Voodoo Curse
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 14 (Tangled Knots)
Their bodies lay strewn out on the floor before them after half an hour of Nona's careful magic to move the skeletons. Jade and Beck were holding each other on the couch, staring in terror and confusion at the bones as their best friend remained green and with his hands clutching his abdomen.
"Erwin?" Beck looked up at his sickly friend, his voice was quiet and wavering. "Why did you do this? What were you intending?" Their daughters turned to the elder man without any judgment in their eyes.
"I've been depressed a long time," Erwin replied softly. "I've really let myself go, as you can see." He extended his arms, scoffing under his breath. "I couldn't stop thinking about you guys. I hit my lowest point this year, your anniversary came around and everything was falling apart for me…I just had to have you guys back somehow."
He ran his hand over his bald head and started pacing. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know-I didn't know any of this was going to happen. I wasn't thinking."
Nona was kneeling beside the skeletons, examining them carefully. "Look at it this way," the woman stated so abruptly that everyone turned to her. "Your dabbling in what you didn't understand has opened a door, a door which allows your two best friends to be saved."
"How?"
"It's going to take a while to gather the energy and the materials I need." Nona folded her hands onto her knees and pushed herself up slow. Jade started to shake with fear and anxiety as she looked towards her potential rescuer. "I have to reverse a few of the rituals, but at the end of the day, Beck and Jade…your souls-or I should say memories-will have to be sent back through the tunnels of time after all of this."
She became numb with worry and confusion. None of this was making sense, and while Nona was trying to help, she wasn't explaining things clear enough for her to understand what was going on.
"I don't-I'm not understanding. I don't understand any of this."
"Okay." Nona took a deep breath and cast a downward glance at the skeletons. "I can reverse the transformation spell. I can undo your sister's sleeping spell and awaken you, and I can reattach you two to the skeletons, making you both whole again." Nona looked back at them and closed her hands together. "Unfortunately as of right now your souls have been so corrupted and damaged that you will never truly be complete. You will basically be a notch above zombies and a hair above your sister's friend, Gary."
She clutched her chest and felt the muscles in Beck tighten beside her as he started to cringe. Nona pulled her wrists behind her back and clicked her tongue. "Upon reversing the transformation spell, you will be returned to the age you were-thirty-not forty five."
"What happens then?"
"One of two things, or both. Your bodies and mind will age so rapidly that you become nothing more than mindless horrors…or the minute you step outside of this house, you will turn to dust."
"Oh." She began to breathe heavily; the lungs inside her skeleton inflated and deflated so rapidly that the created a whistling noise that drew everyone's attention. "Is that all?" Beck grew stiff and Erwin shook his head suddenly.
"I don't get it," the man yelled, "I'm still waiting to hear how I did was good for them."
"Because, dabbler." Nona approached and put her hands on his shoulder while looking into his frantic eyes. "You've given them a second chance. You awakened their memories-even in fleshy corpses-and allowed their souls to thrive once more." His forehead wrinkled and he spread his arms out.
"But if after all that you've done, they're still confined to this house-"
"All that will be necessary-their minds and spirits must be whole for what I intend." Nona whisked her hands away and shook her hand beside her head. "I must gather the energy to send their spirits through the ripples of time, placing them into their bodies just before Holly's ritual occurs."
"How will that save them?" Trina inquired. Tori nodded fervently and Nona rolled her eyes.
"They will remember. They will remember this life, this time, everything that has happened to them will have happened to them as if they were truly sent forward in time." Jade opened her lips in an oval and clutched Beck's hand as a sense of hope swelled within her. "They can change what happens to them, they can stop it. As long as they do not drink the mixture that Holly gives to them."
"Then-then won't that affect time?" Tori hurried over to Nona, looking at her sister and the others. "That will affect all of us. This life we've known? None of it will happen!"
"If it is meant to happen, it will happen girl."
She heard a gasp and her eyes flew over to Trina, who was grabbing Jason's hand as though she finally realized what that meant. Her heart sank and she bowed her head, wondering if it was truly right for her to go through with this.
"I don't have any doubts or any regrets." Jason's voice filled her ears and she raised her eyes to the man. He was gazing tenderly at his girlfriend, holding her hand in his as the tears filled the girls eyes. "Trina, you and Tori have wanted to know and be with your mom and dad all your lives…if that means sending them back in time to change what happened to them, so be it. If that means you and your sister will be happy, that's what I want."
"But-what if we're not together?"
"What if we are?" He smiled with confidence and gently pushed his fingers through her hair. "If we're meant to be together, then it doesn't matter what timeline happens, we'll find each other."
"I love you, Jason."
"I love you." He kissed her forehead and Nona crossed her arms.
The woman smiled patiently but narrowed her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to need some of you guys to leave the room. I want as much of the appropriate energies in this room."
Beck raised his hand and Nona glanced at him. "What will you do?" She rolled her head to the left, then moved it to the right. Her soft hum drifted into the air and her eyes drifted towards the ceiling.
"Quite simply I am going to attempt to combine you to the skeleton corpses now. It is the only way to undo what your friend has done. At that point, I must awaken the two of you in order to undo what your sister has done. Then finally I must reverse the transformation spell, thus returning you to your thirty year old selves and helping you to regain what memories you may have forgotten."
"Oh." He gripped his throat and a nervous chuckle left his lips. "That sounds…terrifying."
"Yes well, everything must be done correctly. So I will need the best concentration possible." Nona tapped Jade under the chin. Her gentle smile soothed her nerves and started to relieve her of her fear. "When you have returned to the appropriate time, in your appropriate bodies, I want you to find me."
"You?" Jade shrugged and looked to Beck, then back to Nona. "Why you? You won't be aware of what happens in the future will you?"
"No, but I want you to tell me everything that has happened to you. I will help properly release the hold that your sister may have put on that Gary fellow. I will also help you to talk to Holly if need be. I am a retired counselor, after all."
Nona walked towards the skeletons and turned her head to Trina and Tori. "Now. I'm going to need breaks between each of these rituals that I perform, which means once I undone the corpse spell your teacher has performed on your parents, and returned their spirits and flesh to these bones, they will be sleeping still…under the influence of your aunt's spell. If you wish to speak with them, now is the time."
"Great."
Jade forced a smile as the tears in her eyes spilled out onto her cheeks. She extended her arms as her daughters approached and hugged her tight. Nona ushered her granddaughter and Erwin out of the room, leaving only Jason in case Trina wanted him by her side.
"This is all happening so fast," Tori said with a single breath. "I had my feelings but I didn't think it anything more than a coincidence." Jade tilted her head and watched the mist form in her children's eyes. "Trina and I-we've seen pictures obviously. Albums our grandfathers showed us…pictures Aunt Holly had in shoeboxes in the closet. I didn't think anything of it at first."
"Me either," Trina replied shakily, "Not until that music box and that lullaby of yours. I remembered granddad's picture book and I knew your names. I thought it was impossible until Jason said his uncle went through with some ritual…I knew he used to be your friend, and I wondered, I hoped this wasn't true."
Trina choked on her breath. "I-" She put an arm around Tori's shoulders. "We have so many questions. If this doesn't work…"
"Then you deserve answers," Beck replied. Jade hugged her daughters harder, still unable to speak. She was petrified over the thought that Nona might be unable to truly save them, leaving their daughters with so much grief. No matter how confident Nona seemed, there was always that chance for failure.
She took a sharp and sudden breath and raised a trembling hand to Tori's cheeks. "Don't ever hate your aunt." She spoke tenderly, hoping her children would listen to her. They bowed their heads and closed their eyes; their hands tightened and the veins in them bulged from the surface. "She was only angry, blinded by her anger. I did something wrong, I betrayed her trust."
"She did this to you."
"She didn't imagine this outcome, she didn't want this outcome. Tori. Trina." She took their hands, holding them with her left, and folded her right hand over them. "Holly loves both of you, so does David. Beck and I have always wanted her to care for you if something happened to us. She regrets what she did, I've seen that when I've spoken with her…I know it's hard, but you have to forgive her."
"Your mom's right." The girls looked at Beck and he mustered up a faint smile. "If Nona can't save us." His voice cracked. "Then I know it'll be hard, but you have to find it in your hearts to forgive your aunt, forgive your uncle."
"It's not fair." Tori whimpered and sniffled while wiping her cheeks with her fingers. "It's like we just met you, and now we don't even get a chance to know you."
"Oh sweetie." Jade curled her fingers and caressed Tori's cheek gently with her knuckles. "Even if Nona's plan fails, we'll always be with you. If it works, then we'll have our entire lives."
"There's so little time, and we have so much we want to tell you. So much we want to talk to you about."
"I know sweetheart."
The family hugged once more, holding each other as time passed, sharing their life in the silence. Eventually Nona returned, placing a gentle maternal hand on Jade's shoulder.
Her heart leapt from her chest and she turned her gaze to the wiser woman while taking a deep and trembling breath. "It is time," Nona whispered.
Beck separated from Trina, still holding her hands. He flashed a genuine smile and looked towards Jason. "One second, Nona." The woman's shoulders fell and she nodded as Beck motioned Jason over. "Jason, I trust you'll be here for Trina?"
Jason smiled and nodded. "You have my word, sir. I will stay by her side through everything." Trina wrapped her arm around Jason's and laid her head onto his shoulder.
Beck wiped a tear from his eyes and choked back on a sob. "That is my daughter. She's grown to be a remarkable woman, even without us being here. I've missed fifteen years of her life, but I love her just the same." He looked to Jason closely and pressed his lips together. "Take care of her. Be there for her like she needs you to be. Make each other happy, treat her as she deserves to be treated…"
"I will, sir."
"And one final thing." Beck took a deep breath and folded his hands over his stomach. "If Robbie and Andre come around, if those two get out of line, give them an extra punch or two." Jason flashed a smirk and laughed once.
"Yes sir."
"Oh, and Erwin?" Beck's chest expanded and his eyebrows came together as Erwin lowered his somber gaze onto him. "We forgive you, okay?" Erwin smiled faintly and sniffled. "We know you didn't do anything out of malice, but your ritual also gave us a second chance…you will always be our dearest friend, no matter what."
"Thank you," Erwin stammered. "I'll miss you."
"You don't have to be alone," Jade replied, "You're a teacher. You know what that means. You have your students, you have people who look up to you. Don't ever feel like you're alone, because you're not."
Nona waited a few moments before ensuring everything was done and shuffling the others out of the room entirely. "Okay." She approached them and raised her eyebrows. "Time for the first step. If this works, you should wake up attached to your actual bodies. It may be a day or two, since this takes a lot of energy. Are the two of you ready?"
"We are." Jade grabbed Beck's hand, tightening her fingers with his. She closed her head and bit down on her lip as Nona began her incantment.
A rush of air spun around them like a tornado, seemingly lifting them from the couch. Jade's mouth fell open and she gasped as a sharp and sudden sensation jolted through her body.
Euphoria and calmness washed over her, filling her with a sense of bliss as her mind went blank and her consciousness drifted away. She was terrified, but she also trusted Nona and was confident the woman would be able to help them. Now, all that was left to do was wait.
Step one here, let's hope Nona truly can aid them. What are your thoughts with everything here? With what Sikowitz said, the discussion with their daughters, and so forth?