Chapter Text
Time: one month after Belos’ demise
Place: Gravesfield, Connecticut; local furniture store
Gus has wanted to do many things in life, many of which involve exploring and understanding the Human Realm, to learn how they do things and why they do. With the immense damage to the Boiling Isles, he is fortunate that most of his goals have not been forced to be postponed, in part thanks to a mystical location holding many pieces of what he needs to help Bonesborough’s people.
Those pieces are furniture, a product sold by the chain furniture store, similar to the grocery store in design but made to hold larger pieces. Even so, just knowing humans are more than willing to design furniture in ways most people from his world would see as plain and uninteresting beings fascination to the youngest member of the recently-nicknamed Hexsquad. To know that despite their lack of music, the “lesser” species is just as versatile and capable at doing what they do, only encourages the young witch to learn more.
Unfortunately, in his hands, he holds proof that while his own kind is special in its own right, there will always be outliers like Belos who seek to prove not everyone is willing to be a friend. The human studier has been disillusioned to the theory that there are no bad humans, but along with it comes the truth that his own kind will likely attempt something similar on them in return.
During one of his investigations, the young Porter notices a familiar face, his once-pointed ears and tail disguising himself as a human in the eyes of the public, yet his face is all the same, if somewhat disheveled from a lack of recent upkeep. His clothing is simpler, a dark jacket, dirty jeans, and sneakers, compared to his more regal furs and bright attire. Immediately recognizing him as a threat, Gus makes sure nobody sees him before letting himself become invisible.
’I thought the Collector only showed us the portal door. How is he here?’ he wonders to himself, keeping a distance while observing his enemy’s behavior. ‘Gus, you know what he’s willing to do. Whatever you do, don’t let him leave your sight, not until you know what he’s doing.’
To his curiosity, the former Coven Head seems more agitated the longer he looks for something, alerting staff to what he’d like to purchase to avoid suspicion. About thirty minutes pass, and while Gus’s power remains strong, in part thanks to extensive use, he notices Vernworth subtly sweat, his ears briefly turning to points. The young witch suspects it to be the cause of him simply not keeping up with spellcasting, leading to atrophy, along with the lack of a Concealment Stone; the finer details matter little to the prodigy. All that matters is that neither he nor his friends are in danger; he knows about the man’s ambition.
Unfortunately for Gus, he is bumped by a shopping cart, jostling him, breaking his concentration as he falls into a set of coats. With the spell broken, his Concealment Stone alone prevents him from being exposed as a witch. Before the boy can re-apply his invisibility, the older illusionist is made aware of his presence, his expression turning into a scowl before quickly being replaced with a grin. It's then that Gus understood exactly why the former Coven Head was in the Human Realm.
"I'll make this easy on you, upstart," the man explains lowly yet carefully. "You'll head back home and explain how you were the cause of the Emperor's fall, that you'll accept whatever punishment comes, and if you have to accept a death penalty, so be it. Otherwise, expect Luz's family to be nothing more than the source of several crimes in the town. It's not like anyone in this realm believes in magic."
Refusing to give him the opportunity, the human enthusiast shouts, alerting everyone to their location, understanding humans hate it when people try to hurt children. Realizing what he's doing, Graye wraps his arms around the boy's throat, using what little energy he has to make both he and his target disappear, startling everyone whilst managing to hide within a supply closet. Unsure exactly what happened, employees and customers alike roam the building, hoping to find Gus and his kidnapper, several by the front door to prevent an escape attempt.
"You know what you did was horrible, yet you still insisted on traumatizing your superior!" the older witch growls through a whisper. "This isn't a case of revenge, I'm just making sure you pay for your crime, Porter."
Unwilling to let himself become a victim to the Belos Apologist, Gus creates the largest Spell Circles he can manage, his vision blurring as his arms stretch as far and as wide as possible, willing to do what it takes to avoid an early death. After everything he and his friends have gone through, to lose now would cause more problems than he can comprehend, sputtering as the circles dissipate.
"Attention shoppers, the store is closed," the loud speakers call. "Please exit the building immediately."
Nobody listens, knowing somebody is still trapped. The longer it takes for the searchers to find them, Gus can feel his vision fade further, using the last of his energy to fight back, Adrian only giving him breath to make sure his own plan succeeds. Gus sputters and coughs, clutching his neck as he rests against the wall, unaware of just what his spell just did.
'...What did I cast?' he wonders, trying to remember. 'I just wanted something to get him to let me go.'
Screams ring out, alerting both witches that something has gone horribly wrong.
"The store is closed, please leave the building immediately."
"Attention shoppers, we are now closed. We'll see you tomorrow, have a nice day."
"We're sorry, but we're closed for the day. Please leave right away."
Such messages right throughout the furniture store, customers and employees alike shrieking in horror as the sight of multiple unfamiliar, faceless humanoids dressed in employee uniforms emerge seemingly from nowhere, grabbing them by their arms toward the exit. To their surprise, none of them attempt anything more than a rough submission hold before "calling" for another of their kind. More and more of the humans are dragged out, leaving behind the Illusionists, both looking from the closet in terror.
"What did you do?!" the former Illusion Coven Head questions with a mixture of rage and panic. "Illusions are meant to be fake, but those humans were dragged out! What other spells did you use in tandem?!"
Gus feels himself picked up by his shirt, forced to look his aggressor in the eye. He can see nothing less than sheer hate and fear in Adrian's eyes, unwilling to let him go by any means, with nothing left to hold him back. Refusing to let the madman hurt him any longer, Porter swings a fist at Graye's eyes, forcing him to shout, though such an attack fails to make him let go. Fortunately for him, his escape attempt is not without results.
The shout attracts the "employees", the faceless entities surrounding the doorway before having several of their own enter, startling both illusionists, eyes wide as they are separated from one another. Gus is held by the hand as two hold the adult by the legs, preventing any sort of clear movement. The former is careful not to try anything, but the panicked former Coven Head swings his arms wildly, only managing to cause their pants to become scuffed, in turn resulting in a more violent approach. Five more of the humanoids, seeing the man as a threat, grab him by the arms and chuck him out of the closet.
Before Porter can see what happened, he is lead out, the employees acting more gently with him, leading him toward the exit. Forced to flee, however, the older witch rushes deeper into the facility, hoping to find another exit, having never encountered such an illusion before. How could a runt like Gus successfully create genuine constructs from his illusions? Did he use Graye's former amplifier? Was another spell cast to give off the feeling of being only from a single spell type?
His questions are interrupted by the sound of a slow yet methodical rhythm of footsteps, the entities continuing their pursuit of the violent attacker. The lot continue to "speak" phrases of the intruder being needed to leave, all the while separating in an attempt to corner the man, who's need for survival keeps him from truly breathing a sigh of relief. Never before had he encountered something so odd, much less dangerous, remembering the feeling of their smooth hands gripping around his legs and the sensation of being rolled across the floor. Such actions only prove his mind is not playing tricks on him; he's truly suffering something worse than any illusion he's ever created.
All Adrian can do is run, hope he can find something that can help him get past. His energy has waned from straining his bile sac for so long, forcing him to conserve what little magic he has left, searching for a pathway that could allow him passage. Searching the backrooms yields no results, the employee exit leading to nothing but a single brick wall. The restrooms' vents blow air yet somehow yield no way through, far too small for him to claw his way through. Even side exits lead nowhere except more of the building, more furniture, more lights beginning to dim.
To his dismay, he comes to understand the beasts are neither witch nor human, their ears akin to a human yet their proportions either underwhelming or overwhelming, as if Gus' spell was conflicted as to how big or small the entities were meant to be. Their patrol and insistent ramblings of wanting him to leave contrast his environment and discoveries, dashing his hope of escape further.
The further along the furniture store he traverses, the more the former Coven Head realizes that leaving will be far more complicated. Exits and passageways to offices and supply closets seem to appear at random, shelves of housing decorations as far as the eye can see. Every time he feels he found a way out, the doorway leads either to a solid wall with nothing behind or a path deeper into the facility, assuming there even is an end to the structure's new features.
Hours seem to pass as he realize that he can't escape in a single day, forcing himself to bunker beneath a bed and hope nothing finds him as he sleeps. All he knows is that once he escapes, he swears to himself that interfering with the young Porter or his allies will never be an option again.
Assuming there even is a way to escape the nightmare.
As Gus is lead out of the building, the "employee" gives him a pat on the shoulder, uttering, "Thank you for visiting. Come back soon."
The glass door closes behind him, the lights turned off as the humanoid disappears into the darkness. All he can do is try to peer inside, shocked by what he had unwittingly released. Part of him feels he's created an environmental illusion, similar to what happened when Adrian attempted to brand all of Hexside's students, only this time the illusions, or at least the bipedal creatures, are real.
'...They helped me. Was it because I was the spellcaster?' he ponders to himself, a hand to his chin as he thinks over what happened. 'What about-'
"Kid!"
Behind him, he spots a number of the customers, some with minor bruises, but otherwise perfectly unharmed. Several police officers have arrived at the call of a calamity, coming over to inspect him.
Part of him wants to divulge exactly what happened, to explain that everything that happened was real, that someone is still trapped within. Part of him wants to simply stay quiet, to forget he ever arrived at the store, to forget Adrian was trapped to begin with.
Refusing to worry the public, the young witch just says he's alright, and that he's not sure what happened, just that several "employees" took him from his would-be kidnapper and let him out. What isn't clear, to him at least, is his aggressor's fate. What he says is the truth, but what he doesn't mention is that he unwittingly created the monsters, as far as he can tell, understanding claiming such a thing will only make him seem crazy. For now, he is taken into custody, assured that while he's not in trouble, someone will need to pick him up and will need to make a statement, police department paperwork and whatnot.
As a result, he gets to learn more about how the Human Realm works, all while knowing the former Coven Head will be punished for what he did. In the end, he chooses to dispel the illusion.
...just as soon as his lesson is thoroughly learned.
