Chương 94: Best Hugs In The Verse 2
Wanda sat quietly on the edge of the bed, her fingers absentmindedly running through the dark ooze resting on her lap. It gurgled softly, its radiant yellow eyes half-closed as if in a blissful nap. She watched it intently, finding a strange solace in its presence—a presence that had somehow muted the noise of her chaotic thoughts.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the oppressive weight on her mind had lessened. The visions of her lost children, the endless cycle of grief and guilt, the searing anger—all of it seemed a little further away. The ooze squirmed happily, a small ripple running through its body as it absorbed her warmth.
"You're like a little sponge," she mused aloud, her voice raspy from the earlier tears. "So small, but you soak up everything." The blob looked up at her, its head tilting to the side in its usual endearing confusion.
Wanda laughed softly, a sound she hadn't heard from herself in so long it felt almost foreign. She reached down and gave it a gentle squish, and the blob let out a noise that was somewhere between a purr and a gurgle, leaning into her touch.
"Do you even understand what I'm saying?" Wanda asked, a smile tugging at her lips. The ooze blinked slowly, then nuzzled closer to her. "I guess not," she said with a sigh, but it was a contented one.
She leaned back, resting her head against the crumbling wall behind her, the faint rays of sunlight trickling through the shattered window casting soft glows on the room's dusty floor.
Wanda stared out at the ruins of Genosha. The city still bore the scars of past actions, a constant reminder of how powers and intelligence can go astray. Her hands, trembling before, now lay still. The ooze snuggled closer, its body gently pulsating as if in rhythm with her breathing.
"You know," Wanda began, her voice wavering but resolute, "I was so sure I had lost everything." She paused, her fingers curling into the goo's soft mass. "My children, my reality—I was so angry, so broken. But you…you make it all feel a little less real, somehow. Like maybe, just maybe, it's okay to let go a little."
The blob simply wriggled, climbing up her arm to nuzzle against her cheek. Its warm, gelatinous touch was oddly soothing, like a hug from someone who didn't need to understand your pain to offer comfort.
Wanda closed her eyes, feeling the tears prickling at the corners, but this time, they were not the heavy, drowning kind. They were lighter, like tiny whispers of release.
The silence was soon broken by the sound of distant explosions. The faint echoes of battle—a reminder that time was still ticking, that her moment of peace was fleeting. Wanda tensed, her body instinctively pulling the blob closer, shielding it as if it were the one in danger.
But the ooze merely blinked, unbothered by the noise. It jiggled slightly, then slid from her grasp, plopping down onto the bed with a soft squelch. It bounced once, then twice, before curling into a small, round ball, rocking back and forth like it was trying to mimic her breathing.
Wanda watched, amused by its antics. "You're not scared, are you?" she asked, and the blob gave what could only be described as a cheerful jiggle in response. "Of course not," she chuckled. "You probably don't even know what's going on."
The blob rolled closer, nudging her hand with what felt like a reassuring touch. Wanda stared at it, her thoughts wandering. She could feel her grip on reality slowly loosening, but not in the terrifying, uncontrolled way she had known before. This was different—softer, more like a lullaby coaxing her to rest. She wondered if it was the blob's doing or if it was just her own exhaustion finally catching up with her.
She sighed, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands, the weight of everything briefly overwhelming her once again. The blob sensed her shift and wiggled its way onto her shoulder, perching there like a comforting, squishy parrot. Wanda couldn't help but smile, reaching up to pat its side.
"I wish I knew what you are," she whispered. "Or why you're here. But... maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe it's enough that you're here now."
The blob, oblivious to the gravity of her words, squirmed and bounced happily, somehow managing to hug her cheek with its entire body. Wanda laughed softly, a genuine, full laugh that echoed in the empty room. It was like the sun breaking through after a long, relentless storm.
As she sat there, Wanda realized she hadn't felt this alive in ages. She hadn't wanted to feel anything for so long, afraid that her emotions would once again betray her, but this strange, silly creature had slipped through the cracks of her defenses without even trying.
She looked at the ooze, which was now attempting to balance on her head, wobbling with every slight movement she made. It was so simple, so unaware of everything else. It didn't care about her past, her mistakes, or the destruction she had wrought. It just wanted to be close to her, to share a moment of warmth and quiet joy.
"Thank you," Wanda whispered, reaching up to carefully pluck it from her hair. "For staying with me."
The ooze blinked at her, its eyes wide and bright, and then, as if in response, it stretched itself into the shape of a tiny heart. Wanda's breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she was completely still.
"You really are something else," she murmured, cradling it close. "I think…I think I'm going to be okay."
The blob didn't understand her words, but it felt the change in her, the shift from sorrow to something gentler. It snuggled against her, content in its own simple way, completely oblivious to the battles raging outside, to the danger that still loomed. All it knew was that the person holding it needed hugs, and it was more than happy to oblige.
Wanda let herself sink into the moment, the chaos of the world outside a distant echo. For now, there was only this—a small, radiant joy that made the darkness seem a little less daunting.
She closed her eyes, holding the blob close, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she allowed herself to simply be.
Soon enough, however, she found herself falling asleep, and when you sleep, you dream, and when you dream, you can invite things that should never be touched.
Wanda found herself in the middle of a hellish landscape. Fire and brimstone filled her nostrils, nearly burning her lungs. She choked on the thick smog, the foul atmosphere making her cough violently. It felt as if her insides were trying to crawl outside, and she curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her face.
Then she began to hear the voices again.
"Where are you, Mom? I'm scared."
"Mom, where are you? Please help us!"
Wanda tried to shut the voices out. She covered her ears, even as her eyes began to bleed, and she continued to cough out black bile. She felt herself beginning to shatter again, her mind splintering under the weight of her grief and fear.
But then, amidst the shadows, she felt something warm. Opening her eyes, she saw the same ooze staring at her, its yellow eyes gleaming with a quiet, gentle light.
Within a second, it rolled over to her and placed a small, soft tendril on her head. The hellish landscape around her vanished, replaced by an endless, comforting darkness. The glowing yellow eyes continued to watch her without judgment, only concern and care.
She gently grasped the small creature and held it close, still trembling. But as she cradled it, she felt a happiness she had long thought lost.
And then she began to laugh. It was a mix of joy and sorrow, an attempt to unload years of trauma and pain. The ooze's touch, warm and soft, seemed to reach directly into her heart, offering a solace she never thought she'd feel again.
After what felt like hours of laughter and tears, she opened her eyes to see the small ooze still smiling at her, purring and making jiggling noises like a bizarre combination of a blob and a cat.
Before she could say anything, she felt a presence—something dark and disgusting that nearly overwhelmed her senses. She tried to turn around, but before she could, the blob enveloped her in a protective cocoon of warmth.
It felt safe inside the ooze, and as she looked out, still able to breathe, she saw it: a large demonic being, its colors shifting between red, gray, black, and countless others. But its eyes were worse. They were filled with a chaotic hunger that made Wanda feel connected to it in a way that terrified her.
Ÿ̷̯̬̦̒̃́̌͌̅͋͛̃̚͠͠ͅo̷͕̔̓̈́̋̈́͠ǘ̸͍̞͍̹̪͎͇͙͇͇̬͖̰̄͊̋̿̒͑̇͐̚͠ ̴̫͕͖̝͉̳͚̲̬̣̝͚̯͕̽̍́̃̂͛̀͆̒̔͝d̴̢̡̛̟̮̪̭̳̦̊̐͋̍̾̄͗͘o̶͕̣͚͋ ̴̥͖̲̞̦̍̓ͅn̴̡͍͖̪̬͚̼͈̺͚̒̍͊̊̆̾̕ǫ̸̪̫̯͉̯̒́̾̃̌̾͠t̴̠̥̳̙̓̔̄̾̂͒͒͘̕͝ ̵̡̳͕͉̻͙̔͒̏͠͠b̷̛͈̣̥͇̜̻͚̞̏̀̊͂̑͐̏͛͂͝͝ĕ̵̲͍̺̬̭͔̪̬̙̰̮̼̰͐̊̉͑̅͂̏̇͊̾̕͝l̴͓̻͓̆̏́̍̉̀̉̍́͐̚̕̕̕͠ͅõ̵̰̲̯̠̭̉̒̿̽͐̎̀̍͆̈́͘͠n̸̝̹̥̼͓̻̦̫͍͆̅̆̇̐̏͑̆̽̈́̀̑̈́͘͝ġ̵̢͙̭̞̮̣̟̱̱͚͌͜ ̴̢̡̤̤̊̇͐̀̆̚͝ḩ̶̢̨̧̳͔͖̲̟͔̗̫͕̄ͅé̶̞̠̬̑̈́̔̒ŗ̴̨̗̣͈̞̣̥̠̿̈̃̍̊̓̓̏̓́͠͝ͅé̶̡̛̪̯͔̫̮̠͓͈̪͐͌́̚͝ ̷̛̬̺͙͚̑̃́̍ͅĭ̴̛͉͐̌̂̊̚͜ǹ̴̛̬̬̳͋͌͊̓̆͛̅͌͝ͅť̴̛̛͕̼͕͕͔̼̘̪̬͚̔͒́̊̔͆ͅe̵̡̢̡̼̟̠̩̘͚̰̥̖̤̤̽̆̚͜ṙ̸̰̬̥͍̅̇̅͜ḽ̶̡̛̼̳̞͚̤̜̭̲̫́̌̉̑͆̓̓̕ō̴̡̩̦̠͖͐̿̒͌͌͋͒̃̚̚ͅp̶̧̛͕̖̲̭͐ͤ͜e̸͔͖̳͌̌̽r̶͇̟͇̊̿̉͊́͊̍̿̂͂͜.̷̘̭̩̫̠̳̗̦͖̖͇̹̮̈́̇̈͒̃ͅ
The ooze narrowed its eyes, almost growling, though the sound was more adorable than threatening. Wanda stifled a laugh; it was like watching a kitten hiss at a giant.
The demonic being summoned red energy, similar to her own chaos magic, but more focused and pure. It gathered the energy into a large, crackling sphere and flung it at them with a flick of its clawed fingers.
"Dodge it, please!!" Wanda yelled in panic, gripping the ooze tighter. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her new friend.
But the ooze turned its eyes and mouth inward, winking at Wanda with a confident gleam. It opened its mouth and simply absorbed the incoming energy in one swift gulp, its body rippling like jelly after a big swallow.
T̴͉̼͂͂̒ḧ̶̛̤́̓i̸̩̼͈̞͂̈́̒s̸̲̐̆͗̓ͅ ̵̨̩̘̃ì̶̮́͘ṡ̸̛̪̄ ̷͕͐̌̏̚n̷̖̓o̸̡̢̲͎͑̎̀͘t̴̙̫̊ ̶̗̫̒͛̚͜p̵̼̈́͐̚͠o̴̝̬͔̹͘s̷͕̠̹͊͜s̵̢̘͈̑͗ì̸̥̏͆b̶̨͙̞̼͛͝l̷̮̠̤̎ȩ̶̬͖́̐̌ͅ!̷̛͚̲̈̐͠ ̶͍̿̿̚͝I̵̻̠̾͐͌ ̴̘̱̝̽w̵͈̾͊͋͝a̴̜̍̈́͜͝s̸̳̿̽̈́̉ ̶̖̖̍̉̀̚ͅḥ̵̼͚̾̏̕͝ẽ̷̙̩̠͘ṟ̶̛̲̦͊͐͜ě̸̺̳͠ ̵̧̧̦͚̅̿͛ã̶̰̼̗͖ţ̸̛̠ ̸̫͒t̶̰̪̎̍͊͝h̸͓̓̐̑͑ȅ̷̙̞͝ ̶̹̟̄b̸̬̹̪̔͆e̵͔̫̘̦͗̃̉̉ǧ̴͓̘̭͑̀i̵͕͈̳̅͝n̸̩̣̆n̵̥͘ĭ̷͔̩̩n̸͙̰̏̾g̶̢̚ ̴̩̄̾͝ỏ̸͉͕̀͝͠f̶̹̰͕̝̒ ̴̻͓̓̏̚͜ṱ̸͖̗̅͌̕h̵́͌͜͜ḛ̵̹͕̒̒̀̒ ̷̡͋̆e̴͖̥͆n̵̨̫̗̖͗͋d̶͇̹͈̲̀ ̴̗̜͑́́Ḯ̸̤͕̇̈́̕ ̴̞̒̎͐̊w̴̦͓̦͋ỉ̸̭͓̦͜l̸͕̮̋̎ļ̴͉̦̣͆̾ ̶̰͆w̶̬͖̭̮͝ḭ̷̧̌͑ͅt̷͍͓͔͖̏̓ṉ̸͙̟͛ȩ̴̛s̵̛̞̙̆͗ͅs̸̨̮͖̟̈́͗̉͘ ̶̠̘̠͖̑̓̚t̷̡̺̜̏̿͌̍ḥ̴̳̈̇̎̿ẽ̵̝ ̵̟̝̎̓ę̶̮̿̄ǹ̶̢̠̣͖͊̈́̓ḏ̸̤͛̍͊̒ ̸͍͉͐͒a̸̠͖̍̀͋̆ń̴̨̢d̸̥̾ ̶̨̣̌ḃ̷̧̛̻͇̞͛e̷̼͉̋̔́̏ģ̶͕̺̼̄̀i̸̧̦͔̥̋̊n̷̦̘̤̈̚n̵͓̘̋͐͆͊i̸̢̪̠̠̍̊̈́n̴̡̛̛̦̭͌̀g̸͕̙̐͗̂ ̶͈̟̂͘ȍ̶̳̻̑f̴̼̳̉ ̴̙̔c̸̞̮͑̾̿r̸͖̲̾̉ẽ̴̛̖̹͌̅à̵̤̥̒̒ţ̴͖̞͖̇͊͊̇i̴̻͓̅̚̕͝ö̷̯́͗̔n̴͔̬̅̆̈́͂!̴̟̹̫͚̅̋ ̵̢̡͈̃̄Ỳ̶̙͍̒̆o̷͖̮̱͌̈́͛̕ụ̷͉̅́̆ ̴͉̗̮̃̽̐w̷̡͎̎͝ͅį̸̖͚̻̈́̎̆͠l̴̛̙̥̹l̸̩̭̓͘ ̷̛͕͋̋͜f̶̢̥̟̊̒̓a̸͖̰͂̂́̚l̸̖̲͙̽͒̒l̵͊͊͗͝ͅ!̴̼̦͖̠͊̓
As the ground beneath them began to quake, the darkness around them shifted. The demonic entity howled, its form flickering with chaotic energy, but the ooze only purred louder, almost amused.
Wanda then found herself outside of her friend's embrace, facing the demonic being that now seemed smaller. No, that's not quite right—it was shrinking. Its skin blistered and peeled, its monstrous form collapsing into the darkness.
W̷̢̖̣̙̃h̸̬͙̼̺̿̽̂a̵͎̒t̶̥̭̙̺͐̑͗́ ̷͚͍̔̍i̴̦͔͇̭͑̎͝s̷̯̳̕͜ ̶͚̈́ẗ̶̢͑͠h̸̻̬̪̮͋̋͐̿í̶̠̕s̸̺̜̓?̴͚̯̼͑!̸̨̻̼̻̽̈́ ̴̢̦͐̃Ṉ̷̛̣̀͜͝ͅo̸̯͑̏̏̍,̸̮͈̇ͅ ̶͔̗̲̈́n̴͙̒ŏ̸̘͉̂̚ ̴̼̭̗͐̓t̴͈͒̈́̅̐h̴̢̫͗ḯ̸̦̬̞̼s̵͎̽̓ ̸̰̗̙̱̈́͆̑c̶̝̺͂̓á̸̲̳̇͠n̵̪̳̑̾'̸͍͔̂͋́̑ṭ̵̗͝ ̷̼͉̠͝b̷̨̳̤̝̈́̈́͊é̴̗͍͈̚!̵̧̯͎̣̔ ̷̬̜͖̋̈́͝I̴̡͔̒̅̐ ̴̳̲̇̓̀̒c̶̖͚̖̾a̸̭͘n̷̺̩̍̄͆ń̶̰̰̊̈͜o̶̲̗̗͑̾͑t̴̞̺͈͗̆̀͂ ̷͎͕̓̊͘d̶͈̐̽͆i̷̠̎͆e̶̗̳̋.̶̘̚ ̷͎͍̖̭͗I̷͈̐̽ ̷̢̳̀͜w̵̟͖͙̞̄͂ï̸̡̛̪̞̝̀͊l̸̘̐́̇̈́l̴̨͔̥̎ ̶̛̛͍̭͎ͥn̵̫̭̪̮̿̉͠o̶̬̝͑́̈́͜t̷̡̹̂ ̵̢̥̞̼̐̈́b̶̥̦̘̻͐e̵̙̜̻̥̓͛̆̌ ̵̙̰̑ḋ̵̹͎e̸̬͌̍̓v̶͖̊͛͝o̴̢͔̪͐̀u̸͎̒̀̔͝r̴̰̰̗̣̀̊ë̶̖͕̼́͗̾͜d̶̨̖̰̼̄̂̉̅!̸̺̘̯͈̍̒
̴̡̳̝̄͐̔
But the ooze only purred contentedly, glowing brighter and brighter until it began to grow, expanding to the size of a skyscraper. It stared down at the demonic being, whose howls turned to desperate, choked gurgles as the ooze engulfed it whole.
Wanda watched in stunned silence as the demon thrashed within the ooze. Its screams of pain were muffled, its form struggling and shrinking until it was no more than a speck inside the radiant blob. Then, with a gentle burp, the ooze shrank back to its original size, contentedly bouncing back onto Wanda's lap.
Wanda's eyes were as wide as saucers. She and the ooze stared at each other for a long moment before it raised its tiny, gelatinous arms as if asking to be lifted. She reached out a trembling hand, and it crawled up her arm, tickling her as it went. She giggled, a mix of euphoria and disbelief, as the dark dreamscape shattered like glass around her.
She found herself back in her room, barely a minute having passed since she'd fallen asleep. The ooze had settled on her chest, snoring softly and causing its whole body to jiggle with each tiny breath.
Wanda's mind had never felt clearer. She raised her hand, summoning her magic, watching as the familiar red glow permeated her right arm and her eyes. And yet, she felt… nothing. No pain, no anger. Only an overwhelming sense of peace.
"What are you, little guy?" she murmured. "I'm not sure whether to be terrified of you or to laugh over the fact that you just ate a demon the size of a building like it was a snack. But thank you."
Wanda rubbed her eyes, still disbelieving, and when she looked again, the ooze had somehow formed pixelated sunglasses on its surface as if proudly showing off.
Wanda blinked, and the glasses were gone, leaving her to wonder if she was seeing things again. She sighed, lying back on the bed and enjoying the quiet presence of the little—yet not-so-little—ooze.
But peace was always fleeting. The door to her room suddenly burst open.
The heroes had arrived, and they were very, very confused.
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