"Justin? How are you—?" Juliette's voice was confused and panicked, and Justin felt about the same way.

"I saw Alex and you guys go into the woods, so I followed you." Justin didn't look at her, but at Alex, who was sneering.

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?"

Justin held firm, for once forcing his hands to remain still. No fidgeting. "There are more important things than power."

"Yeah? Like what?" Pain shot through Justin at the harshness in his friend's tone.

"Like— like friendship. And love, and laughter—"

Alex burst out laughing. "You sound like some cheesy romance novel. Or Dumbledore or someone stupid like that."

Justin heard Penny gasp from behind him, and he flushed.  "Well, maybe I do, but at least I'm not hurting my friends."

Alex's laugh was incredulous. "Friends? None of you are my friends. You're all weak. Penny's a coward and a nerd, Juliette, you're a jerk and a know-it-all, and Justin—  why was I even friends with you in the first place? You're so annoying."

Tears pricked at the backs of Justin eyes. Alex doesn't mean those things. But did he?

To the side, a familiar voice spoke. "Justin, come with us. I can bring you to our headquarters, all of you."

Justin turned, and his heart plummeted. No. No way. It can't be, not here, not now.

There was Mrs. Proditor, his teacher for the last few months. But now Justin recognized her as someone else, someone he hadn't seen in years but for in dreams.

"Mom?"

She gave him a pained smile. "Hello, Justin."

***

Seeing her sent mixed emotions spinning through Justin. Anger. Fear. Happiness. Pain.

Memories, too, coursed through his mind. Time spent with his mother, father, brother as a child.

And of course, the day his mom left.

Despite Justin's youth when it happened, he could still clearly see it in his mind's eye. He had lied to Alex all those months ago when telling Alex his secret. He remembered everything.

Justin remembered the darkness that had entered her body, the black of her eyes. How all of them— Justin, Nathan, and their father— had watched in frozen horror as she yelled horrible things before leaving, all of them too scared to say anything.

When Justin grew older, he researched the Malum and the darkness that seemed to possess people and change them. What he learned filled him with shame.

This darkness, the remnants of Malum magic used, could only take over those who had the capacity to join the Malum, something inside making them susceptible to that darkness. It would enter the body through the nose or mouth, and twist their personality.

They would be the same person, and be completely aware of it, but have a sick pleasure from the increase in their power and a desire to hurt others. And of course, it turned the eyes of the person to solid black throughout.

But this condition was reversible, Justin had learned. If someone close to the affected person, someone who knew them well, loved them, then they would turn back the darkness. It was difficult, but it could be done.

Justin, Nathan, and their father could have done that for their mother, but they hadn't out of fear. And once the dark magic had taken root in that person, everything Justin read said that there was no chance of redemption.

Seeing Mom changes nothing, Justin told himself. It's too late for her.

But not for Alex, Justin's best friend. What I didn't do for Mom, I'll do for him.

He turned away from Mrs. Proditor— She is not my mother. My mother is gone.— and looked at Alex. "Alex, you can stop. Get out of the darkness, turn back."

"But why would I?" Alex floated up into the air and reclined as if in some invisible, floating chair. "Look at how much more control over my magic I have now."

Mrs. Proditor spoke again. "You— all of you— come join us. Justin, you know I've been trying to talk you into it."

No. The dreams...

Every night for months now, Justin had been having dreams of his mother telling him to join the Malum. That was why he had become distant from Alex, why he had shut himself away from his friends. He was afraid that she could somehow get into their minds through him.

"But how did I not recognise—" Justin asked aloud before it hit him. "Your power. You can manipulate people's minds, and with the dark magic strengthening you... You gave me those dreams, then made me not recognize you when you started teaching here. I bet you aren't really a teacher, but just made Mr. Magister think you were!" Justin's hand curled into fists at his sides.

Behind him, he heard one of the girls start to speak, then stop as Mrs. Proditor shrugged, making the gesture seem helpless. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to get the Fabulosa, but when I realized you were their age, I just wanted my son to join me." She stepped forward, reaching towards Justin.

He recoiled. "I— I'm not your son. Not anymore."

Pain, real pain, shown in Mrs. Proditor's eyes. So she can feel emotion, Justin couldn't help but think. "Of course you are. We're blood."

From his position in the air, Alex mimed eating popcorn. "This is better than a soap opera."

Justin took another step away from Mrs. Proditor and towards Alex, who rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna give me the 'friends are better than power' spiel again?"

Justin's fingers drummed a rythym on the leg of his pants, unable to still himself any longer. "No. But just— remember."

Alex mimicked the drumming. "What? That you lied and never told me that Mrs. Proditor was your mom?"

"I didn't know until two minutes ago!" Justin cried. Stay calm, he reminded himself.

"Alex, I'm still your best friend. I love you. You're like a brother to me." Though I get along with you a lot better than I do with my other brother. "And if you go with her, you'll be alone. Sure, you'll be with all these other members of the Malum, but do you think they'll really care at all about you, except as a means to an end?"

"So what if they do or don't care?" Alex said, but for the first time Justin could detect a hint of hesitation in his voice. Yes! "I don't."

"Maybe, but... try, Alex. Remember your friends. Think of the times we've played basketball, and the food fight, and rescuing Juliette... we are friends, Alex. And nothing is going to change that."

Justin took another step forward. "Remember when I told you that my mother joined the Malum? You said that I didn't have to be like her. That I could choose.

"I'm telling you now, Alex, that you can choose. We all have darkness inside of us. But we have to fight it, try to shine a light. Burn back the dark and the evil. Don't let it win."

Alex flinched as Justin lay a hand on his arm. "Please, Alex."

There was silence in the clearing, and Justin didn't dare to even breath. Then—

A shudder ran through Alex's entire body, and his eyes flashed brown.

And he collapsed to the ground.

Hey wassup guys sorry I haven't updated. I get over one bought of writer's block and land in another.

RIP me.

But it's out now! What did you think? I honestly have mixed feelings about this chapter because there were parts I really liked and feel proud of but other parts were sorta cringy. What do you think, was this chapter sweet, deep, or cringy?

And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. This chapter is a little confusing, so if something doesn't make sense or a question wasn't answered enough let me know and I'll answer you and do my best to fix it.

Oh oh oh and GhostWriterGirl-1 totally called that Mrs. Proditor was Justin's mom. Honestly, I think you can read the future, girl. Juliette's not the only one with premontions anymore.

P.S. I'm surprised that none of you had any reaction to the reveal last chapter that Alex liked Penny. 😏

Thanks for reading, and vote or comment if you enjoyed!