"Back already? I thought you were going to settle on that one." Jinn said as Amity materialized on a hard tile floor. The purple and gold flecked smoke thinned, but lingered in the air. She leaned back on her hands, taking in her surroundings. She was in some kind of luxurious office, with marble walls and floor, and an impressive aquarium full of boiling sea water and various demon fish that seemed to eye her hungrily. Constellations adorned the ceiling, filled with stars and planetoids that even Amity didn't recognize. Pieces of furniture covered in an assortment of different colored cushions were positioned around the circular room, and all drawing her attention to a black, polished desk where Jinn sat, looking down at her.

"Where am I?" Amity asked, not recognizing any sort of exit from the room.

"Welcome to my crib." Jinn said, slipping off of the desk and offering a hand. "Odalia nearly spotted me so I had to hide us." The woman lifted Amity to her feet and smiled. "So, what'll it be next? Try another spin on the adventurer angle?"

Amity let out an annoyed huff. "Why are you purposely changing Luz into something she's not?" she asked, brushing herself off. "How am I supposed to make a wish, not knowing how you're going to mess it all up?"

"Ugh, you sound like your mother." Jinn replied, twirling her finger in a small shower of sparks as her voice changed to imitate Odalia. "Sure, I'm rich and have everything I ever asked for, but my husband's a pushover and my kids don't listen to me!" she said, changing her voice back. "Do you know what it takes to fulfill a wish? It requires playing with the tapestry of time, to change points in history in order to manipulate events now. It's not exactly easy, y'know. The more you change, the more everything changes!"

"Hold up!" Amity raised her hands to stop Jinn from going any further. "Are you… are you creating alternate timelines every time I make a wish?"

Jinn seemed to consider the question, biting her lip in quiet contemplation for a moment. "Yeah. But they get wiped clean if you don't, y'know, lock it in."

"So what happens to everyone here if I settle on one?"

"What do you think?" she asked, turning away and settling into the high backed chair behind the desk and putting her feet up. "This is all about you, Amity! Go wild! No one else is going to know what changed. Pinkie promise. We took an Everlasting Oath, remember?"

Amity stood silently for a moment. How could anyone… any thing… have that much power? "What about small changes? Changes that would only affect me?"

"A little boring, but okay. What have you got?"

"What if… what if you just changed a decision I made? What if I didn't make Luz like me, but I just… impressed her with something? Like what if I was a Grudgeby player again? That wouldn't affect too much, would it?"

"Ugh, you're getting even more boring!" Jinn replied, hiding her face in the palms of her hands for a moment. "C'mon, juice it up a bit."

"What do you mean?"

"This human is special to you, right?"

"Well… yeah."

"Then you're going to have to be special. You can't just be 'a Grudgeby player', you're going to need to be 'THE Grudgeby player'."

"You're sure that won't require too many changes?"

"No one's going to notice a thing…" Jinn smiled. "You know the drill."

"Okay. I wish that… I was the best Grudgeby player at Hexside; No! On the Boiling Isles! I wish that I could impress Luz."

"You got it!" Jinn said, pointing her index finger at Amity and making a shooting noise before the glittering purple and gold haze engulfed her target.

Amity winced against the sudden cacophony of cheers, horns, loud music that struggled to drown out the rest. She shielded her eyes against the sudden glare of the sun before stepping out onto the largest Grudgeby field she had ever seen. The bleachers were filled to overcapacity, every Coven Head witch cheered from their balcony, and gryphons flew by in formation with their riders releasing trails of colored smoke in their wake.

"Blight! Blight! Blight!" echoed the chant from more than half of the crowd as she stepped onto the field, her team of various witches and demons around her as the opposing team across from them lowered their gaze and frowned in her presence. She grinned, recognizing Boscha as the other team's lead.

Banners were waving in the sky, supported by nothing but glowing spell circles; one showing off the Banshee's gold and blue colors, and the other far more larger banner displaying the white and gold of the Emperor's Will, of which Amity was the undisputed Captain of.

She scanned the bleachers, searching for one particular spectator with rounded ears in amongst the hundreds of witches, but she couldn't spot her before a young sports journalist stepped in front of her. "Boiling Isles news! Amity Blight, do you have any insight into today's game?" he asked, pushing the voice amp creature into her face.

"Oh, hey Goose!"

"It's uh, it's Gus. Gus Porter."

"Potter, right. Well, Goose; As, like, the Captain of the Emperor's Coven Grudgeby team, I'm gonna, like, say we're gonna go out there and just, like, give it all we got." Amity said, struggling just to make a proper sentence, much to her confusion. "And like, we got a good team this year. So does Hexside…"

"Right." Gus said with a frown, clearly hoping for some more profound reply. "Is there any way you could elaborate on that? Are you saying Hexside has a chance at winning today?"

Amity laughed; an embarrassing guffaw that she stifled immediately as she blushed. "Uh, ahem… Well, uh, y'know we got a good team this year, so I think we have a good chance today." she spat, making Gus flinch.

"Uh, sure. Rumor has it you used to be friends with Boscha. Any words for the opposing Captain today?"

Amity looked at him for a moment before taking the creature from his hand and speaking into it. "Yeah, totally. Boscha, I've just gotta say that you've been a horrible friend for a long time. Like, ever since my parents stuck us together, you've been, like, the worst."

"Hey! You can't…" Gus argued, struggling to wrestle the creature back from her.

"You're like, a good player, Boscha!" Amity shouted, focusing in on the young woman across the field. "But you're a horrible friend, and I'm going to take you down! Long live the Emperor!" The crowd cheered and Amity let the creature slip from her grip to fall on the field, sending a deafening tone sear through the large speakers situated around the bleachers.

Gus picked the creature up and wiped the grass and dirt off of it before speaking. "You, uh, heard it here first folks! It sounds like Amity is putting the grudge in Grudgeby today as the Emperor's Will faces off against the Hexside Banshees. What do think, will the Emperor's Will be denied, or will the Banshees be sent home screaming? Apparently, it's anyone's guess! Now let's get this game going!"

Amity shook her head, trying to clear it as she proceeded to step out onto the field, trailed by her team. She felt like she knew them, but she couldn't concentrate enough to remember their names, or even what their specialties were. Frankly, she couldn't remember Boscha's last name, or even if she had one either.

She took her place on the center line, looking Boscha in the eyes as she did the same. "Nice speech, Amity. You're lucky the Emperor's Coven took you in after you flunked out of Hexside. I'm surprised you were able to string all those words together."

"What?" Amity asked, genuinely confused. "What do you mean, flunked? I do school good!" she shouted back before clapping a hand over her mouth in shock as the pink haired girl laughed.

Suddenly, the Grudgeby ball was ejected from the ground between them, and Boscha leaped for it. Reflexively, and with little effort, Amity reached for it and her forearm transformed into a thick, purple sludge and stretched. She snatched the ball out of the air before Boscha even got close and drew it back down to her. "Cool!" Amity grinned, curiously inspecting her gelatinous hand that was currently engulfing the ball. "I wonder if…" she said as Boscha landed beside her with a groan. She took aim at Hexside's goal with her arm, launching the abomiglove and its passenger in an impossibly long arc that took it through the triangular goal at the far end of the field, sounding a buzzer. "Woo hoo!" she cheered, turning away to brush past Boscha as the girl struggled to her feet. "That has to be the fastest goal I ever did."

"Poor grammar aside," Gus's voice said over the speakers as he sat in the announcement booth. "That was surprisingly not Amity Blight's fastest goal."

"That's true, Augustus." Mattholomule replied from beside him. "This one actually lagged behind her record by a whole two seconds. That goal from two years ago didn't even allow the ball to clear the ejection port before she launched it into the opponent's goal, sending two players directly to the infirmary."

"It's nice to see she's humbled a bit since then. I think joining the Emperor's Coven has really done a lot for her since she's no longer had to concern herself with mundane school studies."

"Well she may not be sharpest bone in the cadaver, but she is definitely the Boiling Isles' Grudgeby Champion by far. Look at this! Even half of Hexside is cheering for her!"

"The Hexside Captain hasn't made a lot of allies in her school these past few years since Amity left. I think we're about to see these two clash for the last time."

"Personally, I can't wait. Now let's cut back to the game and see what happens." Matt said as the lines of the field were once again in place.

Boscha growled at Amity's arrogant smirk, grinding the cleats of her one foot into the grass of the field. The ball launched and Boscha surged forward in an effort to tackle Amity to keep her away from it. The direct attack took Amity off guard, but her body reacted on its own, forming a hardened shield on one arm that knocked Boscha to the side. Amity raced straight down the center of the field, keeping her eye on the ball as it was passed from one Hexside player to another and everyone began making their way to the end. Spikes were erupting from the ground, tossing players to the side; sheets of ice formed, causing players to slide and fall, and giant spinning blades swung up out of the ground at random yard lines and disappeared again; blocking paths and injuring players alike.

"Wow! That was an incredible hit, Augustus! I'm honestly surprised Boscha is getting up again."

"I'm pretty sure we all felt that, Mattholomule. Let's see the replay!" Gus replied, spinning a finger to create a large illusion of Boscha's attack on Amity that hovered above the playing field; slowly showing Amity's shield form over her arm and swat Boscha to the side, spots of blood and spit flying before Amity expertly swivelled and raced after the ball. "Man, that's gotta hurt!"

By this time, Amity had already retrieved the Grudgeby ball, creating a series of stairs out of abomination mud to lift her directly up to Hexside's goal before she plunged the ball through the triangular ring. The stairs flattened, allowing her to cooly slide down the ramp back to the center line.

"That is unbelievable. Unless someone manages to find that Rusty Smidge, I think this game is already over. What do you think, Mattholomule?" Gus asked.

"I don't think Hexside is too eager to try winning the game by finding that Smidge, Augustus. Not after what happened last time."

"Oof! You're right. The Emperor does not appreciate that time honored tradition of Smidge-Snagging, and when you're the Emperor, you're right. Am I right?"

"That you are Gus. Whoa! Amity just scored a three pointer by launching one of Hexside's players through their own goal, with the Grudgeby ball, in the time it took us to go through our commentary. Incredible!"

"Amity Blight is, by far, the greatest player in all of Boiling Isles' history of sportsdom. The sheer magical and athletic ability of this individual player is unprecedented. It's like she doesn't even have to think about casting her spells."

"Lucky for her, too! She doesn't have a lot else to fall back on."

"Dude…"

"Oh! Something in the crowd has Amity distracted on the sidelines and Hexside has the ball! This may not be a shut out afterall!" Mattholomule exclaimed, standing up in an attempt to get a closer look at the field. "Who cares about the ball, what's caught Blight's attention?!"

Amity had been running after a Hexside player that was carrying the Grudgeby ball when a distinct laugh caught her attention. She stopped to look into the crowd, spotting a dark haired girl with brown skin and a multicolored Hexside school uniform that made her stop in her tracks. She stood, slackjawed as Luz met her eyes and waved awkwardly before going back to cheering for her school team.

Without looking, Amity conjured a massive abomination arm to extend from the field and snatch the escaping player by the legs and drag them back to her, screaming. Now scuffed and scratched from being hauled across the rough field, the player had no more fight in them to keep Amity from picking up the ball and tossing it over her shoulder, pointing at Luz with a smile as the goal buzzer sounded.

"GOOOOAAAAL!" Mattholomule shouted in disbelief as Augustus gasped at the blind shot that looked so effortless. "How does that even happen?!"

"I'm betting even the Titan was impressed by that one! We'll have to get an official statement from the Emperor himself to find out after the Day of Unity!"

The game continued in much the same fashion, and after several interviews with both Gus and Mattholomule, Amity found herself in the locker room in her sweat soaked uniform. She tickled her locker, causing the creature to open its toothy maw to reveal a number of potions on the top shelf, her casual clothes hanging on one boney spike, and a towel hanging on another. She could hear the rest of her team chatting quietly among each other, but most of their words were lost on her. Finally, she had a wish that she could be happy in, and she smiled to herself as she searched through the potions in her locker for one that would clear her head.

"Hey…" came a familiar voice from behind her, causing Amity to turn to find Luz shyly staring at her with sparkles in her eyes. "I know I'm probably not supposed to be in here, but that was some pretty awesome playing today."

Amity looked at her in confusion. "Why wouldn't you supposed to be here?" she asked, pulling off her gloves and elbow pads and tossing them in her locker.

"Well, I mean, I'm a Hexside student so…"

"Oh! Right, right."

"But I just, uh, needed to tell you how much I appreciated that goal."

"Uh, which goal. I made a lot of goals today."

"The over the shoulder, blind shot… the one where you pointed at me?"

"Right! Yes! That goal. That was… that was somethin'." Amity said fondly, pulling off her cleats and bouncing around as she removed her socks.

"Yeah, so… I guess I was wondering… did you want to get a bite maybe?"

"Oh, you have no idea! I am so hungry after every game, I'm pretty sure I could eat a snorse. I'm just gonna hit the showers, head home, and eat."

Luz blushed. "The showers?" she asked. "Well if you want some company… for eating, I mean!" she said quickly and nervously. "Not for showering…"

"Oh, I ain't never had human to eat. Kind of you to offer though." Amity replied.

Luz's blush faded and she squinted in her own confusion. "I meant to join you… as a companion for a meal. Not as… a meal."

"Oh! Right! Yeah, that makes sense. Y'know, I was just going to catch a movie or something after before hitting the sheets."

"Well, I…" Luz stammered. "I don't suppose you'd like someone to join you for that movie?" she asked.

"What? Nah! I hate when people talk during movies. And it's gotta be dark, y'know? I love a good romantic movie on the couch with the lights off."

"Uh, yeah… Yeah, I know what you mean." Luz trailed off, biting her bottom lip as she stepped closer. Amity looked at her quizzically.

"I think you're gonna miss your bus back to Hexside soon."

Luz took a step back again and sighed. "Right. I should… I should go then. It was nice meeting you, Amity." she said, her shoulders slumping as she walked away.

"Well that was weird." Amity said to herself, turning back to her locker, scattering potion bottles in her search for a concoction that would help her think clearly again. Finding a small bottle with a purple haze, speckled with gold inside it, she popped the cork stopper.

"Dang it!" Amity exclaimed as her mind instantly cleared, and her interaction with Luz suddenly made sense. "I can't believe this! She was right there!" she continued before realizing that she was in the Bonesborough market, attracting the attention of everyone around her. The various demons and witches that had all paused to inspect what had just caused the disruption returned to their bartering, once again ignoring the green haired teen's spontaneous outburst.

"Another flop, huh?" Jinn asked in a disappointed tone. "I'm sorry, Amity. I really thought I had it that time." The woman was speaking from behind a booth titled 'Curses Done Good.' with crystal orbs, smoldering daggers, and collections of scrolls labelled with runes that Amity didn't recognize.

She approached the booth, looking over Jinn's table of contraband before shielding her face to speak quietly. "You know this stuff is all illegal, right?"

"Oh my!" Jinn responded in mock surprise. "If it bothers you that much…" she said, snapping her fingers. A purple cloud of smoke exploded around them, and it cleared to reveal that they were now at the Night Market, presumably several hours later. "Is that better?"

"Wha! Did I just lose another whole day?!" Amity shouted in disbelief.

"The squeaky wheel gets the kick, as they say." Jinn smiled, crossing her arms and leaning on the booth's counter. "Now, about your remaining wishes…"

"No way!" Amity said, stepping away as Jinn leaned in. "Not until you tell me something."

Jinn rolled her eyes. "Your wish is my command, master." she said, giving a curt bow that was obviously not meant to be respectful.

"What did my mother wish for?" Amity glared as Jinn's smirk faded.

"Yeah, I can't directly tell you that. Genie/Master confidentiality, and all that. Besides, wouldn't you rather not follow in Odalia's footsteps like that?"

"I want to know… I want to know if I'm… if my life is just some wish she made."

"No."

"No, what?"

"No, you don't want to know."

"Wait… are you telling me I'm just… just some construct out of my mother's fantasy?"

"You want the truth? That's all every kid is." Jinn said, actually sounding sad. "Well, not every kid. I mean, some aren't even a thought until…" she continued before stopping herself and clearing her throat. "Anyway; you seem like a good kid so I'm going to let you in on a secret." Jinn hooked a finger to summon Amity closer before whispering with a genuine worried look. "The more selfish your wish, the bigger the cost." she said, standing straight again. "Everything comes from something, y'know? Even Genie magic comes from somewhere."

"Where?" Amity whispered back, suddenly transfixed.

Jinn shrugged. "I dunno. I wasn't born a genie, and the job doesn't come with a lot of instruction." Amity made an annoyed face and crossed her arms. "What?"

"So how does one become a genie, then?"

Jinn casually turned away to fiddle with a skull that lit up to her touch on the counter behind her. "Oh y'know, you trust someone and you get cursed. It's a story older than the Titan… Happens more than you'd think." she said, wiping an eye with the heel of her hand. "Now, let's see if we can't get you something you're happy with. Y'know, sometimes it's best to wish for the start of a path to your goal, rather than the end."

Amity paused for a long moment before even considering her next wish. "Okay… I know Luz is hiding something. She was terrified of something at Grom, and I think it had something to do with the Human Realm." she said, looking down at her hands. "I want to know Luz. I want to be someone that she could be happy with. Someone that could be a part of her life."

Jinn scrunched up her face in thought before beginning to slowly nod. "Hmm… I think I've got an idea. You know the words."

Amity took a deep breath. "I wish I was in Luz's life in the Human Realm."