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Chapter Text

"Separate fantasy from reality," Luz Nocdea grumbled as she kicked a small pebble down the street.

Luz wore a worn purple wind jacket that was tied around her waist by the sleeves, a short-sleeved half-white and half-indigo hoodie with cat ears attached to the hood, high-waisted jean shorts, dark grey capris leggings, and a pair of white loafers.

Luz was in a terrible mood. After meeting with her mother and Principal Hal, Luz was forced to go to Reality Camp to effectively get the imagination wiped from her mind.

But her mom didn't understand that she could tell fact from fiction. She had been doing it for an entire year after dealing with things only nightmares could reveal, but she would never understand that. Luz sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I know how to separate the two…." Luz complained under her breath, only to see a rather suspicious person lurking in an alleyway. Luz stopped in place and wondered, "What are you doing mysterious creep?"

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a monocle, which featured a lens with a green frame, accented by a blue tassel. Thanks to the monocle, she saw that the figure, which looked like a lanky pale=skinned man in his mid-forties, was actually a lanky man with bright red skin, glowing yellow eyes, and small horns sticking out from his forehead.

But what she also saw thanks to the monocle was an artifact that she had been searching weeks for. Luz grinned and muttered, "Psychic Spyglass. The best Spirit Detective tool there is," as she placed the monocle into her pocket.

She whipped out a small compact mirror, which had a purple casing and a design of three white magatamas in a mitsudomoe shape etched on the back, and opened it.

"Hey, Sayaka, you there?" Luz asked.

A few moments later, static appeared in place of the mirror and a girl a year older than Luz popped on the screen. The girl had dark blue hair, bright blue eyes, and ghostly pale skin, and she did not look pleased to see her.

"Spirit Detective Noceda," the girl coldly greeted.

Luz sighed. "Hello to you too," Luz wryly muttered. "Sorry for bothering you but I think I found that demon we've been looking for. The one that managed to steal the Orb of Baast…. I still can't understand why Koenma can't keep this Artifact of Darkness under lock and key. You would think the current ruler of the Spirit World would know how to use a key."

"Do not talk about Lord Koenma like that," Sayaka chastised. "You have been training with Urameshi far too much lately."

Luz grinned. "Hey, Gramps isn't too bad. He's taught me a lot of nifty stuff since Dad can't."

"Regardless, Spirit Detective Noceda, you should have more respect toward Lord Koenma," Sayaka admonished. "Now, go stop that demon and once you do, Afterward, you will receive your next mission."

"Yeah, yeah," Luz remarked with a blasé tone as she closed the lid on her Communication Mirror, slipped it back into her pocket, and strolled across the street. She didn't have too long to wait since she was being shipped off to camp after school ended in a week.

Once Luz made it across the street, she noticed that the red demon slunk deeper into the alleyway and immediately quicked her pace. Luz knew that this demon was about to run from her and was proven right as she turned into the alleyway and saw the demon sprinting away.

"If you run, It's only going to get worse!" Luz exclaimed as she chased after the trenchcoat-wearing demon. "It's only going to be worst!" She chased the demon through two more alleyways and into the Gravesfield Cemetery.

The demon skidded to a stop, which prompted Luz to stop as well. "You know, if I wanted to chase after someone, I would have joined track," Luz snarked.

"I knew you knew what I was," the demon hissed.

"Of course I did! You were so easy to spot!" Luz exclaimed. "Now, do you want to hand over the Orb of Baast or do you want me to take it from you?!"

"You're going to have to take it, human," the demon spat.

Luz sighed and held up her right hand. She narrowed her eyes as five glowing orbs flickered on each finger. "Five shots," Luz muttered and then looked at the demon. "That should be more than enough…."

"Saying your final prayers?!" The demon yelled as he dashed forward.

"Yeah—" Luz held out formed a finger gun with her right hand and held it in his direction. "—Yours!" Luz answered as The demon lunged with his razer claws aimed at her.

"Spirit gun!" Luz yelled. Her right index finger swelled with ethereal blue spirit energy and fired a single bolt of energy, which exploded against the lunging demon's head. The spirit energy shattered against the demon's head as he was propelled back from the blow. His body crashed against a tree and then slid down to the ground.

The demon was alive but was knocked out cold.

Luz smirked and blew the imaginary smoke from her index finger and then proceeded to holster it. "Gramps will be proud. I didn't even need to use the concentration ring for this one," Luz bragged to herself as she walked to her downed opponent.

She reached into his coat and pulled out a glowing black and green orb. "The Orb of Baast. Mission accomplished," Luz laughed as she stared at it.

To think, this obviously creepy thing could steal souls. Imagine the damage it could have done in the Demon Realm….

"You finished!" An exuberant voice shouted from behind her.

Luz turned around and beamed. "Botan!" Luz excitedly said.

"Bingo!" Botan exclaimed with a wink.

Botan was a middle-aged woman who had long blue hair that was pulled up into a ponytail and beautiful pink eyes. She wore a light-pink kimono with a white obi sash, and white socks with brown sandals.

Botan lowered the oar she was floating on and landed on her feet, only to laugh when Luz embraced her. "It's so good to see you!" Luz gushed as Botan spun her around.

"I missed you too kiddo!" Botan happily replied as she sat the girl down. "I see you captured our little demon thief."

"Just finished," Luz declared with a wink.

"Glad to see," Botan stated.

"But what are you doing here? Gramps said you were gone on Spirit World business," Luz questioned.

Botan snorted.

"Yusuke would be so steamed that you've started to call him "Gramps" he's only thirty-five," Botan told her, amused. "But, I am here to deliver this!" Botan pulled out a DVD case and handed it to her. "Your next mission!"

Luz's sparkling brown eyes widened in joy at the sight. "Oh, it must be big. I never get a DVD. Just Sayaka being mad at me," Luz said as she took the DVD case. "Can I get a hint about what the mission entails?"

Botan tilted her head in thought. "Hm, since I'm Yusuke's Spirit Assistant, I don't get details on any mission not pertaining to him," Botan answered.

Luz's shoulders dropped.

"Darn," she grumbled. "Well, that sucks."

"But….I do bring some news from Yusuke," Botan slyly added. "He says that Kuwabara is ready to teach you the spirit sword technique."

"Oh! Finally!" Luz laughed. "I've been wanting to learn that so bad. But, will I be able to since he can't use Spirit Energy anymore?"

"Yeah," Botan answered. "While his Spirit Energy is gone, he still knows the technique like the back of his hand. But, he'll only be a for a few days, so watch that tape and when you're ready, call me via the spirit whistle."

Luz nodded and with a smile, Botan hopped on her oar and flew into the air, where she vanished moments later.

Luz ran into her house, kicked off her shoes by the front door, and raced to her room. Thanks to her mother's job as a nurse, her mother wasn't home so Luz didn't have to worry about the noise she caused with her fast movements.

Once she made it to her room, Luz popped open the DVD case and slid the DVD into the player. She flipped on her TV and for a minute, the screen was pitch black. Then, there was static and finally, an image solidified.

Sitting on a throne was a toddler wearing a red obi sash tied at the waist of a pink-trimmed blue robe over brown pants and black shoes and a large blue bulbous hat with a "Jr." mark on the red rim of his hat and a blue pacifier in his mouth.

It was hard to believe that this toddler was the ruler of the Spirit World.

"Luz Noceda," Lord Koenma began. "If you are seeing this tape, it means that you've completed your mission in retrieving the Orb of Baast. Great job!"

Luz nodded, only to sigh at her stupidity considering this was a prerecorded message.

"Since you've taken over as Spirit Detective in lieu of your father's death during the line of duty, you have shown vast potential in clearing your cases and your training under that bonehead Urameshi," Koenma stated. "But now comes the serious mission."

A screen transition changed the image from Koenma to a location Luz had never seen before. It was an archipelago made of bones from a humanoid figure. It was gigantic!

"This is the Boiling Isles," Koenma introduced. "It is an archipelago in the Demon Realm. Situated in the Boiling Sea and separated from the majority of the Demon World. it is made from the decaying remains of a fallen Titan and populated by magical creatures, predominantly witches and demons."

"Father once spoke about this place…." Luz mumbled to herself.

"Thanks to an insider, someone on the Boiling Isles is hatching a grand scheme that could bring about ruin for not only the Demon Realm, but the Human Realm as well," Koenma explained as the image of the Boiling Isles shrunk to the corner of the screen to reveal the toddler.

"Your mission is simple, find out what this plot is, and stop it," Koenma summarized. "Our contact is stated to meet you one week from now. She will be using an owl to reach out to you. But be warned, you will be going undercover on this assignment as a lost human looking to be a witch."

Koenma grinned. "Which, considering who you are, that won't be too hard of a cover. However, you must maintain this cover. The Demon Realm, especially after Yusuke's exploits there, does not look upon Spirit Detectives kindly, so you must maintain that cover and only use your spiritual energy as a last resort."

Luz nodded.

"Now, you might be asking yourself why you are being chosen for this mission. Yusuke was your age when he took on his first big case with retrieving the three Artifacts of Doom. And your father was your age when he took on his first big case. And since you share a lot of your father's gifts and are Yusuke's apprentice, I know you will bring the results needed in closing this mission," Koenma stated.

Luz felt warm at the praise Koenma was giving her.

"Unfortunately, you will be doing this mission without your Spirit Assistant Sayaka, as she is going on a mission with Clara," Koenma stated.

Luz pouted.

Clara

That blonde-haired, pink strip having cheerleader. Of course, Sayaka would want to be her assistant during the mission. Those two were exactly alike. But Luz couldn't help but feel glum by this.

"But, that doesn't mean you'll be alone. Our insider has been granted special permission to be your assistant during your time on the Boiling Isles, so do be friends with her! Now good luck and be careful! Koenma, out!" Koenma finished as the DVD reached its end.

Luz squealed in excitement.

Not only was she doing her first big case for the Spirit World, but she was also going to the Demon Realm, the place her father often spoke about, for the first time. Sure, it was for a mission that had two realms in the balance, but still!

Maybe she could become a witch like Azura!

Luz grinned to herself.

What a turnaround for her day.

With the tape watched, Luz retrieved her spirit whistle and blew into it. 

It was time for her to visit Japan.

Lavender spirit energy crackled against Luz's open palm as sweat dripped down her face.

Behind her, Kazuma Kuwabara stood with his arms crossed and his expression pensive.

Kuwabara was a taller and muscular man with broad shoulders, grey eyes, an angular face, and red-orange hair that is greased back into a 1950s Pompadour. He wore a blue-gray short sleeve loose shirt, navy blue jeans, and black sneakers.

"That's enough, Noceda," Kuwabara's rough voice instructed.

Luz frowned and relaxed, causing the lavender-colored spirit energy to fade away. "I don't know why this is so hard," Luz panted as she glanced at her right hand.

After retiring to her room for the night, Botan had snuck her out and flew her to Genkai's estate, where Kuwabara waited for her. Since then, she had been working training on forming Kuwabara's prized technique, the spirit sword.

"The first time is always the hardest," Kuwabara laughed. "But I kind of expected this. Even with your high amount of spirit energy, you're having a hard time constructing the blade."

"Then what do I do?" Luz asked. "I've been dying to learn the spirit sword since Gramps is only able to blast or coat his body with spirit energy."

"Well, lucky for you, I thought you might have trouble with this so I thought ahead," Kuwabara announced. Kuwabara dug into his pocket and pulled out an item. "Catch!" Kuwabara instructed as he tossed the item at her.

Luz caught it and stared at the black and light gray sword handle in confusion.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Luz questioned.

Kuwabara smirked as he held out his right hand. With a crackle of orange-yellow spirit energy, his spirit sword flared to life in his hand. He gripped his weapon and without hesitation, he charged forward. Luz shrieked in surprise as he seemingly flickered right in front of her, with his sword high in the air.

Despite being a pure human, Luz knew that Kuwabara was a Mid-S-Class Human, which was the pinnacle of power. Luz knew that she stood no chance of actually moving fast enough to avoid his sword. She was going to get hit by it, and if he was anything like her teacher, he was not going to go easy on her.

Without hesitation, she held up the handle and held it sidewise as Kuwabara swung his spirit sword down at her. With a burst of lavender light, spirit energy exploded from the hilt and took the shape of a cutlass sword, compared to Kuwabara's longer broadsword-shaped weapon.

The lavender and orange-yellow energies crackled as Kuwabara gave her an appraising look. "I-I did it!" Luz stammered with excitement as she backed away from the man and looked at her version of the spirit sword.

"When I first learned it, I was facing off against a tough guy at Genkai's tournament. I had to use a piece of my opponent's wooden sword as a conduit to draw my spirit energy out to save my life," Kuwabara explained as he loosened his grip, allowing the spirit sword to fade away. "While I had to startle you to bring it out, I figured it was worth it."

"Whoa," Luz whispered with sparkling eyes. "I don't care what Gramps says about you, you are super smart!"

Kuwabara grinned, only to face-fault, and then scowl. "What has Urameshi told you?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"That you're a big, dumb ugly lug," Yusuke Urameshi answered as he stepped into the large training area.

Yusuke was a lean, but muscular man with jet black hair that had a dark greenish shine, and Reddish brown eyes. He wore a red copper jacket with tan-colored cuffs and collar, over a white shirt, along with pale blue jeans and white sneakers.

"Welcome back, Gramps!" Luz greeted with a wide smile as she held out her spirit sword. "I did it!"

"Urameshi, your ass is grass!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Yusuke gave the taller man a cocky smirk and challenged, "I could use a spar right now."

Luz sighed as she heard the familiar sounds of combat, but she glanced at her spirit sword and asked, "How do I turn this off?"

"Here you go, Luz," The warm voice of Urameshi Keiko said as she sat down a plate of food in front of the young spirit detective.

Keiko had her dark brown hair tied into a loose ponytail with a full fringe and reddish-brown eyes. She wore a forest green long-sleeved shirt that barely hid her baby bump, pale blue jeans, and black flats.

"Thanks, Keiko, this looks delicious," Luz stated as she stared at her bowl of Katsudon, which was a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, egg, and vegetables.

"Thanks. Despite what my boneheaded husband, our silly girlfriend, and his equally boneheaded friend say, not everyone can live off of ramen," Keiko teased as she shot a gaze at Yusuke and Kuwabara, both of whom had bandages on various areas of their faces.

"And are you two children done antagonizing one another?" Keiko questioned.

Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded.

"I don't know what power you have over Gramps and Uncle K like that, but I want it," Luz teased.

"I think it's Gen," Keiko laughed as she rubbed her stomach.

"So, you two decided on Gen after all," Kuwabara stated as Keiko placed his bowl of Katsudon in front of him.

"Of course we did," Yusuke remarked as he snuck a kiss on Keiko's cheek after she sat down his bowl of Katsudon. "Since you nabbed Genkai's name for you and Yukina's kid, we gotta honor Grandma somehow."

"I wish I could have met Genkai," Luz sighed. "It would have been so fun hearing stories about you when you were training with her."

"She would have trained you harder than me, I'll tell you that much," Yusuke told her as Keiko sat down and placed the last bowl of Katsudon in the spot between her and Yusuke. "Would've put all of that excited energy to good use."

"Like you don't?" Luz asked.

Yusuke smirked as Botan walked into the room, now wearing a long-sleeve yellow shirt with an orange-yellow camisole underneath, brown slacks, and matching shoes. After exchanging a high-five with Kuwabara, Botan plopped down between Keiko and Yusuke and placed a kiss on each of their cheeks.

"This smells delicious!" Botan beamed. "You're the best, Keiko."

Keiko flushed and laughed.

"There you go, giving our girl a big head again," Yusuke cracked. "I like how you automatically assume she cooked it."

"Oh dear, we all know Ramen is your bread and butter," Botan teased as she poked Yusuke's cheek with a cheeky smile. "Anything else, Keiko knows."

"I still can't believe you three are doing this," Kuwabara stated with amusement as he motioned between the three of them. "Then again, after everything we've been through, it makes sense that you three became a…."

"Throuple?" Luz offered.

"Yeah that," Kuwabara answered.

"Botan is a big piece of both of us," Keiko added. "We can't see our lives without her. Heck, Yusuke wouldn't even be here without her."

"I mean, life is too short to allow people to dictate who we love," Yusuke stated with a small yawn. "Take that down kid."

Luz nodded and wrote that down in her imaginary notebook.

"You both flatter me far too much," Botan waved off with red cheeks. "It was a massive headache to Lord Koenma though."

"Yeah, how did he take it knowing you're involved with a human and half demon?" Kuwabara asked.

"Ahem. "Did it have to be that big-headed idiot?!" full quote," Botan answered. "He then asked when it happened and how."

"And when did you three realize?" Luz asked with a gushing smile. "It's not every day a Throuple happens."

"Hm, well, for me, I was always in love with Keiko," Yusuke revealed. "Botan was already a great friend. Heck, she was my first friend, since Kuwabara and I were less brothers and more rivals back when we were your age, Luz. But it was the Yakumo bullshit that changed it."

"And for me, it was us spending time together after Yusuke left for Demon World," Keiko murmured. "We both missed him and while we were best friends, it just evolved from there."

"And for me? It was a combination of both," Botan answered. "And the incident where Keiko and I have to escape from mindless beasts controlled by the Makai Whistle."

"Don't remind me of that," Yusuke grumbled. "Still hate that bastard for putting you both through that."

"Speaking of Demon Realm," Luz began. "I got my mission from Koenma today."

"Ah, you're first official off-world mission," Yusuke stated. "I'm guessing he's sending you to Demon Realm?"

Luz nodded. "Yeah, to investigate some sort of worlds-ending plot in the Boiling Isles," Luz answered.

"Boiling Isles, huh?" Yusuke wondered. "Manny once went there. He said it was very separated from the rest of Demon Realm."

Luz perked up at the name of her father. "Did Papá mention anything else about this place?" Luz asked.

Yusuke hummed in thought. "They have no concept of spirit energy there. From what Manny explained, they have a sack on their hearts that allow them to use magic," Yusuke explained.

"Magic? That exists?" Keiko asked while Kuwabara raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, there are other forms of power that exist in this world and beyond," Botan answered.

"Yeah. They also follow some guy called, "Emperor Belos" but after that, we were interrupted by…." Yusuke drifted off.

Luz frowned.

"Yeah…." She whispered.

"Anyways," Yusuke swiftly continued. "That's all I was able to find out."

Luz nodded.

"Are you nervous?" Keiko asked.

Luz stared at her food in silence for a moment. "Truthfully? I'm terrified," Luz admitted. "I'm used to being in Human World for my missions. But I'm also excited! To be able to go to one of the last places Papá visited is nice."

"Well, one thing you'll want to do is pack a lot of food," Yusuke suggested. "There's not a lot that we humans can eat in the Demon Realm. I know that from first-hand experience, so pack enough for however long you're there for."

Luz nodded.

"Second thing is to keep your spirit energy usage down. While I don't know how separated the Boiling Isles is from the rest of Demon Realm, you don't want any gain any unwanted attention," Yusuke instructed. "Again, since Boiling Isles is all magic based, you may be able to get away with using spirit energy if you portray it as magic."

"How will I do that?" Luz asked.

"I don't know. I didn't even know magic existed until Manny bought it up five years ago," Yusuke shrugged.

Luz nodded.

"Now hurry up and eat your food. There's something I want to give you before you have to go back," Yusuke told her.

Luz nodded and dug into her Katsudon.

After her meal, Luz followed Yusuke into a small room that held a chest and several pictures on the wall.

As Yusuke walked to the chest, Luz found her eyes on a particular picture. On the wall was the image of her teacher's mentor, Master Genkai standing in between Yusuke and her father.

Genkai was a small-built-aged woman with light, wavy pink hair that stops at her shoulders and brown eyes. Genkai wore a long, red sleeveless tunic with green trim, a thick purple lining on the right area of the chest that is folded under a green sash. Underneath her tunic is a long-sleeved white shirt, matching white martial-arts pants, and purple shoes.

Her father was a well-built teenager when the picture had been taken and he had curly brownish-purple hair that obscured his left eye but his brown right eye was visible. He wore a black shirt and purple martial arts pants and purple shoes, all of which were torn and scuffed.

While Genkai sat in a chair with her arms crossed and a sly grin on her face, Yusuke had his left hand on her young father's head as he mussed her father's hair, but they both had wide smiles on their faces.

"That was the Old Bat's favorite picture," Yusuke divulged from behind her as Luz's tearful eyes stared at the image of her father. That was how she always remembered him, even on his last day, with a wide smile on his face. "She was so happy that I had a student of my own…. She hoped he would be as much as a dimwit as I was…."

"And was he?" Luz softly asked.

"Oh, the boy was a Dimwit," Yusuke cracked, which made Luz giggle. "But he was a good student. Second best only to you."

Luz blinked away the tears that had built up in her eyes but smiled. "I hope I can make you both proud of me during this mission," Luz revealed.

"Well you don't have to worry about that, Luz," Yusuke told her as he ruffled her hair. "Considering all you've gone through since Manny's death, in my eyes, you've already done both of us proud. And I don't say that shit lightly."

Luz sniffled and beamed at her teacher, who smiled as he held a small bag in his hands. "This belongs to you, kid," Yusuke said as he held the orange patterned cloth bag out to her. "But, you cannot open it until you're on your mission, got it?"

Luz stared at the bag and then back at Yusuke. "I won't open until I get there," Luz promised. She then glanced at the bag and asked, "Even if my curiosity is going to gnaw at me like a gnat."

Yusuke snorted and said, "Yeah, you are your father's daughter."

The week passed by too quickly for Luz's liking.

She had gotten all of the training she needed to receive from her surrogate uncles in Yusuke and Kuwabara (before the latter suddenly left in a rush) and all of the last-minute advice from the adults, and now, on the day she was to leave for Reality Camp and potentially Demon Realm, she felt ready.

"Okay, I think I am all set," Luz said to herself as she went over everything in her suitcase.

She had her clothes, the bag that Yusuke had given her, a few treats from Keiko and Botan, the sword handle Kuwabara gave her, and her spirit items.

She didn't know how much she would need once she got to the Boiling Isles, but she could always come back to the Human World if she needed something.

Luz lifted her suitcase, put her Good Witch Azura book in her shoulder bag, and walked downstairs into the kitchen, where she saw her mother watching the news.

"This just in, the search for the missing trio of thirteen-year-old girls from Los Angeles, California continues," A new reporter announced. "As mentioned earlier, the three girls are Sasha Waybright, Marcy Wu, and Anne Boonchuy."

Luz felt her eyes widen at the first two names, but it was the last one that invoked a gasp.

Anne Boonchuy….

"It's tragic," Her mother sighed. "They've been missing for a week now and there have been no results from the search parties. I feel for their parents."

Luz agreed with a nod.

They had met when her dad took her to California on a case to catch Rondo's apprentice a few months before his death. The apprentice had tried to groom her into becoming his partner by revealing things no normal human should know.

But like Luz, Anne was adept at using spirit energy and she was courageous enough that she played a pivotal role in stopping the apprentice. She had made such an impression, that Koenma agreed to make Anne a junior spirit detective, with Kuwabara being asked to train her.

'No wonder Kuwabara had to leave for the states so fast,' Luz thought, feeling concerned for her surrogate uncle.

She wondered how he was taking it that his apprentice was missing….

During that time, Luz had gotten to meet both Sasha and Marcy and while the former of the two was very….bossy, Marcy was decent and Anne was nice. They didn't get a chance to really form a bond but hopefully, they were found safe and sound so they could form some sort of friendship.

Then again, knowing herself, she would only drive them insane and then away.

"I hope they find them soon," Luz finally replied to her mother.

"God willing," Camila sighed. "That aside, are you ready for your trip?"

Luz nodded with a less enthused smile. Even though Luz knew she was not going to stay at the camp, it was still disheartening that her mother would send her to a place she didn't want to go to. But despite this, she didn't have the heart to argue with her.

Luz knew that her mother meant well and only wanted what was best for her, but Luz wished she could just tell her mother the truth about what she was, and what her father was. Then her mother would understand that separate fantasy from reality because reality is so much stranger than fiction.

"Oh Mija," Her mother sympathetically sighed. "I know you don't like this, but don't worry. Summer camp is only going to be for three months. You'll be so busy balancing checkbooks and learning to... appreciate public radio, that the time will fly by!"

Luz bit her tongue to stop the argument that wanted to fly out.

Instead, she gave a weak attempt at a smile and nodded.

"But, the biggest part of this Summer camp is a chance to make some friends," Camila added. "But you have to try. Can you do that?"

"Si, mamá," Luz answered.

Camila's phone vibrated and she glanced down. "Time for me to go," her mother announced as she stood out of her chair, walked to Luz, and attacked her face with kisses, which caused Luz to giggle.

"¡Mamá! ¡Alto'!" Luz begged with a large smile on her face as Camila ended the kissing assault with a kiss on her forehead.

"Your bus is coming in thirty minutes. Text me when you get there. Please be safe and do what I do in any situation," Camila instructed.

"Remain calm, centered, and in control. Do not Chaos Gremlin it up," Luz recited with a grin.

"Yes, do not "Chaos Gremlin" it up, pastelito," Camila ruffled Luz's hair with a smile. "Te amo, y ya te extraño.Cuídate mucho, mija. ¡Qué te vaya bien!" Camila replied with a smile as she rushed out the door.

Luz wiped her face as her large smile shrank into a small, but gentle, smile. "I love you too, mom…." Luz whispered.

After eating her cereal, Luz stepped outside with her suitcase and walked to the curb. As she stood there, Luz sat down her suitcase and crossed her arms in thought. She knew at some point she would go to Demon World, but Koenma stated that an owl was supposed to find her.

But how would the owl locate her?

Luz's answer was immediately answered when she saw an owl carrying a duffle bag full of junk standing across the street from her. It tilted its head, turned around, and hopped away.

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be that quick. And why is it so cute?" Luz cooed with a gushing smile and then wildly shook her head. "No time for gushing over the cute owl. Time to follow the cute owl.

Luz grabbed her suitcase and darted after the creature. She ran against winding dirt roads until she reached an old, broken-down abandoned house that Luz had never seen before.

She watched as the owl turned around, tilted its head at her, and hopped inside. Luz chased after it and entered the messy and torn living room.

In the middle of the room, Luz noticed a brown door with a large slitted yellow cat-eye in the middle.

The door was cracked halfway open and there was a bright light shining from the opening. "Must be a gateway," Luz whispered as she approached the door. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's do this."

And without hesitation, she jumped into the blinding light.

With a flash of light, Luz landed on the ground and found herself in a tent of some kind that was filled with odds and ends. "Look at all this weird stuff," Luz laughed as she looked around at the items on the walls, completely missing a figure slithering against the ground and through the open portal.

"Well, well, well," a voice started, prompting Luz to turn her attention to the entrance of the tent. Next to the owl stood a tall, slender, middle-aged woman with ivory skin, pointed ears, maroon lips, and golden eyes.

Luz noted the woman's untamed, thick, gray-toned hair, her golden fang that stuck out from her mouth, her orange claw-like nails, and an oval amber gem on her sternum and whistled.

"But this? This is impressive," Luz commented with a smile.

"Well, look at the charm on this little human pipsqueak," the woman laughed. "You must be the spirit detective."

"Got it in one, Wild Lady," Luz confirmed. "Luz Noceda, Gravesfield's number one Spirit Detective."

"Noceda? Sounds somewhat familiar. Anyways, The name's Eda Clawthorne," Eda introduced. "When Koenma told me that a spirit detective was coming, he failed to issue a picture. Glad Owlbert was able to find the right person."

"Owlbert? Is that little fellow's name?" Luz asked with a gushing tone as Owlbert chirped beside Eda.

"Don't let his cute looks and his adorable chirp take control of you," Eda announced as The little owl flew up to the top of Eda's staff, where Eda rotated him until the owl became a wooden fixture of the staff. "He's already spoiled enough."

"Noted," Luz said. "So, this is the Boiling Isles…. It seems so normal."

"This is a tent inside of the Boiling Isles," Eda clarified as she walked past Luz while she pressed the eye on her key, causing the portal to fold up into a brown attaché case with a large, yellow, slit pupil eye on one side.

Eda picked up the case, shrunk it with a flick of her wrist, hid it in her hair, and then held the back of the tent up for Luz to enter. "Let me show what it really looks like, Spirit Detective."

Luz nodded and walked outside and gasped. The town before her was made up of way too many arms and teeth but it looked strangely beautiful to Luz. The young spirit detective watched as a dragon flew in the air, only to be caught by one of said arms and dragged down to the ground.

"Yeah, not in Kansas anymore," Luz remarked as a purple fairy flew toward her. "Oh! You look nor—"

"Give me your skin!" The fairy screeched, revealing its disgustingly large teeth.

Luz held up her right index finger and pointed it at the fairy, where spirit energy flickered to life. "Wanna say that again?" Luz asked as the energy solidified and ebbed with malicious intent.

"I misspoke! I mistook you for someone else! I think I left my oven on! I'm sorry!" The fairy yelled as it quickly retreated.

A wry smirk formed on Luz's face as she ceased the build-up of her energy. "You know, If I was normal, I would have had a mental breakdown from seeing that," Luz remarked as Eda walked up behind her.

"Now this is the Boiling Isles," Eda announced with spread arms. "A place of magic, wretchedness, villainy, and scumbags." Eda took a nice deep whiff of the air and sighed out, "Home."

"You have such a way with words," Luz dryly stated, which made Eda snort.

"Now, I know there is some business we have to take care of and despite the massive amount of snails Koenma is paying me, I still have a day job, so come with me," Eda ordered before she walked back to her tent.

Luz quickly followed until they were on the other side of the tent, where Luz was introduced to a stand. "You can help me go through all of these items. So I can sell them to the saps."

"You're a merchant? With all of this weird stuff?" Luz questioned.

"Weird? Take a look at the sign, honey," Eda replied as she pointed back at the sign.

Luz looked at the sign and saw that it said, "Human Collectables" on it. "You sell human stuff?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, so you called your own human shit weird," Eda replied.

"I guess our curse words are universal," Luz cracked. "But sure, I'm down to clown, Wild Lady. Let's see what you've got."

So for the next five minutes, Luz helped Eda sort through the sack Owlbert bought back from her world, making sure to keep the golden chalice, the cellphone (in case hers broke), and the diamond ring, since Eda did not believe her that those things were not trash.

"Despite what some people think, that is not something a human eats," Luz snorted when she saw Eda reveal a deodorant stick as the Spirit Detective sat on a stool. "That's something that helps with our body order."

"You don't have showers for that?" Eda asked. "And here I thought humans were clean freaks all of the time."

"We do, but some people need more to stay fresh," Luz shot back. "Not that many use it….Besides, it might be poisonous."

"Hm…." Eda hummed. "I don't want to kill any clientele…."

Luz then smirked. "I mean, for humans, eating it is poisonous, but who knows with demons. Like my teacher always says, "What they don't know won't hurt them." So…do with that what you will."

Eda gave her a critical look and then grinned. "You. I like you," Eda said.

"I do try," Luz cheekily replied. "What else?"

"Well, already I showed you the green human foot with holes," Eda stated as she bent down for a moment only to pull out a portable television. "But what about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?"

Luz laughed at the description. "That's super fair to call it that," Luz cackled. "But there's more to it than just reflecting eternal sadness." Luz took the TV, grabbed a pair of batteries that sat in the "Human candy" dish, popped them into the TV, and pressed the power.

Seconds later, a jazzercise video from the 80s started playing with loud music. "Wow, this is really old," Luz commented.

"Whoa," Eda breathed. "Human shit is cool sometimes."

"Ain't it?" Luz asked as she heard several potential customers walking toward their stand, all of them curious about the noise. Before Luz could do anything, money and requests to buy stuff poured in.

"Oh Luz, this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Eda quipped with a cackle.

Luz smiled, only for a large fist to shoot past her head and collide with the portable TV, destroying it in one blow. "I knew it was you, Eda the Owl Lady!"

"It's a guard!" someone in the crowd screamed as everyone scrammed, leaving Luz, Eda, and the massive man behind her visible.

Luz jumped off the stool, landed behind the stand next to Eda, and sized up the large guard.

"You are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors. You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium," The large hulking man commanded.

Luz turned her head to an annoyed Eda and asked, "My boss hooked me up with a criminal?"

"Not just a criminal," Eda bragged. "But the most powerful, feared, respected, and celebrated witch on the Boiling Isles!"

Eda turned her attention back to the man and replied, "As for you, large and in charge, would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done squat!"

"And you're arrested too for fraternizing with a criminal." the hulking man said as he looked at Luz, totally ignoring what Eda had said.

Luz and Eda turned their heads to look at one another. Luz nodded, Eda snorted, and then nodded, before they finally turned back to the guard.

"That sounds legit fair. Eda, does that sound fair enough for you?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Sounds reasonable to me, Kid. Let me just let me get my stu—" Without hesitation, both Eda and Luz jumped into the and each delivered a kick to the guard's face, sending the hulking man soaring back into another stand.

The two landed on the table, where Luz jumped off and landed on the ground. "We gotta cheese it!" Luz exclaimed.

Eda grabbed her staff

"Ho-ho-ho, I really like you, Kid," Eda announced as she spun her staff and tapped the bottom of it on the table, making all her stuff float in midair. "You've already made my day so much more thrilling!"

Eda closed her hand into a fist, making the tablecloth wrap itself around all of her stuff, and then weaved her staff through the bundle and darted off with Luz beside her.

"Ditto! You made this welcoming party a blast so far!" Luz quipped. "However, If I die here, my mom's gonna kill me!"

"Ha! I won't let 'em hurt you. You've already proven to me that you're more valuable to me alive than dead," Eda replied as she grabbed Luz by the back of her shirt, jumped into the air, and landed on her staff.

"Now, let's fly," Eda announced as she sat Luz behind her and the two took off into the air, leaving Luz screaming in both terror and excitement.

Not a bad way to start her adventure.

Chapter Text

"Eda, he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?" Luz cooed as the small being wiggled in her arms, his pink eyes wide with panic.

The being in her arms was a canine-like creature with dark gray fur and purplish-gray fur on his belly and the tip of his tail.

The creature has three fingers and two toes that look like white claws and a dog-like skull with white horns on his head, one of which was broken.

"No! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda, who is this monster?!" The small being screamed as Eda laughed. "Eda, please stop this torture, I can feel my heart doing things!"

Eda's laughter calmed into a snicker as she dragged Luz away from the cute creature, leaving Luz to grab at the air with a small whimper. "This is Luz Noceda, the human we're taking in," Eda introduced as Luz limply dangled in the older woman's arms.

"I wanted to snuggle that cute pumpkin more," Luz grumbled.

"You'll get more time to snuggle King later," Eda announced.

"Is that his name?" Luz asked as Eda sat her down. "Also, you're pretty strong to be lifting me like that."

Eda smirked. "Don't let my slim and oh-so-shapely figure fool you, Luz," Eda bragged as she flexed her right bicep, revealing how well-toned it was. "I keep these cauldrons rust-free, Kid."

Luz whistled. "Nice," Luz replied with finger guns.

"Plus, it's a darn good thing you showed up. Perhaps you can help us out with a situation," Eda offered.

"Since I'm staying here, might as well put me to work, Witch Lady," Luz replied. "So, to quote famous heroine Kim Possible, what's the sitch?"

"Unknown reference is noted," Eda dryly replied as she took a few steps away from Luz and formed a spell circle, which revealed an image inside of it. It showed a very detailed and ancient Egypt-like stone drawing of what Luz assumed to be a king with a giant golden crown.

"King was once a mighty king of demons until his Crown of Power was stolen, and he became...That," Eda started, only to realize that Luz was snuggling a despondent King in her arms. "Couldn't wait five seconds?"

"Not on your life," Luz replied.

"This is my life now, huh?" King questioned.

Eda snorted.

"So, my little bundle of joy was that thing once upon a time?" Luz asked.

"Bing, kiddo," Eda answered as the image in the spell circle changed to a masked figure holding a crown and a human standing in front of a glowing doorway. "Anyways, The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you. So whaddya say?"

Luz narrowed her eyes.

From what her teacher told her, the King of Demon Realm was a warrior named Enki. But Luz didn't forget that since the Boiling Isles is so separated from the rest of the Demon Realm, this also could be true as well.

Eda must have seen her thoughtful expression because the woman nabbed King from her grasp and gently shook him as she added, "Plus, who could say no to this cute face?"

"I sure can't," Luz swiftly answered.

"Eda, why did you encourage her?!" King wailed.

"Excellent, now, let's get going, shall we?" Eda suggested.

"We just got here though," Luz said. "Can I at least put my suitcase and stuff somewhere?"

"You know what? Sure. Might as well get a tour of the place before we go," Eda replied.

And so, Luz was given a tour of her new home for the next little while. It astounded her with how big it was on the inside compared to how it looked when they were flying up to the house. "This house used to look a little smaller until Koenma paid a lot of money to be his informant and your official guardian here in the Boiling Isles," Eda explained after the group traveled upstairs.

"I wasn't even aware Koenma paid people like that," Luz grumbled.

"Neither did I until that cute blue-haired chick took me on a ride to see him," Eda replied as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Speaking of that chick, Botan informed me that humans don't exactly have the appetite for demon food, so before you arrived, she decked out your room with a fridge of human gunk in it."

Luz smiled.

Her aunt always knew how to take care of her.

"She also left you something in your room too, so why don't you explore it and then come down so we can go," Eda suggested.

Luz nodded.

Eda grinned and carried King downstairs.

Luz turned the door to her left, which had her nameplate on the door, and opened it.

And when she did, she was shocked to see that it looked just like her room in the Human World. From the posters to the computer (which Luz wasn't sure if it could function) and to her figurines.

One thing that wasn't in her room was the large fridge next to her door. Luz walked to the fridge and opened it to reveal rows of food in both the main fridge and freezer, and it was filled with all of her favorites.

Luz smiled.

Yusuke must have told Botan about how homesick Luz would get when she was away from her home for really long periods. Luz turned to her bed and noticed that there was a small package sitting in the middle of it.

Luz walked to the bed and opened the package, only to reveal a note on top of something. Luz grabbed the note and read, "Good luck in the Boiling Isles, Luzzy! Love, Botan, Keiko and Yusuke. P.S., I hope you enjoy the room and the food, and the two items in the package!"

Luz sat the note down and looked back into the package to see a picture frame that showed Yusuke, Botan, Keiko, her father, and her mother in a hospital, with her mother holding the baby version of herself.

Luz smiled and lifted the picture out of the box, only to see that there was a dark purple shirt with gold buttons, matching purple slacks, and black shoes. It reminded Luz of the green school uniform she had seen her teacher wear in pictures of him and his friends.

Luz grinned.

Despite her teacher's gruff exterior, he was very sentimental.

"Well…. Might as well break it in," Luz fondly muttered.

"So, where exactly is this place?" Luz, in her new uniform, asked as Eda rode high in the sky, with King situated on Luz's head.

"The funniest place on the Boiling Isles," Eda answered as a large, imposing building, accompanied by thunder clapping and lightning strikes. "The Conformatorium."

"I hope I'm tall enough for the rides," Luz quipped. "So, what's this place all about?"

"Basically, it's a place for those considered unsuitable for society," Eda replied as she lowered down to the ground. Luz swiveled her body and hopped to the ground where she sat King down.

Luz looked around and noticed wanted posters for Eda and King on a well and remarked, "Crickey, These guys have the hots for you, Wild Lady."

"Have you looked at me? I'd have the hots for me too if I walked in front of me," Eda replied.

Luz laughed.

"But in all seriousness, they've tried hard to catch us. But we were never caught because we're too slippery," Eda bragged.

"Yeah! Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little fella," King announced as he wiggled his body from side to side.

Luz resisted the urge to cuddle him silly. Instead, she asked, "So, what happens now?"

"Well, You and I will sneak up to the top of the tower, where they're holding my crown," King started.

"And I'm gonna make sure the warden's distracted," Eda added.

"Wait, are we going to need disguises?" Luz excitedly asked.

"Uh..." Eda stalled.

Luz unbuttoned her purple shirt, revealing that she still had on her favorite hoodie shirt beneath it, pulled the hood out from underneath the purple shirt, and slipped it over her head. "Meow, Meow," Luz cheekily said as she flipped her cat ears up.

"Eda?" King murmured. "My heart is doing that thing again…."

"Yep, you'll fit right in," Eda chuckled and then tapped the butt of her staff against the ground, creating a round glowing platform beneath Luz and King. "You two have fun and do everything that I would do. See you two at the top!"

"Will do!" Luz exclaimed as she and King waved at the soaring Owl Lady. The platform took them to an open window, where Luz jumped into it with King in her arms. She landed on the ground with a crouch and then rose to her full height.

"Wow, you are agile like a cat," King murmured.

"Of course. Mama Luz is plenty agile," Luz bragged.

The two of them marveled at the number of prison cells before them, all of them occupied by shadowy beasts of varying shapes and sizes. As the pair walked past a cell, Luz heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, cat lady, how'd you get out of your cell?" The feminine voice asked.

Luz turned around to see a girl with pointy ears, dark skin, and black hair styled in a ponytail. The girl also has upturned hazel eyes with three eyelashes on each eye, as well as distinguished fangs.

The girl wore a strapless, shoulder-baring, long-sleeved indigo-colored dress. She also wore a gold band around her neck and sported black calf-length, high-heeled boots.

"Oh, wow, cute," Luz stammered with reddening cheeks.

"Thanks for the compliment," the girl cheekily replied.

King looked up at her and blinked. "Did you forget how to talk?" King asked.

"No!" Luz bashfully exclaimed. "I-I just…." Luz drifted off, finding no way to redeem herself for being flustered. "A-Anyways! Why are you locked up?"

The girl snorted and then answered, "The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. Like, I write fanfics of food falling in love." The girl then pulled out a book and opened it to reveal a carrot being dipped in an onion, both of them blushing. "I like food, I like love... Just let me write about it."

"You know, I have the perfect D&D serious for you," Luz stated.

"We are agents of fwee expwession! They will never siwence us!" A new voice chimed in. Luz turned to the cell beside the girl and gasped.

Luz saw a small round white demon with large blueish eyes, a rather prominent nose, and reddish hair, with limbs coming out of the round demon's head/body."You are so precious," Luz whispered.

"She's also a big conspiracy theorist," The first girl said.

"The world is a simulation! We are but playthings for a higher being!" the small demon yelled.

"My teacher would agree with that," Luz commented.

"And I'm here because I like eating my own eyes," a light grayish-blue monster with at least six eye holes, with four of them missing sadly said as he plucked out his fifth eye and ate it, only for it to pop back up in one of the sockets.

Luz blinked.

"That's pretty gross but also cool," Luz breathed while King looked aghast at the sight. "But, none of that stuff is prison-worthy. None of you actually did anything wrong. You're all just a bunch of weirdos. Like me."

"At least someone sees that," The girl sighed. "You seem alright. Names Katya."

"Luz Noceda," Luz introduced back. "Pleased to meet you."

"I'm Tinella Nosa," the tiny demon greeted.

"I'm Mark," the brutish demon plainly introduced.

"Mark?" Luz questioned. "That sounds so normal."

The ground trembled as Luz heard footsteps in the distance. "What is that?" Luz asked.

"It's Warden Wrath! Hide!" Katya warned.

Luz raised her eyebrow and replied, "Nah, I think can handle this."

"What?!" Katya exclaimed.

"That's wight! Fight against the oppwessor! We will wesist! We will conquer! We will never be afwaid of that old cweep!" Tinella exclaimed as the door opened to reveal the Warden Wrath.

The Warden Wrath was a massive hulking humanoid creature with purple skin.

He wore a hood that is non-standard for a guard and a plague doctor's mask with yellow button-like lenses, a white sleeveless tunic with brass buttons, a brown leather belt with a brass buckle, and black trousers tucked into dark purple shoes.

Luz whistled. "Dude, you're like gigantic," Luz stated, clearly impressed.

"How did you get out of your cell?" Warden Wrath asked, only to see King standing beside her. "And you! If you are here, then Eda the Owl Lady must be here too."

"Nah, he's with me," Luz corrected. "Look, I've had a long day so I'm going to bust these guys out, and you're going to do what big hulk-like things do….like smash things or growl or….something."

"Nah, we're good," Katya sadly announced. "We belong here."

"The warden'll catch us. He always does," Mark sighed.

"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape fwom," Tinella murmured.

Luz stared at the trio and said, "So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome. Nobody should be punished for who they are. For example, I love writing fanfiction, watching D&D, and other stuff, and yet, you three are about to watch me beat this guy until he calls me The Good Witch Azura."

"You read those too?!" Katya exclaimed.

"Oh boy, do I ever!" Luz excitedly replied.

"Um, Luz?" King questioned. "We're kind of in a jelly here."

"We are?" Luz asked.

"You are," Warden Wrath growled, clearly at his wit's end. "Did you forget the danger that is in front of you?"

Luz turned back to the warden and asked, "Oh yeah, who are you?"

The warden turned his right arm into a hammer and swung it down toward Luz. Luz grabbed King, danced to the side to avoid the swing, sat King on the ground, and said, "Sit tight."

King nodded.

Luz rolled to the left to avoid the warden's left arm, which had taken the form of a scythe blade, then jumped up to deliver a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking his mask off to reveal his face, which was mainly occupied by a huge mouth of large sharp teeth, teeny tiny eyes.

Luz landed on the ground and delivered a hail of fists against the demon's stomach, chest, and fist, each blow causing the demon to stagger back.

The demon swung its right arm at Luz, but she jumped over his arm and landed on it, pinning the limb to the ground. "This is almost too easy!" Luz exclaimed as she cocked her right arm back, her fist flickering with spirit energy before it solidified into an orb.

"Spirit Punch!" Luz announced as she delivered a brutal, energy-infused jab to the Warden's face, right where his tiny eyes were. The spirit energy exploded upon impact, propelling him backward through the air at high speed while having the unfortunate aftereffect of ripping his right arm off his body.

"Whoa," Katya whispered.

"So cool!" King exclaimed.

Warden Wrath rose to his feet as Luz smirked, her youthful exuberance giving way to smug confidence. "You're body is super durable! The first time I fought a demon and used that, my hand wound up sticking out from their gut!" Luz happily exclaimed.

"It'll take more than that to stop me!" Warden Wrath yelled seconds before emitting a burst of fire from his mouth and toward Luz.

Luz's right eye glinted in delight as she aimed her right hand at the position of the Warden. She formed a finger gun with her right hand and said, "I know. Spirit Gun!"

A medium-sized shard of spirit energy flew from her index finger, shredded the oncoming flames, and collided with the Warden's open mouth, sending him crashing out of the building and to the outside.

"As the Good Witch Azura always says after finishing a match," Luz started as she pulled back her hand and blew the imaginary smoke from her index finger. "The Show's Over."

Luz stepped off the limb and walked over to the prison cells and opened each one. "You three are free to go," Luz said.

"Thank you!" Mark exclaimed as he ran off.

"Thank you so much!" Tinella shouted as she ran alongside the eyeball eater.

Katya however was stunned. "How did you do that?" The taller girl asked.

"Magic," Luz instantly replied.

"That magic was powerful," Katya replied. "You only really see something like that with the Emperor's Coven."

Luz quirked an eyebrow and repeated, "The Emperor's Coven?"

"Ah, I found you," Eda announced as she flew down and hovered over the ground. "This place looks a mess. What happened?"

"Whoa, you're the Owl Lady!" Katya exclaimed. "No wonder you were able to do that type of magic!"

Eda grinned. "And what type of magic was that?" Eda asked.

"It was awesome, Eda!" King exclaimed as he hopped onto the woman's staff. "Luz was all punchy and blasty! She defeated Warden Wrath!"

"Did she now?" Eda laughed. "Story for later tonight. Since the Warden is out for the count, let's get what we came for and split!"

"What did you guys come for?" Katya asked.

"My royal crown!" King exclaimed.

Katya leaned down to Luz and asked, "Is he always this adorable?"

"I've known him for an hour, and I will kill everyone and then myself if anything happened to him," Luz replied.

"Awww," Katya replied. "Well, since I have nowhere I have to be anymore, mind if I tag along?"

"You know what? Sure," Eda answered. "Let's get his crown and head home."

"Whoa, the Owl Lady's place…. If I had friends, no one would believe me," Katya breathed as she stood in the living room of the Owl House. "It looks so cozy and it's warm. Not a cold draft to be felt. This is great!"

"Hoot! Hoot! Another new face!" Hooty exclaimed as he swirled around Katya, who laughed in surprise and even delight at the strange creature. "I'm Hooty!" Hooty introduced.

"Hey fella, I'm Katya," Katya introduced herself with a laugh. "Nice to meet you."

Near the entrance of the house, Luz, Eda, and King watched the interaction with crossed arms and blank faces. "She's weird," King said, his burger king crown sliding off his head slightly. He huffed and fixed it back then smiled in satisfaction, only for it to tumble backward off his head and to the ground.

"I agree. Anyone who actively likes Hooty is strange," Eda agreed. "But, when it comes to us weirdos, we gotta stick together."

Luz grinned as she bent down to grab King's crown and place it back on the huffy demon's head. "Exactly. We're weird but awesome," Luz happily stated as she heard Katya scream in excitement as Hooty bounced her up and down on his noodle body.

"Hey! This isn't a rodeo!" Eda exclaimed as she walked toward the two while also shaking her right fist. "You get down from him or so help me I'll change you both into newts!"

"Can she do that?" Luz asked King, who shrugged in reply.

After Eda calmed Hooty and Katya down, the wild witch grabbed some food from Luz's fridge to set the table, leaving the two of them alone upstairs. While Luz questioned how such a small fridge could hold so much food like an infinite bag of holding, she would never ask.

Katya took the chance to explore while Luz returned to her room to fold the clothes Yusuke had given her, which left the human in her PJs.

"Whoa!" Luz heard Katya exclaim. Luz turned her head as Katya ran back into the room. "You guys have a working shower!"

Luz blinked.

"Yeah, we do," Luz slowly replied. "Do you not have one?"

"Nope," Katya replied, only to gasp at the sight of her room in awe. "Whoa, your room looks awesome. You have posters, that weird square thing, and even a bed!" Katya then looked at Luz and asked, "Mind if I sit on it? I promise I'll be quick."

"By all means," Luz answered.

Katya grinned, strolled to the bed, and flopped on the bed face first. "Soft," Luz heard the girl groan in bliss. "I've never would have known that beds could be so comfortable. I'm in Heaven…."

Luz could feel several concerning questions race into her mind at the last few statements but she ceased them. She just made her first friend and she was not about to blow it. Instead, Luz asked, "Well, I was going to take a shower. Did you want to take it first?"

Katya lifted her head, her eyes glistening slightly. "Y-You're letting me use it first?" Katya asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Luz asked.

Katya frowned and rubbed at her forearm. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Luz quickly backtracked. "Just go take it. You're a little tall but my clothes should fit. I'll have them out for when you're done, okay?"

Katya smiled, nodded, and quickly ran off down the hall. Luz frowned in concern but shook her head. Luz was smart enough to put some pieces together but until Katya was ready to tell her, she wouldn't pry.

Even if she adored backstories.

Luz grabbed her journal that she had packed away, a pen, and a can of soda from the fridge, and then plopped down on her gaming chair.

'Hola, Papá,

You will be so proud of me. I'm officially on my first off-world mission for the Spirit World. You'll never guess where I am! I'm on the Boiling Isles! The place you visited before….he happened.

I've already met tons of interesting people. I met Eda, the Owl Lady who is a criminal and very attractive. King, a cute little demon, Hooty, who is part of the…. I don't actually know his deal. And Katya! A new friend that I saved from prison tonight.

I know that sounds bad, but she's not bad. She's a weirdo, like me! And we weirdos have to stick together. But it seems there is some stuff she's hiding too and it makes me sad to think about. I'm not going to push her on it, but I hope she tells me more about herself in the future.

Also, Botan is a saint among demons! She got me a fridge of infinite food and literally replicated my room from the Human world to here! Except the bed is super big. Like a king-sized bed instead of the full-size one I normally have.

And the fridge! It has so much food. Like, all I have to do is reach in, think about what I want, and it gets pulled out! Like, I thought about a bucket of chicken, some fries, and some soda, and I pulled it all out on a large platter!

I don't know how Botan does it but I hope Keiko and Gramps shower her with tons of kisses.

I also got my first taste of combat. It was pretty cool but I hope for a better challenge. Can't be caught lacking, you know?

But, Katya mentioned something called the "Emperor's Coven." I'll be asking more about that at dinner. I wonder if it's related to the "Emperor Belos" person you and Gramps talked about.

Well, that's all for now.

I miss you and I hope you're resting easy.

Until the next letter.
Love, Lucida "Luz" Noceda."

"Hey Kids! It's time for dinner!" Eda called out.

Luz grinned.

"So, you go to Hexside," Eda stated as the group sat around the table in the kitchen, with a bucket of hot chicken, soda, and loads of fries on the table. While Luz and King attacked it, Katya only ate small amounts of it, despite how hungry she looked.

Katya nodded as she nibbled on a chicken wing.

Eda grinned and asked, "How is ol' Bumps and Lumps doing"?"

Luz watched as Katya nearly choked as she exploded into laughter. "Bumps and Lumps?!" Katya managed to get out. "He would murder anyone who called him that!"

"Hexside? Bumps and Lumps?" Luz questioned as she popped a french fry into her mouth. "What are you two talking about?"

"Hexside School of Magic and Demonics," Eda answered. "It's a school that teaches magic and gives "structure" for future covens and all that blah, blah, blah."

"And—" Katya snorted. "—"Bumps and Lumps" is our principal there. Principal Bump is his actual name."

"Old Humps and a Bump needs to retire," Eda remarked and then nibbled on her chicken. "He's been that school's principal since I haunted the joint."

"Would it be wise for me to go there?" Luz asked.

"You would have to know two spells to get in," Eda answered. "Why? You think something about your case will be there?"

"Case?" Katya asked.

"Yeah, I'm here on business. I'm a Spirit Detective," Luz revealed.

"Oh, cool," Katya said with a shrug. "Is that a thing Humans are?"

"Only special humans," Luz replied.

"Awesome, but yeah, you have to at least know magic and I'm betting that will be a breeze since you took down the warden," Katya said.

"Yeah, her abilities will just give her away and that could be bad," Eda cut in. "I'll have to teach you some actual magic."

"Dope," Luz happily replied. "I always wanted to learn magic. I bet I'll be able to do it since I know how to use spirit energy."

"Who knows?" Eda replied with a shrug.

"So, what's your case about?" Katya asked. "Maybe I can help?"

"How?" Eda asked.

"Maybe I can be Luz's attractive assistant?" Katya asked as she clawed at the air with a teasing smile.

Luz, who had tossed a fry into her mouth, coughed wildly as a blush formed on her face. Luz managed to recover and wheezed, "Give a girl some warning before doing that." Katya gave her a sheepish smile, which made Luz smile back.

"I can't tell you about the case, but maybe I could use your help in learning more about the Boiling Isles," Luz replied.

"Oh, like a tour guide?" Katya offered.

"Yeah! Or an open encyclopedia about the place," Luz added.

"Alright, I'm game," Katya asked.

"Good…. Because I have a question," Luz slowly started as a smirk formed on her face. "What can you tell me about the Emperor's Coven and Emperor Belos?"

"So, the Boiling Isles?"

Yusuke nodded as he turned his head to glance at one of his good friends.

Behind him, a beautiful, pale-skinned man with bright green eyes and long vibrant deep red hair, with two long forelocks on either shoulder and the rest on his back stood.

The man wore a light-colored Chinese-style outfit with a yellow plane and blue trim, along with black flats.

"Yeah, a separated island from the Demon World," Yusuke answered as he turned around to face his friend. "It's her first mission. I guess I'm concerned."

The man let out a calm, soothing chuckle. "That I would understand," the man replied. "The Demon world is no place for a child."

"Probably safer than when we went those few times," Yusuke cracked. "So, will you do it, Kurama? I know that I'm taking you away from Touya, but just every so often, check in on her?"

Kurama hummed in thought. "For you, Yusuke, I shall check in from time to time. But I wonder why not go yourself or ask Hiei?" Kurama inquired. "Hiei is predominately in Demon World anyway with his beloved. Would it be wiser to ask him?"

"Despite him chilling out since he and Mukuro decided to stop pussy-footing around being with each other, Hiei is an acquired taste," Yusuke joked, which caused Kurama to chuckle.

"That much is true," Kurama agreed. "But it's more than that, isn't it?"

Yusuke sighed and stared at the starry sky.

"Luz means a lot to me," Yusuke admitted. "Just like Gene did…. I know I can count on Hiei and I'm sure that eventually, I'll even ask him to go if things get dire enough. I just need a calmer head there. Luz has a good heart—"

"But she's very much like you. She's too hard on herself, puts the world on her shoulders, can be very determined and hot-heated," Kurama finished.

Yusuke hummed in agreement.

Kurama chuckled at this and said, "It seems the attitude of the teacher continues to be passed to the student."

Yusuke snorted.

"I will watch over her," Kurama told him. "I won't be able to do it for a month since I am on my own mission, but after that, I will make my way to the Boiling Isles."

"Thanks, Kurama," Yusuke whispered.

"You do not need to thank me," Kurama stated. "I was there when you lost Eugene and Luz both that day against Yakumo. You almost became the one person you strove to avoid being…."

Yusuke frowned as the dark laughter of Younger Toguro echoed in his mind.

"I understand how much Luz means to you as your student and surrogate Niece," Kurama whispered. "If my checking in on her eases your concern, I will be glad to do it. No thanks needed."

"Still, I appreciate it," Yusuke said. "Now more than ever…."

Kurama hummed as the two stared out at the starry sky.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since Luz arrived in the Boiling Isles and the young Spirit Detective had her nose buried in a history book. Her mother always told her that the best thing someone could do in any situation was to learn everything about it, and Luz took that word to heart.

She asked questions, did research, and explored. Thankfully, Luz wasn't alone in her deep dive research as King, Katya, and even Eda, helped her out a ton.

But Luz didn't just do research.

The Spirit Detective had taken Koenma's words to heart by not relying on her Spirit Energy. While it would suck, she had a cover and she was going to play it up as much as she could.

She was a lost human looking to learn magic.

And so, Luz was going to be just that. However, Luz didn't know where to even begin.

Until she remembered her teacher's gift and his words.

"This belongs to you, kid.  But, you cannot open it until you're on your mission, got it?"

"Hey, Kid! You listening?" Eda asked.

Luz snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at Eda. The older woman seemed amused but bored at the same time. "About time. Ready to come up for some air?" Eda questioned.

Luz chuckled and lowered the history book as she said, "I'm sorry. I just really want to get to the bottom of this mission."

"Don't sweat it," Eda chuckled. "However, I think you do need a little break. Wanna head to the beach?"

"Oh boy, do I?!" Luz screamed as she hopped off the couch and ran upstairs to her room.

"Make sure to wake up the other brat and let her know!" Eda screamed after her.

Luz got to her room door and was about to throw it open when she heard a weak, "P-Please…. I-I'm sorry…."

Luz's hand stopped at the doorknob as a worried expression filled her face. "I-I just want to…." Katya's voice drifted off into breathing. Luz slowly cracked the door open to see Katya curled up into a tiny ball in the middle of her bed.

Katya and Luz had been staying together, with both of them sharing the large king-sized bed. During the past two days, the little budding crush Luz was forming had been crushed, not because she didn't like the sixteen-year-old, but because the older teen, despite her friendly and laidback air, was very closed off.

Unless it was about A Crown of Candy (Her favorite food-related show) or Good Witch Azura, the older girl didn't speak much. And whenever she did talk, it would be under her breath about how sweet normal things were.

Luz may have been slow to connect the dots, but she was connecting them and she didn't like what it was revealing. Luz decided to let Katya sleep a little bit longer and instead, she decided to go to her dresser and get the bag Yusuke had given her.

Luz carefully opened the dresser drawer and pulled out the small sack and placed it on top of the dresser. She untied the top and what she saw were three things.

The first was a navy-blue letterman jacket with black sleeves and accents. The jacket had "Noceda" on the back in big black letters stretched across the shoulders and the number "07" beneath her last name.

Luz pulled out the jacket and held it up with a look of awe, and a little somberness, on her face. She turned the jacket around and noticed that in the front, his initials "E.L.N" sat on the left side of the jacket, with the "E" peeling off.

The slightly bigger jacket was scuffed up and had some tears, but Luz held it to her chest as hard as she could. Luz took a deep breath and then eased her grip on the jacket and placed it on top of the dresser.

The second and third things she noticed were two large black notebooks. Her father once told her that he had a journal filled with his innermost thoughts when he was trying to convince her to give a diary a try.

Was one of these that journal?

Anticipation filled Luz as she lifted the blue notebook from the sack and flipped it open. There were a lot of things Luz expected when she opened the notebook, but pages filled with these odd sigils were not one of them.

Luz noticed that each sigil had a name beneath them. "Water Glyph….Fire Glyph….Healing Glyph, Lightning Glyph, Earth Glyph…." Luz read out. "What is this? I do not know what this means."

Luz shook her head and placed the notebook back on the dresser. The detective then lifted the second one and opened it, but unlike the confusing notebook she had picked it before, this one was filled with writing.

"Mission Log - Day #23," Luz read out loud.

"I chased the perp into this odd place known as the Boiling Isles. This is nothing like the Demon World I'm used to dealing with but I know it's a part of it. I met a nice witch, albeit a stickler for the rules. She's been helping me get my bearings while I search for one of the Netherrealm Gods in Majari. I have to find him before he finds the elemental site located in this place….

The witch that is assisting me in locating Majari is unlike anyone I've ever met. She is focused. Clinically so. I'm almost intimidated. Almost."

Luz's eyes widened in surprise.

This must have been the first time that….monster and his men tried to bring back the Netherrealm. Which means he had been in the Boiling Isles before his very last mission.

What did this mean?

"Her name is Lilith. And she's seventeen, two whole years older than me. She seems to be focused on getting into this "Emperor's Coven" and since she's helping me, I have to help her.

I'm not liking the fact that I have to teach her how I did the spirit gun to get her help, but it's a worthy trade to have help in this odd place.

Que sera sera.

We're supposed to check out this "Knee" place for the elemental site of water. I wish I could do the other sites like sensei is.

Meanwhile, I've been finding more of those Glyphs around the isles. I don't know what they do but I know that they are attributed to an element. I've been writing them down in my empty notebook but still, I wonder what this means….

A thought for another time. I can hear Lilith outside my tent so I better get going.

Time for the search to continue.

Until the next update,
Manny Noceda."

Luz finished and sat the notebook down.

"Seems pretty interesting," Katya said from behind her shoulder, causing Luz to jump in alarm.

"Ah! Smell that wonderful air!" Eda exclaimed as Luz, Katya, and King stood behind her. Eda turned around to Luz and asked, Well, Luz, did you ever in your life think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?"

Luz, who wore a pair of jean shorts, a blue tank top, and her slightly worn sneakers, stared at the corpse of a large….slug….thing, and dryly remarked, "Consider my breath stolen."

Eda grinned and walked up to the dead slug and smacked its body as she replied, "Yes, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the Trash Slug. It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside. Until, blam, it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt. And then we get to sell the stuff it ate."

"I've never seen something like this before," Katya said with an awed expression.

"A Trash Slug?" Luz asked.

"No," Katya replied with a shake of her head. "The beach! I've always seen pictures of it, and I always wanted to go, but no one ever take me. This is great! I can wait to take a dip into the water!"

"I wouldn't do that," Eda swiftly said. "It recently rained so the Boiling sea might still be too hot to dip into. Wait until nightfall. That's when every typically starts swimming anyways."

"Oh, okay," Katya replied, disappointed.

"Luz?" King murmured in a hushed tone. "Everything Katya says makes me sad. Can we order her to shut up?"

"No, King," Luz shot down. "But eventually, we'll need to get to the bottom of things with her."

King hummed in displeasure.

"Eda, if we couldn't swim now and have to wait until nighttime, why did we come here?" Luz asked.

"For the Trash Slug," Eda answered. "Did my little speech earlier go over that cute little head of yours, Luz?"

"I guess," Luz replied.

"Awesome. So, let's all dig in and find some valuable loot. And then once night falls and the hard work is over, we can relax and swim!" Eda announced. Katya whooped and raced to the slug.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Eda called out to the girl. Katya stopped and looked at her. Eda tossed her a pick and said, "Now go nuts."

Katya saluted and made her way to the slug.

King snorted and unfurled his towel as he said, "You peasants can enjoy that. A king like me should soak up some sun."

"Fine," Eda shrugged. "If we find some interesting stuff, you can't have any."

King huffed but shrugged, making peace with that trade-off.

"Well, Kid, treasure won't find itself. Let's hop in," Eda invited with a grin.

"Eda," Luz hesitantly started with a frown. "As much as I want to root around in the garbage that slug left behind, I do have a mission to accomplish. I'm supposed to be a lost human wanting to learn magic. That was my cover story, remember? Like, shouldn't you be giving me ancient scrolls to read, or mix together potions, or—"

"Ugh. That sounds like a bunch of Hexisde stuff," Eda replied with a huff.

"Should I go there to try and learn magic instead?" Luz asked.

Eda snorted and replied, "I wouldn't recommend it. As cute as the uniforms are and as fun as messing with ol' Humps, Hexside forces you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper. It's wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful. I didn't finish school, and look at me! Who wouldn't envy where I am right now?"

Despite herself, Luz grinned. "I guess you have a point…." Luz conceded. "But still, I need to learn something."

Eda hummed in thought, her eyes looking back at the Trash Slug for a moment. Luz then watched her face brighten with an idea. "Hey, here's a lesson," Eda started as she took Luz's hand and pulled her to the slug. Luz followed, unsure of where her mentor was going with this but too curious to stop it.

Eda stopped in front of the slug and put Luz's hand into it, much to Luz's horror and disgust. "A great witch is resourceful," Eda said as Luz dug into the slug. "Because sometimes, we are in areas where our magic could spell our deaths, you see."

"Oh," Luz gasped, realization dawning on her face. "I get it. When that happens, witches may have to be more resourceful to either get their way out of the situation or fight."

"Exactly," Eda said as Luz felt her hand grab at something hard. She pulled her hand free and held a greasy little slimeball. "What you have there might be something that saves your life."

Luz grinned. "You know, you're a pretty dope teacher, Owl Lady," Luz complimented.

"Don't I know it?" Eda beamed. "Use your slime ball wisely, my little witch in training." Eda turned and picked up her own pick and said, "Now that class is done, We'll hit the stink nodes first."

"Um, If its cool with you, I think I'll head home and do a little bit more research on the Isles and as well as its animals that are still... alive," Luz stated.

Eda shrugged and replied, "More for us, then. Just make sure you come back here later tonight with some food so we can have fun, okay?"

Luz smiled and nodded.

Eda smiled back and turned around as she said, "Time to treasure hunt, Katya!"

"I've already found a rubber duck, a fan, and this orb with a string sticking out of it!" Katya cried.

"Bye Katya! Have fun! See you later tonight!" Luz exclaimed as she waved.

"Later Luzzy!" Katya waved.

Luz smiled at this and walked toward King, knelt to his level, and petted his stomach, causing King to giggle wildly. "Love you, King, my little beach peach," Luz cooed as she pulled her hand away and then walked off.

Following the trail, they had taken, Luz walked through the woods, her voice gentle as she sang, "The pointed second-hand counts down the life I lead. Marking off my legacy of worldly deeds. Tick, Tock, Tick. Constantly I think of things I can't complete, Well it's time to throw them into the back seat... Son of a G—"

"You can do it! You can!" A voice cried out in encouragement, interrupting the young Spirit Detective.

"Cute mysterious voice of encouragement?" Luz questioned. "Well, count me in for investigating!" Luz quickly made her way to where she heard the voice and when she found herself behind foliage, she pulled it aside and blinked.

Luz found herself looking at a short, bespectacled, chubby girl with light skin, pointed ears, olive green eyes, and short, neat, dark gray-blue hair with a few loose strands.

The girl wore a gray tunic with orchid leggings and sleeves, a dark gray cowl, a belt with a gold pin, and gray-black short-heeled shoes.

She was one of the cutest girls Luz had seen. "Be still my little Bi-heart," Luz whispered as she rubbed her chest.

Luz watched as the girl paced back and forth with a look of concentration on her face. "You can do it. Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch. And my parents are right," The girl told herself. "There are better opportunities on this track. Now, get to school!"

The girl took a step forward, only to step on what was a very beautiful flower. "Oh no!" the girl cried. "Oh, little friend! I'm sorry!" the girl bent down and traced what Luz knew was a spell circle until the flower perked back up and fully bloomed.

"Whoa," Luz whispered in amazement.

Was she like Uncle Kurama who could do that with plant life?

Luz was so focused on the cute girl and her magic that she barely caught wind of a cart racing toward her. Thankfully, before Luz could give away her position, the wagon stopped in front of her.

"Wow, Willow," A cocky voice chuckled out. "You're so unnoticeable I almost rolled into ya."

Luz looked at the pot and saw another girl sitting on top of it with a book in her hand.

The girl was skinny, with pale skin, back-length hair with a ponytail pulling the front hair out of her face, and bright golden eyes. And like Eda, Katya, and the other girl, she had pointy ears.

The girl's hair was two-toned, comprised of shades of aquamarine with brown hair that was visible at the roots.

Unlike the other girl, however, this girl wore a three-piece orchid-colored suit with black dress shoes and a lavender tie.

As cute as she looked, Luz wasn't distracted enough to not notice how discouraged the first girl, Willow, looked.

Nor could she not notice the flower wilting again.

"Hi…." Willow sighed. "Amity…."

Amity grinned and started with, "Uh, shouldn't you get to class early to prep yo—" Amity was interrupted when the pot on the wagon rattled and then fell, revealing this strange purple goop that had an eyeball floating in it. "Oh, Willow," Amity patronized. "You don't have anything to show, do you?"

Willow, in response, hid her face in her hood.

"This is why people call you "Half-a-Witch Willow," The girl taunted with a small smirk. "Oh! Oh, looks like someone wants to say something to you. Abomination: Rise."

With a ring of orchid light, Luz watched as the sludge that was still in the pot rose behind Amity and turned into a humanoid figure, which hung outside of the pot for a moment.

The creature then reached over and groaned out, "You're….a….Star," as it drew a crude sludge star on Willow's forehead.

"Aw. It's like mine," Amity taunted as she motioned to her star badge. "But much smaller and meaningless. As Hexside's top student, I have to tell you to keep at it. Even you could get a passing grade someday."

Luz could see tears building up in Willow's eyes and immediately, Luz narrowed her eyes in anger.

Luz stepped out of the foliage, revealing herself, and taunted, "Well, aren't you a cute and patronizing jackass?"

Amity and Willow turned to Luz sharply as the human grinned. "What, Abomination catch your tongue, Amity?" Luz teased.

Amity narrowed her eyes and asked, "Depends who is asking. Do you, my eavesdropping friend, have a name?"

"I do," Luz replied as she started to unbutton her purple jacket. "My name is KO. It's short for "Knock Out" And that's exactly what I'm about to do to bully like you." Luz tossed her jacket aside, revealing her white and purple shirt beneath it.

Willow gasped as Amity narrowed her eyes and walked toward Luz. "Round ears…. That must mean you're a human," Amity deduced.

"Born and bred," Luz replied. "But don't let that stop you from fighting me."

Amity laughed. "I didn't know that humans were so bold. Of course, you are. You don't know who I am, considering how easily you're tossing threats around," Amity started as she pulled off her suit jacket and tossed it aside. "So, human, allow me to fully introduce myself, so you can comprehend your mistake. I am Amity Blight. The prodigy Daughter of Odalia and Alador Blight of Blight Industries."

"I don't care if you're my Mamá, my Tía, or even my Abuela, I'll still knock a Dimwit like you out," Luz shot back.

Amity smirked as beautiful red and purple flames flickered in Amity's left palm. "Let's see you try," Amity challenged.

Spirit energy flowed from Luz's right hand as she smirked.

Willow suddenly ran between the two of them and held out her arms. "Stop it!" Willow exclaimed as her eyes glowed green.

Luz and Amity were forced to stop as vines wrapped around their right and left ankles respectively. "Enough!" Willow yelled. "No fighting, either of you."

Amity flicked her left hand, allowing the flames to burn the vine that was wrapped around her ankle. "Whatever. I'll leave you and the human to it," Amity spat at Willow and then looked at Luz. "But you? A Blight never forgets. That's your only warning."

"Oh trust me, Pastelito, Neither do I," Luz warned.

Brown and gold eyes clashed as the two girls glared at one another. Amity smirked and said to Willow, "See you in class, superstar," while keeping her eyes locked on Luz's.

And for a moment, Luz didn't see Amity.

Instead, she saw the pink and blonde-haired Lena smirking back at her.

Amity then turned around and walked off, making sure to grab her jacket on her way.

And Luz watched her leave, her fist tightening enough for her nails to break her skin, causing blood to seep through her fingers.

"You're bleeding!" Willow gasped, which caused Luz to blink in surprise." Oh, no, no, no, no, no! I'm so sorry!"

"What?" Luz dumbly asked.

Willow knelt to the ground and pulled the vines around Luz's right ankle off, freeing her from their grasp. "Oh, that," Luz remarked. "It's okay. The thorns only went through a few layers of skin."

"Still, I'm sorry," Willow apologized as she stood up and bowed. "I hurt you, even though you came to my rescue." Willow looked back up at Luz, smiled, and said, "Thank you for saving me, Knock Out."

Luz laughed and softly introduced, "My real name is Luz. Luz Noceda."

Willow's smile deepened.

"Thank you, Luz. But wow, I can't believe that you're an actual human," Willow breathed as she leaned close to Luz's face. Luz flushed as Willow held her face and moved it around slightly. The bespectacled witch then touched her right ear with her thumb and slowly rubbed it, making Luz's blush deepen. "So... circly," Willow murmured.

"You know, if you wanted to touch my ears, you have to take me to dinner first," Luz teased, despite her burning face.

Willow blushed and leaned away with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I'm just amazed! Astounded, another "A" word that shows my excitement! A human on the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here?! What are you doing here?!"

"Well, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life, tripped, rolled into life's ditch, and wound up in the Boiling Isles somehow," Luz answered with a wide smile. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you. An actual witch. A cute one at that!"

Willow giggled and rubbed at her knees. "Thanks for the compliment. I hardly ever get them from people that aren't my dads," Willow revealed.

"Well, you should," Luz sternly replied. "So, before Blight decided to stick her cute, but patronizing, butt in your business, what were you doing out here?"

Luz watched as a cloud of anger formed in Willow's eyes, only to dissipate moments later. "I was amping myself up to try to summon an Abomination."

"Abomination…." Luz drifted off. "Oh! You mean that purple Stand-like thing."

"Stand. We're sitting," Willow remarked.

"Sorry, It's a reference to a show I—" Luz shook her head. "I can show that to you later. So Abominations?"

"Yeah, It's a track that my dads enrolled me into at Hexside," Willow started and then sighed. "A track I'm not even good at."

Thanks to Eda and Katya, Luz knew all about the Coven system that Emperor Belos had introduced and knew the details of how people go about finding their desired Tracks at a magical school, such as Hexside for example.

"Then why not do one for plants?" Luz inquired. "I mean, what you did with that flower and those vines, it was... wow."

"I can't," Willow sighed. "My dads want me to be in this track. Honestly? I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic. It just comes naturally to me. I bet if I could, I could get a passing grade for once. Then people would stop calling me "Half-a-Witch Willow."

Luz huffed, only for a lightbulb to go off in her head. "Say, would you rather get a passing grade in Abominations or find a way to do plant magic?" Luz asked.

"Honestly? The second. I'm sick of dealing with Abomination matter," Willow replied.

"Well," Luz started as she stood. "I have an idea! But, we'll have to find a way for me to get into Hexside."

"What's the idea?" Willow asked.

Luz smirked and proposed with her best cowboy accent, "How would you like to wrangle up a wild and dangerous human with a vine lasso?"

Willow blinked in surprise as Bells pealed in the background.

"I'm sorry, what?" Willow asked.

"Damn human," Amity muttered as she stalked the hallway of Hexside, her hands in her suit jacket's pockets.

Amity Blight was in a foul mood.

And it was all due to that human.

That disgustingly pretty but annoying human. How dare she interfere with her business with Willow and threaten her of all people! Amity would be impressed at the absolute spirit of the girl if it didn't irk her so.

"Ah! There she is now," A familiar voice said from behind her. Amity turned around to see Principal Bump with an unfamiliar witch at his side.

Principal Bump was an older man with light-beige skin and teal irises with bright yellow sclera.

He wore a long black gown with a gold yoke, a black cape, gold trim at the sleeves, and cape hem, plus a blue stole draped over his shoulders. He also had an orchid-colored mask/creature on his head that covered half of his face.

Beside him was a green-eyed woman with pale skin and indigo hair held up in a swirled bun and a red lower lip. She wore small, tinted glasses, a gray dress with a yellow badge, one epaulet, and black gloves.

Amity immediately recognized the badge as it held the sigil of the Emperor's Coven.

"Principal Bump," Amity greeted.

"Good Morning, Ms. Blight," Principal Bump greeted. "Let me introduce you to Inspector April Uno. She is visiting from the Emperor's Coven. To help with some repairs after last week's unfortunate incident with the Pry-Fly."

"Quite," Inspector Uno confirmed. "If everything's in order, the Emperor's Coven will be happy to cover your repairs."

"Oh! I was unaware that you were arriving today," Amity responded.

"Yes. We have been so busy, I forgot to inform you," Principal Bump sighed. "With that said, I know you have finished your presentation"

"I have," Amity answered.

"Marvelous. Now that I have the best of our Tracks here, we can get into the presentations. Please, ladies, follow me to Screamatorium," Principal Bump directed with an excited clap.

Amity nodded and followed the Inspector and the Principal.

But for some strange reason, Amity started to feel exhausted.

"Are you sure this is going to be a good idea?" Willow asked as she carted Luz inside of the jar her abomination matter was previously in.

Luz looked down at her as she leaned on the edge of the jaw. "Come on, have a little faith, Willow," Luz cooed. "I won't let you down, I promise bebita."

"What does that mean?" Willow asked.

"My secret," Luz replied with a wink.

"We're finally here," Willow breathed. Luz turned around and gasped in excitement at the large and beautiful school. Welcome to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics," Willow introduced. "Now hurry and hide!"

Luz ducked her head inside the pot and slide the top over the opening. She grumbled a bit at the goopy purple mess that stuck to her clothes.

The things she did for cute girls.

After a few minutes of sitting there, Luz then heard a young boy's voice. "Willow, you would not believe humans," the boy started.

"Humans? Psh. I haven't seen any. What?" Willow nervously remarked.

"Did you know that humans nail barbed wire to their kids' teeth? But why? Maybe to make them magnetic?" The young boy wondered.

Luz laughed.

She had a good feeling she knew what the boy was talking about, but he sounded adorable. "Actually, it's for storing treats," Luz teased.

There was a beat of silence.

"Okay, Augustus. I'm gonna tell you something. But you have to be cool," Willow urged.

"I can be spool. I-I mean, cool," The young boy stammered.

"Oh honey," Luz cooed.

"Okay! Luz, hurry and come out," Willow said.

Luz slid the top to the side, crossed her arms over her chest as a mummy would do, and rose out of her jar. "For thousands of years, I lay dormant! Who dares disturb my— Oh, he's so cute!" Luz gasped, her eyes getting bigger.

Luz stared at a young, short, boy, who had slightly dark brown skin, dark blue eyes, chubby cheeks, elf-like ears, and dark brown hair with lighter shades on the sides. He wore a gray tunic with sky blue leggings and sleeves, a dark gray belt, cowl, and boots.

The boy, who held a magazine in his hands, dropped it in disbelief at the sight of her. "No. No, it—" the boy cut himself off as he flicked his ears, his eyes wide with awe. "It couldn't be. A human? Here? Called me cute? Where are your gills?"

"Luz Noceda, meet Augustus Porter," Willow introduced. "He's the president of the Human Appreciation Society. Most witches wouldn't be able to recognize a human right away. But Augustus is an expert."

"I knew an Augustus back in the human world. We called him Gus. Do you mind if I call you that?" Luz asked the young witch.

"Gus? Nickname? Human nickname? Gus? Call me it. Wow. Gus. This is the best day of my life!" Gus gushed with a blush on his face.

Luz stared at the boy for a moment with large eyes that made Willow admittedly blush. "My heart...." Luz whispered before she turned to Willow and asked, "Can I adopt him?"

Willow snorted and replied, "No."

"But look at how precious he is," Luz whined as she leaned on the edge of the pot. "I'll be a good mom, I promise."

Willow giggled but shook her head as the bell shrieked. "Aw, man," Gus sighed. "I've gotta get to spelling class. See you guys at lunch!"

Gus ran off, leaving Luz and Willow to wave at his retreating figure. "Alright, back into the pot you go," Willow instructed. Luz hissed and playfully clawed at Willow as she sunk back into the pot, only to hear screams at the other end of the hall.

Luz popped right back up and asked, "You hear that?"

Willow nodded. Luz jumped out of the pot and onto the tiled floor in a crouch. Without hesitation, she ran forward, leaving Willow to run after her while she shouted, "Wait for me!"

As the two ran, a wall opened up and two hands grabbed the pair and yanked them inside, where the walls closed seconds later.

Willow and Luz tumbled to the floor as a boy's voice whispered, "You two were heading into danger."

Luz looked at the boy and raised her eyebrow.

The boy had pale white skin, brown short hair that wefted over the right side of his forehead, thick black eyebrows, pointed ears and nose, and brown eyes.

He wore a uniform similar to Willow and Gus, except his cowl was torn and his sleeves and leggings were a lighter grey color.

"What do you mean?" Luz asked.

"And where are we?" Willow asked.

"You're in the Secret Room of Shortcuts," another voice answered. Luz looked behind the boy and saw a girl walking up behind him with a dog-like being beside her.

The girl had white skin, brown hair with four wefted bangs and a messy bun held together by a dark orange hair tie, pointed ears, and green eyes with one lash on the top and one lash on the bottom.

She wore the same uniform as the other students but her cowl had a patterned ripped and was held together by a large thumbtack.

She also wore a fishhook earring on one ear, Her skirt is ripped on the side and tied together, and her leggings and sleeves were also a lighter gray.

The being next to her had the body of a dog with a human-like face and is covered with chestnut fur with light tan fur on his stomach and neck area.

The dog-like being has dark orange tufts of hair on his head and two ears pointing upward with a small gold hoop earring on his right ear. He has blue eyes and black eyebrows.

The being wore square glasses with white tape in the center and a typical Hexside uniform with a gray robe and a darker gray belt and cowl, and light gray sleeves.

"Secret Room of Shortcuts, huh?" Luz questioned as she looked around. The room appeared to be a tower with trapdoors, front doors, and windows covering the walls all around.

The doors and windows were of varying shapes, sizes, and colors.

The walls are built of gray cement bricks and have a spiral ramp riding alongside them.

"I didn't even know we had this here," Willow breathed.

"Yeah, this is our special spot," The girl said. "But we didn't throw you in here just for this. You two were running into danger."

"We were?" Luz asked.

The boy nodded and muttered, "Apparently, there is a Greater Basilisk roaming the school halls. I was hoping after the Pry-Fly incident, the last week of school before break would start calmly. I was wrong."

"Pry-Fly incident?" Luz questioned.

Willow held up a hand at Luz as she shook her head. "It's a long story. Don't ask." Willow then looked at the trio and said, "But how? I thought those things were extinct."

"Yeah, I thought so too until my cousin at St. Epiderm said she saw one," the girl answered.

"Hey! Human with not a lot of Demon Realm knowledge here," Luz pointed out. "What, in the world, is a Greater Basilisk?"

The dog-like being barked in surprise.

"What Barcus said. You're a human?" the boy asked.

"Got that right! I'm Luz of Human Realm," Luz introduced. "And this is Willow from…here."

"I'm Viney," The girl laughed. "And this is Jerbo, and the goof next to me is Barcus."

"Charmed," Jerbo stated.

Barcus barked.

"Nice to meet you three," Willow and Luz said in unison.

"Now that introductions are complete," Viney started. "They are a species of serpentine demons that possess shape-shifting and magic-siphoning abilities. They can drain both witches and demons alike and are very dangerous."

"Okay, any way to stop them?" Luz asked.

Viney shrugged.

"If we did, we wouldn't be hiding out here, now would we?" Jerbo remarked.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to defeat it," Luz grumbled. "But I'll need some help."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Viney started. "How are you going to defeat it?"

Luz smirked.

"I have my ways," Luz coyly replied. "Where was it last located?"

"Well if it has already passed the hallway where we just yanked you from, probably spelling class," Jerbo answered.

Luz and Willow's eyes widened.

"That's where Gus is!" Willow exclaimed. "We have to save him!"

"We?" Luz asked. "But that thing drains magic. It could hurt you. It's better if you stay here."

Willow shook her head.

"He's the only friend I have. I can't not help him," Willow shot back. "Besides, why are you can risk yourself and not me?"

"She got you there," Viney commented.

"True…." Luz drifted off. "Okay, we do it together, Willow. Now, is there a shortcut that can get us there?" Luz asked.

Barcus nodded, barked, and ran toward a door.

"Follow him," Jerbo instructed. The group ran to the door Barcus now sat in front of. "Good job, Barcus," Jerbo said. "This will lead you to the hallway near spelling class."

"And if you guys survive, please don't tell anyone about this place," Viney urged.

"No worries," Luz said with a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the help and the lowdown. Now to blast that thing to kingdom come."

"Good luck," Jerbo said as he opened the door that led to their destination. Luz and Willow ran out to see bodies upon bodies on the ground.

Luz then heard a weak groan to her left.

On the ground was a sickly pale-skinned girl with green cropped hair, green eyes, and pointed ears. She wore a green dress that resembled vines, green dress shoes, and a dark green rose on the right side of her head, tucked in her hair.

Luz knelt to the girl and asked, "Are you okay?"

The girl's drowsy eyes looked at Luz and rasped out, "I'm so tired…."

"It's okay. I'm here to help," Luz whispered. "What happened?"

"Was walking with…. Boscha, Cat, and Skara to get…Celine…. Then the basilisk…." The girl shut her eyes. "Are they…?"

"I don't know, but we'll find them, Amelia," Willow promised.

"Yeah. Just rest," Luz whispered.

The girl nodded and closed her eyes.

"Help!" Gus' voice screamed down the hall.

"Oh no," Willow whispered as she ran down the hall.

"Willow!" Luz exclaimed as she ran after her friend. Luz caught up to the girl and together, they turned a corner, only to see Gus and a girl in the hands of the Greater Basilisk, getting the magic sucked out of them.

The Greater Basilisk had indigo hair that spilled down its face and back, a pale yellow serpentine body, webbed ears, claws, sharp scales on her arms, and droopy green frog-like eyes.

And it was gigantic.

The girl that the Basilisk held in her left hand had pale yellow skin with small ridges spread across, three claws on each hand, and horns in the shape of a crescent moon. She also has a singular, lavender eye on the right of her head.

She wore a long sleeve black dress with purple sleeves, which were long enough to cover her hands, a yellow ribbon that was tied around her left horn, and black heeled boots.

And both of them were slumped over, severely weakened.

"Oh no! It's too late!" Willow screamed.

"Let go of our kid!" Luz shouted as she prepared her Spirit Gun.

"Or else we'll break you!" Willow followed up, her eyes glowing bright green with rage.

"Oh!" The Basilisk spoke as it swiveled its head back at the pair. "More cute morsels!"

Luz wrapped her left hand around her right wrist and pointed her right finger gun, which gleamed in spirit energy, at the Basilisk and exclaimed, "Let them go! Spirit Gun!"

Luz fired, but to her shock, the Basilisk opened her mouth and swallowed the attack whole. The beast shuddered and let out a scream of agony, which caused her to drop Gus and the girl's unconscious bodies.

"That was a spicy meatball!" The Basilisk said as she fanned her face, Willow made a green circle and summoned vines to grab the kids and then withdrew the vines so she held both kids in her arms. "It burns!"

Willow and Luz immediately darted away as the Basilisk slithered after them, drool flying from her mouth as she yelled, "I'll kill you!"

"Okay, this was a bad plan," Willow shouted.

"You're telling me!" Luz screamed as the pair turned a corner, with the Basilisk skidding against the ground, crashing into a bunch of lockers, and slithering after them.

Luz and Willow turned another corner and banged on the wall they had escaped from.

"Open it! Hurry!" Luz and Willow screamed. The door opened and Luz and Willow handed the unconscious Gus and Moon Girl to Viney. "Take them and stay hidden," Willow instructed.

"What about you two?" Viney asked.

"We'll stop it," Luz answered. "But we need to come up with a—"

The Greater Basilisk skidded into view behind them and roared in victory.

"It's coming!" Viney yelled as the Basilisk slithered at them at top speed.

"Crapbaskets!" Luz shouted as she shut the door. "Stay safe!" Luz instructed before she and Willow darted to the left down another hallway, just as the Basilisk slammed into the wall behind them, causing the school to tremble.

The wall trembled as Viney held both Gus and Celine in her arms. "We have to help them somehow…." Viney whispered.

"I know we do," Jerbo sighed. "But what are we supposed to do against that thing?!"

Barcus barked.

"I know Luz is strong. You aura said so, but even she might need help," Viney said.

Barcus whined and lowered his head.

"I know. Principal Bump would kick us out if he caught us mixing magic again," Viney sighed. "But my cousin was attacked by that thing and I bet other schools too. We have to stop it here and now."

Jerbo sighed but nodded. "Ah, what the hell, if we're going to get kicked out, I'd rather us be heroes for it."

Barcus ruffed in agreement.

"Then Detention Track, let's go kick ass!" Viney yelled.

"Titan, I can't believe we're stuck in this situation!" Willow exclaimed.

"I know, what a rough way to start the day," Luz agreed. "But when the going gets tough, the tough get resourceful!" Luz dug into her pocket and pulled out the slimeball. "But what can we do with this?"

Willow gasped, took the slimeball from Luz's hand, and shouted, "That's it! I know what we can do with this!"

"The slimeball?" Luz questioned as the two found themselves in the main hallway within Hexside.

"Luz, it's a seed! Thank goodness you had it on you," Willow said.

"Yeah…. Thank goodness someone told me to hold on to it…." Luz drifted off.

"This seed has a strong plant within it, it might take some time to power it up," Willow whispered. "But if I do, it'll give you enough time to escape."

"No way," Luz said. "Besides, that Basilisk did not like my spirit energy. If I can land another good hit like that, I think we can down it for good."

The two heard the shrieks of fury from the Basilisk nearing them.

"How much time do you think it might take?" Luz asked as she pulled out her sword handle.

"Not long at all," Willow answered.

"Perfect!" Luz screamed as her Spirit Sword exploded into existence from the hilt, casting a lavender glow around them as Luz said, "Willow, meet my Spirit Sword!"

"Whoa," Willow whispered.

The Basilisk then skidded into the main hallway where the duo stood. "I found you! And you have treats!" The Basilisk roared as it began to suck in air.

Luz lunged for the beast and slashed her spirit sword down, cracking her in the face while leaving a gash where she struck. The Basilisk slid back from the blow and attempted to swipe at Luz, but the human ducked and rolled away from the attack.

Luz then jumped back into the and delivered two hard swings of her sword, which sent the Basilisk slamming against the wall.

Luz jumped up one more time and with a scream of "Spirit Kick!" Spirit energy wrapped around her right foot and she kicked the Basilisk in the face, causing its head to crash through the wall.

Luz landed on the ground, only for the Basilisk's tail to swing and catch her in the ribs, causing her to fly overhead and into a pillar. Luz smashed against the pillar hard and fell to the ground face first.

"Luz!" Willow screamed as the Basilisk removed its head from the wall and started to inhale, only for a griffin to screech and slam into the beast, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"What in the Nether was that?" Willow whispered.

"That was Puddles!" Viney exclaimed as she ran toward Luz and formed a white circle. "Two broken ribs. Give me a second." The healing glow of Viney's magic fixed the damage Luz had, which caused the girl to lean up in surprise.

"Whoa, thanks Viney," Luz said. "Healing. What an ability."

Viney quickly shouted, "Jerbo! Now!"

The Basilisk managed to get Puddles off of her, only for a door to be opened beneath the Basilisk, whose limbs got stuck due to the opening being too small but its arms remained free.

"My turn," Willow said as she made a spell circle around the seed and then commanded, "Please Grow!"

Thorny vines grow from the seed, reaching the ceiling as it curved and slammed into the Basilisk, who started to open her mouth. Luz charged forward, dismissed her spirit sword, jumped in the air, and delivered a brutal blow to the Basilisk's face with her feet, which were covered in a shroud of spirit energy.

The Basilisk flew down to the shaft and landed on the stage of the Screamatorium. The thorny vines quickly shot slammed into the Basilisk's chest and shot out around the room, embedding themselves against the wall and pinning the Basilisk to the stage.

Sakura petals began to fall from the ceiling as Willow and Luz looked at each other. "Let's finish this," Luz said with a grin as she held her hand out to the girl.

Willow smirked and took the hand. The two girls glowed with a shroud of spirit energy around them. "What is this feeling?" Willow whispered. "It feels warm…."

"Humans don't have magic, but what we do have is spirit," Luz replied with a wink. "Now, let's go!" Luz exclaimed before the two girls jumped through the ground door, through the Secret Rooms, and into the Screamatorium.

"It's all you, Barcus!" Jerbo screamed as the two continued to fall.

The two watched as Barcus poured a purple potion and poured it on the Basilisk's hand, where his eyes glowed with mystical energy.

"Where am I?" The Basilisk groaned and Barcus yipped. "What's he doing? What'd he say?"

"He's reading your palm!" Willow shouted.

"And your future looks bleak!" Luz followed up.

And then the two landed, feet first, against the Basilisk's stomach, causing it to gasp out in agony as the aura of spirit energy exploded, causing the Basilisk to spit out dozens of orbs filled with the magic it stole.

Two of the orbs flew into a man, who had sat up on his knees, and to Amity, who let out a groan of discomfort.

"Remarkable," the man whispered.

"We did it!" Willow exclaimed as she jumped up and down, her arm around Luz's shoulder. Jerbo, Viney, and Barcus joined the group celebration with victorious screaming.

"We were amazing!" Jerbo shouted.

"We're the best!" Viney yelled as Barcus howled in excitement.

"We were out of control!" Luz added.

"And you're all in big trouble," The man announced as he stood up, his eyes narrowed.

"Oh no, you don't," Luz shouted as she immediately got in front of the four, and summoned her spirit sword. "These guys, and me, just saved this school from that Great Basilisk. If anything, you owe them big."

"And who are you?" The man asked.

"Luz Noceda, Resident Human and hopeful witch of the Boiling Isles," Luz answered. "And part of the reason your bony ass is standing."

The man scowled.

"And judging by your clothing and general grumpiness, you must be ol' Humps and Bumps," Luz taunted.

Principal Bump's scowl deepened. "A Human in the Boiling Isles referring to me like that…. Of course, it had to be Eda that found you," he summarised.

"Darn right, I'm the feared Owl Lady's apprentice. And I know you're a stickler for rules thanks to her and Katya. So why don't we do this? Why not thank them and give them anything they want and resolve this issue peacefully," Luz started. "Or else I'll cause havoc."

"Alright," Principal Bump chuckled. "I'm smart enough to know when I'm beaten. Which tracks would you all like to be in?"

"I want to be in the Plant Track," Willow announced.

"I want to do Healing and Beast Keeping!" Viney shouted.

"Plants and Abomination!" Jerbo added.

Barcus barked.

"Then that shall be done," Bump said with a smile as he formed a spell circle. With a flourish of magic, Willow now had green sleeves and leggings, Viney had blue sleeves and orange leggings, Jerbo had green sleeves and orchid leggings, and Barcus had one violet sleeve and one yellow sleeve.

"But if any of you cause more property damage, I'm feeding you to the choosy hat," Principal Bump told them. He then looked to Luz and said, "And what about you, Apprentice to Edalyn Clawthorne? Was is it that you desire?"

Luz crossed her arms in thought. "I want to be a witch. And I've met so many cool people, including Katya….So I guess, I want to join this place," Luz answered.

The older witch opened his mouth, possibly to deny this, but then he smirked and said, "I think I can make that work. What about the track?"

"I dunno," Luz replied. "Maybe it's crazy high endorphins that I'm feeling after defeating a foe, but I wish I could study a little bit of everything."

Bump let out a soft sigh and said, "You know, only one other student wanted to study every track. Unfortunately, she was never given the opportunity…." He summoned a picture that had graffiti on it and then wiped it away, revealing a young Eda.

"I shoulda guessed," Luz laughed. "She looks cute with orange hair."

"As much as it pains me to say this, tell Eda to meet me here tomorrow. I want to discuss your enrollment into Hexside. This way, when the month-long break ends, you can start your classes immediately," Principal Bump said as he picked up the sleeping Amity. He looked back at Luz and said, "And what said to them goes triple for you. Cause any troubles, and it's the choosy hat."

"No problem sir," Luz saluted.

The principal walked out of the Screamatorium.

"So…." Luz started. "Eda and Katya are going to be at the beach later tonight. You guys want to come?"

Chapter Text

Luz was positively giddy by how the day turned out.

She had been in The Boiling Isles for a few days and already, she was having a beach party with friends. Real, breathing friends. And not just her pet snake.

Luz had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, a pink and purple one-piece swimsuit, a pair of royal blue shorts, black sandals, and a black zip-up hoodie with aquamarine sleeves and aquamarine letters that spelled "Azura" stretched across the shoulders and a silhouette of Good Witch Azura's witch hat.

Luz walked over to her dresser, where Gildy, her beautiful garter snake slept, with a yellow bow tied beneath her head. Luz smiled and gave Gildy a pet and cooed, "Such a good girl."

The snake seemed to move to her touch by rubbing her head against Luz's finger. "I have to thank Botan for bringing you here too," Luz whispered with a smile. "Now be good. And if Hooty comes near you, don't be afraid to bite him."

"Hey! Hoot!" Hooty exclaimed, offended.

Luz laughed and poured some earthworms into Gildy's glass case for her to eat and then moved to her fridge to get the food.

Once all of the delicious food was gathered in the comically large picnic basket that Eda thankfully had, Luz gave Hooty a quick head rub and rushed out of the house, where Willow and Gus waited for her.

"That's a big basket," Gus noted, wearing a gray zip-up hoodie, blue sandals, and gray swim shorts.

"All the more human food to fit in it," Luz replied with a laugh.

Willow smiled, wearing a forest green one-piece bathing suit with a white beach wrap around her hips and white sandals. Willow also had a net and a smoke-gray ball under her right arm.

"What do you have there?" Luz asked.

"A griffin-ball and a griffin-ball net," Willow answered as if it was obvious.

"Dope," Luz replied.

"So, should we head down to the beach?" Gus asked.

"Yeah, let's," Luz replied with a wide grin.

Luz had to admit, nighttime at the beach on the Boiling Isles was something different. In the daytime, the beach was empty, save for the Trash Slug Eda and Katya worked on, but at night? The beach was very much a hotspot for people to hang out.

Groups of families and friends were scattered about the now cool sand and little orbs of light, that reminded Luz of fireflies, were floating all around them. "Over here, Luz!" King shouted. Luz smiled when she saw the skull-headed demon hopping up and down to get her attention.

Luz saw King rushing toward her, which caused the Latina to kneel on the ground with open arms and took him into her arms. "Hey there, my little beach peach," Luz greeted as she stood up with King in her arms.

"About time you got here," King admonished as he hopped up into Luz's waiting arms.

"Wow, he's a cutie-pie," Willow cooed as she rubbed King's head.

Gus hopped up and down to get a good look at King as he asked, "What's his name?"

"My name is King," King introduced with his small, haughty voice. "The King of all Demons!"

Willow and Gus tilted their heads inquisitively at Luz, who gave them a look that said, "Just go with it."

The pair nodded.

"Nice to meet you, King," Gus replied. "My name is Augustus. But you can call me by my brand new human nickname, Gus."

"And I'm Willow," Willow chuckled. "A pleasure to meet the King of all Demons."

Satisfied, King snuggled into Luz's arms, which made Willow and Luz coo at the cuteness. "Come on, I want you to meet my teacher and my other friend."

The Trash Slug was long since gone and so was the trash it left behind, leaving the beach nice and clean. Luz could see Eda and Katya, both of which now wore a red bikini with a black beach wrap around their hips, and sunglasses on their eyes, lounging on a beach chair.

Luz, Gus, and Willow walked up to the shack Eda and Katya lounged in front of, with Luz in the lead. "Eda, Katya, I'm back and I bought some friends," Luz greeted once the group made it to the pair.

Eda turned her head and gave a thumbs up. "Nice, Kiddo. Names Eda," Eda introduced.

"My name is Katya," Katya greeted with a reserved but friendly smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you both," Gus replied. "Names Augustus Porter. Please call me Gus."

"And I'm Willow Park. Pleased to meet you both," Willow introduced with a small bow.

"Ah, Porter and Park, eh?" Eda questioned as she lifted the glasses from her eyes to stare at the pair. "Any relation to Perry Porter and Gilbert Park?"

"Perry is my dad," Gus answered.

"And Gilbert is one of my dads," Willow added.

"I knew both of them from my youth, good guys," Eda stated. She turned to Luz and said, "I approve of your new pals, Luz. Leave the basket and go have fun."

After handing King to Willow to hold, Luz sat the basket of food down in between the beach chairs Katya and Eda sat in, and asked Katya, "Hey, we're about to go set up the net to play the Boiling Isles version of volleyball. You want to play?"

Katya smiled and answered, "Sure. I'll be over there in a spell."

Luz smiled as she stood up and took King back into her arms. "Stop passing me around," King grumpily said as he nestled closer to Luz.

"We should go look for Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus," Gus suggested. "And Celine. She said she would come here too."

"Celine, huh?" Willow teased with a grin. "Was that the girl that was with you when the Basilisk attacked?"

"Basilisk?" Eda asked. "What Basilisk?"

Luz opened her mouth to respond, only to hear Viney's voice. "Hey, Luz!" Luz turned around to see Viney, Barcus, and Jerbo walking up to them.

Viney wore her signature fishhook earring in her ear and a large pink t-shirt that fell to her knees, and blue sandals.

Barcus wore white water wings on his front legs, swim goggles on his face, and a water cap on his head.

Jerbo wore a pair of black swim shorts and a white t-shirt with white swim shoes. While Viney and Barcus looked happy to be at the beach, Jerbo looked around with an awkward expression on his face.

"Hey, guys!" Luz happily greeted. "You just get here too?"

"Yeah, been here for the last twenty minutes looking all over for you guys," Jerbo replied. "We were about to give up until we noticed your hoodie that had your last name on it."

"It was like a sign," Viney said.

Barcus barked in agreement.

"Well, glad you bunch found us. I was about to tell Eda about how adventure today," Luz answered.

"Eda? You don't mean Eda Clawthorne, do you?" Jerbo asked.

"Yep," Eda drawled. "That's me. Eda Clawthorne. The most powerful witch of the—"

"Lord Calamity!" Viney and Jerbo shouted while Barcus barked.

Eda grinned.

"I haven't heard that name in years," Eda remarked.

"The beach? I don't see why you would want to go to that."

Celine Moonstar frowned at her group of friends (sans Amity) as they lounged in Skara's living room.

"I know but I was invited by Augustus Porter," Celine told Amelia, who had her head on the shoulder of their leader, Boscha.

Boscha was a triclops with pink skin, gray-blue eyes, pointy ears, and mid-back length violet hair that was tied back in a bun. She wore a red tank top, black sweatpants, and red and white boots with bat wings on the sides.

She also wore her official Hexside Banshee's letterman jacket, which was pink in the center with a dark pink "B" on the left side of the jacket, and cream-colored sleeves.

"You mean the dweeb that hangs out with Half-a-Witch Willow?" Boscha questioned with narrowed eyes. "If that's who you want to spend your time with, no way in the NetherRealm is that ever happening."

"He's not a dweeb," Celine earnestly argued. "He helped save me against the Basilisk. His illusions failed because of the Basilisk sucking his magic, but he really did stick his neck out for me."

Skara walked into the room with her scroll in her hand and Celine walked toward her with her cheeks puffed out.

Skara had dark brown skin, steel-gray irises, pointy ears, and dual-hair color of pinkish gray hair at the top with deep mauve hair on the sides, which was held up in a ponytail.

Skara wore a red t-shirt with the Hexside Banshee's emblem on the front of it, black leggings, a bracelet on her left wrist, and black boots.

Skara noticed Celine's puffed-out cheeks and asked, "Celi, what's going on?"

"Skara, can you please convince Boscha to let me go to the Beach to hang with Augustus?" Celine asked with a frown on her face.

Skara frowned at this and said, "Boscha, let her go to the beach and hang out with Augustus."

Boscha rolled all three of her eyes and took her attention off her scroll and onto Skara. "I'm not letting her ruin our reputation by hanging out with Half-a-Witch's dorky little friend," Boscha argued.

"That's not up to you. You can't just boss Celine around because she's younger than us," Skara admonished. "A prodigy she may be, but she needs friends her age."

"Mom, Dad, please stop arguing," Amelia said with a bored tone. "You're both distracting me from my reading."

Boscha huffed, turned back to her scroll, and said, "Fine. Celine can go hang out with that dweeb."

Celine squealed in delight and Skara smiled.

"But," Boscha continued. "You aren't going to the beach alone. We're all going to the beach now."

"That sounds wonderful," Celine replied, not hearing the foreboding tone in Boscha's voice. "Should we invite Amity too?"

"I just sent her a message," Amelia announced. "She's a no-go but will join us next time. Same with Bo and Cat since they're on a date."

"Wow, Bo finally knuckled up and asked her out," Boscha murmured, impressed. "I'm proud of that shorty. Well, let's get to the beach."

Celine beamed.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Celine exclaimed, not aware of the exhausted look on Skara's face.

"Serve!" Luz shouted as she tossed the glowing yellow ball into the air and then hit it over the next. Willow jumped up and bounced the ball to Viney, who popped it into the air and spiked it over to Luz's side of the tent.

Katya jumped up and headbutted the ball, which turned orange, back to Willow's side, sending it over the two girls and toward Jerbo, who bent down and popped it back into the air toward Willow, who jumped up and hit the ball over the net.

The ball sailed over Luz and Katya and fell toward the sand, but Gus slid beneath it and popped it up with his clasped hand, giving Luz the chance to hit it into the air and Katya to spike it over the net, turning the ball red.

The three teens attempted to dive for it, but the trio collided and fell on their backs, leaving the ball to land in the sand and explode, sending sand flying over the area.

Barcus barked in approval as he raised his left front paw and motioned to Luz's team, signifying them as the winners.

"Yahoo!" Luz exclaimed as she high-fived Katya and Gus. "We are the Explo-Ball champs!"

Viney walked up to Katya and gave a playful punch to the girl's arm as she said, "You played a mean game, Katya. Color me impressed."

Luz, who was helping Willow fold the net, heard Viney's faint gushing tone and cracked a grin. She shot a look at Willow to catch her attention and then motioned to the two taller girls, which made Willow smile in realization.

"It was a blast to play with you and everyone," Katya stated with a beaming smile. "I don't think I've ever had so much fun before."

"Never?" Viney prodded.

Katya shook her head. "Never. I…." Katya paused and rubbed the back of her neck. "Never had the luxury or time to have fun…. At least with real people…."

"Oh," Viney whispered, her tone slightly deflated and even a little sad. Thankfully, Luz watched as Viney's confidence swelled back up as she happily said, "Well, for someone that never had that much fun, you sure knew your way around Explo-Ball."

"I'm a quick learner. That's what my—" Katya paused and then shook her head. "Thanks."

"Um, Luz?" Gus murmured once Willow handed him the folded net. "What's up with Katya?"

"I'll find out later," Luz whispered back and then shouted, "Well, who is hungry?!"

"I can eat a griffin with how hungry I am," Jerbo joked, only for Viney to shoot him a look.

"Keep that gluttonous stomach away from Puddles," Viney playfully warned.

Willow chuckled and nodded while Gus and Katya both rubbed their stomachs. "Awesome. Well, you guys are in for a treat because I bought a whole bunch of human food. We better hurry before Eda and King beat us to it," Luz told them.

As the group walked back to the shack, Viney asked, "So Luz, how do you know Lord Calamity?"

"Eda?" Luz clarified.

The Detention Crew nodded.

"Well, she was the welcoming party for me when I first arrived on the Boiling Isles," Luz answered. "I didn't know she had a reputation with Hexside or the Boiling Isles at large until we nearly got caught and sent to the Conformatorium."

"Ironically, you guys wound up going there anyways," Katya teased.

"Really? Why?" Willow inquired.

"We needed to get King's crown but only a human could snag it," Luz explained. "That's where I met Katya."

"You two met at the Conformatorium?" Jerbo asked.

Katya shrugged and answered, "Yeah. I was there for a week at that point."

"Seems I had every reason to worry then…." Viney murmured with crossed arms.

Katya looked at the girl in confusion and asked, "Why were you worried for me?"

Viney's eyes widened in surprise and she blushed deeply. "Did I say that out loud?" Viney squeaked.

Luz and Willow smirked at one another while Jerbo covered his face with his right hand and Gus looked on in confusion. "Were you not supposed to?" Gus innocently asked.

Luz laughed and ruffled Gus' hair as she said, "Don't sweat it, Auggie."

"Another human nickname?" Gus asked.

Luz nodded.

"I have two human nicknames," Gus breathed with wonder.

"Anyways, let's boogie, I see King's little legs sticking out of the picnic basket," Luz said and then ran ahead, hopefully saving Viney from explaining herself. Thankfully, Eda pulled King out of the basket as they arrived.

"Saw the game, good work, my little chaos minions," Eda announced.

The Detention Crew flushed at the congratulations while Luz grinned and replied, "Well, these chaos minions sure worked up quite the appetite with that game."

"I can see that," Eda chuckled. With a flick of her wrist, a large amount of steaming hot human food, which consisted of 80 sliders that had a mix of cheeseburgers and cheddar bacon chicken sliders, 20 veggie burger sliders, tons of fries, onion rings, chicken rings, mozzarella sticks, and vanilla coke floated into view and landed on the beach table nearby.

"Whoa, that all smells delicious and looks delicious," Gus announced.

"It's amazing what my fridge can pull out," Luz breathed. "Well, let's go chow down." Everyone moved to the table and together, the group began to eat. Luz could hear the sounds of utter delight leave the group of young witches.

"Ah, Black Fortress, It's been years since I had this," Eda announced as she munched on a cheddar bacon chicken slider.

"You've had this before?" Luz asked.

"I do go to Human Realm often, Luz," Eda answered. "Hell, I was even married to a human once. That was a mistake."

Luz opened her mouth to respond to this, but Gus asked, "So, Luz, what bought you here to the Boiling Isles in the first place?"

"Yeah, and what were those cool abilities you had?" Jerbo inquired. "They are nothing that we've ever seen here."

"Well, I'm just a simple girl that wanted to be a witch," Luz answered. "I was waiting for my ride to camp in the Human Realm when Owlbert, Eda's staff…..creature?"

"Palisman," Eda corrected.

"Thanks, Palisman," Luz said. "When Eda's Palisman stole something of mine. I followed it into a portal and then, ta-da, Demon Realm."

"Wait, so you knew about witches while in the Human Realm?" Viney asked as she munched on a veggie burger.

"Yeah. The Good Witch Azura," Luz replied. "It's my favorite series in the entire world. Plus, in the Human Realm, witches are a myth there but they are well known."

"Oh," Viney mumbled.

"But what about those other abilities?" Willow asked.

"Well, my abilities…." Luz drifted off. While she liked the group, she didn't want to reveal her mission just yet. "Eda taught me them," Luz lied. "She knows a special type of magic that I could learn since humans can't learn magic the normal way, due to us not having a bile-sac."

The group nodded in understanding but Barcus gave her a look. Luz shot him a pleading expression, which made the beast nod in understanding.

"So, you bunch never did answer my question," Eda announced after swallowing a gulp of her soda. "You said Goops here saved some girl named Celine from a Basilisk. How did that happen?"

Luz swallowed some fries.

She had completely forgotten that Eda was unaware of what happened today. "Okay…. So it all started after I left the beach," Luz started. She then went over her entire adventure at Hexside, with Willow, Gus, and the DT crew jumping in to give their sides of the adventure.

When everything was said and done, King grumbled, "I'm so going there next time. I can't believe you had fun without your king, subject."

"Sorry, pequeño Rey," Luz apologized as she scratched beneath King's jaw, which made the little demon's tail wag fast. "I promise I won't have a big adventure without you, okay?"

"Weh," King happily sighed.

"That entire situation was very dangerous, for all of you," Eda said. "But I'm not going to take style points off for defeating a damn Great Basilisk. Nice work. Just be careful next time."

The group nodded.

"So, Luz, what other techniques do you have?" Gus asked.

"Can you show us them?" Viney prodded.

Luz rubbed the back of her neck and said, "I would love nothing more than to show you guys but I'm too beat to perform them."

Another little lie but she didn't need anyone at the beach realizing what she was so soon.

"But I promise," Luz continued, "To all of you, that you'll be able to see it so—"

"Hi Augustus!" Celine's voice shouted.

Luz looked up to see a group of girls walking up to their table, which included two familiar faces of Blight and the moon girl.

"Hey Cele!" Gus greeted with a wide smile.

"Sorry it took so long," Celine apologized after she broke off from her group and ran up to Gus. "Boscha and the others wanted to come with me to have girl's night at the beach."

"It's okay, I'm glad you came. I saved you some human food. It's delicious," Gus happily announced as Celine jumped into the chair next to him and began to eat.

"Well, well well," The Triclops girl announced. "If it isn't Half-a-Witch Willow, the Detention Bums, and Katya D'Homeless!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hear you say "Kick my ass?!" Because I'm about to in a few seconds….Er…." Luz drifted off and then turned to a frowning Katya and asked, "Who in the Mean Girls is that girl?" Luz asked.

"Boscha, Captain of the Grugby Team, along with her second-in-command Amity Blight, Amelia, Celine, and Skara," Katya hissed with narrowed eyes.

Willow, Viney, and Jerbo scowled while Barcus growled.

Luz smirked.

"Oh, I know who Amity Blight is…. I ran into her earlier today," Luz revealed as she got off the picnic table seat and started her trek to the newcomers. "Good, I won't have to search her out now."

"This oughta be interesting," Eda noted as she leaned back in her beach chair with amusement.

"Well, If it isn't Amity Blight," Luz taunted as she stared at the dual-haired girl. "I didn't expect our paths to cross again."

"Neither did I, but it seems fate likes to annoy me with the presence of someone beneath me," Amity.

"Big talk for a girl whose lights are about to go out," Luz threatened as she cracked her knuckles.

"Um, hello?" Boscha announced but Luz paid the Grugby Captain no mind. No, she was still peeved with Amity from her earlier stunt against her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll kick your ass in a second, Boscha!" Luz shouted at the captain as she approached the group. "Princesa and I have a score to settle. So sit there and look ugly!"

"A diss at my expense?" Boscha asked in disbelief.

"Nah!" Luz shouted. "It's yours for free!"

Amity laughed at Boscha's simmering rage.

"This loud-mouthed human needs to be taught a lesson in humility," Amity told her group. She then walked away from them as she replied, "The only lights that are going to go out are your own, human!"

"Amity, what are you doing?" Boscha hissed but Amity passed her.

"The whole reason I came here is that the human and I have unfinished business," Amity told her group as she and Luz stopped in the middle of the two groups.

Brown eyes met gold as the two girls entered a staring contest, both of their hands balled up into fists. "And I'm looking to settle it," Amity hissed through her bared teeth at Luz, who smirked.

"I'm right here, Blight," Luz told the slightly taller girl. "You better swing hard and swing fast."

"Such bravado," Amity stated. "It's a shame I'm going to have to snuff it out."

"Well, you're going to have to be pretty damn strong to take down Mama Luz's ego, Princesa," Luz warned. "But, I don't think you have it in you."

"Hey!" Boscha yelled as she pushed through Luz and Amity, sending both girls staggering back. Boscha turned to Amity and said, "Hey, you're ruining my whole introduction here."

Amity raised her hands and said, "Sorry, sorry."

Boscha snorted and turned to Luz. "Now, Round Ears," Boscha started.

Luz snorted.

"Celine told us about how you and the losers you have back there defeated that Great Basilisk earlier," Boscha said. "I was impressed, but now that I look at you, I can't see how you could. How can a bunch of losers and a human that looks like the wind could beat them do what we couldn't?"

"Well, that's your problem, not mine," Luz remarked. "And you're butting in between the reckless flirting Blight and I was doing. That was an "A" and "B" conversation, y'know? Which means you need to "C" your pretty pink ass outta here."

Boscha scowled at Luz's words. "You might be new here, human," Boscha spat. "But the Boiling Isles? This is my town, and I—"

"Blah, blah, blah," Luz interrupted. She then tilted to the left to look at Blight and asked, "Does your girl often bore people to sleep? Because I'm bored. She's boring me."

Amity cracked a grin but covered it with her mouth quickly before anyone could catch it.

Boscha ground her teeth and growled, "You're starting to—"

"Piss you off?" Luz interjected again. "Yeah, I have that effect on people. My mind is always going, y'know? looking for the next insult to rattle off. Now, say something that won't bore me."

"I'm going to—" Boscha started.

"Bzzzt, time's up," Luz interrupted. "I'm bored. My turn. It's obvious you came here to start something, right?"

Boscha blew out a furious breath. "Yes," she hissed.

"I don't know your reasons for trying to piss me and my friends off, but none of them looked happy when you showed up to ruin our fun. And like I told Princesa over there, I knock out bullies. So here's the deal. You and me? We're going to fight."

"Luz!" Willow shouted.

Luz lifted her hand to stop Willow. "We're going to fight and I'm going to beat you in a single blow," Luz continued. "And when I do, not only are you going to apologize to them for your ugly ways, you will never bully another soul for the rest of your life. And I'm so sure I'll knock you out in one hit, I'll even let you choose a win condition on the very low chance you beat me."

Boscha snickered, which then turned into a chuckle, and then finally evolved into laughter. "Wow, and I thought I had an ego. You take the take, human," Boscha laughed. "Oh, this needs an everlasting oath because If I win, which I will, you'll be my slave until your dying day."

Luz smirked and then held out her hand, "I'll make that oath with you."

Boscha smirked and formed a red spell circle. "Then let's make it an everlasting oath," Boscha announced as she stuck her hand through and shook Luz's hand. "Now, we're forced to go through with our losing conditions."

Luz felt a rush of something rush through her veins but as quick as it was there, it was gone. "Oooo-kay," Lux drawled. "Now, you want to start or should I—"

Luz was interrupted by Boscha's fist nearly colliding with her face, but the spirit detective moved her head to the left to avoid it. "Whoa, you're pretty fast," Luz noticed. Boscha threw another quick but sloppy jab, which Luz once again avoided with a tilt to the right. "Not fast enough, though," Luz taunted.

Boscha growled and proceeded to rapidly jab at Luz's head, but the smirking girl continued to dodge it as if she was moving in slow motion. Boscha then attempted a right hook, but Luz ducked it and walked in a crouch behind her and laughed.

Boscha turned around and jabbed at the back of Luz's head, but the detective ducked the punch, rolled against the sand to the left, and then sprang to her feet. "Come on, I've fought babies faster than you!" Luz taunted.

Boscha growled and charged toward Luz and attempted a tackle, but Luz jumped over Boscha's body and landed on her feet while Boscha rolled against the sand.

Boscha got to her feet and charged forward again with her right arm cocked back and as Luz turn around, Boscha managed to land a hard punch to the middle of Luz's forehead with a scream of, "Got you!"

Back at the shack, Willow, Viney, Jerbo, Katya, and Eda winced. "I could hear that impact from here," Eda said. "Too bad it won't do anything."

"You think so, Lord Calamity?" Jerbo asked. "She got hit pretty hard just now."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Eda replied with a bored expression. "She's defeated two things that were double and triple her size. She's not losing to a mean girl so easily."

"Yeah!" King cheered with pom-poms in his hand. "Luz beat Warden Wrath super easy! She can beat that mean girl too! Go! Luz! Go!"

"Where did you get those pom-poms?" Katya asked.

"From the trash slug," King cutely replied.

"Aww," Viney, Katya, and Willow cooed.

Willow then looked back into the distance where Luz and Boscha stood. "She'll be okay," Katya murmured. "She's already fought worst…."

Willow could hear the worry in Katya's voice as well but didn't comment on it. Instead, she watched as Boscha began to throw punches at Luz's face.

"Be careful, Luz…." Willow whispered.

Luz felt blood trickling from her left eyebrow down to her face as Boscha laughed, moved her right hand away, and delivered another hard jab at Luz's face. "That's what you get!" Boscha yelled as she repeatedly punched Luz's face. "You were talking all of that good stuff a second ago! Run your mouth now! Run it now!"

"I don't know what's worse," Luz started as she reared back her right arm. "Your weak punches…. Or your pride in them!" Luz shouted as she delivered a brutal right punch to the left side of Boscha's body, just as the girl was about to throw another punch.

The Grugby Captain managed to throw that punch but the severe pain she was in caused her to whiff the punch as she crumpled to her knees, the outlines of her irises being the only thing visible within her eyes.

"You must feel terrible right now, huh?" Luz asked. "Knowing that you're not knocked out, but in so much pain, that you can get up. Well, Boscha, that is what is called a liver shot. Even a glancing blow and open you up to a TKO, as my teacher calls it. But me? I hit that liver hard, so let's remove the "T" shall we?"

Boscha tilted to her side and fell to the ground, struggling to breathe due to the vicious blow. "Boscha!" Skara and Amelia screamed while Luz watched the girl struggle to function.

The two rushed over and dragged her off the sand as Luz told them, "When she wakes up, tell her she lost and that she owes me, and all of the people she's insulted an apology. Per the oath she made."

Amelia snarled and shouted, "You think we're going to—"

"Stop," Skara commanded, which prompted Amelia to falter. "She made an everlasting oath, Amelia. She has to keep her word. Unless she wants her heart to stop the moment she breaks it."

"Oh, so that's what's done," Luz laughed.

"I'll let her know," Skara sighed. "I never thought humans could be so strong. Skara is very durable and tough. For you to do that in one blow…."

"Yeah, it seems like everyone here likes to underestimate humans," Luz stated as she pointedly looked at Amity. "That always leads to defeat."

"Don't take me so lightly, human," Amity said. "You defeated Boscha. Congratulations. But you can't beat me."

"You want to go right now?" Luz challenged.

"You're bleeding," Amity noted. "Which means, you're wounded. When I defeat you, I want you at your best. And that's without the blood."

Luz chuckled. "Awww, how sad," Luz taunted.

"I will not go down easily as she did. My teacher has taught me a lot that Boscha and everyone else at Hexside could never learn," Amity warned. "The next time we cross paths. I'll make you kneel before your better."

"Anytime, anywhere, Princesa," Luz promised. "I'll knock you out like I did your friend, and make you apologize to everyone you've bullied as well."

"We'll see…." Amity replied and then shouted, "Celine! We're leaving!"

"Already?!" Celine cried out from the shack.

"Now!" Amity yelled.

Two minutes later, a disappointed Celine ran back to Amity's side. "Goodbye, Human," Amity said as she turned around and walked away.

"Until we meet again, Blight," Luz replied.

Luz turned around, only to see Willow and Katya running up to her. "You took her out with one blow, that was amazing!" Katya exclaimed.

"It was pretty cool, huh?" Luz said with a wide smile.

"Luz, are you— Titan, you're bleeding!" Willow exclaimed. She then turned around and shouted, "Viney! We need your healing spells!"

As Willow turned back around, Luz said, "That girl sure can hit hard, If I weren't built differently, she could have really done some damage."

"Why did you do that?" Katya asked. "You didn't have to throw yourself into that fight."

"Especially after today," Willow added. "You could have gotten hurt."

"Sorry," Luz apologized. "But I'm not going to sit back and let my new friends be bullied like that. I've had enough of that for a lifetime."

"But that doesn't mean jumping to our defense like that," Willow said.

"Just…. Be careful next time, okay?" Katya implored.

Luz let a gentle smile form on her face. This was the first time people her age actually worried about her.

"Okay," Luz acquiesced. "I promise."

"Oh, I never thought I'd see that sight before," Edric Blight whispered with glee as he, and his beloved twin, Emira Blight, hid behind a large boulder.

The Blights twins both had pale skin, pointed ears, golden eyes, thick black eyebrows, emerald-green hair, and a mole under their eye. Except Edric's hair was short and messy with his mole under his right eye, while Emira had her long hair tied in a braided ponytail and a beauty mark under her left eye.

Edric wore pair of burgundy swim shorts with a gray armband that held a blue, teardrop-shaped stone in it, while Emira wore a one-piece swimsuit with a green, diamond-shaped stone hanging around her neck.

"Boscha, defeated by a cutie like that," Emira chuckled.

"Got it on the crystal?" Edric asked.

"In every single angle," Emira laughed.

"Good, I've been waiting for ages for this day," Edric laughed.

"I gotta say, Katya, today was a total success," Luz chirped as she plopped down on her bed with a pleased expression. "We got to eat some delicious food, hang out with friends, and even took that Boscha down a notch. A perfect day."

Katya offered a small smile as she sat on the edge of their bed. "Yeah, it was pretty cool," Katya said with a subdued tone.

Luz frowned and crawled over to the edge of the bed and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Truthfully?" Katya asked.

Luz nodded.

"No," Katya admitted. "I know that you fought and beat Boscha to defend my honor, along with everyone else, but her words are still itching at me."

Luz tilted her head, confused for a moment.

When had Boscha addressed Katya?

Luz's memory decided to remind her by replaying what Boscha had said when she arrived at the beach.

"Well, well well," Boscha announced inside Luz's head. "If it isn't Half-a-Witch Willow, the Detention Bums, and Katya D'Homeless!"

"She called you "Katya D'Homeless," earlier. That is what is bothering you?" Luz asked.

Katya sighed.

Luz sat upright beside Katya and said, "You're not homeless though. You're here with Eda, King, Hooty, and me."

"Now I am, but before I met you, I was homeless," Katya remarked.

Luz frowned and then asked, "D-Do you want to talk about it?"

"Hey, if you're going to defend my honor, you might as well know the story," Katya tried to joke, but it came out sad.

Luz nodded.

"So, my full name is Katya D'splora…. Flora D'splora is my mom," Katya revealed. "You wouldn't know this, since you've only been here a short time, but my mom is a famous adventurer and beast coven member, and everyone loves her. She even has a Crystal show being made about her."

"Whoa," Luz breathed.

"Yeah…." Katya murmured. She then shrugged and let a wry grin form on her face. "But no one knows that behind the scenes, despite her fame, she's a terrible person. She…." Katya paused while she searched for her next few words. "She abandoned me and my siblings for her fame and fortune."

"What?!" Luz gasped out.

"Yeah, pretty crappy, right?" Katya asked. "Our father passed away when I was little and since I was the youngest in the family, my big brother and sister had to take care of me once Flora stopped coming home. They had to resort to a lot of things to try and support me. From scams to robbery."

"We didn't have much, but they always tried to give me a normal life. And for a while, they succeeded. They got me into Hexside, kept me fed, and while we had to squat in an abandoned house, we had a roof over our heads. Despite how miserable it was, I never complained because I knew they were doing their best…." Katya drifted off for a moment, her tone even sadder than it was before.

Katya avoided looking at Luz as she continued, "One day, they opted to steal snails from the Emperor's safe. They planned it for weeks. But they were caught. And they were sentenced to petrification. After that, I was on my alone…."

Luz immediately took Katya's hand with wet eyes. "Oh Katya, I'm so sorry…." She whispered. Luz knew that in the Boiling Isles, petrification was basically like a death sentence from what she studied about it.

"After that, I was alone too. I was pretty much like a ratcoon, scavenging for food, clothing, and a place to stay. I even had to resort to stealing for food when I couldn't find any in the trash…." Katya revealed. "I lied to you when we met about why I was in that prison. It wasn't for my love of food fanfiction. It was because of that….. The Boiling Isles doesn't really care much for o-orphans…."

Luz sniffled as tears fell from her eyes. Without hesitation, she embraced Katya, who seemed surprised by the action, but slowly and surely, Katya returned the hug as she started to sob. "Every time I see Flora flying around, having interviews, flaunting her adventures and snails, I-I just want to hurt her so badly," Katya tearfully admitted.

"I hate her so much, not only for what my siblings and I had to go through but because she left us alone. She left me alone…." Katya continued to cry as Luz rubbed her back.

"It's okay," Luz whispered. "You're not alone anymore, Katya. That much I promise."

Luz adored hearing backstories, but this was the first time she ever wanted to remain blind to one. But now that she knew it, she would do everything she could to not only keep Katya happy but to find her mother and make her pay for what she did.

That was her silent oath.

Lilith Clawthorne, a tall, slender middle-aged woman with ivory skin, pointed ears, black lipstick, long, straight, dark navy hair, and mint green eyes, watched on in interest as her protégé, Amity Blight sparred with her surrogate uncle and Abomination Coven leader, Darius Deamonne.

Darius was a tall, muscular man with dark brown skin, bright green eyes, and abomination-like hair that was tied in a hair bun with an abomination's eye within it, Connected to the abomination-like hair was amorphous sideburns and a goatee.

Darius wore a black chest plate with a gold collar, purple studs and pointed shoulders, light purple pants, white mid-length gloves, and white-heeled boots with violet toes. He also wears a magenta side cape with violet details at the edges.

Meanwhile, Lilith wore a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray dress and dark gray laced boots. She also had an inverted kite-shaped sky-blue gem attached to her dress.

And finally, Amity wore a black tank top and matching pants, black boots and arm wraps around her hands and forearms. She also had her hair untied, letting it be wild and loose.

Amity danced back from the abomination matter that whipped at her like a whip and then gathered her abomination matter around her fists to form spiked gauntlets. She moved forward, sidestepping each whip swing from Darius, closed the distance, and then started to rapidly jab at the man's face.

Lilith observed as a smirking Darius avoided each jab from her protégé and then melted into abomination matter, moved behind her and reconstituted, and then kicked Amity in the back of her head.

Amity flew off of her feet but she slammed her right hand against the ground, which allowed the matter to spin her around so she faced Darius and placed her feet on the ground, where she skidded to a stop.

Lilith watched as Darius lifted his hand and fired shards of abomination matter at Amity, who sprang to her feet and punched at the shards to deflect them. She then cocked her fist back and lunged it forward, causing abomination matter that made her right spiked gauntlet stretch out toward Darius at top speed.

Darius lifted his right hand and smacked the stretched-out gauntlet hard enough to deconstruct it back into globs of matter. The matter started to fall, only for it to freeze in the air with an aura of lavender magical energy.

The matter constructed itself into shards and with a point from Darius, the shards flew toward Amity at top speed.

Using the abomination matter of her left spiked gauntlet, she formed a shield that was long enough to match Darius in height and blocked the shards. A lavender ring formed around her right hand as she reached her hand forward toward the shield and pulled back, pulling abomination matter into her palm and forming a javelin.

With a noticeable smirk, Amity pulled her left hand from the shield as a lavender spell ring formed around her left hand, surrounding its form with her magic, where she launched it toward Darius.

Lilith watched as Darius laughed and deconstructed the shield with a wave of his left hand, only for Amity's abomination javelin to slice the top of his right shoulder. Darius laughed as he clasped his wounded shoulder and said, "Nice trick, Amity. The Glandus City Shuffle."

"Look left and you fell right into it," Amity replied with a smirk.

"And with that, Winner: Amity Blight," Lilith called the match.

Darius chuckled and crossed his arms in amusement and pride. "Congratulations, Amity, not many can wound a coven leader," Darius noted while Lilith rolled her eyes.

"He says as he stands there wounded," Lilith scoffed, which caused Darius to look at her and flip her off, which Lilith immediately returned.

Amity sighed at the sight and said to the adults, "Using a smokescreen to achieve this win seems wrong. I have to do better so I can avoid such cheap tactics."

"That you do," Lilith told her. "But, considering how much control you have over abomination matter, it's only a matter of time before the Emperor's Coven call on you."

Amity smiled.

"Well, not that our lesson is done, how does it feel being able to use abomination matter for more than just abominations?" Darius asked.

"It felt good," Amity answered. "But, it can also be better. I want to get to a point where I can evolve what you can do with them, Uncle Darius."

"That's the spirit," Darius said as he ruffled her hair. "Never settle for what you have. Always strive forward to become better, Amity. Something your hack of a father has continued to fail to do."

"Why don't you go ahead inside and relax before Odalia returns home?" Lilith suggested.

Amity nodded and walked back toward the mansion, leaving Darius and Lilith alone in the training area of the vast backyard. "So, do you think she's ready for the Emperor's Coven?" Lilith asked.

"Her skill is great," Darius admitted. "And she is fairly strong. Stronger than I was at her age when it comes to her magic and abomination skills. I think she's ready for the tournament."

"A glowing recommendation," Lilith said with a smile.

"How is her other training going?" Darius asked.

Lilith smirked and answered, "She's taken to it like a flying fish to air. She's certainly getting closer to surpassing my skill with it."

"And you truly think the Emperor will hotshot her into the Silver Guard position once he finds out she can manipulate this energy?" Darius inquired.

"I do, which is why I need you to continue to train her in Abomination Arts," Lilith told him. "It's one of the few skills I lack and unfortunately, it's one she excels in."

Darius snorted and replied, "Of all my luck in having my "Titan Daughter" being your protégé. Very well, I will train her in Abomination Arts until she surpasses my apprentice."

"Thank you," Lilith sighed.

She was annoyed that she had to convince Darius to train Amity but if there was one thing she admired about her mortal enemy, it was that he didn't play favorites just because Alador named him Amity's "Titan Daughter."

He kept things fair across the board, something Lilith knew she could never do.

"Just remember, Clawthorne, you're in my pocket now. Though, what I wouldn't give to have the other Clawthorne sister in my pocket," Darius taunted, making Lilith grind her teeth in anger.

"Go sit on a flagpole, Darius."

Amity walked into the mansion and grabbed a towel from an abomination that held a platter of folded towels. She wiped her face and neck as she walked further into the kitchen and toward the fridge.

Amity opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and then closed it, only to shriek in terror as Edric and Emira stood behind the door. "Can you two not do that?!" Amity exclaimed, her face turning red while the Blight Twins laughed at her.

"Couldn't resist, Mittens," Edric teased. "So, did you check Penstagram yet?"

"No, I've been training with Lilith and Uncle Darius," Amity answered.

"Uncle Darius is here?!" Emira asked with excitement.

"Where and when?!" Edric followed up.

"Yes, he's here, he showed up an hour ago, and he's talking to my mentor in the training area of the backyard," Amity answered in order. "So, what's on Penstagram? Is it that talking trash slug again? I swear, you two fall for anything."

"Nope, not Sluggy," Emira answered as she held her scroll out to Amity. "Take a look."

Amity looked at Emira's scroll and to her horror, she watched a video of Boscha getting knocked out by the human in the fight that occurred two days ago at the beach. Amity snatched Emira's phone and yelled, "Where did you get this?!"

"What makes you think we took this?" Edric asked.

"Because you have been itching to get revenge on Boscha after she ruined your date with Jerbo," Amity hissed. "Edric, you need to delete this."

"No way, Mittens," Edric refused. "Boscha needs to be taken down a notch, and if it's by this cutie's hands, then so be it."

Amity frowned at this.

She and Boscha may not be true friends, but the two did respect each other greatly, and Amity didn't want to see Boscha get humiliated like this. "Please, delete it," Amity requested.

"Sorry kiddo," Emira apologized as she ruffled Amity's hair. "You know how petty and spiteful Ed can be. It's best to just let him get it out."

"Yeah," Edric agreed. "Besides, we barely have 1000 followers. I doubt anyone is going to care about Boscha losing her fight against the cutie."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Amity warned her older brother. "Because her humiliation would reflect on my group of friends. And as much as I am indifferent to them, Mother sees them as worthy of being my friends. I'd rather have them than have nothing."

"No worries," Edric told her with a disarming grin.

Amity frowned and stalked off.

And if it did reflect on her and her "friends," that human was going to pay for it.

Chapter Text

Boscha had a long night.

Skara and Amelia had taken her home after her crushing defeat and without eating, the young triclops retreated to her home and remained there for the rest of the night.

But throughout the night, she saw them.

Confident brown eyes.

Every time she closed her eyes, that's what she saw.

They plagued her mind.

Boscha tossed and turned throughout the night until her alarm screamed, signifying that it was time for her to wake up to prepare for school.

Boscha dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Once she finished, Boscha got dressed and sat down in front of her mirror. "You are talented. You are a star. You may be hated, but it doesn't matter, as long as you are feared," Boscha told herself as she put her hair into a bun.

"Never forget Boscha, you are a winner, no matter what," Boscha finished. She slipped on her varsity jacket and walked out of her room/trophy room.

Boscha walked down the stairs and exclaimed, "Not that anyone cares, I'm going to school now!" Boscha stopped at the front door to slip on her winged boots and then walked out for another thrilling day at Hexside.

"Do you have to go?" Luz asked Katya, who finished slipping on her uniform, which consisted of a gray tunic with a dark gray belt, cowl, red leggings and sleeves, and boots.

"Sorry Luz but I don't have any no choice," Katya answered. "I already missed too much time thanks to being trapped in that darn prison."

"I know, but…." Luz drifted off with an unsure expression on her face.

"Hey…." Katya started as she walked to Luz's bed and ruffled her hair. "I'll be fine. I promise. I know I laid some heavy stuff on you the night before last. But I've been on my own for a while. I'll be alright."

Luz nodded.

"But, I hear you and Eda are going start on your case. Where are you guys going first?" Katya asked.

"Well, Eda told me that there are rumors about some underground rebels near or in Bonesborough. So, I guess that will be our first spot," Luz answered.

"I'm surprised that Eda is helping you out with this. Considering today is her potion brewing day," Katya said.

"She might be worried about a newbie skulking about in such an unknown place," Luz shrugged. "Either way. It'll be our first adventure together. I just hope next time, you'll come with us."

"No worries. Once I catch up on my schoolwork, I'll skip and help you, I promise," Katya replied with a smile.

Luz nodded.

"Now, time to go grace Hexside with my presence," Katya sighed and then walked toward the bedroom door.

"Say hi to Willow, Gus, and the DT Gang for me!" Luz exclaimed.

"Will do!" Katya shouted back as she closed Luz's door. As she walked downstairs, she felt her hand-me-down scroll buzz.

"Ah! Katya!" Eda greeted from the couch, with a newspaper in her right hand, a "Thirty and Flirty" mug in her left, no doubt filled with Apple Blood, and King sleeping on her lap. "Heading off to be a dork?"

"Yep! A rocking dork!" Katya replied as she pulled out her scroll but kept her eyes on the Wild Witch.

"Ah, Bard Coven. I knew someone who excelled as a Bard. Painfully shy though," Eda said. "I'm surprised you don't want to help Luz and I with the search for this rebel group."

"I do, but I need to catch up on schoolwork," Katya sighed.

"Hey, I'm not going to knock it," Eda shrugged. "At least it's only for a few more days until the break starts."

Katya frowned and said, "Speaking of that. I-I want to thank you for taking me in while I'm…. in-between places, but I'll be out of here by the time school break en—"

"No you're not," Eda announced with a breezy tone. "You're staying here for as long as you need too."

"What?" Katya asked.

Eda sat down the paper and her mug and petted King's back, causing the small demon to whine softly in comfort. "Katya. Do you know why I took you in, despite not knowing anything about you the day Luz broke you out?"

Katya shook her head.

"When was the last time had a full meal before you came here?" Eda inquired. "And don't lie. I have a really good bullshit detector."

"Other than the grey slop the Warden fed us? Two months ago," Katya quietly answered.

"When did you last sleep in a bed?" Eda asked.

"Way longer than two months," Katya answered.

"I knew your siblings before they were petrified," Eda revealed. "I also knew your mother, Flora."

Katya stilled.

"H-How?" she breathed in disbelief.

"Flora was my sister's teacher," Eda revealed. "And your siblings were frequent collaborators of mine. They helped me get a lot of potion ingredients and human wares for my stand. And in return, I would either pay them snails or….help them with certain plans of theirs. Your siblings always talked about their baby sister and how hard they were working to give you a good life. Thing is, they were smart and never revealed your name."

"Then how did you know?" Katya asked.

"A day before their mission gone wrong, your brother was the one who told me to find you. I didn't know that it would be the last time I would see them. After the bullshit peddler's show of petrifying them, I immediately went to find you. But, you were gone," Eda sighed. "I searched for you, and when I finally got a bead on you, I found out you were at the Conformatorium. Which was lucky for me, considering King's things were taken there too."

"So…. That mission to get King's crown back….." Katya drifted off.

"Was legit, but the next part of that mission was to find you. Little did I know, the newest guest to the Boiling Isles would find you first without me even informing her of that part of the plan," Eda answered. "That's why I flew there before getting to the crown itself. And that's why I didn't hesitate to invite you here."

Katya sniffled, emotions welling up within her.

"So, as I said earlier, you will be staying here for as long as you like," Eda continued. "And since I know you're very similar to those brats, you can even "Earn your keep" by helping me out from time to time, the same way Luz and King do. Deal?"

Katya smiled.

"Deal," Katya replied.

Eda smiled and told her, "Perfect. Since I'm practically a millionaire thanks to helping out with Luz, we can go out later to pick up some clothes and some bedding for you, alright?"

Katya nodded and mumbled, "Thanks, Eda….."

Eda gave her a wink and said, "Have a good day at Dork-Side, Katya. See you after school."

Katya nodded and walked out the front door, giving Hooty's head a pet as she walked past, her spirits higher than ever.

"Bye! Hoot! Hoot!" Hooty exclaimed.

Katya finally glanced at her phone and gasped.

Oh, this was going to be an interesting day….

When Boscha arrived at Hexside, she immediately knew something was wrong.

People were actively snickering at her, if not outright laughing at her. Boscha ignored them and walked up to her group of friends, that was standing in front of their lockers.

Standing with Skara, Amelia and Celine were two girls.

The first girl was the second shortest girl of their group and she had pale cream skin, dark brown eyes, five freckles across her nose, and brown shoulder-length hair with some strands lying in front of her pointy ears.

She also wore the standard Hexside uniform with blue leggings and sleeves and high-heel black boots.

The second girl was the second tallest, barely edging out Amity, and she had dark skin and brown wavy hair with a side bang, and pointed ears.

She wore squared glasses with black frames over her brown eyes and has red lipstick on her lower lip, along with the standard Hexside uniform with blue leggings and sleeves, and black clog-styled shoes.

And to Boscha's hidden delight, the two girls were holding hands.

"Hey," Boscha greeted as she raised a hand in the air and then stuck it back into her jacket pocket, catching her friends' attention.

But it was then she caught their expressions.

Bo and Cat looked alarmed.

Celine and Skara looked saddened.

Amelia's face on the other hand was very calm.

"H-Hey Boscha," Celine greeted with a small voice, a frown on her face.

"You guys are looking pretty weird," Boscha noted. "What's going on?"

All of their faces looked shocked at her comment, which put a bad feeling in Boscha's stomach.

"You don't know?" Amelia asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Know what?" Boscha asked.

Skara walked up to Boscha and held out her scroll, and Boscha was met with the sight of the Human knocking her out in a single blow, with the caption: "Tough Grugby Captain fisted by Human Cutie at the Beach!"

"Boscha, that has to be fake, right?" Cat asked with concern in her voice.

"It has to be," Bo said. "This video has to be illusions at play."

Boscha stared at the scroll and felt the world crumbling around her. She looked at the name under the Penstagram name and saw the name "HimboEB" as the poster.

She looked at the views and it had over 50,000 views on it.

Fifty-Thousand people had viewed this video.

Boscha could feel her body trembling as she took a step away from Skara and her phone. Her breath came out shaky and there was a buzzing in her ears. She could barely make out the concerned expressions on Cat, Bo, Celine, and Skara's faces.

Without hesitation, Boscha ran out of the school.

This was not going to stand!

"La-da-da-da-da, I'm gonna bury you in the ground," Katya sang as she walked to the entrance of Hexside. "La-da-da-da-da, I'm gonna bury you with my sound. I'm gonna, drink the red From your pretty pink face. I'm gonna—"

The door exploded off its hinges and Katya was taken off her feet. She stayed in the air for a few seconds until she crashed down on the ground. With a groan, Katya looked up to see Boscha, who looked furious.

"What the Netherrealm was that, Boscha?!" Katya yelled.

Without warning, Boscha grabbed Katya's cowl and lifted her off of the ground and into the air. "Where is the human?!" Boscha yelled as Katya's feet dangled over the ground.

Why did she have to be so light?

"H-Hey! Let me go!" Katya yelled.

"Where. Is. The. Human?" Boscha repeated, her voice dipping lower and lower in anger.

"Why should I tell you?" Katya asked.

"Because I'll knock you out and send that pretty face of yours to that brown-eyed menace," Boscha threatened.

"No, I mean, why should I tell you? You're only going to get beat up again," Katya taunted, despite her precarious situation.

Boscha nodded her eyes and threw Katya against a trashcan that was dedicated to the previous principal of Hexside. Katya groaned at the burst of pain as Boscha walked up to her while rubbing her chest in discomfort. Boscha then bent down, and grabbed Katya by her cowl.

"Fine," Boscha growled. "Bo! Cat! Celine! Find Illusi-dork and Half-a-Witch, and bring them to me!"

Boscha then smirked down at Katya and said, "Because if you won't tell me, they certainly will."

"So, where do we go first?" Luz asked Eda.

"Hmmm, the best thing to do is gather information," Eda started. "And the best way to do that is the tavern."

"Oh! I finally get to go in there?!" King exclaimed with wide eyes.

"No you don't," Eda immediately answered. "Demon or not, you're still a shrimp. Therefore, you'll be staying outside."

"Awww man, that tanks!" King whined.

Luz cooed and picked up the demon and snuggled him. "It's okay, Azúcar, I promise not to have too much fun in there without you," Luz promised.

King didn't even bother to pretend to dislike being snuggled and rubbed the top of his head beneath Luz's chin. "Okay. So where will I be?" King finally asked once the snuggling attack ended.

"How about the park across the road?" Luz suggested.

"Good idea, Luz," Eda answered.

"Yes! The Park! The place where I rule those tiny underlings! Take your leader there!" King demanded.

Luz laughed and quickly ran across the road while Eda strolled after them. Once Luz got to the park, she placed King on the platform that was connected to the slide and scratched beneath his chin. "Sit tight here, Pequeño rey. We won't be long."

"Yeah, so chill out and rule over minions," Eda said as she rubbed the top of his head.

"Kay," King chirped.

Luz and Eda immediately ran across the street and into the tavern to officially start their investigation.

When the two entered the tavern, Luz was immediately hit with the sight of dozens of witches and demons either drinking, drunkenly singing, or enjoying the atmosphere by just sitting in silence.

Luz also noticed that in the corner, there was a group that was dressed differently than everyone else.

The group wore a dark gray long-sleeved shirt with brown gloves and a brown belt with a gold buckle, followed by black harem pants and pointed brown boots. On their heads, they wore a white cowl with a pointed hood and a light gray bird-like mask that reminded Luz of a plague doctor's mask.

"Oh them?" Eda asked. "They are a part for the Emperor's Coven. Bunch of weenies."

Luz snorted and then asked, "They're supposed to be the cream of the crop, that most, if not, all witches wish to join, right?"

Eda shrugged and answered, "Cream of Crop? Nah, they are a bunch of incompetent rubes that couldn't hold my staff, let alone use one."

"Harsh," Luz murmured.

Eda grinned and said, "Get me started on Belos, and I can show you how harsh I can get."

The two approached a bar counter, sat down on the stool, and shouted, "Hey, Mark. One cup of apple blood and apple Juice!"

To Luz's surprise, the eye-eating demon she had busted out of that prison walked out of the shutters that led to the back room. "Hey, Luz!" Mark boisterously greeted.

"Hey, Mark!" Luz greeted with a wave.

"Hey, Eda. You said one apple blood and one apple juice?" Mark asked the wild witch.

"Yeah," Eda replied. The demon pulled out two cups and started to make the two drinks.

"So….What's the difference between apple juice and apple blood?" Luz questioned.

"Apple blood comes from the toughest apple, the Nonnetit Bastard. The tougher it fights, the sweeter and safer its blood is once it's killed. Apple juice is just that. Apple Juice," Eda answered.

"And they come from different apples?" Luz asked.

"….Luz, do you really want to know where Apple Juice in the Boiling Isles comes from?" Eda asked.

Luz gave it some thought and then shook her head. "Nah, I'm good," Luz answered. "I will remain blissfully unaware."

"Good girl," Eda remarked.

Mark sat two glasses, one with amber liquid, and the other having red-brown liquid, down in front of the student and mentor. Eda immediately switched the glasses so Luz would drink the safer version and asked Mark, "So, any bat swarms coming up?"

"Not really," Mark answered. "I did hear that there will be some in Las Pelvis."

"Really? Why there of all places?" Eda asked.

"Well, that old witch Trem is getting married," Mark announced.

Luz blinked in confusions.

"Get out of town! Seriously?!" Eda exclaimed.

Mark nodded.

"About time, he's been single since Gwen was a kid," Eda commented.

Mark laughed as he cleaned a glass. "I don't know who that is, but it's an old-sounding name. But yeah. Right after he turned 200 years old. He decided to get hitched. His wedding is about a week away."

"Really?" Eda asked.

Mark nodded and said, "Yeah. So if you're going to be going there, I suggest you do it soon. After that that week, the swarm is supposed to move further south. And who knows when it'll be back."

"Nice. Thanks for the drinks," Eda thanked as she downed her juice and slapped a few snails on the counter.

Luz downed her juice, gave Mark a farewell, and then walked out of the tavern with Eda. "Well that was a bust," Luz sighed. "Where else do we look?"

Eda gave her a small grin and said, "Just in case, let's go get King from "ruling" the other kids. Once we do that, we can look around. I have something I need to verify," Eda stated.

"I can't believe we didn't find anything," Luz grumbled as she walked into the Owl House, barely stopping to pet Hooty's head. Eda followed after her with a sleeping King strapped to her chest, his dangling limbs swaying with every step she took.

The Spirit Detective, the Owl Lady, and the adorable demon spent eight hours searching for any evidence of this rebel group after their trip to the tavern, but by the time the sun began to set, the small team returned home emptyhanded.

"I mean, it was only a rumor kid," Eda announced as she kicked the door closed behind her.

"But I've been here for a while and I need some sort of clue about this dual-realm ending event," Luz argued.

"Kid," Eda slowly spoke. "I get your frustration, but it also hasn't been that long since you arrived here on the Isles. Give it time. Despite you being cute as a hellspawn, impatience doesn't look pretty on anyone."

Luz huffed and then nodded.

"Besides, I already got the information we needed," Eda divulged.

"What?! Really?! When?!" Luz exclaimed.

Eda opened her mouth to answer when Hooty shouted, "Hoot! Hoot! Luz, your friends are here!"

Luz and Eda exchanged a look.

"Open it," Eda commanded.

The door opened to reveal Willow and Gus, both of them with worried expressions on their faces. "Hey guys," Luz glumly mumbled. She then caught their worried expressions and perked up. "What's wrong?"

Willow opened her mouth, but it was Gus who blurted out, "It's Boscha!"

"The pink cutie?" Luz questioned. "I thought I dealt with her already. What's up with her?"

Gus opened his mouth to answer, but Willow softly interjected and recounted, "It happened earlier this morning…."

"Hey, Park…."

Willow's ears perked up at the call of her last name. Willow turned around to see Bo and Cat walking toward her.

Willow bit back a groan and allowed a polite smile to appear on her face. "Bo, Cat, hello," Willow greeted.

"Boscha wants to see you," Bo announced.

Willow scoffed and asked, "Why? So she can pour a shrinking potion on me again?"

Willow then noticed the uncomfortable look on Cat's face.

That was…. New.

"Park, Boscha attacked Katya," Cat revealed.

Katya…..

Luz's older friend….

"Wait, what?!" Willow exclaimed. "Why?!"

"We don't know. When we ran outside, Boscha had Katya on the ground and sent us to find you," Bo answered. "And Gus."

Willow took a deep breath.

Despite the bullying, Boscha had never hit her, so for her to hit Katya told her something was amiss in the girl's mind. "Will she try to attack me?" Willow asked. "Is that why you came here? To get her a punching bag?"

"We really don't know," Bo assured her. "But after she saw the video, something snapped in her."

"What video?" Willow asked.

Cat summoned her scroll and turned it to Willow. There, Willow saw the scroll page was on Penstagram and it revealed a video of Luz taking down Boscha.

Willow fought back the smirk that wanted to form on her face. Despite her worry for Luz, she had secretly relished in Boscha's swift dismantling at her new friend's hands. "We showed her and that's when she kind of snapped," Cat explained.

Willow nodded, handed Cat her scroll, and announced, "Probably because her ego was snapped. Well, as much as my heart is oozing sympathy, I'd rather not be her punching bag, so, no thank you."

Willow turned and walked away.

The rest of the day passed with nothing of note happening. Sure, Willow was bothered every so often by Bo, Cat, or both of them, but she was able to ignore them. It wasn't until lunch that Willow, who was walking to the cafeteria, was suddenly thrown against the wall.

Before Willow could do anything, Boscha was in front of her, with her right hand slamming against the side of her head—

"She did the Kabedon?!" Luz shouted.

"The….What?" Willow questioned.

Gus and a vastly amused Eda were also curious.

"The Kabedon," Luz explained with a cross of her arms. "It is done by someone hitting their hand on a wall, pinning another between them and the wall. Oftentimes, someone does this out of jealousy, anger, or sometimes flirtatiousness."

Willow opened her mouth, but Gus asked, "Wait? What does that look like?"

Luz nodded, turned to Willow, and asked, "Mind if I use you as an example since you've already been through it?"

Willow chuckled but nodded.

Luz grinned and gingerly took Willow's hand and led her to the wall. "So, the steps are simple. You want to have your target's back against the wall with your body in front of theirs, and either one arm or both against the sides of her head. For example—"

Luz suddenly pushed Willow against the wall, causing her to squeak at the quickness of it, and smacked her left palm against the wall beside Willow's head. Luz let a teasing smirk form on her face as Willow's cheeks heated up. "—and ta...da...?"

Willow stared up at Luz in disbelief with her olive-green eyes glittering, which caused Luz's heart to flutter. This was the first time she really got a good look at her friend and while Luz thought she was cute, this was the first time that word really settled into her chest, and it made her panic.

"O-Oh..." Willow shakily commented. "This f-feels way different this time…."

"Does it?" Luz whispered, her neck growing hotter as her smirk slowly dropped.

Willow bite her lower lip, lowered her gaze, and nodded. "Yeah…." Willow admitted with a breathy tone as she looked back up at Luz. "Were your eyes always so pretty?"

"I-I think so…." Luz answered under her breath.

"Okay!" Eda shouted, separating Luz from Willow, causing Luz to reactively claw at the air. "Let's stop that tension before Goops gets scarred for life."

"R-Right!" Willow gasped as Eda sat the equally confused Luz down.

"What happened next?" Eda asked, sparing Luz from opening her mouth.

Willow adjusted her glasses, which had started to steam up, and continued.

Willow looked up into Boscha's enraged eyes and frowned. "I summoned you," Boscha whispered. "Why did you not come to me?"

"You're not the boss of me, Boscha, no matter how much you try to be," Willow shot back.

"It's really brave and really foolish to try and combat me while I'm in this mood," Boscha warned. "But no matter, since I have you where I want you, tell your human that I have D'Homeless."

Boscha winced and rubbed at her chest slightly. "Tell her to meet me at the beach at sunset. We have a score to settle. But this time, we'll be doing it my way, so tell her to bring a weapon. If not, well….Katya has a date with the shrink potion….." Boscha broke away from Willow and stalked down the hall, which left Willow against the wall.

She had to warn Luz.

"Wow, and here I thought my generation was dramatic," Eda joked.

"So, she kidnapped Katya," Luz muttered with a frown on her face. "Alright then. I guess I'll be kicking ass tonight."

"It's that easy?" Gus asked.

"Yeah. She kidnapped my friend. She called me out. I kick her ass," Luz responded.

"No, I mean the Cap-don," Gus clarified.

"Oh," Luz breathed.

Luz and Willow blushed, looking everywhere but at each other.

"B-But yeah, its that easy," Luz answered. "Since sunset is coming up, we should head to the beach now."

"Here," Eda summoned her staff and handed it to Luz. "Owlbert!"

Owlbert flew down the stairs and landed on Eda's left shoulder. "You three can ride him to the beach. I'll have dinner done by the time you three come back with Katya."

"Nice! What's for dinner tonight?" Luz asked.

"More Black Fortress," Eda giddily answered. "It's so good."

Luz smiled as Owlbert floated to Luz and sat on top of her head, which caused her to laugh. "Then, let's head out."

Katya had to admit, being tied up in a chair while watching Boscha work on potions was not the worst situation she had ever been in.

The fifteen-year-old witch had been taken to the shack that she, Luz, Eda, and King had enjoyed just a few days ago when they came to the beach. Now, she was a prisoner to a triclops that had a vendetta against her friend.

Katya watched as Boscha turned to her with narrowed eyes. "Got a staring problem?" Boscha snapped.

"No," Katya replied. "I just have a problem with being held against my will by a jerk like you."

Boscha snorted and turned back to her potions. "Well, once that human comes to rescue and loses our duel, you'll be let free, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened."

"Yeah, like I can forget being thrown in a garbage can and carried here by you and your plant track lackey," Katya scoffed. "Like, I don't even understand why you went this far. You could have easily just asked Luz for a rematch. You didn't have to kidnap me to achieve that."

Boscha closed her eyes, turned away from her potions, and looked at Katya.

"Like, you took an everlasting oath to never bully anyone ever again, and yet, here you are. Why go through all of this?" Katya questioned.

Boscha turned back to her potions and said, "Just shut up and let me work. I have to get this done."

"What are you even doing?" Katya asked.

Boscha groaned.

"Homework for my potion class," Boscha replied.

That was a surprise.

All this time, Katya thought she was preparing potions to battle Luz, not for schoolwork.

"What?" Boscha asked. "You think I'm doing this for that hazel-eyed human."

"Why did you know her eye color?" Katya asked.

"Well I'm not," Boscha continued, completely ignoring Katya's question. Boscha turned back to the table and continued her mixing her potion. "Using potions for physical activity is like cheating to me. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no cheater. If I'm going to defeat your human, I'm going to do it with what the Titan gifted me, not by enhancing myself with potions."

Katya was surprised by this answer. "That's pretty honorable of you," Katya stated.

Boscha paused with her hand above her chamber pot. Boscha shook her head and dropped a blood leaf into the pot and continued to stir the contents of the pot.

"….Thanks," Boscha murmured, as she pushed her cauldron away from her, signifying that she was finished. Boscha then pulled out a large, spiked club and started to polish one of the spikes.

"That's a big club," Katya noted. "What is it for?"

"What do you think?" Boscha retorted.

The shack was filled with silence once again.

Katya tapped her toes for a moment and looked around to see if she could find a clock or something.

When she couldn't find one, she groaned and turned to Boscha. "So, why is it just us here?" Katya probed. "Usually you have your gang with you."

Boscha looked at Katya with aggravation. "What is this, twenty questions?" Boscha snarled.

"Look, I've been here all day, with the majority of it being spent alone, hot, and starving. How about you indulged your kidnapping victim here and tell me what I want to know," Katya retorted.

Boscha rolled her eyes and turned back to polishing the spikes on her club. "I know it's easy to do, but don't play stupid," Boscha scoffed. "You were there that day and I bet one-hundred snails that you saw that fucking post on Penstagram that showed me losing."

"I did," Katya confirmed.

"Then you know why. I don't need another audience for this," Boscha answered. "All those dorks on Penstagram will see is a picture of your human unconscious in the sand. Anything else doesn't matter."

"You're just saying that because you think she might beat you again," Katya taunted. "You don't want any more visible evidence to prove that you can be beaten."

Boscha's gaze turned venomous.

"Shut up, D'Home—" Boscha suddenly winced and rubbed at her chest.

"Are you alright?" Katya asked, her tone filled with concern.

"I'm fine!" Boscha barked. She turned away from Katya to continue polishing the metal spikes on her club. "Just shut the fuck up and let me prep in peace!"

Katya narrowed her eyes and remained silent.

"So, Luz, I notice that you don't have a weapon on you," Gus pointed out. "You know, that thing Boscha told Willow that you needed to have."

Luz, who walked to the left of Gus with her arms bent behind her head, grinned and replied, "Oh yeah, she did say something like that, didn't she?"

The three friends decided to forgo riding Owlbert to the beach since they felt that Owlbert needed to relax for the ride home. So for now, Owlbert lay in Willow's arms, looking completely relaxed.

"But why?" Gus inquired. "Why go without a weapon?"

"Because I don't need one," Luz answered. "Willow knows that."

Willow's eyes were downcasted until Luz said her name, which caused her to blink in surprise. "O-Oh? Know what?"

Luz turned to look at Willow, only to flush and look ahead. "Y-You know. About me not needing a weapon since….well….um…." Luz drifted off.

Things had been awkward between Willow and Luz since the Kabedon incident back at the Owl House, to the point where the two girls refused to even look at one another without becoming flustered.

Gus turned to his right to glance at Willow and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"Well," Willow started. "Luz can summon a glowy weapon out of thin air."

Gus' eyes widened in shock. "Whoa! Really?!" Gus hollered. He swiftly turned to Luz, who shot him a wink.

"Darn tooting," Luz confirmed. She stopped, which caused Gus and Willow to stop as well. Luz lowered her arms to her side. Luz dug her right hand into her jacket pocket and then pulled out her hilt.

She then placed both hands on the hilt, gathered her spirit energy into it, and with a burst of lavender energy, her spirit sword came to life.

"Gus, meet my spirit sword," Luz introduced.

"Whoa," Gus breathed.

"I can do a lot with my sword. I can make it longer," Luz explained, as she pumped more spirit energy into her weapon, causing it to grow taller. "Or shorter," Luz then withdrew spirit energy, and the blade shrunk in size.

"I can make it as sharp as steel," Luz gritted her teeth and tightened her spirit energy to mold the spirit sword until the wild energy resembled a greatsword.

Luz walked toward a nearby tree and with a shout, she swung her blade and cleaved through a tree branch, which fell to the ground. "Or, as blunt as a baseball bat," Luz took a deep breath and relaxed her spirit energy, causing the spirit sword to lose its shape and become the tall, fuzzy weapon once again.

Luz then hit the same tree in the side, causing a dent to form in the wood. "The only thing I can't do is change the shape into something more complex or duel-wield two swords, unlike my uncle, who can do both at the same time," Luz concluded.

"That's very interesting," Gus stated as he wrote down in his notebook.

"When did you pull that out?" Willow asked.

"Don't worry about it," Gus swiftly replied. "Now, why do you call it your 'Spirit Sword?' Wouldn't the proper name be 'Magic Sword' or something because it's magic you use to create it?"

"That's…. true," Luz hesitated. "I guess 'Spirit Sword' sounds cooler to the ears."

"But that brings up another question. We were always taught that Humans didn't have magic bile-sacs. How can you do that without one?" Gus prodded.

"Humans don't have magic," Luz confirmed. "But what we do have is spirit. And that spirit gives us the power to use magic."

Gus nodded but Willow stared at Luz for a moment.

She had felt the magic Luz had done when the two of them landed the finishing blow on the Great Basilisk, and that didn't feel anything like magic.

Why was Luz hiding?

"Confusing but Informative," Gus chirped, as he wrote down Luz's answer. "I see that you pulled out a hilt before using your spirit sword, why is that?"

"It helps amplify my magic," Luz smoothly replied.

"Oh! Kind of like a Palismen," Gus murmured. "Okay, Last but not least, how will you defeat Boscha?"

"When did this turn into an interview?" Luz gently teased. "Well, Let's just say Boscha won't know what hit her." Luz dismissed her spirit sword and pocketed the hilt. "Welp, let's keep moving, the sun is starting to set."

The two nodded and together, the trio sped off down the road heading to the beach.

"You are talented," Boscha told herself, as she stared at the compact mirror in her hand. "You are a star. You may be hated, but it doesn't matter. As long as you are feared, nothing matters."

Boscha closed her mirror, turned her head, barely clocking that Katya had dozed off in her chair, and stared out the window of the shack.

The sun was setting.

It's time.

Boscha stood from her chair and walked over to Katya. The triclops walked behind the chair and untied the resting girl as she muttered, "Of course, you would sleep in such a precarious situation…."

Boscha moved away from the taller girl and grabbed her mother's club. She hoisted it on her shoulder and turned to look at the sleeping Katya for a moment, and then walked out of the shack.

Boscha walked out of the shack and far off in the distance, she could see three figures walking onto the beach.

"Time to do this," Boscha told herself and then proceeded to walk to the boulder at the center of the beach.

Luz stepped onto the hot sand and through the wavy heat, she could see Boscha walking in the distance, carrying what looked to be a large club.

Luz pulled out her hilt, summoned her spirit sword, and then commanded, "You two sit tight. I'll be back with Katya."

Gus nodded but Willow turned to Luz with concern. "Be careful and good luck," she told her.

Luz turned and for the first time since the incident, hazel brown eyes met olive green.

"I will," Luz promised with a smile.

Willow smiled back.

Luz turned away from Willow, finding it strange that she had a slight issue with that, and proceeded to walk ahead.

As Luz walked, she could see that Boscha stopped at the center of the beach near a large boulder and stood in wait. Luz noticed that for a moment, there was something green on the other side of the boulder but when she blinked, it was gone.

Had she imagined it?

Luz shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter."

Luz allowed the spirit sword to become as blunt and dense as a baseball bat as she came closer and closer to her opponent, who lowered her club to the sand.

Finally, after five minutes of walking, Luz found herself stopping in front of Boscha.

A gust of wind blew to the left as the two girls stood in front of one another. Boscha's bangs swayed from the wind as she appraised Luz with a nod and then motioned at the shack.

Luz returned the nod, glanced at the beach shack for just a moment, and then turned back to Boscha.

She gripped her hilt.

The sound of waves crashing in the distance was heard, and the two girls moved. Boscha lifted her club from the ground, lifted it in the air, and swung it down at Luz.

At the same time, Luz turned her arm, lifted her spirit sword, and swung at Boscha. The two weapons clashed, with the spikes shredding against the spirit sword, causing a brief burst of energy to fly from Luz's sword.

Luz angled her sword and then pushed the club up and aside as she took a right step, avoiding the club's swing. The spirit sword then slid away from the club, where Luz turned it upright and bought it down, where it struck Boscha mid-way between the ear and the shoulder.

Boscha's eyes widened from the blow as she dropped the club. Her irises faded until just the outlines of her irises remained.

Willow and Gus gasped in shock as they watched Boscha fall onto one knee only to fall to the left as her club rolled away from her.

Just like before, Luz had finished the fight in one blow.

The two then watched as Luz stared at Boscha's form for a moment, turned toward the shack, and walk away while her spirit sword remained active.

Willow and Gus then watched as Amelia stepped out from behind the boulder with something in her hand.

What was she doing there?

The two watched as Amelia looked down at Boscha's body for a moment and then turn her body to watch the retreating form of Luz.

"What is she doing?" Gus pondered.

"No idea," Willow breathed.

The two watched as Amelia bent down, slung Boscha onto her shoulder, picked up Boscha's club, and then started to walk in their direction.

The two watched as Amelia's form grew closer until she was stopped beside them. Amelia looked at the pair, narrowed her eyes in a threatening manner, and then walked passed them.

Chapter Text

"So, Amelia just came by and carried her away?" Luz asked as the group walked down the trail to the Owl House, with rain clouds slowly filling the sky.

"Yeah, It was very weird," Gus answered as he skipped alongside them.

Katya frowned a bit and said, "I just hope Boscha's fascination with you ends with her loss, Luz. That girl was far too determined to defeat you."

Luz snorted and said, "If she wants to battle me one more time, watch me get the three-peat."

"What's a three-peat?" Willow asked.

"Oh, a basketball term. it's winning three consecutive championships," Luz answered. "My dad used to rave about it since his favorite basketball team pulled it off when he was a kid, But yeah, with that drama behind us, we can look toward the future."

"And what's in the future?" Gus asked.

"I dunno," Luz shrugged.

As the Owl House came into view, the group watched as Eda stood outside, with an orb of light in her hand and a strange amber-colored barrier hovering above the top half of her body. "What's Eda doing?" Luz asked.

"She's creating a forcefield," Willow answered. "But the only times we do that is when it's…..Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Luz repeated.

She watched as Willow looked at the sky and said, "It's going to rain."

"Oh boy! I love rain!" Luz exclaimed.

"Not this type of rain," Katya murmured. "We have boiling rain, which is very painful."

Luz stared.

The old man or any of her uncles that went to the demon world mentioned anything about boiling rain.

'Maybe it didn't rain during the times they were there?' Luz thought to herself.

"Gus, since my place is closer, you can stay over with me tonight," Willow said, snapping Luz from her inner thoughts.

"Wait, why don't we just stay over with Luz and Katya?" Gus innocently asked. "I mean, the Owl House is right there and the rain can start any minute."

Luz and Willow looked at one another and then blushed. Luz immediately smacked Gus on the back and yelled, "What a funny joke, Gus! Welp, I guess you two better get a move on before the rain starts. See you tomorrow! Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Okay, okay, yeesh," Gus mumbled.

"Well, we should get going, bye L-Luz!" Willow quickly said with glowing green eyes as she grabbed Gus, placed her hand on the ground, where a green ring appeared around her hand, and then rocketed off into the distance by a large vine exploding from the ground.

Katya slowly turned to Luz and asked, "What in the Nether was that?"

Thunder rumbled above them as a drop of rain fell and hit the thick vine that Willow created, and Luz saw the spot sizzle. "We should hurry and get back," Luz swiftly said as grabbed Katya's wrist with her left hand and pulled her to the Owl House as the rain started to fall.

"Ow! Mamagüevo, that hurt!" Luz swore when two drops hit her left arm.

"How! My leg!" Katya exclaimed after a drop of rain hit her right leg.

"We're going to get pelted out here at this rate. Hold on," Luz requested as she immediately flared her spirit energy, causing a soft glow around her and Katya's bodies to keep them from getting hurt.

"Whoa, this feels weirdly comforting," Katya noticed. "What is this feeling?"

"That's me protecting us from this crappy weather," Luz replied as the two ran past Eda and stood under the shelter of the house.

"Hey, you're both back!" King exclaimed as he trotted up to the open door. "You nearly got hit by the boiling rain."

"Well, I did get hit by it," Luz revealed as she dropped her spirit energy and showed King the two burned spots on her left arm.

"Welp, we can't have that. Stay here!" King exclaimed as he ran off.

Eda toward the house with a burn on her left knee and said, "You two made it in the nick of time. It's really starting to pour out there."

"You alright?" Katya asked.

"Yeah, Damn rain got me in the knee," Eda answered with a frown.

"Thanks," Luz grumbled. "I gotta say, A boiling rainstorm on the Boiling Isles. The weather here is so much fun."

"Yeah, we don't have weather. We have plagues, gorenados, shale hail, and painbows," Eda warned.

"And what, pray tell, is a painbow?" Luz slowly questioned as she looked at Katya.

"It's like a rainbow but looking at it turns you inside out. It's how my grandmother died," Katya answered.

Luz stared at Katya for a full minute in silence and then sighed. "Wow. That's a lot to take in. I do love my rainbows…."

King came back into the room with five band-aids. He gave two to Luz, one to Katya, one to Eda, and placed one on his snout. "There. We can all be boo-boo buddies," King chirped.

"Aww," Katya whispered, as she placed a hand on her chest.

"Oh, my gosh, I love you so much.," Luz gasped, her eyes wide and sparkling.

Eda laughed and slipped the band-aid over her knee "And that is how he secures his subjects. With cuteness. With that said, unless you girls want to get further hurt, no one is allowed outside tonight until the boiling rain stops."

"And if the rain doesn't get you, the Snaggleback will!" King exclaimed.

"Snaggleback?" Luz asked. "What is that?"

"They wander the rain, feeding on boiled tourists. They are quite dangerous during the boiling rain," King answered. He pulled out a book from his hat and opened it to a page that showed a purple creature with a green shell.

"Well, whatever the case, this force field spell should protect the house from boiling rains and made-up demons," Eda teased.

"Hoot! Well, hurry it up with that force field. That rain is getting closer to my precious stucco!" Hooty impatiently exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Eda drawled as she walked away from the house and back into her original spot. Luz watched as Eda used her staff to grab the light ball, twirl it around, and then stamp the bottom to the ground. A round amber force field engulfed the house, only to shrink down to shape closely around it.

"She is so cool," Kayta whispered with awe.

"She really is," Luz enthusiastically agreed. "I know that I'm pretty cool myself, but someday, I'd like to be as cool as the Owl Lady."

"Right? She's Magical, sassy, surprisingly foxy for her age," Katya stated.

"Actually, that makes me wonder," Luz murmured. As Eda walked through the forcefield, Luz asked, "Hey, why do they call you the Owl Lady, anyway?"

Eda grinned and cockily replied, "It's because I'm so wise."

"'Cause she coughs up rat bones," Hooty interjected.

King snorted and dryly said, "I think it's 'cause she gets distracted by shiny objects."

"No, I don't!" Eda exclaimed.

King took out a pen with a diamond top and clicked a button. Luz watched in fascination as Eda's irises expanded as a rather adorable smile filled her face.

Katya leaned over to Luz and whispered, "Why is this so adorable?"

"I don't know but I love her," Luz whispered back.

King waved the pen back and forth, with Eda's head moving in the direction of the pen as she whispered, "It sparkles and shimmers. It shines and delights. I must have it for my nest..." King put the pen in front of the open door as Eda pounced.

He moved the pen behind his back, which caused Eda to fly into the house and crash into the living room table. "Eda has a nest? That's appropriate," Katya noted as she walked inside the house.

Luz and King followed her inside, with Hooty shutting the door behind them."Oh! Since you guys are stuck here, I can teach you both about demons!"

"Oh, yeah, you're the king of them, right?" Katya asked.

"Darn right," King boasted with a puffed-out chest. "I have to teach my future soldiers all about the plebs of our kingdom!"

"I'm down for that," Luz replied. "Oh! Maybe we can do that while having a nest party in Eda's room!"

"Nest party sounds so cool!" Katya exclaimed.

"On any other night, I would say "no prob" but tonight, let's hold off," Eda groaned as she stood off the remains of the table. "Ugh. That force field really took it out of me."

"As opposed to the table you broke?" Luz questioned.

"Nah, definitely the forcefield," Eda replied.

King walked up to Eda with a laugh and taunted, "Uh-oh. Moving a little slow. Age finally catching up to ya?"

Unamused, Eda pulled King's hat down, causing him to fearfully squeal, "Ah, Darkness!"

"You kids go have fun, this hot mama needs to get some shut-eye," Eda yawned as she walked toward the stairs.

"Hey, wait! What about the information you got from the bar?" Luz asked.

"There's no rush," Eda sleepily replied. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I promise."

Luz frowned but muttered, "Alright."

"Well! Since that's a bust, we can still at least learn about demons," King chirped.

"Yeah," Luz replied with a smile.

"And here we have the most fearsome creature in the world, the King of Demons," Katya voiced as Luz focused her phone's camera on King's eye.

"Facing his natural enemy, the ducky sock!" Luz followed up as the camera pulled back to reveal King battling a sock that was on his snout.

"How amazing," Katya whispered with an awed tone. "Look as he falls onto his back and uses his hind paws to scratch at it."

"Truly remarkable," Luz followed up as King finally ripped the ducky sock off his nose.

"Where are you now, ducky sock?" King boasted as he got to his feet and smushed the cloth against the ground.

"Now that my enemy has been defeated," King announced. "We can get back to the lesson." King looked at Luz's desk, which had all of the documents regarding demons. He lifted his arms and with a coo, Katya picked him up and sat him on the desk.

"Thank you," King thanked the older girl. "Now, we can return to Demons 101."

Katya and Luz nodded.

"Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur and bone," King instructed.

"And cute little paws," Luz stated.

King sighed and replied, "And cute little paws. True. We live only to create chaos and misery. Our only weaknesses are purified water and passive-aggressive comments. Sometimes."

"I didn't know that demons are so sensitive," Katya said.

"Even demons have inner demons," King revealed, which made both Luz and Katya giggle.

A flash of lightning crossed Luz's window, and the lights in the house switched off, causing all three of them to scream.

"Welp, we have no lights," Luz muttered.

"Hooty controls the house lights. He probably just fell asleep," King divulged. "But dang it, now how are we going to continue our lesson?"

"Katya, do you have any spells that could light up the place?" Luz asked as she looked at Katya.

"Actually, I do," Katya replied.

Katya placed her right index finger in the air and traced a circle, causing a glowing red trail of magic to follow her finger until she made a full circle. Within the red spell circle, light began to bubble in the middle until it overtook the spell circle, leaving a glowing orb in the air.

"Wowsers," Luz whispered.

"And that is the light spell," Katya announced. "It's babies' first spell but it's always useful."

"Hey, do you mind doing it again so I can record it?" Luz asked as she lifted her phone. "I want to be able to look at it later so I can actually learn some magic."

"Sure thing," Katya replied. "I guess, since I'm doing this, I can give a little bit more info on exactly what I'm doing."

"Hey! What about our demon lessons?!" King exclaimed.

"We'll get back to them in a bit, I promise," Luz told him. "I just want to figure out how it's done."

'And maybe even add something new to my arsenal,' Luz thought as she held up her phone.

"Alright, so, let me ask this first. When I did that spell, what did it look like?" Katya asked.

"Well, it looked like it came from nowhere but everything comes from somewhere," Luz answered.

"A nice answer, Luz," Katya said. "And you'd be right. A witch's magic comes from a sac of magic bile attached to that witch's heart."

"An actual organ?" Luz gasped.

That was much different than spirit energy.

Katya nodded and said, "It's actually pretty cool. But yeah, our magic comes from that bile-sac. I'm guessing humans don't have one?"

"Not at all," Luz replied.

"I guess that's why we can do magic naturally," Katya shrugged. "But yeah, that's where it comes from. Now, when doing a spell, everything depends on the spell circle." As Katya created another circle, Luz noticed a symbol appear in the middle of the circle once it was connected.

'What was that?' Luz thought as she quickly took a picture of it.

Unaware of what Luz had seen, Katya continued, "The bigger the circle, the more powerful the spell." A larger orb of light glowed in front of them before it popped like a bubble. "See?"

"Yeah, I think I g—" Luz was interrupted by a loud crash that shook the house.

"What was that?!" Katya exclaimed.

"Hoot! Hoot!" Hooty's voice cried from downstairs. "Hoot, oh, hoot!"

"King, stay put!" Luz commanded as she and Katya exchanged a look and then ran out of the room, with Luz putting her cell phone in her pocket.

"Who died and made you king?!" King exclaimed as he hopped down from Luz's desk and ran after them.

Katya and Luz ran down the stairs to see a large shadow beast standing above the front door, with large claw marks near Hooty's head.

"Get away from him," Luz exclaimed as she pointed a finger at the beast, which twinkled as spirit energy started to form.

The Beast roared at the sight of the pair and then dashed away.

"What was that?" Katya asked as Luz lowered her finger.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Luz answered and then ran down the rest of the stairs to Hooty. "Hey, Hooty, are you alright?" Luz asked as she poked at his beak and his eye.

There was no reply.

"Whatever did this escaped into the rain. What could survive that?" Katya questioned as she walked up beside Luz as the latter stood off the floor.

"Whoa! This is perfect!"King cried, which prompted the two girls to turn around in confusion.

"King!" Luz hissed. "Didn't I tell you to stay put?"

"Yes, but I decided not to," King cheekily replied. "But I'm glad I didn't! Snaggleback! It feeds during the rains. It must have stumbled across our house and seen us inside and attacked Hooty."

"Way to sound worried," Katya dryly stated, only for a large howl to come from outside.

"Come on," Luz said as she rushed outside, with Katya and King following after her. When the trio got outside, they noticed a hulking, shadowy creature jump through an upper-floor window.

"This is perfect!" King cried. "This would be a great lesson for you both. To be able to see a wild demon up close and personal is a treat!"

"You want to go toward those creepy sounds? No way!" Katya said.

"We may have to," Luz whispered. "Eda's upstairs and she's defenseless because she sleeps like a lump on a log. She could be taken, or worse, eaten."

"Log have lumps that sleep?" King asked.

"Human saying," Luz summarized. "Don't let my voice fool you, I am utterly terrified, but we have Eda to save. So let's jet."

Katya and King nodded and together, the three ran back into the house, went upstairs to the second floor, and then ran down the hall to Eda's room, where Luz noticed that her door was cracked open.

"Mierda, Eda!" Luz swore as she ran to the door and then slowly opened it. Thanks to the lightning strike, Luz, Katya, and King were shown that Eda's nest was empty and her window was shattered.

"Oh no! She got snaggle-backed!" King cried.

Luz walked up to the nest, only to jump when she noticed a glowing golden liquid on the floor, surrounded by glass. There was also a torn piece of paper on the ground. She plucked the paper and glanced over it.

"An Elixir a day…." Luz read. "What in the world is that?"

"Oh, I know what that is," King answered. "Eda always sneaks off to drink this special elixir, Then she always gets a boost of energy, see? I think that's where she gets her powers."

"Really?" Luz asked.

"Si!" King answered.

"Aww," Luz cooed and then glanced back at the paper. 'Interesting but I'll file that away for later….' Luz thought.

Luz stuck the paper into her pocket and walked toward Eda's large nest. When she got close to it, she lifted Eda's pillow and noticed three claw marks on it. "Slash marks. That thing was definitely here…."

"King! You're the demon expert. What do we do?" Katya asked King.

"I'll go get my demon book!" King exclaimed and then ran off.

"We should prep ourselves," Luz told Katya as she stood up. "Protect our fleshy bits, you know?"

"Yeah. Let's head back downstairs and grab some pillows to tie on her chests," Katya said.

Luz nodded.

The two crept downstairs, with Luz in the lead and her left hand around her wrist, preparing to fire a spirit gun in case they saw the beast.

Once they made it downstairs, Katya ran to the couch and grabbed the couch cushions, and motioned for Luz to come over. Luz walked over as Katya said, "Since you're the fighting expert, I figured I should get you protected first."

"Aren't there spells for this?" Luz questioned.

"Yeah, but I don't much yet," Katya answered. "Not that far into bard class to learn the strings of protection."

"Ah, I see," Luz murmured.

"So um, what's up with you and Willow?" Katya asked as she created a spell string and wrapped it around the cushions on Luz's back and chest. "You two seemed weird compared to the other day."

"Things are weird," Luz whispered. "I was showing Willow the Kabedon, and well….she's really pretty."

"Oh," Katya whispered. "Does someone have a little crush?"

"No!" Luz exclaimed. "I-I mean….I don't know….. But since that, I've been weird and blushy."

"Well, it sounds like you two should talk," Katya instructed. "I mean, I noticed that both of you have been weird and blushy. I think she might like you too. "

"Really?" Luz asked.

"Really," Katya replied.

"Huh…." Luz whispered. "So, what should I do?"

"I mean, what do you want to d—" Katya was interrupted by King's screams.

"King!" The two girls screamed and raced upstairs to the second floor, where King raced toward them with something stuck on his left foot as a large shadow with glowing orange eyes chased after them.

"Protect me!" King screeched as he ran past Katya and Luz as the beast launched itself toward them.

Luz pulled out her hilt and shouted, "Spirit sword!" which caused a bright light to fill the room, where she managed to get a good look at the beast.

It was an owl-like monster with gray hair, black-colored eyes, two dark gray wings, and long pointed ears with tufts of gray hair protruding from them. The creature's body was covered in dark teal fur, and it had black feet that resembled a bird's.

'This thing looks familiar,' Luz thought as the creature reared its right talon back. Luz swung her spirit sword and blocked the talon. However, the energy on the spirit sword flared when the beast's talon struck it, which caused a blinding flash of light to fill the hallway.

The beast wailed in agony as it staggered back from the light.

With a furious scream, Luz pulled back her spirit sword and swung it, and caught the large shadow in the side, sending it through the hall closet door. "Come on!" Katya exclaimed as she grabbed Luz's wrist and ran downstairs.

Seconds later, Luz heard a loud howl, followed by thunderous steps of the beast as it chased after them, but King poked his head up from behind the couch and waved them over. Katya and Luz jumped over the couch and hid against it as the beast's harsh breathing filled the living room.

The trio didn't even breathe as the beast growled and stalked the living room until they heard it rush back upstairs.

The three let out a breath.

"Luz, Katya, you both are safe!" King exclaimed. "That beast ate the snaggleback and almost ate me. Where did you two go?"

"I wanted to get us covered," Katya said. "In case we got to know that beast intimately."

Luz narrowed her eyes and plucked the torn paper and noticed that it had writing on it. "….Keeps the Curse at bay?"

Luz's eyes widened as she dug into her pocket and pulled out the other torn paper. She lined up the tear marks and read, "An elixir a day, keeps the curse at bay…."

"Curse? Wait, what are you trying to say?" Katya asked.

"King….That Elixir doesn't give Eda her powers," Luz whispered. "It stops her curse."

"Which means that the creature isn't a demon, it's Eda!" King exclaimed in realization.

"Wait, that thing is Eda?!" Katya yelled.

"Yeah!" King answered. "Don't you see? The elixir doesn't give Eda powers. It prevents her from turning into that thing. She's turned into a nightmare!"

"It makes sense," Luz whispered. "The beast, when I got a good look at it, it resembled Eda."

"Then how do we save here?" Katya asked.

"There is only one thing left to do," Luz said as she turned to King with a smile. "Let's finish the lesson."

"What/huh?" King and Katya asked in unison.

"Eda's turned into some kind of demon, and we need to save her. So who knows more about demons than the best demon king in the world?" Luz asked.

King brightened and pulled out a paper and pen from his hat. "Let's see. She was bigger, covered in feathers, and had giant black eyes. Demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to light. That's it. Light! Luz! Katya! The light spell!"

"But that will only distract her. How can we defeat her?" Katya asked.

"Bing-Bang! I have an idea!" King exclaimed. "I know where she keeps a spare elixir! It's in the kitchen on the top shelf. If we can pin her down and make her drink it while she's blinded by the light, that'll bring her back. But, I'll need help in getting it."

"I'll help you," Katya told King.

"And while you do that, I'll distract Eda!" Luz exclaimed.

"Wait, but what about the light spell?" Katya asked. "You can't do it on your own, and I don't think you'll be able to replicate what you did upstairs."

Luz grinned and pulled out her cell phone, which was paused on Katya when she created the spell circle. "I have a way," Luz answered with a smirk. "Alright, Boo-boo buddies, let's go wrangle us up a demon Eda!"

"I'm kind of over that nickname. But okay!" King chirped.

Luz walked up the stairs and walked into the hallway as she shouted, "Oh Eda! Eda! It is I! A cute girl with a shiny sword! Looking like prime meat! Come and get me!"

A streak of lightning filled the hallway, and Luz was treated to the hulking beast down the hall. It ground its talons against the floor as it growled, its razor-sharp teeth on full display. "So, mama beast, ready to tango?" Luz taunted.

The beast roared and launched itself toward Luz.

Luz summoned her spirit sword and swayed to the left to avoid the beast's pounce. The beast quickly turned around and swiped at Luz, but she blocked the talon with her spirit sword and quickly shined her cell phone light into the beast's eyes, causing the beast to wail.

"Gotcha!" Luz exclaimed as she jumped into the air, and delivered a roundhouse kick to the beast's face, sending it flying downstairs. The beast quickly swarmed to its feet as Luz dove down the stairs and slammed into Eda's face, shoulder face.

The two crashed through the wall and tumbled outside as the boiling storm raged on. Luz rolled away from the best and sprung to her feet while the beast swarmed back to its feet at repeatedly swiped at Luz.

Luz blocked the first two swipes with her sword, and then flashed the light back in the beast's eyes, which caused it to stagger back, but it then turned around sharply and smacked Luz with its wing, sending the human flying back into the house, where she skidded against the living room floor.

Luz got on her feet and stared down at her phone.

The screen was cracked and the flashlight on it was off. She swiped her thumb against the screen to bring back the snapshot she took of the symbol within Katya's spell circle. Luz shook her head and brought down the phone's menu with her thumb.

The flashlight was on, but when she looked at the back of her phone, she muttered, "Mamagüevo."

The flashlight part of her phone was broken.

The beast howled and Luz immediately vaulted to the left to avoid the beast's charge. Luz's back hit the top of the couch just as the Owl Beast pounced. Thanks to the impact of her body hitting the couch, it tilted back and fell, clipping the Owl Beast's chin.

Luz heard the Owl Beast crash to the ground and she quickly looked and pocketed her phone, but her mind couldn't erase the symbol she had seen. 'Wait….' Luz whispered.

Her mind flashed back to the day she met Willow, Gus, and the DT Gang.

That symbol reminded her of the symbols she saw in her father's notebook.

Luz could hear the beast start to stir as she took out the phone again and stared at it. "I wonder…." Luz placed her left index and middle fingers together and drew her spirit energy to them.

The Owl Beast howled and pounced as Luz used her spirit energy to draw the symbol above her. The second she finished drawing the symbol, it pulsated with light and morphed into a blinding orb of light, that slammed into the Owl Beast's face when it peered over the tilted couch.

The Owl Beast screamed in agony as it attempted to fly away from the light, only for it to crash down on the other side of the couch. Despite hearing the talons of the beast claw at the floor, Luz stared at the orb of light above her in stunned disbelief.

"I just did magic," Luz breathed out. "I just did magic!"

Luz grabbed the orb of light and pulled herself to her feet as Katya and King rushed into the room. "She's down! Blind her!" Luz shouted.

Katya nodded and formed a large spell circle, which brightened the entire room as the beast wailed. "Now, King!" Katya screamed.

"Weh!" King screamed as he launched himself into the Owl Beast, landed on her chest, and poured the golden elixir into her mouth. The beast swallowed the elixir and its wails started to die down as its body shrunk.

Luz watched in amazement as the beast slowly turned back into Eda, who lay on her back with King sitting on her chest. The light from Luz's and Katya's spells faded away, leaving the living room blanketed in darkness.

With Eda's snores and their ragged breathing filling the air.

"Whew!" Luz weakly exclaimed, feeling a familiar exhaustion. Her spirit energy was gone. Using that spell had completely drained her. "We saved….Eda…. time to….sleep…." Luz fell backward and everything went black.

Eda lay strapped to her bed with a door at the foot of it. Eda started to stir when she heard Indistinct whispers coming from behind it.

"Not again," Eda whispered with dread as she struggled against her bindings.

The door suddenly whips open, and on the other side was a wavering shadow, with two circles of light near the top, back-lit by pure white light.

" You! You're the one who cursed me, aren't you? Who are you? Who are you?!"

Eda snapped up from her nest in alarm, with her breathing coming out fast and sweat dripping down her face.

There weren't many things that scared Eda Clawthorne.

Hell, she was the strongest witch of the Boiling Isles, nothing could touch her. But when she woke up with a very familiar post-transformation nightmare, panic immediately set in.

Eda rolled out of her nest and took three steps, only to bowl over and retch out an owl pellet. The pellet opened and revealed a trembling and pale Snaggleback.

"Um…." Eda whispered.

The Snaggleback looked up at her and with a trembling voice, he said, "I'm just gonna... lie here for a minute."

"Y-You do that," Eda whispered. The Owl Lady made her way downstairs, observing the claw marks that scratched the floor, until she made it to the kitchen, where she found Luz, Katya, and King eating another human breakfast.

Strawberry Pancakes, large sausage patties, and fried eggs (which Eda could tell were Griffin Eggs due to the scent). However, on every plate except Luz's, there were four delicious-smelling toasted squares. "Morning Eda," Luz chirped, which prompted Katya and King to turn around and wave. "Come on, sit down and join us."

Relief filled Eda's heart at the trio looking as normal and healthy as they've always been. She walked to the table and plopped down, where Katya slid over a plate. "Thanks," Eda murmured, feeling hungrier than ever before. "I'm surprised that you decided on griffin eggs instead of chicken eggs, Luz," Eda commented.

"Weirdly enough, griffin eggs taste so much better than chicken eggs," Luz replied.

"We did tests!" King exclaimed. "My stomach was so happy to be the royal test subject."

"King nearly ate himself into a coma," Katya joked. "But the minute breakfast was brought down, he popped up no worse for wear."

"That's good," Eda told them. "And what are these delicious-smelling squares?"

"Queso Frito," Luz answered. "Dominican fried cheese. A staple of every Dominican breakfast. I can't have any since I'm lactose intolerant, but I figured you bunch would want to taste the food of the gods."

Eda picked up the fried square of cheese and then munched on it. Her irises widened. "It's delicious," she breathed.

"I know, right?" Katya laughed.

"I demand these for breakfast every day," King said before he munched on a Queso Frito square.

Luz smiled and took a sip of her orange juice, smugly satisfied.

"This is fantastic, and exactly what I needed after waking up feeling like crap," Eda said and then drank down some orange juice. "Speaking of that, I need to apologize. To all of you. Regarding what happened last night…."

"Wow, we're just getting right into it," Luz sighed after she swallowed her food. "Eda, what exactly was that? I've fought some gnarly things in the past, but that was something else…."

"Yeah, you really scared us last night," Katya added. "If Luz hadn't discovered she could do the light spell, we all could have been in trouble."

"Yeah, I've never seen you take that form ever!" King exclaimed. "Now that I know, you will be my top-ranking general when I take over the Boiling Isles."

Eda snorted at King's statement, but her amusement died away as she stared down at her plate of delicious food. "The reason you haven't seen that form before King is because of the Elixirs…."

Eda looked back at her three house guests and said, "I haven't been completely honest with you guys. When I was younger, I was cursed. I don't know exactly how it happened, all I know is that if I don't take my elixir every single day... Well, that's why people call me the Owl Lady. No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it's manageable."

"Whoa. So are you okay?" Luz asked while Katya and King looked at her in concern.

"There's nothing for you bunch to worry about. It's all under control, and as long as I remember to take them and if none of them goes missing, then I'm fine," Eda replied. "Now, what was this about Luz doing the light spell?"

"Oh, yeah!" Luz exclaimed. "So, when we fought last night—"

Eda frowned at those words.

"—I found out that I could do Boiling Isles magic. It does drain the dickens out of me though when I use my spirit energy. Luckily, I discovered that I can draw these glyphs on paper and use them that way!" Luz excitedly told her. "Not only that, but it seems Dad knew this because he has a whole notebook of glyphs." Luz paused and amended, "Well, not a whole notebook. About five pages. One for light, one for fire, one for water, one for the earth, one for healing, one for lightning, and one for wind. Heck, might as well call me Korra with all the elements that I have so far."

"Whose Korra?" Katya asked.

Instead of answering, Eda watched as Luz pulled out her phone and held it at Katya, who immediately swooned. "Wow," Katya whispered. "She's pretty."

"You should see her girlfriend," Luz quipped.

"Interesting," Eda whispered with surprise. "Are you able to show me the notebook?"

"Sure," Luz answered as she pulled the notebook off of her lap and handed it to Eda. Eda flipped through the pages and observed the strange glyphs written there. "Hm, I wonder how he found these."

"Probably the same way I did," Luz answered. "I saw it on my phone screen and replicated it, minus the circle, and then blam! Magic! I'm planning on figuring out how to use them in conjunction with my attacks."

"Well, I think I have a place where you can do just that," Eda whispered as she nodded to herself. "But, the weather is too dangerous there right now. We can go tomorrow though."

"Sweet! I can't wait!" Luz shouted. "Oh! Before I forget! What was the information you found out yesterday before that Boscha stuff happened?"

Eda grinned. "Oh yeah. I nearly forgot about that," Eda noted. "Well, there is a group of resistance members that calls themselves, "BATs." They've been pretty hush-hush about things but the rumors are that they are looking for members to join their cause against Belos and his Coven system," Eda explained. "The rumors go that whenever they are recruiting, they become a 'Bat-Swarm.'"

"So, other people are fed up with Belos and his bullshit too, huh?" Katya murmured with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Eda nodded and answered, "A lot of people are, although nothing can be said due to the amount of power that the Emperor's Coven possesses. Which is why no one from that hokey squad has been able to tie down the BATs."

"Wait, I remember that conversation now," Luz said. "Mark said that a swarm of bats was in Las Pelvis."

Eda nodded while crossing her arms. "Las Pelvis is a large area, they are currently in Tremlett's Bitter, which is where Apple Blood and Apple Juice are created. They are having a meeting there in one week before moving on further south," Eda said.

"Wow, and I thought you guys were speaking about a married couple," Luz breathed. "So, when do we go to Las Pelvis?"

"At the start of next week," Eda answered.

"Wait! But the Covention is next week," Katya said.

"Covention?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, The Covention is an annual event that is held at the convention center in Bonesborough," Katya started. "Basically, it's an exhibition where all the covens on the Boiling Isles can come and set up their stand, regardless of whether they are the main nine covens or not. Someone from the respective covens will stay behind to provide people with more information about their coven. They can also do demonstrations to show people what their covens are capable of."

"Ah, so it's like a recruitment drive," Luz summarized. "Well, we have to go to that."

"Oh no! There is no way I'm setting foot in that place," Eda refused.

"Eda! I do need to know as much as I can about the Isles. And despite the explanation you both gave me about the Covens, I still want to see them in action," Luz argued. "Think about the investigation."

Eda groaned. "Fine…. But immediately after that, we book it to Las Pelvis," Eda compromised. "But enough about that. We should prepare for our trip tomorrow."

Chapter Text

"I gotta say, shopping for winter clothing while we're not in winter is strange," Luz noted as she and Katya walked out clothing store, both of them holding sacks of the clothes they would need for the next day.

"What's weird is having so many spending snails," Katya whispered. "I didn't think Eda was rich like this…."

Luz was surprised too.

Koenma really must have broken the bank for Eda when she reached out to him about the danger. But there was something that had been gnawing at Luz.

After being with Eda for some time, the woman was very street-smart, but to find information that caused Koenma to send her on this mission and pay Eda so much, Luz would have to investigate how Eda came across that information.

"Well, never look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say," Luz said.

"What's a horse?" Katya asked as the pair turned a corner.

Without warning, Luz collided with someone, sending both of them falling to the ground. "Ouch!" Luz whined as she rubbed her forehead.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?" Willow's voice asked. Luz looked across from her and saw Willow on the ground rubbing her forehead, with Gus standing next to her.

"O-Oh! Willow!" Luz exclaimed, her voice getting a pitch higher.

"Luz!" Willow gasped.

"Hey Katya," Gus greeted, with Katya giving him a wave in return.

"What are you doing here?" Luz asked. "I mean, at Bonesborough. At the same time as me?"

Willow flushed and said, "The Boiling Rain singed my patio enough to destroy it so my dad sent me out here to get some items to fix it."

"Oh, cool, cool, cool," Luz murmured.

"W-What about you?" Willow asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I think they forgot that we are here," Gus mumbled to Katya, who snorted in amusement and started to lead him away.

"Come on, let me treat you to some Ice Scream," Katya said.

"Oh, just shopping for some winter clothes. Eda's taking us somewhere for training and told us to grab some supplies," Luz answered.

"Oh! T-That's great," Willow stammered.

"You know, since we're both l-looking for stuff, why don't we look together?" Luz offered.

"T-That sounds awesome," Willow replied with a lot of enthusiasm. Willow then blushed and corrected, "I mean, that's cool."

"Cool," Luz replied with a smile.

The two laughed, albeit awkwardly.

"So, how did your parents take you going into the plant track?" Luz asked as she held a bundle of planks in her arms. Beside her, Willow carried two bags of clothing that Luz would need for her training trip with Eda.

"Well, both of my dads were unsure about it," Willow admitted. "They were shocked that Principal Bump gave the go-ahead to change, but despite them being proud of me helping save the school, that fear is always there."

"But why though?" Luz pushed. "Why would they be afraid for you to excel in something like that?"

"Well," Willow slowly started. "The Plant Coven Leader is the reason, they explained. Terra Snapdragon."

"Terra Snapdragon," Luz repeated. "That name spells a future adversary. What is her deal?"

Willow chuckled and replied, "Well, as mentioned, Terra Snapdragon is the Plant Coven Leader, and she has done things with her magic that would make a normal plant witch seem like they were in the baby classes. But, I guess there are rumors that she scouts out plant prodigies, not to train them, but to kill them."

Luz gasped.

"Are you serious?!" Luz exclaimed.

Willow nodded and answered, "They were worried that I would be on her radar if she ever found out how strong my plant magic was." Willow then sighed and adjusted Luz's bags on her arms. "They debated on asking me to return to the abomination track but decided against it in the end. They figured I would still do plant magic whether they wanted me to or not."

"Dang right, you would," Luz replied. "Plant magic is in your blood, girl."

Willow grinned at this and replied, "It sure is. My grandmother and my great-grandmother were plant witches. My great-grandmother was actually the leader of the plant coven before Terra took her place. My dad often said they both were powerhouses, and he wished he was as good as them."

"Now, I have a question," Luz asked. "You have two dads, right? I don't know if this is rude, but how were you born?"

"Oh me? Luz, my dad gave birth to me," Willow answered, seemingly not insulted by the question. "From what my dads explained when I asked, it was as easy as using a magic spell to switch some parts. And once I was born and a year passed, they used magic to switch parts back."

"Whoa," Luz breathed. "I wish it was that easy in the Human Realm. People of the same sex can't really mix-and-match parts. They usually have to either have a surrogate or adopt, with the latter taking a long time, if my Tia can be believed."

"That's inconvenient," Willow commented.

"Agreed," Luz followed up.

"What does "Tia" mean?" Willow asked with a cocked head.

"It means "Aunt" in Spanish," Luz answered.

"Spanish?" Willow questioned.

"It's another language in the Human Realm. Unlike the Demon Realm, which seems to speak Common, we have dozens of languages in my world," Luz explained.

Luz watched as Willow's eyes glittered in excitement. "Really? How many can you speak?" Willow asked.

Luz smiled and replied, "I can speak English, Spanish, and Japanese fluently and a little bit of French."

"Whoa, that must be amazing," Willow gasped. "I wonder if anyone in the Isles can speak any other language than Common."

"I don't doubt it, Jolie fleur," Luz said, only for her eyes to widen in terror.

That just came out!

Oh no!

"Jolie fleur?" Willow repeated while Luz started to panic. "What does that mean?"

"Beautiful flower," Luz replied with a grin.

Willow blushed and looked down at the ground. "You r-really think so?" Willow shyly asked.

"Of course I do," Luz replied as she scratched the back of her neck, her cheeks burning. "Anyone with eyes could see how pretty you are."

'Luz! Shut the hell up! Stop talking now!' Luz screamed in her head, completely unaware of the sweet smile that Willow was giving her. Instead, Luz looked around and saw a cute little café called
Snack Shack" nearby. "Hey, why don't we go snag something to munch on?" Luz suggested.

"I am pretty hungry," Willow murmured and then smiled. "Sure. Let's go grab a bite to eat."

Luz nodded and the two headed over to Snack Shack, completely unaware of the chaos that was going on behind them.

"You know, everyone talks about you at Hexside," Willow revealed as she sat in front of Luz. On the table were four sinnamon buns and two strawberry screamshakes, with one of them being dairy-free due to Luz being lactose intolerant.

"They do?" Luz asked as she munched on a sinnamon bun. Willow watched as Luz's eyes flashed gold, which told Willow that the girl was a good spirit and that the delicious bun would not steal her soul. "I don't know why."

"Luz, you helped save Hexside from the Greater Basilisk, saved countless lives, and defeated Boscha in a fight, not just once, but twice," Willow explained. "And not to mention, you're a human. So, of course, the school would talk about you. You've got quite the Fanclub with H.A.S."

"H.A.S?" Luz inquired.

"The Human Appreciation Society," Willow divulged. "Gus is the President with Celine being his vice president of the club. That entire club is amazed by you. And…." Willow flushed and looked at the table. "So am I."

"O-Oh?" Luz stammered. "You're amazed by me? Me of all people?"

Willow glanced up at Luz.

The human was very pretty to her in general but what really drew Willow in was Luz's eyes. Her dads always said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, and Luz was proving that saying with how expressive her eyes were.

From gazing into Luz's eyes, Willow could tell that she was surprised, touched, nervous, and disbelieving. "Of course. I'm very interested in you, Luz," Willow answered.

"Willow…." Luz breathed, her cheeks reddening.

Without warning, a ton of commotion was heard outside, which prompted the two girls to look out the window beside them. They saw King and Eda run past them, but Willow noticed that their eyes were different.

Their eyes actually reminded her of Gus' and Katya's eyes.

"What is going on out there?" Luz asked.

"Do you want to investigate?" Willow asked.

Luz then watched as several Emperor Coven Guards ran past, with an unfamiliar woman leading the charge, and said, "I'm sure that will clear itself up soon enough."

Willow chuckled and took a sip of her screamshake, ignoring the agonized scream that echoed in her mind. "Glad that we agree on that."

The rest of the day was pretty lowkey, up until Eda walked into the shop in Katya's body, looking miserable. Apparently, a whole body swap adventure had gone down while Luz and Willow were on their impromptu date, and while the two girls were annoyed, they both knew they had to help clear things up.

In the end, everyone wound up in their right bodies, while all of the enemies the four had made were body swapped with each other, causing even more mass havoc. In the end, Willow stood in front of the Owl House, with Luz at the door.

But Luz's mind was on a comment that Eda said when she had interrupted them.

"Hey kids, sorry if I'm interrupting your date, but things are spiraling out of control and I can't find Katya, who is in my body. Long story."

Date.

Had they been on a date?

"While our hanging out got short, I had a lot of fun with the time we had," Willow started as she glanced at the ground.

"I did too," Luz replied. "I wouldn't mind hanging out again."

Willow smiled at asked, "Really?"

"Really!" Luz exclaimed.

The two laughed and then Katya shouted, "Hey Luz! King is trying to get into your fridge again for those cheesecake cookies!"

"Weh!" King cried.

"Well, I should get inside," Luz said as she scratched her cheek with her finger. "I'll be gone for a little bit but I'll be back before next week starts."

"I can't wait to see you then," Willow replied with a smile.

"Ditto," Luz replied with a smile of her own.

As Luz turned away, Willow asked, "Were we on a date?"

Luz paused and then turned back to Willow. "What Eda said earlier. When she asked for our help. She said she was sorry for interrupting our date," Willow explained. "Was that what we went on?"

"I heard Eda say that truthfully, I dunno," Luz shrugged, her voice unsure. "Did you want it to be a date?"

"I mean….If you want it to be," Willow hesitantly replied.

Luz stared at Willow for a moment and then offered a small, bashful smile. "I've never been on a date before, Willow. If I have to go on one, I'd rather it be with you."

"I feel the same way!" Willow gasped, only to blush. "I mean, we did fight together and you did defend my honor against Amity and Boscha. I think that's date worthy. At least, that's what the crystals say…."

"So….Going off the animes I've watched, does that mean we have to kiss?" Luz asked, only to mentally facepalm at the question.

Could she be even more cringe?

Willow squeaked at the suggestion, her face turning cherry-red. "I-I….Is that what you want?" Willow stammered.

"Yes, I mean, no! I mean…..I d-dunno!" Luz stammered, and then shut her mouth.

"Gosh," Willow shyly mumbled. "I've never kissed another girl before….."

"I know that I like girls but I-I've never had a kiss with one either…." Luz admitted.

"But If I have to have my first kiss, I'd rather it be with you," Willow said, echoing Luz's words from earlier.

Luz's cheeks burned at Willow's confession.

If her dad or Yusuke had been around, they would be teasing her to Koenma at this situation. Summoning up her courage, Luz balled up her fists and said, "I feel the same way."

"T-That's great!" Willow exclaimed, only to shrink at how loud she sounded. She let out a nervous giggle and asked, "Should I initiate it or you?"

"M-Maybe I should, if y-you don't mind," Luz shakily answered.

Willow, not trusting her words, nodded.

Luz rubbed her hands while Willow rubbed at her dress. Slowly, Luz stepped toward Willow and started to lean down. Willow, who was slightly shorter than Luz, stepped on her tippy toes and their lips met in a kiss, which left both girls blushing.

There was something soft and sweet that the two girls felt, as if they had done this before in a different life. It felt...right. Slowly, the two parted and looked into each other's eyes for a moment, only for their lips to connect in another, albeit shorter, kiss.

The two then pulled apart for good but their faces remained reddened. The two gave a shy laugh, with Luz rubbing the back of her neck and Willow rubbing her left forearm. Despite the kiss, those strange bubbly feelings were still there.

"I-I better get home but good luck on your training trip. Don't take too long now, and be careful. I'd like to hang out with you more," Willow told Luz, who nodded and gave a salute.

"You got it, Cutie," Luz replied. "See you in a few days."

Without thinking, the two leaned forward and shared one last kiss.

Then, with a shared smile, Willow departed, leaving Luz, with her tingly lips, to watch her go. Katya's arm then slung around Luz's shoulder as she teased, "Oh! I saw that! So, you and Willow going out now?"

Luz admittedly didn't know the answer to that. She had never been on a date before, especially one that ended with a kiss of all things. All she knew was that it felt right to her. But that was to her. She didn't know how Willow felt about it.

Luz grinned and said, "I don't know. All I know is that I want to see where it goes from here." Luz then moved from under Katya's arm and said, "Now let's go chow down!"

"You sure you don't want to come with?" Eda asked Katya the following day as the three stood in front of the Owl House.

Both Luz and Eda were dressed in thick-layered winter clothing with Luz holding a camping bag that Owlbert somehow obtained during his recent visit to the Human World. "I'm sure," Katya answered. "Someone has to watch King and Hooty and make sure they don't burn down the place."

"Which is a good call, really," Eda commented. "Considering that was what nearly happened when King decided to bake cookies while Hooty slept."

"I do not regret it!" King's voice cried from the kitchen.

Luz shared a hug with Katya and said, "Take care. We'll be back in two days." Katya returned the hug with just as much tightness and warmth that Luz put out and then they pulled apart. Luz was slightly emotional.

She had never been apart from Katya for longer than a few hours. She had swiftly become a soothing constant in her crazy time here on the Isles, along with King, Hooty, and Eda. "See you soon, Fangs," Eda said as she ruffled Katya's hair. "And don't do anything that I would do."

"Which is a lot," Katya commented with a laugh.

Eda grinned and together, Luz and Eda walked out of the Owl House and outside. Eda summoned her staff, twisted Owlbert on top of the staff, and motioned for Luz to hop on board. Luz hopped on the staff and as it took off into the air, Luz looked back at her temporary home and noticed black smoke coming from the open doorway.

"Um, I think King got started on baking cookies," Luz commented while Katya screamed King's name.

"They'll be fine," Eda dismissed. "Now, to the Knee!"

"The Knee?" Luz asked.

"Oh yeah," Eda replied with a grin in her voice. "A place where magic energy just flows. If you're looking to find a way to get those Glyphs and your Spirit Energy to make buddy-buddy, the Knee is the place to go!"

"What can you tell me about it?" Luz asked, her detective mind switching on.

"The earliest witches came to the Knee to develop their magic, drawn to its natural power," Eda explained. "Though, it's not without its dangers."

"Oh! Mama loves danger," Luz chirped. "What's the danger?"

"Oh, the intense cold, which is why we're bundled up, the ghosts of deceased witches that use their remnants of magic to cause illusions, and the Slitherbeast," Eda answered. "It's not the time for the ghosts, however, so it's just the Slitherbeast and the cold we have to worry about."

"And what in the Toguro is a 'Slitherbeast?'" Luz asked.

"Slitherbeasts are big, fuzzy, and white," Eda started. "Kinda cute in a weird way but ignore that. They are carnivorous beast-type demon species that are mainly native to the snowy regions of the Knee. They will not attack as long as they are not disturbed or angered, but should someone commit this mistake, well…. Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double," Luz followed up.

Eda slowly turned back to Luz with a questioning look, which made her grin. "Sorry, Human Realm reference," Luz sheepishly answered. "So, what type of trouble?"

"Oh, you know, the poisonous claws, the poisonous bite, the paralyzing stare, and a goo that's very sticky," Eda replied. "And it's ravenous for meat. Get the picture?"

"Got the picture," Luz promptly answered. "Well, since it's not Ghost Season and you'll point out what a Slitherbeast is, we should be in the clear of any danger."

"Got that right," Eda agreed.

The Knee.

Luz didn't expect much when Eda first mentioned it, but as she stood there, she found herself strangely at peace with her place in this world. She hadn't felt this way since before her father's death. "So, how do you like it?" Eda smugly questioned.

"It's like eating a peppermint candy cane and drinking cold water," Luz answered. "Utterly refreshing."

Eda chortled and smacked Luz's back. "I had that same experience when I first came here," Eda said with a wide smile. "Just take in that beautiful, fresh air.

The two inhaled deeply and then exhaled with satisfied expressions on their faces.

"Here's where we'll set up shop," Eda instructed. "Let's get camp all set up." Luz nodded and walked away from Eda to gaze at the area. She noticed the ruins of what would have been a gigantic building, a few pillars with flags attached to them, and the remains of giant statues of witches.

"Hey Eda, what was this place before it was destroyed?" Luz asked as she turned around to look at Eda.

"Well, it went from a colosseum that witches in the Savage Ages used to settle problems, to a training ground for new and seasoned witches, to abandoned," Eda answered as she set up her tent. "Due to the ghost season."

"Makes sense," Luz shrugged. She then smiled and said, "Potential dark past aside, I'll definitely learn how to use my spirit energy with the glyphs here! Gorgeous views, magic in the air, and best of all, we're completely alone!"

"Well, I wouldn't quite say, completely alone," A new voice chimed in from behind them. Luz turned around as pale blue light illuminated Eda.

"Eda look out!" Luz cried.

"Wut?" Eda asked, only to shriek when Luz tackled Eda seconds before a bolt of pale-blue magic hits the spot Eda had been setting up camp in, destroying her tent.

"Aww, come on!" Eda complained from the ground. The student and teacher sprang to their feet as an unfamiliar face and a very familiar face stood behind them.

"Hello Noceda," Amity Blight greeted with a small smirk as the taller, dark-blue-haired woman smirked. "We seem to run into each other a lot."

"Yeah," Luz replied. "I'm starting to think that you're stalking me."

"And Edalyn, it has been far too long," The woman greeted Eda, who blew a strand of hair from her face and crossed her arms, completely unamused at the woman.

"Sup, Lily, it's about that time already?" Eda questioned.

"Teach? Who is the tall and rather attractive lady?" Luz asked.

"Attractive? If laughter is the best medicine, her face must be curing the world.," Eda cracked. "This tall drink of poison is my big sister, Lilith Clawthorne."

"Roses are red, violets are blue, I have 5 fingers, the 3rd ones for you," Lilith dryly retorted while she stuck up her middle finger.

"I would love to insult you, but I can't do as well as nature did," Eda shot back as she returned the rude gesture.

"And I'm guessing since you're with the tall glass of poison, you're her apprentice or something?" Luz asked Amity, who grinned.

"Ah, the human has a brain under all that bravado after all," Amity insulted.

Luz grunted with fire in her eyes and shouted, "You know what! We can just fight right here and now, Princesa. I can fit kicking your pasty, scrawny ass in between my training!"

"The day you kick my "Pasty Scrawny Ass" is the day you wake up from that dream," Amity pompously replied. "Preferably beneath my feet, Human."

"That all you got?" Luz asked with a smirk. "¡He oído cosas peores de mi Abuela! (I've heard better from my Grandma!)"

"I don't know what that means, but I know it's an insult at my expense!" Amity yelled.

"Nah, it's yours for free," Luz taunted.

Amity's face turned red as pink flames ignited around her hands but when Amity started to walk forward, Lilith's arm halted Amity. "Now, now, my apprentice," Lilith chided. "Don't let the words of a human rattle you."

"This human could kick that ass from here to the Human Realm, Lily," Eda replied.

"Yeah, don't let this pretty face fool you," Luz announced. "I can kick ass for days. Just ask the Warden at the Conformatorium…." A smug smirk then formed on Luz's face as she looked directly at Amity and said, "Or Boscha."

"You? Pretty? Don't make me laugh," Amity taunted with her own smug smirk. "You look like something I'd draw with my left hand,"

Luz's grinned and asked, "Why would you draw me in the first place?"

Amity paused and then started to stammer while Luz smirked and delivered a high-five to Eda. "Now that we've gotten through with schooling you losers, why don't you make like a tree and leaf?" Eda suggested.

"Oh, are we doing puns?" Luz asked with excitement.

"How immature," Lilith rolled her eyes. "Just stay out of our way. Edalyn, enjoy the little bit of freedom you have with your inferior student. For when Amity and I are done, you are coming with me. Come, Amity."

Amity stuck her middle finger up at Luz, who placed her hands behind her head and grinned. "Anytime, any day, Princesa," Luz taunted.

The opposing duo then left to go further away, to where Luz saw two tents. "We sure showed them," Eda chirped. "And I repaired my tent. So let's get everything set up so we can start your training."

Luz nodded.

Lilith was annoyed.

Once again, her sister had to open her big mouth and start antagonizing her. And what made it worse was that the human got involved in it by making fun of her student.

But despite this, Lilith got a sense of déjà vu when she heard how the human girl spoke. Why? Why had she been struck by the familiarity? She was just as brash as Eda had been. But there was something more to it than just her insults, she was sure of it.

"I will incinerate her," Amity grumbled with her arms crossed.

Lilith shook her head and petted Amity's hair with a fond smile. "And we shall. Let them enjoy their petty little victory. Because in the end, we will be victors. And why is that?"

"Because the Emperor's Coven doesn't accept losers," Amity replied with a smile.

Lilith smiled back.

But still….

Why was that human so familiar to her?

"Hey, Eda?"

"Yeah, Kid?"

"Your sister is a jerk."

Eda cackled as the two of them lay in their tent. "After all of the sassy shit you said earlier, that's what you settle on?" Eda teased.

"Hey, I'm tired. It's been a day," Luz defended. "But something is troubling me. My dad wrote about someone named Lilith in his journal when he visited him. I know it's a big place but your sister reminds me of the "Lilith" he wrote about."

Eda hummed in thought and said, "You never know, Kid. There was a long period where I didn't interact with Lilith due to her drive to become a member of that damned Emperor's Coven. She could be the same Lilith or she could be a different one. Who the Netherrealm knows but the Titan?"

"That's fair," Luz admitted.

"So, what happened with that date you went on with Flower Power?" Eda asked.

"It went well," Luz answered. "We got to know each other more. We kissed a few times, and we decided to stay friends. Simple and Clean."

"Simple and clean," Eda repeated with a soft laugh. "That's good. When you did that wall thing, you two looked like you started making out there."

"Truthfully? The thought crossed my mind," Luz grinned. "She does have really soft lips…."

"Hey, keep those thoughts to yourself," Eda joked. "But If I had to hear it, I'm glad it's about Wallflower than the Blight girl."

"Princesa?" Luz questioned. "Why would I think about her? She's like my rival."

A cute rival that always made her blood rush whenever they had their spats, but still!

Eda grew silent for a moment and then said, "Rivalries are tricky, Luz. One minute, you're trading barbs, pranking, and occasionally fighting, and the next….Well…."

"Ah, I'm picking up what you're putting down," Luz said. "So, who was the rival?"

"Her insufferable mother," Eda answered.

Luz leaned up from her sleeping bag and stared down at Eda. "¿Qué?" Luz blandly asked.

"Yep, her mother and I had some intense battles and some intense makeout sessions," Eda revealed. "But let me put it this way, those types of relationships never work out in the end. Eventually, the flames of that dynamic will die down. So just make sure you keep that rivalry just that. A rivalry."

Luz nodded.

"Only a rival. Nothing more, Nothing less," Luz promised.

Luz could keep to that promise.

It would be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Amity was an early riser.

It was annoying that she couldn't have a single day to sleep in but that was the schedule her mother had instilled in her. Not wanting to wake her teacher, Amity carefully crawled out of the tent, stood up, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Nice and crisp.

As she stood out there, she could hear the sounds of the birds chirping, the wind blow, and the sounds of….Combat?

Amity opened her eyes and carefully crept to the pillar that separated her and her teacher from Noceda and her teacher. There was a bit of a ledge, so pushing magic through her legs, she jumped up the ledge and hid behind a pillar.

It was there she watched Eda and Luz in the middle of sparring. Most witches didn't deal with hand-to-hand combat unless as an absolute last resort, so it wasn't often to see fists flying in the Isles. So whenever she had the chance to see it, it always interested her.

And this time was no different.

Her rival wore a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans with a thick purple winter jacket. And while it was a very simplified outfit, it looked….fetching on the human.

The excited smile on Noceda's face certainly helped the fetching look.

Amity blinked and rubbed both of her cheeks with a blush and a frown. What was she doing? This human was her rival! Someone who is wreaking havoc on her school life and her group. She should not be ogling her!

"Very good, Amity," Lilith said with approval. "Spying on our opponents to learn of any of their weaknesses."

Amity jumped in alarm.

Where in the world did she come from?!

"Y-Yes. That's what I was doing," Amity said, trying to cover up what she was doing. "Observing for weaknesses in he—their armor."

"Good. I would hate for you to actually be charmed by their ilk," Lilith warned.

Amity nodded.

"Edalyn is a wild witch and her apprentice might as well be one since she associates herself with my wayward sister," Lilith said. "Besides, from what I've seen, A Clawthorne and a Blight never mix well in that sort of relationship."

"Clawthorne? But Noceda isn't a Clawthorne," Amity noted.

"Look at them and tell me that she isn't," Lilith instructed.

Amity looked and she saw that the two were laughing during their spar, looking genuinely comfortable with one another. There was such warmth between the two. It reminded her a lot of her relationship with Lilith.

"I shall remain diligent in not doing anything regarding my rival except for defeating her," Amity promised.

It shouldn't be that hard to keep her word.

The rest of the day passed with little fanfare.

Luz was able to make some progress in using the glyphs in conjunction with her spirit energy while Eda would pop out every once in a while to spar with her. It reminded her of when she was first taken into training by Yusuke.

Intense, but fun.

But it had been two hours since Eda last attacked her and Luz was slowly growing concerned. Luz stood from the pillar she sat on and called, "Eda?!"

Nothing.

Not even the wind heard her call, leaving the area eerily silent. "Well that's not good," Luz murmured.

"Noceda!" Amity's voice called out from behind her, which prompted Luz to turn and face her rival. "Have you seen my teacher around?"

"No. Have you seen mine?" Luz asked.

"No, I haven't," Amity answered. "Last I saw her, she went into the forest to investigate a noise."

Luz frowned.

Luz did remember Eda saying that she was going to grab some moss for them to smell from within the forest, but Luz had been deep in experimenting with the glyphs and her spirit energy to respond.

"Something is not right," Luz said. "They both said they were going into the forest, only to completely disappear? Yeah, something smells here."

Amity frowned and agreed, although, to Luz, it looked painful for her rival to do so. "Welp, I guess we better go find them," Luz suggested as she hopped down from the pillar.

"We? What makes you think I want to find them with you?" Amity questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Considering we have two people missing? This isn't exactly the time to try and search separately," Luz said.

Amity hummed and then said, "Very well. I can't find fault in your statement. Where should we start?"

Luz was impressed.

Not even a huff of annoyance from her rival.

Maybe this will go smoothly.

"Thankfully, I can see Eda's footsteps. We should follow those," Luz suggested.

"Why should we start with your teacher and not mine?" Amity questioned.

Luz sighed.

Chapter Text

Snow gently fell on the Knee as Luz walked ahead of Amity with her hands behind her head, her eyes locked on the sky.

Luz's mind slowly turned to Willow's glittering olive-green eyes and felt a wistful smile form on her face. Luz's body still buzzed from Willow's soft lips against her own in her first-ever kiss. In all of her life, she didn't think anyone would kiss her face.

She wondered if Willow was thinking about her as much as Luz was thinking about her…

"Noceda!"

Luz jerked in surprise at Blight's shout and turned to her. "Hi, Princesa, can I help you?"

"You can," Blight calmly answered. "I don't know what you're daydreaming about over there, but can you snap back to reality so we can find out teachers?"

"Have you ever heard of multitasking?" Luz slowly asked her.

"Multi—oh my Titan," Blight grumbled. "Whatever. Continue with your inane thoughts, human."

"My name is Luz. Ms. Noceda if you're nasty," Luz corrected.

"Do you have to have a retort for everything?" Blight asked.

"Um. Sí, señora," Luz replied with a cheeky grin on her face. "Like I told Boscha, My mind is always going. Always looking for the next insult or retort to rattle off. Y'know, with those big cute ears, you sure don't listen, do ya?"

Amity opened her mouth, only for Luz to respond with a smug, "Nah, it's yours for free."

Amity closed her mouth with an audible *clink* and glowered at her. But despite this, she rubbed at her ears with a hint of red on her cheeks. "…You find my ears cute, huh?" Amity asked.

Luz's eyes widened in surprise and she swiftly whirled around to face Amity, now walking backwards. "Hey, bad Blight, bad," Luz admonished as she flickered her hands in the direction of Blight as if she was trying to fling water on her. "Don't turn my insult into a compliment."

"Oh, you don't like it when it's done to you, huh?" Amity immediately shot back. "Can dish it but can't take it?"

"I can take whatever you can give me, Princesa Gatita (Princess kitten)," Luz replied. "Whether you're your words or your fists, I'll return it to you tenfold."

"Is that right?" Blight asked.

"That's right," Luz replied with a serious expression.

A toothy smirk formed on Blight's face, revealing her sharp fangs.

Oh lord, she had fangs.

Luz tried not to blush at them.

"Then let's settle this, Ms. Noceda," Blight taunted with a gleam in her golden eyes. "I owe you for taking down one of my cohorts after all."

"Now you're speaking my language, Princesa," Luz replied with a wide toothy smirk. Luz lifted her right hand and with a crackle of lavender lightning, her Spirit Sword exploded to life.

Blight laughed and lifted her left hand as Abomination Matter flowed from the pouch on her left hip and swirled around her hand, stretched itself out, and then created an Abomi-Ax. "What a nifty present. Is it for me?" Luz dryly asked as Blight gripped the hilt of her weapon.

"Oh, Ms. Noceda," Blight purred as abomination matter swirled around her right hand to create a disc-shaped Abomi-shield. "This is all of you." The smirks died away and the girls charged at one another, where their weapons clashed, sending abomination matter and sparks of spiritual energy flying.

The two broke apart with Blight taking a swing at Luz's head as they did so. Luz darted forward and lunged her Spirit Sword at Blight, who blocked it with her shield, and then followed up with an upward slash aimed at her face.

Blight ducked the Spirit Sword and swung her ax at an upward angle to catch Luz in the chest, but Luz immediately summoned a shorter Spirit sword, spun it so she held it in a reverse grip, and used that to block the ax as she swung her weapon again, only for Blight to block it with her shield.

Luz and Blight broke apart once more, with Blight deconstructing her weapons to form two Abomination tentacles that sprouted from her back and lunged at Luz.

Luz dismissed the shorter Spirit Sword and used the other one to deflect the lunge of each tentacle before she pointed a finger gun at Amity. "Spirit gun!" Luz shouted as she fired her first bullet. Blight smirked and formed a thick Abomi-shield in front of her, which exploded upon impact with Luz's attack, sending the matter everywhere until the glow of magic stopped it.

"Oh, well isn't that interesting," Blight noted as the scattered abomination matter formed into a hand cannon around Blight's right arm. "Allow me to retort, Final Burst!" Luz's eyes widened as she felt spirit energy flowing around Blight's form as sparkling purple and lavender flames swirled in the cannon before firing straight at Luz.

Luz twirled her Spirit Sword and with a shout, she cleaved through the powerful, spirit energy-infused fireball, where each part flew behind her and then exploded. "Aren't you full of surprises!" Luz shouted as she charged at Blight.

Blight summoned her Abomi-Ax and ran toward Luz, only for both of them to stop mere moments before engaging when they heard the sounds of explosions in the distance.

"You hear that?" Blight asked.

"Yeah," Luz replied. "Let's stop our measuring contest and see what it is."

Blight smirked and said, "We should. You were losing anyways."

"Tch, in your dreams, Blight," Luz shot back.

With a snobby laugh from Blight, the two girls ran off in the direction of the explosions.

But despite rushing off to the explosions, Luz couldn't stop herself from wondering how Blight knew how to use spirit energy.

When Amity came across a clearing with Noceda close behind her, there were three things Amity noticed.

The first was the dozens of teens, all dressed in various uniforms from Hexside, Glandus, and St. Epiderm. The second thing Amity noticed was that their eyes were glowing an ethereal blue.

Possession?

The third was a girl sitting on a throne.

The girl was her age and with pale-white skin and a very slender build. She had long, flaming, teal hair pulled back into a ponytail at the top of her head, two locks of hair framing her face (resembling a sharp-angled "M"), and light purple lipstick. She has a curled and curved line near her eyes as well which could be makeup.

The girl wore a black choker around her neck, a St. Epiderm uniform which was a light gray and white tunic with a silver belt, a dark indigo pendant, red sleeves and red leggings, a black glove on her right hand, and skull boots.

Amity watched as the girl removed her tunic, revealing a black leather one-shouldered crop top, the rest of the glove on her right hand that covered most of her right arm, and one black bracelet on her left arm.

"Come on, Dipsticks, I ain't got all day!" The girl shouted as she wrapped the sleeves of her tunic around her hips. She leaned her head back and then whipped it forward, causing her flaming ponytail to stretch and collided with one of the teens, causing an explosion of teal fire. "The quicker we dig up this elemental site, the sooner we can beat the fuck out of Belos and rule this pigsty!"

"What are we looking at?" Noceda whispered as she moved next to her.

"A St. Epiderm student. A Bard mixing magic with Oracle," Amity hastily explained. "Said something about an elemental site and unburying it to take down Emperor Belos."

Amity watched Noceda's eyes widen. "Elemental site?" Noceda asked. "Were those her exact words?"

"Yeah. What's so special about it?" Amity asked.

"Papa was looking for the Elemental Site of Water when he came here. It, along with the other sites, would unlock the Netherrealm but it could also give anyone untold power for unlocking it," Noceda explained. "But how would this person know about that?"

"So, it's dangerous?" Amity summarized.

"Very much so," Noceda replied. "I can't let her dig it up." Noceda started to move ahead, only for Amity to tug her back to her side. "Oi, ¡¿Qué diablos, princesa?! (What the hell, Princess)?!"

"That sounded like a question and to answer it, I'm stopping your impatient ass from going down there," Amity hissed.

"Impatient? She's handling a spiritual equivalent of a nuke," Noceda hissed back. "I can't let her do that!"

"So, you're just going to rush in, sword swinging, and hope you irritate her to death?" Amity snarked. "How about you actually sit your ass here and formulate a plan. Do you know what that word means?"

"Do you need to be a smartass right now?" Noceda asked.

Amity smirked in response and mockingly replied, "My mind is always racing. Always looking for the next insult or remark to shoot from the hip. I have to say, with those cute, pierced round ears, you sure don't listen, do you, human?"

Amity savored the annoyed look on Noceda's face.

It was very cute.

Noceda let out a long breath and said, "Okay, Blight. You don't like me. And I sure as hell don't like you. But that student down there is handling some serious stuff that could bring some power enemies. Let's just…squash the beef and work together and stop her."

"What's this? Is the human offering up a truce?" Amity taunted.

"Don't play cute," Noceda told her.

"I thought I was already cute," Amity commented.

"Your ears are cute. Your face can use some work," Noceda replied.

"Well, yours isn't the Saint Shana statue either," Amity remarked. "But fine. A truce. We take her down, and then I take you down."

"You wish you could," Noceda taunted.

Amity smirked.