"I'm not sure if I understand, Victor."
"Really? Seems self-explanatory."
"To me, it seems impossible."
"Wanda, at the end of the day, magic comes down to siphoning energy, either from yourself or other planes of existence. You take it and shape it with your will. Now, with your chaos magic, it's just cracked up to eleven."
"I know, but it is written here that I can change reality!"
"Yeah. It's a bit of a coincidence that I can use order magic and your chaos magic... Isn't it?"
Faust Manor, July 15th, 2016, Poland.
Victor Faust POV
The last couple of nights were exhausting, but not in the way Victor would've liked. The weird energy that lingered in the house seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. Furthermore, lately not only Victor suffered nightmares but also Wanda. Victor was currently outside the house, tending to his newly planted garden. His hands poured magic like a gentle rain cloud. The entire area was filled with blossoming shrubs with yellow and red leaves. There was even a new Bob. The tiny black cactus wiggled left and right, taking in the magical rain.
"You want some coffee?" Wanda asked, holding a steaming-hot cup. Victor eagerly grabbed it.
"Thank you, honey." She sits cross-legged on the grass next to him. She massaged her temples.
"Headache?"
"From the lack of sleep, yes." Victor ripped off a single yellow leaf and offered it to her.
"Chew on it." In a show of remarkable trust, Wanda immediately bit the leaf. She froze for a second. Her green eyes widened as she started to chew faster. "Better, right?"
"What's that?" She asked in between bites.
"It's my new plant called Matilda. Her leaf's numb nerves. But don't swallow it; I don't know how internal organs might react."
After a minute, Wanda pulled out the chewed leaf.
"You are remarkable with plants. How do you even make them exactly?"
"By a process of trial and error, mostly. Grandmother Ida taught me how to access the energies of the realm she called Avlee. It's literally an endless forest full of greenery and animals. I mix its energy with my own and slowly pour it on plants. Eventually, they change, hence, for example, Matilda. Although I'm never sure how they will turn out."
"You impress me every day." She kissed his cheek. He couldn't hide a swell of pride every time she praised him. "I will make us some dinner, all right?"
"Great! I need one more hour, and I will join you." Wanda cleaned off her jeans and went back inside.
For the next half hour, Victor was immersed in his work. Suddenly, there was a shift in the air. The hair on his neck stood straight. This weird energy that lingered in their home was now felt outside. However, what was most alarming was that his arms felt different. Their permanent red hue was still there, but his veins felt muddy. Like something thick and icky replaced his blood there. He rushed back home. He found Wanda in the kitchen with her back turned to him. Her posture was stiff. Victor slowly moved forward. The only voice was coming from her chopping carrots. One cut after another, the blade was hitting the wooden board.
"Honey? I'm back." Wanda's body visibly shivered. She cracked her neck and looked at him with a massive grin.
"Hey, sweet thing, the dinner isn't ready yet. Could you wait a bit more?" Her face kept being stretched by the giant grin. She kept moving the knife while her eyes were fixated on Victor.
"It's not a problem." Faust moved to the other side of the kitchen. His fingers slowly trailed the cold surface of the fridge. "What's up with that grin? Anything good happened while I was outside?"
"Oh, you have no idea. But I will tell you after dinner." She turned back to cooking. "You will just have to wait like a good boy."
Victor cringed inside at the word 'boy.' This whole conversation was raising all the possible red flags. He massaged his arms that kept feeling so... wrong. As he closed his eyes and focused, he thought he had picked up the source of this weird blood energy. It was upstairs.
"Sure, think honey. I will just go upstairs and clean myself up." She did not respond. Her body once again shivered as she kept cutting the already-diced carrot. As Victor was leaving the kitchen, he noticed from the corner of his eye that Wanda wasn't blinking.
"Jesus Christ, what is happening?" The thought.
As he took the stairs, he moved the cold sweat from his forehead. Each step made his body twitch and tighten. With the last step, he noticed an ajar door to his father's bedroom. He swallowed hard. They mutually agreed not to touch that place, at least for now. Once he went inside, the energy in the air almost attacked him. It felt so unnaturally disgusting. Like someone was bathing you in oil, vomit, and sulfur. Covering his mouth, he saw a large sigil in the middle of the room. He did not recognize the sign, but it was clearly the source of this horrendous thing in the air. It radiated pale green light. Eerily similar to his father's magic. Victor raised his hand, ready to inspect the sigil, only to have his body frozen in place. Around him, a red aura appeared.
"Oh no." He couldn't even turn around.
"I've told you to be a good boy and wait, Victor Faust." Wanda's distorted voice echoed in his left ear. Her previously sweet voice with that gentle rasp turned into a full-on growl. It sounded more like breaking glass rather than a human voice. "Your father was right about you... You never listen." Wanda circled him and stood before him. Her lips started to break due to the constant, wide grin on her face. Small drops of blood were dripping on her chin. Victor gathered order magic, and the red glow turned blue, releasing him from her hold.
"Whatever thing you are, let her go in this instance."
"Oh, I am quacking with fear." Wanda put a hand on her hip. Victor summoned a snake that coiled around her body. The reptile hissed and showed its long, thin fangs.
"Wanda, honey, you must fight that thing! Don't let it control you like that!" She just laughed at his words. With a blink of chaos, the snake turned into water bubbles. A blast of her magic fell on him like a sledgehammer. Victor tried to take control of it, but the force threw him through the wall into his bedroom. With a groan, he conjured a thick blue shield that absorbed a barrage of new blasts. All of this was accompanied by the mad crackling of a possessed Wanda.
"Wanda! Remember what I taught you. This is your power; you are in control!"
"She can't hear you, boy. She can just see you, and oh, is she terrified!" The newest blast broke through the barrier and sent Victor through another wall outside the house. However, before he hit the ground, he was grabbed telekinetically and pulled back inside. With an echo of laughter, he was thrown downstairs into the kitchen. The hit broke the sink. As cold water was pouring on his face, Victor slowly got up while spitting out blood. He created a red, wet puddle under his body.
"Honey, you need to work with me. This is getting almost as bad as Natasha's training." Apparently, he spent too much time with the Avengers, since he started to crack jokes in a life-and-death situation. Clint would be proud.
"Your father made a deal with me, Victor Faust, and he did not deliver. He promised me souls in return for bringing your mother back." Possessed Wanda joined him in the kitchen. While the massive grin stubbornly appeared, tears were dropping from her green eyes. Her hands were twitching and shaking.
"What are you?" Victor placed a hand on the chair, trying to stand straight and think.
"I am the Lord of Dreams, Victor, and I know everything about you." Red energy intensified around her to the point where the air seemed to bend around her. "I am Nightmare, and both of you are mine now."
Victor sends out a burst of blue lighting, which Wanda lazily bounces off. She then clapped her hands, and the entire kitchen turned alive. Every wall, every piece of furniture, and even the floor started to move, trying to cut, crush, or strangle Victor. He shot out a wave of blue flame and incinerated chairs that jumped on him like spiders. He then ducked under a wave of knives, only to shoot a vortex of wind against a wall that poured at him like a tidal wave. The wind won the struggle. Victor placed his hands on the ground and surrounded himself in an aura of order magic. The entire kitchen stopped moving immediately. He breathed hard.
"It was so much easier with Vision." His thought was disturbed by a hand on his hair. Possessed, Wanda released a blast of her magic right into his chest. He flew. He flew until his face felt grass. As Victor crawled trying to stand up, he saw Wanda's silhouette moving at him like in a blood horror movie. Her movement was erratic and stiff. She moved a few steps at blinding speed, only to stop for a bit.
"I need to... Fuck my chest." Victor started to cough up more blood. "I need to get to that sigil."
Victor gathered his magic, biting down pain, and flew upwards. Wanda waved her wrist, and Victor's arm got covered back in her red magic. She pulled him back to the ground. However, Wanda with that sick grin kept pulling. While her eyes were pouring more tears, Victor started to scream. His arm was getting ripped off. His skin, muscle, and bone were slowly pulling away. By pure instinct, he poured some of his energy into the arm, trying to mend it on the go. Their struggle ended with a loud sound of breaking bones and dislocating joints.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading.
Take care :)