B - Checkmate

Wazzo looked in the mirror with horror and disbelief. Clumps of grey
mushrooms were growing from out of his head. He touched them and could
feel sensations there, they seemed to have nerve endings and be a part
of his body. He felt afraid of them, they looked so delicate and easy
to squash. What if something was to happen to them... some kind of
accident -- he squeased one gently and flinched in pain.

His mother knocked on the bathroom door.

"Wazzo, Sandy is here to see you, she's waiting for you
downstairs."

"Ok Mum, cheers," he said, feeling nervous panic. He couldn't let Sandy
see him like this. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it carefully round
and round his head like a huge turban, trying hard to cover up the
mushrooms without squashing them -- and unlocking the bathroom door,
hurried to his bedroom.

Sandy leapt up and greeted him there with a big hug and a kiss, he went
pale with shock, and kept moving the top of his head away from her
reach. "Alright, " he said anxiously. "Thought you were waiting for me
downstairs."

"Thought I'd come up and surprise you," she said smiling.

Wazzo looked distressed. "Nice one..."

"Well don't look like that."

"Like what?"

"Like me being here is stressing you out."

"Sandy, it's kind of hard to explain."

She reached for his head, but he moved it out of her reach again. Sandy
looked at him puzzled. "Wazzo, what on earth are you doing with a towel
wrapped round your head like that? I mean you hardly have any
hair."

"Er, well... maybe I'll tell you later." Wazzo said.

He searched frantically round his room for something suitable he could
use to cover up his head, something to hide the mushrooms without
squashing them. He eventually found a black and white tophat, and
decided that would do, though he couldn't remember ever owning a black
and white tophat, it was strange. He puzzled over this for a moment,
trying hard not to scratch his head as he did.

" Er I'll be back in a minute," he said to Sandy, " need to use the
bathroom again."

***

Mr. Wancerre stood in his tower and looked out of the dark window.
Wazzo wouldn't escape him this time. No, that disgustingly colourful
person, wouldn't escape this time. He planned to imprison Wazzo here in
this nebulous tower of his, slowly brainwash him, make him into his
servant; convert him to the dark paths of monotone. He would help Wazzo
understand the virtue of lifting this tenebrous flag, and together they
would drain away the colour from everything, turn the brightness of
life down; till all that shone was a dull grey movie, in which they
would be the bleak heroes.

***

Sandy giggled as she walked beside Wazzo on the street. "Wazzo, why are
you wearing a black and white tophat?" She asked.

"I just felt like it.." he said stressfully, he hated the tophat, it
made him feel silly and self-conscious, and it was also very hot; but
it was better than walking around with a head covered in
mushrooms.

As Wazzo walked through the towncentre he became slowly aware that
something wierd was going on. Everyone he passed seemed to have
something slightly odd about them. He saw a man on the other side of
the street who had a beard that glowed in the dark, a jogger ran by on
what looked like ducks feet and a woman appeared to be walking a
handbag on a leesh which barked at him as they walked passed.

Wazzo looked around him in disbelief, everywhere he looked there was
the everyday world doing everyday things only tinged with wierdness.
The thing that was even odder though, was nobody except him seemed to
notice it.

***

The shapeless entity rose up towards the pinnacle of the grey tower and
passed through it's solid stone walls and into the gloomy office. It
hovered in the air silent for a moment, before willing itself a visible
shape that stood in front of Mr. Wancerre.

"You wizards are very stupid I think." It said.

"No not stupid, very clever. It is the people of the everyday world who
are stupid. Caught up in their own little worlds: they daydream,
believe the media, consume endlessly, get hypnotised, lost in their
thoughts, and not many actually notice what is happening around them;
what magic is weaving the spells and illusions they see."

"Whatever... you have summoned me, but I will not do as you say, for I
sense you are an evil man, and I will not be party to such malice as I
feel here. You have committed a great sin summoning me here. That spell
you used is an old spell and not without a price. Be warned the lords
of karma will come to collect their payment soon enough, and things
will not bode well for the grey sorcerer, I promise you. " The entity
looked hard and piercingly at Mr. Wancerre. "I will take my leave of
you now." It said.

Mr. Wancerre pointed a strange gun shaped device at the entity. "I
think not." He said, pulling the trigger. The beam that came from the
device took on the shape of a menacing clawed hand, which surrounded
and trapped the entity in an electric field of dull grey; the entity
looked in surprise and horror, as the beam then solidified, and shrunk
into the shape of a glass jar.

Mr. Wancerre walked across the room, and picked up the jar from the
floor.

"I will make this world mine... " he whispered coldly to it. " And
nothing will stand in my way."

***

"Wazzo, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah fine, " he said. The mushrooms on his head where beginning to
feel very itchy and he wanted desperately to scratch them; but he
couldn't: because A: it would mean taking off the hat and Sandy seeing
the mushrooms growing out of his head; and B: he was scared to scratch
them in case it hurt and he damaged himself in some way.

There was also something else strange about today, something that
troubled him more deeply. He had not felt his muse since the morning;
and without his muse he could not create anything. This worried him,
for without the power of his imagination he was weak, and this weakness
made him feel afraid.

***

"Have you set the trap?"

"Everything is going according to plan sir. "

Two grey armoured soldiers walked into the room at that point; holding
a young girl between them, who struggled frantically in their
grasp.

"Hello Sandy. " Mr. Wancerre said. " I do hope you will enjoy your stay
here with us."

***

She led him down un-familiar path after un-familiar path. There was no
moon tonight so it was almost pitch dark.

"Sandy where the Hell are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise Wazzo, I want to show you something."

The itchiness of the mushrooms was becoming more and more unbearable,
he knew he would have to take the hat off soon, and scratch them, but
he couldn't scratch them... arg... but maybe he could take the hat off
for a moment, Sandy wouldn't notice in the pitch dark... so he took the
hat off for a moment and felt the relief of the cool night air soothe
the intense itchiness he had been feeling there... and sighed a
little.

After what seemed like a long hike through endless woods and fields;
Sandy eventually stopped by the side of a huge lake -- an old abandoned
building stood darkly beside it. On one of it's walls was an old rusty
neon light which illuminated the world around them in an eery tone of
grey. It was a creepy place, and Wazzo felt uncomfortable there.

"Is this the surprise?" he asked confused.

Sandy turned to him, with a cold mischievous look in her eyes...
something Wazzo didn't recognize. She pulled him dramatically to
herself and thrust her tongue into his mouth and began to French kiss
him. It was then he discovered there was something odd about Sandy too,
and he stepped back grossed out trying to get the clinging
unpleasantness from out of his mouth.

Sandy looked at him amused, "What's wrong Wazzo?" She asked.

"It's... it's your tongue..."

"My tongue..?"

"It's all hairy."

Sandy started to grow more hair, it spread all over her body till she
was like a yeti.

"I thought you loved me Wazzo, and if you love me, then it doesn't
matter what I look like, does it?"

"No it shouldn't matter, but there's one problem." Wazzo said. "You're
not Sandy."

The fake Sandy shape-shifted suddenly into a giant grey spider that
hissed at him. Wazzo stepped back in terror and turned to run and
escape; but lots of giant grey spiders suddenly jumped from out of the
lake and the scenery around him, blocking his every exit, surrounding
him in a hissing circle. He ran into the nearby building, but it was no
use; upon entering the building, something cold and sticky wrapped
itself around his body; the more he struggled against it, the more it
stuck, clung to him - till it held him fast and he could no longer
move... he was trapped.

***

Wazzo ascended slowly up the caliginous mountainside, up to the highest
peak. There the lift doors opened and the grey armoured gaurds led him
into a dull room: where a pale figure turned slowly round in a sullied
chair to greet him.

"Mr. Wancerre, I thought you would have to be behind all this." Wazzo
said, his eyes narrowing.

"Master Wazzo, we meet again."

Mr. Wancerre smiled, then stood up and walked slowly over to him, he
pulled back one of Wazzo's sleeves, revealing tiny grey mushrooms that
were starting to sprout on his arm.

Wazzo looked at them in horror.

Mr. Wancerre gently squeezed one of the mushrooms, making Wazzo grimace
in pain.

"Does that hurt?" Mr. Wancerre asked.

"Yes..."

Mr. Wancerre smiled again.

"What do you want with me?" Wazzo asked.

"I want you to come and work for me."

"I will never work for you..."

Mr. Wancerre walked over to his desk and pressed a button on a remote
control handset, the wall in front of him rotated to reveal a huge
screen -- an image of Sandy asleep in a colourless room suddenly
appeared there.

"Sandy," Wazzo gasped.

"Yes and if you want to see her again, you will do as I say."

Mr. Wancerre got some black shades from out of his pocket and put them
over his eyes, then walking over to a metal cabinet, unlocked it. From
the cabinet, he brought out a jar that looked as if it was made of
glass, but wasn't. It kept shimmering every now and then, and what
looked like electrical pulses darted over it's transparent surface --
within the jar there was a strange multi-coloured orb, that glowed in
an ebbing rhythmic way, as if it was alive and breathing.

"I notice you don't appear to be rhyming today Wazzo, isn't that
strange."

Wazzo looked at him with horror. "You've.. you've got my muse?"

"Yes... and without it you cannot create. "

"But how, that's impossible."

"Everything has it's price Wazzo, including your muse." He stroked the
jar, as if it was a precious pet. " I have your girl, I have your muse.
I would hate for something bad to happen to either of them; and those
mushrooms on your head are spreading, eventually they will cover your
entire body. I don't think that would be very pleasant for you; imagine
trying to sit down, or going to sleep at night. I am the only person in
the world who has the cure, who knows how to stop those mushrooms
growing on your body. So you see, you have no choice but to do as I say
Wazzo."

"You're an evil man Mr. Wancerre, and you won't get away with
this."

"Shall I show you to your quarters, I do hope you like the colour
scheme there, I thought very carefully about that. I do want your stay
here to be... an unpleasant one." Mr. Wancerre grinned, baring his
teeth.

Wazzo nodded defeated, bowing his head; he let the grey soldiers lead
him to his cell. He had no choice, he had to do as Mr. Wancerre said,
there was nothing else he could do. Wazzo loved Sandy and couldn't let
her be harmed in any way. He felt afraid of the grey mushrooms that
were slowly taking over his body; and without his muse he had no power
to do anything anyway, he was weak, trapped; Mr. Wancerre had the
upperhand... for now.

to be continued...