Wizards: Tales Of Arcadia

Who Is In Control?

(Warning for the next couple chapters: Dark, Blood, Gore, PTSD, triggers for anyone with trypophobia. So, I ended up triggering myself in a chapter that is already about my trauma. Why do I do this to myself?)

Angel had no idea what possessed her to leave the group, to go into the dark corridors of the sewers. But her feet moved without her telling them and her mind went blank. She barely noticed that her head felt lighter, her nose clearing, and her limbs becoming weak.

"Angel...."

Angel jumped and looked around wildly, her heart pounding. That voice... She could never forget it and yet it shouldn't be possible for her to hear again, ever. Proof of that lie in her closet.

"My beautiful miracle girl," the voice said again. Before she could stop herself, she whimpered. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

A cold chill ran down her spine and she whipped around. It had felt like ice cold fingers were trailing down her back. A dark green fog wrapped around her ankles, clinging like wet clothing.

Flapjack's screech told Angel that she needed to head back and help. But as she tried to move, she found she couldn't. Cold claws had latched onto her ankles.

"Douxie! Archie! Flapjack!" Angel called out desperately, trying to reach for the nearest pipe or anything to grab onto. She tried to summon her rope to give her more reach, but nothing came. Her bracers sputtered red but ultimately fizzled out. "No, no, no, no... This isn't happening. This isn't happening!"

Angel's head felt light and the entire sewer was spinning. She had either fallen down or was pulled down; she really couldn't tell. Once she was in the fog, it's hold became wild and desperate, cutting at her skin with bitingly cold claws.

"Why would try and run from your mama?"

"Whoever you are, you aren't her!" And shot back, raising a hand to try and shoot magic out at the voice. No magic came and either way, the voice was echoing. The fog reached up and pulled her arm back down. "Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that little girl," the voice said, now deep and dark and gruff. No longer her mother, at least. But this felt worse somehow. "See, you should never destroy such an ancient artifact." A horrid face with empty black eyes and bleeding pores appeared in front of her own. The body attached was covered in them as well, even through his clothing. Angel began hyperventilating and tried to close her eyes but found them to be stuck on the man in front of her. "You never know what you'll release."

. . .

Angel's scream cut off Toby's question, Douxie booking it down the corridor. Archie had told him about the weird block that kept him from getting to Angel himself. His hope was that Douxie could break through and if not, maybe Toby's Warhammer.

Douxie had run into it headfirst, his nose throbbing a little. He really didn't care at the moment, instantly going through the runes on his bracelet.

"Causa crepitoose!" He shouted, adding to the strength of the spell. It made the sewer shake and some debris fell, but nothing happened to the barrier. Douxie growled and instantly started blasting the invisible barrier. Toby unleashed his Warhammer, but just like with Magma-Tron, it didn't work.

"What the heck is going on?" Steve asked as he came running down with Aja. Krel, Zadra, and Eli had already left to take the hammer to their ship and prepare to move it back to the street. Toby would have answered, but Flapjack came speeding down the corridor, screeching upon impact.