Chapter 2: The Witch
After buying some candies from the nearby sweet shop, Wander decided to pick some flowers on his way home. He knew Sylvia tended to appreciate the occasional bouquet of flowers. Also, he knew that picking flowers would provide the perfect distraction. (He had already munched on three of the candies.)
"Sylvia's gonna love these flowers and sweets!" He could not stop himself from opening the lid of the maroon, heart-shaped box and popping another delectable treat into his mouth. "Mm, vanilla!"
He finished picking flowers and headed home. But then, a charcoal black vortex appeared out of nowhere, and Dee sprang from it, glowering nastily. Not looking twice, Wander scrambled behind a rock. He watched a little anxiously as she marched up to the entrance of his house and banged on the door.
"Open up! Open - " Gram answered with a neutral frown.
"We don't want any. So scram, you dirty hobo!" She almost slammed the door shut, but Dee caught it with her foot.
"I am here for the wandering weirdo." Dorothy and Sylvia emerged behind their elder.
"What?" Wander, Dorothy, and Sylvia asked in unison.
Dee huffed impatiently. "His kind has tried to serenade me with their pathetic ideas of love and friendship for the last time! So I am here to destroy him, like my family destroyed his worthless family!"
"Wha..." Wander held his head, feeling a migraine approach. Then, he had a vision...
"This is a mistake."
"No, it's his best chance, or he will suffer our same fate."
The vision ended, and Wander shook his head until the world spun. Then, as soon as the blurriness was gone, Wander saw Sylvia approaching Dee with clenched fists.
Dee, however, was far from intimidated. "Just give him to me," Dee ordered haughtily.
Sylvia just spat at the ground. "Over my dead body."
"That can be done." With a flick of her small wrist, Dee transformed Dorothy, Gram, and the three brothers into frogs. Then, from her thin lips, she blew a silver bubble that grew so gargantuan it held Sylvia hostage. Meanwhile, Wander gaped in amazement from his hiding place. Dee was certainly acting malevolently, but she was also impressively powerful, like the galaxy's best magician.
Somehow that didn't put Wander at ease.
Dee watched in amusement as Sylvia struggled to break her scintillating prison. "You're the intrusive zbornak who accompanied that little imp!" Her giggles died down and she turned serious again. "Come on out, dork, or your friend gets it!" To prove her point, Dee snapped her fingers, and the bubble ensnaring Sylvia suddenly shrunk until Sylvia was gasping for breath.
"Hmm... I wonder what would happen if the bubble got a teeny tiny bit smaller... Maybe a heart condition? Ooh, maybe your bones will break and -"
"No! Don't!" Wander ran from his spot and shielded Sylvia. "Please, don't!"
Dee grinned menacingly once she laid eyes on him. She quickly popped Sylvia's bubble and zapped Wander, holding him in place. As painful as the sudden, electrifying zap was, Wander was beyond grateful that Sylvia was okay. And, he quickly observed that the rest of his family members were no longer frogs.
"Don't worry, Wander! I'm coming!" Sylvia wasted no time and rushed to him. But all Dee had to do was snap her fingers, allowing a force field to surround her and Wander.
Dee cackled with glee as she held Wander still. But to her dismay, Wander looked only a little frightened, but he mostly looked inquisitive.
"What is wrong with you?! I'm about to -"
"You..." Wander cocked his head at her. "You knew my... family? And destroyed them?"
Dee relished his sudden sadness and removed her sunglasses, revealing bright, bloodthirsty red eyes. "Actually, my parents did all that. I'm just here to finish their job."
"Why?"
His innocent question infuriated her. "Why? Why?! I think it should be obvious! You're obnoxious, I'm a witch, so bippity boppity bye-bye beee-itch!" Wander then felt a creeping, burning sensation. "And now..."
Knowing this was probably the end, Wander mouthed 'I love you' to his family and smiled warmly at them. He did not want them to think he was suffering. Actually, he felt fine. Although he was a little frightened, and the experience was far from pleasant, Wander knew it'd all be over soon.
Besides, death was just another chance to wander over yonder.
The pain abruptly stopped, and Wander opened his eyes, startled. Dee was staring at him contemplatively with cold, crimson eyes. Then, Wander was released from his confines and landed right in her tight grasp.
"I'm not gonna kill you."
Wander stared at her solemnly. "You're... not?" She had a change of heart that quickly, huh? Guess I was wrong to fret even a bit -
"No." She gave him a wicked smile. She zapped Wander again. Only this time, he felt no pain. "I'm gonna let you suffer in another universe alone..." She glanced at his family. "Without them."
The whole family of zbornaks protested and slammed their bodies against the force field, watching helplessly as Wander started to hyperventilate.
"W-Without my family? What?" Years ago, little Wander was used to wandering on his own. But then Sylvia found him, and he found home. So he had never been too far without his family for so long, and an alternate universe without them seemed cold and empty. Worse than death.
"No! No, please! Just kill me! It's quicker!"
"Oh, but where's the fun in that? It's the slow, painful processes that are really juicy."
"But... They're all I have!"
"Oh..." Dee pouted mockingly and opened another vortex. Only this time, this vortex was iridescent with the complex worlds of the interdimension.
"Then what do you have to live for?" Dee asked Wander with feigned sadness, giggling as his head drooped. "Without them, you're just a dorky, naive simpleton. With no home and no name."
Sylvia yelled a series of obscenities and hit the force field so hard that Dee and Wander shook from inside of it. Irked, Dee sent her flying and approached the interdimensional hole.
"Say goodbye to this galaxy, Wander, and say hello to one without your precious family!" And with one last evil, condescending laugh, Dee threw him carelessly into the vortex.
Author's Note: Man, Dee/Dominator's nasty! Anyway, please review!
