Ellen suddenly felt another chill in the air causing her to break out in goose bumps. However, she only needed to look forward to figure out the cause. The abomination that attacked her was permeating the room in a cold mist. As if to make matters worse, it was blocking the only open exit from the foyer and the temperature was dropping by the minute. In fact, it was so cold she was sure she saw ice crystals forming with each breath she took. With limited options left to her, Ellen stayed where she was and pulled her knees in tighter to her chest for warmth. As much as she hated it, she had no choice but to believe in her former 'friend.'

Viola stood a few feet in front of the blonde. If the giant-sized limb went after Ellen, she was close enough to be able to protect her. However, if it instead decided to fight her directly, she was far enough away that the blonde wouldn't get caught up in the fight. The only thing left was to wait for her opponent to make a move.

From Ellen's point of view, she could only see Viola's back in full profile which in some ways made her even more of an enigma than before. Her long purple locks acted as a natural curtain revealing certain sections of her back. Every piece of clothing she had on seemed to be connected into one intricate outfit by nothing more than pairs of leather straps and a racy black and pink color scheme. For everything she was wearing, she certainly wasn't covering much. It was a wonder how Viola could stand there unperturbed despite the drastic drop in temperature. If the blonde was being honest, for these few fleeting moments she thought Viola was pretty cool.

Viola placed her right hand on her hip and rhythmically tapped her left foot on the marble floor, the sound echoing throughout the room. The plain look on her face told the whole story; she was bored and starting to get impatient. As if to respond to this, the shadow hand closed its finger like appendages and balled itself into a fist. Viola smirked anticipating the battle to come. After a brief moment of silence, the giant fist launched itself into one final strike to take both of girls out at once. The fist made contact with a resounding thud, but just before the impact Viola raised her left hand in front of her stopping the punch. Her initial excitement for the battle lost as she slowly started to realize this was most likely the extent of the creature's power. With a dejected sigh, she effortlessly knocked it back into the foyer wall. It attempted to move again, but having exhausted most of its energy collapsed on the ground.

"Are you done already? I had hoped you would at least be able to amuse me, but I guess this is the best a shadow entity can do." In a bright flash of light, a broad bladed katana appeared in Viola's right hand. She walked towards her prey in a very methodical manner drawing out every bit of anticipation she could from the moment. With a flick of her wrist, the blade extended itself like a snake and cracked against the ground like a whip. A very dark aura started to emanate from Viola as she took on a more sadistic and cold expression. "That being said, I'm not nearly satisfied with this. I hope you're ready for round two because I'm about to carve into your body exactly what it means to break the rules of the Witch's House."

Ellen thought there was nothing else Viola could do that would surprise her anymore, but she was wrong. What she was witnessing her 'friend' do now was something she never thought possible. Viola was committing an act of cruelty towards another being granted it was evil, but still. The crack of her snake-like sword could be heard as its bladed edge dug deep leaving bright pink gashes in the large shadow hand's body. Ellen could see it twitch indicating it was feeling each and every strike the super witch inflicted upon it. Fixating her gaze on Viola, a mixture of child-like curiosity over took her. Having committed her own fair share of sins, it felt strange watching this scene play out before her. Is this how she looked each time she fulfilled her contract to feed the demon the souls? Is this how she looked in the eyes of the people she killed? As she continued to mull over her thoughts, one thing became clear. Viola had far exceeded anything Ellen imagined a witch was capable of.

The few minutes it took Viola to torture her victim had seemed like hours. She mutilated the creature till it ceased movement altogether signifying that it probably lost consciousness. "Truly disappointing… In the end, you couldn't even serve as a decent punching bag. Oh, well. I guess the only thing left to do is put an end to your miserable existence." Viola's katana extended and coiled around the entity's body as it lied motionless on the ground. Stringing it up like a piñata, she used her snake-like blade as a multi-layered noose and pulled on it with all her strength. Keeping up the pressure, she completely shredded through her victim. A loud bang could be heard and much like a balloon, it popped leaving in its wake a black puddle pooling on the floor which seemed to amuse Viola. "At the very least you finished with a bang… hmm…? What's that?" Amidst all the carnage, she noticed a small golden light.

The darkness that had flooded the foyer had disappeared and the temperature started to return to normal. Ellen felt her body start to warm up and no longer was her breath visible. Trying to hasten the process, she remained in her huddled position. She took comfort in the fact that it was an outside influence after her life and Viola of all people had saved her. It meant that she could at least believe her words even if she was the one that brought her here against her will in the first place.

"Ellen…?"

In the time she took to space out, Viola had already finished her task and was now towering over her. No matter how many times she saw the violet-haired woman, the outfit she wore combined with her overwhelming presence continued to startle her. In fact, seeing her in full profile up close was a terrifying experience in its own right. "Y-Yes…?"

"Oh, did I scare you?" Viola teased.

Ellen did her best to put on a brave face. "Who'd be scared of you!?"

"Ribbit…"

"That sound…" Looking closely Ellen noticed Viola a small golden glowing orb cupped in her hands. "A frog…?"

"That's right."

"Ribbit…"

As if understanding what the frog was saying, Viola translated. "He says you fed him to a snake and poisoned his children with blood five years ago. I knew you were heartless, but…"

Ellen wasn't in the mood to be lectured after witnessing what her 'friend' did a few moments ago. "I don't want to hear that from you!"

"That so…?" Viola turned her attention to the small animal spirit in her hands. "You should pass on. I'm sure your family is waiting for you."

"Ribbit…"

"Don't worry about that. Just leave her fate to me."

Satisfied with that response, the frog disappeared from this world and passed onto the next. A moment of silence passed as both women considered their next move. Ellen was still recovering from the effects the day's events had on her while her 'friend' seemed content with the awkward silence. Deciding it was better to at least strike up a conversation, the blonde called out to her. "Viola…?"

"Hmm…?"

Ellen finally got her attention, but now was the tough part. She wanted answers, but trying to get a straight answer from Viola was nigh impossible especially when the person in question seems to enjoy teasing her far more than anything else. On top of that, Viola could essentially do anything she wanted to her on a whim. After witnessing a fragment of her power firsthand, Ellen knew she had no possible defense against it. She was out of the frying pan, but now she had to go into the fire. "I'm grateful to you for saving my life, but why did you do it?"

"Why you ask…? I wonder, who was it that yelled 'how could she pay attention to that brat more than me' at the top of her lungs again? You do realize Dawn is ten years old?"

"You… heard me…?"

"I believe I said this already, but there's nothing in the Witch's House that goes on without my knowing about it. The walls act as both my eyes and ears. Now that I'm here, shall I pay even more attention to you?"

It was just as Ellen had feared. Viola was going to make her move. She had to think. What could she possibly say to convince her to stop? Of course, that girl was here too. Surely she wouldn't risk attempting something with that child still in the house. "Um… I'm all right, really… More importantly, you should head back. Dawn is probably wondering where you are right now."

Viola giggled at her response. Seeing how helpless and desperate she looked only made her want to mess with her even more. "Don't worry about her, we're playing hide and seek right now and she's really good at hiding. So it wouldn't be strange if it took an hour or two to find her would it?"

"That completely contradicts what you just said!" Ellen countered.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your current predicament? The way things stand now, I won't be able to hold myself back any longer."

Ellen felt a sudden chill run up her spine and broke out in a cold sweat. She had no idea what Viola was thinking, but if what she did to that monster was any indication as to her own fate then maybe she was better off not knowing. Even as the blonde sat there frozen from a completely new feeling of terror, her stubbornness wouldn't allow her to give in. "I'm not scared…"

Time seemed to stop as Viola closed the distance between them. She slowly came down to her level placing her hand on the blonde's cheek. "Come now, Ellen. You can say whatever you want, but just look at yourself. You're trembling with anticipation."

"That's not true…"

Viola had Ellen right where she wanted, shaking like a leaf and helpless before her. Just one more push and she would be hers. "Here, let me warm you up." The violet-haired woman wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her into an embrace.

"Viola…" A mixture of conflicting emotions erupted from Ellen's core. She knew Viola had to be up to something, but at the same time being hugged like this reminded her of how they were five years ago. When she was in her sickly body, Viola would often use her own body heat to warm her up. She smiled at the memory. Despite being in each other's bodies now, Ellen couldn't deny how good it felt to be in Viola's arms again. Maybe it was time to give in? She was worn out from the day's events and Viola's chest did make for a nice warm pillow to rest her head on. Wait, why was she letting Viola have her way? It was her fault she was back here, her fault she felt like this. So, why was it getting harder and harder to resist her?

Viola had a good idea of what was going through the blonde's head right now, but she decided to ask anyway if only just to create another opportunity to tease her. "What's the matter Ellen? You've been extremely quiet. Is there something on your mind?"

"First you kidnap me, then you ignore me, and now you save me? You have all this power. You could have anything you want. So why are you going so far for me? You're clearly not after revenge and I doubt you're doing this just because of our past friendship. So what exactly do you what want from me? How am I supposed to know what you want if you keep saying one thing and doing the exact opposite? I don't understand you at all."

Viola considered Ellen's words and realized as fun as it was to tease her, it wouldn't get her any closer to accomplishing her goal. "I guess I have been sending you mixed signals. Very well, I'll tell you real reason I brought you back here." Viola pulled Ellen into an even tighter embrace bringing her lips down to the blonde's ear as she finally voiced her true intentions. "I want you to make a contract with me."

AN: This chapter turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated and for that reason I decided to cut it short just to keep each chapter a consistent length. The shadow was revealed to be the frog which I assumed became an evil spirit after Ellen fed him to the snake. Currently working on Chapter 4 where I will reveal what Viola means by the word 'contract' and more.