Dolls, Dimensions, And Demons (The Rewrite)

Prologue

A fresh potion of healing bubbled as it was carefully crafted in a tough iron cauldron, being stirred by a mysterious individual with a black hat and purple robes. A witch, both in name and in craft, living in an isolated hut in the depths of a swamp. Her purple eyes glanced around the room before she grabbed a small jar labelled 'Nether Wart.' It was near empty, mayhaps no more than a quarter full, possibly even less than that. She opened the jar and carefully picked out a single dry crimson plant, looking almost like a mushroom in appearance. In her hands, the witch crushed the Nether wart into a fine powder before she poured it into the cauldron, which bubbled and glowed. In the newfound glow, a green gemstone in her hat began to reflect the crimson light.

However, the witch wasn't the only being in the room. She was accompanied by a pitch black cat on her shoulder, but there was also a creature of far more significance. To the witch, however, he was nothing more than an object, something to study, to test. She would probably end up killing him at some point, to take him apart and see how exactly he worked. He was completely unaware of her gruesome plans, and saw her as his best friend, having little memory of his life. All he could recall before the witch was a fuzzy memory of a mysterious man. He was naive, too naive to be safe.

He was a human looking male with fluffy brown hair, sitting quietly on a counter nearby, as he observed the witch with an expression of amazement, his brown-orange eyes focused on the bubbling and glowing liquid inside of the cauldron. He hadn't a single clue as to what kind of potion the witch was making, although he was curious, the witch had told him not to talk to her or bother her while she was making potions unless there was something dangerous, so he would wait until she was done for him to ask.

The feline, Corro was his name, hopped off of the witch's shoulder and then through the window, only to land delicately on a lily pad. The lily pads in the swamp were surprisingly strong and they seemed to bend the rules of physics at times, allowing a full grown human to walk on them above the water. It wasn't actually magic, just science, but the illusion of magic stood there and never ceased to amaze the boy, even though he lived with a truly magic witch. He never learned her name, but to be fair, he didn't remember his either, so they were even, he supposed.

Perhaps fifteen minutes later, Corro returned and meowed loudly at the brown haired boy, hopping onto the counter to bat at his leg with his paw. He tilted his head and picked up the kitty. "Corro? What's wrong?" He asked confusedly. Corro squirmed out of his grip, meowing again before walking to the door. He looked back at the nameless humanoid being, making a loud meow once more, clearly trying to get his attention. The witch glanced at Corro, but didn't heed much mind to him. Corro would pat on her leg if something was vitally important, he probably just wanted attention.

The brunet hopped off of the counter and walked over to the door with Corro, then the feline hopped out of the small 'doggy' door on the bottom of it. The nameless one of the pair turned to look at the witch. "Hey, miss witch...? I think Corro wants me to follow him, so I'll be back later." He chimed. He would return, having no other place to go. He didn't want to go anywhere else, either, save for wherever Corro was leading him to.

"Be back within an hour," The witch replied, like a parent talking to a child. The brunet male went over to the door and opened it, Corro running outside. He followed the feline, curious as to what Corro could have possibly wanted. Usually he just ignored the other's existence entirely, or asked for attention then proceeded to attack him. Then again, that was just cats, it was how cats worked. Cats never made any sense to humans, so why would Corro be an exception?

The duo walked outside into the swamp, Corro leading his human companion along the lily pads, travelling far from the witch's hut. The boy grew concerned that he wouldn't make it back to the hut by sunset, and he was rather afraid of the mobs, but that concern blew away as he recalled that they didn't tend to hurt him. Still, the thought of being caught around zombies and skeletons, creepers too, they weren't very happy thoughts. Some called witches mobs too, but he had always thought of them more like people. Mobs were more violently inclined and primitive, generally speaking. As far as he was aware anyway, that was what the witch said, and the mobs looked scary so he was inclined to agree.

Eventually, the boy and the feline found themselves at a small clear and clean pond full of fish. Corro meowed and gestured towards the water, looking at his companion expectantly while he sat down on the ground. Of course, Corro wanted fish, he was hungry and he liked the taste of fish. The brunet laughed a little, amused about the fact that he hadn't figured out what Corro wanted earlier- of course it would be food. Corro absolutely loved food, he was a cat so that would be expected.

"I don't really know how to fish, but I can try," He said, gently petting Corro on the head for a moment. Corro allowed this, but only because he knew the boy would be getting him food. He liked pets, but it depended on the time and exact moment, as well as Corro's exact mood. At the moment, petting Corro was like walking on thin ice. You had to be careful not to cross any lines to make him angry.

After several failed attempts, the brunet boy had managed to get a salmon for Corro, scrambling back onto the land with a fish in his hand. He didn't have a fishing rod, so he used his bare hands while swimming inside the water. It was not an easy task, and there were a thousand better ways to catch a fish, but neither he nor Corro cared since he had gotten a fish. Despite being sopping wet, he proudly presented the still struggling salmon to his feline companion, who quickly bit into it and ended its struggle for life, before happily chowing down.

"We should head back now. Miss witch might be upset that we've been gone for such a long time. How long has it been..?" He looked up at the sky. The sun was almost up, it would be light soon. A lot of time had been wasted on getting the salmon for his lovely cat overlord. "It has to have been a few hours by now... Come on Corro, let's go!"

So the pair ran back towards the witch's hut, but they had not reached it before nightfall. When the hut was finally in sight, rays of sunshine had just begun to creep up the horizon, while the moon's shine faded away.. Stars no longer reflected along the dirty water of the swamp, and the boy was no longer a human. Where he had once been now stood an orange doll made of diamonds with few defined features. He lacked hands or feet, instead had round stumps where they would be. His head was a slightly rounded cube, with big black eyes and a smile, along with a blue-green tongue sticking out of the mouth. The doll struggled to traverse the lily pads, standing at just two feet tall, but he did his best.

A scream pierced through the quiet night, and the sound of shattering glass came from the hut. Terror filled the doll, although his expression couldn't change. Corro hissed and blocked the doll from going further, he was going to protect him. He may not have shown it much, but he did care about his owners, as all cats do. He may not be willing to risk his own fur to see what had happened to the witch, but he had the doll boy right beside him, and he could try to save him.

Silence fell, and a man with a black mask on his face walked out of the witch hut. Blood dripped from his red hoodie, and it soaked his black netherite sword. The doll trembled behind the black furred feline, staring at the masked individual with terror in his eyes. No, it was impossible to tell from his expression, it was forever unchanging, but, it almost seemed as though his expression was just a little less blank, his eyes a little less empty.

Neither of the two dared to enter the hut, not even after the man was long gone.

(This chapter has not been revised.)