By Jareth
Chapter Nine: Winifred reborn
Everybody’s eyes were fixated on the cauldron.
“Is she…” Dale began.
“Dead?” Said Chip, finishing Dale’s question. There was a long pause.
“The chemical in the cauldron must have become an acid! I think she might have dissolved!” Said gadget in a semi-happy/semi-disgusted tone.
“Take that, Freddie!” Dale yelled in triumph. “That’s what you get when you mess with the Rescue Rang—”
Suddenly, before Dale could finish, the ground began to vibrate.
“What’s going on?” Thought Foxglove, as she lay trapped under Jamba’s enormous wings. The Vibrations began to grow increasingly stronger.
“What’s happening!?” Dale yelled, his voice filled with fear.
Small pieces of the wooden rafters the held up the roof began to fall as the vibrations reached their peak.
“This place is going to collapse!” Gadget yelled as the Rangers tried desperately to escape their bonds. Suddenly, the rafter that the Rangers had been dangling from broke, sending them hurling toward the ground, and landing very painfully. Upon hitting the ground, their ropes instantly loosened, freeing them of their bonds.
“Zipper!” Monty yelled, running to the spot where he lay unconscious. He picked up Zipper in his arms and ran back to the other Rangers, as a large chunk of wood landed where Zipper had just been lying moments ago.
“Foxy!” yelled Dale, running over to her. Dale tugged Foxglove by the wings with all his strength, but couldn’t free her from Jamba’s hold.
Red energy began to erupt from the cauldron, as the liquid inside became a swirling, bottomless vortex.
Chip ran over to assist Dale. “Ready,” He said, preparing Dale “One, Two, Three, PULL! The two chipmunks pulled as hard as they could, but still could not free her.
Foxglove, summoning all the strength she had, looked up into Dale’s eyes. “Help… Me…” Foxglove pleaded weakly.
“Don’t worry Foxy!” Dale reassured her “I’ll get you out of here!” Summoning all the strength he had, Dale pulled with all his might, and finally freed Foxglove of her winged prison. Carrying Foxglove over his shoulder, Dale ran back over to the other Rangers.
“Let’s get out of here!” Chip yelled over the din, motioning toward the emergency exit door, which had now fallen off its hinges.
“What about them!?” Asked Gadget, pointing toward Jamba and Darien. The two of them were still staring intently at the cauldron, as if they didn’t notice or care that the entire place was about to collapse.
“Forget them,” Chip yelled, “if they wanted to escape they would have already done it.”
With Monty carrying Zipper in his arms and Dale carrying Foxglove over his shoulder, the Rescue rangers ran out of the collapsing Laundromat as fast as their feet could possibly carry them.
Meanwhile, back inside, Jamba and Darien stared at the cauldron. Suddenly, a deafeningly loud roar began to emit from within it, as a red glowing figure began to slowly rise out of the vortex. It rose higher and higher, until it was hovering two feet above the cauldron. With a deafening boom, the vibrations ceased, the red energy faded, and the cauldron exploded, sending the potion (which had now become water) flying everywhere. The glowing figure stopped glowing and slowly lowered itself to the floor. The figure was Winifred… or was it?
Winifred opened her eyes, only to see Jamba and Darien staring at her, looking bewildered.
“Master?” Darien asked, sounding unsure of who it was he was talking to.
“What!?” Winifred asked, beginning to sound nervous. “What’s wrong? Did it disfigure me or something!?
“It definitely changed your face, that’s for sure.” Jamba replied
“Arrrrgh!” Screamed Winifred, running over to a mirror. She gazed upon her reflection in shock and disbelief. “I’m… I’m…” Winifred gazed at her reflection, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’M BEAUTIFUL!!!” Winifred’s appearance had definitely improved, to say the least. Gone was the semi-overweight cleaning woman with the large nose. Instead, the reflection showed a skinny, attractive supermodel, dressed in Winifred’s cloths. “Oh look at me Jamba! I’m beautiful!” She said, twirling around a few times to admire her self.
“I like the lengths,” Darien complemented, not wanting to be left out. “they make you look kind of wild.”
“Thank you Darien.” Winifred said, stroking her hair
At that moment, Jamba interrupted. “Master.” He said, trying not to sound too rude.
“Not now!” Shouted Winifred without turning away from the mirror for a second.
Jamba ignored this and continued. “I don’t mean to be rude, but this beauty is only a side effect of the spell’s true purpose.”
“What are you implying?” Winifred asked suspiciously.
“Zap zap.” Jamba made little zapping motions with his wing
“Oh right,” Said Winifred, suddenly remembering the spell’s true purpose “the magic!”
“You may want to read through Vigo Carpathia’s book of spells before trying anything” Suggested Darien as he carried the book over to Winifred, dropping it in front of her. “After all,” He said, looking up at Winifred “if anything were to happen to you…”
At first, Winifred was going to yell at Darien for even suggesting that she was inexperienced, when it suddenly dawned on her that in fact, she was. “Perhaps you’re right Darien.” Winifred said reluctantly as she picked up the book. “However,” she continued, “I’m curious as to how much power I’ve gained. I think I’ll release some of my power right now… Unless anyone has any objections to that!” Shot Winifred, looking directly at Darien. Darien remained silent and his expression remained as calm as ever. “Good! Now, lets see how much I’ve improved now that I’ve become a real witch!”
Winifred closed her eyes, put her two index fingers together, and held them in front of her face, the tips of them touching her nose. Winifred stood like that for ten seconds. Suddenly, her eyes sprang open, glowing bright red. “Ahhhhhhhh!” Winifred screamed as an immense aura of red energy surrounded her. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended. Winifred’s eyes returned to their normal shade of green and the aura disappeared. She stood motionless, trying to comprehend what had just occurred.
“Well?” Both Jamba and Darien asked curiously.
“I- I can’t believe it!” Winifred stammered as she separated her hands and returned them to her sides. “When I first read the spell’s description, it said that I’d be given powers to rival the devil himself. At the time, I thought that it was only a metaphor, but now… I think there’s going to be a change of plans.”
“A change?” Asked Darien curiously.
“Originally," Winifred began "I was planning to go door to door, finding the people who made my childhood a living hell, and turn them all into pond scum. Now that I have this kind of power, that seems a bit mediocre.”
“What do you have in mind master?” Asked Jamba.
“You’ll see,” Winifred said, an evil smile spreding across her
face “you’ll see.”