BREAKING THE FANTASY

Written by Gwendolyn Frost.

That following morning, Luz and her friends tried their best not to act stressed around Camila, who was still oblivious to their plans of going into the forest that afternoon. Camila did not suspect a thing, but she was no fool – rather associating their behavior to the events that took place the day before instead of the unspoken secret that only she ignored.

After breakfast, she informed them she still had to go to work – even if the curfew would start all over again that night as well.

Shortly after changing her clothing to her usual blue scrubs, Camila took a minute to sit down and reassure everyone. "Chicos, I know yesterday was kind of stressful. I want you guys to know that no matter what, I will always be here for you." She smiled sweetly at them. "While I must head to work, I would really like to ask of you to stay safe. I know you all can… do magic and stuff." Camila chuckled nervously but with that sweet smile still on her face. "I know you all will be fine. But just in case, you know my number, you can call me at any given time and I'll be back home asap."

"We know, mom! You don't have to worry about us. We're going to binge a bunch of anime today, right guys?" Luz asked her friends with a nervous looking smile on her face and with her head shaking ever so slightly from side to side, reminding them of the promise they made the day before to her.

Amity was frowning a little when seeing this face on Luz, still uncomfortable of having to lie to Camila, but she faked a smile as quickly as she could and nodded. "Yeah. We'll be fine, Mrs Noceda."

The rest begrudgingly followed Amity's example and agreed to it in the most convincing way they could despite the lack of excitement.

Camila simply smiled while taking notice of how they replied to her, with a sigh – she opted not to investigate further and gently walked up to them, starting with Luz and Vee, giving them a hug before moving onto everyone else. "I promise you everything will be back to normal in no time."

"Yeah." Luz said nervously as Camila moved away from her, her large smile turning into a small frown of her own as she worryingly looked at the see-through sliding doors in the room with that tiny inch wide fracture on the far left side where the Shapeless had tapped into.

The reality of having to face that thing later that day sinking in her head. 'Everything will be back to normal.' This phrase echoed in her mind over and over as if she was wishing for it to be true. Especially now that Amity has been given a glimpse of the future they're about to face. While she hasn't seen the TV act on herself, she wanted to believe in Amity – because the way she looked at her the night before… was genuine fear and concern for her safety.

"Ok. I should get going now. I should be back at 4 pm, you guys can order pizza for lunch today and I'll try to bring back some groceries to cook us dinner tonight. I love you guys, lock the door when I'm gone. Los quiero, los amo! Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah!" Camila said as she grabbed her bag, her car keys and blew them kisses on the way out.

When she was gone, Amity faced the rest of their gang to speak about last night's events. "Guys, we need to talk."

"Wait." Luz said with a sigh as she closed her eyes and pointed at the door which burst out open once more with Camila swiftly moving through the living room, past them and into the kitchen to grab her phone on the kitchen's table.

"Sorry, I forgot my phone again! Ay condenado telefono, siempre digo que me tengo que comprar una correa para cargarlo en el cuello y no olvidarlo! Pero noooo… que olvidadiza!" Camila rambled in Spanish as she took her phone and fled the house for good.

"Ok, now we need to talk." Luz said once Camila started the car outside. "We should… move down to the basement, just in case."

THE LOOKING GLASS

The gang moved downstairs to the basement shortly after, where Amity and Luz got their friends caught up to speed about what they read in the book they checked out from the library the day before. Hunter seemed rather uncomfortable when he noticed the cover in the book which was a photograph of a younger-looking Bellos standing next to his brother; Caleb. It was a photograph of the statue that he has seen a couple of times in town – but never has it felt more intriguing and intimidating of knowing the backstory to these brothers before.

Willow and Vee on the other hand seemed focused on listening to the topic at hand; what Luz and Amity read about the Shapeless.

Meanwhile, Gus seemed disappointed, which he made clear once Amity has stopped dropping information on them. "I don't know guys… I'm not sure about this."

Luz and Amity raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok… care to elaborate?" Luz asked.

"I don't know if I'm going to get used to call this thing The Shapeless now." Gus said, rather frustrated.

"Are you serious? Of all the things we've shared with you guys, this is what worries you?" Amity asked with a huge sigh.

Willow intervened at this point. "Well, granted – no one seems to be making up their mind on what to name this thing."

"Mhmhm! What she said!" Gus exclaimed. "In my opinion, we should stick to The Face Snatcher."

"Whoa, whoa! Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Luz raised her voice. "I was the first who named the thing. I still believe that The Unknown has a more ominous ring to it. Right, Amity?" Luz turned her head to the side to face her girlfriend for her support but instead, the pink-haired witch was narrowing her eyes towards her with a look that says 'Really?' towards her human girlfriend.

"Seriously, you too?" Amity added to express how little did she cared for the name of this monster.

Luz frowned while looking away with a hint of a blush on her face. "Well, I was only hoping for a bit of support from my girlfriend, that's all."

"Oh, Luz – pardon me. Of course I love the name, it's so creative! You always have the best ideas, sweetie!" Amity said sarcastically with a huge fake smile for overkill which made Luz narrow her own eyes at her in response.

"Ok, nevermind. I don't think I'm a fan of sarcastic Amity." Luz said in a lightly upset look on her face.

"Enough!" Amity raised her voice. "Can we please move on from deciding what to call this thing?! Because for all I care, we can call it a 'piece of crap' because that's what it is! It had the nerve to come to this house and intimidate my girlfriend. And I won't have any of it! If this thing keeps messing with my Luz, I'm going to make it pay! With or without your help! So, are we fighting this thing or what?!" Amity said rather passionately, which fire began to cool down when she saw Luz holding her hands together and looking at her, her face covered in a deep blush and her eyes full with a glimmer.

"You really care this much for me?" Luz asked with an endearing tone in her voice.

"Of course I do, silly!" Amity said, her face fully hot with a huge a blush. "Do you even need to ask?"

"No… but it feels so good to hear it." Luz said gently rubbing her own blushing cheeks.

"Ok." Willow sighed. "Now you guys are the ones getting sidetracked."

The two girlfriends reacted by clearing their throats and trying their best for their blushing to go away as Amity spoke. "Let's… just continue. Do you guys have any questions?"

"Hunter? You've been awfully quiet this whole time." Luz said as she caught the attention of Hunter who's eyes were locked on the book that Amity held in her hands.

"Oh, what?!" Hunter blurted out as he snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, yeah. I was going to ask you guys if you're sure about this whole 'holding it back with a mirror' thing you mentioned? Was that all the book said? It sounds pretty vague!"

"That is literally all it said, but I agree." Amity said with a sigh. "I was hoping to find a Beastiary in the library but apparently humans don't have any."

"Wait, what?!" Willow exclaimed with a genuine look of surprise on her face. "You guys don't have Beastiaries? How do you even protect yourselves from Hydras, Chimeras, Manotaurs or even Giraffes?!" She asked towards Luz's direction.

"May I remind you that you already went out to the woods once before. Did you ever saw one of those monsters wandering around?" Luz asked with a sigh of frustration. "Plus, Giraffes aren't even monsters!"

"Says you." Gus said while a quick rush of goosebumps traveled all over his body.

"Well. Let me tell you, that my dads don't ever let me out of the house without this." Willow said as she brought out the pocket-sized Beastiary she had on her this whole time.

"Yeah, Willow. Maybe Humans really have no need for Beastiaries, after all, the whole town seems scared of a bear. If it was a Multi-bear, I'd understand. But bear… singular, doesn't sound that dangerous." Gus said, getting a loud response from Luz.

"A Multi-bear? You're just making that up!"

"No he's not." Willow said with a raised eyebrow. "See." She opened her pocket-size Beastiary on a small profile about Multi-bears – depicted as bears… with multiple heads of bears. "They're pretty rare, but sneaking on up on one is pretty difficult since y'know… they are all heads!"

"I heard they can be tamed with the sound of a repetitive but catchy song of sorts." Gus said. "At least, that's what my uncle said."

"Unbelievable." Luz said as she face-palmed herself before Amity put a stop to the non-sense by raising her voice.

"Ok, guys. Enough about Multi-Bears and or Beastiaries in general. We must use the tools that we got. I did read more before Mrs Noceda left. Not about the Shapeless, even though there's a bunch of stories in the book about people that most likely encountered it – but I learned more about the author himself. And… I think he's kind of a… witch-weeb."

"What?" Luz asked cracking a soft short laugh. "What do you mean by that?"

Amity couldn't help but smirk as she tried her best not to laugh herself. "Yeah, I made that term up. But what I mean is that this guy is like… really really obsessed with witchcraft. He traveled all over the world investigating magic and witchcraft in general. I have no idea if this guy is legit because he does seem to have some semblance of how magic works, specifically our own magic system – because his wife was a local and he used to be her assistant. But… then there's moments where he mentioned he traveled to other planes of existence…" Amity sighed. "Using mushrooms and other stuff given to him by what he refers to as healers… which sound sketchy, to say the least."

"Ok, so he is a weirdo. Got it." Willow said.

"Wait, let's go back!" Luz exclaimed as she walked a step forward up to her girlfriend who blinked in confusion at her. "What do you mean that he knows about your magic system?"

Amity rubbed the back of her head before she found the words to that question, a bit hesitant to answer that question but she couldn't leave Luz hanging. "Well… like I said. His wife is a local, she lived in Gravesfield her whole life. But he speaks of her in past tense. He doesn't mentions she is dead… but that's what it sounds like. Whenever he speaks of her, there's some emotional weight on his words. She was an historian, many of her contributions are on display where Masha works. But in private, she talked to him about witches from Gravesfield. That their magic… comes from the heart."

"I know that line sounds sus…" Willow spoke up with a skeptic look on her face. "But when you say it like that it sounds kind of cheesy."

"I would agree with you, if it wasn't for this." Amity continued.

"She mentioned other facts like: witches carved their familiars from a special kind of wood, their lands are surrounded by a vast boiling sea, and they were able to travel to the Human Realm through. something she calls 'Blue Tears' which they used to mine for in long forgotten underground roots."

"Roots?" Gus asked.

"Yeah, roots. Like… blood vessels?" Amity pointed out.

"Wait!" Luz exclaimed as if was suddenly hit by an idea. "Is it possible that his wife may have been a witch?"

"I don't know we could be certain of it." Amity replied nervously, already noticing that look in Luz's face, that one that makes her put everything aside in favor of searching for a way back to Eda. "Like I said, he barely talked about her. This is literally all I could find of her in the book."

"We need to talk to him!" Luz exclaimed with her eyes full of hope blinding her of the impending threat they were about to face soon enough. "Maybe he knows something that could leads us back to the Boiling Isles! Maybe…"

"Stop!" Hunter said as he placed his hand on Luz's shoulder. "I need to stop you right there, Luz. There's something much more important we need to do right now; and that is making sure you're safe. There's a monster out there looking for you."

"Hunter's right, Luz." Amity said with a frown on her face. "There will be time to look around town and talk to the appropriate people that could hold a clue to our predicament. But all I care now is for you to be safe. Please… stay focused."

Luz frowned as she gazed downwards, knowing well that both of them were right. She nodded in defeat as she lifted her eyes back at them. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry for." Hunter said as both he and Amity placed each a hand on Luz's shoulders while Vee, Willow and Gus moved to stand next to them for support as well.

"Thank you." Luz said with a wide smile on her face before she looked at Amity. "There's that other thing we should tell them."

Amity sighed in response.

"What other thing?" Willow asked.

Amity gave the TV on the corner of the room a brief glance before she faced her friends once more. "Ok… so, last night…" The pink-haired witch explained them what she learned from the TV making contact with her the night before.

By the time she finished, she was met with a mix reaction. Vee seemed to be on-edge, looking at the TV with a nervous glance. Willow had a serious look on her face, as if she was pondering on something. Gus had his arms crossed, possibly bothered about the experience. But the one person who seemed not to be taking the story that seriously was Hunter, who was trying to fight off a smirk drawing itself on his face which made Luz narrow her eyes towards him in frustration.

"Hunter, is there something you wish to share with us?" Luz asked, which Hunter shook his head for in response.

"N-nope…" Hunter said while clearing his throat.

"Oh, so you believe Amity?" Luz asked.

"Sure." Hunter said while a grin swiftly widened his lips before he groaned in pain when Willow pinched him on the arm. "Oww! Why?!" He complained.

"I believe you, Amity." Willow said while glaring at Hunter who's heart shattered in an instant when his eyes laid on Willow's irritated look.

"Thanks, Willow." Amity said, rubbing her face, still somewhat bothered of having to share a experience that sounds too far fetched, even for witches like them that probably have seen weirder things in the Boiling Isles.

"I believe you too, Amity." Vee said as she walked up to Luz and Amity rather shyly. "Ever since we've visited that shack in the woods, I've felt watched… so this explains a lot."

"Uh, it's ok – Vee. But don't worry, you're safe with us." Amity said as she smiled at the short Basilisk.

"What about you, Gus?" Luz asked, still not able to read what Gus was thinking.

"Hm, I'm not so sure." Gus said, clearly a bit upset.

"You too?" Willow asked with an annoyed look on her face.

"Fine! I'm jealous, ok?!" Gus exclaimed as he ran up to and knelt down before the TV on the floor while dramatically frowning and borderline-crying in front of it. "Why, TV?! I thought we had something special! I was the one who brought you here! Why don't you wish to communicate with me instead?!"

"I hope you're listening TV. Cause I want out!" Amity said while everyone else just watched Gus' over reaction unfold before them.

"See, she doesn't appreciate you like I do!" Gus exclaimed. "All I hear from you is through Amity, I think you and I could make a great team! I even thought of giving you a cool name like… Tom Viridian!"

"Really?" Luz asked while shaking her head from side to side.

"Oh, I got a good one!" Hunter exclaimed with a large grin as he rushed up to Gus in front of the TV. "How about Thaddeus Valerian?"

"Hm…" Gus said as he rubbed his chin. "Not sure, how about Theodore Vazquez?!"

"Teddy Vee for short!" Hunter said, bringing both of them to laugh out loud before they turned to look back at Luz and the others when Willow scolded them again.

"Hey! Are you guys done messing around?!"

"Yeah, that's not cool of you guys." Luz said while crossing her arms. "It's not like it's the wildest thing we've seen. May I remind you of Grom. Which consists of a yearly celebration of Hexside selecting a 14 year old to fight a literal monster made out of fear or else it'll consume the entirety of Bonesborough?"

"She has a point." Gus said while Hunter shrugged.

"Perhaps." Hunter said. "But the fact that the TV - the same piece of human technology that has given us the most random reality shows ever like Suspicion Island – is capable of performing one of the most highly advanced spells ever, sound too good to be true."

"I'm not making this up, Hunter!" Amity exclaimed.

"Ok, let's see." Hunter said as he knelt down before the TV and dramatically spoke to it with a daring tone in his voice. "Oh, great spirit of the TV. Please hear my demands. Show us proof of your great power and show me my future!" There was silence for half a minute before Hunter pulled himself back up and smiled at them. "I guess they do not wish to speak to me."

But once that Hunter finished that sentence, they all watched as the TV turned itself on and swiftly filled the entire room with the unnerving sound of white noise. Followed by the brief sound of Hunter's voice coming out of it.

"Gah! I'm fine! Zzzzzit's just a scratch! Zzzzzdon't worry about me… watch out for the mirrorszzzz… it can…!" And with that, the TV unapologetically turned itself back off, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.

"Vindication!" Amity screamed with a wide smile on her face.

"What in the world…" Willow whispered.

"No way!" Gus said with a huge grin on his face. "Do you think it can tell us the lottery numbers? Or the football scores? We could make ourselves a lot of dough with this!"

"You're too young to gamble, Gus." Luz said with a soft chuckle before she looked at Amity with a smile. "I never doubted you. Just so y'know."

"Thanks." Amity said with a soft chuckle before they all looked at Hunter's worried expression as he exclaimed.

"Wait! Are we just simply ignoring what it just did?! Why was my voice coming from it?! Why was I saying things I don't even remember saying at all?! What does it mean?!"

"Nope. You laughed at me. You deal with this on your own." Amity said as she began to make her way upstairs with Luz following behind.

"You should have been more mindful of Amity's feelings." Luz said with a soft giggle.

"Seriously, you guys! Tell me what's going to happen to me?!" Hunter said while following behind Luz and Amity, with Willow, Vee and Gus being the last ones leaving the basement.

"You had it coming, Hunter." Willow said.

"See you at the funeral." Gus said while he and Willow chuckled softly.

"Not funny, you guys!" Hunter replied to them.

Luz and her friends ordered a pizza like Camila suggested earlier. Trying their best to relax before going into the woods later that day. Shortly after lunch, they prepared themselves. The witches decided to bring their palismans with them once more. While Luz only brought her baseball bat with her, alongside a few gadgets she found in the basement which she put inside her bag.

Once they made their way out, they walked through the semi-deserted streets of Gravesfield. The events that took place the night before still haunting everyone's minds. Every now and then they would see either a police man/woman or mailman roaming around without even glancing at them in the slightest.

A few more streets heading into the outskirts of Herlock Woods, Luz decided to speak up in a whisper at her friends – despite not seeing another human nearby. "We should… discuss a plan of attack in case we do run into it."

"Here I thought we were just going to wing it. But I'm glad you're bringing it up." Willow said. "The one thing we're lacking is healing magic. I suppose none of you studied some form of spell that could help us if we… get hurt, right?"

"Not on my end." Gus said.

"Unfortunately, no. I mean… I can heal small wounds but… nothing too serious." Amity said.

"The only thing I can do is shapeshift and maybe absorb magic…" Vee said.

"Now that I think about it, other than the spells that Ghost can provide for me… all I got on my end is my fire spell. However, I haven't practiced that spell since that day at the Knee, and I used a training-wand most of the time." Amity said with a sigh.

By the time they all realized, the concrete had run out and they were now standing on the grass, steps away from the nearest set of trees which ominously invited them in with their leaves blown away by the small breeze that made them land before their feet.

With a nervous look on her face, Luz held her baseball bat on her right hand before she took a deep breath and asked her friends: "Are you guys ready? Hunter… do you think you could follow our trail back if we get lost?"

"I do. I used to be a tracker for the Emperor's Coven before, remember?"

"I'm ready." Amity said as she reached for Luz's hand and squeezed it slightly. "I will protect you, no matter what!" She said with a large smile and a hint of hot blushing on her cheeks.

"Thank you." Luz said with a soft chuckle, blushing just as much.

"Also… I'm not letting you go now." Amity said as she glared at her, tightening her squeeze on her hand. "So you better not wander of on your own!"

"Understandable!" Luz laughed softly before she looked forward and lead the way. "Let's go…"

End of the chapter.

Note: I'm so sorry if this chapter lacked some energy, I thought jumping into our main cast going into the woods right off the bat in this chapter would not be a good transition, but I understand if too much exposition is starting to become a little frustrating for you guys. I do hope the next set of chapters will be more exciting for you!