Legacy 208: Ways to Be Wicked

Part 4

Xxx

As the vortex of green energy closed, the ancient storybook also closed itself. The Wicked Witch walked over to the book and picked it up. She smiled victoriously, knowing that her plan had succeeded. The good witches had been trapped in the storybook and would live out the stories within. However, she was the one who controlled their endings. Once the witches died within their fairy tales, the book would transfer their powers to her.

"No more happily ever after." the witch remarked.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." A voice said.

The witch looked around the club, but all the mortals there were still frozen in place. That little witch sure had a lot of range with her freezing power, keeping it up even as she had been trapped in the book. Aside from the wicked witch and her flying monkeys, there was nobody moving, so then where did that voice come from? Her question was soon answered when the genie lamp in her coat started trembling and green smoke poured out, forming into the keeper.

"You again?" The witch asked. "How did you get out without my command?"

"You might be my master, but your control over me is not absolute." The keeper replied. "And neither is your power over the story book."

"What do you mean?" The witch asked.

"You wanted to be in control of the stories." The keeper replied. "Well that can only happen if you are a part of them."

"So you tricked me after all." The witch hissed. "What did you do?"

"I made you part of the stories. All of them." The keeper said. "Now it is time for both of us to play our parts."

"I don't think so, I still have my final wish." The witch replied. "And I wish…"

The witch hesitated to think about her words, which proved to be a mistake. The keeper snapped his finger and the book flew out of her hands, landing on the floor and opening another vortex that instantly started pulling her in. The keeper became surrounded in blue smoke as his outfit changed colors, after which he willingly leaped into the vortex. The witch called for her flying monkeys to help her, though those buffoons were too scared and flew off. The witch angrily cursed them as she was sucked back into the world of stories.

xxx

The first thing Wyatt noticed when he woke up was a blistering heat. He felt a dry wind blowing in his face. He found himself on a rooftop in an Arabian desert city. In front of him was a giant domed palace that looked strangely familiar. He rose to his feet and noticed that he was barefoot. His cowboy costume had disappeared and he was now wearing a sleeveless purple vest and white harem pants. Although it was light and breezy, he wished he had a shirt or that his vest at least had some buttons. However, his outfit was the least of his worries. The wicked witch had obviously sent him into a fairy tale world and separated him from his family. He wondered if they were here as well or trapped in another story. Even Reed was nowhere around, despite the fact that Wyatt was holding on to him as they were sucked into the vortex.

"Looks like I have to play along to get out of here." Wyatt noted.

Wyatt climbed down from the rooftop and entered the busy streets. There was a market, filled with all kinds of exotic fruits and herbs. His stomach started to growl. It felt like he had not eaten in days, even though he had dinner right before going to the club. He checked his pockets, but he had nothing. The people in the market were all giving him dirty looks, so he figured that simply asking for food wouldn't work. If he wanted to eat something, he would have to steal it. He tried to orb a piece of fruit, but nothing happened, meaning he didn't have his powers in this world.

"So it's going to be the hard way then." Wyatt remarked.

Wyatt walked past the fruit stand and grabbed two apples from the pile as discreetly as possible. However, the vendor spotted him and began crying out for the guards. Almost instantly, two giant-looking guards seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Hold it right there, street rat!" The guard called out.

"I'm sorry, I'm starving." Wyatt replied. "I don't have any money."

"Thieves lose their hands." The guard said. "Surrender now and we'll only cut off one."

'"Yeah, I can't do that." Wyatt replied. "I need to find my family."

Thinking quickly, Wyatt threw one of the apples into the pile of fruit, causing the entire thing to collapse. The guards screamed at him as he started running across the market. The guards chased him, while more and more of them seemed to appear on every street. Wyatt tried to shake them off by running and jumping through the stands, but he never lost them despite his sudden and unexplained parkour skills. He ran into an alley and found himself at a dead end. As he turned around, the guards already started to circle him.

"You'll pay for making us run." The guard said. "That's going to cost you a foot. Let's see if you can steal then."

"I'm rather attached to my limbs, so I'm going to keep them." Wyatt replied.

"Hey, over here!" A voice called out.

Wyatt looked up and saw a cloaked figure on the wall above him, extending a hand. He recognized that voice, it was Reed. The guard spotted him as well and ordered at his men to catch them both. Wyatt quickly climbed on top of a wooden barrel and jumped. Reed grabbed onto him and pulled him over the wall. Wyatt wished he could stop to catch his breath, but the guards began climbing the wall, so they started running over the rooftops. Eventually, they reached another dead end, as there were no more roofs within reach. Reed looked down while Wyatt turned to face the guards.

"We need to jump." Reed said as he removed the cloak from his face.

"What?" Wyatt asked. "Are you crazy? That is three floors down."

"Do you trust me?" Reed asked as he extended his hand.

Wyatt looked into his eyes. He was angry and frustrated with the secret agent, but that didn't change the fact that he did trust him. Wyatt took another look at the guard and figured jumping was the safer bet. He took Reed's hand and they jumped off the roof together, landing on the tarp of a market stand below, which broke their fall. They rolled off and found a hiding spot in another alley, where they waited for the guards to give up.

"How did you find me?" Wyatt asked.

"I figured since we're trapped in Aladdin, I'd find you in the market place." Reed noted. "After that, I just simply followed the commotion."

"Wait, so if I'm Aladdin, that makes you…" Wyatt started.

"Don't even." Reed interrupted him. "It's bad enough that I'm trapped into a fairy tale, let alone in the role of a princess rather than the hero."

"Maybe it's karma." Wyatt remarked. "So where did you wake up?"

"A bedroom in the palace." Reed replied. "I knocked out one of the guards, stole his cloak and escaped into the city."

"So what are you wearing underneath that cloak?" Wyatt asked with a smirk.

Reed sighed and removed the cloak, revealing an embroidered silky blue vest and harem pants, along with a gold necklace and armbraces. Similar to Wyatt, he was shirtless under his vest, revealing his muscular and hairy chest. Although the agent was obviously embarrassed about wearing the outfit, he still looked masculine in it.

"I still think you look hot." Wyatt admitted.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Reed replied with a smile. "Though I still prefer the cowboy look."

"Thanks." Wyatt said before remembering he was supposed to be mad at him. "We need to figure out how to get out of here. I think we should play out the story."

"That makes sense." Reed said. "So that means we should be looking for a genie."

"We're not going to find anything if we stay here." Wyatt noted. "I think the coast is clear."

Wyatt and Reed checked to see if the guards were gone before leaving their hiding spot. Reed put his cloak back on to not draw attention as they crossed the market. It felt they were wandering aimlessly for a bit, so Wyatt quickly ate his apple. He was hoping for a sign to lead them in the right direction. His prayer seemed to be answered when a blue parrot suddenly landed on his shoulder. There was something about the bird that seemed magical.

"Where did that thing come from?" Reed asked.

"Cave of Wonders." The parrot cried out before flying off. "Cave of Wonders!"

"That definitely sounds like a lead." Wyatt said.

"Or a trap." Reed noted.

"Do we really have a choice?" Wyatt asked.

"I guess not." Reed replied with a shrug.

As the blue parrot flew toward the city gate, Wyatt and Reed followed it. They quickly traded the Reed's gold necklace for a camel and some food and water, before heading out into the desert with the parrot as their only lead. Wyatt hoped they would find his family soon, but he was confident that they could take care of themselves until they were reunited.

Xxx

As Chris woke up, he felt cold raindrops falling on his face. He groaned and rolled over, suddenly seeing that the ground was thousands of feet below him. He quickly rolled back the other side before he fell, but the green surface he was on was slippery due in the rain. He managed to balance himself and realized he was stuck on a giant leaf, thousands of feet in the sky. In front of him was something that appeared to be a green tower stretching into the clouds, covered in large vines and leafs. No, that wasn't right, as he soon realized it wasn't actually a tower, but a giant plant.

"You've got to be kidding me." Chris remarked.

The wicked witch had trapped Chris and the others in the storybook she was carrying, which meant they were trapped in literal stories. Considering his situation, it didn't take a genius to figure out which story Chris had been sent to, Jack and the Giant Beanstalk. He looked at his clothes and saw he was wearing a simple white shirt, brown trousers and worn leather boots. As he carefully peered over the side of the leaf, he could only barely make out the towns and rivers below. It was a long way down, and Chris realized going up was the better option. He could see nothing but clouds above him, but he knew was awaited him there, a giant in a castle.

Seeing no other choice, Chris climbed to the beanstalk by using the vines. It was slippery and he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he fell. The witch had said something about them not surviving their stories, which meant she wanted them dead. Chris tried to remember what else she had said during their short encounter at the club. She knew who the cousins were and had made a comment about liking Melinda's power.

"Great, so she is after our powers, how original." Chris noted. "That means that if we die in these stories, she'll be able to take them."

As he continued to climb, the ground got further and further away. He also realized that he was powerless in this world when he telekinetically tried to call some vines toward him. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the clouds. He pushed through and reached the top of the beanstalk, finally seeing sunlight again. Before him stood a castle floating on the clouds. Despite not having powers, he was clearly in a land of magic.

"Right, just face a giant and find a way to escape." Chris said. "Sounds easy enough."

Chris carefully tried stepping on the clouds and they felt bouncy but solid. He leaped down from the beanstalk and bounced up and down. It was a strange feeling, almost like walking on the moon. He made his way to the castle and eventually reached the huge wooden gate. Chris feel like a bug, as he was small enough to slip through the cracks. He entered the hall and saw that everything was giant-sized. As he walked down the hallway, he tried to remember how the story originally ended. If he recalled correctly, Jack killed the giant by cutting down the beanstalk as the giant was climbing down, causing him to fall to his death. Chris hoped he could avoid the giant altogether, he just needed to get out somehow. He entered another room and saw it was a dining hall, where a fire was burning and the table filled with food. That meant the giant was close.

"Alright, just need to be quiet and careful." Chris reminded himself.

Chris looked around and saw a cabinet on the other wall, which was filled with gold and other treasures, including magical artifacts. There had to be something on there that he could use to escape. He began running to the cabinet, but froze when he heard heavy footsteps that caused everything to tremble. The door flung open and a giant figure entered. Chris was shocked to see it was a giant version of the Wicked Witch.

"Fi, fi, fo, fum, I smell a witch the size of a thumb." The witch remarked with a smile.

Xxx

In the middle of a dark forest, Melinda was walking around while calling out the names of her family. She had woken up while wrapped in a long red cloak and had quickly realized she was trapped in the story of Red Riding Hood. She had quickly set out to find the others, but so far she hadn't found anyone. Feeling tired from walking around, she decided to take a break underneath a tree. Perhaps she really was alone, which terrified her, as she had no way to defend herself or her baby without her powers. She placed a hand on her belly.

"It's going to be alright." Melinda whispered. "All fairy tales have a happy ending."

Melinda remembered her mom telling reading her fairy tales when she was little. Being a princess in a magical world had always seemed wonderful, though she had outgrown those feelings as she had matured. She had experienced the pain and loss that came with magic firsthand, so she wanted to make sure that her child never had to go through the same thing. She had stepped away from the dangers of magic, but one night with her family and she was sucked right back in.

As Melinda sat in silence, the forest seemed to come alive around her. Colorful flowers bloomed as birds flew through the trees, while rabbits and deer came out of hiding. It was serene and beautiful and the animals didn't seem to fear her. A baby deer came close enough for her to pet it while its mother kept a safe distance.

"Better stay with your mom, little one." Melinda said.

At that moment, a howl sounded through the forest, which caused all the animals to flee in terror. Melinda crawled to her feet as another howl sounded closer. Knowing which story she was in, she knew it was a wolf hunting her. She started running while looking for a place to hide. The sounds of the wolf were coming closer. She looked over her shoulder and saw a gray blur between the trees.

Melinda reached a clearing and picked up a rock to defend herself, though she knew she could never defeat a creature like that. The wolf growled as it stepped out from the trees, its large fangs exposed. Just as it was about to leap at her, an arrow pierced the ground in front of it. The wolf leaped back and Melinda turned to see who fired it. Ryan came running out of the forest, dressed as the huntsman from the story.

"Ryan!" Melinda cried out. "You found me."

"I know, don't ask me how." Ryan replied as he joined her in the clearing. "Somehow, I just knew how to track you."

"We're become the characters we're dressed as." Melinda noted. "Which must mean we also have their skills somehow."

"Good, because I don't know how to fight a wolf." Ryan said. "Did it hurt you?"

"No, you got here just in time." Melinda replied.

The wolf growled as it got closer, though it hesitated when Ryan handed the bow and arrow to Melinda and grabbed the axe hanging on his back. The moment Melinda touched the bow, she knew how it worked, despite never having used one before. The couple braced themselves to fight the wolf together. However, instead of charging at them, the wolf howled at the skies and its eyes began to glow. Green smoke surrounded the wolf as it grew in size and became more humanoid, getting on two legs instead of four.

"What the hell is happening?" Ryan asked nervously.

"It's the witch." Melinda replied as she stared at the green smoke. "She has taken control of the stories, altering them to make sure we don't win."

"We'd better run." Ryan said.

Melinda nodded in agreement as the wolf completed its transformation into a werewolf about twice as big as Ryan. It growled angrily and stared at them with sinister green eyes. Melinda quickly raised the bow and fired an arrow, hitting it in the chest. The wolf howled in pain, giving the couple a chance to run. However, it soon pulled out the arrow and pursued them into the dark forest.

xxx