Victor-Grey's vision went black, almost losing his balance.
"Oh my god..."
He groaned, his voice filled with despair and absurdity.
"You mixed the recipes for... 'Good and Evil Potion' and 'Love Potion'?!"
"Which one of us... has the dimmer brain?! It's a miracle blessed by Merlin that we weren't poisoned to death on the spot!"
"Love Potion?"
Enid, who had been nervously eavesdropping with pricked ears, twitched her ears sharply. Her eyes lit up instantly, craning her neck subconsciously to sneak a peek at the book's contents.
However, her gaze collided right into Wednesday's meaningful look that seemed to see through everything.
Enid shrank back instantly as if scalded, cheeks exploding red, whistling an out-of-tune melody guiltily.
Her eyes darted around, pretending to have suddenly developed a great research interest in the water stains on the toilet ceiling.
The two Victors fell into utter stupor, standing rooted to the spot, digesting a truth even more outrageous than him splitting into two.
He tried to make a potion for splitting good and evil, but ended up brewing a pot of... potion with unknown effects, weird ingredients, that almost made them puke their guts out.
This damn, neither-fish-nor-fowl potion that should be thrown into the trash heap of history.
This was simply the most devastating blow to his career as a "Potion Master."
Venom slumped weakly on Victor's shoulder, mumbling:
"Well... at least now I know why that stuff tasted like chocolate-flavored shit... the taste of love... is indeed hard to describe..."
Victor: "..."
"When will the effect of this damn potion end?"
Both Victors asked in despair simultaneously, voices trembling.
"Don't know."
Venom's voice sounded even weaker, the black viscous substance seeming a few shades dimmer. "The theoretical duration for a normal Good and Evil potion is about two days..."
"But mixed with a Love Potion... God knows what strange chemical reaction will happen... Uh... I gotta sleep first... feel like I've been trampled by a dozen rhinos..."
"I'm sleeping first..."
Venom's voice grew smaller and smaller, almost becoming an indistinct murmur.
"My two 'cubs'... you help me... look after them for two days... see you... when the effect wears off... goodnight..."
"Holy shit!"
Both Victors turned pale with shock.
"Wait! Venom! What do you mean?! Are you going on maternity leave?! Dumping this mess on me alone?! Venom? Venom! FUCK!"
No response.
The iconic deep black belonging to Venom covering both Victors receded rapidly like a tide, shrinking and finally vanishing completely.
As the black faded, the gentle pearl white and violent grey-black became clear and stable like developing film.
Finally, Venom's will disappeared completely.
As if a weird switch was pressed.
On Victor-White's neck, the pearl-white symbiote—"Serum"—moved slightly.
Its form became clearer and more stable, radiating a gentle, even somewhat timid aura.
On Victor-Grey's head, the grey-black, wildly shaped symbiote—"Riot"—suddenly grew restless.
Its color became darker, spike-like structures twisting hideously, radiating undisguised violence and impatience.
Serum and Riot had completely regained independent consciousness.
Serum spoke with a trace of apology:
"Uh... hello... meet again... hope didn't cause you too much trouble..."
Riot knocked Victor's head hard with a tentacle:
"So noisy! Trash! Be quiet! Yell again and I'll pull your tongue out!"
Both Victors squatted down holding their heads in sync:
"Ow! Hurts! Stop knocking!"
One consciousness, double the pain, and double the helplessness.
Victor-White and Victor-Grey looked up simultaneously, seeing the vastly different symbiotes on each other, showing identical, massive, near-collapsing bewilderment on their faces.
"So..." Victor-White murmured.
"The situation now is..." Victor-Grey picked up.
"Venom went to sleep..." Victor-White.
"And dumped the 'Good' and 'Evil' he split off..." Victor-Grey.
"All on me?!" Both Victors shouted in despair simultaneously.
Serum seemed a bit apologetic, rubbing gently against Victor-White's neck: "I'll try... not to cause trouble..."
Riot let out a sharp scoff: "Ha! Trouble? I AM the biggest trouble! Just you wait, trash host!"
Victor-White and Victor-Grey took a deep breath simultaneously, then sighed heavily in sync.
"Okay," Victor-White tried to be calm.
"At least," Victor-Grey tried to be optimistic.
"The effect only lasts two days..." They said together, trying to cheer themselves up.
Serum added softly:
"Um... theoretically yes... but mixed with Love Potion... might... have some... unpredictable... side effects..."
Riot interrupted manicly:
"Shut up! Idiot! Who allowed you to spoil it! Surprises are more fun when they come harder!"
Both Victors' expressions froze in sync again.
Effect duration: Unknown.
Side effects: Unknown.
Status: Good/Evil Twin (Temporary).
Subjects to monitor: Self (x2) + Good Symbiote + Evil Symbiote.
Victor-White and Victor-Grey looked at each other simultaneously, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes:
The next two days would probably be the longest, most chaotic, and absolutely disastrous 48 hours of their lives.
Enid looked at Victor who was doubting life there, and for a moment didn't know what to do.
She poked the unusually calm Wednesday beside her subconsciously.
"What... do we do now?"
Enid asked in a small voice, filled with helplessness.
The corner of Wednesday's mouth raised extremely rarely by a pixel, a near... delightful light flickering in her dark eyes.
"Isn't this a good thing?"
Her voice was steady and waveless, yet like a stone thrown into a calm lake. "We can declare a temporary truce."
She turned her head slightly to look at Enid, her tone like selecting an interesting collection piece at an auction house:
"Which color do you want?"
"Huh?" Enid paused slightly, blinking, then reacted abruptly! A surprised and brilliant smile blossomed on her face instantly!
Right! Isn't this a godsend?!
This meant she could monopolize one Victor! No competition! No Wednesday releasing cold air beside her!
"I want the white one!"
Enid decided promptly, almost skipping forward, grabbing Victor-White's arm intimately, as if afraid Wednesday would change her mind.
Serum seemed a bit shy from this sudden enthusiasm, the pearl-white substance rippling slightly, emitting a soft voice: "H-hello..."
"Very good."
Wednesday seemed quite satisfied with this result. She turned immediately to the Victor-Grey on the right with the grey hideous "crown," commanding concisely, "Then the grey one is mine."
With that, she gave him no time to react, grabbing Victor-Grey's arm directly and turning to walk out.
"Let's go, come with me to investigate the cave marked in the prophecy drawing. We've wasted enough time."
Her tone was as if going to the library to borrow a book, not to a dangerous zone possibly infested with monsters.
"What? What do you mean yours?! Wait! Wednesday! I... I haven't figured this out yet!"
Victor-Grey looked confused, stumbling as he was dragged.
The drawback of one consciousness controlling two bodies was exposed completely at this moment.
Victor-White turned pale with shock, trying to stop them:
"Wait! Wednesday! I'm still in sync state! I'm not used to operating two bodies with one mind yet! Let me get used to it first! Something will happen like this!"
However, his words were too late.
His consciousness drove both bodies simultaneously attempting different reactions—one wanted to stand firm, one wanted to be pulled away.
The result was...