After a while, Nick began to hum the tune of Live and Let Die. Partially because it seemed fitting for the moment, but mostly because he was bored. Really bored. He had expected to be churned into mulch within a few minutes; the girls stomach acid digesting him into a warm fly flavored paste. This had not been the case.

            He sat alone in her tummy, the random food particle drifting into him every once in a while. The air was wet and heavy, and her heartbeat was almost defining. Her movements were enough to toss him about, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

            “Hey!” he shouted in vain after a particularly bad shaking. “Some of us are trying to get digested in peace!” Obviously no one heard him.

            He settled back down into the warm bath of acid. “Wish I could just get out of this mess.”

            “Wish you say?” a voice called to him from across the stomach. He turned his head just in time to witness a tiny pyro techniques display that was pretty, but completely unnecessary. Soon darkness returned to the stomach, leaving the two once again shadowed in silence.

            “What do you want now, Mable?” Nick asked, not even needing the slight bit of light to know who stood before him.

            “Mable?” the wizard shot back, pretending to be offended. “That isn’t even close!”

            “Sorry,” Nick said, not feeling much pity for the demon. “What was it again?”

            “Macle,” the boy answered.

            “That is close!”

            “Don’t care, you were still wrong! I thought we were friends.”

            “You turned me into a fly!”

            “And you’ve been having fun.” Nick stopped. He hated to admit it, but the kid had a point.

            “Fine,” he said after a brief pause. “What do you want?”

            “Well, I heard you make a wish. I came to see if you wanted that to be the wish.”

            “No,” Nick replied, thinking. “Not that one, but give me a second.”

            “Fine, but be quick. I have stuff to do,” Macle responded with a humph. 

            “Like what? You said you just watched me all day.”

            “Among other things.” Nick was about to speak again, but thought better of it. This was not a fight he was going to win.

            He went back to the careful calculations that went into making a wish. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in another position like this, especially if it didn’t turn out to be as fun.

            There was one wish that he knew would work, but he couldn’t help thinking it was a waist. He had had so much fun today, but he couldn’t live like a fly forever.

            “I wish I was human again.”

            “Okay,” Macle said, not at all surprised. “Are you sure though? I mean, you could have anything else in the world.”

            “Yeah,” Nick replied, not about to fall for another one of the kid’s tricks. “But I think I’ve had enough magic for one life time.”

            “If you really think so, then I will make it so. Say goodbye to your insect looks bug boy!”

A flash of light enveloped Nick, its warmth radiating through him, coating him in a heavenly comfort that one can only achieve after turning back into a human after becoming a fly. This is really amazing considering what actually happened.

            “Hey?” Nick said as he lifted his arm up, thick sludge dripping from the appendage. “This doesn’t feel right.” The blackness had returned again.

            “What do you mean?” Mackle asked. He knew exactly what the boy meant, but was truly a dick at heart.

            “I’m still in the stomach, aren’t I?”

            “Of course you are!” Mackle said happily, a smile spreading on his face. “You only asked to be a human, not to be out of the stomach.”

            “You are such a dick,” Nick said more in amazement than anger.

            “Yeah,” Mackle agreed.

            “I know what you’re probably going to say, but can you fix this?”

            “Oh, you want to re-do your wish?”

            Nick took a deep breath. He knew exactly where this was going. “Yes, I want a re-do.”

            Mackle shook his head mockingly, but quickly realized that the fly couldn’t see him in the dark. “In that case, I’m going to have to get everything ready again. It’ll take three hours, minimum.”

            “And I’m stuck as a shrunken human until then?”

            “Well you don’t have to be. I can revoke your last wish.”

            Nick paused. “Really?” he shouted. “You can do that?”

            “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

            “Why didn’t you? I never wanted to be a fly in the first place!”

            “You said you wanted a re-do, not to revoke it.”

            “Well can I revoke it now?”

            “No. That was two wishes ago. I can make you into a fly though.”

            Nick moved around a bit, the stomach acids bighting into his body. He must have lost his immortality when he was transformed. “Fine.”

            “One thing.”

            “What?”

            “If I change you back, it’ll take a bit longer to get the papers through.”

            Nick groaned loudly. “I don’t care, just do it.”

            “Fine, your choice.” Mackle began waving his arms around in patterns that would appear like arcane rituals, but once again remembered the darkness. He grumbled a bit, robbed of his demonstration, and simply flicked his fingers.

            Nick lifted his arms out of the acid. All four of them.

            “Thanks,” Nick said, a bit of sarcasm entering his voice.

            “No problem. I also gave you back your immortality. Enjoy.” Mackle waited for a response, but none came. “Well, call me if you need me.”

            “Wait!” Nick shouted, but the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Great,” the fly grumbled. “Now I have to go through this girl’s digestive track. That’ll be fun.”