. The witch couldn't take in her form anymore, her presence too heavenly for someone as wretched as her.
Like a goddess, the witch thought, managing to open one eye to take in the shadowy frame of the new heroine, Amitie is like a goddess.
"Fairy Fair!" Amitie bellowed, throwing her hand up to the sky, and the sun blessed her.
The magic circle exploded in a holy light and shot upwards, bright blue flowers appearing out of thin air. All the witch could do was watch, her battered soul wondering if it could be cleansed with such pure magic. Amitie, her eyes still closed, directed the spell towards the witch, and without wondering if she should put up a shield, the witch accepted it, her thoughts blown back to the world she had been removed from, her heart forgetting to even beat as the battle finished.
Trees toppled as her body smashed through them. The forest shook, and the wind howled. Amitie's feet touched the ground, and she opened her eyes, greeting the decimation with a tired expression.
Silence welcomed her. Not a creature stirred. Not even the Onion Pixies dared to peak out. Only when the sunlight fell on her did the crickets chirp. She marched towards the blasted trees, her spell so deafening that it had knocked them all over and created a path for her.
Standing over the fallen witch, Amitie couldn't find the will to be pleased with her victory. She merely stared at her crumpled form. Her tattered dress was caught on tree branches and roots. Her bows were knocked off, the thin fabric threatening to rip further. Her long, gnarled nest of blonde hair splayed around her like a cast-off blanket, and in that moment, Amitie felt like crying.
"Miss Witch?" she called, blood pounding in her ears. She kneeled by her side and hesitantly reached out. "M-Miss Witch? Miss Witch, are you-?"
The witch's eyes shot open, full of an emotion so raw and painful that Amitie screamed. She jerked away and fell on her bottom. She softened when the witch's body slackened much like someone taking their last breath. Amitie crouched by her, gingerly thumbing the rim of her Puyo hat as the witch stared through her.
A hoarse cough pressed against her lips. She croaked, "Are you...are you…?"
She swallowed. "Am I...who?"
"Arle?"
Amitie gasped, but before she could speak, the witch reached for her, her fingers quivering. She looked at her face, the thin skin on her cheeks bringing out her cheekbones. Amitie clutched her hand and squeezed it, which in turn caused small tears to roll down the witch's face.
"Arle, Arle, it is you," she murmured, her chapped lips forming the most sincere smile Amitie had ever seen. "You were reborn, right? You and Rulue were reborn as these girls, right? Teacher said-remember when our teacher said that could happen sometimes?"
The witch sat up and drew her hands forward. Amazed, Amitie didn't reject her as the witch cupped her cheeks. She stroked them with bony thumbs. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against Amitie's, who could only gape, the gentleness of her touch reminding her of a cherub.
But such peace wasn't meant to last as Arle lost the battle in another world.
Darkness creeped over them, blocking out the sunlight. Amitie drew back, terror crawling up her spine like a centipede. She broke away, and the witch craned her head over her shoulder, the sight of two axes, one silver and the other gold, forming against the violet-tinted shadows.
"Hello, little witch haunting this forest," a cutthroat voice drawled, its shape towering over them with sharp edges and bright yellow eyes. The axes levitated at its side. "Tell me, did you lose something? Was it this silver axe? Maybe it was this gold axe?"
The witch jerked her hand to her chest. She stared through the beast, its shape familiar to Amitie, but with the pounding in her head, she couldn't place where she had seen it. Fidgeting with her Puyo hat, she watched the witch snarl, her back hunching as she bore her fangs.
"My beloved. My world." She dug her nails into the dirt and tore through tree roots. "Everything."
Amitie glanced between the witch and the monster, her eyes widening as memories flashed in her mind. She certainly had met this creature before. When she was out cane searching for her teacher, it was the demon who possessed it, bestowing it upon her after she proved her honesty and valor in a Puyo battle.
"Such honesty! Really, I'm trrrembling!" Popoi launched the axes into the ground, causing Amitie to yelp and crawl backwards, but the witch remained, her expression unclear. "With the lies you've told countless townies, did you really think you'd be rewarded?"
The witch flinched, and Amitie wished she could have seen her expression. She wondered if the color was draining from her face. All she could see was that every muscle in her body seemed to tense.
"For hurting these students, well…" Popoi shot towards the sky, a trail of sparkling stars following him as he zig-zagged around them faster than the speed of light, his movements causing Amitie's eyes to spin. "...I'll leave the discipline to the teacher!"
The witch hobbled to her feet, her frame shaking as she bellowed, "You-! Come back-ah!"
Amitie wondered what made her freeze. A shiver ran up her spine as well, the very air changing from a dull humid haze to a chill in a matter of seconds. Amitie peered around the witch, her eyes wide as she watched a woman saunter down the decimated path, tapping her cane in her free hand.
Ms. Accord strode over to them. The quiet clacking of her heels silenced the chittering Onion Pixies who braved the animosity surrounding her in a dull, palpable aura. She fixed her glasses as she walked, her mouth a thin line, her expression holding no trace of emotion.
Amitie didn't think twice when she raced over to her. The tears she had been withholding dribbled down her cheeks, and a cry ripped free from the back of her throat. She threw her arms around her, burying her face into the crook of her neck, and she blubbered as Accord rubbed small, soothing circles into her back.
She couldn't speak. Nothing she said would have made any sense. If she wanted to explain what had happened, her heart squeezed, Raffina's motionless body tearing through her thoughts.
"Amitie," Accord whispered and pulled back, resting her hands on her shoulders, "are you okay?"
"No! No, no, no, it's not me!" She shook her head so swiftly that her neck cracked. "Raf! You gotta get to Raffina! She's-! The witch, she-!"
In that instant, Popoi, in his cuddly form, plopped onto Accord's shoulder from the sky, his brows knitted. "Not good. We're losing her. Sig is-"
"Sig's here?" Amitie cried, and she shot a glance back at the still witch.
"She will not harm him." Accord placed Popoi onto Amitie's shoulder. "Please go to Sig. He's with Raffina, yes?" At Popoi's nod, she sighed. "Thank goodness we aren't too late."
Amitie steepled her fingers. "H-hey, Ms. Accord, we-we, um, the witch-"
The grimace in her teacher's face caused her to trail off. Amitie slowly turned around and fidgeted with her collar. The witch hadn't moved from her spot. All traces of sincerity had vanished when she leered at Accord, her hands balling into fists, which Amitie noticed was mimicked by Accord.
"Tell me, Amitie, do you know the spell 'Resurrectia?'" Accord asked, and the witch made no attempt to stop them.
"Uh, gee, I don't think so?" She wished she didn't sound so questioning, but the kind smile Accord cast her made her worries melt.
"Follow Popoi's lead. You'll see what happens."
She patted Amitie's shoulder and brushed past her. Popoi pointed ahead and ordered her to go. Before she could react, Accord vanished in the blink of an eye, and in the back of her mind, Amitie wished people would stop doing that.
The witch lurched backwards as a gust of wind bellowed from the north. She snarled, her head still aching from Amitie's fiery spell. She knew her strength was sapped, and all she could do was watch while Amitie hurried over to whoever this "Sig" was. The temptation to cut her off tickled her fancy, but Accord appeared inches in from her nose, her smile stretching into her cheeks.
A shrill shriek ripped out of her as Accord tutted, saying, "Now, now, let's not react like that. We have unfinished business."
The witch jumped, casting a windy spell to launch her high into the air. She didn't have time for this. She needed Amitie. If what had happened implied what she thought-!
Accord didn't give her the chance, vanishing and appearing in front of her again. Before she could yell, Accord flicked her hand, launching chalk dust from her sleeve at her. The witch pinched her nostrils shut, withholding the urge to sneeze, but again, as if to mock her, Accord vanished with a snap of her fingers.
She rubbed her face free of the dusty residue and landed on her knees. Heaving out a gasp, she whipped her head around and found Accord beaming down at her. Before she could launch a spell, Accord jerked forward, her hands shooting for her face, and she gasped, feeling as if she couldn't breathe.
Yet, what she expected to happen...simply didn't.
She blinked. She had forgotten such a pleasant sensation. The warmth of another person, the gentleness of arms wreathing around her waist and bringing her into an embrace, it had been hundreds of years since she felt such softness.
Accord embraced her and stroked through her matted hair. She shuddered, memories of her kindergarten teacher bursting in her mind. They shared the same smile and touch, the same encouragement and teasing, it was all as she remembered.
"Teacher?" she crooned, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Not your teacher, but I could be if you'd let me," Accord said, standing tall over the shuddering witch. "Do you remember when we met all those years ago?"
She lost count of the years, but she knew very well what she met. It must have been well over a decade ago. A little girl with curly purple hair in a white dress and blue overcoat skipped to the witch's hut with that same cat perched on her shoulder. She never opened her eyes and sipped the herbal tea the witch provided, delighted with the scent of rose and a hint of mint. They chatted for a while about magic and school, about the girl's dream to teach at the magic school in her town. Such a pure, beautiful dream touched her, and she had no choice but to let her go.
She saw herself in that little girl just as she saw the heroine in Amitie.
"How could I forget you? I couldn't," the witch whispered, tears blinking off her long lashes.
"Well, I think as a grown-up…" She parted, a serious edge to her expression. "...you have to take responsibility for your actions, yes?"
The witch gazed at her feet and took in the holes in her once pristine boots.
She maintained her composure as Amitie cried out not too far away. "Because you were hurt, you chose to hurt others. Isn't that what you told me?"
She paused and then nodded, her sobs becoming more shaky.
"I know you've suffered. Your loved ones, your world, destroyed just as you told me all those years ago." Accord tilted her head. "Although, if I recall correctly, Popoi and I welcomed you to live in Primp. We could've been classmates at the magic school."
Heat burned in her cheeks. Memories of an old world with old friends tortured her mind.
"Yes, yes, I did, but I understand why you couldn't accept my offer back then." She bobbed her head up and down and set her finger to her cheek. "You were still mourning your beloved Camus."
Her heart squeezed, and she buried her face in her hands. All of the emotions she suppressed for years and took out on innocent villagers burst like a dam, overflowing and drowning her. The mere mention of his name ignited a horror she wished had never happened, of fires scorching the land, of earthquakes ripping through the crust of her world, of endless hurricanes and death throes.
And away from that madness as the heroine fought and their friends bled, the coward who would become the rumored Witch of Nahe escaped with the help of an outsider.
"Sig!" Amitie wailed, rushing over to him as he knelt by Raffina's body, his expression twisting in worry.
"She's cold," he flatly said, but how he grinded his molars told her how little time they had left.
"M-Ms. Accord said a spell would save her! Um, um, it was-"
"Resurrectia, meow," Popoi replied, earning a yelp in return. "What? Need a helping paw?"
"You can talk? But aren't you a puppet? I mean, uh-"
"This isn't the time or place," he retorted, and Amitie yiped, bobbing her head. "Meow, the spell is a tough one. Two kids-in-training maaay be able to do it, but you gotta follow my words down to the letter, nya?"
Amitie snatched Sig's claw and held it tightly, flashing a bright smile at Popoi. "You bet'cha! We'll do whatever you say!"
"Whoo," Sig added, his inflection as enthusiastic as always.
"Stretch your hands out over Raffina's body." Popoi's tail flicked at the still girl's chest. "Right over her heart should do it."
Amitie and Sig nodded, their fingertips touching as they stretched their hands over Raffina's heart.
"This spell uses a looot of magic." He noticed Amitie stiffen. "So, Sig, we'll be relying on you, got it?"
"Haven't used much of it, so…" He nodded.
"This spell is used on someone close to dying," he added only to sigh, "and stop being so tense, kiddo! She'll wake up if you do this right."
Amitie winced. "Y-yeah! I got it."
"Focus on waking her up. Put all of your magic and spirit and efforts towards it." Popoi sniffed the air, glancing from side to side.
"Somethin' wrong?" Sig wondered.
"No, no, don't worry. Just start."
With such poor instructions, Amitie and Sig exchanged a bewildered glance and knew they didn't have time to mope or complain. Raffina's life was on the line. The slow rise and fall of her chest made them shiver, and lacing their fingers together, they closed their eyes. They concentrated as hard as they could, imagining new life being breathed into Raffina, her bright eyes opening and staring up at them, a cocky, yet proper smirk settling on her face.
Magic swelled in their palms and grew larger, the orb hinted with violet swathes of electricity. They imagined it going inside of Raffina, spreading throughout her body and waking her from whatever nightmare haunted her. They imagined themselves reaching forward in the darkness and taking her hands, wrenching her from the shadows and into their arms, embracing as tightly as they could.
Amitie uttered a wordless cry, pain seizing her neck. She felt as if her head was no longer attached to her shoulders, the witch's grip having bruised it so severely that she felt like it would break. She tried withholding it, but the tears started dripping down her face, alerting Sig to her pain, but Popoi shouted for them to keep going, that the spell was almost complete.
"Now! That's enough! You-!"
But Popoi didn't have the chance to finish his order as stars and constellations burst around them. Amitie jerked her head up, blind to the nebulas and suns which glowed around them. She couldn't give up even as the brightness burned her retinas, and as Sig's claw grazed her palm, they shoved the orb at Raffina.
"Resurrectia!"
Their voices entwined in the depths of space, gravity betraying them. Everyone's vision went pure, snowy white. Only a cackle echoed around them, alien and mischievous. As Amitie felt like falling victim to unconsciousness, she heard someone's voice scream out.
"It's you!"
Guess who got sick again and then decided to do an entire ficlet request series between updates! Anyway, thank you all for sticking around! We're at the endgame!