Number Magic

One walked around the town square. Skipping along the path, she saw many Numberblocks going about their day, but something was off. Alert, One stopped and listened. She could hear muffled voices from each of them, and they were all saying the same thing. But what were they saying..?

It sounded like 'belt'. It was getting a bit louder.

Maybe 'melt'. She could hear them easier now.

Wait, they were saying 'hello'!

But as the voices became clearer, they didn't sound like the Numberblocks whom they were supposed to belong to— they all sounded out as one deep, distorted voice.

One realized what they were chanting.

'Help'.

Suddenly, everything disappeared. As the voices kept getting louder still, One could see something out of the corner of her eye. It was a sp—

One let out a brief gasp and sat down on her bed. Opening her eye, she processed what had occured. "Well.. that was.. unpleasant. Why am I having nightmares..?" She pondered, gazing out of her sunlight-filled window. "The voice sounded awfully familiar, though it wasn't like the voice of any Numberblock I know.."

Suddenly, it was as if something clicked into place, a piece of the puzzle. One's eye widened. "It wasn't a Numberblock!"

She jumped out of bed and swiftly left her house, sprinting. "Sorry.. excuse me..!" She pushed through a crowd of blocks, getting further away from the Town Square. The only one— or should he be called a being?— that One knew lived outside of the main Town Square was the What-Iffer. Noblock had ever been in his home, and it was never recommended to come uninvited. He'd spend his days in his tiny house, just a little bigger than Four, doing who-knows-what, only coming out sparingly.. was he okay? How come he seemed to be chanting 'help' in her dream?

She skidded to a stop in front of his house, barely any bigger than herself and painted all white on the outside. She took a step forward and knocked on the door once. "Um, What-Iffer? Are you there?"

She listened for a sound, but there were none. She tried again and still got no reply. After having tried several times and having the same response, she decided to enter.

If he was still home, she might might be intruding. Sighing, One creaked the door open. "Hello? It's me, One— woah..!" Slightly taken aback, she hesitated stepping inside. She didn't know if there was actually a floor or not, because the entire inside perfectly resembled outer space. It was as if she was looking up into the sky using a telescope.

She cautiously lowered a foot onto the 'floor' and 'touched' it, but there was no floor. It felt just like a jet of air was keeping her from falling down. Both feet in, she closed the door behind her and looked around, trying to get used to this strange space. "What-Iffer? It's- it's me, One!" She called out as her echo did. "How strange.. It's bigger on the inside, too.."

She felt herself bump into a supposed 'wall' and, figuring that all the 'walls' were probably invisible, she reached her arms out. On either side of her, she felt the walls and carefully followed their direction. The What-Iffer's home, One found out, was a long hallway.

Distantly, One could see a sillohuette of a desk, illuminated by 'starlight'.. and a door? She sped up her pace, and was eventually right in front of the door. It had all sorts of drawings on it she couldn't recognise, looked old and rotted, and had no doorknob. Deciding not to touch it, she looked down at the desk and rested her hands atop it. It was wood-brown and had a pile of scrolls, one of which was rolled open.

"Ooh.." Taking a closer look, there were paragraphs of writing as well as several illustrations in black ink, depicting the What-Iffer. The first illustration was him above Numberland, the second was him above One, and the third was him above a Magic Mirror. Between him and the objects in each picture were dots, lots of dots. It was titled 'Number Magic' at the very top of the paper.

One picked it up to see it closer but saw a fresher, newer-looking scroll beneath it, titled 'Zero'. Rolling it out on the desk, it had much less writing than the first, as well as another illustration.

The illustration portrayed The What-Iffer above One and Zero. One had Numberland beneath her, but Zero didn't. Again with the dots, there were many of them on the paper. The writing at the bottom of the scroll read,

'One, Two, and Three have figured out Zero. Numberland, trees, instruments, and gravity have all disappeared for a while, and I was thinking of stepping in. Luckily, One had enough Number Magic in her to restore everything. Creating her like this was the right choice.'

One recalled that day as she read the text, but gasped in realization at a particular phrase. 'One had enough Number Magic in her to restore everything'.

She did revert the things Zero had done just by saying 'one wonderful world', but she never knew it was Number Magic that had caused that sort of power..

Eager to learn more, she scanned the first scroll she had picked up.

'Number Magic

A month ago today, I created a planet (now called Numberland), a block (now called One), and a mirror (now called a Magic Mirror). Since then, I've learned more about me and what I can do.

I am the source of all Number Magic and its delivery. The delivery of Number Magic is an unseen yet constant process, where it flows from me to wherever it is needed.. only seen when I say my 'what-ifs'.

Each Numberblock has their own 'talent' or 'skill', and the ability to do mathematical operations. However, without the delivery of Number Magic.. I assume that that will no longer be possible, over time. I don't want to find out.'

Something clicked in One's thoughts as her eyes reached the bottom of the scroll. The trouble at the circus, Five not playing guitar well, Four being able to calmly touch round things, Three's inability to juggle..

It all made sense now..!

But could it mean that something was happening to this 'Number Magic delivery'.. or perhaps to the What-Iffer?

(A/N: Getting some intense Encanto vibes just by the plot so far, but I had no idea Encanto existed when I wrote it-

I can just hear One saying

"I'm gonna save Number Magic! Wait, how do I save Number Magic..?"

"WHAT-IFFER, YOUR ROOM IS THE WORST!")