Wanda and Agatha in the Multiverse of Gayness

Chapter 2 - Unknown ally

Hiding. This became her new life, now that the magical barriers of the happy little world she created by herself, disappeared. Lost forever seemed what she once held dear. She watched Vision die for a third time. And if that didn't break her, knowing that her children, Billy and Tommy, were gone forever was definitely something that had the potential to do so. Her peace in Westview has been a fragile one from the beginning. Everything she experienced there was the lucid dream of a grieving woman. A dream, which held an entire town of innocent people hostage. Consequences she wasn't ready to face ... yet. And on top of all she wasn't just a grieving woman anymore. Now she was a being called Scarlet witch, capable of ending the world. A fate she didn't want to accept.

In calm waves the water of the vast lake in front of her small cabin in her hideout in the mountains washed around her naked feet. It was wet and it was cold. She warmed her hands on a mug of steaming hot tea while staring at a small island in the far distance. It was almost silent. Only the wind, which blew through the pine trees and the smooth splashing of the lake could be heard.

Sometimes she heard whispers from a place beyond reality. Then suddenly the whispers turned to audible voices, screaming for help. Her boys. But this couldn't be. She wasn't giving in to the madness the Darkhold was trying to sneak into her already sore mind.

With a sigh she brushed away her thoughts and took a sip from her tea. She wasn't able to tell exactly for how long she must've stood outside but her once scorching hot tea was barely lukewarm now.

When she entered her cabin again, she was surrounded by unpleasant silence. Gone was the sound of nature, she had outside. In there was ... nothing. More tea was what she now needed. With a trained hand she grabbed the kettle, filled it with water and put it on the tiny stove. Then she sat down in her armchair. With the flick of her fingers, red sparks of magic appeared and ignited the wood in her small fireplace. Gone was the silence and was replaced with the soothing crackling of the burning logs.

She rested her eyes. For a few moments she slowly began to feel calmer with every deep breath she took. She wasn't going to end up insane. She didn't descend into the madness like she was supposed to. She wasn't going to be the end of all existence. She was ...

"Mom!", a strangely echoing voice yelled at her. She opened her eyes within a heartbeat. A trick of her own imagination?

"Mom! Help me!", the voice repeated. This was definitely not a product of her mind. The voice has never been more clear, even though it still sounded like a strange reflection. From another dimension. She jumped out of her armchair, ran past the stove into her bedroom. The kettle whistled meanwhile, but she didn't care. With a loud noise she pushed open the door and looked into her own image, floating a foot above the bed, reading the book of the damned. Her own red glowing eyes looked down on her. Twisting energies of pure chaos magic whirled around her.

"Help me!", echoed the voices from every corner in the room. Reluctantly she averted her eyes and turned around, looking for the source of the screams for help.

"Mommy is here...", she whispered flustered. "Have no fear. Everything will be alright."

The echoes were moving, surrounding her from all sides.

"Mom! Mom! Help me!", they yelled sometimes louder, sometimes fainting like they keep moving further away.

Wanda clenched her eyes before she fell down on her knees. Was that the point where she was losing her mind? Were these cries for help real or imaginary? They were to strange to be real but to loud to be a product of her twisted mind.

The cries stabbed her into her heart. Her children weren't real. Everything in Westview was there, because she wanted it that way. But why do their voices sound so real then, she asked herself.