Changeling Witch

Broken Hearts

"HIDE!" Edric yelped, pulling Hunter behind the shelf that they'd just fixed.

The fire creature went into the memory, burning it up again.

"Ooooooooh, no, no, no, no, no," Hunter said, rushing back out. "That thing's undoing everything!"

"Call Eda, please!" Edric begged, shaking him by the shoulders. "I don't wanna be here when it comes out!"

Hunter quickly whipped out the bell and rang it. Nothing happened.

Edric grabbed it and rang it until Hunter's eardrums started to die. "Why! Won't! She! ANSWER!"

"Yeah, she's not super reliable."

The photo lit up again as the fire creature came out. The two boys instantly ducked behind another shelf.

They both watched in horror as it jumped back and forth between the memories they'd so carefully fixed, burning them as it went.

"I don't understand!" Edric panicked. "Why is it burning up all the photos?"

Hunter spotted one of Amity and Willow, then one of Amity and her dad---both untouched. "I... I think I know what's happening."

"What? What's happening?"

"It's not after the photos," he said, turning back to him. "It's after you."

At that moment, the fire creature noticed Edric and let out a howl.

"What?!" Edric shouted as it stormed towards him.

Hunter noticed an untouched memory---the one with the fort---and grabbed him by the arm. "In there! I wanna try something!"

"We can't go in there! I'm in there!"

"Just trust me!" He shoved him in and leaped in after.

Once they were inside, Hunter drew an ice glyph onto the sand, then slammed his hands on it. "Time for a swimming lesson."

When the creature lunged in, Hunter lifted his hands off of the glyph, causing it to slide right into the lake. The memory started to burn around them, but it looked like the creature was gone.

"WHOOP!" Hunter gave Edric a hug. "Teamwork, baby!"

Edric went very still. "Hunter. Look."

He let go and looked back over to the lake, where the steam was clearing.

Standing where the fire creature had been was... Amity.

But she was different.

A flaming blue aura surrounded her, and when she opened her eyes, they were entirely black.

Oh shit.

"Are... are you the Inner Amity?" Edric asked tentatively, stepping forward.

"I was."

Hunter backed away as she stepped towards them.

"Love. Sadness. Fear," she said, her voice echoing. "I was once a being of all emotions. But ever since you set Amity's mind on fire, all I can feel is anger."

Flame shot out from her hands, setting everything around her aflame---trees, the fort, the sand, even the space around them.

"You have to stop this!" Hunter shouted. "You're not doing anything good!"

"Oh, but Ricky WANTED this!" Inner Amity snarled as she summoned the portrait that Edric had initially burned---the one of Amity's birthday party. "So every moment he touched, I'm going to BURN."