BREAKING THE FANTASY
Written by Gwendolyn Frost.
It wasn't until late afternoon when Luz and her friends woke up from their deep slumber in the Noceda residence. In fact, it was Luz herself the first one to wake up. One by one, the rest of her friends all found themselves staring in confusion when they noticed the young human all alone in the backyard. None of them dared to go outside, they all knew that Luz needed some time alone after what happened the night before.
"You should stop worrying…" Hunter said while in a conversation with Amity while she was making them both some coffee. "It'd be too much to ask of her to forgive herself in just one night. Give her some time."
"I concur." Willow said as she took a sip of a cup of tea, not sharing her friends' taste for coffee. "The only thing we can do as her friends is support her. The rest is up to her." She said while smiling at Vee who took a seat next to her to eat her cereal.
"Time…" Amity whispered to herself as she poured coffee on her mug which had the lesbian pride flag printed on it. She got distracted looking at Luz who was sitting on a chair outside staring down into the grass all by herself. Soon, she felt that the sound of the clock was ringing in her pointy ears which brought her to look at it with a worried look on her face before she snapped out of her trance when hearing Hunter's voice.
"Hm… Amity, you're spilling it."
"Oh, crap!" The pink-haired witch exclaimed as she looked down at her mug overflowing with coffee, spilling it down on the table. "Hot! Hot!" She yelped soon after when she burned her hand in the process when trying to grab the mug.
"Here, I'll help you." Willow said as she moved next to her as the pink-haired witch sucked on her burnt thumb with watering eyes.
"Thanks." Amity said in response while pulling the thumb out of her mouth, shaking her hand a bit while it cooled down.
Willow cleaned the underside of Amity's mug and poured the excess of coffee on Hunter's mug which has a wolf printed on it before she cleaned the table. "Here you go, one full cup of sock stew for you." The green-haired witch said with a teasing tone at Hunter as she handed him his mug.
"Hm, yummy." Hunter replied while laughing softly.
"It does taste like sock stew." Vee said as she munched on her cereal.
"When did you ever had sock stew?" Hunter said while giving his mug a sip. "So good!"
By now, Amity has joined them on the table, having poured cream and sugar on her mug. "Well… this sock stew is the best, I must admit." She said with a soft chuckle.
"Right? You should drink it black." Hunter said which brought the pink-haired witch to puff her cheeks and shake her head in denial.
"Nope… I did. Didn't liked it."
"You two are gross. But then again…" Willow said as they all watched Gus bring himself down on a chair with a empty glass in which he poured milk on it. "Neither of you is as stubborn as this masochist over here…"
"Gus, c'mon man… don't do this to yourself again." Hunter said while narrowing his eyes at him.
"Hey, don't judge me!" Gus exclaimed as he finished pouring milk on his glass. "I'm just trying to enjoy the best drink in all of the Human Realm in peace." He said as he sipped it before licking his lips with lit stars on his eyes. "Delicious!"
"That's exactly the problem, Gus!" Amity exclaimed. "You can't handle milk!"
"What? Nonsense…" The Illusionist said while chuckling softly. "It's all in the mind. Nothing that makes me happy is ever going to hurt me." He said while shoving the glass on his mouth before putting it back down on the table as growling started to fill the room.
Everyone in the room was staring at Gus with uncomfortable looks on their faces. "And so it begins…" Vee said as she brought her bowl of cereal somewhere else.
"Please stop." Hunter said.
"What's that? I can't hear over the sounds of my own enjoyment. Hmm…" Gus said as he took another mouthful before the sounds of growling increased. By now… the Illusionist was fighting the urge to groan in pain.
"It sounds more like lactose intolerance… in my opinion." Willow said with a sigh.
"Not today milk! You're not beating me this time!" Gus exclaimed as he placed the glass of milk on the table as his eyes watered.
"Gus… just go." Amity said which brought the Illusionist to sprint to the bathroom immediately.
"Next time, milk! You won't best me next time!" He yelled all over the house until his voice disappeared.
Coming from the hall, Camila who just woke up had to ask the group of witches. "Was that what I think it is?"
"Milk." They all said in unison as Camila sighed with a soft chuckle.
"That's what I thought…" She said before her eyes looked up at the clock and widened with panic in her voice as she exclaimed. "Ya es muy tarde! I'm going to have to call my boss and make up an excuse…" She said with another sigh before Amity walked up to her holding a mug full of steaming coffee.
"Buenos dias, Mrs Noceda. Quere un poco de cofe?" The pink-haired witch tried earning points with Camila by speaking in spanish which certainly worked when the older woman gave her a gleeful response.
"Thank you, Amity! I must say that your pronunciation has gotten better! One small note, though. It's no longer morning, it's the afternoon. So the correct way would be…"
But before Camila was able to finish, Vee's voice swiftly beat her to it. "Buenas tardes, Mrs Noceda. Quiere usted un poco de cafe?"
"That's it!" Camila exclaimed as she embraced Vee when she took a seat next to her on the table. "Aww, I'm so proud! That's the correct way, Amity." She said as she looked at the pink-haired witch whose vein on her forehead was pulsing on the verge of popping blood.
"Muchas grashas, Vee…" Amity said with a passive-aggresive tone in her voice whilst forcing a smile on her face, feeling Vee stole her thunder.
"It's pronounced 'gracias'." Vee replied which further made the pink-haired witch to puff her cheeks before she heard the whispering of Willow and Hunter in front of her.
"Look at her, she's so mad." Hunter said.
"I know…" Willow whispered back before the both of them felt the glare of Amity on them, which instead of making them fearful, they instead burst into laughter.
"Ugh… you two make great replacements for Edric and Emira." Amity said as she admitted defeat.
Camila leaned over and asked her. "Am I missing something here?"
"It's nothing, Mrs Noceda, don't worry about it." The pink-haired witch replied nervously.
When done laughing, Willow cleaned the tears on her eyes as she asked Vee. "Hey, Vee. Out of curiosity, how do you say 'sock stew' in spanish?"
"Estofado de calcetin." The Basilisk said proudly.
"Estocado de cals… what?" Willow tried pronouncing it before Vee repeated.
"Estofado de calcetin."
"Estocada de… forget it, I give up." She sighed.
There was a short moment where everyone fell silent where they heard the distant voice that was calling for Amity outside until they heard the loud 'thump' of Luz hitting herself on the head when trying to go through the glass door.
"Oww!" Luz hissed in pain as she pulled the sliding door to get inside. "That really hurt…" She whispered before she hurried up to her girlfriend offering her phone at her.
"It's for you… hah… someone is calling for you Amity… hah… it's for that job offer…"
"What?!" Amity exclaimed as she choked on her own spit before Camila held her by the shoulders with a reassuring smile on her face.
"Calm down, Amity, you got this. Breathe…" Camila said as she showed her how to inhale and exhale. "In… and out…"
Everyone else but Luz was helping out by holding their hands up and counting to five which made the young human feel left out in confusion.
"What's happening here?" Luz asked as she narrowed her eyes at them. "Are you all having friendship-defining moments without me?"
"It'll get passed onto you eventually, don't rush it." Willow said before they heard Amity raise her voice.
"Ok, I'm ready." She said with confidence as Luz handed her the phone. It was then that the short period of bravery wore off when Amity gulped nervously. "Hm… hi. This is Amity… who is this?"
The pink-haired witch's worries were washed away in a moment when hearing a sweet voice on the other end. "Oh, hi! I'm so happy to finally get in touch with you, Miss Amity. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Barbara Craig, I'm the manager of the Orb Daycare Center. I'm calling to know if you're still interested in the job?"
"Oh, of course! Yes! I mean…" Amity exclaimed before clearing her throat. "I'm sorry for the yelling but you have no idea how much this means to me."
"Hehe… I'm glad you feel this way. I was amused by the way you handled things in the library, and it's not just me. I must apologize in advance but one of my workers uploaded your video to our socials and it got some tracking. Some parents have come asking for you these past days…"
"They have?" Amity asked with her eyes full of joy that made Luz's heart to warm up seeing her so happy.
"Mhm, we're all eager to have you here. But… I don't want you to be nervous, the job is as good as yours. However, protocol mandates that we have a small interview to get to know each other. So, the center closes at 4, but you can find me after hours. Does tomorrow works for you?"
"Oh, yes! I'll be there for sure!" Amity said with her eyes lit with stars.
"Splendid, thank you so much for your time. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then, byeee!"
"Bye, thank you!" Amity exclaimed before a rush of excitement burst out of her, letting a joyful scream that filled the entire room, making everyone smile widely. "She said the job is as good as mine!"
"I'm so happy for you, Amity!" Luz grinned as she held her girlfriend close to her while Camila embraced the both of them.
There was a short period of celebration among the group before Amity explained what the woman on the other end of the line told her. Soon after, they all moved to rest in the living room a bit more before Amity got up to her feet and looked at Willow. The green-haired witch tilted her head in confusion for a short moment before she gave her friend a serious look and nodded as if they were both speaking telepathically. Luz took notice, which brought her to ask them both. "Is something wrong?"
"There's something I need to do." Amity said as she walked up to the room's corner where they have set some of those jars full of purple goop. The witch opened one up and used her magic to control the goop and make it snare itself around her right arm. "Tomorrow is a important day for me and I don't wish to think of this any longer. Willow, will you back me up?"
"Of course!" Willow replied with a long smile as Luz realized what they were about to do.
"You're going to speak to the spirit of the TV, aren't you?"
Her girlfriend nodded. "Yes, it's time." She said before she walked with Willow side by side into the hallway with Luz following them closely without saying another word.
They made a turn and began descending the stairs into the basement to reach the CRT-TV laying down on the floor sitting still and offline.
"Hey Luz, you should step back. We have no idea what we're dealing with yet." Willow said as she looked back at her human friend who was biting on her lower lip nervously.
"Ok. Amity please be safe." Luz said which brought her girlfriend to look back at her with a nod.
"I will." She replied before she glared down at the TV. "Hey you! We need to talk, now."
For nearly a minute, the CRT-TV remained motionless while it showed their reflections until it turned itself on. Now… what the screen displayed was a loading screen with the logo of a company named 'Wakeman Paratechnologies' that had a clock on it. Under that logo there were the words 'Please wait…' on display with a meter bar that filled itself the closer it was to completion… whatever it was doing. During that time they had to wait, there was a humming sound that filled everyone's ears making them exchange nervous looks the closer that bar was filled completely. Once it did, the screen was now displaying the words 'Command TSR successful, Host initiated, Ready to transmit' while the pixel rain and the familiar sound of white noise filled everyone's ears as they all heard the eerie inorganic voice communicating a message to them.
"WE'LL TALK MISS BLIGHT, JUST YOU AND ME… NO ONE ELSE."
"Fine." Amity said while glaring at the piece of outdated technology as she warned it with a firm tone in her voice. "But if you try anything to endanger my friends you're going to regret it."
"IF YOU SAY SO…" It said without a hint of emotion but it was clearly a taunt aimed at the pink-haired witch glaring back at it.
"I don't like the sound of this, Amity… you don't have to do this." Luz protested with worried eyes towards her girlfriend.
"But I must… Luz." Amity said while trying to smile back at her reassuringly. "I'll hear what it wants, if I don't like what it has to say then we'll get rid of it. I promise."
"WE'RE BURNING MAGIC HERE… BE QUICK." The TV said without a hint of emotion yet again but it was clearly growing impatient.
"I'm coming already!" The pink-haired witch yelled back at it before she made a swift run towards her girlfriend and gave her a small kiss before smiling. "I'll be back soon." She said while turning towards the outdated piece of technology. "Now… how do we…" Before she was able to finish, the TV then emitted some form of high-pitch noise that forced the witch down to her knees which made her friends to panic behind her.
They rushed up to her screaming her name. "Amity!" It was then they saw the rain of pixels on their friend's eyes.
"What's happening?!" Hunter exclaimed as he and the rest came rushing down when they heard the noise that brought Amity into a trance only to get no response as Willow and Luz desperately tried to make the witch wake up.
"Willow, what do we do?! This can't be good!" Luz said while the rest of their group joined them.
"I don't know… but I really hope she knows what she's doing." The green-haired witch said while they all stared down towards the unconscious Amity on her knees.
But the pink-haired witch couldn't hear them, her mind was somewhere else… a place that felt eerily familiar. She saw this place before. Her form materialized into this room full of rubble, with the only source of light being multiple screens all over the place… all staring back at her as she heard the sound of something… something that was slowly approaching her.
That something seemed heavy, with every step of it coming with a loud inorganic 'thump' until it came into view. What Amity saw was no human… nor witch. It was connected to what it seemed dozens of cables on its back. Their head… squared like a TV with a screen of its own displaying that same rain of pixels she was used to. Their body had no skin, no flesh, nothing that would give away it was alive. Their arms were exposed, most of them at least… because they wore human clothing. Perhaps this was their way of making her feel like she was about to talk to a human being. When it wasn't the case. What they wore was a orange hawaiian shirt with coconuts and palm trees printed on it. Tight jeans that its metal legs were shredding. Shoes on his feet. Underneath their body was all metal. Last but not least… they were holding a staff that had a microphone installed on the top side which made the pink-haired witch wonder if they were truly what she knew as a wizard…? Only to realize when it spoke in their voice which no longer sounded inorganic.
"Heheheheh! I bet you were expecting some old fart wearing a silly pointy hat, pajamas and sandals on his feet. Well… now that we're finally face to face… you'll find out there's no glitter in these pockets!"
This was no ordinary wizard…
THE LOOKING GLASS
Chapter 29: The Metal Wizard.
In this dark room Amity met face to face with the Metal Man, the same low humming noise was present – louder than the white noise those television boxes emitted. She stared in disbelief at this machine capable of wielding magic as their own.
"Where am I? What is this place? How did you brought me here?" She asked with a nervous tone in her voice.
"Those questions, so we're in that timeline, huh? Well, I guess we could start there. Heheheheh!" The machine said as he extended his metal arms while aiming his squared head upwards. "Welcome, to the little space of my creation in the Imaginarium! I call this my Screen Room. Here is where the real magic happens! Heheheheh!"
"The real magic?" Amity glared. "I'm new to the Human Realm, so I know little of machinery such as yourself but… how are you able to use magic? You're not even alive?!"
"Hahahaha! Feeling threatened by technology? You're not going to like the future." The Machine said, his voice was definitely a man's, it was sharp, comedic in some way and with short swift dozes of laughter that was getting on Amity's nerves by now.
"Y'know what? Why don't we cut to the chase. I should be asking the really important question I've been wondering for as long as you've been in our home. What are you after?"
"We should at least get comfy. You may think you can just take shortcuts in life, but trust me… you really want this conversation to happen." The Wizard said as they raised that staff of his which emitted a spell that caused some pieces of rubble to be magnetized towards it. For a brief moment that rubble orbited around the Metal Wizard before it began to land down on the ground, improvising a table and a couple of chairs for them to sit. "There we go, now we can get comfortable. Hahahaha!"
"Just answer my question!" The pink-haired witch yelled, kicking the chair in front of her as the Wizard brought himself down on his own seat.
"Believe or not, I want to help you protect your girlfriend. Our goals are aligned. She, well… let's just say she's a very valuable variable. Hahahaha!"
"That is indeed a hard thing to believe." Amity replied, still standing while glaring at this machine sitting on his chair. "Our goals are aligned, you say?"
"They are! Hahahaha! You see, I have no control over what happens in this so-called Human Realm you speak of. Which is why I'd like for you to keep things moving in the direction I desire. You want Luz alive… I very much want her alive too!"
"Why is Luz so important to you?" Amity asked, making the machine lean forward on that table to respond.
"Do you really want spoilers now? C'mon, a little bit of mystery won't hurt you. Besides, let's be real. You've seen what I can offer. If you want to throw me away then do it. Unless… you're really considering a partnership. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."
The pink-haired witch was unable to come up with a response to such observation by the machine before her as she closed her fists glaring at it.
"Well…? Do you want the means to protect your girlfriend or not?"
"Our goals are aligned you said…" Amity repeated. "What happens when they're not?" She said with worry in her voice.
"Smart! That's so smart! I knew you were the best choice! Hahahaha!" The Machine laughed before he sighed. "Well… when they're not… we'll split. By then, I believe you'd be capable of doing your own thing. I really think there's potential in you but the problem is that little resentment you have towards Oracle Magic."
"I have no potential… until now I was not able to do Oracle Magic. This is your doing…" Amity said while leaning on the table. "Why?"
"What I said is true, you have potential. I have no reason to lie. It's no fun to deceive others like certain someone I know… being honest makes things a lot more interesting. Hahahaha!"
"Would you stop evading my questions?!" Amity yelled as she slammed her hands down on the table.
"Ugh… fine! It was me. I shattered the lock you put in yourself. You need to learn Oracle Magic in order to become the variable I need you to be. You need all the tools at your disposal."
"That's not for you to decide!" She yelled once more.
"Don't you remember what I said? Our roads will split eventually. What're you going to do when I'm no longer there to help you cheat your way to victory? Hahahaha!"
"To begin with… you don't look trustworthy! If I were to consider your help when you clearly don't sound like you care about me or Luz… what makes you think that things will go your way once our paths split!?"
"Oh, trust me. I'm really good at what I do! Hahahaha! T-trust me…! R-really good at what…! What I! What I! What I! What I!" Just as soon as the Metal Wizard started glitching he smacked that television for a head over and over until it stopped. "Ugh… sorry about that! Hahahaha! I know this will go over your head, but back in the day… you'd be giving these some smacks every now and then!"
"Hm…" It's all the pink-haired witch could say after such display.
"You don't seem convinced. Very well…" The Wizard stuck his staff down on the floor before leaning into the table with his arms spread. "Look… that thing you pissed off… The Shapeless; it had its eyes on your girlfriend. But now that you all showed it what you're capable of… now it's going after all of you. You can't kill it. You can't reason with it. The chances of you surviving on your own is 8 in 4 trillion. I'm not making up this up… I've seen that many sequences of you going into the forest and die."
"What do you mean by sequences?" Amity asked nervously. "I thought you could see the future."
The machine sighed. "Do you truly believe that the future is set in stone? That is a fantasy. It's not even what's likely to happen either. Predicting the most likely scenario is impossible because the possibilities are endless. The future is statistics. Variables that could go one way or the other. Odahlia understood this very well."
"What?! How do you even know my mom?!" The witch yelled.
"Oh, that's easy. I used a spell to look into your past. Hahahaha! It makes for a very entertaining show, I must say. So much drama…" The Metal Wizard said with a teasing tone.
"Well, don't you ever dare to do that ever again!" Amity yelled once more with a blush on her face.
"Oh, trust me. I've seen enough. I would rather watch the new season of Suspicious Island. But we're getting off-track. I can help you. It'll boost your chances… plus. I know the spell to get rid of it." The Metal Man said while leaning back into his chair as the pink-haired witch's eyes stared at him in disbelief.
"You do? Wh-what kind of spell is it?"
"Does this mean we have a partnership?" The Machine chuckled softly while that television box on his head tilted to the side ever so slightly, awaiting her response.
There was a short minute of silence until Amity thought things through, she didn't say a word as she brought that chair she kicked earlier up so she could take a seat before she spoke to the machine with a sharp tone in her voice. "If we're going to have a partnership, I'm going to ask you again and this time… you better tell me the whole truth."
"That's fair. Let's hear it then." The machine said as he brought his arms spread on the table once more, ready to negotiate with the witch.
"What do you want from me?"
"Hahahaha! When I said that it's in my best interest to keep your girlfriend safe, I was not lying. But ok, here's the whole truth. You are a variable in my chess board too after all. What I want from you is this; get rid of my head before Valentine's Day. That's it."
"What? What do you mean with 'your head'? What's Valentine's Day?" Amity asked in confusion.
"With my head I mean that television sitting on your basement. With Valentine's Day I mean a date. You throw my head before this date. Do I need to write this down?"
Amity rubbed her eyes in frustration. "I thought I told you to tell me the whole truth! Do you realize that I was going to get rid of 'your head' anyway?"
"Yeah, but if you have done that then I wouldn't be able to help you keep your girlfriend safe, remember?"
Amity stared into the machine before she brought her palms to her face to scream on them. "Do you expect me to believe that?! That sounds so inconsequential! Why is getting rid of your head so important to you?!"
"Heheheheh, everything has consequences, Miss Blight." The Metal Man said with his comedic tone which characterized him no longer present which made the witch quite nervous. "Now, can we please move onto the part where I help you and decide whether you fulfill my request or not later? Your time is running…"
The witch took a deep breath before she looked back at the machine's television screen which was still raining pixels with that neverending white noise. "Ok… but I wish to ask you something else."
"Sure, ask away."
"With this date… you mean that we're going to be stuck in the Human Realm for that long?"
"Oh, indeed. You'll be stuck in here for a long journey, I'm afraid. Hehehehe…" The Metal Wizard said as he raised his staff to cast a spell that made every TV in the Screen Room to flash moments in time yet to happen.
Whilst Amity wasn't able to see these images clearly due to it's low resolution and the never ending interference of pixel rain, she could hear the voices of herself and her friends living these moments in time.
'So what you're saying is that you can help me communicate with them?'
'Luz, listen to me and listen to me well… these people we're helping are not what they say they are!'
'You say that I have no future but you're wrong! I'm not the real Caleb Wittebane and I'm not trying to be. I'm my own person regardless whether I use his name or not!'
'Of course I'm scared… I will always be scared of something. But fear does not make me weak! You made a grave mistake when you brought my mom into our fight!'
'Why did you killed all those people?! Why would you soil everything you built… everything I helped you build with these people's blood!? I cared for you! I looked up to you! I refuse to believe you're the monster everyone says you are… please help me understand… why did you do this!?'
'These hunters have been experimenting with corpses… their base is loaded with them.'
'You've been coming back over and over. I've seen you die multiple times and yet you're still here… this ends now!'
'Eda…? Is that you?!'
The pink-haired witch's lip trembled as she tried focusing on as much as she could, but the information that was being loaded into her brain became overwhelmingly high. The screens flashing non-stop didn't helped either, her eyes felt so dry she had to shut them down. "Stop it…" She pleaded. "Please stop!"
Slamming the underside of the staff did the trick, the Wizard's visions seized. Leaving them in a pitch-black room where all lights soon rebooted into a dim lightning that allowed the witch to open her eyes.
"H-how are you able to do all this…? Are all these visions going to become true?" Amity asked the machine who sighed in frustration.
"I've told you… the future is uncertain. There are many variables to consider that could make things go one way or the other. But hey… just because the future is uncertain, that doesn't mean that you -as a variable yourself- cannot make things happen. How? Well… the keyword is facts."
"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Amity asked in confusion.
"Here's a fact… there is a way to get rid of the Shapeless."
"Right!" Amity exclaimed as her eyes widened with hope. "You said there's a spell!"
"Indeed, the Shapeless came into Midgard because of a spell…"
"Whoa, hold on! Wh-what is Midgard?" The witch asked in confusion once more as the machine sighed once more.
"Maybe I should start using your own lingo… Midgard is what you call the Human Realm. Every other Realm calls it Midgard. Because newsflash! There are humans in multiple Realms!"
"Ok, ok… you don't have to be a jerk about it…" Amity said while rolling her eyes. "Go on…"
"You have one half of your answer all figured out. The spell was casted not on the Shapeless, but on a mirror you've seen before."
"The Morton Ranch's mirror…" The witch said loud enough for the machine to hear.
"That's right. This was the origin. It's been destroying all mirrors it finds because it can't remember which one is the origin. So, your goal is to make it go back through it and then… destroy it! Simple, right? Every other mirror will be useless soon after because the spell will be broken."
"Ok, ok… isn't there a incantation that must be recited?" Amity asked which caused the Metal Man to laugh it off.
"Incantation… you're cracking me up. This isn't Good Witch Azura! You get the bug inside the mirror, you smash it… end of the story! You all get medals, some furry man growls as the credits roll. That is it!"
"Why are you like this…?" Amity asked as she rubbed her face in pure annoyance towards the machine.
"Because you're too serious… now, listen. You have your solution, but now you need the tools to get that solution happen. So, you'll need a sword and shield."
"A sword and shield?" Amity asked in confusion yet again.
"Well, I don't mean that in a literal sense. What I mean is that don't do what shounen anime protagonists often do. Oh, what's that? I've been punching this thing for hours and it won't budge. So, now what do I do? Oh, I know! I should hit it harder. Wrong! Be smarter! You have a thinker in that head of yours. You're a warlock. Your coven was literally built for conflict. Isn't it?"
"You mean that Abomination Magic is my sword?"
"Well, yes and no. Do you remember how that other human burned that thing in one swift spell? You can literally do that yourself without risking burning your precious hands like she did."
"How?"
"Heheheheh… it's called Hydro Fluoric Acid. That's your sword."
"Acid?" The witch asked while raising her eyebrow.
"Hydro Fluoric Acid. It melts almost everything! Skin, flesh, bone… all of the human body can be melted with just this thing! Heheheheh! The Shapeless has a lot of mass, and it can't replace all of it in time if you keep melting it away. Do you understand now?"
"Ok… that makes sense, I guess." The witch said while sweat dropping, the idea of melting someone have not crossed her mind in the slightest.
"Great, now. All you need is your shield. It's called Polyethylene. This is the one thing that this acid will not melt. It'll protect you and your friends from what you can do with the other element."
"Ok, ok… but what am I supposed to do with these things? I don't even know what you're talking about."
"Ugh…" The Wizard sighed as he leaned forward on the table. "Yes you do… and you can do something with these things because everything you need you learned in magic school. You may think human and magic schools are different but your coven taught you all that there is to know in mixing ingredients because it all boils down to basic human chemistry."
"Wait…" Amity exclaimed as her mind came up with those very ideas that were put there by the machine.
"Ah, that's the face of someone who's using their thinker!" The Metal Man said while leaning back on his chair.
"I think I got it." The witch said with a wide smile on her face.
"Yes, I can see that clearly. You're quite a deadly witch, I must say… Heheheheh!"
"So, I know now how to wear it down. But what if it uses its black hole?"
"It won't use that spell."
"What?"
"It used that spell so that you guys wouldn't escape. It won't use it for combat because 1; it will suck you into it and won't be able to feast on you and 2; when it used the spell it massively consumed most of its mass. You think that just because it casted the black hole it's immune to it? Ha! But… if in any case it does use that spell then maybe you may want to get a hold of a third element called nitroglycerin, you could install some couple of upgrades into your staffs and make use of this to get you out of trouble. I promise you that it won't catch you with this."
"H-how… do you know so much about magic?" Amity asked with intrigue in her voice.
"Well, believe or not I was once human and a magic practitioner. I was pretty good. The best in 10 Realms at least… heheheheh!"
"Oh, I guess those Realms is where you learned all your modesty as well." Amity said with sarcasm in her voice.
"Modesty? Eww… what's that? Heheheheh!"
"Ok… let's pretend that didn't happen. Is there something else I should know?" The witch asked, wishing the entire conversation will end already.
"There's in fact something you should know… but I can't say it out loud. You'll have to trust me." The machine said rather ominously.
"Why can't you say it out loud?"
"Because of people listening into it… heheheheh!"
"People, what people? There's no people here…" Amity said while looking around nervously. "Right?"
"Oh, Miss Blight. There's always people listening. Right, people? Heheheheh!" The Metal Wizard raised his staff and used it to magnetize some pieces in order to create a old-timey phone that they placed in front of Amity before it brought its cable to connect on his arm. When doing so, the screen on his head showcased the word mute and transferred all sound to the phone which started ringing.
Once Amity answered the phone, she heard the voice of the Wizard on the other end explaining things that will take place and that the witch must be ready for. Her eyes widened in horror until the very end when she hung up the phone with force… her hand trembling.
"I'm not keeping this from Luz… or my friends. We need to stop this from happening!"
"If you do… you'll jeopardize the entire thing. Remember what I said before… things must happen organically or else…"
"It's not fair…" Amity said as her eyes watered before she rubbed her arm to clean those tears off. "Ugh… you just ruined my entire day!"
"Well, nobody said life was fair. This is the only chance you got in order to survive what's to come." The Wizard said as he sighed and brought himself back to his metal feet. "Now that this session is over… it's up to you to keep your mouth shut and let things happen organically. I mean it."
The witch's eyes watered so much as she asked while looking away from the machine. "Did you… showed me that vision before… because of her? Do you really want her involved in this? Is that the only reason that we survived that first fight?"
"Heheheheh… you're too smart for your own good, y'know?"
"Are you sure… this is the only way?" Amity's eyes glared back at it, not liking going through whatever the machine told him in that secret chat on the phone.
"Yes… now it is time for you to go."
"Wait… you didn't tell me how I get these elements you speak of."
"I think that librarian or the doctor can help you with that. Now beat it. I got better things to do like watching the rest of Suspicion Island." The Metal Man said as he stretched as if he was alive before he started walking away from her.
"It's been a pleasure." The witch replied with sarcasm and a glare towards the machine that waved that metal hand of his while not looking back at her.
"Same…" The machine yawned before raising his voice. "Karen, kick our guest from my server."
"TRANSMISSION ENDED… LOGGING OFF." The inorganic voice of a woman echoed through the room before Amity woke up back in Luz's home while her friends all discussed behind her.
"Willow… please. You've got to tell me what Amity said in that telepathic conversation you both have earlier!" Luz exclaimed as the green-haired witch bit on her lower lip, not wishing to share those details with her.
"Telepathic conversation? There was no such thing!" Willow said while her eyes refused to look back at Luz whose patience was running dry.
"You're lying, Willow! I know Amity spoke with you with thoughts because that's a thing she can do now! She talked to me this way before! Please… tell me what she told you?" Luz pleaded as she showed how worried she was to her first Hexside friend who finally looked back at her to respond in defeat with a sigh.
"She said… she told me that she needed back up. She explained to me how dangerous what she was about to do might be and that… if it came to it." Willow's lip trembled as she looked back while gulping down a fair share of spit before those words finally came out of her mouth which shocked everyone else in the room. "That I destroy the TV…"
"You can't do that, Willow!" Luz panicked. "She's still in there…!"
"Hold on, nobody is doing anything." Hunter said as he interfered between the two. "Willow, nothing has happened yet… we're safe still."
"She hasn't wake up! She should be back by now! It's been hours, Hunter!" Willow exclaimed before she got interrupted by Luz.
"No, please… don't do it. Let's… wait a bit longer." The young human Willow called her friend said, making the green-haired witch's eyes to water a bit.
"Luz… what if this is the only way?"
"This can't be the only way, Willow. Please… don't do it. She's your friend… our friend…" Luz said with pleading eyes as the green-haired witch's vines that were carefully wrapped around her arms started to back down in size.
"Ok…" Willow said, the look in her eyes said everything. She didn't wish to do it either. She had just made peace with their troubled past and she didn't want to lose Amity again, but… the fact that the pink-haired witch had trusted in her to help her protect their friends meant a lot to her. Which it felt wrong to betray that trust… yet, Luz was right. There was no need to do this because their friend was back…
The pink-haired witch groaned in pain as a massive headache manifested itself while the TV shut off which made everyone to look back at Amity with their eyes widening in surprise.
"Amity! You're back!" Luz exclaimed as she came rushing towards her.
"You're ok? You look in pain?" Willow asked with worried eyes.
"It's just a headache. I think I'm going to take a nap." The pink-haired witch as she tried walking away up the stairs while everyone kept asking her questions which further made her head hurt more.
"Wait, what happened?!" Luz asked.
"It's been hours, Amity, what happened in there?!" Willow pleaded for a response.
"What did that entity in the TV wanted? What did it said?" Hunter tried to ask but more and more of their friends kept pushing more questions which brought the witch to hold her head once more.
"Please… I promise I'll explain…" Amity tried to get out but the message fell on deaf ears.
"Amity, I almost smashed that TV, please say something!" Willow exclaimed.
"Please… everyone… I'll tell you everything that happened." Amity said as she looked up at the clock while the sound of tick-tocking rang in her head. "In time…"
End of the chapter.
Note: You have no idea how stressful these past couple of chapters were… gladly, the next chapter is the one I've been most excited to write! It'll be a relaxing chapter, I promise! No more lore, but there will be more intrigue. Stay tuned!