Young Writers Society

Valeri, now with Amalthea on her shoulder again, watched as Wormy stepped aside. Guy was still shaking. "Soo... Who's going to make the wish?" Valeri asked.

José picked up the remnants of the suit and frowned. "Also, do you think we can wish for this to be fixed?"

The lady floated back towards them and said, "You may only wish to materialize an item, not mend an object broken. As for how many wishes... only one, of course. We'd be bankrupt if we let every adventurer have as many wishes as they wanted."

Dusk stared into the camera like they were on the office. “That seems plot convenient.” They turned back to the scene at hand, acting as if nothing happened. “Then potion ingredient it is.”

Vendetta nodded. “José, would you like to wish for it?”

José nodded. “Yes! That way we can accomplish at least one quest.”

Valeri watched as José stepped up to the altar. He closed his eyes and said, "I wish for a mermaid's fang." Then he took a deep breath and blew out the candles at the corners.

"Hey, wait, it's not like a birthday wish! Great, more work for me..." The woman produced a lighter and re-lit the candles. "Alright, now wait a moment while the altar does its work..."

The altar started vibrating, it’s blue shine growing brighter and brighter. With a small pop, it stopped and on top of the altar lay a single Mermaid’s Fang. It shone in the bright light, it’s sharpness making it look a little evil almost.

Dusk hummed and floated away, whispering something to Dawn.

José gulped and carefully reached out to take it. Once he was gingerly grasping the less sharp edge, Otto said, "Lufrednow! Won kcab daeh s'tel."

"See?" Guy sneered. "This quest was a great idea after all, wasn't it?"

José frowned and pointedly handed the ruined suit to Otto, then pulled out a portal. "Yes, we got everything for the potion, but we'll see what Josephinzo says about the suit."

Dusk scoffed. “If he’s upset, let’s all collectively blame Guy. Because this entire thing is his fault.”

Guy rolled his eyes. “You’ll thank me later.”

“Not if Josephinzo yells at us we won’t.” Vendetta shook their head. “I’m not ready for that mess.”

Valeri sighed. "Well, let's head back. I, for one, am famished."

"Wait, we've got to pick up Josephinzo's familiar! Shoot, I lost track of time." José's eyes were wide. "Let's pick up the rat real quick, then we can actually go back and have lunch." He stepped through the portal, and Valeri reluctantly followed.

Vendetta followed after them, taking the tape off of Guy’s hands. “Please don’t kidnap us again.”

“If you do, you don’t want to know what will happen.” Dusk vibrated menacingly.

Wormy putted to her veil and held up five fingers.

Otto shuddered. “Leurc s’taht. Setunim evif?”

"I'm sure Guy deserves at least ten," Valeri muttered, reluctantly holding the mermaid fang that José had handed to them and watching the pet grooming shop's entrance.

Soon enough, José walked out of the shop, holding Josephinzo's familiar as far away from him as he could. "Got it!" The rat bared its teeth menacingly, and José gulped. "L-let's go now, yeah?"

Vendetta nodded. “Please.”

José whipped out a portal and stepped through it. Otto, Wormy, and Guy followed after him.

Dusk sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Dawn stuck close to Valeri. “So do I.”

The group stepped out into the middle of the WANNABES's compound. Josephinzo was nowhere in sight, but Amy grinned at the sight of them from across the room and tossed some confetti in the air. Then she turned back to where she and a couple of other WANNABES were watching Harry Potter and guffawing at the wizards.

"Josephinzo is clearly better than those scams," snickered one WANNABE, pointing at Harry and crew.

Valeri raised an eyebrow, but was interrupted by José, who said, "Josephinzo must be in his room." He led the way down a hallway and stopped in front of a door painted with constellations.

José took a deep breath and opened the door. Josephinzo was at his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper and giggling.

José awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh, Great Josephinzo?”

Josephinzo turned around. “What do you-“ He paused. “José! Were you successful?”

Vendetta looked around, silently taking in his room. His walls were covered in pictures and newspaper clippings. All of the photos were of the same person with brown skin, blue hair, and glasses. In one photo, you could see a pale hand on their shoulder, but the person was cut out of the photo with scissors. They leaned towards Valeri. “Should… should we be concerned?”

Valeri pursed her lips and whispered, "This does seem rather concerning... All these pictures of the same person, and yet we've never seen Josephinzo even talking with them. Seems borderline stalkerish..."

"Yes! We have all the ingredients you requested." José took the fang from Valeri and passed the rest of the materials to the wizard.

"Ah, excellent! And my familiar and the suit?"

José laughed nervously. Your familiar.” He handed the rat to Josephinzo. “As for the suit…”

Wormy pointed at Guy and mimed tearing clothe with her hands.

Otto crossed his legs. “Tius ruoy deniur eh dna tseuq a no og ot su decrof Yug.”

Josephinzo stood up. “HE WHAT?” His chair skittered across the floor, falling onto his sides.

Vendetta flinched.

"Guy, is this true?" Josephinzo demanded.

"No, of course not!" Guy tried to laugh it off, but everyone glared at Guy. Well, everyone except Otto, but Otto meant the same thing. Dawn hummed ominously.

Josephinzo slowly paced closer. "It looks like your companions aren't in agreement." He frowned at Guy.