What the women failed to anticipate was the journey in rescuing (Y/n). The forest the sorceresses began to trek through provided much murkiness as they only knew to walk straight ahead in order to reach the fort on the other side of the morbid forest. A trail, they followed endlessly through the thickness of the forest's morbidity. The women noticed a heavy fog come towards them, unable to realise that something lurked within. Faint noises came from nearby, alerting the sorceresses of the danger present. 

"What's that?" Wanda Two asked. 

"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of it," replied Wanda One.  

Willow Two answered without taking her eyes off the fog. "It's a blaarxth. Keep your eyes on the fog, ladies. Make one move, you're gone." 

A tentacle shot out at the young Wanda who barely had a chance to deflect it when the tentacle retracted back into the fog. In retaliation, she shot her arm out, grunting as she released a single ball of chaos magic at the beast hiding in the fog which exploded, impacting the monstrosity which howled in pain. 

"You shouldn't have done that, girl..." 

"Why?" 

"Because we're about to be consumed and digested for over a thousand years." Willow One answered dreadfully and gulped. 

Suddenly, everyone used their abilities to deflect and repel the tentacles trying to reach out for them but barely survived as both of (Y/n)'s past-past lovers struggled to recall exactly how to defeat an enraged blaarxth. Then, Elaine found an opening and took it. Before anyone could be stolen into the fog, she casted a verbal spell that not only created a shockwave, but also dispersed the fog, scaring the blaarxth into fleeing. With the danger gone, everyone relaxed and found the path they were following and continued off where they left. 

"So that's a blaarxth, huh?" Wanda One asked, breathing heavily from the fight. 

"No-one has ever seen its face and lived to tell the tale," replied Willow One. 

"What happens when you do? Do you get turned to stone? Petrified to death?" Young Wanda scoffed. 

"Joke not, child." Willow Two warned her. "Just because we faced one threat does not mean others will be as easy." 

Suddenly, the third Wanda shot her arm up, pointing her index finger at her older duplicate. "Don't call me child! I may be in the form of one, but I can assure you I have the mind of my older self. And what makes you think I want things to be harder? I want (Y/n) back as much as the rest of you. So, forgive me if my devotion seem crude to you." 

"Quit your arguing and let's go already." Another said impatiently.

The further they advanced the deeper trouble they were getting themselves into. Not long after defeating the blaarxth, the women discovered carvings on the trees. Reluctantly, to Willow Two's proposal to rest and set up camp, everyone did so as their energy was low and their eyes heavy. Elaine casted a protective dome over them while Willow One set up a campfire quick smart.

A lingering thought dwelled in the minds of those who cared for (Y/n) concerning the danger he was in and if they would reach him in time. His pain was their pain, and if they could feel that, then they still had time, or what little time remaining they had. Although the third Wanda that decided to accompany her fellow witches brought concern and suspicions, her presence was surely appreciated despite her attitude and secrecy to accomplish what true purpose she was there for.

A few hours later...

After a few short hours of rest, all were replenished of their strength and energy to rescue (Y/n). All was going well until a second encounter within a graveyard against the keeper of the fort. There was no other way around except going through the graveyards that was filled with tombstones with something to symbolise who they were. Nobody dared to witness the graves of their fallen comrades - from the Avengers to the Guardians and unfamiliar names to either present or past version of Wanda - until a statue appeared out of thin air, memorialising Pietro and (Y/n).

"What is this?" Willow one asked.

"I do not know. And I do not like this one bit..." Wanda One replied, her European accent revealing itself as she felt her old fears creep it's way back up to the surface to scar her once again. 

A low, sinister voice howled around the sorceresses, evidently trapping them in what could possibly be their resting place when a phantom appeared from the statue of Pietro Maximoff. Only Willow One and Two were unfamiliar of the phantom before them as there was no relation to a young, bearded, silver-haired man with bullet holes riddling his body to them. Whereas, for the Wanda's, only dread, horror and exhilaration coursed through them as the ghost of their deceased brother smiled evilly at them with glowing yellow eyes like that of a Sith, except this was no ordinary phantom - but a figment of their imagination toying with them due to the atmosphere of the graveyard that played with their fears. 

Out of nowhere, the phantom of (Y/n) came along, distracting everyone from Pietro's phantom where they witnessed (Y/n) dancing with that of the late Thalke through swordplay. The way (Y/n) graced his blade to scrape that of Thalke's superior double-bladed sword hypnotised the women except Wanda Three and Elaine who had no common interest with the other duplicates. Both Willow's and Wanda's were entranced with his style of sword-fighting until he vanished in a cold trail of a smoke-like substance. 

"What is this...?" Wanda Three muttered nervously. 

"I have heard of this before. I believe this is the work of something very powerful; something that wields impeccably impenetrable dark magic," said Willow Two. 

"Who?" Asked another. 

"They call him... Aether, or, the Dark Wizard, as (Y/n) called him previously." Willow One answered. "He is exceptionally powerful but only (Y/n) is able to best him on account of having a portion of the Power Stone's cosmic energy. It's said that Aether cursed his foe to find no tranquillity nor his deepest desire; that he shall live in agony and ire; that only the scarlet witch may absolve him of his curse." 

Wanda One knew full well of this and realised that the curse might not have been lifted after all, since Jorge once said, 'out of the kindness of his own heart'. Of course. It was a lie. Deception. He never lifted the curse. Wanda could feel a pair of emerald eyes on her. Not her own, surely, but that of her alternate self, the second Wanda who'd come to fall head over heels for (Y/n) in the dimension where he succeeded to not only defeat Thanos, but also stop Galactus. 

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Wanda One spoke coyly, uncomfortable with how her other self stared long and hard at her. 

"You know of the curse," stated Wanda Two. "Yet you did not fulfil the dark wizard's malediction." 

"So? What's it to you? Would you have promised to accept (Y/n)'s wishes and take away his sight - one of the things that could comfort you when you're quivering in your room after losing your brother or claiming the lives of a dozen innocent people?" 

"But you would have. Why didn't you go along with it?" 

"Because I couldn't bear to do that to (Y/n). It wasn't until Jorge O'Donnelly visited us and claimed that he absolved the curse himself, like he was the one who casted it onto (Y/n) in the first place." 

"And you believed him?" 

"He still has his eyesight, doesn't he?" 

"Maybe he really does have it. Maybe Jorge wasn't lying?" Willow One proposed. 

"How could he have? With what method did he use?" Wanda Three questioned. 

Wanda One frowned at her and looked down at her hands which she fiddled the rings on her fingers with. "He did not use any method. He just... did it." 

"Explain!" 

"He, he just... I-I don't know how, but... he just fixed it. That's it. I swear." 

"Alright. I believe you," said Willow Two. 

"Și eu, mamă. So do I, mama." Elaine said supportively. 

"Hey. I'm your mother, copil, child," said Wanda Two. 

"Amândoi sunteți la fel. Abia îmi dau seama cine e cine, cu excepția benzilor de păr de pe încheieturile tale. You're both the same. I can barely tell who's who except for those hairbands on your wrists." 

Willow One shot her hand up, silencing everyone as she half-looked away from the group to (Y/n)'s phantom calling to his lover's and daughter to save him. What they found peculiar was how he was half naked, a small wound over his right breast going vertically as he grunted and pulled strained faces. His eyes were closed as if he was doing everything he could to maintain the strange connection until it vanished. 

"He's still alive! Oh my God... He, he's still alive! C'mon! We gotta reach that fort and save him!" Wanda Two cheered in relief. 

"How can we be sure that that was really (Y/n)? It could have been a trick." Wanda Three argued. 

"Are you kidding me? That was (Y/n)!" 

"She does have a point," said Willow One, siding with the younger Wanda. 

"You've got to be kidding me. How can you fake that? Clearly, (Y/n)'s in pain; he's suffering, while we're here bickering over what's real and what's not! We should be saving him, not standing around. What would he do if we were in his position? Had he not been there for us every time? Had he not given us his grief and did his damnest to keep us out of harms way? He's done so much for us. And this is how you're repaying him?! Sorry. No, no I'm not. You should be. I'm taking my daughter with me to save my husband. He'll appreciate me coming for him." 

To stand her ground, Wanda Two took Elaine's hand who willingly went with her mother to resume their journey to the fort where (Y/n) was being kept while the others felt remorse for their actions and all agreed that taking the risk - even if it was a trap, they still had to be sure it was really (Y/n) calling for them - would be the only way to save (Y/n).