AN~ I was originally going to do a lot more with An, but I don't like her so much anymore, so she's not going to be around for very long.
ANannyMouse: An is a vessel with no soul and a plot device. Daphne does not like Puck. But An is skewing a conversation where Sabrina told Bella that, while she liked Puck, she wasn't in love. Also, no on the losing thing. They got doubled. Nobody's normal, but Bella wants to be average, 'cause she's never been, and she thinks it looks more fun than being killed all the time.
Agd:I don't like her, either. She's most likely going to die.
squrriel101: Thanks! Hey, did you spell your name so that it wasn't squirrel on purpose?
Naya Lopez: Thanks much! I'll work on getting an update soon, but I can't promise anything, 'cause I have finals next week.
Over the next week, Uncle Jake came to the hesitant conclusion that An was, in fact, soulless. He wasn't positive, but the girl, though she acted like a combination of Sabrina and Daphne should, was rather distant with everyone and cruel, as if she didn't understand their feelings. Sabrina and Daphne were still weirded out by their quasi-sister, Puck and Red were avoiding her altogether, and Bella, Granny, and the parents were only being nice to her because they didn't feel like they could do otherwise.
Now they were back in school, and An was going with them. Sabrina and Daphne sat in the backseat with An between them, not by choice.
"You know, you two get along a lot better than I remember you doing." An said conversationally.
Sabrina and Daphne blinked. "Say wha?" Daphne asked.
"Most of my memories are of you two being mad at each other." An said.
"Weird, we're not usually mad at each other at the same time." Sabrina said. "Hey, An. Do any of your memories overlap? Like, do you see any scenes from both my point of view and Daphne's?"
An nodded, and Sabrina frowned thoughtfully, storing the information in her head for later. They had arrived at school, and all piled out of the car, only to be met by Pinocchio.
"Hello." He said, sounding less sullen than usual. "My father implied that it might be prudent to supply your family with yuletide merriment in the form of gifts." He held out several wrapped packages and said, "There's one for each of you."
"Oh, well, thank you, Pinocchio." Veronica said.
An peered at him and said, "I remember you."
Pinocchio nodded. "You're new. A combination of Sabrina and Daphne, it would appear from a surface analysis."
An nodded, smiling. "That's right!"
The two walked off together cheerfully, and Sabrina shook her head, unwrapping her present: a marionette that a lot like her. The rest of the family received their own, even An- something else that made Sabrina wonder- but she didn't have time to think about that, because Bella made a tch noise.
"Wassup?" Sabrina asked, looking up."
Bella pointed at An and said, "She's a ho!"
"Like, a shovel?" Daphne asked. "Did you just make up a word?"
Sabrina shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Daph. Ho's an insult."
"But what does it mean?" Daphne persisted.
Bella snickered. "Have fun explaining that one."
"I should make you define it, since you said it." Sabrina said, then, turning back to Daphne, said, "It's a word that means a girl that can't pick one boy, and it's one you should never use, 'cause it's insulting."
Daphne nodded. "OK." She seemed a bit distracted, because she was looking at the reason for Bella's pronouncement. An was flitting between Art, Tim, Pinocchio, and, rather frighteningly, Robin Hood, who was at the school to teach an archery class.
"So which one of you has the hots for Robin Hood?" Puck asked from behind the two girls.
Daphne shook her head. "Not me." She made a face. "He's old."
"Well, I don't like him, either, so..." Sabrina said. "But, Daph, technically everyone in this town is a couple hundred years old."
"Yeah, but he looks like he's our dad's age." Daphne said.
"Everybody ought to have a crush on an older guy at least once in their life. Or older lady." Bella said. "It's a rite of passage."
"A what?" Daphne asked.
"A rite is like a ritual." Sabrina explained. "So a rite of passage is something you have to do to be considered for something else:adulthood, in this case."
"Still doesn't explain why An's on top of him." Puck said. "Or Pinocchio, for that matter."
"All right, so I may have had the teensiest crush on Robin Hood when we first met him." Sabrina rolled her eyes, "But I'm over him now. But the Pinocchio thing I'm guessing is just 'cause she's smart and gets that nobody really likes her, and nobody really likes him, either. I felt bad for him."
"So if you're over him, why is she still going after him?" Daphne asked.
Sabrina blushed and shrank into her shoulders, saying, "'Cause I maybe still find him... attractive."
Bella nodded. "I'll give you that."
Red wrinkled her nose. "You can find someone cute that you don't have a crush on?"
"Heck yeah!" Bella said, "And that, my dear, is quite a nice male specimen right there."
"Hokay." Puck said loudly. "On that note, I'm leaving."
As he walked away, Daphne asked, "Why isn't she chasing after Puck? And why doesn't he get that Sabrina likes him?"
"Because I don't?" Sabrina suggested.
Bella answered seriously, saying, "She did. He turned her down, and she was all like, 'Sabrina said she doesn't love you,' which did happen, but that was taken totally out of context, and didn't mean what he thought it meant, so now he thinks you have a crush on him."
Daphne made a face. "Ew. He's like a big brother."
The conversation was ended by the ringing of the bell, and an extremely awkward day began. Very few people liked An, and even Snow, who was nice to everyone when she wasn't training them, couldn't smile at the awkward in-between girl. The one thing Sabrina and Daphne had been really worried about, becoming superfluous with a girl who was both of them present, never happened because nobody liked An except Pinocchio, who had become fast friends with the girl. It also helped that An couldn't make prophesies like they thought she could. She hadn't even gotten those powers. However, it was several days before Sabrina noticed the unusual activity around An and Pinocchio and brought it to Uncle Jake's attention.
"What's up, 'Brina?" He asked, sitting in the kitchen of the chicken house as it wound its way through town for groceries.
Sabrina took a deep breath and said, "I think An is going to join the Scarlet Hand, if she hasn't already."
Uncle Jake blinked at her. "Um, Sabrina... I don't think that makes sense. I mean, she's you and Daphne, right? So how could she be evil?"
"Look, trust me on this." Sabrina said. "I know my own mind, all right? And I'm not a great person. Anyone that's half me is going to have a dark side. Same with Daphne. Neither of us is all sunshine and butterflies. I never was, and now I'm worse. I mean, I thought about joining the Hand, to save the family. And..." She took a deep breath. "I think your spell was tampered with. So that she got Daphne's and my darkest parts."
"Back up a minute." Uncle Jake requested. "What?"
"I know the thing was an accident." Sabrina said. "Making her. But I've been asking her about her memories, and she got all my bad memories. There are some good ones, too, but every time I was angry, or hurt, or scared, she got. And Daphne said the same thing. What are the odds of that?"
Uncle Jake took a deep breath and sighed. "All right, I'll trust you on this. I'm also almost positive that she doesn't have a soul. I've been looking for a spell to undo her yet, and I think I'm down to my last options- I'll need you to come with me, though."
"Why?" Sabrina asked.
"Two reasons." Uncle Jake said. "One, just in case you're needed for the spell, and two, because it's Morgan Le Fay, and I don't trust myself around her, but I do trust her more than Bunny, who was my other choice."
"Oh." Sabrina said. "That makes sense. Hey, just out of curiosity, where did you get that spell?"
"Out of one of Baba Yaga's books, the dangerous ones Granny's been keeping in Mirror." Uncle Jake said.
When they got home, they were met by a crowd in the living room, centering around an unhappy Ghepetto.
"What happened?" Sabrina asked, rushing into the living room.
"My boy." Ghepetto sobbed. "He is gone!"
"Pinocchio and An have both gone missing." Granny explained.
Uncle Jake grabbed Granny's arm, then nodded at Daphne, Henry, and Veronica. They all followed him into the kitchen. Sabrina stayed behind 'cause she already knew what they were going to talk about. The news that Pinocchio was a traitor was sad, but not surprising. Maybe if Ghepetto hadn't treated him like a child all the time, he wouldn't have left. She tried to help Bella and Red comfort him while Puck watched, all of them waiting for the others to return.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Granny came up to Ghepetto and said, "We think An has joined the Scarlet Hand and dragged Pinocchio along with her."
Ghepetto started sobbing again.
Granny continued, "Don't worry, we'll get your son back, I swear. Jake is taking the two girls to look for a solution right now."
Uncle Jake nodded, and Sabrina and Daphne stood to follow him. Veronica joined them, and Henry tried to, but he was stopped.
Veronica shook her head at him. "Uh-uh, buddy. I'm not having you go to Morgana's house. You know what she does to men."
Henry sighed, but relented. He was replaced by Briar and Granny, though, who, in unison said, "We're coming, too."
"I'll stay here with these three and hold down the fort." Henry said, resigned.
The others ran out to the chicken house leaving the three everafter children and Henry with Ghepetto, then sent the house full speed ahead to Morgan Le Fay's house.
"What did you guys say that got Dad so accepting?" Sabrina asked. "I thought he would have argued against Daphne and me going."
"An knows almost all our secrets." Daphne said. "And Dad knows that if those get out, then we're not going to be safe."
Sabrina nodded. "That's true enough, I guess. Oh gosh. Oh gosh! She knows where Charming's for is! We have to tell them!"
Daphne pulled out her sword- Sabrina didn't have one anymore: hers, Puck's, and Red's had all been captured by the Scarlet Hand- but Daphne could still use hers. She ran her finger over the jewel and said, "Dad."
Henry's face appeared in the gem. "What is it, sweetie?" He asked.
"You have to get in touch with the fort." Daphne said. "An knows where it is, and she could tell, and they have to be ready!"
Henry nodded. "I'll send Puck out there as a warning."
The connection cut off, and Daphne was left saying, "I love you," to a gemstone.
Veronica put her arm around her shoulder. "You can tell him when you get home."
"But what if I don't get home?" Daphne asked, and suddenly she was wailing into her mother's shirt. "What if we die? Or get kidnapped like Sabrina did? What if I never get to tell him I love him again?"
The others stared at Daphne as she cried, confused about where this had come from.
"What?" Daphne sniffed, seeing them looking at her. "Do you think I don't know how dangerous this is? I know we could die. I see it every. Day! I try to stop seeing the future, but I can't, and half the time it's someone dead, and I hate it! I just want this to be over."
Sabrina leaned in and hugged Daphne, too. "That's not what I was staring for,you know. I was kind of wondering where that came from, actually."
"Me, too." Uncle Jake volunteered.
"Oh." Daphne giggled wetly. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I've just been so stressed, with An, and with school, and Art and Tim and everything."
"I didn't know you were feeling stressed." Sabrina said. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I dunno." Daphne shrugged. "I guess I thought you had enough to worry about."
"Daphne." Veronica said, squatting down to her daughter's level and putting a hand on the nearby couch to steady herself in the rocking chicken house, "You can always tell us about anything that's worrying you, OK?"
Daphne nodded. "It's just... I don't want to tell you when I see you dead, 'cause you'll all freak out, and that might be why you die. Ms. White told us about self-fulfilling prophesies in school, and I don't want you to think that just 'cause I saw you dead once it means you'll die. Usually it doesn't happen, anyway."
"But if it's worrying you so much..." Granny said.
Daphne shook her head. "Normally I can deal with it, it's just the other stuff on top of everything."
"What other stuff?" Sabrina asked.
Daphne looked around at the others in the room and said, "I'll tell you later, OK?"
Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
"Good, 'cause we're here." Uncle Jake said, as the chicken house wobbled to a halt.
They all climbed out of the house and into Morgan's apartment building. Briar knocked on the door cautiously.
"This is so dangerous." Briar told them. "There could be an ambush waiting for us inside. We should have called her and asked her to come over to help us out, instead of turning up uninvited."
"She'll probably need her stuff to do the spell." Granny said. "If, of course, she can."
"Where will we try if she can't?" Sabrina asked.
"Bunny, I guess." Veronica shrugged. "Or The Three."
"Aren't most of them in the Scarlet Hand?" Briar asked.
"She's taking her time to answer the door." Daphne noticed. "Maybe we should knock again."
But at that moment, the door swung open and Morgan peered out. "Oh, hello." She said with a smile. "I was afraid you were Hand."
Sabrina elbowed Daphne and said, "So much for seeing the future, huh?"
Daphne stuck her tongue out at Sabrina and walked into Morgan's apartment, nose in the air.
"So." Morgan said, once they were all in the living room. "What brings you here? I assume it's not just a social visit?"
"No, it's not." Uncle Jake said. "Have you heard about our situation?"
"Which one?" Morgan asked.
"He used a spell in one of Baba Yaga's books, but it was tampered with, and instead of getting the desired result, we got a nightmare." Granny said.
"Oh, the An girl." Morgan said knowledgeably. "Yes, I'd heard about her."
"Well, we were wondering if you might have a spell that could unmake it." Veronica said.
"We're almost positive she doesn't have a soul, and that it won't be killing someone." Uncle Jake said. "She acts like a copy of Sabrina and Daphne, not like the two of them together."
"I might be able to find something." Morgan said. "Why now, though?"
"She disappeared, and we think she ran off to join the Scarlet Hand." Sabrina said wearily.
"Oh." Morgan said, and Sabrina was forever grateful that she didn't ask why they thought that. Maybe Morgan had thought about joining, too.
Morgan bustled off to another room and returned a few minutes later with a tray full of mugs and a stack of musty-looking books.
"Here." She said. "It's cold, even for January. Have a drink while I look. I might have some cookies, too, if you're hungry."
"Hungry?" Daphne asked. "Of course!"
Morgan laughed. "I'll go get the cookies, then."
"I'll help you!" Uncle Jake said, jumping up. "I mean, with researching, not with cookies. I could help you get cookies, too, but I think you'd rather I help with research. It's probably harder, and... I'm going to sit down now."
"Smart." Briar said dryly. "I'll help you, Morgan. Jake will sit in a different room than you and try to control his hormones."
Morgan laughed a little and said, "Sorry. I don't mean to do it."
Three boxes of cookies and two hours later, Morgan came back into the room holding a book. "Found it!" She called triumphantly.
"Good." Sabrina said. "I keep thinking about how much trouble she could cause in this time."
"Do we need her here for it?" Uncle Jake asked.
"No, it's just an undo." Morgan assured him. "All you have to do is read it backwards."
"Why couldn't they have written it backwards?" Daphne asked, brow wrinkling.
"Too simple." Sabrina said.
Uncle Jake read it, then asked, "How... how do we know it worked?"
"We don't." Morgan said. "But if the Scarlet Hand suddenly knows all your secrets, then we will. Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask, what did you want that spell for?"
"We've been trying to find my third child." Veronica said. "We think the Scarlet Hand has him... her."
"Well, why didn't you say something sooner?" Morgan asked. "I have a spell that can do that!"
