Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Unpleasant dreams

           False glanced at the shelves stacked with glass phials, each full of a different colored liquid and sorted accordingly. They were all helpfully labelled, too. False went for a closer look. She was surprised at how diverse the supply was. Potions for growing hair, for putting people to sleep, for love... There were potions that False hadn't imagined existed.

           She glanced at a few bottles labelled 'amnesia', and something suddenly came over her. She surreptitiously took the whole supply of amnesia potions and slipped them into her bag. No one noticed.

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           Shelby put some strange-smelling flowers into the brewing stand and let it stir itself for a little while before she poured in another potion to mix. "If I'm right about this, this potion should work," The witch told Jimmy. "If?" False asked cautiously. "Well, some of my potions haven't exactly gone the way they were intended to," Shelby admitted vaguely. "I grew fWhip's ears twice when I was trying to make him fly."

           "Uh, this doesn't sound so safe," False said. "Yeah, Tim, maybe you shouldn't drink a potion," Grian said. "No!" Jimmy snapped. "I'm going back to normal and that's that!" "Okay then," Shelby said, just as the brewing stand made a funny whistling noise. "Oh! The potion's done." She grabbed an empty glass bottle and put it under one of the three spouts the brewing stand had. Turning a knob, the spout opened and out gushed a clear brownish liquid that soon filled up the bottle.

           Shelby took it and handed it to Jimmy. "Drink up, if you're sure," She said. Jimmy was quite sure. But there was one slight problem. "He's a toy; he don't have a mouth," Grian pointed out. Jimmy touched his face and realized that the hermit was right. His mouth was a wooden block that swung on a hinge. And I'm pretty sure I don't have a digestive system... "Just turn it into a splash potion," Jimena said.

           "Oh- oh yeah, right," Shelby said, embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it herself. One trip back to the brewing stand with a handful of gunpowder later, the witch was ready to pour it onto the toy. "Are you really, really sure about this?" She asked for the final time." Yes!" Jimmy screeched. So Shelby tipped to contents of the phial onto his wooden head and everyone waited for something to happen. And something did.

           Jimmy started growing. And growing. And growing and growing and growing. Soon be was even taller than he had been as a human. He felt funny and peculiar. "Shelby..." Jimena said, her voice rising. "Oh, I knew something bad would happen!" The witch wailed. Jimmy looked at himself and realized he was turning gray, and that his nose was growing longer. And his ears were bigger too.

           "From Woody to Pinocchio," Grian chortled, pointing at Jimmy's nose. "I'm sorry, sheriff, don't arrest me! I swear I didn't mean to turn you into an elephant!" Shelby wailed. And that was when Jimmy fully comprehended what had just happened to him. "I'm an elephant?!" He trumpeted in horror. Grian was rolling on the floor in laughter. "I've got to show Joel!" The hermit cried over and over again.

           "Shelby, turn him back!" False told the witch, who scrambled to find what she called an undo potion. After brewing milk in the brewing stand and pouring it all down Jimmy's throat, he was back to being a toy. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can turn you human again," Shelby said sorrowfully. "Can't you use the undo potion?" Jimmy asked. "No, it only works on potions that had been drunk in the last hour. You've been a toy for much longer than that."

          "Well, this was a waste of time," Jimmy said angrily, leaving the potion shop. "Sorry about bothering you," False said as she followed the sheriff. "I'm just going to go check on some things now." "Just come back some other time!" Shelby called after them as the four of them left. "I'll probably have figured out a counter potion by then!" I hope she does, Jimmy thought heavily. Because otherwise I'm a toy forever.