And I Wish That It Would Never End

[missrecalled_mods]

I wish, my wish

The snow had finally been cleared from the room, the window fixed. And the snow outside was slowly following suit. It was still almost painfully cold outside, but the snow was no longer actively falling, and the more adventurous could find ways outside through upper floor windows. There was no way to get to the shore or anything, but there were odd glittering things in the perfect fairytale snow. The first time someone would touch one, it would grow brighter and brighter until the light exploded outward. The shards of light flew into the school mostly, but some went elsewhere, over and past the tangles of stuff.

When the light resolved, it and the other glittering things - both in the snow and now in the school - would prove to be small magic lamps. Each would have the name of one of the Missrecalled currently in Auradon, and a colour scheme that suits that person. It might be the one who picked it up, or someone else. When the person for whom the tiny jewelry sized lamp was for holds the lamp and makes a wish, that wish might come true. For a short time.

The wishes would only last the weekend, but What a glorious and bittersweet weekend that would be.

Comments

[lovebites_sodoi]

Morgan twirled the lamp's handle around her finger, eyebrow raised.

"Huh? The dark-haired dude you were drooling over? If he's here, I haven't seen him in the flesh yet." But that was quite a question to ask all of a sudden. "Why, did a bunch of newbies just arrive?"

[utauhoshina]

"I made a wish on the lamp for him to be here and free and he appeared but ran off!" she exclaimed, frustrated.

[lovebites_sodoi]

Her shoulders drooped, and she made an overly dramatic sigh, hand to forehead. "Utau, I'm surprised at you! I thought you were smarter than that... you don't ever trust these things! There's always a catch! You don't seriously think that's the real heart-stopper, do you?"

Countdown to hypocrisy initiated.

[utauhoshina]

Utau just.... stared at her for a very long moment before she stepped back, eyes narrowing. "And here I thought I finally found someone who understood." she was trying to make her voice cold, but the bitter and pain came through also. "What do you think I've spent all this time working towards? I'm not giving up a wish to Easter... but if I have the chance to make on for myself, I'm taking it. Now if you don't mind, I have a violinist to find." she turned to stalk off.

But as she did she turned back, the magic of this place starting in on her, and she started to sing. Dark song, sharp. Their kind of music.

"You don't get it
you've never had to fret it!
My leash has been held for far too long
Chained my music abused my song!

And all for what, what was the dish?
A magic egg to grant a single wish!
I worked harder than anyone could ever know
I was brought so high but kept so low
All to find the embryo.

You want to know about a heart breaker?
Mine job was a soul taker!
Broke their eggs because they weren't needed
You think my cries were ever headed?

And the carrot and the lash they used to keep me in line
Was his heart and the promise it would be mine.
So yes, I accepted the wish of the lamp
To bring the only one I love to this contested camp.

And now he's gone and instead of aid
All you do is bark about being to cowardly for a wish you never made.
So do what you want, I don't care.
Don't know why I was stupid enough to expect a friend that would care!"

She was breathing hard after the rage of the song, and somehow didn't seem to have noticed the violin music that had started playing behind her singing. It stopped just after she did, with the slightest rustle of tree branches.

[lovebites_sodoi]

Sheesh, was Morgana ever this melodramatic as a teenager? yes, and much worse! With a roll of her eyes, she began following after the younger girl, waiting for the song to stop or at least pause before she could retaliate.

"I know you're deathly allergic to people helping you, but I'm not trying to lecture you. I'm trying to warn you." Which was a lecture in softer form. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you don't know what you're sacrificing, you shouldn't make wishes, no matter what your heart says."

The kind of sappiness that would make corny sad violin music... speaking of which, don't think she hadn't noticed the additional accompaniment. With a nod to her familiars, Eek and Squeak took to the trees, trying to flush out the extra party member!

[utauhoshina]

"I have already sacrificed for a wish," she snarled. "But that's to get what is needed for a wish. I made my wish and he's here. Just help me find him or leave me alone."

When Eek and Squeek got to where the music was coming from, a Chara was there. He smirked. "NYAAAA!" he said, pulling down one under eye and sticking out his tongue before flying off.

[lovebites_sodoi]

Eek and Squeak chased after him! If he was up to no good, they had to stop him!

Which was more-or-less the same reason Morgana kept after Utau. "Oh, I'll find him all right... and make sure that kitty's been de-clawed. I'm not trusting anything that pops up so easily."

[utauhoshina]

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HURT HIM!" Utau said, furious. Protective. "I won't let anyone else hurt him ever again."

----

As he led Eek and Squeek all over, he zipped past the head of a pink haired girl and her three charas. The girl was in a uniform that looked like a red version of the one Nagihiko wore all the time, but with an arm band instead of a capelet.

"Eh? Yoru! What are you doing?" she asked, startled but demanding.

"Leading them on a wild chara chase!" Yoru said, circling her head as he snickered.

"Them...?" The pink haired girl looked, saw Eek and Squeak and screamed, ducking and covering her head.

Her pink Chara flew over them to look at them from above. "I bet they just want to be friends!"

The blue Chara had pulled out a sketch pad and started drawing them.

The green Chara flew right up to Eek. "You would look so cute in a bow!" she said with a high nasal voice. "Would you like a pretty bow?"

[lovebites_sodoi]

"There's no need to worry if he's the real deal, right?" Morgana pointed out with a smirk. "I give you my word." For whatever that was worth. "I won't lay a finger on his fur if he's actually the cat's meow... but once the cat's out of the bag, all bets are off."

Not a single ounce of shame for all those puns. She kept twirling her own lamp around her finger.

MEANWHILE...

Eek and Squeak backed away from all this company. They weren't really hurt by the pink haired girl's reaction - they were used to most mortals being frightened and disgusted by them, sad as that was. But they "discussed" amongst themselves what to do next.

The following is translated from squeak-ese, a.k.a "squeak squeak".

"What do we do now?"
"Mistress wanted us to make sure the cat wasn't causing trouble."
"They seem to know him. Maybe they can keep an eye on him."
"Yes, yes. We must find the BIGGER cat."
"Mistress will be happy if we find him!"
"Maybe they know where he is?"

Nodding in agreement, Eek hopped onto Squeak's head - Eek formed the 'head' and Squeak formed the 'body', both of them trying to mime the appearance of Ikuto.

Phone tag, pleased excuse typos and other errors.

[utauhoshina]

"And you are going to know better than me if he is real how, exactly?" She asked, coldly.


_________

"Bigger cat?" The green Chara asked.

The pink haired girl stared. "You speak animal, Su?"


"I can speak to all my friends," Su said happily.

The blue one looked up from her sketch. "Maybe they mean Ikuto?"
The blue Chara


The green one nodded.

[lovebites_sodoi]

"Love can make people blind," Morgana explained as she waved her hand. "I'm just going to make sure you're not wearing rose-colored glasses when he's around. That we can BOTH be sure if he's either real or fake... That maybe you missed him so much, you'd be blind to the flaws."

We in the narration business call this foreshadowing.

-------

Oh! Normally, only Morgana and other monsters could understand them! Maybe the Chara counted as magical creatures in other realms...?

In that case, no need to mime. They could just talk - though everyone else would just hear squeaking noises.

"Looking for Ikuto! If Ikuto is Ikuto?"
"Mistress thinks Ikuto is not Ikuto!"
"Fake cat, fake feelings, real danger!"
"Mistress wants to protect Utau!"
"Not that Mistress will admit it..."
"Silly Mistress."

[utauhoshina]

"He's Ikuto." Other than not loving her the way she wanted him to, he had no flaws. She was sure of that.


And we, in that business, call this desperate self deception.
---------

"Oh!" Su said. "They want to help protect Utau! From... Ikuto?"

Amu, the pink haired girl, was so confused. "Wait. Utau is here too? And since when does she need protecting from Ikuto?"

"Yeah!" the red Chara said, seeming too happy for what she was saying, "Isn't that usually the other way around?"

Th blue Chara turned her sketchpad around to show the bads a drawing of Utau trying to fling herself at a disinterested looking Ikuto.

[lovebites_sodoi]

Morgana let out a long drawn out sigh. "Man, I don't miss being young..." The naivety of it all! Good thing Morgana wasn't helplessly in love like some foolish teenage girl.

-----

Even though they no longer had to mime, the bats continued to do so anyway. Like their mistress, they did enjoy performances.

"Lamps appeared, and so wishes were made."
"Mistress doesn't trust the wishes."
"Mistress doesn't trust the lamp."
"Mistress won't make any wishes... right?"

Now they looked at each other with uncertainty. Should they have left her alone?

[utauhoshina]

"This has nothing to do with being young!" She snapped. "I'm tired of being treated like a child who has never had to pay her dues!"

------

Su translated that for the others.

Amu frowned. "Why... wouldn't she make or trust wishes?"

[lovebites_sodoi]

"Yeah, because your mature emotions have always led you to make rational decisions... like singing on a rooftop, or nearly destroying your voice at a party..." Morgana didn't want to make Utau feel bad, but maybe she'd understand her concerns if she pointed out past experiences.

---

"Nothing in life is truly free!"
"You must work for the things you want!"
"Anything else is a cheat!"
"Which is a little hypocritical from her..."
"Yes yes, of course of course."
"But we can't say that."
"No no, can't say that."

[utauhoshina]

"I thought you were a friend. I should have realized, you're just like the rest of them. Just another adult who can't ever actually understand."

-------------

"Um.... but why?" Su asked, head cocked. "Lots of things are free."

[lovebites_sodoi]

Oh, this old song and dance. Morgana held back a roll of her eyes - at this rate, they'd just be going around in circles. Time to try a different approach.

"Does your world have a story called The Monkey's Paw?"

---

But now the bats were too concerned with Morgana's state of mind to really pay attention to the Charas.

"Hm hm hm. Should not leave Mistress alone."
"Without Archie, she really IS alone!"
"But Mistress gave us a job to do."
"Then let's split up! Eek will find Ikuto!"
"Squeak will go to Mistress!"

High-five wing-slap! And so, they began to fly in different directions.

[utauhoshina]

"What do monkeys have to do with any of this?!"

----

"Wait, if she's with Utau, Amu should go too!" Su said.

"Amu should go where now, why?" Amu asked.

"Because you're Utau's friend!" Su insisted.

"I'd ask since when, but I really don't wanna know your answer," she said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Besides," Su said to the bats, "If you're trying to find Ikuto by following Yoru he's just going to lead you around on a wild bat chase."

"Yeah, besides, Ikuto usually pops up to kidnap Amu!" The pink one said.

Amu flushed darkly. "Ran!"

"He's so cute..." the blue one said, dreamily.

[lovebites_sodoi]

"Well, besides the fact that if "Ikuto" is actually here, I'll be a monkey's uncle, and that this entire situation is bananas..." Okay, now the puns were making her feel a little ashamed. "It's a famous story about being careful what you wish for. Think of it this way - it'll pass the time until we find Schrödinger's cat."

And when you were stuck in a jamjar game, what else did you have but time to kill?

---

The bats glanced at Amu, then back to the "interpreter." Much as they'd like the help...

"Amu doesn't like us."
"Not many people do."
"Many people don't like bats."
"They think bats are gross and scary."
"Rather go alone than make her scared."

[utauhoshina]

"We're not even looking for him! save your children's stories for children," she snapped.

So says the girl who has had her life reshaped because of a children's story.

------

"Amu likes you fine!" Su assured them. "Amu just takes time to open up to people sometimes!"

"Here!" Miki - the blue one - said. "This will help." She turned around her sketch pad to show the bats the outfit she had drawn.

"Miki, if Utau needs help we don't have time for a costume change!" Amu said. So much for not being Utau's friend....

Miki turned the pad so Amu can see it.

Amu's eyes went wide. "Okay maybe time for a quick change...."

[lovebites_sodoi]

"Did I say it was a children's story? It involves a cursed monkey's hand, a man begging for death, a terrified couple, zombies..." Then, a dismissive shoulder shrug. "Then again, if that's too scary for you, I totally understand. Not everyone can handle it."

---

The bats didn't like being away from Morgana for too long - especially when she was alone. To them, it would only be a matter of time before she got herself in danger... or embarrassed herself in a major way.

"Amu has five seconds."
"Then we will leave, with or without her."
"Must go back to Mistress!"
"Must keep an eye on Mistress!"

Then, altogether, "Especially before she wishes for 'him'... or 'hiiiim'."

[utauhoshina]

"It isn't too scary but it also isn't getting me any closer to finding Ikuto!" She turned to stalk off again.

----------

"Five seconds?" Su asked.

"Easy. "Drew. Draw. Drawn!" Miki said, waving her pencil. She ripped the page off the book and threw it in the air. It grew large enough as it fluttered to block the bats' view of Amu and when it fluttered away it was back to tiny and Amu was in the punky outfit.

Amu looked down at herself, reached up and touched her hair clip then nodded. "Alright. Let's go. Ran! Chara change with me!"

"Uh huh! From a girl who walks to a girl who flies! Chara change!" the pink Chara said happily.

The X clip on Amu's hat became a red heart and Amu pushed off the ground to hover in the air. "Lead the way," she said to the bats.

[lovebites_sodoi]

And so, Morgana continued to follow her, weaving the story of The Monkey's Paw. Partly as a warning, partly out of boredom, and partly to see if she could tease/scare Utau a bit. There hadn't been a real Halloween in this place, and she did miss that holiday - why not share some spooks here and now?

---

Huh! What strange magic! But who were they to question it? They took off, hoping to get back to Morgana as soon as possible.

"Haven't heard any squealing... maybe she didn't wish yet!"
"Maybe she won't wish at all!"
"We can only hope."
"We can only, only, only hope."

[utauhoshina]

"So the moral of the story is they were stupid with their wishes? I wasn't. I wished Ikuto was here and free. And he is."

------------

"Why would wishing be bad?" Su asked as they all followed the bats.

[lovebites_sodoi]

"But how do you define free?" Morgana pointed out, trying to underline one of the points of the story. "And how does the LAMP define free? Free of responsibilities? Free of emotions? Free of morality? Free of mortality? Freedom could mean anything. Not only that, but when said 'here', did you stipulate for how long? A minute? A day? What if he's here forever, when you get to leave?" Now she was starting to sound like a lawyer, ugh.

---

Should the bats have warned Amu that Morgana was a tall vampire/goth looking bird woman? They didn't feel they had to, but then, their sense of normalcy was a bit warped...

"Mistress would only wish for one thing..."
"Two things, but they are really one."
"A very embarrassing thing."
"It would make her happy, yes yes."
"But also very sad, yes yes."