BREAKING THE FANTASY
Written by: Gwendolyn Frost. Special thanks to meowloudly15. The Ink Man is a creation of mine. Faust is a creation of Daisuke Ishiwatari and is the copyright of Arc System Works.
CHAPTER 7: The Killer.
Sometime after midnight, Amity and Luz found themselves staring at the body left by the Ink Man. The corpse was soaked in rain, still and lifeless. At the same time, Doctor Faust leaned down on it, removing his large thin arachnid-like fingers from the body's neck to announce his diagnosis. "There is nothing I can do… he is already dead." The large man said as he got back on his feet.
Luz and Amity were still in shock from confronting the Ink Man a few minutes earlier. Luz was holding her left wrist, the wound on her palm still pumping blood with every heartbeat of hers. While Amity was holding onto the left side of her neck, trying her best to put as much pressure on her own wound. By now, her dress was already stained with some of her blood around the area.
"We should call the police…" Luz blurted out as she tried to reach for her phone in her pants pockets with her right hand before she was interrupted by the Doctor.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Faust said as he got back up to his feet and kicked his large feet to walk towards the door while holding his large umbrella above his head.
"It's the right thing to do!" Luz complained.
"It is, however…" Faust said as he turned around and opened his door sitting in the middle of the forest. "Granted that you're witches… you'll have to do a lot of explaining. Leaving you exposed for interrogation. You've been lucky enough to remain undiscovered."
"We can't just leave them here!?" Luz said as she looked at the body lying on the floor.
"You've got a kind heart…" Faust said as he leaned against the door, as if it was difficult for him to stay straight. "The police will find the body eventually… I promise you. When you're both healed up, I'll make an anonymous call to the police. Now… please, you're bleeding. Allow me to repay your kindness… please, step into my clinic. It is the safest place in the entire universe. A safe haven for all kind humans and witches…" Faust said as he opened the door to reveal… a portal into the very place he has been using as a clinic within Gravesfield.
Luz and Amity stared into the tear in space, their eyes tracing across the bright halls, with paper bag headed workers walking from one side to the other, patients in wheelchairs, bandages and the mini-workers holding medical kits. "Is… that a real portal? You can do MAGIC?!" Luz exclaimed.
"Yes." Faust said while holding the large door open for them.
Amity was rather uninterested in the large man and his powers, she was more concerned about mending her wounds and Luz's. But… Luz seemed to be distracting herself from her priorities.
"You have Titan's Blood?!" Luz asked, making Amity to close her eyes and sigh.
'Here we go again…' Amity thought.
"Titan's Blood?" The Man with his head covered in a paper bag said. "Boiling Isles witches, I see?"
"Yes, yes!" Luz said as she walked forward explaining her situation. "You see… we're stuck here in the Human Realm. We've been searching for Titan's Blood all over Gravesfield, it's the only known resource we can use to open a portal. Have you been to the Boiling Isles? Do you got Titan's Blood?!" Luz asked rather desperately before she heard the upset tone in Amity's voice when she screamed her name.
"LUZ!" Amity stared at the flinching Luz who looked back at her. "You're hurt, we're hurt! Can you please hold that thought until we've healed…?" Amity was upset, but switched her tone to a less aggressive one by the end of her sentence.
Luz bit her lower lip and nodded. "Ok… yeah. I'm sorry." She said, facing both her girlfriend and the large Doctor who nodded and opened the door widely for them to get inside the clinic.
"I'll answer all your questions… but first… allow me to help you." Faust said as the both of them walked forward.
Amity gently reached for Luz's good hand and squeezed it, reassuring her before leading the way inside the portal.
Shortly after, Doctor Faust was cleaning both Luz's and Amity's wounds with iodine. Both girls were sitting on some chairs inside a rather large examination room. The door from where they entered the clinic was sitting on the wall, it was larger than the exit to the hallway within the clinic itself which the large Doctor would have to probably crouch to go through.
"Hey… I'm sorry for doing it again." Luz whispered at Amity who just shook her head in response.
"It's ok…" Luz could tell that Amity seemed still upset, but the fact that she was still holding her hand made her feel more comfortable.
"There…" Faust said as he finished with Amity's neck and proceeded to ask. "So, what is going to be? Shall I suture your wound or you want me to use healing magic?"
"Suture?" Amity asked in confusion.
Faust proceeded to show her what he needs to close the wound… human style. "Needle… thread…"
"Wait, what?! Are you serious?! Are you going to stitch me like a ragdoll?!" The pink haired girl exclaimed in a panic, making her girlfriend reply on behalf of the Doctor.
"It's… the way humans treat their wounds in this realm. I thought you knew…?"
Amity blushed. "Noo… I remember that Aisha said something about it when I had a papercut before… I thought she was messing with me."
"That's…" Luz snorted. "That's not true Amity, she was messing with you. For a papercut you don't get stitches."
"I know that!" Amity exclaimed with a heavy blush on her face.
Luz decided to answer for her girlfriend, addressing Faust as she held onto Amity's hand reassuringly. "Would it be alright if we ask you to use magic…? I… don't want to come back home with stitches on my hand and let my mom know what we went through…"
"You're right…" Amity said with a sigh. "I can't imagine the reaction she'll have if she sees my neck like this…"
The large man nodded as he stood up and reached for something on the table next to them. "I do warn you, there will still be a scar left. You'll heal faster, but you still have to come back for a check up. You don't want to risk getting magic poisoned."
"Wait… magic poisoning?!" Luz asked terrified of how that sounded.
"There's… no such thing. In the Boiling Isles we use healing magic all the time." Amity said.
"Yes… but that's because you witches have evolved to wield your magic. However… Luz here is a human. Magic alters reality… humans are not capable of filtering magic through their bodies, nor do they produce it like your heart does. There is however… a safer way to heal you… and that is using the only clean source of magic available…"
"Which is…?" Amity asked as the Doctor pointed at her heart, making her become nervous. "I… can't do healing magic."
"You can't, but I do. I've visited many realms across the cosmos. Learning as many medical procedures and healing magic as I possibly can in order to hone my medical abilities and help as many people as I possibly can. I can heal Luz without the risk of mana poisoning… but I need your consent… to use your bile…?" Faust said.
"No, wait! Don't. Stitch me please… I don't want to put Amity in any danger." Luz said before Amity interrupted her.
"You're not… extracting bile from my heart… right?" The pink haired girl asked determined to help Luz but was also scared of the Doctor's methods.
"No need to extract anything…" Faust said as he held his large palm and used his own magic to summon a glyph in front of Amity's chest. "Your consent…?"
"You don't have to…" Luz said.
Amity smiled at Luz and sighed. "I'd do anything for you… you know it. Heal Luz first, Doctor…" She said as she closed her eyes, while Luz watched as the large man focused his magic, turning the glyph into a pink color which he then moved towards Luz's hand.
The Doctor's glyph began to channel Amity's magic to heal the wound. Luz felt her wound warmer than before. It was as if the magic that the Doctor used was cauterizing her wound. This process was way different from her previous experiences with Boiling Isles' healing magic, despite the Doctor using Amity's bile sack to mend her wound. Eventually, Luz started towards Amity, noticing her biting on her lower lip and even flinching. "Amity? Doctor please stop!"
"NO!" Amity exclaimed. "Not yet… not until you're safe… it doesn't hurt… I'm just exhausted…" The pink haired girl said while flinching yet again.
"I'm almost done…" Faust said, quickly dispelling the glyph which immediately made Amity to breathe heavily and leaned back against the wall.
Luz didn't waste any time after her wound was sealed with magic and went to check on her girlfriend. "You're ok? You said it wasn't hurting you!"
"It wasn't… much." Amity said, trying to comfort Luz with a smile. "I'm wounded myself after all… my heart is pumping blood and having its magic drained at the same time was rather uncomfortable. But I promise you… I'm fine."
Luz wasn't happy with the answer but accepted it, nonetheless.
"Now it's your turn…" Faust said as he proceeded to sit in front of Amity, which caused Luz to protest.
"But wait… can you even handle it?" Luz asked Amity, but before she could even reply, she was interrupted by the tall Doctor.
"I'll use my own magic. She'll be safe from mana poisoning. Her body has been co-existing with magic her whole life. Unlike you." Faust said as he stretched his hand and summoned another glyph which he placed above Amity's wound on her neck. The wound began to close after a minute or so, leaving a light scar on the side of her neck.
The pink haired girl brushed her fingers where the wound was, just feeling a slight irritation there. "It felt as if you were holding a candle on my neck." She commented.
"Right! That was what I felt too!" Luz replied.
"Now… these are for you…" Faust said as he moved up to a desk nearby, pulling some potions from a drawer. The potions were concealed in a round flask which glowed, resembling the flasks that Eda used to drink to manage the effects of her own curse, which Luz picked on.
"Hey… those look familiar. I used to know someone who drinked potions like those for their… curse." Luz pointed out.
"I see. It's a different concoction, however… but the ingredients ARE from the Boiling Isles." Faust said as he handed the box containing four potions to Amity. "Take one each night before going to sleep. While I promise you you're safe from mana poisoning, you need to recover from the loss of blood and for your body to fully filter foreign magic out of your system. Come to me if you have side effects and I'll see you immediately."
"Ok, thanks doctor…" Amity said.
"Now here, these are for you." Faust said as he handed Luz a bottle of pills. "While your girlfriend's magic won't give you any reality bending effects, your body hasn't fully acknowledged that your wound is closed. These are to prevent an infection and for your immune system to not attack itself."
"Aww… why don't I get to drink some cool potion instead of boring tic-tacs…" Luz said with a sigh.
The Doctor stared at her for a brief moment before he faced Amity. "Ok you, you sound responsible. She has to take one of these in the morning and at night for a week. Make sure of that."
"You got it doc." Amity said as she reached for the bottle of pills the doctor was handing her before being snatched from his hands by Luz herself who protested at them.
"HEY! I can be responsible! I'm 18 and that makes me legally an adult! I've got a driver's license and opened my own savings account! I can take my own medicine, thank you very much!" Luz exclaimed.
Amity and the Doctor stared at Luz before the pink haired girl nodded and the Doctor returned the nod back to her, having a mutual understanding that Amity was making sure she takes her medicine. Luz caught up on this and just glared at the both of them.
"That'd be all…" Faust said. "Visit me if anything else happens."
"Wait!" Luz exclaimed once again, but this time, her tone shifted from upset to worried. "Ok, Amity… I know that you're tired of me jumping at anything and everyone for answers. But I have some questions to ask you, Doctor…" She said as she stood up, looking up at the towering figure. "Are you a witch… or a Titan?"
The large man stared down at her before squinting that reddish eye behind the hole in his paper bag. "Are you friends with Masha…?"
"What? Yes, they are our friend. But that's beside the point! If you're neither of those things as you claim to be… then what are you? How are you able to open portals? Do you have Titan's blood?" Luz asked desperately, throwing question after question at Faust.
"No, I'm not a witch, nor a Titan. No, I do not require Titan's blood to open portals. And I have been to the Boiling Isles. Twice in fact. Once during peaceful times, I learned from the local witches new healing techniques. The next time… there was a tyrant ruling over the Titan's corpse. I silently opened my clinic, helped as many witches as I could and even taught a semester at a school until I was pursued by the tyrant's goons and was labeled as a wild witch. I made my escape and haven't been to the Isles ever since…" Faust confessed.
"The tyrant, you must mean… Bellos. Is there a way you could open another portal to the Boiling Isles?" Luz asked. Amity wanted to say something, feeling that Luz was driving herself into yet another wrong turn, but she was curious herself… this has been the closest lead to a legit source of magic other than Lilian the Librarian.
The large Doctor took a brief moment to reply, sighing softly, not giving the pink haired girl hope, which she was ready for. "My portals do not work the way you want. I can't visit a world that doesn't need my help…"
"What?!" Luz was frustrated, small tears building on her eyes. "H-how… why?! What kind of conditions are those?!"
"I've made an oath. I could try, but I advise you to lower your expectations. " Faust said as he walked up to the door they came from that acted as a portal. The Doctor reached for the doorknob and raised his voice. "Door… show me the way to the Boiling Isles…" He opened the door, when before it led to that spot in the woods, the door now led… nowhere. There was nothing but a white wall matching the rest of the room.
Luz stared at it before turning back at Amity who tried to reassure her with a smile. "We'll find another way, Luz…"
"Door, show me the place that needs my help." Faust said as he closed and opened the door once more, and what Luz and Amity saw this time was… themselves… literally. The door was a portal to the exact same door but flipped over like a mirror. There was Faust standing next to the open door, there was Luz standing closer behind the large Doctor and finally there was Amity sitting on the chair at the far end of the room.
"What is this?! Am I staring at a window into an alternate reality?!" She exclaimed with the other Luz's voice echoing the same exact words in the exact same tone. "AH! Stop it!" She hissed at herself as she was about to curiously reach for and touch reflection Luz's hand before being stopped by Faust whose voice raised in a panic.
"What're you doing?! You can't touch your very own existence that is occupying the same exact space in the cosmos! It'll tear this universe apart!" The large man exclaimed, making Luz immediately remove her hand with a light scream.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't…!"
"I'm just joking…" Faust shifted his tone back to his usual raspy zombie like voice he usually had. "Don't worry about it, go ahead. I thought I could lighten up the mood… then again, I do admit maybe I went too far… hehe."
Luz glared but reached out for reflection Luz's hand, but first double checked the Doctor and placed her palm against the other Luz's. "This is so freaky…" Both versions of Luz said with a soft laugh, removing their hands while Faust finally closed the door. "So…" She continued as she stared at the door. "Is there a way to open a portal in this Realm without Titan's Blood?"
"There's multiple ways to open a portal. Each Realm has its own rules and magic systems. I'm sure you'll find your way soon enough." Faust said, making both girls nod.
"If… the door ever opens up for the Boiling Isles again… would you please let us know?" Luz asked, making the large Doctor nod in return.
"You'll be the first to know. Now, before you leave…" Faust said as he moved his large hands up to both Luz and Amity and out of nowhere created a pair of glyphs in front of them to clean the blood out of their clothing. While Amity was not at all amused, she was indeed a little surprised by how many spells this strange doctor knew.
"Thank you!" Luz exclaimed with a smile.
"You're welcome." The large man said as he led them out of the clinic. "Now, follow me. I will lead you out of the building. I really advise you not to go back from where you came." The comment made both frown slightly, for a brief moment they've forgotten why they were there in the first place. But the Doctor had a point, granted that there was a dead body back in the woods.
While they walked down the hallways, Luz and Amity discussed how to get back to Wendy's home. A few moments later, they were all standing outside of the clinic. With Amity summoning her staff. "How about we fly there?"
"Wait…" Luz looked at the street, she couldn't see anyone in sight, it was past midnight after all, most of the stores were closed, with the clinic being one of those few serving as a source of light. "I guess we could try…" She said with a smile before facing the Doctor. "Are you… going to make that anonymous call?"
"Of course." The large man said as he dragged himself up to the nearest public phone booth, unable to fit in of course, so he just reached for and pulled the phone up to him. "You two take care… feel free to visit if you need my help."
Just as soon as they lifted up the air and left the scene, the Doctor hung up the phone without having fulfilled his promise and instead called his workers. "Go get the body… scrub the whole place, I don't want any evidence of it ever being there… I don't want the police meddling around my door."
"Yes, Doctor!" They exclaimed in unison. A few minutes later, they recovered the body, put it in a bag and lifted it on a stretcher while a few workers cleaned the scene. "Doctor, where should we put it?" One of them asked as they pulled it inside the Clinic, with the large man pointing his long stick-like finger at the room at the end of the hall.
"The Crematorium, heat the furnace…"
Meanwhile, Luz and Amity were close to Wendy's house as they flew over town. Luz held her arms tightly around Amity's waist with a big smile on her face. "I've missed this." She whispered, her eyes staring up at the sky, the stars, the moon.
"Yeah… me too. But we can't fly our way to work every morning without drawing attention…" Amity reminded Luz who just laughed in return.
"I know." Luz said.
Amity sighed softly once she spotted Wendy's home, the biggest house in Casper Boulevard. "Sorry for cutting our flight short… I'm going to descend now." She warned.
"Ok, got it." Luz said as she tightened her grip around Amity as she began to lower down, her eyes constantly checking the few bystanders on the street, making sure to stay out of their sight. As soon as they were close to the ground, she placed her left foot on the floor next to where Luz's car was parked.
Luz let go of Amity and allowed Amity to have some room to use her magic and hid her staff inside her purse. Luz looked at her hand. While the wound was gone… there was now a scar in its place. Something that Doctor Faust mentioned that he can't fix.
Amity took notice of this and reached for Luz's hand, looking at her straight in the eyes as she kissed the palm above the scar. "Please, don't do this again…" She said, not out of anger or annoyance, she was genuinely concerned.
Luz blushed a little bit, her eyes looking straight at Amity's neck, now sporting a brand new scar. "I'm sorry for putting you in danger as well…"
"It's ok. I don't care about the scar. That monster could have slashed my face for all I care…" Amity said while she reached for Luz's cheeks, holding them tenderly. "I know that you got your magic back… and I understand you were excited to use it again. But you can't jump at any excuse to do so… we were lucky tonight… for a moment I really thought this person was just that… some psycho with a knife… but they're not…"
"I know…" Luz replied. "I know I shouldn't use it as an excuse but… it's been four years. I felt so useless for so long and…" Luz was speaking when she felt Amity's lips pressing against her for a brief kiss.
"You're not useless…" Amity said with a smile. "I promise you, patata dulce.~"
Luz couldn't help but blush and laugh softly, leaning in to give Amity another kiss. "Thanks… we should go get our friends and go home." She said as she gently traced her fingers over Amity's scar on the left side of her neck.
"Yeah… I could use some sleep." Amity said while her eyes looked at her reflection on the window's car, quickly covering her ears when she realized that the illusion spell had dissolved due to being out of range for so long. "Crap… I almost forgot about these…" She then took another look at herself and pulled some more hair on her left side, covering the area to avoid the scar being seen… for now. "I'm covering it up not because I want to hide my scar, ok?"
Luz chuckled softly and grinned. "You look like an emo." She joked, making Amity laugh a little bit.
"Is that a bad thing?" Amity said, holding Luz's hand and leading her inside the house.
"No… you always look amazing." Luz said as they both walked in.
By now, the party had died down, but there were some people left. Such as some college peers of Caleb, who was having a conversation with a guy sharing some pictures of his huskies pulling a sled on the snow. "Oh my Titan they're soooo adorable!"
"Titan?" The other guy asked in confusion.
"Eh… it's an expression…" Caleb said with a nervous smile.
Not far away from them was Gus playing cards with a few other people. "So, gentlemen… what're we playing now?" Gus said as he showed his expertise shuffling the cards.
"Maybe we should stop… it's getting late, plus… you wiped us all up, bro." One of the guys sitting at the table said.
Willow was sitting on the couch with Leni and Aisha sitting to each side of her as she instructed Leni about handling a cactus. "Ok, so you shouldn't water these so often. Maybe… just a few days apart, they absorb a lot of water so you really don't want to drown them."
"Got it!" The blonde girl said.
"Hey, where have you guys been all night?" Willow asked as she watched the couple join them in the large living room.
"Uh…" Luz and Amity tried to come up with something to say, but all they could think of was the rain… the blood… the body… the clinic. "Are we going to tell them….?" Amity whispered at Luz.
"I… don't know." Luz said as they both watched Willow raise her eyebrow at them alongside Leni and Aisha.
"Are you two ok?" Aisha asked.
"You look as if you just witnessed a murder or something." Leni joked with a soft chuckle. Which immediately made Luz and Amity stare at each other in horror.
"Seriously?" Aisha said to her blonde friend with a glare.
"What? I was just joking." Leni defended herself.
"Oh, you're back!" Wendy exclaimed from behind, making the pair of girlfriends jump where they stood. "Where were you?" The purple haired girl asked out of curiosity.
Both Caleb and Gus joined them when they realized that Luz and Amity were back and were eager to hear their story as well. But… moments passed and they were still dead silent. Willow stared into them, knowing that there was something fishy going on. So… she made something up for them.
"Oh wait… did you go get Mrs Noceda's medicine this late at night?"
"YES! That's it!" Luz exclaimed, with Amity shortly blurting out as well.
"Of course! We did! BUSTED!" The pink haired girl laughed nervously, making the other guests and Wendy confused and a little unnerved by how fake they sounded.
They noticed the awkward silence inside the room, with the both of them clearing their throats. "Hm… we did. Yeah." Luz tried to sound as relaxed as possible, showing off the bottle of pills that was handed to her by Doctor Faust which helped sell the story.
Willow shook her head slightly and rolled with it. "Ok. We should go now. Better not keep your mom waiting for her medicine."
"Oh, alright. Well, hope you had fun. Hopefully we'll be seeing each other more often." Wendy said as she started to lead them out, while Leni and Aisha raised their voices.
"Nice meeting you guys!" Leni exclaimed.
"See ya on Monday, Amity!" Aisha said.
"Hey… about that…" Amity whispered at Willow as they walked out of the large house, but was interrupted by her friend shortly after.
"You better have not broken the law, you two…" Willow said with a glare.
Wendy waved at them from the porsche and watched them drive off back to the Noceda residence.
As Luz drove back home, a silence reigned supreme. Caleb, Gus and Willow were still waiting for an explanation. They could hear from the backseat Luz and Amity whispering at each other until Willow finally snapped.
"What happened?! I just lied for you back there! C'mon… you're worrying me." Willow said, both upset and very stressed by this whole situation.
Luz sighed and looked at Amity one last time before she began to explain. "There's no way we can sugar coat it… but you do deserve the truth…" She told them everything… about Luz doing magic again, the killer, the wounds, the body, the visit from the Doctor… all. The car stopped at the Noceda residence when they arrived, but none of them came out of the car for a short while. In fact, no one had ever said anything after Luz finished the story.
The most affected of them was Willow, she was horrified about the whole thing. From having her boss killed by this lunatic, to them hurting her closest friends. Gus on the other hand, was the least upset, but that didn't mean he wasn't in shock. He was thinking of everything he has been hiding from his friends and was debating in his head whether or not he does his own explaining. Finally, Caleb didn't even know how to react, he was disturbed, but as the oldest of the group he was trying not to lose it.
"I…" Caleb began. "I… well, I'm sorry that you went through that. Sounds horrible… but why did you hide you could do magic again from us?" Caleb asked, a bit hurt by Luz's lack of trust.
"I'm sorry… I actually tested my magic this morning. I was planning to tell you guys eventually… then I saw those people running and I used that as an excuse to use my magic… I know it was stupid of me and… that's why we got hurt." Luz said as she faced both the people on the backseats and her girlfriend on the front seat.
"They know our names…" Amity added as she arched her neck back to rest her head against the back of her seat and closed her eyes in frustration.
"I'm sorry…" Luz repeated, her eyes watering a little bit.
"It's alright. We'll get through this." Amity reassured her as she reached for her hand and smiled back at her.
"Don't mean to cut this moment short… but it's late. Perhaps we should go get some sleep." Gus interrupted.
Everyone nodded in response and started to move. When Amity stepped out of the car, she was confronted by Willow. "Ok, lemme see the scar." Amity hesitated a little bit but eventually moved her locks of hair aside to show her the now closed wound on her neck. Willow took a short look at it before she shoved her hand inside her purse and vines began to wrap around her hand which she raised up to Amity's neck to wrap a small vine around it which soon grew some flowers to cover her neck, acting as a rather exotic looking choker. "There…"
"Oh wow…" Amity said as she took a good look at her reflection on the car's window. "Thanks, Willow…" She smiled back at her shorter friend who shrugged in response.
"Don't mention it."
The group finally walked back inside the Noceda residence, with Gus quietly closing the door when he made his way in last. Soon enough, Luz and Amity that were on the lead spotted Camila deep asleep while sitting on the couch… she tried to stay up until the gang came back home safely.
"Hey, ma…" Luz whispered as she took a seat next to her, with her girlfriend sitting on the opposite side.
"Oh… oh! Hey… girls…" Camila said as she woke up and yawned heavily as the two of them began to help her up. "How was the party…" Making Luz bite on her lower lip out of nervousness.
"Uh… terrific! It was great… but you should go to sleep now. We're all so exhausted as well!" Luz said as Amity tried to back her up.
"Yeah… it was a long night."
Just as soon as Camilla was back in bed, all teens went back to their respective rooms to try and get some sleep. Hunter and Gus downstairs in the basement, and Amity, Luz and Willow back in Luz's bedroom where Vee was already sleeping on the bottom bed.
Willow tried to get some sleep. While Luz would try to close her eyes several times with her sleep getting interrupted by the thought of that pale mask oozing ink so close to her face and that knife plunging down through her hand. Making it impossible to go back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Amity found herself once again in the colorless town… she didn't recall how she even got there. Or why was her mind creating this subconscious world. Was this supposed to mean something…? She thought. She remained on the edge of town, staying alert for the time being in case that… monster found her once more.
Soon enough, her ears perked up once they caught some noise behind her which made her quickly move out of the street and seek shelter in one of the gray houses nearby. Her heart began to pound, and her eyes stared where she once was standing to see some large shadow sprinting fast and leaving a large trail of pitch black ink.
The pink haired gal waited til' she heard no more steps. She moved closer to the street, carefully making sure the shadow was gone. Was it the thing she saw last time? She wondered… truthfully, she didn't care and she didn't want to get involved. She examined the trail and out of curiosity she tried to use Abomination magic on it… but the circle spells she drew with her fingers didn't seem to work.
"No magic here…?" She whispered, sighing softly as she moved to sit down on the nearest porsche.
Amity tried to slap herself on the cheeks. "Wake up, wake up, wake up…" She kept her voice down, quickly looking to both sides of the street to make sure there was no one watching her. "It's not working… but… for some reason I can feel this… -smack smack smack- Why… what is this place?"
"No…" Amity whispered to herself as an idea crossed her mind. "It can't be… is it?" Amity kept thinking about it, standing back up and began to pace from side to side. "Last time, Willow woke me up… and said I was in some sort of trance, right? Would it be possible… that I'm performing Oracle Magic… is it probable… that I'm… in someone's head. Is it… likely…" She gulped. "That I'm in the Ink Man's mind?" She said with an horrified look on her face.
"But why…?" She asked herself. "Willow…" She whispered as her eyes moved to the left of the street. "If you can hear me… please wake me up."
She didn't hear anything, but she was on edge. "Willow?"
Her ears perked up once more as she could hear a grunt on her right ear. "Willow. Please. Wake. Me. UP!" She quickly shut her mouth when raising her voice accidentally. Then heard some movement at the end of the street.
"Willow…" Amity said as sweat was sliding down her face when she saw that shadow moving back into view.
"Wha-" Willow's voice echoed in Amity's head.
"You again!" The large slender monster screamed from across the street, making Amity scream Willow's name.
"Willow! Please wake me up!" Amity began to run for her life, sprinting as fast as her legs allowed her to. Her ears caught the sound of that monster moving quickly towards her, the beast being so abnormally large that allowed them to catch up to her in short time. "WILLOW!" Amity teared up and screamed when she felt a pain on her face.
SMACK!
Willow had slapped Amity on the face in the real world, with the pink haired gal waking up from her trance with her cheek glowing red. "Oww!"
"Sorry, sorry! I panicked, alright!" Willow exclaimed.
"Hey, what's going on up here…?!" Luz popped her head up from the bottom bed, making both girls scream out of surprise, which in turn made Luz scream back.
"Can you all please stop yelling…?!" Vee exclaimed, which caused all three to shut up.
Luz bit her lower lip and whispered at her friends. "What happened…?"
Amity sighed. "I… think we should go to the living room so Vee can sleep."
"Thank you." Vee said, making Amity shut her mouth.
"Yeah… I'm gonna make some coffee…" Willow said as the both of them began to get down and walk out of the room, their eyes growing wide when they realized that the living room was already occupied with Caleb and Gus talking on the couch.
"You guys can't sleep either, huh?" Gus asked.
The three girls stared at them with exhausted looking eyes, nodding in response.
"What happened to your face?" Caleb asked Amity.
They heard the explanation from the pink haired girl, all gathered up on the couches inside the living room. The boys hear that Amity was able to perform Oracle Magic for the first time. With her throwing out the theory that perhaps she's literally visiting the Ink Man's mind during her sleep.
"Well… it is kind of possible. Eda brought you two into Willow's mind before." Gus proposed. "Maybe you're performing the spell in your sleep. You're a… Sleep Caster? Oh! Official name… we should call it… the Porter Effect." Gus said with a grin.
"Seriously, you're going to name this after yourself?" Amity said with a soft chuckle.
"Hey, you better have a name for your condition next time."
"But when Eda casted the spell, Willow was literally lying down on the couch. In order to perform the spell from afar, Raine and Darius had used a potion." Luz added. "Right?"
"Yeah, that happened." Caleb said, confirming what Luz mentioned since he witnessed the whole thing with her when they broke into Bellos' mind. He shook his head, trying to forget such a traumatic event. The day that her fragile reality was shattered.
"From what I can remember. Some oracles are able to connect with people when they come in contact with them. Perhaps what happened earlier triggered this dream." Gus proposed.
"But… I had a dream before meeting them tonight. I don't why… maybe it's because I knew one of their victims. Mrs. Greene… which we already told you was trying to contact from beyond the grave." Amity said, trying to come up for an explanation for her predicament.
"Maybe… now, I think I have my own explaining to do. There's something else you guys should know…" Gus said, as he looked at Caleb who seemed aware of what he was about to reveal.
"You sure you want to do this…? I mean… the least people know." Caleb said, lowering his voice as he leaned closer to his roommate.
"What are you guys talking about?" Willow asked in confusion.
Shortly after, they were all walking downstairs to the basement, where Gus and Hunter's base of operations were… literally. They had their own bunk bed there close to the stairs, the washing machine on the right side, there was some small couch sitting on the left with a plasma tv placed on the front wall facing the beds and last but not least a large board sitting next to the plasma. A board that featured every single lead that Gus has been following while pursuing the Ink Man's case.
"You gotta be joking…" Willow said as she adjusted her glasses to look at the disturbing pictures placed on the board.
Both Luz and Amity froze as their eyes looked at the pictures taken from some videos where the Ink Man was caught on camera… such as one that was recorded by Mrs. Greene herself.
"What is this, Gus? You can't have this here." Willow said, trying not to raise her voice, but clearly revealing how upset she was.
"Ok, ok… I know this is rather uncomfortable to look at…" Gus tried to defend himself.
"You promised Mrs. Noceda you wouldn't get involved in this case, remember?" Willow cut Gus' defense short.
"I know, I know! But… I can't keep that promise anymore. Especially now that we know this person is using magic. Or at least… some form of magic. Humans can't deal with this… but we can." Gus said, and before Willow was able to say something, she was interrupted by Luz.
"Tell us what you know." She said as her eyes kept staring into those void hollow eyes on the Ink Man's mask.
Willow and Amity weren't so sure either, but listened anyway. Gus explained the case from the beginning.
"Ok. It all started in a place called Green Hills. This is where the police theorize that the Ink Man's killing spree began. One single victim. Stab to the heart, ink stains all over the victim, bled to death, floor covered in blood. I'll talk about this victim later, for now, remember this…" Gus said as everyone took a seat, Caleb on the couch, while Amity, Luz and Willow were sitting on the bottom bed.
"It took two years for the next victim to pop up in a place called Norrisville. Four victims to be exact. The Modus Operandi changed, this is where the bleach element was introduced. All victims shared the same pattern. Stab to the heart, bled to death, ink all over the scene and bleach on the victim. This time however… no blood on the floor." Gus flipped the board to show all the victims.
"Next… was Danville. Four new victims. Same pattern. And finally… Megaville. This time there were eight victims, but half of them were killed in two different ways. The usual one on the first four victims. But the MO changed once more. Now, victims number 5, 6 and 7 showed this pattern: stabbed multiple times, bled to death, substantial decrease in ink, blood all over the scene and bleach on the victim. Before the last victim was back to the same old MO."
"It's… gruesome." Amity said as she looked away from the board.
"Yeah…" Gus flipped back the board to show less… shocking images. "During the Megaville murders, the Ink Man was captured by the police after victim number 7 showed up. The man they believe was behind the mask was this guy: Red Schwartz." Gus showed the mugshot of the disturbed individual behind the murders. Some slender guy, bald with a very intense look, those eyes showed nothing but rage as he held the serial number after he was given it during the incarceration process.
"But you said he died, didn't you?" Luz asked.
"Was about to mention that. But yeah… he died in prison before he was even convicted. The police declared it as a suicide and no more victims ever popped up… until now. Here in Gravesfield, where the same MO was used on these new two victims. Professor John Jekyll and Mrs Dahlia Greene." Gus explained before asking Luz. "Now, there's a new victim now… I know this is difficult to ask, but can you remember…"
"It went too fast, Gus. We… we didn't want to look at the body." Amity interrupted. "It was raining, and… I didn't smell bleach… maybe the killer didn't have the time to pour it on the victim. Because… Luz kind of tackled them."
"And stabbed me, with a red knife…" Luz said as she looked at the scar left on the back of her hand and her palm on the other side.
"Ok… yeah… we'll hear the details from the police in a few days… probably." Gus said. "I'm sorry you two went through that." Gus went silent for a brief moment before he went back to explain a few more loose ends. "Ok, so… what I haven't mentioned so far… is that every victim since Norrisville seems to be connected in a specific type of victimology. Every single person from Norrisville to Megaville's first four victims and last one were all public figures who were beloved members of their communities… until they were murdered… and with their murders… came a wave of new information that ultimately vilified them as deceiving monsters… no different than the Ink Man."
"What do you mean?" Amity asked.
"Ok. Let me give you an example. You know Mrs. Greene, right? The Mrs. Greene you knew was far different from the one the community of Gravesfield interacted with, she was actually a very popular member of this town. She donated to a lot of charities and beneficial campaigns, brought a lot of opportunities and jobs, the Greene House is the perfect example of the good she did for Gravesfield. But as we all know, she probably did all this to keep a facade, and… well, you know what she was doing behind the scenes now. All those job opportunities… were all a mirage for her drug business."
"Yeah…" Amity glared at her picture on the board.
"She took advantage of those who needed those jobs, most of them… illegal immigrants who couldn't go to the police in fear of losing their lives here in this country. This… Mrs. Greene is pretty much every single victim of the Ink Man summed up. They kill horrible people posing as lights of hope." Gus explained.
"Why…?" Willow asked, she has been silent this whole time, but she seemed interested now.
"We don't know…" Gus said with a sigh.
"You think they're some sort of vigilante?" Caleb asked as he browsed some comic books based on a certain caped crusader.
"I doubt they've got good intentions. They tried to murder us tonight." Amity added.
"Yeah… the Ink Man never revealed their true intentions in public. As a matter of fact, they've never tried to contact the police… but they did… replied to a certain media outlet in Megaville during their… 'incarceration.' Here's what they said…" Gus cleared his throat and began to recite the contents of the letter on his phone.
'No one is taking credit for what I DO. I kill for no one but myself. Your way of thinking is black and white but this world is nothing but different shades of gray. It's funny how you tie my motivations to your world's superstitions. You're right about one thing, though. I can't stop. And I'll kill one more time…'
When Gus finished reading the letter, Luz pointed out. "They said… your world. Is it possible that the Ink Man isn't from the Human Realm?"
"Well… they don't seem to know witches are real." Amity said. "Remember how they reacted when I called them a witch?"
"Yeah… but if they're not from the Boiling Isles, where are they from?" Luz asked.
"Well, we encountered another interloper tonight. The Doctor…" Amity said.
"RIGHT! Doctor Faust said that he has been in many realms before."
"Ok, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Gus interrupted them. "All of those ideas sound plausible for now. What we know for now, is that they're able to use some form of magic…"
"Right." Luz said before asking. "Wait… if the Ink Man was already arrested and died in prison, how are they still killing?"
"Probably because Red Schwartz wasn't the original Ink Man to begin with." Gus said. "Let me explain. Remember I mentioned how there were different patterns, right? The very first victim in Green Hills is patient zero. This person was not a public figure like the following victims were. This was a civilian, with a job, a routine, a simple life. Following this victim's death, however… people around the community started to come out and reveal to the authorities of what this person did… and it was… really scummy. The evidence suggested that the killer didn't plan this murder. It was a case of opportunity. And the agent who took over the investigation during the Ink Man's killings suggests that them leaving blood on the scene indicates that their MO wasn't developed yet."
"Ok, but you said that they always left no blood on the victims, right?" Luz asked out of curiosity, an idea starting to form in her head.
"That's right. Somehow, every single victim in Norrisville, Danville and half of Megaville's victims have no blood in the crime scene." Gus said.
"Ok, so no blood on the following crime scenes, they're not human, and they're not a witch either. Oh my She-Ra! They're a vampire! I did it! I solved the case!" Luz said enthusiastically and proud of herself before being interrupted by Willow.
"I don't think it's that simple, Luz."
"Think about it, at least!" Luz protested. "They can't stop killing, they always leave no blood behind. They never kill during the day…"
"I didn't say that." Gus added. "There's no evidence to support the reason they kill at night; it's because they're a vampire… most serial killers kill at night because it's where everyone is the most vulnerable."
"Ok, but… they're pale, we saw them tonight, right Amity?"
"Hm, Luz… as your girlfriend…" Amity sighed. "I want nothing else but to support your ideas, but I have to agree that we cannot make assumptions right now. After all, the way humans portray vampires in media is rather questionable… I mean… they've got the wrong idea of what witches are as well."
"Oh, c'mon!"
"Think about it, Luz. Humans believe vampires are weak to garlic." Willow snorted, making Luz blush and retaliate.
"Hey…! Maybe… there's some biological explanation as to why vampires cannot handle garlic. Like how snails get hurt by salt!"
"Well…" Caleb said, making the rest turn towards his direction. "Maybe she has a point…"
"Really?" Willow said with a surprised look on her face.
"YES! Caleb, my man! You believe me right?!" Luz exclaimed.
"Sort of… I mean… the killer does seem to have a fixation towards blood if they're removing it from the scene. Almost as if the whole point of killing is… the blood. Plus…" Caleb said with a small blush on his cheeks. "If vampires are real… maybe werewolves could be real as well." Then whispered to himself. "And I want to be one…" Caleb said as he got lost in his thoughts of himself as a werewolf howling at the moon with his wolf pack.
The room went silent for a solid minute after that, with Luz breaking the silence.
"Ok, so… that took a weird turn… but he's on my side, and I'll take it! What about you, Gus?"
"Well… I do agree that there seems to be something strange about them taking the blood with them. But Amity is right, we can't be making assumptions until we've got all the evidence. However… I'm open to even the wackiest ideas right now. Granted that we all know now that they're able to wield magic." Gus said.
"There's something that you haven't explained yet. "Amity said. "You mentioned that there were eight killings in Megaville, but you never disclosed anything about the last victim."
"Oh, correct. You see… I said that Red Schwartz wasn't the original Ink Man, but he did kill 3 people, it's why he was captured in the first place. Those last victims that I talked about, they didn't fit the original Ink Man's MO. They were not public figures, they were regular people… none of them fit the victimology. No one came forward to reveal heinous acts perpetrated by them. The Megaville Police Department was fast to close the case once Red was arrested. He confessed to all the crimes. However… the agent that has been following the case since the first batch of killings in Norrisville, proposes that Red was only guilty of victims 5, 6 and 7. These were all people who were connected to Red in some form."
Gus grabbed the picture of Red from the board as he continued.
"Let me tell you a little bit about Red. He was a man who worked as an entertainer. He was famous in Megaville as a man who visited hospitals and did a lot of public appearances for charity. He raised a lot of money for a lot of good causes. However, there was an ugly side to him. When the killings began, he became obsessed with the case. Then proceeded to kill his boss, his neighbor and a person he stalked. None of them fit the Ink Man's victimology, but you know who did fit the pattern?"
"Red Schwartz, himself." Amity said.
"Correct." Gus said with a soft chuckle. "Megaville wants to believe that Red killed himself. But the agent proposed that he was killed by the Ink Man themselves. He was found dead in his cell with no blood, stabbed to the heart, bled to death, ink and bleach lying around the cell. Remember what the letter to the media said at the end? That they would kill one more time… before they disappeared."
"Now… they're back. Isn't it?" Luz said.
"Seems like it." Gus said.
"I'd rather not get involved… but I suppose you guys are?" Willow sighed.
"Well… I don't seem to have a choice… granted that I'm somehow seeing visions of them… possibly connecting to their mind through Oracle Magic." Amity said as she stared down at the floor.
"I know that the people they've killed are no better than them. But what tonight taught me is that they're willing to kill anyone that stands in their way. I can't stand by and do nothing." Luz said with determination in her eyes.
"Me neither." Gus said with a smile.
"I'm in too. I like this place, the people here have been so good to me… I wouldn't like them or all of you getting hurt by this maniac. I know we're not a family per se… but you're the only family I know. And I like to think I'm the big brother here, so I won't let any of you go without my supervision." Caleb said with a light blush.
"Aww, that's so sweet." Luz said.
"We're family." Amity added with a smile. "You're right." She looked back at Luz and held her hand.
"Ok fine… I'm in too." Willow said in defeat, making them all laugh softly.
"It's settled then." Gus said.
"I'm going to sleep." Willow said.
"Yeah, we should go get some rest." Amity said as she began to follow after Willow.
"Hm…" Luz walked up to Gus and whispered. "You think you can check tomorrow with your boss if the police found the body already."
"Don't worry, I got it covered." Gus winked.
The girls went back upstairs to sleep in Luz's bedroom, while Gus and Caleb stayed in the basement where their beds are. Most of them were able to get some sleep… with the exception of Luz. Whom's thoughts were plagued once more with the fresh memory of that knife plunging down through her hand. The following morning, Luz was extremely stressed, staying all morning in the living room flipping through the news channel waiting for them to speak of the body left by the Bleach Killer the previous night in the forest.
"Gus, have you heard anything?" She dropped the tv remote on the coffee table and began to browse through her phone looking through all her social media now.
"No, Luz. Try to relax, it's not like I can just ask if they've found a body, that'll be too suspicious. We'll hear something eventually." Gus said as he typed on his laptop.
"Hey, Luz." Amity said as she typed on her phone. "I'm gonna cancel today's session with Miss Craig. But just this once, ok?" Amity gently took a seat next to Luz as she finished off her message and sent it.
Amity: good mornin miss craig! Luz and I wont make it today to therapy, something came up. telling u beforehand so we dont waste ur time!
Luz didn't hear Amity right away, being too distracted with her phone. "Huh?! Did you say something sweet potato?"
"Ok… time out for you." Amity said as she moved her finger to draw a magic circle and levitate Luz's phone away from her.
"Wait, NO!" Luz protested.
"Luz, I understand how you feel, but there's nothing we can do right now. All of this stress is not healthy for you." Amity said with a sweet caring tone in her voice. "Did you even sleep last night?" The pink haired asked as she took a good look at Luz's exhausted eyes.
"Uh…" Luz tried to come up with an answer or excuse but all she could think of was incoherent things going through her brain.
"Luz, go to sleep." Amity said with authority in her voice.
"But I can't sleep, Amity! Not until…" Luz was about to scream the rest of her sentence but then shut her mouth when she realized what she was about to say. "Not until they've found you know what…" She whispered.
Amity and Gus looked at each other before Luz's girlfriend tried to reason with her. "These things take time, Luz. Please… try to have some sleep, for me?"
Luz was trying to come up with something to say before she thought of something. "What if we… pass by?"
"Pass by?" Gus asked, the conversation taking place was getting some attention from Willow and Caleb sitting on the dining table by now. Making them look back at Luz when they heard the suggestion.
"And what…?" Willow raised her voice. "You want to just… stumble upon the body again?"
"The Doctor promised he would make the call… the police are probably there by now!" Luz exclaimed, making her quickly shut herself up.
"Well, if that is so, then let the police take care of it, Luz." Caleb added.
"I can't just stand down and wait…" Luz confessed. "I cannot sleep… I cannot… think… I cannot do anything until my head is rest assured that the awful experience that me and Amity went through is over…" Luz said as she threw herself back on the couch and stared down at the scar on her palm.
A silence reigned supreme within the room, everyone wasn't sure it was a good idea… but Amity sighed and decided to go back there if it meant that her girlfriend would finally get some sleep. "Ok, Luz… I'll go with you."
"I don't think it's a good idea to let you guys go alone… I'll go with you." Gus said, with Caleb soon intervening.
"Hey, I'm the big brother, remember? I'm coming too." He said with a smile.
Finally, Willow face-palmed herself and replied. "Ok, ok… I guess we're all in this together."
Luz smiled when hearing everyone and cleaned a tear off her eye. "Thank you, guys…"
When the group arrived at the scene, Luz led the way. They all carefully took cover behind the trees as they approached the single houseless door in the middle of the forest and to Luz's and Amity's surprise… there was no police there, there was no yellow tape and there was no body…
"What?! It was right here?!" Luz exclaimed as she quickly looked for any evidence that supported what she and Amity lived through.
"I… I'm not sure what's going on… but we're not lying… there was a body here." Amity explained to their friends, with Willow breaking the silence.
"It's ok, I believe you… but I'll be honest. I'm really glad there's nothing… I really don't want to see a dead body this early in my life."
Meanwhile, Gus was scanning the whole place with his eyes before they glared at the door. "Hey, Luz. Did you come out this door after you were healed by the Doctor?"
"Oh, the Doctor! YES! I mean… no! We didn't. We came out from the clinic's main entrance. But… maybe he knows something!" Luz said as she rushed up to the door and started to bang on it. "Doctor Faust! Could you please open the door? We need to ask you some questions!"
"Hm, Luz?" Amity said as she walked up to her girlfriend and tried to calm her down. "I know that we went through a horrible experience… but I think you should take a little break…"
Luz kept banging on the door, until she placed her hand on the knob and opened it up to reveal… nothing on the other side but forest. The door wasn't acting as a portal and therefore she couldn't gain access to the clinic through it.
"Luz…" Amity said as the rest joined her to comfort Luz, who collapsed down on her knees.
"My noodle legs… hehe…" Luz tried to make a joke, hiding her face from her group of friends. "I'm sorry… I just…"
Amity interrupted Luz's speech and quickly wrapped her arms tightly around her.
It may have been a little late, but last night, everything happened so fast. And Luz's adrenaline helped her get through the whole ordeal. Everytime she closed her eyes ever since, her own mind subjected her to think of that mask… that knife cutting through her flesh, piercing her hand. Seeing her own blood splatter across her face.
She sobbed in Amity's arms. Everybody kneeled down, group hugging Luz as she continued to cry her eyes out.
"It's ok, Luz… let it all out." Amity was tearing up as well. She couldn't exactly put herself in Luz's shoes, she was slashed on the neck, but for Luz's sake… as she has always done… she tried to stay strong. They were 18… they were young, and they both felt in danger that night. They feared the worst, and they still do. "Maybe… we should let all this go… for now."
"No…! No. I can't…" Luz moved her face away from Amity's shoulder. "They're still out there… I fear for you… I fear for my mom, I fear for Vee… I fear for all of you, for this community. This killer is still out there… I just…"
"You need some rest." Amity said. "We can't do anything right now. Please, I understand that you feel frustrated right now, but the only thing we can do is go back home… have some rest and maybe plan out our next move…"
"That's right, Luz. We can't go out there and start asking questions about some body… that'll raise suspicion." Gus pointed out.
Luz wasn't sure… but the more she stared into Amity's worried eyes, the more guilty she felt about putting her in this situation. "Ok… I… yeah, you are right."
"Let's go home… I'll be making you company if that helps you have some sleep. Alright?" Amity suggested, making Luz chuckle softly.
"You're the best girlfriend in the world… y'know that, right?" Luz said with a large smile, which brought a smile out of the pink haired girl.
"No. But it's good to hear it every once in a while." Amity teased and pecked Luz's lips and helped her back up to her feet. "C'mon… let's go."
When Luz and her friends were leaving… with their backs turned… the door opened slightly with the square shaped paper bag popping from behind it. Luz felt a rather strange chill, which caused her to turn around… but when she did, the door was closed once more.
Back at the clinic, Doctor Faust was walking away from his door before he met with one of his subordinates in the hallway, who seemed to be holding his badly injured wrist. "Uh, sir… we've got an issue in room 11. We were conducting a check up on this patient that's asking for you… I'm afraid to say that… that things turned violent."
They whispered the rest while patients walked past them. Soon enough, Doctor Faust found himself in room 11. The large man crouched down to get inside the dark room, he turned the lights on and his head moved to look to the middle of the room to see the bodies of his two subordinates hanging from the ceiling with their necks slit. Dripping red down onto a pool on the floor.
"I gotta say, Doc. I thought I was sick." A voice in the room made the Doctor turn towards the left to see the enigmatic patient that killed his followers. "But what I do to my victims is mercy compared to what you do to yours… turn them into your little zombies to do your bidding." It was the killer known as the Ink Man who attacked Luz and Amity the previous night. They were sitting on a chair, their voice no longer distorted, coughing some ink from the hollow smile on their mask. In the light, the Doctor could see their features. Their skin was pale, with long dark hair… their slender frame leaned forward as the Doctor spoke back at them.
"I need them… why did you killed them?" The Doctor said as they raised their long spear-like scalpel and struck them down on the floor.
"Let's call it even… since you took the body I left last night. Funny thing, I remember these were people on my list… until they suddenly disappeared. Pretty clear you got to them first…" The Ink Man said with a soft chuckle before coughing violently from their injuries. "You seem to have a fascination for people with that mark… " They said as they raised a long tentacle made out of ink and showed the Doctor the mark of the Emperor's Coven also known as the Witch Hunter's mark in the Human Realm showing on one of the victim's wrists. "What does it mean…?"
Doctor Faust walked forward to tower over the shorter killer sitting on the chair in an intimidating way. But despite how upset he was, he still answered their question. "The Witch Hunter's mark…"
"Witches again…" The Killer chuckled some more. "Y'know… until last night, I thought Midgard didn't have any magic…"
"It was you." Doctor Faust glared down upon the Killer. "You're the one who hurt those kids." Faust let them know that he was aware of they've done the night before.
"You mean… they were here?" The killer looked up at Faust. "Well… what do you want me to say? They were at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I do admit that I lost my temper when I was tackled by one of them. But look at what they did to me." The Killer said as they opened their cloak to reveal the bandages on their chest, with fresh ink covering them. "They're no weaklings, that's for sure. If you're going to kill me, Doc… or turn me into one of your slaves… you better do it now. I have…" They started to cough some more, their body shaking back and forth from how hard they were doing so. "I have nowhere to go… I'm at your mercy. Or… we could work together…" They looked back up at the ten foot tall Doctor.
"Why would I ever work with you…" Faust was considering it… not the proposition, but taking a life again… as that large hand of his was squeezing the large scalpel with anger.
"You and I are not so different, Doc… you understand me, don't you? These people you lobotomize are no different from the people I kill. They're like us… they're hunters. But while they prey on the weak… you and me… we hunt them." The Killer chuckled. "It's unfortunate that the people we serve won't appreciate what we do for them. Instead they'll condemn us for it. But no one else but us would make the decisions that they wish they could take."
The Doctor kept glaring down upon the Ink Killer, but his body began to relax after hearing the little speech. "What are you proposing?"
The Ink Man coughed a few more times before chuckling some more while ink continued to stream down from those sunken eyes and smile from the white porcelain mask. "These hunters… it'll take you forever to get to all of them if you just wait for them to walk into your clinic like this…"
"What do you suggest…?" The Doctor asked as if he knew that the killer was about to bargain with him.
"Help me and I'll help you… I've been hunting predators most of my life… I can track them down. I will even let you pick your poison. You set the rules. You decide their fate. I'll work for you… and you allow me to make my own calls on the victims I've picked for myself."
The Doctor remained silent for a short time before he raised his hand and pointed his long arachnid-like finger towards the killer sitting on the chair. "Do not kill any more of my workers…"
"Fair." They replied.
"Where does it hurt?" Faust said as he kneeled down and started to check on the Ink Man's chest.
"Here…" They said as they reached up with their hand to hold it against their chest.
After a small check up, Faust stood up and faced the wall and brought his arms up before digging his large fingers into the wall… as if he was breaking through reality itself and opening a tear in space that allowed him to bring a wheelchair out of it. He then helped the killer to sit down on it. "Going to prep a room to extract those bullets out of you…"
As Faust began to push the wheelchair out of the room, the Ink Man asked. "Are you going to use magic…?"
"Do you want to heal faster?" Faust asked back while pushing the wheelchair down the hallway now.
"Yes… I'd like that. I got to keep appearances…"
Later… early in the evening. Luz and her friends arrived back home. Amity managed to convince Luz to have some sleep, with the promise that she wouldn't leave her side while she rested. Luz was still rather reluctant to do so. But after a back and forth discussion Amity came out on top. Luckily, Luz's body gave up the moment she layed down and she didn't wake up for quite a while.
Soon after, Amity was checking her messages on her phone, the fact that Miss Craig had not replied to her message the whole day made her a little worried. She opened the tab and realized that the message was marked as 'seen' but no reply just yet.
She began to type something… but she didn't want to intrude. So she erased it before she even sent it and closed the chat…
It was unlike her, she thought… while still laying down next to a sleeping Luz, she began to have a conversation with her co-worker Aisha about those concerns she had.
Amity: have youve talked to Mss Craig all day?
Aisha: no, why?
Amity: luz was supposed to be in therapy today but we couldnt make it, miss craig hasnt replied to me, I dunno its kind of odd
Aisha: a little bit, yeah. but she has a private life, she does these things sometimes, doubt shes upset at u if that's what got u worried, ur like her favorite lol
Amity: im not her favorite!
Aisha: ur like the only one with a key for the orb, she trusts u, since u said u guys couldnt make it to therapy she probably dozed back up to sleep, trust me, shes probably fine, we'll see her in the mornin
Amity: ok, yeah… ill wait til tomorrow then… im still not her favorite tho…
Aisha: right :b
While Amity kept messaging her friends on her phone, Luz was lost in her dreams. Gladly, her subconscious was allowing her to forget about the stabbing… but something else was infesting her mind. She found herself chasing owls or more like dark shades in the form of owls… some of them would even turn into Eda or the owlbeast.
She could hear the Eda-like shadows trying to speak at her, but no voices would come out of their mouths. The more she ran after them, the farther away they seemed. Out of a sudden, the whole sky became a cosmic field… covered in stars of all kinds. The Moon and the Sun eclipsed and she could see the face of the Collector for a brief moment before a large shadow towered over her, tall and slender, with a square shaped head that kept kicking its feet up to her. She tried to speak, but she couldn't say a single thing. She backed down and the shadow started to shrink the more steps it took… until it turned into Vee.
Then… she woke up.
Luz realized she slept more than she thought. By now, everyone was already asleep, her eyes looking to her side to find Vee laying next to her. When she slipped out of bed, she looked up to see Willow and Amity sleeping on the top bed. Then stared down at Vee, still deep asleep…
She asked herself what the dream represented… when her eyes fixed upon the Book of Death lying under the bed, she bit her lower lip and decided to see if… the Muse knew anything about it.
She grabbed the book and carefully made her way out of the room, tip-toeing all the way to the living room where she recited the words to summon the Muse and soon found herself being transported into the mirror world like before.
"Muse? Are you there?" Luz asked as she began to scan the room until she spotted the short figure wearing that same pink hoodie from before covering most of her face.
Luz gasped in surprise and landed on her butt when she saw the Muse standing so uncomfortably close to her.
"Welcome back." The Muse said with a soft chuckle.
"Don't do that! You almost caused me a heart attack!" Luz complained as she held her hand close to her chest.
"It isn't you who's weakened heart will fail… you've got plenty to do and mysteries to unveil." The Muse gave a soft laugh as she began to float around Luz. "Stabbed on the hand again, I see?"
"What do you mean by again?" Luz asked with goosebumps running through her arms.
"Never mind that. What can I do for you?" The Muse asked as she dropped on the mirror world version of Luz's couch.
"Well, I had a dream…" Luz began to explain, trying to forget the uncomfortable feeling she felt from interacting with this cosmic being.
"Oh, that! Did you like it? I put it there for you.~ " The Muse said with a large grin.
"What?! You put that dream in my head?!" An upset Luz exclaimed.
"They don't call me a Muse for nothing, y'know." The Muse rolled those glowing pink eyes around her pitch black iris before hearing the comeback from Luz.
"Are you really a Muse…?"
"Heh…" The Muse grinned, amused by the response, laughed softly and finger gunned her. "Quite a perceptive character you are…"
"You… I don't know if I really want to learn what you truly are… but you know things, right?" Luz asked, thinking of something to ask the cosmic being. "Do you know who the Ink Man is?" Luz asked as the hand that got stabbed by them began to sweat and shake a little bit.
"Ask me another question. Not that one." The Muse said.
"Huh? Why? If you know who they are… you should tell me! We've made a deal, remember!"
"I agreed to help you find a way back to the Boiling Isles. Not to reveal sensitive information that doesn't concern you." The Muse said as she got up from the couch.
"It does concern me! This Killer hurt Amity… they hurt me… they're killing people…"
"Why do you care? What has this town done for you?" The Muse said as she snapped her fingers and began to fill the room with images of Luz in the past… being made fun of by her peers at school, being scolded by those teachers who find her annoying, by those adults in the playground whispering things against her back. "Nobody cares about them. Everyone wants you to get back to the Boiling Isles. That's the main plot… forget about Midgard and focus on what's really important, opening a portal."
"Who's everyone?! What're you talking about?!" Luz said as tears streamed down her cheeks which she quickly cleaned off with her wrists. The memories clearly affected her. "I cannot let more people die while I'm still here… I know the Human Realm hasn't exactly been… supportive of me… but they do not deserve to die at the hands of a monster like the Ink Man!"
The Muse sighed in disappointment. "You're too good for your own good. As much as I like spoilers, I cannot give you what you want. But speaking about spoilers… don't you want to know what your dream is trying to tell you?" She smirked, showing off rather unsettling sharp teeth.
"What does it mean?" Luz asked, as much as she wanted to get the answers she wanted, this was just another thing that she was wondering about.
"You're close to open a portal… now that you've met the Doctor…"
"The Doctor? But he said that he couldn't open a portal just now…"
"Why? Because he made an oath? C'mon, Luz… don't be so naive. He deceived you." The Muse laughed, making Luz blush.
"Why would he lie to me…?" Luz asked, a little hurt that the man she thought was nice despite his scary looks was a liar.
"Because he has his own agenda. But not to worry, the gears are already in motion. A portal is going to open soon. You just need to wait and let it happen."
"What do you mean by letting it happen?" Luz asked in frustration at the Muse's cryptic statements.
"Your little sister, Vee. She and her friend are going to meddle in the affairs of the Doctor. She's the key to open the portal you seek." The Muse spelled it out for her, making Luz to glare at her.
"No."
"Excuse me?" The Muse asked in confusion.
"I'm not going to put my little sister in danger!"
"You only got this shot, Luz. You're running out of time. Your finale is near the corner. Don't you want to go back to Eda?" The Muse 'reasoned' with her. But backfired.
"Deal's off." Luz began to walk back to the mirror before hearing the Muse's soft chuckle.
"No, it's not. It's happening whether you like it or not."
Luz looked back at the hooded figure and cleaned a tear off her cheek. "Don't you ever get inside my mind, ever AGAIN!" Luz crossed the mirror and layed down on her couch for the rest of the night. Thinking about what exactly… can't she stop?
End of Chapter 7.
Hi, I hope you guys are reading this cause I need to let you guys know that the future chapters are going to take some time. I'm currently working on getting my degree and working on art to fill my portafolio with. I'm planning to ask for a job at a place where I did an internship. I'm not saying I will stop working on this fic, but updates are going to be slow. I must do this, I must put my life together. If you guys wanna check my stuff out, you can follow me on my social media. I'm planning to do character sheets for this fic. I wanna draw what I envision the TOH crew to be like in this AU. I also worked on a Valentine's Day Lumity piece. Thank you guys for reading. And I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you with this statement. But I truly must make some changes. Here's my social media and hope we can keep in touch!
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