"Okay... this isn't going well!" Luz exclaimed as she watched the huge creature come out of the portal. "How do we send him back to the other side!?"
"You have to convince Amity to do it" Alador replied. "If she opened the portal, she must have already consumed the fragment of Grometheus' soul and fused it with her own magic. If she really wants, she can send that monster back to the other side". He gritted his teeth in fear: "But you have to do it quickly, before Grometheus manages to completely cross the portal!"
"He seems stuck" Gus pointed out. "Why doesn't he come out completely?"
"He needs mortal energy to truly stabilize himself on this plane of existence" Alador explained. "Simply put, fear. Amity needs to provide it"
"Fear? How could her provide him..." Luz was already about to say, but suddenly some creatures appeared in the sky, screeching so loudly that she had to cover her ears. The creatures were shapeless, gelatinous and bulbous, and they descended towards houses and towards people in the streets, and as they did so they changed shape and became monsters. "Ugh… what are those!?"
"Abominations!" Eda replied with a worried expression.
"Abominations?" Willow repeated. "You mean they're monstrosities?"
"They are true embodiments of fear. They take the form of what terrifies their victims the most, and then they suck the terror out of it" Lilith explained in a cold sweat.
"I thought they were completely extinct" Eda said. "They can't come from this world. Amity must be calling them from Grometheus' realm to feed that monster!"
Under their gaze, some Abominations abandoned their homes and flew upwards again, until they reached Grometheus, who seemed to absorb them; then he moved his tentacles towards the portal and grazed it, and he seemed to radiate new energy that widened the crack in the sky. "Okay... okay, no more talking! Let's find Amity!" Luz exclaimed. "If we really just need to convince her to send Grometheus back, then we can..."
She didn't have time to say anything else; one of the Abomination landed right in front of her and took the form of the Owl Beast. Luz screamed in terror and fell backwards, as did Gus and Willow; Lilith and Eda stood in front of them and waved their wands, and in an instant the creatures disappeared in a flash of white light. More Abominations approached them, but Hunter moved his staff and struck them, incinerating them. "Go!" the boy said to the others. "I'll take care of preventing them from doing too much damage in the town!"
"I'm staying too" Darius said, patting Hunter on the shoulder, "Don't worry, kid. I've got your back"
"Okay, then we're going!" Lilith said turning back into a fairy and opening her wings. "Let's split up, we'll find Amity first: Eda, you and I will study the situation from above. Everyone else, split up into groups of two people and search the streets. And stay away from the Abominations!"
"Good idea!" Eda said, opening her wings as well. "Let's hurry before the situation gets worse!"
Everyone ran in every direction looking for Amity. Alador started to follow them, but Emira pushed him to the ground. "Not you! You've already done enough damage!" she growled, then she ran away. Alador looked down in defeat, knowing his daughter was right.
Hunter and Darius watched as the sky became increasingly filled with Abominations. "Give me all the information you can about them" the boy said to the djinn. "What weaknesses do they have?"
"They are not made of ordinary matter. They are like liquids, but they stick together thanks to their magical core" Darius replied. "They are attracted to negativity and consume the fear of anyone they touch. But they fear the light, in fact they are only active at night. Just like nightmares"
"Wait a minute... do they fear the light? Any light?" Alador said suddenly, raising his head and looking at them with an inquisitive look.
The djinn nodded. "Yes, but it must be very intense to scare even just one. And even if we have such light, they are too spread out... it would take us ages to hit all of them"
"Maybe not" Alador told him determinedly. "I have an idea, but I need someone who can build things quickly"
"No problem, you have a djinn here at your beck and call!" Darius exclaimed with a smile. "Tell me what to do and I will do it!"
"Since you two seem to have found a solution, then get busy and do what you have to do. I'll buy time here" Hunter said as he jumped onto his staff and flew into the sky, until he was high above the town. Once there he closed his eyes and said: "Well, are you attracted by negativity? So come, here is a banquet for you!"
He opened his mind and recalled all the memories he had always tried to bury; all the cruelty, all the pain, all the wickedness he had had to suffer throughout his life. Abominations throughout the town froze and seemed to look up, and then they flew towards him in a swarm. Hunter narrowed his eyes and prepared for battle; there were many Abominations, but he was pretty sure he could hold out for a while, and he had faith in Darius.
But just then his staff's communication spell activated; Hunter hurriedly responded and was confused to see Kikimora on the other side. "You? Sorry, but I'm a little busy at the moment..."
"What are you doing in Bonesborough!?" Kikimora yelled at him. "What's going on there?"
Hunter was confused. "How do you know something is happening in Bonesborough?"
"In your opinion? Because the Cruel Emperor of the Sea is coming there!" Kikimora answered him. "And I've never seen him so furious!"
Hunter's eyes widened. Okay, that could have been a big problem.
Luz was running through the streets at breakneck speed, almost never stopping for even a second. She almost didn't notice that she was leaving Raine behind, who was the one who had decided to accompany her when they split up; fortunately they were able to grab her arm and stop her. "Luz, wait! There's no use running blindly!"
"We have to find her!" the puppet exclaimed. "Amity isn't like that... Amity isn't evil! I have to help her before she does something she'll really regret!"
"I know, Luz. And believe me, I understand you" Raine told her. "But you have to stay clear now. You know Amity better than anyone: where would she feel most comfortable?"
Luz tried to think about it. "Well... Amity loved going to school..."
"School, then? Well, let's go there" Raine told her.
"No! No, wait" Luz stopped him trying to think straight. "Amity loves school... but not only that. She likes a lot of things. She likes the sea... no, I doubt she can get into water now that she's a witch... wait! Of course, water! Otabin's lake! How could I not have thought of it!". She looked at Raine and pointed a way: "Amity loved reading to the kids in the library! She felt happy there, that's where I saw her smile and genuinely enjoy herself the first time! Come, this way!"
Luz led Raine towards the Bonesborough library; as they got closer, a dense fog became thicker and thicker, and the temperature dropped more and more until they shivered. When they arrived at the building, they found the library completely enveloped in tendrils of dark matter that crushed the walls like hideous vines; a host of monstrous Abominations stood before them in the form of hideous deformed beasts, and they immediately advanced upon them. Raine stepped in front of Luz and tried to block them, but they were soon forced to step back and separate from the puppet; but to both of their surprise, the Abominations didn't even look at Luz. The puppet didn't understand, but taking advantage of that, she shouted: "Raine, run away and go get the others!" and she ran into the library.
The building had become eerie and ghostly; the fog that was outside had spread inside as well, and covered the floor like a horrible mist. Every now and then Luz could see something moving underneath it, like swift snakes or worms, which made her shiver; behind every corner there seemed to be a monster ready to pounce on her. But she gathered courage and advanced among the shelves. Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard and a huge Abomination that had taken the form of Otabin appeared in front of her; Luz squealed and started to run away, but she stopped when she realized the creature wasn't attacking her; on the contrary, it had bowed to her as if she were its mistress. Seeing that scene was almost a greater shock to the puppet than any she had received in the last half hour, but with extreme reluctance she asked: "Um... are you at my service?"
The Abomination nodded with a grunt. "In this case, take me to Amity!" Luz ordered, and the creature motioned for her to follow her and led her to the forbidden section of the library.
When they arrived the puppet discovered that the doors had literally been torn off, to the point that not even the hinges were still attached to the wall. "Not creepy at all..." Luz muttered sarcastically to herself. She entered the forbidden section with some reluctance; the interior had remained almost unchanged, with the exception that the shelves were wrapped in what appeared to be dark roots and Abominations in the form of hideous monsters were perched everywhere, but they bowed their heads respectfully as she walked among them. "Um...Amity? Are you here?" she asked aloud.
"Luz! You're finally here!" Amity's voice came from above, and the puppet felt that it was much more sinister than usual. "I knew you would find me, you know me so well!"
Luz looked up and saw Amity sitting on what looked like a throne made of the same dark matter of the Abominations, from which numerous tentacles emerged and grabbed the books and placed them in front of her eyes. She gulped when she saw her girlfriend: Amity had taken on full witch form, which wasn't bad... but the red eyes and expression on her face made her shiver. "Come here! I don't want to stay too away from you!" Amity told her, and one of the throne's tentacles moved towards her and grabbed her, pulled her, and dropped her into her arms.
Luz swallowed loudly. Amity was holding her like a princess, and she had a loving smile on her face, but her look was the creepiest thing she had ever seen. "Amity… are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay, Luz! Look at me, being a witch is beautiful!" Amity answered her, and books from the forbidden section flew around her. "Until a few hours ago I was afraid to even touch these objects, but now I can do it without problems! I don't have to be afraid of anything! Now... I'm the fear! Isn't it fantastic?"
"Well... I admit that being a witch sounds nice..." Luz said with a lot of fear. "But... Amity, what exactly are you doing? I mean, the whole thing about the Abominations and Grometheus and all that...?"
"What questions! I'm creating a new world. One where you no longer have to fear anything, Luz!" Amity answered her. "Through me the Four Magical Rulers will kill Belos, honey. Your mother, your sister, and your friends will be avenged. And then, I will use this power to gather the witches of this world and rule over it! Together we will eliminate all suffering! The crime will no longer be tolerated, war will no longer be tolerated, wickedness will no longer be tolerated! You will be able to live happily ever after! Can you imagine that?"
Amity laughed, a laugh that should have been genuine and kind, but instead came across as macabre and terrifying. "A-Amity...please...now try to come to your senses..." Luz stammered.
"But I am in my senses, Luz! I am more in my senses than I have ever been! Now I see better many things that were confusing to me before" Amity said to her. "Now I know that this is my destiny. It has always been my fate to forge a new world! But I don't want to do it alone. I will need the advice of someone with a heart of gold, who truly understands others. Come on, Luz... let's create a utopia together!"
In Amity's hands the dark matter thickened to form a crown; she tried to take off Luz's witch hat and put it on her head, but the puppet stopped her. "Amity... Amity, please! This isn't you!"
"Luz, what are you saying?" Amity looked hurt by her words.
The puppet swallowed. "Amity... you are sweet, kind, fair, optimistic! You are a good person! You have a heart of gold and I love you for it! Just being around you... makes me feel safe and protected. But not!". She took her face in her hands. "Amity... please... come to your senses! I know you can control this... this monster that's gotten into your head!"
"Luz, why don't you understand?" Amity exclaimed in irritation, and the air around her seemed to tremble and the Abominations stirred. "I am in control of myself! What I am telling you is what I really want. Grometheus has only amplified the desires in my heart..."
"No... no, that's not true. Grometheus didn't amplify your desires, he amplified SOME desires!" Luz answered her. "Amity... when I met Belos, he told me that desires such as murder and conquest are inherent to every form of life, and this is partly true; but in most people these desires are almost non-existent! And in you, in particular, there are almost none! They are very small desires that we all have at times, but having them does not mean being controlled by them! I too like to dream of ruling the world every now and then, who has never done it? But that doesn't mean that I normally plan how to become a queen! And the same goes for you! This is not your true personality, it's just an extreme of your darkest desires that you normally never listen to! You don't subjugate others; maybe you once did and you were a bully, but even you admitted that you hate those actions! Because what makes you happy is being like everyone else and having sincere friends! This is the real you, not this... horribly deviant version of you!"
Amity seemed taken aback, and for a moment her eyes trembled; but immediately afterwards she defended herself: "I am still that person! It is simply clear to me now that to help others I must sacrifice something. I have this enormous power in my hands, it is my duty to use it to free the world from suffering, even if this means having to govern it! Through me, no form of wickedness will be tolerated anymore!"
"This isn't happiness, it's tyranny! And you know it, Amity!" Luz exclaimed with a trembling voice. "Please, Amity... come back to me! Go back to being who you were! You are strong, you can defeat this parasite!"
Amity's face twisted into a grimace. "I thought you would be on my side, but instead you oppose me! It's clear that you still can't see the world as it really is!". She clenched a fist and dark sparks formed around it. "It's Eda's fault, she's the one who convinced you of this stupid need to be good! But I'll show you the truth! And when you'll see it..."
"AMITY, YOU ARE SCARING ME!" Luz screamed with tears in her eyes.
Amity froze so much she seemed to become a statue. "... what?"
Amity isn't Amity without the support of her trusty Abominations, and just like in canon she knows how to maneuver them into any shape. With the difference that in this case she can use many more and has no qualms about creating creepy things. The fact that Abominations fear light is instead a small addition on my part to give these entities a weakness that all characters could exploit, given that most of them do not possess magical powers in this AU