Chapter Nine: The Eye of God
"...It has been like that for ages. The two sides of the coin. They are destined to fight in silence for eternity."
"Wixy" the Altermeere knew rough like very few. Over a decade ago, Nerissa had created her to replace Will in secrecy. Then, just when she and Will had smoothed everything out, she had been killed by the hag. Merged with Will, so that she could "live on" through her. But that had been primarily in words. She had lived on.
In her dreams.
A big part of Wixy had soaked into the Heart of Kandrakar, instead of in the keeper, so it had been an unpleasant surprise, even if she wasn't sent to the astral world and oblivion like she feared. She had lived somewhere within the many secrets of the jewel. That's why the other guardians had managed to call her back to fill in for their friend when she had vanished. But that was not the life Wixy wanted for herself. Neither that stupid name, in general, but it was likely too late to change that. It was too late for a lot of things now that she and her "brother", the younger Altermeere of William Collins were under the patronage of the enemy.
Quite honestly, supporting any enemy of those ungrateful, rude girls from WITCH was to her liking much more than doing anything else for them. It would be her vengeance. Her justice. She had grown to hate them even more during the last half a year. They had given her Will's appearance and this name. Wixy. But they had never given her a chance to live. To Cornelia and the other bitches, she was just a pawn. A slave who had no rights. No voice. Nothing had changed in all these years. Except that Nerissa, her original creator, and murderer, was there to add to her sufferings. That was too much to endure in emotional and mental pain, even for an Altermeere.
Altermeeres are energy beings. But energy beings develop feelings and human thoughts and characteristics faster than any other entity, especially when infused with quintessence and made "living Altermeeres". They are actual living beings with feelings, emotions, and memories. After all these years, failing to understand that was astonishing on the so-called guardians' part.
"Where is she? We've been waiting at this remote, abandoned train station for hours."- William's Altermeere complained and looked around himself.
He and his sister had both received glamouring magic that helped them change appearances and move around town, undetected. But they had come here in their original forms - as identical copies of Will and William.
They were currently in Opal Hill, not in Heahterfield, as it was still too risky to roam the city where someone could somehow manage to recognize them. By their distinctive magical auras for example.
Wixy rested against one old derailed train and shrugged:
"Do we have anything better to do?"
"I actually do. And I prefer it big time in front of being forced to serve the fucking Council of Kandrakar or anyone else for that matter!"- the teenager hissed. "I found a girlfriend, you know. A new life in this city, away from the motherfucking guardians and all their drama. I want to keep this new life!"
"Then you know that we will only be allowed to keep our new lives and identities if we remain loyal to her."- Wixy pointed out and shook her head.
She could understand him. He hadn't existed for as many years as her and he wasn't that big on bearing grudges. Whereas she wanted to destroy the guardians...he just wanted his new page. Perhaps he was smarter and more practical than her or perhaps he had already caused enough havoc in William Collins's life in Heatherfield and was now over his troublemaker phase.
Regardless, it was all in her hands. The Matchmaker, as she called herself. A mysterious powerful female who had broken them out of their cages in the hag's house. She provided them with magic and resources of all sorts, and they were free to do whatever they wanted as the new people she had helped them become. But when she called them, they were forced to obey and report to her at once. Today was one of those days when the Matchmaker needed a favor in return:
"The Matchmaker owns us, yeah, but for how long? Is this a forever commitment?"- the boy snorted. "Because Altermeeres don't just die of old age and that's-"
"As long as I need you, Bogus-William."
The Matchmaker, Wixy gulped as her brother unwittingly pressed his back against her in trepidation. The way she had just appeared a few feet behind him made him shiver...
Today she wore dark red. A neoprene bodysuit and flat boots, long gloves, and a cape made of something more ethereal. As always, she had her neoprene skin-tight hood and that creepy faceless skin-colored mask. Her looks were quite alarming by themselves but knowing how strong she was, in addition, made the Altermeeres tremble in front of her.
"I go by Keed now."- the teen Altermeere murmured. "Keed Williams."
"Alright, Keed. And your new name was?"- the Matchmaker turned to Wixy with her sound-modified anonymous voice. "Lilly Marin, that's right."- the masked figure answered herself before the Altermeere could speak.
"Anyway. Your sister is right. Nothing would make me happier than knowing Keed and Lilly continue to exist. Well, almost nothing. As long as I need you, you will work for me. I told you I'd call you when I need you."
"I've been waiting eagerly for this opportunity, Matchmaker."- Wixy shot fervently, making her brother roll his eyes. "An opportunity to get back at those who treated me like dirt..."
"Shut up and listen closely!"- the Matchmaker interrupted her crossly. "There's no time to spare or place for mistakes to make. You only get one chance at this. If you fail your task, the guardians will get their hands on you again, and you'll have to kiss your new lives goodbye, embracing a plain existence as nothing more than servants for Kandrakar. Do I stand clear?"
The Silver Dragon, Heatherfield
"How is she?"- Will stopped, breathless. She had run on her way from the parking lot.
Cornelia shot her a venomous glare.
"Well, I'm glad you actually came around. Even if hours upon hours after we called you."
Will groaned internally. They were currently in the Silver Dragon. It was still not open for customers as it was a little bit before 9 AM and it was true, the girls had called and sent her messages around midnight but she had only seen everything thirty minutes ago.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. It's like I was wasted but I haven't been drinking anything last night." - she shook her head, obviously confused. "Matt said he tried to wake me up but I was-"
"Yeah, whatever."- the blonde interrupted her and made her a sign to follow.
Will did, she followed her to the upper floor - the Lin residence. It was relatively the same as she remembered it from their teen years. The others were already at the dining room table with Irma who just sat there with an empty gaze and a shocking change of hairstyle. Or maybe not so shocking, after all, Will had seen her with shoulder-length hair before, but it was the way it was cut- rough and uneven.
She has probably cut it herself, the redhead estimated and sighed. Poor Irma. She didn't deserve any of this. This was just...
Cornelia pushed her out of the way before she could get any closer and set the tray, she carried with herself, on the table. It was full of combs and different kinds of scissors. She figured the blonde was about to fix the mess their friend had done to herself in her agony.
Taranee threw her a rebuking look. It wasn't the time for this nor was it as important, but she didn't say anything. She knew Cornelia was just helping in her own way.
"Irma, I'm...I'm so sorry."- Will murmured. "For everything. This must be...indigestible."
Indigestible, wow, the redhead cursed herself mentally. You're such an idiot, Will. She had never been good with words that much but this was a new low even for her.
"Don't be."- Irma croaked as the tall blonde sprayed her hair. "If this hadn't happened then we wouldn't know what we're going to face. Sometime in the future."- she finished darkly making Will look at her at a loss.
"Uh, what?"
She didn't know what they had discussed all night or the details around the terrible discovery of Martin being an obsessive stalker who had kept tabs on them for years. Yes, it was very bad, especially for Irma, after so much time together as a couple, but Martin had never really concealed his stalker impulses that much. It was just that no one had suspected it could come to be this big and serious...
"Martin is a part of a non-governmental shebang of sorts."- Taranee began recapping in a serious tone. "This is serious, Will. More serious than just him being insane which would've been terrible enough on its own. But he...he worked for other people, dangerous people. He reported things on us. For years, that was his actual job. He spied on us and most probably helped this organization start preparing something big. A big move against us and Kandrakar. "
"What?!"- Will was shocked. "You mean like those Interpol agents from years ago-"
"No, they were primarily handled by the government and weren't extremists. They had some conscience."- Hay Lin shook her head. "These people that Martin associated with, they're..."
"They're witch hunters. Part of the "The Eye of God". It's no shebang, it's one of the oldest and most prominent anti-supernatural terrorist sects in Earth human history."
It was Nerissa. She entered the room casually but grimly. Will opened her mouth to ask something but she couldn't because the raven-haired woman offhandedly threw the man she dragged after herself to the table.
Taranee and Hay Lin flinched at that, Cornelia looked down at him with disgust, but Irma didn't even bat an eye.
"What the fuck-"- Will began saying but Taranee made her a sign to be quiet.
The man on the table let out a barely audible groan. His hands were tied with electrical rings, and so were his legs.
"Rowan Derrick. 43, white male."- Nerissa read out loud from a small wallet she held, obviously belonging to the captive. "We had a word. He's refusing to talk in detail, but I'll make him with time. He's part of the Eye of God. He says he was assigned to be Martin's supervisor which is quite contradicting, given Martin kept him in that hidden room Irma found for almost an entire year."
"It would make sense if Martin was trying to help us."- Hay Lin suggested uneasily. "Maybe he..."
"Wait a second."- Will interfered. "This man was kept hostage for almost a year?"
Cornelia and Nerissa gifted her with poisonous looks.
"You, an empath, feeling bad for him right now, huh?"- the blonde sneered. "This literal psycho and his cult want all magic, and mainly magic users, destroyed, Will, I hope you won't advocate for him as well?"
"What?"- the redhead blinked outraged. "Of course not, I was just going to say that he doesn't look malnourished or anything. What if he's lying? We have to-"
"I found him tied there. To that pipe."- Irma suddenly interfered. "He was what was causing the strange noises all along. He is the reason Martin distanced himself from me! He needs to DIE!"
Irma's sudden outburst caught everyone but Nerissa off guard. Just before she could use her magic to lift the man up and slam him into one of the walls, the ex-guardian made his body levitate above them, escaping Irma's transitory reach.
"He needs to die!"- Irma spat. "Who knows what he has on us, why the hell would he put his nose in our business, corrupting Martin too? I hate him! I hate him!"
"Oh, yes, but you "saved" him from that hidden lair instead of grabbing Martin, didn't you."- Nerissa shook her head as the others tried to comfort the Latina. "We will use him now, as far as we can, to fight any possible future attack from the Eye of God."
"I wasn't thinking and I definitely didn't expect any of this!"- Irma yelled in response. "Give me a break, I had just found out that my boyfriend is a fucking creep! A bigger one than I imagined in the beginning, actually!"
"Who's now gone with all the possible information that could help ruin us! I understand that this is particularly hard on you, Irma, but you must understand that Martin isn't on our side. He has never been. He's a traitor and an inside person who may or may not have had second thoughts at a certain point."- Nerissa whispered roughly. "But the truth is that he's one of them!"- and she pointed at the levitating man. "He's not the reason your boyfriend is this way. He's just his useless supervisor, while Martin has been an intelligencer all along!"
"Nerissa, stop it! She knows that now, it's not her fault."- Taranee interfered. "Martin displayed no clues that he could ever betray us like that. Yes, he was a little obsessed with Irma for years, but nothing of this magnitude has ever come to mind while around him, and we all thought we know him very well-"
"That's why I'm saying that maybe he didn't want to betray us!"- Hay Lin cried, tired of being interrupted.
"Oh, stop it, Hay Lin, he was always loony!"- Cornelia snapped. "You're just being a dreamer as per-
"I think that he deviated the attention and tried to hide our secrets after he found out at some point, otherwise why would he eventually hijack his supervisor and why has nothing happened with this organization and us, for years?"
Everyone stared at the Air guardian. Her words did make sense to a certain degree but...
"Maybe because going against Kandrakar isn't that easy for people from Earth."- Nerissa shrugged. "Mr. Derrick will surely tell us more if he wants to live a free, memory-altered life ever again."- she added darkly, looking up at the man. "Of course, his death would mean nothing to me but I'm just such a great person..."
"Oh, please, if he wanted to really help us, he would've told us. Anything. At any point!"- Irma spat angrily, pushing Cornelia's scissors down on the floor. "Hay Lin, I want to think like you, but I saw that room before any of you. Before he took many of the shit with himself and fled! I saw him when he confronted me, he was a different person! Martin had a different life and a secret, and he was working against me behind my back! And this has been going on for what? Since high school or earlier? I don't think that I would ever be able to live with him being just my stalker, but being a stalker, criminal, and an anti-magic terrorist? That's indigestible, Will, you said it great! Indigestible!"
Will closed her eyes and just hugged her tight as Irma started crying out loud...
"We will not let this situation out of our control."- Cornelia decided. "We will ask the new Council to help us with this man's interrogation. We will track down Martin, go through everything he has on us again, learn if there's more information that we can somehow get out there and destroy. We will not let these creepazoid witch-hunter douchebags get the better of us or even catch us off guard. We're the guardians of Kandrakar, we've dealt with far much worse than some tacky Earth fanatics."
Everyone nodded as she opened a portal. It sounded like a good plan for starters. Rowan opened his eyes and started rebelling, drawing the girls' attention:
"Hey, keep it down, buddy, you'll have enough audience once we go on Kandrakar."- Will scolded and just looked at the man and his frantic face.
"Chip...I'm chipped."- he managed to wheeze. "In numerous places."- he added to their shock. "If you want information...take the one from my tooth. It's a hollow tooth and the little microchip inside of it has a lot of data on it. Take it and let me be. Alter my memories, do whatever, just let me be! I don't want to d-die.."
There was a tense silence for a few moments in which the others just looked at the man and at each other.
"You're chipped."- Irma repeated in the end, looking at him in disgust. "You fucking mouse, I'm sure that Martin removed whatever you had in you, otherwise they would've tracked down your location, do you think that we're this stupid?"
"He did neutralize some of the chips and their properties, but he doesn't know about all of them. "The Eye of God has many levels of protection and security."- Rowan insisted darkly. "Check for yourself if you don't believe me, it's in my left canine tooth."
Will looked over at Taranee at the bizarre announcement. A data microchip in his tooth. Agents of Shield much? She had a bad feeling about this, but the fire guardian was already hesitantly reaching for Rowan's mouth:
"Well, I did do a semester of dental studies as an extra class once..."
"Oh, please."- Cornelia huffed and used her telekinesis on the man, opening his mouth wide. "Don't want to risk him biting you or something, Tara..."
Taranee recoiled and peaked inside Rowan's now open mouth, helping herself with one of the scissors as a dental tool. He was right, his left canine was hollow. She carefully opened it with the smallest comb on the table and tried to take whatever was hidden inside of it with the end of the scissor.
"It's empty."- she declared, confused. "Where's the data source? I think there is something in there, like a small button... but it's attached to the tooth, I don't-"
But Rowan's sickly expression was eloquent enough. The five guardians and Nerissa stared at him as he started laughing and crying at the same time, mumbling something incomprehensible. Like a prayer or something. The Heart of Kandrakar went wild around Cornelia's neck, zapping the open portal closed...
"What the hell is happening?!"- Irma exclaimed but Nerissa was in utter dismay. She had seen these strange marks on Rowan's waist while interrogating him earlier.
Pre-operation mappings from a marker...
"We have to get out of here!"- she commanded, pushing the others behind herself. "He's going to detonate!"
"He's going to what now?!"
"And now they'll know!"- Rowan cried maniacally. "They'll finally have a clue what happened with me and they'll know it was because of Tubbs and you-"
They couldn't hear the last of it, because Nerissa teletransported them out of there.
They had just appeared on the street opposite from the Silver Dragon, at a safe distance, when every single window on the second floor of the building burst into thousands of pieces together with the strong explosion.
A gas leakage. A bad cause of gas leakage, it was a miracle there were no victims, just a few mildly wounded people who had been passing by the Dragon at that unfortunate moment. They were good though; they didn't even need to go to a hospital. Those were the conclusions of the police; fifteen minutes post the monstrous explosion that had almost annihilated the entire second floor and roof of the infamous Chinese place downtown and just a few minutes after their coverup job. Yes, the police wrote it down as a very bad but lucky household incident. But those who had cleared up the actual mess before them knew what it was, in actuality, an absolutely horrific, terrorist act that had almost killed all six of them...
"Close call."- Tom Lair, Chief of Heatherfield police commented. He had come to check out the case himself knowing his daughter and her friends could've been nearby. "It's very lucky you girls weren't inside when the miniature hole in the gas pipeline released enough gas, and the lamp in the living room exploded; there was some strange short circuit here and this happened...quite insane, I must say. It looks almost like a premeditated act but then again...it is a stormy day today."
"Oh, yeah, Mr. Lair, this is not the first time we have had problems with the pipeline. Poor job on the manufacturer's part."- Hay Lin chimed in. "We will resolve the issue at once, thank God no one got hurt..."
"Well, yes, Hay Lin. You do have insurance so the problem should indeed be resolved quickly."- the man nodded. "That would be all. Please, come with me and my colleague, she'll help you fill in all the needed documents, and then we will be out of your hair. So sorry your family home and restaurant have to go through this."
"I'm sorry I had to clean fucking guts from the walls and the ceiling."- Irma murmured under her nose once her father and Hay Lin were far from them.
"I will never forget this horror."- Taranee shook her head. She was still shaking. "Never...There were blood and gore everywhe-"
"Shut up!"- Nerissa scolded them. "Do not make me picture it again!"
She cursed herself for not connecting the dots before this ugly suicide. Martin had obviously known about the bomb put inside Rowan and had probably planned to perform surgery himself, keeping in mind how unhinged he had turned out to be. Hence the markings on his captive...
Perhaps that was why he kept Rowan hostage for so long, as to neutralize all dangers and gaslight their superiors. Martin surely had his reasons. The Eye of God obviously had a lot of unorthodox methods to deal with breaches in security and follow their agenda to dispose of magic users and supernatural beings at the same time.
Will made a face. Cornelia was still sitting down, drinking another Xanax after she had almost fainted at the sight of the gory place post the explosion...
"This was horrific...but we somehow managed. We covered it up. What bothers me is what this lunatic said before he tricked us into triggering his detonation."- Will trailed and then quoted: " 'They will know. They will finally have a clue.' I'm afraid that we might've unwittingly sent the Eye of God a request for our own destruction..."
Halinor and her Council were shaken but concordant; the Eye of God" could become a serious threat that had to be monitored and neutralized while in its infancy, otherwise, things could get uglier than ever during their lifetime on Earth when it comes to magic.
Easier said than done though, given Kandrakar still had no Oracle or being with strong enough seer powers...
"What are y'all waiting for at this point?"- Taranee exclaimed. "Kandrakar needs an Oracle, otherwise you're just-"
"Mostly ineffective, we know."- Kadma interrupted her stoically. "We will try to settle that ASAP."
Irma crossed her arms on her chest, unimpressed. They had heard that one before...
"You sure one of those fellas won't jump out and admit to being part of the Eye of God in a few months?"- she asked sarcastically, nodding at some of the elders present. "Like last year, when Kandor turned out to be part of the cult we were facing and you knew it all along?"
All present in the Hall looked daggers her way.
"Just sayin'."- the Latina shrugged and walked a few steps away from everyone, playing with her layered shoulder-length locks. "After all, my boyfriend is the traitorous witch-hunting nerd..."
"The Eye of God is a well-known threat. But it's one posed by humans. It doesn't have blood magic, curses, and oaths around it to veil it in such secrecy."- Halinor narrated softly.
She had just returned to the Hall the guardians were welcomed in with some papers in her hands. She gave each of the guardians one.
Will looked down at the one she had received and then at the one Cornelia had, next to her. Apparently, those were newspaper clippings and reports that talked about different actions by the anti-magic order throughout the centuries.
Will's report talked about an action that involved the brutal murders of hundreds of, quote, occultists in Cairo in the 1880s, unquote.
"We've heard about them when we were guardians but never really dealt with them. The Eye of God, of course."- Halinor went on once she sat down on her throne-like chair again. The others remained on their feet. "That's because they've never ever dared to target Kandrakar-related things, really. For a long time, we believed they didn't even know about Kandrakar but alas, it appears that they're evolving as well. As everything else."
"So, Kandrakar never dealt with them either?"- Hay Lin asked. "Never confronted them?"
"They didn't have to, the Eye of God is not a universal threat, or at least wasn't."- Kadma replied, standing proudly by Halinor's side. "There are corresponding Earth organizations that fight against them, led by Earth-based magic users and supernatural population. Even normal people. It has been like that forever. None of them swim with the big fish, neither the anti-magic nor the magic, they're just known to Kandrakar. But magic on Earth is only as rare. Hence the everlasting "war" between magical and non-magical beings is as out of focus and negligible."
"Right, to us."- Irma nodded sarcastically. "Cuz we're big fish."
Taranee and Hay Lin exchanged glances.
"But people like Martin who're somewhat involved with the guardians have helped them break into more serious zones of magic. Like Heatherfield."- Cornelia suggested. "And now it's serious."
"It might be, unfortunately."- Halinor agreed with a small sigh. "Heatherfield is one of the few places on Earth where magic is a part of the eco-system. Inexhaustible and powerful... If the people from the Eye have started to build their network and are successfully advancing with it, they may try to do something more serious. And we have to keep that in mind so as to stop them when the time comes."
"More serious than a man blowing himself to pieces in a desperate attempt to hurt us and alert his superiors?"
Kadma and Halinor exchanged looks. Some of the elders behind them started murmuring something, but the mature blonde turned to them and shushed them with a look:
"Serious as in trying to challenge the guardians of Kandrakar and Kandrakar itself and having a chance at it."- Nerissa concluded. She looked down at the paper she had received in disregard. "Human race truly is one of the most abominable out there."
"There's no place for worries. As long as we have the Hearts we have under control, and this Fortress, the humans from the Eye will never be truly stronger than us."- Halinor declared. "It's actually quite impossible for them to best us, even if they have Earth-based magic-users working with them now. I know it sounds like self-beating in the chest, but we are a cosmic force in the Universe. Together, we are stronger than anything that comes in our way and the new Council will only further prove that. I am not too worried about this matter."
If you finally get yourself a seer, Will thought.
"All we need to do now is stay alert and simply cut the Eye of God's network in Heatherfield. People like Martin Tubbs should be neutralized."
Irma felt her stomach tighten but Halinor was quick to add:
"I'm not saying killed. But neutralized, so that we can keep the Eye far away from our important affairs here in Kandrakar and keep them in their league."
"Why not just eliminate the entire order altogether?"- Hay Lin asked.
"Because that will definitely involve killing and that massively."- Kadma replied darkly. "Besides, it will tamper with the balance on Earth. You need to understand that the screwballs from the Eye are not the only evil. There are enough corrupt insane magic users on Earth that would otherwise prevail and upset the normal life on the planet. It has been like that for ages. The two sides of the coin. They are destined to fight in silence for eternity."
"They might've grown tired of that because they're targeting us now."- Will murmured. "The bigger fish..."
Honestly, she didn't like how it was. The truth about magical and non-magical people on Earth who knew and believed in each other and were at each other's throats for lifetimes. Her idealistic, as of late, mind thought it could be much different but she could also understand where the Council was coming from. For the most part...
She believed that Kandrakar could still try to do more to keep not just some ostensible balance but true harmony between both sides. But then again, her opinion didn't really matter to them, especially anymore...
"Aren't you going to go join them?"
Nerissa's cross voice broke her off of her ponderings. Will looked around herself and realized that her friends had left with Yan Lin, who was taking them to another part of the Fortress for tea and cookies. Because that would help forget cleaning up a dead man's guts from all over the living room. Actually, it was better than nothing.
The few present elders had left too, Nerissa, Kadma and Halinor were the only ones in the Hall now, and they were all looking at her:
"Uh...yeah, I am going to."- she trailed. "Where did they go again?"
Halinor opened a passageway in the air for her and just smiled a tad tensely:
"Whenever you're ready, Will."- the blonde ushered and Will's full attention went on her for the first time today.
Halinor's long blonde hair was straightened and parted in the middle. She wore a long form-fitting carmine robe with jewels on the neckline and the sleeves, and the few wrinkles she had looked blurred as ever since she was hooked to the Heart of Zamballa, but Will could feel her tension. Her unrest. She could feel the question even before it left her mouth:
"How are things with you since...the Tower. How are things with Phobos?"
The redhead didn't answer at once. A part of her was sure that the former guardians had to be observing her at least half of the time but another part was too busy trying to think of a truthful answer to the question. For herself. It proved to be difficult. She didn't know how things were. They were just...there. Phobos was there, living with Matt, and she and Matt were...
"You look demented and stupid, and quite frankly I don't care to hear about your obsession with the brat prince; leave because I have something to say unlike you."- Nerissa snarled. "Scat!"
"Things are just still right now. I guess that we have to give it time to see. But I'm sure that it will be fine."- Will finally answered and gave the Mage a dirty look before excusing herself and going through the open passageway that closed the second she disappeared in it.
"I don't like this."- Kadma judged the moment she was gone. She had watched her closely and critically up until now. "She really does appear odd and I blame it on the bond. That man will undo her if we don't terminate him first..."
"It might be too late, I'm afraid."- Halinor whispered but Nerissa interrupted them:
"Forget that worthless Phobos and Will's idiocy for a moment, will you?"- she snapped. "They're old news. I have something that concerns me and I want you to double-check..."
"What is it, Rissy?"- Halinor asked, her concern growing now as well.
Nerissa made a pause to lick her lips and take a breath:
"I think that Kandrakar's magic over my file is wearing off; someone called me during the podcast and said they had a photo of me with their mother from high school. From when we were in high school for real. In the fucking sixties."- she specified as her two friends exchanged stunned glances.
"This was not supposed to happen."- Nerissa went on, obviously annoyed. "Especially not now, when I'm kind of a celebrity. Only the people that have been a substantial and close part of my life were supposed to remember me before Thanos. I don't understand how-"
"Wait a minute."- Kadma stopped her with an open hand up: "Kandrakar actually erased evidence and memories about you before your sentence? When? I can swear they gave no explanations after it happened and did nothing for your family-"
"They didn't."- Nerissa sighed tiredly. She had just figured out that she probably hadn't mentioned this before. In fact, she had only got to know about it approximately two years ago. "But they put everything in a file. A file that would later help me become a new Nerissa. If I was to be back... People, besides my closest, were practically supposed to believe whatever I say about my life and not notice that I've been gone for decades or remember. I mean, after all, that is what encouraged me to get back everything that is rightfully mine in Heatherfield..."
"Who told you all that?"- Halinor asked with an open mouth. She was stunned. Stunned by this. Up until now, she had low-key believed that her friend was just being reckless as per usual while pursuing her Earth dreams. "This is bizarre. And a very strong spell for sure, I mean- "
"Himerish."- Nerissa admitted reluctantly and looked up as their faces strained and their eyebrows jumped up.
"So, to sum it up. You knew this man was a, what did you call him? Pursuer. Ah, yes. Stalker. Had an unhealthy obsession with the Water guardian for years yet none of you had anything to say when they began seeing one another romantically, and now you act surprised he's something else. Take no offense, dear Wilhelmina, but you and your friends are not the sharpest tools in the box when it comes to people."
Will didn't even fight the urge to roll her eyes. Prince Phobos had the audacity to talk to her about humankind and human behavior characterization. Rich.
"Why did I even expect you to understand?"- she groaned. "It's not that simple! Yes, Martin was a simp and a little crazy from the beginning, but he had many good qualities to make up for that. He was a good friend and with time, even his dorky looks improved. He really loved Irma. Or so it seemed..."
Will groaned again and pushed a strand of red hair behind her ear. He wouldn't get it or if he did, he was sure going to keep saying things to annoy her on purpose. It was late. She and Phobos were on the fluffy carpet in the living room, devouring fries with fists, and just talked. OK, she devoured fries; he ate apples and berries. Matt was working late and she was waiting for him but at the same time somewhat enjoyed time alone with the prince. As much as she could, given he was getting on her nerves...
"I don't remember you like that."- Phobos smiled softly. "As far as I remember anything else about your personality other than...Hm, other than pronounced conceit and deviousness, I suppose."
"Just to be clear."- the redhead put her index finger up. "If there was someone foolishly puffed up with conceit around here-"
"Point taken but you know what I mean. You've always been...decisive and snarky."- Phobos laughed and it surprised her. It surprised her how light-hearted and chill he was being all of a sudden. "Used do anything to move things your way. The good way, of course. No doubt you've adopted a different outlook after Beta-Meridian, yes?"
"Oh, you mean I didn't give people the benefit of the doubt before that? Well, yeah, it's kind of different when you're having a war. Just because I recognized you had some decent qualities during our stay there doesn't mean that I was snarky with everyone else before that. No, in all honesty."- she stopped him before he could interrupt. There was some odd spark in his eye which made her smile: "I feel like I was more...determined to solve things as fast as possible. I saw things blacker and whiter and I was damn sure in my judgment. I still am, I'm just... back to basics now. I want to be more thoughtful, and forgiving, and-"
"Weak."- Phobos finished for her, stealing one of her fries. "You feel like being weaker."
Now Will frowned:
"Being more vulnerable and more human doesn't mean you're being weaker, necessarily."- she argued seriously. "I've been through so much, my friends too. Not to mention my family... But talking from my point of view, about me, I've been through so much shit that I am still amazed when I'm able to be this new version of myself."- Will admitted, a hand on her chest. "This lighter, freer, and more compassionate version which I prefer in front of the cold robot that I very easily could've been. I prefer her."
"So do I."- Phobos said, surprising her.
Did he? Did he not prefer someone like Leonida? Someone like him? Cold-blooded, collected, and smart? Will could be that and she knew it. She could be snarky, determined, and guileful. She had been that many times as a leader and it worked without fail.
She knew her best formula for success but she had to remember she wasn't the leader of the girls anymore, and keeping up with all her leadership qualities which were just one side of her, wasn't healthy.
"Matt's back, I better go talk to him about...you know. About today."
Will stood up once she heard the door. Phobos stood up too. For a moment their eyes met.
"Of course."- he said in the end and brushed his fingers against hers. "Good night."
She didn't retort. She didn't have the time to, because she was still looking down at their fingers when Matt entered the living room.
"Hey, Will, I brought you...McDonald's."- he finished far colder than he had first started when his blue eyes fell on Phobos and then at the takeaway food on the floor. "But I see you've already had some."- he forced a smile and a carefree voice: "Never mind. Maybe we can heat it up later?"
"Yeah, Matt. No. I mean thanks and yeah, leave that now, I wanted to talk to you!"
Will smiled tiredly when the man reacted to that just like she wanted. Normally. He looked down at her with a sincere smile and interest:
"Oh, alright then. Minding leaving us alone, Phobos?"- he then shot. "Or better yet don't. Let's go to our room, Will."
Will opened her mouth but didn't say anything because Matt started leading her toward the bedroom. She managed one last look at Phobos and his darkened face as she was leaving him behind in the even darker living room.